We came closer to the burning houses, and saw that it wasn't the bandits. The ones responsible were cyborg squirrels!
Natasha's P.O.V.:
Cyborg squirrels?! How did this happen? Things just got a lot crazier.
Half squirrel, half machine, they tore through the village like a furry mechanic knife. They had lost their minds to the wires and bolts that now filled their heads. Their brains had been turned into metal mush. They were programmed to follow orders, and show no mercy. It was obvious that they were looking for something.
I didn't waste any time. I jumped to action. Before anybody could stop me, I ran at the cyborgs. Punching, kicking, biting, scratching... I attacked them with all I had. The surprise of the attack was a disadvantage for the squirrels. They immediately stopped what they were doing to focus on me. Their surprised state left them quickly as they came at me with just as much force.
"Surrender now, or you will suffer the consequences," one of them threatened in a robotic monotone voice. I growled at him in response.
"I will never surrender." I angrily replied. Though I was fighting well, there were too many of them to take on alone.
Spinning around, I kicked the one who had spoke in the face, and watched as he fell unconscious to the ground. Before I could blink, a cyborg had grabbed my arm, and threw me to the ground. When I tried to get back up again, the squirrel laid its large metal foot on my torso. He slowly pushed his foot down until it was extremely hard for me to breath. I struggled to free myself.
All of a sudden, the cyborg was lifted off of me, and thrown hundreds of feet away by an unseen force. I jumped to my feet, and glanced behind me to see that Silver was standing there. He had used his telekinetic powers to throw the cyborg away from me.
"Thanks, Silver." I said as I gulped down waves of air. The white hedgehog wore an angry facial expression.
"You can't just run off and start a fight without letting us know what you were going to do. You could have been killed." Silver sternly said. Though he looked more worried than angry.
I grabbed a heavy plank of wood and whacked two cyborgs in the face, knocking them out cold. I threw the plank down, and marched up to Silver. "Do I look like a poor and helpless idiot? I can protect myself." I replied in annoyance.
Sonic, and Shadow had started to attack the cyborgs behind me. "She has a point." Sonic commented as he used his speed to trip three of the mechanical squirrels, and knock them unconscious.
Silver glared at him. "Nobody was talking to you, Sonic." he shot back angrily, not noticing that a cyborg was sneaking up behind him. I saw the cyborg just in time, and rushed over to it, yanking its arm off easily with the satisfying sound of metal scraping metal.
The cyborg held the place where his arm used to be, and looked down at me in shock. The others had the same look written on their faces. It was like everything stopped in that moment. All the cyborgs stopped moving, and they stared at me.
When I glanced down, I jumped slightly. My whole body was glowing red! There was a fountain beside me, and I looked at my reflection in the water. My eyes had changed from their normal violet, to a stunning bright red color. What was happening to me?!
I threw down the metal arm that was in my hands, and backed away slowly. Whatever this power was, it gave me great strength. The red glow slowly started to fade away from my body. My eyes soon returned to their original violet color. The only thing that was left was a mild headache.
"H-how?" I asked to no one in particular. I stared at the palms of my hands as if the answer laid there. I quickly looked up to the cyborgs. They had begun walking away from me.
"Retreat!" the cyborg squirrel commander yelled. I just stood there silently as they began running away.
I suddenly realized that we needed to question them to find out who had transformed them into what they were. I turned to the three hedgehogs who had been standing in the same place since the little 'incident' happened. "We need to capture one of them for questioning. We should grab one that is unconscious before the rest of them wake up." I quickly informed them.
They were still surprised at what had just happened. Sonic was the first one to move. He ran over to an unconscious cyborg squirrel (the one that I had knocked out), and brought him over to us. He was just starting to wake up.
His eyes gradually opened, and he slowly sat up. He looked all around him in confusion. When he saw me, he growled. "Why you little hedgepig! How dare you- gaaarrrrgglllhurrr-" he choked out as I roughly grabbed his neck.
I leaned in close to his ear, and whispered, "Don't you EVER call me a hedgepig." The cyborg squirrel desperately tried to pull my hand away from his throat. I almost panicked when I saw that my hand was starting to glow red. I quickly let go before I accidentally killed him.
His eyes grew wide as he saw the red glow fade from my hand. "Y-you... You are the ch-chosen one!" he exclaimed in disbelief. Was he crazy? That was a possibility.
I ignored his last statement, and went on with the questioning. "What is your name?" I calmly began. I could tell that he was very nervous.
"S-so sorry, miss. M-my name is Vark." he stuttered. Vark? That's an odd name. I glanced at the guys. They were just standing on the side lines, watching Vark and I with interest.
I turned my gaze back to the stuttering squirrel. "Who made you like this?" I asked gesturing to the metal parts of him. He seemed much calmer, now.
Vark looked down at himself, and quickly answered once he realized what I meant. "Scourge the hedgehog, and Dr. Eggman." he explained. I raised an eyebrow at his answer.
I gasped when Sonic all of a sudden appeared beside me. "Scourge? He's back?" Sonic questioned. Vark nodded in reply.
"How did they turn you into a cyborg?" I curiously asked. Before Vark could answer, I heard an all too familiar annoying voice behind us.
"Sonic! Are you okay? Sorry it took so long for me to run over here. Katrina made me rest for a minute." Amy apologized as she ran over to Sonic and gave him a tight hug.
I cleared my throat loudly, earning a glare from Amy. "We are in the middle of an interrogation." I told her as I gestured to the quiet cyborg in front of me. Amy glanced at the scene with little interest.
"And your point is?" she asked in a bored tone, still hanging onto Sonic. She had no humility. I mentally face palmed at her reply.
"My point is that you interrupted us." I said. She was really getting on my nerves.
She rolled her eyes at me. "You act as if I should care." Amy retorted.
Before I could do anything that I would regret, Katrina ran up to us. "Hey, let's not get into a fight, okay?" she said to Amy and I.
I reluctantly agreed, and then continued with the interrogation. "How did they turn you into a cyborg?" I repeated the previous question.
"Scourge planned it, and Eggman's machines did the work. They are working together." Vark explained. This brought up many more questions in my mind.
"Why are they working together?" I asked. The cyborg gestured to Sonic, who was still being tightly held by Amy.
"They both want the same thing." he said. They both wanted Sonic. I get it, now. However, there was still one question remaining.
"Why were you sent to this village?" I questioned. The cyborg grinned evilly at me. Oh, no. Had we walked into a trap?
"I'm glad you asked. We were ordered to cause chaos to lure Sonic here. Now that you're here, there is only one thing that needs to happen." he stated as he opened a small compartment in his chest. There was a big red button that said 'self destruct' on it. Before anyone could stop him, he pressed the button.
We had three seconds to react. Everybody was frozen where they stood, fear was expressed on all of their faces. We wouldn't be able to get out of there on time.
Two seconds. If that thing blows, this whole village will be destroyed with everyone in it. The only one who could successfully run away would be Sonic, but he wouldn't just leave us here to die.
One second. Sonic grabbed my hand. I could see the fear in his eyes. No! I wasn't going to let this happen. I felt power surge through my free hand as I closed my eyes.
BOOM!!!
The bomb went off. The force of it shook the ground, but other than that, nothing seemed to happen. I opened my eyes, and gasped. A purple force field was surrounding the explosion! I saw that the power was coming from my hand. I looked down at myself, and saw that my whole body was glowing purple.
What did Vark mean when he said that I was the chosen one? I wouldn't be able to know now, because his guts were splattered all over the inside of the shield. I felt sad about that. Each question that gets answered brings up even more questions in my mind. Why does this have to be so complicated?
I turned my gaze to Sonic. He was still holding my hand quite tightly. He was looking at the purple shield in front of us, while Amy was looking at my hand in his.
How do I put down the force field? I gazed at the power surging through my hand. I closed my eyes, and tried using my mind to shut the steady beam down. When I opened my eyes, I saw that it worked. The shield had disappeared, and the glow left my body.
I glanced at the fire that was spreading on the houses. That would need to be put out. Maybe I could do it.
I walked over to the burning houses, avoiding the insides of the dead cyborg squirrel. When I got there, I tried putting a shield around the fire. If I was right, the air would run out in the enclosed space.
A few minutes later, and the fire was put out. I calmly put down the purple force field. I was really getting the hang of this. Maybe I had other powers, too.
Wait... what if this was the reason the bandits were chasing me? What if they knew about these powers? But if that was true, then how did they know I even had any powers? The questions just pile up. I was so deep in thought that I hadn't noticed everyone walking up behind me.
"Are you okay?" I heard a worried Shadow ask. I turned around to face them. Tears started to cover my vision.
"No.... no I'm not okay. This-" I gestured to the burnt buildings, the shattered windows, and the crying people, "This is not okay. I've been running from people who knew about the powers I have. I don't know how they knew. I only just found out about all this five minutes ago. I just found out that my family died because of me. My mother.... my father.... my sister. All because of me and my... abilities."
I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. They were flowing freely down my cheeks. I laughed a little, "And now I'm crying. Ugh!" I covered my face with my hands in embarrassment.
I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. I looked up to see Katrina with tears in her eyes. "They didn't die because of you. They died because evil people killed them. You are not evil, Natasha. You are better than them." she said. Her comforting words soothed my broken and confused heart. I managed to give her a small smile.
I quickly hugged her back, and wiped the tears from my eyes. I glanced at the others, and saw that they had a worried look on their faces. Except for Amy. She probably didn't believe my 'sob story'.
The other unconscious cyborg squirrels would be waking up soon. We needed to lock them up some place. "We need to take care of the other cyborgs before they wake up." I said to them. Without a word, Sonic had already gathered all fifteen of the unconscious cyborgs and piled them up on top of each other. I chuckled at the sight.
It took us a while, but we finally got them all locked up in a secure village prison. Silver figured out how to remove the self destruct buttons safely. Now we were all outside, resting in the heat of the sun. Amy was able to cook up some chili dogs for us all. They were much better than vegetable stew.
I was sitting against a tall oak tree on the outskirts of the small town, just finishing my chili dog. I hope Amy didn't poison it. The cool breeze relaxed my tense body. A small headache still lingered from the sudden use of my powers that I didn't know I had.
I was alone enjoying the peace and quiet, when a certain blue hedgehog all of a sudden was sitting next to me. Life has its perks when you're the fastest thing alive. Sonic put his hands behind his head, and sighed in relaxation.
"It's good to be alive. I guess I have you to thank for that." he said. There was a grin on his face. Then he turned his head to look at me. The grin slowly faded as he stared deep into my eyes. I stared back at him in curiosity.
"When that bomb was about to go off, I thought we were going to die. I felt horrible feelings that I never want to feel ever again. Regret... that's one of the main feelings. In that moment, I suddenly remembered all the times I had hurt people. I realize that there are things that I need to change about myself. I'm not the hero I make myself out to be." he sadly explained.
Then he held my hand in his, and lightly brushed his thumb over my fingers. I blushed a little when he did that. "I also regret things that I have never done, and wish I had. The truth is... I've been keeping something from you." he admitted.
He had been leaning closer to me ever since he started talking, and now we were a few inches apart. My heart was racing in my chest. What was I feeling? I don't know. What had he been keeping from me? I don't know that, either. Should I be angry? Probably not. All I could do was look at him curiously until he told me.
His breath tickled my face as he spoke. "I wanted to keep this a secret, but then I would never know what would have happened if I had told you." he began. Now our faces were only an inch apart. I didn't move a muscle.
"Another one of the feelings that I felt before the explosion was... Love. I felt this when I held your hand, and looked into your eyes when I thought we were going to die. Near death experiences bring out the things that are hidden deep within us." he explained as he moved a little closer to me. He had been looking into my eyes the whole time. A blush made itself visible on my cheeks. Sonic smiled a little when he saw.
"Natasha... I have a secret... I am... I'm falling in love with you." he finally confessed. What?! I didn't know what to say. What does somebody say after another person tells you that they are falling in love with you?
"I-uh... I don't really know what to say." I said in embarrassment. My breathing had quickened. My face felt like it was burning into flames.
"Then don't say anything..." he mumbled before he gently pressed his lips against mine. I hesitated for a moment, but then kissed him back. The kiss was soft and sweet while it lasted. Sonic was the one to pull away.
Before we could say anything, Amy came skipping up to us in high spirits. She had obviously not seen us a few moments ago. If she had, the world would surely have ended.
"Hey, Sonic! The guys want to talk to you. Oh... and you, too, Natasha." she said my name with disgust. I would have rolled my eyes, but my mind was still stuck on the fact that I had just kissed Sonic.
"Okay, we'll be right there." he replied. He seemed to be a little upset that Amy had interrupted us. Amy nodded in response, and turned to glare at me before she happily skipped away.
Sonic stood up, and held out his hand for me. I took his hand, and he pulled me to my feet. He entwined his fingers with mine as we started to walk towards the others.
"Do you feel the same for me?" he asked in a whisper.
I hesitated to answer. "It's too soon to tell. I feel something. I don't know." was my frustrated answer. I was annoyed with myself because I was so complicated. Why couldn't things be simpler? Well, if things were more simple, then that would suck the fun out of the world. I guess.
Sonic nodded in understanding. I was thankful that he hadn't said anything else on the topic. We didn't say another word the rest of the way there.
Shadow and Silver were waiting for us in one of the abandoned burnt town buildings. I pulled my hand out of Sonic's grasp before we walked through the door. It was cold in there.
When we stepped inside, I saw Silver sitting on the clean side of a half burnt couch. Shadow was leaning against the wall behind him. Silver stood up when he saw us enter.
"You're late." Shadow said in fake annoyance.
I flashed him a bright smile. "Or you are just early. Why have you called us here?" I asked them.
"Well, we thought that maybe since some... things have happened, you might have changed your plans." Silver replied. I thought about this for a moment, while they all looked at me curiously.
Maybe it would be a wise decision to change some parts of the plan. "Okay, I have a new plan. I will take some time to... get to know myself better. I don't really trust myself. There is a possibility that I might accidentally kill somebody... most likely Amy... though I doubt that would be an accident... But, anyway, that's all I can say for now. If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know." I said.
We had talked for many hours. Our conversation wasn't just about the new plan. We talked and laughed about random things. Not too long after that, I had fallen asleep on the burnt side of the couch.