The Argument

The Argument

A Sonic the Hedgehog songfic by Taryn "Jnco" Wander r

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters and places belong to Sega/Archie/Dic. This story and all it s contents are copyright 2001 Taryn "Jnco" Wander r. The song used is "The Argument" by the awesome, excellently good band called Push to Exit. No infringement is intended.

A sequel to "You Never Can Tell". These things just get moodier and moodier, don t they? Sort of a segue into "Bahtalo Drom: The Lucky Road" out now!

THE ARGUMENT

A long time ago he crawled out of the earth And said "I need to know, Another time and a different world" And she said "please don t go Take it all just hold me close Because it seems to me You need to listen more to me"

In the aftermath of the argument, Sally sat sobbing in her hut, on her bed, her face buried in her pillows. Nicole sat by her; blinking, silent, and offering up no help. What computer could understand such an irrational display of emotion?

Sally sat up, sniffling, and looked at the tiny power ring adorning her left hand.

Of course she had said yes when he asked, all those weeks ago, without hesitation. He was her world, he was the reason she kept going after so long, he was the hope that inspired her.

What had changed?

They had agreed not to tell everybody of their engagement just at first, and after much deliberation, had decided to get married in secret. After that, they would announce the engagement formally and stage an elaborate wedding for the sake of their families and friends.

They got married in secret by the local minister, who promised to tell no one, with two witnesses- Tails and Bunnie.

Then something happened- Sally didn t know what. Sonic started talking about leaving Knothole, quitting school, travelling the planet. He often complained about being bored now that there was no great evil to fight, being fed up with this life, bored with this town.

Of course Sally, in all her irrational hormonal emotion, had interpreted that to mean bored with her.

She says it s easy "don t go So look into my heart and say You need me so" But I need some time to feel And yes I love you so You make me feel insane Because it seems it s all the same In my heart I feel the pain

She didn t say anything at first, which was unusual for her. In any other matter she would be on her feet expounding her side of the issue, demanding satisfaction. This was different. She was scared. Not scared in the knife-wielding maniac way, or being squashed by a giant robot or turned into a mindless slave. This was an entirely different scared, one that was deep-rooted in her psyche and terrified her to her very soul.

Sally was deathly afraid of being left.

What do you need? Please don t go

It had always been there- as long as she could remember. She would often wake up in the dead of night in a cold sweat, after a nightmare that one of her beloved friends had been taken from her, killed, or simply defected or deserted the cause. It was her biggest fear and her biggest worry. Whenever someone was late for a rendezvous, she would panic inside. When Tails had run away for that one terrifying month, it had hit her hard. She never let it on to anyone else, but it was her weakness. And now she was crying and shaking and terrified that it was going to happen in the form of the person she loved the most of all.

Sally had begged with him to think it over. Sonic didn t see the big problem, he figured he and Tails would just bum around for a year and a bit, see the sights, meet people. He smirked at her and called her jealous, and said he would never even so much as look at another girl knowing he was a married man. And, he had Tails to watch over him to protect that vow.

She had argued the Tails campaign, saying he was too young and inexperienced to go out travelling. And Sonic had said that Tails had family out there, somewhere, and they owed to him to let him find it.

Every day it was the same conversation, and every day it got louder, and angrier, and every day it made less sense.

Was a different time The words all seemed to change But I can feel Because it seems it s all the same In my heart I feel the pain In a different time the names all seemed to change

There were other factors, too. Her family, for instance, all the revelations and secrets exploding in her face were wearing down on her. Her mother still alive- subconsciously it seemed that she was no longer the prominent woman in her father s life. And then her brother, the new heir- she was also no longer the prominent child in her father s life. And even though on the outside she was a resilient, thoughtful, strong leader, inside she was scared and angry and depressed, and this side she only shared to Sonic, the one she loved more than anyone else.

And eventually he couldn t take it any more and he would start to stay out late, he would drink, he would blow her off to avoid it. He loved her, he knew it, loved her with all his heart, and it wasn t that he didn t care. At least he told himself. He would avoid her because it hurt to look at her, it hurt to see her and to feel her pain.

Well you know that I don t believe In anything that I can t see And I feel a lot, I think a lot And yes, sometimes I drink a lot But you know my mind is clear it s true What s in my heart is you It seems it s all the same In my heart I feel the pain

That particular night he had come home plastered, and made the mistake of telling her so, told her he couldn t bear to look at her anymore.

That got her. And everything came pouring out, and they yelled and they fought and they threw things. Sally said that he didn t pay her attention, that he was running away from his problems and from her and her problems. And even though he didn t mean it, in his heart of hearts he could never mean it, Sonic said that if she didn t complain all the time and behaved the way a wife should, he wouldn t run off and drink all the time. And she had angrily called him a pig and a bastard and everything else she used to call him in the past except now it was as if she meant it, but in her heart of hearts she knew she didn t.

And then Sonic told Sally to chill.

And Sally had yelled at him not to tell her what to do, that she wasn t her father.

There was a silence between them and then Sally broke into tears. Sonic watched her for a moment, shaking, on the verge of tears himself, but then he left in disgust. Disgust at her, perhaps, but perhaps disgust at himself.

A long time ago, he looked into her face And said "I love you so, what a beautiful disgrace" And now I need to know, but I didn t want to say You re not the same, in my eyes you see me pray

Sally had collapsed on her bed, buried her face in her pillows, and remembered. Remembered times as a little girl when her father loved her, when she was all that mattered. When he called her beautiful and said he loved her.

And when she and Sonic were together, started out their rocky relationship, and their midnight trysts by the ring pool, and when he brushed back her hair and told her she was beautiful, and he loved her, and she was everything in the universe.

Sally shook with sobs as more memories came up, of her father giving her birthright to her brother, the one she never even knew she had. And Sally had stood there like a good daughter and accepted it. And she showed strength like a good leader and pretended she never wanted it in the first place, that the rebuilding of the city and her education were more important. When her father started ignoring her, when Sonic started ignoring her, when they both told her, not in words but in actions that meant more to her than any mere words could, that they no longer loved her, that they were disappointed with her. And the two most important men in her life, the two she loved above anything, left her. Not physically, but it was there. And she was where she always knew she would be.
Alone.

And "he said leave me alone, I need to know" And then she said "please don t go My heart it feels the same And I still love you so Don t take it all away from me" it seems it s all the same In my heart I feel the pain

Why did he have to leave her? Sonic was part of the only thing that meant anything to her anymore and now he was leaving. Why did she have to drive him away like that? Why did she have to be so needy, so clingy, why did she have to yell at him and be so demanding? She should have let him go- he would have come back. But now he was gone, distancing himself, just like her father did.

Sally couldn t go on after this. No one would trust her as a leader now, as a princess. They know the strong intelligent leader would be a fa ade when Sonic left, they knew that she was really a weakened, hollow, ugly little girl that no one could ever love.

She had screwed it up. Just like she screwed up protecting her father when Mobotropolis fell. Just like she screwed it up when she couldn t rescue him from the Void for years. She had always messed it up with her true love, and he was leaving her. So there was no reason for her to stay around.

What do you need? Please don t go! In a different time the words all seemed to change But I could feel Because sometimes it seems it s all the same In my heart I feel the pain In a different time the names all seemed to change

If she had been in a better state of mind, she would have realised that it was just a fight, but there was no such thing as just a fight for Sally. Whenever there was a fight, somebody always ended up dying, or running away, or being lost. She had grown up in war and it was all she knew. Of course, on the outside, she could plan and fight and win like the best of them, but inside a piece of her died each time. Seeing so much death- life meant so little to her. She would start anew.

If she had been in a better state of mind, she would have realised that there are more fish in the sea, and that she had at least three men vying for her attention anyway. But in this state of mind, she knew it didn t matter, that Sonic was the only one she could ever love, and now he was leaving her. Besides, she would have screwed it up with them, and they would have left, and everyone would know how much of a screw-up she really was. The names would change, the times would change, but she would still be her, and they would still leave, and she would still be alone.

She twisted the power ring once around her finger and meandered over to the bathroom, sobbing. On the way she picked up a cinder block she used to hold up the meagre bookshelf, caring not for the scattered books that now lay on the floor. She started filling the bathtub and poked around in the medicine cabinet for some hoarded painkillers.

After forcing herself to swallow an indeterminable number, she eased herself into the rapidly filling tub, the cinder block holding her down.

If she was going to be alone- her last sleepy thoughts ran along these lines- it was going to be of her own accord.

Well you know that I don t believe In anything that I can t see And I feel a lot, I think a lot And yes, sometimes I drink a lot You know my mind is clear it s true What s in my heart is you It seems it s all the same In my heart I feel the pain

Sonic was running, for his part, and not drinking as Sally would have accused him of. He ran to the city and back, through the trees, wherever, to burn off the anger.

Gods, he hated fighting with Sally. Why the hell did he do it so often? Why was he so angry? It was because he was weak, he knew. The bad boy cool guy attitude a cover for his weakness, his susceptibility. He would slip up and say something he didn t mean and would have too much pride to take it back. And they would fight. And he wouldn t back down because he was afraid of admitting, afraid of being wrong.

Sonic knew it hurt her, and the thing he hated most in the world was when Sally was hurt. She was his life, his heart, and any wound to Sally hurt him more than a thousand to himself. He just wanted her to trust him and realise that he would never leave her, in any capacity, at any time. He loved her too much.

He needed her too much.

In another time, a different place it seems the same

Eventually he ran back to Knothole and stopped in front of her hut, debating what to say upon his entrance. Sonic was going to end this madness, he would going to fess up and stop being the scared little boy he always was. He knew she was scarred by her father s disappearance, knew she was terrified of being left alone, why did he have to brush it off like that? Well, no more.

Sonic opened the door and stepped inside, calling for her, calling Sally baby, calling out that he was sorry and he wanted to talk about it.

The sound of running water caught his attention and he walked to the bathroom, calling out for her. Was she okay? Could he come in?

And then he saw, and what he saw sent him to his knees with a heart-wrenching yell.

Don t leave me now

He was shaking, trembling, as he picked out the cinder block and tossed it aside, where it landed with a loud, frightening thump. He lifted his beloved out of the water and, sobbing, laid her on the ground.

Don t leave me now

Sonic let the tears flow freely and ran his hands through his quills as he debated what to do. What do I do, what do I do? He had lost her once before, and he was not prepared to do it again, dammit! He stared at her lifeless, wet face and registered she wasn t breathing. As he lifted her chin, he started a mantra of I love you and I need you and I m sorry , but nothing seemed to work.

No, please, don t go

He opened her mouth and breathed in, carefully, terrified that he might not be doing the right thing and desperate to get her back. Oh please, oh please, he muttered over and over and he pumped desperately on her chest, and breathed back in, and pumped again, for what seemed like an eternity.

Sonic had seen death before, had seen people die, but it was never like this. It was never this close. He was always distanced, always so cool about it but now he lost it. He sobbed and cried and screamed and yelled and told her he loved her, he needed her, he couldn t live without her.

He knew he had to convince her to come back, to start breathing, but how? How could language describe what he felt for her? How, he demanded, was he supposed to proclaim the immense emotion that he felt when someone so much as mentioned her name, the sunrises and stars encased in her eyes, the jewels and rubies and riches of her lips, the sonnets and ballets that the heavens sang when she spoke? How was he supposed to tell her that? The love that he felt couldn t ever be described in words, in art, in any capacity. He tried desperately, pumping on her chest, to tell her how he felt but he couldn t do it. And he knew, too late, that maybe he should have shown it.

In another time, a different place it seems the same to me

If she were to die, Sonic told the cosmos, in fervent prayer to every deity and karmic force he knew of, he would die as well, because his heart would surely break apart with her passing, never to beat again.

Don t leave me now

Just as Sonic stopped and sighed the loudest sob he had ever sighed, and prepared himself for the anguish of loss and death, his princess sputtered and coughed. He quickly turned her over his knee and she sputtered and choked and retched, and out came a surprising amount of little white pills, deadly pills, that he hated on sight.

He held her as she retched, wave upon wave, rubbing her back, telling her in all the words that he could think of, with every clich and phrase that he knew, with bits of every language he could find tucked away in the back of his mind, that he loved her. That she was his heart, his soul, and he needed her.

Because it seems it s all the same
In my heart I feel the pain
In a different time the names
All seemed to change

Finally, at long last, she stopped retching, and leaned back, and he wiped her face and held her tight and they sobbed. Like the two frightened children that they were, safe only in the other s hold, they sobbed and cried and loved each other with their presence.

And he pleaded with her, never to leave him, never to abandon him, ever.

And she pleaded with him, the same.

And he told her, the only words that he could use- "I will never leave you. Ever."

And he never would.

The End.

Liked it? Hated it? tarynw42@hotmail.com

I m pretty sure that s it for this story arc, but if you want to see more, let me know.

I don t think it can get much darker, so it s all uphill from here.