Rise of the Nightmares

Chapter 2

Hours passed by, and now it was nighttime in Mobotropolis. Mario, Sonic, Kate, and the rest of their group had settled in their guest rooms at the castle and were preparing to get some rest so they could finish their return trip to the Mushroom Kingdom the following morning. Queen Aleena had shown everyone to their guest rooms, and afterwards, they had enjoyed some dinner in the dining hall.

Now, everyone had retreated to rest up and prepare for the second road trip. While she was alone, Kate had made her way through the hallways of the castle, heading for the library. She had the book that she had taken from the library for when they went to the villa, so she was ready to return it. No one was around as she made her way to the library, so that made her feel less nervous about the situation. Earlier, she had asked one of the guards who had escorted them from the entrance hall on directions to the library, so that this time, unlike the night she found the book, she wouldn't get lost in the hallways of the castle.

Luckily, she made her way to the library at ease and found the desk where she had found the book. She didn't know where among the shelves the book belonged, so she figured that the best option was to place it where she originally found it, as if it was never taken in the first place.

"There, back home where it belongs," she said to herself, as she placed it on the table.

"So... you borrowed it..." said a voice.

Kate yelped and spun around, and to her surprise, it was Sonia who had spoken to her.

"Oh! H-Hi Sonia!" she stuttered.

"I was reading that before you took it. I take it that you brought it with you when we stayed at the villa, am I right?" said Sonia.

The way she spoke, and the way she eyed Kate, it appeared that Sonia was suspicious of the human. Kate hadn't really gotten the chance to connect with Sonia that well, and given how different Sonia was personality wise, it was why the human had a hard time becoming friends with Sonic's sister.

Sonia may have come along for training, but other than that, she really didn't provide Kate much support. She didn't approve of Kate learning swordsmanship from Sonic, and didn't really participate in Kate's training. And to top it all off, Kate knew that Sonia had a crush on Knuckles, so given that the echidna had confessed to her instead of the hedgehog, that would only make things even more awkward between the two girls.

Not wanting to have any tensions with Sonic's sister, Kate decided to just admit the truth.

"Yes. I did take it. I just wanted to further understand my powers, so I decided to bring it with me when we went to the villa. I finished reading it, and I made it my word to bring it back where it belongs," said Kate.

"Well, I can say that you certainly stayed true to your word..." said Sonia, still eying her suspiciously.

"I'm sorry I took it without permission. I promise I won't take anything else from the library," said Kate.

"So you know how special you are, right?" said Sonia.

"Yeah, but... I don't want to think that I'm more special than you, or Sonic, or anyone else. You're all my friends, and... I don't want any bad blood between us."

"I appreciate that Kate. But still, did you know that I had confessed to Knuckles before he confessed to you?"

Kate let out an annoyed sigh. So this is what this was really about. It wasn't about taking the book. It was mores so on love triangle stuff, which she already hated as a novel reader. She didn't want to live it in real life, let alone with the sister of one of her closest friends.

"I'm aware Sonia. But I want you to know, even if I'm with Knuckles now, I don't want any trouble with you. Sonic's my friend, and... you're his sister. I just hope we can still be friends," said Kate.