Jayde the Hedgehog • By Your Side [3]

19: Liar✔️

Music: Crash - Malik Bash

13:02: forest outside Monopole

"I've got you what you want, now give me Tails!" Jayde snapped, revealing the device in the palm of her hands.

Torrent grinned and walked towards her, "I must say, darling, you are full of surprises. I never thought you could do it."

"You shouldn't underestimate me."

"Everyone does." The male hummed a laugh, "You just betrayed your friends, you know – your only friends. You hurt them and left," Jayde flinched slightly at what he was getting at, pinning her ears back in anger, "Does this remind you of the past, darling?"

She stomped her foot and glared at him, "This isn't anything like that!"

"Oh, but it is." Torrent snickered, walking in a slow circle around her, "You let your brother go, you watched him fall to his end – and you didn't even return home to see you family. You fled without a trace." Every fibre in her body regretted ever telling him about her past. And now he was trying to manipulate her memories and turn them around – as if it were her fault, "Imagine what your friends would think of you – didn't you say one of them loved your brother?" Torrent sighed, placing a hand on his chest, "Crushed by a broken heart."

Neither of them knew it, but the ebony hedgehog had just arrived at the scene, watching the very one sided conversation between the two Mobians, "And what would your parents say? They probably forgot all about you. You were too guilty to return and you know why?" Torrent asked, standing beside her but facing the opposite direction, "Because you're a coward."

Shadow growled lowly. How dare he say that to her! Jayde was anything but a coward – she was a hero. He wanted to end that bat right there and then, but he knew that they needed to find out were Tails was being held captive, if he even was.

"I'm not here for a history check. I want Tails and I want to go home!" Jayde snapped.

Torrent smirked at her shaking figure, knowing he had hit a sore spot, "Where is home, darling?" The female growled, swinging her fist around only for it to be caught in his grasp. "Well, that wasn't too nice was it?" Ice eyes stared at her clenched fist before prying opening her fingers and grabbing the device.

"Give that back!" she snapped, trying to grab it. But he still had her gloved hand in his grasp and he swung her over his head, throwing her roughly into the nearest tree. Jayde whimpered in pain, watching as he stalked closer, "I want Tails."

Torrent stood in front of her and gave her a pout, "Oh, you're still so naive." His hand went back before revealing a red, cubed object in his grasp, "Do you know what this device is for? It holds valuable information from the GUN database – very valuable information."

Jayde stood to her feet and clenched her fists, "What information?"

"Let's just say, that through this device I've been able to understand your new found powers," he gave her a dark grin, "I know the weaknesses in everyone. And yours it naivety, actually believing that I had Tails..."

The hedgehog's communicator went off, showing the icon of a well known fox, "Jayde, what's happening? Sonic just told me that you thought I was kidnapped." Azure eyes stared at the watch before shutting it off.

Jayde's eyes met his as she snarled, "Give it back, you lying rat!" She ran at him, punching the unexpected Mobian across the muzzle, his body scraped along the dirt, the Phantom Cube flashed in his hand before he flew up.

Torrent wiped his muzzle, a furious glare on his face, "You want to talk about lying? How about how you lied when you first stole this away from me?" he flew forward, slamming her against the trunk, "What about when you left your family? They think you're dead – are you not lying to them?" Jayde jumped to the side as he went to hit her again, but instead he kicked her down again. "What about just now when you lied to your friends – how you betrayed them to give me the device I need when the person you were supposed to 'save' isn't even real?"

She didn't know why, but involuntary tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes. Maybe it was out of pain, or maybe even anger, but all she could feel was the anger radiating from the bat above, the Phantom Cube glowing brightly in his grasp. Torrent smirked, "How about the fact that you are still lying to the Ultimate Lifeform about how you really feel about him." Jayde looked up from her laying position, staring wide eyed at the Dark Creature who was preparing to fire, "It's a shame he'll never know."

She went to get up and run, but her body was quickly concealed by a black blur, both hedgehogs rolling along the dirt in each other's arms. Shadow hid the female behind him as he glared up at the retreating bat with the device in his hands. His razor canines shone at he grinned at the Ultimate Lifeform, "I'll be back to end you all for this."