The Persecution

The clouds fill the sky, the stars are hidden, there’s no moon, no wind and no witnesses, yet. Tonight is the night. My plan will be put into action. I’ll just creep up behind him and shoot. No one will ever know. I’ll get away home-free, he’ll take the blame and the punishment. Good bye forever, Shadow the Hedgehog.

“Silence, silence all! Thank you. Honorable Judge Maxwell now presiding, all rise.” cried Cop Mitchell. In walked the Judge. As he took his seat everyone sat down. “Let the accused rise,” the Judge said. As the accused rose from his seat the judge continued. “Everyone look at the small boy standing in front of you. Do you honestly think he could commit a first-degree murder? Do you? I don’t think so. So why in the world would you bring him before me and charge him with murder? Does any one answer? Anyone?”

“I answer your honor.” said the sly lawyer Floyd. “We have two witnesses that will testify to his committing the act. After seeing them he tried to get rid of the evidence by shooting at them, luckily he missed.”

Everyone then looked at the boy standing before the judge. He looks to be about eight years old and he is alone. There is no one next to him, no parents, friends, or a lawyer to defend him. He is really truly alone. Or is he?

The boy stands with his head down, but only to hide his tears. If he were not crying he would have held his head high before the judge, the jury, and the world. But he was crying now because he knew he was trapped, and the real killer was in the back row watching, and waiting for the right moment to strike. He could do nothing to save the ones he loved. Or was there a way out? Was there any hope left for him, and his father?
He had to find a way out. Some how he would make it. The boy raised his head, “Your honor? Let them try me for what they think I did. I’m ready, for anything.”

The judge smiled and said, “Who shall defend this boy? Who will stand with this noble young hedgehog? Does any one volunteer?”

“I do your honor.” said Miles “Tails” Prower. The judge seemed pleased, but Lawyer Floyd objected saying, “Your honor, do you really think it wise for a mobian to defend one of their own? For all we know he could use treacherous…”

“Be silent Floyd! I think that it’s fine for the mobian fox to defend one of his own kind. And if I say it’s fine then it’s fine. Am I understood? I will give Mr. … uh. What is your name fox?” the judge asked Tails. “My name is Miles Prower your honor, but my friends call me Tails.”

“Very well, I will give Mr. Prower some time to get ready for this trial. We will meet again tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. Court dismissed.” The judge said, pounding his mallet. The cops came over to lead the young mobian hedgehog away.

As they reach the last row of the court room a male hedgehog with a dark, untrustworthy voice says to the boy, “Cool it boy, you’re putting the life of your loved ones in danger every time you talk out of term. We wouldn’t want that now would we?”

“I won’t let you hurt them, Mephilise. I’ve already made up my mind to take you down.” The boy replied coolly. “Oh, is that so? Well, I guess I’ll have to pay you a little visit in the Jail house to continue this conversation. I’ve got an errand to run. Wouldn’t want to miss the funeral now would I?” said the sly hedgehog. He got up and left.

“Who’s funeral Mephilise?! Mephilise!” The boy cried out. “Keep moving mobian!” said one of the cops. As they lead him to his cell in the prison or jail house the young mobian felt as if his family and friends were in terrible danger.

Later that night Mephilise paid the lonely boy a visit.

“Hello again my little criminal.”

“What do you want Mephilise?!”

“I want to thank you Midnight. If you hadn’t agreed to take the blame for my murdering of two innocent bystanders and the almost murder of Christopher Thorndike I would probably be dead or in captivity right now. It’s a shame my original target couldn’t have been the one found with the gun in hand. Shadow was my main target to begin with, as you already know.”

“Yes I know that. And if I want my family and everyone else I love to stay safe I-I have to. . . to”

“Have to DIE!!! And as soon as that happens your loved ones will join you.”

“WHAT!!! NO!!! My father will never let you get away with that and neither will I!!!” the boy said hotly.

“We had an agreement, Midnight. You take the blame, I walk away and your family and loved ones will join you.”

“That’s NOT what you said!!!!”

“But it’s what I meant! And no one can stop me!” Mephilise said. Then he was gone!

Midnight couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He knew that Mephilise was a liar, but when he said that sentence, Midnight knew it was the truth. And he knew he couldn’t stop Mephilise even if he tried. “There has to be something I can do. I can’t let Mephilise win.” Midnight sobbed alone in the silence.

The first rays of dawn came shining through the bars of Midnights cell window. He had cried himself to sleep last night and now he cried again. He had three more days until his judgment day, but he felt as if his last day was today. He had to find away to reveille Mephilise’s crime.

“Honorable Judge Maxwell now presiding, all rise.” cried Cop Mitchell. The Judge entered the court room and all sat down again.
“Thank you, John.” said the Judge. “Now that Mr. Prower has had a chance to get his case ready I think it’s time we start.”

As lawyer Floyd tried to convince the court that Midnight was guilty and should die as punishment for his crime, Midnight and Tails held a secret whisper conversation.

“Mephilise said what?!!”

“It’s true. He said I had to die for his crime or else every one I every cared about would die. Then he turned around and said that as soon as I die he’ll kill my family and friends! I don’t know what to do. If I tell the court who really murdered those people he’ll kill us all on the spot!”

“Well Midnight, we might have a chance, if we can get some help from your father.”

“No! Mephilise said that. . .”

“It’s time for a lunch break. We’ll meet back here at 1:30. You have an hour and thirty minutes. Court dismissed.” said the judge.

As the court emptied Midnight saw Mephilise sitting in the back row of the court room. It sickened Midnight to think that he would win this battle. The thought of his family and friends losing their lives to a lowlife fiend like Mephilise was to terrible to even speak of, but Midnight would remain strong. He would find away to bring Mephilise to justice, after all Midnight still had three and a half days to figure something out.

The next two days flew by all too quickly. It was unsure what the jury would decide. Now standing out side of the court room he was looking into the bluest sky he had ever seen in his life. This day just might be his last and he wanted to take in all the world’s great beauty.

Midnight wasn’t alone though, his Mother, Sashta, was standing right next to him. As midnight just stared into her eyes his Mother asked, “Midnight what are you doing?”

“I’m permanently burning every detail of my Mom’s beautiful eyes into my head. So I’ll see them at the very moment I die.”

“IF you die Midnight, don’t say when, say if. I can’t bear to hear you say ‘when I die’.”

Midnight would miss his Mother’s sweet voice, her cherry blossom smell, her silky soft, ebony black and rosy red fur, her gentle ruby red eyes, just everything about her. The thing he’d miss the most was every day hearing her soft voice say ‘I love you’.

His Mother must have read his thoughts because she picked him up and hugged him close as possible and whispered in his ear, “We love you Midnight. Me and your father, we both love you so much. And don’t you ever forget it.”

“I love you too, Mom. Just promise me Dad won’t be here.”

“Why don’t you want your Father to be here?”

“Because Meph. . . because I don’t want to feel like I let him down. I-I couldn’t bear to see him. . .” Midnight trailed off and cried in his Mothers arms. “Alright Midnight, I promise your father won’t be there. I promise.” Little did Midnight know that Tails had a plan to catch Mephilise and set him free.

The wait was terrible. Midnight could already hear the jury’s choice. He could hear them say ‘guilty’, he could see the executioner walking toward him with the sword or axe or gun or what ever it was that was going to take his life. And then he could see Mephilise with a gun in his hand, getting ready to kill his family.

Midnight took a glance at Mephilise who was sitting in his original seat in the back row. Midnight could clearly see the smirk on his face. Then the judge came back out, looked around the room, and then looked straight at Midnight.

“Will the police please close and guard the doors.”

The entire court went up in a buzz. But Tails didn’t seem to have a problem with what the judge had just ordered. Midnight looked back at his Mother and saw her sitting next to Sonic. Sonic winked at Midnight and Midnight knew that Tails had come up with a plan.

“Mr. Prower, what’s going on? What did you plan?” Midnight whispered.
“We’re going to catch Mephilise and prove you innocent. I even had the judge informed. And he believes Mephilise is the real murderer.”

“Mephilise the Dark rise to your feet, step out of the pew and put your hands above your head. Your under arrest for murder.”

Mephilise did as the judge had commanded but when he had his hands above his head he quickly pulled out a gun and aimed it at Midnight.

“I warned you boy. Your mothers next, then it’s your father!”

“I don’t think so Mephilise.” said a dark voice from the back of the room.

Mephilise turned around and saw Shadow the Hedgehog staring straight at him. “Shadow. Couldn’t resist the free chance of death?”

Shadow stared at Mephilise with a cold stare. “ut down your gun Mephilise.”

“And what if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll kill you myself.”

“What makes you think you or anyone can?”

Shadow smiled a little, evil smile. “I know I can kill you because we have you surrounded.”

“We?” Mephilise looked around and noticed for the first time that there were about thirty-five armed men all around the room. “Doesn’t matter, all I have to do is kill you first!”

Mephilise quickly turned the gun on Shadow and a single gunshot rings through the court. Then Midnight’s voice sounds through the room. “No!! Daddy!!!”

The whole court was in terror. No one moved. No one breathed. Every one had their eyes fixed on the two Hedgehogs standing in the middle of the court room. Who would fall? Who shot the gun?

Then Mephilise fell to his knees. The armed men immediately went into action. They cuffed Mephilise and lead him out of the court room. The court let out a relieved sigh.

Midnight ran to his father and hugged him as hard as he could. “Daddy I tried to stop him. He said he wanted to kill you I couldn’t let him. I told him I’d take the blame. He said that he’d leave you alone. I shouldn’t have believed him but I didn’t want him to… He was going to…” Midnight broke down sobbing. He buried his face into his father’s soft, white chest fur.

Shadow gently held his son close to him. “Midnight, your fine, now. I’m fine. Mephilise is gone. He can’t hurt anyone any more.”
Midnight cried even harder. “I thought I was gonna die. I thought you were gonna die. I thought I’d lose you.”

“Midnight. I love you too much to let any one hurt you. Especially Mephilise.” Midnight cuddled closer to his father. He knew that here in his father’s strong, caring arms he was safe. Midnight knew his father loved him and he loved his father. Now with Mephilise out of the way, Midnight knew his family, his friends and world was safe from whatever evil Mephilise had planned.