Note: Set a few days after Rodrigo's defeat in Rogue's Bee.
Characters © Respective Owners
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Demon
"Let me go! Release me!" I screamed, trying to break free from the skeletons holding me.
Once again, it's the same routine of having the Grim Reaper's cronies, the skeletons, snatch me whenever I get into a fight with a fellow hell-goer, be restrained by Grim's skeletons, try to escape, fail, and get thrown back into my white-walled prison in a restraining jacket. Whoopee.
I'm forced to the ground as the boned creatures slap my arms into the white jacket, kicking me down so I can't move. Sighing, I finally desist my futile struggles as they drag me away. I tried desperately to ignore the taunting of my opponent as he shouted that I lost everything, but I know he's right. I did lose everything once I met that damn bee brat.
The skeletons waste no time dragging me threw the crater-ridden, humidly hot place called hell. Surprisingly, the lava wasn't moving and crashing fellow demons in their wake. I look over my shoulder, almost expecting to see Cesare and Lucrezia there, but they're not here. Instead, my bastard children are having a blast in Heaven. Vannoza was also sent to Hell, but we were permitted to a life of solitude with my poor angel being sentenced to the ninth layer of Hell while I got to rot to insanity in my own white cage. Never had I felt so alone at that moment. I was once the proud ruler of the Lunar Tribe of Babylon, but that bee brat took everything from me.
I only wanted to make peace. I wished to give the people of Babylon a chance to really flourish with our technological expertise. Okay, make a grand takeover with me as dictator wasn't the brightest of ideas, but I was rather immature. Perhaps negotiations would've sufficed.
Though, I never liked Stolen. In fact, he was a total self-absorbed jerk with a superiority complex and the brain of a baby mouse. That hawk couldn't have been anymore stubborn, arrogant, and annoying in ways of conversations and when we were teammates on the Babylon Rogues.
A lone black building was in front of us which was made to be my prison. The skeletons unlock the door and throw me inside. I grunted as I land on my face, and I wait until they lock the door before struggling to get up. Flipping over to my back, I sigh and gaze up at the white ceiling that matches the white walls and floor. The room would've driven me insane if I hadn't gotten so used to the color from my white flamed wrists and ankles. I glance over towards the golden door where a massive clock in on top, reading that it was just past six in Earth time. I can only wonder how my precious Babylon is, even though it was I who polluted it beyond recognition. Sleeping would've taken my mind off everything if I was tired, but the blinding whiteness obliterated my resting every time I would try.
Most of my Babylonian magic was taken away from me, but I could still see onto Earth. Wriggling in my restraining jacket, I struggle as I attempt to yank my arms out. Biting one arm, I manage to rip the sleeves straight off before removing the entire jacket. I hate those jackets since they're for insane people. Though, I did lose my mind during me final bout with that brat bee. Yet, I'm not crazy, I swear.
I place my hands forward, conjuring up an oval of energy. The black sphere enlarges so that I can hold it like a mirror, and it clears so I can see the inside of the Babylon Rogue's airship otherwise known as the Great Babylon. A stupid name, I know.
Jet is sitting at his office, legs propped up on his desk with his arms behind his neck. Rage boils in my bloodstream, churning and moving at fast paces as he bellows out raunchy laughter. He was more arrogant than Stolen and myself combine! On his chest was my descendant Wave, hugging him as she faces something with her face caked-up in cheap make-up. She made Lucrezia appear like a saint in comparison. That albatross buffoon, Storm or whatever, was standing beside the desk with a crooked grin plastered on his face with that panda girl, Kiba, hugging his arm.
Then there's him: Charmy Bee. Otherwise known as the boy that ruined my life, stole my dreams and crushed them without even knowing it. I hiss to myself as a cheerful grin plasters his muzzle. Sickening! It was like my death didn't even bother him! Yet, I thought I killed him when he took the blow for Jet, and how was Wave back to life? So many questions, but so little time. Charmy sits on top of Jet's desk, that sappy smile enlarging.
"Hey! Jet! Since I beat Rodrigo, can I have a raise?!" he questions, leaning in closer to Jet.
"Ha ha! Of course not!" Jet jeers as sullenness reappears on his face. "I hardly pay Storm, so why should I give you cash?"
"Well, Boss, you should reconsider your choice of words," Storm snickers suspiciously, grasping his leader's attention. In his hand in a small envelope, making the emerald bird jump. "I still have those photos from the Christmas party on Angel Island last year."
The expression on Jet's face is enough to make me chuckle. At least the albatross had an ill sense of humor. Jet leaps out of his chair, making Wave fall to the floor. Storm quickly darts out of the room with Kiba on his back as Jet chases after them. He was screaming bloody murder, and I can't help but shake my head at their childish actions. Hell, it was the best point of my day so far.
Wave and Charmy are left in his office. Charmy, in his holier-than-thou ways, assisted her in standing. Thanking him, she and I both noticed the somberness that touched his cheeks. His eyes hung heavy in sadness, making me wonder what was wrong.
It wasn't that I care or anything. I just didn't want that bee brat committing suicide and getting stuck down here with me. I would lose my mind!
"What's wrong, Charmy? You should be happy. After all, you successfully slaughtered my cruel ancestor from conquering the world," Wave states, making me grit my teeth in frustration.
"It's weird. I never expected things to go down like that," Charmy admits with a sigh. "I mean, I didn't want him to lose his mind. I just think that things went too far."
"It's okay, though." Wave places her hand on his shoulder as he props himself onto Jet's desk, staring up at her. "Fulfilling your duty is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Now, you, me, and all of the other inhabitants of the planet can live in peace."
"B-but I can't help feeling that things could've turned, I mean, well…" Charmy trails off, hunching his back nervously. "I can't help feel that I could've saved him from revenge."
Revenge? Is that what he thought I only wanted? I feel my body tremble at his words, knowing that he couldn't possibly understand. We may have shared the same soul, but he and I were different internally and externally. Nothing would've brought that child enough pain to match mine, but I never actually wanted him to die strangely enough. It was like he was my other half, the reason I was to live and strive for. Sometimes, I wanted to be him. I wanted my life back, my friends and family back, but Charmy stole them accidentally. He never meant it, Stolen did, and I still went and murdered Vector and Espio. Maybe if I waited four years until he was ten things could've been completely different between us.
No, the written words of history couldn't be changed. Years of isolation in the Ark of Cosmos Jet has rendered me somewhat insane. It could've sent us both on a crash course to an alternate universe. I wish I knew how to actually peer into those. Maybe I could've changed my destiny along with the lives of so many others. Like I said, I only wanted peace, but insanity, isolation, and malice drove my mind to the brink. I couldn't comprehend how a mere child could defeat me at my own game.
THREE TIMES.
I clench my jaw, trying to compose myself, Start my deep breathing motives, and oh boy! Now I'm better. I gaze upon the portal, watching intently as Charmy tries to figure out a sentence.
At this point, Wave's patience was gone as she smacked the bee's shoulder. "Come on! Spit it out already!" she commands.
At least my kids aren't bitchy like her.
"Well, Wave, thanks for the hit," Charmy sarcastically replies, glaring daggers at her. "But really! Things could of been different!"
"How so?" she inquires, mirroring my question.
"You weren't with Storm, Jet and me when we were with Rodrigo and Vannoza. Rodrigo and I share the same soul. I'm his reincarnation," he says sadly, but I can detect a hint of pride somewhere. "It was like watching a part of myself melt and die. I mean, Rodrigo and I could've been friends! He said so himself!"
"Charmy, sometimes a soul can change and modify itself. You're an entirely different person than Rodrigo, He's insane, and you're…moderately stupid," Wave snickers, making Charmy and I both have veins pop in our foreheads.
"Right, I'm the insane one," I mutter to myself. "You throw a freaking wrench to get whatever you want. Crazy wench."
"You don't understand though," Charmy mumbles. His head suddenly pops up, and Wave and I both knew that idiot had an idea. "I know! I'll go and see him!"
…What?
"What are you talking about? He's in Hell! You can't possibly venture to where he is! He's tried and tried again to murder you in what he calls a game! A sick, twisted game! He's a crazy demon!" Wave shrieks.
Everything kicks in the moment that word is said. I'm a demon, and nothing more. I was once a brilliant lord of one of the most noblest tribes in the history of the world, but I was resorted to this place. Demon was the perfect word to describe me as I drop the portal on the ground. It's still there with their argument fresh in the air, but I don't want to even look at them any longer.
"But I knew the him before any of this even started!" Charmy cries back, making me glance over my shoulder to see him. "At first, Rodrigo wasn't the demon you say he is. I-I think I made him that way…"
"No, don't say that," I murmur. "I turned myself into this. It had nothing to do with you!"
Great, now I'm talking to a portal. The walls were finally starting to get to me. For some reason, I'm starting to believe that the walls have eyes.
Wave sighs, rolling her eyes and cuts Charmy off with a disapproving glare. Rolling her eyes, she walks out of the room without even looking back at him. "Alright, fine, do whatever you want! I honestly don't care."
Charmy sticks his tongue out, stretching his lips to the farthest contents with his fingers. "Fine! I can do it all by myself, you jerk! Later!"
Charmy zooms past her, making her wince. Wave glares at him as he darts past her and shouts back at him, cursing at the top of her lungs. Rubbing my ears, I find myself intrigued by Charmy's determination on meeting me. He was supposed to be dead because I stabbed him in my delirium. I mistook Jet for Stolen, even though he was living blissfully in Heaven somewhere. Charmy saved Jet's life, but how was he still alive? I stabbed him a few centimeters near his heart!
The bee zooms into his room, takes his Extreme Gear board and dashes out of the airship. The way he was riding his board was like an expert, carefully cutting through the winds with his brown goggles over his face. I notice that he isn't wearing his helmet, with his black hair flowing in a ponytail that was only a few inches. Wearing his trademark helmet possibly causes him even more pain whenever he wore it after what I did to him. Charmy's heading towards some sort of forest, darting through the wry, wilted trees with the leaves drooping like sullen raindrops.
A well up ahead with a grey-faced woman with matted, crusted ebony hair with deformed eyes is staring up ahead towards him. Sadako Yamamura waves a bloodied arm at him, creating a portal with her fingers. A static-induced field of energy is before them, and Charmy instantly thanks her. She nods, stating it was the least she could do for "saving the world". She quickly added that she would be the one to conquer it with her Killer Video or something. Charmy nods with a quirky grin before leaping into the portal, showing that he exposed his plan to Sadako.
Why would he come here? He can't honestly get to Hell! It was impossible unless he would die somehow. I look towards the door, remembering each time Charmy defeated me. Memories were quite refreshing for some, but pain were just painful. I crafted so many different plots and devices…only to have a mere boy slaughter and hack them to pieces. I stumble to my feet, noticing a glint of silver at the corner of my room.
A camera. There's a camera in here. I stare up at it, wondering if the Grim Reaper had a show, watching me struggle in my prison and vest. Ripping my vest off completely, I come to realize that my boots were gone. Sighing, I curse under my breath before returning back to the camera. With my talons, I leap up and slice the accused recorder in half so Grimmy wouldn't get his afternoon television, If he expected me to go insane quickly, that bastard's wrong.
"I just wanna talk to him!" Charmy whines, making me look towards the portal.
The Grim Reaper is already waiting for the bee. They're in the his office with the brat jumping up and down on a couch. The skeleton death god glares down at him, the scythe I stole from him held tightly in boned fingers. His black robe is draped around his body like he had recently been bathing, the hood covering most of his face.
"I never liked you," Grim hisses, "and I hate Rodrigo even more. You've been allowed to live twice. Once because of Vector and Espio's deal to let two deserving people come back, and for some reason, you were worthy enough. The second time was on Jet's wish. I'll be sure to cut a few loose ends around that accursed hawk."
"Feh, please do," I mutter, recalling my essential disdain for the prince. "Just kill him already. His voice alone already does enough damage to society more than I ever did."
"But I really need to talk to him! Pretty please?" Charmy entreats with puppy-dog eyes and a quivering lip.
Grim and I both blink in annoyance, though mine is more so how he can just pull that face off. He was rather adorable…for a mere aggravation to the world. Charmy stiffs his lip up further, leaning in towards the skeleton before eventually breaking down into tears. Grim cringes, shouting at him to stop and finally gave into his demands.
"Yeah! Thanks Grimmy! Now ya can just take me there!" Charmy cheers, doing mid-air flips.
"I swear, I am going to steal a few months of your life," Grim growls as he creates a portal.
I could see him, quickly dispersing the oval mirror of energy. Leaning against the wall, I quietly wait as the portal the Grim Reaper created presents itself. Charmy is thrown in, and a timer in the shape of a digital clock is placed on the door. Once the five minutes timed out, Charmy would have to leave. Charmy groans, rubbing his head and ganders up at me. I just stare back down to him at him with apathetic eyes.
"Why are you here? To mock me?" I snarl, inching towards him slowly. "You've won already!"
"I didn't come to here to gloat," Charmy growls, obviously annoyed by my accusation.
"Oh? And what reason would you have to beckon at my own personal hell? I've been locked into a restraining vest that I just freed myself of a few minutes ago before your arrival," I reply curtly. "I'll ask again before I finally lose my mind. Why are you here?"
"Well, you've already lost your mind," Charmy giggles as I restrain myself from slitting his throat with my talons. "Okay, I'll try my hardest to be serious right now since I don't have much time. I wanted to say…I'm sorry."
Those two simplistic words rush at my head. They enter through my ears and penetrate my mind painlessly. I take a protective step back, feeling my fingers graze the wall. My throat is tightened once I tried to speak, preventing me from speaking. For a few moments I thought I was dreaming before I recalled that in Hell, nobody could sleep again since tortuous nightmares were relived everyday.
"An apology, you dare to come down here with a damn apology?!" I retort, just itching to rip his throat out. "What you've done to me can never be cured with an apology!"
He winces, almost in shock at my outburst. Charmy hesitates to respond before looking down at the timer, realizing that he obviously wasted precious seconds. Sucking down a brave gasp, he glares up at me with prideful eyes.
"What were you really trying to do on Babylon that day?" he demands coldly.
"You're referring to the day we met on Babylon, correct?" I snarl, disgust flowing freely in my tone. "I wanted to make Babylon better."
"Through a global war?! Rodrigo, you've could rallied the people for something better! Everyone would've suffered if I…" He trailed off, correcting himself. "…we hadn't stopped you and your troupe! Loads of people would've died, and it all of it would be on your watch!"
"Don't even try to reason with me! King Crooked was a fool, a blunt fool who couldn't decipher anything from what the poor needed. From what my family needed. Nobody cared about them, especially not Stolen. All he wanted was to rule with an iron fist."
"So did you! A 'dictator' is what you said you wanted to be on Babylon!" Charmy accuses, jabbing a dramatic finger at him. Who does he think he is, a character in a Shakespearean play? More specifically, Romeo?
"I would've been more generous than Stolen or his father put together," I pout, folding my arms indignantly. "Did you really come here to mock me?"
Charmy shakes his head, eyes clenched shut like they were super-glued. If they were, I'd have the pleasure of cutting his throat open during his momentary blindness. "I knew who you were before any of this Rodrigo, on Babylon all those centuries ago. You changed, and so did I from that day. Both of us suffered." He hangs his head, looking at the white floor, and the intonation of his once vibrant, exuberant voice changes to deathly silence and misery. "We got along really well, and you said it yourself: We could've been friends."
Friends. I hardly had any besides Vannoza and Stolen in the distant past. I forgotten what it was like to have one. A couple of seconds past as wisps of stale air maneuver by as the heavy silence falls on us like increased gravity. I manage to slowly, almost twitchingly, lower my arms with a small grin starting to form on my face.
"You're right, we could've been friends, Charmy," I admit softly. "You are my reincarnation, we share the same soul. It's like Yin and Yang with you being my light, and I being your darkness. It was at some times that I envied you and your…ways. Each plan I crafted, every device, you triumphed either by yourself or with assistance from your friends. I never comprehended how I could lose to you!" I quickly regain my composure, clearing my throat as Charmy raises an eyebrow. "Sorry about the outburst, but I must ask you something."
"What's that?"
"Why do you fight for a world that is so corrupted?"
Charmy blinks at me, cocking his head to the side. Suddenly, the same, cheery smile bloomed on his face like a fresh bulb. "I don't fight the world!"
"Why even do it then?"
"Because I want to protect my precious friends and give them tomorrow's peace."
The words rush at my head, jogging in my ears and running laps around my mind. Those words rang in my head like the beeping of numbers on a telephone. It was such a simple solution filled with childish wonder, integrity, and joy. Charmy is such a character, filled with rapidness and a mildly darkened heart. I hold my chest, almost as though I was having a heart attack. At this point, I wish I was.
I quickly check the clock inside of replying. There was a minute left for us to talk, and the conversation was about how the Chaotix and Babylon Rogues were doing. Jet and Wave are to be married tomorrow with Storm planning on proposing once his boss' marriage is complete. Vector and Vanilla are expecting a son while Espio is being stalked by several female "admirers" otherwise known as stalkers. I can't help but chuckle at the ninja's misery. His fangirls must be just as bad as Amy!
"So, still think our fight is just a game?" Charmy sneers.
"Yes, yes I do. I'll be back, kid, don't worry," I smirk. "The score is technically 3-3 since it was your fault I died on Babylon Garden."
"You committed suicide! But hey, when you break out, I'll be prepared."
"I wouldn't want it any other way."
A beeping noise ruptures through the air, and the timer vanishes. Time's up. Charmy glances over his shoulder to find a portal with the Grim Reaper's bony hand out expectantly. I almost wish his time was extended so we could've chatted even more. Maybe I could've found what made him truly tick. We say our goodbyes, and Charmy does what shocked me the most. As he was about to step into the portal, his wings flap out a high velocity, turning around to me and hugs me. I freeze completely, staring down at the child that reaches just above my stomach even with his wings fluttering. My freezing soul slowly warms at the embrace, and I slowly wrap my arms around his shoulders. The Grim Reaper's snarl echoes through the quiet room. Charmy turns away from me without looking back and flies through the portal. It closes, and I wave once it shuts before falling to my knees.
That boy…he…I don't know what to say about such a somewhat pure hyperactive bee. Our battle that would bring the climaxes of our lives together shall end with one of us dying, and the other surviving. I wouldn't want it any other way, though. I shrug my shoulders, sitting back down on the floor. Gently placing my hands a few centimeters above my stomach, I feel the spot where his head lay.
Suddenly, a shine glimmers from the corner of the room where the portal was. I hesitant before snatching since it could've been an elaborate trap Charmy or Grimmy set up. It was a light blue opal, and my violet eyes widen in absolute shock: It was the same one I had given to Cannon known as the Gravity Gem. I used them to create the Arks of the Cosmos in my younger years. I gaze at my reflection, staring at the once-proud crow who now wallows in an insane prison. Than, a plan hits me front and center as a devious smirk curls along my beak.
"We're tied, Charmy," I mumble to myself, throwing the opal up and down in my hand. "I'll be back, I promise, and you will finally perish, my…friend."
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It seems that the game will finally end. With Rogue's Bee coming to a close with the final chapter coming up soon, I decided to give Rodrigo a little follow-up in this one-shot. I hope you enjoyed this.
Please, leave a review.