CHAPTER 3
Since splitting up from the group, everything had been going according to plan…
"Tails?"
…Sonic and Tails had ventured down a few darkened hallways, occasionally hiding from a worker that was heading their way. They hadn't come close to being discovered…
"Tails, can you hear me?"
…Of course, that was before they ducked into a lab to avoid being discovered. Once they realized where they were, they set to work trying to find anything that could be of use. Like how to stop the Nanobots or the place where they were being made. Instead they were attacked by what seemed like darkness…
"Tails! Come on, buddy!"
…The darkness had caught Tails off guard. It wrapped him in its cocoon-like blackness and then disappeared almost as soon as it had appeared. Only now Sonic suspected something more than darkness had attacked them…
"TAILS!"
Still no response from his friend. An alarm blared somewhere in the building, and guards ran past the lab. Sonic waited until they were long gone before he tried to wake his companion again.
"They could open the door and find us here any second!" Sonic tried to haul Tails to his feet. "Come on!"
"Oh, he won't wake. Not now, at least."
Sonic nearly dropped Tails at the strange voice. Instead he slowly lowered him to the floor before turning and demanding, "Who's there?"
"It's strange, how your group reacts the same. Every single one of them demanded who was there…and every single one of them ended in screams,"
Sonic spun around towards the voice, but no one was there.
"You're next," The voice said somewhere to his right.
XxXxXxXx
MONICA
I only got a quick glance at the guards as they piled in the room, but a glance wasn't enough to take in the detail. One of them grabbed my arms and pulled me back from Silver.
"No! Let me go! Don't hurt him! What do you want? Who are you?" The questions that shot out of my mouth I wanted answered immeadentally. The statements I wanted followed.
"Monica please…" The guard that pulled me away from Silver was definitely female. She let go of my arm and knelt next to me. "stay back. This is for everyone's good."
Something about her was familiar…
My thoughts were torn away from this strange guard as a weak cry fought its way out of Silver's throat. The leader of the group had rolled him onto his back and was motioning to another guard. From the group came a serious looking Mobian, about Shadow's height and build. He was a deep purple, almost blue; his quills were messy and untamed like he hadn't had very much time to himself over the past few days. He took a backpack off his shoulder as he approached the guard and rummaged through it, pulling out something about the size of a scientific calculator.
"What's that for?" I nearly laughed, despite the circumstances. What was he going to do with a calculator?
"We've only done this once, when a subject was injected with too many Nanobots-" The guard beside me started, but I interrupted.
"But Silver wasn't injected with them."
"How do you explain the pinpricks?"
How do I? Once I thought about it, only one solution came to mind. Somehow Mephiles wasn't just made of darkness…he was also one with the Nanobots. The thought sent chills down my spine.
I was jolted out of my creepy imagination by a slight whirling noise. I looked toward the Mobian, who was entering something on the 'calculator' thing with the small keyboard. It flashed blue and the whirling got louder.
"What is he doing?" I asked, suddenly nervous.
"That device he's holding has a very strong magnetic force. It'll kill most if not all the Nanobots in Silver's bloodstream." The guard explained.
"How do you know his name…" I trailed off as it hit me. "you're Olivia."
The guard smiled grimly. "That I am."
In our previous adventure/horror thingamajig, Olivia helped us escape from Ice almost indirectly. Although, without her, I can bet that my friends would be dead. She had apparently 'forgotten' to lock some locks, and thanks to her we all survived. I was really surprised to see her here, out of all places…
Silver started to thrash again, moans and whimpers nearly breaking my heart. The other Mobian held the calculator thing directly over his chest. The device began to flash red. Silver, arched his back, thrashing harder than before and screaming. The guard beside the Mobian with the device had to hold him down.
"STOP!" I shouted over Silver's screams. "STOP! YOU'RE KILLING HIM!"
Olivia grabbed my arm before I could lunge forward. "Monica, it'll be over in a few seconds! Trust me, this is better than having the Nanobots eat through his heart!"
Silver eventually stopped thrashing and his screams faded away. The Mobian beside him switched off the device and stowed it away in the bag. "It killed every one." He declared. His voice was slightly scratchy, like he had been shouting orders for a long time.
Olivia let my arm go and I ran toward my friend. "Silver?"
Before it had been like he had been in a bad dream. Now he seemed to be just sleeping peacefully. That dramatic change struck me as good…hopefully.
"What's your name?" The dark Mobian asked, staring directly at me.
"I'm Monica." I said. "You?"
"Spade the Hedgehog," He said. "Nanobot supervisor and captain of this facility."
"You're the leader?" I nearly shrieked.
"Monica, there's something we have to tell you," Olivia said before Spade could get a chance to say anything else. "we've not been injected with Nanobots. Ice thinks he's injected us, but he hasn't bothered to double check. We've been ordered to bring you to him."
"Luckily he didn't say how." Said the leader of the guards. He gave me a small smile and I nearly burst out in tears.
"Good to see you again, Leo," I choked out instead.
Leo was mainly the reason Mark and I were alive. While Olivia worked indirectly to save our friends, Leo directly helped Mark save both us and probably all of Mobius…for a short time at any rate. Something was striking me as odd…why had Ice rounded up everyone who had worked for him before and not new personnel?
Leo shook his head slowly. "I would prefer meeting you at a park or something, not in another lab."
"So now Ice is in for a nasty surprise," Spade continued. "Silver is the second one to have been freed from the Nanobots, the first being a cat…oh…what's her name…"
"Blaze?" I nearly jumped. "She's not infected?"
"Not anymore." Spade said. "Although any longer and she would have been done for. We've smuggled her out of the lab and to a safe place. She's recovering now."
"Why was Silver acting like that when the Nanobots were injected into him?" I asked.
"Because there were too many of the same type. Those were the ones that would kill you if you resisted, so that's why those rings of blood appeared on his skin. But there were too many in his bloodstream, weighing down blood cells and making his heart beat nearly too fast. Any more and it would have given out."
"What about Mephiles?" I asked.
"What about him?" Olivia glanced towards the door.
"How did he have Nanobots inside him?"
"They weren't really inside him…" Leo said thoughtfully.
"I think we owe you an explanation." Spade shot him a glare. "Originally when this world spilt apart it released a demon known as Iblis. Along with Iblis was what everyone thought was a shadow. Until this shadow began to figure out how to take a form. It called itself Mephiles and went to work trying to recover the seven Chaos Emeralds to make Iblis more powerful than it already is. The more power, the more destruction."
"When Ice got here and learned about this, he decided to do something that would benefit himself and his corrupted research," Olivia took over. "he set a trap for Mephiles, who walked right into it. Ice used a Chaos Emerald to both lure Mephiles and boost the energy of the Nanobots to fuse in with his darkness. Mephiles became one with the Nanobots…and the Nanobots became one with him. Now the darkness could enslave you to Ice if you're not careful. But Mephiles has killed more than he has recruited."
"He still doesn't know the right amount of Nanobots to inject into a victim," Leo jumped in. "and he only has one of the two types to spare. The ones controlling his thoughts can't be spared to infect other victims."
"So…we're up against Ice and his creepy scientists and literally a shadow," I sighed. "doesn't sound very fair."
"But we have the element of surprise." Spade said. "Ice doesn't know that we're not effected; or some of his slaves are now free."
I thought it over. "So…we basically have to free enough people to take a stand against Ice?"
"Right now we have two major probablems on our hands." Olivia sighed. "We have to stop Ice, but I think our first priority is Mephiles and Iblis. The two of them together, with three Emeralds…are nearly already unstoppable."
"He's got three Emeralds?" I nearly shouted.
"…possibly four, but that just could be a rumor." Leo cringed.
"Well, I have one." I reached into my bag and brought the yellow Emerald out. "And they're not getting this one."
"At least we can keep them from getting all eight." Spade muttered.
"Eight?" I asked.
"Yeah, eight." Spade shot me a look that said, 'where have you been for the last few days?' "So far we have in our possession the yellow and light blue Emeralds. And thanks to Olivia…the Master Emerald."
XxXxXxXx
MARK
When I finally woke up, it was dark. I didn't know what time it was or where I was. My head seemed like it was about to burst and my leg felt like it was on fire. But I could move, at least. I reached out and my fingers brushed a wall. I slowly got up, aided by the wall, and began to make my way around it.
Circular. I had no idea where a door was, if there was one. But how did I get in the room?
A sound caught my attention. I thought someone was in this room with me. I stood still and tried to listen for any more noise. "Hello?"
Silence answered.
Silence and a deep rumbling that seemed to come from the ground. The rumbling grew in intensity until I had to use the wall for minor support so the shaking wouldn't cause me to lose my footing. I waited for about two minuets while the earthquake-like sensation spread through the ground, never ceasing but never too much to knock me off my feet.
And just as sudden as it had hit, it stopped. Silence descended upon the dark room again as though nothing had happened.
"What the heck?" I muttered to myself.
My answer came in the form of a door opening, shedding light into the circular room that was more like an empty cell. I turned to see Shadow enter, his eyes fixed on me as though he expected me to attack him.
"This way." He growled.
I followed him out of the cell down a short hallway to another room…the same room I had landed in when I fell out the window. Ice was there, holding a syringe filled with something dark as the night. I knew instantly what it was.
"Glad you could join us, Mark. I was very impressed you've made it this far." He sneered, blue eyes flashing. I barely managed to keep myself from lunging at him and knocking him across the room.
"Where's Monica?" I demanded.
"That's a good question. I'll call for her." Ice drew some sort of communicator out of his pocket and pressed a button, saying, "Bring the girl here."
Dread dropped into my stomach like a lead ball. Had she been injected with the Nanobots? Was she a slave to these people like I was pretty sure I was going to be?
Darkness swirled out from a corner and took a shape next to Ice's side. "Iblis is growing more powerful," Mephiles said, excitement hinting at his voice.
Was that the cause of the shudder I had felt earlier? And if so…how powerful did this thing get in so short a time?
"Good. How about the other intruders? Are they under our control?" Ice asked as though he didn't care for Iblis' rise to power.
"I believe so."
A door on the opposite side of the room opened to let a small group of people in, all of them being lead by a dark colored Mobian who seemed to be in charge. "Sir, one of them was improperly injected. He lives, but barely. I request use of a healing unit."
I blinked hard. Monica was among the group…but there were two people on either side of her I recognized. How had Ice managed to bring back all his past minions? Had they gone willingly? Probably not. Leo fixed me with a blank stare while Olivia kept her gaze on Ice, almost completely ignoring Silver, who was lying limply in her arms.
"Request granted." Ice said in almost bored tones. "Do it quickly. We have important business to attend to."
"Yes, sir." The dark purple hedgehog said almost robotically.
He, Olivia and Monica left, leaving the rest of the group. Ice tapped the syringe he was holding and glanced in my direction.
"Your other friends have already been taken care of. None of them have escaped, and you won't be an exception. You might have escaped once, but this time no one is here to save you. You're going to help me take over this planet and the one I used to call home. Soon everyone shall know my name and what I intend to do." Ice hissed, almost to himself.
That last statement sparked a question in my mind. "What is your name?"
"You shall know soon enough." Ice growled, tightening his grip on the syringe and taking a few steps towards me. "You all shall know."
I felt Shadow grab my arms, keeping me from running. Mephiles narrowed his bright green eyes in my direction as if daring me to run, but even if I could I wouldn't. There was no escape from the room. I could only watch as Ice advanced towards me, the needle inching closer and closer to my head.
XxXxXxXx
MONICA
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"There's a room near the back that can heal any injury." Spade said. "We'll heal Silver and fill him in with what happened and then try to one by one save your friends. By the time they're all healed we might have a chance on overthrowing Ice's power and stopping Iblis and Mephiles."
"But what if we don't?" I asked slowly. "What if he has a plan in case something like this happens?"
"That's impossible." Olivia stated. "Ice may be a brilliant moron, but he's not going to see a flaw like this in his evil creation. We have the upper hand and the element of surprise."
"Good to know." I sighed.
We came to a door at the end of the hall. Spade pulled the handle open and we entered into a clean, blinding white room. There was what looked like a giant glass egg covering a small, sterilized table. Attached to the glass's left side was a small computer connected to a machine about my height. Spade pressed a few buttons on the computer and the glass retracted just enough so Olivia could enter under it and put Silver on the table. She exited it and Spade let the glass slide back in place. He pressed a few more buttons and a soft humming began.
"How does this thing work?" I asked.
"The oxygen is mixed with both a relaxant and multiple healing mixtures that should have him up and walking within fifteen minuets. It's strong stuff." Olivia began. "The air pressure is also different in there, set at a different level to actually speed up the process of healing anything broken…if he even had any broken bones. The humming is caused by a low, microscopic vibration that should help speed his recovery. A lot of research obviously went into this."
"And it actually works?" I asked.
"Apparently. Look."
Silver sat straight up and glanced towards us wildly, obviously freaked out by the new room we were all in and the glass walls separating him from us. Olivia walked closer to the glass and said loudly and clearly, "Silver, relax. We managed to deactivate the Nanobots inside of you but you nearly died in the process. This device is speeding up your recovery, so just sit tight for now."
Silver gave us a nervous nod and lay back down, still giving us a worried look.
"Now comes the hard part of acting that we're all under the power of the Nanobots." Spade muttered. "Something tells me he'll blow our cover."
"Something tells me that we'll all end up blowing our own cover." Olivia said. "I think they may even have suspicions already."
"I sure hope not." I shuddered. I didn't want to go through what Mark and I went through with our first encounter with Ice again. Although something told me that if something like that happened again…the outcome could be a lot worse.
"When we overpower Ice and this place…what about Iblis? We don't exacally have all the Chaos Emeralds and we could be prevented from doing anything against it right away," Spade growled. "we could easily be overpowered and killed."
"But we could also take even Iblis and Mephiles by surprise. We could overthrow them as easily as we do this place." Olivia cast a nervous glance towards the door, as though she were worried someone was listening in.
"They'll have warning before we attack them though," I pointed out. "one of them might watch us get rid of this place."
A small tapping sound came to my right. I turned to see Silver standing at the glass, giving us a look that said something along the lines of, 'Can I get out of here now?'
"Let him out, Spade." Olivia said.
Spade pressed a few buttons and the glass lifted into the air. Silver ducked under it and came towards us. "What's going on?"
"Ice thinks you're injected with Nanobots. Technically, you were…but we deactivated them and you're unaffected. He also thinks we're all affected, so we have to pretend we're on his side until we find the chance to strike. Do you think you can do this?" Olivia asked.
"I think so." Silver said. "I'll let you make the first move on striking, though."
"Good."
"So what do we do now?" I asked.
"We go back and get your brother. Monica, I'm sorry…but he is controlled by the Nanobots by now, without a doubt. We have to act soon before anything else happens…We'll call in Blaze so she can help us and then we'll make our first move." Olivia said.
XxXxXxXx
MARK
At first I thought I was in some sort of dream. I couldn't act on my own will. My own limbs wouldn't listen to me. I was forced to stare directly into Ice's smug face and await directions.
"Perfect. Now, Mark…your orders are to meet up with your sister. Bring her and the others back here and then we can get to work."
I nodded, although I wanted nothing to do with this man anymore. My legs began taking me down the hallway that Monica and the group had gone down. Along the way I tried in vain to regain control of myself…but the Nanobots were too powerful. There was no way I was escaping from this. I was a slave.
Monica exited the room I was pretty sure I was suppost to go in. She stood stiffly for a second before nodding in my direction and then slowly walking towards me, avoiding eye contact. The others followed.
We were just nearing the room when someone's arm wrapped tightly around my neck. I didn't react, the Nanobots did. In one smooth move I flipped Leo over my head and he landed hard on his back in front of me. I spun around in time to see Olivia throw a punch at my head. Her knuckles connected with my cheekbone but I hardly felt anything. I lashed out and sent her sprawling.
My next opponent was the dark hedgehog. He dodged my attack and slammed his foot into my knee, making my leg give out and I fell to the ground. While I was down Silver made me the focus of his power and I couldn't move an inch.
"I'm sorry, Mark…but we need you on our side." Monica whispered.
I did the only thing I could think of at the time. "THEY'RE NOT INFECTED!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "THEY SOMEHOW RESISTED! THEY'RE-" My shout was cut off by my sister as she slapped a hand over my mouth.
"Spade, hurry!" She hissed.
The dark hedgehog drew something out of the bag that was slung over his shoulder and then a pounding pain exploded in my head and chest. It probably didn't last more than a few seconds, but it was like a few years to me. Just when I expected to die, it stopped. I expected the Nanobots to kick in and drag me up from the ground but nothing happened.
"Mark, get up. Quickly." Leo said.
I could move on my own again. I struggled to my feet, a headache pounding behind my ears. "What happened?" I whispered.
"We deactivated the Nanobots." Olivia said. "But before that you shouted for Ice. We need to get out of here before…" She trailed off as she caught sight of the darkness that was slowly swirling upwards in a corner.
"Crap," I hissed.
Mephiles lunged at the closest person, which was Monica. She jumped backwards and brought her foot down on his back, only to have it go straight through him and hit the ground hard. She shouted in surprise and stumbled backwards, giving him enough time to get back to his feet.
"I have orders to kill you." He hissed. "You will all die."
"Not if I can help it!" I shouted, swinging my fists at the back of his head only to have them go through as though he were just a mirage.
"You can't defeat me like that." Mephiles growled.
The door on the opposite end of the hall burst open and Ice, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles began running towards us. Olivia grabbed Monica's arm and began pulling her in the other direction. I followed without a second's hesitation as the others did the same.
"Stop them! Do not let them escape!" Ice roared.
We ran down the hall until we came to a bolted door. Spade slammed his foot into it and it burst open…to the outside.
"QUICKLY!" He shouted, jumping through.
We followed to stumble onto a burned wasteland. All around me was fire and flame, hardly a patch of un-scorched grass or clear air. I began to cough.
"Mark! Come on!" Monica's hand closed over my arm and we stumbled along after the group, careful not to step into a patch of fire. I dug my heels firmly into the ground and shouted, "MONICA! LOOK!"
To our left was what seemed like a pillar of fire rising from the ground. It crashed onto the land, and I made out five fingers on the end of it. Fingers…? What was I seeing…?
Another pillar crashed nearby. With a feeling of dread I realized that the pillars were arms. Whatever was trying to pull itself out of the hell was enormous. Monica must have thought the same thing because she began backing up.
The fiery demon began to rise up among the smoke. I only got a small glance at it before Monica began pushing me away from a fireball that crashed into the ground nearby. In a shaking voice I asked, "What is that thing?"
In an equally shaking voice that was lined with horror she answered, "Iblis,"
XxXxXxXx