To keep it simple: I apologize for the lateness, please don't hate me.
Quick Notes:
-Amy and Shadow are ages "18" and "20", Knuckles and Rouge are both "23"
-Setting's still Blackbrook
-A special, filled-with-gratitude thanks to: NeonFireDragon, SweetMissVee, ShadowEmpress76, Amber McCurtis, Zombie Spade, darkgirl43255, Project Shadow, AgentOfRedAndBlue, and GoodXBad lover for your encouraging reviews! And a tip of my hat to everyone who has added this story to their favorites/alerts!
I will now go and slam my head against my keyboard...it gets rid of the lateness guilt, and helps with my creative process...I think ( ._.)
Live. Laugh. Love. = Read. Enjoy. Review.
*Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. Story is.
Bloodless
Chapter 9: On The Double
Rouge stood abruptly, her teal-colored eyes narrowing as a second knock resounded throughout the room. Turning towards Amy, she spoke in a low, but even, voice. "Put the coat back on, and hide over there."
Amy did as she was told, and once the coat was securely in place she dashed for the corner Rouge had indicated. Pressing her back against the short wall that separated the drawing room from the hallway entrance, Amy turned to her left to see the vampiress rummaging through a drawer after having shut off the phonograph in the corner. A smile filled the bat's lips as she pulled forth a small, silver-tipped ax.
"Do you know who's out there?" Amy asked, her heartbeat steadily picking up speed.
Rouge made her way towards the door, concealing the weapon behind her back. "I know they're not friendly."
Silence hung heavily in the dim room as the bat disappeared. Amy leaned her head against the wall. She had been right all along. Now she and Rouge were in danger, and both Shadow and Knuckles were gone. Her stomach curled into a knot as fear tingled up her back and into her thoughts. Why did I let him leave…? She squeezed her eyes shut in frustration, before balling her hands into fists. There was nothing she could do about it now. She had to trust Rouge, and pray that for once things would turn out in her favor.
Amy stiffened at the sound of the front door being opened ever so slightly. Quieting the chaos in her mind, she focused in on the conversation that followed.
"Drago…" Rouge spoke evenly, her words sounding surprisingly confident. "Hasn't your boss learned not to bother us?"
A dark, venomous voice answered her. "My master does as he wishes."
"You mean he hides away in the safety of his stronghold while you run around doing his dirty work." The bat corrected. Amy could practically hear the smirk on her lips.
"I follow my master's orders like a faithful servant should." The man growled, before his voice took on a low, almost seductive, tone. "Besides…maybe I like doing dirty work."
Rouge scoffed. "Well, whatever you call it, I want nothing to do with it. So I suggest you and your friends make yourselves scarce before my husband removes you by force."
Amy felt her breathing falter, realizing that there was a good chance she and Rouge were outnumbered.
"How dumb do you think we are?" The voice chuckled.
"On a scale of one to ten…?"
Ignoring the bat's little quip, the man continued in a more sinister tone. "We're quite aware of the fact that Knuckles isn't home."
Amy could hear Rouge hesitate, if only for a heartbeat. "Fine, I admit, I'm all alone, but I'm just as capable of kicking your a-"
"I'm sure you'd like us to think so," the voice interjected gruffly, "but the fact is you're not alone…are you Rouge?" His words sent a chill along Amy's spine.
What happened next, she wasn't entirely sure. The sound of two objects colliding, followed by a pained grunt echoed in the hallway. Amy could feel the walls shudder as the door slammed shut immediately afterwards. Bolting into the room, Rouge headed straight for the mantel above the fireplace, pulling a small object from the cleavage of her dress in the process.
"Who's Drago?" Amy questioned as she followed the bat who by now was unlocking a small wooden box; briefly noting the fact that the silver-tipped ax from earlier was nowhere to be seen.
"Scourge's most trusted pet; a vampire with a sick mind, just like his master." Rouge answered, lifting a silver item from the box.
Turning to face her, the vampiress took Amy's hand as thuds came from the hallway behind them. "Rouge what-"
"It's a key." The bat spoke quickly. "You see that armoire over there?"
Amy followed Rouge's gaze and nodded, flinching as the house shook with increasing violence.
"It locks from the inside. I want you to hide in there while I deal with these idiots." With that, Rouge left the key in Amy's hand and turned her attention to the wall space above the mantel.
"Wait," Amy objected, speaking more out of concern than courage, "shouldn't I help you fight? I mean, I may not be fully a vampire, but couldn't I do something other than hide?"
The vampiress laughed. "I admire your spirit, but now's not the time for taking unnecessary risks."
Amy stood silently, wanting to argue but never getting the chance as Rouge took hold of a halberd that was mounted above the fireplace, and tugged it free with little effort; the drywall crumbling where the weapon had once been fixated. Inspecting the archaic instrument in her left hand she reached for the wall again, and this time pulled loose a double-headed ax. Satisfied, she turned to Amy, who could only stare.
Smirking, the bat shrugged. "I warned them, now hurry up and hide."
Realizing there was no time to protest further, Amy hurried towards the armoire with the small metal key clutched tightly in her hand. Climbing in, she pulled the doors closed and crouched beneath a number of thick coats. Feeling for the lock, she fumbled with securing it as her hands steadily began to tremble. Calm down, Amy, Rouge can handle it… Despite repeating the thought several times over, her racing heart refused to slow.
The room outside had been silent for all of ten seconds before a loud crash, accompanied by the sound of splintering wood, erupted in the hallway. For a few agonizing minutes all Amy could hear were hisses and shouts as Rouge fought off the unwanted guests, but it wasn't long before the fighting made its way into the drawing room in the form of two vampires struggling to subdue a very…animated Rouge.
Ignoring the string of curses that flew from the bat's mouth, Amy viewed the fight as it unfolded through a crack between the armoire's wooden doors. Both vampires, one a fox and the other a cat, seemed surprised that Rouge had accomplished so much so quickly. Are they the only two left…? Amy wondered as the fox flew across the room, landing in a pile of books. Seeing he was now alone in his struggle, the cat reached for Rouge's wrists, doing his best to avoid having his head lopped off in the process.
Amy watched with growing relief as Rouge rolled the double-headed ax in her hand, breaking free of the cat's grip and lodging the weapon securely in her opponents shoulder; pinning him to the wall. Once those two were gone they'd be home free-
"Well, well, well, what have we here?"
Amy's eyes widened as a deep, chilling chuckle drew her attention away from the fight. A dark figure loomed over the crack she had been peeking through, shrouding her small hiding place in darkness. Amy recognized the voice to be Drago's; apparently Rouge hadn't killed him yet.
The doors jerked. "I know you're in there…this would be a lot easier for everyone if you surrendered yourself willingly…"
Amy cringed at his words, fighting the impulse to call out for the one vampire she hoped could save her.
»¤«
Shadow followed Knuckles at a distance as the two dodged tree after tree on their way to confront, and-with any luck-kill Scourge. Despite it being only a little after noon, cloud coverage had blotted out what minimal sunlight penetrated the forest's canopy, casting a gloom across their path. The journey had so far been in silence, not that he minded all that much; the lack of conversation gave him time to think.
Amy…
The pink hedgehog had changed things more than he had ever anticipated. His desire for a blood bond had been so simple at first: secure a mate, become stronger. Any mortal would call him shallow for it, but originally, Amy had just been a perk; an enticing bonus. His main goal having been the power their union would create. But now…
Shadow growled, shifting his attention to the echidna who had stopped in the middle of a small clearing. "What is it?"
"We're almost there."
"So then why'd we stop?"
"Something's not right…"
Narrowing his eyes, Shadow did a brief scan of their surroundings; nothing seemed out of place. The forest was silent except for an arbitrary bird call every now and then. Within the apparent peace, however, Shadow quickly began to understand what Knuckles had sensed. The air seemed to shift, like a malevolent presence had just polluted what was once a breathable atmosphere. Something was wrong. As soon as the implications of such a sudden change settled in, Shadow immediately turned to Knuckles.
The echidna's features had already darkened. "They're in trouble."
Without even agreeing on what they should do, both Shadow and Knuckles took off in the opposite direction of Scourge's stronghold; retracing their path back to where they had left Rouge and Amy. Fear-something he hadn't felt in over a hundred years-crept its way into his thoughts despite his best efforts to ignore it. Was Amy hurt? Was she even still alive? Shadow cursed under his breath.
"Rouge can handle whoever it is until we get there." Knuckles spoke over his shoulder, running just a few feet ahead of him.
"Unless…"
The echidna glanced back. "Unless what?"
"Well this is Scourge we're dealing with; Rouge can take almost any opponent, unless whoever's attacking them decides to fight dirty."
Shadow wasn't given the chance to say more, the wind drowned out any sound as the two increased their speed; determination adding length to each stride.
»¤«
Amy shrank back against the hard walls of the armoire's interior, her heart hammering against her ribs. The wood shuttered and jerked as Drago persisted, his yellow eyes glowing sadistically in the dim light. Amy was surprised that the lock had so far held out against the vampire's strength, not that she wasn't grateful. Still, she knew it wouldn't last much longer. So, despite being scared out of her wits, she positioned herself to leap out the minute the doors gave way, ignoring how futile a plan it was. Maybe this was the vampire side of her… She would have laughed at the thought had the lock not busted at that exact moment.
The armoire flew open, and Amy burst into action. Her legs propelled her forward, landing her halfway past a clearly bewildered Drago before the vampire recovered, and snagged her right arm in a painful grip. Amy yelped, pulling away desperately as the hand tightened its hold, claws practically piercing her skin through the coat's thick sleeve. With tears stinging the corners of her eyes, Amy looked up to face the vampire for the first time. He was a white wolf with blood-chilling fangs, and a devilish grin to match.
"Come now, did you really think that would work?" Drago sneered, his breath smelling of blood as it blew across her face.
Refusing the urge to vomit, Amy tugged at the wolf's fingers as he pulled her close, his chest pressing up against her back. Focusing her attention on the opposite side of the room, Amy spotted Rouge standing with her back turned, holding the vampire fox firmly by his collar as she prepared to land a final punch.
"Rouge!" Amy cried somewhat shakily.
The bat swiveled her head in their direction as her half-conscious opponent sagged to the floor. With a confidence Amy envied, the vampiress narrowed her eyes. "It would be in your best interest, Drago, to let her go."
"I'm no fool, Rouge," the wolf chuckled darkly behind Amy's back, "I knew there'd be little chance of facing a blood bonded vampiress such as yourself unless I found an…advantage."
Rouge smirked, placing a gloved hand on her hip as she turned to fully face them. "You mean to use her as leverage?"
"Not leverage…distraction."
Amy registered what was happening an instant too late. A figure shifted behind Rouge as a whoosh of air gathered the room into silence. With wide, frozen eyes, Amy watched as the bat's hand flew to her neck; pulling away a small syringe-like dart. Hissing, Rouge dropped the empty projectile, and backed slowly against the wall, fingers resting gently against the side of her throat.
"Rouge…" Amy breathed, her blood growing cold as her friend slid to the ground, "…no."
Lunging forward, Amy was surprised to find Drago's hand release her. On numb legs, she reached Rouge, and fell at her side. The bat trembled slightly, her chest convulsing as whatever pulsed through her veins spread slowly throughout her body. Drago laughed behind them, his voice deep, and laced with pleasure.
"What did you do to her?" Amy screamed, feeling a warm tear streak down her face as she turned to glare up at him.
The wolf smiled. "Garlic concentrate, a slow-killing poison for any vampire."
Shifting her eyes back to Rouge, Amy felt another tear slip. The vampiress lifted her gaze, placing a weak hand on Amy's arm as she parted her lips to speak. "You have…to get out of here."
"I'm not leaving you." She whispered adamantly, forcing determination into her voice.
"I'm sorry…I should've known…he wouldn't fight fair."
"Rouge…"
"Go find…Shadow…or Knuckles…they'll protect you."
Amy shook her head. "I can't…"
"Run, Amy…"
"I won't…"
A pressure forced its way into Amy's mind, and before she could realize what was happening, she felt her legs lift her off the ground and away from her friend. Rouge's eyes glowed faintly as her words reverberated with command. "You will."
Amy was out the front door in a heartbeat, her legs carrying her towards the forest without her consent. The cloudy skies overhead were hardly noticed as her vision blurred, and the pounding of her feet was quickly swallowed by thunder.
Told you things would pick up...they're rather sad and depressing...but what's a good story without some conflict? :D
A rather different series of events than what you might have been expecting, but I hope that just makes the story all the more interesting. I also realize that my chapters lately have all been cliffhangery...sorry 'bout that; it's fun but not entirely intentional. And in light of this, I swear on a bag of potato chips that the next chapter won't take nearly as long; you, as my lovely readers, deserve better. So...
I will, as always, do my best to answer any questions and/or comments without ruining events to come.
All reviews are welcome!
Sayonara! (- I never knew that was Japanese... o.O)
