Chapter 10
(Kali: Sonic, get back here!
Sonic: But it's Kuro's turn?
Kali: No it's not. You still got a little more to go...I couldn't fit the entire thing into a single chapter.
Sonic: (groans) Alright...here we go again.
Kali: Oh, one last thing!
Sonic: A paper? What's it for?
Kali: Just read it.
Sonic: "The songs, Angels Fall, and Hollow are not my songs. They both belong to Breaking Benjamin..." Blah blah blah, "So as not to go against copyright..."
Kali: Don't say it.
Sonic: (Grins evilly) No copyright law in the universe is going to stop me!
Kali: (Smacks head) Just speak into the microphone…
Tails: (Downstairs) Sonic, what are you doing?
Sonic and Kali: Nothing!)
Where was I? Oh yes:
The halls' blinding white walls were harsh on all our eyes, and we couldn't help but squint. The air seemed fresh and cool, but deep down, it felt evil.
The line went like this: First it was me, then Amy, Shadow, Robotnik, Tails, Espio, Vector, Metal Sonic, Charmy, Omega, and then Rouge. The two heartless bunny twins were at the back, and in the front were Bani and Okami. They were keeping a good watch on us, all the while leading us to a probably very gruesome experiment.
We weren't tied, and the sedatives had finally worn off, so I did what any respectable Sonic would do...I looked for a way to escape. If the layout was the same as it had been before, then there would be an air vent leading to the outside right behind this sad line. The only problem with that plan was that the bunnies beside Rouge were expecting that. Thus was the reason they were back there to begin with.
No, I couldn't do that again. Not only would it be a slim chance of even making it there, but there was no way to get everyone out in time. The vent was too small.
I closed my eyes, thinking. I had never seen the exit that The Good Doctor had to have in order to get to the surface, but I knew it was somewhere. If I had to hazard a guess, it would have had to be in his office...but I didn't know where that was either….
"What are you doing?" Okami asked suddenly, bringing me out of my thoughts.
I shook my head and shrugged, "Just thinking." Bani began to giggle childishly, his robotic hands covering his cute mouth.
"That's dangerous!" He said jokingly. Everyone behind us, though they were looking down before, all looked up.
"What are you thinking about?" Okami pressed, but I wasn't interested in telling him.
"Stuff." I responded. The group behind me became very interested in the conversation. I couldn't blame them, there was nothing else to really focus on in this eternal hallway.
"Is it about your girlfriend?" Bani asked, a smirk written on his robotic face, "That's so cute!" He put his hands to his face and began to giggle madly. I blushed.
"I don't have a girlfriend." I said through my teeth, crossing my arms even as I walked.
Okami didn't believe me and put his arms behind his head casually, "What about that cute pink girl called, Amy? Your heart rate goes way up when you're around her." I was blushing furiously now, and I was trying to think of a good comeback, but Bani beat me to it.
"Yeah, not even running as fast as you do gets your heartbeat up as high as she does!" I looked behind myself to find that everyone was watching in a smirking fascination. The girl in question had a strange gleam in her eyes at this new information.
My face turned beat red and I whirled back around, "You don't know what you're talking about." I said heatedly, crossing my arms and looking to the ground.
"You're blushing!" Okami said loudly, and they both started laughing. I kept my eyes to the ground and my ears in the air, despite the fact that my eyes wanted to look behind me, and my ears wanted to fall. Finally, their laughter stopped, and Okami looked me in the eyes, "You were thinking of escape weren't you?" I looked at him, then at Bani, then at the ground.
Okami was very good at making me feel guilty, "What if I was?" I closed my eyes. There was no reason to feel guilty from wanting to run from this place...so why did he make me feel that way?
"If you were, then we'd have to do something about that." Okami explained. Bani joined in.
"We have orders to make sure you don't even think of escape!" He said this as though that were the best job in the world.
"What would you two do?" I was curious now, the idea made my eyes grow wide.
"Well..were you thinking of escaping?" Okami prompted. Fear gnawed quietly at my heart as I looked into Okami's glinting black and red eyes.
Well...no one said that I was smart, "Yes..but-" I was in the wall, Okami's fist hitting me square in the face with no warning at incredible speeds. I sat there, dazed, as everyone stared at me in shock, all besides Okami and Bani who stood there smiling.
"I warned you." Okami said with a shrug. He grabbed my right arm while Bani grabbed my left. They pulled me to my feet, and because I was still dazed, they held onto me as we all continued walking. I heard Knuckles, Espio, Vector, and Shadow's voices echo angrily as the bunnies behind us retrained them. Even Robotnik, who was driven by logic, had to make a snide remark.
"That was completely uncalled for." He said crossly. Okami looked back at him.
"We have no choice. If Sonic decides to escape again..." He began, but then went quiet again. Bani decided to finish for him.
"We don't want him to leave...none of us do." He finished. All smiles were gone, and I was fighting once more.
"What did I ever do to you guys?" I was struggling against their iron grip, but they held firm.
"You didn't do anything to us." Okami said quietly, "We just missed you..." He looked into my defiant, emerald eyes, and let go. Bani did the same, and we were once again walking side by side by side. I shook my head.
"This isn't the way to treat someone you've "missed"." I said angrily, the air quotes notable to all who heard, "Trapping them in a room and taking them to be experimented on almost every hour is what I would call hating someone with the fiery passion of a thousand suns." My arms were crossed once more, and as I looked at them, their heads sank.
Bani remained silent while Okami spoke for them both, "You know we were programmed that way. We can't change that...but just know that we don't hate you..." He looked close to crying, and my hands fell to my sides, "I, at least think of you as my best friend." He told me, and I watched as a single black tear fell from his upturned face, "And I can only hope that you think the same with me." His glowing, red eyes were filled with hope, and despite his programmed friendliness, I saw that deep within, he had true emotions. Those emotions spilled out now in black tears as he looked into my eyes with a happiness that I had only seen from those who, after years of waiting, finally got to see their best friend.
I had seen this look time and time again on many of my Mobian friends, but it was only now that I saw that look kindled in the heart of an innocent robot. I remembered him, and I remembered how he used to play with me and my sister while we were here. I could talk to him when no one else would listen...he had truly been my best friend when I was a child. He had been my first real friend. I guess...I never really understood that till now.
I used to block out all memories of this place, including the memories of him, when I was finally able to escape. I had always written him off as just being programmed to be nice to me. However, looking into his sincere eyes now, I realized that he had been my friend, not because he was programmed to, but because he wanted to.
My eyes fell to the ground, a soft pain filling my heart, "Of course I think of you as a friend..." My voice was quiet, and I could hear the heavy echo of our feet on the white floor below us. It pounded against my heart with this realization, and hammered my head with it's ringing fists. I had taught myself so any things trying to make sure that I would never be hurt again..and now, I was forced to unlearn them, or be destroyed by their unwelcome truth.
I had told myself so many times that Robotnik was evil and never truly cared; that he had only saved me to use me for my speed. I had told myself that all these robots were programmed and heartless; that they had only been kind because of a set of ones and zeroes. I had told myself that my sister was dead, and that I would never see her again. All of these things have been talked out, knocked out, and drowned out of me, but the happy truth was harder to hear, and just left me confused.
We continued walking, the sound of marching footsteps hitting me with yet more guilt. Finally someone spoke up...it was Shadow's voice. I turned to look and found that he had replaced Amy right behind me, and she was behind him. I guess they had a harder time controlling him back there.
"Hey, Faker," Why did he still have to call me that, "The Good Doctor mentioned before that you were harder to capture than even I was. Yet, you told us that you had been asleep." Really? He still remembered that? I sighed, the answer short and sweet.
"Why ask that now?" I began walking backwards in order to talk to him. Okami and Bani giggled at this but continued to look forward. It wasn't like I was holding up the line or anything, so they had no reason to stop me.
His eyes were filled with fire, but his voice was calm and dark, "I'm just curious as to the nature of your actual capture. That's all." His hands were balled into fists and his eyes glared at me even though he was smirking.
"Long story short, they overwhelmed me." I said, turning back around. I was actually quite glad that Shadow had said something; it got me away from my thoughts, "The black crab and bee robots came from all directions and for a few moments, I thought they were Robotnik's, but their color and demeanor was all wrong. There were hundreds, and I went super in order to try and combat them..." My eyes trailed the floor with this memory, "I don't know how many I destroyed, but I do remember that I destroyed quite a few-"
"3, 388, to be exact." Okami piped up happily, I nodded in his direction and continued.
"But I guess one of them got behind me, and as soon as my rings depleted, it stabbed me through the chest." I turned back around and found that they were all now staring at my chest, then at my eyes, and back at my chest...I guess getting stabbed in the bosom is a little bit fatal...But then, so is drowing.
"So that black blood was yours." Shadow's eyes lit up with this new information, but they were still too dark to say weather it was from excitement or enlightenment. I was kind of surprised he didn't notice before, but I guess the shock kept him from seeing it. Plus, it was kind of dark when he first saw my blood fresh from my body. Maybe he thought it was just the shadows. Wouldn't that be ironic.
"Yeah..." I said slowly, but Robotnik had to get his two cents in.
"Your blood is black?" His eyes were wide, "But I remember it being red!" I turned away and shrugged.
"Shortly after using the chaos emeralds to turn Super for the first time in order to beat your Death Egg, my blood began to turn black." I explained, "It's...kind of funny actually; my fur turns gold and my blood turns black." Nobody was laughing at this new information though, and Robotnik had a theory that was quite frightening.
"Hey, Sonic?" I turned, "When you turn Super, I know that your mind becomes happy and pure." He said softly, "So my question is..where do you put your darkness?" My eyes widened, the idea of where it went terrifying to think of.
In this world, dark and light took on a physical form; Chaos and Order. These were the gods that resided in the Master Emerald, a huge emerald that controls all of time and all the Chaos Emeralds. It's a powerful gem that I've found good fortune with in the past.
I turned to face the hall and shrugged it off, pretending not to care, "So you're saying my blood is where my darkness went?" I chuckled, "Interesting." Suddenly, I stopped, a memory of the conversation before suddenly hitting me, "Robotnik..." The robots became confused and started tugging on my arms.
"Yes, Sonic?" He seemed completely confused, the sudden stop intriguing to say the least. What can I say? I think quickly...and a bit spastic-ally...but who could blame me?
"How did you know about my sister's spines?" He had talked about Shadow being the edgy middle of me and Kuro from his quills and demeanor. Unless he had seen a picture of my sister's quills, or seen her herself, he couldn't know about her gravity defying spines…
I turned to look at him, and in his beautiful eyes, I saw a fear that I could not understand. Everyone looked at him.
"What do you mean?" He asked, a shrug coming on, but I stopped it.
"You mentioned earlier that Shadow was the edgy medium between me and Kuro because of his quills and demeanor. But the only way you could know that is if you saw a picture of her, or seen her yourself." My eyes watched him with a soft hurt, "If you think hiding my sister from me is gonna build trust, then you are sadly mistaken." He held up his hands innocently, then sighed.
"Yes, I saw your sister." My eyes lit up, but his darkened, "Sonic..." His voice was so sad all a sudden.
"What? If you saw her, then that means she's okay..." I walked over to him with no one stopping me as they watched. He placed a hand on my shoulder.
He sighed again, his mind visibly telling him not to say, but I was stubborn. He finally succumbed and told me, "How old do you think she is Sonic?"
"Fifteen..like me?" My words were a question, and the answers a poison.
"She looks ten...and not only that..." My eyes widened as he continued, "Sonic, he's done horrible things to her..." My ears went down at this and my eyes saw anger.
"What did he do?" I knew he had done things to her, I was there, but much like with me, they shouldn't have been visible. The fact that her growth stopped at ten was disconcerting, but if there was more...
"He..." He was choking on these words as though he were afraid I'd hurt him for saying them, "She's lost her color completely...one side of her is black and the other side is white...the black side's eye is a mash of the chaos emerald's colors, and the other eye is red..." I fell to my knees, the news hitting me like a brick, "But the worst part is that she doesn't really remember anything. I talked to her right before I was captured...and she claimed that she didn't know you..." I heard Knuckles and Tails gasp in recognition.
"You mean...Ko was Sonic's sister?" Knuckles exclaimed, I looked at him.
"Ko?" My voice was broken again, the idea of what he did to her too horrid to hear.
"Yeah.." Tails chimed in, "Knuckles brought her to my workshop right before we were captured. Knuckles told me that she had super-speed like you, and that her smirk was the same..." He rubbed the side of his head, "I don't remember much after that.."
I chuckled softly, "I wonder..." My eyes felt dead as I looked at Knuckles, "So she didn't remember me at all?"
Knuckles held up his hands, a look in his eyes that told me otherwise, "No, she remembered you...but only a little bit. When I told her your description, she gripped her head, screamed, then passed out. After that, I carried her to an old castle I sometimes see you in...She was very malnourished, and so I made her some soup." I rubbed my eyes, all this new information overwhelming to hear, "She has a chaos emerald with her...the purple one I think."
I shot up, "A chaos emerald?" I cocked my head, "I thought she hated those." I had said this out loud and everyone stared at me. I covered my mouth and internally beat myself up for such a spill.
"What do you mean, Sonic?" Espio asked, the first black bunny right beside him. She was holding his hands behind his back in a very uncomfortable form.
"...I..um..." I was looking for a way out of this question, but everyone was continuing to stare at me. I crossed my arms, "All right, Eggman's base wasn't the first time I transformed into Super Sonic. It was here." Nobody seemed shocked by this, but what came next was truly electrifying, "Me and Kuro were taken to a room where the seven chaos emeralds were all set up in the ceiling, and cables, in the shape of one of our bodies, were set to drift over a bottomless void. He..." I closed my eyes, the memory painful, "He sent all of their energy into me...and I transformed..." I hung my head, my arms falling to rest by my sides, "Let's just say that I can still hear her cries...and she vowed to never touch them..." I chuckled sadly, "I promised too, but...well...I haven't had a choice in the past."
I heard gasps as a heavy hand fell on my shoulder. I figured it was Robotnik, as he was the one I remembered to be behind me, but I was dead wrong. His deathly voice sent chills through my spine, "Maurice, how glad I am to see you." I spun around but he was waiting. He used my own inertia to lift me up into his arms and hold me there, "You have a swimming lesson scheduled, and you're late." He chortled mockingly, "For the fastest thing alive, that's not a very good track record." I began to fight him and try to break free, but he wasn't even phased as he walked peacefully down the hall holding me with one hand and petting me with the other.
Another fight broke out behind as Shadow and the others tried to fight back against their captors, but they were soon under control again as Shadow, Robotnik, Espio, Amy, Burakku, Omega and Knuckles were all subdued. Even Tails tried to do something, but just he ended up riding on the back of Bani, handcuffed to him.
I began to fight harder, but he just grabbed one of my quills, "Don't be foolish, child. I would hate to have to damage such amazing specimens." I doubted he was talking about my quills. I growled, but stopped fighting, and he continued petting, the offending hand making my quills shiver with their evil, "Now isn't that better? There's no need to fight me, Maurice...it only hurts you and your friends." I gripped onto his cloak, my black blood boiling with a vengeful anger.
"Tell me, Maurice..." His static voice filled my ears once more as he petted behind my ears, "Why are you so resilient to the darkness?" It took all I had to growl instead of purr. The one spot that I hate anyone scratching is behind my ears, because it's hard to resist it. It feels so good, and Amy has used it to her advantage more times than I can count...at least, ever since she found out about it. When she gets mad at me and manages to catch me, well, she scratches behind my ears and then hits me with her hammer...It hurts...a lot. Robotnik also knows about it, as that's the stunt he pulled back in the room when he was telling our past history. I didn't expect The Good Doctor to know, but to my disgust, he does.
I felt choked as I answered, trying my hardest to continue growling, "What..do you-mean?" I felt him smile, the frozen act chilling me to the bone.
"My son described your sister quite well." He continued, his eyes bored and cruel, "After a certain experiment with the chaos emeralds, she turned black, and her eyes disappeared. She almost destroyed the place. When she got ahold of herself, she turned black and white. My guess was that her darkness got the better of her." I heard collective gasps and "oh god"'s from behind, and my anger spiked. The growling became real, and my quills were hard pressed to stay flattened. But he didn't care, and continued, "But you, child...you turned gold afterwards with red eyes, and returned to the blue you now are...why is that?" His voice was monotonous, the tone never shifting, and the robotic static lulling as it enveloped you into a soft, eternal sleep.
"You're asking me?" Anger filled my voice and he chuckled lightly.
"It seems not even you have the answer..." He stared into my soul, his eyes haunting as I saw the gears turning in his poisoned mind, "It may have something to do with your ethereal breeding.." My eyes widened and his smiled, "Did she not tell you?" I shut my eyes. There was too much information all coming at once.
"She told me everything." I growled in response, trying to get out of his arms. To my surprise, and my pain, he dropped me, but then grabbed ahold of my hand and pulled me along. Ethereal breeding? What was that supposed to mean? Was I like Shadow? Is that what he meant? I looked at my gloved hands in deep thought of it. No...my father was a selfish hedgehog that saw the world through bills...The hedgehog that condemned us from birth...not some alien from space.
I grunted softly. I used to wish that. I used to dream that instead of being doomed to live like my father in that forsaken castle that some alien would take me away and I would be free. I used to dream that my sister and I would play together in the garden without his "lessons" getting in the way...But instead, she played alone, isolated from the world by huge walls of stone, and I was locked away in his study, forced to research and know all the ways to get and hold money. He had gotten his wealth from no honorable ways, and was teaching me how to cheat and steal from his competitors. I never knew what his business was..all I knew was that he locked my sister in the garden with the traitorous butler, my mother in her room, and me in his study.
My teeth grinded beneath these thoughts, but stopped as soon as I felt myself in the air. For a second, I was flying, but the world revolved, and suddenly I was surrounded by weightless blue.
I gasped as the water surrounded my body, the realization of what just happened hitting me in the face as I watched with bated breath, my friends being led into the room in handcuffs or arm-locks. The Good Doctor had literally thrown me into the water, and I was falling beneath the surface.
I sputtered, the fear of this blue death freezing my legs and slowing my mind. I couldn't think or act, I was just sinking.
"Stubborn creature." The Good Doctor muttered in neutral annoyance, "Swim to the side and you'll stop sinking." His soulless eyes watched me sputter and cry out without any mercy, "Pathetic." I sunk below the surface, holding my breath.
I could just barely hear my friends screaming my name through the barrier as the cold, artificial light shone through onto my pale face. So cold…
Was this my fate? I had had it all outside; the sun, the grass, the flowers...why was I back here? What did I do wrong? I have saved this world countless times despite what this world has done to me...was that wrong?
I hit the bottom, my body bouncing uselessly on the tile before falling to rest there. I could hold my breath for a while, and I knew it. He did too which is probably why he wasn't sending anyone to rescue me.
My eyes blinked, the light beginning to fade from them. Even if I swam to the surface, I would only be put through a possibly horrific test. So what was the point? I didn't know how to get out of this now. The exit I had used before was no longer an option, and he has all of my friends in here with me. Even if I could find a way out, there was no way that I would leave them. That's for sure.
I continued to stare blankly at the bright barrier of water. His shadow leaned over it, watching me. He just...watches. I could feel his annoyance, even from down here, but I didn't care. What I did care about was this feeling that he was smiling.
That's when I realized that my friends' voices were no longer calling out my name...I tried to decipher what they were saying, but it was too late. Someone else was thrown in with me, their dark silhouette falling to the bottom right beside mine.
I struggled to turn around hoping that he didn't throw one of my friends in here, but I was horrified when I saw Amy sitting there at the bottom. She was wearing a red bathing suit, and her arms and legs were chained. She saw me, and her face lit up. I was scared witless, but for some reason, seeing her belief in me calmed me a little.
I smiled apologetically, and she mimicked a giggle. She then mouthed the words, "Could you help me up?" I nodded, and gripped her around the waist before swimming up.
Yes, I can swim; fairly powerfully in fact, but my fear of water keeps this fact from surfacing. My limbs freeze up, and I can't move. But seeing Amy have so much faith in me helped my limbs to release, and now, we swam at a good speed to shore.
We burst above the surface sputtering and choking...at least, I was. She was actually okay, and crawled out of the water with ease. I however remained right where I was; holding onto the edge and breathing hard. I had been under there for-
"Eight minutes," I heard his voice as his fingers pressed the button on what I could only assume was a stopwatch, "A new record." He chortled, "But you probably would have stayed under there for longer had I had not thrown your crush in." I choked on those words, my cheeks turning beet red. Amy stared at him, then at me, but said nothing as she too began to blush.
When it comes to Amy...yeah I like her, but at the same time, I'm afraid of her. She hunts me down and chases me when I run, and when she gets mad at me, she chases me around with her hammer. She is a definite force to be reckoned with and in some ways, that only makes me like her more. But I just...I don't want to date yet. If I were to date, I would have to settle down and stay in one place with her...and I-I just can't do that. It wouldn't be fair to Amy, and it wouldn't, in all honesty, be fair to me. I...I just… no… Besides, if I were to date, I'd want it to be forever. I would want it to be a serious, real relationship, and not a "well, it was a nice show, but I gotta go" kind of deal like so many relationships are.
Did I really just say this into a microphone for a bunch of people to hear? Wow,*Face-palm*, I'm an idiot...back to the story.
"It then took you three seconds to get her to the surface," He laughed humorlessly, the robots joining in, "Maybe I should leave you two in a room together. That would be fun to watch." I fell back below the surface, my face completely red.
I wasn't expecting what happened next, "Hey, you!" I heard Amy yell, her voice powerful and angry as her face glowed red, "Leave him alone! He was just trying to save me!" I turned to look at The Good Doctor...his eyes were shining as she continued, "He would have done it in that time for anyone here!" She waved to the stunned audience, "So lay off He did nothing to you, and yet you've bullied him, from what I hear, drowned him, and so many other things!" My eyes widened as a gigantic, pink hammer materialized in her hands. Her vicious eyes bored into him, as she placed it on her shoulder while she continued, "Yeah, he may have escaped from you to begin with, but considering the welcome he's gotten so far, and the recount of some of his less recent memories, he had a reason!" She screamed this at him, but his unseen smile crawled down my spine as she rushed him.
See, there is a reason why I have not done what she's doing. It's because of what happened the first time I did it. Let's just say...as soon as I got within a couple feet, he grabbed me by the neck and slammed me into the ground so hard that it broke quite a few of my quills. He then spent the day pulling those quills out, lecturing me on how do so properly. I went back to my sister with bandages all over my head.
This is also the reason why I stopped her before she even got within ten feet. I couldn't bare to see her or anyone else hurt, no matter the reason. I pulled myself out of the water and held her back with a hug. I appreciated what she tried to do for me, and I wanted her to know that, but I wasn't about to let her be scarred by this devil. She didn't deserve it.
As soon as she realized it was me, her hammer vanished. Silent tears fell down her cheeks as her hurt voice graced my ears, "Why? Why are you protecting him?" She didn't understand, but he did, and his soft chuckle answered.
"He's not, darling." His eyes locked onto mine, "He's protecting you." She growled.
"From what? You're nothing but a cruel old man! I could take you on any day!" Her voice bit into the air, the savage intent searing my heart with pain.
"My dear, why do you think he hasn't rushed me?" Her eyes began to widen, the tears flowing faster and faster, "He isn't bound, and the sedatives have worn off. He could have attacked at any moment, and yet, I am able to pick him up without a scratch." As though to prove a point, he wondered over, his cloak dragging across the cold, white ground as his footsteps made no sound. I let her go and she looked at me with shock as he picked me up and began to pet me. My eyes watched the ground as this truth bore into my soul, "He's afraid of me, child," Her tears were ceaseless, "Because he knows what I'm capable of." Her hands covered her mouth as her eyes locked with mine. She had never seen me so obedient, and had grown used to the heroic, rebellious teenager that I was.
I began to growl, the sight of her tears and his disgusting touch filling me with a darkness I never wished to show, "Put me down." I whispered with an air of danger. She backed away, and he looked at me.
"Now, Maurice, we wouldn't want a repeat of yesterday, would we?" My spirit was burning, the pain of yesterday fading away with this new flame.
"I could care less." My eyes were darkened and stared at the floor. He noticed this and chuckled cruelly.
"Your spirit is almost as unbreakable as your attitude." His smile once again crawled up my spine, "Almost."
Before I could even blink, I was in the floor. The world was deaf, and a ringing filled my ears. Out of my peripheral vision, I could see the fragments of the floor he slammed me into, and straight in front of me, I saw Amy, on her knees, crying. Guilt filled my heart, and my spirit faded. I laid there, motionless as he picked me back up. But I could feel nothing, and the sound of this world was slow in coming back. What I did hear was my name, screamed for the thousandth time by the friends that deserved so much better than what they were getting.
I was a rag doll as he brought me and everyone else out of that room. The hallways were faint and familiar as the lights looped on the ceiling about my head. I could only stare.
When the world's sound returned and the ringing stopped, there was nothing to hear accept the sound of ordered shoes all marching in unison. When feeling returned, there was nothing to feel besides his cold, desperate hand falling on my battered head and scratching behind my ears. I didn't growl this time, and allowed myself to purr. There was no need to fight a truly unbeatable force. I have face demons and evil gods in the past, but he...he outshone them all in his terrible and unspeakable cruelty. Nobody could compare to the one that tamed the untamable.
Finally, we entered a room with painted, black walls and a little stage at the back. Rows of theater chairs were aligned, and he took us down the center to sit in the front. Well, that's what he did for everyone else at least. He placed me on the stage where I sat motionless, and he had Metal Sonic and Omega go up as well. I didn't mention this before, but there were instruments onstage. There was a base, a piano, a drum set, microphones, and a rock guitar onstage. Metal took the piano, and Omega took the Drums. The Good Doctor pointed silently to the rock guitar and microphone for me, and I, unable to refuse at this point, grabbed them without hesitation.
I stared at the Base for a few seconds before he had Shadow go up there and take it, but he didn't take the microphone.
"This is your second, and final test for today, Maurice." He said, his hands tapping the arms of his chair calmly as he leaned on his other arm as though bored, "I've found that you're quite good with the guitar, and I would love to hear just how good your voice is with it. Now, I want you to sing truly, and I want a song that describes how you feel right now. Is that clear?" I stared at him blankly, and nodded, "Good."
I stared at the audience before I started, and from all the depressed faces, there was one that stood out. Robotnik's eyes betrayed his now completely shattered heart. But, despite this, his eyes held a hope for me, and the memories of what he had done to me filled my mind. My heart was desperate to forgive him, but these painful memories kept me from doing so.
As they filled my breaking heart, my walls began to crumble, and the notes to the song I wanted to sing filled my broken crown. My hands seemed to move on their own as they played perfectly. The robots, realizing the song I was about to sing, down-loaded the music for their instruments, and gave Shadow his notes.
They all joined in and I began to sing:
"I try to face the fight within,
But it's over,
I'm ready for the riot to begin,
And surrender," Everyone gasped at my voice, Amy blushing with the realization that I could not only play the rock guitar, but I could actually sing too. Robotnik had taught me how, just as he had taught me how to play the guitar.
"I walked the path that led me to the end,
Remember,
I'm caught beneath with nothing left to give,
Forever," The music kicked up as we entered the chorus, the wave of music hitting them with tears as they all listened to the lyrics. Even with the small amount of my past they knew, they could understand why I chose this song.
"When angels fall with broken wings,
I can't give up,
I can't give in," I stared into our captor's mismatched eyes, his amused red to my spirited green.
"When all is lost and daylight ends,
I'll carry you,
And we will live forever,
Forever..." The passion in my eyes and the flame in my voice seemed to fire up the band, and the captives below me as they got into it. Their tears meant nothing to them as they smiled with my newfound rebellion.
"Grey skies will chase the light away,
No longer,
I fought the fight,
Now only dark remains,
Forever,
Divided I will stand,
And I will let this end!" Though the music had dipped down for this verse, it rose once again as the chorus made it's booming entrance,
"When angels fall with broken wings,
I can't give up,
I can't give in,
When all it lost and daylight ends,
I'll carry you,
And we will live forever,
Forever..." Memories of my sister filled my mind, my heart singing this part for me as the rock guitar strummed its tune for all to hear.
"The sun begins to rise,
And wash away the sky,
The turning of the tide,
Don't leave it all behind,
And I will never say goodbye.." The music dipped below the margin as I strummed softly now, the chorus bringing me back to the memories of Robotnik.
"When angels fall with broken wings,
I can't give up,
I can't give in.." Another blast of sound as the music went back up.
"When all is lost and daylight ends,
I'll carry you,
And we will live forever,
Forever,
Forever,
Forever!" The music died after that, the song done, and with a moment of silence, the audience began to clap and cheer. The coldness my heart had been feeling before vanished, and I smiled. To see them happy, that was what made me happy. It didn't matter what you did to me...to see my friends smile, that was my antidote to the poison The Good Doctor made me drink, while seeing their tears was my downfall.
The Good Doctor clapped slowly and deliberately, "Good, strong vocals. I would expect nothing less from a guy who can hold his breath for eight minutes." Bani and Okami snickered at this, but The Good Doctor continued, "Shadow, dear boy, switch out with Ivo. Maurice was eyeing him the most during that particular song, and I would love to see them sing together." He chuckled mercilessly, "My two, darling boys." Though normally a nice thing a mother would say, this mad man saying it with the monotone, static-filled voice made it horrifying to hear.
Shadow growled in defiance, but obeyed, and Robotnik, with almost an eagerness took his place by my side. He grabbed the microphone and looked at me. I sighed, unsure of how to take this. I wanted to forgive him, but at the same time, now that he was here next to me, I also didn't want to. He has done so much to hurt me and others. Even if he never really did (besides with me), and he did it for a good cause, that still doesn't make me feel better somehow. In some ways, that just makes me feel worse.
I hung my head, uncertainty filling my shoes as they moved nervously about the microphone stand. The Good Doctor noticed.
"Brothers though you are, you can't bring yourself to forgive him, can you Maurice?" His smile graced my mind once more, "I know the feeling." I glared at him, but ignored him at the same time as I began to sing. Robotnik caught on, and before long, the band was ready.
Me and Robotnik had heard this song many times. We even started singing it during a battle before….or humming it, I should say. It had come on, and so we just...yeah. So we both already knew our parts, and it meant quite a bit to us. However, it was a song that the others had never heard us sing before.
"Stay alive,
Heaven holds a place for us tonight,
I am paralyzed," I started, an uneasy breath adding to the tension as I finished the verse, and he continued.
"Close your eyes,
Drive away the cloud that hides the light,
and leave the pain behind," Even before, it was like an argument to a child that had never truly understood pain or the reason why it hurt so much. He had always sung this part, and now, I knew why.
"Dead alive,
Find a way to bury all the lies,
Escape the pain inside," The music began to build as he joined in,
"Cause I don't want to fall,
Or let you go." We sang in parts for the chorus, every line we switched, and I was first.
"Love left me hollow,"
"I'm with you in the end," He sang sadly, But I continued with my ferocity,
"Cold, crippled, and shallow..." I sang, my head hanging with the words,
"Don't leave me here again…" A hard lesson learned, a rivalry that transcended time almost unbreakable. But through this song, and all the memories of him, I could feel those walls breaking, and my heart bleeding with the bitterness. The memories, though at first dark and fearful, were now fading into the light as I finally began to forgive him. His apologies and warm smiles were shining through this black void I had created around myself in an attempt to pretend he wasn't there.
He started this verse this time:
"Fruit of life,
I can hear the voices of the hive,
Chemicals collide," He sang with the passion I had sung with before, and his fire made mine burn brighter as we both stared directly at The Good Doctor.
"Loaded smile,
Light the way for those you left behind,
Set the earth on fire," We aimed the next line at him as we sung together,
"Cause you don't want enough,
You want it all!" The music blasted everyone again as Robotnik started the chorus this time;
"Love left me hollow,"
"I'm with you in the end," My voice rang true knowing that even if he betrayed me again, my heart would still be with him. He was my big brother after all.
"Cold, crippled, and shallow,"
"Don't leave me here again," He continued, his amazing voice soaring high above the stands, not in pitch, but in beauty and passion with this next part,
"I can't go on,
You are bound to break me in!" He stopped and I continued,
"I come undone,
Don't you drag me down again!" Now, I had a guitar solo, and I made sure to make it a good one, my voice growling as I sung this one line before the final chorus;
"I come undone!" We came together to sing this last chorus, and somehow, it was better than singing apart.
"Love left me hollow,
I'm with you in the end,
Cold, crippled, and shallow,
Don't leave me here again,
I can't go on,
You are bound to break me in,
I come undone,
Don't you drag me down again!" We ended staring at each other, a look of recognition in our eyes as my heart's barriers toward him crumbled down. For the first time in years, I could see my brother. Not only that, but I could hear him, and touch him. He was real to me again. The apologies back in the room meant nothing anymore as my heart freely forgave the pain he had caused so many years before. Green eyes to green eyes, we waited. We weren't sure what we were waiting for, but we knew that we had to wait.
Silence filled the room after the thunderous applause. But I didn't even notice until The Good Doctor's voice filled my ears once again.
"You two did well." He said calmly as he got up, "But I'm afraid it's time to go to your room." I didn't even care as he lifted me up again and began to pet behind my ears. My heart felt...happy. The poison that had always accompanied the memories of Robotnik was gone, and what replaced it was a warmth I hadn't felt in a very, very long time.
The first time I had ever felt this feeling was when my sister was singing me to sleep. I had had a nightmare, and was crying and shaking in my bed. She had jumped out of hers, and curled up beside me. She laid there hugging me, assuring me with her song. My heart had glowed that night, and I had held that light as my shield throughout the years. That one, stubborn glimmer of hope, though torn and worn with repeated use, is still here. It's been holding me together while fate has been trying to tear me apart.
She had been the older sibling growing up despite the fact that we were twins. She had always been there for me...Only now did I realize, that I hadn't fully been there for her. I escaped and lived with an amazing man who did what he could to make me happy. She was left here with a mad man that took everything from her. He took her light, her color, and finally, her memories.
For the first time since finding out about her amnesia, I thought of how she could be at peace now. Maybe not knowing who I was, or knowing anything about this place was better for her. Maybe, I deserved to be forgotten.
The door closed on us, a warning of tomorrow's experiment hanging in the air. I mouthed the words, my thoughts jerking from her to the horrifying truth of what was about to happen, "We will be experimenting with the Chaos Emeralds again tomorrow, Maurice, however, the Master Emerald will be joining us this time." I stared blankly at my friends, and they stared back.
"What does he mean by that?" Knuckles asked, his fists clenched, "What does he mean by "The Master Emerald will be joining us"?" I shook my head, the answer not one I wanted to say. Robotnik's eyes were wide, and his mouth was clenched shut.
One wish played on my heart, "Robotnik...Kuro isn't trying to find you...right?" He refused to answer, and I fell to my knees, "You didn't...give her a way to find you...right?" He hung his head, the gravity of what he had done hitting him like a brick.
"I did."