DAWN, DARKNESS, AND WAR
Strike, Aqua, and Eve © The Brawler
Metroid © Nintendo
Lord Zedd © Saban Entertainment
Chapter Nine: Friends or Enemies?
- G.U.N. Headquarters -
Ash Mustang quietly crawled through the darkness of the air vents. Getting through the outside of the base to the inside of the base was no easy feat, seeing as how it was infested by Space Pirates a few numbers of hours ago. He would occasionally find vent holders and look through the holes to see what was going on from below, like Space Pirate Troopers patrolling around the base to keep it secure. Ash was very careful in making sure that he wasn't detected by them.
"Getting past security was difficult enough. Now I have to find out what exactly these aliens are doing here." Ash said to himself. It had seemed like a good enough plan for what it was.
He continued to crawl quietly through, examining any certain detail he could find. Speculation was also important, too. Even if he couldn't figure out what the Space Pirates were planning. Another mission was for him to find anyone that was being held a prisoner within the base and see if he could release them and get them out safely. Upon crawling through the vent, he noticed a new vent holder several feet ahead. He went towards and looked through the holes to peeked at what he could see from above.
He could see the jail cells that the unarmed G.U.N. soldiers were being held at. Including the G.U.N. Commander, whom had been locked up a number of hours ago ever since the invasion happened.
Ash looked around from top, and luckily for him, he didn't see any Space Pirates standing guard near the cells. He looked at the vent holder in front of him to see if it was able to move. As it turned out, it was movable. So carefully, he placed his gloved hands on the side of the rims and slowly moved it away from him. Once that was out of the way, he carefully slipped his own body down the hole and dropped down to the ground, looking around to double-check his surroundings.
The G.U.N. Commander, including the imprisoned G.U.N. soldiers, were surprised to see someone that wasn't a Space Pirate.
"There's someone there, sir." A G.U.N. soldier pointed out. "But who is it?"
Ash turned to see the imprisoned G.U.N. soldiers and the G.U.N. Commander. "Commander! At last, I've found you."
"Who are you? You're not working for the Space Pirates, are you?" The G.U.N. Commander questioned.
"No, sir." Ash shook his head. "I'm Lieutenant Ash Mustang of the Police Force in Future City. And I'm here to get you out of here."
"Mustang?" Somehow, the G.U.N. Commander had heard that name before. "I remember...you were assigned to Lieutenant at the age of 16 only two months ago. That's pretty quick to reach that level."
"Yes, sir. You are right." Ash, the young man, nodded.
"While I can confirm you aren't a part of these aliens, how did you manage to get all the way here?" The G.U.N. Commander questioned.
"I was able to use the ventilation shaft to get from the entrance of the base to get all the way here." Ash answered. "Luckily, the security systems weren't working when I was crawling through, which is why I was able to get here undetected."
"Hmm...they must've destroyed the security systems when they invaded our base a few hours ago." The G.U.N. Commander thought.
"Then that must mean they haven't figured out I'm here yet." Ash said. "In that case, stand still." He approached the cell door. "I'm going to burn down this lock."
"Well, well, it looks like we have an unwanted guest." A familiar voice said.
The voice caught Ash's attention as he turned to see Zed Goodwin, in his usual trench coat, along with two Space Pirate Troopers at his side. Ash recognized Zed easily.
"Zed Goodwin! I remember you. You were behind that scandal at the World Tennis Tournament!" Ash said.
"I've heard that story before." Zed replied with a calm smile. "It's old news. Why don't you tell me something I don't know?"
Ash noticed the two Space Pirates at his side. "So, you've not only escaped, but also joined up with the Space Pirates, as well?"
"Naturally, yes." Zed answered. "The Space Pirate Commander offered me a position I couldn't refuse. It was the only way to keep my life intact." He looked at Ash amusingly. "If I'm not mistaken, you're Ash Mustang, are you not?"
Ash was surprised to hear this. "How do you know about me?"
"I hear rumors from other soldiers here. How you were able to get the position of Lieutenant of the Police Force in Future City. I have to admit, that's pretty impressive." Zed remarked. "I also heard that you have the powers of the Flame Phoenix: Neros.
Ash widened his eyes. "What...are you talking about?"
"Don't you know? You and I are both the same, in a way. We both have the powers of the legendary Mystic creatures. Myself as the eel, and yourself the phoenix." Zed pointed out. "And now that I think about it, we both are different in many ways. And I'm not talking about our physical appearance, mind you."
"What is he talking about, Mustang?" The G.U.N. Commander asked.
Ash gritted his teeth, just about almost having enough of Zed's words. Just then, a thought occurred to Ash. "Wait a minute. Two hedgehogs told me that a G.U.N. soldier had reportedly kidnapped a girl named Kyla Vonstar." He glared at Zed. "Was that you, too? Dressing up to pretend to be a G.U.N. soldier?"
Zed seemed convince that this guy knew a lot about what happened recently. "Very well. If you must know, then yes. However, I had my reasons for pulling it off."
"What reasons?" Ash questioned.
Zed, to himself, seemed reluctant. "I cannot reveal them to you. Why, you may ask? Well, let's just say that this isn't a good time or place to tell you that."
Ash seemed a little irritated that Zed wouldn't talk out why he did for what he did. Suddenly, the alarm went off, much to everyone, including Zed's surprise.
"What the hell? What's going on?" Zed questioned, not sure of what's happening.
Intruder Alert! Security Breach at Level One! I repeat: Security Breach at Level One!
Zed scoffed at this. "Check it out! Hunt down whoever's broken in and kill them!"
The two Space Pirates turned around and quickly dashed off to find out what caused the alarm to go off. When they were gone, he turned his attention back to Ash.
"It seems like things aren't in your favor at the moment." Ash replied with a small smile.
However, and much to Ash's surprise, Zed just smirked. "Actually, this helps me a lot."
"Huh?" Ash was confused. "What do you mean?"
"I told you there was a reason why I needed to gain the Space Pirates favor in order to let me join them. Well, to be truthful, I'm not interested in their goals one bit. I'm here to get Kyla out of this place. She's mine, and no one else will have her!" He turned around, and dashed off.
"Wait!" Ash called out, but Zed was already gone. There goes a chance to actually get some answers out of him.
"Mustang, get us out of here!" The G.U.N. Commander said, getting the young man's attention. "While the alien creatures are distracted, we can manage to buy time for our escapes!"
"R-Right, sir." Ash nodded, as he wasted no time in getting to work on burning down the lock by the firey sparks from his glove.
Outside of the entrance of G.U.N. Headquarters, the Space Pirates were engaging battle against familiar looking druids. There was also Lord Zedd, whom seemed to be in command, as Rothion and Saladan were also fighting against the Space Pirates, and managing to take some of them out.
Lord Zedd laughed at the sight of this. "It's great to be back in action again!"
"Indeed!" Rothion replied, as he used his axe to slice at a Space Pirate's torso, making the Space Pirate collapse to the ground, dead seconds later. "These Space Pirates took the bait. And with Eve infiltrating inside the base, we should be able to collect that Chaos Emerald in no time."
"We have to buy her time." Saladan said, cutting down another Space Pirate with his scythe. "According to the Master Emerald's energy readings, it leads itself here. There is a strong energy source coming from inside of G.U.N. Headquarters."
"Then we must make haste." Zedd said. "Once Eve manages to snag the Chaos Emerald, we shall make our departure and find the other six Chaos Emeralds."
Saladan dodged a few laser bullets from one of the Space Pirates as his scythe glowed with a dark aura, releasing a dark crest wave back at the Space Pirate, taking it down to the ground. "How long will it be for Eve to accomplish her mission?"
"It shouldn't take her long." Rothion replied. "The last we were here, she managed to steal the Chaos Emerald from the eyes of those pathetic G.U.N. soldiers. Not even the Sonic heroes or Sailor Scouts could manage to stop us." He laughed insanely.
"Well, we can't hold out forever." Saladan replied. "The Space Pirates just keep coming. She'll have to hurry if we're to make any progress."
Inside the lab of G.U.N. Headquarters, we could see Eve crawling inside a different ventilation shaft, as she managed to find her way towards the lab, where we could see two Space Pirate scientists inside working on something that was on the table, making Eve unsure of what was going on. She pulled out the Master Emerald that she had taken with her earlier to see that it was glowing brightly, much to Eve's pleasure.
"Excellent. The Master Emerald is detecting strong energy coming from this room." Eve said to herself. "And if the Chaos Emerald is in here, then I'm in luck." She grinned darkly. "Now to have a little fun for myself."
She waited as one of the Space Pirates got near her position. When it was close, Eve started to dematerialize herself until she was no longer visible. The Space Pirate's eyes started to change as it growled lowly, catching the other Space Pirate's attention. This must've been the work of Eve's mind killing powers.
The Space Pirate snapped it's head at the other Space Pirate, leaped at it with one jump and impaled it with it's sword arm, making the impaled Space Pirate screech in pain before slowly dying on it's own. The possessed Space Pirate pulled out it's sword-arm, making the other Space Pirate limp to the ground. It then impaled itself with it's own weapon, making it screech in pain as it fell to the ground, dying seconds later.
Eve then materialized herself, making herself visible again. "While it was short-lived, I suppose I shouldn't be wasting my time. Now to collect the Chaos Emerald." She looked up at the table and saw something shiny. A jewel which turned out to be a green Chaos Emerald, much to Eve's delight.
She picked up the Chaos Emerald in her hands, smiling all the way. However, something else caught her eye. She saw a peculiar piece of sketch paper. What she saw shocked her. On the sketch paper, there were two drawings of Kyla Vonstar. She seethed in rage.
"Why the hell do these Space Pirates want with that bitch?" Eve asked. Not wanting to look at it any longer, she tore the paper to shreds and scattered it all over the floor. "I could care less. That stupid bitch deserves to die for all I care!" She turned her attention back to the Chaos Emerald in her hand, along with the Master Emerald in the other hand. "All I care about are these beautiful jewels. Now I better report to the others before they get suspicious." She pulled out a black rose and placed it on the desk before putting the emeralds in an unknown pocket of hers and returning to the ventilation shaft.
Ash Mustang had managed to burn the lock down, and managed to release the soldiers. He intructs them to make their way out of the base by the ventilation shaft he had crawled through earlier.
All of the soldiers were up in in the ventilation shaft, save for the G.U.N. Commander.
"Aren't you coming with us?" The G.U.N. Commander asked.
"Yes, sir. As soon as you get up there, I'll be right behind you." Ash replied.
As Ash was about to get the G.U.N. Commander up with the others, two Space Pirates jumped down from the ground, taking Ash and the G.U.N. Commander by surprise.
"Damn! More Space Pirates. It looks like they don't want us to get out of here alive." The G.U.N. Commander said.
Ash narrowed his eyes at the two Space Pirates that looked ready to attack. Suddenly, a jolt of lightning striked at one of the Space Pirate's back, sending it flying face forwards to the ground.
The other Space Pirate turned around, but only to receive another lightning strike to it's chest, making it fall to it's back, paralyzed by the electrical attack.
Ash and the G.U.N. Commander looked to see Strike and Aqua coming to the aid of their friend, while riding on their boards.
"Strike! Aqua!" Ash exclaimed. "What are you two doing here?"
"We came back to help you. And it looks like we weren't too late." Strike said.
"Have you been able to figure out where Kyla is?" Aqua asked him.
"I don't know exactly, but the G.U.N. soldier you were talking about came here." Ash replied.
Aqua's eyes widened. "Then Kyla must be here! I have to find her!"
"Wait!" Ash called out. "There's more."
"More?" Strike wondered.
"That G.U.N. soldier you supposedly ran into, it turns out that the one wearing that uniform was really Zed Goodwin." Ash replied.
Strike and Aqua's eyes widened in shock at this news.
"Zed Goodwin?" Strike exclaimed.
"No! It can't be! Why him...?" Aqua asked, making sure that she wasn't hearing things.
"I don't know why. He wouldn't give out any answers. However, he said that he had no interest in the Space Pirates goals. That must mean he's working alone." Ash thought.
Aqua grew worried about the situation. Fearing the worst, she turned herself around and boosted away from the group.
"Aqua? Where are you going?" Strike yelled out.
The light-blue hedgehog stopped herself and looked back. "I'm going to find Kyla! We need to get her out of here!" Aqua called back before dashing off by the wind of her board.
"Aqua, wait!" Strike called out, but she was already gone. What was he suppose to do now?
"Go with after her, Strike." Ash told him.
Strike turned to Ash. "But what about you?"
"I'm going to escape with the other G.U.N. soldiers through the ventilation shaft. I'll meet you outside when you are done here. Hurry!"
"Right." Strike nodded, as he turned around and dashed off on his board. He was hoping to find his friend Aqua. And possibly Kyla, as well.
Aqua was riding through G.U.N. Headquarters, surprisingly not encountering any Space Pirates. They were probably being distracted by the druids outside of the base led by Lord Zedd. Which was a good thing for her, because that way she find Kyla with no Space Pirates in her way. She continued to ride through the base until she spotted the fifth level of the headquarters, which was where the main console of the base was located. Thinking that might be a good place to start looking, Aqua quickly rode her way up.
She had made her way to the top, as the door oppened for Aqua while she rode inside the room.
"Kyla! Where are you-? Huh?" Aqua stopped in mid-sentence when she saw someone something in front of her that made her eyes gleam open.
There was a figure with familiar short blue haired-ponytail, and wearing a small red cape for some reason. Aqua started to smile when she saw the blue hair.
"Kyla! It's you! I'm so glad you're OK! Come on, we need to get out of here before these Space Pirates get to us!" Aqua said to her.
The figure didn't say anything, much to Aqua's confusion.
"Kyla?" Aqua called out. "Are you all right?"
The figure finally turned around, revealing itself to Aqua. The light-blue hedgehog's eyes turned to horror at what she saw. The person did turn out to be Kyla Vonstar, but she was in a different attire. She was wearing black high heels, black shorts, a long black glove with red linings covering her left hand, wearing red armor, and the most unusual thing on her was that cybernetic impalement's were attached to the right side of her neck and cheek.
Aqua's eyes widened in horror at this sight. "Kyla?"
"I...am Starinus. A commander of the Space Pirates of G.U.N. Headquarters." She replied with a cold voice. "Kyla Vonstar no longer exists."
Aqua couldn't believe what she was hearing. "No...what did they do to you?"
"I was in a lab, being experimented by the Space Pirates when I was unconscious. When I woke up, someone named Vi-Zera helped me up on my feet and said that I was born to help the Space Pirates rule over everything that exists. The Space Pirate scientists re-created me and helped me gain a new life out of the old one I used to live with. The old life I had was cold, harsh, and I almost couldn't live myself." She closed her eyes, as if to seemed angered and sad at the same time.
"Wait...what do you mean the Space Pirates 'gave you a new life'?" Aqua asked.
"You didn't know? " Kyla, or rather Starinus, smiled darkly. "The Kyla Vonstar you remembered was killed. After the Space Pirates helped recreate me, they killed off Kyla's real body when she was still unconscious. So as you can see, I have the same look-alikes as Kyla Vonstar, but it's not the real one you use to know."
Aqua's eyes started to tera up. Her head lowered as she collapsed to her knees. "No...no...NO!" She slammed her hand down on the ground, crying over the fact that Kyla was dead. "I can't...this isn't true...I refuse to believe that my friend is dead...I can't...I won't...NO!"
Starinus looked down at the crying Aqua, whom was in traumatizing pain and sadness. "It doesn't matter anyway. I still have the same memories of your dead friend. So in a way, I'm both Kyla and not her at the same time."
"No..." Aqua covered her eyes. "I can't believe Kyla...she...no...I can't..."
"Are you sure about that? Because I can sense some flaws in that mouth of yours."
The two turned their heads to see Zed Goodwin, of all people. Zed had his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.
"You!" Starinus narrowed her eyes at Zed. "Out of all the people who ruined my life, you're the worst out of them all!"
"Really? And why I'm listening to this who supposedly believed that Kyla was killed?" Zed countered.
"You doubt me?" Starinus questioned.
"There's a lot of things I doubt about your reasoning's behind your words. Like, you say Kyla was really killed? Or that maybe the reason why these creatures took you in was because they built a clone android out of the real Kyla and disposed her somewhere else while you took her place." Zed replied.
"You like to talk a lot, don't you?" Starinus asked, not intimidated by his words. "That's one of the reasons why I hated you. You took me in hoping to restore my lost arm, but instead, used it for your own selfish goals. But that's OK. Because now that I thought about it, living with this arm isn't so bad after all. Because now I have a chance to kill you and get my revenge for what you have done to me!"
"Kyla, stop!" Aqua shouted at her. "This isn't like you! I know that the real you is still inside! You just have to stop think about you're doing! Look inside yourself and stop all this!"
Starinus felt a little irritated by this, but kept her calm. "As I have just said, Kyla Vonstar was killed by the other Space Pirates after re-creating me. She's gone forever. I am Starinus now, and I no longer want to hear being called Kyla ever again!"
"Ah, now I see..." Zed said, realizing something.
"What?" Starinus glared at Zed.
"You claim that Kyla is dead, but you're fully admitting that you really are Kyla, but just under a different name." Zed said. "Probably that's because Vi-Zera gave you that new name and had discarded the old name to give you a 'new life', or so he says."
"It doesn't matter what you think." Starinus replied. "What matters is that I can begin my new life as a Space Pirate Commander. And no one is going to change me for who I am!"
Aqua was still in shock over this. Could Kyla really be dead? Or does Zed's words ring in something else, saying that Kyla isn't dead and that this person is really her?
The base door opened, revealing it to be Strike the Hedgehog. "Come on, Aqua! We need to get out of here!"
Aqua turned to see her friend at the door. "But Strike...?"
"Your hedgehog friend is right." Zed said. "We have to move before the Space Pirates their full force on us."
Zed ran out of the room as Aqua looked back one last time at Kyla, or Starinus as she is now, before hopping on her board and following Strike and Zed to the exit.
Outside of the base, we could still the battle between the Space Pirates and the druids. Lord Zedd, Rothion, and Saladan were still there as they helped out against the Space Pirates until Eve returned with the Chaos Emerald.
Speaking of which, a large bright flash appeared right behind the three villains, revealing it to be Eve the Cat.
"Did you manage to get the Chaos Emerald?" Saladan asked.
"Got it right here." Eve replied with a smirk while holding the green Chaos Emerald in her hand.
"What about the Master Emerald? Is it still safe?" Lord Zedd questioned.
Eve grabbed out the Master Emerald from an unknown pocket of hers and showed it with her other hand. "Safe and sound."
As Rothion held himself back to get himself some air, he noticed something coming out of the base. "Look there!"
The others turned to see Strike, Aqua, and Zed Goodwin making a run for it as they passed by the on-going battle between the Space Pirates and the druids. Lord Zedd seemed to notice them as well.
"Who are those creatures suppose to be?" Lord Zedd questioned.
"I think I've seen them before." Rothion replied. "They're from the World Tennis Tournament!"
"But why are they together?" Eve wondered. "Two of them are clearly helping somebody that almost took over the world some months ago."
"It doesn't matter who they are. The point is that they have the right idea of escaping this place." Saladan pointed out. "Since we already got what we needed, we better make our departure, too."
"Way ahead of you." Eve said, as she raised the Chaos Emerald into the air. "CHAOS CONTROL!"
A bright flash engulfed the villains for a moment before dieing down, and with the villains gone from sight. The druids that were also there had vanished as well, leaving only the Space Pirates.
The scene shifts back towards the inside of the base. In the main room, we could see Starinus on top of the control center, where she could see the other Space Pirates got to work in repairing any damages that they had received during the attack by the druids that had happened twenty minutes ago.
Just then, Vi-Zera's image appeared on the large screen. "Commander Starinus. Are you feeling all right?"
"I am, thank you." Starinus replied. "However, we ran into some difficulties."
"Give me a status a report. Now." Vi-Zera commanded.
"Yes, sir." Starinus nodded. "There was an attack here that was invaded by a pack of druids. To make matters worse, we had lost the Chaos Emerald in the lab while the invasion went ahead."
"What happened to the Space Pirate scientists that were in charge of the lab?" Vi-Zera questioned.
"It turns out they were both killed by whoever broke into the lab. We don't know who it was, but we did find out that the person got into the lab through the ventilation shaft. Speaking of which, it seems someone more than just the druids came here.
"Who was it?" Vi-Zera asked.
"Two hedgehogs and another human. It seems that they were working together to release the G.U.N. soldiers that were being held prisoner here." Starinus answered.
"And did the Space Pirates manage to stop them?"
Starinus lowered her head. "Unfortunately, they had released all of the G.U.N. soldiers, including their Commander. I'm sorry."
"There is nothing to worry about." Vi-Zera replied. "The G.U.N. soldiers were of no use to me. I cared not about what happened to those G.U.N. soldiers, anyway."
"And also...it seems that Zed Goodwin had betrayed us as well." Starinus added. "He left with the other two hedgehogs."
"I thought Zed was a suspicious termite that needed to be exterminated. I guess I should've done so when I had the chance." Vi-Zera said, partly blaming himself for not killing off Zed. "What about the Space Pirates soldiers? What are the conditions on them?"
"A small majority of them were killed. And some others have been injured. The injured ones are currently receiving treatment and will be recovered in no time. And no worries, sir. If he ever shows his face around here again, I promise to finish the job for you." Starinus replied with a smirk.
"I appreciate your loyalty. It seems you have already improved as my newly appointed commander." Vi-Zera said.
"Thank you. Just one question, though: When will the speech be ready?" Starinus asked.
"It will be ready shortly. Once it is ready and Dr. Eggman gives the word, we shall take the first step towards our secret plan." Vi-Zera answered.
"Excellent." Starinus smirked.
"I shall leave the rest to you. I will notify the other commanders once it is ready." Vi-Zera stated, as his image disappeared off-screen.
Starinus turned the other away as something came to her mind. "Most of my life has been a wreck. I have been beaten, tortured, used, even almost killed once. I'm not going to have any more bad moments in my life. No, I'm going to make sure everyone pays for what they've done to me. With the Space Pirates and robots in control, everyone will be sorry. The only thing is that they won't be forgiven. Instead, they will all be enslaved, punished, and beaten to death as Organization Fusion: The New World turns this sad world into what it will soon become."
The old saying goes: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Is Kyla Vonstar truly dead? Or is she still alive by what Zed says? And with the first Chaos Emerald in their grasp, will the Lord Zedd and the others be able to locate the six remaining Chaos Emeralds? Find out on the next Dawn, Darkness, and War!
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