(AN: Welcome back for more Despair Hill Zone, where we begin Chapter 2... after the ride that was Chapter 1, we still have a lot to go, because despair always arrives on time...
What doesn't though, is this fic, I'm sorry for this being super late, but after posting the class trial chapters, I decided to take a break, which I only became more lazy of as a result. But no more! Now we're back to more DHZ, and things are gonna be happy now!
...right?)
Egg Robo set down his peduncle of grapes into a bowl, the last of the fruit in his mouth as he grabbed the Game Gear on the table next to him.
"Man," he said, chewing on his grapes. "Wasn't that last chapter a riot? I mean, an execution like that? Brutal! But I like it that way!"
The robot continued to tap away on the Game Gear, absorbed in his game. "It's so fun though. Just like this game, it's not over yet! In fact, do you think people learn from murder? They don't! I mean, imagine if someone made a movie where only one person died? I think I'd decry it as a rip off! No no no, in fact, our fun is only beginning! Like, don't you wanna see how Sonic is faring after I gave his best bud a punishment?"
Egg Robo went back to playing his game. "Man... Sonic Triple Trouble really is underrated..."
…
All I did was stare at my wall.
This day, this accursed day... I didn't think it was over. But now that it soon loomed closer and closer towards tomorrow, I don't think I wanted to see how tomorrow would fare.
What I saw, what WE saw... I don't think any living person should even have to deal with the horror of it all. Tails' screams, his pain, and the moment that we all watched him die in front of our eyes, and Sonic breaking down from the hero we knew him as into a shell of his former self.
I still don't think I was okay with what happened, and to be honest... I don't think I WANT to be okay with what happened.
But no matter how long I stared at my wall...
"...I still need to use the bathroom," I grumbled, getting up and buzzing towards the bathroom. I stopped though when I was right in front of it. There was still a chance that Cream was still in there. So, I closed my eyes, and opened the door to find...
My bathroom was spotless.
"...she's gone. She's really gone."
It was almost like there was never anything there. Almost like... every last sign of Cream's existence has disappeared without a trace. It was like Egg Robo said after we'd finished up and after Shadow and Silver had to take the still sobbing Sonic to the elevator... he would dispose of all corpses.
I didn't even have time to mourn Cream, Rouge, or Tails... And I know that's why he did it. It was nothing more than a bad joke and a sickening dream...
...two things I wished were true.
After using the restroom, I knew it wasn't nighttime JUST yet, so I came back to the dining hall to meet with everyone. Buzzing there, I saw that everyone was sat at where they once were, only this time, Cream, Rouge, and Tails were clearly absent.
"Sorry I'm late everyone," I said. "I had to use the bathroom."
"Charmy... are you okay? You look sad..." Amy asked me. As I took my seat, I saw... Sonic. The poor hedgehog's eyes were wide open, drained of any emotion, drained of any color, and drained of any kind of warmth. He simply looked straight ahead, not caring about anyone around him.
"I'm okay. Cream's body is gone from my bathroom. It's sad I know, but I can't turn away from her death. But... Sonic..."
"I know. It's hard on him but all we have to do is give him space," Knuckles said.
"Well, I feel it's a time like this where our leader should give us advice on what to do from here!" Silver said.
Sonic simply looked at us with the same empty, traumatized look. "..."
"...or not I guess. Well, what should we do now? Sonic's like, catatonic. Who should be leading us? I feel like Vector should! He's the biggest and tallest one here!"
"I think that's the cat..." Storm replied. "And as we know, I think HIM being the leader would just suck!"
"I don't wanna be the leader..." Big bemoaned.
"Look look, we'll do... somethin' 'bout this. Fer now, we should just-" Vector began before we were interrupted by Amy wrapping her arms around Sonic and crying.
"Oh!... I can't take this anymore! Oh, my Darling Sonic! I'm so sorry about Tails!" she cried. "I just want you to know that if there's anything we can do... anything at all!..."
The once mortified and broken hedgehog, who just a couple of seconds ago displayed no emotion, began to grit his teeth as he curled up his fists.
"Your... darling... Sonic?..." he said, turning around to look at Amy with malice in his eyes.
"S-Sonic?..."
"I'm not... your FUCKING DARLING SONIC!"
Roaring, he got up and violently pushed Amy towards one of the tables. The pink hedgehog's head hit one of the chairs and she hissed as we all got up, some angrily reprimanding him while others tried to grab onto him. I wanted to say something, but everyone else did the speaking for me.
"You fucking blue idiot!" Shadow said, restraining Sonic. "What the fuck is your problem?!"
"Sonic, stand down!" Knuckles added as he helped Shadow.
"WHAT FU-FUCKING PROBLEM?! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?! GIVE ME BACK T-TAILS!" Sonic replied through sobs as Espio and Knuckles restrained him to the ground.
"How dare you treat Amy like that!" I heard Espio scold as Vector and Tikal got Amy back on her feet.
"Are you okay Ms. Amy Rose?" Big asked Amy, fists up to his face.
She held her arm. "Ow ow ow... I'm... I'm fine..."
"Amy, I knew ya wanted to help but Sonic's psyche was damaged in a way that we can't do anythin' 'bout," Vector said. "That means that we can't do anythin' 'bout how he's grievin' the most important person in his life."
I frowned, but just then, a familiar person began to laugh. It was Wave, getting up from her table with her hands on her hips.
"Well, it's been fun overhearing you all talk, but I think I now need to speak up. So, does this convince you about how we need to 'work together'?" the swallow mocked. "Are we supposed to feel better about positivity?"
"What do you mean?" Tikal asked.
"We were already working together and yet, someone was still murdered. And now look. We have a case of a psychologically damaged hedgehog now wanting revenge, so anyone can STILL betray us at this point. Now that it's happened once, it's only a matter of time before it begins again."
"Exactly!" Jet added. "Remember, Cream made the first move! The Babylon Rogues only stick together because that's out motto! To us, we couldn't care about what happens to you in this killing game, our morals aren't gonna be lost to some BS like 'working together'!"
"Yeah! And I always follow what the boss wants!" Storm replied. "Who knows what can happen next, but I'm not gonna get killed in some dumb way!"
"I mean... if we work together against the mastermind, then nobody should have a reason to kill, right?" Tikal asked. Wave scoffed upon hearing her response.
"Keep dreaming, pacifist girl. We're going to stay in the real world. It's not as easy as 'working together'. Not everyone has the same agenda that you have."
Big tilted his head. "What do you mean?..."
"I think what she means is..." Blaze began. "Is that the mastermind has more power than we ever suspected. Mainly, what Wave said about 'having an agenda', is that not everyone wants to fight the mastermind. They want to think about themselves and how much they want to get out of here, so they kill for their own selfish desire, and because the mastermind just points them into the thing that will help them kill. The second is what they've been able to accomplish. Not just with convincing others to commit murder, but they also took over Green Hills, which was supposed to be well defended, then modified it to fit their desire. Then, there's Egg Robo, which they created to be more advanced that any robot made today, and which they use to provide our every need. Finally, the execution."
"Even that bugged me too..." Silver said. "How... did he do something like that? When I hear the word execution, I think like, lethal injection, electric chair, firing squad, but not... THAT."
"I believe that everything here has planned out to every small detail. As a result, the execution we saw was the result of someone who most likely has an execution planned for each and every one of us should we want to kill. This...is no ordinary psychopath. I believe that defying them could be more dangerous than anything you could imagine."
"Then what are we supposed to do? Naturally, we must fight back against this kind of tyranny, but with such advanced details..." Knuckles murmured.
"T-To kill that piece of shit!" Sonic said, now out of breath.
"Well, anyone who truly does any to escape, they have to follow the rules," Wave added. "In that case, the only option is to deceive those around you and win the game."
However, Tikal stared down at her feet and shook her head.
"No..."
"No? No what?"
"I... I don't want to live... if it means killing someone else to do it! I... I don't want to kill anyone else!"
"Anyone else?" Espio asked.
"Don't you understand...? It's because... Tails died because we all voted for him, right? And look, poor Sonic is the way he is right now because of it... because of what we did! It's no different from us killing him ourselves! This... it goes against any and all morals I have!"
I could see Sonic's eyes widened as he listened closely to what Tikal was saying.
"Tikal..." Amy replied. "I understand what you mean. However, if we voted wrong, then Tails would be the only one left surviving. That's not what you want, right? Not to mention, Tails would be in the shoes of my Darling Sonic..."
"Look, Tikal," I began. "You're not to blame. Not you, not Tails, and not Cream. The mastermind is the one responsible for everything. We had no choice but to vote, and I don't even want to think about what would happen if we said no. And in the end, it was Egg Robo that killed Tails! So, don't waste your anger on yourself. Direct it at the mastermind!"
Tikal had nothing to say, until Sonic began to softly chuckle.
"I get it... I get it now..."
"Huh? Sonic?"
"Tikal... your words... it... ha ha... it makes so much sense..."
Sonic raised his head up, but rather than looking emotionally scarred, he had a look of... hysteria on his face.
"Ha ha ha... but it's not like it even matters anymore, Tails is dead... and the world took my best friend today..."
"Sonic... you're scaring me..."
He got up and forced Shadow and Knuckles' grips as hard as he could, walking up to Tikal.
"Am I, Tikal? Am I scaring you? Am I that scary now that I realize the truth, and now that I realize that the world deserves nothing than punishment by my own hands? Then so be it. But... heh heh heh... this mastermind will know what it means to mess with me... Ha ha ha… HA HA HA!"
Sonic continued to laugh as he walked away from the dining hall. We could still hear his laugh as he just walked further and further away.
And then, a familiar bell rang out.
*Ding dong, bing bong*
The usual zone crest displayed as the familiar mug of a certain robot soon popped up seconds later.
"Mm, ahem," Egg Robo began. "This is a zone announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Oh, and one OTHER thing... It's SOOOO clear that you were trying to make yourselves feel better and justify what you did. See you, see you, see you, and uh... okay well I DON'T see you, but you get my drill! That's how much I can see you, even when you try to hide! Now pay attention and remember this well! The burden of judging others is a heavy one to bear. So, be well aware of your actions! Order and stability rely on the sacrifice and responsibility of everyone! Okay then... sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the motobugs bite..."
"Argh... more confusing as fuck statements from that bad egg," Jet scoffed.
"Is he... trying to say it's our fault for what happened? Jeez, messed up..." Silver added.
"That piece of shit," Shadow crossed his arms. "Who does he think he is, eh?!
All I could do was stare at the now blank monitor.
As we all left back to our rooms, the day finally drew to a close. A day that saw the deaths of three of our friends... Cream, Rouge, and Tails.
But I knew that this...
This was only the beginning.
And that our despair has only just begun.
TheHunterPersian presents...
Despair Hill Zone
CHAPTER 2
The Ties that Bring Us Together
DAILY LIFE
That next morning, after Egg Robo made his morning announcement, he actually called us all to the gym. We were all afraid of what he wanted to do, and many of us didn't even want to go in when we got there.
"What's he gonna do to us this time...?" I asked.
"Probably make us lick the floors if I had to guess," Jet replied. "I'm just wondering if maybe he'll let us all go."
As it turns out though, it was neither of those, but something completely different...
It was morning calisthenics.
"Okay! Lift your arms up, and down!" Egg Robo said to the only person doing it, Big. "One, two, three, four!"
"One... two... three... four!"
"Now reach waaaaay up, and bend waaaay down! Tighten those muscles! Let's add a little strength and speed to those young bodies of yours!"
"Aaagh! I'm not used to this!"
All of us simply watched Big flail, not even amused.
A few minutes later, it was over, and Egg Robo was panting.
"Ahh, doesn't this feel just great? Being stuck inside like this, you gotta make sure to stay healthy!"
Jet was unfazed. "Uh, dude? You're the one keeping us stuck inside."
"Well, don't sweat the small stuff, Mr. Hawk! That's my motto! Whoa, I sounded pretty cool just now, don'tcha think? Did you perhaps... fall in love with me? Am I just to die for? Ooooh, and I haven't even gotten my bikini yet!"
"Enough with putting nightmare inducing images in our head. Why did you call us here? Certainly, it WASN'T just for morning exercises?" Espio questioned, pointing his katana at Egg Robo. The robot put the katana down as he looked angry.
"Just to make you exercise? JUST to make you exercise?! If exercise makes you laugh, then it'll make you cry! Now, if you keep doing these exercises, you will uncover the secret of my Wimpy Punch art! Passed down from generation to generation in the palace of darkness, this power can be yours with one proof of purchase plus shipping and handling!"
"This sounds like some kinda junk I'd make up in middle school!" Storm mocked. I shook my head.
"It doesn't matter, get to the point! What was your TRUE motive to call us here?"
"Of course NOT! What, do you think I have that kind of free time on my hands?" Egg Robo questioned. "Either way, I'd like to make an announcement! You see, anytime you finish a class trial, a whole new world will open up to you!"
"A whole new world?" Silver questioned.
"Don't you get it? Wouldn't it just suck if you had to live here forever with nothing new to stimulate you? Besides, I know how your entitled generation has this condition or that and you don't pay attention, and so I gotta keep you motivated! So... go ahead, look around all you want! Enjoy the brand-new post trial world till you explode!"
He then left, leaving us even more confused than when he'd show up. However, I couldn't deny that I was curious about what he meant in regards to 'a new world'.
"Is he talking about a way to get outside?!" Amy questioned, surprisingly in a chipper mood after Sonic shoved her yesterday night.
"That seems unlikely," Blaze replied, messing with her hair.
"Well, we dunno until we look!" Shadow added, stepping in front of the lavender cat.
"Whatever he meant, it seems we'll have to search the zone one more time," Knuckles said. "We should split up and start investigating. Should we meet back at our usual spot once we're done?"
"Tch, listen to you. Do you actually think you'll find something you red numbskull?" Sonic replied, his tone... surprisingly sour.
"W-What are you saying?!"
"You heard me. If you think that I'm going to abide by these stupid rules you have, I say hell no to that. I'm gonna find my own clues, and what any of you say to me I couldn't give a single shit about."
Sonic turned around and walked off.
"HEY!" Shadow yelled. "Is THIS your little attitude after pushing a girl and acting like a spoiled brat?!"
The other hedgehog turned around, looked at Shadow was hatred, and quickly ran up to him, starring him right in the eye.
"YOU try seeing your best friend fucking murdered, and then we'll see who's being a spoiled brat you half-witted FAKER."
Turning around, Sonic sped off as Shadow sucked his teeth.
"Piece of shit... who cares if Tails got murdered? That's no excuse to act like a total piece of shit."
"Shadow, please! I know that this isn't right either but... Sonic isn't in a right state of mind..." Tikal said. "It's just like what Knuckles said. Maybe it is for the best that we leave him be."
Shadow didn't reply, just nodded and walked off.
"Everyone's so tense..." Amy mused. "I can't help but feel like It's my fault..."
"It's okay, Amy," Espio replied. "For as angry as Sonic was, you tried your best to calm him in the only way you knew best. Still, we should all head out to explore the new area."
As everyone left the gym, I was left behind, realizing the only thing I could do was exit and head along with everyone else.
As I left the gym, I could see the Babylon Rogues head up the stairs to the now opened second floor. Was this what Egg Robo meant by 'a new world'?
"And if so... what's up there?" I questioned. I hoped it was nothing bad, and braced myself as I buzzed up the stairs. On the second floor, I saw that the hallway and lights were illuminated a turquoise color compared to the purple and green of down stairs. I wondered if there was some kind of clue here, and knew the best place to start was to look around.
Turning to my left, I saw a double set of purple doors and headed inside. I was inside of a green room with two sets of doors, red and blue respectively, another door to my left, and one more to my right. By the door to my right was a large amount of pool equipment.
"Ooh, ooh! Look at all this cool stuff for me to swim with!" Amy gushed. "That's amazing! Maybe I can take up swimming again!"
"Don't forget all the exercise equipment in the locker room," Tikal said. "I could see some of the stronger boys coming here quite a lot."
"And if you look on your left, there's a shower room. I must say, this second floor opening up and our living areas and accessible facilities only grow. Whatever else is going on, I must admit things have been made much more comfortable for us," Blaze continued. "If things continue like this... well, maybe the occasional class trial won't be SO bad... Ha ha ha..."
I only nervously chuckled along with her, not knowing if she really meant such a thing or not.
Regardless, I decided not to pay it much mind as I looked around in the room. I got a closer look at all the pool equipment, including boards, noodles, life vests, etc. I also found one of those Egg Robo rings I uncovered before, and I made sure to use the ones I got at the class trial on new gifts.
As I got up from the floor, the next thing I noticed that I didn't even notice just now, but looked heavily out of place, was the large machine gun hanging from the ceiling.
"Is... is that a real gun?" I asked. "It's not like we're at war here. Why would we need something like this here?"
After the gun was the two locker rooms. I looked at the red door, wondering if this one was the locker room.
"Not just any locker room, Charmy. This is the girls' locker room," Blaze told me. "A true gentleman will respect our space, and I have all the right to believe that you are someone like that, am I right, Charmy?"
"Eh heh... yeah."
I only buzzed to the blue door, where I noticed the card reader to the side of the door. But... what was it for?
"You look confused, Charmy!" Amy said. "You gotta use your PAD if you wanna get into any of the locker rooms!"
"Really?"
And then, a certain SOMEONE popped up.
"Not just ANY PAD, it has to be the PAD of your assigned sex!" Egg Robo said.
"UWAH!" Tikal yelped.
"It's for extra security! That's the bottom line!"
"But, what if someone opens the door and then someone sneaks in?" Amy asked.
"Well... anyone who commits such indecency will be first punished by watching 'Gaia loves you! How to prevent sin for the benefit of you, your church, and your community', and THEN you'll be punished without mercy for your scandalous sexual depravity! See the gun above me? That's Mr. Shoot-Shoot. And Mr. Shoot-Shoot loves nothing more than firing away when he catches someone doing naughty things. DUKKA DUKKA DUKKA DUKKA is the only words he loves to say, and he'll keep saying it even when you're on the ground!"
"Man, I bet I'd be painful to get shot by that thing!"
...it's... it's a gatling gun, Amy... What did you expect?
"Now I need to ask, what happens if someone loans their PAD to someone else?" Blaze asked. "A boy could borrow a girl's PAD, vice versa, and voila, now they're in the locker room of the opposite sex."
"Wh-… WHATTTTT?!" Egg Robo yelled. "That never even occurred to me! To think someone could be so low, so cowardly, so devilish... so... augh, no synonyms that match with low! Hmm... well okay! How does this sound? Let's make a new rule! As of this moment, loaning your PAD to another student is STRICTLY prohibited! There! Now no one can give their PAD to anyone else, right? You like that? I'm kind of a genius, right? Ha ha, just kidding, I'm a full-on genius! My head is made of 100% pure yolk after all!"
"Well I don't imagine anyone would have lent their PAD out in the first place. After all, they would likely be held responsible for anything that person might do using the PAD."
"You know Blaze, you seem REAAALLY concerned about this locker room stuff," Amy commented. "You're not about to do something bad... are you?"
"Don't listen to her, Ms. Blaze! As long as it brings another blackened, then there's no issue with me!" Egg Robo said. "And besides, maybe it's NOT just because of that... maybe Blaze is also against you teenagers being complete sex-crazed maniacs! I mean, look at any boy nowadays and I know they've humped anything from a cactus, to a plastic bottle, to even their old stuffed teddy from when they were a kid! And so, to prevent you from being curious little tykes, I have to maintain a rigorous watch!"
"Then in that case, I would like to ask you to keep the same close eye on our dorms," Blaze continued. "If a boy and girl decided to share a room, then there's nothing to stop them."
"All I care about is protecting the holy image of the zone itself! And well, to maybe get myself on the cover of Mother Tarsier Monthly too! But your private rooms are your private rooms, so go crazy!"
"How... how dare you! That sounds so depraved!" Tikal said.
"Well, we didn't even need to play spot the virgin, did we?"
"E-Excuse me?!"
"Well, the new regulations are in place, so see ya!"
Before Tikal could say anything, Egg Robo already disappeared, leaving behind a speechless Tikal.
"I... have no comment about that last part," I said.
"Add me in the mix," Amy replied.
"Make that a number 3 for me," Blaze continued. Tikal simply stood there, mouth hanging.
"Well, regardless, that stupid egg ruined my mood. Blaze, Tikal, wanna join me?"
"Sounds exciting, but I'll have to attend to some matters. However, as long as it's not water related, I'm glad to accompany you."
Tikal simply stood there.
"Wow, guess she is more broken than I thought."
With the girls still chatting, I decided to head into the boy's locker room. Scanning my PAD, I entered and saw a line of lockers, plus general exercise equipment, such as punching bags, bench sets, machine flys, dumbbells, and a couple of others too. With nothing else much to look, I headed out and passed by the three girls and headed to the pool area.
As I entered, I couldn't help but deny that it did look really nice in here. The room was large and expansive, with a large set of benches as well as a high ceiling above me. The pool itself was also as big as a football field, and even a little intimidating to a degree. However, it didn't look like there was a lot to offer here, so I left. Next was the shower room which... also wasn't remarkable too. The only thing I noted about the area was that there was no separate stall, meaning everyone would have to shower seeing...
I left the room, not wanting to think too much about that.
Leaving the pool and locker room area, I passed by two bathrooms as I walked into the red lit portion of the floor. The first thing I saw to my left was the library. Upon heading inside, I saw a few people, including Vector, Big, Sonic, and Knuckles. The first thing I did was take notice of the laptop by Vector, which looked old and was covered in dust.
"It's broken," the crocodile detective said. "I tried pressin' the power button earlier, but nothin' happened. Besides, somethin' this old looks like it wouldn't do much help. It's remarkably dusty in here anyway. That's probably how it broke. Not to mention, the lightin' is less than ideal. Fer a library, this ain't the kind of place I'd want to do much readin' in..."
"It's broken, huh? Too bad... I was hoping I could use it to go online and see what's going on in the outside world. But... if it's broken, there's nothing I can really do about it."
I decided to talk to the others first. Big was checking a few books out from the shelves.
"Did you find anything worthwhile, Big?" I asked.
"No... all these words hurt my head... I don't think there's much up here."
After Big was Knuckles, who, like the cat, also didn't seem to interested in the books. When I went over to Sonic however, he sneered at me.
"And at what point in my lifetime did I give you permission to even look at my general direction, Charmy," he said, saying my name as if it were venom.
"Well jeez, no need to act like an idiot."
"And your point is? Besides, this library is more interesting than anything here..."
Never thinking that he was the one to fantasize about books, I was about to leave when I noticed one of the dusty shelves had... a letter on it.
"What's this?" I asked myself, holding it and bringing it closer to my face. On the letter read, 'Green Hills Zone'.
Vector walked closer to me, looking at the letter. "It was buried under a thick layer of dust. Musta been sittin' there fer quite a while. Open it up, Charmy."
"Are you sure? Isn't that like... against the law?"
"What we SHOUDLN'T do is leave here without findin' out what's inside. Now go on, do it."
"Okay, okay! No need to get brash!"
Undoing the seal, I opened the letter and revealed one sheet of folded up paper which had writing from a pen on it. Big, Knuckles, and even Sonic walked closer as I began to read the contents of the letter.
"From the Green Hills Zone Executive Office,
Throughout the years, we have been committed to shaping the youth to become the heroes who will one day shape the world. We have a long, proud history as an institution of higher learning with full government support. Our graduates enter society ready to take on active leadership roles in every major job field, as well as face the terrors caused by any evil-doer in our world.
However, Green Hills Zone must now lower the curtain on its glorious history, for the time being. This decision was not an easy one to make, but serious issues beyond our control have made it necessary.
But make no mistake-this is not the end for Green Hills Zone. We intend to reopen our doors as soon as the issues forcing our closure have been resolved. That being said, this is the end for now, and I would like to personally and sincerely thank everyone for your help and support over the years. For now, we are awaiting official governmental authorization to formally cease operations."
"What does this mean?" I asked once I finished reading.
"Hmm... such an interesting letter..." Sonic mused, that... smug grin on his face again.
"From what I'm getting', it looks like Green Hills stopped functionin' as a zone. And judgin' by the amount of dust on the letter, I dun think it was recently. If I had to guess, this may be 'bout a year old," Vector commented.
"So... you're saying that Green Hills closed down at least a year ago?" I replied.
"If I were to take a guess..." Knuckles said. "The mastermind took over the abandoned zone and disguised it as this... murder zone."
"But wouldn't that mean it was closed when got here a few days ago? Heck, I didn't get that sense at all! I got attended by two ladies after all! And PLUS, if the zone HAD shut down, every newspaper in the country would be talking about it! If it really did happen a year ago... then that doesn't explain how, when before I got here, I stayed up looking at internet forums with no mention of this!"
"Then it was the mastermind's plan," Sonic said. "They lured us all in here... they made a system where they could judge and execute could be capable of anything. Of course, that IS if the letter is real."
"And IF it's real though, then it solves one mystery 'bout this place. The reason why we're the only students here could be cause the school already closed down," Vector replied.
"Well, that would be a nice, simple solution, wouldn't it, Vector?"
"Hold on now," I interrupted. "Aren't we forgetting the other part? The 'issues beyond our control' part? What do you think they meant by issues? That's apparently why the zone had to close. Is there a connection between that and what's happening to us now?"
"Tch, you're still here?"
"He is indeed," Vector said. "Now hush, cause it was Charmy that read the letter. So, if the two events are in fact connected, then uncovering it could be a useful clue, on top of figurin' out the mastermind's motive. But I can't say much more 'till we find some more details."
"And the mastermind only knows the truth still... what a shame, if only they'd reveal themselves, I'd finally take my revenge...!"
Leaving Sonic and Vector be, I turned back to the letter.
The mastermind's motive...
If we can figure out why they would want to imprison us here, will it be enough to get us out of here?
Or...
"No, I can't think like that," I said. "Still though, I think that's everything on Floor 2. However, there's still no exit yet. All I can do now is hope someone else found something worthwhile."
With that, I headed out of the library and to the dining hall, where everyone else should have their report.
Upon arriving, we all took our seats as we waited for everyone to get there. Once Silver and Jet finally caught up with us, Knuckles cleared his throat.
"So, I assume since we finished our investigation... did we uncover anything new?" he asked.
"Wasn't I the leader you braindead red oaf?..." Sonic asked.
"We decided once you stop acting like a major condescending dickbag, we'll consider it. But in the meantime, shut up!" Shadow replied.
"Speak for yourself..."
"Shush!" Knuckles yelled. "This arguing gets us nowhere. I know we're still mourning our friends; however, we must focus on ahead to the survival of all of us from here on out! That means if someone wants to murder... you'll have to get past me."
We all stared at him as he said that.
"Wow Knuckles..." Amy said. "You... you actually sounded cool saying it like that."
"D-Did I? I... well thank you. Still, before anything else, we should discuss what we uncovered."
"There's a library..." Big replied. "However, I didn't like it... big words hurt my brain..."
"There was also an exercise area too, even a large pool as well!" Tikal said.
"Still no escape route however..." Espio added.
"And the classrooms are still the same," Wave said. "Honestly, we spent the time playing cards."
"Actually, I found something cool too!" Silver said. "The warehouse and the bathhouse on this floor are now open! The warehouse is filled with a lot of supplies, even food and clothes, and the bathhouse is... well, a bathhouse. I already got a few snacks while I was there personally!"
Blaze cleared her throat. "Keep in mind our nighttime rule though. Just don't go crazy with our new playthings..."
"Okay okay, neato," Shadow said, interrupting us all. "But what 'bout a fucking way out of here? You find anything like that?"
"Uhh..." Knuckles started to look around the room. "Yes... uh... about that..."
"Silver, not a damn thing you could find in the warehouse we could us to get our asses out of here?! Nothing?!"
"Uh... no..."
"Gah, you fucking people... Who gives a shit about all this new stuff? What, a pool or a warehouse is supposed to make me feel better?! We're still trapped in this piece of shit zone, and we still have to find a damn way out!"
"Now now, there's no need to take your anger out on us," Blaze replied. "After all, being angry is your favorite pastime it seems like. Adaption is the key, like I said. For now, we must each find a way to enjoy our current situation."
"Whatever you say, you weirdo..."
"Shadow, I understand your pain..." Knuckles said. "However, all we can do is continue our investigation and let everyone know if you should discover something."
"So, we done fer today?" Vector asked.
"It... seems so."
Knuckles hung his head, and the air around us grew heavy again. Was this the mastermind's plan? To give us hope, and then pull on the rug under us to betray that hope?
I saw Sonic brooding in the distance, only staring at our group in deep thought. As soon as he noticed me, he sneered and turned away from me.
And minutes later, we all left the dining hall after having our dinner for that night. Once we finished eating, we headed back to our room, where the nighttime announcement played.
*Ding dong, bing bong*
The monitor turned on and I got in bed, where I started to play along with the announcement.
"Mm, ahem," Egg Robo began as I followed along. "This is a zone announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then... sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the motobugs bite..."
It was rather scary how I memorized that to be honest...
Still, with our nighttime rule, there wasn't much I could do except... turn in for the night and go to bed.
Ladies and Gentleman, it's now time for...
THE EGG ROBO PLAYHOUSE!
Egg Robo stood in the middle of a stage, a light shining on him as he bobbed his head back and forth.
"Mr. Egg Robo... Mr. Egg Robo, do you have a second? I'll be honest... I'm kind of a loner. I don't have many friends, and not a lot of talents to make people notice me. My grades are average, my reflexes are okay, and overall, I'm someone who's not great but not awful. I guess I COULD get into a decent university where I'd make a few friends, maybe even a normal girlfriend too. But that's why I don't like who I am! I understand now! My life is one giant copy paste! It's like I'm plagiarizing that one small minor character in that series of books you like! I'm almost like a cardboard cutout! Isn't that right, Mr. Egg Robo?"
The light turned off, and the curtains closed.
TO BE CONTINUED...