Author's disclaimers: Sonic and related characters are copyright of Sega and/or Archie comics. Nightwish belongs to my old friend Mephistofel the Dark Vampire (forum name). Any stuff previously stated as my own still is, this includes new additions of Dark Chaos.
Chapter 10: Reminiscence
No sooner had Bionics and the Dark Legion's rescue team landed than he was on the Spire's roof sitting on his throne. The cloud and rainfall had not passed by the Spire and they enjoyed much more pleasant weather. He was thinking about if there was any way that Scourge might have figured out the Dark Legion was with him. They had taken as many precautions as possible, but here was the possibility that the sparrow had managed to send out a message. One thing was that the Legion had been upgraded almost beyond recognition. They looked very similar to Bionics' own Immortals, so perhaps that might be enough.
He felt that he shouldn't be concerned about the matter. They had been cautious, so it should all be fine. He decided to take a fly around the Spire and surrounding canyons to clear his head. He took off his cloak and weapons and placed them carefully by his throne. He then summoned a jetpack out of thin air and strapped it to his back. He wasn't going to transform into his true form just for entertainment reasons.
He was just finished checking everything was in place when one of the lifts opened and Lien-Da came up to him. He smiled and mocked surprise as he said "We do seem to enjoy each other's company a lot, don't we?"
"Thanks to the Soultouch, it would seem so" she replied, "I wanted to ask you about how you thought the Dark Legion performed on that last op."
"Do you now? Well, I personally think that under your command they proved exceptional. They have quick combat reflexes and were able to finish the mission in record time. I am suitably impressed by the Legion."
"A straightforward evaluation, but I think you're being too kind" Lien-Da said without a hint that she had been flattered. "It was quite a lot down to your equipment and guidance that we became that good."
"Equipment is only as good as the people who wield it. You and the Legion's skill is the key thing that won the day."
"If you say so" Lien-Da said, now revealing a touch of pride in her tone, "I'm glad that we could impress a god with our prowess."
Bionics nodded in agreement and then stared out over the now much sunnier late afternoon sky. He didn't take his eyes away from this scene as he said "Out of curiosity, do you believe 'dulce et decorum est pro patria mori' is true?" Lien-Da looked confused as she replied "What does that mean?"
"Translated, it means 'it is sweet and fitting to die for your country'. Do you believe that this is true?"
Lien-Da looked at him for 3 seconds, then she looked away from him and at nothing for 5 seconds, then she closed her eyes and said "We in the Dark Legion have never had a country to call our own, so I cannot answer that."
"Okay, how about your cause then? You obviously have a goal you wish to achieve, so is that cause worth dying over?" Lien-Da paused and went into deep thought again. When she broke off from thinking about it she said "No, it is not a cause worth dying for. It is a cause worth fighting for, a cause worth killing for."
"Ah, I see, but if it is a cause worth killing for, is it then worth living for, knowing you have so much blood on your hands?" Lien-Da was obviously becoming more and more pained by this conversation, instead of giving him the answer to that question she said, quite suddenly "Why do you do this to me? You go off on random trails of conversation and then you destroy my view of the world with your speeches and actions. Do you enjoy making me question my personality, my methods and my deeds all the time?"
"No, I most certainly do not. I did not know that this trail of thought would upset you, I am sorry." Bionics' stature became lesser for a moment, and he was sure Lien-Da could spot this. He felt good for having got her to voice her problem to him, but also bad for having caused it to hurt her feelings. He decided to end the conversation and continue with what he had been planning before her arrival.
Before he took off or did anything he decided he would ask her. It might even cheer her up a bit. He turned back to her and asked "Would you like to come and have a fly around the Spire with me?" Lien-Da did not seem to react to this question, at least she didn't facially, but instead she said "go for a fly with you?"
"Yes, a fly with me, using one of these..." He indicated his jetpack for her to see.
He waited for her reply for what felt like a very long time. Slowly, she nodded her head. Bionics summoned up another jetpack, wordlessly walked over to Lien-Da, removed her cloak and slotted it onto the power armour on her back. He explained to her that it worked using thoughts, that you had to think about how you wanted to move, how fast to go, how much to turn by, and when to hover. He also told her that it would ignore thoughts induced by sheer panic or terror and would put her on a safe and stable flight path, so anything like that was of no concern.
Lien-Da didn't show any sign of panic or terror, she was calm and level headed as he told her all of this. When he had finished, Bionics led her up to the very edge of the Spire's roof and they both stood on the short wall bordering it. Bionics held out his right hand to her, and she took it in her left. Bionics nodded and then together they leant forward and dived off of the roof.
As they both began to free fall down the 5 mile high construct, Lien-Da could feel the strong wind flow past her face and though her hair. She was surprised that she didn't need to close her eyes or squint to the strong current, and that she could take in every detail perfectly. She turned to see Bionics with a concentrating face. He was waiting for the right moment. When they were a full half mile down Bionics caught Lien-Da's attention and gave her the thumbs up sign; show time.
Both of them managed to activate their jetpacks simultaneously. They surged downward even quicker before Bionics banked up sharply and Lien-Da quickly followed. To her it was amazing, she could turn and spin and change her speed just with a thought. She was in complete control, just the way she wanted. She couldn't help but smile as she and Bionics made a circle around the Spire. She tried a few barrel rolls and did it perfectly. She let out a laugh of joy as they continued. She had flown fast before, but never like this, never this intimate, never this controlled.
They both flew further away from the Spire and had a fly over the surrounding canyons. Everything they could see from up here was so small and seemed so insignificant. It felt like being a bird or, rather fitting in this case, a god as it watched over its domain. Lien-Da couldn't help herself. She spread out her arms and took in a deep breath of fresh air. Bionics levelled with her on her right and smiled at her.
"It's glorious up here, isn't it?" he asked. Lien-Da was aware that the wind rushing past them eerily made little noise to drown out his voice. She replied blissfully "Yes, it is. This is heavenly." Bionics' smile grew bigger and then he broke off from her, heading back in the direction of the Spire. She banked sharply right and followed hot on his tail. Soon they were about to fly over the roof and pass through the massive blades there.
Bionics was much further ahead and pulled his body up, causing his jetpack to make him hover over the roof. Lien-Da was able to copy this action, although not quite as gracefully, and they both floated softly back onto their own two feet. They both switched off the jetpacks with a thought, and then took them off. Bionics caused both of the packs to vanish, and then he placed Lien-Da's cloak back on for her before reattaching his own. She turned to look at him with happiness and a touch of exhilaration in her expression.
"That was just staggering! I've never flown like that before."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it Lien-Da. I've found it's always cleared my head in times stress."
"I know what you mean. I feel magnificent. I want to do that more often, thank you Bionics." Lien-Da gave Bionics a little hug of gratitude. Bionics obliged and returned the hug. After this he walked up to his throne and sat down with a sigh of satisfaction.
Lien-Da walked up to him and sat down with her back on the right-hand side of the throne. For a full minute they didn't say a word to each other, but then she finally said "Bionics, I want to know more about you. I mean you seem to know all this stuff about us, so why don't you share some of your past with me?"
Bionics seemed to freeze where he sat, and didn't say a word for quite a while. After this awkward silence he said, slowly, quietly "my past... my... past... I suppose I can tell you now. Do you have any idea how old I am Lien-Da?"
"Not a clue."
"I am 12,028 years old. I know I don't look old, but dear gods I feel it inside. By the standards of the gods I am still but a child or an adolescent. I was born here, on Mobius, back when it was the planet Earth and Humanity was the dominant species."
Lien-Da interrupted him carefully and said, puzzled "I thought there were no civilised Mobians back then."
"A common misconception, even to those with magic or the power of Chaos on their side, there were some civilised Mobians back then. We were government experiments created to try and unlock a greater form of intelligence. 6 months after the first of us were created we had spread all across the planet, and led relatively normal lives. A lot of us went on to become either law enforcement officers or members of the military, due to our penchant to martial tactics. I was an engineer working on aircraft aged 14 and my brother, Kyle, was a proper soldier, a sergeant.
Then, when I was 16, that all went to hell. Our lands had come under attack from a demonic entity who simply called himself 'Dark Chaos'. He was a being of Chaos Tainted in manifest. He and his near endless army of demons slaughtered any and all who stood in their path. One day, he killed my brother, personally, in cold blood. I could only watch as he did so before he escaped. I vowed to have my revenge. I quit the military and made off with enough guns and ammunition to maintain a small war.
After a year I finally confronted him, but he was far too powerful for me back then. He cast me down, then blew off my right arm and tore out my left eye." At this a look and feeling of terrible understanding came across Lien-Da, but Bionics continued "the pain forced me into unconsciousness. When I woke up, I had these..." He tapped his robotic arm and eye. "Well, needless to say this made it sadly easier for me. I had weapons installed in the arm and continued my vendetta. I met many allies along the way, and many enemies. I fought, became a demigod, nearly died at the hands of a virus so terrible that it kills you through the power of nightmares and Chaos Tainted.
Eventually, I killed Dark Chaos. I shot him in the head twice with my brother's pistol. After this I was taken by a god known as Nightwish, the god of all things good and Light, to the Diamond Alpha to have an audience with the Great Creator Himself. He tested me for worthiness. I passed His test. He made me into a machine god and in the process enlightened and cleansed my bloodstained soul."
Lien-Da just stared at him with a mixture of shock and sympathy. "What about the rest of the Mobians on Earth?"
"Them? When the Xorda, you know who they are I am sure, first attacked Earth. All of the first generation Mobians were wiped out, as their genetically modified bodies couldn't take the effect. A lot more Mobians devolved rapidly into the most basic organisms. The few survivors left would be the ones to restart civilisation. They would guide all the other Mobians that would eventually evolve from base animals or be born to the survivors. I went down to the planet and explained that they had to remain hidden in temporal stasis from the world until the time was right, about 4000 years later. I was able to persuade them into it and that is why there are no records of developed Mobian civilisation during the time before the early Days of Fury. As far as I am aware the Mobians I left instructions with were all Echidnas. They created the first civilisation in Albion.
And now I think it is time for an interesting fact, Lien-Da. The Echidna's city of Albion is built on the same island that I was born on. Back then it was called Britain, I came from the part of it called England. Albion was actually an ancient human name for the British Isles. I was born on the same landmass that would become the home of the first true Mobian civilisation, and I guided and aided that civilisation's ancestors when and how to build it. In that respect, I feel quite privileged."
Lien-Da nodded courteously and said "so you became a god and witnessed the first Xorda attack on this planet. What about some of your memorable moments as a god?" Bionics chuckled softly, but it was with bitterness and false humour. "The many memories a god keeps with him. I have done so much in my life. I have seen and heard such beautiful things as to make men weep with joy, and also such terrible things as to drive them mad a thousand times over.
I once fought as part of a war, where there was a battle in space so large and intense that it literally went across the whole galaxy. My ships fought and carved their path in the epicentre. I remember flying out there myself, striking down fighters, bombers, transports and even some capital ships all by myself. The battle went on for a month, and in the end only my forces and I had survived. An entire galaxy wiped clean of all life in just one month.
About a few hundred years ago, I landed on a planet that had the effect of cutting off my deific powers, my Spire and my soldiers. I had to fight as a mortal for a long time. It aged me to stay there, as the years that had been held back caught up slightly. Before the incident I looked the age I had been when I became a god; eighteen years old. Afterwards I looked as old as I look now, about in my mid-thirties.
I have rescued royalty, assassinated royalty, started and crushed revolutions, brought about wars and peace, met so many people and even kept a few to serve me as subservient gods and demigods. I have done wonderful things..." Bionics' expression became suddenly very sad, and Lien-Da actually moved around to kneel beside him and look at him with worry. "Bionics, what's wrong?"
Bionics took in a shuddered breath, and he felt a tear of sorrow well up in his organic eye. "...I have done wonderful things, and I have done terrible things. Death... war... fire... and burning... I have burned so much in my life. I have burned continents, planets, star systems and galaxies. Under my guns, my tanks, my ships and my command I have reduced them to ashes! Ashes and cinders! I have destroyed untold quadrillions of lives, made extinct so many irreplaceable species of flora and fauna. I have striven for peace all my life, Lien-Da, but what have I achieved instead?
I have achieved war and death and misery and anguish. In the name of my duty and the Creator I have burned the Multiverse, good and bad, guilty and innocent, in indiscriminate slaughter, all in the name of 'peace'! Tell me Lien-Da, after 12,000 years of bloodshed and war and negotiations and endless, endless burning, was any of it really worth the price of peace?"
There was a terrible, all consuming silence once more after this. Lien-Da just stared at Bionics as he stared back at her. He felt suddenly angry at himself. He should be able to control outbursts like that better. He had almost made a mockery of his sacred duty to the Great Creator. That was not something he was going to take lightly. He wondered why this sudden welling of emotion had occurred, but could find no answer.
"Yes" Lien-Da said simply. Bionics looked at her in surprise as she continued "all the blood you have spilled, all the things you have burned, all the lives you have taken are sometimes necessary for peace on a larger scale. If you hadn't done those terrible things then the Multiverse would now be lost to us all. All the good things you have done are a bonus, because you protected the Multiverse without any violence. You should be proud to be where you are today, Bionics, I certainly would be."
Bionics just continued to stare at her. He had never expected her to be so eloquent or so comforting of him, it was oddly refreshing. Every moment he spent in her presence it seemed he became closer and closer to her, more and more attracted to her. He didn't know yet whether he truly had proper romantic feelings for her, he was not very self assertive on this matter. Despite this he anticipated and hoped that he would in time develop those feelings.
"Thank you, Lien-Da" Bionics said with his special smile spreading across his lips yet again. After a moment or two he asked her, "so what about you? I've told you my life story, how about you return the favour?" Now it was Lien-Da's turn to freeze where she knelt. She turned her face downwards for a moment, she was debating whether or not to tell him it seemed. Finally she looked up at him and said quietly "Okay then, I'll tell you my story, but you won't like what you hear.
I was born into the Dark Legion while it was still occupying a place called the Twilight Cage. We had retreated there many years ago to escape Mobius. I was born, after my older brother Kragok, to the Grandmaster at the time named Luger. I led as normal a life you could lead as a member of the Legion in that realm of darkness until my mother died of the effects of spending too long in the Twilight Cage.
Luger... father... decided to take a new wife shortly afterwards. He never consulted me or Kragok about the matter. He just re-married to our stepmother Mari-Su and had another child, my young half-sister Julie-Su. We the older siblings never really accepted our new mother or our new sister, and we drifted further and further from our father. Eventually I reached the point where until you arrived and did all this I didn't even acknowledge him as our father anymore, our grandfather, Moritori Rex was more of a father to me and Kragok and so I made myself ignore Luger's generation. I..." Lien-Da slowly drifted off and Bionics saw a look of both misery and fear cross her face. "What's wrong, Lien-Da?" She looked back at him and he saw a tear on her right cheek. "I can't tell you what happens next."
Bionics was as perplexed as he was concerned "why not?"
"Because you would never forgive me if I told you" she whispered, finally breaking down and crying softly into her arms. Bionics was shocked to see her break down like this. She was usually so cold, so composed; this was something new, something deeply confidential, a side to her she had never shown others before. He got up off his throne and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked into his eyes, still crying, and then he gently stroked her tear stained left cheek with his metal hand's index and middle finger. He took her by the arm and sat her down on his throne. He then knelt beside her and with an almost fatherly expression.
"I am prepared to forgive you any wrongs you may have committed in your life, Lien-Da. You deserve compassion from me, not retribution, and compassion is what I will give you. I promise." Lien-Da wiped away her tears with a little gasp and then readied herself to continue. "Eventually, I ended up killing my stepmother due to my jealousy and hatred, a hatred that has never really faded away. I made it look like an accident, but I think Julie-Su always had an inkling how her mother really died.
Then, when I was a teenager, Kragok and I plotted to take over the Dark Legion as joint Grandmasters. Moritori Rex had stated that our time as Grandmasters was long overdue. To achieve that power, we had to assassinate our father. I didn't care, as far as I was concerned he wasn't our father anymore. Kragok provided me with an experimental weapon to kill Luger with that would leave no trace, and I did the deed. I murdered my father in cold blood, and I took a great amount of pleasure in doing it. The weapon, as it turned out, was unstable. I received terrible injuries and was put into a coma by the explosion it created. When I did wake up Kragok revealed he had taken over as Grandmaster on his own, and that I would be Kommissar.
My own brother betrayed me. I never really got over that. Anyway, eventually we made our way back here to Mobius for another attempt at ending the Brotherhood of Guardians and seizing power, and this time we stayed here. Events came and went, Dimitri became Grandmaster and tried to forge peace between us and the other Echidnas, but I didn't want peace, I wanted dominance. I arranged for him to be assassinated while in peace talks but I was foiled by Lara-Su, my step-sister's daughter from a possible future. It was strange to know that she was from the future but at the time it did not matter to me, all that mattered was that because of her Dimitri still lived.
I became Grandmaster for a good while, I achieved the power I wanted, but after a while the Legion split in two. I ended up in command of the remnant called the Flame Legion, and an echidna called Remington ended up in charge of the Frost Legion. About that time the demigod Enerjak appeared and wreaked havoc across Angel Island, New Mobotropolis and New Megaopolis. Remington and I decided to cease fighting and recombine the Legion in order to fight back. Enerjak also managed to remove all of our implants and other upgrades in one fell swoop. We were suddenly very vulnerable, we had nowhere to turn.
It was then that Dimitri appeared to us and offered to install new implants, but on the condition that I stood down as Grandmaster and he assume the role. I was angry at his insolence, but had to concede. Barely a week after that had happened, Scourge finally appeared with his Suppression Squad, took control of the Republic of Acorn's Freedom HQ and began to advance his army through to this world as well. The fight was between the Republic and Scourge's forces, but somehow we got caught in the middle at times and so we were whittled down to the state you found us in."
Bionics continued to look at Lien-Da as she finished talking about herself. He nodded with clairvoyance and stood up slowly. "Thank you for sharing all that with me Lien-Da."
"Y... you're welcome, Bionics" she seemed to be a little surprised by his answer, and he told her so. She replied "to be honest, I expected you to give me one of your patronising speeches on the matter."
Bionics did not know what to think. "I do not see why I should. Your life is your life, I shall not comment on it." Bionics watched Lien-Da recline on his throne and purse her lips with pain as she rubbed her shoulders. If her shoulders ached, her power armour would get in the way. Bionics sat on one of the arm rests and helped remove her shoulder plates. He took them and put them down, before reaching up and gently massaging Lien-Da's stiff shoulders.
"What are you-" she managed to say before he started, and then she stopped short and closed her eyes and sighed in satisfaction. He let his thumbs press and rub over her many tension knots. Bionics didn't smile or take any intimate pleasure in doing this for her. He just wanted her to be comfortable...
Lien-Da's whole body relaxed and she smiled contentedly as he continued. She had never felt this relaxed in her life. She wanted him never to stop, so that she could forget everything and just enjoy this simple pleasure. Despite her mellowed attitude she found herself asking why she was letting him do this to her. She knew the answer anyway. She had told him the truth about herself and he had accepted it, accepted her.
For all her faults, all the things she had done in her time and her trouble coping with her sudden shift in attitude, he deemed her worthy of his care. That, for some reason, meant more to her than even her desires. Eventually he stopped massaging her no longer aching shoulders and she flopped back into his throne. She kept her eyes closed and just savoured that quiet, utterly serene moment.
Then it passed, and she opened her eyes to the sight of Bionics gazing at her. It was odd, but now she came to think about it, there was something about his look that had changed since they had first met, a certain warm glow to his features, a certain glisten in his normal eye. She found herself emotionally drawn to him, but then she still wasn't sure now was the time for it to come out in the open. Both her and Bionics stopped looking at each other and took in the blazing orange of the evening sun setting inevitably on the horizon with a refreshed feeling in their hearts.
A long way away, in a much darker and more evil place, Scourge the Hedgehog was absolutely livid. They had all been in his grasp! All of those troublesome little bastard heroes had been captured and were on their way to him. They had been in his grasp, but instead they had escaped and his soldiers had been wiped out. And it was all Bionics' fault. It had to be! Nothing the Republic of Acorn had at their disposal could have reacted in time to save their precious figureheads, it had to be Bionics.
Scourge continued to fume as he marched quickly through the blackened corridors of his enormous fortress. He had always liked the quite macabre look of the place, but at the moment he was too wrapped up in his own fury to pay the craftwork any attention. He had warned his old friend, hadn't he? He had said to Bionics to keep his nose out of it and not get in Scourge's way. It seemed that that was too much to ask, even from the person who had done alright by you. Bloody, bloody, bloody Bionics! Scourge growled as he reached the doors to his private chambers and pretty much kicked them open with an almighty bang.
The room, as it turned out, was already occupied. Fiona Fox was sitting on the right most of the two ebony thrones which faced towards the chamber door. She was wearing her usual outfit; black sleeveless vest, long sleeve black mitts, and a set of tight black trousers with shoes attached. The shoes had polished metal caps and unnecessary buckles on the outer shins. The trousers also had, aside from the normal buckled belt, a pair of loose waist belts that had metal studs dotting it. She also wore a yellow bow in her hair, which went at odds with the otherwise very punkish, gothic look.
She barely reacted to Scourge slamming open the massive bedroom's door. When he had stomped in, launched himself onto his throne and let out a great growl of frustration that she finally developed a look of concern. "What's the matter, hon?"
"An old friend is the matter" Scourge said, venom lacing his every word. He felt as though he wanted to throttle someone. How could his old friend do this to him? Why hadn't he come with him? He hated that it should have to come to this, but if Bionics wanted to spit in his face then he would return the favour.
Fiona reached over and gently squeezed his left hand to comfort him. He felt some of the red mist dissipate as she did so. He had always had quite a thing for Fiona, she had actually chosen to go evil and betray her own world in Mobius, and Scourge thought her all the hotter because of it. She actually seemed to care about him to a degree. "Who's the old friend?" she asked simply. Scourge shifted his weight on his throne so that he could lean across and look her in the eye over his sunglasses.
"His name's Bionics, babe, he's the one I told you about. He's the one who looked after me for a month when I was seven. I actually liked him; we were best buddies and all that. He left me after a month, though, apparently his master, the 'Great Creator'..." Scourge said these words in a overplayed obnoxious tone, "called him back 'cause he was breaking the big guy's rules. He's here, Bionics is here, and it turns out he's a god, an all powerful being, and he's here to bring peace to the planet. He said he's gonna have to fight me if I didn't back down."
Fiona looked at him with a degree of surprise and perhaps sympathy. "You're angry because you guys have to fight?"
"No" Scourge snapped bitterly. He got up off of his throne and went to the massive four-poster bed, where he lay down on the right side with his hands behind his back between his quills. "I'm angry because Bionics and his soldiers attacked the convoy bringing in Sonic and some of his gang. He not only freed them, but destroyed most of the vehicles and killed practically all my soldiers. I'm angry because he's forced me into having to fight back against him now."
Fiona got up from her throne as well and went to lie beside him in the bed. She soothingly ran the tips of her fingers up and down his arm to very gently scratch it. He sighed softly with pleasure as she continued. "I'm sure you can find a way around this, hon, you may yet be able to convince him to join us, y'know. And if all else fails, you should have enough men and weapons to subdue him."
"Yeah, I suppose" Scourge said with a new sigh of doubt. Fiona now slowly moved herself in top of him pressed herself against his body. She leaned her head forward and began to kiss him passionately. Scourge joined her and he felt all of his frustration melt away. They pulled apart for a moment and he said with a smirk "I can always rely on you to make me feel better, Fiona baby."
She shared the smirk and slowly began to remove her clothing, saying "anything for you, my king, anything for you." Scourge's expression became anticipating and primal at the prospect in front of him. He removed his crown, shades, shoes, gloves, and jacket and finally socks, and then they both climbed beneath the bed sheets and didn't say a word for the rest of the evening.
Author's notes: And for those of you who are not fans of the 'defrosting ice queen' trope, please look away now. Seriously, I plan to have Lien-Da's character become a lot less cruel as the story goes on, and also quite emotional. If, then, you are the kind of person who likes seeing Lien-Da as we know her from the comics, prepare to be a little bit disappointed. Bionics will be using a bit more intermittent Latin every now and then as a brief editorial comment. Bionics' back story is actually derived from a role-play I did on a sonic forum I once belonged to. In regards to the history of the Dark Legion, I've obviously had to tweak it to fit my differing continuity. In the comics, Albion is never specified as being on the British Isles, only on a large and remote island, so I have made an assumption and will bear any consequences either way. I hope you enjoy the chapter and please give comments. Next chapter we will be seeing Bionics deal with a problem closer to home, and he will be 'Measuring Up the Miles'.