In Due Season
Chapter XIII
Moments are Realized, Mysteries Revealed
Shadow and Blaze had come to an understanding. They would search for the Chaos Emeralds together, but, once the seven gems were located and retrieved safely, they would go their separate ways. Part of the feline wasn't pleased with the idea of her partner deserting her, but another part felt relief at the prospect. Shadow wasn't the easiest to get along with. Nevertheless, she saw the necessity of having his assistance in securing a way back home to her kingdom, so, if she had to put up with Mr. Personality during the process, so be it.
For him, Shadow would have much rather preferred Rouge's accompaniment on this mission; not just because of his slight affections towards the government agent but because they genuinely worked well together. This princess had already proven to be a pain, both in the figurative and literal sense of the word. Still, her words last night echoed through his mind's ear: 'If they trust you, then so do I'. They all needed his help. For whatever reason, he agreed to the lunacy and, with no small amount of effort on his part, Shadow would continue on with Blaze to find the Emeralds.
"Has it picked up anything yet?" the dark hedgehog asked as he came alongside the purple feline. They both intently stared at the device Tails entrusted to Blaze alone; a precaution insisted upon by Solana.
"No. It's like they vanished. Maybe we should double-back and see if we can't pick up a stronger signal," Blaze stated, looking to her companion. Shadow closed his eyes.
"This is a complete waste of time. I'm heading north . . ." he started, turning in said direction. Blaze looked affronted. Was he already deserting her?
"What?! But the emeralds, we still need to find them," Blaze exclaimed. She watched as the dark hedgehog stopped; his back to her.
"I don't offer assistance lightly feline and I intend to keep my word about helping to find the Chaos Emeralds," he said coldly before facing her, "I'm merely suggesting we head in the direction of known Eggman bases," he added with a sneer. Blaze's features hardened as she just barely kept her temper at a simmer. How was she supposed to know that?
"My apologies, hedgehog. I'll try harder to put your past behavior in perspective. By all means, led on," she said in spite. He didn't choose to answer and instead turned and started skating off fast. He knew Blaze was fully capable of keeping up. She gave a frustrated growl at the sudden departure and quickly took off after him.
The two traveled at high speeds along an old service road through the countryside, making minimal communication queues as possible. Finally, Shadow came to a stop with Blaze a few steps behind. Resting before them was a dilapidated four-story building; about the size of a standard apartment complex. The princess came closer, glancing at the hedgehog for guidance. The puzzled look on his face didn't offer much in the way of direction.
"What is it?" she asked, jolting him out of his thoughts.
"This base; it was in operation as a refueling station little more than a year ago. I scouted it out once for Gun . . . maybe, it's of little consequence, but it's strange," he voiced, moving forward, cautiously. Blaze followed in like fashion.
Beep beep beep. They both looked down at the tracking device.
"Shadow, it's an Emerald, but that means . . ." Blaze began, concern lighting up her eyes.
"I know," he interrupted, scanning the area for movement. Not wanting to disappoint, their metallic foe showed up in the form of tearing through the building's corroding doors; splinters of rusted metal sent flying in every direction. The gut-wrenching sound of the robot's howl followed. The pair stepped back from the entrance, shielding their eyes and ears from the assault.
"Get back!" Shadow shouted, pulling her away from near impalement as the creature swatted at them with one of its hooked arms. He released her and they both moved again, Blaze springing back in one direction, Shadow sprinting off in the other. The feline tucked the tracker carefully away before looking up and noticing . . .
"This one's eye is fixed, do you see that?"
Shadow glanced up and saw the glass-like orb intact on its front. Obviously, someone had fixed it, but they were out in the middle of nowhere and this place certainly wasn't in service. He watched as the eye flashed green and focused on him. He took a step back and immediately cursed himself for doing so, but he couldn't help it. The feeling in the pit of his stomach was dread and for good reason. The only weak point was a 12 inch in diameter circle on its head while the rest of this monster was built like a tank and moved like a racecar. How were they going to get at it?
"Listen, we need to find a way to take out that eye," he yelled, not even having enough time to get Alyson's gun out. Blaze watched as the large metal creature engaged the hedgehog in a deadly dance of survival on the latter's part. She tried to draw its attention with a few fire attacks but it was as if it wasn't even interested in the fact that there were two opponents.
Shadow cried out as he was slammed against a nearby tree. He quickly got back to his feet but was soon knocked back to the ground by another blow. As the relentless beating took place, Blaze's mind raced through possible options and resources she had available to her to help him. In turning back to the building's entrance, she glimpsed an idea.
Quickly, she dashed to the broken doors.
"Shadow, I have a plan! Led it inside here!" she shouted to him, before disappearing into the darkness of the structure. The hedgehog, who was feeling the soreness from both new and previous injuries, wasted no time in jumping on board with any proposal. He bolted for the warehouse, sensing his enemy's presence a hair behind him. Once he reached the threshold, Blaze became visible from her position in the middle of the facility; her demeanor calm, but determined.
For his part, Shadow didn't know quite where this plan was headed. He made for her but was stopped by the feline's outstretched hand. She pointed for him to go left, which he did in an instant just as the robot barreled in after him. It outpaced him by several yards but quickly turned to resume pursuit.
"What are we doing?" Shadow shouted as he began to run, duck and weave around large tanks of fuel and low hanging pipes. He could hear the robot bursting through said tanks and pipes. This place was a death trap; one spark and . . . Ah, so that was it. His train of thought began to run along the same vein as hers.
"Power over flames has its advantages. If you can tangle it up enough, I can take care of the rest."
"Got it."
It only took moments for the black hedgehog to have the overly vicious machine wedged between two vats. It wouldn't hold long, but it gave him enough time to come up next to Blaze who nodded in the direction of the exit.
"We're going to want to get as far away as we can," she stated, sprinting off. Shadow caught her meaning and took off after her. As they ran he could see his shadow elongate from the flash of light behind him, trailed closely by the sound of an exploding inferno. He kept his eyes forward, on Blaze, matching her pace as she began to slow down. She stopped, he stopped. She turned, he didn't. Their sights met. Blaze smiled, her eyes shining with the recent victory and glow of her abilities. Shadow held back all show of emotion except the heat radiating from his cheeks. He quickly turned around, away from her to look at the burning base. He attributed his rise in temperature to that.
"I wonder if that did the trick, so to speak," Blaze voiced as she came up next to Shadow to survey the damage also. The ultimate life form shifted his weight forward a bit.
"There's only one way to find out," he replied starting back for the debris. The lavender cat followed suit. Once they reached the base, Blaze blew back the lingering flames to allow them passage to the structure. It took some searching, but Shadow finally locked eyes onto what was left of the mangled robot.
"I expected nothing less," Blaze said with a small smile of satisfaction as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the tracking device.
"I must admit, your approach was very . . . effective," Shadow stated turning his back to her. The words sounded tight as if it took a lot of thought and effort for him to say that, but he meant it. For not being a 'team player', he was sure a lot more supportive than she originally anticipated. It was both a point of suspicion and remorse for her; Sonic's mantra on the power of friendship playing through her mind. Maybe, Shadow wasn't as antisocial as she was at one time, just distant. She might be misjudging him altogether. If Sonic could work with this withdrawn comrade maybe she could too.
"Yes, well, if it weren't for you suggesting this place to start with we wouldn't have found our opportunity of another emerald," she said genuinely. To her surprise, Shadow turned in her direction and gave the briefest of smiles. She didn't believe she ever saw him smile since meeting him and, given his personality, it didn't seem like something he did often. She felt herself grin back as he began searching for the emerald and she didn't stop smiling as she turned to do the same. The two rummaged around in the rubble, taking care not to burn themselves on the scorched wreckage.
"I wonder why this one was traveling alone." Shadow mused.
"I don't know, but it seems Tails' theory about them being after you held some truth."
"Yes, but that confirms my thoughts that they're not the doctor's creations. If these belonged to him he would have made a seventh to contain them all, but more than likely he would have used them in a grander scheme than this."
"You would know better than I," Blaze said as she continued to comb the ruins.
"I believe I've found what we've been looking for," Shadow said with a frown as he bent down into some of the remains and pulled out a shiny white gemstone. Blaze jogged over and looked at the Emerald he was holding and then to his disappointed face.
"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked.
"Huh? Nothing, just . . ." he held his tongue, turning to her slightly, "What time did we leave this morning. Do you remember?"
Blaze was caught off guard by the question and change in subject but decided to humor the train of thought.
"We left around seven-thirty I think. Why do you ask?"
"I need to make a call. Here," he said, handing her the Chaos Emerald. Blazed looked on in puzzlement as he walked away from her pulling out a phone. She allowed him his privacy but couldn't help but overhear his frustrations as he appeared to dial and redial a number. He kept using phrases like 'Pick up' and 'Why isn't she picking up' quietly to himself. Finally, after five minutes, he came back over to Blaze wearing an even more upset face.
"Is there something wrong?" she asked again.
"Yes, there is. I need to go . . . and check in with someone."
"What!? You're leaving? We just found a Chaos Emerald and the other five might be close to follow," Blaze stated angrily. Maybe she trusted him too soon.
"I understand, but this is something I must do now."
"You said you don't offer assistance lightly, but here you are about to abandon me in the middle of a mission that will help this planet a great deal," she said with thunder in her voice.
"And your own I presume," Shadow said calmly. Blaze glowered.
"Yes, that too."
"I have other priorities and promises to keep. This doesn't rank at the top of them. The emeralds have been missing for years and I have successfully helped in gathering two over the past 26 hours. I believe that is assistance enough for now."
"Priorities! I have an entire kingdom dependant on my presence and my only way of returning to it is through these gems; not to mention the peril this world seems to be in without the aid of them," Blaze stated firmly, holding up the jewel.
"I think you can locate the rest on your own . . ."
"Maybe I can," Blaze said quietly, tempted to take him up on that offer. She was strongly independent by nature and confident in her abilities. However, past lessons in her life gave her wisdom to know help was vitally important.
"But that's not the point. It doesn't guarantee success in retrieving them. At least, give me the decency of knowing what is more important."
"I don't need to explain anything," he said curtly, walking away from her.
Crunch.
He turned back to see she was following.
"If you won't tell me, then I'll go with you," she said sternly. He gritted his teeth. Why did this female have to be so difficult? Rouge would have allowed him to walk off, no questions asked.
"That isn't necessary . . ."
"Listen, you want me to find the Chaos Emeralds on my own. Fine, but the best way for me to do that is to stay close to you. Those robots are looking for you after all and the Sol Emeralds seem to respond better in your presence. So, led on," Blaze said with a smirk.
o
Alyson tried to ignore the dull throbbing against her skull that had developed hours ago, but the rope burns on her arms and legs caused her to groan in agony. Bray looked up from his newspaper and took note of the woman's pained expression. He cast his eyes downward with a look of pity. The gesture didn't go unnoticed by the human.
"Sorry, but I have a bit of a headache. It might have been from when they crashed my car," Alyson said quietly. She didn't know whether her guard had any real empathy for her or not, but he appeared to sink even lower into his chair. With that little sign of emotion from the badger, she decided to continue the conversation.
"I know you can't tell me anything about this . . ." she said glancing around to emphasize the situation.
"No, I can't," Bray said dryly as he looked back up at her, "Like I've said for the hundredth time already."
Despite herself, Alyson lightly laughed at the snarky remark and to her surprise saw a quick smile on her capturer's face. Was he trying to brighten her mood or was it just an offhanded remark?
"But could you ask someone about these ropes. I don't want to be a bother but they're starting to cut off my circulation and . . ."
However, before she could continue the badger placed his reading material down and stood up stiffly. He placed one gloved hand behind his ear and gave it a good scratch before he started heading for the stairs. Alyson quirked an eyebrow at his change in behavior.
"Where are you going? I thought you couldn't leave your post or something," she whispered, though she wasn't sure why. Bray stopped for a moment and turned his gaze back to her.
"I am allowed to take a break, sister, but while I'm at it aspirin or ibuprofen?"
The human lifted her head up in confusion.
"What?" she questioned.
"For that headache of yours; would you like aspirin or ibuprofen?" he asked again. This time Alyson's expression of confusion melted down to a small smile.
"I'll take aspirin if you don't mind."
"Not at all, lady," Bray smiled back as he continued on to climb up the stairs. The middle-aged woman let out a discouraged sigh. She was no closer to figuring out any answers like where she was or why she was there and it didn't appear that she would be getting them anytime soon. On the other hand, it did appear that her capture had warmed up to her a bit more and that could be a good thing.
Bray came back down after a few minutes with a Styrofoam cup and a balled fist. Alyson watched as he set the cup down next to her bared door and brought out a set of keys. He opened the cell in one fluid motion like he had done this hundreds of times before. For some reason, this fact seemed to stick out as ominous to Alyson. The badger reached back down and picked up the container before stepping into the dimly lit room.
"Listen, you've been tied up for a while . . ." Bray said quietly, his eyes shifting from side to side. Alyson was surprised by the amount of nervous concern in the other's voice. She wondered briefly if he would get in trouble for this. However, the badger's voice regained its indifferent nuances.
"They said the ropes aren't necessary at this point so I can loosen em up for ya."
"That would be nice, thanks," Alyson said softly, unsure of what to make of the situation. She noticed that Bray's eyes wandered once again to a corner of the cell. She decided to look over to what he seemed to be alluding to. There was nothing that she could see so she turned back to look at him. The badger had dropped the contents of his right hand into the cup of water resulting in an effervescent reaction. He then reached out his free hand with claws extended and cut one of the ropes, releasing her right arm. She looked at him in disbelief.
"Here take this," he said nonchalantly, handing her the cup of medicine. She took it slowly and questioned whether she should drink it or not.
"How do I know this isn't poison or something?" she asked with incrimination in her voice.
"You really don't, but if it makes a difference, it's not," Bray said flatly. Alyson sighed, giving the badger a sharp glare. Well, she had a killer headache and whether it was poison or aspirin, the pain would be gone soon either way. She tilted her head back and downed the cup. Upon looking back down she noticed that Bray had walked back over to the door. "You can go ahead and untie yourself if you want."
She looked down at her free hand and gave the facial equivalent to a shrug. Abandoning the cup to the floor she began to work the rope off her left hand and then soon her abdomen and ankles. Before long she was finally up and out of the chair. She glanced over to Bray who had decided to take up his newspaper again in the corner. At her full height, he seemed smaller and less intimidating, but, considering she was 5 foot 7 and he was just shy of 4 feet, that was understandable. But, instead of going up to the bars of the cell, her eyes were drawn back to the spot Bray had seemed to allude to earlier.
As if drawn by an invisible string she began to make her way over to the corner, the badger's gaze leaving the paper momentarily to follow her as she did so for a bit, before returning downward. Her steps echoed off the stone floor, every footfall like the last until she reached the wall. One of the rock fixtures sounded hollow when she placed weight on it. She looked over at Bray, who was still turning pages of his reading material, before looking back down at the offending slate. Bending down she touched the tile and noticed it was loose. Was this what he was trying to show her?
"Bray, I don't understand . . ." she began to whisper until the badger let out a soft shush. He didn't look up from his paper but nodded in the direction of the camera. Alyson knew what he meant. Lucky for her, the spot she had stooped down at was just out of the camera's view. Maybe it had been set up that way.
She turned back down to the floor and placed her fingers in between the grooves of stone. It lifted a bit and she was able to get enough leverage to tilt it up and out. The smell of damp earth is what she sensed first followed by the gritty feeling of dirt on her hands, but what she saw at the bottom of the hole dug out underneath was unanticipated.
Author's Note: Yeah, I'm still working on this story, though it has been several months since I updated. I was really trying to keep it up to one update a month too. Oh well, if you are still reading I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)