Chapter 13: The Last Two Emeralds
The satellite laser bombardment was completely successful. Although all three subs were lost, the majority of their crews were evacuated in time. It counted as a victory, and GUE Commander Deni wasted no time announcing it as such to the media.
With Nega's minions taken care of, Deni had one more important matter to take care of himself before he took charge of the glorious mission to track down and execute the villainous scientist once and for all. The matter was in his new office. It was small, rectangular, set in the wall, and made of solid steel. Because Deni didn't know how to find the combination to Conquest's safe, he settled for the second best thing, his new secretary.
"You want me to do what?" Terkal the Echidna asked indignantly.
Master Sergeant Terkal had been given a special part-time post as the GUE Commander's personal secretary shortly after the Metal Mastermind crisis ended. The promotion was a symbol of gratitude, and carried with it the privilege of not being answerable to any GUE officer but the Commander herself. Terkal had been more than happy to use that privilege to talk back at wind-bags like General Deni. Terkal would never have imagined a nightmare scenario like this.
"I want you to use your brute strength to open this safe for me, and from now on you'll learn to address me as 'sir', you miserable ground-hog!"
"I'm an echidna, SIR, and in case you forgot, this ain't your office, SIR. You're just the babysitter until the real Commander gets back, SIR!"
Deni's face changed colour. He made an impressive leap towards the reddish-purple of Terkal's fur before he exploded.
"HOW DARE YOU ADDRESS YOUR SUPERIOR OFFICER LIKE THAT!? I could have you court-martialled, you insufferable furry midget!"
Terkal had always hated the corpulent general. To have to follow his orders and respond with respect was more than he was prepared to handle. "To hell with you!" he roared, and punched the wall beside him.
The deep indentation left by the echidna's fist was evidence that a blow like that would've been fatal if delivered to any normal human, no matter how bloated he was. Deni didn't seem to notice the implication. However, the new Commander changed his approach slightly. "What about your men?" he asked, lowering his voice. "Your fellow ground-hogs from your magical floating island. Do you know how little it would take for me to have them all reassigned to the martian patrol unit? A few slips in the paperwork, and they'd never be dismissed from their new responsibilities up there. Abandon my army now, Sergeant, and your underlings will never see their island ever again."
There was an unpleasant noise as Terkal started grinding his teeth, looking up at Commander Deni with the kind of loathing that normally meant instant death when generated by an Angel Echidna.
((Angel Echidnas are empowered by the Master Emerald from birth, gifting them with supernatural strength, resilience, and powers in connection with the ME. Non-Angel Echidnas are no stronger than an average animaloid. Having read the prequels, you already know this stuff.))
Without a word, Terkal stormed over to the safe and in one quick movement tore it open.
"Excellent. You may return to your duties now," said Deni, grinning with satisfaction.
Terkal left without looking at the man's face. He was trembling slightly, and knew well that he was one single thing straw short of blacking out into a murderous rampage. Actually, he probably wouldn't go that far, but right at that moment he had a hard time believing otherwise.
There was only one thing in the safe. Feeling excited, Deni reached for the purple Chaos Emerald. Incredible! One of the seven legendary vessels of ultimate power. They weren't lost from the world after all!
((Prior to the beginning of the trilogy, Shadow the Hedgehog rounded up all seven Chaos Emerald and hid them away on the Ark. With the gems gone unaccounted for for over ten years, many people had started to believe they were gone forever. Again, you know this.))
Deni knew that with the Chaos Emeralds he could make all his wildest dreams come true. Oh, no wonder Conquest had kept this treasure hidden. She must've been using its power to manipulate her way into her current position. Yes, of course! Deni understood now that the treacherous bat had only achieved so much through misuse of this incredible power. No wonder he was the only person in the top brass who saw her for the pathetic leader she really was. Yes, of course. Deni's strength of will was so great that he, he ALONE was able to resist Conquest's manipulations using the Chaos Emerald.
The new Commander no longer feared the return of Conquest the Bat. With this evidence he was sure he could have her brought up on charges and dismissed from her duties permanently. Once he exposed her for what she was the other generals would fall behind Deni as the true and rightful leader of GUE!
-
Lady Veronica Prower was so happy to receive the five Chaos Emeralds that she even agreed to speak with the thief in person. Of course, in person meant via radio transmission. Prower's goons escorted Jedo into an empty room somewhere in the depths of the unfamiliar building he'd arrived in at the other end of the teleporter. There was a lamp, a chair and a table, and that was about it. A little black box was placed on the table before the chameleon. He was assured that Lady Prower could see and hear him, whereas he would only hear her voice.
"You want me to do what?" Jedo the Chameleon asked indignantly after a brief briefing.
"I want you to use your talents retrieve the sixth Chaos Emerald from the GUE Commander's office. Then, I want you to stick to Silver the Hedgehog like glue, and get the seventh Chaos Emerald from him as soon as he gets his hands on it."
"Listen lady, I told you, I'm quitting this job!" Jedo barked back. "Five-sevenths of what you promised me will be fine. I can cut back on a few luxuries when I retire."
"That won't do," Veronica responded. "You will get paid when I have all seven Chaos Emeralds. Any fewer is useless. Bring me these last two and you shall get everything you deserve."
Jedo laughed, then switched back to his hostile attitude. "Do I look like a sucker? Whenever one of you snobby types talk about 'deserving' it always means you're gonna waste your hired help as soon as they've done the job. C'mon, who's stupid enough to fall for line?"
"I understand. I apologize for giving you the wrong impression, Jedo. Your payment will be seven diamonds, perfect cut and exactly the same size as the Chaos Emeralds you deliver to me."
"That's right... And in case anything happens to me afterwards, then every major media outlet in the world is going to get the fool scoop on what you're up to, lady. All of it!"
"Now, now. There's no need for that. In any case, I wouldn't recommend putting too much trust in the loyalty of your reporter friend. You would be surprised how well she responds to persuasion."
Jedo's poker-face was legendary, but it didn't help here. He was sure the lady could sense his shock anyway. Dammit... How many eyes and ears could that Prower broad possibly have?
"Dear Jedo, relax," said Veronica soothingly. "You're far from the first shady character I've had to do business with, and if I was to have all of them killed, I'd likely draw more attention then by simply letting them go. When your job is done you'll undergo a nice and simple treatment that will rob you of any memory of our time together. You'll wake up from a convenient coma to find yourself a very rich man with no criminal record whatsoever. And then you can have the retirement you desire, free from any worries at all."
"A-alright. Alright, you win. I'll get those two Chaos Emeralds, but then we're done, right? Nothing more."
"Of course. You know you can trust me, Jedo. Achieve this, and I will forgive you for losing the Chaos Neutraliser pistol."
-
The waves embracing the coastline of Central City were littered with metallic remnants. The incredible energy of the ion cannon bombardment had sterilized the Nega Replicoids, leaving only a tiny portion of the nanites operational.
That was more than enough to begin anew...
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End of Chapter 13.