Chapter 29
Getting it Straight
"Alright, let's split up and look for those Chao! Go!"
The three comrades went separate ways with a determination. A little while before, Snake had asked if Frost was alright while Fingers scouted the area. He had concern in his voice, looking at his friend being so quiet. She had just nodded in response, but he put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Frost…I know that you've been through a lot…"
Frost looked up at him, his eyes looking at her worriedly, and she smiled at him and nodded. It was a bittersweet smile, and it made Snake bite his lip and feel even worse. He continued, "But, no matter what happens, I want you to know that…I…"
Frost looked at him expectantly, wondering what he was trying to say. After a while of his mouth being open and no words coming out, he cleared his throat and said, "We'll always be there for you." He kept his gaze towards the ground, trying not to look for her reaction.
She frowned, confused by his behavior, but before either of them could talk further, Fingers had come back to inform them the coast was clear.
Now, as they went their separate ways, Snake couldn't help but feel a bit afraid for Frost. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself. After all, it was his fault in the first place.
He shook his head and growled, "I need to focus on the task at hand." As he poked his head into one of the gardens, he concluded, when this is all over, I will protect her better. I'll make sure of it.
Meanwhile, with Frost…
She sighed as she walked through the lobby, looking for the group of Chao. She was glad she didn't take the side of the lobby with the Shadow Clan Garden. Fingers was going that way, not her. And she was glad. She didn't want to encounter Black again.
She was about to go into another garden when she thought she saw something coming. She hid behind the frame of the door as a Chao walked past holding a fan some sort. She held her breath as she hid in the shadow of the door, hoping that he wouldn't see her.
Wait… As she looked closer, she realized that she knew that Chao. He was one of the Chao with that other Chao, whatever-his-name…Cosmos! That was one of his friends or something! Jackpot! …But, where are the others? She frowned, wondering what he was doing away from all of his friends. And what in the world was he doing with that fan?
Then, he turned around and walked back the way he came, and she held her breath until he passed. Growing up as a thief had its upsides. She peeked out from behind the door frame and watched as he walked up to a door that seemed to be made of clouds, with two statues of Chao staring at him. Then, suddenly, one of the statues moved, and it asked, "Password?"
"Clouds in the sky," he answered grimly, as if he was remembering something awful. The statues nodded and let him pass, and he disappeared into the garden, or whatever it was. Then, the statues returned to their posts in front of the door, standing as still as…well…themselves.
Frost waited a moment more, but no one else exited the garden. She carefully walked up to the statues, staring at them curiously as she waited for one of them to do something. They were still, however, and so she carefully crept closer and poked one in the foot. "Hmm…" She frowned as it remained silent. "What is this thing, anyways?"
She shook her head and sighed, looking at the door reluctantly. She was sure the Chao were on the other side of the guarded entrance. She wondered if she could get past, but something in her held her back. She had a bad feeling about it, although she couldn't place her finger on why. (Maybe that's because she didn't have one, but…) The place did look familiar to her, and she remembered this was where they first spied on the Chao and his friends. "What a coincidence…" She muttered, flinching as she kept the fact that she had been working for Eggman then in mind.
"Indeed, it is."
She whirled in fright as she thought, why does that sound eerily familiar? "Who's –" She stopped, her eyes staring as they widened in shock and fear. No…
There he stood; the reason she had left his garden in the first place. His Dark tint had not changed in the least, although his black eyes may have grown a bit darker. He stared at her without emotion, although he could see how afraid and surprised she was by the way she looked at him. He did not say anymore, and neither did she, although they wouldn't have had the chance to anyway when her communicator started to beep. She slowly picked it up, putting her headphones on, as she asked quietly, "Yeah?"
Snake looked back at her curiously as she kept her gaze on something off-screen. "Have you found them yet?"
"Yeah…" She nodded, her eyes never leaving Black. "I found them."
Later, inside the Cloud Council…
Frost did not look at the other Chao as she walked inside, followed quickly by Snake and Fingers with the two surrounding her protectively. Snake kept his eyes on the blue Chao for the most part, although he did occasionally glance at Cosmos or Black whenever he felt one of their gazes on him or his companions. He turned towards Soul holding his Blade up readily and nodded. "You are here as well. Good."
The Neutral Chao looked at him in confusion, wondering what he meant by that, but he wasn't able to ask his question before Black suddenly voiced his. "What are you doing here?" His voice held no emotion, as did his face while he stared at the three newcomers. Frost shifted uncomfortably under his watchful eyes, noticing how he would occasionally glance back at her before returning his examination of his brother and the little Chao that accompanied them. It seemed he was thinking hard, trying to make sense of something as he waited for their response.
Since Frost seemed incapable of talking, Snake took it upon himself to explain things. He cleared his throat to make sure all attention was on him and not the blue Chao beside him before he began, "We have been looking for you guys for a while now." He looked down at the green Chao beside him for a moment, heaving a sigh before mumbling, "There's something we need to tell you…"
"What?" Cosmos' curious inquiry made him flinch, which drew more attention to the legless Chao as he kept his gaze away from the young leader. He didn't dare to look at him, not while he was explaining the situation to him at least. Not something this delicate. Fingers wanted to help him, but since they probably didn't understand sign language it would be pointless to try, and so he stayed silent as usual.
"It's about Eggman, and…" He gulped slightly, a movement unnoticed except for his brother, the mute, and the equally quiet blue Chao beside him. "Your friend."
"…Pyro?" The young Chao asked questioningly, his eyes growing wide when he nodded. "What is it? What happened to her? Is she –"
"She is fine," he interrupted, making Cosmos fall silent at the tone of his voice. He looked at his friend nervously, his hand down so he could grip the fan tightly. He then sighed and mumbled, "She is better than fine…"
"What…what do you mean? What's the –"
"If you would let him talk," Black hissed threateningly, "He would answer your foolish questions!" His eyes darkened dangerously, and his shadow seemed to grow fiercer as well, making even Frost and Snake flinch. His brother could see the way his anger burned in his eyes, and as he watched the shadows around him quiver he thought grimly, of course; he should have as much hatred in his heart as I do. He would be the angry one, the one who, although calm on the surface, is really twisting inside with everything thrown at him. Just like his brother…
Although he was still panicking inside, Cosmos just cast a glare at the older Chao and shut his mouth, returning his gaze to the legless newcomer before him expectantly. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now. Even if he couldn't voice his thoughts, he certainly showed them with the way he crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. Snake, seeing the impatience on the young leader, gave another sigh and started to explain what Fingers had witnessed.
When he was done, he found that he both wanted and disliked the idea to look up at the Chao, either to see or hide from his reaction. In the end, he settled on glancing over at Frost beside him to see how she was faring in the presence of the person she really did not want to see right now. She seemed to be doing rather well; she hadn't screamed yet, so she wasn't slowly going mad. She did seem a little tense, but that was to be expected, after everything she'd been through. Wondering what she was thinking, Snake's attention was forced onto the young leader before he could protest with just a single word:
"What?"
Snake flinched. And here we go…
"What are you talking about? Pyro would never do anything like that!"
"Obviously, she did," Black countered for his brother, glaring at Cosmos as if he was the stupidest, most annoying creature on the planet. "Why would they lie about something as trivial as this?"
"It's not trivial!" Cosmos glared back at him. "And that's not Pyro! I mean, seriously! She would never ditch us to hang out with Eggman, especially after learning that he killed Spirit!" He turned to the group of three Chao standing close to the entrance they had just entered from. "You probably mistook another Chao for her or something."
Snake sighed. He knew it wasn't going to be easy to convince him. He turned to the little green Chao beside him and told him quietly, "Fingers, tell me what she looked like again."
After looking at the others surrounding them shyly, Fingers gulped and signed slowly, 'She was a Dark legless Chao with a purple orb and pink-ish-purple-ish tints on her hands. She had two horns going up on her head, too.' He demonstrated by putting his hands up on his head, and Snake nodded and relayed the information to Cosmos. He watched as the young leader stood there, silent, as many emotions battled in his eyes. In the end, it was all consumed in the blaze that took over all conscious thought, and he clenched his eyes shut and whispered, "No…"
Snake sighed again. "I really do hate to say this," he tried to sooth the Dark Chao, "but it is true. And, since she is working for Eggman, she is now a threat to us all."
"Wait."
Everyone, confused and surprised, turned to look at Black. His command was unexpected, but he continued on regardless of their astonishment, "You say that she is a hazard because she works for Eggman." He stared directly at Snake, meanings hidden behind his rock mask. "Didn't you work for him as well?"
The others all grew silent. Cosmos and Zero looked at each other in confusion, not seeing where this sudden question came from. Aeon and Jade all looked around at the others' faces to try to see what their thoughts were, and they found that Soul was watching Frost curiously. He finally remembered her as the one that was in the Shadow Clan Garden; hearing now that she worked for Eggman was a shocker. Had Black known this before when he snapped at him? Or had he found out later? His gaze slowly slid over to the Dark Leader who stood still and silent, and he pondered.
Snake tilted his head down and closed his eyes. After taking a deep breath, he said quietly, "That was true, once." Then, he opened his eyes and looked over at Frost intently. "But now, Eggman is as much as our enemy as he is yours." Concealed emotions that seemed to shimmer in his eyes showed how much he meant his words. "He has caused too much damage for me to just stand by and watch anymore."
Okay, I've FINALLY gotten this finished! Took me a while, neh? Sorry! (bows) I am but a humble servant to and you are the ones who take pity on me and actually read my stories! Hope you aren't too angry with me! (sweatdrops)
So, how will Cosmos handle the news? After all, he DID have a super-uber-mega-duper crush on Pyro! Can he see the truth, or will his feelings pull the wool over his eyes? Will Black and Snake get some time to catch up on lost brotherhood? Will Frost get over the past and look forward to the future? Will Heart do the same? And will they ever be able to stop the metallic menace that Eggman has unleashed upon the Chao world?
I REALLY DON'T KNOW! STOP ASKING ME! (glares) I HAVEN'T WRITTEN IT YET!
Thank you, that is all.
Ja ne!
