R.I.P: Michael Jackson: 1958-2009.
Note: This chapter was slightly inspired by Archie's Sonic 200.
Characters © Respected Owners
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Ch. 28: The Premonition of War pt. 3
Subtitle: That guy has a really tiny middle finger.
The final word I hate is regret. It's a downer word that churns at your stomach and brings pangs to your heart. Every time I think about that day where I faced Rodrigo, I never recovered. It brought so much pain to me, and whenever I think about it, it just sucks to place it on the table. The flashbacks that came to my mind would bring only headaches and throbs against my heart. Sometimes, I wondered if I made the right decision that fateful day, but I continuously bickered with my mind to trick it, to say that I was right. After all, Rodrigo…
Well, what could be said about him? That he was insane, evil, and a bit of a pedophile? He kissed my forehead, mind you. Or maybe I misunderstood his intentions when I was in the past. Maybe Rodrigo was trying to save Babylon from a "corrupted and tainted" monarchy. Perhaps, the entire time I was in the past, he trying to be the hero, and I ruined everything, turning him into what he was: a demon.
Oh, WTF am I talking about? Rodrigo was born psychotic. It's not like there's anything I could've done about it.
"Wait a second!" I shouted, feeling the blood loss suddenly start kicking in.
"What now?" Rodrigo whined, rolling his eyes.
"So, you're saying, that you need some freaky super powerful…you to beat me, and I'm about to lose consciousness?" I questioned, panting heavily as I gripped my left side to halt the blood flow. "And you probably named yourself something really stupid, like, I dunno, Demon Rodrigo?"
"How'd you know that?!" Rodrigo demanded.
"…Are you serious? I got your name right? Dang, you're terrible at naming anything! I feel bad for your kids since their names suck!"
"Demon" Rodrigo paused, a sweatdrop coming from the back of his head. Smirking, I realized that I had made him angry enough that he would simply scratch the back of his head bemusedly. Taking off my pilot's vest, I wrapped it around my sides like a tourniquet. Coughing blood into my hand, I ripped my gloves off, exposing my orange flames that covered my entire hands.
"It's over, it can finally be over," Rodrigo murmured, raising his right hand into the air. "One final blast, you die, and then I'll be the victor. I win!"
A collection of dark gravity appeared in his hand, streaming upwards towards the ceiling slowly. Rodrigo's grin only grew wider as Storm's footsteps suddenly halted with a lighter thud hitting the ground. Storm was crying out to Jet who had fallen to his knees apparently, but I didn't know why.
"First, allow me to take care of the Solar Scum up there, especially that accursed prince," Rodrigo growled. "Babylon Pulse!"
The black lightning bolt, surrounded by light blue energy streamed upwards, slicing through the ceiling. I screamed at to Jet and Storm, hoping they could hear me over the roar of the thunder. Two cries punctured my hearing, making me fall as the rubble clattered around me. Rodrigo waited, staring at the hole before his crystallized wings flapped, and he dashed up into the ceiling, making the hole even larger when he crashed through it. I couldn't since that demonic avian destroyed my wings. Again.
"You! You took the hit?!" Rodrigo shrieked.
A few moments passed with silence following. That's when it happened, and all hell broke loose. Storm's body toppled down through the hole, creating a hole a few feet away from me. Jet screamed, launching himself at Rodrigo with his fans out. Tears coated his face as he randomly and rapidly at Rodrigo, but the crow merely caught both of his fists, throwing into the ground. Jet didn't move, but he groaned and soon lost consciousness.
"S-Storm!" I cried, limping towards him.
The albatross in mention was breathing heavily, taking in whatever oxygen he could. He was holding his chest, but the small leaks of blood plopped through his fingers. Weakly, Storm grinned up at me, gurgling in an attempt to chuckle.
"I…I j-just need some…s-sleep…I'll-I'll wake up s-soon…" Storm muttered quietly before his head slumped onto the ground. Soon, I could hear his soft snoring, and I thanked whatever God or gods there were for him just being alive.
Rodrigo hovered behind me, placing his scythe by my neck. "Heh, what an absolute fool. He shoved Jet out of the way just before the bolt struck. It pierced almost straight through him, probably broke a few ribs or something."
"Is…is this still a game?" I demanded.
"Pardon?"
I slowly turned to glare at him, veins grasping my head. "You said this was a game, a tie two years ago. You said I hurt you, I ruined your life." My arms twitched, and my lower lip trembled. Chewing on it to stop, I continued harshly, "But you, you took my family away! You took my Chaotix! You used me to kill Wave, and your own family hated you! I suffered way more than you did!"
In a blind, furious rage, I lashed my sword at Rodrigo, but he simply snatched it once more. Rodrigo just stared down at me, eyes rather morbid and ripped the top of the blade clean of my sword. Only a hilt remained intact. Rodrigo smirked, reeling his fist back and slammed me straight in my gut. I sputtered, hacking up blood as the crow held me up by my tarnished wings.
"You've suffered? Cute whining you had going there. Yet, I only wanted to bring salvation and a glimmer of hope to Babylon," Rodrigo stated coldly. "On the other hand, you ruined everything. One of you little punks that were there that day informed the Babylon Guard, defeating the Lunars, and-!"
"Wait, you singled me out? Ya know, you could've gone after Gemini, Damien, and whoever else was there," I interjected.
"I could've, but there was a catch," Rodrigo growled. "You defeated me with that rat of a prince Stolen, sending me to isolation with Vannoza. I cannot forgive you for that!"
I winced, reluctantly coming to terms that I did get him exiled. Rodrigo smirked at my guilty expression, slapping my shield out of my other hand. With his free hand, Rodrigo consolidated a large amount of black energy, chanting in the Babylon language.
"No more last words, just kill him," Rodrigo muttered, and I noticed that his words had been slurred slightly. "Die! Retribution Spike!"
The ball formed into a spear-like object, and Rodrigo stabbed it straight through my chest. I gasped, eyes widening in utmost horror. This was it, there were no more second or third chances at life. Everything was over. I felt my life start to rapidly slip away as I slumped over into Rodrigo's chest. His sick laughter filtered the air, upstaging my quiet breaths.
"I won! Yes, me! The world will now bend to my will!" Rodrigo screamed, soon followed by a belt of devilish laughter.
The blood was coming out of a hole in my chest, and I knew I would die. There was absolutely no question, no argument, nothing. Everything faded in and out like I was suffocating. Grey colors flooded my vision, blocking out all shades and tints of color. I managed to get a final glance at Storm's unconscious form before my eyes finally closed.
"It's…all over. I lose," I thought.
Heh, you thought I was going to die, right? Well, you're wrong! A miracle occurred at that very moment. A pulse of light cut on my Ark, making Rodrigo's laughter abruptly halt. My Light Gravity Ark suddenly removed itself from my wrist and floated in the air. Rodrigo attempted to snatch it, but it released another bright white light, blinding him. He dropped me to the ground, taking to the skies with his crystallized wings. My eyes fluttered open, seeing the Ark hover, and a voice rang out.
"Hey there, looks I could help you out," the Ark said kindly. An image of a raspberry colored short dog with bronze eyes with a little white mohawk with a matching tail and chest and translucent turquoise wings on his back and a green bauble on his neck.
"Wh-who are you?" I asked weakly, almost passed out.
"My real name is Light Gaia, but call me Chip! That's what Sonic nicknamed me. Anyway, I had no idea Rodrigo used my blood along with my brother, Dark Gaia's, blood. Really not fair. Let me see what I can do," Chip mentally chuckled. "After all, I am the guardian of light, day, and rebirth."
"What the hell?! You shouldn't have found out about that, Light Gaia!" Rodrigo roared, his Dark Ark pulsing with evil. "Accursed mutt, you should be deep within the Earth's core!"
"You took a sample of my blood and my brother's! There's no way you can get away with that!" Chip proclaimed. "You're using my brother's power, that's how you got that new form!"
Facing me, the tangible chihuahua placed a hand to my forehead, but I couldn't feel it since he was like a hologram. Chip grinned, and the green bauble on his chest illuminated. I thought Chip was similar to an angel in this situation. His light had actually started to heal my wounds. The skin that was sliced and torn off was actually reappearing in a light green light. My blood wasn't pouring out anymore due to the new skin and tissue. On my back, I felt incredibly relieved to find my wings back, longer and stronger with a brighter light blue. With a cheery grin, Chip placed the Ark back onto my wrist once he was done healing me.
"Well, all I can really do heal you, but it should be good enough. You're all better now!" Chip grinned, rubbing the back of his head. In his other hand was a chocolate bar. "If I were actually there, I'd give this to you."
"No need. Thank you, Chip," I gratefully said, grinning widely.
"One last thing," Chip stated, making me blink. "Time for your own super form to be awakened again."
Chip's bauble glowed once more along with my Light Ark. I gasped, feeling power rush through me. Rodrigo screamed in outrage, attempting to attack, but I created a barrier around Chip and I with gravity. Warmth erupted in my chest as power was shared from Chip and I. My eyes lowered as a white light began to trail along my arms as Rodrigo shouted defiantly outside. Suddenly, my eyes began to change from amber and violet to vermillion. All the black stripes turned to a dark lemon with my already yellow stripes brighter than ever. My ponytail also shot upwards, spiking upwards like a recently sharpened sword. Golden Charmy was in the house.
Chip turned around to face Rodrigo, shaking his head angrily. He has used the last of his powers to allow me access to my dormant super form. Chip's form began to dim, and he actually did the unexpected: He flipped Rodrigo off and than disappeared completely.
I burst into laughter at Rodrigo's reddening face. The crow grasped his headfeathers like he was trying to rip them off. He snarled, facing me as I beamed up at me, snatching my shield.
"That doesn't matter. No, no, it doesn't matter," Rodrigo murmured frantically. "Just kill him. Make him disappear."
"Stop talking to yourself and fight!" I cheered. "Super me wants some revenge!"
Time for some epicness.
Rodrigo roared, launching himself at me with his talons extended. He made a wild grab for me, but I leaped over his head, leap-frog style. Kicking him square in the back of his head, I clapped my hands together and formed a massive ball of white energy and threw it straight at the crow. Rodrigo winced, barely avoiding it, but his left arm was severely burned. The crow shrieked, staring at his burnt arm and glowered darkly. Rodrigo wasted no time firing several Gravity Beams that weren't tainted with darkness. Easily, I avoided them with my stronger wings and charged straight at him.
Clenching my fist, I slammed Rodrigo right across the face, and he sailed into the ground. Rodrigo growled, hoping to his feet and flapped his wings. He charged straight at me, and I noticed that his eyes' slits grew longer along with his sneer. Rodrigo's talons were suddenly wrapped around with black mist as he slashed at me, almost nicking me. He tried again, but this time, he managed to slash my cheek. I winced, rubbing my cheek since it stung.
I created a black hole, flying straight through it, and Rodrigo imitated me like a Simon Says game. I came out first, dashing out like the bee I am, but Rodrigo was quick to follow. He fired another DG Beam, but I countered with my LG Beam. They collided, but I pressed even further with the power Chip loaned me, crushing Rodrigo. He cried out as the beam penetrated through his wing. Falling to the ground like an angel that didn't belong, Rodrigo's body slammed into the ground, creating a tiny crater.
I breathed heavily, unsure of what to do since Rodrigo wasn't moving. Cautiously, I lowered myself to the crater, peering inside. It wasn't a pretty sight to say the least. His right leg was twisted like it was broken, and his body was littered in cuts. I grimaced to find his eyes closed, presuming he was dead.
Of course, nothing goes according to what I want to think. Rodrigo's hand twitched, balling into a fist. His eyes shot straight open, glaring daggers at me. I flinched, backing up as Rodrigo slowly got back to his feet. He twitched at the pain surging in his leg and slammed his fist into the twisted part of his leg before ripping it back to place. Cracks ruptured through the still air as he howled with pain.
"N-no…c-can't, won't, gah!" Rodrigo cried.
"H-hey, Rodrigo?!" I stammered as the demonic crow stared at me with dilated pupils.
"Retribution Spike! Retribution Spike!" Rodrigo screamed, unleashing two spears of dark energy at me.
I flew up into the air, watching as the spears collide with each other and explode. I blinked in confusion, but Rodrigo hand cupped my throat. A gleam of insanity was vivid in his eyes as he started to chuckle. Rodrigo pulled out his scythe and slammed it down at my head, but with my newfound super form, I snatched the scythe. It was time for a little revenge as I ripped the top of the scythe's blade clean off. Rodrigo gasped, growling that he had stolen that scythe, but I couldn't make out from who.
"No, no, no! I forbid you!" Rodrigo yelped, staring at the stump of his scythe. "End it all, end him…"
"Talking to yourself must be a really bad habit for ya," I sniggered. "You've been doing it throughout this entire fight. You losing your mind or something?"
"J-ju-just a bee! A stupid bee! A mere child!"
Rodrigo threw his scythe to the ground, lunging at me again. I smirked as Rodrigo fired a DG Beam at me, crying out as he did so. Rodrigo refused to stand down, blasting even more with invulnerability. Forming a black hole, I calmly hid inside of it as the beams were dejected inside, disintegrating due to the amount of light energy. Beads of sweat dripped down the sides of his face as I popped back out with a welcoming wave.
"It's cozy in there," I jeered as the black hole vanished. "Maybe I should make a little clubhouse in there."
"You're n-not taking me s-seriously…" Rodrigo grunted as I faced him with my arms behind my head.
"Honestly, Rodrigo, once you started talking to yourself…" I shrugged. "You're losing your mind."
Rodrigo's features tightened like they were wrapped in plastic. The devious crow began to twitch violently as his crystallized wings took to the skies once more. I did the same, knowing that he would have the advantage if I remained on the ground hovering. Rodrigo's face turned completely emotionless like a piece of blank paper. He formed another Retribution Spike, but didn't fire it, keeping it in one hand as he launched several DG Beams.
"This is getting old, Rodrigo!" I pouted, easily avoiding them.
"Fell for it," Rodrigo murmured coldly.
"Huh?!"
"Final plan, final plan's in action! I win!" Rodrigo screamed insanely.
The supposed Retribution Spike began to grow into a massive ball created by pure evil energy and gravity. I froze, mouth dropped against the floor comically. I fluttered back to the ground, completely in shock. Rodrigo raised both of his arms into the air, his chest heaving upwards. Sparks of the energy pulsed outwards like small bullets, popping out and nearly striking me. Rodrigo grunted, his entire body writhing in pleasure and stress.
"You remember this?!" Rodrigo exclaimed, glaring down at me. "Gravity Death! All my power goes into this! You don't stand a ghost of a chance!"
"No new tricks, Rodrigo? You have to resort to an old scheme?" I belligerently snapped.
"Last time, I had the Shadow Form the depleted my power, but no more! Kill the bee! Kill him!" Rodrigo shrieked crazily.
"Yep, he's gone," I thought with a blink.
Rodrigo roared, reeling himself backwards and unleashing the massive ball of destruction. I watched the impending doom before catching a glimpse of Storm's unconscious form. I had a flashback of when he saved me from death when I had given up all hope. That was how we met, and how I joined the Babylon Rogues when he saved from falling onto the concrete city streets of South Island. I could pay him back by saving him right now.
As the ball was ready to absorb me, I raised my Light Ark into the air, aimed directly at the ball. Calming my mind, I placed all of my will and strength into the Light Ark. It gave off another pulse of light once the ball collided with me.
"He's dead! I won! I won!" Rodrigo cheered, laughing like the mad man, well, bird, he was. "It's over!"
Suddenly, the ball dissipated, and Rodrigo immediately stopped. The ball was being absorbed into my Light Ark. I grunted, keeping my arm steady as the destructive energy was being taken into my Ark. Some of it slashed my arms, cutting me as my super form began to dim away. With a grunt, I managed to absorb the entire Gravity Death into my Light Ark. Sighing, I flopped to the ground in my normal form, panting heavily since it was too strenuous on me.
Rodrigo flopped to his knees, reverting to his normal form. The crystallized wings sunk into his back with a few of them actually falling off. His eyes were wide and in complete shock. He flopped face forward, trying to get back up as I flew over to him with a victorious grin.
"Well, Rodrigo, it was fun while it lasted," I giggled. "Though, you did put up a good fight, I win."
That's when everything went to hell again. Rodrigo started grunting, making me step back instinctively. Suddenly, Rodrigo threw his head back up and screamed at the top of his lungs, his left eye twitching with his fingers stretched to their farthest extent. I thought he would never stop as the screaming got even shriller. Rodrigo sloppily got to his feet, hands gripping at his four headfeathers, two in each hand. With another scream, he actually ripped them off, leaving stumps of feathers for the top.
"Honey! Ugh! Bee! Grah! Hate! No!" Rodrigo grunted, trying to hit me.
"Um, stupid? H-hey! Rodrigo!" I cried, ducking his swing.
"Charmy?"
I turned to find Jet call out to me, equally disturbed at Rodrigo's ranting. Raine was tending to Storm's chest wound, but I was too concerned with Rodrigo. He fell to the ground, pounding his fists into the ground and sobbing.
"What did you do to him?" Jet asked quietly. "I got knocked out by his attack, but this…"
"I…I just beat him…" I replied nervously. "He, well, I don't really know, Jet."
"You didn't just beat him, Charmy, you broke him," Raine explained. "If you look back on his history, he really is a genius with the Arks of the Cosmos, the Extreme Gear, and he even helped create the spaceship, Babylon Garden. All the planning, all the plots, they were all unraveled because of you."
Everything seemed to make sense. Raine's explanation kicked into my mind, filling all of the cracks. Storm slowly rose to his feet, thanking the butterfly girl for her expertise in medicine and medical advances. The hole in his chest was gone, wrapped up in bandages across his body. I glanced at Rodrigo's crying form, restlessly slamming his body around like a child with a temper tantrum.
"Heh! Well, at least this entire tragedy can be over," Jet sighed. "Though, I do wish that Wave…" He cut himself off, glancing away sadly.
"About Wave, Jet I'm sorry," I murmured. "I didn't do it, ya know. Anti Me did the dirty work, and all I did was just get hurt in the end."
"No sweat, kid. You weren't involved," Jet grinned, rubbing my head.
"After all, Charmy, you beat Rodrigo!" Storm jeered as Raine hugged me.
"Yeah, I guess I did!" I laughed.
For the third time, everything went back to hell. Rodrigo's head snapped up at to stare at the back of Jet's head. He mumbled something incoherent with his bloodshot eyes narrowed. I glanced back at him as he swaggered to his feet, slurring something offensive.
"Solars! Solars! Kill the sovereign! Die, Stolen!" Rodrigo slurred, snatching my ruined sword.
Time slowed down almost to a stop. Jet barely registered what was going on as he turned around. Rodrigo was charging, poised to kill as he swung my sword down. Without thinking, I shoved Jet out of the way, taking the hit for him as the sword's edge stabbed deep into my chest, centimeters over my heart. Blood spurted out from my chest as he ripped my sword back out. Ruefully, I snatched my sword back and sliced Rodrigo's neck, cutting straight through his jugular vein. Rodrigo was dead before he hit the ground with blood gushing from his neck. The blood feud between the Solars and Lunars had finally ended.
"Charmy!" Raine screeched as I flopped onto my back.
"You saved me," Jet breathed, kneeling down to me.
"Y-your wound is pretty deep, but…" Storm stopped himself from going on, unsure of how to finish that sentence.
"I've lost…too much blood," I panted, holding my chest as my flames were stained crimson. "There's not… really any t-time for me…"
"No! I can save you!" Raine vowed. "Just shut up and stay still!"
"Raine, you used the last of your medicine and stuff on Storm, and my jacket has too much coagulated blood on it to be of any use," I pointed out. "There's…so much I wanna say."
"Don't talk, Charmy!" Storm cried.
"Storm!" Jet shouted, making the albatross flinch. "Let's listen to Charmy's last words."
"Jet, you're a really great leader, better than Vector and Espio combined. I don't really care about what anyone else says because your leadership is awesome! You're fast and so cool, and sometimes I wished I could be like you, without the laziness." I chuckled at Jet's fuming expression, but it softened to a dull smile. "Storm, I wouldn't be here today if you hadn't saved me. I'd given up on everything once the Chaotix were gone, but you were my angel. You saved my life, and I owe everything to you. Thank you." Storm wiped his eyes, nodding as visible tears were spilled. "Finally, you Raine, my sweet and mischievous butterfly. It may sound really strange from me, but I always felt happy around you like the way I am around flowers. I guess that's what love is."
"Love?" Raine repeated in shock.
I stroked her hair with my non-bloodied hand, smiling. "L-love you…" My hand slowly dropped as I felt my life start to slip away. My heartbeat began to dry out like it was in a desert without water for weeks. My eyes lowered until they closed with the images of my comrades and loved ones flooded in my head. With a limp roll of my head, I breathed my final gasp and lay to rest for eternity…
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"No!" Raine screamed, holding my deceased body to her chest. "It's not fair! Why did this have to happen?!"
"I just…" Jet slammed his fists into the ground and slowly began to cry. "I just wanted to protect them! First it's my father, Cannon, than Wave and Charmy! They were innocent, they didn't deserve this fate!"
Storm was the one in most shock as Jet and Raine silently cried. The albatross fell to his bottom, staring blankly at the hole he fell through. His vision glazed over, colors swirling in a white mist. He couldn't believe any of this, and he tried to convince himself that he was dreaming. That is, until something clinked that brought him out of his thoughts. A golden lamp had fallen out of Jet's vest pocket with a red string attached. Suddenly, an idea struck him that was crazy enough to work.
"Guys, I think we can bring them back."
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Peace comes at prices that everyone must pay with the death of a true hero. What is Storm's idea? How will this affect the others? Stay tuned for the next Rogue's Bee!
