Through the Monitor
Disclaimer: Don't own, Don't sue... Yeah, I used that before. I'm just REALLY tired of thinking up disclaimers...
Author Notes: Another Alex Warlorn chapter. One of his last. I am not responsible for any mental scarring caused by this chapter.
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Chapter 38: Ch-A-Os
Ken, Jen, Ren. Her babies. Where? Where were they? Were they all right? Were they dead? Were they alive? Were they wishing they were dead?
What had happened to them? The police had chalked it up to another of the 'mystery disappearances' as the 'legitimate' news groups had begun to call it.
Christine was so angry at the tabloids for their take on the disappearances, for turning such a tragic crime into some kind of comedy! They had named this the 'Sonic Syndrome', supposedly the people who had vanished had all become characters from some video game!
It was absurd! How could they! How could they! What right did they have? Who gave them the right?
Her children had vanished off the face of the Earth and some yellow journalists were taking the opportunity to sell their rags to people dumb enough to believe their bald-faced lies!
It was all so wrong. She had called the editor, but he had sworn they were just reporting the truth. Yeah, like the proof of life on Mars with the house cat dyed green and star antenna stuck on top. In the end it got her nowhere.
Christine knew the tabloids had just looked for people who in some obscure way were connected to these childish games and spun this moronic tale to grab in the pop culture outcasts who wanted a life of no responsibilities, as they imagined the life of their fictional heroes to be.
Her husband, Oscar had finally gotten back from his business trip (he swore never to take another one again after what had happened with this first one) and had bad-mouthed the tabloid until he was blue in the face.
He had as much luck as she did.
There was no ransom note, no phone calls, no nothing; it was like they really had vanished off the face of the planet. But she knew that was impossible, so she kept hoping and hoping that they were all right. Had they run away? Why? It didn't make sense, not that anything about this did in the first place. They had asked their neighbors, but none of them had seen anything, the neighborhood kids had said some nonsense about fireflies, but Oscar and Christine didn't have time for it.
Oscar had become frantic, perhaps even more than her. Then had come the mandatory shouting and accusing match, Oscar for not being there at all, and her for letting them slip out from under her nose. Oscar defended himself for putting food on the table, while Christine defended herself for taking the time to be with their kids.
Oscar and Christine had planned to ultimately have one child, so when the triplets had been born, Christine had worried for a bit that Oscar would abandon them. She put together the idea of suggesting adoption for two of the children (she, of course, could never decide which one she would keep) as a countermeasure, but she never got to suggest it.
Oscar had never discussed it. Never suggested it. In truth, he had thought about it, once, the night after the triplets had been born, then berated himself for ever thinking it, and chose to stay in for the long haul for Christine and his offspring, as he had promised. He was a man of his word after all. He had taken having three kids at once instead of one in stride.
Besides, he could hear his parents a hundred miles away laughing it up, telling him how he didn't have what it took to raise a family anyway. He wasn't about to give them that satisfaction.
He never did get to buy that giant plasma flat screen TV though. The price a parent pays for their children.
Meeting Christine had been the worst day of his life, car hadn't started, it had been rainy day, and he had dealt with way too many customers who had to be led by the hand through how to install this and that equipment. And he made the mistake of telling an employee that they worked in a non-smoking area, turns out the chain smoker was his senior at the company by five years. He was this close to wanting to go back to asking 'Would you like fries with that?'
Long story short, he had ended up working later that night and a bit of that morning.
So late that he had run into an early bird, Christine. She had been bored out of her skull and had listened to his story to pass the time. Then he asked about her and her problems as common courtesy. It had become a tradition after that.
Now they shouted their problems at each other. Though both knew this wouldn't bring their children back to them, it was the only thing they had power over anymore. They had nothing left but this.
Friday evening, they sat on opposite sides of the room, both reading a magazine they had already read a dozen times. Hoping for a phone call of any kind, whoever said no news was good news hadn't been in their situation.
The knock on their door surprised them both, they weren't expecting anyone. Looking through the peephole, Christine saw a Hispanic lass wearing a t-shirt with the words 'Apathy Kills' and an Aztec orange and green patterned dress. She was wearing white sandals like some hippies Christine had known in high school. One lock of her black hair was wrapped in a piece of white cloth. How did she make it stay there?
"Mr. and Mrs. Orion?" The girl said, her hands together at her waist. "I would like to speak with you, about your children. I know where they are."
The mother's blood ran cold. Christine mouthed at her husband to call the police, Oscar nodded and did so. True, she didn't think such a petit lass could be their kidnapper, but you never knew. Maybe she was related to the culprit.
The girl smiled. "Feel free to call the police, we'll be done talking by then, and you'll have been free to make your choice by then."
"What choice?" Christine probed.
"To be with your family again," she said plainly.
"WHERE ARE MY-" There was no one at the front door.
"I fully agree with your anger Mrs. Orion." Both adults started, the mystery girl was now in the living room behind Christine.
Oscar charged the invader…and went through her, feeling like he had gone through a cold spot!
Oscar breathed out while Christine shrank away, tempted to run out the door screaming. "Who...what are you?"
This time, she wouldn't play games. She couldn't afford to, not anymore.
"Once upon a time my name was Julan, twice upon a time my name was Tikal. I am dead."
If Christine hadn't just seen her husband go right through her, she'd have called this child insane. Christine now wondered if she was the crazy one.
"Where are my kids!" Oscar managed to demand of the spirit in spite of being faced with the unknown.
"Put into roles that truly had no need to be refilled. But they have been, and the choice for them to come back won't be theirs until after they might be killed."
"Stop talking in riddles you corpse bride!" Oscar hissed.
She frowned at him. The term was rather inaccurate, seeing as how she was nobody's bride…yet. "... Since we have just under five minutes anyway, I'll show you. Those I used to work for, and those who want you dead too, will find me here in that time anyway. Take a good look at me."
The words on her T-shirt vanished. The lass lost height by the feet, her hair turned orange and more of the white cloths appeared, orange fur covered her body except for her lower face (which was now a muzzle), her nose became pointed and black. A gold and topaz necklace formed around her neck.
In an odd no-nonsense tone she said, "The tabloids haven't been lying as much as you think they have."
She could feel Him and Them coming now, she was on the clock now.
Both humans gasped. Christine almost fainted. Oscar felt a heavy feeling in his stomach.
"Unlike in the video games, heroes die, sometimes before their time. There are those who control fate who didn't like that, and chose to find new people to play the roles. Your children, with their innocence and different personalities, the angel, the little devil, and the in-between, fit three of those roles needed."
"You stole"
"Yes I did. And damn me for it all you wish, because I can't change it. Originally, the role for 'parent' for the trio, along with a lot of siblings, was to be given to a school teacher and her class... I was supposed to be a part of that... But I realized I could no longer use the enemy's methods to fight them. So I left. But I can't change what will happen. I offer you both the chance to protect your children from what's about to happen in the reality they've been spirited away to. You can either tell me to leave right now, and wait with hope that they'll return. Perhaps even their awful ordeal will be forgotten by you, or maybe you'll forget your children altogether and have new ones... Or you could enter the world they're in now, another reality, and assume a role there. Most who pass through, through either design or chance, forget themselves, though their nature and personality remain exactly the same. I can allow you both to remember, but the role you will have to assume is not a simple one. You'll remember, but you might not care if you do."
"Will I still care for my children?" Christine asked.
"If you didn't... you wouldn't be able to assume the roles. And other children as innocent as yours will fall under your wings. There is also a price to be paid, because there is only one role to be filled."
"So one of us has to stay," Oscar said.
She shook her head. "No. You can both go, but you will both assume the role, your souls will exist as one being."
"Man or woman?" Oscar asked, of all the questions to ask.
"Both and neither. Your children are no longer human, they also don't remember you as you are now."
Christine would have strangled the ghost if she could. "MONSTER!"
"I did what I had to to save lives. I know that doesn't make it right. I am now a renegade, considered a danger to both sides. I've made myself an even bigger target just by talking to you. I was going to go to a starving family in Africa... But I realized, they are still your children. You have the right to be with them. To be with them, or not, that is your choice."
So close now, she could begin to feel the unnatural cold they possessed that dwarfed her own.
Christine thought for a moment. Then said, "Take me to my children."
"Both of us," Oscar ordered.
"Then I will," the animal/human/ghost said. She took a few steps into the nearby kitchen and poured two glasses of water. Though it seemed more like the glasses were floating, and she just happened to have her hand around them. Before they could ask what she was doing, she said, "Each... transformation as a rule requires a medium. This will be yours. Drink the water... And there is no turning back, we have about a minute a half now. The choice belongs to you."
"How do we know you're not 'them?'" Oscar asked.
"Then I wouldn't be making this out like you had a choice."
"Mommy's coming," Christine finally said and downed the ordinary water.
There was actually distress in the ghost's voice. "Please Oscar! No time!"
Oscar, praying he was making the right choice, followed his wife's example.
Tikal looked at things only she could see. "Please let there be enough time."
Christine and Oscar never wondered if Tikal had poisoned them, it didn't taste like poison.
They felt such a smoothing calm wash over them, the mental image of the children of Christine and Oscar filling their minds, all important, all needed. Christine and Oscar wondered if they had wet themselves for a moment, until they realized the wetness was everywhere. Then the wetness was nowhere. Their clothes felt so heavy, so unnatural, so restraining. Christine and Oscar began to sway.
Tikal took a step back and turned away as Christine and Oscar began to frantically remove their clothing. There were things even Mobians, even the dead, made a point to respect as private.
Christine and Oscar made love as they explored each other, their bodies consummating. Skin and hair dissolved into the bodies, but held its consistency. The remaining 3 that had always held them back from true union gave up the ghost, and they splashed into each other. Memories crashed into each other, two sets, worth a lifetime, then a third set, older than the modern calendar. The three memories mixed into each other, like different liquids in a concoction, creating something new.
And through it all, the image of the triplets remained all important, all consuming, all controlling, what defined its existence. All that had meaning. But who was it?
Christine.
Oscar.
Christine And Oscar.
ChristineandOscar.
Christine.
And.
Oscar.
Ch.
A.
Os.
Ch.A.Os.
ChAOs.
Chaos.
Tikal 'breathed' a gasp as the mass of blue liquid on the floor rose up, a throbbing brain in its head, and a pair of solid green eyes that floated around it's head. It rather resembled a Mobian echidna, complete with hand spikes. However, growing from its rear was a fairly long tail ending in a scythe. It was taller than her, it always had been.
She heard its voice in her mind, though she no longer had a brain for it to speak to, it could still speak to her spirit all the same.
Chaos has become as you asked child. Now... take Chaos to it's children. It commanded, as was fitting for the forefather of an entire race.
Chaos didn't bother to look around at its mortal surroundings one last time, it didn't matter, not in the least, and it felt a hint of shame for it ever having mattered. Its children mattered, nothing else should.
Tikal knew that rigid devotion, and only hoped she had done the right thing.
"As before then," Tikal said, reaching out her hand. Chaos reached out its own hand.
A sphere of endless colors formed around them, expanded, enveloped them, then vanished, taking them with it.
The police arrived less than a minute later, including a cop with reflective one piece shades and very spiky hair, and an FBI agent with dark blue shades, ghostly pale skin, and boyish features.
While the odd cop looked disappointed, the FBI agent looked downright wrathful and on the verge of throwing a temper tantrum to make any preschooler proud, actually shouting at the cops how worthless their dreams were before storming out.
Odd thing about dreams, they all dreamed of clowns, childish purple and white ones, and sadistic red and black ones!
Cream looked at the Chao as they began to happily dance around each other. "Cheese? Chocola? What is it?"
The two Chao looked at each other...the birther needed an interpreter for the solids...and the orange princess wasn't around anymore...could their princess be the new one? They immediately began trying to convey to Cream where they wanted to go with her.
They were sure to be back before her mom noticed. Weren't they?
Yami stopped stirring and looked around, feeling it. Yes, it was back! Haha! No one would punish him for his pranks again with it protecting him! Not even Eggman would tell him so anymore!
He was so giddy that he failed to notice the bunny rabbit escape from his stew pot.
Hikari cheered for joy as she truly flew around the light garden. She could feel it, she knew it, the source of all them had finally come home! This time it wasn't a false alarm, the birther HAD come back!
Shadow felt a chill go up his spines, he felt something with a better understanding of chaos than him enter the universe. Naw, that was impossible. He had to get back to blowing up GUN's parked fighter planes anyway.
Knuckled looked up as the Master Emerald called his attention, what it showed Knuckles was stunning. The God of Destruction had returned to the world again. Was this good or bad?
Buddy was lost, and had been lost for a long long time now. He had wandered, cried, and had cried again, but the tiny unevolved animals around here couldn't help him. Sure they gave him new pretty bunny ears and a cool cat's tail...but now he wanted to go home!
That was when he felt it, felt it! Yippie! Yippie! Papamom was home!
He ran as fast he could, until he almost ran right into the living blue mass of his parent, his mother/father.
He looked up happily to finally behold him, the one his racial memory told him everything about. Their protector, their guardian, their birther, their parent. Their everything. His everything.
My child, the voice said in his head, neither male or female.
Papamom's home! It picked him up and Buddy had never felt so secure, so right in his entire life as he did now. Let's go home.
The Birther melted, as did Buddy, for a moment returning from whence he came. When they emerged again, they were in the Neutral Garden on Chao Island (called by the tourist trade as 'Chao World').
Buddy was home!
What surprised Buddy all the more, was when Hikari and Yami flew into the garden too without their caretakers. They had sensed it too, the birther was finally home. They flew around it, for once being in harmony with each other, at least for now. And that was enough.
A human with a notepad and a name tag ran into the garden, took one look at Chaos, excused himself very quickly and very politely, then ran like crazy back the way he came, not knowing whether to run for the hills or to tell the management staff. The Source of all Chao; Chaos, was BACK! Back to destroy Station Square again! AAAARRRRGHHH!
Chaos had never felt so pleased in any of its memories to be with its children again, not when it went mad at the murder of some of them, or that time they got lost in the woods for two hours after that visit to Disney World...it had never felt so... happy.
And though only Tikal was there to see it, invisible again as ghosts normally are, Chaos smiled.
Two extra Chao flew in, one the normal blue, except for the red bow tie, and the other brown with a blue bow tie. They were followed by a small child, a young creme rabbit, who gasped at the sight before her. She hadn't been there when he had destroyed the city, only heard about it, she hadn't meet Sonic or the others before then. So she had no preconceptions, like Tikal had none, and only looked at it, and the Chao began to babble happily about seeing their parent again, and why they had brought the child.
Chaos thought about it, and looked at Tikal, who nodded and then spoke to the Rabbit, in her mind. The words much like she and it had shared once, when for the first time it hadn't attacked a non-Chao who had intruded on sacred ground.
I am Chaos. Welcome child, we have much to talk about.Top of FormBottom of Form