(AN: My god, it's been so long.
So hi, I know its been some time since the last update. Lemme just say, getting the motivation to do hobbies when you have Christmas, New Years, and constant errands to do is HARD. So hard that writing this took this long. Yeah, I felt THAT demotivated.
But no more! I made sure I'll finish this story, and by golly, will we do it! Even if I walk through hell and back, I will!
Anyway, I gotta head to work now so I have to run. Enjoy the new part!)
A panel of Egg Robos wearing different clothes sat around in a TV station, a huge billboard behind them reading: "CRIMES CAUSED BY YOUTH: Time to pin our blame on things that have nothing to do with it!". As one of the Egg Robos munched on a peach, the one wearing glasses cleared his throat.
"Yeah, sure we know that you hope reading fanfiction turns you into someone participating in online discourse, thus further perpetuating the idea that people who consume fandom and have no other personality besides that are devils. And… you'd be right about that!"
"What else does fanfiction turn you into?" another Egg Robo asked.
"Turns you into someone without critical thinking, naturally!"
"How are you certain of that?"
"I don't know! Hey kids, don't you want people to think you're a major badass because you read saucy stories and you aren't even old enough to be looking at stuff like that? Even though you're a spineless coward?"
"Exactly sums up this entitled generation," another Egg Robo grumbled.
"My thoughts exactly. The fact of the matter is… I ain't interested in your despair unless it's real."
When I found myself waking up that morning to Egg Robo's message… I…
I felt fine.
I could swallow normally without pain, my neck didn't feel scratchy or inflamed, I didn't have a sore throat nor did I have the need to cough, and I wasn't sweaty at all.
Was… was I suddenly cured of my sickness? I mean, surely it COULDN'T happen overnight, could it? Who's even heard of something like that?
"Oh right, I forgot where I am," I said, rolling my eyes. I wanted to get up from bed but the pain I was in last night from my cold just got me too comfortable. Not to mention…
…that dream.
What was that dream that I had? Why was I talking about not wanting to leave? Who was that masked man? Was he about to kill me?
And… why did Vector… save me?
So many questions flew by my head, but I knew there was only one way I'd get an answer.
I got out of bed and recalled how Vector placed the knife in my nightstand drawer in my dream. Grabbing the handle, I opened it up and…
Froze.
For the knife that Vector placed in there was gone.
"It… it wasn't a dream…" I said to myself. "What… what the hell is going on anymore?!"
There was only one way I'd find an answer, and it was waiting for me in the dining hall.
TheHunterPersian presents…
Despair Hill Zone
Chapter 6:
A Painful Dash, A Painful Spiked Wall, A Painful Life Loss
DAILY LIFE 3
Neglecting to take a bath, I buzzed on out of my room and to the dining hall. But when I arrived, I saw that there was no one in the dining hall.
"Hello?" I called out.
"In here!" a girl's voice called from the kitchen. I turned my head to the kitchen, seeing some smoke come from it. I'll be honest, I was a bit nervous to enter. I mean, what would you do if you were in my shoes? Follow the strange voice enticing you to come into a kitchen by yourself with plenty of knives?
I wasn't gonna play dumb, so I knew I had to fight back.
"And why would I come in?!" I yelled.
"Because you know me, Charmy!" the voice replied, which I could make out to be Tikal.
"Oh yeah? How do I know you're Tikal? Maybe I'll just grab the knife Amy gave me as PROOF!"
Tikal yelped as I rushed in, seeing the echidna girl with her hands over her mouth.
"Oh, it is you," I said before I had a cup full of water thrown at my face.
"Charmy Bee you as… I mean, you butthead!" she yelled. "How dare you scare me like that! SECOND TIME YOU KNOW!"
"Jeez, sorry. I've been on edge since this morning."
"And what, you extend it to me?!"
"No no! I… hey, that's not the point! Where's everyone?"
"More like I should be asking you what you're doing out of bed, mister?!
"Huh?"
"You heard me! You're still sick!"
"I… I'm not."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I'm not sick anymore! That's what!"
"Am I supposed to believe that? Hold on, wait there. I was just about to make you your breakfast."
Tikal rushed over to one of the counters as I looked to the side to see trays filled with cereal, milk, fruit, yogurt, toast, and eggs.
"What's all this for?"
The echidna ignored me as she walked over to me, thermometer in hand. "Open your mouth."
"I'm fine, really!"
"Open it!"
I groaned and did as I was told. I waited for Tikal to realize I was telling the truth, and sure enough, I got the money shot when she read the thermometer. "Huh? 98.9?... But, you were sick last night?..."
"I dunno either. Maybe the stuff you gave me was that good?"
"Perhaps. They're nothing like what grandma had, but I used a lot of her recipes and remedies from what I remember."
"That's besides the point, Tikal, where's everyone?"
"They died and now you have to have my children."
My mouth was agape in horror.
"Relax, I'm joking! See? I'm starting to develop a sarcastic sense of humor!"
"I can tell…"
"Before, people would complain that I'm PC and all that, well now I'm PC AND sarcastic, so guess who's getting the last laugh!"
"Tikal, we're getting carried away."
"Right right, everyone. Basically, since last night, we've been trying to get in contact with you because something… big happened."
"Big?"
"It's too much for me to explain here, it would be easier just show you instead. Here, let's meet up with everyone else."
"Where is everyone?"
"In the gym. We stayed up all night so-"
"All night?!"
"Yeah, I lost at tactical tic tac toe so now I'm here serving breakfast for the rest."
"Tactical tic tac toe?"
"Apparently, Silver knows 46, 575 ways to play tic tac toe."
"I… you know what, that's not out of character for him."
"Anyway, lemme finish up some oatmeal and let's take this to the gym."
"Why the gym?"
I was ignored as Tikal turned around to focus on her pot of oatmeal. Once it was done, Tikal pushed a cart filled with trays while I was stuck carrying some of them in both hands. When we arrived to the gym, I had to place one of my trays down in order for Tikal to go through the door. Feeling my muscles being pulled like hell, the girl smiled as she went through the door. I sighed and went inside.
"Okay everyone, time to eat!" Tikal said. "I made us a lot of things this morning!"
I could see Wave, Silver, and Amy crowded around something as they got up to look at us. Of the three, the only notable person being absent was Vector. I also took notice of the screwdriver in Wave's hand and a toolkit by her feet.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in and pissed all over. I thought they wrote you out of this story, Charmy," Wave said.
"It's like being late to every important thing in your life! Birthdays, weddings, graduations, bar mitzvahs…" Silver added.
"You got to sleep on a nice comfy bed while I was relegated to the gym floor!" Amy angrily said. "The gym floor! I haven't been this humiliated since that one crappy mall hair salon gave me a bowl cut as a sorry excuse for a haircut!"
"Geez, sorry, I was sick. You knew that, Wave," I said.
"Yes but as you know, I tend to… forget such pivotal information," she replied.
"Or you're doing this to fuck with me. Anyway, that's besides the point. What's going on? You said there was something going on at the gym that-"
I stopped myself. The others looked at me and turned to what I was pointing at.
"Wha-wha-wha…" I said, in disbelief.
Egg Robo lay dismantled on the floor, his head and limbs detatched from the main shell of his body and only connected via wires as one of his eyes was popped off, revealing the circuitry inside the robot. Internal components lay across the floor as Wave's toolkit was open.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAAAAAAAT?!" I yelled.
"Oh, that?" Wave kicked Egg Robo. "I'm doing a little fine tuning."
"And you're okay with that?! That's Egg Robo!"
"It's not dangerous. I don't know what to tell you."
"Are you out of your mind?! How can you all tear apart Egg Robo and not expect him to do anything about this?!"
"Because I found him like this."
"Huh?"
"Let me explain. Just before bed last night, I wanted to talk to Egg Robo about something. Imagine my shock when I find is just a hollow husk of our little mastermind. He wasn't reacting, he didn't say any words, even when I brought up Vector, he still said nothing. So, I've spent all this time working on him," Wave grabbed herself a plate of breakfast and sat back down to where Egg Robo was. "See right here?" she held up some bolts. "These were a bitch to get out. No screwdriver I had could fit whatever these were, so I had to work with pliers. But look at this here… Snivel 480i microprocessor, over one terabyte of RAM, Stardust 5600x CPU, Tryhex speakers and voice modulator… so many different parts and components that make up Egg Robo, but one thing's for sure: these are probably some of the best parts you can buy for anything that runs on motherboards. Computers, machinery, etc."
"I'm gonna… pretend I understood all the words you used!" Silver said, biting into his toast. "But still, it's impressive no?" the hedgehog lifted up the husk of Egg Robo. "It's like he's a toy and not a robot!"
"Still, was he like this the whole time?" I asked.
"Of course," Wave replied. "I came back later that night, still motionless. That's when I called the others and decided our next course of action is to investigate why exactly Egg Robo has been in this state. All I needed was my toolkit and I'm set. Still though… everything about Egg Robo is a genius in technological and mechanical design. Who designed him, I wonder?"
"Why do you think he malfunctioned?"
Wave took a bite from her orange. "I'll be honest, your guess is as good as mine. I thought something went wrong with one of his parts, but they all look fine from a physical level. Maybe it's something internal that we can't check?"
"Then if he didn't break down…"
"…something happened to the mastermind, I bet!" Amy said. "Maybe they got sick or something!"
"No! Egg Robo made his daily announcement!"
"Haven't you realized yet that the message is pre-recorded?" Wave asked.
"H-Huh?"
"Oh goodness, you HAVEN'T realized it, have you? Egg Robo's morning and night messaged are all pre-recorded and played on a timer. Surely you don't think he has the time to look the same in every shot without anything in the background looking the same every day, no?"
"I… yeah, I never really considered that."
"Hey guys?" Silver said, putting his plate down on the floor. "I know we're in the middle of talking but…" the white hedgehog crouched down, grabbing a black ball and placing it in between us. "What is this?"
My eyes widened. "I-It's!"
"A bomb, naturally," Wave said cooly. The rest of us, sans Wave, all panicked.
"WHAT THE FUCK, WHAT THE FUCK, WHAT THE FUUUUCK!" Silver yelled.
"We need to get rid of it now!" Tikal added.
"Quick, I'll throw it! Give it to me!" Amy said. "I have a good throwing arm!"
"It's a motion sensor bomb," Wave smirked. "One sudden movement and we all blow up."
Amy screamed as she pulled her hair.
"Get it together! You're part serial killer, y'know!" Silver said.
"You're not helping at all! Jeez, I dunno why Rosie likes you so much! You're nothing like my Darling Sonic!"
"I take that as a compliment! I wouldn't wanna be like him!"
"Look, can we all stop arguing and get this out of here?!" Tikal said.
"I can't do it! I'm too scared!"
"Oh,, I'll do it then! I've always wanted to get rid of the world's bombs!-"
Just as Tikal was about to reach for the bomb, Amy screamed out, "SUDDEN MOVEMENT! SUDDEN MOVEMENT, TIKAL!"
"Guys, you should-" I tried to say before Wave stopped all of us.
"Okay, this has stopped being amusing," she said. "I should mention that the sensor was turned off."
The other three looked at her. "It… was?" asked Silver.
"I did it to be precise."
Silver sighed with relief. "Whew! I was about to get seven consecutive heart attacks!"
"Jeez, you're so spineless… really nothing like Sonic…" Amy grumbled. "He would put himself in danger no matter what."
"What should we do with the bomb then?" Tikal asked. Silver grabbed it but quickly dropped it as it turned out to be too heavy for him.
"I dunno! Throw it out? But I can't lift this! Man, makes you wish Vector was here. Or… someone like Knuckles or Storm. They could lift it!"
I could see a distant look in Wave's eyes as I turned from the bomb to Egg Robo's remains. He stopped moving and he was broken? What could have happened? If not even Espio could damage Egg Robo… how would he get damaged like this?
It was then that I thought back to that masked person who brought out a knife in front of me last night. Did they have something to do with it? And if so… how could they have gotten close to Egg Robo to destroy him?
"Charmy…"
It makes no sense when you put it like that. Egg Robo would have had to seen the masked figure through the security cameras around the zone. There's no way you would ignore that…
"Charmy!"
I mean… what could this all point to? Could there be a force even bigger than Egg Robo? Was there… someone who controls him? Now that I think about it… the idea that there could be someone controlling Egg Robo doesn't seem too out there. Now that I think about it, not even Espio knew who the true mastermind was-
"CHARMY!"
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when I turned to face Amy, who was yelling at me.
"Jeez, what was that for?" I asked.
"Weren't you listening to any of us?" she asked.
"Huh?'
"Oh for Gaia's sake, he wasn't," Wave rolled her eyes. "Tell me bee, do you need hearing aids now? With all these extra parts, maybe I can make some for you so that your stupid self can actually listen for once."
"Get with the point," I snarked back.
"Basically, now that we're done with Egg Robo, what should we do now?" Tikal asked.
"Done? Are you sure we're 'done'?"
"There's nothing else left, bee," the swallow replied. "All night and morning I spent dismantling the thing and I found nothing that can help us. However, since we're done here, we can move onto the next step."
"T-The next step?"
"Breaking into the headmaster's office."
"W-What?!"
"You heard me. Egg Robo is entirely unoperationable. This means that he can't tell where we are or if we're breaking any rules or not. Now is the perfect chance for us to break in and see what he's hiding. Don't you agree?"
"B-But, there's always a chance the mastermind could come back and-"
"If you're too scared, you're welcome to stay here and cower in fear like those Chao in the garden. This is a battle between us and the mastermind. And like any battle, we must achieve any kind of method of victory, even if it means playing dirty."
"Wave has a point. I'm through with all of us killing, so if this means we can get out of here quicker… I'm going with her!" Tikal said.
"So am I! I want the mastermind to get knocked upside the head!" Amy added. "He's gonna pay for everything!"
"Well, bee?" asked Wave. "Make up your mind. Will you fight alongside us, or have the rest of us remember you as a coward?"
I glared at Wave as she asked this, but…
"…fine, I'll come along."
"Good call. Alright everyone, be on guard. From here on out, we're the only ones left in this zone since Vector vanished. We need to be extra careful and alert. Keep your eyes out for anything weird or any sign of Egg Robo. Don't be afraid to yell if you see something. Understand?"
We all nodded.
"Good. Let's go."
Wave started to make her way to the doors as the others stood by. Silver took a deep breath before running off, Amy jumped in place, pepping herself up, and Tikal took out her prayer beads.
"Gods in the heavens, please hear my prayers. Protect us all as we try to escape from this zone of nightmares…" she said, still grasping onto her prayer beads as her and Amy soon left for the doors. I was the last one left. I felt like the world was going to collapse around me. I felt alone… scared… uncertain.
If it wasn't for my friends though…
I would succumb to despair.
Putting on the bravest face I could, I buzzed after the rest, slamming the doors to the main hall wide open.
Huddling around in one giant circle, the five of us made our way to the fourth floor where the headmaster's office was. The orange and red lights reflected onto our skins, almost like it was signaling the danger we were getting ourselves into. I tried not to think about it as I looked back and forth, trying to see if there was any sign of Egg Robo.
"No sign," I said.
"Good, let's go," Wave said as she trailed into the hall to the headmaster's office. We all stood in front of it as we stared at the door. I went ahead and tried to open it but failed as the doorknob just rattled.
"Damn, locked."
"As expected."
"So, what's the plan now?"
"Isn't it obvious? Rip the door off its hinges. Let's just hope the screws for the door are from the outside and not the inside…"
"W-What do you mean? Don't the rules say-" Amy said before getting cut off.
"The rules mean nothing as long as Egg Robo is out of commission."
"But what if what Charmy said is true? What if the mastermind comes back?" Silver asked.
"Well then, we have to finish this as quickly as possible, don't we, dorkfest? We can't back down now. We all promised to do this, which means that at this point, there's no way we can back down now. Now, follow me everyone, I might have an idea to open the door without destroying it."
Wave crouched to look at the knob, but stopped and raised herself up.
"Damn, guess that's not working."
"What was your plan, Wave?" Tikal asked.
"If the lock was deep in the knob, then there might have been a way to open it up via bobby pin. Unfortunately, this lock seems to be far more different. It definitely requires the key to this room."
"So now what?"
"It seems we have to go into plan C: breaking down the door."
"We're really gonna do that?" I asked.
"Didn't I just say we have to take any opportunity we have? Now, what could be good enough…"
"A chair?"
"I doubt it. If it was made of something other than cheap wood, sure. But all the chairs here feel cheap."
"Hey, what about the pickaxe in the garden?" Silver asked.
"The pickaxe?"
"That's right!" I said. "With that, we can definitely break down the door!"
"I don't see why not. Tell me, who would like to volunteer?"
We all stayed silent, not wanting to go alone.
"Hm, not convinced, eh? Fine then, let me play into your urges. Amy, would it perhaps humor you if I told you that I happen to hold a 67 ring gift card to Honey's Secret?"
The pink hedgehog gasped. "You do?!"
"Now now, don't get too excited. Just get me the pickaxe in two minutes, and it's all yours. I'm sure that it sounds enticing, no?"
"I mean… yeah but…"
"What have you always wanted from there?"
"I… there's this new perfume by Mina Mongoose that supposedly makes guys more attracted to you."
"And how much is it?"
"…55 rings."
"Exactly. And once you have that, you can buy it. Sonic might be dead, but there's plenty of hedgehogs in the sea. Besides, you said it makes guys more attracted to you."
"B-But my darling Sonic is-!"
"Dead, I know. I just said. But wouldn't it be amazing to have men all over you?"
"Y-Yeah… I guess so?"
"And in this entire conversation, you've almost wasted a minute. And just when I was about to throw out my buy two, get one free coupon-"
"OKAY, I'M GOING!"
This was all she needed to get convinced. Amy tried to run as quick as she could but being in go go boots caused her to slow down. Nevertheless, I heard her boots hitting the ground growing fainter and fainter as she ran off to the fifth floor.
"Do you really have all that stuff, Wave?" Silver asked.
"Jet gave me a hundred ring gift card for my birthday last year. All I bought was some undergarments, nothing else. I have no real need for it besides that. Besides, if it means bribing her."
"Couldn't you ask me to do it?"
"Even if you have ESP, you're still too incompetent."
"Ouch. Besides, are you sure you don't wanna back down?"
"Nothing in life is gained by running away. The Babylon Rogues had to learn that in our earliest days. We would be so frustrated after a loss that we all took it personal. But after that, we had to learn we had to be better than the others by constant training."
I thought back to what Vector told me a few nights ago. It was almost like I was hearing from him again…
We must solve the mystery, even despite danger and risks…
"Still though, my hands feel like jelly…"
"Speaking of hands, dorkfest, do me a favor. While we're here, see if you can use your powers to unscrew the hinges. Then we'll see if-"
Wave was suddenly interrupted when Amy rushed in between us. Only…
"…if my darling Shiruba can do more with those powers besides unscrew things?!"
…Rosie. Of course.
"Gah! Rosie, where did YOU come from?!" Silver questioned.
"Hello hello hello! It's your favorite murderer, back with, 'Rosie the Rascal's murder-time extravaganza'! If only I had a TV show to begin with! KYA HA HAAA!"
"Oh forget this, did you get the pickaxe?" Wave questioned.
"Did I pick and axe or axe a pick? How do you even axe a pick anyway? Do you slice a toothpick with an axe? Seems impractical if you ask me!"
"No, you imbecile! The PICKAXE! Did you get it from the garden or no?!"
"She has memory loss, that's what!" Silver exclaimed.
"No, wait!" Tikal said. "Remember, Rosie and Amy don't share the same mind! She wouldn't know that Wave asked Amy to get the pickaxe from the garden!"
"Oh, that's what it was? I'm surprised stinky pinky was competent enough to get such a big weapon. Her weapon of choice is what, putting a brick in her purse? Useless! A hammer is all I need! Well, at least I now know why I needed to go to the garden, which leaves one mystery down! Now time for the next!"
I froze when she said this.
"The… next?" I questioned.
"That's right! I found a mystery object in the garden! Now we're gonna play 'Wheel of Incompetence'! Show how stupid you are by shouting out random phrases while I chastise you about what the answer is!"
"What are you even talking about?..." Silver questioned, shaking his head. "You like… you clearly don't have any idea what you're talking about."
'Of course I do, mi amor! I'm talking about the kurpse!"
"Kurpse?" I asked.
"Now, guess what I could possibly be talking about when I say that! You have three seconds!"
"Hold on, wait a minute-"
"Time's up! The correct answer is… corpse! I found a corpse in the garden!"
I froze. I could see the fear on Wave, Tikal, and Silver's faces as what Rosie said suddenly sunk in.
"N-No! Did she just say?!" Tikal asked, hands over her mouth.
"It can't be…." Wave muttered. "Everyone, garden, NOW."
The swallow ran off as the rest of us followed behind her.
"No no no…. this wasn't happening…" I thought to myself. What could she mean corpse? Who was it?
And my biggest fear of all….
Was it Vector?...
When we finally reached the garden, we all burst into the scene. I wasn't sure what I expected to see. Maybe a ragdoll or something fake to get us away from the headmaster's office? That would be fine.
But that's not how things worked in this zone.
Because laying in front of us, in the middle of the garden, was the corpse of an unidentified person, a lab coat covering their body as only their bare hands were exposed. A knife was stabbed through their chest as blood seeped through the white coat, spilling onto the floor.
What horrified me more than the sight I saw before me wasn't the gruesome murder…
It was that the victim wore the same mask that the person who attacked me last night wore…
Chapter 6:
A Painful Dash, A Painful Spiked Wall, A Painful Life Loss
DAILY LIFE
D̶̰̭͉̣̜̗͉̭̊̿Aͣ̽̓̓ͯ̚Ī͚̜͈͕͍̞̬ͥͣͅL̳͉̳͎͓̥ͯ̐ͥ͐̈Y̞͙̠ͥ͂̅ͭ̾̎͑̚̕͢ ̸̸̞̼̬͍̣̲ͩ̈͗̏ͣL̸̐͛ͣ̈́̇͏͔͚Į̸͙͎̹͚̮̲̺͍́ͯ́̓ͫ̂F̨̨͉̳̭̼̿̿̍̈́̿ͅE̱̙͍͓̜̓̎̽̅̕
D̠̟͂͐̀̚͟E͖̬̼͙ͥ̒̉A͆ͧ̅ͪͧ͏̠̮͚̭͈͍D̲͓̼̬̣̙̱̮̈͐͟L̴͔̤̗̘͉̘̳̩͛̈́̂̆ͥ̑͒Ỵ͔̩̲̳̋̀ͧͧ̂͋́̃ ̩̜̞͖̤͕͗̓L̛̯̟͇̞̳̉͡I̳̤̱̰͉̦͕̍ͨͬ͝F̸̼͔̹̺̗̟͓̈̃̈́̈́͞E̗̣͎̲̹̰̳ͦͭͣ̾
DEADLY LIFE