(AN: Another example of 'Wow I should have got this done sooner', but this time I actually have an excuse. Last week I had a COVID scare after learning my mom was in contact with someone who had the virus at her work and couple that with my horrific health anxiety and yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah... But I'm gonna try and get the final part of this trial and the epilogue out soon, because in 13 days, my next fanfic will release! And I won't say anything, but stay tuned until the finale to learn more!
Meanwhile, it's time to finally meet the mastermind of this despair filled killing game! Enjoy!)
If you had told me on the first day that I arrived here that Rouge the Bat, THE Rouge the Bat, was actually her twin sister and simply playing a part, I frankly would have laughed in your face.
But now that I was staring at the cold reality in my face, every emotion BUT happiness ran through me.
All this time, the reason there was so much death, the reason despair lined these walls…
It was all because of her.
Her own sister wasn't enough, her partner in crime wasn't enough… No, she thought she could play god with all of our lives. I didn't know whether to be angry with her, or be fearful of her.
And yet, as the bat looked at all of us, she… suddenly got a crown from her pockets and put it on her head.
"We've been waiting!" Rouge said in a clearly fake posh accent. "Waiting SO very long for peasants like you to appear! Swear your loyalty to us, and we promise that we'll reward you with half of the world! Think about it, we give you the deed, and you have all the honor, status, and succulent fruit your heart can handle! So? How about it? Shall you serve us?"
I attempted to speak, but barely any noise came out. "I-I.. uh-"
Suddenly, she took off the crown and looked at us seriously in a flash. I was taken aback by how sudden her tone changed. "Oh, did you think I was serious? Sorry, just messing with you."
"I-I didn't even get the chance to respond!"
"And that's how I messed with you."
"More like interrupted me…"
"You gotta forgive me, it's been some time since I've had any company. I figure if I was one type of person, you all would get bored of me."
I didn't even know what to make of this. I expected Rouge to be someone like, 'Muwah ha ha ha! I'm the evil mastermind and you'll never defeat me!'. But… she was acting like a different person each time, and… it scared me how she was playing it campy or playing it seriously and how fast she could switch between the two.
The real Rouge the Bat… is truly like this?
"Anyway, I wanna like… thank you all? You all set me free from playing that role. Playing Egg Robo daily, 24/7. That dumb voice and all the dumb questions you all ask are like, seeped into my memory, you understand? Not being able to do anything else, it got boring after a while. Sure, I got to examine class trials but most of the time I was like… bored. You guys are boring, you know?"
"W-Wait a minute…" Amy said. "Y-You… You don't have a mole."
"I don't have a mole? Am I not correct without a mole? Is that what's in style? Come on, I have people collecting pictures of me daily, and you're telling me a mole could make that easier?"
"No… it's not that… I may not be into pop culture, but I have definitely seen your face before," Tikal added. That's when I suddenly remembered what Tikal was talking about. I've seen Rouge before, sometime before I arrived to Green Hills. And it was just what I talked about earlier…
"Because we all have likely seen it. Rouge the Bat, the Ultimate Jewel Thief, was known to have a lot of publicity around her. Plenty of magazines and tabloids talked about her like she was the next hot thing, even if what she was doing was illegal!" I said. "In fact, just a few days before I arrived to Green Hills, I even saw a magazine cover with you on the front at the grocery store!"
"Wow, what a good memory. Is that what happens when you're a normal plain kid? You pretty much don't remember important details that have happened in your life, but you remember that one time you were at a grocery store and you saw a magazine cover? No wonder you've survived so long," Rouge continued to say in her deadpan tone.
"So I was right… What you- no, what OPAL said… I knew when I saw her, she didn't match at all what you looked like on those magazine covers. She even said she either covered her mole with makeup or had her publishers digitally edit it out, mainly so she wouldn't get confused for her twin sister, Opal. And yet, she was talking about herself the whole time!"
"I'm not surprised that Opal's lie managed to bite her back in the end. I guess you need a lie to keep things moving along, no?"
"Even some of her mannerisms seemed a little different than what I would have expected. You've seen plenty of access to jewelry around this zone, and yet you made no effort to make it your own. Your sister might have the name of Ultimate Jewel Thief, but she clearly doesn't play her part too well," Wave said.
"Because I'm me and Opal is Opal. Gaia bless her, she tried her best, but she can't replace the original Ultimate Jewel Thief. Even if two are born from the same mother, the offspring are born with different body and minds. But even different bodies and minds can come together…"
Within a flash, her serious attitude dropped as she ruffled the fur on her head. "AND THAT'S HOW WE BECAME THE FUCKIN' DESPAIR SISTERS!" she said, her voice bouncing off the walls of the room. "Or as you little punks might know it, Ultimate DESPAAAAAAIR!"
"Alright, jeez "Ms. Rockstar"!" Silver said. "No need to yell! Besides, when did you suddenly act like a new person?"
"Cause I get bored, numbnuts! And because I get bored, I feel the need to gap in my personality with new ones! It's like I have some kinda personality disorder, 'cept I don't cause I've medically diagnosed myself 34,481 times! And yeah, I fuckin' counted! Ever wonder where I started cursin'? Cause I went fuckin' crazy counting!"
"Then tell us… why? Why did you kill your own sister?" Tikal asked.
"Cause it's for reasons deeper and darker than your little heart can handle, baby!... as IF!" Rouge suddenly shifted her mood from excitable to… calm as she took out a pair of glasses from… her chest… "Well, I better explain," she said in a tone a teacher would use. "For my plan to work, obviously someone would need to pull the strings from behind the scenes. The 'mastermind' as you all put it had to do several things: organize the killing game, operate Egg Robo, keep an eye on everyone, you get the picture. However, after looking at the simulation I had created, I realized that Opal was not up to task for impersonating me. Living in her sister's shadow… she tried her best I'll give her that, but one look at her and you'll know quickly that me and her have nothing in common."
"Okay, then tell us about Infinite," I said. Rouge was silent for a few seconds before speaking up.
"…on the other hand, Infinite was someone I had learned about during Opal's and my start as the Despair Sisters. At first, we wanted him to join us, but then he had to run off with his Jackal Squad doing Gaia knows what. Thankfully, he came back just in time to join me as my right-hand man while I dictated Opal and the rest of your lives here in this Zone life. Unlike Infinite, I felt Opal wouldn't have been much use to me, so that's why I felt her important to play her role in the game, at least, until she resisted. Seventeen students seemed fine enough to me, and after all, I knew Infinite was too expendable. Of course, there was a big issue as to why I couldn't just let Infinite participate."
"And what's that?"
"He had far too many issues. He was filthy, out of touch, and nothing more than a savage. I mean, would YOU bring in a mercenary to hang out with you all when he likely knew nothing of how to be a civilized person? That's why his role was to stay with me until the time was right, spying and reporting back to me as my second spy after Espio. That's why I had Opal play me. Even though my status as Ultimate Jewel Thief was very important, Opal was nothing more than someone regurgitating lines that wouldn't feel out of place in teenage movies, and therefore, no one would be shocked if an utter disappointment like her died. After all, you all likely saw her as some kind of slutty bimbo, am I wrong?"
I felt my face crunch up. I never even saw Opal this way, and the fact Rouge was openly referring to her dead sister like THIS?!
"That's… not your only reason, right?"
"No. I also did it not to get bored. Sure, Cream died at first, but…"
Rouge suddenly perked up her chest, holding them together with her elbows as she tried to look 'cute'. "…what's wrong with a lil' extra murder? Besides, you can go off plan sometimes, y'know!" she said in a high-pitched voice. "I planned everything out and even made predictions: who would die first, who would be the first to snap on motives. If everything happened to how I planned it out, that's boring! That's why it was so fun when things happened when I didn't expect it! So that's why Opal's death was nothing more than to make a point to you all!"
"In other words…" Vector said. "Yer sayin' that Opal's death was nothin' more than a one-sided betrayal? It's just as we were talkin' 'bout… 'Rouge' looked surprised when she was killed, even sayin' she 'didn't want this to happen', at least to that extent."
"So, biggo Vecco figured it out? Well, correct! That entire moment was Opal's most convincing moment! So much so that we need to give her multiple acting awards, and screw it, let's name the award show after her too! But… she did teach you all a lesson, no?"
I was stunned into silence. To think that everything was getting worse the more Rouge spoke. One part of me was filled with shock, the other with rage.
"Hm? What's wrong, dummy Charmy?" asked Rouge.
"…how? How can you… talk like this?" I said. "Yo-You just sacrificed your own sister for your little game?! Do you not even care?!"
"Hm? Me sacrificing her? That's why you're mad? Honestly, Charmy, you need to look at ancient Echidna history! They do plenty of sacrificing too, and yet I'M the bad one because I killed one person? Jeez, I feel so threatened! Am I gonna get exposed on social media and be forced to write a lame ass apology? I made my profile squeaky clean too! Not like it matters, all of us in Ultimate Despair never had hope or aspirations. So why does murdering one another have to be so bad? Infinite did it for a living and look at how fine he turned out! Nope! We all bonded by how much we felt despair since the day we were born! Everything about me spoke despair! When I cried, ate, burped, and pooped, they all had one thing in common: everything I did, I did for despair! That's why we did things without any kind of regret! That's why I let my trampy sister dress as me, and my only companion attempt to murder my enemies!"
"I can't believe everything you've told us so far…" Tikal said. "You murdered your sister and your only friend… and you treated it like they didn't even mind?"
Rouge hung her head and looked rather blue in the face, back to doing her little depression stunt. "No… that's not true at all… Opal was my twin and Infinite was the only person I actually felt like calling my friend… how could I not mind? That's why… it gets me… so… so… excited…"
I could see Tikal and Silver move a couple of centimeters away from Rouge.
"Killing my sister and my friend with my own two hands, watching them fade into their own despairs as I did it… It was filled with so much despair that I classified it into super despair. Super despair, you ask? It's the only kind I'll ever accept now… Those looks on their faces... it made me feel… so good…"
"What…" Silver squeaked. "…the fuck… is wrong with you?"
"You know… I can't help but feel jealous. All my life, I spent wandering this world trying to find what true despair is. I've done many despair filled events, and yet… nothing compares to taking Infinite and Opal's life. I sometimes even wonder when it's my turn to feel super despair, because only then will I feel like I had lived my life to the fullest."
"You… you frankly, are no ordinary person," Wave said. "You exist in this world to be nothing more than an abnormality."
"That's putting it mildly," I thought to myself.
"Yeh've done nothin' but turn yer despair into… into some kinda fetish," Vector said. "No matter who the person, seeing them in true despair excited you to where yeh wanna keep doin' it over and over again. I dun even know where to describe it, but abnormality isn't what I call it."
"I mean, you make Rosie the Rascal look like an angel in church!" Silver added.
"You're saying I'm so horrific that I can't even be compared to a beast that kills for her own fetish too? But… isn't that what I am? Why is she so different? Is it because she doesn't follow despair like I do?... So what am I? Am I a hopeless jewel thief? A hopeless man magnet? Am I a hopeless perfect living being?" asked Rouge.
"No, there's nothing perfect about what you just said," replied Wave.
"Nothing perfect about me? But what about you? Are you still perfect?"
"…huh?"
Rouge grabbed the limb Egg Robo on the floor and put it over her body, shaking the robot and pretending to be him. "Ho ho ho! You lot haven't figured out that yet? You're slower than a bunch of badniks! This trial is all about solving all the mysteries, but I'm glad to see you all are so incompetent, you can't do it!"
"Does this have to do with our memories?" Vector asked.
"That's right! So I killed Opal and Infinite, big deal! So, here's a new mystery for you all: solve the mystery of your missing memories!"
"Of course!" I said. "We haven't forgotten that, and trust me, we'll find out by the end! And then… we'll have our victory!"
"Ho ho ho! I can't wait! A final battle between main character and villain? It's just what I wanted!"
"Alright then, let's just get straight to the point: What memories did you steal from us, Rouge?" asked Silver.
Silence from Rouge…
"We have plenty of answers," Amy said. "When the pictures were taken, the interviews… I'm not sure where we can begin! Ma-Maybe even our entrance exams! I've passed out doing tests before, I wouldn't be surprised if there were tests that just wiped your memory by how mind-numbingly dull they are!"
"Can you give us one hint?" the silver hedgehog asked.
"HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM…" said the bat. "No can do! Your brains are all nothing more than oil oceans! All dirty and mucky! And I even gave you a hint too! Your lost memories share something in common with a few other things! Now do you recall them?"
Your lost memories share something in common with a few other things…
Thinking back to what Egg Robo told us, the memories stolen from us and what they're connected to…
We all didn't want to leave in our interviews, and yet we all desired to leave because we didn't remember we said yes to agreeing to stay here… And what was used to bait us to leaving?
I gasped. "I got it! It's the motives…"
"Motives?' asked Tikal.
Rouge returned to her serious persona. "So, you remember. I'm surprised a scatterbrain like yourself actually bothered to remember. Of course, someone eventually had to remember, even if I didn't want it to be you. It was stupid of me to ask, so I apologize. Don't cancel me, I have plenty of followers on social media. So anyway, that aside, did you notice that each motive had a theme to it?"
"There was a theme?"
"That's my question. When Cream was murdered, what was the theme of the motive I used that led to her death?"
It had been so long, and yet I remembered it clearly when Rouge taunted me earlier… The video of my family…
Cream's had Vanilla in it, congratulating her on making it to Green Hills…
"It was our connections to others. That was the first motive," I said.
"Ding. Ding ding," she replied, deadpan. "Each of the tablets I gave you all contained a video featuring the destruction of your close relationships. For example, Charmy, your video showed your bee colony destroyed, Cream's showed her mom dead, and so many others… I destroyed them all and showed you the results. All to boost your desire to escape and to get you to kill. But… isn't it such a cruel thing to do?"
"You're the one who did this!" Tikal yelled. "I… I may hate my father, b-but I would never sentence him to whatever you caused in my video!"
"I don't care if you disapprove. After all, he'll never think of you as a disappointment because of you being a pacifist, no?"
She went back to her perky persona, with that… obnoxious high pitched voice. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKAY! Time for the next question! This is like a quiz, so pay attention! What was the theme of the second motive?"
This was the one involving Knuckles and Shadow… stemming from the envelopes with our deepest secrets. Mine mentioned how I used to sleep with a honey pot for years. That meant the second motive…
"…it's the past?" I asked.
"YAYYYY! Charmy got it right again! He's right, it's all about the past! As we all grow and evolve as people, we look back on our past selves and think, 'Why did I ever do that?'. And if you didn't, you're a liar! The reason Shadow did what he did was because he was so ashamed at who his past self used to be, he thought killing his only friend was worth it!"
"We get it, you just want to hear about our secrets," Wave said. "How long do you plan to drag this out?"
"Oh? Do you not want to hear about why Jet killed?"
I could see Wave bite her lip as I remembered the third motive: money. Jet killed because of his bet with Sonic, but was so enraged with him that he ordered Storm to kill him, and out of guilt, killed Storm himself. That meant…
"The third motive was greed," I said.
"YEEEEEEAH!" Rouge screamed as she changed to her hardcore persona. "With Jet being nothin' more than a penny pincher, I thought to have some fuckin' fun with that little bird shrimp! Watching him trying to resist all that money was funny! I knew he wanted it, even when he acted like he didn't! Sure Jet might have felt bad for what he did, but that doesn't change his sinful little soul! Someone who cared so much about his money, why did his friends matter if he could spare a few extra rings? Besides, he could probably buy a few new friends with that money!"
"Okay, we get the point!" I yelled. "It's painful enough having to recall everything! What's your reason for doing so?!"
"Oh, don't worry kiddy! It'll be explained soon! Now just two more to go! Now tell me: what was Blaze's crazy ass motive?!"
Blaze's motive? Well, it was that giant machine that could change anything about us. She wanted to get rid of her powers and felt they were a curse on her life. And she… couldn't accept it, of course!
"Self-acceptance, right?"
"Why of course," said Rouge, going to her 'teacher' persona. "By then, I had realized that the ones remaining were likely the ones to succeed in being here in this room for me. But I still needed one more way to rat all of you out. I used your loved ones, your past, and whether humanity's sin affected you, so I knew of one final thing to make you crack: finding out whether you accepted yourself and that even with your flaws, you knew that was a part of you. The machine was made so that anyone with self-hatred would be tempted to murder. Of course, Blaze hated her powers, so she killed Big to achieve her desire. Once she was exposed, it was at that point that I realized that the remaining survivors were no longer tempted to give into selfish needs, so there was no need to give out any more motives. At least, until Espio died. Tell us, what was the theme about Espio's death?"
The motive in his death? I knew that Egg Robo exposing Espio as the traitor was PROBABLY a little in part thanks to that, but the big picture in his death had to do…
"Betrayal," I said.
Rouge returned to her depressed self. "Of course… Once I revealed Espio's betrayal, that led to everything afterwards. Ugh, sorry. I would recount it but I'm getting bored. At least you answered all my questions, so I'm delighted but also in pain…"
"But what's your POINT?!" Wave questioned. "What, do you like telling us about the crimes you committed?"
"Relationships, secrets and the past, greed, self-worth, betrayal," Rouge said in her perky persona. "You look at it blindly and they seem like really normal, totally not weird motives!"
Putting on her crown, she put on her queen persona, and at this point, I didn't even KNOW how this girl could put on multiple performances in a flash of an instinct. Frankly, I think that's what helped in making her more frightening than we ever expected.
"But of course, there are upon thousands of reasons to commit murder. Think about it: nations commit murder daily and advocate it in everything like schools and festivals, all for a sense of nationalistic pride. Because what's better than bragging about murder? Bragging about unjustified murder WHILE trying to justify it! This, coupled with the many faces of murder, is what I like to call the seed of despair!"
"Seed of… despair?" Vector questioned.
"When you think about it, despair is harbored in environments like a plant. It could come after tragic events, learning about truths, many different reasons! And it's due to this that seeds of despair are planted everywhere! On the news, on the streets, we all have become so accustomed to living with seeds of despair in our minds all because they feed off their one source of nourishment: hope! Isn't it shocking that hope and despair are in unison, living together like star crossed lovers? But, hope and despair live on the same coin, the same path as one another. Could you dare say… hope and despair are one in the same?"
"Oh Gaia, I am REALLY starting to get sick of you," Wave growled, holding up her first. "Either get to the point, or I think there'll be a cat fight soon… Besides, this was supposed to be about our missing memories, and now you want to change the subject to something about hope and despair!"
Rouge put on her 'teacher' persona again, staring directly at Wave. "Oh, but, Wave… This is not a subject change. We ARE discussing your lost memories… I'm talking about the seed of despair because it's tied directly into your lost memories."
"How so?" asked Amy.
"By taking away your memories, I gave you hope. And you all had plenty of hope in the beginning, however, the purpose of the hope you had during your time at Green Hills was so that it would be consumed by despair."
"But I don't understand… we lost our memories, and yet… that gives us hope?" asked Tikal.
"Besides! You haven't given us any hope at all!" whined Silver. "I've been in 'What the hell is this girl talking about?!' mode since you arrived!"
"You all seem to not believe that even in a damned placed like Green Hills, hope cannot exist," replied Rouge. "And yet, something you all believed would happen was the chance for escape, no? It was all you desired, and it gave you hope."
"What's the point of this speech?" Wave asked.
"Because," 'Queen' Rouge replied. "If you all had the memories of you agreeing to staying in the Zone, you wouldn't want to leave. But once you erase those memories… you all think you can just walk out without any kind of consequence!"
"So…" Vector said. "The only reason we want to leave is because yeh took our memories of us sayin' yes, correct... correct?"
Rouge grabbed the limb Egg Robo and put it over her face. "Ho ho ho... You couldn't be any more correct!"
"Why in the hell would our memories being gone meaning we wouldn't wanna leave?! Just because we said yes doesn't mean I'd actually wanna stay here!" Silver yelled.
"Ho ho ho... it does sound confusing, doesn't it? But don't you remember? I create hope for the purpose of despair, and there's nothing more lovely than the sight of sweet, sweet distress. So, just like Charmy getting his brain all messed up because of aliens and turning into a six year old for continuity, I'm gonna give you a hint!"
Huh? Really!?"
"P-Please, you must tell us!" Tikal said.
"Jeez, calm down! It's not a race! Since you're all so desperate to get out, I think it would be best that you all got to see… the world outside this ring dimension…"
My heart stopped. Something about the way she said that… almost as if she was showing this to us for a reason. Why was it that the world outside this ring dimension was said in this type of tone?
I suddenly thought back to The Great Calamity and I felt a shudder. It… it had nothing to do with that, did it?
I could tell Vector felt like how I was feeling. His brow lowered. "So… somethin' really did happen out there.." he muttered.
"So, I take it you're ready to see the truth? Ready to see the world you're so desperate to return to? After all, you've been begging to be let back into it, I'm sure you'll love how it looks! And I'll love the despair I'll get to see on your lovely, lovely faces once you see the…" Rouge said, still holding up the Egg Robo robot as she suddenly took her right arm off and held up a remote. "…how your little world looks!"
Rouge pressed the button as all the TV's around us turned on. There was static on each TV, and the picture was very unclear. I wasn't sure if it was just static, but as some picture came on and I squinted to see what it was, each TV became clear.
And what I saw shocked me more than anything. I saw popular monuments around the world desecrated with the face of Egg Robo. I saw giant Egg Robo robots destroying large cities, even a giant Egg Robo shaped ship firing a laser at the moon. Worst of all, the next images displayed people in Egg Robo masks on the streets of a giant city, carrying weapons and attacking innocent people, burning and destroying everything in sight, and I even saw a group of mask wearing Egg Robo people carrying a woman with an unbuttoned shirt, a look of fear on her face.
This… this is what our world became?
Was this The Great Calamity?...
Rouge hung her head as she put on her depressed persona. "Dangerous... The world outside this ring dimension has become so dangerous. Society forgets who they are and what they were, and act like this… Isn't it so sad?"
"What are you talking about?! This… how could this be our world?!" Silver questioned.
"What am I looking at?" questioned Wave.
"It's… it's like a riot… but… but this isn't right! I may not believe in violence, but I understand the importance of riots. They can be used for the causes of good when the unheard continue to be silenced! But… this isn't for a good cause… This… they're rioting in your name, Rouge!" exclaimed Tikal.
"It's like a movie! Tikal is right… they're rioting for despair!" Amy added.
"Are you sure? Because once you get a good look at this screen, you should be able to recognize everything…" said Rouge, continuing her depressed persona. What did she mean though? I don't recognize any of this… "The world outside of this ring dimension is locked behind the memories you lost. Even if you can't remember, try to come up with some answer…"
Ruffling her hair, Rouge returned to her hyper persona. "GYAH HA HA HA! Better put those lumps of cancer you lot call your brains into overdrive, because the answer is gonna determine whether you live or die! And don't even give me that, 'I don't remember' shit! That ain't a fuckin' excuse anymore! And you wanna know why, huh? HUH?! Cause it's time we continue with… the final class trial!"
MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!
"Come on bitches!" Rouge yelled. "Do you wanna die or not?! Then you dirtbags better start remembering! What the fuck happened outside?!"
"You want us to remember, but with that video you just showed us... I can't even remember a damn thing!" Silver yelled.
"What... what does that video mean? Is this some sick joke?!" Wave questioned. "Surely this isn't… our world?"
"You want us to remember this but... but how exactly do you want us to remember something we can't recall?!" Tikal gasped.
"If-if... If no one can remember anything... then... then we're all doomed!" Amy cried.
It was there that my heart skipped a beat. When Amy mentioned something about how 'no one' could remember anything, there was something that Rosie had mentioned to me earlier in the bio lab. Something about her and Amy not being able to share minds.
But… could it work? When Rouge took over Green Hills and erased Amy's memories, did she realize that Rosie didn't share the same mind as Amy?
…there was only one way to know.
"No, that's wrong!" I said, pointing at Amy. "There may be one person that can remember. One person who is the key to everything.
"W-Who?!" gasped Amy.
"Amy… there's something Rosie told me earlier in the investigation. She said that you both don't share the same memories. So whatever she's done, you don't recall, and vice-versa. Correct?"
Amy nodded. "Y-Yeah?"
"Where are you going with-" Tikal asked until she suddenly gasped. "AH!"
"That's right…" I said. "There may only be one person that knows what happened during The Great Calamity, and that's Rosie the Rascal!"
"Then that means Rouge didn't succeed when she wiped yer memories, Amy. She thought she had gotten rid of both yer memories, not just yers," Vector said. "Amy… listen to-"
Tikal interrupted the crocodile. "A-Amy, please! I know it's against everything I believe in as a pacifist to rely on the word of a serial killer, but Rosie is the key to defeating Rouge! Please! I beg you, you must become Rosie and let her expose the truth!"
Amy grabbed her quills and pulled on them. "N-No! I… I refuse to ever let her out willingly! She's everything I hated and you all think I just want to… just want to bring her out all willynilly?! How could you?!"
"Listen, pinky," said Wave sharply. "Maybe you don't realize this, but your life is on the line. If you know what was good for you, I think you'd do as we say."
"How DARE you all assume that I enjoy being Rosie?! No! I absolutely refuse! I want to help you defeat Rouge, not let the person who ruined my LIFE take over and take everything I worked so hard for-"
"Rosie."
I turned to face where that sudden voice came from, and it was from where Rouge and Tikal was sitting, It was Silver, but the way he looked was…
I didn't know what to say. His appearance was… striking. He had lowered his quills in a way that looked like Sonic. And his voice too…
"I know it's scary to turn into Rosie. But… you're our only hope. You're helping us by turning into Rosie. So please… do this for all of us. Do this to help us stop Rouge."
Silver was even doing his best to do a Sonic impression. Sure, it wasn't GOOD but… was this really going to work? Surely Amy wouldn't confuse him for Sonic.
But then she sneezed. And in that moment, I think from how he looked and sounded, her mind proceeded seeing and hearing Sonic instead of Silver. Within a flash, Rosie appeared.
"HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~!" she said. "It's your favorite neighborhood serial killer, back once again to make a surprise appearance in the final trial!"
Silver shook his quills and put them back together, clearing his throat.
"Jeez… she did it so fast…" he muttered to himself. "Anyway, erm… Rosie? I… KNOW you like me and everything, but I'm being nice for a reason. I want you to do something for us. Look at the screens behind you and tell us if you recognize what's on it."
"Look at the screens? For what? You might be my darling Shirbua, but I wanna know why I gotta look at some scummy screen?"
"Because it has an important video on it of course…" said Rouge in her depressed persona.
"W-Who the hell are you and what are you doing so close to my Darling Shiruba?!"
"Oh… I'm the mastermind."
"The mastermind? Oh, nice to meet you! You know, we've been doing a lot of talking about you lately!"
"N-Nice to meet you too…"
"I frankly feel a chill knowing Rosie and Rouge are in the same room…" Tikal said.
"Look, forget about that, Rosie! Just turn around and look at the screens!" demanded Wave.
"Okay! Got it, captain!" Rosie proceeded to turn and squinted as she looked at the first TV in front of her. She began to turn slowly and looked at each screen with vigor, finally turning around to face us when made a full turn around the room.
"So? Does any of this look familiar?" asked Vector.
"Hmm… I can't say I'm knowledgeable on EVERYTHING! BUUUUUUUUUUUUT…. OF COURSE IT DOES!"
"T-Then you remember what happened?!" added Silver.
"Of course I do, mi amor!"
"Well? What is it?! Is this really The Great Calamity?" asked Wave.
"Huh? You really don't know about what happened during that time?"
"What do you mean what happened?"
"Well I can't really say if it's still happening or not, but what I can definitely say is that it was the world's tragedy!"
"The… world's tragedy?" Tikal said, head tilted.
"What, you don't know, small boobs?"
"The world's been fuckin' destroyed!" said Rouge back to her hyper persona.
"D-Destroyed?!" questioned Vector, holding his wrist.
"Explain yourself, NOW!" yelled the swallow.
"Ooh, gettin' real feisty with me, purple!" Rosie said. "Okay so, there was this really big awful event a year ago. That's The Great Calamity, you got me? And it was so awful that even this murderer was jealous by how much killing was happening daily! It felt like a manmade disaster, and yet everything played out like it was natural selection at its greatest hour! In no time flat, people fell into the world's tragedy, and that's pretty much what became The Great Calamity!"
"Anddddd… that's it?" asked Silver. "That was nothing!"
"Well geez, I never said I was knowledgeable in this stuff, darling! Stinky pinky saw it in real time! Why aren't you asking her?"
"We can't because her memory has been WIPED!" Wave slammed her fist on her stand. "She doesn't know anything because of Rouge, and that's why we're asking YOU, you dunce!"
"I may not be into girls but gooooosh, yell at me more, Wave!"
"Okay okay, enough of you getting weird, girly," Rouge said in her serious persona. "We have plenty of time to be inappropriate later. In the meantime, I'm sure it scares you all what you just heard. But it doesn't really matter anymore, does it? The world outside this ring dimension has ended. End of story."
"How can it just end?" Silver said, pulling his quills. "It's… the world!"
"Calm down, calm down. Why does it matter anyway? You're not in that dimension anymore. It shouldn't concern you because clearly you're still alive, no?"
"Now you're being ridiculous, girl," snarled Wave. "Maybe you can humor everyone else, but you can't humor me anymore."
"Well, if we're here making jokes, I have one for you. It's about the Babylonian race, which has given Wave and her friends an identity all her life."
"W-What are you saying?! Don't you DARE put the name of the Babylonians in your filthy mouth!"
Getting out her glasses, Rouge switched to her teacher persona. "I'm so glad you took the bait. You heard the word you care for too much and went at it like prey."
Letting the glasses fall from her face, Rouge perked up her breasts as she changed to her cute persona. "So um… I gotta question for Charmy! What do YOU think happened to the Babylonians?"
I looked shocked as I looked around, trying to find my voice.
"I… uh-"
"Correct!" Rouge said, taking out her crown and switching to her queen persona. "Well done, fool!"
"But I didn't even say anything… again…"
As if she was doing this in a blink of an eye, Rouge switched to her hyper persona. "Cause I got so fuckin' bored waiting for your slow ass, I decided to answer for you! Besides, why does it matter anyway? You would have figured out the answer anyway, but better to hurry it up and not wait like concrete drying!"
And in another flash, she changed to her cutesy persona. "So no matter what you pick, you still get the right answer! Isn't solving questions fun?"
And once again, she hung her head as she went with her depressed persona. "But… isn't it so depressing? Shouldn't being bored be considered a disease? Do you think I'm sick? Do you think I'm okay?"
"Jeez, it's like she switches personalities like it's no big deal…" murmured Silver.
"Anyway, like I said, the Babylonian race has been destroyed! Poof! No more! They all died!" Rouge said with Egg Robo over her face.
"W-What are you saying?! How-" Wave said, a clear sense of panic rising in her voice and face.
Rouge picked up her glasses and went for her teacher persona. "How? Don't even ask, I can confirm that the Babylonians have fallen and that they've all died. During The Great Calamity, the Babylon Garden has fallen and in massive disarray,"
"N-No! That can't be true! You're… you're lying!"
I gasped. This was possibly the first time I had seen and heard genuine fear from Wave. The idea that she was the only one of her kind left scared her…
The bat continued, putting Egg Robo over her face. "And to think that Jet, Wave, and Storm were the only ones left. And now look: they're down to only one. You better accept it soon, Wave! You're the only Babylonian left!"
"No, please! Stop! I… I can't be the only one left! I… We were supposed to find out the truth about-"
"Stop?" questioned 'Queen' Rouge, putting her crown on. "And for what? You tell us to stop with such an authority. You think you're being clever trying to act cool when you heard the news. And yet, a peasant like you thinks they have the right to question my authority. You better learn your place, girl! Being a Babylonian means nothing anymore when your family, your history doesn't even exist anymore!"
"How… how could they not fight against you? The Babylonians had… methods… defense… and… and…!"
"Methods and defense don't fuckin' matter when this whole world has gone to shit a year ago!" Rouge said in her hyper persona. "Why don't you stop acting like a baby and accept it? Or will that shitty pride of yours resist that until the very end?!"
That's when I stopped. All this talk of one year ago… One year ago, The Great Calamity occurred, one year ago this, one year ago that…
That's when I remembered…
"No, stop!" I said. "You aren't making sense anymore!"
"Huh?" asked perky Rouge. "I don't make sense?"
"You're saying that EVERYTHING, The Great Calamity, the fall of the Babylonians, all that, that it happened one year ago! And yet… we only came to this zone a few weeks ago! Hell, I remember when I arrived here first day! If there really WAS some world-shattering event a year ago, I'd remember cause apocalypses are one of my biggest fears!"
Rouge was silent for a second before slowly picking up Egg Robo off the floor and putting it over her face. "Ho ho ho… is it maybe because you're MISTAKEN about that?"
"M-Mistaken?" asked Vector.
"So… I think I get what you're trying to say, bee boy. You're saying that The Great Calamity happened a year ago before you arrived here."
"It makes sense!" argued Tikal. "It's as Charmy says! We only arrived here a few weeks ago!"
"…so… you REALLY believe you all came a few weeks ago. Didn't realize I took away that much…"
"What?" asked Silver. That's when I noticed Vector's eyes growing wide.
"Naw… yeh… yeh aren't-" he said before Rouge cut him off.
"Well, nothing I can do about that anymore! Doesn't it suck that you all forgot what happened two years ago didn't happen recently?"
"Two years ago?" asked Tikal.
"You all started attending Green Hills two years ago! Jeez, did I have to spell that out?!"
I felt like I had just gotten hit by a brick wall, as did everyone else. I didn't even KNOW how things could get worse. I thought learning the truth about The Great Calamity was the worst truth we could learn.
But… this? We… we've been here since two years ago? Then that comment she made…
'Didn't realize I took away that much'…
She… she didn't-
"Ah… ha ha ha…" Silver laughed. "Uh… guys? She isn't like… playing a joke on us, is she? It's all just an unfunny joke, right?"
"I can see why you're all skeptical," said Rouge in her serious persona. "I mean, no one really forgets two years of memories, but you can't deny the truth in the end. And the truth is like a boulder running down a maze filled with lava. Deny it and you might as well fall into a lava pit because whoever rules over your destiny can't work a track ball to save their life."
Getting her glasses from the floor, Rouge continued in her teacher persona. "So, you must understand everything so far, correct? Everything I've given you, no?"
"Come now!" Rouge traded her glasses for her crown. "Answer us! Do please, I LOVE to hear what answer you have for us all."
Tikal tried to find her voice in that moment, but only a whimper came out. "H-How… how can we answer?"
"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON ANYMOREEEEEE!" cried Silver.
Wave and Vector continued to stay silent as Rosie shrugged.
"Eh, don't look at me!" she said. I knew we had to find some answer. Everything she's told us so far leads to one truth.
If what Rouge is saying is true, we first came to Green Hills about two years ago. However, we only remember coming here within the last few weeks. So that means the memories she took from us…
"I got it," I said. "If we all accept what you're saying as truth, then what you took from us were the memories of our two years here at Green Hills after coming to the zone!"
Silver covered his ears. "Oh no! Oh no no no no nooooooooooooooooo! There are a LOT of things I can buy now since coming to this place! That frankly, I think tells me you've gone SENILE, Charmy!"
"G-Gah!" Rouge said, holding her chest. "A-Another correct answer! You should be in charge of Sonic's Schoolhouse! We hope you don't enjoy outdated graphics, of course!"
"Y-You aren't lying?" Tikal gasped, holding her hands over her mouth. "We… we lost two years of memories?!"
"That's all right! You already spent two years at Green Hills! And that time is what you've all forgotten!"
"How can I not remember the last few years of my life?!" questioned Silver. "It's impossible! I mean… think of… think of birthdays! How OLD am I?!"
"Old enough to where you guys can make sexual jokes and not be labeled problematic!" said perky Rouge. "I mean, I hate being cancelled online because of a comment I didn't think about for more than two seconds, so I had you guys wait until you were old enough to make those jokes! See? Even I care about the rules sometimes!"
"You care too much about being a puritan for being a monster you know!"
Ignoring what she said, I got Silver's frustration. I mean, if YOU found out you just lost two years of your life, I think you'd go a little crazy too. I wanna think that it's impossible and I wanna refuse to believe it. But I know what's what my heart desires. But if this is really the truth.. we have to accept it!
MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!
"Two years of memories?" Tikal asked. "How… how is that possible?! I... I could never forget such a thing!"
"We've been here for two years?!" Silver yelled. "That's impossible! I've never gone to any school events, had any celebrations or class pizza parties, hell I don't even remember going to ANY class!"
"Please... stop... this is too surreal..." Wave begged, hyperventilating.
"And besides, if two years did pass… THEN HOW OLD AM I?!"
"Ho ho ho... I love the confliction in this room!" Rouge said, holding Egg Robo above her face. I didn't know what our argument was for. At this point, we couldn't deny that we had lost our memories. It was seeping into reality…
And that's when I remembered. There was one thing I saw during the investigation that might be the only proof we had of us losing our memories. And I had to use it!
"Silver, catch!" I said, tossing him the notebook.
"Huh? What's this?" he asked.
"I want you to look at this notebook and tell us what you see."
Silver flipped it open as he got a look of confusion on his face. "Huh? Why is… my name here?"
"This is the only proof we have of us losing our memories. I found it in a locker on the second floor of the dorms. Please, if you mind, take a closer look at the notebook."
"Okay but… I've never seen this before, even if my name is on this page…"
Silver flipped to the next page, reading through his notes. And then the next, and the next, and as he continued to flip, his eyes grew wider and wider.
"What's wrong, darling? Is something up?" asked Rosie.
"It's… I don't get it… my name is here… and my handwriting it… It looks like mine too! No… it… it is! This is my handwriting! How?! I NEVER wrote in this!" Silver threw the notebook to the floor. "G-Get it away! What IS that cursed thing?!"
"That 'cursed' thing…" I said. "…is the proof that you attended classes here at Green Hills. And of course, you forgot like the rest of us."
"N-No! It's… it's a lie! I want to believe its just a lie! This can't be true!"
"Trust me…" Vector said. "I dun wanna believe it either. But I have mah own proof too. This pocketbook Charmy also found."
"Whose is that, huh? Didya steal it?" asked Rosie.
"Nah, it's mine. The handwritin' is also mine, no doubt. But just like Silver, I dun have any memory of writin' it."
"And that's because of our two years worth of lost memories, correct?" asked Wave.
"Ho ho ho!" Rouge laughed, Egg Robo over her face. "After seeing all this evidence, do you all have no choice but to accept the truth?"
Throwing down Egg Robo violently, Rouge switched to her hyper persona. "Isn't it just so fucking dark! It's like you all solved a mystery, only you did it at a site filled with burning kids and Chao! Shit man! I never been to a place like that, but you bet your ass I'm gonna plan my next fucking vacation there!"
I was left speechless. I mean, how DO you even reply to something like that?
"Two years of zone life," Rouge said, now switching to her serious persona. "How many memories have you lost? They say going to a zone is where you make all your memories, your friends, your happiest times. Isn't it just… bad losing it all? Not just losing that but having all that occur during The Great Calamity. Before you could all enjoy your new lives here, the world came crashing down. You all took in that despair, but eventually forgot. And because of you all forgetting, you made the choice to participate in this killing game. Oh and uh, one more thing… the memories you all PRECISELY lost were-"
She suddenly stopped herself and then hung her head.
"Actually… never mind… I got bored of explaining stuff… It's too hard…"
"You were just about to tell us!" yelled Silver. "Don't interrupt yourself NOW!"
"On the contrary!" Rouge said, switching to her Queen persona. "We have gotten bored of everything! Everyone in this world has such big dreams and desires, always talking to their loved ones about them. But do you think they all succeed in doing so? Do you all wish to know why?"
Throwing down her crown, Rouge went back (I frankly lost track at this point) to her hyper persona. "Because this world is so fucking boring!"
"Whaddya goin' on 'bout, Rouge?!" questioned Vector.
"What I'm going on about is that I'm jealous of you all," replied 'serious' Rouge. "You all gave yourself over to despair so quickly, I have never seen anything like that. Not even I could do anything like that."
"So figure out the rest for yourselves! I'm sick and tired of being the fucking exposition queen around here! Either you figure it out and get bent and die!" said hyper Rouge.
"Figure out what?" I asked. Rouge grabbed her glasses off the floor and put them on again.
"Figure out where your memories come apart. That's the key to solving the mystery."
Where our memories fall apart? She must mean when specifically we lost our memories. There might only be one time when that occurred… When I entered the Warp Ring…
"That's right!" I said. "The moment I lost my memories, it must have only been that day. After I entered the Warp Ring leading to Green Hills, everything around me turned red and I felt so weird and passed out."
"Wow!" said Rouge in her perky persona. "You still sure do like talkin', huh? I'm surprised your brain has that much power for a little person! Um… so I wasn't there to experience the whole memory loss thing, but I think you all can agree it happened when you all passed out taking the Warp Ring here, right? And your sense of time got messed up because of that too? I think it must have been something like that!"
"After I passed out, I woke up in a classroom desk and a letter by me. I THOUGHT some time had passed since I entered through the Warp Ring."
"Oh, some time passed! Two whole years exactly!"
"That's why everything felt so short," said Vector. "Cause our memories were wiped to make us think it was only just yesterday that it happened."
"You got it, girthy croc!" said Rouge in her hyper persona this time. "Two years of memories gone down the shitter! Which means when you shitheads met for the first time, it wasn't REALLY for the first time! Unaware of this, you all took time out of your slow day to introduce each other!"
"And yet, we really knew each other two years ago. That's what the pictures mean, no?"
Rouge put Egg Robo over her face. "Ho ho ho ho! Yup! That's correct! You all knew each other back then and were such close friends! You spent days and nights together, doing everything teenagers do, and look! Two years later and you're all killing each other! And for what? To escape into a world that's been annihilated! Ho HO HO HOOOOO! How tragic! Even if you all leave now, there's nothing you all can do about it!"
"Don't you forget: YOU set everything up to be like this!" I yelled. Rouge hung her head in response. "Oh, don't you cry on it now!"
"…I love you all so much…."
"What do you mean love?!"
"It's so strange isn't? You think because I set this up, I must be a cold-hearted, emotionless person? And yet… when our Zone life began, I thought about you guys all the time. It's only natural that I'd fall in love with each of you…"
"So!" said perky Rouge. "Since I love you guys so much, lemme tell you ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL about how I love you so much! All about the idea we – as the Ultimate Despairs- came up with the idea to bring despair to all of mankind!"
All of mankind? And the plan? Really? Only THREE people came up with the idea to bring the world to chaos, and… and it worked?!
"Let's go ALLL the way back at the beginning, two years ago, okay? Back to when you all arrived at this zone and we all had feely good times! Zone life was so amazing, with so much hope and happiness! Every day we learned, had fun, and it was a FRIGGIN' nightmare! You all enjoyed yourselves so much and having the times of your lives!"
And then she put on her glasses going for… wait for it, her teacher persona. "Of course, real peace doesn't last forever. So that's why after our first year… an event unfolded that hammered despair into all of humanity. This event known as The Great Calamity, the world's tragedy. Soon after, the peaceful world we all lived in where we could walk the streets freely without fear soon became a warzone filled with bloodshed. And yes, Green Hills was no exception. The Great Calamity even made its way here, leading to the deaths of most of the students."
"Deaths of… everyone but us?" questioned Vector. "What… what in the fuck are you?..."
"What do you mean?" asked 'serious' Rouge.
"Yeh can't be serious… yer REALLY tryin' to tell us that yeh, Opal and Infinite, three kids not even old enough to drink at the time, REALLY came up with The Great Calamity? How? How didja do it?! Was someone backin' yeh? An organization, or… or a mob? Someone with money and power to governmental facilities to create weapons of mass destruction?"
"Hmm… I see why you're asking that. If I had to say how we did it… it was because we had none of those things. It wasn't an organization, it was an ideology. You can subscribe to hope and speak out about injustice, or subscribe to despair to bring chaos for the purpose of chaos… You saw the videos. Everyone is capable of doing it, and now, the world has fallen to despair."
"In other words…" Rouge put on her crown again. "If despair is your true enemy, then the WORLD has become your true enemy!"
"I just… I'm tryin' to getcha…"
"Oh, excuse me! But WE didn't ask for YOU to understand us!"
This silenced Vector as Rouge hung her head.
"Okay, now back to the story…" she said. "Green Hills was beyond ruined after The Great Calamity arrived here, and you guys were some of the only survivors. Class 91 was the only class that survived when everyone else fell to it."
"And then!" said Rouge as she perked up her breasts again. "Then then then! Something AMAZING happened! So readers? You better read through this multiple times, cause it's the only time I'm EVER gonna bring it up! So… to protect the survivors, Green Hills turned itself from a zone into a shelter! That's right!"
Getting her glasses, Rouge went for her teacher persona again. "Now, there IS someone responsible for that transformation. Someone who turned this place into your prison. Do you know who that might be?"
The one who turned Green Hills into a shelter? There was only one answer.
"It could have only been the headmaster of Green Hills…" I said. I looked to see Vector, his eye twitching. "He wanted to turn this zone into a shelter to protect us. That's the reason those interviews mention us not being able to leave and if we can accept that. It's because the zone is a shelter! All to protect us from The Great Calamity and all the despair from outside!"
"I can't say I've seen those videos in some time, but I do believe that foolish man had something like that in mind, yes!" said 'Queen' Rouge. "The reason he did it is that once The Great Calamity was over, the ones in this zone could leave and bring about a new generation of hope and give a fresh start to society as a whole!"
"Can you believe it?" Rouge hung her head. "The headmaster put that much faith into you."
"Because we had the same hope as he did… We all believed that we could do our part as Ultimates, as heroes… to save the world when they needed us and bring a new age of hope."
"But who would have thought?" Rouge put Egg Robo over her face. "That creating the shelter was the worst mistake he could have ever done? Because you wanna know why? He was the headmaster, and yet had no ideas that the masterminds of The Great Calamity, the Ultimate Despairs, were already in the zone! So, the shelter to keep you all safe… became the cage that made it impossible for you all to escape despair! Ho ho ho hooo! I gotta thank your STUPID uncle, Vector! By letting us stay here, and by all accounts, Opal with her hiding skills, he really helped me a lot! I owe him one!"
"Don't. Put. His. Name. In-" Vector snarled as 'teacher' Rouge interrupted him.
"Yes yes, in my mouth. I know. But I haven't even gotten to tell you that it was you all that boarded up every exit and every window here. You all wouldn't see anything outside under the headmaster's direction, even if he made a roof inside so you could at least emulate how it was like to be outside."
"You mean we all trapped ourselves inside?" asked Silver.
"And then you all forgot about it," said hyper Rouge. "And started bitching at me at every moment of every day about how you wanted to get out! 'WAHHHHHH, EGG ROBO! LEMME SEE FROGGY! LEMME SEE THIS! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!' Isn't it so FUCKING funny?!"
Grabbing Egg Robo, she put it over her face again. "And once the shelter was built, it was time for me, Opal, and Infinite to get to work! That's how the killing game began!"
And once again, she let Egg Robo go as she hung her head for her depressed persona. "Myself, Opal, and Infinite had come here, spending the last two years waiting for our plan to be enacted…"
"And THAT!" Rouge switched to her queen persona. "The moment when you all began killing each other was the grand finale of our global despair program! GDP if you so would like to put it!"
Putting her glasses back… ugh, frankly I didn't know HOW long she was going to continue doing this. Apparently, as long as we got annoyed by it, she'd continue. "And the only reason you all survived The Great Calamity is so that you could be the show of the final act of it."
"You… you let us live… just to kill?! How… HOW AWFUL!" screamed Tikal.
"Why? Why would you do that?!" I questioned.
"BECAUSE!" said 'Queen' Rouge. "This was simple more than just a battle royale! This was our orchestrated plan to destroy every micro organism of hope in this world!"
"What… are you trying to imply?"
"What I'm trying to imply?" said Rouge in her serious persona. "Well, there is a little bit of hope left out there, even if my plan was to destroy the concept of hope. So what do I do with the people unwilling to give up hope?"
She was silent for a few seconds before she picked up Egg Robo again. "Ho ho ho! Well? Why don't you tell me what I did?"
What the mastermind did to show everyone in the outside world? We learned that last case when we tried to reprogram the TV…
"You hijacked the airwaves, didn't you?"
"Yeah. That's what I'm talking about," replied serious Rouge again.
"I said it before, I don't know how you could do such a thing. Digital televisions and satellites are far more difficult to hack than anything from thirty years ago. The fact you actually still want us to believe that you had signals far more powerful than-" Wave said before she was interrupted.
"Believable. Because it was all to show the world the murders happening in this zone. A zone which, is supposed to be a spectacle of hope and the creation for tomorrow's heroes…"
"And THAT was the whole damn point of us being Ultimate Despairs!" Rouge switching to her hyper persona. "You know when I said it was the grand finale? That's why!"
Grabbing her crown, for the umpteenth time, she switched to her Queen persona. "The world watched as the students of hope fell into despair and began killing each other one after another. I told you before, didn't I? Despair is a disease that infects those filled with hope. Overtime, that hope turns into despair. And to think that it all came from television! The thing society says is bad for you!"
"By the way!" Rouge continued as she put Egg Robo over her face. "Since the first broadcast, a whole bunch of people have tried to come and rescue you!"
"W-What?! Where are they?!" questioned Tikal.
"Dead," said teacher Rouge. "I had the entire premises of the zone loaded with heavy artillery to prevent anyone from leaving. To think that people would die for mere children like you, well… at least their hope died with your little martyrs…"
"You… you… y-you… k-killed… them?..." Tikal at this point had collapsed on her legs. I could see a flow of tears coming from her eyes, the hopelessness resting on her face.
"I must thank you all. And please, do continue to falter into despair. After all, it's people like you who refuse to give up hope and push their beliefs onto the world. A world that would likely shun you in ten years, seeing you as nothing more than dead weight trying to convince people that the world can be changed. That's all you'll turn out to be. And frankly, they all deserved the final despair: death itself."
"We… we were pawns? Just using us to bring despair to the world?!" I questioned, getting angry.
"Well… yeah I guess!" said 'perky' Rouge. "But like, I gave you a second chance at life! And here you are now! Better to be here than laying in some cold room, huh?"
"You let Jet give into his inner despair… and… and because of you… the Babylonians are-" Wave snarled as she couldn't even finish her sentence. Had despair reached her too?
"Yeah! And because of what birdie said, you killed my Darling Sonikku!" yelled Rosie.
"Exactly!" I yelled. "You're so full of shit!"
"Jeez, Charmy! Getting mad with me before I even have the chance to explain why specifically you six were chosen while the rest of you dropped like flies! We made SOOO many memories and you all were my treasured classmates…"
"Actually no…" Rouge hung her head again. "That was a lie. I thought you'd falter in despair more if you found out a classmate betrayed you."
"And that's the truth!" Rouge grabbed her crown once again. "You wanted it, no? How do you feel? Do you feel lost? Do you feel hopeless? Do you feel like you can't stand up anymore? After all, you may have solved the mystery, but in the end, despair is the truth!"
"Yeh… seriously counted on the possibility of us solvin' the mystery?" asked Vector.
"And? So what? Everything culminating during the events of The Great Calamity was for us to be in this courtroom together. This is the very end itself, learning the truth and finding out how hopeless it was… Well? How would you feel? How would you feel if I opened the door to you and not revealed to you the truth? Would that be better?"
Vector was silent.
"This is nothing what your uncle could have prepared for you, boy. He spent all this time preparing for something he was never even ready to tackle on. And how did it end for him? Ah, yes! Dead! Faltered in despair like this world!"
"Yeh… h-how… how…" Vector as this point was lost for words, and I could tell by how he was shaking and the looks in his eyes that he was next to give into despair.
"By the way," Rouge moved onto her serious persona. "I should also talk about how all those motives I mentioned were meaningless. With the world ending and everything, if the killers you managed to discover were able to get away with what they did, what do you think would happen?"
"Please… no… don't say it…"
"That you've been murdering for no reason?"
Tikal could only whimper in response.
"It's so sad…" Rouge said in her depressed persona. "Locking yourselves up and then murdering each other to get out."
"Yeh did this knowin' we weren't random strangers too," Vector growled. "We were classmates, people who spent each day learnin' and havin' fun. And next thing yeh know… yeh throw us into this mess only to have us kill one another!"
"KYEHAHaa…" Rosie stopped herself. "Wait… no, even I feel a little bad laughing about that."
"We… we get it… we get it okay! You're this world's new ruler and everything and that's fine! But why?!" Silver screamed, shooting out his hand towards Rouge. "Why is nothing working against you?! My… my powers they don't! No, please! Someone help!"
Rouge put on her crown as she began to cockle loudly. "OH, what's this? A peasant begging for his life? Oh, we've never seen such a funny performance in our lives!" She then dropped her crown and picked up Egg Robo again, putting it over her face and continuing with imitating his voice. "But I'm sorry to say, but begging doesn't work! All I want it despair! I shouldn't need a reason to stop it or anything! Besides, why would YOU need your powers when they're more trouble to me?"
"W-What do you mean?"
"Hasn't your dummy dumb self realized that since you've arrived at Green Hills, you've been losing more and more of your powers? You came here being able to use your telekinesis perfectly, and now look! Not being able to do anything!"
Silver looked at his hands as he began to shake. "N-No… no! You aren't saying-!"
"That's right! What else besides despair would cause that?"
Silver screamed out loud as he put his knees on the ground, covering his head.
"Oh, no need to scream! Those powers were useless anyway! It's not like you really NEED them!"
"How… how did you do it?" asked Wave.
"Well… I could tell you all… but isn't it much better writing if I kept it a secret?"
"Damn it, woman! Tell us! If you won't give us a reason behind your little despair fetish, tell us at least how dorkfest there lost his powers gradually!"
"Ho ho ho… I don't need to repeat myself. You already heard multiple times what the answer was… No explanation, no understanding… what better explanation do you all need besides ultimate despair?"
Deafening silence loomed the room as everyone had a different face. Tikal with one of sorrow, Vector with one of anger, Wave with one of denial, Silver with one of pain, and Rosie with one of silence. I realized then and there that her plan worked. Despair had seeped into each of my friends.
And… and only one person could get them out of it…
I took a deep breath and looked up at Rouge.
"Stop," I said. "All this time, you've been blabbering about whatever! But WHY do we have a reason to believe ANYTHING you say?!"
Rouge shot up when she heard that, and slowly she let Egg Robo fall from her grip as she put her arms to her side. She stared at me blankly, not caring about anyone in the room but me.
"Huh?" she asked.
"You heard me! You keep saying that the world beyond this ring dimension is destroyed! But we aren't in our normal ring dimension, are we? Because of that, I'm not gonna believe you!"
"But why settle for truth?" 'Teacher' Rouge asked. "You've been given the facts and the data, why do you need actual evidence? Do you think someone like me would fabricate stuff just to make a point?"
Rouge got perky as she switched quickly to that persona, almost in… panic. "Are you saying you won't accept the truth unless you got out of here and saw it for yourself! Well, you don't wanna go out there! Once you leave here, you're all gonna be goners, I can tell you that! And trust me! I'm not lying! Does a sweet wittle girl like me look like she lies?"
I began to stammer. I only used this to bluff and I thought it worked at first, but maybe not as much as I liked…
"W-Well…" I said, looking around the room trying to find assurance. "Even IF it's true…"
"Come on… deep breaths, Charmy…" I thought to myself. "Even if it's true, I refuse to give in! I… I won't give up! And most importantly, I won't lose to you! For the sake of everyone you killed, for the sake of Cream… and… and Espio-"
"HUH?!" Rouge said as she picked up Egg Robo and put him over her face. "Everyone I killed? But you're the ones that killed them! I just gave you that little nudge! I never did anything! Besides, talk about hope all you want, but despair just comes naturally!"
Before she could continue to another one of her personalities, I cut her off.
"No, shut up!" I yelled. "This isn't a game! This is just murder! You stole our memories, gave us motives, dangled the carrot in front of us! YOU'RE just as responsible, if not the REASON there was even a killing game in the first place! Someone came up with the rules, right?! They didn't just pop out of nowhere! Wanna tell me who wrote them or are you too much of a coward to admit you're responsible?!"
"You make me want to go through all my personalities, boy," Rouge said this time in her serious persona. "That must be your hope, no? But I think we need to wrap this up soon."
"Huh?"
"Cause of the vote!" Rouge switched to her perky persona. "You didn't forget about that, right? Oh oh! And I should mention, since this is the last vote, we're gonna have some change of plans this time!"
"What plans?"
"Look at you all… boys and girls of hope… and me… single girl of despair…" Rouge said with Egg Robo over her face. "So, this vote will determine which one will be punished! So, if even ONE of you votes to punish hope, then it's a win for me, and everyone on side hope is punished!"
"Even just one person?" Tikal weakly asked.
"Oh, don't worry though! I won't be biased, so that means I won't vote!"
"You still got the upper hand!" Silver screamed.
"Guys, guys!" I said, trying to calm everyone down. "It's okay. No one would actually vote to kill themselves!... right?"
But as I saw my friends, I was getting VERY unsure about what we were all going to vote.
"Let me continue…" Rouge said, Egg Robo still over her face. "When I win, and trust me I WILL, to punish you guys, your final punishment iiiiiiiiiiis! Getting to stay here until you grow old and die! That's it! No killing, no super awesome cool death punishment, that's it."
"You'd just… let us live?" Tikal asked.
"Hey, that's a good thing, right?" Rosie added.
"I mean… if you're not happy with that," Rouge said moving onto her depressed persona. "Then go ahead and punish me. You're free to exit this ring dimension once you do so. Don't you want to enter a torn world where you're going to be dead in a day? Doesn't that sound like a wonderful world?"
"So no matter what, both choices suck?!" I yelled.
"WAIT!" 'Hyper' Rouge held her hand up. "Wait a sec! Just got hit with a little bit of inspiration seeing you, Charmy… Here's the thing! Dying of old age? No one wants that shit! It doesn't bring good ratings! You can be on TV forever and everyone would think you're a shell of your former self! Eventually you all gotta die eventually, right? So, here's what'll happen: I'm gonna pick one of you to experience the most heart stopping, most extreme punishment you've EVER seen!"
"W-Where did this come from?!" questioned Tikal.
"You made this new idea just to execute one of us?" added Wave.
"And the person I pick iiiiiiiiis!" Rouge said, raising her finger up and moving her arm around before pointing at me. "Charmy!"
"H-HUH?!" I questioned, my blood quickly chilling.
"Yeah!" Rouge said in her perky persona. "It's because for the past few weeks, you've been acting like a snotty, selfish, no good piece of shit who never knows to mind his own business and wants to play pretend hero so much when he doesn't even have any fans! I hate you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!"
With that declaration of hatred, Rouge switched to her serious persona. "So, you all have two choices. If even a single person votes for hope to be punished, then only Charmy will receive his punishment and the rest of you will live here in peace. But, if you desire to see me punished, then you must all leave this ring dimension. I promise to force you all out, where you'll die cruel deaths in your original world. Well? Don't you want to sacrifice Charmy so you can continue to live with no guarantee that you'll die?"
Sacrifice…
They… My friends… would never….
"Look at youuuu!" 'Egg Robo' Rouge taunted. "You look so weak and small right now? Are you afraid of a wittle punishment? Don't you believe in your friends?"
"I-I do! It's just-!" I replied. I looked around, and as I stared into each of my friends' faces, it had only sunk into me more how much despair had seeped into them. How much to a point where they would be okay with letting me die if it meant that they'd survive?
"I see you looking at your friends," Rouge said in her teacher persona. "Don't worry, I understand it can be scary to die. But I think its even scarier when you realize that all your friends have accepted that its futile to resist me."
And she was right. Everyone with their same expressions kept to themselves, letting despair consume their mind.
"It's so beautiful…" Rouge said in her depressed persona. "Seeing all of your lovely faces in despair… all here in this room… But… Vector… you wouldn't betray your dear uncle, would you?"
"Wh-whaddya mean?"
"He wanted you all to survive… that was his wish. That's why he trapped you all here… Wouldn't it be awful you returned to the world and you all died? Don't you want to honor his memory instead of joining him in the same hell he's in?"
Vector could only shake as he dared not respond. I didn't even know why they couldn't fight back. Was her influence that strong? Was this the ability of the Ultimate Despair?
"Vector, please! Help me at least!" I said, reaching out to him, but to no avail.
"Nice try kiddo, but tough fucking tiddy!" Rouge replied in her hyper persona. "My despair caused you all to seal your fucking fates! It's so hopeless! Look around you, bee bitch! Who do you think is gonna crack first and sign your death warrant! Better start praying to any gods you know!"
It…
It truly felt hopeless now.
Was this… despair? Was this how it was like to feel despair? I… I didn't want this. I don't like this…
As I was feeling like I was losing myself more and more, I stopped.
"No… let me tell you something, Rouge," I said. "No one here is going to give into despair! Even if everyone here may be under your little spell, I'm never going to be your puppet! That's why I won't lose!"
And with that, for the second time, she stared at me blankly.
"Hm. How boring," Rouge replied in a… normal voice. "Is this why they waited 8 years to bring you back only to make you a nuisance? No wonder boys like you are so stubborn. But very well, we can just hurry up and get this over with. It's time for our final vote. And trust me, Charmy, we WILL see whether your hope or my despair has reached your friends' ears. And let me tell you… from how things look, your stupid hope and your stupid life will be in the ground where the same worms will eat them both!"
I stared back into her blank, soulless eyes. This was it: our final argument. Everything that I've done has come to this. I knew that I had to use all my hope to get my friends against this vile woman of despair. Even if my friends are infected with despair, I have to make them remember hope, to let them know that they can never give up.
And most important… I have to let them know that a world of despair isn't worth anything!
TO BE CONTINUED