MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!
"We won't give up..." I began, holding my hand to my chest. "For as long as there's hope, giving up will never happen! Giving up is something I refuse to do!"
"I figured I should remind you…" Rouge replied. "But, if I die... then that would be the end of Green Hills Zone."
Silver continued to cross his arms, face in pain.
"Is it a good time to remind you as well that the air outside is very polluted? In fact, the only reason we're all standing here is thanks to the air purifiers in the physics lab."
Tikal continued to sob.
"And if I die, then those purifiers stop, and your communal life here comes to an end. That means this building can no longer be your safe zone."
Rosie turned her head away from me.
"ALL of you will leave. You'll go to the outside, where only death and despair are knocking on the door."
Wave bit on her finger, confliction and anger consuming her face.
"So, what will you do little bee? Will you just die? Is that what you want? I think that's the only result that should come from this."
Vector held up his fist in silence and anger, shaking as he tried to form a word. I looked around the room, trying to wonder why no one would speak up.
"There's no longer a world of hope, not in your outside world, and not within these walls. It's as bleak and empty as this room, the final reminder that all beings have succumb to the emptiness of despair itself…"
As I tried to argue back, a… heart symbol with an X appeared on my stand. It… it was a penalty?!
"Better start coming up with an answer soon, because once you have five-"
Rouge held up a remote and pressed a button, giving me another penalty.
"It's game over."
"Shit!" I said to myself. If I didn't do anything, we'd all be consumed with despair, and everyone here would be content with letting me die! How? How could I let my friends hear my words?!
She said that hope no longer exists…
But what if it's a hope that isn't already around for me to use? What if it's… my own hope!"
"Penalty for thinking!" Rouge yelled, giving me a third penalty.
"I have my hope right here!" I replied. "A hope that you never killed!"
"And another for bluffing!"
And with that, four penalties appeared on my stand. The bat gave me a Cheshire smile as she held up the remote one last time. I could feel the room turn dark as the only noise I heard was my heartbeat.
"Time'ssssss uuuuuup, Charrrrrrrmyyyyyyyyyy…" she said in a venomous tone. Just mere moments before she could press the button for the final penalty…
I held my arm out towards Silver. "Silver! Don't lose hope now!"
The hedgehog breathed deeply before suddenly grasping his quills. "For someone who has ESP, it should have been so easy to simply throw Rouge and to kill her now," he said. "But... but my powers don't work. And.. and it feels like I have to stay here..." Silver then yelled. "Augh! No! We… We can only live by moving forward! And I want to keep on living! That's why I'm kinda..." He looked around, fumbling his fingers. "Ah ha ha... afraid of death... So that's why I have to get out of here! That's why I have to forget about my psychic powers for now and focus from my heart!"
Rouge shot up as she dropped the remote. "W-What?"
"Tikal!" I yelled. "Don't lose hope now!"
The echidna girl sobbed and sniffed to herself, as she looked up at me, messing with her braids. "You know… throughout this entire trial, I've been doing some thinking," she said. "And I wonder something... if Grandma were here, what would she tell me? I think… it would be something like... adversity and hope makes one stronger, even in times of sadness and darkness. She'd always wanted me to believe in hope and in change so that the world will become a better place. She always told me that whenever we were peacefully protesting, but I never got the true meaning behind it. But... now I do! I've made up my mind! Charmy, I'm going to use my years of pacifism, and my knowledge as a future maiden to give you the hope you need!"
"Wait, this is illegal!" Rouge yelled as I interrupted her.
"Rosie! Don't lose hope now!"
The serial killer turned to face me blankly before maniacally laughing. "EE HE HE HE! You know, I don't care what really happens in the end anyway! To be fair, I never really did like this whole Zone crap anyway! All Stinky Pinky ever wanted to do was to shop all day, but I guess you can't learn that way I guess! Oh, but if we're gonna get out of here, then my Darling Shiruba has to come with us! And besides! There's still ONE more order of business! And that's that the little mastermind bitch has gotta pay her divine retribution for murdering my Darling Sonikku!" she yelled, holding up her Piko Piko Hammer.
"E-Enough with this disgusting-" Rouge tried to use her Queen persona to stop me, but failed as I moved onto the next person.
"Wave! Don't lose hope now!"
The swallow stopped biting her finger as she turned away to face me, She let out a soft chuckle. "Ha. Look at you, giving me hope and inspiring everyone," Wave said. "It's real sickly sweet, shorty. It's so sickly sweet, I think I'm going to throw up. Did you even think that as much as this tripe has wounded me, that I'll give up like that? No. She may have gotten to me with her words, but I refuse to give into despair. And besides, even if the Babylonians fell, even if Jet and Storm are dead, I'm still alive, so therefore..." She pointed at Rouge. "The Babylonian race still exists! So why don't I make the biggest mechanical piece the world has seen and send this girl to hell straight where she belongs? It's the least I can do to avenge Jet and Storm."
"W-What?! Y-You can't!" Rouge said, stepping back from her stand.
"Yes we can, because I have faith in myself!" Silver smiled, beating his chest with his right hand.
"Because I've made my decision, to use my voice for good!" Tikal added, holding her hands to her chest.
"Because I'm gonna keep on living because I have my darling's love!" Rosie held her hands to her face, letting her tongue roll out her mouth.
"Because I promised that I would have the mastermind's life, no matter what," Wave smirked, arms crossed.
"Because we have one final piece of hope to give out!" I said. "Vector! Don't lose hope now!"
Vector opened his eyes as he looked up at me. He sighed and placed his hands on his stand. "Mah uncle... there's so much I wanted to tell him... All this time, I thought I hated him, and even now I'm not sure. But I think there was somethin' he wanted us to do: not abandon yeh, Charmy. I'm sure of it. We might not know everythin', but that's okay, we don't have to understand it all. Charmy, yer standin' in front of all of us fer a reason, givin' us the hope to stand up to Rouge. I don't think ya were selected by pure dumb luck or because life hates yeh, nor do I think ya came here as an 'average student'. Ya came to confront despair, and despite yer 'average' status, ya did it while never givin' up. And because of that... I don't think ya deserve to be called the 'Ultimate Average Student"... nah, how about a more suitin' title? How about... the Ultimate Hope?"
"U-Ultimate… Hope?! What the hell are you?!" Rouge bellowed.
"M-Me? Ultimate… Hope?" I repeated. Was… was this who I was? Was I never just some average joe who landed in a super successful zone by chance? Was I here to defeat despair in the end? All this time, I felt like I wasn't a hero and yet… I proved my worth with my hope.
Rouge slammed her hands on her stand. "NO! Is THIS how it ends?!" She continued to slam her hands. "With the most uncool person on the entire planet being the Ultimate Hope?! Your stupid faces, stupid words, STUPID WAYS YOU TREAT EACH OTHER! It's all because of HIM!"
She slammed at an alarming rate. "A GOOD FOR NOTHING, NOT EVEN LIKEABLE CHARACTER! Think about it! You LOOOOOOOVED playing hero so much, despite the fact you're probably the Sonic fandom's most HATED character because of how annoying you are! Tell me, who would EVER want to read a story about you?! Who'd even want YOU as the hero?! No one, because that's because no one could even stand a minute with YOUR annoying ass! I have so many more fans, so much love and attention, for longer than your ass could ever WISH you had!"
And then, this amounted to her continuing to slam harder and faster. "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUP! IM FRANKLY DONE IF THIS HALF-BAKED, SHITTY BENCHED CHARACTER IS GONNA UPSTAGE THIS RELEVANT GAAAAAAAAAL!"
I simply stared at Rouge as she continued her tantrum. "Say what you want Rouge, but I'm not some kind of elite," I said. "Hope isn't something I developed overnight. But that doesn't mean I'm still… I'm still done!"
I felt everyone around me vanish as Rouge and I were the only ones in the room.
"For Gaia's sake, you suck! This uncool little boy is my enemy?! How lame! How could you ever dare stand against me?! Hope is a joke you know! Because the outside is only despair! So your idiocy ends here," she said, going on an unhinged rant. "In fact, you're scared aren't you? But why? I mean, I just LOOOOVE despair! Why can't you just open your heart into the possibility of despair for the future-"
My eyes widened as I found the one sentence to set her straight.
"Because Hope keeps on giving!"
The bat screamed as she pulled her fur off her head.
"Enough with your little crying!" I continued. "I'm not giving up, getting bored and letting despair take over! Wanna know why, huh?! In fact, let me tell you! Because my desire to make a new future is what keeps me going! That's why I continued to have hope all this time!"
Rouge's eyes were wide as she held her chest. "What… what is this? What's happening to MEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!"
"Everyone," I looked at my friends. "It's time."
"Time to end this with the vote," Wave added.
"Just gotta… pull the lever, right?" Silver continued.
"I haven't been more happy to end a trial," Tikal said as she grasped her level.
"HOPE MY DARLING SONIKKU GIVES YOU A SPIN DASH IN THE AFTERLIFE!" Rosie yelled.
"May this vote end these trials, end these killings with our own hands!" Vector growled as everyone grasped and pulled their levers. I was about to pull mine when I felt a sudden breeze on my shoulder.
In that moment, I swore I heard a whisper.
"Pull the lever Charmy, it's okay."
I turned around, and for a very brief moment, I swore I… I saw apparitions of all my deceased friends smiling at me. Cream, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Sonic, Storm, Jet, Big, Blaze, and… and Espio… Before I could respond, their apparitions vanished from my vision as I shook my head.
"…thank you," I said, turning around and pulling Rouge's lever as all of the levels lowers. The 'Egg Robo VOTE' slot machine fell in between the stands for the last time displayed the same slots, only this time, when the reels of the machine began to slow down, it stopped on a triple of Rouge's picture. 'GUILTY' was displayed in L.E.D. lights as rings shot from the machine. The slot machine rose up... and we knew that it was over...
And I could finally rest knowing… this was the last one…
CLASS TRIAL #7
END
Rouge collapsed onto the floor as we all surrounded her, anger on our faces.
"What… the hell…" she said, breathing heavily.
"I'll tell ya what the hell is up," Vector said, "Yeh lost, Rouge."
"I… lost?! No! I can't lose! It can't beeeeee!"
"Jeez, accept it!" Silver yelled.
"Even the Ultimate Despair herself is in despair over her situation," Wave added.
"But she shouldn't try to fight it. Let her pay her punishment for the cruelty she's caused," Tikal growled.
"That's right! Lemme at her!" Rosie yelled as Silver tried to stop her.
"BECAUSE IT'S JUUUUUUUUUUUUUUST!" the bat yelled before… smiling. "TOTALLY THE BEST!"
We all jumped when her expression turned to one of happiness.
"Huh?" I asked. Rouge began to laugh as she looked at her shaking hand.
"So this… this is despair… Myself, my sister, and some army nobody came to this zone two years ago, created our incredibly detailed plan, and even killed both of them for it! And to come this fair and fall so hard! It's the best, ultimate despair I could ever ask for!"
"What are you going on about?"
"Don't you see? THIS is the Ultimate state of despair I've truly been searching for! Thank you, Charmy! My defeat has shown me how much despair I could be in, and how I waited so long since the day I was born to experience despair like this! My first and last moment of colossal despair! My death! Ahhhhhh~ I'm so happy right now!"
"She's… enjoying this?" Tikal asked, disgusted.
"That means nothin' right now," Vector replied. "So, admit defeat now?"
"Ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaa…" the bat laughed. "What? You think I cared about whether I won or lost? It doesn't change a thing! No matter what choice you picked, the final answer is despair, always awaiting you no matter where you go!"
"Oh, shut up," Wave said. "Let me tell you something right now, where we're going, we have no need to fear despair or expect it."
"Exactly! Because we're going outside with hope!" Tikal added.
"Cause Charmy told us that we have to!" Silver laughed. Rosie laughed alongside him until the silver hedgehog stopped.
"Guys…" I said.
"Rouge, yeh said that despair is like a disease and an ideology. But couldn't ya say the same of hope? Because all ya gotta do is look at us and see how true that is."
"Vector!" I buzzed up to the crocodile and hugged him, the detective rubbing my helmet.
The bat looked at us with her blank look before coughing violently and gagging. "UGHHHHH! I think I'm gonna be sick! Stop it with all that gross hope talk and gross hope faces! Fine, let me say one more thing. Wanna obsess over hope? Be my guest! I don't even care anymore! But just be warned: despair will continue to exist in your lives. It doesn't end at just me you know. No matter where you run and hide, even if you find hope, in the end, despair finds you all. Do you still plan to cling onto hope knowing that?"
"Of course, cause-" I said before she interrupted me.
"Oh you ESPECIALLY don't start! I don't even wanna hear it! Besides, I'm almost done, because soon it's punishment time, right?"
"…I know we made that promise earlier but… yeh sure ya still wanna go through this?" Vector asked.
"You said it, right? The promise?"
"Hold on!" I said, holding my hand out to Rouge. "I know we did but it's not like I WANT you to die-"
Rouge slapped my hand and got in my face. "STOP IT YOU! How many times do I have to tell you?! Living gives me no hope! Killing no longer gives me the pleasure of despair it once did! I don't have to listen to your ideological ass when I know all I want is the sweet taste of despair that only comes when you die! So stick your tongue back in your mouth and SHUT UP, BEE!"
She ran off to the chair and revealed the red button Egg Robo used to push for executions. She looked at it and began to giggle.
"Ho ho… ho ho ho! So… this is how despair feels when you die… I must say, it's better than I imagined…" she said. "Even if only I'm dying… I want this planet to feel every last drop of this despair as I'll feel! Okay… let's do this! My extra special punishment, my final gift of despair to this world! Let's give it everything we've got! It's PUNISHMENT TIMEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! HO HO HO HO HO HO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Rouge slammed her fist on the button, breaking it as for the final time, the curtains opened up to reveal a screen. An 8-bit black and white sprite of Rouge against the same red background popped with the same game over music began to play. Soon, words began to display.
"CONGRATULATIONS!
Rouge the Bat has been found guilty for the murder of Infinite the Jackal (as well as being the overall mastermind)
COMMENCING EXECUTION!"
Rouge stood alone in a black backdrop, waving as multiple sets began to build behind her. She cared not for them, and continued to wave as sets rose from the ground, crashed behind her, or even almost crushed her from where she stood. When they all formed, Rouge smiled as she knew what was coming next.
Execution:
Ultimate Punishment for the Ultimate Despair
TAILS ABUSE
Rouge smiled as she let herself bounce between each bumper, racking up continuous points with each bound. More and more ring TV boxes fell on her as her point counter went up and the bumpers crushed her, her point counter glitching out due to too many points.
ATTACK OF THE KILLER ARK!
Rouge held her arms out as she continued to get shot, not caring that chunks were coming out from her at an alarming rate.
THE GREAT EXTREME GEAR TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER! RACE THE FINISH!
Rouge zoomed past all the Extreme Gear racers, pulling off a cool trick than landed her through an airplane engine but coming out sliced but okay. She gave a thumbs up as she passed the finish line.
EXTINGUSHED FLAMES
Rouge meditated inside an active volcano, sweating profusely as a canon above her shot into the volcano, spontaneously erupting it.
THE GREEN HILL MOBILE-H BLAST
The same machine that destroyed Ditz began to strike at Rouge's back, giving the bat a good massage as she read a beauty magazine while doing so.
ZOOMING AROUND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND!
Rouge waved as she was put in the same rocket that killed Vector's uncle, shooting into the sky and coming back into the ground.
DISCIPLINARY WORKER ACTION
Experiencing the final despair her classmates went through before they died, Rouge could feel the heat behind her as she sat atop a desk, wearing her crown and holding an Egg Robo plush as she rocked herself back and forth. She smiled and gave a thumbs up, knowing she'd finally get to end it all in despair with the last execution that should have worked. But just as she felt her back about to reach the flames…
The flamethrowers stopped.
Rouge suddenly looked up, and in a brief second, a large rock crashed above Rouge, crushing the bat and coating the underside of the rock with her blood as rings scattered everywhere.
It was with that crash that the remaining survivors noticed something fall at their feet from the wreckage, a sole remote that said 'EMERGENCY OVERRIDE'. Charmy picked it up and knew where he and his friends had to go.
As Charmy, Vector, Tikal, Silver, Wave, and Rosie all got into the elevator, Charmy took a deep breath as he got one last look of the portraits.
"…so, this is how it comes to an end," he thought to himself. "The final class trial… Rouge the Bat, the Ultimate Despair… Life at Green Hills… finally ended…"
CHAPTER 7
Despair Hill Zone Act 3
END
Living
Amy Rose/Rosie the Rascal
Vector the Crocodile
Charmy Bee
Silver the Hedgehog
Wave the Swallow
Tikal the Echidna
Deceased
Cream the Rabbit
Opal 'Rouge' the Bat
Miles 'Tails' Prower
Knuckles the Echidna
Shadow the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog
Storm the Albatross
Jet the Hawk
Big the Cat
Blaze the Cat
Espio the Chameleon
Infinite the Jackal
Rouge the Bat
TO BE CONTINUED...
(AN 2: And so, the end of despair has come. Egg Robo's true identity has been revealed to be Rouge the Bat, who faked her death by disgusing her twin sister, Opal as herself, and the one responsible behind The Great Calamity and the ruined outside world...
But with her defeat, what does this spell for remaining six survivors? Find out in the Epilogue, coming soon! Maybe... tomorrow since it's REALLY not that long)