Chapter 12
For the next few days, Fiona was on cloud nine. Now that she had finally accepted Lower Mobius as her home, she was doing everything in her power to do her part for the little berg, regardless how menial and at times humiliating it may have been.
First and foremost, she made sure to clean up and repair the damage Scourge and his boys had made during Founder's Day. Suffice to say, there was plenty. Just to further emphasize what a creep the green dud was, he had teepeed many folks homes, as well as egged some of the shops. He even had the nerve to remove the labels from the medic's shack, so there was a great many medications and herbs that needed sorting and relabeling.
When she wasn't doing that, she was putting her experience as a medic from her freedom fighter days to good use with Diggums and his crew. Admittedly, she wasn't a particularly good nurse, but the doc appreciated her aid greatly as his workload exceeded far more than Fiona ever would have accounted. Moles were a hardy lot, so when they actually got hurt it was never a pretty sight and cleaning up the mess was often even worse. Diggums appeared to be especially reckless since he was the chief and thus the only one allowed to use dynamite. Unfortunately, along with lacking sound control, measurement was not his strong suite, so he could never tell just how much dynamite was actually needed when explosives were called for. But he was determined, if not stubborn, and it was never long until he was back digging those tunnels he adored so much.
The moles weren't her only source of good deeds. Each new friend she had made she felt a compulsion to aid in whatever manner. First and foremost, she would help Mask topside with his animals and crops, the ones she had planted several days ago having started to blossom much to her pride.
For Aqune, it was courier work, gathering up the orders people made for her spider silk and seeing that they arrived promptly and in one piece.
For Nic and Gabby, she became a part time waitress, and her efforts were deeply appreciated when the lunch rush started. If it weren't for having such a good memory, as well as a low tolerance for whining, it was very likely that Fiona would have had a very bad time with such a job. The tips were lackluster, though.
Finally, there was Boris, whom asked for help with his little wrestling routine. What he wanted was a sparring partner, but what he got was his worst nightmare. Fighting was all Fiona had ever done in her life, so when the big bear tried to pull off his wrestling stunts on her they would always backfire to comedic effect. The cry of the children's laughter was still ringing in her ears long after she had completely, and quite literally, turned his Nuclear Winner into a dud by flipping him onto his head. Knocked the poor fellow clean unconscious.
This is why she, Judah, and Aqune were all down at the underground river. As Boris was being tended to, she had promised to do some fishing for him so that he could stay in business. Now this was work Fiona could truly get behind. Granted, she hated the smell of fish, but the little outing gave her a moment of peace and a chance to relax. Judah and Aqune also made for good fishing partners. Judah was, after all, a fish expert, and he seemed to know just where the fish would be and what kind of bait to use. As for Aqune, she surrendered spools of her spider silk for fishing line, and rather effective fishing lines they proved to be. This was especially helpful since fish seemed to grow rather large underground, and it was always something of a chore to wrench them out of the cold water and up onto the bank. Then, of course, she would have to wrestle Judah to the ground, sometimes even tying him up for an hour or so, to keep him from eating their bounty. If fish were sirens, Judah would have drowned every time he crossed a body of water.
By midday, the three friends were on their way back to the city, Fiona even skipping a bit as she balanced two baskets over her shoulders on a pole. But as they rounded their way into the square, something strange happened. The light of Lower Mobius began to flicker. Fiona paused, Judah bashing into her back, and she looked up towards the large crystal apparatus suspended overhead. Sure enough, the crystal was a lot dimmer than before. Off to the side, she spied Mask, whom was looking up towards the apparatus as well, heavy concern drawn across his face.
"Heya, gramps." She said as she drew close. "What's going on? Forget to pay the light bill or something?"
Mask shot her a sour look.
"Now ain't the time for jokes, lass. That crystal is the source for life down here. It warms our crops and provides illumination for the entire chamber. Anything happens to that thing, and things are gonna get bad real quick. I'm talking mass panic, people getting hurt, and immeasurable amounts of property damage. In other words, one big mess and an even bigger headache for me. I sent Blade up there to see what the deal was, and that's been over an hour ago. I've tried contacting him, but coms are dark. Don't know if it's just interference form the crystal, or if it's something else."
Fiona looked up to the crystal, noting the command deck above it. There was a light on, so somebody had to be up there.
"Chillout, gramps. I'll go up there and check on him. I'm pretty passable with machines, so maybe I can fix whatever is wrong."
Mask folded his arms across his chest, looking unsure. But, nevertheless, he shrugged.
"Oh, what the heck? Surely you can't make things worse."
Fiona rolled her eyes, but she made for the walkway that led up the hill. However, she stopped halfway to see Zonic standing at the door of the infirmary. He still wasn't in any position to do anything too strenuous, but just his standing was enough of an indication. He was getting better, and when he was back at full strength he was coming after her. In response to his staunch determination, she pulled down one eyelid and stuck out her tongue. He scoffed at that, but he made no effort to further his retort. Fiona swiftly made her way up the walkway, passing the tunnel leading to Mask's cottage and going all the way to the top of the hill. The bridge connecting the path to the command center was an old, rickety rope bridge. Fiona sighed.
"Aren't there enough ways to fall from insane heights around here?" she mumbled grimly to herself.
With feather light feet, she traversed across the wooden slats and made her way over to the door of the command center, only to find it ajar. Also, Blade's katana were sitting outside of the door. That she found odd, but she figured that he must have put them aside so that they didn't hang up on anything. She made her way to the door, and she pushed it open.
"Blade? Hey, you alright? The old man is…"
Before she could finish talking, strong hands grabbed a hold of her, and a gag was forced into her mouth, cutting off a scream as the door was slammed shut. She was now staring into the very angry eyes of Predator Hawk and Lightning Lynx, and the big gorilla arms holding her tightly had to belong to Sgt. Simmian, no doubt every bit as wrathful. With some effort, she managed to spit out the gag, and she tried to put on an easy going smile, noting the bound and unconscious Blade in a corner.
"Now, fellas, be reasonable. I know you're probably sore at me after the botched bombing, but let's not do something we're gonna regret."
"Oh, it's long too late for that, babe."
Fiona's blood ran cold, and then she realized that there was one more in the room. Scourge emerged from a corner, venom swirling in his gaze and vice dripping from his teeth. Fiona's mouth went dry, and she coughed once or twice as she tried to find her voice.
"Y-you're…alive?" she stammered.
"Yeah, and no thanks to you." Scourge spat. "Lucky for me, a beam had fallen at just the right angle so that I wasn't crushed. All I had to do was wait a few hours as the Zone Cops inspected the rubble. If it's one thing the blue dunce and I share, it's our deep-seated hatred for having to sit in one place for long periods of time. However, unlike that loser, I tend to use such instances to my advantage. Case in point, figuring out the best possible way to get my revenge on the people who try to BLOW ME UP!!!"
A cold chill trickled down Fiona's spine, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where this going.
"No, Scourge, don't you dare! Leave these people alone! I'm the one you want! Hurt me, not them!"
Scourge chuckled, and he walked up to her and put a finger under her chin.
"Oh, but Fiona, there's no other way to hurt you. You see, the more I thought of it, the more I realized that there really isn't much I can do to you that you haven't experienced yet. On top of that, you betrayed me, and that's something I could never forgive."
Fiona's eyes hardened.
"Oh, that's a laugh! You were going to betray all of us! When you were begging for your life back at Zone Headquarters, you were all but bragging about how you were going to ditch the Destructix."
"Wait what?!" Simian gasped.
"Is this true?" added Hawk with an accusatory scowl.
Scourge met them both with a sneer and a snort.
"So what if I was? It's not like you losers had anything better to do! Face it, in the grand scheme of things, none of you even matter, and you should count yourselves lucky I decided to count you in my revenge. Besides, you know better than to try and betray me now."
He opened his coat, and seven multicolored gems sparkled in the dim light.
"Anarchy Beryl?!" Fiona gasped. "Since when did you have time to gather those?"
"Found them in Finnetivus' lab." Scourge said with a cruel chuckle. "Thought I'd salt them over for a rainy day, and it turned out to be the smartest thing I could do."
He looked back to the Destructix.
"So let me make this perfectly clear! From now on, I own you, and if you want to get out of here alive you had better listen up and good. What I say goes, understand?!"
The Destructix fell silent and dipped their heads, though it was clear that none of them were pleased with the arrangement. Satisfied, Scourge put his back to them, and he began to warm up his hands.
"Alright then. Let's get this party started!"
He threw a switch, and suddenly the light from the crystal went out entirely.
Down below, a series of shouts and cries began to sound, followed by what could only be described as mass panic. Mask had already been bowled over once or twice before he managed to brace himself against a wall. His eyes were sharp, and they adjusted to the darkness quickly. He plucked a whistle from his pocket, and he blew it sharply, the sound rising over the hundreds of voices. A moment later, Diggums burst out of the ground next to Mask, his eyes alert and his pick in hand.
"REPORTING FOR DUTY, MARSHAL!"
"Gather your boys and light some lanterns! I'm gonna do my best to try and get these people calmed down."
"HOW ARE YOU GONNA DO THAT?!?!"
Just then, a loud roar echoed through the cavern, and Mask noticed that everyone had gone still. Judah stood proud and strong, his fangs bared and his eyes glowing.
"That works." Mask deadpanned before running up whilst Diggums burrowed back into the ground. "Alright, everyone, listen up! If you can hear me, follow the sound of my voice. Help your neighbors as best as you can and keep an eye out for the moles' lanterns! They'll guide you to safety as we make for the river! Come on, folks! We practiced this a hundred times! Just another day under the earth!"
Little by little, he led the Lower Mobians single file towards the passage that led to the underground river, made more visible thanks to the line of moles whose helmet lights were lit up, giving it something of a runway look. With a clear path, Mask began to lead everyone out and towards safety. However, just as the first of the flock was to cross the threshold, there was a deafening explosion, and all of a sudden rocks and earth were showering down from the cave entrance, closing it up. There were several more explosions rocking the underground, sending showers of dust and debris in all directions and continuing to throw the citizens into a deeper panic. Even the passage leading up to Mask's cottage was sealed off. Everyone in the underground was effectively trapped.
Up above in the safety of the crystal command deck, Scourge chortled with psychotic glee, taking great delight at the sounds of the panicked screams and noise of chaos running rampant. Fiona struggled frantically against Simian's grip, the cries ripping at her heart with the feeling of powerlessness all but devouring her soul. She cast a pleading look towards the other two Destructix, hoping against hope that she could reach to them.
"Lightning, please, just make him stop. Isn't there some sort of ninja honor thing about fighting opponents that can't fight back? The same goes for you, Hawk! You're always talking about how you want to be pushed to the limits of your ability. To be challenged. Where's the challenge in this?! Come on, guys, it's me you hate! Lave these people out of it."
Hawk and Lynx exchanged glances, and for a brief moment it looked like they were considering her words. But any potential rebellion was immediately quelled when Scourge walked up and looked her in the eye.
"Save your breath, Fiona. You've only got a few of them left as it is. This is only the beginning. Thanks to you, the Zone Cops are gonna be on my butt more than ever, which means I can't ever risk going back to Moebius to take back what is mine. Naturally, that ticks me off beyond comprehension. Put simply, I'm starting my kingdom over from square one, and that means finding my other half, beating him to a pulp, and taking over his little not-but-actually-is girlfriend's own kingdom. Once I've done that, surely I'll have more than enough power to bulldoze my way back and claim what is mine. I earned my crown, and rest assured I'm gonna do everything in my power to get it back. And you,"
He put a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
"You're gonna be there to watch it all, begging me to put you out of your misery. Desiring nothing but your pitifully pointless existence being put to rest. But I won't. I'm gonna just keep you. A cute little accessory I can hang on my arm from time to time, and, when you finally break, I'll just throw you out like the trash you are."
Fiona was ready to bite off his offending finger, but she stiffened at the sound of coughing, and she could see Blade was slowly rising off of the floor.
"Anyone…ever tell you…that you talk too much?" the hybrid snarled as he set his sights on Scourge.
The green hedgehog sneered, and he started to walk over to him and bent down to look him in the eye.
"You're being pretty mouthy yourself, pal." he said. "Perhaps a tad too mouthy, really. Before I burry everyone in this cave alive, I think I'm going to start with you."
"Leave him alone, Scourge!" Fiona shouted, though Simian covered her mouth.
Scourge shot her a look, and then he looked back to Blade. He laughed.
"Oh, this is beautiful! The little lady's got a thing for you, don't she bucko? But she doesn't know if the feeling's mutual? How sweet. I guess now you really have to be the first to go so that she'll never find out. Any last words?"
Blade looked up at him, his bright emerald eyes blazing like green lanterns.
"As a matter of fact, I've got just three, and they're just for your ears only."
To Simian, Hawk, Lynx, and Fiona, it only looked like Blade's lips moved, making no sound. But, for Scourge, three words came echoing down his ear canals like a convoy of freight trains rolling over glass and cat tails.
"SHUT UP ALREADY!!!!!"
Scourge squealed in utter agony, falling onto his back. His ears had popped, and one of his eardrums had certainly burst judging from the blood rolling down from one ear. Scourge's outburst caught everyone off guard, but Fiona finally got her opening. When Simian's hand had moved just a bit, she opened her mouth as wide as it would go and bit down hard. Simian screeched and let go, and as Fiona's feet touched the ground and she slugged him in the gut before giving him a swift kick in the groin. Down went Simian, and right on top of Predator Hawk. Wasting not a moment, Fiona rushed over to blade, switching the crystal controls back on so that there would be light, and she helped Blade to her feet.
"We need to go check on the others. Just lean on me and let's go."
Blade didn't have much choice in the matter as Fiona made a beeline for the door. She all but flew across the rope bridge as she made her way down the path back to the ground level. Behind her, she could hear Scourge shouting, and sure enough she could see the Destructix starting scramble out of the control tower in a desperate attempt to capture her again. Above her and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Predator Hawk airborne with his sights set on her and ready to dive. Fiona didn't have the time to do much but keep running as the blue feathered raptor came barreling down her way.
POP!
Suddenly, there was a miniature explosion striking the side of Hawk's face, knocking him to the side and making him miss his target altogether.
POP!
POP!
Two more shots, this time hitting Simian and Lynx and forcing them to stop short. As Fiona finally reached the ground level, she could see that salvation had come in the form of Mask, his beloved Lucile the sniper rifle clutched tightly in his fists and barrel smoking. As she drew close, he offered her a smile, and he gently cradled his rifle.
"Good work, Lucile my darling. Even time can't take away your charm. Fi, you alright? What's going on?"
"Turns out my ex-boyfriend isn't as dead as we were hoping." Fiona replied. "He's the one responsible for all this, and I'm betting Blade just made him even angrier. What's the situation?"
"Our only way out is blocked." Mask reported. "Diggums and his crew are working like crazy, but he's worried there's more dynamite. There's also the matter of the mound of stones itself. Dig in just the wrong spot, and the entire pillar will come crashing down on us."
"I can help Diggums find some safe weakpoints." Blade grumbled as he forced himself to stand. "Just give me a second to recover properly."
"Can do." Mask said as he took him off of Fiona's shoulder. "In the meantime…"
He pointed to the hill where the Destructix could be seen rushing down the hill. Fiona scowled at them, and then she looked around until she spied a piece of rebar sticking from some rubble. She yanked it loose, and she stood at the ready.
"You watch over Blade, Gramps. I'll hold them off as long as I can."
"Not alone, you ain't, Fi."
Fiona looked up to see Nicolette and Judah running up, the weasel armed with a blaster and the lion's claws and fangs bared.
"Bring 'em on!" Judah growled.
Fiona nodded to them, happy for the help. She took a deep breath, and she readied her rebar.
"This is it, boys and girls! Heck against Lower Mobius! Don't let a single one of them get past you!"
With that, the three of them went charging into the thick of it as Mask guided Blade towards the pile of stones blocking their only exit. With his miraculous ears, Blade was able to hear the tiny air pockets poking through the stones, pointing where the stones were structurally weakest. With the moles striking in earnest, Boris, Aqune and her mother, Mask, and even Zonic, did their best to clear away the debris and open the path for folks. When a big enough hole was made, Mask began letting people through one by one.
As for Fiona, she was squaring off with Lightning Lynx. This left Judah standing up to Sergeant Simian, and Nikki was taking potshots at Predator Hawk as he dipped and dived out of her pistol's range. To Fiona's dismay, Lynx had reclaimed Blade's katana, and her ever shortening rebar was a clear indication of just how efficient he was with the weapons.
"You know, you're being a real jerk about all this." She said as she ducked this way and that out of his reach. "I mean, sure, you have every right to be mad at me, even though you were way out of your league trying to impress Conquering Storm. But, tell me honestly. Just how much honor are you reclaiming by attacking a bunch of innocent people just to get at me? I mean, of all your little posse, I woulda thought you disprove of this the most."
"I don't approve!" Lynx snarled as he lunged, only barely nicking her in the shoulder and drawing blood. "But, as loathe as I am to admit it, Scourge had one thing right. If we want to even hope to stay out of the prison house, then we have to stick with him. Admittedly, the Zone Prison wasn't the worst prison I've ever been in, but I certainly have better things to do with my time. Now hold still!"
With Judah, he wasn't faring much better than Fiona. Simian was easily two heads taller than himself, and his strength was four times. The two were locked together with Judah fight for his life just to not be uprooted and flung around like a ragdoll. Simian's eyes were bloodshot, and it was clear he was still in pain from Fiona's previous assault, which only made him angrier than before. He eventually headbutted Judah, stunning the lion, and then he flipped him around and grabbed him in a chokehold. Judah gasped and began to scratched and claw at his arm, but the large ape's arms were too thick for his claws to penetrate. Before long, he went limp in the large brute's grip. Simian chuckled victoriously, and he just let him drop unceremoniously to the floor.
"Lightweight. Hardly worth the effort. Now then, to get my hands on Fiona for that sucker punch…"
Suddenly, the ape was knocked onto his rump with a rising uppercut to the chin. It stunned Simian, and he didn't get time to recover as a flurry of blows struck his torso and face with no clear-cut accuracy. Simian managed to knock his attacker away with a backhand, and sure enough it was Judah. But something was different. The lion's eyes were now blank and his movements were sluggish. If Simian didn't know any better…
"Wait a minute! Are you asleep?"
Judah's reply came in yet another onslaught of attacks, powerful blows hitting home and forcing the ape back. Simian was on the defensive and tried to fight back, but the sluggish, almost drunken movements made Judah a hard target to track, even for an experienced soldier like the sergeant. What blows that did connect, however, didn't have much effect beyond knocking the lion down, only for him to immediately jump up again and wail on the ape.
Meanwhile, Nicolette continued to take, unsuccessful, shots at Predator Hawk. The fanged weasel was growing irritated, but she was nonetheless relentless as she empty clip after clip on the bird.
"Mangy feather duster!" she snarled. "Hold still so that I can get you one between your tailfeathers!"
Predator Hawk gave a barking laugh as he zipped this way and that.
"What's the matter, too fast for you? It's all that hardware that's tying you down. Here, let me help!"
He suddenly went into a dive, swooping up just as he would have collided with her and making her fall onto her backside. He then seized her bionic leg, and he yanked her up into the air. Before he could take her too high, Nicolette pilled out the safety pin that kept the leg connected, cutting herself and Hawk loose and letting herself fall to the ground. Hawk drifted up and hovered a safe distance, shooting down mean looks to the downed weasel.
"That's what you landlubbers get. Don't matter what kind of janky tools you make, you'll never be able to match true aerial superiority!"
"Oh, yeah?" Nikki said as she pushed herself up on her hands and knee. "Let's see your air superiority in three…two…one…"
Suddenly, the prosthetic exploding, bringing up a cloud of black smoke and blue feathers before Predator Hawk was sent hurtling back down to earth like a falling stone.
"Looks like I'll be serving fried chicken at the diner tonight." She chuckled before fetching a piece of rebar to use as a crutch.
Fiona continued to dance away from Lightning Lynx and his whirling blades of death. He had chased her all the way into the interior of the cavern city, specifically the amphitheater where the children's choir practiced. For the most part, it was still in one piece, but there were plenty of signs of damage as well as fragments of plaster barely holding on to the overall structure. She finally stopped to catch her breath, and she spun around to face Lightning Lynx. He didn't even look tired.
"I'm getting sick of chasing you, Fiona. Stand, face me, and accept your fate. One of us will not be walking away from this."
Fiona cut her eyes from side to side, looking more like a cornered rat than a fox, but she stood her ground and held up her fists.
"If that's the way you want it, then come on! Bring it! I'm ready for whatever you can dish out."
Lightning Lynx snorted, and then he made his charge. There was nowhere for Fiona to run to, and she had no chance against him in a one on one fight. He cleared the gap easily, and he lunged forward with his blades aimed for Fiona's heart. Fiona remained perfectly still, quietly counting.
5…4…3…2…
She suddenly dropped just as the katana came mere inches from her chest, going into a split. All Lightning Lynx caught for his trouble was Fiona's bow, easily cleaving it into three pieces while leaving himself completely exposed. Wasting not a moment, Fiona reached back a hand, and she struck plain and true in the soft spot between Lynx's legs.
The effect was instant. Lynx dropped Blade's katana, doubled over, and he gave the shrillest squeal ever conducted in all of Lower Mobius. As Fiona rose, gathering up what remained of her bow in the process, she watched him fall over, curling into a tiny ball. There was a look of pride on her face, and she did little to conceal it as she reclaimed Blade's swords.
"Well, you weren't wrong, Lightning. You certainly aren't going to be walking away anytime soon."
Fighting back tears, Lightning Lynx managed to angle his head towards Fiona with a most ugly scowl.
"That…was an underhanded trick." He growled, his voice squeaking at a higher pitch.
Fiona merely scoffed and turned to walk away.
"That's what you get for trying to outfox a fox in her own den. But if you thought that was underhanded, wait till the overhead catches up with you."
As she disappeared back into the town, Lightning Lynx's ears finally caught the sounds of something straining. He looked up with barely enough time to see a mountain of plaster, finally loosed from its mooring to his high C, came toppling down all atop him.
By then, Judah had been roused from his stupor, bruised, battered, and a tad disoriented, but altogether he was still in one piece. He was letting Nicolette leaned on him as Mask and Blade came running up.
"You young'uns alright?" Mask asked.
"I'm feeling super." Nicolette chirped with a small grin. "Popped the little birdie but good with my trick leg. And you told me putting a grenade inside it was self-indulgent."
"It is, frankly." Mask retorted dryly. "But whatever works, I guess. Where's Fiona?"
"Here." The fox called as she approached the tiny group.
Nicolette spied the fox's missing headpiece, and she spied the fragments clutched in one of her fists.
"Oh, Fi, the bow your mother gave you?"
Fiona shook her head.
"Don't worry about it. It was a small price to pay if it meant keeping all of you guys safe. Did everyone get out alright?"
"Most everyone's been moved down to the underground river." Blade said, gratefully reclaiming his swords. "Of course, we wouldn't even be in this mess if it hadn't been for that cretin getting the jump on me. The one moment I lower my guard."
"Happens to the best of us, son." Mask said, offering him a pat on the back. "But speaking of that green menace to society, where is he?"
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion, followed by a shower of glass before something crashed down not far away. Floating up from the crater he had created was Scourge, his fur now a dark purple and his eyes red and black as arcs of energy snaked around his body. He face was mired in a fearsome sneer, and his sights were set on each and everyone of them.
"Now you done it." He snarled, his voice echoing. "Now you have all done it! I shouldn't have any reason to use my one and only trump card against a bunch of brainless, mouth breathing dirt huggers like all of you, but you've gone and made me angry!"
He suddenly vanished in a blur, and the next thing anyone knew Judah was sent skyward, crashing against the ceiling of the cave before Scourge grabbed him and hurled him back to the ground. Before could even gasp, Scourge was upon him again, stomping down on his chest with deadly precision. Nicolette grabbed her pistol and immediately opened fire, but the shots may as well have been mosquitos for all the good it did. He slowly turned on her with a predatory gaze.
"Oh, you wanna be next, do you?"
Before Nicolette could even try to get away, Scourge seized her, lifting her off the ground. He brought her close so that she got a clear, unobstructed look at his dark, soulless eyes, and then he hurled her at great speeds in one direction. He vanished and reappeared in her path, knocking her another way with a kick, continuing the process until he finally kicked her downward into the dirt and picking up a large slab of stone intent to smash her with it. But then another measly bullet bounced harmlessly against the side of his head. He looked to see that it was Mask, sniper rifle in hand. He smiled, and he dropped the rock, only narrowly missing Nicolette. He drifted down lazily in front of Mask, whom faced the oncoming threat with a proud stance.
"Well, well," Scourge chuckled as he sized the tailless raccoon up. "If it ain't the big, bad marshal of this dung heap. You get tired of living or something, old man?"
Mask made no reply, instead firing another shot, no scope, and striking Scourge in the forehead. It made as well have been a spitball for all the good it did. Scourge brushed a thumb where the bullet had connected, casually tossing the dented projectile aside.
"Ain't it sunk in yet, old man? In this form, I'm all powerful, which includes, but is not limited to, invulnerability. Q.E.D., you can't hurt me, and I'm about to wrap that little rifle around your throat."
In response to that, Mask tossed Lucile to the side, but he did not run. He met Scourge's gaze with his own, and he balled up his fists.
"Do your worst."
Scourge got a laugh out of that, and he started to reach down for Mask's throat.
"I'm gonna take my time with you."
With that, he seized a hold of Mask…only for the old man to disappear. Scourge had to double take for a moment before he looked about. Mask was nowhere to be seen; in fact, Nicolette, Judah, and Fiona had disappeared. There wasn't a trace of them anywhere.
"What in the…where the heck did everybody go?!"
Just then, there came the sound of a sword being unsheathed. He spun around, and there was Blade, a katana draw and his stance indicating he wanted to fight. Scourge unconsciously rubbed at his still ringing ear, and he bared his fangs at Blade.
"Oh, so you volunteering yourself as tribute or something, hodgepodge? I still owe you for the ear."
"That's gonna be the least of your worries here in a minute." Blade assured him. "You're about to help me with a little science experiment. They say that Moebians, after going Super, acutally lose power in their base forms whereas Prime Mobians gain something of a boost. I'd like to see if that's true."
Scourge scowled. So this loser knew about his little Achilles heel, did he? That might prove a problem if he didn't end this quickly.
"You know what they say about the scientific method, pal. It's all trial and error, and your biggest error was thinking you could take on the king!"
With that, he went charging at breakneck for where Blade was standing. He hit the ground with the force of a meteorite, and he laughed in what must have been a flawless victory, only to find that he had come up empty handed. He dared to look back, and there was Blade, perfectly unscathed, and feigning a yawn.
"King, huh? Well, don't worry. Once you power down, I'll be sure to crown you."
Scourge roared with outrage, and he took off after Blade again.
……………………………………………………………
Meanwhile, in the underground river, Mask was doing a quick headcount of the people assembled as Gabby and Aqune tended to Nicolette and Judah with Fiona hovering over them.
"Give it to me straight, kid. Are they going to be alright?"
Gabby's eyes were dark, no doubt she was angry at Scourge for hurting her friends and caretaker, but there was something of a hopeful glint in her eye.
"Judah's pretty bad. If he's bleeding internally, there's not too much we can do, but he's pretty strong. I'm sure he'll pull through. Fortunately, Nikki's used to taking hits like that, so I think she'll be fine and I can easily tend to her injuries."
"It's a good thing Mr. Blade did his little magic trick thing." Aqune said with a small sigh of relief.
By magic trick, she was referring to Blade's time stones. Mere moments before Scourge had done anything fatal to Mask, Blade had stopped time, and then he proceeded to gather everyone up, rush them to safety, and then returned to the main cavern to combat Scourge. The mere thought that he was squaring off with her supercharged ex-boyfriend made Fiona feel sick. What if Scourge wasn't immune to the stones when using Anarchy Beryl, or worse he discovered the time stones and managed to steal them? Scourge with the power to manipulate time, surely there was no thought more terrifying.
"I have to go back!" she said suddenly, garnering her Mask's full attention.
"Absolutely not, young lady! You've done your good deed for today."
"None of this would even be happening if it weren't for me!" Fiona retorted. "Scourge is here because of me, remember? If I had gone somewhere, anywhere, other than here, then you would all be enjoying another day without a care in the world. Unless I do something, Lower Mobius and everything you, my mother, and every other good mobian's sacrifice will be for nothing. I have to make this right."
A large vein formed on the old raccoon's forehead, and he stormed over towards her.
"Now, Fiona, so help me, I made a promise. If I have to tie you up to keep you here and out of harm's way, I swear to Aurora I will. Now for the last time, see reason and…"
Suddenly, Fiona lashed out with a rising kick, forcing him to retreat a short ways. Fiona left her leg up in the air, stretching it out like she were a ballerina and demonstrating the full range of the appendage's maneuverability.
"We had an agreement, remember? As soon as my leg was better, I could go as far away as I wanted. Those were your words, gramps."
Mask stared at her for a hot moment, and then he lowered his eyes. His fists were shaking now, and Fiona could see the fuzz around his cheeks were starting to grow damp. Finally, he threw back his head, and he gave an aggravated cry.
"Is self-detonation some sort of genetic trait amongst you foxes?! First your mother, and now this?!"
His neck snapped downward, and he shot Fiona with his most pitiful and pleading look.
"Fiona, please, I'm begging you. Just let Blade handle this. The boy's got those stones to protect him. He'll be fine, I promise."
Fiona put her foot back down, and she gave her head a sad shake.
"I'm sorry, old man, but I just can't. Not knowing what all I've done. What I've brought down on all of you."
She looked down to Gabby and Aqune as they tended to Judah and Nicolette. They had stopped to look her way, and she offered them a weak smile. She then shifted her gaze towards Zonic. He and Boris were supporting one another, and the zone cop caught her gaze. They stared at one another for a short while, and Fiona offered him a nod.
"It's time I paid for the consequences of my choices."
With that, she took off like a shot down the tunnel back towards the main cavern. Mask started to chase after her, but then he stopped. If he followed, then it would start a stampede effect. Everyone was looking to their marshal for guidance like always, and they would take his going after her as a sign of courge, but it would encourage them to do as he did. For better or for worse, he had to believe in Fiona.
…………………………………………………………..
Blade was panting heavily. It was taking everything he could just to stay out of Scourge's line of attack, made only worse by the use of the time stones. On a good day, it took immense amounts of focus and mental strain to use the stones properly, but his heightened stress level on top of the fast time stops he needed to dodge Scourge's blistering speed was pushing his endurance to its utter limit. However, that wasn't to say he wasn't giving as much as he was taking. Scourge was invincible, and he couldn't burst his ears like before, but his soundwaves still had an effect on Scourge, throwing off his sense of balance. He was letting him have it with everything he had: police sirens, air raid horns, bombs exploding, babies screaming, volcanoes erupting, and many, many more. However, the one that mattered most, the one that was no doubt making Scourge sweat, was the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears. Scourge knew fully well what would happen the moment his super form ran out. He would be completely and utterly helpless, and Blade was not about to show him any mercy. No doubt by now the sound of his heart beating against his chest was equivocal to that of a hammer striking an anvil. Put simply, it was all a war of attrition, and it was only a question of who would break first: the superpowered hedgehog or the time hopping hybrid.
Eventually, Scourge took a step back while hovering in air. He felt like he was going half deaf with all this insistent noise, and it was making it hard for him to focus on one spot. He gasped for breath, not necessarily because he was tired but rather because of his nerves. It was a sign of weakness, and he hated himself for showing it, but he had never actually took the time to clock just how long he could stay in his super form. He had just always assumed it would be an instant win, and he would have plenty of time to run away before he clocked out, leaving him vulnerable. They had at least been doing this for ten or fifteen minutes, so was it possible he was nearing the limit? He didn't feel anything, but that may not necessarily mean anything. One thing was for certain, he needed to end this quickly, and fortunately for him it seemed that Blade was just as ready to drop as he was afraid he was fixing to.
"Anybody tell you that you sweat too much?" he chuckled; the insult admittedly lackluster. "Come on, buddy. You gotta get limber if you want to even make this remotely fun."
Blade tried to laugh, but it came out more as a choked cough.
"Shows what you know. For all the bluster having a super form seems to give you, I was expecting a challenge. I haven't even gotten a workout yet. Can't you do better than this?"
Scourge snarled, but then a small glint caught his eye. At first, he thought it was he thought it was the katana he was wielding, his intended choice for execution, but he then realized that his free hand was shoved into his pocket, where the glint came from. Scourge had to squint, but sure enough he could make out some sort of colorful gem. A chaos emerald? Possible, but Scourge wasn't quite sure. But one thing it was clear: it was the source of his enemy's little disappearing act.
Blade caught Scourge's gaze, but he was just a hair too late. The purple hedgehog suddenly burrowed underground, vanishing from sight. Blade cut the barrage of sound attacks, and he tried to focus on the ground. He immediately caught the sound of rumbling, and his heart sank when he realized that it was right underneath him, and there was no time to dodge. Scourge came tearing out and struck Blade in a rising uppercut. Blade was sent flying into the air, dropping his katana and the mask that contained his time stones went sailing out and into Scourge's waiting arms. In a swift motion, he caught Blade, too, holding him by the front of his coat as he grinned wickedly in the hybrid's face.
"Heh heh heh, am I giving you a challenge now, pretty boy?" he chortled with victorious glee. "So this is what you were using to keep me on my toes. I knew you weren't special enough to beat me without cheating. Some sort of teleportation stones, right? Don't know why you keep it in a mask, but I suppose that it don't really matter at this point."
Blade's eyes were wide with terror, not only for the fact that a psychopath had taken one of his most precious possessions, but also what it would if he didn't get it back immediately. He immediately began to thrash about wildly, brandishing his echidna knuck-claws against Scourge's face while kicking his legs wildly, but it might as well have been a tickle attack for all the good it did him. Scourge headbutted him, stunning Blade and making him go limp.
"So it's just that important, huh?" Scourge said. "Well, then that only means that I want it even more. Who knows? I was actually thinking about going back to Finitevus for some help, maybe even helping with whatever that little job he wanted from me, but if I can figure out what this little trinket can do then I'll be set! I'll have my kingdom back by Christmas, and there isn't a single soul in this world, this universe, or even the entire freaking multiverse that will be able to stop me!"
Suddenly, something lunged and latched onto Scourge's back. The sudden weight was enough to throw him off and lose his grip on Blade. The hybrid hit the dirt with an unceremonious thud, and he looked up to see Fiona, looking like a frenzied cat as she clawed at his back while grabbing onto his arm that clutched the time stone mask.
"Fiona! Be careful!" Blade called, trying to jump up and latch on only to fall back down with a very exhausted body.
Scourge hissed at his new piggyback, shaking feverishly in an attempt to throw her off.
"Are you kidding me?! Let go of me, you suicidal broad!"
But Fiona held on tighter. She reached and reached to claim the time stones back from Scourge. She had to get them away from him before he figured out how they worked. He couldn't be allowed to use them. As for Scourge himself, he began to crash around the cavern, slamming Fiona relentlessly against the walls in an attempt to dislodge her. Fighting through the pain, she finally got a hold of the mask, wrenched it free from his grip, and with all of her strength she tossed it to the ground. Blade rushed to catch it, only for it to slip through his fingers and hit the ground hard, shattering the aged owl mask and letting the gems loose. Each one began to sparkle and glow before unleashing a powerful surge of energy towards Fiona and Scourge. The two shouted as they were bathed in light, and Blade scrambled to grab a hold of the stones.
Using the last of his focus, managed to disconnect the flow of power and force the stones back into a dormant state. The light faded, and the cavern went quiet again. Blade gasped for breath, his entire being completely exhausted, and it took everything he could just to stay conscious. He held the time stones close to his body, while also scooping up the damaged mask pieces as best as he could. He had to fix it. As long as the mask could be repaired, not all was lost.
"Fiona! Fiona where are you?!"
Speaking of masks.
The raccoon came running into the chamber, his eyes wide as he took in the mass destruction as well as the lacking sign of the fox in question. He finally moved on Blade, and he helped the hybrid to a sitting position.
"Blade, son, what happened? What did Scourge do? Where did Fiona go?"
The panicked tone in the old man's voice stung Blade's ears, but it was nothing compared to the sting in his conscience. He cast a weary glance to the timestones, and then he looked up to where Scourge and Fiona had been floating mere moments ago.
"It's not a matter of where, Mask, but when. Fiona has become lost in time, and I don't even know if I can bring her back."