Chapter 7- The Dark Wave

"Why aren't they all dead? Less than three thousand of them fell, out of the twelve thousand! I thought that you would kill those damned creatures and rid them from my life! Why, Nyress? Did you not train enough?"

She scowled at him.

"Watch your mouth around me, Robotnik. Sit down."

He was pacing up and down in front of her, up and down.

"No! You disappointed me and-"

"I said to SIT!" she commanded, the last word echoing unnaturally. He threw his great bulk upon a nearby chair, and it creaked under his weight. He muttered to himself.

"Good," she purred, and crossed her legs.

"But, why didn't you decimate them like you said you would?" he persisted.

"Hmph. You worry too much, Robotnik. I did not fail to ensure their collective death. Let me explain."

She brushed back her cape and leaned forward, looking into his eyes with her own. The scientist began to sweat.

"I displayed the capabilities of the Black Emerald and my skill. Did I not defeat the red hedgehog, which could not even break my defense? The spell I cast upon those Freedom Fighters is called the Spirit Bond. Tell me," and she leaned backward, "did you notice the white lights coming out of each person, and flying toward the black emerald?"

"Uh, those, yes, I did."

"Those lights were fragments of the soul of each Freedom Fighter. Each fragment broke away under the influence of the spell, and was captured within the Black Emerald. Here's the interesting part: within five days, the fragments of soul will be absorbed by the Black Emerald, and each person who lost that piece of themselves will die."

Understanding glowed in Robotnik's face.

"So. five days, and they'll die. Is it really that simple?"

"Yes, my worrisome egghead, it is."

Robotnik chuckled, not because she had insulted his baldness.

"I like your style. Won't it be fun to watch them expire like bad cheese?"

"Yes, I believe to you it would be pleasant."

While he chuckled and mused to himself about how they would die, her thoughts were occupied with what she had seen in the emerald. As each portion of soul had entered the emerald, she had seen the face of its owner: the King, his son and daughter, Sonic, Tails, that annoying lavender haired girl and countless others. but not the face of the bearer of five emeralds.

"Come to me whenever you wish, insolent hedgehog, I will crush you."