Chapter 8: Red vs. Black

Sonic and Mina zipped back and forth helping the medics. It startled some patients when either one suddenly appeared next to their bed and was gone in an instant, but speed was necessary. Tails was still unconscious, and Rotor had stopped by to visit, along with Nicko and Jonathan. Tails' large eyes were closed and a clean blanket kept him warm. His blue coat was folded over the bedstead.

"He's going to recuperate?" asked Jonathan. Tails was younger than him, but still, the orange fox was a great teacher of mechanics.

"Yeah, he'll pull through. He's just exhausted, the nurse said," Rotor assured.

"Our EMP helped a lot of people. I think he'll be happy to know about that," said Nicko, and pulled the blanket more snugly over Tails.



"Please, lady, I can help."

He was looking up at her, a brown wolf that was fully one foot taller than him. She wore a nurse's uniform and a veil that hid the lower half of her face. She was also barring the entrance to the ER room.

"I am sorry, Sir, but you cannot expect to enter the Emergency Room without taking a proper bath. You have oil on your fur and dust is practically falling from you."

Lazer narrowed his eyes. She stared down at him, as if daring him to try and get past her. She did know that he had miraculous healing abilities, and possessed five Chaos Emeralds, but rules were rules. For one hour, the sudden influx of patients had kept her extraordinarily busy. Many had died during that hour, and she was in absolutely no mood to argue with a filthy hedgehog.

"Please move along, Sir. You cannot enter this ward unless you are spotless." He wondered for an instant why she was wearing a veil, and decided to act upon that.

"What did you say? Your voice is muffled."

"I said."

He snatched the cloth from her face. It moved down beneath her snout. Two ugly scars were displayed, a jagged one that run from her left cheek to her lower lip, and a burn scar upon her right cheek. She promptly placed her large paws over the area.

"So, you also have those."

He removed his gloves, and looked down. On both hands, on the fingers, palm and wrist were cruel scars, crisscrossing the flesh. He had received those scars in childhood.

"I have healing abilities, but these never healed. Only the Walkers know why," and he looked up at her. "Lady, you shouldn't hide those scars."

"And why not? Don't you know the shame I feel from these things?" she said, her lower lip trembling. She moved to replace the veil. Lazer held her arm with his one of scarred hands.

"You should take pride in them, because they show experience."

"Experience?" she almost laughed. "And what pride? The robots did this to me when I was a cub, and since then I felt ashamed that I could do nothing."

Lazer held up another arm and ran a finger along the jagged scar. She shuddered.

"Please remove your hands."

He did so.

"Lady, don't feel bad about having scars. They are more than damaged flesh. They're proud flesh, actually, since it means you saw battle and lived through it."

"I still don't like them."

"Of course you don't. Now, please direct me to some showers, so that I can be 'spotless', and help these good people."

After Lazer had walked away from her, toward the showers, she replaced the veil and continued her work. The temerity of him to touch her like that! She should have slapped him when he had held her arm, or touched her scar. Still, she was reassured that he would help the patients with whatever mysterious abilities he had.



The next day, a mass funeral was held in Knothole's graveyard. The air was frosty, and one's breath came out in a mist. Many new graves had been dug, and many tombstones had been hewn. The dead were already within their graves. King Acorn stood upon the pulpit and addressed the large, mournful gathering with heartfelt words spoken into a microphone.

"Soldiers that fall in battle are never forgotten for their bravery." he begun, and Elias held his sister's hand tighter, ".I, myself, am a soldier, and I cherish the memory of my comrades. All who sacrificed body and life for our cause will be greatly honoured." Mina, with Sonic standing head bowed beside her, took out a handkerchief and blew her nose, ".The memory of the one hundred and fifty nine Freedom Fighters of Knothole that gave the ultimate gift, their very lives, in fighting for freedom, will be carved within all our hearts on this day." Nicko, standing with Rotor, Jonathan and Tails, bowed his head also, ".The fallen now rest in peace with Destiny, whom I am sure has told them, 'Well done, my children'. As living children of Destiny, we must respect their sacrifice, and bring justice to what they died for." Bunnie drew closer to Antoine, and rested her head on his shoulder, allowing a few teardrops to fall on his uniform, ".I pray that we will all have the courage to face our fears after this day, and help to make Mobius a world that they would be proud of."

Thus ended his speech, and he descended the pulpit to rejoin his family. He had written that speech himself, but he knew that it did not do justice to the memory of the fallen. A priest went up next and droned something about life after death. After which, the somber service was ended. The crowd talked quietly among themselves and shuffled away to their homes or to their workstations. A single figure, apart from the rest, departed from the village and went among the trees. This discrete vanishing act did not go unnoticed by Sonic, however, who whispered to Mina that he had some business to take care of and would be back soon. She agreed to tell the others, and Sonic gave chase, his jacket flapping.



He had sharpened the blade, and it hung sheathed on his back. He was going to use the sharp edge if necessary, but figured that he would only need the blunt side. He had no qualms about injuring her, but killing her was unacceptable.

"I hope you know that I'm coming," he thought, "because I want you to be ready for your last day in the dark."

He would not sit and watch idly by as that cat gloated over her victory. He was not about to fight for revenge, but because he had felt an evil so black that it had no shades of gray between. Robotnik himself appeared holy in comparison to the evilness of the Dark Jewel in Nyress' possession. He would end her charade with it soon. But what should he do with the emerald afterward? Surely there was a way to destroy it, or at least bind its darkness for all eternity? He did not know of a way or someone that could help, but he wished that he did.

Sonic had no trouble in keeping up with Lazer, who was flying between trees at a great speed as if he needed to be somewhere very urgently. He was careful to stay out of hearing range, his footfalls only heard by himself. Understandably, he wanted to know why Lazer was heading for Robotropolis, for it was most definitely the direction in which he was headed.

Minutes later he was out of the trees, and the wasteland stretched out before him. He wasted no time and used a turbo boost (pointing his arms behind him, and firing power beams to add a cool 100 mile-per-hour speed boost to his normal flying speed) to enter the robotic city. Air defenses noticed a red flash above them, and went in pursuit, but Robotnik had not designed his air defense to keep up with such a high velocity target. The large tower loomed tall, and he pointed one fist at its black surface. The walls of metal gave way to the blast of energy and he landed inside, illuminating the room with his presence.

"Where are you, Nyress? I returned like I promised."

"Call me Hannah. You're not going to find me in there. I felt your energy output like a warm summer day before you even entered Robotropolis."

The feline was floating just outside the entrance he had made, her reflective robe was flapping about her, and she was actually wearing some warm clothing: a bodysuit composed of leather-like material, with a large brown winter coat draped about her shoulders. The emerald hung in mid air beside its mistress.

"A summer day, eh?"

He turned to face her. Something that resembled affection was in her eyes, but it was masked by the scorn she openly displayed.

"Please, we cannot have our dispute in this tiny space. My land lord doesn't like his property damaged."

He poised to take off, and she reversed her direction in the air. Lazer chased her toward the outskirts of Robotropolis.



Sonic doubted that he should follow Lazer even to the city, but a short while after the red bolt had disappeared into the city, he came flying after a sphere of darkness. Upon closer inspection from behind an outcropping of rock, Sonic recognized the feline girl he had seen yesterday. She was wearing decent clothing, but still, she had a striking figure, even when observed from that distance. He stayed behind the rocks to observe the momentous dispute.



"So, my dear hedgehog, you came back to me. Why?"

"Yesterday I couldn't fully concentrate on the battle. Now that no one is around here to distract me, I can concentrate on defeating you."

"How silly of you! You almost collapsed yesterday from a single energy blast, so now you think that by wasting more energy, you can overcome the Black Emerald's power?"

"You don't know how long I can last when I try. If I had used my full potential, Sonic and the others would have been burned to a crisp even if they were a hundred feet away."

"Aren't you the one to boast! Very well, angry red one, I believe the phrase is, 'Give me your best shot!'"

"Before I do," he interrupted, "What other purpose did that wave of yours serve, other than weakening the army? I saw some white things come out of the others."

"Well, I explained to the 'land lord' already, so I'll say just this. In four days, everyone that was touched by the dark wave will die. No exceptions, and no mercy whatsoever."

Lazer's eyes widened. She had declared the doom of the entire Freedom Fighter legion without a trace of interest. Few had so little conscience.

"Well, expect no mercy from me either, Nyress."

"Please, call me Hannah!"

Lazer reached behind and drew out the samurai sword. Its blade gleamed a menacing blue.

"Meet my little friend."

"Please!" she protested yet again, "Refrain from quoting lines from movies, I honestly have no patience for that."

All silliness aside, Lazer lowered the blade and pointed it to his right. A red flame engulfed the metal, as a red flame also engulfed him. He stood resplendent in the Red Emerald flame, ready to fight her.

"Doom, doom, doom, I can hear your thoughts so clearly," she hummed. He was not standing there, but a dust cloud was preceding a red comet that blazed toward her. She watched him approach, smiling all the while, and then he struck. A tremendous shudder ran throughout her and the shield as the blade connected, smashing with such force that it appeared to have dented the protective sphere. An attack that could have reduced boulders to dust merely pushed Hannah and her emerald to one side, unharmed due to the barrier's unbelievable strength. She brought up one paw, palm facing outward, and the air became dark around Lazer. He felt a sudden drain on his constitution, but it was not severe. He smirked.

"Very good. I think that was the most powerful attack with my sword."

"How disappointing. Do continue."

He sheathed the sword, and punched his fists together. Then, he leaped high off the ground with a shout, and fell earthward, inches away from the shield, and plunged his fist into the dusty earth. The ground shattered around it, and air turned molten once more, as the Ring of Chaos was formed. Great gouts of flames erupted from fissures in the ground, and a colossal explosion of chaos energy struck the barrier. The foundations of the earth shook and the air was set ablaze with the fury of the attack. He pulled out his fist and leaped backward, watching the bright flames.

Hannah, smiling within her shield, presented her hand and Lazer was weakened once more. She waved her arm and the inferno about her was extinguished.

"I believe that you should quit while you're losing."

"Losing? Hardly," he said through clenched teeth. He was feeling the effects of that dark wave, dulling his senses and causing fatigue. He drew his sword once more.

"So help me, Ancient Walkers, I will win!"

She watched him rise into the air; glowing red with sparks of electricity around him. She watched him point his blade downward and fall with a terrific rush. The blade was imbued with chaos and electrical energy, so heated that if Lazer had not been holding it, the metal would have vaporized. He aimed for the very center of the barrier, and the pointed end of the blade hit home. Time stood still as he waited for the blade to penetrate and end her life. That moment in time was not to be.

A negative reaction had taken place between the malevolent energy of the shield and the Chaos energy of the sword. A searing, crackling field of red energy mixed with the black energy was formed in a pulsating ball. Those two energies did not mix, and they exploded away from each other in a discharge of tremendous magnitude. Lazer, Hannah, the emerald and the sword were tossed by the shockwaves of the blast. The barrier had shattered, but the ground had been utterly destroyed, with new gorges in the terrain and craters that would never be wiped out from the Mobian earth.

Sonic was hiding behind the rocks, wonderstruck so far by the 'very awesome' battle. After seeing that critical mass of energy forming, he had had the sense to duck and cover. After the cacophony of sound had ended, he cautiously spied upon the two combatants.

She was airborne once more, but he was on the ground, being drained by the black wave. His skin was bloody and thick with dust. Two of his head quills had snapped when he crashed into the earth after the last explosion. He was in pain, not only from the damaged quills but because the Chaos Emeralds within him had reacted adversely to the energy of the Black Emerald. He ached all over, feeling as if his muscles were about to rip apart.

"You still think that you can defeat me?" she asked indifferently, landing at his feet.

"Yes. Good will always triumph," he managed to say.

She wove a spell about him, and brought him to a standing position. His eyes were dark and he refused to look at her.

"Poor boy. You're grimy with dirt and your own blood. I'm no longer afraid of you, bearer of Five Emeralds. You, with all your show-off abilities, can't surmount my mastery. Oh, if only you had mastered the power given to you. Then, it would have been me stretched out on the ground, and not you."

"I will master their power," he said in a strained voice.

"But not today, and perhaps never. It must have harmed your ego to be beaten by a girl. I will kill you soon, but first, there are things I want to know about you."

She caused the emerald to float directly above Lazer. She placed a paw on each side of his head, and closed her eyes, chanting something silently. A dark aura formed around them, and Lazer heard her voice speaking within his mind!

"Do not resist. The mind and body are linked, and your body is exhausted. Make this easy for both of us."

When she tried harder to access his memories, she was assailed by images and the emotions of the war he had fought with his countrymen against Robotnik. Anger, hatred, defiance, courage. bodies lying in the street, people running for shelter, children crying. then the bomb that had destroyed Adrax and all of Xadra at once. The unearthly anger he had felt nearly delivered a mental shock to Hannah, who tried to break away from the horrid memories and his anger. He held her there, giving her the full experience of what he had felt and what he had seen. She began to gasp for air in the outside world, feeling her heart race and her throat constrict as horror upon horror was piled upon her mind. With one mighty effort, she broke the mental link and opened her eyes. She gasped long and loud, and her breathing was regular again.

"You are interesting, Lazer," she purred, and stroked his chest with a paw. The razor-sharp claws out and she gashed his skin with five scratches. He did not flinch from the treatment. Blood poured into her hand and she raised the liquid to her nose.

"So, this is what the blood of a Chaos Emerald bearer smells like. Very healthy and red indeed! I suppose those emeralds keep you in excellent health. There are still some memories of your past you keep hidden, Lazer."

She placed her bloodstained paws upon his head again, and this time he presented little resistance to her searching mind. She saw and learned many things from his past, and after she had thoroughly violated his mind she came back to the real world.

"Rebecca. Coriander, is it? The girl you loved. So, that is why you are still sane. Her memory brings great comfort, does it not?"

He closed his eyes and his head drooped.

"Don't feel sad," she purred, and ran a finger along one of the tears in his skin, "You will never lose her while she's in your heart."

She stuck a claw into the wound, and this time he did flinch as the blood flowed freely. She dripped the blood upon his forehead and watched it slide down his face.

"I will kiss you goodbye, Lazer. Rest in peace with the Walkers or whoever it is that you believe in."

She kissed him on the right side of his chest, once upon his left cheek and lastly upon his forehead, licking the blood she had placed there. He nearly stifled with rage. That triple combination of kisses was the special one Rebecca had given to him to show her love! It was supposed to be their secret! But he could only growl at Hannah, exhausted as he was, as she placed a paw on his chest again. She said a single arcane word and a spell was cast. His body was thrown, riding on the shockwave of the concentrated blast. He screamed loudly as he flew hundreds of feet into the air and far, far away into the Great Forest. Hannah held up her hand in a gesture of farewell, then hovered the emerald and flew back to Robotropolis.

"Good Goddess," Sonic murmured, stupefied by the scene. He felt his stomach constrict as he watched her leave, for she was slurping the blood off her paws. He saw and heard Lazer fall into the forest, and ran as fast as he could to help him. He hoped that his red furred ally had not died, at least not immediately. He would need to carry Lazer to the hospital, or else. he did not want to think of the 'or else'.