They walked into the next room, and gasped. All around them was a paradise of plants. The air was humid and very warm. Lamps were scattered about the rock walls, simulating strong sunlight. Sonic and Kazuo stood in wonderment among the vegetation.
"From grave to garden. I can't decide if it's eccentric or just creepy," said Sonic.
"It is beautiful. Such a pleasant scent in the air," Kazuo remarked. The mosaic of plants created a sweet, strong aroma. They were tempted to just lie down and relax.
"Wait. We should search the place. Robotnik doesn't make anything this beautiful without hiding a weapon in it."
"You are wise, Sonic-san. We have come too far to let our guard down."
While they inspected the garden, Lazer entered. Behind him was a furnace, flaring orange and red as it consumed all. The door closed.
"I cremated them. I'm sorry that I can't carry their ashes back for a proper burial."
"Don't worry about it. You did the right thing."
Lazer walked up to them, dusting fine ash off his fur while he glanced around.
"I'm not surprised. He puts two of his favourite rooms right next to each other."
"We should move on," said Kazuo, "lest we forget our mission."
"Yeah," said Sonic, "I want to be home before dark."
Nobody laughed. The exit was easy to spot: a shiny metal door between rows of hanging orchids.
***
Doors and corridors were traversed for several minutes, the monotony broken ever so often by automatic gun turrets. The final door opened to a wide hall, filled with the noise of machinery: it was a robot assembly line. Conveyor belts were transporting the half-finished abominations, pausing at a terminal to add an arm or a head. Completed robots were carried through tunnels in the walls to all other parts of the base.
"Another room worth destroying," noted Lazer with a bitter smile, and then, "We need to remove the guards first."
Around fifty Swatbots were marching to intercept the intruders. They converged in a semicircle of black metal.
"HALT. YOUR TERMINATION WILL NOW COMMENCE."
"Gee, guys, can't we discuss this?" asked Sonic in his most sarcastic voice.
"NO."
"Well then. Come on, samurais, let's negotiate."
The trio negotiated with extreme prejudice. The floor was soon hidden beneath robotic limbs and crude oil.
"Filthy," Kazuo remarked, frowning, "Oil stains deeper than blood."
His gray kimono was slick with the black substance.
"Robots do not bleed as people do," said Lazer, his fur muddy black in patches. "Blood stains far deeper."
"Hey! We're not gettin' anywhere by talking or philosophizing or whatever you're doing. Robotnik waits for no one."
Lazer turned toward Sonic, who was also as grubby as a hedgehog could be. He grinned a little, and signaled for Kazuo to complete the sentence.
"He who is impatient…"
"…Learns little."
Sonic stared at them for a moment, shook his head and turned away.
"Crazy samurais," he muttered.
***
Snively fixed his gaze upon the monitor. The three intruders were drawing nearer to the arena, having passed the other tests (as Snively knew they would). He watched them leave the ruined assembly lines and enter a smaller room: a cube of ten metres per side. He watched them search every nook and cranny of that empty room, but finding nothing.
"This is where you are separated," he said, and flicked a switch on the console. The entrance to the room slammed shut. Two doors appeared on another wall, with a force field separating them. Sonic was shut off from Lazer and Kazuo.
Snively smiled while Lazer attempted to breach the force field with dual power beams. He failed. After all, Snively thought, the force field is made of 'Anti-Chaos energy': the fruit of Robotnik's genius.
Sonic said something to the samurais, who nodded. Kazuo went through the door, but Lazer paused for a moment to exchange words with Sonic. After a few moments, the hedgehogs went their ways.
"I wonder," Snively thought aloud in a very disinterested voice, "Were the rodents saying their final goodbyes?"
***
Damn this place is claustrophobic.
Sonic was trotting along the damp tunnel, accompanied by the wet flopping of his shoes. The walls were just a few inches away from skinning his shoulders.
Separating us and leading us into traps. Very smart, you old bastard.
It was a tactic Robotnik had tried before.
This is one trap I'll get out of. For her, if not anyone else. The will to live is stronger than anything…
***
It's cold. This tunnel must be a mile long.
Kazuo's sandals, even when damp, were silent. Every step that Lazer took, though, echoed and re-echoed throughout the tunnel.
"The spikes on your boots make stealth impossible."
"And they damage the dojo floor. I should wear sandals, as you do."
"That would be wise."
…kaching-kaching-kaching-kaching…
"I will definitely buy a pair."
"No. I will instruct you in the art of making them."
It became warm again. The exit to the tunnel closed behind them.
Ten holes in the walls, big enough for Hoverbots.
It was two hundred yards to the door in front of them. They ran for it, but were sidetracked when, from the walls, metallic death flowed.
"Fight well, Kazuo. I won't have time to help you."
With that, the red hedgehog unleashed his blade and went to battle.
"Worry not," said Kazuo with a grim smile, and drew his own blue-white katana.
***
Sonic entered a globular room, its walls plated with steel. A black line lay across the equator of the room, dividing it into hemispheres. On one side of the line was Sonic, on the other, an exit. Beyond, he could see another tunnel leading off to… what? He walked across the line and saw the door slam shut before he could blink an eye. He stepped behind the line and the door was open at once. He performed a 'Figure 8', dashing across the line faster than sound.
The door snapped shut and he hurt his shoulder against its unyielding surface.
"Hell," he said, "This one's a puzzle."
Ten minutes of running or rolling back and forth across the black line produced the same result. He shoulders and head were sore from being bumped at supersonic speeds against the door.
"Good one, Buttnik. I'm stumped."
He looked at the thin line that blocked his path to freedom. It was at the perfect center of the globular room, running in a complete circle.
"Why not," he sighed, and started to run along the path of the line, which meant running along the curved walls and ceiling. The door would open when more than half his body tilted away from it.
"Hmm…"
He rolled into a spiky ball, zooming along the line. His quills, turned into supersonic blades, cut into the steel plated floor. The entire room split apart in two halves. More importantly, the door was still open when he walked toward it.
"Shame on, you Buttnik."
He strode into the second tunnel.
***
Viewpoint
Strange, is it not, what goes through the mind of a warrior during combat. While his sword hacked through the metal hides of Robotnik's forces, Lazer was remembering the words of his late sensei.
There are many viewpoints to be considered on the battlefield. Some may fight with anger, others with sadness. Few will fight with neutrality of mind, without emotion or thought.
Lazer could feel anger within him, a fire that would not be quenched. And yet… there was more to life than anger and hatred. He had known this all his life, yet it was inexplicable.
"What's the use?" he questioned himself. The robots were so many in number he could destroy more than one with a single sword blow. But what was the reason for the fight?
Wanrikken is not simply a sword technique. It enables the wielder to see all viewpoints as one. That is how you will master it…
"If I ever do."
He glanced at Kazuo between slashes. His comrade was holding his own, swift and sure in his strikes.
"Anger begets anger," Lazer said quietly. There were so many enemies, both around and within him.
"Hate begets hate…"
His arms were beginning to tire.
"And there is sadness…"
"Confusion…"
"There is indifference…"
Lazer remembered the face of Rebecca, and he wished to fight no more.
"After all these pass away, there is… love…"
…Wanrikken…
For the briefest of moments, Lazer viewed himself outside of all these emotions. He saw that his enemies, though they numbered in the hundreds, were all one. He, chosen by the Ancient Walkers to be a bearer of five Chaos Emeralds, was above them all. He would not fight, and yet he would fight.
"WANRIKKEN!" he roared, lifting his sword high above his head. Revelation burst within him; it spiraled upward from his heart and to his mind, consuming him in its power.
Kazuo, hearing his ally's shout of absolute triumph, spun around to witness the final secret of the sword style called Wanrikken.
"Lazer-san?"
A column of blazing red energy shot upward, bathing the area in crimson light. At the very heart of this unbridled display of power was Lazer, his sword held high.
"This… ends… now!" he declared. From within his being something moved, and was set free. Images, copies, even, of Lazer, born of Chaos Emerald energy, exploded outward into the room, standing or hovering beside every robot. Each image held a sword that seemed to be forged of red flames. Lazer slashed with his sword, and his images followed suit. The flash of light was blinding.
There was silence. Then, with a metallic groan, the robots fell apart, some exploding as they did. The images of Lazer, their task complete for now, re-entered their creator's body in a vortex of Chaos Energy. The red light dimmed. Lazer dropped to the floor amidst ruined robotic parts. He stood there, sword in hand.
"Lazer-san. It was… amazing. I am very impressed," Kazuo said, pushing aside junk to reach Lazer.
The new master of the Wanrikken slowly shook his head back and forth, taking in the sum total of the destruction he, alone, had caused.
"By the Walkers... I never knew… thank you, sensei."
He fell to his knees. The sword clattered to the ground. He slumped forward, as though he were dead.
***
Damn this place is even more claustrophobic.
He was in perfect darkness. The exit of the tunnel had slid shut, leaving him in this black, abysmal place. He held his arms out, creeping forward inch by inch until his paws struck something solid.
A robot?
It was a sphere of metal, supported by a pole in the floor. Feeling around it, he discovered rings of metal protruding from the pole.
It's a pylon!
He turned, groping for something else in the opposite direction. Sure enough, he found another pylon, an exact replica of the first one.
Two pylons are next to each other. And what do pylons conduct? Electricity.
The first time he had learned that was during a raid on Robotropolis, about a decade ago. There were two rows of pylons en route to the targeted warehouse. He had watched one of his friends die between them, struck down by an invisible force.
"Pylons turn your fur to nylon," Sonic said. That phrase had been coined during the same mission, and he had never forgotten it.
But where's the electricity now? How could anyplace be so dark?
There was a rusty creak, directly in front of him. It became louder, turning into a groan. Sonic retreated from the sound until he was against the tunnel door. From the source of the sound, amidst that absolute darkness, was a blue spark. It jumped from the left to right.
They're conducting. There will be plenty enough light when it gets going…
After five more bolts, each more brilliant than the last, Sonic could discern the large object behind the pylons that was groaning loudly as it moved.
A dynamo.
Less than two minutes passed before Sonic understood the purpose of the gigantic dynamo, and the pylons. A spark jumped from the pylons (now ablaze with blue electricity) and hit the floor a few feet from Sonic. He jumped, feeling the thrill of an electric jolt course through him. He looked down, and saw that the floor was a sheet of gray metal.
Oh no. It jumps from the pylons, hits the floor, and spreads to me…
He learned from that physics lesson. When the next spark hit the floor, he leaped off the ground to avoid becoming a pylon himself. Another spark hit the floor as he landed, and the jolt caused his body to spasm. It dawned upon him, like the cold fingers of death closing around his throat, that he would not be able to keep pace forever. After a few seconds, there were hundreds of sparks jumping into the floor. He was only able to stay airborne long enough to avoid the worst of it. When he landed, his body shuddered with electricity. The dynamo was a spinning blur, rocking its axis while pouring blue energy into the pylons.
There must be a way out of this. There must be…
He had to keep on jumping, for her.
***
Memories. Dreams…
Lazer sat in the cramped apartment of his sensei. The morning sounds of Adrax City came through the window. The old hedgehog sat in a rectangle of sunlight.
"War is upon us. Guns and explosives replaced the sword centuries ago. I cannot fight in this war, Lazer."
There were no formalities between them.
"Arikam, I will fight. I will bring this… tyrant… to justice. I cannot sit idly by while he slaughters people. I have more power than he does!"
To emphasize his point, the young hedgehog formed a glowing red ball in his hand.
"Yes, yes. You speak much of your Chaos Emeralds, but not of your own strength."
Lazer clenched one paw. Scarlet flame enveloped his fist.
"The Emeralds are my strength. Without them I would be useless. Years ago, I had no idea why the Walkers chose me, out of all the red hedgehogs in this city. Now that the war has come, I have found my place."
"To defeat our common enemy?"
"He is an enemy to all. He persecuted another country before he came here. He overthrew its King, but Xadra did nothing to help since we weren't involved. Now we are involved. I cannot allow him to win!"
The apartment and his sensei shifted out of focus, becoming blurry.
It was the End Day. Adrax and its country, Xadra, were now a radioactive wasteland. The buildings that, only yesterday, were so tall and magnificent were now rubble. Its citizens, numbering in the tens of millions, were dust blown in the wind.
The nuclear explosion had erased an entire species from the face of Mobius, but one had survived the blast. He had been high up in the atmosphere, shooting down robotic air forces, when the bomb hit.
He had scoured the city, cocooned by an aura of Chaos Energy. He had found his father, a scientist, in the ruins of his laboratory. The lab, buried deep underground, had withstood the brunt of the explosion but could not protect its occupants.
Do not take a life for a life. You may not understand now, but someday, you will.
Beside his father was his mother, already dead, already at peace. He laid the burnt corpses side by side in the diseased soil. Plants would not grow in Adrax for thousands of years. Everything had died forever, annihilated, never to return.
There had been only one question on his mind.
Why.
Why?
He did not know.
He had wanted to die. Releasing the protective cocoon of energy, and lying beside the grave of his parents, would have ended his miserable existence.
Fate, or Destiny, had intervened in the lowest point of his life. The Three Walkers appeared to him for the second time.
It seems that we have made an error in our choice. He wishes for death.
He is entitled to death, if he so desires.
Then our efforts were in vain?
No. Let us help him.
Give him a second chance.
We shall give to him a portion of our willpower.
So it was, is, and shall be. He awoke to darkness.
"Am I dead?"
"No."
It took a great deal of effort to open his eyes. Kazuo was at his side, sitting on his knees as usual. Piles and piles of spare parts were all around them, the remains of robots.
"Whatever doubts I had about your potential, Lazer-san, are now gone."
"That's good news."
It took an even greater effort to struggle to his feet. He used his sword for support, leaning heavily on it.
"I'm exhausted. How long was I out for?"
"Two minutes. Can you walk?"
"Not yet, but I can fly."
Floating off the ground required no physical effort, and he could grip his sword. He followed Kazuo, resembling a mannequin dangling from invisible strings.
***
That's it!
Being zapped so many times had frazzled his brain, but he had found the flaw, the weak point.
It's on the dynamo, a control panel!
The dynamo was spinning so fast that its control panel was only visible for an instant. Sonic, however, was the master of speed. Leaping for the final time (another landing on that electrified floor would surely kill him), he curled into a ball and performed a spin attack. In a blue blur he crashed into the dynamo, rebounding as he did. The pylons went dead, plunging the room into sudden darkness. He fell face downward, and cold, bare steel greeted him. The dynamo screeched and slowed down, rumbling to a stop. Silently, he thanked Destiny, Fate and the Ancient Walkers that he was still alive.
Looks like I'll be coming home after all, Sally.
***
They had entered the Arena. Snively notified his uncle.
"Good… I will watch them. Start the countdown, and prepare the robots," the ponderous voice said over the speakers.
His voice is stronger today.
"Yes, sir," he affirmed, and flicked several switches. The final act was about to commence.
***
"Sonic!"
"Hey, samurai boys."
The door, like the others before it, closed the moment Sonic entered the arena with Lazer and Kazuo. The floor, walls and domed ceiling of the arena were a dazzling white. The light in this room seemed to come from within the walls. There were rings of black cameras (from floor to ceiling), each with a neatly imprinted "R" on its casing.
"Your fur's standing on end."
"And you look tired. I thought you could last longer than this."
"You should've been there when…"
"We meet for the last time."
A large hologram appeared. It first resembled a jumbled mass of wires and cables, but closer inspection showed that something was at its centre. A rounded figure reclined there, it was to him that all the wires and tubes were connected.
"Robotnik? What the hell happened to you?"
"Sonic, this is my body. It was broken. I am reduced to this pathetic state, relying on machines to sustain me. Your brother caused this."
"I don't have a bro, Buttnik. Was your head screwed up, as well?"
"He means me," said Lazer. "Remember when we were Brothers of the Rainbow? I caught Robotnik with the powers that the Rainbow gave me. It was as if I was holding him in the palm of my paw. When he tried to teleport, I tried to squash him."
Lazer closed his paw into a fist, re-enacting that moment weeks ago.
"I almost succeeded."
"Yes, you, Lazer. You did this to me, and your 'brother' helped. For that you will die."
Circular pits in the arena floor swooshed open. Three masses of green metal ascended, humanoid in shape. They were well over ten feet tall and half as broad. Wicked blades gleamed on their forearms and legs. Their arms were Gatling guns. Their legs and chest held long-range projectile weaponry.
"Are they here to show us to the spa?" wondered Sonic.
"I think not," replied Kazuo, unsheathing his sword.
"Let's go," sighed Lazer, "One on one."
The cameras followed the heated battle, sending the video feed to Robotnik's private VDU.
"Mark Three WarBots are no match for them," he observed. Sonic had floored one, removing all of its limbs before destroying the headpiece. Kazuo drove his katana deep into the other WarBot's chest, and ripped it upward, crushing the brain unit. Lazer, who no longer appeared exhausted, cut the last WarBot into five pieces.
"Now… the conclusion…" Robotnik gloated.