SPALEYA
(Chamber)





The darkness is uneasy.

To those poor souls who tread under the ground, it is frightening that the sound of thunder should be above them. The sound of traitors. It is seething, but nothing can be done about it.

Very few of the prisoners know what will happen next. They might be found by whatever mob was upon the city, arrested and burned. Or they might be spared from the mob only to face starvation and neglect. No one knows who will find them.

Only one seems to be keeping them all together at this point. He's young, but he's determined to keep the world-weary captives, and those with them, under check and sane. He saw worse that day on the Floating Island. He saw his family destroyed by a whim. People he trusted turning on him. It had been horrifying.

But he is determined to keep everyone alive. They, a group of seventy, cramped into one cell, are the only ones left of the original Noble Cause, taken up all those centuries ago by a man they consider a god. A god who changed his ways.

The Noble Cause is still alive to them. Yet it has changed also; the threat is no longer reunification, normalization. The threat now is annihilation. All in a heartbeat, thanks to a family he thought would always be there for the pack when they needed it the most.


------------------


The sun upon the Albion landscape was scathing and hot for all who tread upon it. It was bad enough, of course, that those survivors who were in leadership were, in a figurative manner of speaking, already hot under the collar.

"An attack on our sovereign city!" One of the councilors angrily boomed. "This cannot be tolerated!"
"Calm." Ovashenie, the only judge to flee the city, looked at the small group of councilors that were left. "Only through calm can we assemble an army to fight."
"No one here, except for them," one of the other councilors disgustingly thumbed the Forest Fighters. "And they're so small and ill-equipped to fight the Dark Legion!"
"If we had not followed that fool, Gala-Na, we would still have the alliance of Knothole!"
"Peace!" Madorowe stepped forward. "Even at this time, don't speak ill of her. Being hoodwinked is not a crime."
"Hmph!" Another councilor shoved their finger at Madorowe. "You know absolutely nothing. You are a pawn because you foll-"
"He says peace, councilor." Ovashenie muttered in a quiet, yet foreboding voice. "Now is not the time for such. There are hundreds of Albion citizens who have not come out, and we must concentrate on saving them."

A trumpet sounded from the Forest Fighters. No one paid attention to it.

"Our luck is that she was probably the first killed by the Legion, isn't it?"
"Well…" Madorowe looked at his troops. "I'm afraid you are right, in a way. Our troops are very much exhausted by our exertions in Knothole. We have very little options but to seek outside assistance, no matter who it is."
"Overlanders?!"
"Perhaps. Eventually, they'll have just as much to lose as we."
"Impossible. There is no way for them to utilize in such a short time."
"Then what other options do you suggest? I assume that surrender is out of the question, Judge."
"Perhaps we can move to another spot, sirs," another councilor suggested. "Just allow these Legionnaires what they want and regroup somewhere else."
"Yes. Sounds good to me…"

Madorowe heard the trumpets blowing at this time, and he turned quizzically to his troops. Around them, citizens began to shout and scream. Around them, the sky seemed to darken.

"Not more Legionnaires!!"
"Who's there?!"

As quickly as the sky darkened, the sky returned to its normal colors.

"What in hell…?"

Muttering to himself, Madorowe ran to the tank where the trumpet was being sounded.

"What is this?"
"Sir!!" The tanker stopped blowing the trumpet and shakily saluted. "A flash of light came…..and….I see several people coming from the direction of the light. About twenty-something."
"Legionnaires?"
"No sir."
"Hmm?" Madorowe frowned. "Then what was the point of trumpeting?"
"…Give the commander the binoculars."

Another soldier quickly gave the commander his binoculars, and Madorowe looked into them. He was in for a strange surprise.

"…Do you see them?"

------------------

"….Forest Fighters."

The words came out through clenched teeth as Knuckles looked into the distance.

"They're that desperate to kill me even after Gala-Na's dead?"
"Nice idea." Sally shook her head. "But then again, that doesn't explain them being here. I don't think they were expecting you."
"Or us…" Seiya looked at the other soldiers. "Let's hope they don't think of us as hostile."
"Well…" Uranus took out her sword. "Just in case…"
"Yeah…" Rotor scratched his head. "What are they doing back in Albion? And why aren't they shooting us?"

------------------

Madorowe took the binoculars down, his mouth open.

"The guardian….!!"
"Shall we fire on them?"
"No no!" This is unusual. I don't know who they are, but…. "Let them come. It's Knothole."
"What, sir?!"
"Trust me. I think it would be beneficial not to shoot them right now." Madorowe took a deep breath. "Tell the other brigades not to fire. Let them through."

-----------------

Out of a window in the Hall of Justice, Lien-Da looked out the window, her scornful gaze onto the streets of Albion. Legionnaires piled into the streets, some carrying the heads of councilors that had been captured.

Pathetic city…so easy to take…

Lien-Da glanced over to the Tskintsu. Nothing seemed to be happening over at the book.

To change everything… she thought. They should be here. Yet the Tskintsu lays dormant still…

"Sir!"

A Legionnaire suddenly appeared in the office, bowing to the red, leather-clad echidna.

"Pazyoba."
"Grandmaster Kommissar." The echidna gave a little shudder; his name had been Labtecer, but Lien-Da changed it after his attempt with Usagi in Tokyo. "We have detected a new power upon the Albion field."
"Indeed?"

Lien-Da closed her eyes, her eyes crimped in disgust. Her years of self-exile and building up, as well as her well-rounded connection to the Tskintsu after centuries of contact, had allowed her to sense similar energies. After a moment, she re-opened her eyes, her mouth twitching.

"The Kinmoku Crystal." She noticed a small red aura around the book. "Just like when I first found the book….Go and order your commanders to utilize and proceed immediately with the battle plan."
"Yes, sir."

The echidna immediately left. Looking out the window, Lien-Da could only smile. She then proceed out of the office; there was one more thing to check before she left the city in its ruins.

-----------------

The councilors quietly looked on as Madorowe came upon them, his head down slightly.

"What happened?" One of the councilors came up. "What it is…."

His voice trailed off at the sight of Knuckles the Echidna and Julie-Su following behind him. Around them, many of the councilors began to pale.

"It can't be…"
"All right." Knuckles cut them off. "You're going to do what we tell you to do. If you want to save your precious city, it will be the only way."
"'We', guardian?" A small chuckle came from one of the councilors. "You and your girlfriend, we can assume??"
"Yes. Us."

At that, Sally appeared in front of the councilors, and it looked as if all of them could have collapsed from pure shock and terror. Knuckles noticed that Yanar was not among those councilors in the field.

"Your….your Highness…"
"You seem to have a problem, Councilors." Sally eyed the city. "Why is the city out here?"
"We…"
"You don't have to tell us."

The councilors nearly fell over at the sight of the overlanders who then appeared. All of them wore sailor suits, and several held weapons.

"We know." Pluto looked at Ovashenie. "And it would do you good to listen to us. No matter what, you must follow what we say or else Albion will cease to exist."
"Does it truly matter anymore?" Ovashenie looked up at the soldier. "At least, why should it matter to you? Who are you?"
"We are the ones who will help you save your city…" Uranus looked at Madorowe. "Provided you do what we tell you."
"Is this blackmail?" Another councilor demanded. "This is outrageous to ask us to provide you with your demands!"
"Then all is lost."

A male overlander appeared in front of everyone, his head down and covered by a hat.

"What?"
"You're not the only ones who will be affected by their victory, Councilors." The voice sounded familiar to the councilors, and it was apparent by their confused looks. "There are countless billions whose lives hang upon actions taken today. Surely, you will not allow yourselves to be the ones responsible for unspeakable slaughter?"
"….what is this?"

One of the councilors cocked their heads to look at the strange man's face. The man responded by turning away.

"Will this man not reveal himself?"
"He's not the person at issue." Julie-Su quickly covered. "What's at issue is battle."
"Battle!"
"It's the only way to liberate your city."

Knuckles looked over to Antithesis, the Starlights and the Freedom Fighters, who kept a distance from the discussion. With them was Mamoru and Usagi. He knew that going too far into detail of their complete reason would leave Albion unwilling to participate in any type of battle, regardless. They were not very keen on the Guardian to begin with, and adding paranormality would simply scare them from the idea completely.

"You must trust us, and arm as many citizens as you can."
"And what do you and your friends stand to gain from this…battle? You and the traitor?" One of the councilors pointed to Antithesis. "We know of his exploits to your friends."
"We wouldn't gain anything." Mars replied darkly. "Not him, nor anyone with us. You otherwise, get what you wish. You'll get your city back. Isn't that enough for you?"
"Let me speak." Knuckles turned to Mars. "We don't stand to gain anything from this battle." He turned back to the councilors. "As much as you don't want to think it, the Dark Legion is harboring a very grave threat which, if realized, could destroy everything. Please, you have to get ready for battle."

For a moment, nothing was said. Julie-Su looked at the staring faces of the councilors. She knew very well what they would say.

"……Very well."

Suddenly, Madorowe stepped forward. He had a deep feeling what was at stake, thought he was not sure exactly the price of losing.

"Commander?!"
"I saw some incredibly suspicious activity on the side of the Legion in Knothole, sirs, and that was enough to convince me." Madorowe turned to the councilors. "If this isn't stopped, who knows what will be left. And we know that they will stop at nothing to destroy society as we know it."
"We forbid it."
"Why not act upon our knowledge and stop this madness, sirs?"
"The council is decided." The other councilors nodded. "We forbid you to participate. We must go elsewhere, and you will abide by it, commander!"

The soldiers smacked their head to their foreheads. Sally shook her head, while Knuckles did nothing less than glare.

"….If that's your position…"

Madorowe turned to Ovashenie, who had said little after the soldiers appeared in front of them. He stood forward and went down on one knee.

"I am pleading you, sir." Madorowe whispered, his voice desperate. "You are the only one who can overturn their decree. You know what they are saying is right. We must fight. Why should we be the cowards? What if what they say is true and we begin a terrible bane of war? Please, sir. Stop this! Forget for a moment that he's an enemy of the state. He could be telling the truth."

Ovashenie seemed to not listen. He was too busy looking at the strange man who had his head down, now walkinmg towards the Freedom Fighters. He tilted his head around slightly, looking under the hat as the man turned away. His eyes widened at the sight of a small, grey goatee hidden by his jacket. He also thought he could see his blue eyes as well.
That…..can it be…?

"Sir?"

Ovashenie quickly coughed, clearing his throat. Blinking several times, he looked at the councilors.

"Good sirs…" he croaked. "I suggest you prepare yourselves."

------------------

From where they stood, Sonic could tell that there was going to be argument afterwards.

"How much do you warrant the old guy said yes?"
"That old guy…" Antithesis looked at Sonic. "Is the high judge."
"…Oh. I thought he was a councilor."
"Then you thought wrong." Antithesis shook his head. "You don't know anything about Albion, do you?"
"No. But like you know everything…"

Sonic immediately regretted those words, as he noticed Tails' ears pricking up at them.

"I never said that." Antithesis looked at his fingers. "But I know more than an average citizen."
"You know a lot of secrets, don't you?"

Sonic gave a small moan as Tails looked up at the brown echidna.

"…Yeah…" Antithesis looked confused. "Why do you ask?"
"…No reason…." Tails looked down. "I was just thinking."
"…..You were talking about the Chaos Emeralds, are you?" Sonic muttered.
"Perhaps." Tails looked up at Antithesis. "You know about them, don't you?"

Antithesis gave a gulp. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to answer.

"….Perhaps…"
"That's good." Tails turned to Sonic. "Right, Sonic?"

Sonic looked at the ground, shaking his head. This wasn't quite what he had expected, and suddenly dragging Antithesis into the equation bugged him for some reason. Unfortunately, as the conversation continued, Tails seemed to know what he was doing, and why he was doing it, and that bugged Sonic most of all.

--------------------

The Legionnaires saw them in the distance, and they harkened to the surviviors. They knew that destruction meant victory. Their master had told them so. Their young master, against the old judge. Then, she told them, would be the prize of a world….no, a universe. The feet marched on, hoping, waiting, knowing. It would end today.

--------------------

Mobilization came quicker then expected.

"Ready arms!!!"

Many of the councilors begrudgingly accepted the guns given to them, and were ordered into the front lines.

"Come on!!" A lookout shouted. "Enemy lines in sight!!"
"What next?" Madorowe looked onto the horizon to the Legionnaires. "Damn. There seems to be a lot of them out there coming out of the city."
"All right…."

The soldiers who were working on the battle plan looked onward. Mars looked plainatively at Locke, who simply shook his head.

"Too many on their side to initiate any type of circle," he murmured.
"It worked for General Lee…"
"Who?"
"…No one." Venus rolled her eyes. "Guess it wouldn't work with our equipment?"
"Or lack thereof." Pluto gave the blonde a look. "We're not in America, we're on a flat plain where everyone can see everything and the technology's far different than theirs was."
"Indeed." Sally rubbed her chin. "That means we'll be fighting head-first into these guys. And we'll have to stretch our line. Any way to beef up our forces?"
"If we had contact with Knothole, we could get 1,000 Freedom Fighters." Rotor suggested.
"Nuh-uh. It'll take too long." Sally looked at Madorowe. "What about women?"
"Women?"
"With women, we'll have twice the capacity at least, plus we might actually stand a fighting chance."
"Well…" Madorowe looked uncomfortable. " I mean…..our policy…women, do they know anything about…"
"Yes?"
"N-not to take from you, Your Highness…"
"Understood." Sally turned to Ovashenie. "Do we have permission to arm the women?"

Ovashenie looked at Locke, knowing that he wasn't looking, then back to the princess.

"If it can save our sovereign city…" he murmured. "Then let women fight."
"Right…Rotor, Bunnie?"
"Ok."

The two Freedom Fighters immediately left, as Usagi and Tuxedo Mask appeared to the table.

"And we'll fight, of course." Pluto turned to Madorowe. "Our powers will be of great service to you, we promise."
"…Ok." Madorowe seemed skeptical, but said nothing aloud.
"Some of us'll fight in the front, some in the back. That way they can't pick us all off at once if they chose to." Mercury turned to the couple. "And Usagi…"
"….Will not fight."
"Eh?" Locke looked at Pluto. "How is this?"
"They're expecting her to take up arms with her power." Tuxedo Mask looked at Usagi, whose head was down. "We can't allow it.

Locke could see Usagi's eyes were dim and saddened by the news. Her body was slightly limped with poutiness at the news. However, as the other soldiers nodded, it was obvious there was nothing he could say that would change that.

"Now…" Pluto looked back at Madorowe. "About your troops…"
"Psst!"

Locke turned to see a hand motioning him away from the table. Quizzically, he turned away from the table and walked off.

"…Locke…?"

Kakyuu instantly noticed his absence, as well as his following the small orange fox, and she too took leave of the table.

"……And now that's settled, now to hospital supplies…..Julie-Su will be…."

-------------------

Out on the outskirt of the field, the outlook gave a gasp.

"Aw, @#%$!!" he swore. "The Legionnaires, they're clo-"

He was suddenly silenced by a laser last, which went through the side of his head. With a shudder, he slumped in his place, his body limp and still.

--------------------

"Where are we going?"

Locke looked at the brown echidna uneasily. It was bad enough that he and Kakyuu had been volunteered by the Starlights to go on a mission. It was worse when, for all practical purposes he had no clue as to what was going on. In the distance, the battle seemed almost ready to converge upon the field, the Legionnaires coming from nowhere and inching forth upon the seemingly defenseless Albions, their lines already thin as it was. They, on the other hand, were several miles away, in a weed infested wasteland, Antithesis working on an old metal grate.

"I hope the battle will turn out right…" Kakyuu worriedly turned to Locke.
"Here." Antithesis quietly opened the grate in the ground. "Down here."

Sonic, backpack on his shoulders, quietly looked around, slowly going down the hole as he did. He was met with sewage.

"Bleeech!!" he spat.
"Where does this lead?" Kakyuu asked as she slowly descended down the hole.
"The old Albion Aqueduct." Antithesis began to slodge through. "Down here is where the most secret of meetings take place. This is also where they would probably hide the emeralds."
"Why??" Sonic plugged his nose. "And how?!"
"There's an old safety shelter down here, very old. Built as a precaution at the times of the Days of Fury, possibly." Locke followed right after the brown echidna. "After it was found several years ago it was refurnished into a living quarters for some of the higher ranked councilors and citizens to dissuade home assassinations. No one would ever come looking for them here."
"And we can assume Gala-Na spent a lot of her time here?"
"Like a snake in its lair…" Locke muttered. "A grim mole in a dirty hole…"
"Let's just hope you-know-who hasn't found it." Sonic looked into the direction that Antithesis was going. "Ooooh, clean stairs…."

The design and layout of the sewer surprised Locke, who had never seen such craftmanship. He knew that, at the time of the Days of Fury, the emeralds had made their first appearance on the planet of Mobius, and that almost nothing was known about the times of before. It seemed unusual that such a place like Albion had something from that era within its limits.

"…..Eh…."

Sonic looked up nervously towards the ceiling. Large hieroglyphs seemed to pop out of the ceiling as he looked, ancient hieroglyphs of large, strange animals with wings, and scary eyes, devouring tiny people. One almost seemed to have a laser beam from their eyes in one panel, turning one innocent (and tiny) animal into ash.

"Not optimistic people, huh?"
"Oh, those pictures?" Antithesis shrugged. "Supposedly those large animals were the most primal creatures of Mobius. Big, strong beasts. Their nature's unknown, of course, since theirs are creatures from the oldest times and they're long gone. Killed by the earliest ancestors that survived the Days of Fury. See? There's a panel where they're killed."

Sonic looked to see this panel - the large animal was bludgeoned by a tiny person - and he somehow felt his skin bristling at the sight.

"Very interesting, but we must hurry…"
"No one knows what they're called or anything like that." Antithesis ignored Locke as he walked up a set of stairs. "But their pictures are all over the place. The meaning of who they are, lost forever. Shame, isn't it? Strange, nonetheless…"
"Say…" Kakyuu looked. "If I didn't know any better, that one looks like a lion with dog ears!"
"Like I said. Strange." Antithesis walked on. "We'll never know if such an animal existed…"

They do.
Sonic somehow wanted to tell them that, but before he could they were up another flight of stairs and inside a decorative hall.

"There."

Antithesis pointed, and everyone gasped. At the end of the hall, each on a pedestal, were the Albion and Master Emeralds.

"Jackpot!!"

Sonic quickly ran over to the Emeralds, only to suddenly trip on a bump in the carpets as he came to the Albion Emerald.

"Duaaah!!"
"Sonic!!"

Thinking quickly, Sonic grabbed the small Chaos Emerald and threw it into his backpack before falling on his face.

"Naaah!!"

Growling, he slowly started to get up, only to feel a tug at his shoe. He looked down, his face contorting with horror.

"No way….Yanar?!?!?!?!"
"………..Sonic?"

The echidna;'s eyes widened; it had been ages since he had seen the hedgehog.

"…..Run…."
"Yanar?!?" Antithesis's eyes widened. He turned to tell the Locke, but founf him looking away, "Huh…?
"Yanar!" Sonic looked over him, stunned to find a bullet in his back. "What….who did this to you?!"
"Emerald, appear."

Quickly, deftly, Locke raised his hand, and the Master Emerald began to float up from the pedastal. Though his mind was slipping, he knew full well the commands of the Emerald.

"Compact."
"….Legion…"
"Dammit." Sonic's fingers went to his temples. "How do I do this?! He's dying!"
"Oh no…"

Kakyuu jumped upon him, her hand over Yanar.

"I hope this works…"

As Antithesis watched in awe, the Master Emerald, the largest gem on Mobius at ten feet high, suddenly shrink and float over to Locke's hand, becoming small enough to fit in his palm.

"Easy enough," Locke muttered as the gem went into his pocket. "Just about the only thing I remember to do…"
"How…"
"Come on, Yanar!" Sonic gritted his teeth. "Is it working?"
"No." Kakyuu looked desperately into his face. "Yanar….his name? Yanar, awa-"

*THOOM*

Blood suddenly splattered over Sonic and Kakyuu as Yanar gave one final gasp, one final shudder, his groin ripped by a laser blast.

"NO!!!!"
"Figures."

The smoke came from the silhouette of a gun at the door. Antithesis and Locke whipped their heads up to see what had happened.

"…..You."
"Indeed." The owner of the gun's voice seemed surprised, though it also seemed overjoyed at the same time. "Such a surprise to see you here, Guardian."

Almost instantly they were set upon by cloaked Legionnaires. Sonic and Kakyuu gave a gasp as they found themselves unable to fight; they were instantly grabbed by rough arms.

"Let GO!!!"

Locke felt the butt of a laser in his back as cloaked figure turned him around and stared at him, flanking him.

"Who's this, Grandmaster?" One scanned him with their laser. "He feels strange…"
"No one of consequence." Lien-Da's scathing voice made Locke feel insignificant, knowing full well that, in a way, he had brought this all upon himself. "Get them all."

Antithesis didn't even put up a fight; at the moment Lien-Da entered the room he could only glare darkly at the evil woman. No one said another word as the four were suddenly corralled out of the chamber. Sonic turned to see the body of Yanar left to itself, shuddering when he saw that the blood around it left an eerie pattern. It looked just like the hieroglyphs, the noble giant animals killed by insignificant insects.

-----------------

The beginning of the battle seemed too quick to be real.

"No way."

The soldiers looked on as the just finished Albion line found themselves confronted with the Dark Legion. Madorowe could only blink in surprise.

"Impossible!" He exclaimed. "The city is at least 70 metrons away!"*
"It's not impossible with divine power."

Madorowe looked at Neptune. He didn't like the way that was said.

"Ready!!"

The group froze as the Legion - all 20,000 - took up their fully-equipped lasers and aimed at the 16,000 Albions, half of them without a gun.

"FIRE!!!!!!"

The first line of Albions fell too swiftly under the fire. Pluto winced.

"Let us hurry and get into posi-"

TWAP!

Without warning, Ovashenie suddenly stiffened, falling out of his chair. Blood began to course from his shoulder as he landed with a thud.

"SIR!!!!"
"….GET INTO POSITION!!"

With that, Madorowe ran to the side of the old echidna, as the soldiers jumped headlong into battle.

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"
"Jupiter Oak Evolution!!"

Several of the soldiers pushed their way through the crowds of woman and troops, going up front. Uranus took out her sword and promptly began to work.

"DUAAAAH!!!"

Before taking a position, Pluto turned to Madorowe, who cradled the judge in his arms.

"Let him off with Julie-Su. We have a battle to fight."


---


"……My friends…"

Usagi could only blankly stare as the battle began without her, a battle that, she knew, would fail without her. And she was determined to fight. But not yet. She would wait until it was time for her to strike. For her friends. For her destiny.