Author's notes: Wheehah! Sorry chap 5 took so long, folx; between the vacation to Aruba that I got nearly NO writing done at, summer school, and a recent Neopets art competition win (Portschoolcup, BTW), I've been a biiiit busy.. But I got it done! :D
Enjoy!
Legal Notes: Don't own then. The Chaotix are very happy for this fact. :P
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Captive Part Five
I feel I've come to realize
How fast life can be compromised
Step back to see what's going on
I can't believe this happened to you..
--'The Hell Song', Sum41
Walking along the streets of the near-silent Echidnopolis, Mighty began to wonder if he should simply start sleeping during the day. With all that had been happening as of late, sleep only now came out of pure exhaustion; usually in the afternoon hours. It had been four days since the Dark Legion had attacked the hospital; it did not assure him that his still-hospitilized friend did not improve in his recovery. On the contrary, Espio's psychological well being appeared to worsen.
Mighty sighed at internal thoughts. Espio had been moved to another hospital room in security, and had refused to leave that room since. Not surprisingly, at least according to several doctors, the chameleon teen had begun to eat more than usual; his weight was nearly back to the state it was before his kidnapping.
Passing by a small internet cafe on the way to the hospital for yet another four-in-the-morning visit, the teen paused. The cafe, unorigonally titled 'Windows', had a very large window for passerbys to view the interior. Peering through said paneglass window, Mighty blinked in surprise; sitting at a computer, playing one of the 'shoot the monsters' games that he never really enjoyed, was none other than Vector Crocodile. Wondering why the crocodile was awake at such an early hour, Mighty made his way inside.
Vector, for his part, had been completely oblivious to his friends' arrival. Tapping furiously at keys with one hand and moving the mouse with the other, he almost seemed to plead with the game as he played. "Come on, come on.. Move to the left, ya stupid little.. Ooh! Red icon!"
Unable to hide his amusement, Mighty tapped at the other teens' shoulder. "Vec?"
As if on cue, a 'Level Complete' logo appeared on the screen. Satisfied that conversation would no longer impede on his gameplay, Vector turned to face Mighty as a 'Continue?' countdown played on the screen. "Might-man! Didn't know ya liked places like this!"
Mighty shrugged lightly in reply. "Usually, I don't. Can't get half of these games, anyway." Despite his words, he did glance at a 'Dance Dance Rebellion REDUX' system. "However, that game I enjoy." With a small smile that could not be helped, he looked back to the taller teen. "Anyway, what are you doing up so late, er, early?"
A frown crossed Vector's face. "Couldn't sleep, man. You know, th' whole thing with Espy an'.." The crocodile, noticing that his words and mood had started to bring a frown to his friends' face, forced a smile. "Lucky that this place is open twentyfour-seven, ya know?"
An expression of thought came to Mightys' face. "Hey, Vec, I was on my way to visit Esp, anyway. Wanna come with?"
No words were needed after the query. Without so much as looking back at the game he had been vigorously playing only a few minutes prior, Vector left the internet cafe.
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Security to Saint Angel Hospital had been stepped up since the Legion attack. Both Chaotix members had to go through a DNA matchup before being allowed in; however, with their level of technology, it had only taken several minutes. Security guards were stationed everywhere; both teens found it all rather disturbing.
Espio had been moved to the fourth floor, yet neither visiting teen had opted to use the elevator. Two heavilly armed guards stood by the door to the hospital room; as Mighty got the impression that no chances were being taken, he stared at the guards with wide eyes. Despite the tense air that the tight security gave to the situation, all had seemed peacefull.
Of course, outside appearances almost never match that of the inner. That had become clear once both visitng teens were allowed in to the hospital room. A small amount of blood, along with a thin blade held in one gloved hand, sent an explosion of chaos through two minds.
"Holy shit!" Came the cry from Vector as both he and Mighty rushed forward. The crocodile quickly grabbed the blade from the seemingly confused chameleon, as the armadillo wrapped bedsheets around the bleeding wrists.
"What the hell, Esp!" Unintentionally, Mighty had raised his voice in his shock. In a reaction that Mighty and Vector immediently found disturbing, Espio shrank against the bed. Inwardly chastising himself, Mighty tried to salvage the situation. With a softer tone, "Esp, what happened?"
The expression that flashed along Vector's face showed that the crocodile wanted to say exactly what was on his mind. Fortunitally, the teen had more sense than that, and maintained silence.
It appeared that Lady Luck was on their side; the slit on the chameleon's wrist had not been deep. The blood had been easy to stop. However, it also revealed several other healed cuts along his arm; each one told of pain that both knew they could not truely fanthom.
The undisguised shock on armadillian and crocodilian faces seem to prompt Espio into speech. "I just wanted to forget."
"Forget?!" Vector gasped out before he could stop himself. "By how?! By killin' yerself!?"
"You don't understand." Came a soft, defensive response. "You don't understand what it's like. I keep feeling hands all over my body, hearing the words, feeling the pain.." His voice quivered, and a deep breath tried to bring control. However, it did not work, and the teen burst in to new tears.
Silence, overshadowed by sobs, filled the air with emotion. After a few seconds of shock, Mighty was first to speak. "Esp, you know that -- " He was unable to complete the sentence.
The second shock of the night chose that moment to present itself in the form of an explosion. The far wall that seperated the hospital room from the outside world blew apart in a symphony of fire and sound; the force from the blast sent the three teens through the air.
Mighty landed with the least of fortune; despite his stregnth, he was still unable to properly recover after his skull made contact with a fire extinguisher. Consciousness remained, but barely just. However, Espio and Vector landed along the tile floor without major injury.
"Mighty!" Espio had been first to notice the armadillo's predicament; he rushed to his friends' side. "Mighty! Wake up!" Barely conscious eyes focused on his own. A hand was held in front of the armadillos' face. "How many fingers am I holding up?!"
Suddenly, it seemed, Vector stood in front of the downed pair. Sounds from beyond the flames caused by the explosion made themselves known to the chameleon; mechanical whirring, hovering, akin to flying vehicles..
With a gasp, Espio turned towards the now missing wall. Outside of the fourth floor, dark, circular vehicles with robed passengers slowly made their way within. A chaotic panic of swears overlaid by intense fear became the chameleon's reaction to the new Legion attack. Unanswerable questions flashed amidst panic; with his kinds' natural reaction to blend in to their surroundings combined with his personal reaction to the Legion caused his flesh to change shades and colors rapidly.
Vector, finding himself the only Chaotix member able to fight, decided that he had to atleast try to protect his friends; he did not know how long it would take for Knuckles to get there. At that moment, he even wanted Julie-Su to be there to help.
Before any further thoughts or assessments could be made, a dozen Legionairres had their weapons pointed at the trio. It had then occured to Vector that, had he and Mighty not decided to visit when they did, Espio would be facing this on his own.
Legionairres began to close in. Espio had allready begun to hyperventalate in his fear. Mighty had fallen completely unconscious. Vector had no idea what he could do.
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Due to the location of the attack, the Guardian of the floating island had not been awoken by the explosions it caused. A shrill ringing at five in the morning, twenty minutes after the attack, was what awoke Knuckles the echidna; he hit his alarm clock twice before realizing it had been the phone. "Hello?" A voice hoarse from sleep was all he could react with, even as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.
*"Get your ass to the city now!"* Julie-Su's voice rang shrill in his ear, slightly static from cell phone use. Knuckles had to actually pull the phone away, lest he became deaf.
"Why? What ha -- "
*"The Dark Legion attacked the hospital!"*
Knuckles found that sleep was easy to wash away after that.
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Once, Knuckles had timed how long it would normally take for him to reach Echidnopolis from his home. He always wanted to be prepared, always wanted to be able to protect the civilians within the city, and, even if he would never admit it aloud, always wanted to make his parents proud. At the time, he had been pleased with the twelve minute record. However, now all he could feel was anger and frustration at his inability to be faster; for the first time in his life, he wished for Sonic's speed.
It did not matter that the attack was over and done with; the Dark Legion had attacked only the hospital, and, even then, only a single room on the fourth floor. None but the protectors of the island and very little of the hospital staff knew the significance of that one room.
Being told that, due to the early hour, there had not been a single eye witness to tell which direction the Legion had gone after they had kidnapped the rooms' occupier, anger only rose within the Guardian. An entire city, an entire island, and there had not been one person who had seen where his friend had been taken!?
Julie-Su called his name. Quickly making his war towards the grim pink echidna with a query of his own, all he was shown in response was the visitor record. After a quick lookover followed by a doubletake to be sure of what he was reading, fear exploded within his heart. Vector and Mighty had both been within the room during the time of the attack.
Yet, now, there was no trace of either.
After several minutes, Knuckles all but fell back against a hospital chair. Julie-Su sat at his side almost immediently, placing a hand on the stressed Guardian's shoulder. The troubled expression on Knuckles' face only added a strange sort of surprise at a sudden statement. "They didn't attack the prison."
Julie-Su, for her part, paused. She was not quite certain how to respond. "No. No, they didn't."
"Why?" Despite the situation, the query was spoken softly. Yet, the meaning was clear. "Something isn't right." When he recieved no response from his companion, he turned to look directly in to her eyes. Realization struck. "You know something."
Julie-Su released a deep sigh; a simple sound that told of hidden knowlege she no longer wished to keep to herself. "He was always this way." Before Knuckles could ask who her statement was in reference to, she clarified in her own way. "Oh, don't even ask, Knux. Who do you think?" Frustration lined her words with clarity. "My half brother." Pure disdain. "When I was little, about five or six, it was no real secret that Kragok was a lustfull creep. It was pure luck for the rest of the Legion that Lien-Da was a willing partner, so neither really went after anyone else."
Knuckles blanched dramatically; the fact that Kragok and Lien-Da had a dark incestuous relationship somehow made the entire situation all the more horrible.
"Of course, it also goes without saying that protection was never used." Julie-Su continued with the tale, taking notice of Knuckles' reaction, yet knowing she had to keep going. "Lien-Da got pregnant. I guess that's when Kragok decided that girls were too risky and started going after boys." At another unspoken query, she smiled softly. "No. Don't worry. I guess even he was loathe to go after a six year old." She took a deep breath to steady her voice before she continued the tale. "The Legionairres in the prison are only a few of Kragok's unwilling vistims. They did not act on their own, but they didn't attack under any higher order either."
Silence passed between the two. Knuckles leaned against the back of the chair as the information digested. "Is it possible that they were lying about Lien-Da's pregnancy with Espio's kid, then?"
"Oh, no, they were defenitally telling the truth about that." A deep frown crossed Julie-Su's face. It almost seemed as if she continued to search for the correct words to express what wound around her mind. After several seconds of silence, she found it. "Kragok is horribly obsessive. Anything he ever wanted, he did whatever it took to get."
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The brief seconds between the return of conscious and the return of recollection are normally spent in quiet bliss for the average individual. It was no different for Mighty Armadillo; he stirred, but otherwise enjoyed the bliss. With the soft comfort of his bed underneath the front of his body, he felt no real need to awaken.
He heard sobbing and whispering from the edge of reality. It brought around several lazy queries; Who was crying? Why were they crying? What happened? Recollection threatened to return. With the threat of recollection came the return of physical feel.
Pain. Why was he in pain? A sharp stinging from the top of his skull, as well as a second pain he could not truly percieve nor understood, were the bases of this new understanding. The crust of sleep flaked away as his eyes opened; the first thing the armadillo witnessed were two chained Chaotix. Wrists chained to wall with metal cuffs and links, but the pair were kneeled upon the ground. A crying chameleon and wide-eyed crocodile stared at him with sudden silence.
"Ugh.." Mighty blinked his eyes several times to further flake the sleep away. For the most part, he was successfull. "You guys all right?"
"Yeah, man.." The expression that played accross Vector's face was undecipherable, yet was disturbing in a way Mighty did not understand. "Yeah, we're okay.."
Mighty tried to lift himself from the bed, only to notice that he, too, was chained; fists encased in a thick manacle linked to a pole at the beds' headboard. His feet were much the same, yet seperated, wide apart, to two bedposts. The pain, still unable to be understood, became frightning as recollection finally returned.
The position of his body and the symbolic significance of the bed made sudden, horrifying sense. Obsceneties passed through his mind and escaped from his mouth. A tug at the chains proved the metal stronger than his body. With a frightened stare at his two friends, he made a query that he felt he needed to know. "What happened!?"
A strained silence was all he recieved in response for several seconds. Espio cried silently, and it was painfully obvious that the chameleon was in no condition to speak of what was happening. Vector, blanched several shades, stuttered uncharacteristically. "T..The Legion attacked the hospital."
"Well, I know that, Vec!" The frustration that the situation brought to the armadillo reciprocated as anger. "I mean.. Damn.." What made sense logically could not be approached emotionally. "Did.. Did something happen while I was knocked out?"
The silence that followed was answer enough. The pain within Mighty's body was now part of his mind. Yet, he did not know how to react; how does one react when ones' body was ravaged while unconscious? Silence followed for several minutes more; eventually, it was broken by the emotionally scarred armadillo. "We'll get out of here." It was not clear who he was trying to convince; his two friends or himself. "Knux will find us."
There was no answer to this assessment. It was fair enough; Mighty hadn't been expecting one.
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When seemingly impossible situations had came to pass in the past, Knuckles had always been able to get through them. Each and every time, victory would present itself, even when all seemed lost. At times, desperation would be so thick, that he was tempted to call for reinforcements that he personally believed he had no right to call. After Espio had been kidnapped that first time, he eventually gave in, and called upon a lesser taboo; he had called Princess Sally for assistance. Now, however, with three of his friends captured by an enemy that had recently become wholly terrible in their actions and with no idea where they were being held, he once again gave in to the desperation. This time, he called upon what he once promised himself he never would, what he swore should be beyond his aid.
Knuckles, Guardian of Angel Island, called his father.
Unsurprisingly, the former Guardian was within the so-called secret base known as Haven. So-called if only because, at that point, quite a number of people knew it's location. Locke, who was amazingly clueless givin the situation, answered the videophone call with clear surprise. At least, untill the current Guardian, shaken as he was, told of the situation in as much detail as he knew. It came as something of a shock for Knuckles when his father offered complete assistance, including a promise to forward the tale to the other residents of Haven.
After that call had wound to a close, Knuckles had decided that, givin that the greatest of all contact taboos had been broken, there was no clear reason not to break the rest. He gave a call to Princess Sally once again.
The princess, who knew that the chameleon Chaotix member had been found only a short while before, became quite shocked when she was told that the Dark Legion had been behind it and had attacked again. However, the true details were still lost to her, and Knuckles was not entirely certain that she should know them. After all, they had been frightening enough to EST officers who did not even know the Chaotix personally.
"Princess, please take my word for it. You don't want to know what they did to him. Just, please, call other Freedom Fighters; i'm certain they're not on the island this time." His voice was steady, betraying none of what he truely felt.
*"Knuckles.."* It almost sounded as if Sally wasn't certain how to translate her feelings to words. *"I know that something happened, something that's torturing you inside."* How had she known? *"I can't stand seeing you like this.."*
A deep breath came to pass, as Knuckles tried to maintain control. He was not aware that his emotions had gotten so beyond his control. Of course, he mused, Sally knew him better than most. "Let's just say, Princess, that the Dark Legion are to be avoided at all costs. Far more than they have been in the past."
No further terms of explenation were used, and it came as a surprise to Knuckles when the princess did not ask for any others. He hadn't known, at the time, that she had managed to figure it out on her own.
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The electronic door slid within the wall with a quiet hiss that Vector had nearly missed. It had been quite some time, though it was impossible to tell how much had elapsed, since Mighty had woken up; since the realization struck the armadillo, he had been disturbingly silent. However, Vector did not find the silence surprising.
The figure that stood in the clear open doorway maintained horribly familiarity, the last person any of the chained trio wanted to see; Kragok. Surprisingly, the Dark Legion commander appeared utterly surprised. Granted, he appeared pleased, yet stared at the three with widened eyes. "Well, this is a surprise." A wide grin spread accross the echidnas' face, as he took two steps in to the rather large room. The door slid shut behind him. "I wasn't aware that three had been captured."
Vector began to growl in response. It was then that he realised why the room they were being held in was so large; Espio chained in one corner, Mighty strapped to the bed, and himself within another corner. The trio could not make physical contact with each other; protection was an impossibility.
A raised eyebrow from their captor was all Vector recieved for the growl. Silence passed over for a few short seconds, as Kragok appeared to take in his presence in a new light. A dark chuckle broke the silence. "You, out of all people, should feel secure. I doubt any of my men will touch you." It was as much of an assurance as it was an insult. "Your friends, however.." A half cybernetic glance came to stand upon an utterly terrified chameleon.
"Don't you dare!" The cry of outrage wasn't wholly unexpected by the Legionairre; however, it was who had yelled defience was what caused Kragok to pause and stare. He was not alone, as Espio and Vector stared as well. Mighty glared at Kragok with nothing short of pure hatred; any fear the armadillo may have felt was masked.
A twinge of amusement lit Kragok's features. He made no move to chastise or punish; on the contrary, he smiled. "Oh, you'll get your turn, soon enough." Turning back towards the still terrified chameleon, Kragok did not miss a new shine of fear that Mighty could not mask. Casual steps were made towards the chained chameleon in the corner, even as the new focus of the darkness tried to edge within the wall. "Now.." A pause, a dark chuckle. "Let's remove that tail of yours, shall we?"
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The call to Charmy couldn't have gone worse. It had started out well enough; the bee prince had been in shock for a short while upon hearing that three of his closest friends had been captured by the Dark Legion. From there, after Charmy had smiled politely and responded with assurances and beliefs that the Chaotix could handle anything that could be dished out, Knuckles had felt compelled to tell the former Chaotix member the truth about the situation.
A shock so deep that even Knuckles was surprised to find came into clear visibility once the saddened words were spoken. From there, it went badly; cries of diesbelief and denial warped into accusations. How could this have happened? Why hadn't he been told? Why wasn't Knuckles able to protect and save?
Unlike the last conversation the Guardian and Prince shared, it did not change into the heartfelt assurances that Knuckles desperately needed; instead, in a fit of anger and sadness, Charmy had ended the conversation abruptly, hanging up.
It troubled Knuckles for hours afterwards.
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Normally, Princess Sally kept situations of clear danger secret. Normally, with troubling situations, she didn't want to alarm her fellow Freedom Fighters. Normally, vague hints were simply dropped; where, when, how, what has to be done. However, the situation was far from normal. So, she did the first thing she knew to do, did what her heart and mind both agreed on.
She told Sonic the Hedgehog all that she knew and believed of the situation. Sonic, strangely, seemed more worried about Mighty in captivity than what she believed happened to Espio. Of course, she had no truth to base her beliefs on, and had been reassured by the hedgehog that nothing like that could have happened. Still, something within the princess told her that he was wrong, and that the situation could only worsen.
Without telling Sonic the deep worries she had, they parted ways. She went to one of the communcation standposts, and had done the same actions that she had done after Knuckles called her those weeks ago.
The word that the Dark Legion had kidnapped three Freedom Fighters from Angel Island had gone out to every Freedom Fighter group on the planet; terrifying details kept to herself, of course. If they were anywhere on Mobius, Sally mused, they would be found.
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True to the words of the commander of the Dark Legion, Vector continued to remain untouched. Physically, he was unharmed; emotionally, however, it was an entirely other story.
They were still chained, still shackled. Kragok had came, had done what he pleased, and had left. Espio sat on the floor, surrounded by his own blood and liquids that they all wished weren't there. The remains of his tail had spasmed for quite a while after it had been cut off, drenched in it's own puddle of blood too far out of their reach. Mighty was where he had been since he awoke the first time. Only, now, his pupils were dialated nearly to the point of nonexistance, his breath was raspy, releasing no sound save for the disturbing silence that came with pure shock. Blood covered his form, as well. Espio, tragically used to such abuse, had stayed sober where Mighty did not.
Before that time, Vector had always been fond of the color red; he never went to the extreme with it, but had decorated quite a bit of his home with the shade. Now, he wished never to see the color again. He also feared. Oh, how he feared; fear for his two friends, fear that they would always be there now with no rescue, fear of death despite it all, and, feeling selfish for even thinking it, feared for himself.
For the first time in his existance, Vector Crocodile prayed to whatever diety was in existance for deliverence.
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Author's notes: ..Oooh. Bwaha. :D Now Mighty and Vector are locked in their own closets.. And, now, for a bit of 'respond to the reviews' bit! ^^ For ff.net AND mediaminer, tho..
H.M.Slayne: ..Origonal like a shmoo? I don't know what a 'shmoo' is, but thanks! ;) Hehe.
Aero Echidna and Kalligrapha: You want sick and twisted? You havn't SEEN sick and twisted yet! :D *Espio, Mighty, Vector: o_O;;;*
Tsunami Wave: Torture someone else, eh? *points up* Fair enough? ^^
..And there were no mediaminer reviews to respond to. Ah, well.
Viva la feedback, everyone! ^^ I love to hear suggestions and stuff!