Author's notes: ..Wow, did THAT take waaay too long.. I offer college and an anime convention as my excuses. ^^; By the way, won 'Best Individual' in the cosplay at Shoujocon 2003.. I was the only entry. :D Oh, and apologizes for the intro song in advance. Alba knows what I mean; I made a promise to use only one song per artist, but I used another Korn song. ^^; Well.. I like the song. So.. Nya. :P
Anyway, sorry about the long wait. There's ONE More chappy after this, then it's all over. ^^ Special thanks to Aulba Aulbath, H.M. Slayne, and for alllll the reviewers. :D I DO read and listen to the reviews! Viva la feedback!
Legal Notes: Don't own anyone but Calli-Ku and Donna-Ka. Feel free to borrow them, but just let me know. ^^
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Sometimes, I can never tell
If I got something to help the pain
That's why I just beg and plead
For this curse to leave me
Tell me, why am I to blame?
Aren't we supposed to be the same?
---- Korn, 'Did My Time'
"No, please! Don't do this!" They were only the latest of denials and outcries. "Please, don't take me away from my friends!" Somehow, the knowledge was present; his pleads would not be rewarded.
He was being dragged through the halls, chain linked to bound hands, pulled along by his captors' single flesh hand. He did not know where he was being taken, yet did not want to be taken away from the only comfort he ever had within this place. Sanity would flee without them, he feared.
A quick tug nearly brought him to his knees. "You shouldn't be worrying about your friends, Espy-chan." The captor sneered. "After all, you are mine. You will always be mine."
An electronic door hissed open before them; Espio had no choice but to follow and enter. The hiss as the door slid shut behind him, inches from where the base of his tail would have been, seemed far louder than it was in actuality. A gasp could not be repressed, and eyes widened to their full.
A lushly furnished room lay before the captive chameleon's eyes. The private quarters, for that was the only place they could have been, seemed to have the best that modern luxury could offer. A pair of door less entries revealed a smaller bedroom and a bathroom; an entire wall of the quarters, reaching from the main room to the bedroom, was what appeared to be a window overlooking picturesque hills and a clear sky. Somehow, Espio knew that this was his captors' own quarters.
It was only then, only after the realization of where he had been taken had sunk in, did Espio notice the two Legionnaires who had been waiting within the room. "Hold him." Kragok's order was the only warning he received, before hands gripped his body.
Struggle was brief; hope had been lost too long beforehand for any real attempt at freedom to be made. The glimmer of a blade held within a flesh grip caused his body to tremble in fear; the hold of the two Legionnaires were all that kept the youth from collapse.
"You are mine." Came the words again, before screams enveloped the room.
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A shudder came at the memory. That had been the start of something new, came the realization; something terrible had begun that day.
A hand, his own, came to trace a series of scars along his chest, a clear display of Kragok's cruelty; the wounds were never allowed to heal correctly, intricate blade carvings. Kragok's name would likely be there for the rest of his life, displayed for the world to see.
Yet, it hadn't ended there. After the blood had been cleaned from his shivering body and the Legionnaires has left captor and captive alone, a thin, metal collar had been placed around his neck. The small token of technology was nearly forgettable in its light weight.
The following day, he had been left alone. He could still recall the shock that he had felt; there were no chains, no locks. The notion of escape reintroduced itself to his mind for the first time in what had seemed to be an eternity. However, as soon as he stepped past the open main doorway, the collar had released an electric shock powerful enough to bring him to collapse.
The memory brought depression upon him again; the large window to the outside world was his only escape. He stood there, now, palms flat against the glass. It would be the closest he would ever be to freedom, he feared; only able to glance upon the small animals and birds that came by.
A tear, a single crystalline drop, landed upon the collar.
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Crimson footsteps birthed into existence, marking the hills of Downunda with a tale of tragedy. Yet, the maiden who created these marks did not do so with her own blood; no, the blood of the youth within her arms was its parent.
Barby Koala was the fastest long distance runner out of all the Downunda Freedom Fighters; she was the logical candidate to bring Wombat Stu to the nearest hospital. Sadly, the facility was miles away; Barby feared she would not arrive in time to save her friends' life.
"Barby..?" A half choked whimper managed to make itself audible past the beating of her own heart. With a gasp of surprise, she slowed momentarily.
"Don't talk, Stu.." She could hear herself sob. "Please, just hang on.. We'll get to the hospital soon.."
Stu hacked loudly; a harsh, terrible sound. A new spray of crimson escaped, coating Barby anew. She shuddered, and quickened her pace.
For a while afterwards, all that either released were breaths quickened either by pain or fatigue. Neither were certain how much time elapsed, nor how far the distance traveled, before the pained youth spoke again.
All that Barby heard, at first, was a quiet whimper. Then a voice, her dear friend, raw from painful breath. "Hey.. Valdez.." Stu coughed, and began to shiver violently. "Didn't think you'd be the one.. To take me away.." Abruptly, it seemed, the shivers ceased.
Then, and only then, did Barby stop. Only then did the maiden look upon her friends' face. Only then did the realization strike her heart and mind. Wombat Stu had died within her arms.
That was when she fell to the bloody earth, still clutching the corpse of what had once been a fourteen-year-old Freedom Fighter. That was when she began to scream.
That was how Guru Emu and Duck "Bill" Platypus found her half an hour later, screaming and crying to the heavens.
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The Knothole Freedom Fighters had arrived earlier than expected. When the large vessel arrived bearing King Acorn's symbol, it had taken quite a number of unexpected citizens by surprise. It was due to this early arrival, however, that only two of the Downunda Freedom Fighters were able to greet them.
Perhaps 'greet' is too positive a term, for joy was nonexistent. Acknowledgements were kept to a bare minimum; simple nods between leaders, expressions marked by understanding, grief and anger. There was no tension between the groups as there had been in the past.
It was either by chance or by fate, perhaps a slight of both, that the eyes of two grief stricken individuals met each other at that moment. The two had never met before that time, separated by an ocean, and only knew of each others' existence by the words of mutual allies. Yet, a bond was formed at that moment.
As Hershey Cat and Barby Koala approached each other, both intending nothing more than an emotionless handshake, neither were able to repress their emotions. Within seconds, the two women collapsed within each other, sobbing mutual grief.
Silence reigned, and none attempted to separate them.
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Something strange had begun to happen to Mighty Armadillo, came a sudden realization. The youth was not quite.. Himself. Yet, Vector mused, there really was no reason for their minds to maintain sanity at all. Difference in personality and mind wasn't difficult to occur here. Yet, the crocodile could not help but feel that something terrible was happening, something he could not see or hear, something beyond everything; there was something he could not place.
Mighty was unconscious; a slumber forced after constant abuse. Vector could not recall when his friend was last allowed to sleep, to rest.
Occasionally, Mighty would scream. Not even during his rest could he escape from this hell.
With a quivering sigh, Vector could barely repress a sob. He tried terribly hard to be strong here; if he couldn't, who could Mighty look for strength, for sanity? There was a time when the notion of the armadillo looking to him for strength would have seemed impossible, even ludicrous. Yet, Vector knew that Mighty had been broken, had nothing left in his emotional reserve.
The greatest fear, now, was that he would loose himself within the darkness. Vector feared he would cross the line into insanity.
He feared he would loose his mind.
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Privacy was not a rarity amongst the Freedom Fighters. Within every continent, there was a place where the lands' proclaimed protectors would be able to go to plan and strategize without fear of civilian intrusion. Downunda bore no difference, as a building that once belonged to the mechanical monstrosity known as Crocbot now served as a central for the Downunda Freedom Fighters. The best protected room of the fortress became a planning center, a place for strategy and intelligence.
Now, there was no difference to the usual routine, save for a single fact; more than the usual number of Freedom Fighters sat around the single large table within the room.
The Guardian of Angel Island, as well as the remainder of the islands' protectors, had arrived a short while after the Knothole Freedom Fighters had stepped upon Downunda's soil. Grim faced, but not without a spark of joy, there had been a great contrast between displayed emotions once all were together; grief showed upon some, while hope upon others.
The leader of the Downundians began the meeting; Walt Wallaby wanted to know facts, wanted information, wanted to know everything he could about those that had murdered his friend.
The facts were easily dealt with; for a short while, none were able to approach the emotional aspect. None were able to bring up the reason why they were all together, how a young wombat had died. This silence was broken abruptly, nearly surprisingly, by the single person there who knew more about the enemy than anyone else. "The Dark Legion has been doing this for years. Kragok more than any one else. Rape was always a part of Legion culture."
All eyes, most wide in shock, turned to stare at Julie-Su.
A deep sigh escaped from a grim Geoffry St. John. "It should have been bloody obvious.." Before the query was even spoken, Geoffry glanced at the other Freedom Fighters within the room. "I looked at th' bloody file on this Kragok bloke. Why else would anyone.. how old is 'e, thirty five? Why else would someone tha' age hold three boys without any kind of ransom?"
Concern, anger, shock and horror passed amongst those that didn't know. Low voices came and went quickly, as one rose his voice higher than the others. "Most of you aren't as close to this as I am, and I'm not going to lie to you. The Legion is powerful, very powerful, and came close too many times to complete takeover of Angel Island in the past." Knuckles glanced between the now silent Freedom Fighters, determination shining within eyes reddened by insomnia. "The Dark Legion took three of my closest friends.. No, three of my brothers away from me." An expression of understanding and of sadness was sent towards the Downunda Freedom Fighters and the Secret Service operatives. "Now, you understand. They took a brother away from you, as well." A short sigh escaped. "I know they're alive, I know they're in pain, and I refuse to abandon them."
Silence reigned for a brief moment. Brief, only for that it was broken by a grim smile upon a hedgehogs' face. "So.. What's the plan?"
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"How could something like this be built without anybody noticing?" The query came from one of the Knothole volunteers. It was a question on quite a few minds, it seemed, for voices of confusion briefly answered.
"It was built a very long time ago. I doubt that there's anyone alive who was around when the Legion built it." Knuckles was the voice of reason. Somehow, he knew the question was both asked and answered in the past.
The focus of the conversation was none other than the series of hills upon Downundas' surface. None would have noticed from the outside, but the interior of the entire landscape was completely mechanical. Hardly any of its' entirety was of natures' design. To those who knew of them intimately, it reeked of Legionairre design. As it stood, the combined forces of Freedom Fighters and volunteers were posed and ready to attack where they could; special equipment located several less than secure entrances.
Words were passed between allies; promises to be safe, encouragement to hurt the enemy, condolences for those that have lost. A twin-tailed kitsune stayed at the side of a blue hedgehog; everyone knew who both were, and few were surprised that they were there.
Walt Wallaby pointed out areas of attack. Princess Sally Acorn made a count of all on their side. Knuckles Echidna glowed in preparation and fury.
With a single shout, the attack began.
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Daddy was inside the room again. Daddy was always going to the room, now. It didn't matter, though; at least daddy didn't hurt as much.
It used to be that daddy was always hurting. He said it was because he loved. Was love supposed to hurt? Daddy said so. Mommy never tried to stop daddy's love, and mommy never loved that way. Daddy loved mommy, too. I've seen daddy love mommy.
Now, since those bigger boys were in the room, daddy always went in there with daddy's friends. Daddy's friends loved and hurt a lot of people, too. Did daddy love and hurt the boys in the room? Mommy was a teacher, and taught how to help and heal people. The boys needed healing..
Following daddy inside the room was dangerous; daddy could find out any time, and start hurting and loving again. I don't want to be loved again.
The boys are very nice. They're afraid, like I am, but they know that they need healing.
The bigger boy asked my name. Should the boys know my name? They might tell daddy..
After I think about it, I decide that they won't tell daddy. I tell them my name. "Donna-Ka."
Can the boys be my friends?
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The Dark Legion had not been expecting an attack. As the halls shook with the force of explosions, many robed figures were taken off their feet. Some literally, caught within explosions, debris being sent around. Sonic Hedgehog smiled brightly; to him, this could not have been planned better.
Speeding between allies to take down as many enemies as possible, the hedgehog managed to keep a watchful eye upon a ten-year-old kitsune; Tails, for the first time in his young life, carried a blaster.
Guns, blasters, swords, fists, crossbows; all were in use here. The lack of technological weaponry did not seem to hinder the attacking Freedom Fighters; for that, Sonic was thankful.
Someone was calling his name. The call could barely be heard above the symphony of battle; a visual overlook of the situation had to be made to pinpoint where the call originated. The hedgehog teen dashed towards a feline volunteer and what appeared to be a Legionnaire child. "What's happening?" Came the query to the volunteer, as he looked upon the robed child. A young echidna girl, younger than Tails.
"I know where the boys are!" The girl squeaked, voice thin and high-pitched from youth. The boys? Could she have been referring to Mighty, Vector and Espio?
"Lead the way, kid!" A simple order, before they were off.
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The room was shaking. This simple bit of knowledge sent panic and fear through the mind of Vector Crocodile. The room had never shaken in the past; was an earthquake happening?
Mighty awoke, squeaking in fright. At first, the abused armadillo was unsure what was happening; he stared at his friend, eyes wide, confused, and full of fear.
A strange sound made itself known. Looking to the wall, where the chains met concrete, Vectors' eyes widened to their full; the base of the chains was loose. He pulled with what he could find left in his physical reserve; if he could only get it free.. The concept of escape reintroduced itself.
As if a deity heard his silent plea, the chains snapped apart with a resounding 'clang'. The crocodile youth fell back upon the ground, breathing harshly.
For a few brief seconds, all that Vector could feel was immense relief; there was a chance now, a glimmer of hope, that they might be able to be free again. Hope was so rare here; to find it again was practically sacred. He tried to lift himself off the ground, only for hope to crack; he had been chained, unable to stand and walk, for so long that it was now impossible to do so on his own. He was free of the chains, but still could not get off the ground. A sob of frustration could not be repressed.
That was when the door hissed open; two pairs of frightened eyes quickly glanced towards the electronic doors; both silently prayed. Relief quickly replaced fear; the only Legionnaire who ever cared about them stood there. Behind the savior child stood a figure Vector thought he would never see again; a cry of joy filled the air. "Sonic!"
The hedgehog, for his part, could only stare in horror and shock. After a moments' hesitation, his mind cleared, and freedom was sought.
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The Freedom Fighters, when the battle began, had a sound plan; battle tactics from multiple experienced individuals combined to form practical perfections. Yet, in every plan, there was always a simple, single mistake that is overlooked. A simple imperfection that, in an aftermath, is always looked back upon as pure stupidity. Here, it was the simple underestimation of Legionnaires within the complex; it was nothing short of miraculous that none of the Freedom Fighters or volunteers had fallen thus far.
Swerve. Block. Pull, pull, pull.
Geoffry St. John had always found that the simplest of thoughts served best for battle; the fewer distractions there were, the more likely he was to survive. Still, he paid as much attention as possible to his allies and to those under his command.
Dodge, pull. ...Someone is shrieking.
With a quick turn, both to dodge blaster fire and to see who was shrieking, his eyes laid upon the problem. He froze in momentary shock, before he called for his allies to hold their fire.
A brown porcupine, one of the volunteers from Knothole, found himself in a dire situation; a Legionnaire, mostly mechanical by first glance, had a blaster shoved directly at the side of the unfortunate hostages' skull. The Legionnaire's other arm was wrapped around the porcupines' chest; a mechanical chassis was probable, since quills did naught.
"Dylan!" A woman shrieked in panic. That was what Geoffry had heard before.
The Legionnaire of focus called for none to move. Nearly amazingly, both sides obeyed this rule. Granted, the Legionnaires aimed their blasted to enunciate the threats; the porcupine hostage struggled briefly, fear shining within widened brown eyes. Even as the woman who had shrieked moments before, a platypus maiden of indigo shade, began to threaten the Legionnaire that held her friend, a new threat was called out; "Put your hands in the air, and shut up! If you don't, a lot worse than death will be done to this guy!" Even as he spoke, as if to prove that he did not call empty threats, the hand that did not hold the blaster moved downwards and towards the most intimate of places. Immediately, the hostage began to hyperventilate in sudden panic.
A new sound caused both sides to pause. It rose with volume as each second passed, until Geoffry was able to discern what it was; buzzing. Before any action could be made by either side, a single shot rang out.
The hostage holder fell upon the ground, blood pooled around his head. The porcupine jumped away, kneeling upon the ground, still breathing hard. The last being any would have expected stood several feet away, smoke billowing away from a standard bullet gun; a bee stood there.
Suddenly, it seems, the Legionnaires were surrounded by dozens upon dozens of bees, enlarged to standard Mobian size; Geoffry couldn't help but grin, recognizing the symbol displayed proudly upon helmets and weapons alike.
The imperial crest of the Golden Hive Colony.
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He stood at the window, again. Whenever Kragok wasn't there, that was where he stood. Looking upon those that were free was all that he had left.
Once, Kragok, who insisted on being called 'Master' and never stood for disobedience, had tried to transform the view of the outside into a pain filled memory; tortured, while being forced to look upon freedom. It had nearly worked; Espio had to force himself to continue to grasp at what was left.
He heard the electronic door hiss open; he stiffened in fear, yet did not move away from the window. However, he had not been expecting the voice that rang through the still air. His name was called, tentative and unsure.
Espio, for a brief moment, was too shocked to move. After he was able to collect his thoughts, he turned; he prayed he was not hallucinating, prayed that this was not a trick. Prayed that he was truly looking upon Knuckles Echidna, Guardian of Angel Island. The Guardian's name was spoken, as unsure as his own name had been spoken seconds before. Before he could stop himself, he rushed towards his friend.
Knuckles had begun to do the same; Espio was able to collapse into the first of joy-birthed tears that he was able to experience since his first capture. Knuckles attempted to sooth his friend, had attempted to calm his friend enough for escape. Words of encouragement, an assurance that they could escape this place, was spoken. The Guardian became surprised when the still captive chameleon froze and released a pure sob.
Espio began to babble, motioning to the collar around his neck. Knuckles could not make sense of his worse, tried to calm his friend enough to understand; that was when a voice neither wanted to hear interrupted the fragile moment.
"He can't escape. He won't escape. And neither will you."
Both pairs of eyes, one frightened and one angry, turned to stare at Kragok. Espio could not find it within himself to speak; Knuckles quickly realized this, and put forward his own queries. "We have this place surrounded, Kragok. My friends are leaving. You won't hurt them again!"
"As soon as my whore leaves this room, the collar around his neck will electrocute him. I have it programmed that if he managed to leave the complex, it will explode and take his life." Through all this, the Dark Legion Commander grinned widely.
Espio began to sob, a cry that spoke of clear hopelessness. Knuckles, despite his species, began to growl.
Kragok laughed maniacally. "Do you want to know how I managed to do all this? How I managed to obtain little Espy-chan, my little whore? You must have realized I couldn't do it on my own."
Knuckled froze in mild surprise. What could he be suggesting at? "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on now!" Another dark laugh. "You must have realized that my men attacked his hospital room only, or that my men got through his homes' defenses without so much as setting them off! How do you suppose I did all this?" Kragok was gloating, had believed himself to have already won.
New footsteps, those with a heel, echoed for a brief moment before the electronic door hissed open anew. An echidna women, richly garbed, stood there; Knuckles had absolutely no idea who this woman was. Kragok laughed, noticing the confusion within his enemies' eyes, and motioned to the smiling woman. "I see you don't recognize Chancellor Calli-Ku."
Knuckled boggled, staring at the woman. Hadn't this been the woman who raved about how terrible the Legion was on television, how the Echidna Security Agency would stop at nothing to find the kidnapped Chaotix? Despite the mountains of questions swirling within his mind, only one query managed to make itself past; "Why?"
Calli-Ku's smile transformed into an angry sneer. "You want to know why? I hate them. Simple as that." A laugh, a crystal, nearly innocent chuckle, released itself from the woman's throat. "Chameleons.. They always thought themselves so much better than echidnas, keeping away from our city, when every other species knew we were superior!"
Knuckles was left speechless. From everything that had happened, from all that he had learned and experienced, he never would have thought -- had, indeed, never given it the thought -- that this had all been.. racial. A gasp from the still silent Espio gave notice that he hadn't known, either.
Before any further actions could be made by those that had thought themselves to have won, Knuckles began to glow. A vicious, green glow.
The last that Calli-Ku and Kragok heard before the glow surrounded them was their enemies' angry shriek.
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Aaand.. That's a wrap! ^^ Still one more to go, though! The big final chappy!
Mighty: Oh my god, we survived! :D
Yup! ^^
Knuckles: ..How the heck did you manage to turn it racial? o.O; Isn't the term 'special'?
Meh, the origonal term worked better. ^^ Viva la feedback!
Response to reviews on fanfiction.net:
D.K.N: Uhm.. I'm sorry, but that really was just not possible. If people were able to simply 'abort' pregnancies in reality, then I might have considered it. But since women can't, she can't either. Sorry. ^^;
Tehknoe and The Man with the Golden Sun: ...That's not going to happen, either. ^^;; Thanks for the suggestion, though. I love suggestions. ^_^
Davifflaelan: *giggles!* I really loved your review. :D Especially the touch of the happy face at the end. *claps!* You made my day when I read it!
H.M.Slayne: *laughs!* Hey, there's still a chapter to go..
Dr. Sipp: ..Wow, you are either going to be very angry or very happy now. ^^; Heh..