Chapter 8
When in doubt, have two guys come through the door with guns.
-Raymond Chandler
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With male prudence, Sonic, Knuckles and Jazz decided that I should stay behind while they sneaked into the airbase. Their excuse was that someone had to watch Chimera, but I knew what they were thinking. I'm the slowest, and my metal is a liability on a stealth mission. There's also the water issue. Robotics and water don't mix.
As the sun set, the three slipped away up the valley rim, leaving me with Chimera gnawing my metal fingers. I stroked him roughly, wanting to vent my indignation somewhere. Curse this blasted body of mine! I kicked one of my legs and sat down to await their return with Chimera in my lap. He wanted to fight, so I let him wrestle with one of my hands. He growled and rolled on the grass, biting and scratching like a ferocious kitten. And to think, he had taken on the characteristics of Knuckles. I wondered if Knuckles had been this barbaric when he was a kid, then thought of my own brothers and smiled. Of course. Boys thrived that way.
The darkness deepened, and crickets chirped in the grass. There were no crickets in Diamonda. A dull roar of activity rose from the now-glowing crystals, and their diffused light drowned out the stars. As night settled in, I found the city glare illuminated our little camp. Chimera kept trying to sneak off into the dark, and I was kept busy fetching him back. Thus I did not notice Kita until Chimera growled, and I saw her climbing the hill toward me.
The human was dressed in her thin dancer's clothing, and moved in quick jerks like a wild animal. From my vantagepoint above her, I glimpsed the glowing strip along her spine. I scanned the night sky for Ghosts, but none were visible.
She slipped into the trees and stood looking at me. "Hi," I said. "What are you doing here?"
"I saw you today," she whispered. "In the square. You guys attacked a Shellizaa?"
"Sort of," I said. "Knuckles was trying to get its attention."
"They've been looking for you," Kita whispered, dropping to all fours and shivering in the cool night air. "They're under orders to attack and kill you if they run across you."
I stared at her. "How do you know?"
"I heard them talking," she said. "My master works with Devan Shell. They know you're helping Jazz. You meddle too much."
"All we wanted was our chao," I muttered. "These people are evil."
She nodded. "Where are the others?"
"Checking out the dam," I said, gesturing in the direction of the lake. "They think it's where the Ghosts come from."
She peered that way with round eyes. "They do? I've always wondered..."
She made a sharp movement, and Chimera snarled. She looked at him. "What's that?"
"This is one of the chao we were hunting," I said, holding up Chimera. "His name is Chimera, and he bites."
She examined him, and I sensed that her night vision was poorer than mine. "I've seen these before. There's a silver one at the depot."
My heart stopped. It was a second before I could speak. "Does ... does it have horns?"
"Yeah, on its face," Kita replied. "Do you have any food?"
I fumbled open my backpack with one hand. Zinc--it had to be Zinc! There were no more metallic chao for thousands of miles, because they were imported from South Mobius. I handed Kita a package of rations, and she tore it open and wolfed the contents. I looked at her thin wrists and ankles. "We're going to get you out of here."
She glanced at me in disbelief and went on eating. After a while she said, "I could help you rescue that silver chao."
I must have had an odd look on my face, for she said, "I can tell what you think by your face. Like watching a dog."
This girl could be an ambassador someday. "Okay," I said. "He's my chao, and I want him back."
She gave me a sorrowful look. "I wish my Mom had come looking for me."
My heart gave a terrible wrench, and I reached out and patted her bare arm. "I'm sure she would have, if she had been able to."
She looked at me another second, then licked the ration wrapping, and slipped off down the hill toward Diamonda. I tucked Chimera under one arm, threw my cloak aside, and followed her.
The city noise and light engulfed us, and I squinted against the brightness of the crystal towers. Kita slipped along ahead of me, darting in and out of the thin shadows, and I followed her as best as I could, aware of the clanking of my metal feet. Chimera rode in the crook of my arm, smiling a wicked smile. He couldn't talk, but he seemed to understand what was going on.
Despite her thinness, Kita set a terrific pace and I had trouble keeping up. She had a knack for avoiding Shellizaas, and we stayed on empty streets.
The light around us changed to bright green, and I saw we had entered an emerald section. The crystals here were engraved with glowing patterns and writing. The architecture was angular and tilted to match the crystals. Bathed all in green light, it struck me as grotesque and nightmarish.
Kita darted into the shelter of a porch-like structure built onto a crystal and beckoned to me. I hurried to her, peering around the empty street. "I hate green," I panted in a whisper.
She nodded and touched a forefinger to her lips. Then she indicated a door in the crystal and motioned for me to help her open it. I gave the door a fierce tug with one hand, and it slid open. Kita whisked inside with me on her heels. I could feel my heart beating in my throat--Zinc was in here somewhere, trapped within this crazy green mass.
No corners were straight in the halls and passages, and the light dimmed as we pressed deeper into the crystal. I often stumbled and had to grope along the wall with my eyes closed, because the angles and unparallel corners upset my sense of balance. How could anyone live in such a place without going mad? I had to get Kita out of here. And what had they done with Zinc?
Kita led me around a corner, and we emerged into an outdoor courtyard. It was roughly octagonal, and paved with black stone. Glowing lines and shapes crisscrossed the ground, and I remembered Sonic saying that the top of the dam had phosphorescent lines on it.
Near the center of the courtyard was a neat pyramid of boxes, sealed, marked and awaiting whatever aircraft could land in this place. Kita did not move toward them at once, but stood by the wall, looking. She touched my arm and whispered, "The cage is in there somewhere. But you have to get it fast or the guards will catch you."
"What guards?" I asked. There was no sign of life in the courtyard.
"They're in the control room," whispered Kita, pointing to three bright window-squares in the crystals above us. "This shipment is leaving by Ghost tonight, but not until eight o'clock."
I had an idea it was nearly eight, but I hadn't had a watch in years. I set Chimera down by the wall, told him to stay put, then cupped my hands around my mouth and called in the loudest whisper I could muster, "Zinc! Zinc!"
There came a rustle from the pile. I called his name again, and I heard my beloved chao whisper, "Who is that? Who's there?"
I wanted to rush forward at once, but Kita held my arm. "Don't," she told me. "You need to know where he is."
"Zinc," I called in a whisper, "where are you on the pile?"
There was a moment of silence, then he replied, "The side opposite the entry doors."
So he was on the other side of the pile. I looked at Kita, whose face was sickly in the green light. "If any turtles come, I can't be seen here," she whispered.
"If they come, then get out of here," I said. "I have a gun and a sword, I should be all right."
She nodded and slipped into the shadows of the entry door, and I tiptoed up to the pile, willing my feet not to clank on the sidewalk. On the far side of the stack, waiting to go first on the plane, was a wooden box full of airholes, with "live freight" stamped all over it. Zinc's silver claws protruded from two of the holes.
"Shh," I whispered as I bent over the cage. "It's me, Zephyer. Lay down in the bottom, I'm going to tear the lid off."
"Zephyer, Zephyer!" I heard his voice dissolve into tears, and a powerful mother instinct welled up inside me. I turned my right hand into my sword blade, forced it between the box and the lid, and pried it open. I used such force that the tape and staples fastening the lid splintered, and then I was lifting out a joyful, wriggling silver chao.
I hurried back and picked up Chimera, my heart beating so fast I was almost smothering. I wanted to laugh out loud and scream Zinc's name, and he wanted to do the same. He did attack Chimera as soon as I picked him up, and the pair had a jubilant scuffling match in my arms. But we were interrupted by a voice.
"What the Ghenna are you doing with my cargo?"
I spun around and saw a Shellizaa standing on the other side of the courtyard, where there was a doorway I had not seen. His shell was painted purple, and he wore a pair of round glasses on his snout.
"This chao belongs to me," I said. "I'm taking him back."
"That is a rare silver chao, and it has been sold for a high price," said the turtle, pacing forward with an ugly expression. Zinc and Chimera growled in unison. I backed toward the entry door, and as I did, the turtle's eyes swept me from head to foot. "You're an echidna," he said. "A robotized echidna." His expression became hungry, and he licked his beak.
He stopped. "Don't go, please," he said. "I would love to see how your robotization was accomplished."
I paused in the doorway--Kita had already fled--and stared at the turtle. So he wanted to disassemble me, was that it?
"It wouldn't hurt much," he said, "and you could have your chao back when I was through."
"No way," I said. "I didn't know slime such as yourself existed outside of Robotropolis."
The Shellizaa grinned, but his eyes looked hungry. "I am honored to have my work rated alongside that of Dr. Robotnik's. And now a sample of his work is within my grasp." He sprang forward.
I sprinted down the zigzag path and into the insane corridors of the green crystal. "Zinc," I said, "what were they doing to you?"
"I was being sold," came his voice in my ear. He was looking over my shoulder, clinging to my hair with his claws. "You know how valuable I am. That's why they kidnapped me, too. I'm so glad you came! The guy who bought me wanted me for 'breeding purposes', it said on the invoice."
My insides twisted in revulsion, and I vowed in that instant to never let Zinc out of my sight again.
The green light around me brightened, and I emerged into the night air in the same empty street as before. I paused to look for Kita, and saw the Shellizaa was pursuing me down the hallway, as soft-footed as a cat, his glasses catching the green light. I bolted up the street.
Chimera was a constant growl in the crook of one arm, and Zinc hung across my shoulder, peering back and hissing a string of curses under his breath. I glanced back and saw the lone Shellizaa galloping after me, an insane light in his eyes. Good night, he was fast, and I was slowed by the weight of the two chao. I morphed my left hand into my laser pistol. I could handle one turtle.
A sound drew my attention up the street, and I saw Jazz run up a cross street on business of his own. "Jazz!" I screamed. "Jazz, come back!" The turtle was gaining on me. I imitated Zinc and cursed him under my breath, and looked for a niche or alcove along the crystal walls that I could use as cover. But there were none.
I swerved, set down Zinc and Chimera against a wall, whirled and fired at the oncoming Shellizaa. My panting made the shots go wide, but the turtle dodged sideways in surprise. He sank to one knee and aimed a tiny weapon at me. I planted a laser pulse in his belly, but it was deflected by his shell. I drew a bead on his face, and felt a projectile impact on my chest. It knocked me into the wall and for a second I saw stars. I heard Chimera snarl, and Zinc shouted an insult. I crawled in front of them and pointed my pistol at the turtle, but he shot me again and knocked me flat. The bullets were too small to penetrate my armor, but they were punching sizeable dents and left me winded. I could hear him laughing, and I wished I had a knife to throw at him.
Then the turtle whirled and looked up the street, the smile fading from his face. Jazz was standing at the end of the street, and even from a distance I could see the hatred dancing in his eyes. He whipped his gun to his shoulder, and the turtle bolted. I threw myself over the chao as Jazz launched a set of rockets that lit the green street with honest yellow light, and deafened me. Burning stuff struck my head, and I covered my head with both arms. I saw Chimera standing up, his eyes fixed on the firefight with an expression of bliss. Zinc was curled up with his paws over his face.
The noise faded, and I lifted my head. The street had three craters blown in it where the Shellizaa had been, and smoke hung on the green air. Jazz stalked up to me, his gun smoking. It had a burly-looking rocket rack screwed to it. "You okay?" he asked, helping me up.
"Yeah, I think," I said, rubbing the dents in my metal. "Did you get him?"
"Naw, he was too fast," said Jazz, his eyes burning.
I picked up Zinc and Chimera, noticing that both pairs of eyes were fastened on Jazz gun. "Who was he?"
"That was Devan Shell," said Jazz. "Why in the world was he after you?"
"I took Zinc from him," I said. "He wanted to experiment on me or something."
Jazz glanced at my robotized body. "Yeah, Devan would probably love to build a robotizer. Well, we can't let him get his hands on you. He commits enough atrocities as it is. Let's get out of this stinking filthhole."
Suddenly I looked at Jazz. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at the dam!"
"I was," said Jazz, straightening his headband. "We ran into a ... complication."
He set off at a quick walk, and I hurried after him. "What do you mean, a complication?"
"Your friend Sonic," said the rabbit over his shoulder. "Does he think the world is some kind of joke?"
"Um," I said, not sure how to answer that.
"He thought it'd be funny to hijack a Ghost," Jazz went on. "But he didn't understand the controls and set off the alarm."
"What?"
"The lights started flashing and the Ghost started beeping and carrying on ... When they tried to catch him, the blinking moron put up a fight, tore the side right out of the plane. They subdued him and took him away."
"Subdued him?" I said. "How do you subdue Sonic?"
"Well, Knuckles and I are afraid they killed him," said Jazz. "We're on our way to the landing strip at the white crystal."
"They wouldn't kill him," said Zinc. "Torture him, yes, but not kill him. Devan's trying to find a way to exterminate Jazz."
Jazz looked over his shoulder, ears lifting. "Is he, now? How do you know, Silverfish?"
"I'm Zinc," said my chao. "I heard him talking about it. I'm good at playing dumb." He winked at me, and I remembered how much he loved espionage.
"I get it," muttered Jazz to himself. "So they'd use Sonic's speed against me ... I guess we'd better rescue him, then."
"What, you mean you weren't planning on it?" I snapped. Jazz shrugged and didn't answer. I looked down at Zinc. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"No, I'm too valuable," said Zinc. "Devan did run a few tests on me to see how I grew. He's obsessed with Chaos power."
Jazz looked at Zinc. "Chaos power? As in Chaos Emerald power?"
Zinc nodded, and Jazz's brow furrowed. "I should have guessed he'd go that direction. All the more reason to destroy this place." He pulled a new attachment out of his backpack and began to attach it to his gun. This one was a fat cylinder full of holes.
"What's that?" I asked, as both chao watched Jazz with interest.
"Gatling muzzle," said Jazz. "Makes a lot of noise with the right ammunition."