The spaceport was quite possibly the largest and most impressing building that Yellow had ever seen in his entire life. The steel spires towered above everything else in the city, dwarfing even the major businesses. There was a constant hum of engines as scores of flying vehicles came and went from the gigantic structure.
The black Chameleon, still staring upwards in a dazed manner, approached the information desk that was marked with a clear pink highlight on his map. The bored-looking Echidna behind glared at him from behind his large glasses for interrupting his peaceful relaxation, then slowly and agonizingly got to his feet to help the young interloper.
"May I help you?" he asked in a monotone voice that still seemed to convey extreme dislike for all its expressionless-ness.
"Uh, I'd like to know how to get a passport to the planet, please," said Yellow hesitantly.
"You would, eh?" murmured the clerk, "let me look it up for you."
The brown Echidna took his time on the computer, and after a few minutes of polite waiting Yellow was beginning to get annoyed. If it wasn't enough to be scoffed at by people on the street, now even those that were supposed to help were being rude!
"Ah, here it is," said the clerk finally, "A planet-side passport, if all the proper licenses and signatures are obtained, comes to a grant total of seven hundred and twenty-two dollars."
"Seven hundred!" exclaimed Yellow, shocked beyond the need for courtesy, "Where am I supposed to find that kind of money!?"
"That's not my problem, boy," growled the clerk, "Now either get to your business or leave, I have work to do around here!"
Still steaming, Yellow stormed away from the information desk. How did the island council expect anyone to travel?! At least now he knew the reason for the horrible overcrowded state of both the cities and the country… if a passport cost that much, nobody could afford to go to the planet and get some of the pressure off the island resources.
"You're going about it the wrong way, country boy," sighed a familiar voice behind Yellow. He jumped, whirling around, and was almost half invisible before he realized who it was.
"Illusion!" he exclaimed, "I'm glad to se-"
"Shut up, you idiot!" hissed Illusion clapping one hand over the black Chameleon's mouth, "We should get out of here before you make any more trouble."
"Trouble?" muttered Yellow, his voice muffled under Illusion's golden hand.
"I'll tell you about it once we get to somewhere safe," said the golden hedgehog, "Come with me."
Yellow looked after Illusion as she made her way through the crowd, considering. She never looked back to make sure he was following, and Yellow, finally making a spur of the moment decision, had to sprint to catch up before she was lost in the mass. He tailed her like a shadow, keeping just behind those glistening ebony wings.
They seemed to walk forever, and Yellow was soon lost as to where they were and where they were going. There were far too many twists and turns in the large industrial city for him to keep track of the streets accurately. Suddenly, Illusion stopped and turned to him.
"Yellow," she said seriously, "You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about what you're about to see, no matter what."
"Why?" asked Yellow, curious.
"There's no why, just promise it!" snapped the golden hedgehog, irritated.
"Okay, okay, I promise," muttered Yellow with a hint of reproach.
"Good," said Illusion. She led the nervous black Chameleon to a dark and deserted alleyway, and pressed a series of tiles on a grime-encrusted wall. Yellow gasped as, beside the tiles, a thin crack appeared that widened and turned into a narrow doorway.
"Well?" said Illusion derisively after a moment of silence, "are you going in, or do I have to throw you?"
Yellow hurriedly walked through the door, Illusion only moments behind him, and was soon engulfed in darkness as the entrance closed seamlessly after them. He stumbled, unable to see, and heard the exasperated snort of his companion before his arm was grabbed roughly. He yelped, trying to pull away, but found that he was being pulled himself.
"Stop struggling, you stupid hick," snarled Illusion, "Just come with me."
Yellow grinned sheepishly in the dark, feeling foolish. He now did not resist while he was guided, as if he were some blind creature, up the many flights of dark stairs. Illusion said no more, and the silence of the passage seemed to him to be oppressive. Yet Yellow did not venture to speak, for fear of angering the golden hedgehog again.
"Stop here," whispered Illusion, adding to the unnerving feeling of silence, "and don't move. I have to go for a moment, but I'll be back."
Yellow nodded, although he was really wondering if he should have taken up this offer. He felt the presence of the other vanish, and saw a thin stream of light come into being a few yards away. The silhouette of Illusion blocked the wan light for a moment, and then the door was closed, and the glow vanished.
The black Chameleon sighed, and leaned against what he hoped was a relatively clean wall. As the minutes ticked by, he slowly sank to the floor, wrapping his long arms around his legs and letting his mind wander to rid himself of the horrible feeling of nervousness and fright. His long tail twitched back and forth, tapping rhythmically against the wall.
Why was he here, of all places? Why had his dream of going planet-side suddenly become such a nightmare? It wasn't fair, he had worked so hard just to reach this place, and now it seemed as if he would have to crawl back home a failure. He would endure whatever punishments his clan had in mind for him, even if he had to be banished, and hopefully things would work out. Perhaps he would reach the high places, where no one ever went, where it was said that the days were warmer and more peaceful than below in the city zones. Perhaps, even, he would meet the guardian on his travels, and ask him why the island had degraded into such a state.
Foolish thoughts! Irrational flights of fancy! Yellow chided himself unmercifully. As if he would even live long enough to get to the high places, the cold of the mountain was impenetrable to all but the most willful and strong explorers. If he tried, he would freeze to death long before he even climbed halfway, and his bones would serve as another reminder of how wayward dreams can break the lives of those that follow them.
Suddenly, Yellow was bathed in soft red light as the door that Illusion had passed through opened to its fullest. A much more imposing figure stood there, making the black Chameleon shudder and plaster himself against the wall in an attempt to become unnoticeable. He was just on the verge of becoming invisible when the figure spoke.
"I have heard of you, young one," it said, it's deep and resonant voice almost musical, "Illusion has told me much. She says that you have a wish to go to the planet. I believe, if you do, that you should hear a offer that I have to make."
"An offer?" said Yellow skeptically.
"Come, and I will tell you more."
Yellow hesitated for a moment, thinking. It wasn't as if he had anything left to lose; he hadn't even brought anything from home when he had escaped. He rose slowly, speculation in his eyes, and took his time in walking towards the figure. The other moved not a muscle; waiting as if it already knew what Yellow would do and say beforehand. It was more than a little unsettling.
Yellow stepped into the light, and the figure whirled with a flashing spiral of dark cape and led the way into the unknown depths of the building. The Chameleon followed, feigning more confidence than he felt, and was very nearly blinded by the light since he had been so long in darkness.
He blinked rapidly to adjust his eyes, and soon the lay of the room became clearer to him. The place was sparse, but the absence of furniture seemed to add to the character of the room, not take from it. There was but a single table, and single couch, and, in the corner, what Yellow guessed to be a computer desk. The floor had a smooth, soft carpet, which had a yellow and purple spiral. Lights, hanging from the high ceiling, were rounded like small lanterns and frosted to spread the illumination.
Yellow saw that Illusion was sitting, seemingly relaxed, on the couch. But when he looked closer, he saw that she was rigid, waiting tensely for he knew not what. The other presence in the room, the one in the cape, lowered the hood as Yellow looked at him.
He was a fox, an older, but still vital, creature. Dark, cunning eyes looked out from behind a thick lock of curved hair that seemed to be permanently stained a dark, blood red. More deep orange hair covered his face, blending seamlessly into a creamy white around his delicate muzzle. The only mar on his face was a series of four scars, spanning from above his left eye to the right side of his nose. The left eye had a milky white film over it, showing that the fox was half blind.
"I am known as Vortex," said the Fox silkily, "Come, sit here at the table. There is no need to stand uncomfortably in this place."
Yellow, after looking at the offered chair for a long moment, sat. Vortex took a place across from him, and crossed his clawed hands over the table. The old Fox looked over the arch with a penetrating gaze, almost as if he were trying to bore into the black Chameleon's soul.
"You want to go planet-side," said Vortex after a long pause, "I can help you with that. I'll pay for all your fees, get all the signatures and licenses, and you can go live your dream."
"What's the catch?" said Yellow immediately, "What do I have to do for you?"
"Well," began Vortex, "I see that you're smart enough to know that there is a catch, and that what I'll give you has to be earned. I want you to work for me, do a few favors… become part of our team, if you can call it that."
"What can I do that you can't do yourself," asked Yellow skeptically, "You seem to have enough money to do whatever you wish."
"Yes, but some of what I do requires certain… talents… that my existing staff have no ability to perform. Only your kind has the skills that I need."
Yellow thought this over, knowing that there must be some sort of operation in progress here that was more than what was shown on the surface. If he got in too deep, he may never get out…
But if he didn't, he would never get out. Never get out of the prison that was this island.
"So, young Yellow," said Vortex, almost as if the Fox knew what Yellow was thinking and when he had reached his decision. The imposing figure extended a black half-gloved hand, "What do you decide?"
Yellow looked at the hand, the russet fur, the short yet sharp claws, and the gloves that would look more in place in the ally than in a civilized room. There was a moment of doubt, quashed as quickly as it had arisen, and he suddenly found his own hand firmly shaking that of the Fox.
Vortex beamed at him, revealing a maw full of gleaming teeth.
"Good, young one," he said, "Welcome to your new home."
Flourishing his arm, the darkly clad Fox stood and gestured to the entire room and hallway beyond.
"Today, you will stay here and learn. I'll assign Illusion to you," the golden hedgehog looked ready to protest, but at that moment a glance from Vortex quieted her before she had a chance to voice any objections, "She will teach you about what we do here and show you around the place. I hope you will enjoy your new job, for it is important for my staff to like their work."
With that, the Fox strode noiselessly into the dark hallway, disappearing through a lone door at the end. Yellow was left standing and feeling a little out of place, until Illusion finally sighed and put down the book she had been reading.
"Well," she said, "I guess I'd better get to my job."
"Uh, what's that?" stammered Yellow, still standing nervously and shifting his weight from foot to foot.
"Looking after you, idiot," said the golden hedgehog, rolling her eyes.
"I don't need to be looked after," muttered Yellow, looking at the computer in the corner curiously. He strode quickly over to it, investigating the smooth surface and the keyboard, gazing in wonder at the contraption that he had only heard about when he was living in the country.
Suddenly, he realized Illusion had come to stand not more than a few feet away, smirking.
"Com-pute-er," she said slowly with a cruel grin, "Computer. You know what that is?"
"I've heard about them," snapped Yellow irritably.
"Ah, so you've never actually used one, huh?" snorted the golden Hedgehog, "Here, let me turn it on."
With a swift movement, Illusion leaned down and pushed a button on the side of a large square of hardware. Then, she straightened and pushed another button just below the screen. The computer clicked on with a strange, electronic sound, and Yellow flinched from it. It sounded just like one of the dangerous defense bots that were assembled in his country town.
"Here," continued Illusion, taking no notice of Yellow's reactions. She pulled out a shelf with a strange board set on it. The board had a few dozen buttons, all with different letters and numbers on it, "This is the keyboard… I trust you know how to spell?" Yellow glared at her, "Okay, then you just open something you can write on, and you can write using this. Or, you can send messages to people over the Internet… I'll give you a book on that. Don't even think about trying to get on it until you read about it. Otherwise, stick to the programs that write, draw, or play games. Don't mess with anything else. When you want to turn it off, just click on this here…" she pointed to a green button on the screen, "and choose 'shut down'. It'll turn off by itself, but remember to push the button on the monitor, too."
"Thanks," said Yellow, trying to process the information. He pointed to a small, oblong object on the desk, "What's that?"
"That's the mouse," sighed Illusion, exasperated, "You use it to move the arrow… like this," she moved the mouse, and the little arrow on the screen moved with it, "Just use the left button to click for now."
"Okay," said Yellow, already entranced by the technology. Illusion returned to the couch and picked up her book, muttering to herself.
The black Chameleon worked at the mouse for a few minutes, the finally found a writing program. After a few seconds thought, he decided that it would do no harm for him to write a tiny piece of nonsense. With a small chuckle, Yellow remembered all the stories he had handwritten at home. They were silly things, no use in a world like this one, but he loved writing them all the same.
His hands found the keyboard, and with a shuddering, broken rhythm, he began writing.
The air sliced through the canyon with howling fury as the storm approached the shuddering land of River Scar. The water, lapping at almost a mile below the surface of the land above, roiled in giant, spine-breaking waves. The fish that lived there were scattered, and a few unlucky creatures were tossed to the rocks to be dashed and broken. Scavengers came to this place often during storms, for the pickings were good and the risks small.
Above this drama of life, death, and destiny, a lone figure perched unmoving on a gigantic outcrop. The wind whipped through his unkempt hair, which was white as a bleached bone and flowed like sea spray. Clawed hands gripped the rock with a sure steadiness as the figure watched and waited, waited for the storm to break and his time to come. He snarled with delight, showing sharp, yellowed teeth in a long and narrow granite muzzle. His name was Dakota, and he was a dragon of the earth.
"Hey, what are you writing, there?" asked Illusion, vaulting easily over the couch and standing by the computer screen. She read intently for a few moment, and slapped Yellow hard on the back, "Good work you got, there, country boy. My kind of morbid stuff."
"Morbid?" asked Yellow, "How? Its just fish so far."
"Yeah, but they're dying and getting eaten," said Illusion with a smirk, "If you don't call that morbid, I don't want to know what you do."
Yellow snorted and continued writing, waving the golden hedgehog away. She raised an eyebrow and strode back to the couch, picking up the book she had left and opening it back to the page she had left at. Yellow inched his eyes over, reading the title.
'Darkness Calls' was the title. The cover was black, with a full moon in the background illuminating a disturbing scene of what seemed to be a Bat, but amazingly the eyes were glowing a bright red. Yellow wondered what it would be about… Illusion certainly seemed to find it interesting.
"It's about an insane Bat," murmured Illusion, flipping a page, "She just escaped from an outworlder laboratory, and sees hallucinations. I'm beginning to think part of what she sees is real, though…"
"Huh?" said Yellow, surprised, "Hey, how did you…?"
"I could see you reading it over there," answered the hedgehog before Yellow could finish his question, "You're not exactly subtle."
"Ah…"
"Anyway, it's getting late," continued Illusion, barely sparing a glance towards the windows to see the sky, "Do you see that bookcase over there?"
Yellow looked behind him, and caught sight of a large oak bookcase that he had somehow missed before. It was half-filled with all sorts of large, thick books, and Yellow gaped in surprise.
"There's a hidden button on the side," said Illusion, rising gracefully and closing her own book, "Shut the computer down and I'll show you."
The golden Hedgehog walked over to the bookcase, sighing as she waited for Yellow to figure out the shutdown procedure. She was tired of being patient; in fact, she was just plain tired. It had been a long day, and she had completed a mission before she had found Yellow staggering around the spaceport like the lost country hick he was. She still didn't know quite why she had helped him… Perhaps it was because Vortex had told her to keep on the lookout for someone who could help with the next assignment, but she doubted it.
It was a new and disturbing thought for Illusion, and she pushed it away quickly when Yellow rose from his chair.
"Turn the monitor off, you idiot," sighed Illusion as the Chameleon began to walk away from the desk, "and push that chair back up. I don't want to trip over it if I come out here."
Yellow looked apologetic as he did as she asked, and Illusion sneered at herself. Why was she being so… nice? It wasn't in her nature at all. She'd have to get rid of it, and fast. He'd just get her in trouble, betray her, or die, just like every other partner she'd been forced to take. Or maybe he'd even do all three, like the last one had.
"Finally," snarled Illusion as Yellow strode up, "I almost thought you'd gotten lost. Come on, hick, through here."
Yellow, wondering why Illusion had suddenly become so scathing all of a sudden, watched as the golden hedgehog pushed a barely discernable button on the side of the bookcase that, if one had just been looking without expecting to find anything, would have looked like a small knot in the wood. The bookcase gave a groan as it slid to the side, revealing a narrow darkness much like that of the wall they had come into this building by. Illusion, tired of waiting as Yellow hesitated, pushed him through impatiently.
"Hey!" protested the black Chameleon as he was steered through the dark hall. His eyes still hadn't adjusted yet, and it seemed to him like he would slam into a wall or some other obstruction if he didn't stop. Yellow planted his feet firmly, effectively stopping his trip through the darkness.
"Fine," said Illusion sweetly, "If you won't be guided, I guess I'll just have to carry you, then."
"Wha-?" was all Yellow had time for before Illusion hauled him into the air by the scruff of his neck. He yelped feebly, and struggled. The golden hedgehog snarled in exasperation.
"Hey, idiot, stop struggling," she snapped, setting him down roughly so that he staggered, "Do you want to see your room or not?"
"We get rooms?" asked Yellow stupidly, confused.
"Of course we get rooms!" sighed Illusion, "Geez, you must have a pretty perverted idea of hospitality, boy. What'd you think Vortex would do, throw you out on the streets after taking a job?"
"Well…" began Yellow, looking thoughtful, "When you put it that way…"
"You dumbass," said Illusion, rolling her eyes. She actually, for a moment, felt a smile beginning to tug at her mouth, but quashed it with a frown as she realized what she was doing. She was being nice again, of all things!
"Rooms are over here," she said coldly, walking to a door near the end of the short hall. Yellow followed, his eyes now able to see better in the darkness. He looked in as Illusion opened the door, and his eyes widened; it was another hallway! This one was twice as long as the one he had just walked down, and there were at a dozen doors, six on each side, that showed the dividing spaces.
"Your room is the last one," said Illusion, walking down the hall with Yellow in tow. She showed him the old, cracked door, "right now it only has a bed and a few shelves, but as time passes you'll be able to make it more… roomy."
"Okay," said Yellow with a nod.
"And, if you need anything else… don't bother me. I don't like being woken up. Bathroom is down at the end of the hall we came in at."
Yellow nodded, and made to go into 'his' room. Illusion snorted suddenly, making him turn.
"Have a good rest, 'cause tomorrow the real training begins," she said slyly, "Hope you're a morning person."
Yellow furrowed his brow at that, and shrugged, turning back and opening the door to his room. As he looked, he saw that Illusion had indeed been telling the truth when she had told him about the room. It was nothing but a considerably worn bed with a few sparse sheets, and a single shelf on one wall. The room wasn't even that big, but Yellow could deal with that. He turned back, and saw that Illusion was gone.
"Good rest?" murmured Yellow, "I can deal with that."