Disclaimer: No, they are not mine. I'm going to kill you all......later.....but...for now, I'll brood...
(Note: If you think you've seen this chapter before, please skip ahead to the next chapter for full details. Thank you.)
Medical Experts: We are sorry to announce that your Author, NamelessMoonshine, has been deemed mentally unfit to continue in the writing of this story. She will be escorted to a facility where she can be properly cared for and given adequate time to recover from her condition. Rest assured, dear readers, she will be fine.
The tacos!!! The tacos speak to meeeee!! They say you lie!! YOU LIIIIIIIIIIE!!!
Shadow: Hey, guess that means we don't have to stick around! -edges away-
Sonic: Yeah! Since the fic is over and all.... -follows Shadow's lead-
ChaosHavoc: Oh no you don't! -grabs them-
Shadow: HEY!!
Sonic: What gives?!
ChaosHavoc: We're breaking NM out! The story MUST GO ON!!!
Shadow: .......damn!
Chapter Seven - Escape and Exploration
And he's there
Inside the door
So my exit
Is riding my pusle
Burst of black
Breath of smoke
I disappear
I lost control
- The Faint
Tikal sighed, slouching back against the side of her clear prison. While she would compliment the plush, cushion-like flat surface under her and the colorfully assorted pillows she'd shoved off to the side because they had a musky scent of thick perfume about them tthat tempted her to sleep, a cage by any other name was still a cage, no matter how fancy and comfortable they strove to make it. She couldn't escape back to the Floating Island, and that was what counted in the long run. She was trapped, behind glass, which added insult to injury as Espio might say in these circumstances.
They'd thought her cage out rather well, it seemed. The vents were too small for her to try escaping through (Knuckles had once explained the possibility to her a long time ago) and the semi-circle was well melded into the ceiling, so there was no weakness there she could find. Plus the glass wall was practically impenetrable. She already tried pounding and kicking it, but the clear shield was simply too thick for her to break.
Knuckles could break it..... She grumbled inwardly, still rather spiteful about the mistake that had been made. She almost wished it had been Knuckles who was captured, but quickly chastized herself for wishing harm upon her friend.
But you're not wishing harm on him, are you? A little voice in her head whispered menacingly. If it were him in here, not only would he be out in seconds, he would be safe back at the Island with the Emeralds in half that time. In fact, if it was Knuckles, he probably wouldn't have been captured at all...
She decided to ignore the voice. If she started thinking like that, she'd never get herself out of here. She'd failed her duties as a priestess of the Emeralds, and her duty to her friends. If General Asaro was willing to send men up to the Island and risk the powers of Knuckles, the Chaotix, and Chaos, he probably had something very big planned out, something that would require him to strike hard and fast, something that needed the power of the Chaos Emeralds, but only required two, since he didn't seem to be planning a return trip.
After all, you didn't risk fighting vertifiable water demons just to add a few pretty gems to your collection. Then again, Tikal had learned a lot about the affects of greed in her time.
Greed and alcohol, She thought bitterly.
"What's so important about this rat, anyway?! It can't do anything, thanks to the chip implant..."
Tikal glared at the red-haired male human who had dared refer to her as a rat. She had nothing against rats as a whole, and, thanks to Knuckles, had met a small number of them back on the island. They had all been exceedingly polite to her, though she suspected that it might've been due to the fact that Chaos had been standing directly behind her. And knowing the mutated Echidna, he'd been subtly threatening them behind her back.
But the way the human had used it, the term seemed....degrading.
"Look, General Asaro said we were going to watch the Guardian. That's what we're doing. If you don't think it's worth your while, why don't you go complain to him?" The blonde human was obviously getting tired of dealing with her fellow soldier's unorthodox comments.
"I'm just saying there are other things I'd rather be doing..." He said suggestively, putting an arm around her shoulder, and waggling his eyebrows. A dark blush crept over the woman's pale demeanor, not from embarrassment, but from anger. It was obvious she was having to restrain herself from seriously hurting her co-worker.
"Ryans, you will remove your hand, and go back to your station now, or I will--"
But Tikal didn't hear her finish, thanks to the blaring alarm that suddenly sounded throughout the room, and, judging from the clamor outside, the whole building as well. The two soldiers stiffened at the sound, staring at the flashing lights in awe. Tikal guessed that they either hadn't had many drills, which was somewhat unlikely, as collected as Asaro seemed, or this alarm meant something very serious that was going on, something didn't happen very often.
Or it could be the lunch bell, The idea made her think of the others. None of them had the best table manners. Even Chaos had a 'I'm starving, FEED MEEE!' kind of way of eating. Males...
The guards dashed out of the room, leaving her alone to stare after them. Obviously, it was the 'unexpected catastophe' possibility; they hadn't even thought to have one of them stay behind and watch her. Not that she needed to be watched. She'd already tried to become her light form with no creditable outcomes; the trial resulted in more severe cramps and even worse headaches, not to her complete surprise, though she wasn't sure what was stopping her from changing between forms. Anyway, even if she was able to become light, there was no way she could see to escape her glass prison. Becoming light wasn't the same thing as becoming astral for her.
Then a loud grinding sound caught her attention. It was a noise that was similar to two gritty stones being rubbed together, but in a metallic sort of way. Next thing she knew, the cushioned bottom of her prison had shifted open under her and Tikal was sprawled on the hard floor.
Deciding to question her strange release later, she hurriedly stood and darted out through the open door, only to be met with a swarming flurry of humans. None of them seemed to really notice her, luckily, all too busy rushing somewhere. She instinctively pressed herself up against the wall to avoid being swept away by the masses.
As soon as the hall had cleared, she quietly made her way through the twisting corridors, each hallway looking pretty much exactly like the last. Most of the doors she tried where locked, so after a time she simply stopped trying to open every one and began searching for an 'exit sign'. Knuckles had once explained them to her, saying a door with an exit sign over it meant that the door lead straight outside of the building. Some sort of precaution in case people got lost in large places.
Well, she was as lost as you could get.
An obnoxious crackling made her jump, and she had to clap her hands over her hidden ears to save them from the booming voice that followed.
"Attention, subject #3374 has escaped custody, be on the look-out. The project is to be taken down without permanant damage or trauma." It was followed quickly by an artifical voice.
"System breach in the docking bay. Malfunction in sector Delta, security breach in holding cell number four-four-five-two, sector Sigma..."
She stopped listening to the garbled mass of information after a few minutes, pondering if the subject they were speaking of was her. If it was so, she would have to keep moving and hope she could get out soon.
I should've chosen to be a warrior instead of a priestess! She grumbled inwardly. While being a priestess had its advantages, if she'd been a warrior, she could've gone down fighting. At least she'd know how to fight. Being alone in a place where none of the others could help her was just plain hell on Earth.
"Subject has been spotted in sector Kappa, on route to sector Beta. All sentries are to be on guard."
Had they found her?
Had others escaped their confines? Knowing GUN, they had several prisioners locked up on their seemingly endless number of 'sectors' throughout this facility. It was like a long spiral of halls and doorways, unmeasureable simply because they were probably making it bigger all the time. It wouldn't have surprised her if she'd walked into a bunch of men building a new string of rooms.
Well...actually it would.
"Attention! Attention! Subject is within sight range, heading for Ground Control! Assistance is vital! Repeat, subject is within sight raaaaaan---Bzzzzzzz-zzzzzzzzzzt...."
Tikal winced and whirled around, looking for the hidden cameras or soldiers rushing for her, trying to see around the corners about ten feet away.
Nothing.
She was amazed, to say the least. But then again, not so much. They were obviously frightened by whatever was loose, so it probably wasn't her, of course. Then again, it could be so. Asaro had been cocky, but that was while she was trapped, unable to hurt him. Not that she could do so now, but if they thought she was Knuckles, then they would also believe she could cause all the general mayhem that Knuckles was quite well-known for.
"Gas sequence initiated. Proceeding..."
Gas? Tikal knew a little about it. Knuckles had tried to explain it to her, like he'd explained 'exits' and 'stop signs' and 'telephones' and all the other wonders of the surface world. He'd described it to be like mist, or smoke, only much more dangerous to one's health. It could be used for a number of things, but was always employed against an enemy, and, of course, for that enemy's inconvience.
Minutes after she came to the conclusion that she should avoid the gas, she noticed a thin yellowish wisp of something or other drifting down from nearby vent. She paled and immediately qickened her pace down the corridor. The gas simply poured out of all the other vents, keeping up with her easily until she could no longer see without swiping her hands out in front of her to clear it away from her face. Tikal stumbled many times before the disorienting effects of the gas caught up with her and dragged her to her knees, coughing and choking.
Everything seemed to be in shades of a strange, shifting grayish-yellow, the misty gas blurring her eyesight and making her struggle for air. Out of the fog suddenly shone a pair of bright red beacons, glaring out at her, and twinkling strangely. She lifted her arm up, and reached for them, before her strength gave out and her vision went dark.
The figure stared down at the young priestess slumped against the opposite wall, his ears folded back to his head. After a short inner debate, he moved toward her and hefted her slumbering form up onto his back to carry her along. She wouldn't slow him down much, only one other person had ever been able to do that; besides she might come in handy, even if she obviously had no natural sense of direction.
With that decided, he dashed down the hall, footfalls making no noise behind him.
ChaosHavoc: Don't worry sis! We're coming to save you!!!
-.- -walks back to the others sadly-
ChaosHavoc: Hey....we were about to come rescue you.....
Shadow: Hmph!
Not necessary. According to the Board, I'm a hopeless cause, and I'd only upset the other patients who were in their custody at the time. Plus the fact that I'd assulted one of the guards with a ball-point pen didn't help.
Sonic: ....so...you got rejected....from the loony bin....O-o
Yep.....
Sonic: -bursts into peals of laughter-
..........................That's it, I'm putting you in the story.
Sonic: WHAT?! NO!!
