Chapter 9: Flashback, pt. 4
(Nursery; ten minutes until battle)
Reminder: That means it is 15 years after Sonic's 'death' so keep in mind that everyone is way older!
"I can't believe I am stuck here with a bunch of babies!" Rogue exclaimed, pacing around Roxie. A smile flickered on the bat's blue face. "We could escape through the secret passageway!" A wave of concern swept over Roxie's complexion. "Besides, these babies are in danger underground anyway. We'll transport them to emerald coast," Rogue argued. Before Roxie could protest, her brother crawled up a ladder and pushed off a plank of wood covering the passage. Then he grabbed half of the children and sprung out of the hole. Roxie followed with the other babies.
Clouds gathered in the heavens as the group headed for the beach. The daylight quickly vanished, and a flood of icy wind overwhelmed Rogue. He shivered and glanced at the base, to see a shadowy figure jump into the hole. Handing an alligator to Roxie, he whispered, "I forgot to close the entrance. Stay here, ok?" His sister opened her mouth to respond but he shoved his hand over it to silence her. "Ok?" Roxie silently nodded.
Rogue plopped into the hole. His heart fluttered and stomach was tied in a knot. He edged to the door, and saw the warrior walk down the hall. Softly treading behind her, Rogue held his breath. However, the less air he had, the more his heart pulsated at his ribs. A hand patted the bat's shoulder. He instantly jumped out of his shoes, with the hairs on his neck sprung up. Roxie's finger gently pressed against her brother's lips. She held up a photograph and silently mouthed, "You dropped this." In fear of the nearby stranger, Rogue fell silent, but fury resonated off his face, aimed at his innocent sister.
The warrior disappeared and returned, walking in the bats' direction. Rogue grabbed his sister's mouth and ducked behind a wooden pillar. Sweat dripped onto the hand which covered Roxie's muzzle. She was embraced by her brother to prevent her from screaming. However, Roxie could feel Rogue's chest intensely shudder. Both of them were terrified. Roxie slammed her eyes closed and flung the photo over them as a precaution and an innocent, yet ignorant cover.
A smirk came from the taciturn warrior. She drew out her sword and approached the blue bats. Rogue's eyes shrunk in horror, and he squeezed his sister. The chaos blade stopped in mid-flight, as its wielder gawked at the photograph in Roxie's hand. Then, the warrior gazed at the bat's blue fur, retracting her sword. She blinked repeatedly, revealing blue eyes but then instantly transformed into a bloody red.
Hard breathing noises came as she grimaced with her hands on her aching skull. The warrior gained control, flung a small tin box at Rogue's feet, and retreated. Stunned, Rogue released his sister and hoisted the container with blinking red numbers. It was a timer. Roxie nervously opened her eyes as Rogue dropped the clock and ran into a room nearby. Confused, she followed her older brother.
"What is wrong, big brothe--" She stopped, staring at a hunk of dynamite attached to the ceiling. There was a trail of bombs leading down another corridor "It's huge!" She exclaimed. In anxiety and knowledge of the dangerous weapon, Rogue seized his sister's arm and ran outside with the clock. Emblazoned in red were the blinking numbers: 13:52, then 13:51, and it continued decreasing.
"We only have fourteen minutes!" Rogue panicked.
Once safely far away, with the toddlers nearby, the bat squeaked, "We must get to Knuckles. Take the children to emerald coast! I will catch up quickly."
"But you're only seven! We are only childr--"
"Don't say it!" Rogue screamed. In terror, his sister ran off struggling to carry all the children. When he was certain she was far enough away, he sprinted to the battlefield. Glancing at the timer, he saw the numbers blinking rapidly. Only five minutes left. All of his fear melted away, racing against time. He had to warn the others.
(At the battlefield)
Cream's strategy performed without flaw until the warrior was surrounded. A gleaming smirk radiated off her face. She swung and threw her blade into the air, as the seven chaos emeralds revolved around her. Laughing, the warrior cocked her head back and closed her eyes. The chaos blade, now glowing blood red, returned to her palm. The emeralds soared faster, scorching with a bright glow. She flung her eyes open, which were pouring a red radiance of light. A multi-colored aura enveloped her, as she spilt into seven different creatures. However, only one clutched the chaos blade.
"I don't understand," Knuckles proclaimed through a radio watch. "Why are there seven warriors?!" However, no one responded; they were all stricken in anxiety. A low chuckle came from each creature, but it quickly transformed into a deafening cackle. "Fire!" Knuckles commanded. A wave of bullets zipped at the warriors. The creatures soared into the skies. Each warrior shot laser beams out of their glowing hands, forcing the armies into a corner. An evil screech of laughter echoed among the towers.
Suddenly, fire blew up from under the soldiers' feet. No one had time to panic, as the earth chucked Knuckles' forces into the air. Instantaneously, they plummeted thousands of feet at extreme speed. Knuckles, Cream, and Charmy attempted to glide to safety, but the shockwave knocked them to the ground. However, every one else fell to their deaths. The chaos blade reverted the warriors back into a single creature. She strolled to Knuckle's side, saying nothing.
The blade dropped from her hands, as the warrior clenched her head. She fell to her knees beside Knuckles, whelping in pain. The echidna glared with hatred at the creature, who was crying soft tears. He gasped, looking at the blue-eyed warrior. She locked glances with him. A mutual feeling of sorrow was communicated between them. The warrior recognized Knuckles and vice versa. "What is your name?" Knuckles choked out. The warrior tried to respond but collapsed on the earth, clutching her sides. She snatched the blade into her hands and slowly rose into the air.
With burning crimson eyes, she laughed, "I am Dice. Like real dice, I am black, white, and unpredictable. It's too bad you glanced at my snake eyes, 'cause your luck has run out!"
Rogue sprinted to the battlefield to find that he was too late. His heart skipped a beat, as the smoke cleared. A series of craters littered the landscape. Tears gushed onto the soil. The bat fell to his knees in disbelief and guilt. He failed Shadow, his mother, Knuckles... everyone. If he had not left the base in the first place, the warrior would have never found the entrance. His sister and everyone else were right; he was only a pathetic child.
He looked up and saw his sister at the corner of his eye. She was chasing after Cheddar who was separated from the group. The boy tried to force his thoughts out of his mind. Rogue ran to Roxie, but halted when he saw green lightning flooding the air.
A figure floated into the skies. Dice extended her sword into the heavens, with the chaos emeralds swirling around her. The green aura encompassing her grew larger. Bricks crumbled off skyscrapers and levitated upwards. "The servers are the seven chaos of power," she whispered, and then slowly raised her voice as she continued, "Power that is enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the chaos. Now controller: tear this world to pieces!" Dice screamed. A light poured out of the chaos blade and absorbed into the thunderclouds. Lightning resonated out of the chaos emeralds and striked nearby buildings. Dice slashed into the air, and created dark portals throughout the shattered skies, which were cracking apart with an eerie light.
At first, the bat was in awe of the fireworks. However, butterflies in his stomach shouted at him to rescue his sister. Pulling himself in Roxie's direction, he saw a hint of tears and petrified eyes.
"Roxie!" Rogue called out as he desperately sprinted towards his horrified sister. The earth underneath him began to viciously crack and split apart. Mud squirted out of the fissures. Black vortexes heaved the split earth upwards. The landscape swirled around Rogue, who was repeatedly tripping over floating mounds of rock.
He constantly fell on his face, and then sprinted to his feet, almost stumbling again. Despite his frantic leaps forward, the horrendous atmosphere, enveloping the shattered city, prevented Rogue's reunification with his sister. His body did not progress, while his heart pounded in his throat. Though he could see his legs flail back and forth, Rogue felt frozen in place. Adrenaline pulsated through his veins. His skin grew cold while his insides burned in panic.
"Roxie!" He hysterically yelled again, feeling the weakness of his pathetic body. Fear consumed him when he realized he could not possibly reach her in time. Drops of tears levitated out of Rogue's eyes and high into the crimson heavens. He felt like a hamster, running on a never-ending treadmill without moving forward. The edifices above him ripped apart and crashed into the moving boulders that were once the ground. A shockwave blasted behind him and propelled him into the devastating earth. Pain surged through his legs. He glanced up to see his sister, violently embracing Cheddar. Rogue reached out his hand.
Suddenly, Dice twirled around violently and sliced into the air. The terrain disappeared. Rogue, Roxie, and Cheddar found themselves hovering in utter darkness. An abyss, which spread in all directions for eternity. The bat's heart stopped in the time-hole, but could still see his sister's frozen anguish. Almost instantaneously, the scenery reappeared, but three minutes in the future. Station Square flashed once, and then Rogue found himself, yet again, in the dark. The process continued. Each time, the ground position changed drastically, and the towers progressed in their disintegration. Each time, he saw his sister's glassy eyes. Each time, the bat grew more terrified. The endless shadows enveloped them.
The last time-jump ended. However, when the shattered skies reappeared, a fissure cracked the ground apart in between Roxie and Rogue. The boulder on Roxie's side split and turned to rubble, while Rogue's heaved up into the boy's stomach. Soon, Rogue tottered over the elevated stone, thousands of feet in the air, with Roxie's hand. "Hold on!" He screeched in angst, as blood seeped out of his stomach. Roxie was dead silent from shock; Cheddar sobbed uncontrollably. Rogue's eyes twitched and were blood red, blurring his vision. He lost too much blood, and his body convulsed unexpectedly, releasing his grip on Roxie. She plummeted far down into the darkness. Rogue stared into his sister's mortified eyes for an instant, but felt to the boy like another eternity.
"No!" He screamed in an earsplitting fashion. "Nooooooooooooo!" Rogue froze, not blinking and with his hand extended into the abyss. "Roxie!" He desperately cried out, thinking it would miraculously revive his sister, but nothing changed. The blue bat began to shed blood tears in agony.
A/N: Oh the drama! I typed the last section of this chapter while listening to Hoobastank. They have a lot of music that really gets my heart pumping (Hoobastank rocks!!!)! Before I wrote the scene though, I imagined it over and over until I decided exactly what would happen. However, when I wrote it down and re-read it, the same feeling from my imagination was not there. I just couldn't capture the image I wanted... sigh I really did try to portray it... Oh well, you guys are just going to have to use your brains and try to see it with your imaginations. Just try for me, ok?
Also, just to continue my record of politeness; thank you all for reading Chapter 9! If there is anything you would like to comment, please, please do so!