Chapter 22 – No More Lies.
A/N: This is the one ladies and gents; the insidious mastermind behind Amy's fit of rage is revealed and publicly named; it's the last chance to stop the ancient prophecy bearing its dire fruit; can the heroes both stop the being and save their friend? Let's find out, after a few notices:
R. Wolfsbane – Not sure wwhhooah is a word, but thanks for the thought :-). Keep on reading as the climax approaches.
TH – Red Bull, hah! You want to try what my old friend Dan from Uni attempted; on a diet of Red Bull, Cola and ProPlus, he tried to stay awake for a whole week. I think when it got to day four he tried to drink eight cans of Bull in an hour; it was a couple of hours after that he finally fainted after raving that spiders were crawling up his legs and spent the rest of the week asleep. If you want to try something like this, feel free; I'm sure Athair wouldn't mind you borrowing his training room to work out the caffeine high in…
"What are you?" Amy clutched at her head, rage warring with fear and horror; she vented her spleen in the only way she could think of – shrieking at the evil thing she couldn't see, "Where the hell are you?" There was silence for a second, almost as if her tormentor was considering an answer, before that same serpentine voice hissed not into her ears, but almost directly into her mind,
"I am, or was, a prisoner"; despite her revulsion, she found herself listening harder as the speaker weaved its tale, "and you have released me to a certain degree". Amy tightened her grip on her hammer haft as though it was an anchor, keeping her mind from drifting away on tides of insanity, never to return. She tried to talk, but her lips were numb and the words wouldn't come; she wetted them and tried once more, the resulting voice cracked and shaky as the words echoed in the dank stillness of this unhallowed place,
"What degree; I know I touched that big jewel…"
"Yes"; the voice purred into her ear again, trying to convey a point to her, "all I needed you to do was touch the Bloodstone and I would channel into you".
"Channel?" You released my mind – a certain degree – he, it…; Amy felt physically sick as the information she so far had swirled into her imagination like a concoction from her worst nightmare; gripped her head with both hands, she screwed her eyes shut and shrieked at the top of her voice, "you, you're inside me!"
Amy thrashed her head from one side to the other; she felt violated, abused and horrified in equal measure, responding primally to the thought of an alien inside her brain,
"Get out! I hate you, you're a monster! Get outta my head!" She collapsed to the cold earth floor, tears trickling from her eyes as she curled up, foetal position, unable to stop that sinister, malevolent voice from whispering into her abused, terrified psyche,
"Believe me, there is nothing more I would like than to be gone from you Amy, both for your sake and my own. But I need your help to do that…"
"Never", even scared by circumstances beyond her control and half-frozen from a combination of fear and cold, Amy wouldn't be swayed by what she saw as a devil's bargain, "I won't do anything for you; you tricked me into coming here and then set you free. You're a, a demon; I will never help you again".
"Very well", the being sought to make the host understand the gravity of the situation, though he didn't want to cause her undue suffering; over the course of her memories, he had realised she was the kind of person he could have grown very close to had the circumstances been different, "then all we shall do is wait down here". A tiny measure of resolve crept back into Amy; he'll never break me, if I have to starve in this darkness I won't do anything for him, whatever the hell he is.
"You can wait until Doomsday; I'll never help something as evil as you". The being recoiled at this statement; he was many things, but he could never be evil – his was a sacred mission to save his people from the grip of mortality, allow them to transcend as he had. Try as he might, he couldn't keep all the anger from his voice as this creature spurned his good intentions as poisonous lies,
"Evil; can a saviour be evil?" Amy flinched at the malevolent crackle, expecting pain from somewhere even as she remembered this thing was within her own body and couldn't hurt her, "I hold within my mind the key to immortality, and I will share it with others as soon as I am able to. Now, a choice is before you; go to the Bloodstone voluntarily, or I'll do it for you". Amy shot to her feet, tensing every muscle in her body, testing for any signs of rebellion as she answered with ire in her tone and denial coursing through her veins,
"You can't do anything to me", she put her hands on her hips and brayed with a high, scary laugh, "you're nothing but a parasite, a weak little shell that needs me to survive. Come on then", she spread her arms out wide, almost challenging the darkness to try and claim her, "if you're so mighty, make me move; take my legs and march me to that cheap piece of coal – can't do it can you?" Amy hissed victoriously as she was stationary for a few moments with no answer from the beast in her mind,
"So that little trick didn't work then? What will you do now, oh immortal voice? Come on, I'm dying for an answer". She believes she has won; the being forced himself to remain calm in the face of the taunting – he'd faced far worse and not reacted over the course of his struggle to enlighten his people to the mysteries of his teachings; I must change her perceptions; time is of the essence as my enemies will be trying to find me now. Forgive me Amy; I did not want to have to reveal this to you. With an almost-sigh of failure, realising he couldn't delay any longer, the being broke the back of his host's slight victory,
"All I need to do is wait Amy; you can't stay awake forever; I'll take what's mine when you succumb to the inevitable", as he felt the now-familiar sensation of burning frost engulf the host's emotions once more, he realised this was the time to admit his habit, "you haven't been sleepwalking".
XXX
Silence.
Nothing was said after Sabre's sudden declaration; those connected to Amy were either concerned for her well-being or trying to think what the spurred echidna could have meant by that; the child of thorns. However, it was Sonic, thinking on his feet much faster than most of the others, who burst the bubble of noiselessness,
"What does that mean; it's just her name", the blue hedgehog took in the faces of the assembled Brotherhood and realised it may be far more than that, "what's all this about, and what's it got to do with Amy?"
"She's not in danger, is she?" Rouge spoke up next, her attuned danger sense pinging in response to their new circumstances. This set off a barrage of questions, each overlapping the other and generating a vast, tangled web of speech that no-one could interpret; it was perhaps then fortunate that the one who spoke in response was not interested in answering these questions, for there was a far greater and more weighty matter at hand,
"Everyone", Spectre raised a both a paw and his voice to shout above the others; though this may have helped restore silence, the sight of his bloodless face, set rigid in a deep expression of shock, was what quieted most of the questions, "tell me everything".
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Knuckles stepped forwards and pointed at his seventh-father, questions spilling from his lips as concern for his younger friend mounted, "what's this got to do with Amy disappearing; what is going on Spectre?"
"It doesn't matter!" The voice echoed off the walls and reverberated around the skulls of everyone packed together as Thunderhawk took a pace forwards and continued, his voice quick and universally defeating all opposition, "if you believe nothing else any of us ever say, believe this sixth-son, and the rest of you", he indicated everyone bar the remaining members of his own family; he took a deep breath, truth in his eyes as he continued, "lives are in danger, none more so than Amy's, and all we can do now is try and find out where she's been…taken. We need to know where she's been recently, just before the island came back – it's the only way we can save her and prevent a cataclysm". At first, nothing was said, nothing could be said; people were in danger, and Amy, one of their friends, was caught right in the middle of it all. Then, with infinite slowness and clarity, a single thought formed; to hell with customer privacy…
"She went on a case with us".
XXX
She sank to her knees, legs buckling under her as those four words crushed her one last, tiny hope in a steel fist; Amy's sense of violation bloomed sickeningly and she curled up into as tight a ball as she could manage, shaking her head and mouthing a single word in horror, in some effort to deny what she was being told to her by a remorseless fiend,
"No…no…"
"I'm afraid so"; merciless he wasn't, but this had to be said to make his freedom secure, "I had to rediscover the use of a normal body as I recollected my scattered memories. I did not wish to tell you this; I hoped you would never find out before I left you. But it was impossible; I needed you to bring me here from Haven; you had to be the one to say those words and bring yourself to this place. Believe me, if there had been another way, I would have found it".
The hedgehog gasped in delayed shock as the implications of her parasite's words crashed in on her; he, had control of me, and I was with the others, as they were asleep. He could have, I would have, hurt them, any of them. A dizzying vision of a bloodstained Athair lying comatose burst into her thoughts accusingly and she cried out, a low sound, brimming with pain as the certainty that her body had been used to bear arms against a person she counted as a friend. A hollow pit opened in her soul, drawing in everything around it that was her as she whimpered for knowledge she needed yet despaired of hearing,
"What, what did you do, when you…"
"Nothing", the answer was swift and sure; she could only pray it was truthful as well, "I needed to learn how to control a body, but mostly I just remembered what had been lost, including who and what I was. I believe the only luxury I afforded was a drink; coffee, white with three sugars".
"You drank that?" For a second, the fear and despair were banished by incredulity; this thing had been a position to do anything with no danger of blame, but had turned it down to take a swig of decaf. For a second she almost smiled, a chuckle threatened to break through her lips, but then the horror reasserted itself as, with a lurch of dread, she recalled everything she done in her sleep and more importantly, everything her puppeteer could force her to do; he's right – I can't stay awake forever.
The entity had tried to avoid this, he really had, but now he had no choice; he needed her to go forwards and bring his body into the light. With a sigh of grim finality, inwardly asking for forgiveness even before he acted, he pushed the last button; expending the last of the energy he'd drawn forth from the red Chaos emerald, he showed his host what could have been.
Amy felt like she was trapped in a nightmare; a deadly, dark spiral with no possible conclusion save one. She pressed her hands to her temples, as though by doing so she could crush the ghost in her mind like a flea between her palms. She gritted her teeth, visions assailing her; whether they were her own or provided for her by her pet sadist mattered not, it was what they contained that finally shattered her formidable resistance – her hands stealthily approaching the exposed throat of a sleeping Tails; the shadow of a massive hammer rising up on the wall behind a slumbering Shadow; Rouge gasping in the night, trying to loosen the noose around her neck; Cream…; no, not her, not my little sister – I can't let it happen!
The grim procession was finally ended as Amy screamed again, sinking face down in the dirt as tears cleansed a path down her matted cheek fur, a broken, final whisper barely audible to even her own ears,
"All right", she relaxed on the earth, feeling her strength of resistance fade and leave her lifeless, crushed by the strain of what she'd been exposed to and forced to do by another, "all right; I'll do it".
"So be it"; there was no victory in the voice that came for her; it was sombre as though mourning the fallen as it spoke again, "let us end this Amy; touch the Bloodstone once more, and I will be gone from your life forever". Somehow, the promise of freedom of her own, away from this leech, energised her enough to push to her feet and take the first, faltering step. Keeping her eyes on the path she had marked, weeping bitterly and cursing herself every step of the way, Amy began her final journey downwards.
As if anticipating her coming, a hidden chamber below the earth glowed in crimson radiance as the power source at his heart awaited the return of its master.
XXX
All eyes turned to the source of the call; Charmy suddenly found himself the centre of attention and shuffled his feet nervously; stage-fright wasn't a phrase in his dictionary, but as his tongue suddenly stuck to the roof of his mouth and his mind went blank, he realised he quickly might need a newer edition.
"What case?" Sonic stepped forwards and gripped the bee by the shoulders, fierce emerald eyes boring into Charmy's wide ones as though they could drill right into his memories and extract the information directly, "where did you all go, and why?"
"Come away", Sonic was hauled away from the bee and almost off the ground by a combination of Vector and Shadow, the latter looking hard at his counterpart and speaking sternly even as he tried to drain the rising tide of excitement and dread from his own voice, "terrifying him won't help; go on Charmy, tell us what happened". The bee nodded and, thinking of Amy again to help put what he was doing into the perspective of a life-or-death scenario, the young insect recited from his memories as clearly and as quickly as he could,
"I, er, I got a call from Vec, and he said I had to interview a client at the memorial park at four thirty; this was the day, after Boxing day?" He threw a look Vector's way; the croc shook his head,
"Day after, but carry on, you're doing okay buzz-boy". Drawing a little resolve from the lightness in the playful insult, the younger Mobian continued, every ear tuned into his every word,
"Right, well I went, and Amy was there. We chatted for a bit, then I asked about the case; turned out she wanted to go someplace underground and wanted us just to wait topside for her. I took the details to Vec and he sorted it from there". Just before the crocodile took over the story from his team mate, Sabre asked the question needed,
"Why did she say she wanted to get there?"
"She said she lost something down there", Charmy replied without hesitation, the pink hedgehog's words coming back to him like they were spoken yesterday, "it was important to her and she needed to get it back".
"Right", the surgeon nodded before waving his hand at the crocodile, "sorry, please continue".
"Okay, so that was fine; I talked to Amy later that night and we made ready to go the day after tomorrow of that day; that'd be the 29th if I'm counting right".
"You are" Rouge assured him after counting on her fingers and doing some mental maths.
"She's got a map for us and we drive there from Station Square; take one stop for petrol. She pulls us to a stop outside some hole in the ground; it's an old mine system, outside the…"
"Eggman!"
Tails had leapt into the air, his jubilant shout startling everyone near him as he gabbled his guess aloud,
"It's Eggman's old base, or it's in the same system", the kit spread his arms out and elaborated as Sonic thought hard and thought he saw what his younger brother was driving at, "think about it; going to rescue Rouge, it was the only time we've been underground for, well, years!"
"He's right", Knuckles raised his eyes and a wolfish, hungry grin appeared, "it's the only time I can remember Ames going under the surface, and she didn't really like it even then". Sonic smacked a fist into his open palm and straightened, every inch of him seeming to glow with determination as the path set itself out before him,
"Then that's where Amy is and where we're going".
"Good idea but", Sojourner's voice slid into the conversation like oil as the fifth-father licked his lips nervously, well aware that any hint or suspicion of shirking would bring severe reprimand from all parties concerned, "can we be sure this is the right place; is there anything else you can tell us?"
"Yes"; everyone looked around confused for a second before Espio remembered he'd been stood still for a few minutes, "oh sorry; when Amy went down, we gave her a radio and told her to contact us when she wanted to get back. She was adamant that she went down into the mines alone; I thought that was a bit strange, but I let it slide because she was a paying customer. Well, after she went I sat down and meditated for a bit, then I felt it", the chameleon closed his eyes for a second to better remember the sensation, "something went through the ground, a tremor. We thought it might have been a cave-in, but when we radioed Amy was fine. I didn't think about it until now, but the tremor felt, odd; there were no aftershocks or anything else; it was like a, pulse, or a ripple, running through the earth…"
"Then that's the place", Knuckles cut him off unceremoniously, "when the island came back, the Master sent out pulses of power like waves. Amy must have done something that either had an effect or even started the whole ball rolling".
"And she's gone there again; where is this mine system?" Spectre asked the fatal question, breathing shallowly as he realised how much hung on a clear picture of where to go, "can you remember the route?"
"Sorta", Vector replied after a second's thought, a fuzzy picture in his mind as the hand-drawn paper Amy had presented to him was once more in front of him, "I'm not too clear on the details, but I've got a general idea".
"Leave the rest to me; Sojourner, come here"; the smaller guardian approached his grandfather as Spectre ripped off his gloves, panic lending him speed as he beckoned for the crocodile to approach him, "keep the route clear in your mind, I'm going to take it, crystallise the details and then give the image to you Sojourner, it's the fastest way. Are you both prepared?" There were two simultaneous nods and Spectre positioned himself between the two, looking at the rest of his family and the other Mobians as he extended his hands,
"I'll try to be fast, but please don't disturb this; it's a trickier operation than a simple mind scan. Now, let's go". A second later, the black echidna slipped away, the information stream flowing from one mind, through him and into the other; it was his task to filter the sent images and refine them as much as was possible before his grandson received them. Even as he plunged headlong into the task, Spectre was acutely and uncomfortable aware that, right now, the clock was ticking, and the time left didn't favour them.
XXX
The gap in the wall was coming up, though Amy was barely watching the trail of white paint as it flanked the sides of the cunningly hidden passageway. Her mind was in turmoil; she was letting something loose that had been restrained down here for so long she couldn't even ask about the time scale, but by doing so she was making sure he wouldn't hurt her friends through her. But I'm being selfish as well; that was the killer, the wound that hurt most cruelly; I want him out of my mind, I want him to leave me alone, so I'm letting him go. The pink hedgehog cursed herself again softly, a single, silent tear sliding from her raw, aching tear ducts as she came level with the hole in the wall. She raised her eyes and looked at it, for a moment lost in thought; what had been running through her head the last time she'd been here? If only she'd known what it would lead to, she'd never have…
"Take your time Amy", the voice broke in on her unexpected, causing her to jump a little before she could think enough to reply,
"What?"
"I said to take your time", the reply came back hesitantly and the pink hedgehog was mildly disconcerted to hear a vaguely apologetic, pleading tone enter the phantom voice, "there is time enough; do not rush yourself". Though said with good intentions, Amy was too far gone to recognise them; a mocking, bitter laugh slid into the still night air,
"You don't want me to hurry", she scoffed, shaking her head as she placed her hands on her hips, "surely that's not right; you should be demanding me to go faster; your hour is at hand and nothing should delay your release; shouldn't you be spouting off that type of speel?"
"No, because I respect you too much to try anything as crude and crass as that".
Respect; of all the replies she'd possibly considered, that had to be among the least likely. Her mind went temporarily blank as the admission stunned her,
"You, you respect me? Why?" She almost thought she heard some light laughter, laughter, in a situation as grim as this, before the entity spoke once more into her ears,
"When I was, utilising the facilities open to me", the explanation came through; Amy had the distinct impression that he was trying not to give too much away, "I had no choice but to pry into a couple of your memories".
"Oh God", for once it wasn't fear or dread that filled her, but embarrassment; better than anyone she knew just what was squirreled away in there, "Why, what did you try and see there?"
"I needed to see where the Chaos emerald was; at the shrine of the hated…the Master Emerald. I saw, and then I had to, travel there to gather the power you would need to come here"; embarrassment was replaced by violation; suddenly, Amy knew why she had been in such pain in the morning of the day; this thing used me to run an errand; that's how I got here – oh my God, I used a Chaos Control.
"Quite true"; the being recognised the pattern of emotions and chose its next words carefully to both put her at ease and speak the truth it had deduced about her, "but as I looked, I saw what you were. And what I saw opened my eyes; I saw a fearless, relentless warrior when the situation called for one, but when in times of peace, this was replaced by a conscientious , caring girl who'd do anything for her friends. With not a bad word to say to anyone and a light heart; even now, you blame yourself for something beyond your control and fear more for your friends than yourself – how could I not respect that?" For a second, the host was silent and the being despaired of receiving an answer, when a single voice, cautious and taciturn, reached his ears as well as his host's,
"Do you respect me enough, to take one request from me?"
For the first time since freedom, the being wasn't sure what to think to this change of circumstances; could he – he really couldn't answer that? It will depend on the actual request itself,
"I can, consider it"; Amy allowed herself the barest flicker of rekindled hope, though she was mindful of what had happened last time she though she had one up on her psychic vampire, "what was the request?"
"My friends", Amy stood erect, blinking away the flakes of dried tears; it's too late for me, but maybe, oh please maybe, I can help save them if he promises this; "don't hurt them; when you're free, don't touch them". She paused, silent, with baited breath, calmly thinking the same line over and over in her mind; please say yes, please say yes…
So noble, even now; the entity swirled in rapt admiration for his host's seemingly unquenchable desire for peace for those she cared for; there was only one answer he could even consider for this plea,
"Very well", the entity realised that though it needed to do something about those who would threaten it, such plans did not need to involve pain and suffering; if anything, he was sick of such things as his memories of the war surged forwards again, "I swear to you, by everything I am, everything I was and everything I may become; whatever happens, neither I nor my machinations will result in undue hurt being inflicted on those who currently reside in Haven. Is that enough?" Amy ran the statement over in her mind thoroughly, looking for any loophole, any noose he could use to wriggle free of his obligation, and almost immediately one appeared in front of her,
"What do you mean by undue hurt? What have you got against them?"
"The Brotherhood are my enemies; I must conquer them. This process can never be bloodless, but I will minimise the risk as much as I am able".
"That's all then; I'll take your word for it but remember this", Amy summoned her hammer to her once more, the comforting grip around the handle breathing new life, new defiance, into her mind as she growled menacingly, "break your word and I'll find out, and I will come for you, no matter how powerful you are".
"I do not doubt that", the previous sights from the mind of the host had been enough to convince the entity that Amy meant what she said implicitly, "you have my word Amy Rose, and my word is unbreakable. Now, much as I am loathe to bring you back to the topic, it is time to fulfil your end of the bargain".
Without another word being spoken, Amy turned her body sideways and squeezed through the gap, easing herself into the next, last passageway towards her final goal. The pace continued unabated, slow but relentless, though there was a difference this time around; not physically, as she trudged on mechanically, face still mourning and sullen as she began to accept the hand uncaring fate had dealt her, but rather in her mental state. Rather than all-consuming guilt and rage festering in her mind, a tiny ray of light brightened the murk of the inner darkness this thing had brought to her soul; I might be lost, but at least I tried to save the others – it's not enough, but it's something.
XXX
With a last gasp, Spectre snapped himself back and let his arms drop, feeling the fatigue burning through them like liquid fire in his ancient veins. Everyone snapped to attention as both Vector and Sojourner reeled away, shaking their heads from the prolonged mental contact as Charmy reacted first,
"You did it?" Everyone looked up expectantly, even Cream, who was sat huddled on the floor with hr back to the wall, still weeping with worry over her big sister's fate despite Tails' best efforts to cheer her up, "you know the way?"
"Yes, but", Sojourner realised he couldn't let this turn into a celebration; they needed to stop this call being answered before they could even think about relaxing and he had a problem with what he had seen; his violet eyes locked with his grandfather's crimson ones, his face a mask of concern as he made his worry plain, "that's a long way Spectre, even with a full channel".
"Then I'm going with you", Sonic stood up, a commanding presence even among the others gathered in this small, narrow corridor; sudden energy and authority suffused the very air around the blue hedgehog as he strode forwards majestically, "if you need to get somewhere I can get you there".
"He's right; Sonic's the fastest here"; Shadow tipped the others a fast wink before looking at his blue friend, a serious mask on his face as he realised just how deep this was hitting Sonic; Amy's in trouble and Sonic can't just sit here and wait – he cares too much not to do something and I can't stand in the way of that. The decision was made in a heartbeat as Spectre remembered fishing the speeding hedgehog off the roof of his home vividly and realised for the first time just how fast he must have been going not to fall headlong to the floor.
"Then it's decided; sons, channel into Sojourner; he'll do the rest and", Spectre bowed his head as the other members of his family, even the recently recovered Athair, took their places around him; for the first time he truly did look his age, the stress of his long life weighing down on his shoulders like an oppressive burden he couldn't set aside, "good luck to the both of you; the future of Angel Island may well rest in your hands". With that, he turned to face the rest of his family and slowly reached forwards, letting the power he had left drain away from him, focussing in the one who needed it most to prevent the dire prophesy coming to fruition.
Amy's done it again; Sonic watched the intricate pattern of hands reform itself once more, waiting for the merest hint, the tiniest flicker of movement from Sojourner to signal he was ready to go; she's in deadly danger and I'm sweating bullets over her. The blue hedgehog clenched his fists as the wait wore on, every second passing like an eon to those with no choice but to wait; I swear if, no, when, when she's safe again, I will sit down and tell her – can I get that in writing – what, ah, no I, oh what the hell; why am I even trying to fight? - I ask that every day; you know the truth, all you lack's the confidence to say it. His thoughts were broken as Sojourner moved fractionally; Sonic was by his shoulder in a second and felt the echidna grip onto his forearm; Sojourner paused just long enough to speak and cast a severe, sincere gaze to everyone who wasn't currently immobile in an ancient ritual,
"Don't break the circle or everything will be lost; now let's go".
"Sonic", he jerked his head around in time to see Cream stand up, eyes pleading as she choked out her words, "bring her back, please?" His reply was lost as Sojourner triggered his power and the pair were engulfed by a green haze.
It was a desert out here; Sonic felt the sand shift underfoot even as he tried to blink his eyes clear and pull Sojourner forwards at the same time. He snarled as he felt resistance, shouting across at his travelling companion even before he could see him,
"Hold still, I'm putting you on my shoulder so we can move". The echidna stopped struggling and a second later Sonic had him swung up on one shoulder,
"Point me"; a skinny red arm flicked overhead, a single finger extended like the needle of a compass. With a rev of acceleration, Sonic roared off, shouting up at Sojourner to move his arm to keep them on course.
The blue hedgehog increased the power as much as was possible in this unstable, treacherous surface, gritting his teeth as the mountains hove into view as dark, silent shark-fins, threatening and ominous in the gloom. He cursed the sand beneath his feet; if this had been something solid like concrete they'd be there by now. Now he saw what he was heading for, he gasped in shock though his speed was unimpeded; I know this place – Tails was right! For a split-second Sonic was struck by the ludicrous thought that Seraph, who had led them all here in the first place for his own, at the time inscrutable plans, was somehow involved before shaking his head; this wasn't the time for far-fetched conspiracy theories, he had someone to save. Flicking his eyes up to make sure he was going in the right direction by Sojourner's pointing, the blue hedgehog sped across the grey desert, the first faint fingers of dawn beginning to infiltrate the murky sky and brighten the tone of the sand he rushed over. As a soft wind caressed the soft sand into tiny dances of motion, Sonic let out a hiss of triumph; it was here, just as he remembered it. The entrance to the mines was dead ahead, open like a gaping maw in the desert. Sonic felt a tap of his shoulder,
"Stop here, I can get us down from the rim of the hole". He didn't even bother to slow down,
"No time for fancy stuff – hold on"; Sojourner shrieked as Sonic leapt upwards over the hole and threw him bodily skywards – the blue ball dropped into the darkness and was lost to his sight as he descended, remembering in time to straighten out and glide in a tight circle as he too passed below the surface of the desert.
XXX
Once I'd have given anything to know what was beyond this corner; Amy came to a dead halt at the fated final bend of her journey, poisonous irony singing malevolent hymns in her ears as a grim, weary smile creased her numb lips; and now I'd give anything to be ignorant of it again. She could delay no longer; though her passenger remained silent, she could feel he was getting more and more edgy as the journey had progressed. The back of her neck had begun to itch more and more frequently as though his impatience could burn a way through her and escape to complete the journey on its own. The baleful red glow brightened in her vision as the burning intensified,
"Yes, my most powerful creation"; she wasn't sure if she was meant to be hearing this, but was too wrapped up in her own problems to care much one way or the other, "Soon, I shall be free again, and then all shall know the blissful machination of immortality". Amy sighed aloud and, swallowing the rising bile in her throat, took the last few steps to cross the threshold of the closest all and stand within full view of the red light's source.
"I know you're there; kill the light show". As if on command, the glow receded and the Bloodstone was revealed in the centre of the chamber. At the sight, Amy clawed the back of her own neck as the itch burst to new levels,
"Yes, this is it; all the years of planning and illusion, vindicated by this one instant", but Amy wasn't listening by this point. She was staring at the facet of the great red stone closest to her, a memory reminding her of something that had happened on the last trip down. There was nothing unusual now and that could mean only one thing,
"Hey, you".
"I have a name…"
"I'm not interested", Amy cut the snooty reply off, slashing a hand in front of her and pointing forwards at the heart of the Bloodstone, "my reflection moved last time; that was you wasn't it?"
"Yes – I had to make sure…"
"I'd touch it", Amy finished for him, once more cursing her own gullibility as the plain truth unfolded before her eyes; how could I have been so stupid to fall for it? Am I really that much of an idiot?
Confidence crushed and self-esteem a ruin, Amy resigned herself to her fate; it really didn't matter now, all she wanted was to throw off the shackles of this thing, crawl into a hole somewhere and die unmourned – if she got away with that she'd have been granted a mercy. There was no emotion present, there was none left in her, as she began the last few steps.
XXX
Sojourner pulled and Sonic came free of the gap, the blue hedgehog stumbling forwards onto firmer and more solid ground. Just as he was celebrating this fact, Sojourner hissed in panic and started off down the corridor,
"It's close now, and the child, she can't touch it; we've got to stop her". For once there was no quip, no joke; Sonic just took off, his blistering speed leaving the echidna in the dust as he blazed his trail forwards; hang tough Ames, I'm coming. The paint on the walls had run dry, but that was mostly immaterial as the hedgehog became aware, at the very edges of his vision, that the darkness up ahead was lightening; the air was tinted red; red like a rose! Fresh fear lending him speed even in conditions such as these, Sonic rounded a bend, realised this was the end, took in the scene in an instant and roared into the chamber,
"Amy".
XXX
She gazed into the clear ocean of red, polished ruby in front of her, the light emanating from it that had fascinated her last time was lost now; it simply reflected off her dead, dull eyes. She barely even felt the itch on her neck any more and she certainly couldn't hear anything; there was only the jewel in front of her; this is my damnation, and my saviour. Her hands were not protected by their usual gloves; she regarded her right hand, dispassionately taking in the flecks of dried blood that stained the lighter fur. Craving release, wanting it all to end, Amy stretched it forwards, hearing the delighted, expectant whisperings in her ears as the end neared for her.
"Amy". What; the voice burst into her mind, filling it with momentary confusion. Her eyes flicked to the entrance of this place and a flash of blue caught her eye; Sonic?
No! I have done too much to be baulked here and now; there was only one choice; as the confusion dispersed, before the joy and hope could take over, in the split-second of doubt that existed when Amy was in two minds and couldn't react, the being seized its chance. Amy felt her extended arm move; before she could stop it, there was a feeling of coldness beneath her fingertips and a last voice in her ears,
"There will be pain. I am sorry".
XXX
Sojourner sprinted to try and catch up with Sonic, cursing the blue hedgehog for not picking him up as he ran. It would have saved a lot of time and effort on my part; I'm getting too old for this kind of actahAAAHHH! The guardian was all but physically flung backwards as a wave of nothing less than pure energy raced down the corridor and smashed straight through him. Sojourner felt it batter his body and knife at his mind; he steeled himself against the assault as much as he could, but even as he did, a second, even more damaging thought assailed him. His knees buckled under him as his guardian powers showed him the full horror of what was unfolding less than a mile from him; an eternal enemy was rising from the grave almost before his very eyes. Sojourner felt his gorge rise and his courage drain from him like water from a spilled goblet as the thought ran back and forth across his mind like a hacksaw; it's too late!
XXX
Sonic saw it happen; Amy turned her head to regard him and the first hint of a smile was beginning to dawn on her face, only to be stopped by shock. Her hand shot forwards; nothing couldn't stop it, not even his last shout, the final denial,
"No!" There was contact; Sonic was just able to glimpse her terrified face before the world turned red and the blast of power hurled him away back up the corridor he'd approached from. He crashed into the wall, barely registering the pain from the impact as his appalled gaze was fixed on the chamber as it was now; Ames, what have you done?
It was a cauldron in there; a seething maelstrom of red, purple and midnight black swirling in random yet palpably menacing patterns; a fascinating, deadly dance of colours. The whirl and flares of energy made Sonic feel queasy; it felt like he was being exposed to a museum of kaleidoscopes while wearing a pair of 3D glasses. He staggered upright, for the first time in too long unsure of himself, of what to do next – in the face of this new threat he was so far out of his depth he'd need a bathyscaphe to find himself. However, when the first scream, high-pitched and agonised, worked its way from the heart of the violence to his ears, all the doubt was forgotten.
Almost wild with panic, Sonic threw himself forwards. To his dismay, there was resistance, as if the presence of this doom-laden cloud sensed him and resisted his efforts to push into it. He strained every muscle in his body, trying to force his way in, pressing against the unyielding surface of the storm as he at last found his voice.
"Amy, I'm coming. For the love of God be all right, please be all right!"
XXX
It had promised pain, and it did not lie; her head was splitting open down the centre, her brain shivering in the exposed atmosphere as liquid fire coursed through her blood and set her alight. Every molecule of her body was screaming in torment as the Bloodstone pumped its limitless fury into her and, through her, the beast in her head. Then, abruptly, it stopped; the agony ceased as quickly as it had begun and she fell, unconsciousness beckoning as the pain made everything go a dull, lifeless grey. She staggered, clutching onto something for support as she dimly heard a voice, lost in the distance, calling her name and begging her to stay safe. Sonic; she denied her urge to give in to the welcoming arms of darkness, trying to focus on the words of her love to drag herself away from the pit of shades. As she gradually brought herself upright, still leaning on the great stone for support, the tempest around her was stilled; for a split-second the endless dance ceased as the work of its conductor was done. The second stretched into eternity, before a single word restarted time itself,
"Liberty".
XXX
Once more, he was clothed in his own flesh, a body to call his own again. The Bloodstone in his palm, there was nothing that could stand in his way now; he would unleash the ageless fury of his past glory and there would be no-one with the strength to make a stand against it; he would save them from death, whether they resisted him or not. Death was not the unavoidable eventuality, it could be prevented – had he not himself cheated the reaper by hiding like he had? As his eyes opened for the first time, he felt a slight smile tug at his lips as he realised his predicament; just as quickly his amazing mind had solved the problem. Fixing his destination in his mind, he spoke the words his host used to save his modesty; it simply wouldn't do to introduce himself naked.
XXX
As he strained against the force resisting him, Sonic gritted his teeth and bunched his muscles for one last effort. He threw himself forwards, shoes beginning to sink into the ground beneath them as he exerted every inch of power he had into the last push; I gotta do this for Amy; her name sent a surge of renewed determination through his aching arms as he flicked the sweat from his eyes; she'd do the same for me, if not more – I've gotta do it for, huh? Suddenly the resistance was gone; unable to catch himself in time, Sonic launched forwards and fell ungainly into the dust on the chamber floor. Sneezing from the dirt that had lodged in his nose, he threw himself to his feet, taking it in with a glance but seeing only one thing.
She was leaning against the red emerald, pain etched on her face and eyes half-closed; he wasn't sure if she was conscious or not. He made his move, rushing forwards to grab her and speed away from whatever this foul place was, she was almost close enough to touch, he could feel the fur on the arm he was reaching for…
"Chaos Control". She blurred, the whole thing blurred in front of him, and she was gone; his hand passed through empty air and nothing more as Amy, the ruby she'd been leaning on and the other one who had spoken were taken away by the technique he and Shadow had mastered and Sojourner had been born with.
She's gone; it didn't sink in, it couldn't – Amy Rose, his one constant interference, the fly in his ointment, his bugbear, his friend, his obsessed fan-girl, the personal nuisance, his belle, a manic hammer-wielding nightmare sent to haunt his waking moments with threats of commitment, his love, was gone, taken from right out of his hands. Sonic stood mute, feebly pawing at the air as though he could somehow coerce the very atmosphere itself to bring her back to him. He heard nothing, saw nothing and felt nothing, not the flare of green at his back, not the rushing that came closer to him, nor the fact his name was being called.
XXX
"Sonic", Sojourner had realised it had ended with that last flare of chaos energy and, as he was obliged to do by the guardian code, had to come and clear away the aftermath. The fact that at least one of the hedgehogs was here was a good thing; the fact that Sonic seemed to be ignoring him in a crisis like this was not so highly though of however.
"Sonic" the older guardian repeated, stomping over to seize his shoulder and spin him around, "what happened?"
"Gone", the voice was a shell of its former self; much like he is; Sojourner recognised shock when he saw it and Sonic was basically suffering right now, "he took her; I was too slow".
By the Master – he's free and there is no hope; Sojourner bowed his head as his third-son's dire prediction was proven in the most heinous way imaginable; our greatest enemy unleashed, and we, any of us, could have stopped it at any time. For a second both Mobians were silent, before Sonic realised who was standing right in front of him; Sojourner had a second to register the dangerous growl before a crushing grip fastened around his throat and he was bodily slammed into the nearest wall. Gasping for air, he suddenly found himself eye to eye with Sonic and despite himself shivered; the blue hedgehog had gone from zero to lethal in a matter of seconds and Sojourner realised uncomfortably that he was the target of the hedgehog's rage.
"What the hell just happened and how did Amy get mixed up in it?"; Sojourner slapped the hand around his neck, trying to loosen the grip for air, only for the blue hedgehog to snarl and push him harder against the unyielding stone, "answer me guardian!" There's no time for this; Sojourner had to resort to desperate measures to get word to the rest of the Brotherhood, throwing Sonic back with a telekinetic shove and holding him at bay.
"Can't…say", the guardian began raspily, massaging his throat as Sonic rallied against the force pinning him in place,
"Can't, or won't" he hissed venomously, eyes glinting as he launched into a tension-relieving rant, "you're all the same you echidnas – don't say anything until the last minute then wonder why everything goes to pot. At least I know it's genetic now and…"
"Shut up", Sojourner managed to speak without pain and dropped his power, letting Sonic fall a little to the floor to cool his spurs, "I can't say here; the others need to know, all of them" he remarked pointedly, mustering the strength he had left as the madness dropped from Sonic's gaze. As the rage left, the hero seemed to deflate, his aura of invulnerability failing like a bulb blowing as the full impact of his loss jarred him right to the roots.
"Right", he mumbled, recalling Cream's tearful face and screwing up his own as shame bit down hard; he had failed to bring Amy back because he hadn't been fast enough, and now he had to break the news to the others. Seeing his companion docile for the minute, Sojourner knew he had to gamble now; Sonic was in no condition to run anywhere safely and, though the race to find the Bloodstone had been lost, the race to arm against both it and its master had just begun. Carefully gripping Sonic's upper arm, the echidna dug deep into himself and, silently praying to the spirit of the Master, called forth his emerald powers.
XXX
The corridor here was silent, the tension palpable as every Mobian present dealt with the strain in their own way. Tails gave a wan grin and motioned to Rouge, trying not to move as Cream had succumbed to the exhaustion of worry and was snoring at his shoulder; leaving Knuckles for a second, the bat squatted down by the side to hear Tails whisper,
"All we need now is Nack and a couple of concussion grenades, what d'ya reckon?"
"I reckon you're right", she remarked, mind wandering for a second as the circumstances the foxboy was describing came back to her in a haze – truth be told she'd nearly forgotten them now, sealing them away as a place she really didn't want to go anymore. Shaking her head, her large eyes narrowed, glancing down the corridor,
"Come on Sonic; you're not usually one to keep us waiting".
"You said it", Rouge looked around, she hadn't realised she'd spoken out loud and Tails had overheard; the fox looked up at her and spoke in what he thought was a convincing tone, "I bet he's on his way back right no…"
There was a bright green flash at the corridor end that blinded everyone with their eyes open; there was a rush of displaced air past him and Tails felt something impact on the ruff at his front at the same time Cream stirred, blinking herself awake and peering around slightly confused. As his sight restored itself, the foxboy felt himself go a deep red; Rouge had fallen or been knocked right into him and was currently sprawled in his lap while Cream still had one of her arms draped over his shoulders. Neither was he the only one to notice; Knuckles had a sly smirk at his blushing girlfriend as she fought to stand up, scarlet from anger and embarrassment as she looked for the git who had knocked into her. Wait a sec, weren't there only five echidnas there earlier; in her slightly skewed perceptions it took a few priceless seconds to put the pieces together.
"Sonic", the cry was raised and every head whipped around at the familiar figure at the corridor mouth, silhouetted against the light from the channelling circle, a light that was dimmed as Sojourner added his hand back to the collection in the centre and the Brotherhood broke apart with a collection of heavy gasps and oaths. Shadow was fastest off the blocks, racing up to his flat mate and gripping his shoulders, desperate for news though the fact that he couldn't see Amy made him suspect things hadn't gone exactly right; all I can do is offer him hope,
"Sonic, what happened, where's…" he tailed off hopelessly when he saw the hero's face.
There was such a look of dumb brute misery present that every thought of comfort and kind words was blown right out of the ebony hedgehog's mind – there was nothing that could even begin to offer hope to that desolation. Yet it was nothing, less than nothing, to the words that issued from the forlorn figure, drifting to the others like mournful ghosts, draining courage and resolve from them as the impact crashed home,
"She's gone", Cream burst into tears, Charmy lowered his head and sniffed as Knuckles felt his fists drop, recognising the loss in the blue hedgehog's voice; I've been there, and he has helped me. The echidna realised his task; shouldering his way through the press, ignoring the hedgehog's self-flagellation as he made out his responsibilities by not being fast enough, he reached out and took Sonic's shoulder in his hand. Half-spinning him, Knuckles forced him to meet his gaze and spoke the same words he had once helped the echidna with, when all had been lost and the fault had been his,
"Sonic, we will get her back".
The echidna brushed aside Sonic's feeble attempt to disprove him; his blood was up now and nothing the hedgehog could say would sway his mind,
"I don't care where you say she's been taken or what happened", he spoke, feeling the resolve of the others harden behind him, using his words as a template for their own resolutions of rescue and reparations, "we can get her back and we shall". For a second he feared; Sonic's eyes threatened to drop and lose all interest save in blame and penitence, but then the fires of retribution were stoked and his eyes shone terrifyingly. If I was the one who that fire was directed at; Knuckles thought solemnly as Sonic stood upright, spikes straightening and ears pricking upright as the strength bloomed throughout his body again; I would be very afraid.
"Thanks Knucks", the guardian shook his head slightly as Sonic turned his gaze to him,
"You've done the same for me"; Rouge guessed what he meant by that but held her peace as Sonic's voice boomed out again, drowning the sound of Cream's tears as he moved over to her and helped her up, speaking to all of them but seeming to keep his attention focussed solely on her,
"Come on Cream, Amy wouldn't want to see you crying like this, would she?" he waited until she shook her head before offering his hand; as he pulled the rabbit to her feet he carried on, "I'm not sure what we're up against here, but I know someone who is".
XXX
How right he is; Spectre watched as the attention of all the guests focussed on the Brotherhood and him in particular. There was an atmosphere of barely constrained hostility, as though this was all their fault and, Spectre cursed as he tried to regain some of the energy he'd lost from the channel, in a way it was. If we had been more open, would Amy have come forwards earlier? As he gathered the breath to speak, another voice cut in and for the first time since he couldn't remember when, the eldest was actually grateful to hear Athair's voice,
"Please, don't be too angry with us all; there was a reason we didn't think we could say about this".
"And what was that?" Vector snorted, wisps of smoke curling up from his nostrils as his temper rose, "what was so important that you had to put a life at risk to keep it covered up?"
"A family's shame, generations old and the reason behind the burden we each have borne", Spectre managed to say, diverting the attention to him once more as the atmosphere noticeably dropped in temperature, everyone trying to take in the black echidna's words, "we would have told you Knuckles, once you had been succeeded, the reason behind our guardianship, and the true history of the guardians themselves. But it is open now; he has returned and you're all a part of it", Spectre stood as much as was possible, a single pleading look stifling all opposition from his family; much as they had all wanted to avoid this, once part of the riddle had been solved, they had known these questions would be asked. So, after taking some support from his son and sending Locke on an errand to fetch the oldest map in the library, drawn before the sundering, Spectre bade them listen. Forgive me Edmund, but your foe is arisen once more, and this is all that may be able to stop him,
"It began when the Master was discovered…"
XXX
Luckily, Amy had kept her eyes shut for quite some time after the journey had ended; this had given him the time he had needed to correctly attire himself for female company. As he slid his visor into place, he heard a startled gasp behind him and, with a smile, turned to face the Mobian who had been his host and then released him into the world of immortality once more. The fear must be great, caught up in something she can't really understand; once more there was regret that the ancient struggle had forced him to use such as tactic as this, but war was honourless and he had to be triumphant; the future of his species depended on it. Trying his best to look less threatening than he actually was, the echidna turned slowly to face his guest, looking down to disguise his unusual eyes.
XXX
Amy watched as a pair of strong hands, tipped with the deadly claws that Knuckles displayed on his own paws, gently lowered a large gold helmet onto the red dreadlocks, the exact same colour as the stone she still had a paw on. She couldn't help but gasp as there was a metallic click from somewhere; alerted by the noise, the beast, the same thing that had ruled her from within her own mind, span to face her, head lowered as she took in the frame of the body and the armour, ceremonial or not, he sported. Numbed by a potent cocktail of recent pain, fear, misery and utter despair, the hedgehog felt nothing as she simply asked her last question of the Mobian before her,
"Who are you?"
"That would depend on who you ask", the voice was deep and gruff; obviously his voice control wasn't perfect yet, "to some I am a prophet, an enlightened seer who can lead them to immortality and let them throw off the shackles of flesh; equally, others who spurn my teaching call me a tyrant, an oppressor and a madman. I was once a son, and a grandson, but those days are long behind me, as are my days as a father; all I have left are great-grandchildren, who you will meet shortly. I am all these things and many more, but…" and he lifted his eyes.
Amy just managed to suppress a scream; his face was mostly normal enough, it was broad and open; some might even have called it handsome. However, it was the eyes that scared her, that banished all pretence of normality from her mind; the pupils were fuzzy and diffuse, drifting within his eyes like fish in a barrel as though he could or would not focus them on a fixed point. It didn't seem to affect his vision though; he looked into her face, her own eyes, almost as though trying to look into them. A heartfelt smile folded his lips as he completed his introduction,
"…my name is Dimitri".
A/N: If the name's unfamiliar don't panic, explanation next chapter. If it's not unfamiliar, any guesses who the great grandchildren Amy's meeting next are?