Chapter 28 – Culmination.
A/N: Thanks for the reviewers as always:
HHH – Cheers for taking part in the challenge; I need things like that to see if I can surprise people with my chapters; if you'd have guess what was coming, I'd have known I wasn't being original enough (I did wonder why you didn't post a second review to let me know what you actually thought about the chapter until I remembered that only allows one review per chapter – d'oh!) I might ask for similar things in the future, but here's a bit of a tip – since I really want this series of Sonic fanfics to continue, I probably won't kill characters off.
Komodo – Delay the sick bucket for another chapter; no real mushiness yet; but I have to say you leapt to the wrong conclusion about Sonic not envying Dimitri (watch this space…)
TH – (Author wrenches apart Sonic and Shadow from a pointless fight over the last drop of Red Bull and looses several thousand perfectly innocent retina cells as Sonic suddenly goes neon pink). Ahh; right, that's it, I've had enough – TH, when I say now, I need you to use your evil author powers to conjure a waterfall of Red Bull; leave the rest to me and get ready to run. All right you lot; I tried to be nice, I tried to be friendly, but you had to go and push me too far – okay TH (author develops a sudden black, billowing aura as he summons his author powers) NOW!
I'm not dead.
Dimitri kept very, very still as that thought rolled over and over in his mind, taking a very long, very shallow breath as if to confirm this fact. As he felt the air race through his nostrils, aware for the first time that it actually had a very slight taste, he was able to logically conclude that, by some miracle, he was still among the living. Ignoring the ringing in his right ear and the residual, not altogether inconsiderable, pain in his broken back, he mustered the courage to peek open one of his eyes, only to snap it shut almost as soon as he was able to form a picture of what he was seeing.
The head of that massive, dangerous hammer was scant inches, no, less than that, from his right cheek; he would have wagered that had he tried to look to his right he'd brush his face against it. The stars it was shedding burst just above him; if he'd had a mind to he could have reached up and caught them. She missed; Dimitri wasn't sure whether to feel afraid or overjoyed; he had a few more moments of life left to him, but at the same time there was the awful certainty that Amy wouldn't miss again; his life was over, his mission uncompleted, she would…
"No".
Both his eyes snapped open at that and, straining his vision, he managed to see past the hammer embedded in the ground next to him; he saw the hedgehog holding the mighty weapon. Amy was standing still as a statue, arms and hands locked in place as she seemed to wrestle with a monumental decision; her pretty face was expressionless, the eyes closed as she breathed heavily as though she'd just run a marathon. Even as he watched intently, his life quite literally depending on her next words, her lips moved again,
"No" she said softly; there was a scraping sound as the head of the Piko Piko hammer was dragged backwards, away from the helpless echidna, grounded by her feet as she repeated herself again for the third time, "no". With an effort, she smiled slightly and then suddenly her head jerked down, the sudden flame in her eyes consuming whatever hope Dimitri may have felt as he realised his life was no longer at risk,
"Get out of here".
XXX
She had her back to them all but the words rang around the cells of each Mobian Dimitri had captured; she was letting him go! After everything she'd been forced into doing by him, after all the agony he must have heaped upon her, she still didn't want to finish him off; she wanted to let him remain living. Spectre saw his son on his left slam a clenched fist into his palm, face angry as he realised the folly of the hedgehog's decision, while Shadow on his right was disbelieving she was doing so. What are you planning Amy?; the black guardian let his uniquely sharp mind put himself in her place – he was honest enough with himself to know that he'd have made the fatal swing without hesitation; what have you seen that we haven't? As if to help his deductions, more words filtered through the walls of his prison,
"Get out of here", obviously Dimitri couldn't believe his ears any more than his prisoners could believe theirs, "but what…?"
"You never hurt me any more than you had to in order to achieve your ends", there was a sight pause; the ebony echidna guessed she was letting the grandmaster think that over before she continued, "it's only right I should do the same".
"You", there was definite surprise there now, "you, don't want to…"
"No", Spectre saw the quills of Amy's still glowing hair chafe together as she shook her head, each one leaving behind a trail of gleaming silver light, making it look for a moment as though her head was covered in a luminescent spiders web, "no-one deserves imprisonment like you had; your intentions are good even if your methods are not. You don't deserve to die Dimitri".
The basic truth in that statement hit Spectre with the same results as a brick between the ears; he'd been so wrapped up in the fighting and arguing that he hadn't stopped to think about things from his great-uncle's point of view. I guess; he really had to force the cogs to turn in order to catch this completely new train of thought; Dimitri, no, he spared all of us when he could have left us to die in Haven – is it only right we, or to be more precise Amy, should do the same for him? He was so wrapped up in this new thinking that he completely failed to hear anything else until a panicked shout filled the room,
"No, that is", Dimitri was in a fine fettle of fear and Spectre cursed that he had not registered the words before these, "it is my, my…"
"Life? No Dimitri, it's not; there's no fate worse than death I believe you said", the hedgehog's tone suddenly hardened and became icy as she hefted her hammer to chest level once more, "I offer you your life, something you should be grateful to have after this. Get out of here now, or I'll take even that". Nothing changed for a moment and Spectre thought for a ludicrous second that Dimitri was actually going to take her up on that offer when, with a final flare, the grandmaster was gone.
XXX
Amy slumped, leaning on her hammer to support her body, the strength that had overcome Dimitri now feeling far to inadequate to face the fate she had decided for herself. Taking a second to muster herself as much as was possible, the pink hedgehog pushed herself upright and called on the power she had thieved from quite literally under Dimitri's nose; turning around slowly, taking in the hungry looks on the faces of her friends, she wearily made sure the safeguard she needed was in place and then, extending one hand, set them all free.
XXX
Sipping the drink Kragok had passed to her, Kommissar heaved herself into a sitting position, glaring venomously at the screen in front of her. The neon green demand for a password had been mocking both her and her brother for the past three hours; the words that had been scratched onto the bottom of the mouse, their grandfather's favourite hiding place for a password, had been worn away due to age to the point of illegibility and Kommissar had yet to rediscover her knack at code-breaking; every avenue she'd tried had been blocked by a shut-down clause that had cause Kragok, powering the machine from the generator of his claw, to swear violently as electrical feedback washed back into the still-living flesh of his arm. She snarled once more before turning to her twin,
"Shut the Chaos-cursed thing down for now Kragok; we're going nowhere fast with it". With a grunt and hum of electrical power down, the screen suddenly blacked out as her brother disengaged the couplings hooking his mechanical arm to the stubborn computer. Flexing the digits that made up the claw, his biological eye flicked over to his sister,
"We'll try some others after we've eaten and drunk; grandmaster Dimitri won't be pleased with the lack of progress". The female echidna sighed as she set her drink down and spoke sardonically,
"Why do you do that?"
"Do what?" he grunted irritably, though she was sure he had a reasonable idea,
"Call him grandmaster Dimitri", she shook her head, hearing the mechanical components of her spines clink together as she did, "he's our great-grandfather; he doesn't expect us to call him by his title".
"Maybe", Kragok grudgingly conceded the point before standing up straight, his red slit of a right eye now locking onto her face, "but I, unlike you, have a sense of proper respect; Dimitri is the grandmaster and founder of this legion and, unless he specifically tells me otherwise, I will address him as such. You would do well to do likewise Kommissar".
"No", his sister shook her head with a cruel laugh, "because I, unlike you, have a sense of humour and don't need to be told it's okay to call him grandfather; I rather think he prefers it in fact. You need to loosen up", she said, repeating words she must have said a hundred times before, "it wouldn't kill you to bend the rules once in a while". To her surprise, he actually smiled,
"No, but it might hurt me, if you catch my meaning"; as he spoke, he set his still-living hand in his dreadlocks and pulled backwards slightly; Kommissar growled and fought down her blush – there was no need to remind her of that. She made to give a retort when she felt something prickle along her back; looking over her shoulder, she reflexively closed her eyes as red light burst from just behind her; it was only when she heard the moan of pain that she opened them again. What she saw froze her blood; Dimitri, her great-grandfather and lord of the Dark Legion, was laying face down in the corridor, back twisted at an unnatural angle, pain in every facet of his body.
She was at his side quick as thought, not registering the flecks of hit liquid that splashed her legs as she threw her drink down for more speed.
"Grandfather, what happened?" Back broken, probably some internal damage as well; she blinked back tears as the full extent of the beating Dimitri must have received hit home on her. Raising his head, his pupils drifting only slowly now, the ancient echidna spoke in a dry, cracked voice,
"Lost, Amy, could use the Bloodstone, drained me", he slumped down, exhausted by the strain of talking as Kommissar listened hard to catch his last words; despite her attentiveness, she missed them still,
"Sorry grandfather, I didn't…"
"To Central Dogma", the voice raised, a feeble flicker of the grandmaster's previously unopposable powers helping strengthen him as he conveyed his last message, "take me there". She nodded and dropped to her knees beside him, looping one of his arms around her shoulders and hauling him upright; she winced as his weight pressed down on her fully, he couldn't support himself due to his broken back. I need, help, I need; looking around, she gasped through clenched teeth,
"Kragok, get over here; I can't do this alone". For a second he remained still, seemingly paralysed by shock by the sight of his battered great-grandfather, then with a shake of his head he threw it off and ran forwards; Kommissar felt some of her burden lift and pointed forwards,
"Central Dogma's this way, the base centre. We'll need some passwords…"
"I know them", Dimitri's head lolled her way; despite herself, she shuddered as she saw dried blood trickling from a corner of his mouth, flecks of it splitting off and striking the fur on her face as he continued, "we have to be fast, move". Without another word, the strange-looking trio began their long trek into the heart of both the city of Necronopolis and the teachings of the Dark Legion itself.
XXX
Cream had the distinct impression of a hand clenching itself very gently around her body; looking up, she saw Amy was pointing towards where they were all captive with a fist loosely formed; she expanded it at the same time the grip was gone from around the rabbit's form. For a second Cream was confused; what had the point of that exercise been? It was only when, with a sudden crack and tinkling of fallen shards, the glass all around her shattered outwards, that she understood. With a sudden flare of hope, the young Mobain saw her freedom and ran for it; glass crunched under her boots as, to her left and right, all her friends spilled out of the capsules Amy had shattered with her new-found telekinesis. Heart aflame with relief, with joy, with a massive mix of emotion she simply had to vent, the rabbit charged at the still form of her sister, arms spread wide as she shouted aloud,
"Rosie, you did it! You did it!"
I'm sorry Cream; the pink hedgehog heard the words like a knife twisting in her heart; for a second she was tempted to drop the barrier, but she knew that if she did, Dimitri would win and all that had happened here would count for naught. She kept her back to them, tears beginning to fill her eyes; one or two spilled over onto her face only to evaporate immediately due to the heat of her body. She heard a stampede of her friends, their shouts of jubilation, of praise for her, only they didn't yet know what she had finally decided, in that mad split-second with Dimitri at her feet and the fate of Angel Island in her hand, her course of action would be. She listened intently, waiting for the first one to come into contact with the…there was a yelp of pain and the sound of someone knocked backwards onto their butt, and the time had come for her.
XXX
Sonic rubbed his sore snout, for a second confused rather than hurt at all; he'd run straight over to Amy the second he'd been free with the full intention of scooping her up and running, just running free with her; where he went and what happened then would be in the lap of the gods, just as long as he was with her. But to his dismay, he couldn't get to her; he'd run smack into what felt like an invisible wall. What's going on?; he pushed himself to his feet as the others arrived – not even sparing them a glance, he brought his hands forwards and pressed on the surface in front of him. It was solid and unyielding, but there was nothing there…unless, but why would Amy want to…
"Rosie", he glanced down to see Cream by his side, pushing the barrier as hard as she could, tears starting to mix with perspiration she was baulked so close to her goal, "what's going on?"
XXX
She couldn't hold back an explanation; they all had a right to know and, she cursed herself as she tried to think of the best way to explain what was going to happen next, more than one of them was going to disagree. With a last steadying breath, keeping the barrier in place with great difficulty due to her inward misery, the still-hyper hedgehog turned to face the jury with her next plea.
"Sojourner, take the power".
XXX
All eyes swung to the fifth-father, but he looked as bamboozled as the rest of them; raising his arms in a gesture of innocence, he looked at the hedgehog directly,
"Amy, I, er, I don't…"
"I need you to get them all safe", now he could see her, the way she was leaning on her hammer the way an old man might lean on a stick for support; he caught a glimpse of her face and, judging by the wisps of steam rising from her eyes, he guess in shock that, had she been normal, she would have been in tears, "for that you need more strength. I can give you that; don't worry, it's safe". He was thunderstruck; she was offering him more power than he'd ever dreamed possible and was on the verge of replying when another voice cut in sharply,
"What do you mean, get us all safe?" Cream was nearly shouting by now; she didn't like what Amy was inflecting one little bit and this fear of the unknown frightened her, "where are we going, and you're coming too, right?" The rabbit was stunned mute, reduced to merely shaking her head and trembling as her sister answered slowly in a voice brimming with sadness,
"Not this time Cream; I'm sorry".
"What do you mean no?" Sonic threw himself at the barrier, desperate to figure out what she meant by that as images of insufferable loss sped through his mind and fuelled his despair, "you, you can't…what are you going to do?" She turned to face him, strength and honesty warring with fear and concern as she struggled to give a coherent answer,
"I, I have to, to do what needs to be done; if I don't Dimitri will win, no matter that he's been beaten, if that thing persists he'll win in the end". He followed her finger and fear rushed up his spine and he redoubled his efforts to get to her, talk her out of this madness,
"Amy, no, there's some other way; the guardians can do it; you're not thinking straight".
"Yes I am", the voice was calm and cold, purged of all emotion save one he was so familiar with; the undying, desperate need to do the right thing no matter the cost or the odds, "that thing's got to be destroyed and I'm the only one here who can do it; I don't know what'll happen if I try, so none of you will be here when I do".
"I will", the blue hedgehog snarled; with a rush of displaced air he was gone and then back, this time with something yellow glinting in his hand. Amy fought a pulse of panic as she recognised the Chaos Emerald and knew what he would try with it; she knew also that, if he managed to break down her protective layer and touch her, maybe even kiss her, she would crumble and her final duty would go unfulfilled. I can't let that happen; she saw the glare around the yellow gem and fought down her tears, trying to remember that this was bigger than her feelings now. If she failed, an entire race was under threat and that had to outweigh the love of a single person. Tightening her grip on her hammer haft until her knuckles whitened, she forced herself to wait, stay her hand until she was sure there was no choice. She prayed her barrier would hold even when she knew Sonic would eventually break it down and that, if the time came, she would have strength enough to crush her own dreams for the sake of others.
XXX
Shadow saw the flare of light from around the blue hedgehog's fist; Sonic was putting his heart and soul into this; he'd lived with the hero long enough to know that this was something Sonic was going to do and nothing would stop him. The emerald power glowed across the surface of the invisible wall Amy had constructed around herself; part of it buckled and then fell in, Sonic roaring as he did so,
"I'm not letting you do this Amy; you've done enough, more than enough", he reached forwards, his glove almost close enough to touch the glowing fur on the back of her arm, "let someone else break that thing, there's no need to…unngh!"
Shadow never actually saw what had happened in that split-second; the after-image of a comet trail blazed into his retinas and temporary blinded him; while he recovered his sight, all he could do was listen to the pink hedgehog's tirade; despite his usually quiet and aloof take on life, even the black hedgehog was shocked, deeply shocked, by how much grief and anger was contained within the shout that echoed of the walls of base alpha.
"No, this is my responsibility", there was a deep sob that choked the words for a second before Amy continued with renewed ferocity, "I set him free, it was my fault all this happened; I have to set it all right and this is the only way to do it. I'm not putting anyone else at risk – it's my fault all this happened. You can't understand Sonic, none of you can – every time you fought to save the world it wasn't your fault the danger was there in the first place; it is now and I'm going to stop it". Shadow managed to blink his sight clear and, after shaking his head, took in the scene with a gasp of shock.
Amy, still glowing with the power she had stolen with a kiss, was crying so hard it looked like she had two miniature clouds over her eyebrows, formed by her evaporating tears. She was looking down at where Sonic was sprawled unconscious across the floor, a purple bruise just beginning to swell up on the point of his chin; where Amy's hammer must have connected; the black hedgehog realised as he joined the dots between the flash of light and the shouting. Amy seemed to have directed most of her venom at Sonic's comatose form, but now she looked up at them all, the determination in her eyes plain even through the mist around her face.
"I can't stop now; this is something I have to do. Please, just make sure you're all safe". She was met with silence for a few seconds, before the tiniest, most brave voice Shadow had ever heard piped up into the deafening silence.
"Okay Amy", Rouge rubbed her hands across her eyes; she couldn't stop her eyes watering but she still stood up taller, trying to be strong, "if, if you're sure about this…" She tailed off, unable to speak any more, leaning on Knuckles as the echidna nodded, unable to speak from sorrow as he saw the sheer unfairness of a fate Amy didn't deserve to have as her own.
"Stay safe Rosie", Cream managed to whisper, trying to move forwards to hold her sister one last time, but to her heartbreak the wall stood firm; she looked up, hurt beyond words at this denial,
"No Cream, it, it's too much", they can't stay any longer; it was agony to hear them talk, pain beyond endurance to see them before her, suffering yet more because of her carelessness, the only comfort coming in the knowledge that it would all be over soon, "please, you all need to go; I need to do this now; Sojourner, it's yours".
Without another word, Amy brought her hand forwards and what looked like a massive tongue of light rose fire shot from the end of it; Locke dived out the way as it reached its intended target, splashing into Sojourner's front like a wave breaking. The echidna seemed to visibly swell with power and, suddenly realising with a hideous surge of guilt and fear that this may be the last time he'd ever be able to see this bubbly, beautiful hedgehog in his life, Shadow lurched forwards and gabbled the first thing that came into his head,
"You're going to be all right Amy; I know you will".
"You will be remembered for all time Amy Rose", his voice clashed with Spectre's, the echidna's eyes even redder than normal as the flame retracted and Sojourner, fists clenched and mouth open in a silent rictus of equal parts ecstasy, fear and resolve, triggered his gift with the power of the Bloodstone; the last thing Shadow was able to see was Amy, no longer hyper, bow her head as tears flooded onto her dress front. Shadow would have given anything to reach out, touch her cheek one last time and reassure her she was forgiven, but the scene blurred before he could; the light warped around him, the blackness pressed in and he was moving through time and space, away from her…
XXX
Strange, I thought I'd be sadder when they'd left; as the fifth-father's unique gift had activated and pulled everyone who had been in front of her away to safety, it had been like a heavy weight had departed from on top of her heart. There was no more room for sorrow, no time to consider anger as the last task stood in front of her, glowing forebodingly as almost as if reading her mind. Hiding her hammer in the proper place once more, she took the first step forwards; almost immediately, a smile started to creep across her face – the mores he reminded herself this was a serious situation that should be treated solemnly, the harder and faster it spread. Soon; she thought, now beaming from ear to ear; soon it'll all be over – I'll have won. For a few idle seconds, she admired her reflection as she approached; she was a little disappointed that it didn't blink or smile as it had the first time, but with a slight shrug and a 'hup', she jumped feet first onto the end of her journey for redemption.
With a slight clunk, Amy landed directly on the top of the Bloodstone and began to channel power into herself, compressing it, storing it and thinking hard about the best way to use it.
XXX
It had begun; with a stab of panic as he felt the energy spike, Dimitri knew he didn't have long left and he had to get himself in place before it happened – the backlash would cause him considerable pain and, in his current state of infirmity, may even prove fatal. He snarled with impatience, keeping a strong façade up in front of his grandchildren as he saw Lien-Da fiddle with the console on the side of the door; just this one left to bypass and then he could do the rest himself.
"Grandfather, I need…"
"Password is 'eternity'" he snapped quickly, one eye on the events happening miles away; I never had that much energy within me, not even at the time of my enlightenment; for a second it struck him that Amy might actually succeed with the plan he had deduced from her single movement of the eyes and the need for urgency increased tenfold. His granddaughter let out a hiss of triumph as the code was accepted and the screen went green, a second later the door to Central Dogma opened up, the solid steel alloy rumbling aside as Dimitri reasserted his grip on Kragok's shoulder, pointing the way inside and speaking again,
"Quickly, set me down inside then leave; seal the way behind yourselves. No time to argue" he added as he caught the look on Lien's face; he couldn't express gratitude enough as the female echidna keep her mouth firmly shut and instead helped her twin support his body into the darkness awaiting within Central Dogma. Once the darkness had engulfed them (Kragok had shut off his eye on Dimitri's command by this point), the grandmaster whispered,
"This is far enough; drop me here and go".
"Grandfather, I…"
"No Lien", even now, at his weakest, the older echidna's voice was able to cut like a knife, "the secrets of Central Dogma are not yours to know yet; you and your brother must leave now – if I do not return within a week, you may enter and bury my body. Now leave".
He heard their footfalls depart and the rumbling of the door, shutting out the chink of light that had penetrated the gloom of this, the most secure secret in a legion of secrecy. The Central Dogma of the Dark Legion, the last liberation from death; built by Dimitri's own hands but never before used as it was imperfect. Now, however, there was no choice; the grandmaster had to trust in his own, much reduced Chaos powers, to preserve his intellect and heart as he embraced his last chance at release from the flesh. As he touched the cool metal of the last hope, painfully pulling himself upwards and leaning against it, trying to twist his badly mauled body into a position that would allow insertion into the womb of the Central Dogma, he realised the time had come. As needles slid into his wrists and ankles, sending tendrils of neuro-fibres into hic connective tissues, all he could do was count the seconds until the impossible store of energy he could see was unleashed in a wave of destruction unlike any other Angel Island had ever seen. A sudden fear gripped the grandmaster; could she destroy the island by releasing a Chaos blast of that magnitude?; before he could answer it, however, it was answered for him.
XXX
She was hyper in an instant; in the next she was far beyond it, never ceasing her relentless pull for more power, she wanted as much as this thing could give her and then some more. Amy felt like howling aloud so she did; there was no-one who could hear her and she fought to control the power, trying to stop it controlling her, force her to lash out indiscriminately, waste her effort; she needed to be stronger than she'd ever been in her life to pull this off. Without conscious bidding, the strength she needed came to her.
I'm going to do this; she gritted her teeth as she let images flicker through her blurring mind; images of her friends, those she'd let Sojourner take to safety, turned against their will into insensate machines let her carry on, ignoring the faint prickling of heat that was beginning to burn through her boots. No-one should have a weapon this powerful – absolute power will corrupt absolutely; now more than ever she could reciprocate Dimitri's feelings of respect; he had the will to offer peace at every turn, not rain destruction and force his will on everyone. But it could have happened eventually, no matter how strong he could have been; she laughed a grating laugh, screwing up her face as the messages from her legs were that she was standing in a fire; she blocked out the pain with visions of what could happen when the Bloodstone's allure broke through the grandmaster's good intentions. If anything, that allowed her to press on with her plans to remove the temptation once and for all.
XXX
"She was wrong, you know", Knuckles spoke thickly into the silence left after Cream had been comforted by Vector; the compassionate crocodile had gone to one knee and scooped the rabbit up close to him to stop her throwing herself at Sojourner, screaming that he had to take her back, had to go and save Amy. She had pounded the thick scales of the older Mobian's shoulders until her rage had exhausted itself and she buried her head in his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably as Tails moved up to hold her as well, tears rolling down the end of his own muzzle the void of loss had threatened to swallow them all. Shadow, his eyes wet, managed to look up from where he was watching Sonic's still unconscious body and croak,
"What do you mean?"
"I've had a danger where it was my fault it happened", the echidna couldn't smile, not now, as he turned to face his hedgehog friend, dreadlocks blowing in the stiff breeze that was blowing at wherever it was Sojourner had transported the to; it was a bare and rocky place and, had Knuckles been forced to hazard a guess, he would have said that they were on the edges of the mountain range of the new Angel Island, "I let Eggman steal the Master before; that was my fault".
"Someone stole the Master?" Locke looked at his son in a stern manner but couldn't hold it, the look dropping instead into a weak, sad smile as Thunderhawk spoke in a quieter voice than any present had ever heard him use,
"We all make mistakes fifth-son; it's the mark of humility to apologise for them; it's the mark of greatness to stand up and atone for them. Amy…" not even he could carry on, sinking his head into his hands and weeping softly as memories of the hedgehog he had sparred with ran back through his head. It fell to Spectre, cradling a sobbing Athair in his arms and robes stained with tears, to finish,
"Amy Rose will be remembered forever by the guardians as a warrior without peer and a girl with boundless compassion; her lessons will be taught to future generations as an inspiration". I don't know what you're doing Amy; the black echidna thought mournfully as, free from Dimitri's restraints, he could see the build-up of Chaos energy glowing like a new star in the lofty peaks nearby; but by the Master, everything that was said, will be done to honour you.
XXX
She was standing barefoot on the surface of Hell; every nerve in her feet and legs screamed blue bloody murder directly to her brain; there was no way she could hold out against this pain, yet still she refused to yield, calling on more power, directing it into her body as she screamed more, the energy threatening to consume her totally. She was so close to breaking point; it needs a name; she tried to think as she readied herself for the last act of judgement, the final cleansing of guilt from her soul; something this big, it needs to have a name. Her first thought was 'apocalypse', but that was wrong; this was a new beginning, not an end for Angel Island and the echidnas upon it. Suddenly it came to her and she acted upon it, for she could take no more; raising her face to the ceiling and sky beyond it, she finished her quest for revenge, not with a scream, but with a whisper,
"Chaos Cataclysm".
With those two words, Amy finally vented the power she had ripped from the greatest creation Dimitri had ever crafted, but not through her eyes, or her hands, for that would have been useless. No, she knew what was required to make sure no-one, not even one as strong as Dimitri, would ever get their hands on such a deadly, alluring weapon again; with a genuine scream of purest agony; Amy directed all the fire she had within her downwards in one almighty blast. Back down through her legs.
Back into the Bloodstone.
When the flow of energy was so abruptly and violently interrupted, there was only going to be one outcome. For a split-second, the diametrically opposed energies combined and a new sun was born on Angel Island, so brightly did the Bloodstone glow. Then, with a final ear-splitting crash and explosion like a small nuclear bomb, it detonated, blasted apart forever by the strength of Amy's desire to set things right and make a better world for everyone she loved.
For the last time in their lives, Amy Rose and Dimitri felt as one; as she rose on a column of fire, thrown upwards like a leaf in a gale by the force of the explosion; there was pain still, but it couldn't hurt her for she'd won. There was a smile on her face as she raced upwards towards the sky; I did it – I made everything all right, my mistake is okay. As the light at the end of the tunnel closed into blackness and she felt herself begin to descend, the power she still had left ebbing from her body, she knew only contentment.
Far away in Necronopolis, a scream of purest distilled agony raced throughout the entire citadel, unmuffled by the steel doors that masked the Central Dogma. The only two other active occupants of the silent city heard that cry; they could not have called themselves Mobian had they not shuddered out of primal fear; what could do that to the grandmaster of the Dark Legion? Could it come for us next?
XXX
Shadow felt the wind ruffle his fur, a grim sense of foreboding tugging at him as he waited, like everyone else around him, for an indefinable something to happen; he wasn't sure what he was waiting for, only that he had to keep his eyes peeled and his senses sharp for when it arrived. His crimson eyes swept the darkness ahead of him, not even blinking as the cruel, cold wind flayed his skin to ribbons; he was too wrapped in expectation to pay it any heed. In fact, he was so ready, so waiting to experience this new thing that it was only when a hand like a vice clamped onto his lower arm that he realised with a yell that Sonic had awoken. Everyone close to him jumped startled as the blue hedgehog clawed his way upwards, trying to get back to vertical base as Shadow, reacting out of instinct, tried to help him,
"Sonic, hold it, you're a bit unsteady, take it slow"; it didn't look like he was listening as, rather than trying to regain his balance, the blue blur pushed himself forwards and lurched a couple of paces forwards before stumbling, collapsing into the front of Sabre. As the doctor scrambled to support the sudden extra weight, a soft voice froze him dead in his track,
"Amy", shaking his head to clear it, Sonic glanced around blearily, though Sabre saw his eyes narrow dangerously as he saw the rose hedgehog wasn't present, "where is she?" Sabre was unsure how to answer as it seemed telling Sonic that she'd stayed behind would tip him over the edge, but as two immovable hands fastened on the front of his shirt, he was dragged forwards with a yelp and found himself eye to monocle with the blue hedgehog.
"Where is she!"
All his training had been geared towards impartial compassion to people under duress, but as he looked into those stormy seas of green, Sabre knew in a split-second that none of his training would matter here. His tongue had glued itself immovably to the roof of his mouth and all he could do was blink and shake his head in the face of Sonic's emotional turmoil; grief, rage, hatred and fear combining and feeding on each other to transform Sonic into something all at once far weaker than he had been, yet so much, much more powerful, more fearsome, a slave to his loss. He couldn't answer; even if he had known where Amy was now, he would never have been able to tell the blue hedgehog simply because he could see nothing but those green eyes, wracked with loss and fire. He had the vague impression the he was being shaken for his tardiness in answering but he wasn't really aware of it. In the next second, however, Sonic had his question answered for him at the same time as Sabre's mind was pummelled by the backlash from a Chaos blast of unimaginable magnitude.
XXX
The darkness of the night was pierced and the silence broken by a dull, rumbling bang and a blast of strangely warm air, rushing over them heavy with the energy of Chaos as, in the distance, flame and ash gouted from one of the mountains, the fires rising like some ancient dragon's breath before collapsing back in on themselves, scorching the side of the mountain black. Sabre felt the grip on the front of his shirt drop dimly; he was holding his head in his hands, trying to block out the released, wild power and spare his pain. He managed to open his eyes in time to see his grandfathers and son doing likewise, thought Knuckles merely flinched – his gifts weren't sufficiently developed to sense anything like the explosion that had just occurred in the distance.
"Sonic, no", there was a panicked shout as something white raced over and tried to place a hand on the hedgehog, shouting aloud, "it's too dangeaahh". Rouge dropped like a stone as Sonic span on his heel and something yellow glinted in the gloom; it connected solidly with the side of the bat's jaw; before anyone else had had time to even consider moving, there was a rush of air and Sonic was gone, running away from them all; silhouetted in the flare of the dying mountain, bellowing aloud Amy's name over and over. There was a muffled curse and sudden fire, another voice making itself heard over the confusion,
"Everyone stay here", Shadow roared to forestall the Chaotix and Knuckles, all of whom looked like they were about to take off after the runaway, blasting off his jet skates and leaving a trail of flame as he took off, "I'm going after him". With that, the chase was on, and it was one Shadow knew, even as he pushed himself harder than he ever had in the past he could remember, he could not afford to lose.
XXX
There were no obstacles in his path; everything he came across he ran over, around or through, never taking his eyes off the destination; the flame guttering in the hole that had been blasted into the mountain side, now flickering and dying. He knew he had to get there before it died out completely, for it was Amy's fire; while it burned, she was still alive. Tears threatened but he didn't let them fall, they would blind him and he had not the time to dash them away.
It was a run that should have taken even him minutes, maybe more in the darkness; he should have picked his way carefully over rocks that could have tripped him, roots and straggly brambles that could have upended him; on this night, with this new and most important goal in his sights, these obstructions never materialised and it took him less than half a minute. He was at the blast sight, ringed in a halo of smoke and vitrified rock, within twenty seconds and heedless of the heat or the sharp edges of jagged rocks and metal shards underfoot, plunged inside, close to the end and bellowing the name aloud,
"Amy!" He had to go slower now, he could miss her in the confusion of this havoc; calling her name, darting past still-smouldering fires and hot-footing it through the twisted forests of melted walls and partially collapsed ceilings, Sonic still made progress, trying to see everything in the darkness of this place. I can't find her; desperation began to set in, the gnawing urge that he had been too late, that she'd never know, tore at him and he ploughed on, caring less and less about himself as he scalded some of the hair off his body on the hot remains of the walls and slashed open his arms and face on some on the twisted fragments that jutted everywhere; she never stopped, I can't now – I have to find her – point me!
He watched on at his last, best hope; the weight of the Chaos Emerald he still held in his hand suddenly pressed in on him and he drew on it's ability; he knew from his own experiences that, in close proximity, each of these jewels reacted to the other. He wafted it around suddenly like an incense burner, dodging to the side as part of the ceiling over his head collapsed with a groan. He barely registered it as he move on, alert for anything that could be indication of the red Chaos Emerald Amy had near her at the end. His emerald glowed slightly and the breath caught in his throat; he rushed forwards once more, nothing but the glow in front of his eyes in his mind; he spin dashed through a weakened wall in front of him and burst into what had been the centre of base alpha; the place where Dimitri had met his match and his master.
He was still for second; the ludicrous though was that someone had taken a gigantic ice-cream scoop and just carved a perfectly circular hole in the middle of this mountain pressing in on him. But it wasn't perfect; the ceiling was ragged and there was debris from the ceiling raining down, a cave-in was imminent and nothing in here would survive; Sonic knew what would happen next and, as he saw a flash of pink at the base of this unnatural cavern, he suddenly couldn't care less.
He didn't think, he just acted; racing down the steep side of the slope as though it were nothing more than a mild incline, he threw the Chaos emerald away as though it was a piece of gravel and flung himself forwards towards the comatose hedgehog. His hands landed on either side of Amy's shoulders and he stretched as much as he could, shielding her body with his as his ears informed him that parts of the ceiling were starting to come loose. He extended his spines as much as was possible to lessen the impact and gritted his teeth, waiting for the pain that duly arrived.
A rain of what felt like boulders and knife exploded into his back; he fought to keep from screaming with pain, eventually losing that fight as every time shoot of agony was transmitted in fine detail up to his brain. He could feel something warm beginning to spread between his shoulders, though he didn't dwell on it as he directed every ounce of his effort on holding himself up; his arms shook with the effort of resisting the pain, but they wouldn't buckle. Couldn't buckle. Not when the most important thing in his life was at stake.
Something clubbed him on the back of the head and forced it down; he shook away stars and tried to straighten again before he paused and his heart exploded with relief. There was a faint breeze, so faint in barely ruffled the fur on his cheek, but it was there and it was regular, drifting up to him from Amy's slightly open mouth. Sonic's tears fell once more, dripping onto Amy's unconscious face as he didn't bother to check them; even if in a few moments it wouldn't matter, he knew that Amy was alive. He would die here when the ceiling finally caved in and crushed him like a grape, that was certain, but Sonic smiled as the pain faded away into a comfortable numbness and his vision darkened, that didn't matter, he was with Amy at the end. As the last impact drove into him and knocked the consciousness from his body he slumped over the prone form of his love, his last thought was as typically random and as chaotic as his life had been; strange, who'd be calling my name here?
XXX
Shadow took in the scene in front of him in one terrifying soul-destroying instant; he had done his best to try and stay on Sonic's tail on the way here but had realised he hadn't a chance at that; he'd done well to make it to the base a minute behind the blue blur. He'd had much the same fight getting into this half-collapsed place as Sonic, but maybe his task had been harder; he had not had a Chaos emerald to guide him – only when the bellows of pain had reached his ears had he been able to find his way to this place.
"Sonic!" The ebony hedgehog cursed violently as he saw the fist-sized rock descend from on high to right on the top of Sonic's head; from the way he simply fell forwards Shadow knew he was out cold. The black hedgehog knew there was no way he could leave anyone here; if either of the two hedgehogs survived without the other they would shrivel up on the inside; visions of a hedgehog dressed in black leather with a voice like a rusty hacksaw made Shadow shudder as he skidded his way down the slope that led to the base of this hole. But I can't carry them, this place is going to give any second; he had to trust in himself, in what he thought he'd seen during his imprisonment and the secrets that may have unlocked; there's only one chance or…; he cut himself off as he skipped past a tumbled boulder and snatched up what he needed. Flames spurted from the soles of his unique footwear as he rocketed over to the unmoving bodies of his friends, the yellow emerald clutched tight in his hand. He quickly grabbed both their hands in a single one of his and, glancing upwards and licking his lips, spoke in a quavering, small voice,
"Chaos Control".
Nothing happened; he knew it wouldn't if he kept chickening out like that; speaking firmly, the black hedgehog tried to chivvy himself along with a tongue-lashing,
"Come on, I've done this before, I know I have", he closed his eyes, seeing once more Amy and Dimitri using the powers of the emeralds to dance; I've done that as well, the Metal Overlord made me forget it – and I need to do it again now; "Chaos Control now". Tears of frustration boiled in his eyes as still the stone sat in his paw, unfeeling and unresponsive to his pleas,
"No, they don't deserve this, Chaos Control", the black hedgehog raved as tears stained his face, "they've earnt their chance, I have to give it to them, Chaos control now!" There was a sudden vision of what would happen if he failed now; Tails and Cream were inconsolable, weeping helplessly in his mind as he screamed to the aching sky,
"They deserve a chance to be happy together! CHAOS CONTROL!" He felt it happen; saw the yellow emerald wink and then glow brightly, there was a strange sensation, not dissimilar to sinking into a warm bath as the scene before his eyes faded, replaced with the dancing silhouettes of the two siblings of the Mobians who's hands he now held.
XXX
"Whoa"; Vector moved quickly to drag Tails and Cream, who were still crying and holding onto each other for support, away as sickly yellow light began to play over the scene. The light glow brightened and the crocodile saw the guardians move up closer to the source of the glow, obviously it had to be something to do with Chaos power. He kept his eyes trained on the spot, blinking to keep his sight clear as the light increased and then dimmed, shrinking downwards to the level of the ground as Locke challenged,
"Who's there? What's going on?" There was a short period of time where there was no answer, then a feeble voice as though weary beyond endurance, shouted back,
"Sabre", it said hoarsely, the black tips of Shadow's quills just about visible above the glowing corona of jaundiced light, "get Sabre, I think they're both alive". Both; Vector's not inconsiderable jaw fell open as the Chaos Control finished and he saw the scene in full.
Shadow was swaying on his knees, looking are tired as the croc had ever seen him, the yellow Chaos emerald falling from his hand as though he was too weak to hold it any longer. His other hand, though, never relinquished its grip, never let go of the arms of the two he had pulled from the fire; still one atop the other, Sonic and Amy lay as though asleep; but for the blood dribbled down Sonic's back and the sickening scent of charred meat from somewhere, they could have been resting. Vector took this in and instinctively tightened his hold as the echidna surgeon raced over from where he had been looking over Rouge to the black hedgehog. Of course, this restriction brought furious critism from the two he held now,
"Let go", Tails demanded as he fought to try and get free, straining to try and see how badly his brother had been injured, "I've gotta see Sonic; he's gotta be okay". Cream didn't even talk, concentrating everything on getting free of the grip that, if anything tightened further,
"No you two, stay put", Vector said warningly, "Sabre's the one who needs to see them, he's qualified and…"
"Sojourner, over here; rest of you, channel!"
"…there you go; now if you two had been underfoot, he might not have seen them that quick. I'm gonna let you go now, but keep your heads, okay".
"Fine"; the two answered immediately and he trusted their word; dropping them and seeing them scamper over to the side of Sojourner, he looked up and whistled to Charmy, who'd been overhead the whole time. The bee dropped to the floor, looking worried as Espio's traditional purple colour reasserted itself in the night.
"What's goin' on buzz-boy?"
"It, er, it's not too good", Charmy lowered his voice, reciting what he had been able to glean from his elevated position, "Sonic's back is a mess, looks like he got crushed by something and I couldn't see Amy at all, but I don't think Sabre would call a channel if it wasn't serious".
"Seconded", Espio added suddenly before looking around and pointing, "and I know where we can find out more". The chameleon indicated where Shadow was leaning against Knuckles, the black hedgehog still catching his breath as the Chaotix approached, giving the Brotherhood a wide berth as the echidnas within it extended their hands. Thinking fast, Espio flicked out his tongue and snagged the yellow emerald from the floor, spitting it out, polishing it and then offering it,
"Think you dropped this". Shadow looked around and groaned,
"No, keep it away", he waved the glowing jewel away feebly, "I never want to do that again". The chameleon shrugged and passed the jewel into Knuckles' outstretched paw before reaching for another of his sore throat sweets, Vector carrying on in his place,
"So what happened in there?"
"From what I can tell, Amy trashed the base, that explosion was caused by her. If I was to hazard a guess, I'd say she used the Bloodstone and blew the place sky-high. When I got there, she was already out and Sonic", the former ultimate life-form swallowed an uncomfortable lump in his throat, "he, he'd thrown himself on top of her; the ceiling was starting to come down and he protected her. I saw him get knocked out from the rain from the top and ran to help. I snatched the emerald from where he'd dropped it and tried a Chaos Control".
"Shadow", Knuckles was alert for this instantly, only wishing Rouge was still on her feet; she was better at this sort of thing than him, "you, um, you remembered how to?"
"Sort of", he tried to explain, "when we were in those tubes, I watched Amy and Dimitri do it for fighting, I just sort of remembered that I had done it too. I was lucky though, I nearly ran out of time; listen, there you go".
A dull rumble echoed out into the night; thousands of tonnes of rock crumbling down onto other rock as the mountainside, weakened by Amy's subterranean detonation, lost its structural integrity and collapsed completely with a mighty landslide. The five friends watched it happen, silent for a moment as the noise died away, realising how close that had been, before Charmy spoke into the noiseless atmosphere,
"So how did you do it in the end?"
"I reminded myself they deserved a chance at happiness together", alert for Knuckles' sudden look, he raised a hand to forestall the guardian, "I know that's important but right now the only thing is to make sure those two are all right". The other four Mobians nodded sadly, watching on as the channel circle was finally completed; with a clever bit of manoeuvring, Sojourner was able to touch both Amy and Sonic while his third-son held onto his shoulders; with a green light he was gone; Tails and Cream were silhouetted in the light of the power and stood still together for a second before hurrying over, gabbling at top speed,
"Sabre said they're going to Haven; when they get there they'll break the channel and we're walking with the other guardians. It's a bit away though, so we're in for a walk".
"Are they going to be alright?" Neither of the younger Mobians saw who asked, but both bowed their heads, suddenly fatigued with the emotional burden this had been,
"Something bad happened to Amy's feet, looks like they were burned badly. Sabre wants to look at her quickly; that's why he called the channel. He thinks though, given a bit of time, they should be okay".
Shadow exhaled slowly, warmth in his body that hadn't been there moments before; looking around he saw that everyone else must have been feeling a similar sort of thing. There was no talking, each Mobian alone with his or her thoughts for several minutes until a loud, commanding voice from behind them broke the trance of silence.
"Well, are you going to stand there all night?" The channel must have ended; Knuckles thought with a smile as he recognised his seventh-father's voice; sure enough, Spectre was overseeing his remaining sons as they formed a loose group to move for Haven.
"I don't think so; if the wind changes I'll be stuck like this"; squinting, Knuckles was just able to see Espio's outline where he'd blended in with the darkness of the night, a strangely light tone in his voice the echidna hadn't heard there before. Chuckling, strangely unable to keep a wide smile off his own lips, he bent down and gently slid his arms under Rouge's still unconscious form, lifting her easily as Vector offered,
"Want to take it in turns?"
"Nah, she's not that heavy" the echidna said loudly, secretly hoping Rouge was just faking unconsciousness to get a carry home; it wasn't something he minded doing, I fact he rather liked holding the bat this close. Swinging around quickly to face his seventh-father, he stopped as there was a sudden 'oww'; Cream glared up at him, rubbing a sore ear,
"Watch where you're putting her big feet".
It was probably just the spur of the moment nature of the quip, but it was enough; Charmy smiled and then sputtered, Knuckles quickly set Rouge back down as he felt it was coming and then, almost as one, every single Mobian there burst out laughing, each revelling in the knowledge that, despite all that had happened and the danger they'd been in, they could still find happiness enough to laugh and enjoy the sensation that both they and everyone they cared for had come away alive.
A/N: Only one or two more chapter left to go; might need some time to really get them right, but hopefully I can wrap this up soon.