Chapter 3 – Darkness Falls.
A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating; huge chapter and a busy week not being a great combination in the circumstances. Anyway, for the reviewers:
HHH – He strikes again; you wanna know how this is going to pan out? Having read AODAI, I challenge you to take a guess!
DH – You've got some good ideas dude, but there's one flaw I think I can see underpinning your reasoning. This chapter should hopefully remove it, but if not let me know in the review and I'll tell you in next chapter's DH section :-).
GTP – Auuurgh, it's done it again! The site ate the ideas you've got; I still don't know where to contact you! I don't think you can put web addresses in reviews, there's got to be another way. Please, I've gotta know; your idea was probably better than mine, I've gotta see how I can get better!
Ri2 – Hire Seraph? You don't hire Seraph; he comes and goes as dictated by his debts and grudges. But how did he get there in the first place – now there's a different kettle of fish!
RGN – Yep, he's back – again, why's he helping Knuckles as he is? Because for some reason he was at the base in the first place, but why was that? Answers later!
TH – Yay, you're back :-). Hope you like what you're reading!
For Lara, it had been a second of utmost terror; when the hand had clasped her forearm like a iron band, she was sure she was heading back to the cell the infiltrator had just released her from, at the cost of his own hidden identity. This is the end, for both of us; her still masked eyes flashed sideways, only to see a blur of movement race up; there was a shout of sudden pain and the grip had been broken abruptly, the legionnaire snatching his hand back almost as if failing to believe a lower rank would dare strike at him. He looked up, the figure by the side of Lara-Le pressed his surprise attack and, over the next six seconds, the nurse's terror was banished utterly, replaced by outright wonderment as she found herself witnessing a master class in self-defence.
The same foot that had rapped the sergeant's fingers twisted in the air, the knee bending and then snapping forwards again, crashing home right under the higher ranking Legionnaire's chin without touching the floor; instant knockout; Lara found herself unconsciously measuring up the damage done during the fight; the impact would have jarred the brain and caused concussion. Her diagnosis seemed to be borne out as the target of the snap kick flopped to the floor like a boned fish, limp and unmoving, his two comrades simply staring at the falling form agape. Without pause, one of them was taken down; as his foot landed, Lara's rescuer pushed off his back leg, shifting position to get all his weight behind his white gloved fist, sending a punch lancing into the next nearest soldier's chest; Lara winced as she heard a dim crack and the recipient echidna doubled over, unable to speak through the pain of his broken ribs. That'll take weeks to heal properly; the last of this Dark Legion trio belatedly swung around his side arm, trying to draw a bead on a target with his shaking, shocked hands; pivoting, the still masked predator gave him no chance – one hand gripped the gun barrel downwards, the other slammed into the stock of the gun from underneath, the torsion of the diametrically opposed forces combining to rip the gun out of its owners hands. With a swift jab to the mask, the Legionnaire was perhaps mercifully taken down to unconsciousness, spared from the events that were to occur as, left with only one viable but wounded opponent, the end was swift; with a faint electrical buzz and a red blast, the energy blast gun was discharged; at such close range, there was no chance of someone as accomplished as the cloaked vampire bat was to miss.
As he fell, Lara felt herself torn between outright hero-worship and cold dread; that was three on one – even with the advantage of surprise, he made that look like…what the hell have I got myself into? The mask of the only Legionnaire bar herself still standing snapped around to her again and she froze, not resisting as he suddenly lunged for her.
Target shocked; speed reduced. Information processed; all opponents logically assembled at single focal point. Disguise unnecessary, speed essential.
Governed as he was by his cold, emotionless mind, Seraph calculated the most effective strategy for delivering his target to freedom and settling two of his debts simultaneously. Acting by logic, he moved quickly; in a matter of seconds he'd set off again, Lara-Le slung casually over his shoulder as he sprinted for the main entrance to this base; as he ran, he was already considering the possibility of settling a grudge as well in this place.
XXX
"What is it?" Mighty spared the door a glance, seeing something scrawled on the metal she'd buckled like tin but, as it had been disfigured by the impact, she couldn't understand what it meant; she was going by the effect it had had on the faces of the two treasure hunters – never before had she seen either the stoic guardian or his suave wife so openly display such outright fear, "what does it mean?"
"Trouble"; Rouge managed to breath the word before Knuckles, a garbled shout on his lips, face still warped into a mask of outright horror, raced from the cell, ripping the door open as he hurtled onto the corridor again; he's got her; memories he had devoutly prayed he'd never have to be exposed to again bubbled in his mind like rank gasses from a marsh – with sudden crystal clarity he remembered what had happened the last time he had crossed paths with the leather clad killer; and now he's got my mum! He had to find them, had to save Lara from a fate worse than anything the Legion could provide when suddenly he was spun around, a hand grabbing his shoulder and tugging hard, pulling him back as Vector, not understanding the full significance of the small ink figure someone had daubed on the wall of Lara's prison cell, made to preserve the one advantage the Chaotix and guardians still had; the advantage of being in a group.
"Cool it red", even with his strength the crocodile struggled to hold the echidna as, unable to think enough to strike and free himself, Knuckles attempted to wrench himself free, "we gotta stick together or the Legion'll pick us off".
"Forget them; he's worse than a thousand Legionnaires put together"; that statement was like stepping through an icy shower; worse than…what? Even as Vector's grip threatened to slacken, thankfully someone else came back to their senses; ducking past him, Rouge rushed past her husband and, as he turned to look at her, spoke in a clam, collected tone,
"Knuckles, it's not as bad as it looks", she saw the disbelief on his face and crossed her fingers that she could make him see it was true, "Seraph's here, and he's got Lara, but he won't hurt her; he can't hurt the innocent and", she played the key card, the ace up her sleeve, "he owes you, remember?"
Praise the Master; he'd forgotten that, crushed it into a mental ball and thrown it into the waste paper basket of his mnemonic recall – it had taken Rouge's reminder for him to plunge back into the dustbin and prise out that vital fact. Once more, he saw the vampire bat, standing behind a battered, kneeling Dr Eggman, point at him and in his dead, rasping voice proclaim his debt; but I didn't want it – I said he owed me nothing. Obviously; Knuckles let out a breath as, little by little, instances of Seraph's unwavering dedication to his own warped code of sorts strengthened what Rouge was trying to tell him; he doesn't feel the same way. Seeing the fear and desire to run draining from he guardian's face, Mighty crossed her arms, face creased in consternation as she quietly asked the question every member of the Chaotix present now wanted answering,
"What's going on Rouge? What's that thing on the door, and why do you two recognise it?" She didn't reply for a few minutes, too busy making sure Knuckles was reminded of the history she, and to a lesser extent he, shared with the dark angel. He glanced up, eyes clear now, and gave a small nod, not approving, not fearful, merely accepting what was happening now and how the circumstances had once more been altered beyond his control. Still not taking her eyes off him, Rouge was still able to divert enough attention from him to deliver an answer,
"It's a mark, a mark we both hoped we'd never see again; it's a long story and it can wait – basically the guy who left that mark has Lara and we need to get her back. With luck, he'll be waiting at the front entrance, that's what his note said at least".
"This, gentleman", Espio's eyes narrowed further as he sucked his top lip a touch, "I take it his name is Seraph?"
"That's what people call him; I don't know his real name and I don't care", Knuckles affirmed before looking down the corridor again, posture once more desperate to be making tracks, "all you need to know now is that he's mad; all he's bothered with is revenge and he doesn't care who he goes through to get it. The less time mum's near him the better; as far as I'm concerned he's not safe to be within a hundreds miles of".
"Then let's go", Mighty broke into a trot as she set her sights on the shutter that had blocked off the part of the corridor they'd emerged from, "if they think these window blinds are going to stop Mighty Armadillo, boy have they got a lesson coming".
"Wait Mighty", Vector's call brought her run to a halt as the crocodile shook his head, "don't touch them; they're electrified".
"How can you tell?" He favoured Rouge with a hang-dog smile,
"The amount of time I spend with my headphones, I can pick out the sound of static a mile off and those barriers are just crackling with it", he pointed at where the trap had pushed into the floor, tone more serious, "they're leading us somewhere, shepherding us where they want us and I'm guessin' whatever's at the end of the run ain't gonna be pretty".
"Whatever, we gotta go there; we can't wait for Locke", Knuckles was adamant of this fact, "tell him to head for the front when he's finished, that way one of us'll get mum. Come on", squaring his shoulders, the echidna marched down the tunnel, calling over his shoulder, "let's go and see what the Legion have prepared for us", he gave a casual laugh, "whatever it is, bet Eggman came up with something more nuts than anything these techno-freaks can wire up". Sharing glances and resolving themselves fatalistically, each of the other Mobians shrugged, realising that Knuckles was more likely than not right in this, and set off after him to whatever the Dark Legion had set up for them.
XXX
With a sudden jerk in the pit of her stomach, Lara realised her carrier had come to a dead halt, his shoulder jabbing her belly harder as he killed his momentum, which was increased by her extra weight on his shoulder. She tensed herself, pirouetting her body around as she'd been taught as she was swung off her perch, back to terra firma in the same instant the white glove shot out to hit a spot on the wall nearby that was glowing green. Lara span around to face the sudden grating that sprang out of nowhere, just seeing a sliver of darkness beginning to widen in the far wall, a faint glimmer of silver light dappling the ground as the moonlight shone through, lighting her way to freedom as she realised what this strange, silent mock-Legionnaire had done. How can I ever thank him for this?; she didn't have the faintest idea, but still she had to try – turning around, words of worship and praise brimming on her lips, she found them dashed as something black eclipsed her vision and, as second later, a rush of cold air from outside ruffled her once more naked dreadlocks.
Throwing her ripped off mask aside, he reached into his robes and a second later he offered the object he'd produced from there to her; a memory disk? She didn't understand and made to say so, only to see his finger indicate the still opening door, and the path to freedom.
"What about you?" She pointed at his still-intact disguise, "you can't stay here; they'll know you're not one of them". There was a slight pause but just as Lara suspected she would be left unanswered, a voice as dry and dead as fallen, crackling leaves rustled towards her, somehow slitting right through her flesh to dance directly on her spine,
"Not yet", he pointed once more, "go". This time, there was no argument; it took all of Lara's nerve not to break into a flat-out sprint as that deceased, unmanning voice crawled around in her mind, eating away at her confidence in the face of this new, unknown and disturbing individual.
Target delivered. Knuckles Echidna must appreciate debt repaid. New objective – find Knuckles Echidna. Potential for grudge to be settled during search mission.
Seeing his new self-imposed orders, the infiltrator began to strip off his disguise, peeling away most of the redundant material to expose the sleek gleam of leather hidden beneath. Though impractical, the bulky uniform he had been forced to adopt to maintain his façade did have its advantages; as Seraph ran back into the shadows of the base, he knew it wouldn't have been possible for him to carry the equipment that now bounced on his waist and across his folded wings uncloaked.
XXX
He'd seen the doors open and adrenaline had rushed into him; in seconds the gun was at his shoulder and aimed at the doors. From his hidden vantage point, he had a clear view of any potential threats that might have tried to come out after him, making sure he had a clear field of fire with the blast gun Locke had leant him. He set his eye to the sight and immediately the scene sprang up in front of him; the picture was green and blurry, the night vision not as sharp as normal sight, but it was still clear enough to let Wyn pick out the single hunched figure that emerged from the opening doorway. He saw the robes and his finger tightened on the trigger, then the next second his other hand forced the barrel up, way off target as the breath left his lungs in an explosive gasp of shock. He knew he was right, there was no way he could ever forget Lara's face even though the fuzziness of the scope picture, but still he forced himself to look again, bringing his eye to the gun's eyepiece and double-check his first sight. Oh my…Lara; warm, glorious relief swept straight through the brown echidna; Knuckles must have done it, or she managed to free herself – who cares, she's safe. Well, she wasn't quite; he shook himself as he considered she was quite literally alone in the dark; she didn't have night vision to help her find her way to him.
Wyn cursed for a minute; he was too close to the base to risk shouting, or even moving at all, in case he garnered unwanted attention, but at the same time he couldn't, wouldn't even think about leaving Lara alone in the uncertain darkness. Putting up the gun, the ground his teeth; think, gotta be something you can do – no noise and no light, just gotta get her attention; he wormed around in his position – something skittered in the gloom and suddenly it hit him. Stopping, he scooped up a handful of nearby stones and this firearm again, balancing it one handed to see through the scope as he drew back the other for the throw.
XXX
Lara took another slow step into the darkness, each one requiring tremendous willpower and courage; since she'd been set free by her recalcitrant rescuer, she'd had reason to doubt his motives; this could be another kind of trap to raise her spirits, and then crush them by recapture. She raised her foot, going by the light of the moon and stars to guide her path, when suddenly something struck the ground ahead, raising a small, scraping noise. She froze, primal instincts straining her ears as she sought to make out what it was; friend or foe? There was another tap, a little further away this time, her blindness compensated for by other senses as, after a second's thought, she took another pace forwards, following the sound and rewarded by another, again ahead of her. She made to follow, keeping her guard up and high, expecting treachery until, like a fount of eternal hope rising from a barren desert of despair, a small, urgent whisper pierced the darkness.
"Lara, this way".
XXX
He had tracked every inch of her journey with a silent prayer on his lips, and it had been answered. He threw the gun to the side as it if were nothing more than a twig, pushing upright as he heard her scrabble up the slight slope he sheltered behind. Something larger and darker than the surroundings loomed up in front of him; he snapped his arms around it, feeling relief sweep out of him in a tide as he felt Lara reciprocate, sobs beginning to infiltrate her voice,
"Wyn", she crushed him into her body and he lay his head on her shoulder, grateful beyond belief that he was here, "what are you doing here?"
"Never mind"; it doesn't matter; "Lara, you're safe – that's all that counts".
"Yes, but not for long", she suddenly pushed back, again aware of where they were and fearful because of it, "we've got to get away from here".
"No, we have to wait for the others". Not quite on his wavelength, she inquired hurriedly,
"What others?" Now it was his turn to panic,
"Knuckles and the rest?" He couldn't see her face in the darkness; he was forced to ask, "they weren't with you?"
"No; my son's here?" A trap, and I was the bait; guilt and terror, far worse than anything she'd ever felt for herself, clawed at Lara; a thousand phantoms of her son being set upon by the legionnaires that infested the base still tormenting her stressed mind. Wyn cursed again, fumbling for the receiver that he'd let slip to hold Lara even as he sought to reassure her,
"Don't worry; Knuckles, Rouge, the Chaotix and Locke are all inside; there's nothing the Legion can do that can take them all out. I'll let them know you're here with me, safe; they'll be here as soon as you can say coffee creams". Lara smiled fractionally, reminded of her favourite of all the sweets Tails brought her from the world below, before watching on with concerned eyes as she heard Wyn speak,
"Guys, get out of there; I've got Lara, she's out the front and safe. Just get out as soon as you can".
XXX
Praise the Master; as the words came crackling through his wrist unit, Locke felt a weight as heavy as Angel Island slide from his shoulders – there was nothing in this place that could hurt him now, not when he knew Lara was in the clear from here. All he had to do now was, as Wyn had said, clear out; with that in mind, having planted the last of his explosives and primed them all, he set about taking out the next and most recent obstacle in his path. He'd heard the shutters come down and in that second had made the same leap Vector had; the Legion wanted everyone who'd come to rescue Lara to go somewhere, somewhere where, no doubt, a big surprise was awaiting them. Fortunately; the scientist smiled grimly to himself as he produced a device from a pocket of his lab coat; the small black handle looked a little like the handle of a pocket knife, thought the blade was missing, or at least it was until Locke tapped the activation stud at one end; I brought along something to short-circuit this kind of trap.
With a sudden burst of heat, the air around the other end of the handle was warped by a sudden, intense heat. Locke slowly extended this invisible blade forwards, watching with detached interest as the short-ranged thermal lance produced by his invention quickly melted through the thin metal sheet arresting his progress, the electricity it conducted defeated by the lack of contact to conduct through. The thermal knife was allowing the former guardian to cut his way clear of the Legion's trap, but as he knew the love of his life was safe, he suddenly realised time wasn't an issue. At least, it wasn't yet.
XXX
"So", Knuckles spoke into the silence left by the announcement, a huge grin on his face that was echoed by most of his companions, "he's paid off his debt".
"And done us a favour in the process", Mighty whistled as Rouge caught her husband's eye and winked, "all we gotta do now is sort out the Legion and get outta here".
"Which would have been a lot harder if Lara had been with us", Espio pointed out, seeing the ingenuity of the trap prepared for them, "we couldn't have guaranteed her safety in a melee and they'd have used that against us". Vector stood tall and bunched one fist into his palm, cracking his knuckles and he smiled toothily,
"Well, pointless hangin' around here waitin' for them to come and get us; they're more likely to shoot first, ask question later if we make 'em wait. I say we go to them, put 'em on the back foot – least then we can start clobbering things soon as we get the chance".
"Seconded", Rouge dropped down slightly, one leg extended, stretching her natural weapons in readiness for a coming scrap, "been too long since I had a decent fight". Knuckles looked up indignant,
"Hey, you train with me batgirl".
"Like I said, been a long time since I had a decent fight".
"I'll remind you of that next time I start putting the locks on you". Mighty grimaced; payback time Rouge;
"You two, keep that sort of talk for the bedroom", both partners turned to stare at her incredulously, Rouge catching the gleam in her eye and, out of deference to the armadillo's uncharacteristic snap in the comeback, nodded deferentially as she continued, "right now, there's legionnaires to pound".
"Quite true; Vector, stick close to me, if I get a chance I'm putting that new trick I worked on into play". The crocodile chortled,
"See, told you it was worth going to see White Smoke Cutter after all didn't I?"
"Maybe; the rest of it was awful though" Espio reminisced as, matching stride with the other four friends, he walked to a final showdown with the ones who had orchestrated the trap, "anyway, just bear with me a second". He raised his wrist to his lips for a few minutes, setting the dial on his communicator and whispering softly; after listening for a couple of minutes, he nodded in satisfaction,
"Right, told Locke to join the party as soon as he can; he's being held back by more of those barriers, but he should be with us soon".
"All we gotta do is keep them talking", Rouge smiled, stretching her wings as, being slightly ahead of them, she rounded the next hairpin corner first; the way she stopped dead caused everyone else to freeze until, slowly, inexplicably, the bat chuckled and turned to look at Vector,
"I owe you a drink scales; there's nothing pretty waiting for us here".
Cheek; Kommissar growled under her breath as she watched the smirking creature in front of her casually sweep her eyes over the ranks of assembled Legionnaires. As was normal for platoons working in concert, the front rank were on bended knee, weapons held shoulder high, allowing those behind to shoot over their heads without risking hitting their own comrades. Against such a concentration of fire, there was no hope of dodging every shot fired and no-one, not even a guardian, could survive that many concussive gun blasts conscious.
"Come out guardian", she heard her brother's voice call from the other end of the line, the twins anchoring the edges of the slightly curved formation, "come out where we can see you, and drag your skulking friends out as well".
"I know you", a disembodied voice, thick with loathing, preceded the arrival of her very distant relation; despite herself, she felt her eyes widen as Knuckles loomed out from the tunnel, seeming to fill its entirety with his dark promise, pointing at her brother and snarling, "Kragok, isn't it; the one who sent that message?" There was a slight rustle that she didn't really register as all her thoughts were on Knuckles. What a dish; she smiled a little, chuckling as she mentally placed him out of her reach – she wasn't that keen to keep it in the family; one day he's going to make some lucky girl very happy indeed.
"So I am", she glanced down to see Kragok had stepped out of rank, a little ahead of the legionnaires, scowling as he saw all four of the foes that presented themselves to the guns of the Dark Legion, "I am interested; how did you come by such knowledge?"
"It's a case of who you know" Ugh; somehow, though he was taller and, Lien had to concede, an awful lot more ugly, she'd somehow missed the large green Mobian that was stood slightly behind and to the right of the guardian. He folded his arms, teeth bared in what looked to her like a feral challenge; it was only when she heard his bass chuckle that she realised he was smiling,
"We know who you are, an' the fact you've got a sister, who I can only hope didn't inherit your ugly genes"; that was good; Lien fought to stop smiling as Kragok glowered from the insult, "from Amy Rose".
A ripple of discord, faint but noticeable, was cast through the assembled legionnaires; among the common troopers, that name had become legend. Stories had spread like wildfire about a great warrior from the world below that had managed not only to defeat great Dimitri, father of the Legion itself, but also shatter the Bloodstone, source of power and rival of the hated Master Emerald. She was a figment of terror and begrudged awe, hated and at the same time well respected and feared, who would oppose the Legion at every turn; indeed, many minor mishaps and misbehaving circuits had been attributed to 'Rose pricks' by bad-tempered Legionnaires. Seeing this, and perhaps encouraged by it, the green beast carried on,
"Yeah, she's a bit of a friend of ours and mentioned she'd seen you two bein' thawed out, though how they froze you in the first place's beyond me; any ice touchin' your face shoulda shattered on principal", Lien had to bit down on her tongue and made a mental note that, once the unpleasant details of the capture had been glossed over, she wanted a chat with this one; anyone who could rub her brother up the wrong way like that had to be worth some respect in her book, "and she said who you were Kragok; just outta interest, what's your sister's real name?" Mentioned, she stepped forwards, knocking her hood back as she did so and locking eyes with the crocodile as she spoke,
"I am Kommissar, that's all you need to know".
"No it ain't", he looked her up and down with incredulity, "I need to know your number babe".
There were a few giggles from somewhere in the ranks, though thankfully Lien held her smile in check as Kragok's bale eye silenced the noise before snapping back to a single point, his voice grating thickly,
"Show yourself; I can still see you".
"Worth a try", Espio flushed back to purple and immediately found several guns trained on him, the line of soldiers reacting instinctively to the presence of a new enemy. The chameleon looked supremely unconcerned, fingering something in his hands as the co-leader of the base brought his claw forwards,
"Question", the female member of the opposition was looking at her brother's prosthetic in a calculating manner, "how do you scratch your left side with something like that?"
"You learn to put up with it", Kragok smiled chillingly before making the necessary Legion offers, "you have no chance of victory, so you have a choice; come quietly, or we'll take you down. Personally, I'm hoping you take option two", his red eye glittered in the gloom, claw snapping as if eager for battle, "the blast guns won't kill you, but believe me, they hurt".
"You like pain huh?" Knuckles took a pace forwards, the movement answered by about thirty or so guns swivelling to lock him in their sights, "well listen up Kraggy; by the time I'm done with you, you'll…" That was one threat he never finished as, for the third time in the day, events were altered by circumstances far beyond the guardian's control.
XXX
He'd been waiting for one chance; he'd almost gone for it when Vector had been insulting but by talking as he had, the crocodile had been forced to move out of position. All he needed was one small distraction; a gun going off because of an itchy trigger finger, one of the two twins getting a little over-excited, anything that would take the minds of the troops that opposed them off their targets for the briefest instant, just so he could give his tactic a shot.
A series of deafeningly loud, shockingly bright explosions blasting out of the ranks of the Dark Legion formation was more than he could have ever hoped for.
Even as everyone else's attention snapped to what was happening in the ranks of the Dark Legion's previously unbreakable line, Espio was in action, turning his head away to avoid being blinded by the sudden blasts of light even as his ears, along with everyone else's, rang at the explosion of the concussion grenades.
"Vec, now"; the crocodile was just fast enough; one of his meaty hands snapped down and gave his smaller team mate a platform to push off; with a jump and a spring, Espio unleashed all the power in his legs to carry him up high, giving him a much more elevated view of the battle as it was. Though he saw, he didn't have time to register what was going on; having carefully collected all the stars on his person while everyone else as occupied the Legion's attention, Espio made his gambit. The air in front of him blurred as, with one giant sweep of his arms, he sent every single one of them scything outwards, directed at his foes in the Legion in a deadly silver rain.
Vector, after seeing Espio practise the technique he'd managed to adapt from a trashy ninja B-movie, had christened it the Star Storm and, as the chameleon wasn't interested in giving his skills a particular name, the title had stuck. It was also very apt; most ninjitsu techniques relied on subtlety and precision, but if ever there was an exception to the rule it was this one, and if ever a situation demanded an alternative it was when you were basically alone against an awful lot of guns. Poorly aimed, relying on saturation rather than accuracy, the Star Storm was designed to keep your opponent's head down and, as he began descending from his height, payload expended, the chameleon noted with a grim smile that his technique had done its job well. A couple of the legionnaires had been taken down, probably by sleep stars, but most had just been distracted, forced to raise their guns to shield their faces and the masks that covered them, losing their bead on their targets for vital seconds. Vital seconds; Espio twisted in mid-air as he'd done a hundred times, feeling with the same thrill that always ran through him Vector catch his descending form and heave, hurling him straight towards the crumbling line like a missile; a shiver of impact ran up his foot as battle lust began to pound through him, his first target knocked flying by the force behind his kick; they're not getting back.
XXX
Knuckles hadn't waited; he'd seen Kragok's head snap around, organic eye widening in fear at the sudden detonations and had gone in steaming; he was the one responsible for his mother's kidnapping, so he was the one who was going to suffer for it. The technocrat leapt backwards, almost swallowed by the ranks of surrounding troopers as he bellowed at them to fire; having been on the periphery of the blast radius, some of them were still able to. Knuckles rolled forwards, presenting as small a target as possible to their hungry guns; something scorched the air overhead, ruffling the fur of his back as he went upright, getting back to his feet; black filled his vision as something crashed into him. Already unsteady having just completed his roll, the guardian fell backwards, his assailant on top of him, the brave or foolish legionnaire struggling to bring his gun to bear in the close quarter struggle. Knuckles grappled, every second precious as the guardian was shrewd enough to know the rest of the legion wouldn't be far behind their friend in capitalising on this advantage; thinking along these lines, he slammed his forehead forwards, fighting to free himself in the shortest time possible. The resultant impact made his vision blur slightly, but most importantly it completely stunned the target, the legionnaire's struggles cutting off, allowing Knuckles to grip him properly. Okay, now let's see how popular you are; he gave a feral smile as he found his feet, dragging his insensate opponent up with him, using him as a shield to prevent any further shots being fired at him while he took a second to realise what was now going on.
It appeared everyone else had had the same idea he had; he couldn't see anyone bar Vector in the press of bodies, but that press was thinning as, up close and personal, three things were hampering the Legion. For a start, they couldn't fight anywhere near as well as any of the Chaotix could and secondly, once this had devolved into a melee, none of them could risk shooting for fear of hitting their allies rather than their foes. Most important of all though, his father had done a good job with those grenades; most of the legionnaires had been caught by the explosions and, hamstrung as they were by the blinding and deafening explosions, they had quickly been taken out by the charging Chaotix. Even as he look, Vector's tail lashed out and caught one of the foes surrounding him in the stomach; as the legionnaire doubled over, the crocodile snapped his head down, his jaws gripping the disguised echidna's chest and, with a shake of the head, hurled him away from the press. Intimidation; Knuckles watched some of the black robed echidnas back off from the roaring crocodile, guns hanging useless as fear paralysed the trigger fingers; scare them, then go for the…
His thoughts were cut short by a sudden red glare from the corner of his eye; without thinking he dragged his Mobian shield around to field the shot, feeling something akin to an electric shock run through his fingers as his shield moaned before going completely limp. He heard a curse, looked around to see Kragok snarling, the middle section between his claw fingers sparking as he tried to build up power for a second shot. Yelling an incoherent battle cry and flinging his now useless burden from him, towards the legionnaires surround their leader, the guardian didn't waste time; charging forwards before any of the legionnaires could get a clear shot around the flying body, Knuckles crashed into them, fists laying waste to anything within range. One punch sent one of his opponents to the floor, taken down by the sheer power behind the hit even as Knuckles was careful not to bring his spurs into play; the Legion don't kill if they can help it – I have to respect that restraint. As he fought his way through the press, casting down anything that tried to stand against him, blood singing in his ears and pounding through his veins as he found himself in the thrill of battle again, his eyes never left Kragok, glowering at the joint second-in-command of the Legion with all kinds of promises of pain.
XXX
Damn, the shot missed; he backed away further into the press of bodies surrounding him to gain a little more distance, giving his arm more time to charge up and deliver a final blow to his raging opponent. Cut off the head and the body will die; Kragok took solace in the words of one of his former tactic tutors; if he could somehow bring down the guardian the heart would go out the rest of those fighting under his stead. He was getting there; he pushed another faceless trooper forwards to delay the guardian's arrival; he needed just a few more seconds to build up the power his claw needed. One more should do it; backing away further still, the lord of the Legion reached back, felt the familiar robe of another legionnaire and gripped on, ready to throw his chosen one into the fray; what? There was a disjointed shock that ran through his still organic hand, the legionnaire slumped, falling from his grip, the dead weight slewing him half-around, just in time to feel his lungs vacate his chest as something smashed into his ribs with the force of a wrecking ball.
XXX
His eyes hadn't moved from Kragok, until now; with a jolt of sick shock, Knuckles realised it hadn't been his father that had thrown the concussion grenades. As Kragok fell to one knee, ribs no doubt creaking after that haymaker, Knuckles found himself looking at someone he'd tried his very hardest to forget; someone he'd hoped he'd never see again.
He looked just the same as he had the last time; still as monolithic, still as silent, still as sinister and, as one of Seraph's knees lanced up, cracking Kragok's shoulder and avoiding his metallic forearm with the speed of a striking snake, Knuckles realised he was still as deadly. Caught between two threats, one of which they were only just noticing as their leader's shout of pain echoed around the immediate area, the surrounding Legionnaires wavered for a fraction of a second, all Knuckles needed to close distance and send another one flying backwards with a hard push, disrupting the aim of others nearby as Seraph, having shot his hand down and hauled Kragok up by the neck, sought to earn a little more room; with a twist and snap of his hands, the angel in black leather threw the Legion leader away, back towards the corridor which had led to Lara's prison cell. Knuckles span to the side, casually ramming his elbow into the face plate of a Legionnaire who'd tried to arrest his master's flight and laying him senseless as Kragok bounced on the steel floor, rolling to an eventual halt, fighting to sit up and overcome his pain as his would-be conqueror raced after him.
Repay grudge of pain. Intimidate other opponents. Knuckles Echidna located.
Fine, you want him you can have him; Knuckles wasn't exactly scared of Seraph, but he'd had respect for the previously accused murderer drilled into him; he had to give credit to the Mobian who'd put Eggman on ice for good. From what little he remembered of the night at Jessie Wheatear's and the letter Seraph had scribed to absolve Nack of any blame, the echidna realised there had to be a reason Seraph was doing this; his fixation on revenge and getting even was enslaving him to destroy Kragok for some slight. Anyone in the way, well, that was just bad luck on their part and, having gone a few rounds with the dangerous angel in the past, Knuckles had no desire to repeat the experience. You finish him; the guardian thought silently; I'll keep these goons off your back. Even as he watched, one Legionnaire, dredging up some insane courage from deep within, or perhaps underestimating what Seraph could do, threw himself into the path of Seraph's revenge.
XXX
Kicking back her newest rival and flicking her head to shake off a few drops of sweat, Rouge glanced around to see Mighty, who had gone with her shoulder to shoulder in the headlong rush into close quarters, pile-drive her way through the Legionnaire stupid enough to be stood in front of her; what amounted to a love-tap from the armadillo enough to pole-axe him to the floor. She'd heard her husband's battle shout and, knowing her knucklehead as well as she did, she just knew where he'd be; either he or Kragok were going down and, up close and personal, her money would be on Knuckles every time. She and Mighty were fighting to get close to the action; she also wanted a ringside seat to levelling the head honcho of this kidnapping operation that had snatched her mother-in-law and, as the battle wore on it became apparent that she was getting there.
The Legionnaires, for all their cybernetic augmentations, couldn't cope with her speed or Mighty's strength; together with the armadillo she was going through anything that stood in her way like a hot knife though butter. The only doubt she'd felt had been the one who'd introduced herself as Kommissar; at the start of this fight she'd torn the whip from her belt and was using it to good effect; Rouge had heard it scar the air near her ears at one stage and twisted in time to dodge; she'd locked eyes with the female echidna before the tide of battle had conspired to force them apart. She hadn't seen her since and was grateful; all she wanted now was just to get out of here and make sure Lara was okay.
"Hey Mighty", the armadillo glanced over and read the signal; nothing was nearby so it was time to go airborne. Quick as though Mighty dropped to one knee; quicker still Rouge pushed off, running up the plates of her friend's back and taking to the air, spreading her wings for a boost of speed, enough to dive down on her next target. She scanned the battle for a second, seeing Vector standing over Espio protectively, the chameleon down for some reason. Leaving it, she flicked her eye to where her husband had charged off to, and her heart froze.
Her wings stopped beating and she fell to the ground, just enough presence of mind left to kick out at a raised gun, sending the blast up into the air as she punched out, her weaker fist enough to unsettle the aiming Legionnaire. He was tougher than the average though; holding his gun like a short quarterstaff, he jabbed at her with quick, sharp strikes, aiming to wind her as she danced back out of range, seeking an opening for her feet to come into play. There; she lashed out, only to feel nothing bar pain in her toes as she hit metal rather than flesh; cybernetic legs; he made to press his advantage as the press hemmed Rouge in, other legionnaires jostling to try and bring weapons to bear like they'd been trained to do before something broke through their ranks like a cannonball, scattering them like ninepins. Rouge saw her foe's attention shift and launched herself at him; this time she made no mistake, kicking out at the mask and feeling her foot bite home. He crumpled like wet paper as Mighty, reflexively tossing a couple of Legionnaires out of her path, came to her side, alert for any danger as she whispered out the corner of her mouth,
"Had me going for a sec there; you look like you've seen a ghost".
"Not a ghost", the bat bared her fangs at a cowering Legionnaire, watching as he backed off, afraid to shoot, wary of her speed, "an angel". Mighty furrowed her brow for a second before shrugging,
"I take it you'll explain later; whoa!" She twisted, exposing her back; Rouge watched as a green glare seemed to spread over the armadillo's formidable shell and Mighty fumed,
"Right, who did that?" Not waiting for an answer, she span back around and whipped out an arm, grabbing the still-hot gun from the Legionnaire who'd fired it. Holding it in one fist, she brought her thumb forwards; with a sharp snap, the gun was reduced to a ruin and, with a gulp, the knot of Legionnaires surrounding both Mobians threw down their weapons.
XXX
Ouch; even if he knew these scum had kidnapped his mother, Knuckles still winced with the rest of them as one Legionnaire paid the price for idiotic bravery. Seraph hadn't even slowed down, merely jumped up and brought his knee forwards; Knuckles had seen the Legionnaire's head and torso forced backwards and, using him as a platform, as he had with Rouge over a year before, the dark angel went airborne. Flashing out his wings for a split-second to stabilise his flight, Seraph used the extra distance to aim his jump right at Kragok; Knuckles interposed himself before anyone who'd try to interfere, raising his fearsome fists as a guard as the Legionnaires made to surge forwards, trying to rescue their leader. Presented with the guardian as a bulwark, shorn of leadership, the common troopers were unsure and could only really watch as their leader, snarling and aiming his claw upwards, fired the blast meant for Knuckles at the more pressing threat.
Armour testing. Test reveals armour still proof against Chaos energy.
XXX
As he tracked the beam of energy, Kragok swore he'd crush the one who'd dare attack him with his own claw; no-one strikes me and lives to tell the tale. With the blast though, that should have been…his mechanical eye saw it first, informing his brain that the emerald blast he'd unleashed had undergone a refraction of twenty-nine point five degrees. With a sudden rush of panic, his organic eye put that into real terms; I missed, he deflected it. His claw fell in disbelief, that had been a perfect shot, but this strange black thing had just twisted away from the main blast and it had somehow curved away, up towards the ceiling. He watched it strike the metal there, dissipated harmlessly, uselessly; it was only when he heard footsteps coming towards him that he tried belatedly to raise his guard; as something crushed his chest and he felt his feet leave the floor, he realised he was far too late.
XXX
Knuckles didn't take his eyes off the foes in front of him; even though they appeared to be more focussed on what was now occurring behind him, he wasn't sure if that was just a play-act or not. His ears told him enough; he'd heard the rush of air and slap of impact that said Seraph must had steamed right into Kragok, and then scant seconds later the louder slam of impact; he could only assume the two had either hit a wall or the floor. Now there was a dull, repetitive swish and smack, like someone tenderising a juicy steak in a butcher's shop. It didn't sound pretty, it didn't sound good for Kragok, but it was only when he saw the Legionnaires before him, and there weren't that many left, begin to edge away, palpable tension almost radiating from them, that his curiosity began to itch. He blinked more often, almost as if it was something in his eye, but as the fear in them became if anything more pronounced, he licked his lip and decided to risk it; none of them have guns raised, I've got a second; he glanced over his shoulder, and the second grew. Knuckles watched with the Legionnaires as, in one flash of dread-inspiring inspiration, he knew that, last time he and Seraph had crossed swords, the vampire bat had only been fencing with him.
XXX
The two figures at the wall weren't fighting; there was no way something this one-sided could be called a fight; this was clinical punishment administered by a master of the art. Kragok was slumped against the wall, barely conscious, the only reason he hadn't fallen to the floor being that Seraph's strikes were coming too thick and fast for him to afford such a luxury. The sight of the other echidna's bleeding, bruised face, as it was rocked again and again by the sharp jabs and crosses Seraph liberally administered, sent a shudder through the guardian; that could so easily have been me, especially at night. Up so close and personal, Seraph was using everything at his disposal; hands, elbows and knees, to hammer his point home; each strike an example of clinically measured brutality – each one did as much damage as Seraph wanted it to and no more. Knuckles was dimly aware that the sounds of the battle were receding, that more and more Legionnaires were being drawn in to watch this spectacle of their glorious leader being laid low, and then he knew what Seraph had done. Psychological warfare; the echidna shivered as the vampire bat's unfeeling ability to mess up people's heads came back to haunt him, even if this time it wasn't aimed at him directly; 'I can take on the biggest of you, what can you do to me?' – the best way to win against a pack.
XXX
Grudge repaid in full now.
Seraph knew this was enough, but he had to make sure he could escape unimpeded and to do that he needed to break the resolve of his opponents. Fortunately, in this instance, he could both finish off the one who had harmed him and ensure the impact of fear. With his opponent barely conscious, the vampire bat made to end this conflict.
Dropping into a crouch, forming his fingers into a spear-like shape, Seraph uncoiled like a spring, using all the power of his legs and arm to drive home his strike, right under Kragok's solar plexus. It was a potentially fatal blow; had the dark angel wished it, he could have potentially ruptured the echidna's diaphragm, rendering him unable to breath, leaving him to choke to death. The strongest fighters of all could go through an opponent's chest with that move, striking under the rib cage to reach the heart and other organs, rip them apart for the slaughter, but not in this case. This was only a grudge of pain; Seraph didn't hit as hard as he could have done but even so Kragok, even though the haze of pain his beating had put him in, simultaneously lost three things; the air in his lungs, all feeling below that point and most of his consciousness. He was dimly aware of falling, and then a mighty impact on his jaw finally put out his lights for good.
Following up from the spear hand, as Seraph had predicted, the target's legs gave way and he fell; as he did, Seraph powered up further, drawing his spear hand up, exposing his elbow in a swinging upwards strike. Down met up at high velocity; Kragok was lifted off his feet by the blow, the back of his head bouncing off the steel wall behind him with a dull thunk, body going completely limp as, with a final move, Seraph slid both his arms under the unconscious echidna's guard, holding his arms out of the way as he heaved, lifting the defeated lord of the Dark Legion straight as an arrow before, with a push away, falling backwards to the solid ground.
XXX
As the dull grinding of breaking cartilage broke over the battlefield, a solemn silence seemed to descend, all shocked eyes turning to see the result of the one on one fight. There was a second of stillness before, with a twist and kick to free his arms, Seraph stood from the wreckage of the melee, his black leather besmirched with blood. Even as the Legionnaires that could see this tried to disbelieve, tried to convince themselves that Kragok could not be defeated, would never be laid low, their new opponent flicked out with one foot, rolling his former foe onto his back, exposing his destroyed face, slathered in the blood that poured from his broken nose. Standing tall, the demon in black turned his eyes, only there were no eyes to his unseeing mask, a fact that made his silhouette all the more frightening, all the more sinister, and growled, daring any to come forwards and face his wrath.
"Kill him".
XXX
She had shouldered her way though the firing line she'd been trying to form in the hurly-burly of battle; the chaos had been defeating her efforts to ensure that, if the guardian and his allies managed to defeat the bulk of the Legion, they would have to run another gun line before they could escape. Now she destroyed her own hard work; the whisper had spread; Kragok was engaged in single combat, and was being defeated – she had refused to believe it, but at the sound of bone giving way and the quiet that had followed, she had been consumed with a desire to know. Pushing past, she forced herself to follow the direction of the gazes and see…
Hate, hot as the fires of hell could ever make it, exploded in her chest; as if possessed by another, far darker being, Lien-Da found herself ripping the pistol from her belt and trying to draw a bead on the one who had dared do this to her aggravating but still beloved brother. Her gun wavered; rage destroying her aim as she screamed aloud words she had thought she'd never say,
"Kill him", and to hell with the Legion's ethos; sometimes death was justified, "kill him, kill the one who dared harm Kragok". Tears blurred her vision as she cracked her whip, blazing eyes sweeping left and right, ready to tear through anyone who sought to disobey her orders. Perhaps at this second fearing her more than the one who'd reduced their former leader to a bloodied wreck, the reserves she'd managed to pull from the battle, about twenty or slightly less of the fifty or so who'd started, piled in, snapping off shots as they went. Much as she was aching to join them, Lien knew it was not her place; I shall wait until I get my shot – then I'll avenge you Kragok.
XXX
Second enemy leader indicated. Neutralisation necessary. Numbers substantial – use weapons.
He saw his enemies advancing and, though he bore them no grudges, the fact they were attempting to harm him made their good health secondary to his own. Their numbers were also a disadvantage for him; due to his extended infiltration, however, this fact had not gone unnoticed by the efficient rogue. Reaching for the straps that secured his preferred weapons under his wings, not flinching as green bursts of energy pitted the walls either side of him, Seraph let them come to him, holding his husbanded power in check until it could be used to best effect.
XXX
Rouge saw the soulless vampire bat tense up and, more importantly, due to her ultra-sensitive hearing she'd been able to pick out a faint, very faint clicking noise, almost as if caused by her own echo-location; oh Christ, I know that noise! And she did, she'd heard it only once before, right before being assailed by something that had thrown her for a loop and eventually led to her defeat by the son of the former member of her guild. Quick as thought, she brought her hands to her head, bellowing at the top of her lungs,
"Cover your ears!"
Enemies in position. Utilise.
XXX
Standing above Espio's prone body, the chameleon having just been hit by a gun blast at point-blank range, Vector had just heard the bat's shout and looked up in time to see Seraph, or who he assumed to be Seraph, suddenly lean forwards, almost as if spitting at those who would try to swamp him, two object that looked disturbingly familiar to swords held loosely, one in each hand as he somehow brought a new meaning to the phrase 'deafening silence'. A wave of white noise tore at Vector's eardrums; out of reflex he clamped his hands down even harder on his ears, trying to block out the hateful noise the vampire bat was generating. He was smart enough to realise this was some kind of echo-location, he'd seen and felt Rouge use it often enough to know that, but this was completely new to him; he'd never heard of it being used as a weapon before. He forced himself to look up and saw the results of the vampire bat's soundless, Silent Scream.
The Legionnaires that head been driven forwards by Kommissar's thirst for revenge were in disarray; those at the front, hardest hit by the wall of white noise, had stumbled, unable to carry on in the face of such a painful phenomenon, clutching hands to their masks to stop the penetrating beam of ultrasound. This stumbling had caused something akin to a pile-up; those behind had crashed into them, creating a block up that none had been properly able to avoid. The crocodile whipped his eyes back to Seraph's immobile figure, only to see it was immobile no longer; the bat had taken off at a sprint, hands clasped around the handles of what he now recognised not as daggers, but as knife sticks, black and featureless as everything else Seraph seemed to possess.
In that moment, and the few violent exchanges that resulted from it, Vector and everyone else who could spectate the event were left in no doubt as to what Seraph really was.
The knife sticks flickered in and out like adder's tongues and wherever they struck destruction followed; each blow blended seamlessly with the next manoeuvre, be it a dodge, and block or a second attack. Like shadow and darkness combined, the dark angel waltzed with his opponents, mocking them without meaning to, making their best efforts seem slow, clumsy and pointless as he struck and retreated at will. With one strike he had whipped his left hand down to a Legionnaire's knee, in the next move he had punched up with an uppercut, the butt of the knife stick protruding from the fist turning it into a torpedo that blew the unfortunate victim of his attention from his feet. Sweet mother of the lord; Vector felt even his cold blood chill further as, in the space of seconds, he saw this strange alien in leather obliterate anything and everything in his way. He was dimly aware of someone still shouting and bellowing orders, but as Seraph suddenly flipped one of his weapons up, holding it by the long end rather than the handle, then jumped up at least six feet from a standing start, arm back for the cast, he realised this stalker must have figured that out also.
XXX
The one she wanted dead was a fool after all; he'd leapt right into her gun sights and she didn't think twice; Lien pulled the pistol up, aiming the shot, only for something coming closer far too fast to be safe to balloon in her vision. Her eyes didn't focus on it, there wasn't time; her self-preservation instincts kicked in and she threw up her arms to shield herself.
She was saved by pure fortune; had the flying knife-stick hit her arms, or especially her fingers, the bones would have broken like breadsticks. As it was, with a crack of breaking metal, the weapon impacted on the butt of her pistol; shock jarred her hand and pinched the sensitive skin of her fingers, but the damage was minimal compared to what it could have been. She dropped into a squat, seeing the mangled remains of her gun fall to the floor and cursing; no chance of a shot now. She looked up and her heart, still high on anger, clashed with her head; over half her forces were down, either unconscious or unable to fight at all, the others were in a kind of shock, unwilling to so much as raise a gun against the black figure that had decimated their ranks so savagely. All the guardian's allies saved one were still fighting, but the final nail in the coffin was the sudden blaze of green from one of the passages that had been sealed off. A plate of metal clanged inwards and from the tunnel now exposed came a blast of pure emerald energy, similar to an emerald blast gun but at the same time so different it was unmistakeable. The blast went wide of the target, the Legionnaire this new member of the Brotherhood had aimed at diving to the floor to avoid being fried as Lien finally reached something of a compromise; my duty is to preserve the life of those who follow me; her eyes hardened to sapphires as she set her smouldering sights on the one she needed to slay; but there's nothing in the rules to say I can't put myself on the line – Kragok would do the same for me.
"Retreat", her vice was a foghorn, cutting through the fog of war to guide her dispirited troops, "evacuate the base, aid the wounded". As she shouted, she reached down and snatched up the weapon that had nearly crippled her, never taking her eyes off its owner. She ducked and dodged through the press, running as she'd never run in the past, seeing with vindictive glee the faceless head of the butcher tracking her movement, she set the trap in her head even as she ran through the tunnel the guardian and his allies had emerged from.
XXX
Theft of weapons – recovery necessary. Repay debt primary objective.
"Back off", Knuckles took his own advice, hustling backwards a couple of paces as Seraph ceased in motion, not phased by the sudden disappearances of the Legionnaires as each of them gripped their wrist and, if possible, one of their unconscious allies as well and, with a sudden 'whip-crack' noise, were displaced away, somewhere safe from the team of rescuers. Locke had explained the technology in full but the guardian wasn't really interested; gadgets were Tails' speciality, not his – all that metered to him was that, due to their wrist-mounted teleporters, each Legionnaire could automatically transport himself back to the hidden city of Necronopolis and safety. Each was a one-shot affair, but once was enough to get safe and get away. Now they've left us with the next problem; the guardian had an idea why Seraph was here, but he was a long way from sure and, even then, the vampire bat's complete alienation to anything rational probably made even certainty uncertain.
"What do you want Seraph?" The bat's head turned to him like a snake might strike and a fraction of a second later, the dead, dry voice that he remembered so well crawled over his skin again, caressing it with a ghoul's touch,
"My debts paid". He stabbed a finger to the passageway to freedom; seeing his motive, Knuckle relaxed slightly and nodded,
"Yeah, it's…"
Debt repaid and grudge settled. New objective begins.
The echidna never finished speaking; Seraph went from motionless to flat out sprint, haring away into the semi-darkness where Lien had fled to, Mighty, who was closest, jumping out the way of his charge out of principals. Vector, seeing the freak's movement, made to give chase but Rouge sprang forwards and shook her head, gripping onto his arm,
"No, don't".
"He might…" Vector was, underneath it all, a nice guy; having seen what the black figure could do, he didn't want a single girl to have to deal with it, "she's alone".
"She can escape; she'll have one of those wrist teleporters as well" Locke spoke, restless to be gone as his eyes remained glued to the passageway that led to the front door of the base and, ultimately, to Lara.
"Who…?"
"Not now; Locke's right"; even after this time, Knuckles couldn't quite bring himself to use any other title than his father's name for Locke as he stifled Mighty's question with a hand, "we need to get out of here and then blow this place".
"With him in it?"
"They're not strong enough to level the place, just KO the power and maybe a little structural damage as well" Locke shook his head and set off, not caring for the decisions of the others as he set off, desperate to be reunited with his one-time love. Rouge caught her husband's eye and shivered; no stopping this now, they deserve an explanation; she saw her own sour thoughts reflected in the guardian's eye as, well aware of the flaying gazes Mighty and Vector were directing on their backs, both former treasure hunters made to follow the former guardian out of this war zone.
XXX
"Knuckles!" Lara's shout was enough to bring her boy racing; heart exploding with relief and joy, she hammered up to wrap her arms around her son as he reciprocated unreservedly, each echidna whispering promises of relief and affection that softened the hearts of all watching. This could have been mine; Locke watched, heart heavy behind his impassive façade as he silently fingered the detonator, seeing out the corner of his eye Wyn in the background, looking as happy as Lara was; but I let it slip away, because of my own stupidity. He crushed such feelings again, not showing anything on his face as he turned, raising the small plastic box as he aimed it at the door the victorious Chaotix and guardians had emerged from, imagining a missile aimed right at the heart of the Legion. He hit the activation stud with his thumb hard, a vicious smile on his face as, after a second, muted rumbling from the interior and a complete power outing from the doorway showed the killing of the power irreversibly. He tucked the device away as Lara, stepping back, suddenly exclaimed,
"Oh no, where's the other one?"
"Ah"; please don't mean who I think you mean mum; Knuckles had to ask the fatal question; "what other one, we're all here, Charmy never came".
"No, the EST operative", if Lara saw everyone exchange glances she didn't notice, explaining at their bewildered looks, "he let me out and got me a disguise; we made it to the gate by his guiding me; I asked him to come with he, obviously he's lost his cover to rescue me, but he gave me this". She reached into her Dark Legion robes and pulled out a small, round disc. Taking it curiously, Knuckles held it up to the clear moonlight and his heart sank as he recognised the faint outline of the angel's mark; Seraph's calling card, left as part of his rigid adherence to a set of rules that had long since died out. More curiously though, underneath the mark was a name, and a name Knuckles recognised to boot,
"Remington?" He wondered aloud, "what did he owe the EST?"
"Who?" Lara raised her eyebrows as Vector could contain himself no longer,
"The guy who probably just levelled half the Legion an' made it look easy", burdened as he was with Espio's unconscious form, he couldn't gesticulate, but his words alone were convincing enough, "I take it that was the Seraph guy you were on about, but what the hell is, and what's he got to do with you?"
"That's my business", Rouge stepped forwards, eye normally bright eyes mournful as she realised she'd have to come clean now, "it's how Knuckles and I got together, happened a while after the Metal Overlord. I'll explain it all on the way back, but all you need to know for now is that Seraph, the guy who rescued you Lara, is basically dead".
"Really?" Mighty folded her arms, the point not quite sinking in as she couldn't understand it fully, "he's pretty energetic for someone six feet under, don't you think?"
"No, not that kind of dead; emotionally dead", Knuckles corrected for her, elaborating as everyone watched on, "he can't feel anything, at all, for anyone; all he knows are a few old rules the Rouge'll tell you about and he sticks to them like glue. I'm not sure how he got wind of it, but believe me the only reason he stepped in there was because he owed me a favour". Vector goggled, nearly dropping Espio as his jaw fell open,
"He owed, wait a minute", disbelief was tangible as the crocodile stormed on, "he rescues your mother, drops a cluster-bomb on the Legion, wipes out one of its senior members and beats nine bells out of pretty much the rest of it because you helped him out once upon a time?"
"Pretty much", Rouge summed up with a weak smile, "the only thing he cares about is his past; he works by a system of debts and grudges and he will pay them both in full when he has the chance. You just saw that, but believe me, he is an emotionless machine; there's nothing he won't do to get what he needs", her face fell, a small patch of skin on the nape of her neck pinging with pain as she whispered the last words, "he proved that when he put Eggman behind bars".
Silence fell and silence reigned as Knuckles, realising this was far more distressing territory for Rouge than it would ever be for him, gently put his hand on her shoulder, smiling and squeezing softly before turning to the rest of them,
"Come on; we've got a walk ahead of us; we can notify the EST on the way back, get them to sort that place out properly. We'll explain on the way, but believe me it's not a story I want to tell too often".
"Okay Knucks", Wyn was supportive, the gesture a drink of bile for Locke as he realised once more he'd been beaten to the punch albeit unmeaningly, "we've got a load of time now and besides, not like this Seraph character can do anything now is it? After all, he's probably long gone by now; he could be anywhere".
"If what we saw was anything to go by", Mighty gave a smile even as she shivered and looked around, just once to check the shadows, "that's the scariest thing I've heard all day".
XXX
Her overrides were making life easy; in her haste she'd forgotten about the still sealed passages, but the haze of rage had parted just long enough for her to grip onto the codes she needed for emergency overrides, unblocking her path quickly and even as she heard, with a thrill of fear mixed with anticipation, that she was being followed. Swallowed it hook, line and sinker; the knife in her hand, survival pattern, standard issue for all Legionnaires unless they found themselves stranded suddenly in the wilderness of the island, was comforting, knowing it would soon find itself plunged into the back of the one who'd dared hurt her brother.
She growled as she saw that second again and again; the sight of Kragok's bloody body on the floor stoking the flames of retribution to a white, searing heat, only the knowledge that she'd seen one of the troopers cut in to trigger her twin's teleport homer granting any succour; he was safe now. As am I; she reached the place where she needed to be and quickly slid into the shadows where one of the tunnels was bisected by another, creating a junction, the perfect site for an ambush; he'll run right past – one stab, that's all it'll take – Dimitri will understand, there are some cases where death should be granted, a crime of love for my brother's wounding. She silently uncoiled her whip, letting it snaked out by her side, running over what would happen mere seconds from now as the footfalls sounded ever closer. The strange, black suited guy would run past her hiding place, her whip would trip him and then she'd pounce; on top and with a knife, it'd be easy and quick. Part of her screamed not to go through with this, she didn't want blood on her hands, but she quashed it, the memory of Kragok lying near death spurring her on. So she waited in silence, not realising that she had been thwarted in her intentions by one single, simple fact; in the world of the blind, the bats ruled supreme; she hadn't registered the tiny sonic hammers that had been following her the whole way here.
Now!; there was a blur in her peripheral vision and like lightning her hand reacted; the whip arced through the air, aiming for her target's feet and she let out a roar of triumph as he fell forwards. She pounced, the knife drawn back, ready to strike, only for joy to turn to horror as, whilst she flew in mid-air, the black figure suddenly flipped over, turning onto his back, seeing her descending and twisting out the way. Lien felt her knife hand caught by the wrist and deflected, her plunging stab missing the target and what felt like a pair of steel cables locked around her waist, hugging her in and constricting, seeking to crush the air from her lungs even as she snarled. He was on his back and down, she was in the stronger position; she flailed with her free hand, trying to strike and divert his attention from the knife she held and was now dragging, inch by inch, clear of the ground, trying to muster a second stab at this black demon. It was a hard fight, and as she felt knuckles gouging her ribs and the muscles that bound her ribcage together, she let out involuntary cries of pain; here, despite the knife, she was being slowly overmatched by someone who knew a lot more about this kind of fighting than she did.
Suddenly now, as her breath came in tortured gasps and pain wormed its way into her furious mind even as her hold on the knife trembled, wrist crushed by the unrelenting grip seeking to exert enough pressure on her tendons to force them open, she saw it; he hadn't fallen, he'd dived forwards, landing on his hands, easily able to flip and catch her like this. He knew I was coming – he knew the trap; she looked down through blurry eyes to see what she was enmeshed with; the sight took her resistance away even more than the hand currently crawling up her body, aiming for her throat.
I'm fighting for my life against something with no eyes; she saw the mask that passed for the face, the hollow, blank pits where eyeholes should have been reflecting her face, suddenly scared and unsure of her abilities to best this foe, back to her. She gasped again, the unrelenting squeeze on her stomach sides finally finding some purchase as she had to fight harder to preserve her ability to breath. Blood flecked her vision as, far away, a distant, fatalistic part of her courted a mocking question; I'd love to see how this could get any worse.
With perfect comic timing, there was a sudden rumbling bang, a shiver through the floor that sent both her and her assailant flying into the air and immediately, the lights went out completely, plunging them both into total darkness.
A/N: Right; any bets who the two foes are? And more importantly, what are they going to be finding out?