Chapter Thirty-Eight
Author's Note: Since ol' ScarletEbon is getting annoyed at fanartdotnet, she decided to start an account at Deviantart. Go to gaminefansdotdeviantartdotcom to see her work. It will upload faster, but not all of it is up right now. Anyway, it's time to get back to the main plot! We find Shadow and Amy's group on the way to Shadow's final destination: the chameleon dojo, where the Great Sensei of Chameleons lives.
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"There's one thing I have to know," Shadow asked Espio as the group was making their way toward the dojo where Espio grew up. "How have so many places been able to avoid notice by humans? I never knew any of these places existed before I started this crazy journey."
"When the angels attacked, barriers that obscured these cities shattered like glass. We did not want to be known by anyone who served the Meteor Parasite, willingly or not.
"What do you mean?" Shadow exclaimed. "Are you saying that all the humans were unwilling servants of this Meteor Parasite, Espio? Why did the angels destroy them all?"
Espio thought about this for a second. "I theorize that the humans may have been nearly able to realize the rule of this evil, and they had to be extinguished before they could rebel. Your creator may have seen the truth long before the Judgment caught on that the humans were rebelling, and thus was able to travel to these places. Gerald Robotnik was an amazing man, no doubt about…"
Espio was interrupted by rustling in the bushes and the trees. It was an ambush of sorts, but Espio knew its true nature. He went in front of the group and called out to the hidden defenders.
"Hold your shurikens, my friends. We come in peace." After a few moments, seven chameleons popped out of various hiding places, and Espio went over to greet one, a dark-green one.
"It's been many years, Espio," the chameleon said. The two performed an esoteric handshake of sorts in greeting. "Have you had success in your detective business?"
"Only moderate success, Naj…but I return for a far more important reason." Nack suddenly started laughing, and everyone looked at him, wondering what was going on.
"C'mon…that HAS to be a pun!" Nack guffawed. "Espio...Nage…Espionage? Your parents have to have been drunk when they named you two!"
"We're not brothers, Nack. It is mere coincidence. Anyway…" Espio motioned Shadow to come forward, and Shadow presented the Mark of Penitence on his arm, and the dark green chameleon raised an eyebrow.
"Oh…so it's finally happening…" the chameleon began.
"Does everyone know the dang legend?" Rouge exclaimed out of nowhere. "It seems like every race we've met knows the legend of these Sacred Arms off of the top of their heads!"
"You were not raised in the bat realm, correct, Rouge?" Sven asked. "If you were, you'd know." Rouge saw Sven's response as logical, and was quiet again. Naj continued.
"Well, we do have quite a problem…one that we're sharing with the bats as well."
That's awfully convenient, Amy thought. Shadow and I can end our journeys at the same time.
-- -- -- -- --
The group made their way to the dojo, and made their way inside the compound. Now they waited to meet with the Sensei. Meanwhile, Amy went off in search of Master Khang, who she learned before was alive and well. She soon found him sitting in one of the meditation gardens. She approached him, and sat down nearby. He seemed to take notice, indicated only by a smile.
"I sense you are very happy," he said. "Perhaps it is because of Shadow."
"You always know what I'm thinking, sensei. Yes, Shadow and I are together again. I'm also happy to know that you're alive."
The old man chuckled. "I am still counting my blessings, Amy, but it is awfully lonely, being the last human on Earth. At least I can live my life here, where I can continue to do what I enjoy. Chameleon children are such good students."
"But there's supposed to be trouble here. I'd assume you know."
The old man bowed his head. "Sadly, not all chameleons are as noble as the ones who rescued. One of the ninjas here has forsaken his path to rule over dragons. He has become a dark dracomancer, like your nemesis Ragozine. This rogue chameleon has forged an unholy alliance with Kalaran, an evil prince of dragons who has a vendetta against both chameleons and bats that goes back two millenia."
"How do they know all this?" Amy asked.
"It certainly puzzles me as well," Master Khang replied frankly. "Do you expect me to know everything, rose petal?"
Amy was silent for a moment. Master Khang, though a wise old man, had his occasions of child-like annoyance.
"Have you heard about the vendetta?"
"A chameleon and bat hero beat him up. What else is there to tell?"
Moments later, Shadow appeared as looking for Amy, and he recoiled with surprise when he saw Amy sitting with Master Khang. He rubbed his eyes, not sure if he was going nuts.
"Amy…i-is that…" Shadow stammered.
"Greetings, Shadow," the old man said with a chuckle. Yes, I'm alive. Poke me if you must."
"I thought all the humans were dead!" Shadow exclaimed.
"Well, you thought wrong…" Amy quipped. "Oh, is there a reason why you came looking for us? I guess it's time to meet with the leaders."
"Go ahead, rose petal…I don't want to stop you."
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"Velcome to you all," the bat leader stated. "I am Vladamir, zee Boss of Bats. You must be Shadow und Amy, zee Chosen Heroes. As you may know, ve bats and chameleons have long been allies, ever since zee day our two greatest heroes defeated zee dark dragon Kalaran."
The old chameleon sensei nodded. "But it seems Kalaran has risen again, thanks to an ex-student of mine, whose greed for power led him astray. Now our spies have determined that an army of evil dragons, supposedly given to him by Faluzoore, is ready to mount an attack on our two realms."
"Who is this rogue?" Espio asked. "Is it Yanu? I had always sensed trouble in him."
"Yes…" the old chameleon replied. "What is worse, he was supposed to be my successor, which should have been enough for him. But he always wanted more. Those who seek easy paths to power always stray from what is decent."
"Vhat has happened has happened, Sensei. Ve must concentrate on zee task at hand."
"Have you even made any effort to stop these creatures?" Raiden asked.
"Yes,but all of our defenses have been in vain, sadly," one of the Sensei's attendants stated. "Many noble warriors, including a few of my own friends, met grisly ends too disturbing to speak of. Let that assure you that all that we could do has been done."
"I don't know vhy zose hedgehogs at Sylvania glorify war zo much," Vladamir growled. "It's almost zickening. It ees as if zey know not the true horrors of var."
Shadow was getting bored with this prattling. "Look, all Amy and I have to do is strike at the enemy before they unleash their all-out attack. We beat the crap out of Yanu and Kalaran, and all's well, right? What about all of you? You're not just going to sit on the sidelines while we do all the work, I hope."
"We will do everything we can to fortify our position," the sensei said. "Fighting one's own battles is the way of the ninja. But our hope is that it will not be necessary."
"It's settled, then. We attack as soon as possible," Amy said decisively.
-- -- -- -- -- --
It was yet another night under the stars for the sacred lovers. They stood out on the balcony, staring out at the grim peak where their next foe waited for them. But a different thing was on Amy's mind. The words of Vladamir…the hedgehogs knew nothing of war.
"Shadow…I'm starting to feel very uncomfortable about this fighting we've been doing."
"Our enemies are irredeemably evil. Those creeps at the Judgment, the Black Arms, the dark dracomancers…they've sold themselves to a destructive cause. They deserve to meet justice."
"I know…but I overheard something…something about hyenas and hedgehogs being ancient enemies. Hyenas, evil as they might be, surely aren't soulless…they would have wives, girlfriends, mothers, and children to go home to. Even if they're serving the Meteor Parasite…I couldn't bring myself to fight them. I hate being a weapon."
"I suppose you're right. I remember the things I had to do to save Maria when I was on the ARK…I killed human soldiers. Yes, they were threatening her, but now I look back in horror. They were victims of the paranoia and power madness of the human establishment as Maria was. I murdered many of them to keep Maria safe."
The two turned to face each other, and clasped hands. "Shadow…let's make a promise."
"What kind of promise?"
"When and if we survive this horrible journey and beat the Parasite…that we'll never use our hands and bodies for destruction ever again. We'll help make a world where no one fights…a world where no one will have a reason to fight...a world where everyone can be happy."
Shadow nodded. "Though it leaves a lot of room for perversion, I know how you think."
The two sealed the vow with a mutual peck on the cheek.
-- -- -- -- --
"March, you whelps!" Krynku roared to his marching troops. All across the badlands, hyenas had come to join the legion of the great General Krynku, also known as the Liberator of Hyenas and Hedgehogbane. He was mounted on a lesser ground dragon, the steed of choice for hyena officers, on loan from Ragozine himself.
He gazed upon his men, marching in perfect lines. In the ancient days, they would have been disorganized and chaotic. Krynku had absolute control of his army, following his orders without question. He gazed upon the mass of warriors, and smiled. His personal battalion was at least two thousand strong, and the other regiments totaled another sixty-thousand, give or take ten. And it was still growing. The dream of every hyena boy was to serve under Krynku's command, and the greatest honor they could get was a nod from him, or hearing "Keep up the good work, boy" said to them. They would die where they stood if Hedgehogbane gave the word.
Of course, Krynku could care less about the things these soldiers left behind. War was glorious to him, and the screams of the dying were music to his ears, more so when the enemy was doing the screaming. The sounds of clanging swords, the smell of fresh corpses, and the sight of thousands dead, left for the vultures…these didn't affect him at all. Krynku, when he was young, was notorious as a merciless and cold-hearted killer, which was considered admirable in a warrior.
The hyena general was also popular. Hyena girls would crowd around him, and would scream for him to let them have his babies. But he disdained manners of the bed, preferring manners of the battlefield.
As the march continued, he noticed one of his troops slowing down, and went to correct this intolerable problem.
"Get moving, you cur! This isn't the time to take a nap!"
The soldier immediately perked up and continued onward without protest. Though the general was popular, he was also feared. No one dared question the Liberator.
-- -- -- -- -- --
Rouge couldn't move. Try as she could, the bonds that kept her stuck to a throne held fast. All around her were walls made of gold, rimmed with platinum. In the center of the room were two echidnas…one of them was Knuckles, the other was veiled and completely covered in a bride's outfit. The two were holding hands, nodding and mouthing out the words of a wedding ceremony. Knuckles turned his back to Rouge, and kissed the unknown bride. She tried to call out to him, but she could not speak.
All of a sudden, this image was blocked by the great head and neck of some abomination. It had five pairs of bull-like horns upon its vomit-colored head, a single eye and a pair of insect-like mandibles. Then another of these terrible heads moved in front of her, and then moved away. Knuckles and the unknown bride disappeared, replaced by a great crowd of demons, diverse in shape, all terrible in form. They were cheering, hooting and cackling. One of the heads returned again, and grabbed her clothing with his jaws. Finally, the creature pulled on them…
Rouge awoke in a cold sweat. This nightmare had only occurred once before, but it disturbed her greatly. Then she remembered a lyric from a song that Shadow often listened to…
This shining city built of gold, a far cry from innocence,
There's more than meets the eye round here, look to the waters of the deep.
A city of evil.
There sat a seven-headed beast, ten horns raised from his head.
Symbolic woman sits on his throne, but hatred strips her and leaves her naked.
The Beast and the Harlot.
"The Beast and the Harlot…" Rouge muttered under her breath. "Could that song have meant more?" She glanced over in Nack's direction. She could sense him watching her, unmoving and unblinking. She heard him shift his position, but nothing more. The presence of the weasel was a relaxing one…maybe he cared after all. Rouge lay back and waited for sleep to come again.
