Chapter 48
Saya kept to her busy plan, in the morning she sparred with Sophia before she left for a mission. Then she went to help TK with her project, she needed more data. She transformed into Sonic went on another run to help her out and was just getting back when she sees Alan walking down a hallway from the corner of her eye. She quickly runs over in a flash taking him off guard for a moment as she blocks his path. "Sup Alan, haven't seen you in a while." She said as Alan looks a little panicked at being cornered.
"Hey Sonic…" He said backing up a bit, "Sorry, I've got some important things to take care of… I'll talk to you later." He turns around but she was already in front of him again.
"You've been avoiding me." She said tapping her foot, not liking how he just tried to run from her.
"What? No… I would never…" He said looking for a way to escape, but there was no way he could outmaneuver the fastest thing alive.
"Alan… You can't even look me in the eyes." Sonic said crossing her arms. "Can we at least talk?" Alan lets out a defeated sigh,
"Yeah." He said,
"C'mon, the weather's beautiful outside." She said transforming back as they head outside.
"You seem to be doing better." Alan said,
"I feel a lot better, just wish everyone would stop telling me I should keep taking that medication." Saya said sounding annoyed,
"Wait, you're not taking it anymore?" Alan asked,
"Nope, I didn't realize how much it was deterring me until it was out of my system. My parents told me I should keep taking it and so did Dr. Starline. But in the one day I was off of it I was able to break through my fear and hold my girlfriend again." Saya explained,
"My mother wouldn't condone cutting off medicine like that, but I think with your metabolism you shouldn't have any major side effects. But what's important is that you're feeling better." Alan said as they get outside,
"So, you feel like sharing why you've been avoiding me?" Saya asked walking over to a nearby tree and sitting in the shade. He pauses at first unsure if he should sit next to her. She told him she was better, but he also knew what she had gone through, probably better than anyone.
"I figured you'd want some space… after what happened…" He said,
"Which part, Erazor attempting to turn me into a Genie slave or you kissing me?" She asked,
"The second one…" He said,
"Alan… I'm not mad at you for what happened if that's what you were worried about." She said as he sits down in front of her trying to make sure there was distance. "The emotions within your ring are one of the strongest. I've been influenced by all of them before so I understand how overpowering they can be."
"But you just went through a lot, I was worried you'd associate me with what happened." He explained,
"I can assure you, I don't. But thank you for being honest with me." She said,
"Regardless, I'm still sorry for what I did." Alan said,
"Then apology is accepted." Saya smiles, "Will you stop avoiding me now?" Alan nods, "I need to make sure TK doesn't need anything else from me before I go spar with Kolt." She said standing up as Alan follows her,
"I promised to help in the green room, so I'll catch you later?" He said as she nods,
"You better! If you're feeling up to it I'd love to spar with you as well. I'm trying to get back into fighting shape." She said as they start walking back inside,
"I'll stop by when I'm done, see ya." He waves her off as she heads to TK's workshop,
"There you are! Where have you been?" TK asked,
"Sorry, I found Alan, so I thought I'd get the talk over with." She said walking over next to her.
"How'd it go?" She asked,
"I think it went okay, But I could tell he still feels bad. Doing something out of your control messes with you… I should know." She said remembering Eggman controlling her as Dark Sonic,
"It's going to take him time to realize that it wasn't him but the ring." TK said,
"Yeah, Just didn't like how he was avoiding me. So what's so urgent?" Saya asked changing the subject,
"My computer finally analyzed that liquid you gave me yesterday. It matches the formula we found when we rescued those scientists." TK explained, "It's definitely the same drug, but it's been altered again, and I think it's been perfected."
"What does that mean?" Saya asked,
"You only got hit with a half dosage and it still almost knocked you out. This has been concentrated to knock you out instantly with only using a fourth of the drug." She explained,
"That's not good…" Saya said looking worried,
"Agreed, I'm going to let Elias know what I found. Thanks again for your help, my computer is already going through possible formulas that might work against it." TK said,
"Glad I could help; I'm going to go meet up with Kolt." She said leaving the workshop,
Brandy and Caroline were helping out with the kids when they overhear home other people talking. "Apparently, one of the Freedom Fighters, The black haired one called Shadow, is an alien! She's not even human." One woman said,
"I heard from one of the scientists that was saved last night was being held captive by her brother." Another one said,
"You don't think she's secretly working for Eggman do you?"
"Shouldn't she be locked up?" Another said as Brandy snaps, hearing that as a threat.
"Hey! She's out there right now making sure you all can stay safe here. Don't go spreading rumors for gossip." Brandy glared as they all look startled,
"But she'd not human…" Another one said,
"Yes she is! We grew up with her. Whatever you heard about her is a lie." Brandy said as Caroline holds her back,
"You're just telling us that because you're her friend. That scientist said that monster looked just like Shadow. How can you trust her?"
"Why you!" Brandy was at boiling point as Caroline tries to calm her down noticing small flames start to flicker from her hands,
"Don't let them bother you Brandy, At least if anyone tries to hurt Shadow we know the first people to look into." Caroline said with a threatening smile that sent a chill down all of their spines as they quickly leave.
"We need to warn the others… If people are starting to spread rumors about Sophia, she's going to be in danger." Brandy said as they both head out to find them.
Saya met up with Kolt in the training room and prepares to spar taking deep breaths. Kolt could tell she was overthinking, and he needed to figure out a way to distract her from her own thoughts. "Worried I'll kick your butt again?" He teased as she looks at him confused,
"Again? That would mean you've kicked my butt a first time and last I checked you've never beat me." She chuckles as they both climb onto the training mat.
"Oh I've beat you plenty of times off my Island." He said taking a swing at her as she dodges,
"You're using past lives numbers to add to your score?" She said jumping over him and kicking him in the back as he barely keeps his balance, "That still puts me ahead at countless beatdowns Red." She strikes down with another kick as he blocks it,
"I must have hit you in the head too hard Blue, You seem to be missing some memories." Kolt jokes as they continue to spar. They start to accumulate a crowd as people watch them effortlessly spar with one another.
"Pretty sure my memory is intact Chuckles; You haven't even landed a hit." Saya said swinging a punch as Kolt grabs her arm and slams her to the ground.
"I don't like that nickname." He said slamming his fist into the ground as she rolls out of the way.
"I could call you Muscles? Hot Head? Oven mitts?" She continued to list off names as she dodged his attacks.
"Starting to piss me off Hedgehog." He said as she chuckles,
"Always was easy to make steam come out of your ears Knuckle head." She laughs,
"Least I was able to distract you long enough to spar." He said. The comment takes her off guard as he punches her in the stomach, and she falls over.
"That one hurt." She said as Kolt stops, noticing the amount of people accumulated as they start to look concerned.
"You okay?" Kolt asked as he holds out his hand to her,
"Been a while since I've felt one of your punches, I forgot how much they hurt." She takes his hand as he chuckles helping her to her feet.
"Sorry if I hit too hard."
"Our enemies aren't going to pull their punches, why should you?" She said, they could hear them all whispering as Saya notices Kolts eyes, "We should go talk in private… It seems we've accumulated a crowd." They start leaving the training room as they run into Caroline and Brandy as they also notice Kolts eyes.
"Kolt…" Caroline was about to say as Saya stops her,
"Let's talk more discretely." She said pushing them towards the Alter room. She starts to notice Brandy's eyes as well.
"You're all acting weird…" Kolt said,
"Just wait like two seconds." Saya said as they enter the Alter room,
"Oh my goodness Brandy!" Caroline just notices as Brandy jumps at her reaction,
"What?"
"Your eyes…" Kolt notices it too, "They're gold."
"She's not the only one." Saya said looking at Kolt,
"They're purple aren't they?" Kolt asked as they all nod,
"Now that you mention it, Caroline your eyes also look a little lighter brown," Brandy said looking at her eyes.
"I'm going to message TK and Alan and see if she can meet us here." Kolt said going to his communicator,
"Tikal?" Saya calls out as she appears,
"Yes Sonic?" Tikal asked appearing next to her,
"Care to explain?" She said pointing at their eyes.
"Oh… it must be a side effect of the World rings' powers melding with Chaos." Tikal said, Saya rolls her eyes.
"You're just as bad as TK, what does that mean?" She asked,
"The rings are strengthening the power of the Chaos Emeralds and in turn your becoming more bonded to your past lives." She said,
"Bonded? As in becoming one?" Brandy asked as Tikal nods,
"Wait, are we becoming our past selves?" Caroline asked,
"In a manner of speaking…" She said,
"That would explain why our powers have continued to grow," Kolt said,
"And why Sophia has Dark Arms blood in her veins." Saya added,
"Speaking about Sophia… We overheard some of the people talking about Shadow, got into an argument with them about it." Brandy said,
"Brandy was very close to burning their faces." Caroline said,
"Wait, what were they saying?" Saya asked,
"That she's an evil alien that should be locked up…" Caroline said,
"Where are they I'll show them Alien." Saya said moving towards the door looking ready to fight people just as TK and Alan bursts in,
"What's going on is everyone okay?" TK asked as she looks at Kolt and Brandy's eyes, "Oh my gosh!"
"You too buddy, your eyes are more blue." Saya said as TK tries to stay composed,
"But… how?" Alan asked as Saya just points to her ring, "Oh…"
"Wait… If people are starting to fear Sophia because of some rumors…" Kolt started to say,
"Than seeing her eyes permanently red will really turn some heads…" Saya said looking panicked, "When does she get back?"
"Shadow returned about five minutes ago." Tikal said as they all turn to her,
"Right, you can sense the Chaos Emeralds." Caroline said as Saya goes to the door,
"Where are you going?" Brandy asked,
"Sophia's already on edge about Abyss, she doesn't need the civilians on base giving her more reason to be angry." She said quickly leaving,
"I'm going to let Elias and Sally know." TK said messaging them on her communicator.
"Tikal… Does that mean we're going to keep changing?" Alan asked,
"I do not know the extent of the merging; It may get to the point where you may no longer need to transform." She said,
"Wait… does that include…" Brandy reaches for her ears,
"Oh Chaos I hope not…" Kolt said,
Team Dark exits the Helicopter and start to head towards the briefing room when they all begin to notice the stares and whispers directed at Shadow, "Is it just me or are you more popular than usual?" Rogue said,
"But not in the good way…" Omega said,
"Apparently since I look like Abyss I no longer count as being human." Shadow said,
"What the hell does that mean?" Rogue asked confused, "You blew up an entire ship full of them."
"The only people who know that were the ones there. And Abyss tortured those scientists along with hearing him call me his sister. It was only a matter of time before I started to become ostracized for who I am." Shadow explained,
"Shadow your blood doesn't determine who you are. You proved that already." Omega said as Saya runs up to them before they can blink,
"Hi sweetie." Saya smiles as Shadow gives her a look,
"What did you do?" She said as Saya chuckles,
"I didn't do anything I promise. But we definitely need to talk in private… Rogue, Omega, Shad's will meet up with you later." Saya said,
"I need to give Elias my report…" Shadow said,
"He already knows I'm talking to you first." She said slowly reaching for Shadows hand, but she quickly pulls away,
"Tell me what's wrong?" Shadow said looking annoyed with her being so cryptic.
"It's Chaos Emerald stuff… Please Shadow… Trust me." She said as they both start to notice people staring,
"Fine, I'll catch up with you two later," Shadow said,
"You two love birds play nice." Rogue said as her and Omega walk away.
"Don't transform just yet…" Saya said quietly, "I'll explain everything in the Alter room with the others." She said as Shadow nods,
"Sorry for pulling away." Shadow said holding out her hand, Saya takes it as they walk,
"Sorry for startling you." Saya said as they enter the alter room and Shadow sees everyone there. It takes her a moment, but she quickly notices Brandy's piercing golden eyes.
"Damn…" Shadow said transforming back, "That's why you didn't want me to transform…" They all see her eyes have stayed red in color, "You didn't want people to become more scared of me without me understanding why."
"At least you're not the only one with an odd eye color." Brandy said, "Hopefully we can distract from it,
"Doubt it. They seem adamant on labeling me a monster. Having red eyes is not going to help me." She said,
"We'll figure this out Sophia." Kolt said,
"I don't want them coming after any of you because you're around me…" Sophia said,
"And were not going to let you play the loner hero act either." Alan said,
"You're definitely not getting rid of me that easily." Saya said crossing her arms,
"No but perhaps we should distance Team Dark and the Freedom Fighters for a while." Elias said entering the room.
"You can't be serious," TK said,
"At least until this whole Abyss thing cools down. Everyone seems to be on edge since the drones have been reactivated." Sally said,
"Eggman's determined to keep those things active…" TK said,
"So you want it to just be the five of us for a while?" Caroline said,
"Only until Saya feels comfortable going on missions." Elias said,
"Wait, you're clearing me for active duty?" Saya asked looking surprised,
"You said it yourself that you're feeling better. I don't think I've seen you flinch once today." Elias said,
"Hold on… Don't you think we're rushing this a little bit…" Sophia said,
"I agree with Sophia, Saya's making progress but we should still take it slow." Kolt said,
"You both know I'm standing right here right? Also, slow isn't in my vocabulary." Saya said tapping her foot,
"You know we don't mean it as an insult Saya, But I want you to actually feel ready. Not just get back into it because you have to." Sophia said putting her hand on Saya's shoulder,
"You don't think I'm ready?" Saya asked,
"It doesn't matter what I think. Do you think you're ready?" Sophia asked as they all wait for Saya to respond. She takes a moment really thinking about her answer.
"Yes, I need to keep moving forward and sitting here in recovery purgatory isn't doing me any favors." She said as both Sophia and Kolt look worried. "Besides, I have my team to have my back." She winks,
"It's probably a good idea to have Saya back in the field after what Abyss said last night." Brandy said,
"What are you talking about?" Saya asked,
"He made a comment about how there's been no talk about you for a while." Caroline said,
"So Robotnik might start looking into discovering our secret base just to find you…" Elias said,
"Meaning Saya being in one spot for too long is dangerous…" Alan said,
"Then I can rejoin the team?" Saya looked at Sophia for approval.
"I'd rather you not but you're going to do it anyway." Sophia said with a sigh, "If you start feeling overwhelmed please tell us."
"I will!" Saya said joyfully,
"Let's get back to the whole, Everyone thinks Sophia is an evil Alien part of the conversation." Brandy said, "I almost set some rude ladies on fire earlier today for the kind of things they were saying,"
"Luckily, you didn't…" Caroline said with a chuckle,
"Only because you were there to calm me down." Brandy said taking Caroline's hand,
"I think just keeping a low profile will be the best." Elias said as Kolt, Sophia and Brandy give him a look."
"Yeah, our new eye colors are definitely going to stay low profile…" Kolt said,
"You're going to have girls swooning for you with those purple eyes." Alan teased,
"I will hit you." Kolt said,
"We transform into superheroes, if they have that much of an issue with it they can save themselves." Brandy said,
"You're being a little extreme today." Caroline said,
"Just try not to start a fight or something." Elias said facepalming,
"I won't start a fight, but I will definitely finish one." Brandy said,
"We'll just avoid being around others until this all blows over. They'll see how much good Sophia does and then they will feel bad for thinking she was evil." Saya said,
"People always fear what they don't understand. I've gotten used to it; I just hope that you all don't take the brunt of their fear." Sophia said,
"We can take care of ourselves Sophia don't you worry." TK said,
"Yeah, we're good as long as we have each other." Saya said cheerfully as they all head back out for dinner unaware of the domino effect that had begun.
The next week was difficult for all of them, the constant whispers and stares from people commenting about their eyes had become a daily struggle. It had gotten to the point where they all would spend their free time in the Alter room just to get away from it all. Saya enters to see all of them except for Sophia sitting down eating lunch, "I knew it was going to be uncomfortable… but this it a bit much." Saya sighed as she sits next to TK,
"Give me Swatbots over uncomfortable stares and whispers any day…" Alan said taking a bite of his food.
"Is Sophia still not back yet?" Caroline asked Saya as she shakes her head. Sophia has been on constant missions to keep herself distracted but also to avoid the stares from the civilians here.
"She's overseas helping with the Europe resistance… She gets back tomorrow I believe." Saya said sadly, she really missed her.
"You going to be okay?" TK asked, they all knew she had woken up the night before from a bad dream,
"I'll be fine!" She waves her off, "The only thing a bad dream's going to do is kill my sleep." She joked,
"Was it about Erazor?" Alan asked as they all turn to him with glares wondering why he would ask that,
"No… it was about Abyss…"
"Are you afraid he'll come after you?" Caroline asked,
"I'm afraid he'll hurt Sophia… Sure he might come after me but it's all just to get to her." She said with a sigh,
"When they fought at the lab, besides noticing he was purposefully angering her, he kept trying to grab her head," Kolt said,
"Why would he be trying to grab her head?" Brandy asked,
"He may have been trying to reconnect the psychic link." TK said,
"And that answer tells me we need to make sure that Sophia stays very far away from Abyss…" Saya said looking worried,
"You know who's been really quiet? Eggman…" Alan commented,
"I noticed that too," Brandy said,
"He's up to something," Kolt said crossing his arms,
"He's always up to something, but one thing that doesn't change is that he has to make a big show out of it and that's how we stop him." Saya said,
"Between Eggman, Abyss and Mephiles we have a lot of enemies to worry about…" TK said as they all lower their heads,
"It's been so long, I completely forgot about Mephiles…" Saya said, they hadn't discussed Mephiles since they returned from Soleanna.
"Fleetway wants it to stay that way." Brandy said,
"But we can't just ignore that he's out there." Caroline said,
"How do we prepare for a guy that can transform into shadows?" Kolt asked,
"More lights?" Saya shrugs, "Honestly I don't know what he looks like so not entirely sure who I should be looking out for."
"He's literally made out of crystal, just like what happened to Dr. Kintobor." Alan said,
"Oh, then I'll definitely notice that." She chuckles then finishes up her food.
"Are you two still okay with testing out my antidote?" TK asked looking at Saya and Kolt,
"You bet, besides I'm the closest to having Sophia's metabolism to burn it off and Kolt's super strong." Saya said,
"Okay well we should head over to the infirmary since Dr. Starline kept a room open for us to use for the testing and Sasha should be meeting us there.
"Wait you're testing it on Sasha?" Kolt asked,
"I needed to test it on someone without superpowers and she is one of the only people I feel comfortable around after all this started." TK said,
"Yeah she's been really helpful." Caroline said with a smile,
"We shouldn't keep her waiting then, what are you three going to do?" Saya asked,
"Stay in here so there's no chance of accidental murder…" Brandy said, Caroline pats her head as the other three leave the room. "I hate hearing how they talk about Sophia…" Brandy said crossing her arms, "None of them know what we've gone through to keep them safe."
"Sophia said it herself, she already knew this might happen. People fear what they don't understand." Alan said,
"We'll keep her safe, even though she keeps trying to distance herself from us." Caroline said,
"I just hope this doesn't get any worse…" Brandy said as they all let out a sigh,
TK, Saya and Kolt get to the infirmary where Sasha was waiting for them, Saya quickly walks over to her as Sasha takes her hands happily, "I hope you weren't waiting too long." Saya said with a smile,
"No I just got here. How have you been feeling?" She asked Saya trying not to look too concerned,
"I'm back at full speed," She said giving her a thumbs up as she giggles,
"Thanks again for helping us with this Sasha," TK said,
"You guys saved my life so I'm happy to help. That drug has become a big problem now that Eggman is equipping some of his Badniks with it and we need all the help we can get." She said as they enter the infirmary as Dr. Starline walks up to them.
"Good afternoon, I have the room all set up in the back." He said with a smile as they all follow him into the room, "You three take a seat on any of the beds, I want to take your vitals and get you all prepped." He points to the beds as the three of them sit down. Dr. Starline makes sure they are all alright before prepping the equipment to keep track of their vitals.
"You all sure you still want to do this?" TK asked,
"I trust you one hundred percent little dude." Saya said,
"Okay, we're going to administer the drug first. We're going to track how quickly it affects you all." TK said as they all lay on the beds and relax as Dr. Starline walks over to Sasha with the injection gun and injects the drug into her arm as she is instantly knocked unconscious.
"Ok… that's scary fast…" Saya said. Starline preps a new needle, he walks over next to her bracing herself as he injects her with it. "Ow!" She said rubbing her arm as she starts to feel heavy, "Whoa… That feels…" She falls unconscious before finishing her thought.
"That knocked her out faster than I anticipated…" Dr. Starline said prepping another needle looking over at TK,
"I think this perfected model was meant to take her and Sophia down quickly." TK said as he goes over to Kolt and injects him as he feels the same heaviness but falls unconscious before he could say anything.
"So it knocks out regular people instantly but there's a few seconds of delay before it knocks out Saya or Kolt. Saya's metabolism delayed it but not for exceedingly long." Starline said,
"We can assume that Sophia will probably have about double that time before it knocks her out. Though if her body has continued to alter she may have more time to react." TK said,
"Her levels of Dark Arms blood has increased since the last time I took a blood sample." He said,
"Does she know?" TK asked,
"She does, I keep her up to date whenever we take new samples. Which I'll need to schedule a time with her once she gets back. All this animosity towards her from the civilians makes it difficult to have any privacy with her." He said as TK nods,
"Alright, the drug should be in their system long enough to test the antidote." TK said,
"Who should we test first?"
"Sasha, she'll have the most side effects if any." TK said. Starline nods and injects her with the antidote as she jolts up quickly looking around,
"That's a super headrush!" She said,
"Wow that worked faster than I was expecting." Dr. Starline said,
"How do you feel?" TK askes as Dr. Starline notates her vitals,
"I feel like I could run super-fast." Sasha said looking excited, "This feels amazing!" She attempts to climb out of bed as Dr. Starline stops her,
"Not just yet, we need to make sure you don't crash from the adrenaline rush." He said as she nods and stays seated but bobs up and down full of energy.
"I'm a little worried to give this to Saya with that kind of reaction…" TK said,
"Maybe we should wake up Kolt first?" He asked and she nods in agreement, he injects Kolt with the antidote as he jolts up the same.
"Chaos… is this what Saya feels like all the time?" Kolt said trying to calm himself down, "This is terrifying."
"Terrifyingly awesome!" Sasha said still bouncing.
"TK, given these reactions I don't think it is a good idea to inject Saya." Starline said, "This amount of adrenaline could trigger a panic attack or stop her heart completely."
"It feels like I did when I was woken up with the power ring but it's hard to get my heart rate back down." Kolt said as Sasha sways a bit,
"I don't feel too good…" She flops back down onto the pillow passed out.
"Oh dear." Dr. Starline rushes over to her and makes sure she's alright. "I recommend we let Saya burn the drug off herself." He said as both of them nod,
"Looks like the antidote is a little too strong. I'll have to tweak it a bit." She said, "Is Sasha okay?"
"She just passed out, possibly from overstimulation." He said, "You should rest as well Kolt."
"Don't have to tell me twice." He said laying back down,
"I'm going to grab them some IV's to help flush this out of their system," Dr. Q said leaving the room,
"I'm sorry Kolt," TK said,
"We know it works to a degree; it just needs to be fine-tuned. That's the whole reason for the testing." Kolt said,
"I hope Saya won't be asleep for too long." She said,
"This is probably the best sleep she's gotten the last few days," He joked, as Dr. Starline comes back with IV's and gives them all one.
"There, hopefully that will help Saya wake up a little faster. I'll keep an eye on them if you want to head back to your workshop to work on this." He said,
"Thanks doc." She said, "I'll come check on you guys when I'm done," Kolt gives her a nod as she leaves the room.
Overseas, Team Dark was getting everything packed to head back to Freedom HQ as some of the other agents walk up to them, "Thank you again for your assistance these past few days." Agent Vector the commander of the Europe division of the resistance held out his hand as Sophia shakes it,
"We're happy that we could help." Sophia said,
"Are you sure you have to go back? We could use three capable agents over here." He joked,
"Sorry Vector, Sophia's got a special someone waiting for her back at HQ." Rogue teased as Sophia turns to her flustered,
"Rogue… stop it." Sophia said as both Rogue and Omega chuckle,
"But you're so easy to tease Hun." She said, "And I'm not lying am I?"
"No…" She said looking away,
"I bet she's been dying to see you." Rogue continued to tease her as they headed to the hangar bay,
"Let me know if you ever come back overseas, if you ever need help we've got your back." Vector said giving them a thumbs up as they take off.
It had been a few hours and Alan; Brandy and Caroline hadn't heard from the others, so they ventured out to the infirmary to find them. They run into Sasha leaving the Infirmary holding her head, "Are you alright?" Carline asked as Sasha softly chuckles,
"Looks like the first test was a bust. The antidote was too potent." Sasha said,
"What about Kolt and Saya?" Alan asked,
"After how Kolt and I reacted to the antidote they decided not to inject Saya with it so she's still asleep. Kolt's said he was going to keep an eye on her." She explained,
"Where's TK?" Brandy asked,
"She was gone when I woke up. I kinda passed out after the super adrenaline rush." She chuckles,
"You should get some more rest." Caroline said as she nods,
"Yeah I'm grabbing a bite before I head back to the bunks. I'll talk to you all later." She said waving them off before heading to the cafeteria.
"Do we check on Kolt or TK?" Alan asked,
"Let's check in with TK, she must feel bad that this didn't work." Caroline said.
They all head to the workshop as they see Elias standing in front of the door talking to a group of civilians that have him cornered, "I assure you all that you are not in any danger when it comes to Agent Shadow." Elias was trying to remain composed as they bombarded him with questions,
"That's not what I heard!"
"She's a flesh-eating Alien! They can't be trusted!"
"I heard more of her kind attacked your previous base."
"She needs to be locked up!"
"Would you say the same thing to Sonic and the rest of the Freedom Fighters?" Elias said as he sees the others approach from the corner of his eye as they all stop and look at them.
"It's not the same!"
"She's different."
"And being different accounts to being locked up?" Alan asked as they all quiet down,
"I'm going to ask you all to stay in the designated civilian zones from now on. If you say you feel unsafe with Agent Shadow around then not knowing if she's here or not won't hurt you." He glared as they all started to walk away.
"You okay Elias?" Brandy asked,
"This is becoming exhausting…" he said letting out a sigh after they were out of earshot.
"How did they know the Dark Arms attacked our previous base?" Alan asked,
"Better yet, how do they know the Dark Arms are man eating aliens?" Brandy asked,
"My thoughts exactly… that's not something they should know…" Elias said opening the door to the workshop and they all enter.
"I heard commotion outside, is everything okay?" TK said still typing away at her computer.
"Just more people wanting me to lock up Shadow like she's a wild animal." Elias said as they walk up to her, "How'd the trial go?"
"We just ran onto Sasha…" Caroline said,
"That good?" Elias said looking worried,
"The antidote was too potent, it made both Kolt and Sasha sick." TK explained,
"What about Saya?" Elias asked,
"We thought it best to not inject her with it just in case. Dr. Starline was worried it might stop her heart." TK explained,
"That's terrifying…" Caroline said,
"She's still asleep in the infirmary and Kolt is keeping an eye on her." Alan said,
"Good, I got word that Team Dark is heading back, they should arrive early tomorrow morning." He said as they all nod.
"Saya will be happy to see her." Brandy said,
"Back to what we heard outside. Do you think someone if fueling these people to go after Sophia?" Alan asked,
"What?" TK asked turning away from the computer confused,
"Someone made a comment about how the Dark Arms attacked our previous base." Elias explained,
"They shouldn't know that; it was almost two years ago." TK said,
"Exactly," Alan said,
"You don't think Abyss infiltrated the base and is trying to purposefully turn people against her?" Caroline said,
"That better not be the case." Elias said, "I'm having the civilians restricted to their areas, and have Sophia stay away from them until they settle down."
"That's a good idea." Brandy said,
"And if Abyss is potentially on base none of you are allowed to be alone." Elias said as they all nod.
"Understood," TK said,
"I need to get some more paperwork done, please let me know when Saya wakes up." He said leaving,
"I need to go check in on Rosie, who wants to come with me?" Alan asked,
"I'll come with." Caroline said with a smile.
"I'll stay with TK, after seeing that mob I'm a little angry." Brandy said sitting on a nearby bench,
"We'll come back here when we're done." Caroline said as they leave.
Early the following morning, most of the compound was still fast asleep. Team Dark returns to Freedom HQ as they see Elias waiting for them. "You didn't have to greet us." Sophia said,
"I know but I wanted to go over a few things with you right away." Elias said,
"Where's Saya?" Sophia asked thinking something was wrong quickly recognizing the concern on his face,
"She's asleep in the infirmary." Elias said,
"What happened?"
"TK's antidote was too powerful and not to risk Saya being injured by it they let the Drug run its course through her system. She's perfectly fine." He said, trying to calm her down noticing she looked angry.
"We'll leave you to it," Rogue said as she and Omega head over to the barracks.
"I knew her testing it was a bad idea," Sophia said crossing her arms as they start walking towards the infirmary, "What else is going on?"
"We've restricted access for the Civilians, they are getting too rowdy with their discontent when it comes to you." He said as she lets out a sigh,
"I can tell there's more." Sophia said,
"We're concerned that someone is fueling their fears of you on purpose." Elias said,
"You think Abyss has already infiltrated the base?" She asked as he gives her a nod, "Damnit."
"None of you are allowed to walk around on your own. Especially you and Saya." Elias said,
"I can live with that, but if anyone confirms Abyss is really here, he's mine. I have a score to settle." She said.
"I'll try to make that happen," Elias said jokingly as they get to the infirmary and head into the back room where Kolt was asleep next to Saya's bed. Elias walks over to Kolt and shakes him awake,
"Mmm… I'm awake…" Kolt said rubbing his eyes,
"You're a terrible guard." Sophia teased,
"It's like three in the morning…" He said with a yawn rubbing his eyes,
"Let's get you back to your room, Sophia can take it from here." Elias said helping him to his feet as he guides him out of the room half asleep, "Let me know when she wakes,"
"Will do," Sophia said. He closes the door behind them as she walks up next to Saya still sound asleep,
"No thank you, I couldn't eat another…" Saya said in her sleep as Sophia chuckles,
"You're such a dork." She said kissing her forehead then brushing her bangs out of her face. She pulls her hand away to sit down as Saya's shadow quickly moves and grabs her wrist, "Shit!" The shadow continues to move like a liquid, Saya slightly lifts as the Shadow takes form and Sophia recognizes the appearance. But she saw him cast into the depths of the underworld by Excalibur so how could Morrigan be here?
"We meet again, Shadow." He said, she recognizes his voices as she glares,
"Mephiles."