Bloom
-Chapter 4-
"Do you hear that?", Tails asked.
The remaining members of the crew redirected their attention towards the orange fox.
"Hear what?", Blaze responded.
"Listen"
"Its too quiet", Amy said.
"No its not, there's something down there", Tails said
"Are you sure?" Amy asked nervously.
"Positive," Tails responded. He ripped off his broken aviator glasses and tossed into the darkness.
A few seconds passed before a small splash rang out from below.
"Water?" Tails asked.
"You said there was oil down there", Amy said.
"Maybe", he roamed the tattered mess that was his gadget belt and pulled out a small cylindrical object. It seemed to be in working condition. He smacked it against his legs and twisted a small knob atop its body.
A bright yellow light shot forth from the object's core, greatly illuminating their part of the abyss. For the first time in hours since their descent began, the crew could see again. Tails gripped the light source with some excitement. He was glad it was operational despite whatever damage was sustained. Best part is, he designed it himself!
He guided the light source around the area to get a better look at the crew, somewhat eager to see most of their faces.
They weren't doing so good.
Amy's once large and rosy eyes had turned to grey lifeless scleras. A bold dry streak of tears ran downwards, from the bottom of her eyelids to the top of her dress. Her cheeks had turned a dark pink shade, her hair was a crown of tatters and her mohawk was all frizzy. To keep herself warm, she'd resorted to digging both her arms into the middle of her jacket, leaving the sleeves to flap about in the wind.
Blaze's body had been fidgeting like a jackhammer for the past few hours. Her eyes were welded shut, her tattered fur ruffled like the edges of her dress. There was no desire within her to gaze upon the coming base of the abyss nor peer at the distant glow from atop the tunnel. Occasionally she'll feel something like a gag making its way up her throat, but quickly gulped it down to avoid a mess. Like Amy she'd kept her arms tucked in, but only did so to keep the shaking minimal, not to necessarily keep herself warm. Within her inner mental recesses, she conjured images of home. Cream and her, under the shade of the palm branches, collapsing sandcastles and talking about what they'll have for breakfast tomorrow.
Tails pushed upwards to get a better look at the last member of the crew. A circuitry of glowing blue stripes had been their guidance down this dwelling of misery. There was a strong temptation within the orange fox to grip this foolish white hedgehog by the scruff of his neck and punish him verbally. His saving ability be damned, if Amy or Blaze wasn't here he'd have started a fight the moment Sonic let go. He'd have them both throwing themselves downwards.
Silver hadn't sputtered a whisper since Sonic's calamity. His gaze remained afix on the darkness before him. His eyes, heart and mind were bound by this wallowing shade. He wasn't comforted by thoughts of home above or the floating bodies of his friends below. It would be ages before he could even look them in the eyes and receive some kind of assurance. His attention was negated, he didn't care about Tail's discovery of the descent's end nor did he bother about the radiating beam shining directly in his face.
"You couldn't have used that earlier Miles?", Amy asked with a cold stammer.
"Not till we reached the bottom of this mess", Tails replied. "Are you okay? Blaze?".
"I've been better", she murmured. "How's Silver doing?".
"He needs some attention", Amy said.
Tails redirected the light towards the bottom of the dwelling, giving some visibility to the abyss below. As they gradually approached this base, additional details of the structure materialized. Their naked eyes became aware of the dreadful site that awaited them.
They observed a thicket of worn warning labels on the walls, beckoning bystanders to keep away, seemed to be the kind of thing used in construction sites. They made out what appeared to be blackened protruding pipes and gangrene moss scattered around the foundation. Beneath these were flakes of tossed steel scrap that littered the surface. Capping it all off was this thick dark mammoth of a netted steel grate spread wide to every corner of the pit's extremity. Underneath it ran a murky stream of oily water. This is what Tails had picked up on earlier. The soft tune of liquid running through a branching collab of old rusty pipes. His aviator glasses had fallen through the grate, becoming a buoyant relic for this brook.
Upon closer inspection Tails picked up on something quite extraordinary. Something that would motivate him throughout the rest of his journey from here on out. A lowly spotted crimson trail. It began near the middle of the grate and faded eastwards, into unknown territory.
They didn't see Sonic's body.
Silver's well of energy ran dry at the peak of this discovery, he released them from his grasp, before collapsing himself from the exhaustion. Fortunately the crew were only a few metres from their destination. The result was multiple soft thuds, followed by a chorus of groaning pains that echoed through the walls. Tails pulled his light source to his chest just before they made impact, protecting it from the coming fall.
For a few minutes, nobody moved. Like carcasses waiting to be reanimated, their bodies remained stationary and quiet.
Blaze found her footing first. She struggled upwards, using every active limb to support her weakening physical frame. Some stumbling followed, she suffered, the sensation of being grounded again was quite new. It would take a good while to regain any proper balance. The others felt the same as they tried to follow suite.
Silver's body didn't budge. His blue glow was fading into a glum grey, destroying his illumination and leaving him vulnerable in the consuming darkness. Blaze reached out for him before he faded into obscurity. She hurriedly slogged towards his position, forced her knees downwards and began to pat his body down for bruises. With a pair of fingers from her right hand she propped open his eyelids. With a small flicker she struck a small spark on her left index finger, birthing a small inferno on her finger-tips. It wasn't much for the situation, the poor thing flickered greatly under the intimidating abyss but Blaze didn't mind. She only had to track his eye movement, see if Silver had followed Sonic to the other side.
"Be careful with that!", Tails yelled. He kept his distance, fearing a possible blowback triggered by some sensitive material in the atmosphere.
"It's okay", Blaze said. Silver's yellow pupils jiggled with some life as Blaze's finger drew near. They performed a small dance around his sclera, nearly reaching its corners, before settling downwards into a slow crescendo. He was still around, but his mind was going blank.
Blaze strove back to her feet and tapped the air above with the burning tip of her finger. She struck some extra life into her newly conjured child, greatly increasing its intensity. It wasn't as bright as Tail's own light source, but it helped to keep Silver visible in his area.
"There's nothing down here but murky water and worn paper", she continued, assuring Tails's that her ability was in safe hands.
"You guys don't smell that?", Amy asked. She'd chosen to lean against a wall for comfort, her legs still hadn't fully recovered from their exploits. "It's like rotten eggs".
"Must be limestone", Tails responded. He peered at Silver's almost lifeless corpse of a body, giving time to think of the details before zapping into a detective routine and beginning his search.
"Blaze, Amy give him some water and restrict his movement". Tails began to stagger onward, using his light to investigate the rest of the area.
"We've used all up ours already, and Silver broke his on the fall" Blaze said.
"Then here", Tails fumbled around his front pockets and pulled out a small plastic bottle. "Take mine".
The bottle was full to the brim, Tails hadn't even taken a sip.
"Oh, Tails", Blaze started. He catapulted it towards her direction with extreme force, nearly shattering the bottle upon impact.
"If he's no use to us now, we're not getting out of here!", Tails howled.
Blaze, startled at the reaction on display, prepared herself to give Tails a stern mouthful. All the mental turmoil she'd been forced to witness on her way to this desolate place was about to exit her lungs in a wrathful chorus. She'd had enough of all this, she never wanted to be a part of this stupid quest, nor whatever Sonic and the gang were planning. She pointed her flame towards the orange fox's position and marked him for judgment, but before she could speak a word, Tail's began to whimper.
The poor lad was shaking like a leaf in the cold. His eyes were bloodshot, his appendages were a cluttered mess of blood-stains and his body was in great physical turmoil. He'd had it the second worst after Sonic, but did his best to keep himself standing in spite of the trauma.
"I'm sorry, I just", Tails started. He dashed his gaze away so the others wouldn't catch a glimpse of his tears.
"Tails?", Amy left her spot and made her way towards him. Her legs still felt like creaky wooden limbs but she ignored the physical pain. Her younger brother had to be comforted.
"He was right there, and I couldn't hold on to him", Tails continued. He stretched his hands out, recreating the scenario in his mind.
"It's not your fault", Amy said, trying to assure him. She put his arms around him, hugging him from the back.
"I always save him, when he's in trouble"
"I know"
"And I dropped him"
"No Tails, he kicked you first, he wanted to be dropped"
"Why? I could've saved him."
"He knew best, Tails", Amy's eyes began to well up with tears. She'd already given to a bout of crying earlier, but there was a river of tears to be shed for her current predicament.
Tails lifted his right elbow and pressed it against the top of his face, rubbing the tears from his wet cheeks and soggy eyes. He'd have to be strong if Amy was crying, he couldn't let the both of them be in a state of emotional turmoil. Now he had to be what Sonic wanted him to be. A sturdy hero, with a heart ready for the whatever life chucked down the tunnel, ready for the most savage of storms. There wasn't any running from this, he was going to finish what they started.
A sharp glint pierced his thoughts.
He lifted his other arm upwards, pointing the light-source towards that piece of unknown territory he spotted earlier.
"Tails?", Blaze said.
"I know", Tails said.
Amy's tears ceased as her eyes caught sight of what now lay before them.
An enormous steel door with an arched top and colourless frames acted as a barrier to whatever was beyond this point of entry. Metal chains interlinked and danced around the surface surrounding this colossal barrier, forming a kind of steel web with the door in the middle. The door itself had already been slightly pushed open, the chains built to keep it firmly shut had been torn down. The scene felt like the aftermath of a break-in gone successful.
Or a break-out gone horribly wrong, Tails thought.
"I think Sonic's still alive", Tails said. "But, I doubt he's going to last"
He held Amy's left arm, which still lay upon his chest, and gripped it with tender care.
"We have to save him", Tails continued.
Atop this door sat a concealed figure, observing his new guests with some kind of anxious glee. Fortunately for him, they didn't notice his thick physique pressed against the walls of the pit. He'd been hiding himself well since their arrival.
He looked on, towards the exceptional master of psychokinesis he'd analyzed from before. It was funny, among the members of the crew, who were alert and active, it was Silver who happened to notice him first.
"G-guys", Silver sputtered, trying to point to the danger that awaited them, this demon-looking fiend that seemed ready to pounce on the souls of the innocent and request their mortality. A monster that would delight in taking the name of others and using them for deceit.
"L-Look, on top-"
His warning fell behind schedule, his body gave into pressing languor and sleep overcame him.
That troublesome night, the only comfort Silver received came from his dreams.
He saw her, winking at him from atop the king's canopy in the middle eastern night.
Author's Note: Was making some updates on the last chapters.