Chapter 13
I awoke in a field, a drop of dew falling on my nose. Grass tickled my fur and the warm rays of the sun caressed my small figure gently as I sat up. I seemed to be in a small grove of trees, a large metal wall, aged with rust in the salty breeze, was stationed behind me.
Uncle Chuck sat a few feet from me, watching me sleep with memory stained eyes. At seeing me sit up and look at him, he looked at me, "Where's Sonny, Kuro? Is he here?" His voice was quiet and understanding. He wasn't angry or hurt, he was just concerned for both mine, and Maurice's well being.
I nodded, "From what I heard from Dr. Eggman, he and all of his friends were taken here within a short span of time." His eyes widened with this realization.
"All of…." His mouth gaped with the new information, and his eyes, once filled with a peaceful concern, were now filled with terror, "And Eggman….he's a liar, kid. Are you sure he was telling the absolute truth?" He didn't seem to believe himself though, as his eyes betrayed him.
"Actually, he was taken too. He gave me this tracker to find both him and Sonic though." I showed him my wrist, the tracker beeping madly with our whereabouts, "I also saw Mr. Knuckles and Mr. Tails get kidnapped...I tried to save them, but they were gone before I could." Uncle Chuck didn't speak, but instead pulled me into a tight, warm hug.
"I'm so sorry you had to see all that..." He was aghast at the perceived torment I went through, but he didn't know the half of it as he continued, "But you don't have to risk your life needlessly like this. I'll take you back to the mainland, Kuro, and call the authorities. A little pup like you shouldn't be doing things like this on your own." I pulled away from the old hedgehog, a small, sad smile on my face. He brought me here, and there was no way that I was going back.
He got up, hand outstretched as he began to walk back the way we came, "Come on, Buttercup, let's go home." I stood up, but shook my head.
"I can't go with you. Sorry, Uncle Chuck." He stared into my mismatched eyes, fear of what he might have to do filling his, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine..." I smiled, "I don't want to be too late." His eyes widened at that remark, and the smile I gave him made his hand fall.
"You've been here before..haven't you." There was no question in his kind voice, there was no movement in his limbs, "You were the one I read about in the papers...the one that that devilish man pushed off the cliff...aren't you." I nodded, the remembrance of that day painful to me, "Why would you come back for someone you don't even know?" He was clawing desperately now at anything that could save me, or change my mind even though his voice remained calm, old, and bouncy.
"Because I do know him." I said softly, "We were taken there together many years ago." I chuckled softly, sadly at his wide, understanding eyes, "I should be fifteen with him, blue as the sea...but that was taken from me so long ago." He forced his eyes to shrink, and wet his lips.
"Laura's Twins...Beautiful blue munchkins...What...what happened?" He stared at me, hoping for an answer, but I gave him none. He was already shaking with the realization of who I was, and there was no reason to give him anymore. The poor guy might just have a heart attack.
"Please...leave and call the authorities if you wish. It might save us all in the end." I said sadly, and he nodded, all convincing finished. He knew he wasn't going to get me to go back anymore, so he left, taking the rowboat with him, and rowing as fast as he could to the shore, desperate to tell someone who could do something.
I watched him for a few seconds before turning to the huge structure, taking a deep breath, and finding a way in.
It didn't take me long to find the entrance beside the cliff I had been thrown off of. It was so much more rusted than before, and took all my strength to pry open. But, once open, I had yet another chance to turn back.
The sun turned the sky gold as dawn crept through its loving expanse. The salty breeze toyed with my fur, and bathed my quills in its welcoming life. The grass was soft beneath my feet, and the ocean's powerful waves crashed against the cliff-face.
The door showed nothing but crimson darkness. A bloody hand-print smeared the metal wall inside, dry and painful. It was his hand, the hand of The Good Doctor when he tried to save me from G.U.N.. It hasn't been removed even after all this time.
Footsteps echoed across the empty, rusted halls. Water dripped somewhere, and stains of a similar origin covered the originally white walls; now gray, crimson and back with mold and age.
I don't know how long I wandered through the endless corridors till I got to the point where the age was gone, and the walls were polished white with lights of fragile sapphire blue.
"Guess I've reached the point where lies end." I whispered to myself. Mura kept silent here, be it from fear or awe, I had no clue.
From sheer luck, I found myself in a small room. A messy bed was pushed up in one of the corners with papers all over the desk and floors, and mad scribbles decorated the windowless walls. The scribbles were numbers and words that meant nothing to me, except for one scribble that looked like a time limit. On the disorderly desk near the door was a laptop with some sort of word document pulled up.
Tiny as I was, I walked closer to it standing on the work chair for a better look:
"Time:-
Year:-
File: -
"I finally found him, the special child that had run so far from me. My dear, darling boy. This time, I won't let him get away...I know what's best after all...right?
All that's left is to bring my dear Kuro home as well. I hope she'll be happier to see me though…
I'll keep you updated."
"This entry had been from a few days ago, and I scrolled to the latest one:
"Time:-
Year:-
File: –-
"Experiment failed. Maurice has succumbed to his biological father, Chaos. I had theorized that only Kuro could communicate with their father, and he the mother, but I was dead wrong. I have quarantined him under heavy sedatives till further notice. Subject does not act like himself. He is highly dangerous, and destroyed one of the twins before I could get him under control. I don't know what to do, but I feel as though I must find Kuro as soon as possible if I want to return him to his senses….not even Ivo can do as much...the response was instead very...violent.
"Whatever my son did to hurt his brother, it must have been bad. Otherwise, the reaction wouldn't have been so...volatile. Subject seems to be asleep, and unable to control himself. It would be worth researching further if he wasn't so dangerous, and fear inducing...I haven't felt such fear since…
"I'll keep you updated."
"What?" I whispered, shocked at the new information, "My brother...what's...happened?" But there was no new update. My heart sunk, my mind whirling with questions. I scrolled up, stopping at a random post. This one seemed to be one of the earlier ones.
"Time:-
Year:-
File: -
"Ivo, my beautiful, baby boy has turned away from me. I've tried everything. He keeps telling me that my work is awful. He hates me, and I don't know what to do.
Was my father right in his treatment? Am I just being weak?
I'll..keep you updated."
"Who's Ivo?" I whispered to myself, my heart pounding. I kept scrolling up until I got to the very first entry. These first few entries were different from all the others, and seemed to have been written by a child. They had no date, no number, and were written like a letter to the computer itself:
"Dear Computer,
Hi, my name is Ovi Kintobor, and I'm eight and it's nice to meet you. This is the first time I've ever had a computer..my mom was nice enough to get me one. My dad...he yelled and slapped me when he saw it. He always hits me...I always do bad things, and he just...he just wants the weakness gone. I'm sorry...I just..don't have anyone to talk to about this...so I'll talk to you…Computers are good listeners.
Sincerely, Ovi Kintobor"
He was abused as a child. That was very apparent to me now, and I couldn't help a tear falling down my cheek for him. I kept reading, the other few entries similar to this. His father would make sure he had no friends, and he would punish him for following any other passion except for science, which was his father's hobby. The poor boy developed horribly low self-esteem, and began thinking of death and what it was like around the age of ten. It was only in his teenage years that he saw any hint of a good life:
"Entry –
I found this girl. She's so beautiful, and her smile makes me so happy inside. I've never felt anything like this! I just want to know her, I want to make her smile. I want to go out with her! But I'm too afraid she'll reject me...I mean, who would want a scrawny upstart like me? My father would probably hurt her if she went into the house anyway…. I know I should give up...but something wants me to try for her….
I'll keep you posted."
I kept reading:
"Entry –
She said yes! She said Yes! Oh, I'm so excited. It's only been seventeen years since I felt such joy, but my god, I'm so happy! I have to start planning our date...I'm thinking maybe...a movie, or dinner? What would normally win a girl's heart?
Oh the nerves..I think I'm gonna barf...yep, definitely going to barf. One sec…
I'll keep you posted."
Apparently, he began going out with this girl, Robotnik, at seventeen, then got married to her at nineteen. They had a kid that they named Ivo Robotnik, after his wife's name. His name Kintobor was cast aside in favor of her, and they lived happily for a while. However, Ivo started to show signs of dislike toward his father early on, and the two slowly grew apart. Ovi and his wife weren't able to go out as much anymore, and having no one to talk to, he grew depressed and angry at the world.
However, this stopped when he met a beautiful blue hedgehog with emerald eyes:
"Entry –-
I met this rare, blue hedgehog today. Her fur is so blue, it's amazing. We talked for a while, and we got along. I'm not cheating on my wife, I would never, but I think that this is the start of a good friendship. She's the daughter of a noble, and is engaged to some pompous jerk anyways...she just wants to have a friend, and I need one too… She wants to meet for breakfast tomorrow. I've told my wife, and she is okay with it. In fact, she says I need it...so I'll meet her at the diner tomorrow.
I'll keep you posted."
They met at the diner, and they became really good friends. They would meet often, even after the hedgehog was married. Apparently, the hedgehog the girl married was indeed a jerk and was neglectful to her. She was considered a trophy to him, and complained about this frequently with Ovi. They would also talk about her coal black sister, who enjoyed her time aboard the A.R.K.. Sometime during her time there, she had her own son, born unnaturally with both hers and an alien's DNA, and in a tube...yeah, this particular entry was rather interesting. Eventually the sapphire hedgehog became pregnant under a big emerald, for no reason, and had twins. Ovi was named Godfather, and came to visit the pups often with his son.
I paled..the description of my brother and I exact. He had met our mother, and become our Godfather… According to this, he hated the neglect our father showed us and decided to take us in. Our mother died shortly after, her husband following due to starvation and sickness. The castle fell to ruin, and Ovi regretted what he had done. But it was too late to do anything now.
An accident had also occurred right before he found out about his friend's death, and it blinded his right eye. Apparently, he had been experimenting with the chaos emeralds, particularly the red one, and it backfired, the energy almost destroying the eye and causing permanent blindness in it. But, despite not being able to see the surroundings, that very eye could sense things, living things in particular, around him.
A few weeks later, Ovi's father, as well as his wife's father both passed away due to different reasons:
"Time: -
Year: -
File: -
My father died yesterday. I don't know why, but I'm crying. He was the only father I had, and now he's gone...I didn't even get to say goodbye… Why do I miss him so much? All he's ever done is hurt me...so why? I'm so confused… I've done so many awful things, stealing the kids and killing my best friend. What should I do...is this Karma? What do I do?
My father died of a heart attack, and my wife's father,(Ironically dying on the same day) was executed for treason by G.U.N.. Apparently my father had been out with friends, drinking with his older buddies...I mean, he wasn't a young guy, but he died at just fifty… I was alerted though email since I haven't been on the surface in months… I-I...I don't know what to do… my wife is crying, and refusing any comforting gestures from me...my son is even more distant than normal...I mean, my father in law was his hero… I don't know. I'm going to hell and I know it. I guess this is just the start.
I'll keep you posted."
Tears were falling as I continued reading. Now he posted about us, and the experiments he had done to us. But as the posts went on, I noticed that he was becoming more and more insane. His wife decided he wasn't worth the effort anymore, and his son had completely abandoned him. At this point, the experiments he was doing on us weren't for results, but to vent. He frequently had both me and my brother destroy robots he built, and repeatedly drowned us knowing that we couldn't die. The shocking experiments, though they were for curiosity, were set up to make us scream.
My heart was pounding faster and faster as I continued reading, then...the insanity broke. My brother had run away with my help, and he stopped everything.
"Time: -
Year: -
File: -
Maurice has escaped...my dear little boy is gone… Kuro is still here, but she no longer cares for life… What have I done…? When did I become such a monster?
I'll keep you posted..."
The posts suddenly stopped, only restarting when an alarm sounded throughout the facility:
"G.U.N are here! I don't have any more time...I have to get Kuro out of here! Goodbye computer...I'm sorry for all of this."
This entry left me cold. The flashing lights and sirens echoing in my memory, as his rushed goodbye to this computer probably caused him those wounds I remembered. The entries I read first followed this one, but I was finished.
I turned to the door and found a shadow blocking it, "There you are." The monotone, static voice filled my flickering ears, my quills raising unconsciously, "Would you accompany me to your room? I daresay that your friends are waiting." I stared into his crimson eye, the iris glowing slightly compared to the faded emerald green. A wolf robot and rabbit robot squeezed through the door, their eyes glowing in acknowledgment of my existence.
I didn't know how to feel about this guy anymore. After reading his life story, I didn't want to have to fight him, or hurt him in any way. I just wanted to see my brother and leave this nightmare once and for all.
I clenched my fists, shaking my head, and made a dash for the door. Both robots tried to grab me, the pup almost getting my collar, but I somehow managed to dodge, and squeeze around The Good Doctor. Oddly, the man made no attempt to grab me, and allowed his robots to give chase.
The corridors were a white, unchanging maze. I couldn't even figure out which way I came in, much less where I was going, and no matter how fast I ran, the robots always seemed to be right behind me. I was going supersonic, but I could still see them right there.
Suddenly, I was flying. I had hit something, and flew several feet in the air before landing hard on my stomach and face. Black blood filled my vision when I opened my mismatching eyes, having coughed it up upon landing. The metal footsteps of my pursuers echoed in my ears, my body aching with the sudden halt.
I tried to get to my feet, but I only managed my knees, and began to try to crawl away. The pain, though a dull pain, was horrific, and caused my eyes to water as the dark blood fell like broken waterfalls from my mouth and nose. But I didn't cry out, my vocal cords silent and striving for breath.
"My dear child..." Kintobor's voice put shivers down my spine, the shock of everything drowning me in chaos, "You only hurt yourself by doing this." I felt his hand grab the scruff of my neck as he pulled me from the ground and held me in front of his face. My dark half seemed untouched by the pain, and glared viciously, while the light half was confused and bloody, "Stop fighting, give up. That's the only way to survive in this desolate and cruel world." His free hand began petting behind my ears, "I would have thought you would be wise to this fact." He brought my broken body to his chest and held me there. He then began walking.
The lights flashed above me, one, two, three...white, one, white, two, white, three. Everlasting, and unforgiving, this world of white. He still petted me, moving from my head to my neck to my back in a cycle that he knew I liked. I involuntarily purred with the praise, but in my heart, I was a bewildered and frightened wreck.
That child I had read about was gone from his eyes, torn apart by his choices in life, and the circumstances of his birth. The only thing he seemed to care about was his attachments, being me and my brother. We seemed to be the only thing he lived for now, and I wasn't sure of what to do about it. The act of me being here seemed to make him worse, and the fear I read about in his post from my brother probably made him recall horrific memories from his childhood, which could make the attachment to us stronger and much more violent. He has the knowledge that we can't die, which makes us objects on which he can vent and creatures he can hold and care for at the same time. It was terrifying knowing this, and no matter how much I wanted to save him from this insanity, the reality of what he is now makes me realize that I probably can't...as he may be too far gone.
Before long we came upon a door, and after opening it, he threw me in.
It was the room from my childhood, the blue and red shapes bringing memory into reality. Eggman was here, as well as Knuckles and Tails, and an assortment of other animals.
"Ko!" Tails screamed, running and hugging me, "You're okay!" He squeezed me, the foxes precious blue eyes red with tears.
Knuckles looked at me, smiled for a second, and then went back to staring at the floor in a dazed agony.
Eggman walked up to me, and with an apologetic look, knelt down, "I'm sorry, Ko...I didn't realize..." He stood back up, walking back and forth across the room, "The man took him...he took Maurice..."
A pink hedgehog burst into tears on one of the bunk beds, a black hedgehog matching the description of my aunt's son moving to comfort her, "We..we heard...he..he hasn't...come back..." She managed, choking on her own tears and hugging the shadowed hedgehog.
"Sonic..." The fox breathed, tears falling from his eyes like rivers down his matted cheeks. He was still holding me tightly, my aura, being twins to Sonic, possibly giving him some comfort.
A promiscuously dressed bat was silent as she leaned against the wall, her cheeks red and her eyes cast down at the ground similar to Knuckles. In fact, the Echidna was right beside her, both of them staring into nothing together.
Two robots, Burakku, and a heavily built war machine stood together, making plans and seemingly trying to comfort each other. Burakku, as soon as he saw me, walked to me and petted my head, the words, "I'm sorry" filling my shattered mind.
"I...I'm too late..." I whispered, tears filling my own eyes, both of them. It all suddenly hit me at once, all the shock and confusion vanishing as reality crashed down. I hugged the lonely fox back, crying into his shoulder as he cried into mine.
I don't know how long we all stayed there, mourning Sonic, Maurice, my brother. Everyone was apologizing for not seeing it sooner, or not doing anything despite not being able to. Over and over again, replaying what we could have done in our heads, not accepting facts. No one knew. The hedgehog had told no one of his plight, and though Eggman had known, and tried to do something about it early on, he was distrusted and disdained by the child he had hoped to protect, and thus wasn't able to shelter or warn him in the end.
The robots came back in again, and took me away. The clamoring and crying from Tails, and the outraged cries of our broken friends echoed relentlessly in my head as I was dragged down the hallways and into a darkened room.
Here, they left me, locking me into this empty, shadowed room, the only light from that of a pod where a black hedgehog that looked the same as me slept soundly. His eyes, though sleeping, were open and blank, a creepy smile frozen on his face. It was my brother, illuminated in a glass container as though dead...a slave to science.
I ran to him, placing my hands on the cold glass as tears flowed freely down my face, "Maurice!" I cried, not understanding why. I knew he couldn't hear me, and probably didn't even remember me. My heart was breaking, my darkness spreading as my white fur disappeared, my dark side showing through the pain. My eyes burned red against the glass, my mind whirling as a shriek filled the empty space, "WHY!" It wasn't even a question anymore as it was a cry for help.
Why don't you sing him a song, a familiar voice asked beside me. The black hedgehog hugged me from behind, warm and comforting in this instant, I know he would appreciate it…and you could use a song too, don't you think?
I nodded, my head not even comprehending what was happening, "I-I just want...to have my brother back… I just want...to live a happy life… Is that too much to ask?" My heart was bleeding, the whisper coming in a soft, calm breath.
I'm afraid so...sing for me won't you? Again he asked, and I had no reason not to.
Tears continued to fall as I sung, the quiet tune one from our childhood:
"Deep, deep down," I managed, my breath slowly coming back to me as I sung,
"I believed…
I could bring,
You back to me..." I sunk to my knees, still singing to the shadow, and my brother,
"In this game,
He found fun,
Can the damage be undone?" Memories of our childhood filled the empty void my heart left. I remembered his happy laughter, and his hugs, and his joyful eyes. Every time he saw me, he seemed to instantly feel better, and I couldn't help but be happy in turn. The way I am now though, I knew he would hate me, and that knowledge alone drove my pain further than anything,
"Even though I'm no longer really me,
There's still a part that lives inside,
My heart that hopes to be,
By your side until we see the light,
But the darkness keeps me clothed,
In everlasting night," We had shared each others pain for so long, trying to find meaning in this life, but in the end, we were separated, unable to find each other. In reality, I never wanted him to leave me, but my love for him cause me to make him leave...that pain in turn cause me to bleed again and again until my memory was lost due to head trauma,
"Don't leave,
Me behind,
Won't you let,
me win this time,
I don't want,
To let go,
But I'll be,
Okay alone..." Now that I remember it all, and know the story of our captor, my heart whirls with confusion and absolute pain, so much so that at that moment, I wanted to die. I saw no hope anymore, no light, no matter how hard I tried, and so there I cried, on my knees unable to stand. The fractured pieces of my heart emptied onto the floor like drops of rain.
They came to get me soon after I had calmed down. With empty eyes I stared at my brother, and then at nothing as they moved me back into the room with my brother's friends.
More than anything, I wished for peace. I wished for hope...but at that moment, there was none as we all nursed our emotional wounds together, wishing, just wishing, for a happier world.