Chapter 6

Attack on the Base! Possibly Voluntary?

"The door...is kicked in." Zephyr observed once he arrived at the base. He hesitated, then floated in through the doorway.

Luna! The first thing he saw was a silver dog laying on the ground, her eyes glazed over. She had an 'X' shaped slash mark on her chest - going into her heart. Blood poured out of the fatal wound. Zephyr's eyes locked on the body of his former team-mate. He floated down to her and tried to put his hand on her - but it just went through the body. He withdrew his hand and clenched it into a fist it into a fist.

"Luna..." He whispered. Zephyr's eyes shut tightly. He felt a cold sensation - running from his eyes and down his cheeks.

"Wh-What?" He rubbed his eyes and that same cold feeling went to his hand. Zephyr looked at his hand, on it was several blue-ish sparkles. Zephyr blinked, and they were gone - as well as the cold feeling.

Tears?

"Please! Stop!" The sudden shriek from the main room interrupted Zephyr's thoughts. He whipped his head toward the direction of the voice, gave one last look at Luna, then floated to the main room. His eyes widened. Four bodies lay on the ground. Three had bullets embedded in them in different fatal locations, and one had a stab wound through his neck.

Damien, Neferet, Cyris, Joy... He named the bodies.

"Please Pulse, Mike, please stop!" Zephyr looked away from his dead team-mates and to the source of the voice. In the middle of the room two of the group were standing around two other members. The two in the middle looked extremely hurt, one with deep slashes all over her body, and the other with a bullet hole very close to his heart. Mike and Pulse were standing on opposite sides of the circle. Pulse's swords were dripping with blood.

"Come on! You two are stronger then this! You don't have to obey Dimension! We're fighting against him remember?" An albino hedgehog yelled. Pulse shook his head.

" I'm sorry Chorus... we can't." Pulse replied.

""Now stay still and make our job easier," Mike added.

Chorus looked completely speechless and Mike's words. Zephyr saw why - it sounded like he killing his former team-mates!

"Then we will treat you like enemies!" Said a female grey griffin. Mike smirked and held up his gun. The griffin's back was facing Mike because her attention was focused on Pulse, Chorus noticed though.

"Karen! Watch out!" But the hedgehog's call was too late. The thunderous sound of Mike's gun filled the air. Zephyr closed his eyes - he couldn't watch. He heard a shriek, then a thump as something fell limply onto the floor. When Zephyr opened his eye, it wasn't the powerful griffin on the ground, but the white hedgehog.

"Chorus!" Karen yelled.

Zephyr stared at the body - the bullet was embedded in his skull. Chorus's eyes glazed over. Zephyr felt that cold sensation on his eyes again.

Wh-What's happening? The usual darkness of his invisibility flashed and turned the room pure white. Zephyr shielded his eyes. The only thing that was visible was Chorus's body and the silhouettes of the people that were around them. The green glow around Chorus's body started to shimmer and a white glow came from it - then rose from his body. The white glow started to take a shape.

Chorus! Zephyr recognized the shape. Chorus's ghost looked around. He was a lot more see-through then Zephyr was- even now. The white hedgehog spotted Zephyr.

"Zephyr! He exclaimed. Zephyr waved, somehow he knew Chorus wasn't going to staying very long.

"How come I didn't see you there before?" Chorus's eyes drifted to his former body. "I'm-"

Zephyr nodded. "Yes." He replied shortly.

"That means you're also-"

Zephyr nodded again. Chorus looked at Karen's silhouette, who was fighting tears, and defending her two hurt allies from Pulse and Mike.

Chorus bowed his head and closed his eyes. "Something tells me I have to leave now. Zephyr, promise you'll tell her something for me... Tell her that I-I loved her."

"Chorus, I promise," Zephyr replied. Chorus smiled, then faded away.

The white around Zephyr melted away- turning into the darkness of his invisibility once again. The purple hedgehog closed his eyes tightly. "Stop.." he whispered. "Stop!" He yelled this time. The fighting ceased for the moment and everyone looked around for the source of the voice. Zephyr appeared - the cold feeling still running down his face. He floated between Pulse and Mike and his surviving team-mates.

"Zephyr-san.." Karen started, then glared at Mike and Pulse. "You did this! Both of you!"

Pulse looked down. "We didn't-"

"Liar!" Karen interrupted.

Zephyr looked at the dusty grey griffin. "No, they didn't, Dimension-"

"They set you up!" She interrupted again. "You both are traitors! I-"

"Karen!" Zephyr interrupted her this time. "Neither Pulse or Mike wanted to betray us! If you want to blame someone, blame Dimension! Now, if we all can calm down, I'm sure we can find some sort of loophole."

Another gunshot sounded in the room and one of the two wounded fell to the ground. Blood sprayed out of the hole in her throat. Her body convulsed as the crimson liquid pooled on the ground. Her eyes glazed over - she was no more. Zephyr stared at Mike - that was the second time he did that!

"Our orders are very specific. 'Kill everyone from your old team.'"

Karen shrieked a battle cry and launched herself at Mike - pinning him to the ground. She scratched him vigorously with her claws. Zephyr wanted to stop her, but couldn't bring himself to do it - he killed two of his team-mates! His eyes drifted to the body of Mike's last victim. When he turned, the blinding white place surrounded him again. Her ghostly image was already floating above the body. She smiled, gave Zephyr an approving nod, then disappeared.

What does that mean? Am I doing the right thing? Should I let kill Mike? Zephyr glanced back to Karen and Mike, she still had him pinned to the floor and was scratching him violently. He floated to them. Zephyr reached his hand out to Karen, but quickly drew it back, realizing he wouldn't be able to touch her.

"Karen..." Zephyr started.

"Don't start Zephyr-san! He is killing everyone! Him and Pulse! It would be best if we killed them rather then getting killed on a mission Dimension sent them on!"

Zephyr couldn't help seeing the logic in Karen's words- as disturbing as it was. He backed off from her Zephyr couldn't think of an argument to go against that. He directed his attention to Pulse. Zephyr's eyes widened. He stood over the other injured person - his sword skewered through their back. His victim's blood dripped down the sword onto the cold dirt below. Pulse's face was wet with tears and his ears and tail were down.

"I'm sorry." He whispered while closing his tightly. "I have to..." Pulse threw his sword seemingly right at Zephyr. Zephyr flinched, the sword passed right through him. He closed his eyes. "Pulse, you can't kill something that's already dead."

"Did I hit her?" He asked tearfully. Zephyr's eyes widened and he looked back. Behind him, the sword was pierced straight through Karen's back, coming out her stomach.

"Karen!" Zephyr exclaimed, floating over to her. Karen coughed and stumbled backward off Mike. Pulse looked away, tears falling down from his face. Karen fell to her knees - her eyes still locked on Mike. She was shivering, and her breathing was rapid. Pulse pointed his palm toward the sword and soon it turned into back silk-like smoke and disappeared. Karen gasped and cringed - holding the wound tightly. Crimson red blood stained the griffin's beautiful grey fur. Her body convulsed violently and her wings flapped. Zephyr looked away from his dying team-mate - he couldn't watch anymore.

"Zephyr...san..N-" Karen's word were cut off by a fit of painful-sounding coughing. The purple hedgehog hesitantly looked back at Karen. Blood covered her once-yellow beak, and on the ground in front of her there was a splatter of blood which grew in size every time she coughed.

"Karen, save your-" Zephyr was cut off by Karen's trembling wing rising- as if telling him to quiet.

"Zephyr-san," she started again. "Don't forget us."

The cold feeling entered his eyes again - but forced it to stay there.

"Never." He breathed. Karen smiled - her pain reflecting in her golden eyes. The powerful griffin closed her eyes and fell into a crippled lump onto the blood-soaked floor. The crimson liquid was still pouring out of her once-powerful body, along with the last of her life. Her wings tensed, then went limp and her eyes slowly closed. There was a bright flash, suddenly he was in the white place again. The green glow around Karen's body shimmered, and a grey glow appeared over the body. The glow took shape and soon the transparent image of the grey griffin was in front of him. She looked around, then her eyes rested on Zephyr. Even as a ghost, the intensity of her golden eyes was chilling.

"Zephyr-san." She said bowing her head.

Zephyr shook his head. "There is no need for formalities. I have something to tell you."

Karen cocked her head, her expression alone asked 'What?'

"Chorus told me to tell you something." Zephyr continued. "He said that... that.." he felt awkward about telling her this, he was never good at talking to girls in this way. Zephyr himself has never had a love-affair because when he starts trying to small-talk he gets flustered and starts stumbling over his words. He felt the same way now, even thought it wasn't his emotions he was reveling. Zephyr sighed, "Karen." He tried to sound formal, "He.. He... saidhelovedyou." He jumbled his words together again.

Karen blinked, it seemed like she understood. She looked down. "I didn't know..." There was a short pause, the she smiled. "Thank you Zephyr-san... I hope I see him again."

Zephyr nodded - embarrassed. Then the image of his former team-mate disappeared - along with the white place. Zephyr was thrown back into the darkness. He looked at himself.

I turned invisible again... He looked around. Only Mike is here? Where's Pulse? Only Mike sat in the main room of the base, the yellow cat was gone.

"AH!" A yell was heard from the basement. A sudden picture rased through Zephyr's mind.

Felix! Without thinking, Zephyr angled himself straight down and floated through the floor and into the basement of the base. He reached a small room, in it, two cats faced each other. One was Pulse, who was holding two katanas, the other was Felix - a green cat, wearing green camo pants, a necklace with a grey cross on it, and one earring on his left ear that looked like a skull.

"O-oh, Pulse, it's only you. I-I thought that you w-were someone bad. I heard yelling from upstairs so I..." Felix trailed off. His eyes he's drifted to the blood dripping off Pulse's swords. Felix's tail-tip twitched quickly from side to side. "W-Was there a fight or something?" He asked- his eyes focused on the swords.

"Yes," Pulse replied.

Felix's eyes widened. "Was anyone hurt?"

"Yes."

"W-was anyone k-killed?"

"Yes."

"H-h-who?"

"Everyone."

Felix's eyes widened even more and his green fur prickled. "E-Everyone?" he echoed.

"Everyone... Except you." Pulse raised his swords.

"W-What's going to happen? W-W-what are we going to do?"

Pulse closed his eyes and shook his head. "There is no more 'we' bro."

"W-what d-do you mean?"

"I mean-"

"Felix RUN!" Zephyr appeared and cut Pulse's sentence off - knowing how it was going to end. The two cats' head's whipped around to face him. Felix stared at Zephyr, then back at Pulse - hie eyes filled with horror. Felix started to run, but Pulse was quicker. Before the green cat could reach the door, Pulse's sword lashed toward him - stabbing through his left shoulder and pinning him to the wall. Felix froze in fear, his eyes locked on Pulse's. The blood from the wound welled up around the sword and painted red streaks down Felix's bright green fur.

"I-I'm sorry.." Pulse said - tears filling his eyes. He raised his second sword.

"Pulse don't!" Zephyr yelled.

"I have to!" Pulse yelled back.

"No you don't!" Zephyr wanted to grab Pulse by the scruff of the neck and beat him back to his senses.

"Yes I do!"

"Put the sword down! That's an order!"

Pulse blinked. "Order..?" He echoed. "I already have my orders." he said darkly, then angled his sword to Felix's heart.

"Pulse- " But Zephyr was too late, Pulse had already plunged his sword deep into his brother's heart. Felix gasped - tensing his body. Tears fell from Pulse's face, he turned the swords to inflict maximum damage. Felix's eyes sparkled with feel and pain.

After what seemed like an eternity, the green cat fell limp under Pulse's swords. Pulse shut his eyes tight. He released his grip on the swords and they disappeared into the black silk-like smoke. Felix's body fell to the ground - the wounds still bleeding out onto the floor. Pulse fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

"Big brother..." He whispered, "I'm so sorry." Pulse picked up his brother's body and hugged it - crying. "I'm sorry," He kept saying - his voice cracking with tears.

In a flash the white place appeared and a green glow rose from Felix's body. Again, the glow took form and the green cat floated in front of him. Felix looked around, but his eyes rested on Pulse's silhouette.

"Felix," Zephyr started. "He didn't want to do it."

Felix closed his eyes and nodded. "I know... It's kind of ironic...Out of killed by the one person I wasn't.."

Zephyr's ears went down.

"Zephyr, Please tell Pulse that I don't blame him. I don't believe that it was him that killed me."

Zephyr nodded. Felix nodded back then disappeared. The white place around him was replaced with darkness, and Zephyr was, once again, invisible. Pulse still was kneeling on the ground, clinging to the body of his dead brother. Zephyr's ear twitched, someone was coming down the stairs.

Mike emerged in the doorway. "Pulse, we better go. Don't want Dimension to miss us too much." Mike said with a smirk.

"I don't care what Dimension does Mikey!" Pulse cried.

Mike was silent for a while. "Pulse, we have to go, you can't stay here forever."

Pulse lashed his tail and continued crying.

Zephyr closed his eyes and appeared to Mike and Pulse.

"Pulse, he doesn't blame you."

The yellow cat opened his eyes and looked at Zephyr- his grey eyes were flooded with tears. Zephyr had never seen Pulse cry before - unless he was laughing so hard he was crying.

"He said that he doesn't believe it was you who killed him."

Pulse blinked and looked back at Felix's body. He closed his eyes, picked up the body and stood up. He walked to the bed in the corner of the room and lay the body on it.

Zephyr nodded approvingly, then let himself disappear.

"Where are you going Zeph?" Mike called out - smirking.

Zephyr half-smiled and floated out of the room, and the base.

My place does not belong there anymore. I have failed. But, I know someone else will take over my mission. And when that time comes, I'll be sure to be there. I maybe running away from my memories, but I'm also waiting for new ones. Dimension better be ready, because there will be another generation of us, I'm sure of it!