Ha, I actually classified this episode as a PG-13 episode. Mostly because I cut back on the gore by A LOT.
Unfortunately, this is the end. Last episode I wrote. It was actually meant as a two-part arc, which would have FINALLY led to some actual crossovers.
I sort of rushed
Brief credits:
- Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and related Sonic the Hedgehog elements are property of Sega and Sonic Team.
- Zero, Douglas, and related Megaman X elements are property of Capcom.
- All original characters and elements are my property and may not be used.
- Ashura the Hedgehog is technically not my character, but I do claim this version of him. Granted, I'm not sure what the rules are for characters based on glitches are...
- Anything else I missed... well, you know...
- I'd like to thank my cousin Jake for support.
- The cake is a lie.
Universal Link
Captive
It wasn't the darkness that bothered him. Nor was it the smell or sounds that surrounded him. Not even the unfamiliarity of the said surroundings. He'd done this several times since he'd been forced to undertake these damned missions. Like all the other times, the setting was the same, the same dank and dreary forests, lights of the same dreary cities just a stone's throw away. He'd become use to this, as much as hated to admit it.
The truth was, what it was he was expected to do was the thing bother him. If someone spotted him or anyone on the team, he was supposed to kill on sight. So far he'd been lucky, but each time his life was put on the line he realized that he might end up taking one.
Nathan's stomach turned at the thought.
He was crouched down behind a fallen tree, peering up to monitor the border of the nearby city. He was dressed in a dirty camouflaged suit, atypical from the vivid colors of Azhile uniforms. His face was covered mostly by dark colored paints but also from mud; he had tripped on the way here and fell face-first into a puddle of mud thanks to the heavy gear he had been carrying throwing him off balance. This had at first frightened the members of the team, but when they saw that he was all right amused them. It was hard enough to get a laugh from anyone lately let alone smile.
He sensed someone approach, though from their apprehension he could guess who it was. A gentle hand touched his shoulder, but he didn't turn his gaze from the city.
"Anything yet, Nathan?" the warm yet weary voice of Halley said. Nathan sensed that these missions exhausted her just as much as they did him. Like him, she was also carrying around a lot of weight – an after-effect from the events months ago.
"No," Nathan said, relaxing from his post. "Nothing. I can't even sense anything unusual."
Shortly after Nathan had recovered on the Ghannof colony, the Halley's Comet was recalled to Azhilia for a formal inquiry about the events surrounding the Shic incident. She was charged with several offenses, including not making proper initial contact with other races, allowing a potentially hazardous being to board her ship, not requesting proper instruction before pursuing Shic, and interfering with the business of other races. While everyone involved with the Shic incident tried they're best to show their support for her and their actions – a fight that all felt they had succeeded in doing – the tables turned for the worst and the result was that Halley was stripped of her command. In addition, her along with everyone who had sided with her, were forced to serve aboard an Azhile cruiser commanded by a Captain Adnonstar, someone who carried a grudge against Halley.
He saw Halley sit against the fallen tree near him, opening a small food pouch. She motioned it to Nathan. "Here."
Nathan sat down, resting a small laser pistol on the ground. He took a handful of what looked like a cross between canned tuna and ground hamburger, looked at it for a second, then tossed it in his mouth. It definitely tasted better than it looked.
Halley laughed quietly at him. Nathan gave her an odd look. "What?"
"It's nothing," she said. "You do that every time you eat these rations."
She was dressed much in the same fashion that Nathan was with the exception of a black cap that she wore to keep her hair from becoming a hazard. Despite her current appearance, she still looked like the attractive woman who had apparently had crush on him months ago.
It seemed to Nathan that her feelings towards him had matured since being assigned on these missions. While she had still remained close to him, it wasn't overwhelming or suggestive like it had been – at least as far as Nathan could tell. She did her best to look out for him when he was in trouble, which happened quite often lately.
Nathan smiled at her reaction. "I'm waiting for it to taste the way it looks."
She tilted the pouch to him again, offering some more of the mystery food. "At this rate, you may get your wish."
He took some more, then replied, "Then you can blame me for jinxing us."
In a lot of ways, he felt that he had been a jinx to her. He had been the reason she had come after Shic. He had been the one to shatter Ashura's Master Emerald, which in turn kept them in pursuit. As a result, he felt he was responsible for her losing command of the Comet, not to mention all the carnage that occurred beforehand.
"Demon to Mudman, Demon to Mudman, to you copy?" Ashura's voice rang over the handheld radio strapped to Nathan's belt.
Nathan quickly tossed the rations into his mouth, swallowed hard enough to make his throat hurt, then retrieved the radio. He pressed the button, then spoke into the device, "Hey Demon, when did I get the codename 'Mudman?'"
"When you took that digger in the dirt," Ashura replied. "Nothing unusual up here. Got anything?"
"Nada. No smokies or bandits."
"'Smokies or bandits?'"
Nathan smiled to himself, realizing how lame that had sounded. "Never mind; just some movie reference." He sighed to himself, thinking back to home. He wondered if there had been any good movies released while he was gone. He wondered if he'd ever see home again…
"Copy that. Me and Redeye will do some scouting to the north of your position, then meet up with you, Tinman, and Cap. Copy?"
"10-4," Nathan replied. "I'll hold position until further instruction."
"Copy that. Demon out."
Nathan clicked off the device. Ashura did seem to be taking things rather well, everything considered. About three weeks earlier, Sonic, Shadow, and Douglas had all nearly been captured by the enemy. As what appeared to be a last resort, Shadow created a huge explosion, taking the three of them and several of the ground troops with them. There was no trace of any of them, so it was assumed that they had all been reduced to nothing more than dust.
Nathan sighed, then crawled back up to his post. He was getting sick of observing this city, not even knowing what he was looking for. That was typical for every mission so far; they weren't told much except what was known about the beings they were monitoring, and even he took that with a bit of skepticism.
There was nothing new about the city. It just looked like an average city, even to the point that it looked like an Earth city with minor differences that couldn't be seen during the night. It was dimly lit by a series of lights lining the street, stretching for several blocks before fading into obscurity. However, as he continued to look, he thought he had finally seen something out of the ordinary. He squinted, but that didn't improve what he was trying to look at.
He ducked back behind the tree, looking at some of the pieces of equipment that was on the ground. He spotted what he was looking: a pair of binoculars. He grabbed them, crawled quickly up to his post, then tried to get a better look at what had grabbed his attention.
"What is it?" Halley asked quizzically.
"I don't know," Nathan replied. "I thought I saw something that seemed out of place…" His voice trailed off, recognizing what he saw.
Several of the buildings near the center of the city looked damaged. He thought he could make out large gaps in some of the walls, and corners of the buildings looked like they had been blasted off, the edges of each burned.
"Halley, have there been any reports of this city being attacked?"
"I don't think so. Intelligence didn't say anything except that the Purr-Son had been sending an unusual number of troops to their outer colonies." She moved next to where he was, looking through her own pair of binoculars. "What in the…"
"You see it, don't you?"
"Yes. It looks recent, maybe in the past couple of days."
"That explains why they've been moving troops. Probably to help clean up the mess that their attackers have created."
"Yes," Halley agreed. "But who's attacking? We've never received any unusual reports—"
"Tinman to Cap! Tinman to Cap!" Zero's voice sounded over Halley's radio. "I think the fur balls are onto us! I see five soldiers moving in on your position!"
Nathan and Halley put down their binoculars, looking around quickly to see where they were coming from. "I don't see them!" Halley replied.
"They're coming in from the south," Zero replied. "I'm coming to distract them, but you need to get out of there just in case."
"Copy that," Halley replied. "Meet at the drop point immediately." She snapped the radio back to her belt, then tossed her binoculars and the remains of the rations into a black sack that was strapped to her back. "We'd better hurry; I'd prefer to avoid having to get into a fight with the Purr-Son right now, especially if what we found out is true."
Nathan nodded nervously, putting his equipment away. "I don't understand. How'd they find out where we were? I didn't sense anything unusual…"
"We don't exactly have time to figure that out." She stood up, examining her surroundings. "We need to get out of here fast!"
Nathan didn't argue with her there. He picked up his radio and pistol, snapping them quickly into place on his belt, then rose to his feet, soon following her the best he could through the woods. However, their return path was blocked off by three of the soldiers. Instinctively, they both ducked, trying to stay out of sight.
Nathan had caught a glimpse of the Purr-Son before. They reminded him of a humanoid cat, even more so than how the Azhile reminded him of a humanoid hedgehog. Their heads were shaped much like a lion or tiger, with a variation of fur patterns. They had rather vicious-looking claws on their paw-like hands, which appeared to be apposable than the paws of Earth felines. They even had tails, though the soldiers had them wrapped around their waists, hidden underneath their armor.
Nathan sensed that they were aware of someone in the vicinity, but he couldn't be sure if it was them. He wanted to look up to see exactly where they were looking, but knew that he'd be instantly spotted; the Purr-Son at extremely accurate night vision. He knew they could probably smell or hear them as well. Most of their senses were sharper compared to other life forms in the universe, with the exception of the Ghannof.
Nathan glanced over to see Halley slowly aiming a hand laser at them. He knew that she was going to try to kill all three in the group, something which he didn't wish her to do. However, she knew he'd be reluctant to kill them himself, so in a lot of ways she was doing him a favor.
There was a high pitched squeal, followed by an explosion in the distance, catching the soldiers' attention. They quickly turned around in the direction, seeing if anything unusual could be seen from their vantage point. Halley seemed to hesitate, knowing that if she were lucky she wouldn't have to kill any of them.
Nathan's instinct was to run while the troops were distracted. However, with the Purr-Son so nearby, he knew that he'd be spotted and picked off before he was more than ten feet away. Even so, he felt himself slowly moving away from where he was hiding, in the general direction of the drop point.
Another squeal followed by an explosion caught his attention, making him stop and duck only feet away from where he had been. The explosion was some distance behind the Purr-Son soldiers, but closer than the previous explosion. He wondered if the explosions were homing in on them, or if they even were homing in on the locations of his fellow teammates.
There were three more explosions, each much closer to where he, Halley, and the trio of Purr-Son were. He heard one of the Purr-Son shout in their language, "Run for cover," which was translated to English by a translator planted in his right ear. They soon took off to the west, the opposite direction of the drop point.
Another explosion, close enough for Nathan to see the dust and smoke rise, caused Nathan the freeze. They're homing in on us, he thought as his heart raced. We've been discovered and they're after us. I'm – we're -- going to die on this alien planet. I'll never know if she survived…
Nathan found himself getting shoved to the side as he heard yet another squeal. An explosion soon followed, almost exactly on his former position, adding a few extra feet to his flight. He landed hard on his side, rolling an additional few feet before coming to a stop on his face. He quickly covered his head, trying to futilely protect himself from another bomb.
He felt tears roll down his face, and was breathing in a frenzied state, fear completely gripping him. His mind was clouded and unfocused, he thoughts all hanging on joys and regrets of his life. He closed his eyes, fearing that any second the end would come.
After what felt like ten minutes, however, there was nothing but silence. He slowly calmed himself, trying to convince himself that the worst was over. However, as he focused his mind, he felt something that made him practically leap to his feet: pain, not his pain, but someone else's.
"Halley!" he shouted unthinkingly, looking around for her. He finally found her, lying face down on the ground. Feet away from her was a small smoldering crater. It appeared to have missed – barely.
He rushed to her side, kneeling next to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping she would respond. There was no response.
"Halley… say something…" He was scared that she was dead, though his senses, while still unfocused, indicated that she was in pain and thus still alive. He grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her enough to hopefully get a response.
"Stop it; that just hurts more," she mumbled.
"You're alright!" Nathan said, dumbly embracing her as a sense of relief passed over him.
"Not if you don't let go," she replied, and he promptly released her from his grip.
He watched as she tried to get up, but he sensed the pain was too much. He tried to help her, grabbing her by her arm just below the shoulder and trying to gently lift her up. The way it looked, her right arm was broken below the elbow.
Halley managed to sit up with Nathan's help, though she was so unsteady from pain and shock that she needed to recline against a nearby tree to avoid falling backwards. She was in terrible shape; her face was scratched up and her left eye swollen shut, dust and mud covering it. There were small trickles of blood all over her face, but the most prominent were below her nose and at the side of her mouth. Her clothes were ripped in a few areas, the most prominent being a tear to the chest of her uniform, though not low enough to be revealing; Nathan was too concerned about the amount of pain she was in to worry about it even if it was.
Nathan reached for the small radio he had on his belt, soon realizing that it wasn't there. Looking around, he found it or at least what was left of it; it had been broken, probably when he rolled over it when Halley pushed him.
He looked for Halley's, soon finding what was left of it near the crater. He panicked, realizing his only way of getting help was destroyed.
The sound of rustling leaves quickly caught his attention. He spun in the general direction of the noise, soon sensing what felt like two beings, both in a state of apprehension. They were still some distance away, but if what he guessed about the Purr-Son's speed was true, they could be there any second.
He rushed over to Halley's side, trying to lift her onto his shoulder. She was heavier than he imagined for some reason, and she didn't seem to be trying to help him.
"Nathan…" she muttered, "you have to leave me…"
Nathan kept trying, ignoring her. He wasn't about to leave her behind. He wasn't about to let someone important to him die. He wouldn't be able to take the blame.
He felt her fist connect with his face, catching him completely by surprise. He released her and spun away, stunned. He turned to look back and saw she was pointing her laser pistol at him.
"Run…" she said, a sad expression on her battered face. "If you don't, we'll both be dead."
"But…"
"Don't argue…" she pressed one of the buttons on the pistol, and the tip began to glow. The glow was followed by a brief flash, the shot just missing him and striking a tree behind him.
He mind was racing with different thoughts and emotions. He felt sadness, guilt, fear, pain, confusion… He couldn't leave her behind; he couldn't let her be yet another victim of his misfortune. But as he stood there, her pistol pointed at him, he realized that she was right; there was nothing he could do. As tears flooded his eyes, he took off in the direction of the drop point, trying to stay as composed as he could.
He ran blindly for some distance before tripping over some tree roots. He tumbled head over heals a couple of times, feeling sharp jolts of pain in his hands and face, one just below one of his eyes. When he stopped moving, he sat up slowly, realizing he took a stumble down a rather steep hill. He soon realized that his surroundings were lit up far brighter than they should be.
He turned around slowly, seeing that he was near the outskirts of the city he had been surveying. It soon hit him that he most have ran the wrong way, maybe getting lost in the forest and taking a wrong true in his confusion.
The thought of running back up the hill crossed his mind, but he realized that it was far too steep of a climb for him to make it without being spotted. He turned to look back at the city, then took off for it in hopes of finding someplace to hide.
He ducked into the shadows of buildings, keeping his senses focused to make sure no one saw him. It was working for the most part, though his scent drew the attention of a couple of Purr-Son soldiers, though they quickly disregarded him as some rodent.
He kept going, staying on the outskirts while watching the hills nearby, hoping to find a spot low enough for him to rush in and hopefully to stay hidden. He wasn't having much luck, but he felt that he'd be safe as long as he thought no one was looking for him.
The sound of a siren changed his mind. The steady sound of it indicated that it was meant for use during an attack, which meant he'd most likely find the city, both inside and out, crawling with Purr-Son. He panicked, ducking down a darkened alley in hopes that they wouldn't look there.
He sensed the confusion and panic of many troops as they rushed where he was hiding. He saw shadows being cast and lights being flashed but sensed no indication of his discovery. After several minutes, everything seemed to calm down. After several more, he slowly came out of hiding and slowly made his way to the end of the alley.
He sensed a sudden attack impulse as he reached the end, soon finding one Purr-Son latching onto his shoulders with their claws. Nathan shouted in pain but managed to keep it down. He struggled to brake free of the painful grip, landing punch after punch to the creature's midsection before kicking it in the crotch. The Purr-Son let go as he moaned in pain, and Nathan made the quick observation that his attacker was a male.
Nathan's shoulders burned with pain, a quick look revealing one puncture make in the front of each shoulder oozing blood with probably three or four more in the bad of each. They all felt like they had gone pretty deep, and it stung whenever he tried to move his arms or shoulders.
The Purr-Son quickly recovered and lunged at Nathan. Nathan sidestepped well before the attack would have hit, though he grimaced as he did. He tried to club his hands together and bring them down on his attacker's back, but he was in too much pain to give them enough force.
His attacker quickly spun around, slashing at him with his claws. Nathan's dodge was too shallow, the claws ripping painfully into his left cheek. He moaned in pain as he stumbled backwards, trying to stay focused as the pain stung sharply.
He reached for his belt in some futile hope of finding his radio, but soon found his pistol still strapped to his belt. He quickly snatched it and pointed it at his attacker, who was practically on top of him. He quickly pulled the trigger, at the same time closing his eyes in expectations of his opponent's pain and murmuring "Please forgive me…"
The sensation of pain hit him strongly, making him feel disoriented. He felt his stomach turn and his face go pale and clammy, just like the time Shic killed his classmates back on Earth.
However, his attacker wasn't dead. He opened his eyes to see him lying on the ground, his side badly burned by the blast. He was moaning in pain and seemed to be in state of shock. Nathan could see blood pooling by the wounded; he was loosing blood fast.
Nathan wanted to turn around and run, trying to distance himself from the city, as well as his victim, before reinforcements arrived. However, he found the idea of leaving the Purr-Son to bleed to death an even more revolting thought. He stood frozen in panic for a moment before finally making his decision.
He moved to the Purr-Son's side, examining the wound the best he could in the dim lighting. It was bad, no where near as bad as Chad's wound had been but still rather grotesque. There was a lot of blood coming out and no easy way of stopping the bleeding.
The Purr-Son looked up at him, his expression crossed with a mix of pain and confusion, and his emotions adding fear and anger. Though in reality it was hard to tell his true age, Nathan guessed that he had to be roughly around his own age, something that disturbed him even more.
The Purr-Son reached out to grip Nathan's throat, but there wasn't enough strength to rip it out. In the end, his arm fell limply, his struggle to kill his opponent hopeless.
Nathan quickly looked around for something he could use to try to stop the bleeding. Unable to find anything, he searched himself for anything that he could use, soon realizing that he did have anything to spare.
He took off the camouflaged uniform top he was wearing and tried to rip a piece big enough to cover the entire wound. Pain shot through his shoulders as he did, but he ignored it, trying to focus on saving this being's life. After several agonizing moments, he succeeded and quickly applied it to the wound.
He applied pressure to the wound, trying to slow or stop the blood flow. The amount of pressure made his shoulders throb more, blood slowly trickling down from the wounds on his back and front of hi shoulders. He grimaced from this pain, which only aggravated the massive wound on his face, it too trickling blood. He put some distance between him and his wounded attacker, making sure none of his blood fell into the wound.
He sensed the presense of several beings approaching him, probably a number of Purr-Son soldiers. He was afraid of what they might do when they saw him, but didn't stop or even panic. He needed to try to help, even if the consequences for him ended up being something terrible.
He soon saw a shadow cast over him. As he turned to look, he felt the butt of a gun hit him in the back of the head.
Everything went dark…
Zero walked onto the bridge of the Drackmire, Ashura and Knuckles several steps behind him. He was upset over the events that had just occurred down on the planet, and he was making this very clear to everyone who was on the bridge considering how everyone scattered as soon as the lift opened to reveal the trio. There was one this he wanted, and that was answers.
The bridge was crewed by about seven Azhile. Each stood to about Zero's shoulders, sporting a vividly colored uniform based on rank: the brighter the colors, the lower the rank. Their heads were filled with combed-back quills rather than hair, their eyes set back further and smaller, their noses small and black in a similar fashion as a rabbits. They had five figures on each hand like a human, but they were stockier and shorter, though Zero had seen them match, if not exceed, the typing skills of a human.
At the center of the bridge stood an Azhile male in a dark green uniform. He faced the bridge's screen, his arms behind his back as he stood in posture of authority. He injured, like all the other times, the team that had risked their life for "their" ship, whose numbers had dropped from eight to three. This Azhile was none other than the ship's captain, Adnonstar.
"Report," he barked, not even giving them a second thought. The word was actually in one of the Azhile dialects, but was translated by an addition to Zero's hearing software.
Zero grimised, wanting so much to wipe the floor with that smug attitude. "Cap—Halley's in the infirmary with broken ribs, an arm, and a mild concussion, but she should pull through. Nathan's…" Zero clenched his fists in frustration, "been captured by the Purr-Son." He these words probably meant nothing to "his" captain.
Adnonstar didn't say anything at first, then said in a non-caring tone, "How unfortunate. A human like him doesn't have a chance on a Purr-Son planet; he's bound to end up as someone's meal." He turned his slightly away from them, starting to give an order.
"You mean you're not going after him?!" Knuckles shouted.
Zero cut off Adnonstar's possible response with a question of his own. "What the hell happened down there? Who was the one attacking us?" Zero tried to remain level-headed, hoping to get an honest answer. Quite frankly, he wished Nathan were here to tell him if this bastard was lying.
Adnonstar seemed to shrug. "Our sensors didn't pick up any detectable intruder. However, our guess is the attacks were meant for the Purr-Son. Probably one of the enemies they've made in the pirating business. Nothing important to us." He turned his attention back to the officer he was going to talk to earlier, saying, "Prepare to leave orbit."
"No!" Knuckles shouted. "We're going back down there and rescue Nathan!" Zero say the echidna quickly step out from behind him on his right.
Adnonstar just sighed, not turning to face Knuckles. "Mr. Echidna, I will have no more outbursts from you. Any further outbursts and I'll have you thrown in the brig."
Knuckles rushed at Adnonstar in what Zero knew was a futile attempt to strike at the captain. "You can kiss my—!" was all he said before being dropped by three stun blasts from three different crew members. He wouldn't be waking up for awhile.
Zero sighed as Adnonstar ordered that Knuckles be removed from the bridge. He and Ashura turned and walked back into the lift they had come from. When the doors closed, Ashura pressed a button and the lift started to descend. He then walked to the wall opposite of where Zero was standing, leaning back against it. "I can't take much more of this."
"Agreed," Zero simply said, reclining back against the wall. He really wanted to fight back against Adnonstar and take control of the ship. However, he didn't like the odds. It would be just him, Ashura, and Knuckles trying to take control, and even if they had control of the bridge, it wouldn't take long for the crew to over power them. He could probably handle most of them, but all at once... Not to mention Halley probably wouldn't approve of the plan.
"Someone has to inform Halley about this," Zero said calmly as the lift slowed.
"You do it," Ashura said, starting to move to the door as the lift came to a stop.
"I thought you were the one was keeping an eye on those two," Zero said, a sarcastic smile on his face. He had known about the thing between the only two humans in their party for some time, though he hadn't seen anything going on that seemed too inappropriate. He knew Ashura was the one always keeping tabs on them, making him think that it was better off if he didn't get involved.
Ashura shrugged. "I don't think I need to worry too much about that right now." As he walked out the door, he added, "As of right now, I feel I need to do some Soul seeking."
Sonic rubbed the top of his head as he walked down the darkened corridors of the Soul Keeper. He had been rudely "attacked" in his sleep by someone Shadow had sent to wake him, which resulted in him putting a nice dent in top of his bunk. He contemplated his means of revenge on Shadow, but couldn't bring himself to harm the one that Shadow had sent.
His "attacker" walked along side him, talking non-stop about different things in a dialect of the Ghannof language that hadn't been translated by Sonic's ear translator. The Ghannof youth, whom Sonic had come to know to as Darmyun, was at best guess around the age of a human seven-year-old, with all the energy and curiosity that seemed to come with him, the latter which Sonic assumed was the reason he was following him around. He appeared much like the other Ghannof on the Soul Keeper, with short-yet jet-white hair with a crystal-scaled hairline, glowing red-eyes, and skin as dark as night. Darmyun's eyes paralleled his chipper demeanor, as they seemed to lack some of the light they should have. Sonic understood why.
About a month earlier, Shadow had received a message from the crew of a Ghannof freighter that they were in need of a captain and an engineer. The freighter turned out to be the same one whose crew had been massacred by the Maverick months earlier. The ship's commander at the time was a Ghannof teenager whose name was, unfortunately, Fukken, the son of the ship's original captain and brother of the girl whom Shadow had found on the ship. There were roughly twenty Ghannof on the ship, all whom at been survivors of Shic's rampage and, for reasons Sonic still didn't understand, forced from their homes. Fukken's request was for Shadow to take over as captain for two reasons: the first being Fukken's lack of experience and the second more personal reason being the fact that he had a hard time being in the same room where his father had been brutally executed.
Under normal circumstances, Sonic imagined that Shadow would have turned down such a request. However, it seemed that there was something very personal about this request, and, combined with the stress of being bossed around by some hot-shot captain who wanted them all dead, Shadow took this opportunity to make his escape. He took Douglas along as the request was also for an engineer and Sonic for "morale" reasons.
Sonic and his escort soon reached one of the elevators, at which Sonic stopped and stood impatiently. Darmyun looked at Sonic with a puzzled expression on his face. Sonic gestured to the door of the lift, at which Darmyun responded with the possibly universal exclamation of "Oh" and pressed a button next to it. As they entered, Sonic was surprised and amused to hear Darmyun say what sounded a lot like "Sorry."
The lift's atmosphere was that of just about the rest of the ship. It was darkened, just to the point where one could vaguely make out the details of everyone within an arm's length, if even that. The air was warm like a mild summer day, just hot enough for someone to start to sweat. It wasn't like this all over the ship; Shadow had decreased the temperature in certain parts of the ship to around room temperature and the lighting so details could be made out from about ten feet away.
The bridge was one of these places. When the door slid open, Sonic blinked for a moment as his eyes adjusted to the light filtering into the lift. Darmyun on the other hand had to shield his eyes while he retrieved a pair of sun glasses from his pocket.
The two walked out of the lift onto a mostly empty bridge. It was smaller than the Comet's bridge, blocky and rectangular shaped with enough room for about seven crew members max. There were duty stations to the sides of the bridge, though most of the panels were unlit to save power. Two stations sat feet in front of the vacant Captain's Chair, both appearing like large silver desks with keyboards built-in. Shadow stood in front of one of them, typing in a few commands. Sonic had yet to see Shadow actually sit in the chair, but imagined he never would.
Shadow spent most of his time on the bridge; in fact, Sonic had only seen him leave a few times, leaving most of the leg work to Sonic. Only on a few rare occasions had Sonic seen any of the Ghannof crew on the bridge, and when they were they always seemed rather jumpy as if it were haunted.
There were a number of places on the ship that seemed to always be avoided. Another area was one of the cargo holds, where there was extensive structural damage to the suspension bridge and piping above the hold, as well as what seemed to be something of a hazy glow. From what Shadow had told him, this was where Shock Quillen, the Maverick who had massacred the crew, had dumped most of the crew. The damage had been done during when Zero and Shadow fought Quillen, Shadow being the one to finish the Maverick.
The whole ship seemed to have a gloomy feel to it, like if it was still haunted by the souls of the dead crew. It also was carried the refugees that had survived the rampage that Shic and the Mavericks had gone on, only to be ultimately be forced from home. And Shadow.
Thus the name Soul Keeper, the ship that holds the lost souls of both the dead and the living. Sonic quite frankly hated the name but admitted that it did seem fitting.
Darmyun stood at attention as he addressed Shadow, whom was still facing with his back turned to both Sonic and the Ghannof boy. He addressed Shadow in an official yet upbeat tone with something that probably meant "Prisoner has been escorted to the bridge, sir!"
…At least that's what Sonic assumed; it was an amusing thought…
Shadow didn't turn to face them, but stated a response to the boy's announcement, which seemed to be followed by an order. Darmyun seemed to sink a little, then slouched over to one of the stations to Sonic's right.
Sonic watched, then shook his head. "Aren't you being a little hard on him, Shadow? He's a kid, not a soldier."
"That's not my concern right now," Shadow said, still not turning to face Sonic. "My priority is to get this cargo to Darameth, and we're already an hour behind schedule. If we're late, we can forget about get the Soul's engines upgraded—" he finally looked back at Sonic, a smug expression on his face "—as well as that holographic technology that you were so interested in."
"I'm not worried about," Sonic said, though he did really want that technology to improve his morale-boosting abilities. "I just want to cut the kid some slack; he's been through enough and doesn't need you to be chewing him out."
"Who said I was chewing him out? All I said was to monitor the radio and listen for any communications from Darameth."
"You didn't say anything about him waking me up and dragging me up here?"
"No. Should I have?"
"Sadow," Darmyun said, cutting Sonic off before he had a chance to flip out.
Shadow ignored Sonic, inquiring about what had just come over the radio. There was a bit of dialog between the two, which ended with Darmyun stating something that caught Sonic's attention: "Assura."
"What? Ashura?" Sonic said.
"Yes," Shadow replied. "It seems your more mature brother has sent us a message." Shadow walked over to the station where Darmyun was sitting, getting a better listen to the message.
After about ten seconds, Sonic became impatient. "Well, what is it? Ashura wouldn't send a message unless it was an emergency."
Shadow paused for a moment, then turned to face Sonic. "Halley's been badly injured during one of their missions." He paused even longer, as if trying to decide how to put the next part of the message even though his expression was completely calm. "Nathan's been captured."
"What?!"
"Adnonstar is planning to leave him behind on the planet. He's not even going to attempt a rescue."
"Figures. That guy's a bigger jerk than you." Sonic crossed his arms, looking impatiently at Shadow. "So what are we going to do? We can't just leave him in the hands of those furballs, can we?"
Shadow took some time to think about his response. "We'll complete our run."
"What?!"
"Once we're done, we'll make an attempt to rescue Nathan."
"He'll be cat food by then!"
Shadow shook his head. "Maybe. But the boy's come out of more perilous situations with nothing more than a few scratches…"
"AFTER COMING OUT OF A FRIGGIN' COMA!!!"
"Nonetheless, I think he should be fine."
Sonic clenched his fists in frustration. He wanted to try to counter Shadow with some other reasoning. However, he knew that Shadow would probably just shoot him down with something that made sense, and he wouldn't have anything to counter with.
Shadow walked past Sonic, heading towards the lift. "Take over, Sonic."
Sonic spun around, a look of anger and surprise on his face. "WHAT?!"
"I'm heading down to the engine room; I think Douglas and I can work something out to get us to Darameth in less time. I probably will be out for quite some time after that, so until then, the bridge is yours." And with that, Shadow entered the lift and disappeared.
A silence fell over the bridge. Sonic was completely confused, trying to figure out just what had just happened. He looked at Darmyun, whose expression, while mostly masked by his shades, seemed to mirror his own. "Uh… well, carry on then…"
Darmyun just nodded, not understanding what Sonic had just said but apparently getting the idea as he turned back to his post.
Sonic paced back and forth for about a minute, doing around forty-two laps in a five foot area in that time. He stopped and looked around, seeing Darmyun looking at him in astonishment. "Um, nice shades by the way," Sonic said, pointing up to his eyes. "You're definitely stylin' there."
Darmyun seemed to grin, then turned around to continuing listening for messages. Sonic sighed, realizing that however long these next moments were, they were going to be painfully long.
The first thing Nathan noticed was the change of lighting. He had slowly opened his eyes, blinking two or three times to let his eyes adjust. He had looked up at the sky, which was now replaced with a ceiling of porous six by six square gray panels. A cool breeze had blown at him to his right which he turned his attention to see a small open window with three metal bars allowing the morning sunlight in. He shivered and shifted positions to face away from the window as he wrapped the blankets around himself. This had drawn his attention to a gray metal door about six or more feet high with a small transparent window about a fourth the way to the top.
Reality had hit him soon after that. He remembered the events of the previous night, and swiftly sat up. There were brief shots of pain in his shoulders as he did, and when he looked he saw he was no longer in uniform, but instead in a plain white hospital gown. They had taken his clothes, but at least gave him something to keep his dignity. At least they tried to mend his wounds, as the numbness on the left side of his face and the bandages seemed to indicate.
Nathan was a puzzled by all this. From what he had been told, the Purr-Son made meals out of anybody who wasn't one of them. Maybe they were just saving him for later, though it wouldn't make sense to patch him up just to crew him up later. He guessed that all he heard was just propaganda.
He remembered trying to save the Purr-Son he shot and looked at his hands. There wasn't any blood, and yet they felt stained. He stared at them for the longest time, wondering if he had managed to slow the bleeding for the proper medical personnel to take over. He looked down and sighed, worried that he hadn't.
He stared at the bed he had been sleeping on. It was covered completely in white sheeting, with a thick white blanket and fluffy pillow. The mattress was actually quite soft with just the right amount of spring. This confused him either more; why did they give him such a nice bed when they captured him hovering over a wounded member of their race while he was on a convert mission?
Nathan sensed someone approaching the door. He looked towards it, tensing in expectation of the worst. He saw a pair of eyes stare through the small opening in the door, then heard the lock click. The door opened after that.
In the entrance stood a tall Purr-Son man dressed in what almost looked like a suit; the top was black with a white stripe down the center with a pair of black pants to match it. The Purr-Son's fur was a solid light gray with no visible patterns with the exception of some white along the ears. The impression he gave Nathan seemed to indicate he was a very stern, but Nathan sensed a degree of curiosity from him. He probably had never seen a human before.
The Purr-Son held out some clothes neatly folded in a small stack. On top of the stack was a small device that Nathan immediately recognized: the translator that was no longer in Nathan's right ear.
The Purr-Son stepped forward, at which Nathan slowly moved away. However, he sat the clothes on the end of the bed, then walked back to the door. He stood there facing Nathan, waiting patiently. When Nathan just stared at him, he pointed to his ear; a small metal device was barely visible in it.
Nathan picked up the translator, staring at it for a moment. It didn't look like it had been altered in any way, though it seemed to have been thoroughly cleaned. Seeing that there didn't appear to have been made into anything harmful, he slowly popped it back into his ear.
"We took your translator and modified our own to translate your language," the Purr-Son said in a deep voice, much like a quiet roar. "We have a number of questions we'd like to ask you. I will give you a moment to get properly dressed. Knock on the door when you are finished." He then exited the room, locking the door behind him.
Nathan sat on the bed for a moment longer, contemplating his choices. Just what questions were they going to ask? Would they be the type of questions that would lead to his teammates, the few friends he's had during these long months, to be captured or killed? Or would they be something of less importance like where he came from?
Nathan looked at the pile of clothes and made a quick, and temporary, discussion: he'd cooperate… to a point. For the time being, it'd be in his best interest to do so. Besides, he didn't like the idea of several armed cat people storming in and forcefully dressing him themselves.
The interrogation room he sat in was surprisingly plush, with a long and decorative wood table with several cushioned chairs around it. The walls were a simple burgundy color with darker colored drapes by the room's bar-less windows. In fact, he almost doubted he was even in an interrogation room if it wasn't for the room's small size.
Nathan was dressed in a rather bland tan suit, which looked like a sweat suit but felt to him like a prison jumpsuit. It was comfortable, being maybe a bit large for him. There was a pocket on the left breast of the shirt, and near the middle of this pocket was a set of black characters, possibly a prisoner I.D.
As he had been led down the halls of the complex he was being held, he had passed a number of Purr-Son personnel. Each had given him a curious look, which matched what they felt. A few rare individuals showed indication of angry and suspicion, which was understandable considering his capture. None seemed to be hungry or giving off a feeling that they probably thought he'd make a good next meal.
Still, everything seemed to indicate that they were being hospitable only because he was different and unique, alien to them. He had been told that the Purr-Son were barbaric and cannibalistic only to a point. Needless to say, what he had been told was wrong, though he did wonder about one thing: why were they so interested by him that they seemed to pay little mind to the fact he had gravely wounded, if not killed, another of their kind?
The grey furred Purr-Son Nathan had met earlier briskly walked into the room, carrying a thin pale yellow in his hands. He turned and shut the door, then moved to the table, sitting in the chair opposite of Nathan. He placed the folder flatly on the table, opening to reveal a handful of papers. One of the papers had a picture of the boy Nathan had wounded.
The Purr-Son tried to hide distain for the picture, but Nathan picked up on it. He had sense a brief burst of anger, which he tried to cover with some other emotion. Nathan didn't blame him for being angry. He just looked down at the table in shame.
The Purr-Son cleared his throat, then said, "Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Kath'semr. I am in-charge of the interrogation of trespassers to Purr-Son grounds."
Nathan didn't say anything, just continued looking down. Kath'semr asked, "I assume you have a name."
"Nathan," he replied almost under his breath. "Nathan Mathios."
"Nathan Mathios," Kath'semr said, quickly writing down this information, to the best of his ability, on a sheet of paper. "Of what planet?"
Nathan hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Earth."
Kath'semr wrote this down as well, then asked, "Is the government of Earth the one's who sent you?"
"No."
"Who sent you then?"
Nathan didn't say anything. He knew he shouldn't answer, not now anyways. He didn't even know for certain why he had been sent in the first place.
"Who sent you? Why were you sent?"
Nathan still didn't reply. Nathan sensed that his interrogator was getting annoyed.
"Why were you sent?! Who are you working for?!"
Nathan still didn't answer.
"WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR?!" Kath'semr was practically in Nathan's face, leaning forward on the table with his arms supporting him.
Nathan had been expecting this, but he was frightened by this display. He practically leapt out of his seat, the chair skidded backwards an inch.
Nathan stared at Kath'semr for several minutes. His interrogator glared at him awhile, but Nathan tried to hold his ground, trying to remain calm. Eventually, Kath'semr back off, his emotions cooling. Nathan sensed a pang of guilt coming from him.
Kath'semr stood up straighter, his arms behind his back. "I don't know what its like on… 'Earth,' but in the Purr-Son Conglomerate we don't send our children off to attack our neighbors. My guess is that you've been forced into this against your will, maybe even taken from your home. If you can tell us something – anything – about who's behind this, I can guarantee we'll let you go."
Nathan still didn't say anything. While Kath'semr was being honest as he could be, he felt that he still shouldn't answer. It wasn't to protect the mission; Adnonstar could go to hell for all he cared. It was to protect his friends who were still on the Drackmire, not to mention the crew who were just taking orders.
Kath'semr sighed, then said, "If you don't, we'll be forced to take drastic measures; I can't guarantee you'll live through these. It would be a shame if such a unique creature should die before we've had a chance to understand you."
Nathan said nothing. He was scared, but the guilt that he felt made him almost welcome whatever torture they had waiting for him. However, as Kath'semr slowly moved to exit the room, he looked up and asked, "How is he doing?"
Kath'semr turned to look at Nathan, surprised. "You mean the boy you shot last night?"
Nathan just looked down at the table.
Kath'semr looked back through the doorway, a faraway look on his face as he thought. "If we permit you to see him, would you be willing to cooperate?"
Nathan just nodded.
The boy lay unconscious in the bed of the medical bay. There were many tubes and wired attached to him, monitoring his vitals. Next to his bed was a square machine displaying such vitals, one being something that looked like an equalizer bar that shifted with every heartbeat.
The boy's fur was mostly black with a few white spots, the ones on his check and around his left eye being the most prominent. His ears had noticeable tips on them, much like that of a Siamese. His shoulder was wrapped heavily in bandages, most soaked with fresh blood. He was still bleeding after all this time; not a good sign.
Nathan stood on the opposite side of a glass window. Kath'semr stood near him, his arms behind his back, radiating with subtle anger only noticeable to Nathan, as well as disgust and sorrow. He didn't say anything, just sighing from time to time.
A number of other Purr-Son walked or rushed by, bringing things and checking vitals. All were concerned for the boy's well-being, but when they noticed Nathan watching they seemed to burst with well-concealed rage. A few even approached Nathan, only to be deterred by Kath'semr's glare.
There weren't many words spoken except for a few mutters. There were beeps from the monitoring equipment and the rattling of medical instruments. Other than that, there was a deaf silence in the room, one that stirred Nathan's already whirling mind further.
Nathan had blamed himself for so many of the lives that had been lost during the past months, even though everyone, including himself, tried to convince him that it wasn't his fault.
But this was totally different. He had fired the shot which wounded this boy; there was no way around this fact. There was nothing controlling him except for fear and adrenaline, all his own. And now the Purr-Son lay dying from his actions. If he had a hard time living with himself for the lives lost indirectly because of him, how could expect to live with himself for one he actually did?
Nathan sensed a sudden burst of rage, followed by a gasp and the sound of a metal tray crashing to the floor. He turned to see a Purr-Son girl, about eleven or twelve in Earth years, staring at him from several yards away, her mouth hanging open with expression of horror on her face. She had similar markings and points as the boy, though she had no black spot around her eye and black spots on both of her cheeks, the left larger than the other. Nathan's heart sank when he made the realization that she was probably the boy's younger sister.
The expression on the girl's face quickly warped into rage, after which she lunged at Nathan. She first swung at him, her claw tearing up his right cheek, then knocked him to the floor. She was on top of Nathan, her hands around his neck, her claws digging in as she tried to strangle him. Nathan tried to force her off of him, but after seeing the hatred for what he had done blazing in her eyes quickly gave up.
The staff quickly managed to get the girl off of Nathan, whose claws would not let go so easily, resulting in large deep scratches that bleed profusely. They tried to help him, placing clothes and bandages on his new wounds, most unwilling to really help but doing so anyways. He didn't blame them; he deserved all of this.
Ashura was reading the message that Sonic had sent them in regards to Nathan's rescue. He stopped for a moment to stare at the empty mattresses that littered the floor, looking for someone to vent to as the frustration inside grew. They were empty, everyone who had occupied their makeshift quarters elsewhere, either somewhere else on the ship or not onboard.
Knuckles was most likely still in the ship's brig, sleeping off the effects of the multiple stun blasts he had taken. Zero was probably leaning against a bulkhead somewhere, contemplating what their next move would be and how futile it was. Halley… well, she was probably still in the infirmary, recovering from her injuries. As much as Ashura hated to admit it, he wished they were here, giving there thoughts on the current situation.
Nathan was probably still on the colony, hopefully still alive and not the next meal of some hungry feline being. Shadow seemed confident that he was safe, as he hadn't been willing to alter their course to head to the colony for a rescue attempt, something Sonic couldn't believe. He was, however, willing to wrap their job up quicker, but Ashura wasn't sure if that was a good sign.
There was a chime at the door that caught Ashura's attention. At first, he didn't think too much of it, but then soon realized that something was odd. Knuckles and Zero usually didn't wait for someone to reply or open the door. Halley did, but he thought that she was too weak to actually be up and about. Of course, Adnonstar was hardly the kindest captain, so maybe he had someone bring her here. Still, he thought that they would also just barge in.
Ashura knew something was amiss. He shut off the console, then slowly moved away from the desk. As he made his way to his mattress to retrieve his staff, there was a second chime. Two more followed as he made his way slowly to the door.
He pressed the button to open the door, ready to confront whoever was waiting. He was surprised to find only one Azhile officer waiting on the other side. She was dressed in the bright red uniform with a circular insignia stitched into the right shoulder that indicated that she was a communications officer. Her left arm was behind her back, her right angled towards the chime controls. She had dark brown fur around her face and black quills that made up her hair. The look she carried on her face seemed distressed, and her eyes were directed towards Ashura's left.
Ashura pressed a button on the staff, reducing it to a small metal cylinder. "I was getting ready to work out," he said, trying not to alarm the officer and at the same time sound convincing.
The officer nodded, not looking entirely convinced. "May I come in?" she asked.
Ashura nodded, moving slightly away from the door to allow her in. She moved her left arm in front of her, allowing Ashura to briefly notice a handheld metal device, a sort of electronic clipboard. He allowed the door to shut, then locked it. He had a bad feeling about this.
He quickly turned to face her, finding her already facing him, nervously tapping the edge of the device. "Look, let's just cut to the chase. Why have you come down here? The Captain didn't send you, did he?"
She sighed nervously, then replied, "No, he doesn't even know I came here."
She handed Ashura the device, giving him a chance to study it. He stared at it, his eyes widening in disbelief as he studied the text that covered the surface. He began to grit his teeth, his mind racing to determine what could be done, if there was anything.
It was the contents of the last three messages between Sonic and himself.
"Under normal circumstances, I am required to turn this information over to him. I doubt he'll be very pleased."