Chapter Five
The landscape changed dramatically as Espio swung further away from Labyrinth Zone. The ground was damp, steam emitted from nearby bogs and a slightly foul stench overcame Rouge. They'd long escaped the battlefield so she felt it was time for a break.
The chameleon took them up a series of massive treetops so they could hide in the greenery. "I haven't been through Frog Forrest in years. Glad to see it hasn't changed much."
"Yeah, and I'm sure you're glad you have that helmet on," Rouge said while sitting on a large protruding branch. "It smells like mad sewage and ass out here!"
"My sincerest condolences, I don't have an extra suit. Tails and Charmy only crafted one."
"Those guys made you that suit? I should get them to do one for me - and a plane while they're at it, they both owe me money… but seriously, where are we going?"
"Mystic Mansion isn't far from here, that's where Alastair went. I say we loot for supplies before confronting him again."
"He's soldier boy, right?"
"Correct."
"Asshole grounded my chopper and I intend on getting reimbursed. Kick his ass and I'll see what I can get off of him."
Espio's HUD alerted him of an incoming heat signature so he lightly pushed through small branches and zoomed in. Redd's fiery aura grew brighter the closer she got to their position.
"You're kidding me."
"What?"
He took Rouge' hand and picked her up. "Redd found us. Chambers won't be far behind, time to move."
"Okay but - WHERE!"
They plummeted through the trees and swung at high speeds to get ahead. Redd heard Rouge' voice and followed the source but couldn't see much. She teleported around but was smacking off branches and receiving cuts from sharp thorns, so she began firing chaos beams and shouting angrily.
Rouge saw the branches falling behind them. "Glow Stick is gaining!"
"Reach into my belt and return fire when you see an opening."
Rouge dug out a handful of shuriken blades and looked confused. "Where are the guns?!"
"No guns."
"Well, what the hell am I supposed to do with these?"
"Toss 'em! It's the same motion as dealing cards, just do it!"
The bat gripped the blades and flicked her wrist. The shuriken cut through vines and branches like butter, and sliced Redd's forearm. She growled and ducked inside a small cave to avoid the blades.
"These things are sharper than they look!"
Espio strained while bringing them across large gaps between trees. "…they activate once they're airborne. Now hold on, we're about to go for a big drop."
"Say what, now?"
Rouge screamed out again when they sprung off a tree trunk and dove headfirst into a waterfall. Espio twisted into a corkscrew motion just as Redd fired a laser at the duo, narrowly avoiding it while they fell.
He spread his arms out and fired both grappling hooks at nearby trees. The hooks cut through the bark and helped slow their descent. He ordered the bat to fly to shore while he continued down. Rouge pushed off of him and spiralled away. She landed in a ditch and watched Espio hit the brown water, and Redd dive after him.
"Oh shit! Espio!"
They fought underwater but their movements were slow. Slayton's daughter grasped the neck guard and attempted to blast him in the face but he slipped free, then kicked through the water. He fired a hook up to the surface but it didn't have anything to grab so it fell. Rouge caught it and flew high into the air, pulling the chameleon out of the water.
Redd's vision was blurred so she couldn't see where she was teleporting, forcing her to swim back up herself. By the time she resurfaced, the duo were gone.
YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER, GASPAR! YOU'LL DIE ON CHAMBERS LAND LIKE YOUR FRIEND!
Redd's words echoed throughout the forrest, and even though the message wasn't directed at her, Rouge felt a chill down her spine while flying.
They were approaching a crossroads when the bat asked, "Which way?"
"Right. Hang Castle will have weapons, I'm sure of it."
They flew through the air and only the crescent moon was visible through the foggy sky. Rouge and Espio landed and encountered a fair sized draw bridge over a moat not too far down the path they followed. The chameleon signalled to stop while his HUD scanned the area.
"…we're at the castle. Stick close."
"I've been here before, y'know. Feels like ages ago we ran through this place. Actually, I think we first met each other's teams around here."
"I believe you're right," Espio handed her a big handful of shuriken blades before continuing. "For safe keeping."
As they walked across the draw bridge and cleared through the fog, a trail of small lanterns lit themselves. Rouge was thoroughly creeped out when the orange flames suddenly turned bright purple, but both kept going. They reached the main gate and stopped to read a metal sign, but the text was in a language they couldn't understand.
"Just a second," Espio said while his HUD translated. "…it's a warning. Says we should turn back."
"Definitely a scare tactic. I've looted places worse than this."
"That's very dangerous."
"Eh, nothing's killed or haunted me so far. And you have armour so we should be fine, come on!"
She gleefully grasped a handle on the right side of the gate, and Espio shrugged while grabbing the left handle. They counted to three, twisted clockwise and pulled them out of the wall. The gate was raised and light from inside illuminated their faces. The interior looked exactly the same, renovated even. They walked on a red carpet, looked over the gold wallpaper and counted doors on each floor. Someone had put work into keeping the mysterious castle from decaying.
Both Espio and Rouge remembered Hang Castle being populated with Eggman's robot soldiers years ago, but his army fell after he did. 'Who lives here now?' was now the question they had. They continued toward the sparkling golden staircase when suddenly-
"Stop!"
Espio took a powerful blast of energy to the chest when he dove in front of Rouge. He managed to push her aside and she knew to flee before the shooter fired again. The gate slammed shut and locked them inside.
"Okay, so this time the warning was genuine." Rouge called out.
"Use shortcuts and keep your back to the wall!"
The bat flew up to a balcony on the third floor and pushed a white door open. Espio had turned invisible and climbed up to the second floor hallway. His HUD flashed with notifications but he ignored them and evaded more blasts, while Rouge zigzagged through the hallways.
Something up ahead caught her attention so she ducked behind a pillar to check it out. "…what the hell?"
A black and red blur bounced off the walls and burst through multiple rooms in a fraction of a second.
"There's no way…"
Rouge followed the trail to another room and as soon as she stepped through the doorway, the blur spun around and lifted her up with a tornado made of wind. She tried to call out but it was hard to breathe in this state. She was taken to a stairwell and levitated to the very top floor.
On the second floor, Espio stopped to catch his breath, and check the notifications that now flashed on his display. He was greeted with the ominous warning:
~OTHERWORLDLY HOSTILE IDENTIFIED - DO NOT ENGAGE~
"What the hell is that?"
Loud static and white noise filled his ears so he hit mute, then the light source in this hallway started to dim. He could feel someone or something coming toward him so he ran further through the castle. The bright lights faded away and only purple flames guided him through the blackness. He dialled Rouge' number through his HUD and continued running.
"Rouge, can you hear me?"
No answer. He saw a white light that looked like a window so he ran to it. To his surprise, the window wouldn't open when he tried lifting it, and an alarm started bleeping, similar to a metal detector. The hostile was closing in. He fired a hook into the glass and it smashed the glass, then he dove in.
He could see a floor so he righted himself midair and landed on his feet. He looked up and zoomed in on the white window, but nothing came through.
"Come on, then. You've got home court advantage, let's do this."
Espio could hear multiple voice's speaking but nothing but blackness surrounded him.
….there's no other place he'd go.
He's as good as dead, then.
Magdalaine wants him to herself.
What about the other two?
Not on the menu.
Espio couldn't tell who was talking or who these individuals were referring to, he was focused on finding a way out. Or going out swinging.
Sleuth Dogg will answer tonight.
"Dogg?"
Just then, the purple flames spread into a circle around Espio. They grew into a bonfire and engulfed the blackness he stood in. He put his arms up to shield himself, while his HUD told him the integrity of his armour.
Suit - 31%
Heart rate - 90bpm
Recommended action: calculating…
He fired both hooks but they didn't catch anything and retracted into his gauntlets.
"It's starting to get warm in here," he said. "Any suggestions would be welcome…"
On the top floor, Rouge went down to one knee after nearly blacking out from loss of oxygen. A black figure stood in front of her and she knew who it was.
"Shadow!"
"You and your friend aren't leaving the castle." He said.
"You never disappoint with your conversational skills," Rouge said as she stood up. "What do you mean we're not leaving?"
Shadow turned his back to her. "You're trapped in here, now. The denizens rule these grounds. So, welcome."
"Hey, we thought you were dead this whole time!"
"I wasn't."
"Great, so how 'bout you drop the edgelord routine and show me the way out, there's a war going on that could use some heroes-"
"I have no reason to leave. This has been a sanctuary to me, Rouge. And as I said. We're stuck inside."
"Oh my god, now's not the time for this! Espio is downstairs fighting some bad guys, come on!"
The black hedgehog gave her a side eye look. "…no."
"Do we really have to talk this out?"
"I said no."
"..alright. We're doing this."
While she spoke with Shadow, three individuals entered the main corridor downstairs. The first was a female hedgehog, jet black hair and pale skin, purple robe. Second; tall female ox. Auburn hair, tan long sleeve and matching bottoms with tasseled boots. Third; male of unknown species, all black attire and face obscured by a locust swarm.
"…the trespasser in the pit is using an advanced armour to protect himself." The ox said.
"Increase the temperature and set the timer for 10 hours. Let's see how good this armour is."
The locust headed man went to go back down but stopped when Espio's voice was amplified loud enough to be heard.
"I know who you are!"
All three individuals looked at each other before the ox responded. "Who are we?"
"You're Angel's Flock… and Sleuth Dogg murdered your leader five years ago."
The ox motioned to Locust Head and he phased through the floor. A moment later, a basement door was opened and Espio was carried up by the swarm. His suit was smoking but he was unharmed. The unknown man knocked him down to both knees and the locusts held his wrists so he couldn't move.
The female hedgehog stood before him and observed the slightly damaged helmet before speaking. "…show me your face."
"Nothing personal, but you just tried to incinerate me. I'll keep the armour on."
"Amusing. Are you a friend of Mr. Dogg?"
"Absolutely not."
"Then why throw his name out?"
"I can hear your um, followers, talking about bringing him to Magdalaine. And I'm assuming that would be you."
"Smart boy, this one."
"No, I'm just putting the pieces together."
"And that's what led you here? Solving a puzzle?"
Espio sighed. "…me and my friend meant no disrespect and I know my word hardly counts for anything, ma'am-"
"It doesn't. And if you're not here as Dogg's ally, then you must be a friend of the damned one."
"Uh, who?"
A sketch of Shadow was materialized by the locust swarm.
"He's here?"
"He's upstairs entertaining your friend. Let me ask you: did you come here thinking you could free him from our stronghold?"
"I came here looking for something to help my cause out there-"
"And it looks like you've found the weapon. But Shadow belongs to me."
Espio lowered his head, unable to think of a response.
"…many walks of life have come and gone through these walls since we've lived here. Many more will come. Shadow is one of a kind, and you appear to be quite useful, as well… I'd be willing to part with you two for Dogg. I get the feeling you're more capable than my followers, anyhow."
"I appreciate your offer," Espio said while making eye contact once more. "But what about my friend Rouge?"
Magdalaine motioned for Locust Head to release the chameleon. "She stays right where she is. Bring me that murderer and you'll have your prize, smart boy."
Espio stood up and took a moment to plan out what he'd do first. He felt guilty leaving the bat here but he didn't have a choice. The female ox pressed a button on the wall to raise the gate, and glared at him while he walked past her.
I'm coming back, Rouge. It's not over yet but I'm working on it.