Luna soon realizes that something is very wrong with her army.
Also, something is very wrong in Knothole.
Shadow was highly content with the results of the duel. He picked himself up, wiping the dust off of his body. He slowly turned around, walked towards a giant pillar supporting the railroad, and leaned against it. He noticed that on it, a yellow sign that displayed a figure of a yellow stickman with a hard-hat on, and underneath it in all capital letters, it read DO NOT APPLY PRESSURE TO. Shadow simply looked at it with a disgruntled expression. He then ripped it off the metal pillar and threw it towards the forest. The yellow sign flew like a frisbee, slicing tree limbs with intense velocity. Birds flew from their nests, and deer and elk ran away to seek shelter elsewhere. Shadow shifted his eyes left and noticed that Luna was still there, standing with a dark look on her face, looking fierce. He responded to her, just so he could make her leave. "I won the duel, remember? You gave up and said that I claim the title of victor. Now, leave before I make you," he threatened.
Luna's eyes widened and she chuckled. "Oh! Persuasive, huh?" she said. "I like that about you. You are always one step ahead of everyone else. You have the skills to be a great leader, Shadow," she paused and changed her tone, "but, don't think that we are through just yet. I am thoroughly impressed with you. I do look forward to see you again; and believe me, we will see each other again soon."
"Whatever."
"Yes, we will see each other very soon," she repeated. She slowly turned and walked away, following the intense light from the sun's rays shaping the ground. As she walked away, she conjured another macabre smile, thinking about her coming army.
Very, very soon.
As she was fantasizing about her new upcoming army, she suddenly felt a sense of emptiness inside. All of a sudden, she felt incomplete. It felt like everything that she worked for was for naught. It seemed like there was nowhere else to go from here. That couldn't be. There had to be something else that was making her feel like this. "What's wrong? What is going on? Why am I feeling like this?" she complained. "I shouldn't be. There has to be something that's contributing," she stomped. She stopped walking and took some time to gather her thoughts together. She ruled out all of the possible conclusions there could have been, ranging from stress to frustration to Yashima. It wasn't any of those three things. If those things weren't causing her problems, then what was? "Damn it! What is it?" she whined. Just then, she felt a cool wind blow off the coast of the ocean. Her crimson mohawk hair flowed in the wind, while the rays of the rising sun pressed against it, causing it to flash and glisten. "That's it! I've got it! It has to be something wrong with my army. One of the members of my army is Princess Sally Alicia Acorn. She is the brains of the operation. I could use another big brain like hers to help me lead my army forward and onward," she said giddily. "That's what I need to do, and then it will finally be over! Once I have her in my clutches, I can finally call to my side my brand new army! GAHAHAHAHAHA!" she maniacally laughed. She took out the controller and stared at it, as she felt that it represented everything that she has ever done. She flipped the switch to the left, which caused the interface trigger on Shadow to disappear.
Luna wondered where her next victim would be, since she didn't have her robotic companion to assist her; but she did have much of his teleportation energy. "I wonder where she could be. I could imagine that she could be in a large castle, pretty much set up like a monarch rule," she said. In a quick flash of light, she was back in space with LRS – 2.
LRS – 2, where is Princess Sally Acorn located?
VICTIM #006: PRINCESS SALLY ALICIA ACORN. CURRENT LOCATION: KNOTHOLE CASTLE.
Knothole Castle? Really? Thank you. That is all I will need. Let us head to Earth.
WAIT. FOR A MORE SUCCESSFUL MISSION COMPLETION RATE, I HAVE LOCATED ANOTHER VICTIM. I WILL INFROM YOU OF THE CHARACTER INFORMATION IF YOU NEED IT.
Very well. Tell me.
Luna popped back into reality. "That's right. Now I remember. She is located in Knothole. It is time to gather the next victim," she said.
In Knothole Castle...
On the sacred grounds of the once peaceful island of Knothole where the small animals run free and peace reigns, Princess Sally was sitting in front of a large computer monitor viewing a map of Knothole. This map was supposed to track the current location of any nearby enemy within the area. Any intruder in the vicinity would be shot down. She had been active on it for about two hours, completely dry and out of luck. There hadn't been a single enemy that attempted to attack them all day. She was about to turn in until her father, Maximillian Acorn, walked in on her work.
"How are you doing, Sally? Did you detect any suspicious activity?" he asked.
"Sorry, father. Nothing yet to report. There haven't been any hints of foreign activity nearby."
He looked concerned. "Really? I would think that this would be able to detect evil presences approaching from a long ways away. I know that this thing is brand new, but it should work like a charm," he sighed. "In fact, I think that I feel some immensely evil force coming this way. I can feel it in my bones."
"Father, you're just imagining things." she said with a smile. "Even if there was an enemy that did manage to make it here, that doesn't mean they would stand a chance because of the enhanced security. And, let's not forget about our skilled fighters. We have nothing to worry about."
"Maybe you're right, Sally. Maybe it is all in my head. After all, we still have the finest security in order to take down whatever comes through these doors."
"Come on, father. Let's go outside and watch the sunrise."
"Yes, daughter."
She gently took her father's hand and walked through the doors, making their way outside to watch the sunrise as they planned. They decided to leave the computer on, just in case it picked up an enemy approaching the castle. Once they made it outside, they both sat on the edge of a giant boulder and stared at the sky, watching the sun rise over the mountains. It was a soul-reviving experience for the both of them. They never knew the real peaceful tranquility of Knothole until today. Everything was quiet, people were conversating peacefully among themselves, and the animals were frolicking happily. It was so peaceful, that a chipmunk popped up behind the boulder and crawled into Sally's hands. Everything was perfect. It was even more complete once the sunrise was over. God had blessed them.
Just then, the chipmunk looked up, turned its head left and right, and quickly ran off into a hole in the tree. Sally turned and noticed that all of the animals began to run around in fear and hide behind trees and inside tree trunks, burrowing underground, and taking flight. What was going on? Even some of the citizens starting quivering. They knew something was just not right here.
"What's going on?" Sally asked.
"I don't know, my daughter."
"Why is everybody freaking out like this? Wait! The computer! I'll be right back!"
She slid off of the rock, and ran as fast as she could to the computer. She hoped that she wasn't too late. She broke past the people squirming in the hallway and the guards blocking her path. She made it to the computer room in record time and noticed that it was in perfect condition. Something was wrong here. "Usually this place would be in shambles, but it's not. Why?" she questioned. She rushed to the computer and stared at it. There was a red blinking dot in the center of the map. "Let me see…" she pondered. She tried tracking the enemy's trajectory path, but it was almost completely invisible. When she realized that she couldn't track the enemy using the current setting, she switched to night vision. That didn't seem to work either. The next thing she tried was the infrared setting. It seemed to work perfectly. She viewed the enemy's path and found a truly startling discovery. She began to sweat like a dog because of what she just found out. "It seems that the enemy is located in…the computer room," she shuddered. She paused and wiped her face of the pool of sweat. "That's where I am."
Hello, Sally.
Sally jumped instantly and turned around. She was shaking like a leaf blowing in the wind. "Wh-wh-who said that?" she shook. She could barely get the words out her mouth. Was she talking to a ghost? A figment of her imagination? What was she seeing here? She must have been suffering from paranoia because this voice was coming from nowhere. There was a ghost in her presence! What was she going to do? Submit? She can't submit to someone who is dead. Once again, she tried to get the voice to speak again, and reveal itself. "I-I asked a question! I expect an answer! Who said that?"
Very well. It is time.
The figure finally decided to show itself. "Well, you got what you asked for, didn't you?"
Sally was even more terrified now that she got a better glimpse of what she was so frightened of. "Who are you and how did you get past the security system?"
"I have my ways. If you want to know who I am…"
The enemy slowly walked towards a frozen Sally. She couldn't even move anywhere. She felt if she were to move in any way, she would be dead. If only Sonic was there to help her. She hoped that he didn't suffer the same fate that she's befalling right now. She couldn't quit and give up, though. She had to at least try to fight back, at least long enough for her father to reach her. She nervously made a fist and tried to swing at the enemy, but she missed. This gave the enemy a chance to retaliate. The enemy performed a rapid hook kick to Sally's face, which pushed her back to the computer, crippling her slightly. She tried to get up, but the impact was too strong. She lied with her head down while she nearly went into cardiac arrest at the same time. The enemy took out a little red trigger-type button and placed it on Sally's limp shoulder. The enemy laughed in content glory.
"H-hey," she said, weakly. "Who are you anyway?"
The enemy turned and walked away. Before leaving, the enemy stopped and spoke again.
"My name is Luna the Badger, your new master."
Sorry for this chapter coming so late, but I just had to take care of a few other things. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Chapter 15 is in progress.