In Due Season
Chapter XV
Deception Was Easy and So Was Betrayal
Blaze sighed as she kept pace with her fleeing companion, Shadow. She'd given up asking where they were going. She quit demanding what he was going to do when they got there. She also abandoned trying to stop him. Now, she just followed him as he continued to push forward. At least, that was until he slid to a halt. She almost slammed right into him but was able to skid right beside him instead.
"What is it?" she asked. Shadow gave her a quick glance before looking forward again. His gaze was trained on a bright red fender sticking out of a snowbank. Blaze wasn't familiar with automobiles, but she could recognize a transport vehicle when she saw one and judging by the silent terror in the hedgehog's eyes there might be someone inside. The cat stepped forward, radiating a low level of heat. Shadow watched as the snow around Alyson's car melted; fear of what he might see making his steps a little unstable as he too drew closer. Once the cabin was revealed, he let go of the breath he was holding.
"It's empty," Blaze said, seeing the relief wash over the hedgehog's features, "Who are we looking for?"
"What does it matter to you?" he said sharply as he moved towards the car, running a gloved hand over the dented bumper. Blaze decided to ignore his attitude as she roamed around the vehicle as well. She immediately noticed the white paint marring the red finish along the car's left side.
"It appears another vessel rammed into this one," she stated. Shadow quickly came to her side, looking at the damage. His brow furrowed in thought. If Alyson had been hurt on account of him . . . Maybe, it was time to use his resources wisely.
"Her name's Alyson. I need to find her," he stated simply. Blaze tapered her gaze incredulously but nodded.
"Well, if there were any tracks they're covered by the snow. Do you know who may have wanted to attack her?"
"Only two guesses. Eggman or G.U.N."
"We should probably call back for the others . . ."
"Silence," Shadow ordered sharply as his posture stiffened. Blaze sighed. There was just no winning with this guy. Despite her reservations, however, she could see he was preoccupied with something. Ears erect, eyes dilated and breathing hitched, he was the picture of alert and focused.
"Well?" she dared to ask. The hedgehog turned his head slightly in acknowledgment without removing his gaze from a fixed point in the distance.
"I . . . I think I know where she is."
"You know? How?" Blaze asked with a mixture of curiosity and doubt because, honestly, it wouldn't surprise her if he did know. After all, she'd seen this hedgehog run at remarkable speeds, disappear into thin air, shoot energy out of his hands . . . what couldn't he do?
"I sense we need to hurry," he voiced before racing off down the road.
"Of course, you do," the feline breathed as she wasted no time in following. The two sped along the changing landscape as the snow slowly gave way to moss and the cold replaced by warmth. They were still in a wooded area, but clearly, it was quite far from their previous stop. Blaze was starting to wonder if this wasn't some elaborate trap. A way for him to distract her so he could somehow get the Emeralds for himself. The faint, pulsating glow coming from the two gems she had did nothing to ease her concerns.
"Where are we going?" she shouted ahead. To her surprise, Shadow skid to a halt. She did the same, the sounds of sirens and gunfire in the distance becoming apparent.
"Base 21; Alpha-quadrant. But it seems to be under assault," he stated grimly. Blaze's eyes widened in distress.
"Isn't that were Amy and Rouge were headed to?"
He nodded, eyes darting about as if forging a strategic plan of attack in his mind. Finally, his gaze stopped on her.
"I need a Chaos Emerald," he stated. Blaze narrowed her gaze. Realizing her reasonable hesitation, he yielded to his vulnerability.
"Please, I know I haven't given you much reason to do so, but you have to trust me."
And, for once, Blaze could see the sincerity in his eyes, not much unlike Sonic's. With a puff of forced air through her nostrils, Blaze tossed the green Chaos Emerald to Shadow. In quick succession, the hedgehog caught the gem in one hand and grabbed her by the shoulder with the other. The cat gasped as they disappeared from the forest and reappeared in what looked to be a prison of some kind. Before she even had a chance to respond to the sudden action a voice cried out from beside them.
"Shadow!" a middle-aged human woman cried out from her kneeled position on the floor.
"Alyson!" Shadow shouted back as he let go of Blaze and hurried to the woman's side. Once he helped her up, however, the drain of using the Emerald's power hit him, causing him to slump down. Alyson quickly reached up under his shoulders and held him back up. He noticed the red Emerald in her hand. That's how he found her. Out of all the gemstones, this one he was most familiar with. His gaze shifted and he also took notice of a badger jumping to its feet on the other side of the bars.
"How'd you get in there? . . . oh, no. You have got to be kiddin' me!" Bray stated as he backed away from the cell in fear, "Shadow the Hedgehog?! Nobody said anything about Shadow the Hedgehog."
"Is this the man who imprisoned you?" Shadow said in a growling tone. Alyson shook her head vehemently.
"Shadow, no. I don't think he knows what's going on. If anything, he's just as much a prisoner as I am," the woman stated as she looked over at Blaze, "and who's this?"
"I'm Blaze the Cat, guardian of the Sol Emeralds. I hail from a different dimension than your own and have been tasked to help find the rest of the Chaos Emeralds with Shadow," she said politely, feeling bad she had doubted Shadow's integrity about this. He really seemed to care about this person.
"Oh, okay. Pretty standard stuff then. So, when were you going to tell me you had another partner?" Alyson asked of the hedgehog now standing on his own power next to her. Shadow sneered.
"She's not my partner," he snapped. Alyson quirked an eyebrow. Normally, the hedgehog's responses bounced between feigned interest and natural indifference. He actually sounded frustrated at the mention of Blaze being an ally. In fact, if she didn't know any better, he sounded . . . embarrassed. A smirk made its way to the human's face. Shadow noticed the gesture.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Nothing. I think we should focus on getting out of here, don't you?"
"Agreed," Shadow said as he turned his attention back on the badger, "What's going on and why was she brought here?"
Bray continued to back up to the door located at the top of the stairs, hands up in a show of surrender. Blaze melted the locking mechanism off the cell door, causing it to fall open. The badger gulped and made a run for the exit. Before his foot made it to the first step, however, Shadow was in front of him, red eyes smoldering with rage. Even though the hedgehog was a head shorter than him, Bray couldn't help but cower. He knew Shadow by reputation alone and certainly had no desire to experience the ultimate lifeform's wrath up close and personal.
"I don't know . . ." he began to stutter until the hedgehog took a menacing step forward. Bray panicked and stumbled backward only to be met by the fiery feline.
"I think you'd do well to answer the question," Blaze said coolly, her golden eyes alight.
"Please, I don't wanna die. I swear, all I know is they told me to watch her down here. They said my village would be spared if I do what they say. I don't know much else."
"But what about the Chaos Emerald? You helped me find it," Alyson said as she came out of the cell. The badger bit his lower lip. His family's safety raced through his mind. He was told so many things; promised so many things. But, now, it all looked to be a lie. Bray's eyes narrowed. If he couldn't trust his captors maybe he could rely on the captured.
"There's a man named Todd Craven. He's the guy in charge of this whole operation. No one's seen him, but he calls the shots. He ordered the Emerald be placed in there with you."
"Why would they do that?" Alyson asked until she noticed the flash of terror on Shadow's face and breathed, "Because it's a trap."
Shadow instinctively made for the door, but a blue energy field appeared over it, blocking access. This was followed by an air-shattering siren and flashing lights. He turned to the group and noticed the same force field over the cell too.
"We have to get out of . . . aah!"
Everyone cried out as electrical current ran the length of the floor. Alyson and Bray succumbed quickly to the jolt, falling to the ground and writhing in their unconsciousness. Blaze and Shadow, however, put up more of a fight. The hedgehog tried moving his limbs against the paralyzing effects of the electricity, making it part of the way towards Alyson before collapsing; overwhelmed by the shock. Blaze successfully used the Sol Emeralds to lift her away from the metal flooring.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Their hearts can only stand so much continuous voltage. I won't remove the current until all of you are down," a voice said from an overhead speaker. Blaze's eyes darted about. There had to be a power source for the floor. If she took it out, this would be over.
"NO! Stop," a familiar voice came over the intercom as the power ebbed away from the floor. It took a moment for her to place who had spoken, but she smiled once she realized who it was. However, before she could say anything a large object hit her from behind with such force it sent her flying into the concrete wall on the other side of the room. She slid down it, losing awareness on the way down.
"I'm sorry, Blaze. But there's no other way to do this."
o
Cream shook her head as she woke up in an unusual chamber. In fact, it was more like a cage with bars on all sides and no lighting. She vaguely recalled the events of that morning and panicked. She sat up and looked around, trying to gain her bearings. Last she remembered, she had been sitting high up in a tree with Kimi and Cheese. Now, she was alone in a . . . well, maybe she wasn't alone. She found her cage was not the only one as it appeared hundreds more surrounded her on all sides except one, the front presumably. On her right, slept a tan groundhog or she hoped he was sleeping. To her left, sat a despondent raccoon staring at the floor of her enclosure. Behind her, paced a grey wolf, huffing each time he had to turn in the small pen. For Cream, it was disturbing, to say the least.
"How did I get here? Where are Kimi and Cheese?" she asked aloud. The wolf stopped pacing and the raccoon looked up, but it was a familiar voice from above her that answered.
"It's alright, hon. You were the only one I saw them bring in."
"Rouge?!" Cream cried out as she jumped up and ran to the front of the cell. She couldn't see anything, but, judging by how the other row of cages on the opposite side were stacked on top of each other, she assumed the bat must be above hers.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"Base 21: Alpha-Quadrant. It appears they've been doing more out here than training personnel," Rouge said bitterly. Apparently, Shadow's conspiracy theory rung true.
"Where's Amy?" Cream asked next, concerned she wasn't seeing the pink hedgehog anywhere. Rouge signed; disheartened.
"I don't know. She wasn't here when I came to."
"Oh, no."
"I'm concerned about the alarm that went off earlier. I'm hoping the cavalry's arrived for all our sakes, but, just in case, we need to go with plan B . . . and I think it's walking through the door right now," Rouge said with a grin as the far doors opened, guards beginning to file in as carts were wheeled in. Cream noticed how eager everyone around her became.
"I don't understand," Cream said as she watched the men push the carts down different rows.
"It's feeding time, hon, and you got up just in time. They have me ear-marked as dangerous, so, they won't open my cell, but they don't know you're awake yet," Rouge whispered down, "If we do this right, you could get out of here and get us help."
"How?" Cream asked confused.
"Everything's planned out. All you'll need to do is fly out of your cell door, break my lock and fly to the right. Once outside, head east. The closest town is east."
"I . . . I don't know," Cream started, but the raccoon to her left stood up and came to her side of the cage.
"Please, Miss Rabbit. It may be the only way," she said pleadingly. The wolf behind her nodded.
"We'll take care of the rest," he said quietly.
"You can do this, Cream," Rouge said encouragingly. The rabbit looked at each of them before nodding. She had been through tougher situations than this and she trusted Rouge's judgment. If a treasure hunting super spy believed she could do it than it was worth a shot.
"I'll try my best."
"Good. Pretend to be asleep and no matter what happens don't move until you hear me say get down, okay?" Rouge explained.
"Okay," Cream said as she got back into the same place she had been before and laid down. She noticed the wolf and raccoon did the same thing; sitting and pacing. She closed her eyes.
"Ready," the wolf said. Rouge waved her hands through the bars and a few voices began to pipe up.
"Hey! Where's our food?! I'm starving!"
"Let me out! Let me out of here!"
"Where's my family?! Where are they?!"
"Shut up! The lot of ya!"
Cream could hear a cacophony of voices. She also heard soldiers banging the cages and the carts wheeling along. She remained still, however, and kept her ears peeled for Rouge's signal. Then she heard the wolf.
"I think they're sick or dead or something. You can't keep me next to them," he said in a panic. Cream could also hear the raccoon cough miserably.
"He's right. They haven't moved in hours," she said, "and I don't feel so good. Please, I don't want to die here."
"That's just what we need. Another outbreak. Man, I hate this place," Cream heard a man say from the other side of her bars. She remained motionless as she heard the man open the cell holding the groundhog.
"Franky, grab the other cart and get the doc down here, quick. I think it's really dead. I'll check the other one."
When she heard her cell being opened, the angry mob of voices from before began quieting down as loud popping sounds filled the air.
"Everybody! Get down!" Rouge shouted. Cream shot up, seeing the guard had hit the ground and left the door open. She flew out, taking in the whole scene as one big bewildering mess. The place was huge. A warehouse loaded with cages and guards and lights. She turned around to see Rouge pointing. Right, the plan.
She landed on the catwalk and braced her arms against the railing as she kicked out the electoral keypad attached to Rouge's cell. With an explosion of sparks the door released.
"Now, go!" Rouge shouted. Cream once again took to the air.
"Cream this way! Follow us."
She looked to her left and noticed the line of hands sticking out the bars of cells pointing her in the direction she needed to go. They led to a small venting window at the top of the facility. With a considerable amount of strain, she began her ascent. Normally, Cheese would give her an added boost, but she needed to do this on her own. Just as she reached the outlet, an alarm went off and more soldier's inundated the room. She focused her concentration on staying in the air.
"What's going on?"
"One of the animals escaped."
"Which one?"
Cream knew she didn't have much time. With a well-placed kick, she was able to knock the grating out of place, but not without alerting the guards to her position.
"Up there!"
Cream managed to fly through the opening before the shots rang out, but her stamina began to wane causing her to descend. However, when she heard the captives cheer within the building, it gave her the boost she needed. She lifted herself up to the roof of the building and finally perched on its edge to catch her breath. She would need more than goodwill to fly all the way to a town from here even if she knew where she was going. Judging by her surroundings, the facility was easily ten times bigger than the room she had just been in and completely walled in by forest. What if there were more people trapped inside? What if she couldn't escape? The thought made her feel hopeless. Then, she spotted it.
An airstrip sat on the far right side. It got her thinking. Solana had given her a short flight lesson once or twice and she'd been watching Tails fly planes since she was six years old. If she could somehow secure an aircraft then she could easily get to help. With that, she took back to the sky towards the airfield. Maybe there was some hope after all.
o
Amy wasn't given to cursing often, but right now she felt like swearing up a storm. If it wasn't for the gag in her mouth she probably would have done so. Instead, she had to settle on giving her abductors death glares as they led her down a hallway; rifles trained on the back of her head. The humans hadn't said a word, just enlisting non-verbal cues like pushing her with the barrel of their weapons to direct her forward. If only her hands were free. Her hammer would make short work out of turning those rifles into pancakes. As it was though, her hands were handcuffed behind her back. She was defenseless and confused. What happened to Rouge? Why had they brought her here? Where were they taking her?
From what she could tell, it was a government facility of some kind, but there were no windows or visible doors. Just long glossy, white hallways cornered into more hallways. She felt disoriented as they kept turning left, right, and left again. It felt like they were just going around in circles. It forced her thoughts to do the same. What would happen to her family if something happened to her? Were they alright? Kimi? Sonic? She should never have left them. She should have insisted on staying with them. What kind of mom leaves her little defenseless baby?
Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes as her steps grew heavier . . . no. She had to keep it together. Falling apart now wouldn't help her or her family. She had to make it out of here for them.
Finally, the guards stopped her by roughly grabbing her shoulders. With a snort, she pulled out of the men's grasp. One of them merely relinquished his grip and moved his hand to a panel on the wall. After a series of electronic beeps, a door slid away from the wall revealing what looked to be a tiny broom closet. Amy's mind reeled back. Were they going to . . ?
Before she had time to back away, the other man pushed her inside, causing her to stumble to the ground of the small room. The door slid shut once more, plunging her into an odd sort of darkness. The only source of light seemed to beam down from above as if she were at the bottom of a deep hole. It indicated the top of the room was made of glass. With some difficulty, Amy managed to push herself up to a seated position until she lurched forward again when the room suddenly began to ascend. It was an elevator of some kind. Rolling to her side, she shifted over to the wall and used it to get her bearings. As she got to her feet, she realized the walls were made of glass too except for where the door was. The light from above grew brighter and brighter as the lift rose. In fact, it was becoming blinding.
She turned her head down to shield her eyes, a feeling of dread building in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know what to expect, but it couldn't be good. Her heart raced as the top of the glass container seemed to broach the rim of a hole of some kind, causing light to pour in from all sides. As she was brought eye level to the shaft's top she looked out to see a small white room flooded with bright florescent lights and, more distressingly, water. The liquid was right up to the brim of the column she was coming up in. Fear gripped Amy as the elevator stopped its climb; her feet parallel with the water. If this was what she thought it was, she needed to get out, now.
She began to wrestle with her bonds. If she could at least get her arms out in front of her. Crouching back down into a seated position she was able to pull her arms out from under her legs. She sprang up again just in time to see the water outside had risen to knee level on her and was still rising. Her eyes immediately darted up, taking notice of the five grapefruit-sized holes at the top of her glass enclosure. Her heart started pounding against her chest and thundering in her ears. She quickly tore the tape off her mouth.
"Please! Why are you doing this?! Let me out of here!" she screamed as the water rose to chest height on the outside. There was no response. Even though it was awkward to hold, she summoned her hammer and tried breaking through the glass. Unfortunately, the tight confines of the room made it impossible for her to swing the weapon. Just as she was about to try kicking the glass out, the water stopped and the elevator's door revealed itself to be a screen bearing the image of a man; a smiling General Davis.
"Well, I'm gonna cut right to the chase, Miss Rose. I need you to keep a certain blue hero busy while I move my merchandise," the man said before frowning, "Trust me, I'd rather kill ya both and be done with it, but I'm assured it would ruin the plan. So, as requested."
The image switched to reveal a furious but exhausted-looking Sonic holding down a single green tile in the midst of a room filled with white ones. Amy watched as his tired, emerald eyes briefly met hers before darting about the room as if he were waiting for . . .
The tile he was holding suddenly flashed red and the water began rising in her cell again. In a flash, Sonic was zipping around the room and, as quickly as the water started, it stopped as he pressed down another green tile near the floor on the other side.
"Took him long enough to figure that part out," the General's voice sneered, "Anyway if you break that glass, Miss Rose, not only will you still drown but you'll get to see him go up like a Roman Candle first."
Amy gasped. Sonic yelled. Neither heard the other.
"Well, I'll leave the light on for you. Have fun, I guess," the General stated before cutting out and leaving the two hedgehogs to stare at one another in silence.
