Chapter 12
It had been a week ever since Mr. Ghost saw Obsidian. He expected him to write back after his promise, but it was taking quite a while.
Of course, thought the maned wolf as he sat on his makeshift bed. It would take quite a while. Unless Obsidian double-checked, he wouldn't even know where to send his letter to, let alone be able to pass it on to this town without getting G.U.N involved. After all, this town was flooded with mercenaries and criminals likely on their wanted list.
But yet, he saw the lucky ones returning to visit with their newly-formed families. He wished that Obsidian would be given the same treatment.
While former Jackal Squad members already got a job at G.U.N, Obsidian's chance was a maybe since he was the last two remaining and existing survivors affiliated with the squad. That would mean G.U.N would do something to him instead of giving him a chance.
Mr. Ghost swore that he felt something from Obsidian. Before, the young jackal was often a bundle of silliness and excitement. Quite a few pups like him take things for a game too much. But when he returned, he was a bit more solemn over the loss of his squad. Obsidian's flame didn't die down, but it felt different seeing him sad. And for some reason, he felt the jackal being more…powerful than ever.
He swore that he was imagining things. Being in the desert with the cold shoulder made Mr. Ghost grow crazy. However, he was still saner than the sociopaths in his hometown. It was just hard to believe that Obsidian could present that much power and intimidation like a true alpha…
Yet, he wanted to get out of the mercenary life as soon as possible, so it couldn't be that.
Fortunately, he didn't need to worry that long for a response since when he went to grab leftovers for some breakfast, he found a letter that slid underneath his door. The maned wolf blinked, looking around as if sensing a trap. He told himself that he should have gotten windows, but that would just risk getting bandits to come in easily.
Grabbing a spear, he slammed the door open. There was nobody around. No teens hiding from the walls to pounce on him. No snipers on his roof. Looking around his desert home, he could only see the occasional market traffic going on. He scrunched his nose up when he saw a cart being pulled around, displaying bodies hidden in blankets.
Mr. Ghost looked down at the letter in front of him. It was out of place from the rest of this land. A white envelope was considered a rare letter used to send messages. At least it wasn't another stupid message in a bottle. Picking it up, he caught the shine of a stamp on the back of the envelope. One that presented the G.U.N logo.
Someone from that organization must have dropped this off for him.
After scanning around a few times, he slammed the door shut and made a beeline to his desk. It wasn't fixed yet, but the wooden table was still standing. Making himself comfortable in his chair and moving his lit milky candle near for him to read properly, he opened the envelope with a claw. At first, he had to blink a few times when he pulled out the letter.
It was surprisingly typed. Like printed from a computer. Mr. Ghost wasn't technology savvy enough to understand this, but this must be how the people of city civilization make letters. Usually, the desert criminals and mercenaries often have to write their own letters, varying in writing styles. This one looked more consistent in how it was written. Too perfect.
He shook his head, checking the initials. A grin crossed over the maned wolf's muzzle when he saw that it came from Obsidian. Spoiler alert, but he was happy that he was safe.
Clearing his throat a little, Mr. Ghost made sure to start at the top to know Obsidian's adventure in his new home.
'Dear Mr. Ghost.
Hopefully, I'm not too late with sending this letter to you. This is my first time writing on a computer, so I apologize if it looks too neat. Someone even helped me correct my 'grammar mistakes'. Well, I'm going to do my best to explain right here.
It turned out that G.U.N was willing to let me join. There were a few reasons for that, especially for giving away some information about Eggman, but they gave me a chance when they saw that I wanted to change. I'm grateful for what they did, though there were times when I questioned if I did it right or if it was a huge mistake. To serve for the crimes I did, I became a compulsory agent for a length of five years before I am officially off the hook. During this, I was allowed to explore the city nearby called 'Central City' under the condition of being supervised. There are other things I'm allowed and not allowed to do, but I'm not going to explain it all. I already forgot them, but I got the idea.
Central City is a fantastic place to be in! For the past week, I explored different shops, restaurants and facilities. Keep in mind I haven't explored everything, but I'm starting to understand how the city works. It feels like it's more ruled over by order, though people still do reckless things. The food here is surprisingly easy to get. It's taking me a while to adapt to the new ones, but they taste good. The shops here remind me a lot of the markets in the desert, except some look like they're a 'cookie-cutter' type. I managed to get some good clothes to wear for myself, however. Surprisingly, after staying in this city, it makes me feel a little fresher. I still miss being in the desert, though I have to wait for the adventure another time.
One thing that bothers me is the civilians' interest in becoming 'heroes' – especially the children I see around me. I haven't wrapped my head around this yet, but I kept seeing these phones and fancy gadgets, watching videos that make absolutely no sense. A few people liked to fight and imagine 'saving the day' from monsters. Only if they knew what it takes to be a soldier, brave enough to withstand the sand. I haven't said anything to them about this yet, though I wonder if I should be concerned. These kids are more imaginative and a bit naïve than I thought.
Funnily enough, there is crime happening in the city. It's not as bad as the desert killings, but it could amount to this, especially with easy access to weapons. There's been a recent threat lately from this group called the 'Lightning Bolt Society'. They changed their name a while ago. Would it be alright if you could tell me more about them since I have a feeling they are hiding something? I feel like they might be like us.
Overall, I am in good shape and doing great between work and exploring. Even able to make new friends. I think you're right that in the city, healthy relationships can be developed. There are many friendly people who don't shield themselves with a cold personality (well, only at least one person, but that's another time). I hope that you're alright as well back home. I want to visit again for nostalgia, but there's still a lot to finish during my time as a G.U.N agent.
Reply as soon as possible! Take care!
Sincerely yours,
Obsidian.'
Mr. Ghost grinned, feeling relieved. He turned out to be right again about moving into the city. The maned wolf had no desire to change homes, but he was glad that there were mercenaries who moved to a better place to heal properly. The fact that Obsidian, the cheerful and clumsy jackal he knew, was enjoying himself showed how much of impact different civilizations have.
Now, Mr. Ghost wasn't sure if Obsidian might end up being soft or never using his skills again. It would be like a retired war veteran, but Obsidian was still a young adult. He wasn't sure if the eldest and superior of the Jackal Squad would accept a place like this for their best mercenaries, but it would not matter. The squad was already in shambles now.
G.U.N is a military organization after all, so Obsidian would be staying there for a long time AND would need to continue being strict when on missions.
He chuckled softly when he read through the part where Obsidian complained about kids in the city getting sucked into these 'fancy gadgets'. He had to wonder what they were. However, the thought of these kids wanting to fight like 'heroes' someday got Mr. Ghost to roll his eyes. And this wasn't really the first time.
As if there weren't anymore annoying brats becoming mercenary wannabes.
However, when he read the part where Obsidian mentioned the 'Lightning Bolt Society', it got him to narrow his eyes. He never heard of that kind of name for a criminal group, let alone a VERY unoriginal name he never heard before. But the young jackal appeared concerned about them. Did he run into them before?
Mr. Ghost tried to think of if there was ever a group named 'Lightning Bolt Society'. Or anything related to that name. Surprisingly, nothing pulled out of his mind. Not even from his list of the criminals and mercenaries he knows. Maybe they were a mob gang in another country or something?
He had no idea.
The maned wolf strangely felt nonchalant about this. If this group wasn't well-known, then they would be unappreciated and unskilled. While some of the best criminals never have a nickname of their own, the ones who COULDN'T make a title for themselves were pathetic.
And Obsidian already did make one unintentionally through his connection with the Jackal Squad.
"But still," said Mr. Ghost to himself. "Hopefully a group called the 'Lightning Bolt Society' don't completely kick Obsidian's ass."
He shrugged, feeling that Obsidian wasn't gonna die. If anything, just severely injured or burned. With the letter still nearby, he went off to collect another paper. He should get started on sending the jackal a letter back.
How he would be able to do so, nobody knows. Yet again, those who come from the criminal world can be a mystery.
It felt completely silly to be doing this, I thought. I felt like I was a clown doing this. My ruby felt lighter as it glowed in glee. It felt like my mind was already in another place while being due to doing THIS kind of thing in public. Like in the zone, but didn't want to really show it.
I was juggling balls.
A couple of soft dodgeballs.
It was another experiment on my Phantom Ruby. So far from the past experiments, they tested out the known basic powers in general. Surprisingly, from what Doctor September found out so far, most of the results remained the same as the first time. There was nearly little-to-no difference in how strong or fast I was when activating my powers. No side effects. Nothing bad.
However, the panther found out that what was REALLY different was how I felt about using my powers. This time, I found myself saying that it was actually great. Well, not THAT really great since the ruby could be still playing tricks, but it was easy-going. He noted that the way I use my ruby was becoming more casual and even dismissive at times instead of fully hesitant and anxious.
I actually had no idea if I should be scared or alright with this. I tried to tell myself that this might not be good. However, the past week, the ruby had been acting strangely nice to me. The Inhibitor Rings might have tamed it, but it seemed to be understanding towards me. Whenever there was something I needed to be alerted of, it sent me a signal. If it wanted to let me know if it was in pain, then it was gonna irritate me that the two of us were in 'pain'.
Maybe it was due to what Molly told me. I must have cared about what she said and thus tried to make use of my ruby without fear. Or maybe it was fearing that being too reluctant would make me weak…
At the moment, I felt content with using the ruby for today's experiment. And that was without the influence of, thinking about or turning on the ruby. And it seemed to be happy when we got to play around with a couple of dodgeballs. But not in the normal way of juggling them. Today, we were testing the power of telekinesis and I was spinning balls around my head as they floated around me in a green glow.
The second I lifted those dodgeballs around me, it drew a lot of attention from the other agents training in the same room. They were watching in awe, laughing away. Despite the ruby feeling like it was having fun, I felt as if doing something like this would be too hysterical.
"OK, that should be enough for now," said September. "I think it's already clear that you can carry a couple of light items."
I sighed, dropping the balls. "Thank goodness. You're really sure that this is necessary."
"I highly recommend it," said September, checking through his clipboard. "This isn't the original version of the Phantom Ruby. I'm not sure how it would react when it touches other materials, so it looks like this is safe for now."
"Yeah, definitely," I said. "Though, how many other materials do you want to use? It might continue for too long with harmless materials touchable by anyone."
"Not to worry," said September. "We're already done with this. I got enough information on how your powers respond to different materials. Now, I decided that we'll take a step further by trying out heavier objects to test how much you can carry."
A soft beeping went off from the intercoms and all the agents in the room took this as a sign to leave. Immediately, they kept away the property they were using and made their way to the sidelines. A good number of them didn't leave yet, gathering around the sidelines as if waiting to see a show.
It was only me and September left.
I gulped a little. If he meant using heavier objects, then that would explain why we had a crowd watching. A lot of the rookie agents became interested in me. It wasn't too weird since the Jackal Squad sometimes had an audience. But it was like they knew what was going to happen.
A couple of researchers entered the training room, but not through the door everybody else usually took. There was a larger steel door on the other side of the room, looked like it belonged to a warehouse. When it opened, I realized what it was really there for.
They were driving forklifts that were carrying crates of different sizes. To my surprise, behind them, was the front part of a truck vehicle. These crates looked like the ones G.U.N usually used for deliveries and storage. Strangely, some of the crates' lids weren't put on properly, causing some…weight dumbbells to rattle upwards and nearly fall out?
To my surprise, there was the front part of a truck behind them, ready to be taken inside soon. That must be what I was going to try lifting up. Explaining why there was snickering and camera clicking from the watchers on the sidelines.
I gulped again as the forklifts carried down the crates on the floor. Right in front of me to see. Up close, I got to see that they had stickers on them, labeling how heavy they really were.
"We requested the test objects that are commonly used for agents with telekinesis powers," explained September. "Now we have a few different heavy items that we think you would be able to carry. As noted, your Phantom Ruby prototype doesn't have the ability to create new objects out of illusions, but it enhances your physical performance and forms different holographic weapons and abilities that can have an effect on real life. But we really need to check on how strong your telekinesis is."
"So you want me to lift these crates upwards?" I asked.
"I recommend you to give at least every crazy size a try. Each one of them already has weights inside of them to create the illusion of heavy metal cubes. You can request for how heavy you want a specific crate to be."
"Can't we just use weights?" I pointed out.
"That's true, but we would need you to be exposed to objects that are bigger and look heavy to all. Size matters in this test. Otherwise, you would say that we're dragging this experiment out for too long."
I huffed. "That's something you took note of in less than 5 minutes."
"I always have my back-ups," said September, looking up from his clipboard. "Now, which one would you want to choose first?"
At first, I thought of letting the ruby speak to me. It remained silent, waiting patiently. I sighed, knowing that it might be going along with what I wanted to choose. I wanted to try lifting a block that looked like it could match my strength, but I didn't want to go for something too small. I wanted a fair challenge first.
My eyes appealed more to a crate that was twice my height.
"How about that one?" I asked.
"Interesting choice," said September. "This one would weigh approximately the same weight as three couches. You want to take any extra weight off of this?"
I smirked. "Nah, I think I'm good."
"Suit yourself then," said September, taking a step back.
Taking a deep breath, I cracked my knuckles and closed my eyes, focusing. I would need to concentrate on how much energy I would be able to use for this. As I slowly zoned out from everything around and concentrated on the ruby's powers calling me, I opened one arm and let the power flow through it. My hand was sizzling like it was hot before I sensed the targeted crate.
It felt like grabbing it in my bare hands, even though it wasn't physically there yet. As if I was controlling the crate; the hand playing as the puppet instead of lifting the strings easily. I opened my eyes, gasping at how huge the green aura surrounding the crate was. My hand was only glowing, probably due to its new link with the desired object.
And then, I lifted my hand up.
It actually felt heavy. The crate hovered upwards, shaking around too much. It was like a crane struggling to carry an elephant upwards without dropping it. I tried to include my other hand, but it wasn't enough to lift the heavy crate upwards. Growling a little, I focused harder and with enough mental strength, I managed to lift it higher.
Dropping one hand down, I held that crate with one hand. It took a while to make sure that it stopped trembling. I told myself that I need to be calm for this. Stress was not the right answer at the moment. Being able to focus clearly, the crate stopped moving around. Staying still like a toy being held by an invisible string.
It still felt heavy, but not so hard to pick.
Curiously, I moved my hand around. By my thought, the crate tilted left. I twirled my hand to the right and it did the same. Smiling, I moved my hand close to me and the crate flew near me. I kept twirling my band around, charmed by how the crate tilted on my command. While mindful of the weights inside, it didn't save me when I tilted the box on the side facing me.
And in came the 50kg dumbbell that drilled into my head on the first experiment.
Thankfully, I didn't need to move away as a small green shield formed over my head. September was just nearby, close to pushing me. Once he saw the dumbbell harmlessly crashing onto the floor, he immediately switched back to writing on his clipboard.
The prototype on my chest glowed, sounding exasperated.
"Well, it was going for my head," I pointed out quietly, slowly lowering the crate to the ground "Not for you."
It hissed, sounding as if saying that I was acting stupid.
"But this is my first time doing this!" I argued back. "I didn't know one would be poking out."
The ruby hissed again, trying to lash out at my body. If I didn't place the crate back on the floor, then it would have crashed when the ruby gave me another headache. It wasn't a bad one, but it was starting to become annoying.
It sounded like it was telling me that I was so kind of dumb muscle.
I raised a finger upwards, offended. "Well, I'm the one who has to do things in real-time. You just sit back and only cooperate when you see something. That's not really too active."
The ruby hissed back, sounding really unhappy.
I sighed, patting it. "OK, OK. I am acting a bit unfairly. S-Sorry about that."
The ruby glowed and huffed.
"Who are you talking to?" asked September.
I realized that I was muttering to myself the whole time. Looks like the ruby had the last laugh. At least I didn't say it too loudly. September was the only one who heard me whisper, looking inquisitive about what I said. In the back, the witnesses on the sidelines were talking to themselves about what I did while some looked bored as if they were watching something so mundane.
"Nothing," I quickly said. "Nothing."
"Tell me first," said September, writing on his clipboard. "How did you feel when you try lifting that crate up? Was it difficult for you?"
I decided to try to be honest about this. "When lifting it up, it was as if I had my hand wrapped around it. It was heavy…and I managed to retain my focus on it. It didn't turn out to be too hard to keep lifting it above the ground."
"Thought, it appears that you had some trouble with moving it around."
"Not really. Reason why I accidentally caused a weight to fall out is that I keep tilting it around. I was mindful of what was inside, though…" I chuckled sheepishly. "I got carried away."
"Interesting," muttered September, pulling out a small tablet to record results from the vitals attached to my body. "Well, this isn't too different for individuals with telekinesis; the more focus and mental strength they use, the easier for them to lift up items that appear too heavy for them to carry using their hands. You only struggled at the start which is due to not being used to carrying heavier objects, but I'm surprised that you immediately adapted to holding it up for that long. Must be due to how you also adapted to your ruby."
As if on cue, the ruby glowed brightly in pride. I chuckled a little, patting it, sending a message to not get too excited.
"I…guess so," I said.
"With you being able to carry that crate," said September. "I hypothesized that you can be able to lift the lighter crates without difficulty."
"Yeah, I think I'll be able to," I said, turning around and lifting two crates that were smaller to the first one. One of the two was the smallest, carried by my left hand. September nearly told me to stop, but upon seeing how I was able to levitate these crates without fuss, he noted that down.
The panther took a quick check at his tablet again. "Does the combined strength of holding an object in each of your hands weigh you down a bit?"
I shrugged, calmly moving the crates around in the air. "Surprisingly no. Or it's due to their total weight being close or less than the weight of the first one I picked up."
"Ah, yes," he said, writing on his clipboard. "That's a good point there."
The next attempts at lifting the other heavier crates were nearly a blur as they went by. Nearly to the point in which I felt confident that I could carry anything without needing to try. The watchers behind me probably felt the same since not many stick around for longer. Every new crate was heavier than the last, but it became quicker on maintaining a grip on them. I was relieved that whenever I carried them upwards, they didn't tremble too much.
I felt like a child when spinning and tilting the crates around. Granted that they were larger than me and you could practically move them around in the air using telekinesis, it gave me the freedom to spin the crates in any direction. I decided to try spinning them at a faster rate so that the weights wouldn't fall out immediately.
Meanwhile, September retreated to the sidelines with a not-so-stoic look of horror.
His reaction was justified as one of the crates I focused on carrying accidentally spilled out ALL of its contents. Thousands of metallic weights and dumbbells came flying out, raining on me. This time, I couldn't think of forming a shield as my head was met with another dumbbell.
When I came to, I was lying in the middle of an exercise equipment mess.
September shook his head, writing on his clipboard again.
The ruby hissed to me, sounding really annoyed by my carelessness.
"Maybe I'm becoming a bit more overconfident lately," I said to myself.
The ruby hummed, even sounding a bit concerned.
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry. I…I just thought that it is becoming to look cool now and…I'll think about this later."
By the time I lifted all the crates, I felt like I could do this for the rest of the day.
"There are a couple of variables related to how you're able to lift all the crates with ease," said September. "By then, this would really help fasten construction sites to build buildings without needing the use of cranes. It seems that they are all connected to your mood, your confidence, your connection to the ruby prototype and mental willpower. Seems that you're in a good mood for this morning."
I smiled. "Yeah, I am. Though, am I being too comfortable using my ruby?"
"You were mindful of how you carried a few crates." He paused, his tail curling up in slight agitation. "Only a LITTLE few, but a small fact can say a lot."
I nodded, bouncing a little on my heels. This new experience of trying the telekinesis power out was making me want to bounce around in joy. I kept myself collected, not wanting to be too excited.
"Now, we have one more object we requested for you to try out," said September. "Many people with telekinesis would need to try lifting this up as they'll be likely to be hit by vehicles and bigger appendages when in battle."
"Wait, appendages?" I asked.
"Eggman DID create robots that are bigger than cars themselves, so practice is needed to be ready."
He snapped his fingers and his researchers drove the truck forwards into the training area.
"This one is the heaviest we can get in this training room," explained September. "Now, we can test on you trying to carry other objects, but this is the maximum we aim going for. The truck is the heaviest of them all as a few agents with telekinesis struggled to lif them for long periods of time. If the prototype you have can be able to lift that truck as long as possible, then that would mean that it is really powerful like the original."
With the truck coming to a stop, I found myself fearful of trying to carry that thing. It made the occasional G.U.N trucks look more like ants in comparison to this bulldozer! The truck practically took up nearly a fifth of the room and I doubt that I could be able to lift it high since the ceiling wasn't high enough for more space. Taking a closer look, I realized that the truck was coated in red with dark red stripes, probably to paint the look of Eggman's robots.
Why did the exhaust pipes even need to be painted as well?!
To my surprise, the ruby even felt hesitant to do this. I could sense its surprising reluctance, asking me if it could handle carrying this monstrous pile of metal and engines. It was telling me if this was what I want to do. It didn't seem to be trying to convince me to step away, but it wanted to make sure if I could handle this. As the ruby glowed, I could feel its warmth.
It felt comforting and trusting.
I narrowed my eyes, sending a mental message on if the ruby prototype wanted to do this. After a while, I could hear it whispering that it could try to, but asking again if I wanted this.
Eventually, I made up my mind.
"Alright then," I said. "So, shall I get started?"
"Give everyone some space first, then we'll give you the heads-up," said September. "My suggestion is to use both hands for this. If you're unable to remain focused on lifting the truck, I want you to drop it to avoid any side effects."
I nodded. "Understood."
All of a sudden, it felt like it was taking long for September and the researchers to keep clear. On one side, I wanted them to hurry up, but on the other side, I wished that they took longer. I was already becoming anxious about trying to lift this truck. They said that it was gonna be the heaviest out of all the test objects for anyone with telekinesis, so I might end up reaching the limits of my ruby. And yet, I didn't know how strong it really was.
I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth. Stop thinking like this, Obsidian. You're just making yourself look weak. You're letting fear get to you. You already played around the other crates like your toys, so do the same with this damn truck. I could already hear Zero's voice pestering me for displaying such hesitation. For even FEELING scared about this…
I closed my eyes and concentrated, making sure that I had a clear mind to focus. No other thoughts, no worries. Just me and the truck. Opening my eyes, I lifted two hands up and wrapped the truck in a green glow. It didn't come to mind, but my hands were already numb. I was still wearing my gloves, but my hands felt so cold compared to the hot sizzle at the start.
As soon as I could sense the truck being in my grip, I slowly lifted it upwards. It began to tremble when it was at least a centimeter off the ground. I snarled to myself, trying to not let the straining feeling in my head get to me. If anything, it only ticked me off and I hate how the weight of the truck was pushing me down.
Squeezing my eyes, I shakily lifted my hand upwards and the truck was carried upwards as well, trembling the whole way. It looked like there was no gravity and the truck was making a slow descent to floating away. It was really taking a while to levitate the truck upwards until I could maintain its grip easily.
The truck was already at a good height, but it was shaking badly like it was gonna tip over. The witnesses watching muttered to themselves in awe. But at least they didn't get to see how much I was struggling to hold this for long. The weight of the truck was already resting on my shoulders, making my arms start to tremble as well.
Growling again, I tried to put all my strength on keeping that truck high as possible. At the same time, something ignited in my head. It felt like it was on fire, burning…everywhere. My mind was starting to feel heavy and overwhelmed as if I need a break. A faint whisper screamed in my head, telling me to stop already.
Instead of thinking that it came from the ruby, I thought that it came from me.
Shaking my head several times, I tried to ignore my forehead flaring up in pain. It got to the point where I need to use my left hand to clutch onto my head. It wouldn't do anything, but I felt the need to grab onto SOMETHING to not fall down. My other hand was struggling to carry the truck on its own.
I nearly panicked when my vision began to glitch. The headache was becoming more painful and it was about to become the center of my attention. My eyes were glued to the truck, not caring for anything else around me. Not even hearing September calling out to me averted my focus. All I cared about was making that I lifted this truck correctly; I couldn't just stop right now.
My ruby suddenly lashed out, but not out of anger or malice. The sensation was cold as if trying to cool down. I responded by yelling, striking my other hand upwards. The truck eventually crashed on the floor, but it didn't matter. The headache only got worse as I collapsed right onto the floor, twitching. In fact, it reminded me too much of the last time I got such a nasty headache…
"Stand down right now!" yelled Ace, pointing his ax at the black hedgehog in front of him. "That's an order!
The battle was brutal. Not even 5 minutes in and the new intruder dealt with us stronger than I thought. At first, I thought that he looked like an ordinary hedgehog. But this 'Shadow' fellow turned out to be also someone who wasn't meant to be taken as a pet. At first sight, we told him to surrender, but he managed to swipe the floor.
No weapons of his own. No squad of his. All he got was his own abilities and this…Chaos energy he was displaying.
Almost everyone was on the ground, but still breathing. I was still on my feet. Ryder was twirling around a few knives in his hands, gritting his teeth in sheer frustration. Ace was trying to remain calm, but it was clear that he was shaken by our new opponent.
"That's an order I cannot follow," said Shadow coldly. "I'll give you this one suggestion to take wisely; stay out of my way."
Ace gulped. "I-I wish it would be that simple. You can't just barge into here on your own!"
"I'm not the one who has lackeys following me," said Shadow flatly.
Ryder growled. "You want to test THAT theory?"
Shadow remained still, not caring for the others starting to get back on their feet. He looked so dead inside. His eyes looked like they came from an actual demon. It…scared me. It made me feel pathetic. The others seemed to feel this way as they tried not to look away.
I stepped forward, raising my weapon.
Shadow's eyes shifted to me.
"Tense much?" he asked.
"No…" I said. "Absolutely…not…"
Without warning, Tempest leaped upwards and tried charging toward Shadow. He simply dodged away, avoiding all of her attacks and kicks. At the same time, Paz and Phoenix came in, trying to catch him off-guard. However, the black hedgehog quickly spun around and roundhouse kicked them away. Phoenix was already trying to shoot him, but the hedgehog proved to be too fast for us to catch up.
I decided to run forward, trying to attack him. But when I even got close, he simply grabbed my taser and swung me to the ground. Ace came in, swinging his ax at him. Shadow managed to avoid all of his attacks before grabbing his arms and throwing him away. I tried using this as a distraction to swipe at his feet; it did catch him off-guard, but he suddenly teleported away and kicked the charging Ryder by the side, sending him flying into me.
"What's with this guy?" questioned Ryder. "He's too strong!"
"It's like he's something else!" I pointed out.
As we got up, my ears flicked to the sound of nearly every jackal in the area charging toward Shadow. Already frustrated, the black shadow clenched his teeth and his whole body glowed a sinister red. Even deadlier than the glow the Phantom Ruby gave off.
Immediately, Ryder rolled away.
Foolishly, I tried running forward.
Shadow let out a yell and a large red explosion engulfed all the charging jackals. I only met it face-first, sent back flying. As I crashed onto the floor, rolling around, I could hear the cries of my fellow teammates. Eventually bumping into a nearby rock, my head flared up, sore. I panted, trying to hold onto my head as if it would calm myself down.
The headache nearly told me to stay down, but I had a job to do. I got up, hissing a few times at my mind becoming overwhelmed by the blast. And then, it was pushed to the side when I saw the outcome of the explosion.
The entire squad was down. Every single jackal was scattered around, lying everywhere. They looked peaceful as if they were sleeping. However, they were barely moving. Any signs of life were hard to note.
This…this couldn't be bad, right?
I turned to the side to see Ryder who survived as well. He was cradling Tempest's head, shaking her body as he cried for her to wake up. Tempest's eyes were closed like she was asleep, but her chest was barely moving up and down. Aside from new bruises forming, she didn't appear to be wounded. Just…lifeless.
This was a bad thing. Shadow killed them.
Ryder howled in rage as he charged toward the standing Shadow in a last attempt to kick him down. The black hedgehog grabbed him by the neck and threw him right into a nearby mountain. I feared watching, but I didn't get to see his body as a couple of unstable rock formations and boulders came crashing onto him. There was the sound of rocks cracking and Ryder's screams for help.
Then, there was nothing.
I was gonna die here.
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" screeched Eggman's voice through my earpiece. "GET HIM!"
As if my headache wasn't enough. I was in the middle of running away. There was no way I could be up against Shadow. But then what? What would this mean? How would Zero feel if I failed to avenge my squad? I was gonna make myself look weak. Here, my head was throbbing in pain and with one more hit, I would be out like a light.
But the same insecurity of not being strong enough pushed me further to attack.
With a mouth trembling in soft whimpers, I ran towards Shadow, but it proved to be fruitless when he kicked me in the side and my head slammed against the stump of a tree.
I couldn't stay awake, wanting to really sleep. It felt like my skull cracked, but my heart was pounding in my chest. I was still alive, yet I failed. I was screaming in my mind to get up, but the headache was too strong. It was telling me to stay down to rest already. Too many voices echoed in my ears, unrecognizable.
"Obsidian? Obsidian! Wake up!"
It was only until a friend of the squad came by to wake me up. By the time I could be able to return to reality, my world was spinning. I was coughing violently. Coughing pathetically…
"Obsidian?! Obsidian!"
I snapped my eyes open, nearly leaping out of the bed I was resting on. I didn't realize that I was curled up in a ball until I accidentally kicked something. The headache came back, but it didn't feel too bad. The vital chips were already removed from my body with the Inhibitor Rings already on my wrists and ankles, limiting the amount of power that could flow through my body.
It was still vivid in my mind. Unable to hold the truck in the air for long. The damning headaches. The memory of when my squad died. It all played in my head again like a video on repeat. My heart was still pounding and my breathing was becoming shallow. Why was I suddenly feeling this way? Why did I feel so…helpless?
"Obsidian!" said a voice. "You're alright?"
I flinched back when I felt a hand touching my shoulder. It was Topaz, looking worried. For a while, I stopped breathing before I continued hyperventilating. With a more gentle approach, she slowly placed her hand back on my shoulder. This time, I didn't flinch, knowing that it was her.
"It's OK, Obsidian," she said calmly. "You are safe. Just breathe slowly. Slow down your breathing. Follow me here."
I closed my eyes, trying to slow down my breathing. With the ruby taking a seat back, I was able to slow down my breathing. Topaz motioned taking a long deep breath and out. I followed her. We did this a couple of times until I could feel and hear my breathing slowly returning to a gentler and slower rate.
My heart was still beating, but hearing her words helped me grip what was around me. I felt…safe around her. As my vision cleared, I noticed that I was in a small hospital room. There seemed to be no one else. Sort of. September was with us, but he wasn't wearing his white lab coat. It was weird seeing him wearing a yellow sweater.
When the panther saw me, he sighed in relief. He still kept the same stoic look, but it was clear that he was shaken.
"Thank, God," he said. "I was worried that the ruby gave you a seizure."
"What…what happened?" I asked.
"When the ruby was overloading, your…body starts to glitch. You were groaning away until you threw the truck upwards. No one was hurt, but you were twitching on the floor." He gestured to my rings. "We quickly placed your rings back on, but your body kept glitching and even turn to look transparent. You were clutching your head the whole time."
Slowly placing a hand over my forehead, I tried to control my breathing as I nearly slipped into hyperventilating again. Then, I remembered. I exhausted myself in front of a lot of people. I basically made a scene before I collapsed. My ears drooped and I curled my tail around my body, feeling ashamed. At least nobody else could see me now as a fool.
"E-Everybody saw what happened, right?" I asked, wanting to make sure.
"A lot of people panicked when they saw your body glitching," said Topaz. "That is how I quickly came in to help. They already told those watching to stand clear."
"I'm sorry if I went too far," I muttered. "I thought that I…can be able to do it."
"You were tiring yourself when holding that truck for a long period of time," said September. "If you noticed that you couldn't keep it up, then why continue to do so?"
"Because I thought that I should. I thought I'm capable of holding it up for long. I just…" I tried my best not to pull my legs into my chest. "...thought that I would be weak if I stop."
"It's just an experiment. A test run. A practice. You don't need to do this on the first try. Like I said, the truck is the heaviest of them all."
"I know, I know, I just…" I shrugged. "I don't know why. I got so confident in being able to lift those crates, so I thought that I shouldn't step back and…do the job right when the opportunity was right there."
"It's not like the truck will go away," said Topaz. "You can come back to it another time without doing one big try."
I nodded meekly. "I guess that I thought that it should be the time to utilize the Phantom Ruby prototype more. I just…expect it for myself."
"I think you're being a bit too hard on yourself now," said September. "This experiment is meant to record what you are able to do, not what you're good in. That's why I still keep the door open for you to withdraw if needed. It's good that now you're sure about using the ruby, but it's important to make sure to know your own limits. You have to be careful about your own health since not many will be able to quickly help."
Topaz nodded in agreement. "Take it one step at a time. It may exceed or not, but it's what you learn from it. That's what is worth gaining. And you're already a strong mercenary, so you don't need to set those high expectations."
I actually had no idea what to think about this. Seeing Topaz again reminded me of her words of how thinking needing to be strong to survive wasn't an ideal mindset to keep having. She was nearly saying the same thing again, but in a shorter form. She was still patient and I felt bad for not taking her words into consideration.
Eventually, I acknowledged that it was for the best to not expend myself to be ready immediately. My ruby glowed, whispering to me. It actually sounded…guilty about what happened. The ruby also felt angry for what I did, but apologetic for being unable to stop the headache I suffered. This time, feeling the ruby's sorrow over the events leading to my freakout really let me know that it didn't want to harm me.
In a way, it made me feel bad for assuming it too quickly. While still feeling doubtful, it was connected to me, treating me like a partner. And it did try asking me if I wanted to carry the truck when I felt like persisting. Feeling its warmth now made me feel as if I was ungrateful for it.
Topaz already passed a cup of water for me to sip on it. Drinking it a little, I tried to create the image of pretending to rub on my ruby. Only to slowly pat it as if trying to console it.
September was already looking away as he scanned through his clipboard while Topaz didn't seem to mind what I was doing, just keeping watch. It would look weird, but being this close to the ruby, it didn't feel weird trying to reassure the ruby that it wasn't its fault.
September turned back to me, putting his clipboard aside. "So, Obsidian, how are you feeling right now?"
Thinking about it, I felt…alright now. It was as if the soreness in my head passed away. Aside from feeling foolish for my actions and sorry for my ruby, I wasn't in pain or needing rest. It was as if I returned back to normal.
"Surprisingly…alright now," I said. "I'm not too tired. It…must be the ruby."
The ruby hummed softly. It must have done this to make me feel better.
"That's weird," said Topaz.
"You're sure that you don't need rest?" asked September. "Cause you got a nasty headache back there. And the ruby might not be able to cover up what was lost."
"I think I'll be fine," I said, rubbing the back of my head. "If I have enough energy for the day, then I could be able to do what I'm supposed to do for the day."
The panther raised an eye. "Alright then. I was informed that you have a task to do today. I want you to withdraw from it, but if you're fine…then I'll request that your task team not let you use your powers to carry any heavy cargo around. I'm cancelling tomorrow's experiment so that you can truly recover first. We have already written in the results, but it's best that you take a break. If planning to go back on tasks and patrol, my condition is that you don't use your ruby powers to their limits."
"But I have the Inhibitor Rings on," I pointed out.
"That's true, but I want you to take safety measures on this. Would that be alright with you?"
I glanced down at my ruby before I complied, "OK then. I'm alright with that."
AN: Funnily enough, this story confirms that the Lightning Bolt Society is still incompetent in a way and practically invisible to the criminal world, through Mr. Ghost's eyes. So any hopes for Obsidian to get information through that are slim. I thought of calling back to Mr. Ghost since he's a fairly interesting character and Obsidian did promise to write to him back.
This chapter feels a little boring to write through since it feels a little repetitive and quite mundane. However, I tried to make it engaging since this is practically Obsidian's first time trying to use his telekinesis powers on larger objects; it's meant as a relatable moment for those given new gifts and trying to use them at their peak. That being said, his ruby is STILL a prototype, so it couldn't do that much for him.
The flashback Obsidian had was originally supposed to be different. At first, I want to make it an older flashback where he went through something traumatic. However, I couldn't think of anything since he wasn't triggered by the sight of blood or the mention of death, having accepted the fact that he killed five people out of self-defense. Citing back to my 'Forces United – A Test You Must Partake' story, I used the scene of how the Jackal Squad got killed through Obsidian's perspective.
I feel like this point is where Obsidian starts trying to make the best of his ruby. Even with how it acts to him despite the jackal using most of his thoughts than what the ruby is trying to tell him. I'm hoping that I'll be able to explore this further.
Thank you for reading this chapter! If you enjoy this story, be sure to follow or favorite this story, so you can get updates about this story. If there is any feedback or constructive criticism you want to share, let me know in your review. It would be nice to hear open thoughts so that I can know what to improve.
Until next time, keep on rocking!