Chapter 98
Damsel
Amy woke beneath a slow moving fan. Sunlight slipped through a nearby window and illuminated a room made of light wooden walls. Amy stirred. Her head was aching terribly and she felt incredibly sore. She tried to raise herself up, but winced when a stinging pain shot down her arm. Amy turned and saw the bandages that covered her shoulder. All at once, the memories of what had happened flooded over her.
Where am I? Amy's eyes darted around the room, searching for any sign of the GUN insignia. Instead she saw only paintings of some idyllic island and a strange yellow ruin carved into the door. Amy gingerly put her feet on the floor and sat up. The floorboards groaned beneath her as she tiptoed over to the window. She glanced outside and gasped. Huge white clouds floated beneath her and expanded outward in a vast blue sky.
She whipped around and clutched at her heart. Wherever she was, it looked as if she was thousands of feet in the air. She crept towards the door of the room. Panic was threatening to overtake her, and she knew that if this door was locked she would start to freak out. Mercifully, the latch turned and the door opened silently.
Amy entered a metal hanger. Four doors led off from this main point, and a ladder led to a higher platform. Amy slank into the shadows that were created by the two lanterns that illuminated the space. She crept around until she came near to the ladder. Careful and quiet, Amy started to climb. As she eclipsed the upper platform she saw a wide arched window. There was a huge wooden helm set in front of the window. The wheel moved slightly, adjusting the heading of the ship.
At that moment, Amy heard voices coming from a door next to the helm. The voices were muffled so Amy had to step onto the platform. She followed the sounds over to the door. Amy paused as she heard her own name.
"I haven't decided what to do with Amy yet." The voice belonged to Jet.
Amy exhaled slowly and pressed closer to the door. She stood on her tiptoes in order to put her eye through the peephole. Amy saw a comfortably furnished room that was set up like a captain's quarters. A large yellow banner was raised behind an ornate desk. Jet lounged on a comfortable chair, while the other Bablyon Rogues stood at hand.
"You need to make one soon." Wave moved into the center of the frame, blocking Amy's view of the rest of the room. "GUN will be coming after us with everything they've got. If they catch us before we can contact them, then we won't get to make a deal."
"What makes you think we'll get that chance even if we do? GUN isn't going to take terms from us."
"They might." Wave moved to her side, and Amy saw Storm put his huge hands on the table. "They want that girl, and they want her bad. I can't see why, but that isn't my place. I say we strike while the irons hot. She may not be useful for long."
"It's not that simple," Jet protested. "We can't trust GUN. Not unless we've put them in a place of real need. They're too strong right now. We need to wait."
"Jet, come on," Wave swung her long legs onto Jet's desk. "We all know what this is about. The girl saved your life, and that was noble of her. But you returned the favor, you don't owe her anything. We have to think about our future." Her hand brushed over the desk as it settled on Jet's shoulder. "The whole military is going to be after us now. Are we going to spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders?"
Jet brushed her hand away. "We do that already."
"You know that's not true," Wave said, her voice low and seductive. "We put money in the right pockets, and they turn a blind eye. That won't be the case anymore. No one will risk dealing with us if it means incurring GUNs wrath, no matter how much we pay them."
"And what happens after?" Jet replied sternly. "Once they have her, they won't need anything from us anymore."
Amy pushed away from the door slightly, her heart was thumping so loudly beneath her dress she was afraid it would make a noise. They were talking about her, and whether or not to hand her back to the human military. Amy looked through the peephole again. Wave was now laying on the desk in front of Jet.
"We make one more deal." She was saying softly. "We have enough gold saved away. Once GUN is off our backs we can disappear. What was the point of amassing our fortune if we don't live to spend it? Besides, we don't have to worry about GUN double crossing us. With those gems powering our boards, they'll never catch us."
Jet shook his head. "I don't know…I…I just have a feeling-"
"Who cares about feelings," Storm interjected. "This is our future we are talking about. GUN wants the girl, and they'll burn anyone who gets in their way. She's not one of us boss, we don't owe her anything."
"Storm's right," Wave simpered. "You know how much I hate agreeing with him. But come on, Jet, it's always been us against the world. There is nothing else to be said. Let's go get her, make this trade and move on-"
BANG! Amy suddenly flung the door open and it crashed against the wall. "I'm nobody's bargaining chip!" Her voice cracked, and her threatening words died in a high pitched moan. The Bablyon Rogues turned to her in amazement. Wave scowled while Storm bustled forward.
"I told you we should have locked her up!" Storm tried to catch Amy in his huge hands, but she leapt into the air and kicked him square in the beak. He howled with pain and stumbled backward.
"Now you've done it!" Wave raced towards Amy before suddenly sliding into a horizontal kick. Her legs wrapped around Amy's then twisted, bringing Amy to the floor. Amy felt her arm jerk behind her as Wave braced her leg onto Amy's wounded shoulder.
"Enough!" Jet snapped and Wave released Amy. Amy winced as a wave of pain ran down the length of her arm.
"Should I lock her up, boss?" Storm suggested as he came back over. He was nursing a bloody nose.
"That won't be necessary." Jet barely looked at Amy as he addressed his comrades. "I don't trust GUN enough to bother with a trade. At least not yet. So for now, the girl stays with us until we can find something to do with her."
Wave started to protest, but Jet cut her off with a steely glance. "For now, let's just make sure we make it back to headquarters in one piece. Storm, you have the helm."
Storm huffed in frustration and went to man the wheel. Wave released Amy and shook her head. "I wouldn't get comfortable if I were you." She then turned and left the room.
Amy sat up and gingerly moved her shoulder. It felt stiff and sore, and she could not resist the tear that formed in the corner of her eye. "Are you alright?" Jet was looking at her from across his desk. His expression was inscrutable.
"I…I want to go home…" She said faintly. "But I don't see a way back there."
Jet said nothing. He continued to stare at her with his cold blue eyes. When Amy could bear his gaze no longer, she rose and timidly left the room. Filled with self pity, Amy clammored down the ladder and skulked back to the room she had woken up in. She laid down on the bed and covered herself with the sheets. What would happen to her now? How long would Jet's conscience hold up?
She stared at the nearby window and wondered where Sonic was now. Had he finished his mission in the other world and returned to earth? Amy wished with all of her heart, that Sonic had come back with her. He would have seen Jeffrey Goldstone for who he was and never have been fooled. GUN never would not have dared make such an open attempt at taking over the world while he was around. "Sonic…." She muttered under her breath. More than anything, she wished that Sonic would come and rescue her, as he had done so many times before.
These anxious thoughts mixed with the throbbing pain in her shoulder made it impossible for Amy to try and sleep. The sunlight faded and night only made Amy more and more restless. Eventually, she could not stand to be confined to this small room. She crept outside and found the rest of the ship dark and quiet. Amy had seen the room that Wave had gone down, so she hoped she would find a kitchen or pantry beyond the last unmarked door.
Her guess proved correct, and Amy was pleasantly surprised at how well stocked the ship was. Amy helped herself to a plate of ice cream and cookies. Her online followers would have been greatly disappointed if they could see her failing to adhere to her own wellness routine, but Amy was far beyond caring about those things. She scarfed down the food and felt the aching in her stomach slowly recede. However, the cold food only made the wound in her shoulder burn worse. Amy's spoon clattered to the floor as her shoulder had a sudden flare up of pain. As she reached down to pick it up, the door to the kitchen opened and closed.
Amy sat up to see Jet saunter inside. He gave no sign that he noticed Amy's presence. He walked right past her and opened up the fridge. Jet cracked open a soda and took a long drink. "I wanted to thank you." He said after a pause. Jet did not look at her as he spoke. "You saved my life on that rooftop."
"And then you saved mine," Amy replied carefully.
"I had to. I never leave a debt unpaid." Jet slammed the fridge door shut and started to walk out.
"Wait! Have you decided what you're going to do with me yet?
Jet paused. "We will let you go after we reach our headquarters. GUN is after you, and we cannot afford to harbor you."
"Wave seems to think that GUN will pursue you anyway….I don't want to cause you any trouble."
"It wouldn't matter. GUN will come after us one way or another."
"Why is that?"
The corner's of Jet's mouth twitched as if he were resisting the temptation to smirk. "You know that transportation tech that Jeffrey made you use? Well let's just say you weren't the only one he was sending over. Only…well we didn't exactly adhere to his playbook. We made our own deals, established our own contacts. It seemed lucrative and easy. Those folk on the other side seemed desperate for weapons, and in exchange they gave us Sol Gems."
"But isn't that what Jeffrey wanted you to do?"
Jet did smirk this time. "Yes, but he didn't know we were taking our own cut. We made a big deal you see, we traded our most valuable treasure. A chaos emerald. In exchange, we got a boat load of Sol Gems and we meant to leave Goldstone behind. We saw how powerful GUN was becoming and we knew it was only a matter of time until they came after Jeffrey. Power does not suffer rivals, as they say. We were about to make our move, but Jeffrey found out. He locked away our Extreme Gear and threatened to destroy it if we didn't play by his rules. That is why we had to take his key the night GUN attacked."
"That's why it doesn't matter if we turn you in or not. If GUN knows we have Sol Gems then they will consider us a threat. We've got to keep our heads down and wait for all this to blow over."
"Blow over?" Amy stood up. "It won't. Things just don't get better all on their own. Someone has to do something about it."
"Do something about it?" Jet repeated. "What can anyone do? Noone has the power to stand up to the entire military. All of the other world governments are folding one by one."
"So how do you expect it to blow over?"
Jet did not answer. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, frowning. "Someone will come along, either that or GUN will destroy itself from the inside. These kind of things never last."
"That's because people took a stand!" Amy didn't know what had suddenly come over. She felt a wild thrill of adrenaline pulse through her. "You have Sol Gems, if anyone can do something then it's you. You should be trying to take GUN down, not running away from them."
"It isn't our fight," Jet replied coldly. "Anyone who gets in the way now will just be crushed. A war will break out soon. The smart bet is to wait for the dust to settle."
Amy frowned. "How can you say that? You might be able to protect yourselves, but what about the rest of the world?"
Jet looked at her curiously. "I don't care about the rest of the world. This ship, my crew, that is the world. People come and go, empires rise and fall, it makes no difference in the end."
"It does! If you can do something, then you should do it!"
"I don't owe anyone anything," Jet snapped. "I take care of my own, and that's enough."
"That….that is cowardly." Amy stiffened as she expected Jet to yell at her. Instead, the hawk simply shrugged.
"From your point of view. I don't care what anyone thinks about me. I know that I'm not afraid. But I'm also not going to throw away my life for nothing. If you want to die fighting GUN so bad, then go right ahead. You are free to do so, just leave us out of it."
At that moment, the door to the kitchens opened again. Wave rushed in and she was breathless, but when she caught sight of Amy she stiffened. Her eyes darted from Jet to Amy, suspicion laced in her glance. "Jet," She began, her eyes still glowering at Amy. "You should see this."
Jet and Wave left the kitchen. Amy followed. They went into one of the other rooms which was dominated by a single screen. The news was showing on it. Amy stifled a scream. She saw smoke plumes rising over the unmistakable area of the Mystic Ruins. It looked as if the entire jungle had been destroyed. A newscaster was speaking in front of the devastation.
"President Smith confirmed in his press conference that the attack was the work of Metal Overlord. Two strikes were made in quick succession. One managed to destroy the much beloved and ancient sanctuary known as the Mystic Ruins. The second was directed at Central City itself." The television changed to a video of a pink laser glancing off a shield projected around the U.F capital.
"Do you see?" Wave said, as she muted the television and turned back to Jet. "GUN is going crazy. They're even firing at their own cities."
"We don't know that for sure," Jet began. "Maybe this Metal Overlord really-"
"You can't believe that. Jeffrey told us that this Metal Overlord nonsense is nothing but a distraction. GUN is the one pulling the trigger!"
Jet flung up his arms in frustration. "What can I do about it?"
"Give them the girl." Wave took a bold step towards Jet. She ignored Amy completely as she spoke. "This is the only chip we have. If we don't use it…then everything…everything we've been through will have been for nothing."
Jet hesitated. His eyes flickered towards Amy and then back at Wave. "We…we've never traded lives before.." He said quietly. "They'll probably kill her if we hand her over."
"It doesn't matter." There was no pity or compassion in Wave's voice. She sounded as one who was on the verge of tears, but was trying to hold them back. "We are all that matters. It's just us, like it always has been." She reached for Jet's hand and held it.
"Cowards!" Amy pointed her finger at the trio, her voice quivering. "How can you see what's happening and only worry about yourselves? The whole world is in danger, you should be planning a way to fight back."
"Shut it," Storm snarled. He flexed his muscles imposingly as he towered over her. "You don't know the first thing about us. How dare you call us cowards."
"What else should I say?" Amy squeaked. She knew she should stop talking, but the words kept pouring out of her. "Here you are trembling, arguing with each other about whether or not to use me as a shield. GUN is everyone's enemy right now, we should all be standing up against them."
Wave clapped sarcastically. "Well said, but you'll forgive me if I don't take you very seriously. Why should we listen to you, when you spend all your time locked up? That's all you've ever been good for. I read that little article you wrote about going to space with Sonic the Hedgehog. You made it out that you were some kind of hero, when all you really did was get caught and force him to rescue you. That's all you really do, isn't it? You're not his girlfriend, you're just baggage that he feels responsible for. GUN isn't after you because they're threatened," Wave tossed back her feathery hair and laughed cruelly. "They're after you because they want to black mail Sonic. Like it or not, you are a bargaining chip, so why don't you keep that pretty mouth shut."
Amy deflated. Words failed her as she tried to come up with some clever retort. Wave's eyes flashed with triumph as she turned back to Jet. "Let's make the deal. GUN may look strong, but the more they conquer the more terrified they will be of a challenge. They will give us our freedom if we give them the girl." Wave reached into her pants pocket and drew out what appeared to be a silver cell phone. She pressed the device into Jet's hands. "Make the call."
Jet said nothing. He stared absently at the television which was silently showing images of the burning wreckage of the Mystic Ruins. "We should rest," He said firmly. "I will make my decision tomorrow morning."
"You won't!" Amy balled her hands into fists. This caused her to wince as her wounded shoulder flared up once again.
"Stand down." Jet's expression was stern, and Amy obeyed immediately. "I don't want to have to restrain you, but I will if it is necessary. Go back to your room." With that, Jet stormed off.
Amy slank back as the others followed their leader. Wave caught Amy's eye and sneered at her. The door slammed shut and she was alone again. Amy sank down to her knees. It didn't seem to matter what she did, she always ended up back in the same place. Heavy tears filled with self pity and self loathing fell down her cheeks. Why couldn't she do anything to help herself? Why was she destined to always be waiting? This is why. A cruel voice whispered inside her head. This is why he can't love you. It took a long time for Amy to finally return to her room. The morning sun was already breaking through as she pulled the blankets up to her face. She assumed that she must have slept, because someone knocked heavily at her door in order to call her.
Amy left her room and felt a slight change in pressure. The ship they were on was clearing making its descent. She climbed the ladder and found the others standing on the upper platform. Amy crept up behind them and stared out the window. Her eyes opened wide in amazement. The ship was descending into a forestry steppe above a large plateau. Huge waterfalls cascaded into deep bowls causing a white foam that carried into the wind. Snuggled between some of the fountains, and hidden beneath the arches of the plateau, Amy caught sight of the exterior of some old ruins. "This is your hideout?" She asked in a faint whisper.
Jet turned around and smirked at her. "Yes, and you're the first outsider to ever see it. Welcome to Babylon Garden."