Chapter 175

Mirror Match

Amy shifted her weight forward, bending the front of her board downward in order to adjust her elevation. The air density within the Twilight Cage changed constantly making her movements jerky and any attempt to glide at a consistent speed felt extremely awkward. Amy wobbled due to the alteration to her flight. She stuck out her arms and crouched to regain her balance. Amy's eyes darted down to the steep drops mere inches from her feet.

Don't look down.

Jet came gliding up on her left. Years of experience allowed him to ride his extreme gear with the ease of walking, but even he was affected by the difficulty of flight in a windless void.

"Remember to keep an eye on your air consumption," He told her sagely. "Without the Sol Gems we can only fly in short bursts. If you're getting low the board will need a burst of kinetic energy." Jet demonstrated how this could be done by quickly flipping in mid air. The rapid movement made his board spark an emerald green color and there was an inflating hiss as the air supply in his meter recharged slightly.

"We'd gotten a bit spoiled with the Sol Gems," Jet admitted. "I'd forgotten how finicky these used to be."

"Shade's not having any trouble." Amy pointed ahead to the faint purple blur that marked Shade's board.

After sending everyone else on the transporter, Jet had given Shade a crash course on how to pilot the extreme gear. Shade was a quick study and they wasted no time plotting an aerial course for the Nidium.

Bright sparks and loud shudders raked the violet void as battle erupted back at Babylon Garden. Amy resisted the temptation to turn back, knowing there was nothing she could do for Tails and the others that had gone ahead to try and delay Imperator IX.

She kept her eyes trained on Shade who had started her descent. Their target was a colossal square shaped building that served as the foundation for a towering crystal tower. At the pinnacle of the sheer point was a black ruby that shimmered and sparkled.

Shade's smooth glide came to a shaking halt as she attempted to brake near the pinnacle of the tower. Amy watched in horror as Shade slipped off the board and nearly plummeted into the empty air. At the last moment, Shade kicked off the board and managed to grab hold of one of the tower rails.

Jet peeled into a headlong dive in an effort to catch the now pilotless hoverboard. Amy kept her pace, pushing her weight to the middle of the board and feathering her speed so as to slow down enough to come to a stop. It was sort of clumsy, but her method allowed Amy to reach the tower at a slow enough rate where she could bend down, seize hold of her board while also reaching out and grabbing Shade's hand. Once connected, Shade easily pulled Amy onto the small, nearly impossible to see terrace that was little more than a shelf against the flat tower.

Shade's face was pale and she was breathing hard. "I thought it was over for me…"

"The air here is so different," Amy said. "We can't fly nearly as smoothly."

Moments later, Jet came speeding up with Wave's board tucked under his arm. He gracefully jumped from his board and used his own wings to glide up onto the terrace. "Wave would have killed me if we had lost this."

"She may not get the chance." Shade turned back to the tower and pressed her hand against the smooth crystalline surface. A blue outline materialized out of nowhere and circled around her hand. Shade pushed forward and the solid surface bent backward. Lines of a door cracked through the crystal and opened granting them access into the tower. Shade motioned for them to go inside.

Amy and Jet obeyed and the three of them were crammed into a small metal box. The door to the outside resealed and for a moment they were lost in complete darkness. Then there was a faint ding and neon blue light filtered from above. The metal cage shuddered and then Amy felt it start to descend.

"The Nidus is secured deep underground," Shade explained. "This tower carries the relay signal out to the drones. It is what allows them to connect wherever they are in the Twilight Cage. This elevator was used when the Nidum was first being constructed, not many even know of its existence."

The elevator ride took several minutes. Enclosed in the tiny space, the trio was completely isolated. Amy tried not to think about the others. Part of her was thankful to be safe for the moment, while the other half was in anguish with overwhelming anxiety for her friends. She felt someone move beside her. Jet had taken her hand and squeezed it. In the semi darkness, Amy could only see the bright yellow spark of his hawkish eyes. Neither of them could promise the other that everything would be okay. But in the moment, it was enough for Amy to know that she wasn't alone.

At long last, the elevator slowed to a gradual halt. The doors opened. They stared down the length of a forlorn hallway. The sterilized metal walls were semi reflective, showing them their reflections as they crept out of the elevator and made their way forward.

A yellow light filtered through the cracks of the circular blast door that awaited them at the far end. Shade led the way and approached the lit up LED console next to the door. Again, Shade placed her hand against the screen and it lit up. The blast doors shuddered as huge gears churned and twisted. The sudden disruption of the silence put Amy's nerves on high alert.

The circular door twisted on its hinges and opened. They stepped into a room flushed with blinding amber yellow light. Towering monoliths dominated the huge warehouse sized room like skyscrapers in a densely packed metropolis. Each tower was alive with flashing lights and thousands upon thousands of cords and wires.

"The secret to our immortality," Shade whispered. "Each tower is a supercomputer juiced up on the energy emitting from the Twilight Pool. It takes a dozen of these to hold the consciousness of one of the drones."

Amy walked forward with her mouth open, gawking at the stupendous display of technological achievement. The sheer number of complex computers could not be counted. Millions of wires all traced along the floors and walls, each pulsing with an amber yellow light.

At the heart of this complex was a machine the likes of which Amy had never seen. It was nearly twenty five feet in height and twice as long in width. It was undoubtedly mechanical, however it was shaped like a gigantic seed that had sprouted and its roots and limbs were now stretched forth in a wondrous display of technology mirroring the efficient designs of nature.

Someone stood in front of the machine. Their pink eyes shimmered faintly in the gloom. Jet, Shade and Amy all stopped in unison. The lone figure raised their head. It was a Nocturnes wearing armor and a helmet identical to those that Shade had worn when Amy had first seen her.

Shade noticed the resemblance immediately. She strode forward with her hands held out. "Hey-"

Brrt. Brrt. Pulsing pink wrist blades ignited from the commando's gloves. Amy didn't even have a chance to try and warn Shade.

The lone fighter blitzed forward and slashed, the blades on their wrists leaving a pink afterimage. Shade darted out of the way, but was not fast enough to altogether avoid damage. Her shoulder was cut and the armor burned away in charred chips.

Jet wasted no time joining the action. He dropped his boards and rushed the mystery fighter. However, Jet was not nearly as fast on the ground as he was in the air. His attempt at a tackle earned him a swift knee to the stomach. The echo fighter nearly removed his head with their wrist blades, but Shade managed to push them away.

Amy watched, her feet seemingly melded into the floor. She wanted to help, but her eyes were locked onto the plasma like blades. Even the faintest misstep could be punished with instant death.

Shade was able to keep pace with the unknown warrior, however she could not get in close without an offensive weapon of her own. Jet rolled back to his feet and attempted to circle around and hit the stranger from behind.

Seeing Jet, Amy got over her own fear and rushed after him. With the three of them closing in, the solo fighter switched targets. It leapt onto one of the towers, bouncing off with a quick jump in order to propel themselves directly at Amy.

Instinct allowed Amy to move before her brain even registered that she was in danger. She dropped to the floor sliding across the sleek metal floor. The pink blades swept just above her face, missing only by a few inches.

Amy carried her momentum into a roll and jumped back to her feet, hoping she had put enough distance to avoid a followup strike. Shade and Jet closed in around her and the three of them took up a defensive position.

The mystery fighter paced slowly in a wide circle. The glowing eyes of their helmet were hauntingly alien. Amy knew that there would be no chance of reasoning or discussion with them.

"Who are you?" Shade demanded suddenly. "Did Ix give you my wrist blades?"

The lone soldier did not answer. Shade bristled and rotated her shoulders. "I'm the best warrior in our army. If you stand down now I won't hurt you."

The commando froze and turned its head as if it were confused. Shade smirked at it. "Give up now before I have to take back those blades by force."

If Shade had hoped to goad the mystery fighter into a rage she had completely missed the mark. Instead of coming on with reckless savagery, the next attack was far more controlled and calculated. Recognizing Amy as the weak link, the warrior rushed at her forcing Jet and Shade to close ranks to try and keep Amy safe.

Jet and Amy both were helpless to try and do anything other than just stay alive. The threat of the pink blades was ever present, the violent hum of their attacks drummed in Amy's ear as she did everything in her power to keep herself away.

Shade was the only one who tried to fight back, twice she managed to land a kick on the warrior's chest, but the blows were easily deflected by their armor. Getting in close brought Shade into the contact zone and her offensive assault nearly ended in a swift fatality. The warrior countered an overzealous punch and nearly slashed straight through Shade's neck when the blow was pushed away by Jet at the last possible moment. The edge of the blades singed Jet's wing, and with just a faint touch burned away some of his feathers.

Amy was already exhausted. Every moment of the battle was an ordeal as the slightest mistake would be instantly punished. Amy tried to grab the warrior by the legs and drag it down, but had been unable to complete the lock. The resulting counter brought Amy within a breadth of one of the blades and the edge of her dress had been slashed into tatters.

Amy fell to the ground, landing right on the burn on her hip. She gasped as a spasm of pain raked through her body.

This prompted the lone soldier to try and finish Amy off while she was down. In their rush to take advantage, they had finally left themselves open. Shade charged into them, striking them hard in the shoulder and knocking them towards Jet who tried his best to tackle them to the floor but only managed to seize them by the head. In the resulting tussle, Jet ripped off the helmet and sent it clattering to the floor.

Clunk. Clunk. As soon as Amy saw the spiky red hair she knew something was wrong. The commando made a halting effort to cover their face behind their hand, but realized it was a pointless endeavor. Slowly, they turned towards Shade, the perfectly mirrored eyes locking onto the original. The face was a carbon copy of Shade's; only the skin was pale to the point of near transparency. Behind the translucent skin, Amy could see blooming ribbons of pulsing green veins.

"What the hell?" Jet cursed and looked back and forth from Shade to the clone. "What is this?"

Shade glared back at her reflection, her eyes wide in an expression of revulsion. "The atomizer. Ix must have used it to replicate me. Now I understand what Narath meant when he thought I was the one leading Ix's forces."

The clone may have had Shade's body and martial instincts, but none of her intelligence. It glared blankly back at its original without a hint of recognition.

Amy expected the revelation to unnerve Shade, however it had the opposite effect. Shade seemed more relaxed than before, a confident smile playing across her face. She cracked her knuckles audibly and seemed excited at the prospect of fighting a copy of herself.
"Ix may be a genius, but he doesn't understand combat at all. If he thinks that all I fight with is my body then he has badly miscalculated. You two stay back, I'll handle this on my own."

"Are you sure?" Jet argued. "We can't take any chances."

"This won't take long." Shade strode casually towards the clone while Amy circled back around to stand beside Jet.

They both gave the other a nervous look as Shade took a combative stance in front of the clone. Emotionless and detached, the clone mirrored the posture perfectly.

Shade initiated with a sweeping kick that the clone jumped over easily. They followed with a series of slashes which Shade narrowly avoided. The speed of their combat had taken a noticeable uptick. Amy and Jet scooted back to make way.

Both fighters turned into blurs of motion with the only solid detail being the two pulsing pink wrist blades which were always half a breath away from ending the fight in one blow. Amy was awestruck by Shade's courage and absolute confidence in her abilities.

The clone matched Shade's speed and technique, but was her superior in terms of strength. The atomizer had sapped Shade of much of her energy, and the lingering effects were still evident. However, Shade managed to stay one step ahead of her ghost by the sheer creativity of her attacks. Shade never struck without thinking of some counter that was three moves ahead of where the fight was at any particular moment. She was playing chess while the clone was trapped in the simple exchange of blows.

Amy's stomach tightened as the fight neared its climax. The speed of their strikes were nearly impossible to track, however Amy's instincts told her that the definitive blow was imminent.

Shade delivered the conclusive hit with the suddenness of a rampaging train. After minutes of set up she finally caught her clone with a feint and managed to slip her arm over the over extended elbow. With a ringing snap the clone's arm broke at the forearm. Shade seized the limp wrist and tore the wrist blade free, spinning it around and thrusting into its wielder's chest. The clone's eyes expanded into a look of shock. The only hint of emotion it had displayed in the battle.

It fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Shade leaned down and stripped it of the other wrist blade. She smiled wistfully as her signature weapons were restored. "Let's finish this," She said solemnly.

Amy and Jet followed her over to the great machine shaped like a living root. Shade frowned over a screen flashing letters in a language that Amy could not understand. "Ix must have had this algorithm hidden with the Nidus code for ages, possibly from the very beginning."

"Can you undo it?" Amy asked her.

Shade shrugged. "This code is far too complicated for me."

"Can we destroy it?" Jet offered.

"Doing so would destroy all the Nocturnes who uploaded their minds to the code. It would be the end of my people." Shade scratched her chin as she scrutinized the console. "I suppose I could try and reset it. That might shut down the drones long enough for us to stop Ix. Though once it was operational again, the drones might still try to carry out Ix's will."

"Who cares?" Jet blurted out. "Once we take Babylon Garden we'll be out of here, and they won't be able to chase after us."

"And what about us?" Shade said scathingly. "It would mean civil war in the Twilight Cage."

"If you can shut it down for now we can help you remove Ix's code," Amy told her. "Anything Ix could come up, Tails can create something even better. Once we stop Ix, we'll make sure you all are safe before leaving."

Shade sighed. "I don't suppose we have much of a choice." She straightened up and looked around the room. "Once the reset is active we will have less than half an hour to stop Ix."

"That'll be enough," Amy said with confidence she did not feel. "Let's do it and get back to the others."

Shade placed her hand flat onto the console and the screen flashed a series of vibrant neon colors. A small metal rod digitized into space and Shade pulled up on it. Instantly, all the lights in the room flickered on and off. The neon yellow light flashing in the tubes went dark.

"Let's go." Shade pointed to the door, but did not leave before she had retrieved her helmet.

The three of them piled back into the elevator and waited as it brought them back up to the surface. Amy strained to try and hear anything beyond the drumming of the metal car. For now however, there was silence.

Darkness awaited them as the doors slid open. They stepped out onto the terrace and all of them turned towards the towering shape of Babylon Garden floating in the distance. Lights flashed in the void and the air itself trembled with the ferocity of a battle that shook the very void of the Twilight Cage.

"You two should head below and check on your friends," Shade told them. "I'll make straight for the island and see if I can't help take down Ix."

Amy peeked over the edge of the terrace straining to try and see through the dense darkness to the streets of the city below. Those who had taken the transporter into the Nidium were nowhere to be seen. If they were still fighting then it had yet to spill out into the streets.

"They'll have to take care of themselves," Jet said. "We're going to stop that maniac."

Jet handed each of them their boards and they prepared to launch back into the sky when Amy heard the rattle of shaking metal. She turned around just in time to see something scuttle up the tower. Shade's clone climbed like a spider, their limbs twisting and moving unnaturally. It leapt from the tower and shocked Shade so badly she fell from the narrow terrace.

"Shade!" Amy tried to go after her, but the clone seized her by the hem of her skirt and yanked her back, slamming her face first into the elevator door.

Jet yelled and tackled the clone pushing it away from Amy who staggered backward in a daze. Blood trickled down Amy's face as she tried to orient herself. She nearly tripped over Shade's forgotten board. Jolted, Amy scooped down and kickstarted the board before sending it soaring down after its fallen rider.

Jet's cries prompted her to turn around. The clone had wrapped itself around him and was attempting to choke him out. Jet pressed himself back against the tower in an effort to throw it off. Amy lunged at him, scratching and clawing at the clone's face. Together, they managed to pry it off Jet. The copy of Shade was crazed with fury. It screamed into the void and made ready to charge.

Amy was done. All the guilt and rage that had been building in her since they had first come to this forsaken realm exploded out of her. She let out a wild cry and rushed the clone, catching it around the arms and flinging them both off the tower.

They fell down a windless tunnel. The clone made a final effort to lunge at Amy, but missed and went careening into the swallowing emptiness.

Amy twisted herself in midair so that she would be facing up. Despite the rush of her heart and the sheer panic coursing through her veins, Amy felt strangely calm. She allowed her head to fall back and her arms drifted elegantly above her.

"Gotcha!" Jet's hand wrapped around hers and Amy was yanked up and set next to Jet on his board.

Amy opened her eyes to see the warm glow of Jet's eyes looking back at her. "Shade?" She asked wearily.

"She's fine. She managed to catch the board you threw her. She's already on her way towards the island." Jet flew Amy back to the top of the tower. She hopped back onto the terrace and picked up her board.

Jet stood beside her, his arms embracing her around the shoulders. Amy turned and blinked at him. He was standing so close. Amy's heart fluttered and she had a single moment of hesitation and doubt. She nearly pulled away, but caught herself at the last moment. Jet leaned close and this time there was no interruption. The kiss seemed to draw all weariness out of Amy. She forgot where she was. For that one instant of bliss all the anxiety and worry and war and battle faded into a distant blur. All she knew was the steady drumming in her heart and the girlish delight of being kissed and kissing back.

Her ears were ringing as the kiss ended. It took a while for her senses to return to normal. The distant roar of electrical charge and the faint tremor of the Twilight Cage steadily crystallized as the moment of peace ended. Amy's cheeks were flushed as she and Jet turned towards the site of the distant battle. His hand gripped tightly around hers.

"Before I met you, all I wanted was to get rich and feel the wind rush beneath my wings. Now I'm stuck fighting world ending battles, and it seems likely I'll die poor and never see the sun again. Is that the price of being noble?" Jet's eyes sparkled as he smiled down at her.

"I always looked up to Sonic for being a hero," Amy answered. "Adventure seemed so romantic. But I think I've had enough."

Jet laughed. "Then let's finish this and go home."

Amy nodded and the two of them flew off on their boards, speeding towards the flashing lights and the final battle against Imperator Ix. "Hey Amy," Jet said as he glided past her. "If we do survive this, what do you say about joining our crew? You're fast enough on that board now so you won't slow us down."

Despite everything, Amy smiled. For a brief instant she had a vision of her Jet and Wave soaring through the city, the loot of a fresh job tied in a bundle behind their extreme gear. That brief vision opened like a window giving her a tiny glimpse into a life just beyond her reach. A life where she exchanged her run down apartment for the lushious opulence of Babylon Garden, a future in which she would never again have to pretend to be someone she wasn't to please faceless subscribers or try to earn the affection of a fantasy.

Perhaps when this is all over I'll take my board and challenge Sonic to a race, and for once I'll be faster than him. Amy's heart soared with the thrill of a future that suddenly seemed so dear to her. Years passed before her eyes and she saw everything she hoped to do and to experience and all that her and her friends still had to look forward to.

I won't give that up. Amy promised herself. No matter what happens from here on out, I won't let myself give up hope ever again.

Amy squatted and copied Jet in a quick spin to recharge her air meter. She then leaned forward and willed her board to reach top speed.