"Trial by Fire"
Authors: Robert Brown and Francis Tolbert
Disclaimer: This story uses characters created and copyrighted by Sega of
America, Inc. and Archie Comics (except where noted, in which case
they were created and copyrighted by us or by another and we have
permission to use them). The authors hereby give permission for
this story to be downloaded and/or printed at 1 copy per user as
long as (1) no changes to the story are made without our express
written(not e-mailed) permission and (2) no attempt is made to
profit from this story. If either or both rules are violated, it
will be considered a violation of copyright law.
Author's Note: I want to apologize for the excessive length of time that has
passed between the last story and this one. Many of you who are reading this
know of the troubles that my mother had been suffering with since the end of
2006. The doctors thought it was a stroke at first, then it was supposed to
be a minor heart attack, then a muscular virus, then a fatty tumor in her
brain. While none of these conditions paint a rosy picture, the truth was far
worse.
My mom was finally diagnosed, correctly, with Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. It is a
particularly evil condition, characterized by the body's degeneration to the
point where the afflicted becomes unable to walk, speak, even swallow. But
through it all, the mind remains untouched, completely aware of everything
that is happening but powerless to do anything about it. On January 24, 2008,
at 5PM EST, my mother Sophie May Brown succumbed to this debilitating disease
and passed away. The void her passing has left in my life will take a long
time to bridge, but it will never fully heal. Writing, and the support of you
readers, are partly what keeps me going. I did say we're not going to stop.
And we won't.
We had a particularly hard time coming up with a title for this
story, finally coming up with the current title after a good long while.
While we ended up not using any of the titles that were offered to us, we'd
still like to thank the following people for their invaluable help: Sonic
Whammy, Trevor Lake, Mylinda Antoinette, and Red Sonic. Thanks a lot to all
of you.
Cast of Characters(in order of appearance)
Desirée D'Coolette***
Bunnie D'Coolette
Crown Princess Alicia Rose Hedgehog***
Madame Countrement***
Queen Sally Alicia Hedgehog
Julie-Su Echidna
Angela Shi-rat***
DJ Osaya###
Amy Rose
Nadine "Lily" Osaya###
Nadia Osaya***
Donovan Osaya###
Darrin D'Coolette***
Antoine D'Coolette
Nicholas###
Charisma###
Lissette Lexford***
Knuckles Echidna
Tanis Shi-rat***
The Unholy One***
Tanin###
Krella###
Maxwell Kavenoff###
Tamara Edron***
Penelope Rabbot***
Rhonda Linne***
Usako Masano***
Charlotte Oster###
Destín###
Victoria "The Lyoness"###
Princess Sondra Acorn-Prower***
#45
It was a cold, dreary afternoon in early February that found Desirée in
her mother's dojo. She was on her knees in front of a mostly intact training
dummy, sitting back on her heels as she regarded the wood and straw figure
before her. Even though she would much rather be with DJ at the moment, even
if they were doing nothing but research, she somehow felt compelled to be
here, just as she had been for the past week.
She was dressed in a martial arts gi just like her mother wore when she
trained her students, except that the belt around her waist was black and not
red. In her family's line, a red belt signified that you held the ultimate
knowledge, the knowledge created by Tamara Edron, the first of their line.
Bunnie was the only one to ever wear that color belt besides Tamara, and
Desirée had always hoped she prove worthy to wear it herself one day.
That was part of the reason she was here to begin with. Every martial
artist in her family line had created a new technique, something to add to the
general ability and power of her family's style. Her mother had created the
blindfighting technique, one of the most useful but also one of the hardest to
learn. True Desirée had mastered it, along with everything else she had been
taught, but the time had come for her to find her own techniques.
She was on the right track, that much she knew. Some of the stances
and motions she had been experimenting with had made some of the other moves
she knew more powerful or more accurate, but it wasn't the same as creating
her own style. But there was something there just under the surface. A power
that welled up in her only to diffuse every time she made a grab for it. If
she pushed herself a little harder, a little longer, maybe she could finally
take hold of it and make it hers.
But no matter how she tried, she just could not do it. Something was
blocking her, keeping her from it. She didn't know if it was physical,
emotional, mental, or even spiritual. All she knew was that it resisted her
every effort to shatter it. And no matter how she tried to let it go, she was
almost forced by something deep inside her to keep trying.
She sighed heavily and sprang up to her feet, landing in a modified side
stance. She slowly shifted her weight onto her back foot, bending her knees
slightly. She stayed in that stance for a second before rocking forward,
transferring her weight to her front leg and bending that knee even further.
She leapt into the air, spinning her body around while bringing her back foot
up to strike the dummy in its head with a vicious kick. She tried to keep her
momentum going to spin around for another kick, but she was already too low
and was forced to bring her foot back down to land safely.
Desirée stomped on the ground in frustration. She was sure she had
paused at the height of her jump for longer than normal, but it still wasn't
enough. If she could only find some way to lengthen that pause she could not
only get in a second kick but a third. She gathered herself to try again and
was just about to jump when a soft voice with a distinctive accent echoed in
her mind. "Desirée. It is time."
Desirée nearly fell down in surprise when she heard the voice.
"Already?" she wondered out loud, bouncing a bit on the balls of her feet.
"I'd better get Mom so she can take me." She grabbed a towel resting on a
nearby chair and wiped the sweat from her face and ears. She hung the towel
around her neck and walked to the door, making a mental list of all the places
her mother could be at the moment.
As she reached for the door to slide it open, it opened forcefully with
a bang. "Are you ready to go?" Bunnie asked, her sudden appearance startling
her daughter.
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Desirée asked, pressing her
hand to her chest as if she could physically calm her heart's rapid beating.
"Stop being overdramatic," Bunnie snapped. "You've been summoned for
training and this will be your final year, whatever happens."
"My final training," Desirée whispered. "I can't believe I'm already
at that point."
Bunnie nodded curtly, adjusting the red belt she wore around her waist.
"I know I probably don't say this enough but you make me proud Desirée. I
know you're ready for whatever you'll face today."
Desirée smiled softly, a little embarrassed by her mother's praise. "We
need to get the others," she said. "Alicia, Angela, and Nadine have to be
there."
Bunnie had started to nod with Desirée's words but tilted her head
slightly when the third name was mentioned. "I know why Alicia and Angela are
coming," she said slowly, "but why Nadine?"
"She's my friend too," Desirée said defensively. "She was there for at
least part of this, I want her there for the end of it."
"It is your right to have them there if they want to come," Bunnie
allowed. "I'll go get them."
Desirée nodded and straightened her gi. "While you're doing that, I'll
tell DJ that it's that time again so he won't see me tonight."
Bunnie narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "That better be all you're
doing," she said firmly.
Desirée pressed her lips together in a thin, tight line. "You know
better than to even suggest otherwise," she snapped. "I would never bring
dishonor to our family in such a way. If we didn't have to go soon I would
demand that you fight me right now for that slight. And I just might insist
on it when we return."
"If you can pass the training, I'll give it to you," Bunnie promised.
"Now let's get going before we stand around here all day." She turned around
and briskly walked off. Part of her was annoyed at her daughter's attitude,
but a larger part was proud of her for standing up for herself.
It wasn't hard to find Alicia. Now that she was the Crown Princess she
had to undertake the same Princess lessons that she had once been punished
with for her adventure with the Healing Chalice, and at the same accelerated
rate at that. But Rosie wasn't available this time as the former nanny was
needed to train Juice as a Holy One. Another teacher had been found, but the
lessons weren't really going that well.
"You must pay attention Your Highness!" she could hear the teacher
scold from even outside the library door. "How can you expect to run an
entire kingdom if you cannot even remember your etiquette for political
meetings?"
"Aren't you overdramatizing things just a little?" Alicia asked as
Bunnie slipped into the room unnoticed. "The planet won't fall apart just
because I forget one word in a thousand word greeting."
Alicia's teacher sniffed haughtily and looked down her snout at Alicia.
She was a shrew, both literally and figuratively in Alicia's opinion, and had
been one of Rosie's friends when they were young, though at the time the
madame had been younger by about ten years and now looked older by almost
thirty. Alicia found that hard to believe, to be honest, because their
personalities were so different. But she had seen the pictures for herself,
so the fact could not be denied.
"Excuse me Madame Countrement," Bunnie interrupted respectfully before
the aged shrew could get started on another of her long-winded rants, "but
Alicia's presence is required elsewhere."
The madame turned her sharp gaze on Bunnie, who fought not to squirm
under it like some naughty child. "I was not made aware of this," she
insisted.
"It is something that just came up. My daughter would like Alicia's
presence at a very important yearly ceremony."
Alicia had been intrigued when Bunnie had shown up unexpectedly, but now
she was downright giddy. "It's that time again?" she asked excitedly. "I'll
go get changed at once!"
"Sit down!" the madame ordered without even looking at Alicia. "I do
not know what this 'ceremony' business is about, nor do I care. It is
obviously not an official royal event so the princess' attendance is not
required. Your request is denied."
"You don't understand," Bunnie entreated. "This is the most important
thing to my daughter right now."
"But it is not important to the kingdom. Therefore she will not be
going."
"I beg your pardon," Alicia said, slamming her hands down on the table.
"You may be my teacher, but you do not order me around. I am the Crown
Princess, as you are so fond of reminding me. You take orders from me, not
the other way around. I am going and that is final." Madame Countrement
tried to stare Alicia down, tried to make the princess break first. But
Alicia was in full royal form, every inch the princess she was and the queen
she would be. Eventually the aged shrew looked away and sat down. Alicia
smirked with her victory. "I trust this won't happen again."
"No Your Highness," she muttered. Once Alicia and Bunnie left, she
stood with a huff. "A Princess gallivanting around with commoners all over
Almighty knows where. I fear for this kingdom when she takes the throne."
"Is that a fact?"
The madame stiffened as she heard that cold and haughty voice. "Your
Majesty!" she gasped, spinning around and coming face-to-face with the queen.
"I-I didn't know you were there."
"Obviously," Sally said, her voice dripping with anger and contempt as
she floated toward the teacher, her feet just gliding above the floor. "I
would like to know exactly what you mean by that." When the shrew tried to
stammer out an explanation, Sally held up her hand. "Enough! Since you need
some time to gather your thoughts, I will gladly give you that time. I will
expect you to have an answer tomorrow morning and to present it to me and my
husband in the royal chambers. Is that understood?"
The madame nodded once shakily before quickly making an exit. Sally
kept the stern look on her face until she was alone, then the facade cracked.
A laugh bubbled out of her chest and spilled over her lips. "That was so
worth it," she chuckled. "I really should do that more often, though Rosie
might not approve."
Outside the palace, a similar scene was taking place. Alicia and Bunnie
were laughing so hard that they were having trouble walking. "I'll have to
remember to do that more often," Alicia said between giggles. "The look on
her face was priceless!"
"I know it'll be tempting," Bunnie chortled, "but you can't pull rank
like that whenever you want to. It wouldn't be right."
Alicia sobered up as she nodded. "I wouldn't," she whispered. "It's
just that this was important. I'd never abuse my power."
"I know. That's why I know you'll be a great queen. Now come on, we
have to find where Angela and Julie-Su are training."
"Looking for us?" Julie-Su asked, appearing with Angela in a flash of
light.
Bunnie and Alicia jumped, both falling into a fighting stance before
they saw who it was. "You're just as bad as your husband," Bunnie grumped,
smoothing out the wrinkles in her uniform.
Julie-Su flashed her a crooked smile. "Who do you think taught me?"
Alicia rolled her eyes, then her gaze fell on Angela. "Angela?"
Angela had been trying to hide behind Julie-Su, but the Guardian pushed
her out into the open. Angela was dressed in a copy of Julie-Su's battle
suit, but the colors were white and grey instead of green and black. She even
had on the oversize boots, also in white. "She wouldn't train me if I wore
anything else," she explained lamely.
"Which now explains why you never let any of us watch."
"Be that as it may," Bunnie said, a smile playing on her lips, "you both
need to change. Desirée has been summoned. She has requested you both to
accompany her."
Angela nodded, her nervousness melting away slightly. "Are the uniforms
in the dojo?" she asked. Bunnie nodded and looked at Angela as if that was a
dumb question. "All right, all right," Angela grumbled. "We'll meet you
outside the dojo."
"I will take my leave then," Julie-Su said. "I suppose this excepts you
from tonight's lesson, but you'll have to work all the harder tomorrow."
Angela nodded brightly, and everyone could see an unusual eagerness in her
face at the thought. "Until tomorrow then," Julie-Su said, waving as she
disappeared.
"You two go ahead," Bunnie said, walking toward the city proper. "I
have one more girl to get." She could feel their questioning looks but
decided against telling them what they wanted to know.
While they were getting ready, Desirée had been trying to break the news
to DJ. He was hard at work in the Great Library, looking for items that could
be used to empower the Shadow and Life Emeralds. As those were the two
Emeralds that were not elementally based, it was even harder to find anything
that remotely resembled what they were looking for. DJ had looked up at her
entrance with a smile, thinking she'd come to give him a much needed hand.
She knew he'd be disappointed; he always was when she had to leave. It
hurt her to make him feel so bad, so she was trying to put it off as long as
she could. But DJ knew something was wrong and he kept trying to get it out
of her. "DJ," she said finally, "I...have to go." He didn't understand what
she was talking about so she explained further. "It's time; I've been
summoned." DJ nodded in understanding, but it was obvious he was sad.
Desirée brushed a quick kiss across his lips before turning to leave. "I
wish I could bring you with me," she murmured.
"If he is your intended, you may bring him."
Desirée stopped in mid-step as that soft voice echoed through her mind
again. "Oh boy," she whispered, looking back at DJ. "Umm, I was just told
that I should bring you." DJ looked happy for a moment, then it changed to a
look of fear, knowing exactly what it meant. They wanted to meet him just
like they had with Antoine, and if he remembered the story right they were
going to grill him within an inch of his life or sanity, whichever came first.
"Hey DJ," she said, taking him in her arms and looking in his eyes. "I
don't care if they approve of you or not. You're mine, and I'm not letting
you go for anything." DJ smiled, reassured, and they held hands as they
walked out of the Library.
As they prepared to teleport back, Nadine sat quietly on a bench in the
museum dedicated to the Freedom Fighters, spending some time with Amy. Amy
was running around to all the different exhibits, looking at them with a
mixture of awe and reverence. Nadine smiled at the childlike wonder on her
face, remembering full well what it was like to be that way herself when her
mother had brought her here as a child.
She sighed, thinking back to a recent conversation she'd had with her
parents. They had all been gathered at the breakfast table that morning, as
they normally did. But what hadn't been quite normal was the fact that Nadia
had very carefully made everyone's favorite breakfast. She usually only
picked one at a time to make for everyone.
Nadine had just looked at the spread in front of her and gripped the
edge of the table. "OK," she'd said, glancing at her parents worriedly,
"who's dying and how long do they have?"
Nadia and Donovan had looked at her in shock while DJ, who had dug into
his blueberry pancakes, had started choking on it. "No one's dying!" Nadia
had all but screamed, slapping DJ on the back until he could breathe again.
"Well, something's getting ready to happen," Nadine had declared. "You
don't cook all this unless something's going to happen or already did, like
when I got back."
Donovan had rolled his eye as he looked at his wife. "I told you she'd
pick up on it," he'd muttered, trying to eat while he could.
Nadia had huffed in annoyance and turned back to her kids. "OK, I'm not
going to deny that something has happened," she'd said. "But trust me, it's a
good thing. I just hope you'll see it that way."
"Something tells me I'd better wait to eat until you tell us what's
going on," Nadine had returned, setting her fork down.
"Suit yourself." Nadia had taken a couple of deep breaths, then forced
a smile on her face. "I'm not going to beat around the bush, you both deserve
better. I'm pregnant."
The silence that had followed her announcement was deafening. Nadine
was so stunned by it that she really didn't hear anything else that was said.
Even now she didn't even remember getting up and leaving, she just knew she
had. She had gone to the one room that she could always hide in until she was
ready to face the world: Prank Central.
What she hadn't expected was for Darrin to be waiting for her. "Your
mom told me you'd probably show up here," he'd said by way of explanation.
"She told me you'd likely be pissed, but she wouldn't tell me why."
"Oh no, I'm not upset," she growled, slamming the door shut. "Why would
I be upset? After all, I just found out that my mother is having another
child after about fifteen years. No reason to be upset, none at all!" Darrin
had been rather taken aback by the news, she could see that. But he had
somehow kept his composure. Instead of trying to talk to her, which she knew
would have instead pissed her off further, he instead had grabbed her tail and
pulled her into his lap.
She had been so surprised she hadn't been able to react until Darrin had
her legs locked between his and his arms securely around her. And even then,
she hadn't been able to even begin to struggle out before he began to sing to
her. She had frozen as soon as the first note left his lips. When they were
younger, he had written a song that he only sung to her when he needed to calm
her down and no one else could. She had forgotten about it until that exact
moment.
She had tried to resist it, tried to get away, but she hadn't been able
to. Her body had followed the same instincts that it had years ago and calmed
down. By the time he'd been done singing, she had only been able to manage a
slight glare in his direction. "I've always hated how you could do that," she
had muttered, turning her face from him.
Darrin had chuckled lightly and proceeded to talk to her about things.
Because she had been calmed, he'd been able to get her to accept the situation
even though she hadn't really liked it. Even now, after having some time to
think about it, she still was not exactly happy about it. But thinking about
that was for another time. At the moment, she was concerned with finding the
one thing she was here to find.
That was how Bunnie found her, looking at one particular exhibit, or
rather a lack thereof. "What do they mean 'No longer available due to
unexpected difficulties'?" she wondered aloud, staring at the space where the
Freedom Stormer used to sit. "Does it need repair or something?"
"Not exactly," Bunnie said, startling Nadine into a defensive stance.
"Sorry Bunnie," Nadine apologized, dropping her fists. "I guess I'm a
little tense today."
Bunnie nodded, understanding her feelings perfectly. "It's a tense day
all around. But that's what I'm here to talk about."
Nadine held up her hand, gesturing for Bunnie to wait. "Before we get
into that, could you tell me what happened to the Freedom Stormer? My first
chance to see it since I've been back and it's not here."
"Well...." Bunnie drawled, trying to stall for time. When she was
younger, Nadine had loved to hear the story of the Freedom Fighters' time on
Maga, especially the flight in the Freedom Stormer. Every time the story was
told she would stand up and declare that she would one day pilot that plane.
But with what happened to it, that would obviously never happen now. Perhaps
it was best that she didn't find out the truth.
Unfortunately, Nadine correctly interpreted Bunnie's attempt to stall as
a very bad thing. "What happened to my plane?" she asked, pushing her shades
further up on her nose in a perfect imitation of her father.
Bunnie couldn't help but blanch a little. Donovan always intimidated
her when he looked like that, though she'd never admit it to his face, and his
daughter had inherited that ability it seemed. "Well, it got damaged recently
in a battle," she said reluctantly.
"How damaged?" Nadine asked in a frigid voice, her eyes just starting
to glow red.
"Completely melted by a stray Holy Vengeance."
The only thing that prevented Nadine from loosing a blistering volley of
curses was the fact that Amy was in earshot. "I am sure that this is a very
interesting story, one I that will be coaxing out of Angela the next time I
see her."
"That might be sooner than you think," Bunnie said, quickly steering the
conversation toward safer subjects. "Desirée has been summoned for her final
training. She would like for you to be there."
That was able to shock Nadine from her anger. "I don't know if I
should," she hedged. "I don't think it would be right."
Bunnie sighed and sat down on a bench, motioning for Nadine to sit next
to her. "This is a very big honor Nadine," she said firmly. "Desirée would
not have asked you to be there with her unless she thought you were worthy of
it. Would you dishonor her by refusing?"
"Why'd you have to put it like that?" Nadine moaned, turning away. "I
don't even know if Nicholas will allow me to go. If he knew I was here, he'd
probably have a fit. I'm supposed to be figuring out the best way to train
Amy. Ever since she caught him with her prank, he's insisted on training her
to fight."
"Even more reason for you to come, and Amy too," Bunnie said quickly.
At Nadine's confused and disbelieving look, she explained what she meant.
"My family has developed many different martial arts styles. I'm sure we
could figure out the style that would be best suited for her. If you're
worried about Nicholas, I'll tell him. You just get yourself and Amy over to
my dojo and wait for me there."
"I don't know," Nadine started to say, but Bunnie was already sprinting
off. "Looks like we don't have much choice," she muttered, standing up and
walking over to where a portrait was of all the Freedom Fighters just after
Mobotropolis had been restored.
At the palace, Darrin was looking for his father. He had noticed Alicia
and Angela waiting outside his mother's dojo and had asked them what was going
on. The answer hadn't been unexpected, especially when he saw his sister
approaching. It had been a little surprising when he noticed DJ beside her,
but he too had heard of when Antoine had accompanied Bunnie to her training.
He had simply congratulated them and moved on, continuing his search, wanting
to find his father even more now.
He located him the first place he should've looked and the last place he
actually did: standing guard outside the throne room. Even though Sally was
suppsedly busy discussing matters with Alicia's teacher, Sonic was in there
mediating a dispute between two neighbors. "Dad, can we go talk somewhere
please?" Darrin asked, looking at the open doorway.
"You know I cannot leave my post," Antoine said, looking at his son with
narrowed eyes. "There must always be two guards on duty when either the king
or the queen is holding court."
Darrin glanced over at the other guard and sighed. "Can't you call
someone to take your place?" he pleaded.
"What is this about Darrin?" Antoine demanded. "You have never asked
me to shirk my duties before. Why can you not wait until my shift ends in two
hours?"
Darrin looked at the second guard meaningfully, trying to convey to his
father that he didn't want to talk about with others around, but Antoine
either didn't pick up on it or chose to ignore it. "All right," he said
finally, "you win. I want to fulfill the D'Coolette tradition and I need your
permission to do so."
Antoine studied his son long and hard. Darrin did his best not to
squirm under the scrutiny and just barely held on. "Very well," Antoine said,
pulling his communicator from his pocket. "I can have another guard here in
half an hour. You had better be ready to go by then."
"You mean I have to do it today?" Darrin asked, surprised.
Antoine shook his head with a smile. "Remember how long it took me to
complete it? I would not force you to do it in one day, but if you are
serious about this, you must start it today."
Darrin crossed his arms and frowned. "Charleen's going to love that I
have to cancel yet another date."
Antoine clapped his son on his back with a laugh. "Your mother was the
same way when I did this. But it was all worth it when she saw the ring I had
spent that time forging for her. So it has been with every D'Coolette before
you, so it will be with every D'Coolette after you."
Darrin set off in search of Charisma as a different search found its
target. "I should've known he'd be here," Bunnie grumbled, watching as
Nicholas trained himself on the outskirts of Knothole. She still didn't know
how he talked her into helping him set up this training area, or torture area
as Bunnie referred to it, but somehow Nicholas had done it.
She winced as a large log swung down from the trees on some vines,
impacting his shoulder with a sickening crunch. He hadn't even tried to avoid
the blow, choosing instead to throw a shoulderblock into the log, cancelling
out its momentum. He stepped forward a few paces and the scenario was
repeated on his other shoulder. Another few paces and he suffered a third
impact, nearly knocking him off his feet. But somehow he managed to keep
walking until he reached a set of three vines hanging from a nearby tree.
"I wish you wouldn't do this to yourself," Bunnie said as he pulled on
the vines, hauling the logs back up to their starting position. "I still say
this is more self-mutilation than training."
Nicholas said nothing until he felt the mechanisms keeping the logs in
place catch. "You did not come out here to lecture me on my training
methods," he stated, dropping the vines he held. "Say what you must so I can
get back to training."
Bunnie bit down an angry retort at being spoken to so dismissively,
reminding herself that this was just how Nicholas was. "My daughter is being
summoned for her final training," she said. "She has requested Nadine's
presence, but Nadine won't agree to it without your permission."
Nicholas pondered this for a moment as he walked over to three large
stone slabs set up like dominos. He set himself before the first one and drew
his right arm back. "What is the purpose of her presence?" he asked,
throwing a hard punch at the stone in front of him.
Bunnie waited until all three slabs had fallen over like the dominos
they resembled before speaking. "Before Nadine left us, she had begun to
attend the trainings with the other girls. Since she was there for part of
it, my daughter feels that it's only right that Nadine be there for the end of
it."
"Very well," he said after another long moment. "Lily may accompany her
to her training. I trust she will be doing some training there as well?" At
Bunnie's nod, he nodded in return. "I will assume watch of the child until
she returns."
"Actually, I was wondering if Amy could come along as well." Bunnie
noticed how Nicholas' eyes narrowed and hastened to explain. "When I saw
Nadine, she mentioned that Amy is supposed to be getting some training
herself, but that she couldn't figure out how to do it. My family line has
developed many different fighting styles; I'm sure one of them would be a
good fit for Amy."
Nicholas had every intention of refusing her request, but something
stopped him. There was just something about Bunnie that made him want to
trust her, even with Amy's safety. He knew she was a woman of honor and of
nearly unmatched fighting ability, but it was more than that. When he looked
at her, he was reminded, painfully so, of the one who raised him. Perhaps it
was because they were both does, but he somehow sensed it went beyond that.
"Very well," he grumbled, turning away. "But if anything happens to them...."
"It won't," Bunnie promised, answering his unspoken threat. She bowed
to him and turned around, ready to return to the palace, when the voice of her
ancestor spoke in her mind.
"Bring him to me." Bunnie paused at the words, confused. Never had she
heard her ancestor speak so forcefully or angrily. She was about to question
her ancestor for the first time in her life when Bunnie heard her speak once
more. "He is the last living relation to he who violated our sacred rest. He
must make amends."
Bunnie grimaced and turned back to face Nicholas. This was not going to
be pretty. "Nicholas," she said softly, getting his attention, "my ancestor
demands that you accompany us."
"What purpose would I have to appear there? I have no ties to your
daughter."
The pained expression on Bunnie's face became more pronounced. "When I
received my final training, my ancestors' burial ground was defiled by Alexi
Kavenoff," she forced herself to say. "As his relative, they want you to come
and make amends for his actions. You don't have to if you don't want to. I'm
sure I can--"
"I will come."
Bunnie jumped, not having expected Nicholas to speak, especially in such
a cold voice. "Really, you don't have to," she almost pleaded.
"I said I will come," Nicholas said in that same voice. His expression
had gone completely emotionless; it was like looking at a statue. But Bunnie
could catch just the hint of pain and sadness in his eyes before he shut it
away. "Where must we go?"
"Follow me," Bunnie said, calmly leading him back toward Mobotropolis.
Inside though, her thoughts were as troubled as they had ever been. It wasn't
right to make Nicholas pay for the crimes of his ancestor, especially when
said ancestor was possessed by the Kavenoff spirit. Her own ancestors should
know that! There had to be another reason for their request, something she
wasn't seeing. But what was it?
She wasn't the only one unhappy at recent developments. Charisma, in
her guise as Charleen, was fuming at Darrin's attempts to cancel their date.
It had been a hard couple of days for her at the castle and she could've
really used the relaxation. Maxwell was in such a bad mood that not even
Father would go near him. Krella was less irritable but no more approachable.
Apparently finding Shadow and Life artifacts wasn't going to be as easy as she
thought.
"Charleen?" Darrin prodded timidly, trying not to anger her further,
"I hope you don't hate me for this."
She sighed, shaking her head with a soft smile. Even when he wasn't
trying to, Darrin could always soothe her anger. "Darrin, I'd have to be
pretty shallow to hate you right now," she said, cupping his cheek with her
hand. "Am I annoyed, ticked, and otherwise unhappy? Yes. But I could never
hate you."
Darrin smiled with relief, catching her hand in his own and kissing the
palm gently. "I'm glad to hear that."
Charisma closed her eyes, just letting herself enjoy the feel of Darrin
holding her hand. She didn't want to speak for fear of destroying the mood,
but her curiosity eventually won out. "Is this Chosen One business again?"
Darrin's smile turned into a bit of a frown. "Not this time. It's
actually a personal matter that I have to take care of with my dad. Don't ask
me anything more because I could get in trouble."
"Honor thing?" she asked, arching one eyebrow.
"Honor thing," Darrin confirmed. "But also this is the only time I can
really do it. All of the others are either out of the palace or soon will be.
My sister has to go for special training and she's taking the other girls with
her and Juice is over at Sanctuary training under Rosie to learn to be a Holy
One."
Charisma's green eyes glittered slightly, but Darrin thought it was from
amusement. Juice had had to spend nearly a week in bed after his wrestling
match with Nicholas, so sore and exhausted was he. He'd tried to end it
quickly by focusing on Nicholas' knee, but Nicholas had weathered the early
storm and started putting a hurting on the former prince. A lucky break
allowed Juice to flip out of an attempted German Suplex and chop block the
injured knee.
Then Juice had made the mistake that he had tried to hard to avoid. He
had thought that the knee was sufficiently injured to force a submission with
one of his mother's favorite holds: the figure-four leglock. But Nicholas had
been far stronger than Juice had reckoned and had actually been able to power
out of it using only his legs. A frightened Juice had tried to back away, but
Nicholas had just grabbed him under his jaw in a Tongan Death Grip and lifted
him completely off the mat. He might have been going for a chokeslam, but
the pain had made Juice quickly tap out before it went any further.
"If it's really that important, I'd better not delay you," Charisma
said, brushing her lips against his in a soft kiss. "At least I know I'll be
kept busy today. My aunt wants to hold a yard sale and wants me to help drag
things from the attic. I was hoping I had a legitimate reason to avoid it
though. You had better make it up to me."
Darrin nodded and kissed her cheek before walking away. "Trust me my
love," he whispered over his shoulder. "Once I am done I will happily spend
the rest of my life making up with you."
Charisma walked down the hallway away from Darrin, still a little upset
but not nearly as much. The truth was that when she heard that all of the
Chosen Ones would be out of the palace and unavailable, she would've been
forced to cancel anyway. This was exactly the type of news that Father had
been waiting for, what he needed to make a play for one of the Fire artifacts.
She didn't particularly care for his desires anymore, but if word got back to
him about this missed opportunity, her life was just about forfeit.
As she passed an open doorway, she heard three or four loud voices
arguing. "I'm telling you it won't work!" Lissette insisted. "We can't
integrate it that way."
"Then you need to find a way to fix it," Knuckles grumbled. "The
problem is obviously with your technology."
"I resent that," Donovan chimed in. "It's your magic that's making our
technology short circuit. It's so bad I can't even get a reliable signal for
the surveillance cameras down there."
"Calm down, all of you," Tanis said sharply, trying to restore order.
"We're not getting anything done by arguing, certainly not making the Fire
artifacts more secure. Unless we can find a way to compromise, we might as
well just hand them over to Balthos."
"You're in a good mood," Knuckles observed sarcastically as the others
wondered at the use of the name. "What's going on with you?"
Tanis narrowed his eyes at the Guardian but said nothing. The truth was
that he'd been having a rough time of things lately. After the Challenge of
Succession had been settled, Tanis had thought things might return to some
semblance of normalcy. Unfortunately, he had forgotten about Iridal's and
Tanak's final scrolls and what they represented. Rosie, on the other hand,
had not.
That night, Angela had confronted him on his way to bed with the scrolls
in hand, demanding an answer. When he didn't have one ready, she had one for
him. "You weren't even thinking of your duty as a Holy One," she had accused
him. "You were being my father, wanting to keep your little girl here. You
knew that if I'd seen this I would have chosen Juice over my duties and would
have been his queen. All this could have been avoided if you had done what
you were supposed to!"
Tanis hadn't been able to look his daughter in his eye. He'd tried to
calm her, but her powers had been out of control, surrounding her like blue
fire. He hadn't been able to get close, burning himself when he'd tried. She
had stormed off, brushing aside even her mother in her anger.
Tanis sighed, fully conscious of the gazes on him. Though Angela's
anger had faded against her mother, it still simmered under the surface with
regards to him. Even Rosie was upset at him, basically banishing him from
their bed until he made up with their daughter. But this really wasn't the
time to deal with this; he had to get focused. "Let's not worry about that
now," he insisted. "Once we find a way to harmonize our efforts, nothing and
no one will be able to enter the vault without our permission. That has to be
our top priority."
Charisma gasped as she realized what they were talking about. She
hurried away before they could realize she was there and had to force herself
to not run and look suspicious. Forget just about forfeit, if he found out
she knew about this and didn't tell him, he would kill her, revive her, and
then kill her again. Repeatedly and painfully.
By the dojo, Alicia was pacing back and forth agitatedly. Angela, by
contrast, was just sitting there with a huge smile on her face. Nadine was
off by herself, trying to remain a little distant from the others, but Amy was
following along behind Alicia like it was some sort of game. This had been
going on since Desirée had brought DJ with her, and Desirée was quite honestly
getting annoyed. She held out for about ten more minutes before her patience
reached its limit. "What is going on between you two?" she demanded, making
DJ and Amy jump from her unexpected outburst.
Alicia scowled at a still grinning Angela. "Angela reminded me of a bet
we made while we were younger, that's all," Alicia grumbled.
"Reminded you?" Angela scoffed. "Ha! Trust me, if you had won, you
wouldn't have 'forgotten' in the least."
Desirée frowned at the light blush that touched Alicia's cheeks. "Do
the two of you want to clue me in on what this bet was, or do I have to guess
it?"
"I said that you would have to bring DJ with you by the time your
training was over," Angela said, her smile growing wider. "Alicia said you
wouldn't. I won."
Desirée's eyebrows drew together. "And what exactly did you win?"
"When we get back I get to style her hair in any manner I choose."
Alicia, Desirée, and even Nadine all flinched upon hearing that. As a
kid, Angela had always wanted to see Alicia with short hair. Alicia had never
had short hair since she was a baby, when it was spiky like her father's. It
wasn't hard to imagine what Angela would do with this opportunity.
"Are you all ready?" Bunnie asked as she walked around the corner with
Nicholas.
"What's he doing here?" Nadine asked, the first words she'd spoken
since she and Amy had arrived.
"I was told to bring him, don't ask why," Bunnie commanded. She could
see that everyone wanted to say something so she walked over to the dojo's
door and slid it open. "Let's go, we've wasted enough time here." She strode
over to the corner of the room and rapped sharply on the ground three times.
The floor rose up, revealing the tunnel that would take them all to the burial
ground of her ancestors.
It was while they were walking that tunnel that Charisma provided her
report to the Unholy One. "So you see Father," she concluded from where she
kneeled in front of him, "this may be our final opportunity to gain one of the
Fire artifacts."
"You have done well Charisma," the Unholy One said, motioning for her to
rise. "Now go and find Destín. Tell her what you have told me and that she
must obtain one of the Fire artifacts today...or die trying."
A chill ran through Charisma's body at the tone in his voice. "At once
Father," she whispered, backing out of the room as quickly as she could.
The Unholy One waited until she had left before speaking again. "Tanin!
Bring me Maxwell."
Tanin stepped forward out of the shadows, a peculiar expression on his
face. It was of distaste, fear, and resignment all in one. "As you wish
Father," he said quietly. He walked out of the room and headed toward the
one staircase that would lead him where he wanted to go.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Krella said as he took the first
step down the staircase. "You know the mood he's in right now."
"I know," Tanin agreed, taking in Krella's appearance. She was pushing
herself again, trying to find how to recharge the final two Emeralds. She was
obviously tired, stray strands of her hair had escaped her bun and she made no
move to smooth them back. Her eyes kept going slightly glassy as if she were
falling asleep on her feet. He would have to deal with her, but first he had
something else to do. "Father is asking for Maxwell. I can't tell him no,
despite the mood Maxwell is in."
"Remember to protect yourself then," Krella said, shuffling off to the
castle's library. "No sense having him kill you."
"Thanks a lot," he muttered dryly, continuing down the stairs. Being an
actual spirit, the Kavenoff spirit that inhabited Maxwell's body was more in
tune with the spiritual world than anyone else. So every year that he felt a
certain group of spirits becoming active, he fell into a foul mood. No one
dared to go near him at this time because he would attack anyone and everyone,
even Father at one time. Father had quickly corrected that behavior, but it
was still dangerous for anyone else to approach him.
Tanin put a shield up as he neared the door at the bottom of the stairs.
This was the absolute lowest point of the castle, the darkest, dankest room of
the entire structure. It was only in use by Maxwell when he got like this,
all other times it remained locked and empty. Tanin opened the door
carefully, pouring extra energy into the shield.
It was good that he had as a blast of flame shot out of the door as soon
as it was opened. "Leave me be!" Maxwell screamed.
"Maxwell!" Tanin said with as much authority as he could. "Father
wishes to see you immediately." The flames stopped at those words, nearly
making Tanin fall forward at the unexpected reprieve. He barely managed to
get his balance and get out of the way before Maxwell stormed past him and up
the staircase, swinging his runesword in every direction and leaving scorch
marks in the stone. "I hope you know what you're doing Father," Tanin prayed,
calling up his magic to heal the marks left behind by Maxwell's anger.
Maxwell stormed through the castle, heading straight for the Unholy
One's throne room. It was only by luck that he didn't run into any of the
other Fallen Ones, a situation that would have quickly turned deadly. He
slashed open the doors before him and stomped in front of the Unholy One,
waiting to hear what he had to say.
The Unholy One was angered by the Kavenoff's lack of respect, but
decided to let it slide for a change. "I need you to perform a very specific
favor," he said, causing the rat's lips to twist into a sneer. "The time has
come to set right a great wrong done to you on this day." It took only a
moment for the Kavenoff to understand what had been requested of him, and he
threw back his head and loosed a laugh so chilling and bloodthirsty that even
the Unholy One felt unnerved by it.
Far away from this realm of darkness, a place of light was preparing to
receive visitors. A slab of ground lifted, pushed up from underneath by
Bunnie. "We are here," she whispered, standing aside and motioning the others
through.
Desirée was next to emerge from the tunnel. A peaceful, happy look had
come over her face. Her eyes glimmered, reflecting the colors of the twilight
sky. She looked completely at ease and content. "I am home," she whispered.
"I know the feeling," Bunnie murmured, placing a hand on her daughter's
shoulder. Together they walked down a path that you wouldn't notice if you
didn't know what to look for.
"Home?" Amy asked as the rest of the group followed.
"It's a long explanation," Angela whispered, ruffling her hair quills
with a smile. "We'll tell you when we get back."
After a moment, they approached a ring of eleven stones placed in the
ground at even intervals. Amy shivered as she saw them, edging behind
Nicholas slightly. They looked like headstones, and that scared her.
Bunnie and Desirée approached the nearest one and kneeled down in front
of it. "Honored Ancestor," they said respectfully, "we have come."
A ghostly form emerged from the stone. Those who had seen this many
times before merely smiled and bowed their heads. DJ took a step back at
out of surprise, not fear. Nicholas was unmoved, as the others had expected.
Amy hid even further behind Nicholas and Nadine joined her, to some surprise.
As the ghost took solid form, it was revealed to be a rabbit that looked
almost exactly like Bunnie. The only obvious differences were that her eyes
were black and were slightly slanted. "Welcome Bunnie," she said, her accent
so much different than Bunnie's, more resembling Donovan's. "Welcome Desirée.
I am Tamara Edron, the first of our line, and I welcome you to our sacred
land."
"It is an honor and a privilege to be here," Bunnie and her daughter
said, bowing.
Tamara bowed in return, then looked around at the group gathered. "It
is good to see you both back here for this occasion," she said, inclining her
head toward Angela and Alicia.
"We are honored to attend such an important event," they chorused,
bowing in respect.
Tamara smiled at them, then turned to look at DJ. "So this must be the
famous DJ we've heard so much about," she said, a wry twist to her lips.
DJ's eyes bugged out as Desirée blushed hotly. "You have?" he asked,
his voice no higher than a whisper.
"Indeed we have," Tamara confirmed, an eyebrow arching ever so slightly.
"However, it is not my place to say anything. That will come from others."
Her gaze moved on until it settled on Nicholas. Her eyes narrowed sharply for
a second before relaxing. "I sense the presence of one who has not graced our
sacred ground in many a year," she whispered, staring at the tip of a grey
tail that was visible from behind Nicholas.
"That would be her!" another spirit said, grabbing hold of Nadine's
tail and pulling her out into the open.
"Mother!" Bunnie yelled, crossing her arms in a huff. "Leave the poor
girl alone!"
Penelope crossed her arms and floated over to stand in front of Bunnie.
"Don't you tell your mother what to do," she grumped, trying to stare Bunnie
down. "I may be dead, but I'm still your mother!"
Bunnie's expression softened as she looked upon the spirit of her
mother. Only a few years after the end of Robotnik's reign, Penelope Rabbot
had come down with a virus that resisted all medicine and magic that was used
against it. The illness was swift and harsh, claiming Penelope in a matter of
weeks. It had been one of the saddest days of Bunnie's life, but one that had
not been totally unexpected. It was rare for a female of her line to live
much beyond forty, some disease or disaster always seemed to find them. If
the pattern held true, she herself had only a few more years before she
would....
"Don't think about it," Penelope whispered, hugging her daughter close.
"You were able to complete Tamara's training. If that doesn't prove you're
strong enough to break the family's curse, I don't know what is."
"Thanks Mom," Bunnie murmured, wiping away her tears. "How'd you know
I was thinking about that anyway?"
"You always get the same look in your eyes. That...and a wrinkle forms
right in the center of your forehead."
While mother and daughter had been arguing, Nadine had tried to hide
behind Nicholas again. But Rhonda, Bunnie's grandmother and Desirée's great
grandmother, had stepped around behind her and was right in her way.
"Phooey," she sighed.
"It is good to see you back Nadine," Tamara said softly. "You have been
much missed. We barely got to meet you before you were taken from us."
"Yeah," Nadine said reluctantly, "well I'm not the same girl I was back
then. In fact, I'm not even sure I should be here with how much I've changed
since then."
Penelope floated over and took Nadine's hands in hers, her conversation
with Bunnie over. "Once welcomed, always welcomed," she said, squeezing
Nadine's hands reassuringly. "Now come, I want to hear all about what has
happened to you."
As Nadine was unwillingly dragged away, Rhonda looked at the suspicious
bulge in the back of Nicholas' cloak. She moved the cloak away to reveal a
shivering pink hedgehog. "Well hello there," she said kindly. Amy tried to
burrow deeper into Nicholas' cloak, a natural reflex to hide from a ghost.
But as Rhonda continued to talk to her, calmly and gently, the young girl's
fear faded away and she was able to actually look at Rhonda. "There now,
aren't you a pretty girl?"
Amy blushed and giggled a bit, turning her face away in embarrassment
instead of fear. "You...you think so?" she asked nervously.
"I know so," Rhonda answered with a smile. "What's your name?"
"Amy," she said brightly.
"Amy. A cute name for a cute girl. Would you like to keep me company?
Maybe play some games with me?"
"Like what?" Amy asked, genuinely curious.
Rhonda put her hand behind her back and pulled out a brightly colored
ball. "How about catch?"
"Sure!" Amy chirped, bouncing out from behind Nicholas' cloak, her fear
completely forgotten.
Rhonda led Amy off to the side, making sure not to let her turn around.
Tamara and Nicholas were currently locked in a staring contest and Rhonda
swore she could see the fire flashing between their eyes. Never had she seen
Tamara so angry, not in all the years she had known her. And from the way the
other spirits were slowly backing up, neither had anyone else.
Tamara held Nicholas' stare for a long while before she spoke. "So it
has come to this," she said in a low, dangerous voice, her lip curled in
distaste. "The grandson of the Demon re--"
"I am the grandson of the one the Demon possessed," Nicholas interrupted
calmly. "Not the Demon itself."
"Perhaps," Tamara allowed, "but possessed or not, your grandfather
caused great damage to this site once. I have requested your presence here
that you might make amends. Will you do so?"
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't intend to. What must I do?"
Tamara pointed to a small area cleared of all vegetation, set slightly
apart from the ring of headstones. "You will dig a grave," she pronounced,
"as long and as deep as you are tall."
"As long as the grave is not my own," Nicholas insisted, "nor any I am
charged to protect."
"You have my word that it is not," Tamara said, bowing to him slightly
but not taking her eyes off of him.
Nicholas took off his cloak, not taking his eyes off Tamara until it hit
the ground. Without a word, he walked over to the indicated site, picked up a
shovel that was leaning against the nearest tree, and began to dig. After a
moment, he looked over to where Nadine and Penelope were talking. "Lily," he
said sharply, "do not forget why the child is here."
Penelope arched an eyebrow at Nadine's sigh. She had already heard that
Nadine also was called Lily, so that didn't surprise her. "What is he talking
about?" she asked.
"It's time to raise Amy's level of training," Nadine admitted.
"Unfortunately, I have no idea how. And I'm scared Nicholas would kill the
poor girl with his idea of training."
"Don't you worry about that," Penelope said with a smile. "You see how
she's playing with Momma?"
Nadine looked over to where Amy and Rhonda were playing catch and
nodded. "Yes," she said slowly, drawing the word out a little.
Penelope chuckled under her breath. "I remember when Momma played with
me like that. Right before she started training me. See, the 'games' are
really to test what abilities she has and what potential she might have. By
the time they're done, she'll be able to tell you exactly what to train her in
and how to do it."
Nadine glanced over at Nicholas. He paused for just a moment on hearing
Penelope's explanation before continuing to dig. She just hung her head,
knowing what was going through Nicholas' mind and feeling the stab of pain
herself. Victoria had used games to train Amy while she was alive. Seeing
Rhonda using the same principle, though on a whole other level, made her miss
Victoria all the more.
Tamara watched Nicholas until he had fully marked the area of the grave
he was going to dig. "Desirée," she said abruptly, "it is time for your
training to commence. Usako!"
"Here Mother," another spirit said, coming to kneel before Tamara.
"Watch him," Tamara ordered. "Make sure he does what he has agreed to.
And once he does, you know what to do."
"As you wish," Usako said, bowing her head before sitting down on her
heels to watch Nicholas. Tamara nodded at her daughter, then she turned to
walk down a path that no one had seen before. Desirée followed quickly,
waving a quick goodbye to the others.
Angela and Alicia looked around after they left, trying to decide what
to do. Finding nothing, they agreed on a friendly spar to work on their own
abilities. DJ sat down on a nearby bench, allowing himself to take in all
that he could see. Still, he was surprised when he felt a hand on his
shoulder. Seven spirits, the third through the ninth generations of this
line, were all standing behind him, a slightly evil look on their faces. He
swallowed nervously, reminded of the stories Antoine had told about being
grilled by the spirits. But it was something that had to be endured and he
would not run from it, even if that were an option.
Inside the city of Mobotropolis, far away from what was going on here,
Charlotte Oster decided to spend her free time dusting her house. Of course,
that wasn't really her name, nor was it really her house. But she had nothing
better to do, and she actually liked to clean. Masquerading as a regular
Mobian for so long had caused her to settle down a little and appreciate what
pleasures a simple life could bring.
She heard a door open and slam shut with a hollow sound. Only one door
could make that sound which is exactly why Charisma knew never to slam it.
Apparently she needed a little reminder of that fact, or something had
happened where she really didn't care. Either way, Charlotte was going to
give her a good talking to. She even had her mouth open for when she came
around the corner, but the reprimand she had ready was never uttered. What
came out of her mouth instead was, "You're not Charisma."
"And you're perceptive," Destín grumbled through a yawn.
"When I agreed to this, I insisted that only Charisma use that door,"
Charlotte said, her eyes becoming pools of darkness. "I was not playing
gatekeeper for all of you. Part of what makes this so believable is--"
"Yeah yeah," Destín cut her off. "If you have a problem, take it up
with Father. Right now, I've got a job to do and the longer you keep me from
it, the longer you keep me from sleeping. Understand?"
Charlotte all but growled as she watched Destín slink off, through the
window at that. She clenched her left fist, black fire springing to life
around it as two bumps appeared under the back of the simple dress she was
wearing. Through the force of her will alone, she managed to extinguish the
fire and keep her wings from exploding from her back. After she calmed down,
she grabbed a hat and placed it on her head. She hoped her neighbor, a
middle-aged fennec fox, was up to some company. He made the best tea, and
she thought his ears were just so cute! Exactly what was needed after the
day she was having.
As she set out on her walk, another walk was coming to an end. Tamara
and Desirée had been making small talk as they journeyed through the forest.
Tamara had inquired as to how the battle against the Fallen Ones was going and
how the rest of her life had been. Desirée answered every question happily, a
peaceful expression on her face.
After one such question Tamara stopped and turned around, her face
suddenly serious. "Desirée, you have made me very proud," she said. "All of
us here are proud of you. But the test I must put you through now will be
harder than all of the tests before. I won't lie to you, this test may prove
fatal."
"Fatal?" Desirée asked, surprised. "Mom never said anything about it
being fatal."
"She was not allowed to," Tamara said. "There is no shame if you decide
to turn back now. You are only the second of our line to come this far save
me. But know that once you make your decision, you cannot turn back."
"Wait wait wait," Desirée said quickly, waving her hands. "Why wasn't
Mom allowed to tell me? Or one of the others?"
"None of the others know, and I feared they or your DJ might influence
your decision in some way. The choice must be yours alone if it is to be the
right one."
Desirée sat down so hard she hurt her backside. "If I choose to go on
and I pass these tests, what will I learn?"
Tamara sat down next to her descendant, but did so far more gracefully.
"The teachings you may learn this day are extremely dangerous, not only to an
opponent, but to you if you misuse them. I will teach you how to paralyze,
cripple, and even kill with a single blow or touch."
"Kill?" Desirée whispered. "Could I really kill someone?"
"I thought the same once. Then came a day when the lives of my husband
and daughter were threatened. I didn't care about myself, but I could not
allow them to die. But that story will keep for another time.
"Desirée, it will take the utmost discipline to not only know these
techniques, but to know when to use them. If you don't think you can handle
the responsibility, I'd understand."
Desirée bowed her head in thought. "Some choice," he muttered. "I can
either risk my life to learn how to kill another or return home and always
wonder if I could have." She sighed deeply and looked up at her ancestor.
"I have to go on. I have to know if I could learn them. If I pass your test,
I can decide whether or not I actually want to."
Tamara smiled, placing her hand on Desirée's shoulder. "You are truly
your mother's daughter," she said with a nod. "I asked this same question of
her when she came for her training, and she gave me much the same answer. It
was a wise answer then, and it is still wise now. In so answering, you have
passed the first part of my test. Come Desirée, let us see if my faith in you
is justified."
Desirée stood and bowed. "I will do my best to see that it is."
Tamara stood and bowed in return, disappearing as she straightened up.
"I tested your mother for the discipline of her body, I will test you in the
discipline of your spirit. I will be hiding somewhere in this forest. To
find me, you must focus only on my spirit and block out everything else.
There will be some 'things' that interfere which you must avoid. You have
thirty minutes, and not a second more. If you have not found me after thirty
minutes, your body will drop dead where you stand."
Desirée's mouth dropped open as Tamara fully vanished. "Great," she
muttered, sitting back down and crossing her legs. She closed her eyes and
opened her mind, trying to get a feel for where Tamara might be. She didn't
know what she was doing or even if she was doing it right. It felt like it
had back in her mother's dojo when she was trying to find her fighting style.
It seemed like there was something right on the edge of her awareness, if only
she could grasp it.
Back at the graveyard, Nicholas was still digging the grave that Tamara
had requested of him. He was about halfway done, and the warm air of the
forest was making his outfit stick uncomfortably to his fur. Without a
thought to his surroundings or his company, he pulled off his shirt and tossed
it aside. He took a moment to let a breeze ruffle through his sweaty fur
before picking up the shovel and continuing his work and focusing only on
that.
But as focused as he was on his work, his actions caused others to lose
theirs. Alicia was in another spar with Angela and was hard pressed to keep
from getting hit. The teenage mouse was attacking with a surprising ferocity,
almost as if she was facing a Fallen One and not one of her closest friends.
The worst thing that could happen to her was to lose her concentration. But
when she noticed Nicholas' shirtless form, she stared at it for just one
second. And that was one second too long.
The next thing she knew she was flying through the air, twisting wildly
until she crashed against a tree, pain blossoming through her face. "Alicia!"
Angela cried, horrified at what she had done. She ran over and helped the
princess into a sitting position to better heal her broken jaw. "What
happened? You should've been able to see that blow coming."
Alicia tried to focus her gaze on Angela, but both the blow and impact
with the tree had left her concussed. "What were you doing throwing a blow
like that?" she demanded after her jaw was healed and Angela went to work on
her aching head. "Have you forgotten what 'friendly spar' means?"
"That's what I'm wondering," Bunnie said sternly, making Angela flinch.
"What were you thinking Angela? I'm surprised Alicia is even conscious after
a kick like that. You could have permanently injured her! If you had landed
that kick right her skull could be crushed right now!"
"Been there," Nadine muttered from where she sat watching Amy play and
train.
"Done that," Nicholas added without breaking his rhythm.
"I know!" Angela yelled, tears streaming down her face as she finished
healing Alicia. "I'm sorry, all right? I'm so, so sorry," she whispered,
breaking down into sobs.
Bunnie's maternal side kicked in and she gathered Angela into a hug,
rocking her as she cried. That leaping double inside crescent kick was one of
the most powerful kicks she knew, capable of knocking an opponent out even if
it hit a glancing blow. She thought Angela, out of everyone, could be trusted
with it. But now she was starting to regret that decision.
"Angela?" Alicia asked, scooting over slowly and placing her hand on
her friend's shoulder. "What did I do to make you so angry? Whatever it is,
believe me I apologize."
"You didn't do anything," Angela whispered through her tears. "I'm not
angry at you Alicia. If anything, I'm angry at my father."
"Tanis?" Bunnie asked, shocked. "How could he make anyone angry?"
Angela's face darkened slightly as she related what the scrolls of
Iridal Shi-rat and Tanak' Acorn had revealed. Bunnie was both shocked and
dismayed at the actions of Tanis, but Alicia was livid. "You mean all of that
could have been avoided if he had told you about the scrolls?" she whispered,
her voice shaking with anger.
"Exactly," Angela spat.
"And the line of the Shi-rat would have ended," Bunnie said quietly. "I
know very well you would have chosen to be Juice's queen. With everything
going on right now, losing your abilities as a Holy One, even one in training,
would probably make us lose the war. I'm not excusing or condoning his
actions so don't think I am. But is your happiness worth the welfare of
Mobius?"
She could see the anger draining out of them as they thought about it,
and the two girls sighed in unison. "The ends don't justify the means,"
Angela muttered but had no real heat in her voice.
"No they don't," Bunnie agreed, "and you have every right to be angry.
But next time, don't take it out on your sparring partner, OK?"
"OK," Angela whispered, a small smile on her lips. "But I'm still
wondering what distracted Alicia. As angry as I was, she should've been able
to block that blow." She noticed Alicia's eyes stray off and a blush dust her
cheeks. She looked in that direction and her breath caught in her throat.
"Oh my," she whispered, feeling her own face heat up as she watched Nicholas
work.
"My stars," Bunnie said, fanning herself with her hand as she admired
Nicholas' muscles move under his fur. "My stars indeed."
Both Alicia and Angela turned to look at her in surprise. "Hey, what
are you looking for?" Alicia demanded. "You have a husband."
Bunnie smirked but didn't take her eyes off the working Nicholas.
"Alicia-gal, I may be married, but I'm not dead. And you'd have to be dead to
not appreciate this view."
"I am dead," Usako pointed out, a bit of drool dripping down her ghostly
chin as she stared, "and believe you me, I want to do a whole lot more than
just look."
Nadine growled under her breath as she saw the others fawn all over
Nicholas' physique. But she knew she really had nothing to say about it. As
much as she wanted to be with Nicholas she knew it to be a hopeless cause.
If she pursued him, she'd probably just push him away. If she didn't, someone
like Kelly Min could snatch him up right under her nose. She was damned if
she did, damned if she didn't.
Penelope saw the look on Nadine's face and sighed. "You know Nadine,"
she said conversationally, "I've always believed that it was better to try and
fail than to lose the opportunity to try at all." Nadine looked a little
surprised by her words and by how easily she was read, but said nothing more
and focused her attention onto Amy, thoroughly unhappy with her situation.
She wasn't the only one. DJ was being bombarded left and right by
questions about his relationship with Desirée. He kept his answers as short
as possible, but they just kept coming. When he got back to the palace, if he
survived this, he was going to find Antoine and probably compare stories about
nosy and prying ghosts.
At the palace, Destín was just waiting for her opportunity to sneak
inside. She had managed to make her way to her destination through the
backstreets and alleyways of Mobotropolis fairly easily. The guards were
good; there wasn't much opportunity for her. But she had been trained to work
with even less than what she was given here. She slipped behind a guard as he
walked just one step away from the wall and into the palace proper.
"I hope Father is done with Max," she muttered to herself, wending
through the maze of hallways, looking for where the vault was. "If that
Shi-rat returns before I'm finished, I'm as good as done."
Unknown to her, Max was standing at the edge of the forest where the
sacred burial ground rested, gripping his runesword anxiously. The last time
he had stepped foot in here, he had been sensed almost immediately. But this
time...this time Father had cloaked his chaotic nature from their senses. Not
even a Shi-rat could notice him for the time being. If all went well, he
would finally have his revenge and bring misery to the one place that has
eluded his grasp for so long.
Deep within the forest, Desirée felt a shudder run through her body.
There was...something there. Something very ancient, something very evil. It
made her very soul cringe and her blood freeze. All of her instincts screamed
at her to find this thing and banish it from the land. But first she had
other business to take care of.
In the face of such overwhelming despair and misery, it became that much
easier to focus on the light and warmth that Tamara's spirit emanated. She
moved quickly through the forest, avoiding any area that didn't set well with
her, forced into a more circuitous and less direct route. Time was of the
essence, but she'd be further delayed by getting into a conflict.
By the time she found and reached Tamara, Desirée had lost track of the
time. And from the look on her ancestor's face, the news wasn't good. "I
failed didn't I?" she asked, her ears drooping low.
Tamara regarded Desirée quietly for a long moment before shaking her
head. "You made it," she said, "but you didn't have much time left, less than
ten seconds in fact. I'm not exactly confident about your chances on the next
test."
Desirée was chastened by her ancestor's rebuke but also defiant in the
face of it. "Ten seconds or one second, it doesn't matter. I passed this
test and I'm going to pass the next one too."
"You can still back out you know. But this is your last chance to do
so."
Desirée shook her head almost before she was finished speaking. "I
can't stop now," she insisted. "If I go home now, I'll never be able to look
at myself in the mirror again. For my own sense of worth I have to see this
through to the end."
"Even though you might die?"
"Better to die now in honorable combat than to die inside from cowering
in fear."
Tamara's harsh look faded away into a fond smile. "Spoken like a true
martial artist," she whispered with pride. "Now see your final challenge."
Desirée turned to look and saw ten creatures emerge from the forest.
"Creatures" seemed to be the only way to describe the misshapen monstrosities
that approached her. They were all a horrible shade of green and seemed to
have more limbs than was strictly necessary. Any limb that didn't serve as a
leg was tipped in razor sharp claws that oozed purple fluid. If she didn't
know any better, she would've sworn these things had walked out of some
demented nightmare. "What...what are they?"
"Your mother had to fight those who had perished trying to defile the
sanctity of this forest. You have to fight the creatures I drove off to
create this place."
"Don't I feel special?" Desirée grumbled. "How do I beat them?"
"Look closely," Tamara urged, walking up behind her. "You will find
there is something odd about them."
"If you say so," Desirée muttered, fighting down her revulsion. She
closed her eyes and cleared her mind before opening them again. She didn't
notice anything at first, much to her annoyance. But after a moment she
started to see a pinkish haze surrounding each one. "What the...?"
Tamara smiled again, pleased. "That aura you see is my power protecting
and controlling them," she explained. "But my power does not cover the entire
body. Find the weak spot and strike it to defeat them. You may strike as
many times as you like, but every blow that does not strike a vital point will
only make the creature fight harder against you. And since each one you fight
will get progressively stronger anyway...."
"I see." Desirée sighed and fell into a fighting stance, beckoning the
first one forward. It approached with a slow, ambling gait, weaving almost
drunkenly side to side. As it got closer to her, she noticed that almost its
entire chest was missing protection. She leapt forward with a cry and buried
her foot into its chest. She had expected it to fly back or something, but
all it did was dissolve into dust. She hid her surprise by falling back into
her stance and calling for the next one to begin.
The next one approached, more cautiously this time. But Desirée had
already located its weak point: what passed for its right thigh. This time
she chopped at it and the creature fell away into dust like the one before it.
"This will be easy," she thought, turning to face the third. And it was...for
two more opponents.
The fifth one, however, had other plans. Just as Desirée had maneuvered
around to strike its unprotected back, it whirled around and took her punch in
its chest. Its eyes practically glowed as intelligence flared to life within
its brain. Desirée jumped back just in time to avoid being disemboweled, but
was not fast enough to dodge the spray of liquid that splashed on the back of
her hand.
Desirée screamed in pain as her hand seemed to catch on fire. She could
still move her hand, but she couldn't feel it at all. If she wasn't seeing it
move, she would've thought it was just hanging limply. "I suppose I should
have mentioned the poison," Tamara said nonchalantly.
"You think?" Desirée asked sarcastically, diving under another swipe of
its claws. She stayed defensive, waiting for the pain in her hand to die
down. It eventually did, but her hand remained numb and unfeeling. She could
use it to block, but trying to land a precise blow with it was iffy at best.
She'd have to rely on her off hand and her feet. She ran forward and slid
underneath its legs, springing forward with a kick before it could turn
around.
She took a moment to catch her breath, flexing her hand in a vain
attempt to get feeling back into it. But the next enemy wasn't waiting for
her to recover. It ran forward, slashing furiously at her with its claws.
Desirée rolled forward to avoid the strikes and jumped up, aiming a thrust
kick at its unprotected neck. The kick was aimed true, no chance for the
creature to block it, but another creature interposed itself, taking the blow
on its arm. "What the hell?" Desirée screamed, flipping away before they
could retaliate. "I thought this was one-on-one?"
"Did I say that?" Tamara asked, leaning against a tree. "I don't
remember making that distinction."
Desirée growled in frustration, ducking under another blow but grabbing
the creature by its arm and flinging it into its partner. "I've had enough!"
she screamed, dashing over and striking one in the neck and the other in its
armpit to make them both dissolve. Then she rushed the other three, taking
them and Tamara by surprise. Desirée forced one of them to strike the second
in its right eye, the third in its nose, and then itself in its groin. "This
test is over," she muttered as the final three turned into dust.
Tamara hurriedly composed herself from the unusually violent display by
her descendant. "You certainly have a much different way of dealing with
things than your mother did," she said, approaching the young doe slowly.
Desirée had the grace to blush, turning to face Tamara with a sheepish
smile. "I...guess my emotions got the better of me," she admitted. "I hope
you are not disappointed in me."
"Not at all," Tamara said, touching Desirée's hand to draw the poison
from it. "A martial artist is at her best when she acts without thinking, so
long as emotion does not blind your common sense. Your anger and frustration
made you more focused instead of making you sloppy. I couldn't be more proud
of you. Will you accept my knowledge?"
"I don't want this knowledge," Desirée said seriously. "I am terrified
of having the knowledge of how to kill. Seeing what my brother went through
when he killed that bear.... And yet I must know them."
"Must?"
Desirée sighed, letting her gaze drift into the distance. "I don't know
if we are strong enough as we are to defeat the Fallen Ones. We try and we
try, but they keep scoring victories against us. It's possible that this
knowledge will be what tips the scales in our favor. I may not be able to
think about taking a life, but I know I couldn't live if my hesitation caused
the death of someone I care about."
Tamara nodded in understanding. "Then take my knowledge as your own,"
she whispered, placing her hands on Desirée's head to place the knowledge in
her mind directly.
During this time, Nicholas finished digging the grave as requested. He
climbed out and shook the dirt from his shirt before putting it back on,
either ignoring or being oblivious to the pouts directed at him for that act.
At the bottom of the grave a few pieces of charred and twisted bone appeared,
startling Nicholas though he did not show it. "Now I ask that you fill it
and your penance will be done," Rhonda said, standing near the lip of the
grave.
Nicholas said nothing and took the shovel, pushing the dirt he'd just
excavated back into the grave. It took far less time to fill than it had to
dig and he had the ground levelled in only a few minutes. As he stepped
back, all the other spirits joined Rhonda, forming a loose ring around the
grave. They each held one hand over the grave and acted like they were
pulling something from it.
A wispy spirit figure floated up from the ground, having very little
form or shape to it. It appeared to be struggling against some unseen force,
as though something was trying to destroy it. But the ancestors' hands all
glowed a gentle blue and the spirit was surrounded by the same blue light.
The spirit's struggles lessened until it hovered calmly in the air. And as
everyone watched, it began to take on a form that was familiar to some of
them, the virtual twin of Penelope.
Nicholas and Nadine stood there, stunned as the spirit became
recognizable. "Miss Vicky!" Amy cried, tears of happiness flowing from her
eyes. She dove at the spirit with every intention of hugging her, but passed
right through her instead, rolling on the ground from her momentum. "Owie,"
she muttered, sitting up and rubbing her head.
Victoria looked around, confused and disoriented. "Wha...where am I?"
she murmured, swaying in place. It didn't take long for her to figure out
where she was even though she hadn't been there in many years. "The...sacred
burial ground? Why...?"
"Welcome sister," Penelope said, floating over to her and embracing her.
"Penny?" Victoria whispered, returning the hug instinctively. "What's
going on? Why am I here?"
"You are here because you deserve to be Vicky," Penelope said, leading
her sister over to a bench and sitting down with her. "We saw the sacrifice
you made to protect your charges from the Unholy One. Despite what happened
between us that makes you worthy to be here."
Victoria looked at her sister, tears in her eyes. "How can you be so
forgiving?" she asked. "I challenged you because I thought you were unworthy
and I wanted to be the one to take Tamara's training. I tried to have you
thrown out of the family! I--"
"Only did what you thought was best," Penelope interrupted. "I have
never held that against you. And who knows? You may have been right. It was
just on that day, when it mattered most, I came out on top. But even all
those years you were gone, you never stopped being my sister."
Victoria slid down to her knees in front of her sister and bowed her
head. "I do not deserve such an honor," she said quietly.
Penelope took her sister's hands and raised her to her feet. "Don't
ever bow to me. Now and forever we are equals. And if I'm worthy to be here,
then you are as well. Besides," she continued with a smirk. "How can you be
anything but worthy when you have raised such great students?"
Victoria's head whipped around and she caught sight of her charges for
the first time. "Nicholas?" she whispered. "Lily? Amy?" She started to
float over toward them but stopped as she sensed something. "What in the...?"
she muttered, closing her eyes to focus on the feeling better. As soon as she
did, her eyes snapped open showing a single moment of fear before she buried
it under determination.
"What is it?" Nicholas asked, his body tensing for a fight. He had
seen that look on his guardian's face much too often and his body had been
conditioned to react to it and quickly.
Victoria turned a sharp gaze on Amy. "Amy, hide," she ordered, sending
the young hedgehog scampering into the nearby trees. "Nicholas, Lily," she
continued in that same tone, "be ready to help the others. We're going to
have a major fight on our hands."
"What are you talking about?" Rhonda asked, approaching her daughter
slowly. "What are you feeling?"
"You can't feel it?" she asked, disturbed by that fact. "This is worse
than I thought then. All of you, be ready for anything and everything."
Ignoring the questions from everyone there, she spun around and vanished into
thin air.
Alicia huffed a little as she started to scan the woods for any threat.
"Well, now I know where Edgar gets it from," she muttered, sliding next to
Angela, readying herself for a fight.
Preparations were being made by another as well, but for a far darker
purpose. Destín had finally reached the Science Lab, realizing that the vault
was there after hearing two guards talk about the possibility of pulling extra
shifts there. She was fortunate that no one was in there at the moment,
probably at lunch or something. There were no guards at the main door, but
the vault was locked up tight and protected by an electronic lock.
"Piece of cake," Destín thought. The last time she was here, the vault
had been left open. But before she left, she had nosed around each table and
work area and had found a few handwritten notes as to what the code was.
Apparently at least one of them had more important things to worry about, if
they weren't absent-minded. She was sure they'd changed the password by now,
but not where they kept the password, and she was right. She slunk over to
the keypad and entered the code. The vault door swung open slowly but
silently and she slipped inside, propping the door open with a chair in case
it decided to close.
She turned around with a smirk, but that smirk was long gone as she saw
the security measures that were in front of her. A barrier of holy energy was
only a foot from her, making her fur stand on end. Behind that was a moving
grid of purple lasers, going so fast that it almost looked like a solid sheet
of light. Between that and the safes that held the artifacts was a waterfall,
and Destín just knew that it was sacred water. All in all, quite the
formidable defense. If she didn't know what she did, she would've had to
retreat and regroup.
But thanks to Charisma's eavesdropping, she knew that looks could be
deceiving. Focusing solely on the shield, she could see that it was weaker in
the areas where the laser grid strayed too close. So much so that there were
holes just large enough for her to dive through if she timed it right. The
grid was similarly compromised, but because it was moving the holes weren't
always in the same place as the ones in the shield. It was going to be tricky
to get through without getting hurt.
She took a moment to time the movements of the grid, hoping that the
holes would appear in a regular pattern. No such luck. But she did note that
right before a hole would appear in the laser grid, that area of it would turn
bright blue. It took almost five minutes to get what she wanted, but the grid
finally turned blue behind the hole in the shield she had chosen to dive
through. She didn't even hesitate, knowing that this might be her only chance
to complete her mission. She was almost too early though; the grid held
together longer than anticipated. But it broke apart just as her hands
reached it, allowing her to pass unscathed.
Now she was faced with the waterfall, something that would burn her if
even a droplet landed on her fur. Her name wasn't Maxwell, she did not like
pain. She looked around for something she could use to get through it, but
nothing was around that looked promising. She tapped on the walls, hoping to
maybe find a hole she could slither through to the other side. She thought
she had something when a metal panel peeled away but all it revealed was the
solid stone that the steel reinforced.
Destín threw down the panel in frustration. She was about to look for
another weakness when she noticed something. The panel was slightly curved,
forming a very low tunnel. It was also very short, but maybe it would be long
enough to get her through the waterfall. She shoved it into the waterfall and
was happy to see that it went clean through to the other side. It was a tight
fit, but she was able to slide through it on her belly.
In front of her sat two safes, each on its own pedestal. "Two safes,
two artifacts," she realized, slipping to the left one. It was a simple safe,
locked only with a standard tumbler and dial lock. It was the easiest thing
for her to crack the combination and open it up. "There you are," she said
with a smile, as the door opened to reveal the Magma Stone. "Now let's get
out of here."
Destín didn't notice the final security measure until she tripped it.
As soon as she picked up the Stone, a metal manacle extended up from the
pedestal and ensnared her wrist. "Please identify yourself with security code
and password," a computer's voice droned.
"Shit!" Destín muttered under her breath. She turned her hand every
which way to slip it free, but the manacle held it snugly. She was sure she
could slip it free if she was not holding the artifact, but that would defeat
the purpose of getting it.
"Please identify yourself with security code and password," the computer
repeated. "If you do not comply in five seconds, all security measures will
be activated."
In a surprising flash of brilliance, Destín slid her other hand around
the manacle into the safe, dropped the Stone into that hand, and pulled both
hands clear. As soon as she did, congratulating herself on her ingenuity,
alarms started blaring and the vault door started to swing shut, snapping the
chair she had tried to hold it open with. "Double shit!" she yelled, diving
through the tunnel that crossed the waterfall.
In her haste, Destín's tail nudged the metal panel and moved it out of
position. She cried out in pain as the water caught her tail on the way past
it. She stumbled a bit, thrown off her stride, but managed to stop herself
before falling face-first into the laser grid. And it was fortunate that she
did because the grid now had more power running through it from the alarm
being tripped. Lucky for her the increased power also made it react further
with the holy shield, causing even bigger holes in both. It was a lot easier
to dive through the holes this time and squeeze through the vault door just
before it closed.
But that was when it seemed her luck would run out. Donovan, Tanis,
Knuckles, Lissette, and a squad of security guards were waiting for her as
soon as she emerged. "Drop it!" Lissette ordered, slipping her attack gloves
on her hands. These were an updated version, capable of producing more than
just electricity as she proved by unleashing a blast of fire at Destín that
the Fallen One was only just able to dodge. "I'm not telling you again, drop
it!"
Destín was trapped, and she knew it. However, she wasn't afraid. With
the vault door closed she was safely away from the holy energy that prevented
Tanin from teleporting her away as soon as she had the Stone. She could feel
the prickle in the back of her mind as Tanin made contact with her, preparing
to teleport her away. "While I'd love to stay and argue the point," she said
as a dark whirlwind rose around her body, "I have an appointment with my
mattress. Bye now!"
Twin blasts of holy energy shot at her from the two Holy Ones, along
with a bolt of electricity, but she was gone before they reached her. "How
did she get in?" Knuckles demanded, looking at Donovan for answers.
Donovan felt a curse rise to his lips but held it back, though his eye
glowed red behind his shades. "It doesn't matter how she got in," he said in
a falsely calm voice that made everyone, even Knuckles, shiver a little.
"What matters now is that we are all in trouble. If you'll excuse me, I have
a labyrinth to finish repairing. And after that, I have a vacation to take."
No one even tried to get in his way as he walked out of the lab.
Unaware of the troubles back home, Desirée finally opened her eyes. She
was overwhelmed by all the knowledge she now had. "It's amazing," she
whispered.
"And deadly," Tamara said. "Don't ever forget that. You have learned
all that I can teach you. The time has come--" She stopped talking, her gaze
growing unfocused as she turned it back toward the gravesite. "Something is
wrong," she said slowly. "I can only barely sense it, as if I were almost
imagining it. But it feels like I'm being blocked somehow and I worry as to
what the true nature of this disturbance is."
"Let's hurry back then," Desirée said, running down the path. Her body
started to tingle as she felt another presence enter her. "Tamara?"
"It is I," Tamara said within Desirée's mind. "Whatever we find, it may
take the both of us to deal with. Let us only hope it does not."
At the burial ground, tensions were steadily mounting higher and higher.
It had been a long time since Victoria had disappeared and she had not yet
returned. Whatever she had sensed, whatever had spooked her that badly, was
still not known to anyone. "Maybe she was just imagining things?" Penelope
ventured. "My sister did have quite the imagination when we were kids."
As if to refute that statement, a column of black fire shot up from the
ground in the edge of the graves. From within it stepped out a creature that
though it wore a different body from the last time it befouled this land, was
immediately recognized. "The Kavenoff!" Rhonda yelled. "I'm going to get
Tamara. The rest of you hold him back!"
"Your efforts are in vain!" Maxwell cried, watching as one spirit dove
into DJ and the others prepared themselves to do likewise. In the blink of
an eye he moved from where he stood into the center of the graves and slammed
his sword into the ground. The runes inscribed on the sword lit up with the
same black flame that the rat had appeared in. At once, a dark shield flared
up around the area.
Rhonda had nearly been out of the site when the shield appeared. But
instead of escaping, she bounced off of it to land heavily on the ground. The
other spirits were similarly bounced off the ones they tried to assist, but
DJ, who already had a spirit inside him, was sprawled unconscious on the
ground. "Oh no," Rhonda said, trying to float back up to her feet but finding
herself barely able to move. A quick glance told her that the other spirits
were in similar distress. "What...what's happening to us?"
"You will not be interfering in my game this time," Maxwell said, a
malicious glint lighting his white eyes. "You might as well stay there and
get comfortable."
"Don't forget about us," Bunnie said, falling into a fighting stance
alongside Nicholas and Nadine. "I've beaten you once and I can do it again."
Alicia prepared to fight as well but Angela dropped to her knees,
breathing heavily. "Angela!" Alicia said, kneeling next to her friend and
checking her over. "What's wrong?"
Angela closed her eyes against the pain shooting through her body,
feeling like mini razor blades were coursing through her bloodstream. "That
sword," she gasped out. "It's...tainting the area, draining my strength. I
don't think I'll be much use to you in this fight."
"Save your strength," Alicia whispered as Bunnie and Nadine engaged the
Kavenoff in combat. "When he's distracted enough, take your shot. Just watch
for your chance."
Angela nodded her understanding and waved her away. Alicia looked
around to assess the situation. Neither Bunnie nor Nadine were able to land a
blow on that rat; he was teleporting out of the way of every single strike and
landing his own potshots freely. Alicia could already see that Nadine was
getting frustrated, but was doing a good job of keeping her control. Nicholas
was hanging back, just waiting for an opportunity to strike. He was watching
the pattern of how he teleported, trying to figure out where he would appear
next. It looked like he was starting to decipher the Kavenoff's movements,
but at the rate it was taking he wouldn't be able to do it fast enough.
Alicia took off at a run, coming up behind Nicholas and using her hands
to vault off his shoulders and flip through mid-air at the Kavenoff, extending
her leg at the last second in a powerful axe kick. It very nearly worked, but
the momentum she'd gained from her flips made her leg whistle through the air,
providing Maxwell with just enough warning to teleport out of the way. Alicia
struck the ground with such force that the dirt actually cracked under her
foot.
The Kavenoff may have had an easy time against two opponents, but it was
much harder against three. He was teleporting almost constantly, unable to
mount any offense at all. But he was still being sneaky, often trying to get
his attackers to hit each other. One such attempt had Nadine aiming a flying
side kick at Nicholas. But Nicholas was ready for it, grabbing Nadine's feet
and flinging her at where he knew Maxwell would appear.
Maxwell had other ideas though. As soon as he appeared he had his hand
outstretched, a burst of flame shooting out from his palm and engulfing her.
Nadine screamed in pain and hit the ground rolling, trying to extinguish the
fire that had caught on her clothes and fur. She was alive, but singed so
badly she wouldn't be able to fight any further.
Nicholas gnashed his teeth together for a moment but quickly regained
his composure. He wanted to do nothing more than run over there and rip that
rat's head off, but doing so would only cause more harm. He had to remain in
control, it was the only way they had a chance to see this through. He forced
himself to play the waiting game once more.
While all this was happening, Angela crept closer and closer to the
sword. That was the source of the tainted shield, she was sure of it. If she
could remove it, she would be able to join the fight and tip the scales
against Maxwell. She had to move very slow in the hopes that she wasn't seen,
but the Kavenoff seemed to not be paying her attention at all. She didn't
notice the low ring of dark flames that surrounded the sword, nor did she see
how they grew more restless at her approach.
But Bunnie had. "Angela, look out!" she screamed, seeing the fire
ready to flare up and consume her. She broke off her attack on the Kavenoff
and dove at her, twisting them both out of the way of the black fire as it
rose up to try and engulf them both. They rolled to a stop a few yards away,
Bunnie's body covering Angela's protectively. "Are you all right?"
"I am," Angela said, checking to make sure she wasn't on fire. "How
about you?" Bunnie smiled as she tried to get to her feet but her body
suddenly jerked and stiffened. "Bunnie!" Angela yelled in surprise and fear.
The expression on her face was somewhere between pain and awe. "It
feels like he's touching my soul," she whimpered, trying to move but not being
able to at all. Angela scrambled to her feet and looked around Bunnie.
Maxwell stood behind her with his hand stuck inside her back, a cruel sneer on
his face. Angela tried to summon her strength to attack, but he teleported
away before she could and she had to catch Bunnie as she fell to the ground
unconscious.
Alicia allowed Nicholas to help her to her feet as the Kavenoff
reappeared next to his sword. When Bunnie had gone to save Angela, he had
taken advantage of it by teleporting behind Nicholas and shoving him into
Alicia so that they both landed in a heap. It was a little awkward, seeing
that he had landed with his face between her breasts and with his hips nestled
between hers, but she'd have time to concern herself with it later. Much,
much later.
Maxwell raised his hand high above his head, causing the black fire at
his feet to flare up briefly. Dark purple threads shot out of his fingers,
connecting him to each of the ancestral spirits that were still present.
"Stop it!" Alicia yelled as she saw them writhe in pain, dark energy forcing
its way into their forms. She tried to attack him, but the fire rose up
again, driving her back.
One by one, the ancestors stopped struggling, though Usako was the last
to calm. The Kavenoff cackled madly as he tugged on the threads, forcing all
the spirits to rise to their feet. Alicia shivered when their heads all
snapped up to show the same white eyes that the Kavenoff had. "Oh no," she
moaned, falling back near Nicholas as the spirits' forms became solid.
The battle was over almost before it began. Already weakened from
fighting the Kavenoff, neither Alicia nor Nicholas stood much chance against
the coordinated onslaught of most of Bunnie's ancestors. Alicia's arm was
broken in at least two places and the nerves in Nicholas' legs had been
rendered useless, making him unable to stand. He kept trying, but his legs
just would not bear his weight even for a second.
Maxwell's laughing grew louder and even more crazed at seeing all his
enemies incapacitated. "Finally my revenge is at hand!" he crowed. "My
misery will consume you all!"
"Not yet it won't!" Desirée and Tamara said together through Desirée's
mouth. They ran full speed through the shield, but only one made it through.
"What?" Tamara wondered, pounding on the shield with her fists and
feet. "No!"
Maxwell just smiled at the futility of Tamara's actions. "You may be
the first of this line," he chuckled, "but you will be the last to feel my
misery! Watch as I destroy all you hold dear!"
Desirée had been a little wobbly when Tamara had been ripped from her
body, but she quickly threw off the cobwebs when the Kavenoff commanded the
ancestors under his control to attack her. "Don't count me out just yet," she
growled, moving into one of the stances that she had just learned from Tamara.
"Forgive me," she muttered, moving in to attack.
As good as the ancestors were, Desirée knew everything they did and
more. As one of only two who had studied under them all, she knew the
weaknesses to their styles. And with the knowledge gained from Tamara, she
was able to change between fighting styles between opponents fluidly, one of
her major weaknesses.
It took a little time for her to do it, and she wasn't unhurt, but all
of her opponents were unconscious at her feet. "Now it's your turn," she
said, stalking toward the Kavenoff. "Time for you to fight me!"
"Oh, but I'm not done," Maxwell said with a sickening grin. "I still
have one piece to play!" Another thread appeared from his hand and attached
to DJ's body. Or more specifically the spirit inside it. Desirée tried to
get there to stop it, but DJ sat up before she could, his eyes white like the
others. "Now see how well you fight against the one you love!"
"DJ!" Desirée cried, blocking the blows that the young squirrel was
throwing. "Snap out of it, please!"
Tamara pounded on the shield harder, striking it with the fastest blows
she could muster. But still it held strong. "Fight him Desirée!" she urged.
"You have to fight him!"
"I can't!" Desirée gasped as DJ landed a powerful open handed blow to
her chest, knocking her down. She tried to get back to her feet, but he was
waiting with a thrust kick to the side of her face which sent her headfirst
into a tree. An elbow strike to the back of her neck made her cry out in
pain and his knife edge chop to her throat sprawled her out on the ground.
"DJ," she pleaded as his foot came down on her injured throat, blocking
her airway. She grabbed his foot to try and push him off, but even now she
couldn't bring herself to use her full power for fear of hurting him. "I love
you," she whispered, closing her eyes as she punched his knee, unable to watch
as his leg crumpled under him.
Maxwell watched with glee as Desirée choked and gasped for air while he
commanded DJ to rise. "Fight all you want! You know you can't win! Revenge
is mine and misery is--"
From out of nowhere Victoria appeared, charging past Tamara and through
the shield as though it wasn't even there, diving into Maxwell's body. The
Kavenoff had prepared to face Bunnie's direct line of ancestors. The shield
kept them all in, or out in the case of Tamara. Touching Bunnie's soul had
allowed him to both take her out of the equation and control the souls of
those she claimed a direct bloodline descent from. But Victoria was her aunt,
not directly in the bloodline, so all his measures went for naught against
her.
His eyes went wide and he staggered back, the threads connecting him to
the spirits beginning to flicker. Victoria wasn't attacking Maxwell, she was
attacking the Kavenoff demon directly! A horrible scream of pain was ripped
from his throat as he clutched his head with his hands, the threads
disappearing. DJ's body fell to the ground like a marionette whose strings
had been cut.
"Get out!" he bellowed. "Get out of me!" Tamara could only watch
helplessly as Victoria was ejected from the rat, her now solid form covered in
black fire that seemed to be slowly eating away at her essence. But Maxwell
wasn't satisfied; he advanced on her with the same black fire covering his
hands. "Forget the misery!" he roared. "I will destroy you!"
Victoria glared up at him defiantly despite the pain of being surrounded
by the evil flames. "Emotion is the greatest hindrance toward judgment and
duty," she gritted out, even managing to smile at him.
Maxwell was confused. Here she was, seconds from being destroyed,
completely unable to defend herself, and she was smiling? Then he felt a hand
close painfully on his shoulder. He spun around only to come face-to-face
with a extremely pissed off Desirée, her anger-reddened eyes glowering into
his white ones. With a guttutral cry she buried her fist into his face,
knocking him not only into but through the nearest tree.
Desirée sprinted forward, catching up to him before he even hit the
ground. A double-fist uppercut lifted him higher into the air only for a
jumping axe kick to bury his head halfway into the soft dirt. With each blow
she landed, the flames that licked at Victoria's soul weakened until they were
snuffed out like a blown out candle.
But Desirée did not stop there, continuing to punish Maxwell with blows
that would cripple an ordinary opponent and be enough to knock even him out.
But he was stronger than he had ever been, drawing power from the darkness
dome that surrounded them. He caught a forearm smash that had enough power
to shatter his bones without even flinching and shoved her away with a flaming
hand in her face. She hit the ground rolling, some of her fur singed and
falling off but otherwise unhurt.
"I have had it!" he howled, black fire springing up around his body.
"Now you all perish!" His body began to tremble as he forced the flames to
expand out, consuming everything it touched. He was weakened, so the progress
was slow though inexorable.
Desirée looked around, trying to find something that could help. That's
when she noticed that the first victim of the fires would be DJ. Fear for her
love flowed through her body and she felt something snap inside her. A power
that had been locked away deep inside her was freed from its bonds and now
demanded to be used. She charged at Maxwell, aiming a punch right at his head
but stopping just shy of the flames.
A glowing red fist made of pure energy erupted from her flesh, pushing
aside the flames and blasting the Kavenoff off his feet. That one single blow
extinguished all the flames, leaving only ash behind from the consumed grass.
Desirée looked at her hand, looked at Maxwell, then looked at her hand again.
A smile spread across her face as she slowly dropped into a fighting stance.
"Oh I can get used to that," she said, concentrating the flow of her body's
chi into her fists.
Maxwell staggered up to his feet, ragged tendrils of black energy
clinging desperately to his body. Not only had that red fist passed through
his flames, it had bypassed his flesh and directly attacked the demon that his
body housed! That wasn't supposed to be possible, the demon was immortal!
How dare this little upstart meddle with things she could not comprehend!
"What was that?" he screeched, slowly drawing the darkness back inside him.
Victoria's smile only widened as she sat up, some of her strength
returning to her. "...But is the greatest asset toward drive, will, and
determination," she finished the saying proudly before taking another verbal
dig at the demon, "you schmuck."
He tried to regroup again, but Desirée was on him before he could. Each
blow she struck, even the ones that were blocked, sent another burst of her
reddish chi through his body, tearing away at the demon's essence. He fell
back desperately, trying to put a little distance between them, but it proved
impossible to do.
Desirée kept up the attack as long as she could, but she was tiring
rapidly. The previous fights and training had left their mark on her while
fighting in this new style drained her like nothing she had done before. The
energy expelled from her attacks were becoming weaker and weaker, doing less
and less damage to the demon. Soon she could barely even keep ahead of the
Kavenoff's healing ability.
But the attacks were still annoying Maxwell, not letting him gather his
powers into a counterattack. Frustrated beyond thought, he struck out at her
with the back of his fist. She was able to dodge it easily, but not the wave
of black energy that followed the swing. It was so strong that it knocked
down anything in its path, Desirée included.
Maxwell stared at his fist, then at the prone form of Desirée, wondering
what he'd just done. And not only that, he wanted to know how he could do it
again. He didn't get the time to really think about it as he felt a very
strong spirit turn her attention on him. The dark wave blast had indeed
felled everything it touched, including the Kavenoff's own sword. That posed
a serious problem because without the sword in place, the dark shield was
shattered.
"You may have been able to fight off my descendant," Tamara said,
stalking the rat with a purpose, "but I am going to finish what she started."
The Kavenoff growled and held out his hand, summoning his sword to his
grasp. "This is not over!" he swore, taking a swing at her and making her
jump back nimbly. Tamara jumped at him, knowing what he was planning, but he
teleported away just before she could get inside him.
Tamara wanted to pound the ground in frustration as the demon escaped,
but her self-discipline was too strict to allow such an outburst. Instead she
walked over to Desirée, helping her to her feet. "Are you all right?" she
asked, willing herself to let go of the anger and the stress.
Desirée checked herself over before nodding tentatively. She was sore,
battered, bloodied, and bruised, but she would heal in time. "Nothing that a
hot soak and a long rest won't fix, provided Angela isn't up to the job that
is."
Tamara nodded, pleased at what she heard. "Come then, let us check on
the others."
Desirée looked around, seeing that most everyone was starting to stir.
DJ, however, wasn't yet, and Desirée limped over to him, trying to kneel next
to him but actually just falling there. "DJ?" she whispered, shaking his
shoulders. "DJ? Wake up!"
"Easy," Tamara said soothingly, kneeling down on the other side of him.
"He cannot awake while he still harbors a spirit." She reached into his body
and drew her relative's soul out of him, though its form was foggy and
indistinct. "She will need a lot of time to recover from this," she
whispered, cradling the spirit to her protectively. "Excuse me while I return
her to her grave."
As she turned around, she was almost bowled over by a pink hedgehog that
ran past her. Amy leapt at Victoria again, and this time did not go through
her. "Miss Vicky!" she cried again, snuggling into her guardian's arms,
tears of relief falling from her eyes. "You're OK!"
Victoria smiled, hugging Amy closer to her. "It will take more than
that to destroy my spirit, Small One," she said affectionately, smoothing down
the young hedgehog's quills. It felt good to actually be able to hold Amy
again, and she planned to do it for as long as she could.
Nicholas approached Victoria with an uncharacteristic slowness, as if
feeling he might somehow be intruding. He had forced his legs to keep moving
even though he couldn't feel them, eventually breaking the nerve block by pure
force of will. His mind was troubled by something he had heard, and he needed
it set at ease. But first he had to make sure Lily was all right, only
leaving her side after Angela had begun healing her. He glanced over to where
Desirée and DJ were talking. She was obviously trying to convince him that
her injuries were not his fault, but was having a hard time doing so.
He looked back at his guardian only to find her gazing at him serenely.
"Speak your mind Nicholas," she said softly.
"'But is the greatest asset toward drive, will, and determination'?" he
asked, his confusion evident in his tone. "Why did you never tell me that
part of the saying?"
Victoria sighed and smiled at the skunk before her. "Nicholas, when I
first saved you, the only emotions you knew were rage, hatred, and despair. I
couldn't train you to use such negativity as the core of your inner strength
or it would have destroyed you.
"My grandniece, however, was being motivated by her love for the young
squirrel that the demon tried to use to attack her. Even though she was angry
and full of rage, the core of it was love and that allowed her to find the
strength needed to battle him on his level. That is why I said it to her, but
not to you."
Nicholas bowed his head as he thought about her words. He couldn't deny
a single one of them, but it still hurt a little to actually hear it said. "I
need time to think about it," he said, walking over to one of the benches and
sitting down heavily.
Victoria sighed as she watched him walk. She could see how heavily her
words weighed upon her charge, but it was for the best that he heard them from
her. The sooner he accepted them, the sooner the final stages of his healing
could begin.
A commotion behind her made her turn around. Nadine was struggling to
her feet, determined to make her way over. The mouse that she'd heard called
Angela was trying to tend to her wounds, but having a tough time of it. "Will
you sit still Nadine?" Angela demanded, vainly attempting to drag her back.
"Come on Deena! I'm not done yet!"
"Nadine?" Victoria asked, cocking her head to the side. "Lily, why is
this girl calling you Nadine?"
Eventually Angela had enough with Nadine's stubbornless and took her
down with a drop toehold and floated over to sit on her back, both of which
got a cry of protest and pain from Nadine's lips. "Because that is her name,"
Angela explained, continuing her healing. "Nadine Osaya. She got her memory
back a couple months ago after the problems we had with the rest of your
Society."
"Osaya, huh?" Victoria said, the corners of her lips quirking into a
smile. "Well, that sure explains a lot. Still, I'm very happy that you've
found your home and your family again. But tell me," she added after a
moment, "what has happened to the other members of the Society of Four?"
"Two of them infiltrated the palace in an attempt to kill my mother,"
Alicia said bitterly, limping over toward Victoria. "If it had not been for
the third, they would have succeeded."
Angela punched her in the back of the knee as she passed by, sending her
sprawling to the ground. "Your turn!" she said perkily, jumping off a now
healed Nadine and straddling a bruised Alicia's back.
Alicia pushed herself up on her elbows but collapsed back down as Angela
prodded a very sore area. "I swear you're enjoying this," she muttered.
Victoria kneeled down in front of Alicia so she didn't have to get up to
continue talking. "Tell me, what happened to them?" she pleaded softly as
Nadine crawled over and snuggled into her side.
"Spyder was killed by my son Darrin," Bunnie said, sitting down next to
her aunt, "felled by a sword strike to the chest. The sword penetrated his
body so rapidly that it blocked the mechanism inside his torso from going
off."
"I admit I am not terribly surprised. He relied too heavily on his
appendages and his guns. Get beyond that, even for a moment, and you can
defeat him. But what of the Kameleon? He should not have gone down as easily
as that."
"It took a swordfight with Donovan, Nadia, and my husband to bring him
down," Bunnie confirmed. "And even then, Nadia had to surprise him with the
Starfire I'd been teaching her to kill him."
Victoria's eyes narrowed in thought. "He shouldn't have been surprised
by that," she protested. "He knew that she had learned the Starfire. That
was one of the last things he and I discussed before I died."
"Maybe he forgot in the heat of battle?" Alicia suggested, pushing
Angela off in her sudden haste. "Well, if there's nothing else I guess we
should be going now."
"What's the rush?" Angela teased. "Oh that's right, you probably don't
want her to know the fate of the final member of her Society, Edgar. You know
him, right? After all, he is your boyfriend."
Alicia blushed the same color as her favorite jogging suit. "Angela,
when we get back home, you are dead," she hissed, rubbing at her cheeks.
Victoria laughed at Alicia's discomfort before a sudden weakness made
her falter. A resting Amy was starting to slip from her arms. Or rather,
slip through her arms. "It looks like the time for you to go has indeed
come," she whispered, handing Amy over to Nadine and motioning for her to step
away. "Bunnie, may I ask you a favor?" she asked in an undertone so that
Nadine could not hear her.
"Of course," Bunnie said in that same low voice, knowing that this was
probably a delicate issue.
Victoria flexed her fists, watching as they faded in and out of
solidity. "I want you to complete their training," she murmured, casting a
pointed glance at the ones she had helped raise. "Nicholas must learn to find
and use positive emotions to help him in a fight. Lily...I mean Nadine must
learn better control for her temper, or at least how to let it out in a more
productive manner. And Amy...I don't even know where to begin with Amy."
"I do," Bunnie assured her. "Before you got here, Grandma was playing
games with her, you know the ones. I can use what I witnessed in that to
devise a training for her."
"Sounds good," Victoria agreed with a nod. She was about to ask for
something else when a commotion got her attention. One of her ancestors,
Usako from the looks of it, had waylaid Nicholas with a very deep kiss that
was actually making him bend slightly backward. She dove away into her grave
before a very pissed off Nadine could retaliate. Nadine was being dragged
away by Desirée and a recovered DJ, who looked a lot calmer than he had before
his girlfriend had talked to him.
She turned back to speak with Bunnie but instead found herself facing a
bowing Alicia. "On behalf of the royal family, and as Crown Princess of
Mobius, I thank you for all you have done to protect the planet and all our
subjects," she said officially, staying in her bow for as long as she spoke.
A memory tried to cut its way through the fog settling in on Victoria's
mind, but the dizziness from returning to a fully spirit form made it hard to
think straight. "I've...heard that before," she said distractedly, pressing
her hand to her forehead as she tried to think.
"You have?" Alicia asked, folding her arms. "When? And from who?"
Victoria shook her head slightly. Something in her mind was trying to
make itself known, but she couldn't quite grasp it. "It was when I first got
Amy. The two that had been her protectors were gravely wounded, hounded by
something that could have only come from the Abyss. I managed to kill it, but
I was too late to save their lives. Before he died, one of them said much the
same thing to me, but I think it was slightly different."
A cold pit of fear opened up in Alicia's gut, her instincts telling her
who those two most likely were. But she had to be sure. "Do you remember
what they looked like?" she asked in a hushed whisper.
"The one who spoke was a fox past middle age, by no means old yet. The
other appeared to be human, except that he had a claw that replaced one of his
hands." The anguished cry that emerged from Alicia's lips cleared the haze in
Victoria's mind long enough for her to realize exactly what she'd done. "Uh
oh," she muttered sheepishly.
"Grandfather," Alicia sobbed, tears coursing down her cheeks. "Naugus.
I can't believe they're dead. What am I going to tell Mom?"
Penelope stalked over and thwapped her sister in the back of her head.
"Couldn't you have used a little more tact than that?" she muttered,
reaching out to thwap her again.
Victoria dodged the second swing, but before she could respond in kind
Rhonda glided over and grabbed them both by their ears, digging her thumbs
into the sensitive tips. "Not even back together for a full day and already
you two are at it. I swear, it's like I'm dealing with a couple of five-year-
olds again!"
Bunnie stifled a chuckle and slid down to her knees beside Alicia,
letting the princess lean against her for support. "Come on," she urged,
helping her to her feet. "Let's get you home." It took Alicia many faltering
steps, but she eventually made it to the tunnel that would take her back to
the palace. Once there, the others crowded around her, even Nicholas to an
extent, to let her know that she was not alone.
As the varied group walked through the lit tunnel, one of their biggest
threats was growing stronger. The Unholy One made his way deep into the
bowels of the Dark Castle, searching for Maxwell. He knew that the Kavenoff
had been unsuccessful in his task, but the recovery of the Fire artifact was
the main focus of the day. Still, he expected him to be ranting and raving
over yet another failure to cause misery. The quiet was...disturbing him.
He opened the door that he knew Maxwell was behind and was shocked at
what he saw. Black energy rolled off the Kavenoff's body in waves so strong
it even pushed him back slightly. "Maxwell," he said sharply, making the
Fallen One look at him. "What are you doing?"
Maxwell turned to look at the Unholy One, glee shining in his white
eyes. "I failed you this day Father," he said, his voice tormented but yet
pleased. "But I began to unlock some aspects of my true power, power I have
not tasted since before the first time I was sealed. Once I realize my full
potential, I will never fail you again!"
The Unholy One shuddered slightly at the maniacal laugh that his
follower loosed, but did his best not to let the weakness show. While a fully
powered Kavenoff would indeed be a force the Chosen Ones might not be able to
handle, he wasn't confident in his ability to handle it either. If he ever
got out of control, all of the Unholy Ones carefully laid plans would come
crashing down around his head. He had to stop this, but without letting the
demon know he was impeding him. This was possibly the most dangerous gambit
he would ever play.
Late that night, two figures sat huddled together in a room, alone
except for each other. Neither Sally nor Sondra could believe that their
father had died, but neither would question the manner of his death. He died
as he had lived, in the service of Mobius. But that did not make the pain any
easier to bear.
The next day would be a day of mourning as decreed by Sonic. The entire
palace would be draped in black bunting, honouring the fallen king and his
comrade. Sally and Sondra would likely sit around and tell the other stories
that they remembered of him, and all his friends would chime in with what they
could recall, a few of which were sure to be embarrassing. But that was
tomorrow. Tonight was just two sisters trying to comfort each other while
they themselves dealt with what felt like an interminable grief. (
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