Adrian Osaka
by DragonKnight
Copyright notice: All original Sonic the Hedgehog characters are
property of SEGA and based upon the Saturday AM cartoon on ABC. Other
characters may come from the video games or the Archie comic books. All
original characters are of my creation and idea and require written
permission before usage. You are permitted to print of one (1) copy for
personal use and do not attempt to make a profit from it. You may make
changes under the condition that it does not affect the story as a
whole.
Author's Note: I'm going to deviate slightly to explain the back story
on one of my characters: Dr. Adrian Osaka. This is a story I've been
writing since September of 2008 (it's now March of '09 and it's finally
finished). This story will explain how he fits into the storyline, his
relationship with the Freedom Fighters, and so on. A word of warning,
this is my longest story as of yet since there's a lot to tell. Also,
for storytelling purposes I have given Rosie a last name of her own. I
hope you enjoy this!
WARNING!! This story may contain mild to strong language, suggestive
dialogue and situations, graphic description, and explicit violence.
You have been warned.
Take a step back to look into the past and understand the
direction the fate of one will hold on all of Mobius. Go back thirty-
five years from now, before Robotnik overthrew Mobotropolis. The Acorn
family still rules and the Great War is in its infancy. Take a look in
the mirror to see one's past...
Cast of Characters:
Adrian Osaka***
Rosie Taelis
Eric Hedgehog***
Aurora***
Alura Johnson***
Dr. Alexander Rabbit***
Charles Hedgehog
Nicole Hedgehog***
Dr. Anabelle Rabbit***
Jacques D'Coolette***
King Maximillian Acorn
Xiaxos the Shadow Dragon***
Daryl Kintobor***
War Minister Julian Kintobor
Ixis Naugus
Snively
??????????
Sonic Hedgehog (young)
Princess Sally Alicia Acorn (young)
Bunnie Rabbit (young)
Antoine D'Coolette (young)
Rotor Walrus (young)
Sonic Hedgehog (older)
Princess Sally Alicia Acorn (older)
***17 YEARS BEFORE THE COUP***
'Would you care to pay attention Adrian?'
The young lynx snapped to attention upon hearing his name. He
shifted uncomfortably in his desk and frowned. 'I was paying
attention,' he half lied. A black haired badger sitting next to him
shook her head.
'Then would you care to explain the creation of Mobius to the
class?' the teacher asked. Adrian stood up lazily.
'The Maker set upon our world while it was still in its infancy,'
he began. 'Taking the swirling mass He shaped some into land and some
into deep canyons to form the oceans. He filled the canyons with water
and then from the vapor created the sky. With that water He gave birth
to the first life on the land. As the trees grew He realized that
something was still missing. He then created the first animals to live
in harmony with the world. Seeing how lonely the animals were He gave
them intelligence and created the first Mobians that we know of. He
ordered them to care for the planet and in return the planet would care
for them.'
The teacher, a middle-aged fox, nodded. 'Very good,' she said.
'I was wrong to think that you were just sleeping.'
'Whatever,' he said sitting down.
'Now on with the lesson...'
When the bell rang they all grabbed their bags and went out the
door ready to enjoy the weekend. Adrian walked to his locker and threw
his books inside.
'I know full well you weren't paying any attention at all Adrian
Osaka,' a soft feminine voice said behind him. He closed his locker and
stared at it.
'I got the answer right, that's all that matters right?' he said
not even turning around. He heard a huff of frustration.
'That's not my point!' the voice said spinning him around. He was
facing the same badger from earlier. Her orange eyes bored into him
angrily. He swallowed nervously pulling at the collar of his shirt.
'E-easy there Rosie!' he stammered. 'I know how it sounded but
it's nothing like that.'
'Oh? Is it?' she demanded. 'How much more do you plan on
slacking off this year?'
'Now wait just a second,' he retorted staring back at her angrily.
'My grades are just as good as yours Miss Taelis, so you have no room to
yell at me for slacking off.'
'And the only reason they're that good is because I'm there to
cover your backside!'
A grey hedgehog with black eyes walked up next to them and put his
pack in his locker. 'Another lover's quarrel?' he asked with a smirk.
'Shut it Eric!' Adrian and Rosie said in stereo. He backed up
holding his hands up in defense.
'Easy you two,' he said. 'If you two wanna fight I'd suggest
doing it outside the school where you don't have people gathering around
you staring.'
They looked around and sure enough a group had gathered around
them. The both blushed and hurried off with Eric following close behind
them. They left the school and began walking the streets of
Mobotropolis. They talked about their plans for the weekend until they
got to the main street. They stopped at the sidewalk as they saw armed
troops marching down the road. A pained expression crossed Adrian's
face as he watched them. He clenched his hands into fists. They
watched as they passed by. One of their classmates, a fox wearing the
uniform of the Royal Guard, walked alongside a taller version of
himself.
'When did Jacques make the Royal Guard?' Eric asked curiously.
'Like he had to try,' Adrian answered spite in his voice. 'When
your dad is the head of the Royal Guard you get almost anything you
want, next to the crown prince.'
'Adrian...' Rosie said softly realizing what he was thinking
about. 'It wasn't his fault for what happened to your parents.' He
sighed and looked at her.
'I know that,' he replied. 'It's just...If Jacques' father hadn't
convinced my parents they should help defend the city they wouldn't be
dead right now.'
'It's cold to say, but that's war man,' Eric said putting his
hands in his pockets. 'My mom was a wreck after my dad was killed in a
scouting mission to Xenodome. I was so pissed at everyone and
everything that I really didn't care if I lived or died.'
'I kinda feel out of place here,' Rosie admitted shyly. 'My
parents are both nobles so I'm pretty much forbidden to have anything to
do with the military.'
'It's not your fault,' Adrian said holding her hand in his. 'You
can't change your family or how you were raised.' She smiled and kissed
him on the cheek.
'Okay you two knock it off,' Eric said smiling as they crossed the
street finally. 'Remember you're in the company of a single guy. I
might get jealous.'
'Well if that's the case...' Rosie said coyly and grabbed Adrian.
She kissed him deeply and he gladly returned it. When they finally came
up they both looked at the hedgehog smiling. He sighed and shook his
head.
'You guys suck,' he muttered with a light smile. All three of
them laughed and continued walking making small talk. They reached a
gated drive and Rosie backed away from them.
'I'll see you guys tomorrow,' she said waving. They waved back
and kept walking. When they were sure Rosie was a good distance away
they began talking again.
'So when do you two plan on telling her parents?' Eric asked idly.
'Not really sure,' Adrian admitted. 'I think Rosie wants to keep
it that way. I mean, a noble girl mingling with a commoner like me?
They'd go through the roof and I'd likely never see her again.'
'I suppose you're right.'
'How about you?' Adrian asked. 'When do you plan on meeting that
special someone?'
'Knock it off,' Eric said turning a light shade of pink. 'I'll
find her eventually. I have no intention of dating a complete airhead
just 'cuz she's attractive. I'm waiting for someone who's pretty and
smart and can put up with me.' Adrian gave a little chuckle.
'You're gonna be waiting a long time Eric,' he said. The hedgehog
shrugged.
'I guess,' he said. 'I ain't lettin' up on that though.'
'What about that new girl? You know, the shy little hedgehog
girl? What was her name, Alana or something?'
'Alura,' Eric corrected quickly. Adrian smirked.
'So you did notice her,' he said. 'Have you thought about asking
her out on a date?' Eric blushed again.
'I-it's not like that,' he said. 'She's outta my class. There's
no way someone like her would like someone like me.' Adrian gave his
friend a curious look.
'Consider who you're talking to,' he suggested slowly. 'I'm
dating nobility. Sometimes all you have to do is ask her. Most women
like the direct approach. Besides, the worst thing she can say is
'no'.'
'Maybe,' Eric said trying to kill the conversation there.
'Anyway, I've got the rest of my life to worry about things like that.
I won't be single for my entire life.'
'So you say now,' Adrian told him. 'Anyway, since it's a month
from graduation what do you say to some old time fun?'
A mischievous grin crossed both their faces. 'Now _that_ is
something I can do,' Eric answered. 'When do you want to meet?'
'Midnight and I'll get our route together too. There're some
places I've been dying to hit all year.' The two friends bumped fists
and went their separate ways. As Adrian walked into his home he leaned
up against the door and sighed. Though he would never admit it he was
jealous of the two of them. They still had their parents with them,
well Eric had his mother. It was still more family than he had. Rather
than moving in with his relatives he had chosen to live alone. In
recognition of the feats his parents had accomplished the King had made
sure that Adrian had everything he needed. It helped but it didn't make
up for the fact his parents weren't there. He sat down at his computer
and the face of a female squirrel came up.
'Good afternoon Adrian,' the computer said. 'How was school?'
'Fine Aurora,' he said impatiently getting out a pen and paper.
'Listen, Eric and I are heading out tonight and I need to plan a good
route to take.' The computer sighed.
'You're both eighteen and you still haven't grown out of that?'
she asked impatiently. 'When do you plan on growing up?'
'Don't worry, this is the last time,' the lynx assured her.
'Besides, my plan is twofold. I need you to work on a route with these
addresses.' He typed in close to a dozen addresses and Aurora gave a
low whistle.
'Quite a night,' she commented. 'I noticed that the last address
doesn't have anyone living in the house though. Did someone move there
recently?'
'Yeah, a new girl named Alura,' Adrian answered as Aurora drew up
the map and suggested plans of attack. 'From what I've gathered, she's
single and exactly Eric's type.'
'And you're still trying to hook him up,' Aurora sighed.
'Persistent aren't we?'
'I _will_ find him a date even if it kills me,' Adrian replied
with a smile. 'Besides, after talking to Alura I can tell she's the one
for Eric.'
'No jealousy on your part of course?' Adrian was quiet for a
moment.
'A little I guess,' he admitted shrugging. 'I wouldn't give up
Rosie for the world though.'
'Glad to hear it,' Aurora said. 'I made up the most efficient
route along with some suggestions of what to when you get there.' The
list printed out and Adrian looked over it carefully.
'Not bad,' he said nodding. 'A good mix of old and new, I like.
Now I just have to get everything together, though I think I have most
of this. Eric may even have the rest of it.'
'Good luck and be careful,' Aurora said in a motherly tone. 'You
know, I kinda wish that I could go with you sometimes.' Adrian stood up
and stroked his chin.
'I can ask Chuck if he can whip up a portable version of
yourself,' he suggested tucking the list into his pocket. 'I'll ask
Monday, he's got enough projects on his hands. Anyway, I'll see you
later.'
He walked to the door and opened it preparing to leave. He ran
into the mail carrier, a brown dog who just barely managed to catch
himself.
'That was fun,' he said sarcastically. 'Let's not do that again,
'kay?'
'Sure thing,' Adrian laughed and took the mail handed to him. He
stepped back inside sorting through all of it. 'Junk, junk, junk,
college acceptance, junk...'
He stopped and picked the one letter out of the trash. He opened
it up his hands shaking. He unfolded the letter and scanned it
nervously.
'Dear Mr. Osaka,' he read out loud, 'we at the Mobotropolis School
of Medicine are proud to accept you as an incoming freshman. The
program you have enrolled in is a special four-year course that will
give you your master's degree at the end (doctorates require an
additional two years). We look forward to meeting you at the enclosed
date and time for orientation. Again, congratulations.'
Adrian was silent incredible joy building up in his body. He
began to hoop and holler jumping around. He finally fell to the ground
holding the letter above him. He had almost given up waiting for the
letter since he had applied over a year ago. He stood back up, finished
sorting the mail and put the letter next to Aurora. When asked he told
her what it was.
'Well, I suppose congratulations are in order,' she said smiling.
'Don't forget to tell Rosie and Eric. I imagine Rosie is still hounding
you on whether or not it's arrived.'
'That she is,' Adrian said still smiling. 'That can wait 'til
Monday though. I need to do what I originally planned on now.'
'I said it once, I ain't sayin' it again,' the computer said.
'Anyway have fun, I'm gonna run a systems diagnostic to see if I can get
a little more power.'
Adrian grabbed his bag and went out the door. He took his time
walking around the city admiring its beauty. The city smelled clean, no
excess gases coming from the factories. The engineers had somehow
managed to take all that waste and reuse it to generate even more
energy. It didn't hold a candle to Xenodome's fusion reactors but he
didn't really care about that. Just thinking about it made him
depressed. Five years into the war and neither side had made any real
progress. When would it end? When he saw the shopping district his
thoughts were pulled from the war. Since it was the weekend the area
was packed, some people just going in and out of shops, others haggling
on the street corners. He stopped by a fruit stand and looked over the
various edibles.
'I've been looking for you all day,' a soft feminine voice
whispered in his ear. He immediately swung around to clothesline the
ambusher but she grabbed his arm, twisted it and slammed him on the
ground. Looking up he saw a blue female hedgehog with vibrant green
eyes and blonde-dyed hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was wearing a
pair of tight-fitting jean shorts with a sleeveless black t-shirt.
'Damn it Alura, don't do that,' he muttered standing up. He
brushed himself off and looked back at her. She really was something
else. If his heart wasn't set on Rosie he would have been vying for her
attention.
'And you should stop trying to injure people who try to surprise
you,' she retorted smiling. 'If you do you'll keep getting your butt
kicked.'
'Anyway, what brings you here?' he asked raising an eyebrow.
'What else?' she said her smile widening. 'It is the shopping
district, plus it's the weekend.'
'Typical,' he said looking around. 'So, why have you been looking
for me? Does it have to with this weekend?' Alura Johnson smiled.
'So that's when you two are doing this? Then the answer is yes,'
she said motioning for him to follow her. 'Did he agree to everything?'
'Yeah, but it took some effort,' Adrian admitted. 'Eric's a
strange one. In any other situation he's the first to jump forward.
But for some reason he can't work up the nerve to ask a sophomore on a
date.' She chuckled.
'Men,' she said. 'Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.'
'The same could be said about women.'
'Oh, you know what I mean!'
The two laughed stopping in front of the supply store Adrian
needed. 'Expect us either tonight or Sunday night,' he told her waving
goodbye. She waved back and caught up with another group of girls. He
shook his head. One minute she's a total tomboy and the next she's a
fashion nut. He walked in the store, the owner smiling when he saw the
young lynx.
'Adrian!' the brown dog said. 'Long time no see! What brings you
here?'
'Just need to get a few things,' Adrian replied. 'It's the end of
the year, plus graduation. What all do you have in the premium stock?'
'Not a lot,' the owner admitted. 'When you stopped coming in I
didn't really see a need for some of it. I made a killing on all of it
though some stuff I saved just in case.' He pulled out a small device
that easily fit in Adrian's palm.
'A garage door opener?' Adrian asked looking it over. The owner
smacked him upside the head.
'Of course not smart-aleck,' he said. 'You put it on a window and
it temporarily allows you to displace the molecules. That way you can
literally walk through.'
'That sounds kinda high tech,' Adrian said slowly. 'Just where
did you get this?'
'The military,' the owner said quietly. 'It was designed to be
used as an infiltration tool but the time frame it provides is too
small. You've got about two minutes worth of power each time you turn
it on.'
'What kinda power source?'
'Beats me,' the owner said. 'I tried it a few times myself so I
know it works. It seems self-sustaining or at least rechargeable. Be
careful with that thing.'
'No prob,' Adrian said pocketing the device. 'How much I owe you
for that?'
'Don't worry about it,' the owner said pushing aside the money.
'Just promise me you'll use it for this and NOTHING else.'
'Deal, I'll even bring it back once we're done,' Adrian promised.
'Anyway, I've got to get some regular stuff while I'm here.'
'Like this?' The owner pulled a large box from under the counter.
Adrian looked through it seeing everything he needed and then some.
'How...?'
'A black haired badger with orange eyes came through earlier,' he
explained. 'I didn't catch her name but she seemed to know you.'
Adrian's eyes widened. Rosie!? 'Umm, thanks,' Adrian said
nervously. 'Something tells me I'm in trouble come Monday.'
'After stunts like this, I'd hope so,' the dog said laughing at
the expression on his face. 'Take care man.'
'You too,' Adrian told him closing the top of the box. He handed
over some money for the supplies and walked out of the store carrying
the box. He felt silly but he really didn't have a choice. He walked
back to his house and went in. He set the box down on the floor and
wiped his brow. What he wouldn't do for a nap...
A beeping from Aurora caught his attention. He went over to the
computer who was still busy with her diagnostic and opened up the
message. A video window popped up and a male rabbit in a lab coat
appeared in it. He seemed to have just fallen asleep because the moment
Adrian answered the message he snapped awake.
'Ah, there you are!' he said clearing his throat. 'You must be
Adrian Osaka?'
'I am,' Adrian said nodding. 'And you might be...?'
'I'm Dr. Alexander Rabbit from the Mobotropolis School of
Medicine,' the rabbit said with a slightly Southern accent. 'Have you
gotten your letter of acceptance yet?'
'I have,' Adrian replied sitting down with suppressed excitement.
'Today as a matter of fact.'
'Excellent,' Alexander said smiling. 'The purpose of this little
interview is to find out what field of medicine you want to go into.
Right now our most sought after area is military field medicine.'
'What's the difference between that and traditional medicine?
Well, besides the obvious.'
Alexander shifted in his seat. 'Military field medicine focuses
on treating common battlefield injuries,' he explained. 'You know,
broken bones, sprains, blaster wounds, explosives-related injuries,
things like that.'
'Sounds pleasant,' Adrian said sarcastically. 'So we'd be on the
front line then?'
'Not at all. You would stay in the base camp treating the
wounded. You would of course have to go through a portion of the basic
training that all military personnel endure, and you would be trained
and licensed to carry a weapon.'
'Sounds more exciting than being in a hospital all day.'
Alexander nodded.
'Trust me, it is,' he said. 'I can vouch for what it's like since
it's my field. My wife and I are both field specialists, in both
military and medicine.'
Adrian gave a low whistle. 'Now _that_ is impressive,' he
admitted. 'Still, I'm not keen on the whole 'pseudo-military' idea.'
'Well, there are other options,' the rabbit said shifting again.
'You have your traditional medicine where you would spend most of your
day in a hospital. There's also home medicine where you would open up
your own clinic and treat patients from there. Or you could go into
elderly care.'
'Military it is,' Adrian said quickly. He hated being cooped up
all day with anyone. Well, except Rosie and Eric. 'When would I
start?'
'Immediately after graduation,' Alexander answered. 'You'll still
do four years of school then a regular tour of duty with the military.
After that you can continue serving or return to earn your doctorate.'
Here was the moment of truth. 'And how much does all of this
cost?'
'I was told of your...special, circumstances,' Alexander said
carefully. 'If you are set on military medicine then the military will
pay for all your schooling, up to and including your doctorate.'
'And if I hadn't?'
'You know the answer as well as I do,' he said quietly. 'I knew
both your parents. They were heroes in the eyes of the city, you should
be proud of them.'
'I am, and I know they'd be proud of me for this,' he said
smiling. 'Did you need anything else?' The rabbit shook his head.
'That's all,' he replied. 'I'll be in touch.' With that the
window vanished.
'You sure about this?' Aurora asked quietly. 'This ain't exactly
like playing doctor with your friends. These people will be depending
on you to make it off the battlefield alive and in one piece.'
'You think I don't know that?' Adrian replied impatiently. 'I'm
well aware of what I'm doing.' He looked at his watch and stood up.
'That took longer than I thought. I'm supposed to meet Eric in about
half an hour.'
Aurora didn't say anything. Adrian felt a pang of guilt for
having snapped at her. It wasn't as if he was a little kid anymore, he
could make his own decisions. Besides, he had always wanted to serve in
the military in a supporting role. It wasn't that he hated the army,
just Jacques' father. He had heard all about his parents' exploits
inside the city of Xenodome and it made him proud. What infuriated him
was that Jacques' father knew there was no way that his parents would
come back from that mission alive. Knowing this he still sent them and
they had died. He finished putting on his gear, a long sleeved black t-
shirt with black pants and boots in addition to black gloves. He made
sure he had everything in his pack and headed towards the door. As he
grabbed the knob he stopped for a moment.
'Aurora...' he started but the computer interrupted him.
'Don't bother,' she snapped, the anger obvious in her voice.
'Just do what you have to do. I'll still be here when you get back.'
If he had felt bad before she had multiplied it tenfold. Still,
he wasn't going to let this drop. 'For what it's worth, I'm sorry,' he
said. 'I know you're worried about me but I'll be okay. You're like a
mother to me, I'm not gonna ignore what you say.'
The computer was silent. Adrian sighed and turned off the lights
as he walked out the door. He could see a similarly dressed hedgehog
tapping his foot impatiently on the sidewalk. He put his hands on his
waist when he saw the lynx approach.
'About time,' he said smiling. 'You're late.'
'By what, a whole minute?' Adrian replied looking at his watch.
'I swear, I hope you have kids just like you.'
'That's just scary,' Eric said lowering his hands. 'Anyway, you
ready to do this?' Adrian nodded and pulled out the device he had
gotten from the store owner.
'Yep, and I have a new toy.'
'Nice. Well, shall we?'
The two quietly snuck around the city being sure to avoid any and
all lights they encountered. Before they arrived at their first target
they stopped a house early.
'So what should we do?' Eric whispered balancing himself on the
roof. 'Classic or new? Plus, how do you intend to get through the
window?'
'First, new,' he answered and held up the device. 'Second, that's
what this thing is for. It's easier to show you rather than explain it.
I will say though we have about two minutes to get in and out.'
'Whatever,' Eric said motioning his thumb at the house. 'So
what's the plan here?'
'From what I hear he has a big interview tomorrow morning,' Adrian
explained. 'Considering how much of a pain in the ass he's been to us I
think it's time we returned the favor.' Eric smiled.
'I concur. Let's do it to it!'
They bumped fists and ran towards the ledge. With a single leap
they cleared the gap and landed silently on the next roof. Adrian eased
himself off the ledge right in front of the window. He placed the
device on the window and pressed the button on the top. The window
shimmered and settled back down. He held up one finger to signal Eric
that the coast was clear. He gave a light swing and passed easily
through the window. Eric was right behind him. There sleeping in the
bed was a muscular male duck. The trophies and plaques across his room
identified him as a top athlete in the school. The two black-clad
partners nodded to each other. Eric went over to the clock and reversed
everything. Now rather than reading 12:34 AM it read 12:34 PM, simple
but effective. He looked over at Adrian who was spreading some kind of
white powder around the duck's legs. He closed the top of the bottle
and put it back in his bag. He motioned to Eric who jumped out the
window and managed to grab the ledge, swinging himself upward. Adrian
followed suit but grabbed the device on the way up. He landed with a
grin across his face.
'Whoever knew that all those years taking gymnastics and
acrobatics would pay off?' he said laughing quietly.
'Tell me about it,' Eric replied. 'I'd forgotten what it feels
like to be like a ninja. Sneaking around without making a sound, it's
good to be back. By the way, what was that powder?' Eric pulled the
bottle out of his pack but it was too dark for Eric to read it.
'It's a new type of itching powder,' Adrian explained. 'Rather
than just sitting on the surface of the skin it absorbs in. It takes a
few hours to set in but when it does it itches all day and you can't
wash it out.'
'That's awful,' Eric said. Adrian wagged his finger.
'It gets better,' he continued. 'The granules are small enough to
pass through the fibers in most sheets and heavy enough not to send up a
plume of smoke if you hit them. There's no residue to tell you that
it's still there and that means that this is one prank that will work
night after night.'
'I take back what I just said,' Eric corrected himself. 'That's
not awful or even mean, just plain freakin' evil!'
'Why thank you,' Adrian said giving a small bow. 'Anyway, shall
we move on?'
The two moved from house to house that night pulling similar
pranks. From tying one foot to the bedpost to spring traps on the
snooze button of alarm clocks they set up mischievous stunts. They
stopped in the park at nearly four, only one house left.
'Who's left?' Eric asked. Adrian knew the answer but pulled out
the paper anyway.
'It's about a block north of here, third intersection, right
corner,' he said avoiding saying Alura's name.
'Who lives there?' Eric insisted catching Adrian's tactic.
'Alura,' Adrian said folding the paper up and putting it back in
his pocket.
'No way,' he said shaking his head. 'No way in hell.'
'C'mon man, it's the last one for the night,' Adrian nearly
begged. 'Two minutes is more than enough time for this.'
'It ain't that,' Eric replied gritting his teeth. 'I
just...something is telling me not to do this one. I don't know what or
why, it's just a feeling.' Adrian sighed. Whenever Eric got these
'feelings' it was almost always a genuine concern. He wouldn't lie
about that.
'Alright,' Adrian said finally, 'but you owe me.'
'No prob man,' Eric said sighing with relief. 'Anyway, I'm
headin' back. I'm bushed.'
'Well after rolling through that needle bush I can imagine.'
Eric shook his head smiling and waved goodbye to his friend.
Adrian did likewise and started walking towards his own house. He
walked in the front door and locked it behind him. Aurora was running
another diagnostic and he sighed. He needed to talk to her soon but as
long as she was like this she wouldn't listen to him. He went into the
connecting room and set his bag down. Without bothering to change he
fell onto his bed and was asleep instantly.
Later that morning Adrian awoke slowly. He looked at his clock.
It was only nine. He rolled onto his side and sat up. He had a few
things to do today and couldn't afford to sleep in. He yawned and
smacked his lips a couple times. A shower, that's what he needed. He
grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom.
When he emerged he could smell the coffee Aurora had started
brewing. He took a deep breath savoring the aroma. He walked into the
kitchen and poured a cup for himself.
'You're up early,' Aurora said startling Adrian. 'Well, early
considering how late you were out last night.'
'True, but I can't wait for Monday to come,' Adrian said smiling
and took a sip. 'I say it every time but it's still true: You make a
damn good cup of coffee Aurora!'
The computer laughed. 'I figured after last night you would need
it,' she said none of the anger from the previous night apparent in her
voice. Adrian set his mug down.
'About that,' he said seriously. 'Listen, I shouldn't have
snapped at you like that. You were worried about me and I'm glad you
are.'
'I should be the one apologizing,' Aurora insisted. 'I know
you're fully capable of handling yourself. It's just that after all
these years I kind of... feel like a mother.' Adrian smiled.
'You're doing a good job of that,' he said laughing lightly. 'I
promise, I'll be fine.'
'You better be,' Aurora warned. 'If you get hurt I will find you
and deal with you myself.' The two of them laughed at the empty threat.
Adrian gave a sigh of relief and picked up the acceptance letter he had
gotten.
'I can't believe that all these books are special order,' he said
looking over the list of books he would need. 'I can't even get 'em
used. This is gonna cost me an arm and a leg.'
'If the prices are right on those,' the computer chipped in, 'then
maybe two arms plus a leg and a half.'
'What's sad is that's probably right. Good thing I have some
money saved up for something like this.' Aurora beeped.
'Why not just ask-'
'I'm not asking the king to cover these,' Adrian interrupted
catching her drift. 'I know he would in a heartbeat but I want to prove
to him I can take care of myself.'
'I was going to suggest the school since the military is covering
your school expenses,' Aurora finished a little perturbed. Adrian
blushed slightly.
'Oh, okay,' he said clearing his throat. 'I guess that would make
sense. I can still order them and then just see about getting
reimbursed.' Aurora beeped again and Adrian just sighed. He stuffed
the paper in his pocket and put his shoes on. 'I'm gonna head out and
see if I can get these things,' he said turning to Aurora as he opened
the door.
'Adrian look out!' Aurora cried but too late. Adrian felt a fist
connect with his face throwing him back into the house sprawled on the
floor. He opened his good eye to see Alura pick him up by his shirt
collar.
'You lied to me,' she said with a smile. Adrian shuddered at the
sound of her voice. 'You said that you'd be at my house last night. Do
you have any idea how late I was up waiting for you two?'
'Something tells me that it doesn't matter and I'm about to get
hurt,' he said gulping. Alura's smile vanished as she helped Adrian up.
'I'm only going to say this once,' she said quietly. 'Eric has
until Sunday night to make his intentions known. Once Monday comes
it'll be too late.' With that she turned on her heel and walked out the
door.
'Wait! What happens Monday?' Adrian yelled wincing. 'A little
help here Aurora.'
'You really need to pay attention more,' she said sighing.
'Monday is when Crown Prince Maximillian Acorn plans on announcing his
consort to become Queen.'
'Then if Monday is too late...' Adrian said thinking. His eyes
widened. 'I have to tell Eric!'
'Adrian wait!' Aurora yelled but it was too late. He had already
run out the door at top speed. The computer sighed. 'He didn't even
acknowledge the message from Rosie saying more or less the same thing.
I guess I'd better let her know.'
Adrian doubled over gasping for breath. He was in front of Eric's
house now but hardly had the strength to walk up the path. He stood up
and mustered all his strength as he walked up. He knocked on the door
and a few seconds later a light blue hedgehog with a small goatee and
moustache answered the door.
'Adrian!' he said surprised. 'What brings you here this early in
the day?'
'I need...to talk to...Eric,' he panted leaning on the molding.
'It's important.'
'He won't be up for some time,' the hedgehog said shaking his
head. 'You should come in. You don't look too hot.'
'Thanks...Chuck.' 'Chuck' gave a small growl.
'Will you stop calling me that?! For the last time my name is
Charles.'
Adrian walked in and sat down on one of the chairs. Charles
Hedgehog sat back down in the kitchen and continued eating breakfast. A
deep blue female hedgehog set a glass of water down next to the lynx and
sighed shaking her head.
'I swear Adrian, if you keep this up you're not going to make it
to graduation,' she said in a soft voice.
'I know Nicole,' Adrian replied taking a drink. 'It's just that
it's really important that I talk to Eric before the weekend is over.'
Nicole Hedgehog shrugged putting her hands in the air. 'You're
the one that kept him out all night,' she said. 'You'll have to wait
until he wakes up.' She walked off continuing doing chores around the
house. Adrian turned to Charles.
'Can I ask a favor of you Chuck?' he asked. The young hedgehog
glared at him.
'On one condition,' he said. Adrian made a face and sighed.
'Fine Charles,' he said and the hedgehog smiled. 'I need to know
if you can build a small portable computer capable of handling a fully
functional AI along with some nifty gadgets.'
'Well that depends on what kind of 'gadgets' you have in mind,'
Charles said still eating. 'Weaponry is out of the question.'
'No, more like holographic maps and superfast downloading and
uploading, all wireless,' Adrian assured him. Charles leaned back and
let out a low whistle.
'Not asking much are we?' he said with a touch of sarcasm. 'It's
possible, but I wouldn't have a fully functional model for some time.'
'When could you have a working prototype?' Charles rubbed his
chin.
'Well, if I leave out the down- and uploading then I could have
one to you by Wednesday,' the hedgehog said still thinking. 'Still, the
circuitry needed to support AI is extremely complicated. Building and
designing is my specialty, not artificial intelligence and computer
programming.'
'Wait a sec, Wednesday?' Adrian asked in disbelief. Charles
nodded.
'That's all current technology,' he explained. 'If I start
working on it today then it won't be a problem. I'll let you know how
I'm doing on Monday.'
As Eric continued eating a very groggy Eric shuffled into the
kitchen. 'Well well,' Nicole said smiling. 'The dead walk.' Eric
muttered something unintelligible and looked at Adrian not even
acknowledging his presence. He walked over to the cooler and opened it
up. A second later he nearly slammed it shut as he realized that Adrian
was sitting at the table.
'What are you doing here?' he asked his exhaustion still obvious
in his voice.
'I bring bad news,' Adrian said grimly. He stood up and poured a
cup of coffee for Eric and handed it to him. 'Drink this, you'll need
it.'
Eric took the mug and drained the entire mug in one pass.
Impressed Adrian poured mug after mug as the grey hedgehog emptied each
glass. Nicole and Charles watched in amazement as Eric went through
almost five cups of coffee with ease. Finally he took a deep breath and
exhaled. Without warning his eyes shot open and he grabbed his throat.
'What the hell is wrong with you?!' he yelled at Adrian. 'By the
Maker that's hot!'
'Glad you're awake,' Adrian said unfazed. 'You'll be able to
handle this much easier then.'
'Handle what?' Eric continued yelling now guzzling water. 'What
in the nine hells could call for five consecutive cups of coffee?!'
'The fact that you have until tomorrow to make a decision,' Adrian
said his face serious. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared
at him. 'As of Monday you will be out of time and unable to do anything
about it.'
'What happens Monday?' Charles asked raising an eyebrow over his
glasses. 'The only thing that I know of is the Crown Prince is
announcing who his royal consort will be.'
'Exactly,' Adrian said nodding still staring at Eric. The grey
hedgehog blinked a few times. As realization set in his eyes widened.
'You mean...'
'Like I said, you have until tomorrow night,' Adrian said once
more. Eric looked off to the side.
'Then what's the point?' he said weakly. 'What chance do I stand
against the prince?'
He snapped out of it as Adrian grabbed the front of his shirt and
pulled him until they were staring eye to eye. 'Don't you dare say
that!' Adrian said angrily. 'You have everything it takes to make her
happy. If anyone deserves to be with her it's you, not him.'
Eric was quiet. Adrian let go of him and sighed. 'I can only do
so much,' he said softly. 'Besides, I've got other things to worry
about right now. Don't think I'm forgetting about this.' As he was
about to leave he turned to Nicole and Charles. 'Thanks guys, and
Chuck, let me know how that project turns out.'
'I thought I told you not to-' Charles started but Adrian was
already gone. He sighed shaking his head. 'One of these days I'm gonna
get him back for that nickname.'
Eric was still quiet as thoughts of losing Alura ran through his
head. Nicole stood up and hugged her oldest son. 'I know how you
feel,' she said quietly. 'You must do what your heart tells you son.
If you truly love this girl do not give up on her.'
Eric hugged his mother back sighing deeply. 'Thanks mom,' he
said. 'I'll think about it.'
Sunday night arrived before either of them could think about it.
Around midnight Adrian placed the device on Eric's window and slipped
though silently. He stood up to see his partner in crime in all black.
'Well?' Adrian asked simply. Eric smiled as his eyes twinkled.
'Let's do this,' he said confidently. Adrian smiled back as they
bumped fists.
'That's the Eric I remember,' he replied and the two of them leapt
out the window grabbing the device on the way down. As they left Nicole
and Charles emerged from the closet.
'They gonna be okay mom?' Charles asked looking up at his mother.
'If there's one thing that Adrian is good at,' she explained, 'is
how to not get caught doing something you shouldn't be. When you spend
your life under the watchful eye of the king you pick up on skills like
that.'
The two of them arrived at Alura's house and landed silently on
the roof. 'So what do you want to do?' Adrian asked quietly.
'What's the prank we always pull on the new kids?' Eric asked a
wicked smile on his face. Adrian's soon matched.
'Right as always partner.'
Adrian lowered himself down and put the device on the window as he
and Eric slipped in undetected. Adrian pulled a small bowl out of his
pack along with a warm bottle of water. Very carefully he poured some
of the water in the bowl and handed it to Eric who placed Alura's left
hand in it. Though Eric couldn't see it Alura's eyes were wide open and
looking at Adrian. The lynx nodded and the female hedgehog feigned
sleep once more. Adrian's ears twitched and he snapped to attention.
He had heard something but not from inside the house. He crept over to
the window and looked outside. While he was doing that Eric was
standing over Alura. He checked to see that Adrian wasn't watching and
leaned over Alura. He swallowed and planted a light but long kiss on
her lips. Adrian turned around just in time to see Eric whisper
something in her ear.
'We don't have time for this!' he said through gritted teeth.
'Someone must have spotted us on the way here. We need to get out of
here, now!'
Eric nodded and took one last glance at Alura before leaping out
the window with Adrian. The lynx looked at him and Eric held the device
up and stuffed it in his pocket. They took off across the yard leaping
into a tree when they heard voices.
'Did you see that?' one said. 'I think something just jumped into
that tree.'
Adrian and Eric looked as best they could. Someone had seen them
and must have called the police, fearing burglars. When the cop turned
to argue with his partner they took the moment to leap from the tree to
the nearest rooftop.
'There it was again!' the same voice said followed by the sound of
running. 'They must have jumped to the roof from the tree.'
'You know how ridiculous that sounds?' another voice said. 'Fine,
you know what, I'll humor you.'
Adrian and Eric lay silently near the peak of the roof as the cops
rounded the house. They looked at each other nervously. 'Get out the
light, let's check the roof,' one of the cops yelled from the back of
the house. Another quick glance and the two of them shifted from the
back to the front. A split second later a beam of light came over the
top of the roof.
'See, nothing,' the other voice said. 'Probably just some old
lady seeing shapes in the dark. Let's head back.'
The light died and they heard closing doors. The cruiser left
though they didn't dare move until the lights disappeared. They
breathed a sigh of relief and continued moving back to Eric's house.
'That was way too close,' Eric said as they arrived.
'You can say that again,' Adrian replied shaking his head. 'Thank
goodness it ended quickly.'
'Six years and that's the first time we've had the police called
on us,' Eric said with a little pride. 'I'm happy to hang my hat up
after tonight.'
'Same here,' Adrian said waving to his friend. 'See you in the
morning man.'
'Later.'
The next day went by uneventfully. Adrian, Rosie, nor Eric saw
any sign of Alura. As the day wore on Eric became worse and worse
fearing that she hadn't in someway heard whatever it was that he had
whispered. By the second to last period he was a wreck. Rosie patted
him on the shoulder trying to comfort him.
'I'm sure she just wants to tell you after school,' she said
hopefully but Eric didn't respond. He sighed and began walking away
from his locker with Rosie and Adrian right behind him.
'YOU SON OF A BITCH!!'
Eric turned in time to have a pair of sneakers connect with his
face just inches in front of Adrian. The lynx stood there dumbfounded
that he hadn't been hit.
'That's a new one,' he said slowly. 'I've never seen anyone drop
kicked in the middle of school.'
He and Rosie looked over to see a bright red Alura pummeling Eric.
For some reason he wasn't fighting back, whether from shock or knowing
that he deserved it.
'Do you have any idea what you made me do?!' Alura demanded
grabbing his shirt collar. Eric was barely conscious and unable to
respond. 'You are one damn lucky hedgehog, that's all I have to say
about that.' She helped him up and he caught himself on the lockers.
She sighed and smiled. She started walking away when the duck they had
pranked Friday night came up and punched Eric in the gut. He doubled
over holding his gut.
'What do you think you're doing?' Adrian said trying to stop him.
Rosie grabbed his arm and shook her head.
'Leave him alone!' Alura yelled but the duck grabbed her arm and
pinned her against the lockers. He stroked her cheek.
'Don't worry about him,' he said with a sneer. 'I'll show you a
good time later.'
'Get your filthy hands off her,' Eric said his voice strained. He
stood up and wiped the trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.
The duck turned to face him still sneering.
'Or what? You'll scratch me with your quills?' he mocked. 'Do
your worst Eric.' He went to push him but Eric reacted faster than he
expected. The hedgehog grabbed one of his arms and spun him around
twisting his arm behind his back. A sickening pop echoed through the
halls as Eric displaced the duck's shoulder.
'This good enough for you?' Eric asked darkly. His eyes flashed
yellow for a second. Then without warning the light above them erupted
in a shower of glass and sparks. A bolt of lightning arced between the
two of them throwing them across the hall. The students watching backed
away with the exception of Rosie, Alura, and Adrian who ran to Eric's
side.
'Everyone out of the way now!' one of the teachers yelled. The
crowd parted as a group of teachers and the school nurse ran over to
Eric and the duck. The nurse knelt down next to the smoking Eric and
shook her head.
'You two,' she said pointing at Adrian and Alura, 'pick him up
carefully and bring him to my office.' The two nodded and lifted the
unconscious hedgehog up. The other teachers helped the duck to his feet
and he shook his head. The four of them entered the nurse's office and
set Eric down on the bed. As they did he groaned slowly opening his
eyes. Alura held his hand tightly as if she was afraid that letting go
would cause him to die.
'What...happened?' he groaned trying to sit up.
'I'm not sure of all the details,' the nurse said handing him a
cold compress. He put it on his forehead and laid back down. 'What I
do know is that I saw an electrical current arc down and hit you. By
all rights you should be dead right now.'
The room was silent. 'Dead?' Eric asked slowly. 'What do you
mean?'
'I mean that I should have an order of fried hedgehog extra
crispy,' the nurse said. 'Those lights are designed to hold back 50,000
volts or less. To overload them would take a lot of power. Rather than
being dead you just have some minor burns.'
'But how?' Adrian asked looking between the two. The nurse
shrugged.
'I don't know,' she admitted looking at Eric. 'You're the only
one that knows the answer to that.'
'I guess I'm just lucky then,' Eric said. Adrian looked at his
friend sensing there was more to the story than the hedgehog was
admitting. 'Is there anything else?'
'No, you're good to go,' the nurse said as she began filling out
paperwork. 'You three can head back to class.' At that moment the bell
signaling the end of the day began ringing. 'Okay, you can go home
then.'
They chuckled as they walked out. They went to their respective
lockers and grabbed their stuff. Alura had disappeared and Eric looked
around for her before heaving a sigh. Adrian filled Rosie in on what
had happened in the nurse's office. A concerned look crossed her face
but she didn't say anything about it. As they began walking out Alura
slipped next to Eric hooking her arm in his. He smiled blushing
slightly as he looked at her. The walk from the school was rather
uneventful as they neared the alley they always passed through. They
heard a snicker from behind them and they turned around. There were two
animals coming up, one coyote and one armadillo. They turned back
around to see the duck and another two of his friends.
'You ain't goin' anywhere hedgehog,' the duck said a sick smile on
his face. 'You ain't even gonna make it to graduation.'
'Still bullying people for their milk money Donny?' Eric mocked
taking the lead of the group. Donny glared at him.
'This has nothing to do with that,' he said. 'You and Adrian cost
me a huge job opportunity this weekend plus you made me look like a fool
in front of the entire school.'
'Aw, did I hurt your little ego?' Eric mocked once more.
'No, but I'm about to hurt yours.'
They both stopped and turned around when they heard a groan a
couple thumps. Alura dusted her hands off as the coyote and the
armadillo lay on the ground. Eric smiled and faced Donny.
'I'll make you a deal,' he said. 'You leave my friends out of
this and I'll give you the fight you're looking for.'
'Deal,' Donny said quickly. 'This'll be fast.'
'You can say that again,' Eric taunted and the duck's eyes flashed
with anger. He charged at Eric but the hedgehog dodged easily. He spun
quickly and tried to clothesline him but it was almost as if Eric was
reading his mind. As Donny swung his arm where Eric was the gray
hedgehog vanished. Donny stopped and looked around him.
'Up here dimwit!'
He looked up just in time to see Eric's foot crash into his face.
Donny collapsed to the ground holding his bill. Eric saw movement out
of the corner of his eye and kicked upward scoring a hit on a young
bear. The kick lifted him off the ground and against the wall. Donny
took advantage of the momentary distraction and put Eric in a head lock
trying to cut off his air supply. Eric struggled but he was no match
for the brute strength of the duck.
'Shows what you get for messing with me,' Donny said chuckling.
Eric gave a light laugh. 'What the hell are you laughing for?'
'I'm laughing...because your short term...memory is terrible,'
Eric said weakly. 'The electricity that hit us wasn't from the light.'
His eyes turned bright yellow again and he smiled. 'That was from me.'
Small bolts of lightning ran up his arms and into Donny. The duck
couldn't react quick enough as the bolts connected with him. His entire
body began to convulse violently and uncontrollably. Eric grabbed the
arm around his windpipe and flipped Donny over his shoulder slamming him
into the ground. He continued twitching and Eric stood over him.
'Do not mess with me,' he said simply his flashing brightly before
changing back to black. He looked at the last member of Donny's posse
who was frozen in place. He was a duck though much smaller than Donny
but with an attitude to match. 'You may want to start running,' Eric
warned him. The duck took off and vanished around the corner. Eric
sighed heaving his shoulders. He turned back to his friends who were
all dumbfounded. 'What?'
'When did you learn to fight like that?' Adrian asked first. 'I
thought you were only taking a basic martial arts class.'
'And what about that lightning thing?' Alura asked. 'Am I gonna
have to worry about that when we have kids?' The three of them looked
at her curiously.
'You two have been together less than a day and you're talking
about kids?' Rosie asked raising an eyebrow. Then a smile crossed her
face. 'That actually sounds like a good idea.' Adrian turned to her.
'Don't you go getting ideas now,' he said taking a step back.
'Hey guys,' Eric said as he heard sirens in the background, 'we
should probably go before we get blamed for this.' They nodded and ran
off making sure not to step on any of the unconscious animals. They
arrived at the gate in front of Rosie's house winded. Rosie looked
around nervously.
'What's wrong Rose?' Adrian asked. 'You look like you were
expecting someone to follow us.'
'It's not that,' she said standing up. 'I just wanted to make
sure none of the guards my parents employ saw me running like I just
committed a crime.'
'I still don't understand why we had to run though,' Alura said
looking at Eric. 'It's not like we did anything wrong.'
'It's...kinda complicated,' he said looking away nervously.
'That was 'magic', wasn't it?' Adrian asked looking at his friend.
'My understanding of the stuff is that most Mobians don't look too
highly on animals that can use it. They say crap like it 'upsets the
balance of the planet' and that it's 'unnatural'.'
'It's more than that,' Eric admitted. 'If people were to find out
that I can use it then they would not only come after me but my teacher
as well. Then all of his students, not only presently but all of his
former students. I shouldn't have used it.'
'So that's why you didn't die when the light exploded,' Alura said
with realization. 'You were able to channel the energy so you didn't
get hurt.' Eric opened his mouth to reply.
'That's not it,' Adrian interrupted narrowing his eyes. 'He
_caused_ the bolt to come down and hit them.'
'How did you know?' Eric asked.
'That bolt came up from the ground,' Adrian explained taking a
deep breath. 'That's what I originally saw but I figured I was just
seeing things. But with what you just told us it makes perfect sense.'
Eric sighed.
'I hope you guys can forgive me for not telling you this,' he said
hanging his head. 'Especially you Adrian. You're my best friend in all
the world but I never told you.' The lynx shrugged.
'Everyone has their secrets,' he said. 'I mean, it's not as if
you let Jacques convince you to join the Royal Guard.' Eric turned a
light shade of pink and looked down at the ground. 'You didn't.'
'Wait a minute here,' Rosie said interrupting Adrian. 'Eric, you
intend on joining the Royal Guard?' He nodded. 'And Adrian, you intend
to become a field doctor for the military?' He nodded as well. 'Then
what are you complaining about?' The two of them looked at each other
and then at her. 'If anything happens to either of you you can watch
each other's backs. You should be happy that your both going into the
military.'
'You have to understand Adrian,' Eric explained. 'I want to
protect this city like my father did. I want to show that I am more
than just a Hedgehog in name, that I can live up to and surpass the name
of Sonic Hedgehog.' Adrian sighed and shook his head.
'I suppose...I can't argue with that,' he admitted. 'As much as I
was upset with my parents for joining the war I understand their reasons
for doing so.' He smiled and extended his hand to the gray hedgehog.
'Just promise me that you'll invite me to your induction ceremony.'
Eric smiled back and shook the lynx's hand. 'Deal.'
'Awww,' Alura said cocking her head to the side. 'I'm so glad you
two made up.' The two of them looked at her.
'Shut up Alura,' they said simultaneously. The female hedgehog's
eyes widened in anger and then narrowed at Eric.
'I should probably get going,' he said quickly starting to back
away.
'You probably should,' Alura said walking towards him. 'I'll even
give you a head start.'
Eric's eyes twinkled and a mischievous smile crossed his lips.
'Catch me if you can,' he yelled and began revving up his legs. Before
Alura could say anything he took off leaving a trail of fire behind.
Alura stared in shock as Rosie and Adrian shook their heads.
'It's been a long time since I've seen him do that,' Adrian said.
Rosie nodded as Alura stared at the two of them.
'You knew...he could do that?' she asked incredulously. 'Why
didn't you warn me?'
'It's a long story,' Rosie said and pulled out a piece of paper.
She wrote something on it and handed it to Alura. 'Here's his address.
He has to go home at some point.' She smiled the same look that Eric
had had a moment ago. She waved her thanks and followed the trail which
had started to die down.
'I guess that's my cue to go,' Adrian said looking at his
girlfriend. She hugged him tightly.
'Be careful,' she said still holding him.
'I'll be fine,' he replied giving her a light squeeze. She pulled
away slightly and looked him in the eyes.
'Any other day I'd believe that,' she said. 'But what Donny
pulled makes me think that he may try again.' He leaned in and kissed
her soundly which she gladly returned. They parted and he stroked her
cheek.
'Don't worry about me,' he said softly. 'I'll always be here for
you, no matter what.' Rosie smiled and hugged him tightly again.
'I love you Adrian.'
'I love you too Rosie.'
They parted and went their own ways. Adrian arrived back at his
house the day's events replaying through his head. He set his stuff
down and went over to Aurora.
'You okay?' she asked concerned. 'You don't look so good.'
'A lot happened today,' he said simply. 'Can you do me a favor
and look up anything you've got on magic, how to learn and use it, and
why Mobians who use it are persecuted.'
'Hmm, yep no problem,' Aurora said cheerily. 'Here's what I've
got.'
Adrian looked over the documents carefully. 'Magic users, more
commonly called 'Magi' once populated a great deal of Mobius,' he said
reading aloud. 'They were able to harness the raw power of the elements
using them to manipulate their surroundings. Because of this ability
they were feared by most of the normal population. Multiple wars were
fought against the Magi eventually ending with their extinction.
However, some Mobians are still born that are able to use these same
powers. Fearing the outbreak of another war the government of
Mobotropolis ordered a 'cleansing' of all individuals believed to have
Magi abilities. Some believe that these individuals were killed, others
say they were trained as weapons to use in war, while a few believe
their abilities were sealed away. No solid proof has been found to
suggest that either side is correct in their opinion.'
He pulled another one up. 'Magic is the concept of controlling
the natural energies of Mobius. When one grasps this simple concept
they have passed the first step of using magic. There are six supposed
elements: Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Light. Whether
certain individuals are limited to what elements they can control is
unknown since the last know Magi died centuries ago. Unfortunately all
of their teachings died with them leaving no one to teach the
fundamental steps to controlling magic. It is believed that the
Echidnas know these steps but are unwilling to share them. Any
reference to the Chaos Emeralds is met with the same cold unswerving
answer.'
'That was helpful,' Adrian said leaning back. 'It still doesn't
tell me how his teacher learned those techniques.'
'That brings up an interesting question,' Aurora said. 'Why did
you want to know all this?'
'Eric used some kind of lightning attack twice on Donny today,' he
explained. 'He said that if people found out he could use them they'd
hunt him down, his teacher, and all of the students he ever had.'
'Oh my,' Aurora said quietly. 'I just don't understand why people
hate and hurt each other.'
'Same here,' Adrian said pulling out some of his homework. 'I
also think that pranking Donny may have been a bad idea. He tried
attacking us on the way home today after he had a little scuffle with
Eric in the halls at school. Rosie was worried that he might still come
after us.'
'You'd think after getting his ass handed to him twice he'd
learn.' Adrian smiled at that comment.
'He's not exactly the brightest one in the bunch,' he said and
leaned back in the chair. 'Although, I think after the beating Eric
gave him he won't try anything for a good while.'
As it turned out, Donny left them alone. All Eric had to do was
hold his hand out in a beckoning motion to send the duck running. The
remainder of the school year passed quickly. Graduation came and went
and they all went their respective ways. Adrian started medical school,
Eric began his training to join the Royal Guard. Rosie hadn't said what
she was planning to do, neither had Alura. With how busy Adrian and
Eric were they hardly had anytime to visit their girlfriends, much to
their dismay.
Adrian opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He had been in
school for six months now and he hated it. He had no time to himself,
and he hardly got to see Rosie. How was he going to survive three and a
half more years of this? He looked over at his clock. Six in the
morning, so three hours before his first class. He sat up reluctantly
and went over to the bathroom.
After his shower he walked into the kitchen and smelled the
coffee. He poured a cup and took a deep breath of the aroma. He
sighed, partly in exhaustion, but mostly in relief.
'You have no idea how much I owe you for this,' he told Aurora
taking a sip. He winced. It was still really hot.
'Considering how hard you've been working this year, I think it's
the least I can do,' the computer said. 'Well, that and you kept your
promise to me.'
Adrian smiled at that and patted his side where a small computer
was clipped to his belt. 'I must say though,' he said, 'I never
expected you to turn out as good as you did. I hear that the Crown
Prince wants to commission Chuck to build one just like you.'
'Fat chance on it being any good,' Aurora scoffed. 'There's no
way it can be as good as the original.'
'I agree,' Adrian said laughing. 'Though Chuck would be the only
one to outdo himself. Eh, I don't foresee it happening anytime soon
though.'
'War not going well?' Adrian shook his head.
'We're actually winning right now,' he said taking another sip.
'We've held back the Xenodonians for some time, even managing to win a
number of crucial battles.'
'Speaking of crucial,' Aurora said coughing, 'I have the
invitation to Eric's graduation and induction into the Royal Guard.'
'In six months?' Adrian asked in disbelief. 'I thought it took
years to make it in?'
'It does,' Aurora answered. 'I don't know how but he'd beaten
every odd at getting in. He's not only the youngest member of the Royal
Guard but he graduated in record time.'
'Talk about an overachiever,' he muttered but still smiled. 'Any
word on how he and Alura are doing?'
'Actually, I haven't heard from her since almost right after
graduation,' Aurora said sounding confused. 'Eric's said he hasn't seen
much of her either. Considering what his training has been like that's
not hard to imagine. I mean, she's still in school but she disappears
right afterwards.'
'Hopefully she'll be at the ceremony.'
'What about Rosie?' Adrian stopped mid-sip at that thought. He
set the mug down on the counter and crossed his arms.
'They'll be there,' he said with a hint of fear in his voice.
'Her and her parents.' Aurora went quiet.
'Meaning...'
'Meaning that this could very well be the last time I see her,' he
finished somberly. The very thought of it was tearing him apart. He
and Rosie had been together since their freshman year. He had been
thinking a lot lately about the two of them and where their relationship
was going. 'I...don't know what I'd do without her.'
'Hopefully her parents are pretty understanding animals,' Aurora
said trying to cheer him up. Adrian hung his head. 'Listen, the
ceremony is this weekend. Talk to Rosie about meeting her parents
before then. Maybe that'll break the ice and make this easier.'
'Right,' Adrian said sarcastically and finished off the coffee.
'It'll make it as easy as prying my fingernails off.' He sighed and
refilled the mug. 'I'll give it a shot, though getting a hold of her
has gotten harder and harder. Something about her job keeping her busy
or something like that.'
'Well, good luck at school,' Aurora said. 'Especially since
finals are coming up.'
'Don't remind me,' Adrian moaned and threw on his backpack.
'Later.'
***13 YEARS BEFORE THE COUP***
The ceremony came and went with Adrian making a good impression on
Rosie's parents, especially when Eric came up to them in his Guard's
uniform. The time began slipping away and Adrian rose to the top of his
class. Before he even knew what had happened four years had gone by.
Graduation was less than a month away, he had already gone through his
basic military training, what more was there? As he lay awake in his
bed one night he couldn't help but ask the same thing.
>Eight years,< he though staring at the ceiling. >Eight years she
and I have been together. So, what do I make of all this? What do I
do? I mean, most animals have proposed at this point but I don't know
what to do.<
He sat up and opened up the drawer on his night stand. There sat
a small velvet box with a platinum ring in it. On top was a diamond,
simple but elegant. Truth be told he had had the ring for close to a
year but had never worked up the nerve to ask her. He closed the drawer
and laid back down with a sigh.
>You know what,< he thought with determination, >I've got this
weekend to myself. I'm gonna see if she wants to go do something.
Maybe then...< His thoughts ended as he drifted off to sleep.
Later that morning he woke with a smile. He went through his now-
normal routine of a brief workout followed by breakfast and a shower.
He sat down at Aurora and pulled up Rosie's number.
'Anything fun planned for this weekend?' the computer asked.
'Hopefully,' Adrian said as the Rosie's phone began ringing. When
she picked up Adrian couldn't help but smile. She had really filled out
over the last four years. Rather than letting her hair down like she
normally did she had it up in a bun with a pair of sticks in it. She
smiled when she saw it was him causing her eyes to sparkle in the
morning light.
'Well this is a pleasant surprise,' she said. 'What's the
occasion you're calling me this early in the morning?'
'Are you working this weekend?' Adrian asked bluntly. Rosie shook
her head. 'Then what do you say we get out and do something?'
'I'd love to,' she said quickly. 'What did you have in mind?'
'Anything and everything,' Adrian answered. 'I just don't wanna
have to think about graduating right now.' He saw a twinge of fear in
Rosie's eyes for a brief second but vanished just as quickly.
'Sounds fun,' she said. 'I'll meet you in the usual spot.'
'Got it,' he said nodding. She blew him a quick kiss as the
screen cut out. He sat back in the chair a huge smile on his face.
'So, what exactly are you planning to do?' Aurora asked. He
dropped the chair on all fours still smiling.
'Well, I hadn't really thought all that out,' he said. 'You know
me, I just go with what life hands me.'
'Yeah, that does sound about right,' the computer muttered
sighing. 'You have to have an idea at least. I mean, you can't just
waltz on over with no plan of what you two are going to do today.'
'Hey, it's worked before,' Adrian said defensively.
'Once.'
'It still worked though!'
'Once.'
Adrian gave a playful growl. 'Will you stop saying that?' Aurora
was silent for a moment.
'How many times have you asked that?' she asked playfully.
'Once, why?' Adrian asked and caught himself a moment too late.
Aurora giggled and Adrian shook his head. 'I hate you, you know that?'
'Aww, love you too Adrian,' she said still giggling and blew him a
virtual kiss. He shook his head and stood up.
'What am I going to do with you?' he asked. He grabbed and light
jacket and the ring and went outside. He took a deep breath and started
walking to the Royal Park. There were some Mobians out already running
in the brisk morning air. Adrian envied them. They worked out because
they wanted to, not because they had to. He winced as he stared
directly into the sun. He turned away and ran right into another
animal.
'I'm so sorry!' he heard her say.
'No, it's okay,' he said shaking his head. 'I couldn't see so...'
He stopped as he realized he was staring right at Rosie.
'Well,' she said a smile spreading, 'this is convenient.'
Adrian stood up and helped her up. She fell into his arms and
kissed him full on the lips. He gladly returned the gesture and then
just held her. 'I've missed you,' he said softly.
'I've missed you too,' she said looking at him. 'We've both been
so busy that we haven't gotten a chance to be together as often as we'd
like.'
'Yeah, school is good for that,' he replied smiling. 'Plus I just
finished my basic military training. With graduation coming up we'll
have even less time together.'
'Then let's make the most of today,' she said grabbing his hand
and dragging him behind her.
Their day was simple. They spent the morning just walking around
the city admiring it as the sun rose into the sky. After lunch they
went and saw a movie. They decided to spend the rest of the afternoon
visiting with old friends, though they couldn't find Alura or Eric.
They worked their way back through the park as the sun began to set.
Their conversation grew more serious as they came closer and closer to
Adrian's house. They finally came to his door and Adrian let her in.
They sat on the couch and Rosie laid on his lap looking up at him.
'Can I ask you something?' she asked.
'I don't see why not,' he said smiling.
'What's the point in this war?' Adrian was silent. He had
wondered that himself from time to time but had pushed it to the side.
'I don't know,' he told her. 'I mean, Xenodome never did anything
to us and we never did anything to them. All I remember is that we've
been fighting for years and getting nowhere with it.'
'Do you think the military was pushing for it?' Rosie asked
cocking her head to the side. Adrian shrugged.
'Maybe,' he said. 'It's not like they ever get to do anything.
Besides Xenodome we don't have any enemies.' There was a brief silence.
Finally Rosie sat up and looked Adrian right in the eyes.
'I don't want you to go,' she said. Adrian was taken aback
slightly. 'I...I can't help but feel something terrible will happen if
you go. I don't want to lose you.' A tear ran down her cheek. Adrian
wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
'I promise I'll come back to you,' he said tears forming in his
eyes now. 'I'll always be here for you Rosie. This is my promise to
you now, I will always come back to you.' They looked each other in the
eyes and slowly drew in for a kiss. It started slow but it built
quickly escalating into passionate kissing. Adrian's heart felt like it
was going to pop right out of his chest. They stopped for breath and
Adrian stood up sweeping Rosie up in his arms. He kissed her again
carrying her to his room and closing the door behind them.
The next morning Adrian awoke slowly. He could feel Rosie curled
up on him and he smiled. He stroked her hair and she gave a satisfied
sigh. His thoughts fell back to their conversation the previous night.
He knew that he could very easily die while he was out in the field. To
promise her that he'd come back was foolish...yet it felt like the right
thing to do. He had known that since the day he had met her, why was it
only now that he seemed to admit that? He looked at her only to realize
that she had been staring at him.
'You seem to be lost in thought,' she said softly. 'What's up?'
'Just...thinking,' he said vaguely.
'About what?' she persisted.
'Us,' he answered smiling. 'We've been together for eight years
now.'
'Are you complaining?'
'Only about one thing.' His face turned serious as he looked at
her. Her expression turned to one of worry.
>Please tell me he doesn't want us to split up,< she thought.
'Rosie,' Adrian said slowly, 'will you marry me?'
Rosie stopped breathing for a moment. >Did he just...?< She
couldn't finish the thought as her arms wrapped around Adrian as tight
as she could get them. 'Yes,' she whispered. 'Yes I will Adrian!'
'Rosie...you're choking...me,' he wheezed. Rosie let go and
kissed him as he was catching his breath. They separated and she
snuggled into him again and fell back asleep. Adrian smiled stroking
her hair as he quietly pulled the ring from the night stand. He slipped
it onto her finger as she slept not wanting to wake her. He was
overjoyed holding her. Then it hit him.
>We just had sex and neither one of us used protection,< he
thought in a moment of panic. >What if she gets pregnant? There's no
way we can raise a family if I'm out on the front lines. No, no, calm
down. There's no need to freak out about this yet. We'll know pretty
soon whether she's pregnant or not, we can decide where to go from
there.<
Two weeks later Adrian was shaking the dean's hand as he was
handed his diploma. Dr. Alexander Rabbit was nodding and came over to
shake his hand as well. He descended from the stage and Rosie nearly
tackled him.
'I knew you could do it!' she said hugging him tightly. Adrian
gladly returned the gesture.
'Was there ever any doubt?' he asked her leaning in for a kiss.
'Knowing you, damn straight there was.'
Adrian and Rosie stopped and looked around. There in his full
Guard's uniform was Eric, arm-in-arm with Alura who was wearing a mid-
length white dress.
'Eric! Alura! You made it!' Rosie said happily.
'You think I'm gonna miss this day?' Eric asked. 'Besides, I owe
you big time for not being able to invite you guys to the wedding.'
'I still haven't forgiven you for that,' Adrian said narrowing his
eyes. 'I don't care if it is Royal Guard protocol or whatever, I
_still_ should have been there.'
'Oh knock it off Adrian,' Alura said. 'The only person you would
have known there was Jacques. We weren't even allowed to invite
family.'
'So, now that you're a college graduate, how about a drink?' Eric
asked arching an eyebrow.
'Unfortunately, Adrian won't have time,' a feminine voice with a
heavy Southern accent said. 'His unit's movin' out today.'
They all turned around to see Alexander and another rabbit walking
towards them. The female rabbit had cream colored fur with dazzling
green eyes. Like her counterpart she wore a white lab coat and glasses,
though they were lowered almost to the tip of her nose. They looked
more like an aesthetic choice rather than a necessity.
'Today?' Adrian asked in disbelief. 'Are you serious Dr.
Anabelle?' She nodded in affirmation.
'Sorry sugah,' she said patting him on the shoulder. 'That's the
way the military works. Besides, it's gettin' bad out there and we need
all the able-bodied animals we can get.'
'Will I at least have time to say goodbye to my friends?'
'I don't see why not,' Alexander said. 'They are standing right
here after all.' Adrian gave an exasperated sigh as Alexander and
Anabelle laughed. 'You still have some time before they leave, about
six hours I'd say.' Eric stared at them as something slowly began to
dawn on him.
'Wait a sec, what unit was Adrian assigned to?' he asked.
Alexander looked him over.
'Well, can't hurt to tell you,' he said. 'Unit Alpha Zero-One.'
'You mean he's...' Anabelle nodded.
'The head Medical Officer for the Royal Guard,' she said with a
smile. Adrian and Eric stared at the Rabbits, then at each other.
'Don't look so surprised,' Anabelle continued. 'Y'all were at the top
of your class. Jacques was practically beggin' us to have ya' assigned
to his unit.'
'Jacques? Beg?' Adrian asked with a smile. 'I would have loved
to see that.'
'You should probably get your stuff ready,' Alexander suggested.
'Like I said, you have six hours until you need to report to the city
gates.' Adrian nodded and gave them a brief salute. The Rabbits walked
off leaving the four friends to themselves.
'Well Mr. Head MO, I'll see you in a few hours,' Eric said
shooting an informal salute Adrian's direction as he and Alura left.
Adrian saluted back and looked down at Rosie.
'Well,' he said a sinking feeling in his stomach, 'I guess this is
goodbye for now.'
'Just for now,' she whispered and pulled him close. They stood
there holding each other for a few moments when they finally separated.
'Rosie, there's something I need to know,' Adrian said. 'The
night two weeks ago-'
'I'm not pregnant,' Rosie interrupted him. She smiled at his
surprised look. 'I know, it dawned on me later what happened and could
happen. Trust me when I say this, I'll be okay. As long as you come
back to me.' A look of relief crossed his face and he hugged her again.
'I promise I'll come back Rosie,' he said. 'I would never leave
you all alone. I love you with all my being.'
'And I love you Adrian Ryan Osaka,' Rosie said. 'You had better
not die on me or I'll find, resurrect you, and then kill you myself.'
He chuckled and then continued to look into her eyes. She pulled closer
to him and kissed him deeply. When they finally let go he slowly peeled
away from her and walked home. Rosie stood there alone.
'I'm sorry Adrian,' she said pressing her hand to her stomach.
'I...didn't want you to worry about us. I hope you can forgive me.'
Adrian arrived at the city gates all of the belongings he would
need slung across his back in a military-issue duffel bag. He went up
to the center of the group where he saw two foxes looking over maps. He
stopped as they both looked at him.
'General D'Coolette,' he said saluting, 'Field Medical Officer
Adrian Osaka reporting for duty, sir!'
'Excellent,' the elder fox said with a French accent. 'Jacques
'az told me a great deal about you Adrian. He said that you are being
at ze top of your class.'
'Yes sir,' Adrian said nodding.
'Please, zere eez no needing to be so formal around moi,' the
general said with a light wave. 'Just call me General, everyone here
eez doing so.' Adrian relaxed and nodded.
'Will do General,' he said. 'Anything I can do to help get
ready?'
'We are just waiting on a few stragglers,' Jacques said with a
lighter accent. 'Afterwards we will be moving out.'
Adrian was about to reply when Eric came running up and saluted
briefly. 'Sirs!' he said formally. 'All personnel and supplies
accounted for. Ready to go when you are.' Both D'Coolettes nodded.
'Zen we shall be moving,' the general said.
As the year went by Adrian continued honing his combat skills. He
learned advanced hand-to-hand combat from Eric, swordplay from Jacques,
blaster rifle proficiency from the snipers, and various other forms. He
took a liking to the quarterstaff, only using it in combat from time to
time. Under his care none of the Royal Guard died during combat. As
the unit crept closer and closer to Xenodome the fighting increased as
did the number of injuries. Eric managed to snag a blade to the face
nearly taking his eye out. Adrian had saved the eye but not before the
cut formed a scar on his forehead and cheek.
Adrian prepped himself, staff drawn. It was five on one, hardly a
fair scenario. They all charged him at once and he ducked, sweeping the
staff across the ground. Most of them jumped but he caught one and
knocked him flat on the ground. He drove the tip of the staff upward
and caught one in the gut. He swung over his head throwing his
assailant into another one. He brought the staff back down and vaulted
into the air, performing a back flip-kick in the process and scored
another hit. He landed and immediately blocked the barrage of punches
and kicks thrown at him by the remaining attacker. Adrian swung the
staff to the right, blocked, the other end to the left, also blocked.
Without warning he snapped the right end down and crushed his attacker's
foot. That momentary distraction was all Adrian needed. While the
attacker was holding his foot in agony Adrian spun around and used the
momentum to hit him right underneath the chin, lifting him into the air
and crashing back to the ground. General D'Coolette applauded as the
members of his unit picked themselves up after being defeated.
'I am impressed,' the general admitted. 'Zere were being moments
when I did not even see you move.'
'That's the point,' Adrian said wiping the sweat from his brow.
'You can't block what you can't see.' The 'assailants' muttered in
pained agreement. The general was about to continue when one of the
scouts came running in top speed.
'Sir!' he yelled skidding to a stop. 'We just got word there's an
advanced Xenodonian combat unit coming our way. They'll be here in a
matter of minutes!'
'You heard him!' the general yelled as soldiers began scattering
to gather their equipment. 'Prepare for battle! We shall not lose this
day. We will show zem zat ze best of Xenodome holds no candle to ze
Royal Guard!' A cheer went up from everyone as they went to the north
end of the camp. Sure enough there was a battalion of human soldiers
approaching them, both heavily armed and armored. Adrian pulled out his
blaster pistol wishing he had something with more punch. Well, it was
better than nothing.
'FIRE!!' the general yelled and a volley of lasers showered out
towards the human soldiers. The blast bounced harmless off their armor
and they continually advance as if they were oblivious to the attack.
'Aim for the lower parts of their helmets!' Adrian yelled
adjusting his aim. They did so and a few of the humans began to fall.
The armor shifted and now plates covered their necks. 'What the hell?'
Adrian asked stopping for a moment. The humans stopped and raised their
plasma rifles.
'Fire,' a soldier in red armor commanded. Bolts of orange energy
ripped through the air and the Guards just barely avoided them. Eric,
being the reckless hedgehog he had always been, jumped over the volley
and drew his sword. The blade was almost a pure white while the guard
was round with a repeating star pattern on it. He raised the blade
above his head as it was surrounded by wind.
'Razor Wind!' he yelled and lashed out. A small tornado erupted
from his blade and picked up a couple humans, impaling them on the tree
branches. 'Their armor can't take physical blows!' he called out to the
others. Adrian smiled and drew out his staff. He jumped over the
volley and landed in the middle of the unit. He swung his staff in a
wide arc catching a couple of them off-guard. Eric was right, their
armor crumpled beneath physical blows like paper. One human nearly got
the jump on Adrian but he flipped up, ripping the helmet off in the
process. The human had a butch haircut with a small ponytail hanging
down from the back of his head. Adrian wrapped his legs around his
waist and placed his hands on opposite sides of his neck. With one
quick twist he heard the sickening crack of his neck breaking and the
human fell limply to the ground. He turned back to the Guard to see one
of the humans score a hit on one of them. The plasma bolt tore a hole
through him and threw him back from the line.
>Damn it all!< he thought as he elbowed a Xenodonian in the face.
>If this keeps up they're going to butcher us!<
'Adrian!' Eric yelled jumping into the air and somehow suspending
himself there. 'Distract them!'
'Done!' the lynx yelled and began a series of visually impressive
and complex swings and strokes with his staff, scoring countless light
hits on the humans and at the same time easily dodging their plasma
rifles. His movements slowed as fatigue began to set in. >Eric had
better hurry up with whatever he's doing.<
He dared a look and saw wind wrapped around his sword. His eyes
shot open, his irises glowing bright yellow. 'MOVE!' he yelled. Adrian
quickly complied as Eric drew the blade behind him. 'Blades of Wind!'
A massive gray blade shot out from the sword as he swung it and
tore through the remaining Xenodonians. Eric dropped to the ground and
fell to one knee. All of the Xenodonians were dead, and the Guard had
barely survived. Adrian walked over to Eric panting heavily.
'Not bad,' he said smiling. Eric returned the gesture, his eyes
glowing bright yellow. They seemed to be crackling with energy like a
mini power plant was in his head. Adrian wanted to comment but was too
tired to do so.
'We've got a man down!' Adrian heard someone yell. He picked up
Eric supporting the hedgehog's weight. There was dead silence for a
brief moment. 'It's the General!' Eric and Adrian both bolted towards
their camp forgetting about their fatigue. Adrian skidded on one knee
to the general's side. It was bad, he had taken a direct hit to the
chest from a plasma rifle. Adrian reached into his bag for the
necessary bandages and salves when the general gently held his hand.
The fox shook his head slowly a smile on his face.
'It eez...too late for...moi,' he said quietly. He was in obvious
pain.
'Like hell it is!' Adrian said continuing to get his supplies.
'I'm not about to let you die. Not when I know I can save you.'
'Please Adrian,' the general said almost begging. 'Tend to those
who have much to live for. I have lived my life, help those who have
not.'
'Papa!' Jacques cried falling to one knee. 'You cannot be
serious!'
'I am proud to call you my son Jacques,' he said his eyes
fluttering. 'Lead us...to...victory...' His eyes closed and his body
went limp. They all stood there unable to accept what had just
happened.
'General?' Adrian asked breaking the silence. No response.
'C'mon General, this isn't funny!' Still nothing. Adrian's hand balled
up into a fist as his body began quaking in anger. 'WAKE UP DAMN IT!'
Jacques tried to put a hand on his shoulder but he brushed it away
angrily as he stormed off. They all stood there just staring at the
dead general.
'We should give them a proper funeral,' Eric said slowly. Jacques
nodded and the others left to gather firewood. The gray hedgehog stared
off in the direction Adrian had left. He stood up to follow his friend
but Jacques stopped him.
'Let him sort zis out for himself,' he said calmly. 'We will all
be needing to do such a thing.' Eric nodded and helped Jacques carry
the bodies to their camp.
That night they gave the fallen soldiers a warrior's funeral,
setting each one on a pyre. On the largest one was the General, looking
fully regal in his uniform. Adrian had still not returned and Eric was
beginning to worry. Since Jacques had determined they needed to return
to Mobotropolis Adrian being left behind would make him AWOL.
Meanwhile, off to the side of the camp Adrian watched the flaming pyres
in somber spirits.
>I could have saved him,< he thought. >I could have saved the
General, and yet I did nothing. I don't deserve to be here, I'm
worthless.<
<<>>
Adrian snapped to attention at the voice. Was he hearing things?
No, someone had definitely said something.
<<>> the voice said again echoing in his mind.
<<>>
With that the voice was gone. Adrian put his hand to his temple
and shook his head. All this stress was getting to him. Though he did
suppose he had done enough moping for one day. He stood up and walked
back into camp.
A week later the Royal Guard arrived in Mobotropolis, the news of
the General's death far ahead of them. Until the king appointed a new
leader Jacques was the de facto leader of the unit. The king had
already set up the processional and various ceremonies, giving the unit
a much deserved break. Adrian returned home to find everything as he
had left it. He sighed, the general's death still weighing heavily on
his mind. He looked up to see Rosie smiling warmly at him. She hugged
him tightly. Gradually Adrian returned it and could no longer hold it
in: he cried.
The funeral was the next day and the remainder of the Royal Guard
was in attendance. Both Adrian and Rosie dressed in all black. King
Maximillian Acorn stood behind the podium and cleared his throat.
'General Jean-Pierre D'Coolette,' he said his voice ringing across
the hall. 'I must admit that I did not know him as well as I would have
wished. He became a general under my father, leading Mobotropolis to
many victories against the Xenodonian Army. But there is one thing I do
know: he was a man of honor. Even when injured he would insist that
those under his command be treated first, even the smallest of injuries.
He fought bravely and with all his heart, inspiring those with him to
give their all...'
He continued on bringing tears to almost everyone there. Rosie
squeezed Adrian's hand tightly crying into his shoulder. For some
reason though Adrian could not bring himself to mourn the loss of the
General. He still blamed himself for his death no matter what anyone
said.
'...And it is with that I believe that the next Captain of the
Royal Guards should be none other than Jacques D'Coolette.' Adrian
snapped out of his reverie at the last sentence. 'Jacques has proven
himself a capable leader time and again. He has his father's spirit,
sense of honor, and the dedication needed to lead our city to victory.
If anyone from the Guard opposes this decision please speak now.'
Without hesitation Adrian stood up. 'I will support our Captain
until death,' he declared. Eric stood up next.
'As will I,' he said echoing Adrian's sentiments. One by one the
members of the Guard stood up declaring their support for Jacques. The
fox was dumbstruck. King Max smiled.
'Then it is settled,' he announced. 'Where the flame of hope was
lost another has come to light the torch. General D'Coolette would not
want us to mourn, but to celebrate that we are alive and well. We must
all have hope, else his sacrifice will have meant nothing. So I say to
you, people of Mobotropolis, not as a King but as a fellow Mobian, we
_must_ win. Failure is not an option. We must live, we must fight, we
must survive!' With that the crowd rose in thunderous applause. Adrian
smiled as he and Rosie stood.
'Damn fine king if you ask me,' he said.
'You'd be right there,' Rosie said and then her face dropped.
Adrian looked at her concerned.
'What's wrong?' he asked.
'There's...something I need to tell you,' she said as the crowd
dispersed. 'Let's head back to your house.' He raised an eyebrow but
conceded. They left quietly through the back of the crowd. When they
arrived at Adrian's house Rosie seemed to sink into a depression.
'What's wrong Rosie?' Adrian asked holding her hands. 'You look
like the world's about to end.'
'I was,' she said simply.
''You were'?' Adrian repeated. 'What do you mean?'
'I was pregnant when you left,' she explained. 'I didn't want you
to worry about me though. I know you were going to help people and that
you couldn't afford to worry about me and them at the same time.'
'Nothing could be further from the truth,' he replied gently
squeezing her hands. 'I would have been fine knowing our son or
daughter was safe in your hands. So where is the little scamp?' Rosie
was silent her head bowed. 'Rosie?'
'I couldn't do it,' she said tears streaming down her cheeks. 'I
couldn't do it alone.'
'Rosie...you didn't...' She was silent. Adrian let go of her
hands backing away in disbelief. 'Why? It never had a chance to live.
Why would you do something like that?'
'Do you think I wanted to?' she demanded still sobbing. 'Do you
think that it was an easy decision for me to make? I didn't have a
choice!'
'There's always a choice!' Adrian snapped. 'You could've sent
word to me, we could've worked this out together. That's what couples
do.'
'You were off fighting a war I never even wanted you to fight,'
she retorted.
'That doesn't mean I wouldn't have come back,' Adrian said. 'I
promised you that before I left, that I would always be here for you.'
'Well you weren't.' Adrian was silent as too many things ran
through his head.
'You're right,' he said quietly. 'Maybe I wasn't here when I
should have been, but that doesn't mean I stopped caring.' He walked to
the door and opened it.
'Adrian, where are you going?' Rosie asked suddenly scared.
'I need some time to myself,' he said vacantly. 'Please, just
leave me be.'
'Adrian please don't go!' she cried as he closed the door. Rosie
collapsed to her knees and buried her face in her hands.
Adrian wandered the streets as a million different things ran
through his head. He walked around for hours completely unaware of
where he was going. He wandered to the outskirts of the city into an
abandoned house. He walked in and the door slammed shut behind him.
The room was pitch black. He took a step forward and fell down some
sort of tunnel. He stopped rolling at the bottom. He stood up brushed
himself off and looked around. The walls were covered in some sort of
ancient language and there was a giant pedestal in the middle of the
room. There were also several doors. One had a gem engraved on it,
another a water drop, on another a flame, another a hurricane, another a
lightning bolt, and the last one looked like a sun. Then it hit him,
they were the elemental symbols the Magi got their powers from! He
looked around and saw one more door, this one with a skull on it.
Adrian walked over and touched it. He hadn't seen this one in any of
the texts he had studied over the years.
<<>> a voice said.
'You again,' Adrian said looking around. 'Just who are you?'
<<>> it replied. <<>> Adrian sighed and shook his head.
'I don't know,' he replied. 'I'm useless. I can't protect
anyone, not even those closest to me. What good would power do me?'
<<>> the voice
suggested. <<>> Adrian thought for a
moment then looked up.
'I am,' he said. The skull on the door glowed purple and the
stone moved upward. He walked through and it slammed shut trapping him
in perpetual darkness. He walked forward cautiously until he saw a
light in front of him. He shielded his eyes as the speck exploded,
putting him smack dab in the middle of a living room. He looked around
recognizing the room as his own living room. 'What the hell?'
'Adrian! Dinner's almost ready!' he heard a female voice call.
'Rosie?' he asked walking into the kitchen. Indeed it was Rosie,
albeit much older looking. 'What are you doing here?'
'Be right down!' he heard another voice yell, this time a male.
'That was...but how...' He looked around in utter confusion.
Nothing was making sense. Two figures darted past him, a female lynx
being chased by a male badger. The lynx appeared to be the older of the
two and was trying to keep her pigtails out of her younger brother's
reach.
'Mom, Alex won't leave me alone!' she whined.
'She started it!' Alex replied pointing at his sister.
'Alexander and Rosetta Osaka!' Rosie yelled and they both quieted
down. 'I swear you two are just like your father.'
'What's going on here?' Adrian yelled at them but to no avail. He
tried grabbing them but his hand passed through them leaving a smoky
trail. 'What is all this?'
<<>> the voice said. <<>>
'Then...Rosetta was-'
'The child Rosie gave up,' a voice finished for him. A black and
red version of Adrian materialized in front of him. 'She no longer
exists in this plane, so this illusion needs fixing.' He raised his
hand and batted away the lynx. She shattered like a glass figurine and
in turn the badger faded from view. 'In fact, this whole thing is a
lie.' He raised his hand and snapped his fingers once. The entire
thing shattered now replaced with a battlefield littered with corpses.
'This is the life you chose,' the apparition said. 'Every body here
represents a life you have taken from this world.'
Adrian took a step back. It was staggering to see how many there
were. 'I...did all this?' he asked in disbelief.
'Looks more like the work of a soldier rather than that of a
doctor,' his clone said with a smirk. ''Killing to prevent death' is an
absolute crock. That's what weaklings who are afraid to accept
responsibility for what they've done say. People kill because if they
don't they will in turn die. War is a tool of survival. The weak will
be dominated and weeded out while the powerful take control and continue
to weed out the weaklings until they themselves are conquered. It is a
never-ending cycle. Whether one dies to save a million lives or a
million die to save one life the end result is the same: death.'
'What are you getting at?' Adrian asked a chill running down his
spine.
'You are one of the weak,' the apparition said pointing at him.
'You fought under the illusion that you were in reality saving lives.
You didn't want to accept that you killed so you could live, because you
are afraid to die. Acceptance of death makes one strong, fearless and
invincible.'
'Bull,' Adrian replied. 'I never once rationalized one death for
another. I know full well the consequences of my actions. Yes, I
killed others so the people I cared about wouldn't die, I admit it. I
would never allow my friends to die because I was powerless.'
'Then say it.' The apparition gave a twisted smile. 'Say it,
accept it fully as a part of you.'
'I'm not afraid to die!' Adrian yelled and his clone vanished. He
looked around in confusion. 'What just happened?'
<<>> the voice said in his head.
It sounded more powerful than it had before, much darker. It sent a
chill down his spine thinking about it. <<>>
'Then what do I do?' he asked yelling. 'Where do I go from here?'
<<>>
The ground gave way underneath Adrian and he fell for what seemed
an eternity. When he finally landed it was on something hard and loose.
Whatever it was they were clattering together whenever he moved. He
looked around finally seeing some sort of shape outlined in a dim violet
light. He wandered towards it, partially out of curiosity and another
of desire. He had come this far, he intended to see it to the end.
'HALT!' a booming voice commanded. Adrian nearly collapsed under
the sheer power the voice exuded. He felt something else though,
something unnatural. It was like the voice was filled with death and
deceit. 'Before you come closer,' the voice said, 'you must promise me
one thing: Your eternal loyalty.'
'And how does one pledge such a thing?' Adrian asked. The voice
chuckled and the object shifted.
'You are smarter than the rest,' it said. 'Perhaps it would be
more appropriate to make this deal when we can both see each other.'
Slowly two columns of flames appeared leading up to the object
revealing more and more of it. From what he could see now Adrian would
have to say it was some kind of huge chair. But what on Mobius was that
big?
The final torches lit and he got his answer. He also saw that the
chair, which was actually a throne, was built on and of skeletons.
Everything he had been bumping into were bones, most likely of Mobians
who had failed the tests. He backed away in total terror upon seeing
the creature seated upon the throne. It rose, spreading its black
leathery wings. It stood close to twelve feet tall its body covered in
plate armor-like scales each one pitch black. Both its feet were two
massive toes with a large claw on each and a smaller one in the back for
balance. Its tail unfurled and hit the ground with incredible force,
enough to knock Adrian to his knees. Its snout extended forward like a
beak and razor sharp teeth hung over top the bottom lip. Its glowing
red eyes gazed down at Adrian hungrily.
'What on Mobius are you?' Adrian asked finally trembling in fear.
The creature laughed, a sound that would terrify even the bravest of
Mobians.
'I am Xiaxos, the Dragon of Darkness,' the creature said walking
towards Adrian. 'I am one of the beings responsible for the creation of
this world. The other dragons, fearing my power, sealed me away. But
with your help Adrian we could rid this world of war, strife, and
suffering, a feat none of them dared attempt. So what do you say?'
Adrian was terrified of this thing, that's all he knew at the
moment. But the idea of being able to bring peace to the world was
tempting. 'What do I have to do?' he asked. The dragon gave the
equivalent of a smile.
'Give me your hand,' he said extending a clawed appendage. Adrian
put his hand in the dragon's and he felt like something was leaving him.
He saw a smoky silhouette of himself come out for a brief second and
then part of it snapped off. The bulk of the visage went back into him
and the small piece entered Xiaxos. The dragon took a deep breath and
exhaled, a black mist exiting his mouth and entering Adrian's. He
choked as it went down his throat. This stuff seemed to be seeping into
his very soul.
[You are correct about that,] Xiaxos said his voice echoing in
Adrian's head. The lynx's eyes widened in shock. [Do not worry, I am
simply giving you a fragment of my power.]
'But how do I control it?' Adrian asked still choking. His vision
was beginning to fade.
[You will know soon enough,] the dragon said. [When you awaken
you will have the full knowledge of a Guardian at your disposal.]
Adrian tried to reply but he was on the verge of unconsciousness. As he
blacked out he heard Xiaxos let loose a laugh that made him wonder if he
had made the right choice.
Adrian blinked. He was in his front yard beyond any explanation
he could offer. >Maybe this is one of those dreams where I've been
wandering around the city naked,< he thought. He looked down in a
moment of panic and breathed a sigh of relief. He was wearing pants,
which was a good sign. Well, he was fully clothed, that's all that
mattered. The lights in his house were off, meaning that Rosie had
left. He felt a wave of regret hit him like a ton of bricks. He walked
in and looked around. Nothing seemed different. A glimmer from the
coffee table caught his eye and he picked it up. It was Rosie's ring.
His heart dropped into his stomach as he sat down slowly. Had their
argument so profoundly affected their relationship? He would have
forgiven her.
>Would I?< he found himself thinking. >Taking the lives of those
who would take yours is one thing, but taking the life of one who cannot
defend themself is unforgivable.<
>But I still...<
>You still what?< he thought again. >Love her? Is that what you
were going to say? How can you love someone who has willingly taken the
life of an innocent?<
Adrian placed his hands over his ears. It was too much! The
voices stopped and he relaxed. He leaned back on the chair with his
eyes closed. He needed to sleep, then maybe everything would make sense
in the morning.
The next day Adrian started slowly trying to determine if
everything had actually happened. He opened his hand to see that he was
still holding Rosie's ring. His head dropped in despair. It had.
Aurora started beeping from his hip and he opened her up.
'You okay Adrian?' she asked quietly.
'I...don't know,' he admitted bringing up the message. 'Great,
we're moving out today. No rest for the wicked I suppose.' He got out
of bed and started getting his things ready. He opened the door and
stared outside for a brief moment.
>Wait a sec,< he thought. >Didn't Xiaxos say I would have full
understanding of the powers he gave me when I woke up?<
[Did you think I lied to you my Guardian?]
Adrian dropped his bag and looked around him. He didn't see a
twelve-foot tall black dragon anywhere, not like you could miss him.
[Relax, I am speaking to you via telepathy,] the dragon said
again. [Knowing what your powers are and how to use them are vastly
different. It will take time to acquaint yourself with them but you can
use them flawlessly, trust me.]
>If you say so,< Adrian thought hoping the dragon could hear him
as he picked his bag up. >So let's say I want to get to the city gates
quickly.<
[Simply pick a destination near there,] Xiaxos said. Adrian
shrugged and closed his eyes. It would be weird to appear out of thin
air so someplace where they wouldn't see him. The alleyway near there!
He felt his body twitch and he opened his eyes. Lo and behold he was in
the alleyway just out of sight.
>What just happened?< he asked.
[Many would call it teleporting,] Xiaxos replied, [but I prefer to
call it 'shifting'. You have harnessed an element and used it to move
you to another location. While wind is the generic way to travel each
element can use its own method of shifting to reach a location. Your
element lies in darkness.] Adrian shrugged and nodded.
>Handy,< he admitted walking out. There by the gate stood the
Royal Guard. There weren't many of them there so he was relieved he was
early for once. >You mind teaching me some more along the way?<
The dragon growled. [I am more of a...practical teacher,] he
replied. [It would be easier to show how to use these techniques. The
opportunity will present itself soon.]
>How do you know that?< Adrian asked. No response. >Not a very
talkative fellow.< He set his bag down and mingled with the soldiers,
trying to figure out where they were heading to. So far no one knew.
'Adrian!' he heard a familiar voice yell. He turned around and
saw Rosie running up to him. She stopped just in front of him and
hugged him. It took a moment for the shock to wear off but Adrian
returned it. 'I'm sorry,' Rosie whispered in his ear. They parted
still lightly holding each other. 'I…I should've talked to you first.
I can't take back what I've done though. I hope that someday you'll
forgive me.'
Adrian tried saying something but the only thing that came out
was, 'I don't know if I can.' Rosie's head lowered. She looked back up
at him after a moment.
'Take care Adrian,' she said quietly.
'You too Rosie,' he replied. They hugged again and she left
running with tears in her eyes. She ran past Eric who stared after her
for a moment. He walked up still staring after her.
'Did I miss something?' he asked Adrian turning to his friend.
Adrian hesitated then shook his head.
'No,' he said. 'Everything's okay.' Eric stared at him
concerned. He thought of saying something but could see Adrian was
preoccupied enough.
'Fair enough,' he said setting his stuff down. 'So anyone know
where we're heading?'
'We are heading to a weapons research facility,' Jacques said
walking amidst them. 'Eet is to ze south of ze city, near Xenodome
itself.'
'Isn't that cutting it close?' someone asked. Jacques nodded.
'Oui, eet iz,' he replied. 'But eet iz being ze same facility zat
produced zose monstrosities.'
'Sounds like a plan,' Adrian said prompting some curious glances.
'It's the last place they would expect us to attack so we have the
element of surprise.' The glances turned to nods as they looked back to
Jacques.
'Let us go zen,' he said turning to the gate. They began walking
and Adrian turned to look behind him. There was Rosie staring at them
from a distance. His heart throbbed painfully as he looked away and
exited the city. If he didn't have her to come back to, what did he
have?
These thoughts continued until three days later they reached their
destination. Along the way Adrian made several immediate first aid kits
for each member of the squad. It wasn't much but it was something. The
unit was quiet almost the entire trip, no one wanting to say anything
lest they bring up painful memories. On a ledge above the base Eric was
prone on the ground with binoculars.
'Well, it's heavily guarded,' he said zooming in. 'I'd say about
two to four guards per entrance. Couldn't tell you what's inside,
guaranteed it'll be nasty.' He set the binoculars down and sat up.
'This won't be easy.'
'Why just one unit?' one animal asked. 'I mean, why just send us?
If this is a weapons lab they're going to be pulling out all the stops
on us.'
'Because one unit can sneak in with little trouble,' another said.
'More than that and they'll notice us. After that we're good as dead.'
'We may be good as dead anyway.'
'Knock it off!' Eric snapped angrily. Everyone turned to him.
'We wouldn't have been given this mission if the king didn't think we
could handle it. We just have to be careful. It won't be easy, but
it's possible.'
'Agreed,' Jacques said. 'Let us retire to ze base. Eet iz late
and we should begin formulating a strategy.' They all nodded and stood
up. Adrian looked down at the base wondering how they were going to
pull this off. Eric's hand on his shoulder snapped him out of it.
'Let's go,' he said. 'Don't want them seeing us.' Adrian nodded
and followed the gray hedgehog. Still, against such a heavily guarded
base...
[Most Mobians would be unable to do this,] Xiaxos said nearly
making Adrian jump. [The question is, are you willing to?]
>How?< Adrian thought. >I mean, being fearless is one thing,
suicidal isn't exactly my type.<
[Trust me,] he said. [This is within your power. Allow me to
show you how it's done.]
>Well, you haven't steered me wrong yet,< Adrian said. >Okay, do
your thing. Maybe I'll learn a thing or two along the way.< The dragon
chuckled sending a chill down Adrian's spine. Why did that keep
happening?
Later that night while the rest of the unit was asleep Adrian left
quietly with nothing but his quarterstaff. In the darkness his violet
eyes shone brightly like small lamps. He vanished into the air and
reappeared about a hundred feet from the main entrance to the facility.
He stepped out of the darkness and into the spotlights. He heard rifles
cocking.
'Halt!' a male voice shouted. 'Who goes there?'
'Like it matters,' Adrian said his voice dark and menacing. 'In a
few moments you're all going to be dead.' His quarterstaff glowed with
violet energy as it began to change. The staff itself became gnarled
like a tree branch. From the top a scythe blade with two large teeth
near the tip and a larger curved one near the staff emerged. A guard
formed on the other side with three glowing runes engraved on it. As
Adrian held the scythe it was enveloped in a black aura. The humans
backed away their rifles still trained on the lynx.
'What in the blazes?' one asked. It was the last thing he ever
said as Adrian's blade cut up through him. In a spray of blood both
halves fell to the side. The other snapped back to reality and took
aim. Adrian vanished only to reappear and bury his weapon in him,
pinning him against the wall. He raised the weapon up cutting through
the metal like it was paper. The guard fell to the ground leaving a
bloody trail behind him. Adrian smirked.
'Too easy,' he said walking to the door. As it opened he saw at
least a dozen other soldiers take up position about twenty feet in front
of him. 'This is all you send against me?' he asked mockingly. 'Fools!
Prepare to die!' He raised his scythe and let out a bone-chilling laugh
and charged.
The next morning Adrian offered to take the morning watch. He
didn't really recall the night before, just waking up and then coming to
in the base drenched in blood. Normally he would have lost it but
something had been different. He felt...stronger after it was all said
and done. He raised the binoculars to his eyes and looked down at the
base. As he expected, no one was around. Unfortunately he was the only
one that knew that, so he had to play this right. He waited twenty
minutes then tapped his earpiece.
'Captain?' he asked quietly. 'You may want to come see this.'
Jacques was at the ledge in a matter of minutes with most of the Guard
right behind him. 'Something weird's going on. No guards at all,
before and after the hourly switch.' Jacques took the binoculars and
looked. He lowered the specs with a bewildered look on his face.
'Would eet be safe to investigate?' he asked looking at his men.
Most of them shrugged, muttering something along the lines of 'I don't
see why not'. They trekked to the bottom of the cliff and Adrian peered
through the binoculars again.
'Still nothing,' he said. 'What the heck is going on?' Jacques
looked over at Eric who nodded. Three of them moved silently forward
towards the entrance. The door slid open with ease to reveal an empty
hallway. The signaled everyone up and Adrian looked around. There was
nothing here, no blood, no bodies, only some signs of a battle. He
narrowed his eyes as he saw a large slash in the exterior wall.
'Captain, take a look at this,' he called over to Jacques. When the fox
arrived Adrian pointed out the mark. 'If these walls are titanium then
there's no way a Mobian could have done this.'
'A human maybe?' one of the others suggested. Adrian shook his
head.
'I can't see them doing this to themselves,' he said. 'Besides
that I don't think humans are that much stronger than us. That would
leave a machine as our culprit.'
'Like a robot?' Eric said joining them. He ran his hand over the
cut curiously. 'That's odd. It's like the metal was eaten away.'
Adrian walked over and felt the cut. Just like Eric had said.
'It might have been some type of acid-covered blade,' he offered.
'That still doesn't explain how they cut right through the metal.' Two
others walked out of the entrance and over to them.
'We just finished a walkthrough of the base,' one of them said.
'There's no one living or dead here. There are signs of battle,
primarily slash marks and laser scoring.'
'Primarily?' Jacques asked raising an eyebrow.
'We found one wall that looked like something melted it straight
through,' the other animal said. 'I'm talking about nearly foot thick
solid titanium walls. Whatever this thing was it was nasty.'
Adrian took all of this in while hearing Xiaxos chuckle. [You do
not have to worry about them finding any bodies,] the dragon said. [As
they said, it will appear as if this place was just abandoned.]
>How did you pull that off?< Adrian asked. The dragon chuckled
but didn't answer.
[I will say this,] Xiaxos said eventually as they began walking
through the base. [It is a power that you will see for yourself very
soon.] Adrian didn't push knowing the dragon wouldn't give him a
straight answer. They finally came to the ruined wall which opened up
into the security room. Adrian ran his hand along the edge. Other than
the perimeter of the hole the edges were smooth. The outsides, like the
other slash marks they had seen, had a rough burn-like texture.
'Whatever burned through this was some powerful stuff,' Adrian
said shaking his head. 'I've never seen anything like this.'
'Whatever did this messed with the security videos too,' one of
the others yelled over to them from the desk. 'All I've got is static
from the video and audio feeds.'
'Seems like someone didn't want us to see what was here,' Eric
said looking over at Jacques. 'That doesn't help us at all. There's
got to be something here that'll give us a clue.'
Adrian sighed and looked around. 'Eric, Captain?' he said walking
towards the far wall. 'I found a hint, I think.' On the wall etched in
blood were two numbers: Forty-two, Thirty-seven. Jacques and Eric
joined Adrian staring at the numbers.
'Well that's just creepy,' Eric remarked.
'Forty-two, thirty-seven,' Jacques said closing his eyes. They
snapped open and he turned to the animal in the security chair. 'Look
up ze coordinates latitude forty-two and longitude thirty-seven,' he
ordered. The animal nodded and started typing. Adrian eyed the fox
carefully.
'You think these are directions?' he asked doubtfully. 'Why would
directions be etched into the wall rather than written on a pad of
paper?'
'What would you notice first?' Jacques responded raising an
eyebrow.
'Touché,' Adrian ceded. There was a slap and loud whoop.
'Found it!' the badger at the desk yelled. 'Well, both of them
but the closest one is about a mile east of us.' Jacques smiled and
turned to Adrian with a very 'I told you so' look on his face.
'Half of us will be going zere,' Jacques said. 'Ze other half
will stay here and see what zey can find.' They all nodded and both
Adrian and Eric along with seven other Royal Guards. They left the base
at top speed while Adrian pondered what he had just seen.
>I still don't understand what you said earlier,< he told Xiaxos
hoping the dragon would answer. >How do I use power like that?<
[Were you not paying attention?] the dragon responded slightly
annoyed.
>I must have blacked out,< Adrian said quickly. >I just remember
leaving and the next thing is coming to in a pile of gore.< The dragon
hummed in thought.
[My power must have eclipsed your mind,] he said finally. [This
time will be different.]
>This time?< Adrian asked as he had a near miss with a tree
branch. >So those were directions, I'm assuming left by us to find the
next base.<
[Very good,] Xiaxos said growling pleasantly. [This time I will
simply guide you in the use of your powers. You will see that the first
kill is the hardest. After that you become so strong that their lives
mean nothing as you take them.]
>This kind of power sounds...dangerous,< Adrian commented and
Xiaxos laughed.
[That is what is always said by those who are afraid of the ones
with power,] the dragon replied. [Power only corrupts when it is
allowed.]
The group stopped and looked just through the clearing to see a
base hidden in the forest. 'Convenient,' Eric said raising the
binoculars to his eyes. 'We didn't know about this base, that much I
know. Seems someone out there is watching out for us.' Adrian said
nothing but mentally gave a low chuckle. If only they knew...
'We've got to think of someway to get in there,' he said sitting
down next to the clearing. 'It's possible that this is where they've
been focusing their forces for an attack on the city.' Jacques crossed
his arms in deep thought.
'I do not know,' he said after a moment. 'I will be needing to
inform ze King of zis development.' He walked away with some of the
animals following him. Adrian and Eric looked at each other.
'What do you think?' Eric asked. 'Is this luck or is someone
setting us up?'
'Hard to say,' Adrian answered sighing. 'I'd like to believe that
someone out there is helping us, but what's to stop them from turning on
us next?'
'Good point,' Eric said nodding. 'Still, etching the location in
blood, this has to be someone who absolutely hates humans.'
'Or is just a psychopath,' the lynx replied. 'Not all killers
have a motive, they just enjoy the rush that killing brings.'
'I thought your degree was in medicine, not psychology.' Adrian
smiled as they both stood.
'I took a couple classes,' he said shrugging. They walked away
from the base still talking.
That night the base guards stood at their posts. One of them
sighed. It was quiet, like it was every night. A rustling in the trees
hardly even fazed them until a brown lynx came stumbling out. They
immediately raised their rifles and one picked him up. Adrian Osaka
shook his head as if he had just woken up. He looked at the two guards
and his head dropped.
'Damn me and my sleepwalking,' he muttered.
'How did you find this place?' the guard holding him asked.
'How should I know?' Adrian replied. The guards responded by
pointing their rifles at him from point-blank range. 'Okay, okay. I
don't know, I was sleepwalking. One minute I'm out camping with my
buddies, next I know I'm out here.'
'You're camping out in the woods when there's a war going on?' the
other guard asked skeptically. 'And you expect us to believe that?'
'It's the truth, really,' Adrian said defensively holding his
hands up. His wallet fell out of his jacket pocket as he did so. He
closed his eyes and swore under his breath. The guard picked it up and
flitted through it. He stopped for a moment. He then dropped the
wallet and cocked his rifle aiming directly at Adrian.
'Mobian military,' he said to the other guard. 'By 'camping' you
must have meant 'watching'. Where's the rest of your unit?'
'Please, if I was really military would I tell you that?' Adrian
said nervously. 'It's just a joke ID my buddy got for me a while back.'
'Pretty fancy for a joke,' the guard replied his finger hovering
over the trigger. 'Two strikes buddy. Three and you're out.' Adrian
was quiet. He closed his eyes and smiled.
'I know a game where it's one strike and you're out,' he replied
darkly. 'Wanna know?' The guards looked at each other and then back at
Adrian.
'Humor us,' one of them said. Adrian's eyes snapped open glowing
violet. A gnarled scythe materialized in his right hand and he impaled
the other guard. The one holding him dropped him and stepped back to
take aim. Another scythe materialized in Adrian's left hand and he
brought it up through the guard's skull. His rifle fell to the ground
as the two of them slid off the blades. The left scythe disappeared and
Adrian stood over the two of them.
'That was easy,' he said thinking out loud.
[Surprising,] Xiaxos said happily. [Most other Mobians would
hesitate at the thought of taking another's life.]
>Self-defense,< Adrian thought. >They would have killed me, I
just got to them first.< He tapped the butt of the scythe on the ground
and the runes on the guard began glowing even brighter. The bodies
began turning to particles and absorbed by the guard. The blood spray
vanished as well, leaving no trace of the soldiers except their rifles.
He smiled and proceeded towards the door. There were some soldiers
patrolling the halls and they stopped to face him when he entered. They
immediately opened fire on Adrian who deflected the beams with a wave of
his hand.
'Arise, my servants,' he said waving the scythe in front of him.
The two guards he had just killed appeared there, their uniforms ragged.
The firing stopped as the soldier realized their allies were protecting
this guy.
'Jimmy! Adam!' one of them yelled to the zombified soldiers.
'Snap out of it!'
'Devour them,' Adrian said smiling. The two corpses roared and
dove onto their former allies. The screaming lasted only a few seconds
but eventually stopped. The two original zombies were joined by three
more. 'Tear this place apart,' Adrian ordered. 'Leave none alive.'
The five grunted and scuffled down the hall.
>This is incredible!< Adrian thought as he laughed out loud. His
voice echoed but was soon overwhelmed by the screaming of the other
soldiers in the base. >I've never felt like this. All this power
flowing through me, it's absolutely exhilarating!<
[Glad you like it,] Xiaxos said satisfactorily. [Now, to finish
the job.] Adrian nodded and began heading towards the command center.
He witnessed his undead allies feasting on one of the fallen soldiers
and smiled at the gory sight. He pressed the button to open the command
center door and nothing happened.
'Playing hard to get I see,' he said loudly. 'Fine then. I'll
play harder.' He placed his hand on the door and it began glowing a
deep violet. Slowly the wall began to dissolve and eventually a hole
large enough for him to pass through appeared. He walked in and looked
at all of the officers.
'Why are you all afraid of me?' he asked walking among them. 'You
should be proud to be joining my undead army. One day you will have the
pleasure of taking over Xenodome. They will not harm you for you will
be invincible and immortal. You will no longer hunger, thirst, nor will
you fight each other. Mobius will be returned to a peaceful state under
my master's watchful eye.'
>Is this...what I really wanted?< he thought briefly. It was
extinguished in a heartbeat as one of the humans stepped forward.
'If I am going to die,' he said, 'I will do so with honor.'
'Honor?' Adrian asked mockingly. 'I will show you where your
'honor' gets you.' He drove the scythe blade into his stomach and then
up, then pulled it out. The human coughed up blood as his entrails
spilled out in front of him then collapsed onto them dead. 'Who else
wants to put their 'honor' ahead of their life?' Adrian asked raising
his arms. Slowly everyone in the room stood. Adrian closed his eyes
seething. 'Then every single one of you will die by my hand!' he roared
his eyes opening. The second scythe appeared in his free hand as he
rose into the air. A purple aura surrounded him as both of the blades
began spinning freely.
'Jaws of death, clamp down on the mortal coils of those before
you,' he began chanting. Black mist began pouring off both scythes and
they spun even faster than before. 'Abyssal Dragon Fangs!' Dozens of
black dragon heads shot out of the black mist each with a pair of
glowing red eyes. They sought out the humans in the room. They all
began screaming as the razor sharp teeth dug into their flesh and began
tearing them apart. Soon each one was overcome by multiple dragons and
the screaming died down. The dragons returned to the scythes and Adrian
lowered down to the ground. He looked around his face twisted in
disgust.
'You pathetic beings,' he said quietly. 'You would rather die to
preserve your sense of misplaced honor than to bring peace to our world.
How selfish.' He tapped the scythe on the ground twice. The undead
spread through the base disappeared and the corpses next, leaving no
trace that anything had happened. Adrian walked out of the base and his
scythe vanished. He took a deep breath and let it out as he reappeared
in his tent. He would only get a couple hours sleep but it would be
enough. Still, the things he had said in there, was that what he really
believed now? He was still thinking about it as he drifted off to
sleep.
'Yo' Adrian! Wake up!' Eric yelled. Adrian snapped up almost
fully awake. 'Something's up. The base is empty.'
'Again?' Adrian muttered pulling on some clothes quickly. 'Two in
a row, what's next?'
'Let's hope our next destination isn't etched in blood like last
time,' Eric said as the two of them walked towards the base. Jacques
and the other animals that had come with them were already in the base
taking account of what had happened. There were no bodies, little signs
of battle, and another enormous hole in the wall. Eric shook his head
as Adrian joined the search, knowing it would be fruitless. When they
returned an hour later they found that all of the security footage had
been corrupted again. The directions were again etched in the wall,
though Adrian pointed out that they looked like they were done like that
by fingernails. The entire unit, minus Adrian, puzzled over this for
the next three years as similar cases began turning up and not just at
places where they were. The King had issued a warrant for this
creature's arrest and if that was not possible, to kill it. The initial
doubts that Adrian had had about his true purpose as Xiaxos' Guardian
grew in that time as well. With each life he took he grew stronger and
questioned what he was doing more. Xiaxos would silence the thoughts
and Adrian would go about his business as normal. Adrian feel into a
depression that only showed when he wasn't working and the only one to
notice was Eric. No matter how he approached him Adrian would never
discuss what the problem was.
***9 YEARS BEFORE THE COUP***
Adrian sat in the bar quietly drinking his glass of water. He
heard the door open and someone sit next to him.
'You're in a bar drinking water,' a familiar voice said. 'You
must be REALLY depressed.' Adrian turned to the voice.
'Why are you here Eric?' he asked somberly. 'I guess it doesn't
matter really. A friendly face would be nice to talk with.' The
bartender handed Eric a glass of water and shook his head.
'I came to ask you something,' Eric admitted. 'It's about all
those times the bases turned up empty. It all stopped whenever we came
back to Mobotropolis.'
'You think someone in our unit is responsible?' Adrian guessed.
Eric nodded. 'You've got to be kidding me. Who do you know that's that
strong? Not just that but that thorough and efficient.'
'I don't,' Eric answered. 'But it was always the base we were
after, rarely others.'
'They gave us the directions to find it,' Eric retorted. 'Of
course it would be the bases we were going after, whoever it was was
leading us there.'
'But to what end?' Eric said taking a sip of his water. 'I mean,
why pick us?'
'I don't know,' Adrian said finishing his glass. 'And I'm tired
of trying to figure it out.' Eric looked at his friend in curiosity.
'I'm not reenlisting.'
'Guess I can't blame you,' Eric agreed. 'I know what you're
thinking too. You've taken more lives than you've saved. You've become
a soldier, the one thing you never wanted to be.' Adrian was silent
knowing the hedgehog was right.
'It's more than that,' he said finally. 'I've...done some pretty
terrible things Eric. Things that I can never forgive myself for.'
Eric looked at him concerned but decided not to push the topic.
'So what will you do?' he asked.
'I'll finish my doctorate and open my own clinic,' Adrian said
standing up. 'After that, who knows? Maybe I'll see if the King needs
a new medical officer. Anything but the military.'
'Speaking of,' Eric said motioning the bartender for a refill,
'what do you think of the new War Minister?'
'Julian?' Adrian said. 'I don't know. I mean, he's been a huge
help in figuring out Xenodonian tactics, plus implementing those
SWATbots for large scale attacks and as a police force. On the outside
he's the savior of Mobotropolis.'
'And the inside?' Adrian looked over at him.
'Did I tell you I met him once when we came back to resupply?' he
asked. 'He wants me to train his son Daryl in the ways of combat.'
'Why you?' Eric asked. Adrian shrugged.
'That's what I asked him. He said he'd heard that my combat
skills were on par with Jacques'. While I'm good I wouldn't go so far
as to say that though.'
'Seems ironic though,' Eric said. 'You're trying to get away from
fighting and you're being asked to train someone else how to fight.'
'I don't trust him,' Adrian continued bluntly. 'He just
seems...slimy. It's like he came here just to gain our trust then take
the throne for himself.'
'You too?' Adrian looked at his friend in surprise. 'Being
second-in-command in the Guard has certain advantages, such as getting
to meet all the new Ministers the King's appointed, including Julian. I
got the same feeling talking to him, and his nephew Snively isn't any
better.'
'Well, we have no proof of wrongdoing so there's nothing we can
do,' Adrian said taking another sip. 'I might take him up on his offer
though, might give me some insight to what's going on.' Eric smiled and
held his glass up.
'Planning ahead as always,' he said as they clinked glasses. 'I
knew deep down you hadn't changed.'
'What fun would that be?' Adrian asked as they drained their
glasses. 'So, you and Alura have any little ones running around yet?'
'Nah, not yet,' Eric said as they walked out. 'We're gonna wait a
couple more years when the fighting dies down. I hear Jacques met
someone though.'
'Imagine that,' Adrian scoffed. 'The Captain of the Royal Guard
meeting a woman interested in him.'
'My understanding is that she didn't know he was with the Royal
Guard until after their first date,' Eric offered. Now Adrian was
genuinely surprised.
'Well I'll be,' he said. 'I take back what I said. Good for him.
So, what's her name?' Eric shrugged.
'I wanna say Antoinette, but I don't really know,' he said.
'Well, I'm gonna go home and see my wife. She'll probably kill me for
nearly getting killed at least a dozen times.' They both chuckled and
went their separate ways.
Adrian opened the door to his house and sighed as he sat down on
the couch. He was supposed to reenlist tomorrow, though he obviously
had no intention of doing so.
[Coward,] Xiaxos said angrily. [What happened to not being afraid
of death?]
>I'm not,< Adrian replied. >I have no more desire to kill, even
if you say that it's the only way to end suffering in this world. There
has to be another way.<
[Death is the only escape,] the dragon said. [In death we are all
equal, there is no hunger, thirst, or pain.]
>So you would have me kill every living thing on Mobius?< Adrian
asked as everything started falling into place. >THAT'S your idea of
peace? You're nothing but a monster!<
[As are you,] Xiaxos reminded him chuckling. [Unfortunately you
are a monster that is blinded by your foolish idealistic 'morals'. When
you take someone's life your true self emerges. You enjoyed every
moment of it. The slaughter, the bloodshed, you reveled in it! And you
call me the monster? I only gave you a means to accomplish your goal,
you chose to kill. So I ask you, who's the monster, you or me?]
Adrian was quiet at that thought. >I am,< he said finally.
>You're right, I didn't have to fight to change the world. But because
that's what I chose to do I lost the woman who means more than the world
to me. I made her give up our child because she was afraid I wouldn't
be there for her. I'm no better than you are, maybe worse.< The dragon
began to wallow in his victory over the lynx. >But that ends today.<
Xiaxos was silent. Adrian could feel the dragon seething,
absolutely furious that Adrian was defying him. [You would DARE to defy
me?!] he said finally. Adrian felt every muscle in his body seize up in
fear. [I AM THE SHADOW DRAGON!! YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN MY SLAVE!
YOU WILL OBEY ME!]
>Not any longer,< Adrian said fighting off the dragon's control.
>My life is my own from now on, I don't care what you say. You will not
win against me Xiaxos.< The dragon's temper subsided as he started
laughing causing the hair on Adrian's neck to stand on end.
[You think it is that simple?] he asked. [Then know this: I will
do everything in my power to bring harm to your friends and loved ones.
And when you are the only one capable of saving them I will make you
watch as they die. I will burn those images into your memory and you
will NEVER forget who is responsible for their deaths. Know this Adrian
Osaka, you are my slave, now and forever. Whether you choose to use the
power I have bestowed upon you does not matter, a part of your soul
belongs to me, and one day all of it will. And when that day comes, I
will destroy all life on this pathetic planet. And when I do, you will
watch. You will watch as Rosie is tormented by my servants, you will
watch and be unable to act. THEN you will know what suffering truly
is.]
With that the dragon's presence faded to nothingness. Adrian
closed his eyes savoring the silence, knowing it would be the last time
he would truly be alone.
***4 YEARS BEFORE THE COUP***
Adrian blocked each blow that Daryl threw at him. The kid was
good, considering he had a major height advantage over Adrian. But the
blonde was still learning and Adrian had eight years of training to beat
the teenager with. Each punch was countered, each kick parried. Adrian
did not change his stance to test the young human and he finally caught
on. It was too late as Adrian grabbed the human's neck and slammed him
on the ground pinning him.
'And what have we learned here?' he asked. Daryl smiled.
'Expect the unexpected,' he said his eyes flashing red. Adrian
pulled his hand away too late as a small fireball blew up in his face.
He landed on his back in the dirt as Daryl came after him with the
wooden sword. He rolled out of the way, jumped up and easily blocked
the next swing. He grabbed the blade and elbowed the young human in the
nose, knocking him to the ground. Adrian flipped the sword so he was
holding the hilt and put the tip at Daryl's throat smiling.
'You were saying?' he taunted. He offered his hand to Daryl who
took it. Adrian pulled him up and handed him his sword back.
'That was cheating,' Daryl said sliding into the scabbard.
'There's no such thing as 'cheating' in a sword fight,' Adrian
told him as they headed indoors. 'You must be prepared for anything, a
cut hand is better than being dead.'
'I guess so.' Adrian looked over at him.
'You're still unhappy about it?' he asked.
'Well of course I am,' Daryl answered. 'Where's the honor in such
a way of fighting? I thought all swordsmen had some sort of code of
honor when it came to fighting.'
'That is more a romantic notion rather than anything practical,'
Adrian explained. 'Not to say that I don't agree with you, it's just
that no one fights like that.'
'I guess so,' he said again with disappointment. As they entered
the office Adrian saw a very fat human dressed in the white robes of a
Royal Court Minister. He had a large orange mustache and metal plates
where his ears should have been. In place of normal eyes he had two
black ones with red irises.
'Ah, just finishing up son?' War Minister Julian Kintobor asked.
'Yeah dad,' the blonde teenager said with a smile. 'I _still_ got
my butt kicked.' Julian laughed.
'That's what you get with someone who's fought alongside the Royal
Guard for four years,' he said as Daryl gathered his things. 'So
Adrian, how is civilian life treating you?'
'Quite well,' the lynx said nodding. 'And how goes the war?' At
this Julian smiled.
'We are close to victory,' he said proudly. 'Xenodome is starting
to cave underneath our relentless attacks. I foresee a victory in the
next three years if everything goes according to plan.'
'That's good to hear,' Adrian said. No matter how he tried
rationalizing his mistrust of the human it would not go away. 'So, what
brings you here to personally pick your son up?'
'I actually came to ask you something,' the human said invoking a
curious glance from the lynx. 'A...friend of mine is working on
temporal displacement and breaching dimensional borders. You are an
intelligent animal and we need someone whose mind is not clouded with
some of the science community's mumbo-jumbo to assist us. That and we
want to learn, if we are successful, what effects it has on living
beings.' Adrian stroked his chin.
'I suppose it couldn't hurt,' he answered carefully. 'I don't
have any more appointments today, I can close shop early and give you
guys a hand.'
'Excellent!' Julian said clapping and smiling. 'Hurry Daryl! We
must go see Naugus.'
'Ready when you are dad,' Daryl said emerging from the bathroom in
his regular clothes. Adrian switched his phone to answering machine
only and put the 'Closed' sign on the door. He followed Julian to the
Royal Palace and deep into the basement. They reached an elevator and
they took it down the very bottom level. When the doors open Adrian was
taken aback in shock. There at the computer terminal was a man hunched
over. Where his right hand should have been was a crab claw, ears
pointed like a bat's and a large horn in the middle of his forehead.
Next to him was a small human with a very pointed nose and somewhat
bushy hair typing furiously.
'Hurry up Snively!' Ixis Naugus said in his gravelly voice. 'Make
sure that all the energy is focused at the center of the vortex.'
'I'm trying sir,' Snively complained in his nasal voice. 'These
parts Uncle Julian obtained cannot handle the stress.'
'Then we'll get new ones Snively,' Julian said walking up with
Adrian and Daryl in tow. Snively turned around and the fledgling portal
in the other room vanished instantly. Naugus smacked Snively on the
head with his staff angrily.
'You idiot!' he said coughing. 'We were close that time!'
'Forgive me sir,' Snively said mustering some sense of respect.
'I'll run the tests on what we had and maybe find something that will
work to stabilize the portal.' Snively hit a couple buttons and then
walked into another room while Naugus walked up to Julian.
'You are late!' he said annoyed. 'The war can wait. My work here
is too important to be interrupted.'
'You'll have to excuse me Naugus,' Julian said giving a nervous
bow. Whoever this Naugus was he either commanded a great deal of
respect or fear, maybe even both. 'I would like to introduce you to Dr.
Adrian Osaka, former medical officer to the Royal Guard.' Adrian nodded
in respect to the other and he looked Adrian over.
'Hmm, I thought you'd be taller,' the demi-human muttered. 'I am
Ixis Naugus, High Sorcerer to King Acorn.'
'Sorcerer?' Adrian asked slightly dubious. 'I wasn't aware the
King appointed the office.'
'He doesn't,' Naugus said turning around. 'I offered my help to
him and gave myself the title. He doesn't seem to mind so why should
you?'
Pushy. 'I don't,' Adrian replied slightly indignant. 'I find it
fascinating that a human such as yourself has even minor control over
the energy around Mobius.' Naugus turned around to face him. 'Surely
you knew?' Adrian asked enjoying torturing him. 'Humans are incapable
of wielding elemental energies since they are not among the original
inhabitants of this planet. But I suppose that as a sorcerer you exert
control over the energy surrounding you and use it as you please.'
Naugus started to cough, growing stronger quickly. Adrian soon realized
that it wasn't coughing, it was laughter.
'He has spirit Julian,' the sorcerer said. 'I like him.' Julian
breathed a sigh of relief. 'Help Snively while I explain to our
associate here what we are trying to do.' By this time Daryl had
slipped out of the room to help his cousin in sorting the information.
Julian joined them, thoroughly angered by the lack of respect Naugus had
shown him. 'So, Adrian was it? What interests you most about this
project?'
'You're trying to tear the fabric of this dimension to find
another,' Adrian said looking into the portal room. 'I find that
fascinating. I also can't help but wonder why you want to do this.'
Naugus chuckled.
'I see nothing gets past you,' he said. 'As you said, I am a
sorcerer, a manipulator of the energy around me. What I perceive as
real becomes so with a blink of an eye. In my time wandering around
this world I found evidence of a place known only as 'The Void'. There
is a limitless amount of energy there, untainted and untapped by the
meddling hands of the living.'
'And what would you do with that power?'
'Does it matter?' Naugus retorted. 'No, I do not seek the Void
for power. Discovering another dimension will be accomplishment enough
that I can finally hang my hat up after. Surely as a former military
member you can understand.' Adrian looked over at him angrily.
'I was not a member of the military,' he said. 'I was the medical
officer assigned to a military unit.'
'That is not what the word in the world says,' Naugus replied.
The demi-human smiled, knowing he was pushing Adrian's buttons.
'And what would they be saying?' he asked darkly.
'There is rumor that a member of the Royal Guard was the
'creature' attacking the Xenodome bases,' Naugus said quietly. 'The
entire time we have conversing I have sensed a strange aura from you.
It is almost as if you are hiding something from the animals here.'
Adrian was near his breaking point. He felt the familiar, dark
power rising up in him. 'Whatever 'aura' you felt is the remnants of
whatever strength I gave up after I left my position,' he told the
sorcerer. 'Believe me, you would not live to tell of it if you met this
thing. I suppose you don't know about the things this being was capable
of.' Naugus shook his head slowly. 'We found one base that it had
failed to clear out before we arrived. There were no survivors,
soldiers or civilians. Most of the people there looked like they had
been fed upon by some wretched thing. Others were cut apart like meat
in a butcher shop. And in every base the location of its next strike
was etched into the wall by bloody fingers.'
Naugus stood there in silent horror. Julian, Snively and Daryl
stood behind him with the same feeling. 'What a monster,' Daryl said
breaking the silence. Adrian turned to him his face in a scowl.
'Monster?' he said mockingly. 'That is a severe understatement.
This thing reveled in death and destruction. I am sure that if it is
left to its own devices it would decimate this entire planet. And no
Mobian or human could stop it from doing so.'
'How can any one being be that strong?' Julian asked clearing his
voice and standing tall. 'Surely the might of Mobotropolis would-'
'Didn't you just hear me?' Adrian interrupted him his eyes turning
violet. 'No army or navy or air force could stop this thing if it was
bound and determined to kill us.'
'So why did it stop?' Daryl asked. 'If it had that much power why
stop? Why not do what you said and take out anyone that gets in the way
of its world conquest?'
[Yes, do tell Adrian,] Xiaxos said chuckling.
'I don't know,' he said starting to calm down. 'Maybe something
equally strong stopped it, maybe it got tired of killing. I don't have
those answers. All I know is that it's gone, at least for now.'
'That aside,' Naugus said taking the test results from Snively,
'what do you say we give this another try?' Julian and Adrian nodded as
Daryl went back to the upper levels. 'Turn the generators on Snively.'
Six months passed and Adrian had become like Snively, more a
lackey than anything else since they were still unsuccessful. They had
created a portal but it was unstable. One day while at lunch Adrian was
doodling on a piece of paper. He finally stopped and looked at what he
had drawn: A long series of sorcery runes in a rectangular arch. He
started to take another bite of his sandwich when it hit him. He
dropped his lunch and ran to the portal room where Naugus was still
endlessly trying to open a Void portal.
'Naugus!' Adrian said panting for air. 'I have...an idea!'
'Well, let's hear it,' the sorcerer said not even turning to look
at him.
'I know why we can't maintain the portal,' Adrian said taking a
deep breath. 'We've surrounded the portal area in an artificial
material. If we want to breach this dimension we need to use _natural_
material, preferable stone.'
'Shut it down,' Naugus told Snively. He then turned to Adrian a
curious expression on his face. 'We tried that. The stone was
destroyed the moment we opened the portal.' Adrian held up his sketch.
'Not if we use these balancing runes,' he told him. 'These runes
will allow the stones to maintain their form and not be sucked into the
Void, at the same time providing the natural energy that we need to
power the gate.' Naugus was silent and then a grin crossed his lips.
'That's brilliant!' he exclaimed before a coughing fit seized him.
'Snively! Contact Julian and tell him we need the room covered in
stone, every inch of it.'
'Yes sir,' Snively said and punched up Robotnik's comlink.
'In the meantime I need to make some adjustments to your idea
Adrian,' Naugus said walking in the other room. 'We're going to need
more symbols if this is to work correctly.'
Three days later the stonework was complete, Julian even adding a
door in case something went wrong. With several sweeps of his staff
Naugus etched in all the necessary runes all over the room. Finally
they were ready to test. Snively activated the generators and the
portal room crackled with power.
'More!' Naugus ordered. Snively turned up the power and finally a
purple and yellow vortex opened in the middle of the stone gate. 'Yes!
Yes!'
'Portal is stable sir,' Snively said not taking his eyes off the
controls. 'However the portal does seem to be producing a large
suctioning force.'
'How long can we keep it open?' Naugus said seemingly ignoring his
latter comments.
'Indefinitely,' Snively said with a smile. 'Now that the portal
is formed it's self-sustaining. If you wanted to shut if down all you
would have to do is close the gate doors.' Immediately after Snively
uttered those words Julian came barreling out of the elevator.
'Julian, you are late,' Naugus said smiling. 'You have just
missed witnessing the tearing of this dimension, giving way to the place
known as the Void.' Julian looked pained at having missed the event and
Adrian couldn't help but smile. Naugus seemed to enjoy torturing and
mocking Julian at every available chance. It seemed as if they were on
master-apprentice terms. He went over to one of the free terminals and
brought up a screen displaying various wave patterns.
'Nothing really out of the ordinary,' he said typing in a few
things. 'Like Snively said there's a powerful force trying to suck
anything-'
Without warning the vortex shut off. Snively started typing
furiously to try and determine what had caused it to do so. 'Well?'
Naugus asked slightly perturbed.
'I don't know sir,' Snively said nervously. 'Everything was
stable, nothing was changing. The generators are fine, no overheating,
no sort of malfunction detected. It's as if the portal shut itself
off.'
'Are you saying the Void is sentient?' Adrian asked in disbelief.
'That's impossible.'
'Nothing is as it seems in sorcery,' Naugus said stepping between
the two of them. 'Perhaps there is something else in the Void that does
not wish us to interfere with it. We will study it carefully, and then
when we are able to control it at will we will explore it.' The three
of them nodded in agreement and went back to work.
As the months dragged on they learned more and more about the
Void. They learned that the interior of the portal led to a cavern made
entirely of crystal. These crystals seemed to amplify Naugus' powers
tenfold, and Adrian felt his own powers grow as a result of his contact
with them. Xiaxos seemed happy to learn of this and afterwards Adrian
limited his contact with the crystals. As time pressed on Julian's
demeanor changed drastically. He was more willing to take risks when it
came to the military. Whatever progress Xenodome had made was undone in
a matter of weeks, the SWATbots and Hoverbots overrunning the human army
easily. It seemed the human was intent on keeping his promise on ending
the war as soon as possible.
***1 YEAR BEFORE THE COUP***
Adrian sat in his office during a break between appointments. It
had been two and a half years since the Void portal had first been
opened. In that time Naugus had vanished into thin air. Julian nor
Snively knew where the sorcerer had gone though Julian had taken over
his position of studying the Void. Adrian was pulled from his reading
by a knock on his door. He slipped his bookmark in and muttered about
interrupted all the way to the door. When he answered it there stood
Alura and Eric. Alura wore the outfit of an archeologist and Eric wore
a modified version of his Guard uniform.
'Long time no see Adrian,' Eric said shaking his friend's hand.
'It has been too long,' Adrian said as he hugged Alura. 'Please,
come in.' The three of them entered his office and they sat in the
lounge. 'So, what brings you two here?'
'Just trying to catch up,' Alura said sipping her coffee. 'We've
both been busy, with him being sent out and me taking Sonic with me on
digs.'
'Sonic?' Adrian asked. 'You don't mean...'
'Our son,' Eric said smiling as he and Alura held hands. 'Named
after my old man.'
'Which I was against,' Alura commented staring at her husband.
'Unfortunately Charles and Nicole sided with him.'
'How is she doing?' Adrian said changing the subject. 'I heard
she was sick but nothing beyond that.' Eric closed his eyes and took a
deep breath.
'I'm sure you head that my brother invented a machine that can
turn Mobians into robots,' he asked. Adrian nodded wondering where this
was going. 'He offered my mom the chance to be the first to test it.
The procedure was a success and she was fully roboticized.'
'Then why don't you seem happy?' Adrian asked.
'She lost her free will as a result of the procedure,' Alura said.
'Charles destroyed the machine almost immediately.'
'That...doesn't sound like him,' Adrian commented. The other two
nodded.
'While he can rebuild the machine he still needs the research
notes to find a way to reverse the process,' Eric said. 'The only
reason he destroyed the device was on the advice of someone.' Eric was
looking at him in the way that implied it was something Adrian would
understand. 'Just in case someone might have other plans for it.'
'I see,' Adrian said sitting back.
'What about you?' Alura asked setting the empty cup down. 'I hear
you've been working alongside Julian on some 'secret project'. Care to
divulge a little?'
'I wish I could,' Adrian answered shaking his head. 'But as you
said, it's a secret project. Would defeat the point if I told you about
it.'
'Oh you're no fun,' she replied as her watch started beeping.
'Eric, honey why don't you two stay here while I go pick up Sonic from
his playdate.'
'Alright,' he said giving her a quick kiss.
Alura gave Adrian one last hug and headed out. Eric walked to the
door and watched his wife leave.
'I'm sorry to hear about Nicole,' Adrian said. 'I know your
brother didn't mean any harm.' Eric sighed.
'If anything it's my fault,' he admitted. 'Mom wasn't sure about
it and I was the one who convinced her everything would be okay.'
'And then convincing Chuck to destroy the machine so no one would
try to misuse it...' Eric nodded.
'I didn't tell Alura the whole truth though,' he said sighing.
'Charles can't reverse the process. Well, maybe after several years. I
also got him to erase the blueprints, the designs, his notes,
everything.'
'Julian?' Adrian guessed and Eric nodded. 'Have you found
anything linking him to suspicious activities?'
'No,' Eric answered slightly angry. 'He either isn't doing
anything wrong or he's good at hiding it. You?' Adrian shrugged.
'Other than taking control of the Void research after Naugus'
disappearance he hasn't done anything odd.' At this Eric's face turned
to that of concern.
'Naugus?' he asked. 'Who's that?'
'He's the king's High Sorcerer,' Adrian said. 'He volunteered his
services to King Max awhile back.'
'There's no one in the king's court named Naugus,' Eric replied.
'There's _never_ been anyone by that name.'
'That's impossible,' Adrian said. 'He was working
alongside...Julian...'
'Where is this Naugus now?' Eric asked quickly.
'He disappeared a few months ago,' Adrian answered. 'It was out
of the blue, no warning, no note, nothing.'
'Check the security footage,' Eric said stepping out the door.
'He may have been working for Julian but behind the king's back. I've
got some things I can look into as well.'
'Be careful Eric,' Adrian said. 'If Julian plans to betray the
throne then he may come after those who have a relationship with it.'
Eric nodded.
'I will,' the gray hedgehog replied. 'You do the same, got it?'
Adrian gave him a thumbs up and smiled. He watched as his friend left
and immediately closed shop. He put a note on the door saying that a
'family emergency had taken place and required immediate attendance'.
While not entirely true, or remotely for that matter, Adrian knew that
this couldn't wait.
Adrian arrived in the security room at the palace and eased into
the chair. He had some friends among the guards and one of them had
given him about twenty minutes. He searched the records for the portal
room, though it didn't go by that name. He found what he was looking
for and searched for the last day Naugus was seen entering the room. He
found it quickly and watched. There was Naugus, saying something to
Julian and Snively who were immediately behind him. Julian wasn't
wearing his normal white robes, rather something of a different shade.
Adrian muttered a curse about the quality of the equipment but continued
watching. Julian looked extremely nervous about something. The camera
shifter to the portal chamber with Naugus walking up to the gate. The
portal opened and Naugus fought the wind pulling him in. He said
something, apparently to Julian and Snively, and then walked into the
portal. The doors immediately closed behind him and Adrian turned back
to the control room. Snively was saying something to his uncle and the
fat human snapped a response. He looked triumphant, not like he was
mourning the loss of Naugus being trapped in the Void. Adrian stopped
the video and pulled Aurora out.
'Aurora,' he said quietly looking around. 'Save this video to
your hard drive. And be careful about it.'
'Done and done,' she replied after a few minutes. 'What do you
plan on doing with this?'
'Right now, nothing,' he said folding her up and clipping her back
on his pants. 'Unless I can find out what Julian said I can't bring
this evidence to light. That and I'm not supposed to be in here under
normal circumstances. When we find concrete evidence then I'll bring
this video out.'
He stood up and exited the room, thanking his friend, and left the
palace. Julian was planning something, he knew he was. He had to be
stopped, but how was the question of the hour.
***1 WEEK BEFORE THE COUP***
Adrian carried the box of files down the hall to Julian's office.
He didn't know why the human wanted all the energy output readings from
the portal but here they were. He opened the door with his elbow and
walked in. Odd, where was Julian?
'Julian?' Adrian said looking around. He laid the box on an empty
worktable. There was a light coming from the back hallway so Adrian
followed it. He could hear Julian's voice coming from further down. He
was about to turn the corner when he heard another voice join Julian's.
'I don't give a damn about what you're doing here!' the deep voice
said angrily. 'You are behind schedule by close to six months Ivo.'
'I promise you brother, everything will work out,' Julian said
nervously. Adrian looked around the corner carefully and saw a human
with long silver hair towering over Julian. He was well-built and stood
nearly seven feet tall. His green eyes burned viciously as he stared
down at the fat human. He was wearing what appeared to be black leather
pants and a red trenchcoat that hung loosely off his torso. He grabbed
Julian by the throat, picked him up and slammed him against the wall
with such force that it shook the whole room.
'I have waited long enough!' he roared causing Adrian to flinch.
'First my sorcerer goes missing and now you try giving me more excuses.
I have had it! I will give you one week. If this city is not under
your control by then you I will make what I did to your eyes and ears
seem like child's play.' At this Julian began shaking uncontrollably.
'Do we have an understanding cousin?'
'Yes Brother Arias,' Julian said quickly. 'Perfectly clear.' The
one called Arias let go and Julian fell to the ground gasping for
breath. Arias turned around and vanished is a swirl of yellow energy.
Julian picked himself up and brushed off his uniform, gaining his
composure back slowly. He looked around to see if anyone had been
watching the scene and sighed in relief when he saw no one.
'Trust me Brother Arias,' he said quietly walking back towards his
lab. 'This city will make a fine addition to your empire.' He entered
the hallway and, seeing no one, walked back to the lab to continue his
research on the Void portal.
Adrian bolted out of the palace into the blazing sun. Eric, he
had to find Eric! They had been right, Julian was planning to betray
Mobotropolis! He turned to head towards Eric and Alura's house when he
ran straight into the Eric. The gray hedgehog helped his friend up with
a curious look on his face.
'Where's the fire?' he asked. His face turned serious when he saw
the look on Adrian's face. 'What's wrong Adrian? You look like you
just saw a ghost.'
'Not here,' he said shaking his head. 'Let's head somewhere
private, and fast.' Eric shrugged and threw Adrian over his shoulder.
He looked around and seeing no one revved his legs and took off. They
stopped in front of Adrian's house and went in. Eric sat down as Adrian
started pacing.
'Okay, so you want to tell me what this is all about?' he asked.
'You're acting like you just found out the King is dead. Wait, he's not
is he?'
'Max is fine,' Adrian said still pacing. 'At least until the end
of the week.' Now Eric stood up and grabbed the lynx by the shirt
collar.
'And just what does that mean?' he asked glaring at Adrian. The
lynx pulled out of the grip slightly annoyed.
'Not me you idiot,' he snapped. 'It's Julian. We were right,
he's planning to overthrow the King and take Mobotropolis for himself.'
'What proof do you have?' Eric asked crossing his arms. 'I know
what you're thinking Adrian. Going to the King about something like
this is utter foolishness if you don't have solid proof.'
'I overheard him talking to someone named Brother Arias,' Adrian
explained. 'He told Julian, who he called Ivo and cousin, that he had
one week to take over the city. Apparently Julian's been planning this
for sometime, since he was six months overdue.'
'But do you have any physical proof?' Eric asked becoming
impatient. 'It doesn't matter what you've heard. Julian has single-
handedly ended the war with Xenodome. Do you think that the King is
simply going to ignore that?'
'He has to!' Adrian yelled. 'There has to be someway to convince
him about this.' Eric thought for a moment.
'There's a Xenodonian prisoner we're going to be releasing in a
few days,' he said finally. 'While I doubt he would know anything about
it it can't hurt.'
'That's perfect!' Adrian said happily. Eric's face was still
serious.
'But since he's a political prisoner not just anyone can go in and
see him,' he continued. 'Not even Jacques can do anything to help us
here.' Adrian slumped down into a chair.
'Then we're doomed,' he muttered. 'Killing Julian is out of the
question, it'd just make him a martyr for Mobotropolis. That and I have
no desire to have anymore blood than necessary on my hands.'
'Glad to hear it,' Eric said unclipping his sword from his belt.
Adrian watched as the gray hedgehog handed it to him with the strap
bearing the crest of the Royal Guard on it.
'What is this?' he asked as Eric placed it in his hands.
'My sword,' Eric said sighing. 'I won't be needing it anymore.'
'What do you mean you won't need it?' Adrian asked still lost.
'Alura and I are leaving Mobotropolis,' Eric explained sitting
back down. 'It's soon, which is why I want to take care of everything
before then. Before you ask Sonic is going to be staying with my
brother. That's...also what I wanted to talk to you about.' Adrian sat
there dumbstruck. 'I want you to give Sonic that sword when the time is
right. I don't know when that'll be, but you will. Something tells me
he'll need it to fight the evil that's coming.'
'But why are you leaving?' Adrian asked. 'Did you get orders from
the king, are your lives in danger, why?' Eric was quiet as if thinking
of an answer.
'We both received the order,' he said finally. 'We're to be out
of the city by the end of this week, no later than that. We'll receive
further information once we reach our first destination. No, I can't
tell you where we're heading,' he quickly added as he saw Adrian start
to ask the question. 'I want you to promise me something.'
'Anything old friend,' Adrian said finally calm.
'Promise that you'll take care of Sonic for us,' Eric said choking
back tears. 'Don't let him get in over his head, that he always follows
his heart...' He stopped as tears came freely. Adrian stood, setting
the sword down and hugged his friend. After a moment he let go and Eric
regained his composure.
'I promise,' Adrian said holding his fist out. Eric smiled and
they bumped fists, just like they had when they were younger. 'I'm
gonna have one tough time, considering he's a miniature you.' Eric
chuckled.
'Sorry 'bout that,' he said walking to the door. 'Anyway,
Julian's your problem now. Make sure you do everything you can to stop
him. Who knows, maybe the king will hear you out.'
'I doubt it,' Adrian said sighing. 'You're right, as always.
I'll get more proof, you can count on that.' Eric smiled and nodded,
heading out the door. Adrian looked back at the sword that Eric had
given him. He tried to pull the blade out and realized that it would
not let him. In fact, the harder he tried the more the sword resisted.
After one final attempt Adrian felt a burning sensation in his hands and
looked at them. The sword and sheath had burned his hands slightly.
Annoyed, he set the sword down and went to rinse his hands off. That
done he found an old pair of leather gloves from his youth. They were
torn in many places and had some small holes in them but other than that
were in rather good shape. He put them on and used a green thread he
found to tie the wrists with. He flexed his hands, surprised at how
well they had held up over the years. He also grabbed a white cloth and
wrapped Eric's sword with it so he didn't burn his hands again.
'Perfect timing,' he muttered looking at the door. 'Right when
we're ready to take him down you have to leave on some mission.' He
sighed and shook his head. Who was he kidding? He couldn't stay angry
at Eric. After all, orders are orders.
He sat down and started to think. You know, what harm could it do
to go to the king with the information he had? He stood up and got his
coat, still thinking everything through. He'd present it in a very
formal manner, not accusing anyone of anything but still voicing his
concerns. Perhaps he'd even get to speak with this prisoner Eric had
mentioned. He continued thinking until he reached the palace. He went
in, flashed his ID, and walked to the throne room. There King
Maximillian Acorn was talking to one of his advisors in hushed tones.
That ended once he saw Adrian and stood up and walked over to the lynx.
'Adrian Osaka!' he said as they shook hands. 'We were just
talking about you.'
'All good I hope,' Adrian said with a smile. The king nodded and
motioned to his advisor that they were done.
'So what brings you here?' the king asked as they walked behind
the throne into his personal gardens.
'Many things,' Adrian said as more memories came to him. King Max
caught how he was staring and frowned.
'Don't apologize again,' he said delicately handling a rose. 'I
do not blame you for Alicia's death. You did everything within your
power to save both the child and the mother. We cannot win all the
time.'
'I suppose that is why Sally's middle name is the same as her
mother's?' Adrian asked and King Max nodded.
'In memory of her,' he answered. 'Now, what really brings you
here?'
'I need to speak with the Xenodonian prisoner,' Adrian said
bluntly. 'I don't want to hurt him or make his life miserable in any
way, I just want to confirm a suspicion of mine.' The king sighed.
'Julian?' he asked. Adrian's mouth opened to answer but nothing
came out. 'Don't bother, Eric already asked me the same thing about the
same person.'
'No wonder he said to wait,' Adrian muttered looking off to the
side. 'It's more than that Highness. I overheard a conversation
between someone named Arias who called Julian 'Ivo'.'
'And you want to question him in regards to either name.' Adrian
was left nearly speechless.
'You're good,' he admitted finally. 'Yes, that's all I want to
ask him. If he doesn't know I'll let it drop, if he does-'
'No,' the king said all kindness gone from his voice. 'Even if
your suspicions are correct the kingdom cannot afford a traitor at this
time.' Adrian grabbed the king's arm and spun the fox to face him.
'Max, we're talking about a coup de tat!' he said as softly and
harshly as possible. 'This Arias guy wants the city out of the way;
it's even possible that he forced the start of this war.'
'And what proof do you have?' the king asked brushing Adrian's
hand off him. 'Overhearing a conversation isn't exactly a smoking gun.'
Adrian calmed down and then immediately started pacing.
'Don't you think I know that?' he asked. 'Please Highness just
trust me on this one.' King Max was quiet as he debated his options.
'My answer stands,' he said finally his voice returning to a
normal volume. 'Access to the prisoner is denied. He is being released
tomorrow to return to Xenodome. In that time you are not to pursue him,
do I make myself clear on that Dr. Osaka?' Adrian slowly stiffened his
body and saluted half-heartedly.
'Absolutely,' he said disappointed. 'Sorry to bother you
Highness.' He turned on his heel and walked back into the throne room
and out of the palace.
The week seemed to crawl by and Adrian's began losing his nerve,
knowing that at any moment Julian would attack. He finally left his
home when he needed to head to the palace for his regularly scheduled
medicine delivery. He preferred to pick it up and check it there so
only had to lug it one way. He walked down the empty streets and
sighed. Everyone was out celebrating the end of the Great War with
Mobotropolis as the victor.
>I shouldn't have followed orders,< he thought to himself. >At
least that way I could've been sure.<
His thoughts were interrupted as an extremely fast blue streak
sped by him, nearly pulling him after it in its wake. He picked himself
up and brushed his coat off. He stopped and thought about what had just
happened.
'Wait a minute, something's not right here,' he said thinking out
loud. 'Eric and Alura have left the city already and Sonic is in the
palace with Sir Charles. So who...'
He shrugged and brushed the thought away. Maybe he had just
fallen and was imagining it. It couldn't have been Sonic anyway, it was
too tall and there was a streak of brown with it. He continued walking
towards the palace as if nothing had happened.
When he arrived he went to the front desk. The young clerk, a
female dog with brown fur, smiled up at him. 'That time already Dr.
Osaka?' she asked typing in his information.
'The sick and injured never wait,' he said smiling back.
'Besides, I can't go out and celebrate quite yet. I need to have a
clear head or I'LL be the one needing help.' They both laughed and she
reached under the desk and pulled up a large box.
'Well, you're welcome to check and make sure you have everything
like always,' she said cutting the tape on the top. She had just slid
the razor blade back in when the building was rocked, throwing both of
them on the ground and the box right next to Adrian's waist.
'Too close,' he said breathing a sigh of relief. He stood up and
looked around. He hadn't imagined it that time, _something_ had hit the
building or something had blown up. 'Are you okay?' he asked the clerk.
She nodded and put her hand on her temple.
'Just shook up,' she said. 'What was that?'
'I don't know,' he said. Before he could say anything else large
boulders crashed into the ground just in front of the doorway.
Thankfully the path was clear but it didn't stop people from screaming.
He went over, looking them over as he pushed them out of the way. These
were definitely from the palace, that he knew. He went outside and
looked up. There lodged into the top of the palace was a black warship,
its engines ablaze. It wasn't of Xenodonian design, nor was it from
Mobotropolis. He pulled Aurora out of his pocket and opened her up.
'Anything on that ship?' he asked her never taking his eyes off
it.
'Nothing,' Aurora said after a minute. 'It's not from here or
Xenodome. That would mean that it's of custom design, and modern,
considering some of the weapons on that thing.'
'Like?'
'Plasma cannons and molecular reconstructors,' Aurora said.
Adrian blinked and finally looked at the computer.
'Molecular reconstructors?' he asked. 'Those were...'
'Property of the War Ministry,' she finished confirming his fear.
'It seems Julian's making his move.'
'What about the SWATbots?' he asked.
'FREEZE ORGANIC!' he heard a droning voice asked. He turned
around and looked down the barrel of a blaster rifle.
'Answers that question,' he muttered and held his hands up. He
heard shuffling behind him and turned enough to see the other people in
the palace in similar positions.
'YOU ARE UNDER ARREST, UNDER THE ORDER OF DR. ROBOTNIK,' they all
said together. 'DO NO RESIST OR YOU WILL BE TERMINATED.'
>Some choice,< Adrian thought looking around him. >There's about
twelve of them, easy enough. I didn't want to have to use this power
but I don't have a choice.< He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
They snapped open, his brown eyes now a deep violet. With one swift
movement he grabbed the SWATbot's arm cannon and aimed it at the others.
He squeezed causing it to fire. He missed but it had the effect he
wanted: they had taken their attention off the others and onto him.
They all fired and Adrian ducked, causing his hostage bot to be fried.
He shot forward tearing the SWATbots apart with lethal efficiency. He
stood up and cleared his hands of the shrapnel. The other Mobians
looked both terrified and relieved.
'What's going on?' on of them asked. 'Why were we just arrested
for no reason?'
'Someone is attempting to overthrow the king,' Adrian said his
voice deeper than normal. 'All of you, get out of the city. Don't stop
at home, don't go looking for your friends. Call them if you can but
save yourselves first.'
'Where should we go?' the clerk from earlier asked. She was
obviously the most scared of all those here, though Adrian couldn't help
but wonder if it was more from seeing the old friendly doctor turn into
a killing machine right before her eyes.
'Cherrywood,' he said pointing to the northwest. 'Head there for
now and wait for word from others.' They all nodded and went in the
direction he had indicated. He turned to look at the top of the palace
again only this time the ship was gone. Julian was moving quickly and
he knew where he would take the king. He started to head to the portal
room when something occurred to him: the kids. His mind completely shut
the king out as he ran towards the outskirts of the city.
He stopped just outside a small wooden house about a half mile
from the city limits. He could hear the chatter of young children and
another, much more familiar voice. His throat seized up when he finally
fit the voice in with his memory. He cleared his throat and calmly
knocked on the door. There was silence and then something sliding away
from the door. When it opened a badger wearing a light blue dress and a
red cloak answered, her orange eyes widening when she saw Adrian.
'Dr. Osaka!' Rosie cried letting him in. He flinched internally
at the title she used for him but let it go. 'What brings you here?'
'Bad news I'm afraid,' he said lowly trying not to disturb the
kids. They were all sitting down in a circle talking amongst
themselves.
'Is Juice okay?' a small blue hedgehog asked. 'Are he and Alicia
okay doc?'
'Sonic, mind your manners,' Rosie reminded him gently. The young
Sonic Hedgehog's expression didn't change, his black eyes boring
straight into Adrian who gave him a confused look back.
'Juice? Alicia?' he asked looking at Rosie. 'Mind explaining?'
'I'm not too sure myself,' she admitted. 'Apparently a blue
hedgehog wearing red sneakers and white gloves showed up a few hours ago
and stopped by Sir Charles' workshop along with a red-haired ground
squirrel.'
'That's Alicia!' Princess Sally said adjusting her tiara. 'Are
they okay?' Adrian shook his head.
'I don't know,' he told them. 'I just found out what's going on
myself.'
'What about my father?' Sally asked. 'Is he alright?' Adrian was
quiet, trying to think of what to say.
'He was probably thrown in prison,' he said putting his hand on
the young princess' shoulder. 'He'll be okay, we'll get him out.' He
smiled and then his face blanked.
Sally's face and Rosie's hut disappeared and were replaced by
something else. He saw what appeared to be an older Sonic with gray
eyes lying on the ground of what he guessed was a cave. He was looking
Adrian in abject terror. Adrian felt his hand draw back and then reach
towards Sonic. An ethereal hand extended from his own, like when Xiaxos
had taken part of his soul. Before the hand reached him a red-haired
ground squirrel wearing a blue vest and boots jumped in front of him. He
couldn't see her face but the moment his hand hit her back she
convulsed. After a moment he pulled back and a ghostly clone came
towards him. He felt her soul merging with his own when he finally saw
her face: Sally's.
He snapped out of it and shook his head. The kids and Rosie were
looking at him strangely. 'Are you okay doc?' Sonic asked in a scared
tone. Adrian nodded taking a deep breath.
'I'm fine,' he said trying to get the vision out of his head.
'Must just be stress getting to me.' He looked at the other kids
realizing that he recognized all of them. First was a cream-furred
rabbit, no mistake Bunnie, Alex and Annabelle's only daughter. Next was
a fox wearing a heavy blue jacket, reminiscent of a military uniform.
Antoine, Jacques' youngest if he recalled correctly. Lastly was a
walrus wearing red and white sneakers with a matching ball cap, most
likely Rotor, Sonic's neighbor.
'When are we to be knowing?' Antoine asked nervously. Adrian
shook his head again.
'I'm afraid I don't have any answers for you kids,' he said. He
turned to Rosie. 'We need to talk, alone.' She nodded and they went
into the back of the house where the kids couldn't hear them.
'What's going on Adrian?' she asked quietly. 'Why do you look
scared? What happened out there?'
'Julian is attempting a coup de tat,' he said keeping an eye on
the kids. 'I went to pick up my normal deliveries when the palace was
hit by some kind of warship, armed with weapons only Julian had access
too. On top of that SWATbots tried to arrest everyone there in the name
of someone called 'Robotnik'.' Rosie's hand came to her mouth in shock.
'But why?' she asked.
'Why does anyone overthrow a government?' he asked raising an
eyebrow. 'For power. I think there may be more to it but I wasn't able
to confirm or deny those fears.' He looked to the front of the house.
'Where are the kids?' he asked his concern growing quickly.
'Oh no!' Rosie said running up front. 'They must have snuck out
when we were talking! Adrian we have to find them!'
'Stay here Rosie,' he said holding her shoulders. 'You'll be safe
here. Don't worry, I'll find the kids and we'll be out of here in no
time.' He smiled trying to instill some hope in her. She slowly smiled
as well and he hugged her. Before she could return the gesture he
bolted out the door. He hadn't gone far when he saw a group of
Hoverbots circles around a patch of bushes. He could hear the kids
whimpering and was immediately infuriated. Before he could act he felt
something pull him back into the brush. He spun around to face an
extremely agitated blonde human.
'Daryl!' Adrian said relieved. 'You're okay.'
'Okay? Okay?!' Daryl asked both angrily and sarcastically. 'My
father is a traitor, and you think that I'm 'okay'?'
'That's not what I meant,' Adrian snapped at his student. 'I
meant that you escaped from these damned bots. Where's your father
now?'
'I don't know, but I will very soon,' he said drawing his sword.
'When I do find him and Snively I'm going to kill both of them. I don't
care if I go down in the process, I won't let this happen.'
Before he could get up Adrian grabbed his arm and pulled him down.
'Are you insane?' he asked. 'We need to think this through. If you're
so determined on that then help me save the kids then we can do what
should've been done months ago.' Adrian looked back for the kids but
they, and the Hoverbots, were gone. He turned back and backed away
quickly when he saw Daryl's face.
'You knew?' the human asked slowly as he stood up. 'You knew this
was going to happen and you did nothing?'
'It's not like that,' Adrian said backing up out of the brush. 'I
tried and got nowhere. There was nothing else I could have done!'
Daryl lashed out, tearing a gash across Adrian's chest. The lynx
cried out and pressed his arm to the wound in an attempt to stem the
bleeding. 'Once my father is dead, you're next,' he said pointing the
tip at him. He sheathed the claymore and walked away.
Adrian fell to his knees and his free hand. If he didn't do
something soon he would end up bleeding to death. He closed his eyes
and reached deep inside of his soul, seeking the darkness. He grabbed
it and brought it all to the surface. He opened his eyes which glowed
more brilliantly than ever. His graying hair turned jet black and stood
on end and increased in length. His muscles bulged as the dark power
coursed through him, causing streaks of black to appear in his fur. He
stood up, the wound in his chest closing almost immediately. They only
remnant of it was a pink scar that was immediately obvious. Thoughts of
revenge filled his mind but he purged them, reminding himself that he
had to save the kids. He closed his eyes picturing the city. In a
moment he vanished and reappeared in a city which was eerily empty. He
looked around trying to get his bearings. He looked up and saw the
warship pass over him. As it did so his surroundings changed
drastically, rock and wood being replaced by metal. Where the palace
once was a towering citadel stood in its place. He pulled Aurora out
again, opening her and accessing the maps he had taken the liberty of
downloading.
'What are you looking for?' she asked slightly perturbed. 'You do
know that I could just as easily find it for you rather than take the
time to do all this.'
'I don't have time for this Aurora,' he said darkly. She was
silent and he sighed in exasperation. 'The kids are missing and I can't
let anything happen to them. I need you to try and pinpoint their
location.'
'If they were arrested they were probably taken to the brig,'
Aurora answered displaying a small map. 'If this is Julian's doing then
the logical place for them to be is in the palace prisoner cells.'
'What can I expect to run into?' he asked closing her up and
clipping her to his belt.
'SWATbots mainly,' she said. 'I just don't understand why Julian
is arresting them. What could he possibly have in mind?'
'Something tells me I don't want to know,' he muttered and started
running towards the palace.
When he arrived the scenery had completely changed. Gone were the
majestic features that once adorned the lobby. In its place was a bleak
metal hallway that led up to a series of stairs. He climbed quickly,
avoiding fighting where possible. He finally reached an air duct that
led just over the prisoner cells. He peered down one vent and saw the
kids being taken away by SWATbots. He debated jumping down but saw how
many bots he'd be up against. Not that he couldn't handle it but the
kids wouldn't be able to. While he couldn't make out everything they
were saying he heard something about the 'Roboticizer Chamber'.
'The same one Sir Charles invented?' Aurora asked quietly. Adrian
nodded.
'Julian must have stolen the plans before Chuck destroyed them,'
he whispered. 'He probably rebuilt it in Chuck's old lab as well.' He
was about to continue when he heard a rushing noise charging towards
him. 'No time,' he said and shifted to just outside the palace.
'Adrian, those guys obviously were Mobians,' Aurora said as they
took cover in an alleyway. 'Why didn't you offer to help them?'
'I couldn't take the risk that they were some sort of search-and-
destroy bots,' he said flitting through her maps. The building had
changed completely, none of his old maps worked anymore. 'Damn it!
What do I do?'
'Maybe if you can distract Julian he'll forget all about
roboticizing them,' Aurora offered. Adrian nodded and he closed his
eyes once more. He saw it, the scythe he had used to murder not all
that long ago. Now he would wield it once more, this time to save
lives. When he opened his eyes it rested in his palms, the gnarled
shaft, the glowing guard and the blade designed to cause as much carnage
as possible. He stood up and walked into the streets where a large
group of SWATbots were escorting Mobians back to the palace. When they
saw him they forgot about their original targets and focused on him.
'FREEZE! IN THE NAME OF ROBOTNIK!' they droned as they armed
their blasters.
'So it's Robotnik now, eh Julian?' Adrian asked a twisted joy
coming over him. 'If you want me to freeze then you're going to have to
make me!' They opened fire and he dodged the blasts easily. He swung
his scythe once and cut three of them in half. He buried the blade in
one and tossed him into a group of SWATbots, causing them all to fall
over in disarray. One stray blast came at his back but he swung around
and used the blade to reflect the shot back at his shooter, ripping the
bot apart. One bot opted to slug him rather than shoot him but Adrian
blocked, the blow forcing him back. They were all ganging up on him
now.
'Everyone!' he yelled a purple aura surrounding his scythe.
'Close your eyes and cover your ears. NOW!' Once he was sure they had
done so he brought the scythe over his head. 'Endless agony, deafen
all. Undying Screams!' He slammed the blade into the ground and the
earth cracked open. Arms came flailing out, just a few of the victims
of Adrian's past. They let loose a horrifying scream, all of the agony
they were going through packed into ten seconds of torture. The
SWATbots froze and began shaking violently, sparks pouring out of their
heads. They erupted, sending shrapnel into the air. The undead receded
back into the earth and the crack sealed itself shut. His scythe
dissipated and he dropped to his knees. He fell forward in sheer
exhaustion, drained of all his strength. Slowly the Mobians he had
saved looked around and seeing nothing rushed over to help Adrian. They
pulled him to his feet and he nodded his appreciation. He looked back
towards the palace and saw more SWATbots coming their way.
'We can't outrun those things,' one of them said scared.
'We have to!' another one said. Adrian tried to say something but
didn't have the strength to. As the SWATbots came closer he couldn't
help but feel that this was what he deserved.
'FIRE!' a voice said from off to the side. A volley of laser fire
poured into the SWATbots, tearing them to shreds. As the SWATbots got
their wits about them Mobians wearing the uniform of the Royal Guard
came charging out. They cut into the bots with fearless abandon.
Adrian shook the villagers off him and struggled over to help them when
a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned and saw Jacques smiling.
'You are being in no condition to fight,' the fox said quietly.
'Let us handle this Adrian, it is what we were trained for.'
'Jacques, you can't,' he replied knowing exactly what the fox was
thinking. 'If we are to stop Robotnik then we need your help, along
with the Royal Guard's!'
'We are old,' Jacques said still smiling. 'Besides, we promised
zat we would never abandon Mobotropolis, no matter how bad things are
being.'
'What about Antoine?' Adrian asked angrily. 'You would leave your
own son without a father?'
'My son understands my duty as a Guard,' Jacques replied his smile
disappearing. 'If I were to abandon that duty now he could never be
able to look at me ze same.' Jacques began walking forward into the
fray smiling again. 'Take good care of him Adrian, I am counting on
you.' With that he drew a sword, not his own Adrian noticed, and joined
his men in combat. The other citizens watched in amazement and were
still staring when Adrian limped back over.
'Do any of you know where Knothole is?' he asked. Some of them
nodded. 'Head there and wait for others.' They nodded and came over to
offer him help. He held his hand up in refusal. 'I still have
unfinished business here. I'll see you at the village.' None of them
moved. 'GO!' he yelled. They snapped out of it and began running
towards the northern end of the city. Adrian turned and looked at the
Royal Guard one more time before heading towards Rosie's.
When he arrived there the house was a mess. 'Rosie?' he called
cautiously. No answer. 'Damn it not you too,' he said sighing. Now he
was torn. Head to Knothole and leave the others or hopelessly search
for them. He went over to the wall where the secret passage was and ran
his hand alongside the seam. The door slid open and he stood in the
entrance.
>I can't leave them,< he thought. He turned around and was faced
with SWATbots and Hoverbots surrounding him. 'My luck sucks today.'
'FREEZE, IN THE NAME OF-'
Adrian didn't give them time to finish as he cut the closest
SWATbot in half. He swung his still forming scythe as fast as he could,
dicing up the SWATbots with deadly efficiency. When they all lay on the
ground he walked calmly back to the entrance of the tunnel. The
remnants of one bot grabbed his ankle and sputtered something
unintelligible. Adrian looked down and saw a small red light blinking
above its visor.
'Oh sh-'
The bot exploded, throwing Adrian down the tunnel. The door
closed behind him, leaving him trapped. He felt like his body was on
fire, knowing most of his wounds were bleeding badly. He crawled to the
door and tried opening it without any luck. That blast must have buried
the door in rubble. He moved to the side of the doorway and sat against
the wall. He closed his eyes, focusing on his wounds.
[Well, well, well,] Xiaxos said chuckling. [What happened to
never using my power again?]
>I promised to never use it to kill,< Adrian replied wincing. >No
lives were lost by my blade today. The only thing I killed were a bunch
of bots.<
[Hmph, so you found a way around it,] the dragon said the
amusement gone in his voice. [Just know that every time you use my
power I come that much closer to taking over your body. And when that
day comes I will show you what true suffering is.]
Before Adrian could respond he heard talking on the other side of
the door. It was too muffled to make out what was being said or who it
was, but Adrian pulled himself to his feet anyway. He heard what
sounded like spinning and then debris being thrown out of the way. The
door opened and the kids ran in. He rested his head on the wall in
relief.
'I know it's you Princess,' he heard Rosie's voice say. 'You
can't fool your old nanny.' Princess? Hadn't Sally just passed him?
'Rosie, I have to tell you something,' another female voice said.
It sounded like the Princess', just older.
'Bots comin'!' a male voice said, suspiciously like Sonic's. Just
what was going on here?
'I can't explain now,' the female voice said more panicked than
before. 'Just promise me you'll never leave Knothole!'
'Never?' Rosie asked in disbelief. 'I-uh... Dear I don't-'
'Never!' the female reiterated. 'Please Rosie, it is very, VERY,
important.'
'Well alright then,' Rosie said caving in. 'I promise.' There
was a brief silence and then Rosie ran into the tunnel, the wall closing
behind her. She looked around for the kids in slight panic. Adrian
gently placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise.
'Adrian!' she cried. 'What happened?'
'SWATbot got the jump on me,' he said wincing as she put his arm
over her shoulders. 'I'll be alright, just a little cut up.'
'A little is an understatement,' Rosie said as they walked down
the passage. 'You look like hell.' They both chuckled and Adrian
groaned at the pain it caused.
'Whoever said laughter doesn't hurt should be shot,' he muttered
smiling. They met up with the kids and headed further down the tunnel
to Knothole.
***11 YEARS LATER***
Adrian leaned back in his chair with his feet on his desk,
attention buried in his book. He had lost his place and sighed, setting
it down. His mind wandered back to the vision he had received when he
had tried consoling Sally. That time hadn't been the last time he had
gotten it. It came back continually every time she was hurt. In a way
he was always confident that Sonic and Sally would not die anytime soon.
But on the other hand he had finally concluded the meaning of the
vision.
Sally would die by his hand.
(
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