"Healing Chalice"
Authors: Robert Brown and Francis Tolbert
Disclaimer: This story uses characters created and copyrighted by Sega of
America, Inc. and Archie Comics (except where noted, in which case
they were created and copyrighted by us or by another and we have
permission to use them). The authors hereby give permission for
this story to be downloaded and/or printed at 1 copy per user as
long as (1) no changes to the story are made without our express
written(not e-mailed) permission and (2) no attempt is made to
profit from this story. If either or both rules are violated, it
will be considered a violation of copyright law.
Author's Note: You know, I didn't think I'd have anything to really talk about
in this Author's Note. No, I'm not sick or anything, just not much going on
really. That is, until I heard about the events of Sonic #133. Now, as a lot
of you know, Francis and I have always had our suspicions that the comics
stole the idea of the Bunnie/Antoine couple from us. Well, in an editorial we
co-wrote with Brian "The SonicWhammy" Sapinski about #125, I touched on this.
Ken Penders emphatically denied this, going so far as to call
my allegations "complete falsehoods". Surprising how now in #133, which would
have been in the planning stages at the time the editorial came out, Bunnie
and Antoine are no longer a couple, and haven't been for six months. This
occurred with no warning, no way to see it coming, just like how they got
together nearly 100 issues ago. Funny coincidence, huh? Oh wait, I forgot.
Once is coincidence, twice is design. Till next time everyone, take comfort
in the fact that we pioneered the Bunnie/Antoine couple, and they will forever
be a couple in our stories. Oh yeah, and Happy Reading!
Cast of Characters(in order of appearance)
Princess Alicia Rose Hedgehog***
Charleen Oster###
Krella###
Tanin###
The Unholy One***
Charisma###
"The Kameleon"###
Donovan Osaya###
DJ Osaya###
Maxwell Kavenoff###
Hugo###
King Sonic Hedgehog
Queen Sally Alicia Hedgehog
Nadia Osaya***
Desireé D'Coolette***
Destín###
Prince Juice Hedgehog***
Angela Shi-rat***
Darrin D'Coolette***
"The Owl"###
Bunnie D'Coolette
Antoine D'Coolette
#37
It was well past midnight when the palace library's doors opened and
Alicia stumbled out. "Another day, another failure," she said, yawning and
rubbing her eyes. "The information just has to be in there somewhere."
She made her way slowly to her room, making a mental note to set her
alarm for six o'clock the next morning. Or was it that morning? Alicia
allowed herself to be distracted by the distinction so much that she bumped
into someone, nearly sending them both sprawling. "Oh!" Alicia said, looking
up in surprise.
"Oof!" Charleen exclaimed, just able to steady herself after being the
unfortunate recipient of Alicia's bump. "Oh, Alicia! I'm sorry, I wasn't
watching where I was going."
"No, it's my fault Charleen," Alicia said, stifling another yawn. "What
are you doing here this time of night?"
"Well, I was with Darrin until he fell asleep," Charleen explained, a
light blush coloring the white fur on her cheeks. "But I'm glad I ran into
you anyway. The doctor said that he and the others could resume their full
duties and training tomorrow after he gives them all a check-up. Isn't that
wonderful?"
"He did?" Alicia asked, muttering half a curse under her breath.
"Great," she said sarcastically. "Absolutely wonderful. So I don't even have
a full day to find this artifact so that I can retrieve it."
"So you can?" Charleen asked, a hint of surprise in her soft purr.
Alicia blanched and rubbed her eyes. "I mean so that we can. Yeah,
that's right. I'm sorry, I'm just overly tired right now. I think I'll be
heading off to bed now. Good night."
"Good night Alicia," Charleen said, watching Alicia stumble down the
hallway. A strange glint lit her green eyes and she hurried off, completely
unaware of the pair of eyes that were watching her.
Just as Alicia was falling into her bed, another animal who was
researching the same exact thing toiled on. "No, not this one either," Krella
said, tossing the book she had just perused to the side and coughing at the
cloud of dust that rose up from its impact. "By the Abyss, it has to be here
somewhere!"
"Krella," a long-suffering voice came through the door, "please don't
tell me I have to put you to sleep again."
"Not that you could anyway," Krella reminded Tanin as he opened up the
door. "Or need I remind you about the last time you helped me study?"
"You can't just work yourself to exhaustion like this. Even when you
find an artifact, how can you help us get to it?"
"I've already found one!" Krella snapped, getting in Tanin's face as
her tail twitched in the same agitation she felt. "But there's no way we can
get to it, so I have to find the other one and quickly."
"Another desolate place?" Tanin asked, remembering where they had
recovered the Amulet of the Four Winds.
"No," Krella said, her tail hanging limply as her anger evaporated, "but
I wish it were as simple as that. This particular artifact is guarded by so
many traps and spells it will be hard for anyone to get to it, much less us."
"What do you mean?"
Krella sighed in frustration. "These traps were designed by a Holy One
to keep any servant of Chaos out, and these riddles make absolutely no sense
to me. And with the inherent holiness in the area, your power will be so
severely weakened, you'll barely have enough power to keep us from getting
hurt by just being there!"
"All right, calm down," Tanin said soothingly. "Don't get so worked up
about these things."
"Don't get worked up!" Krella screamed in near hysteria. "Father has
entrusted me with not only finding these artifacts but finding out how to get
to them! If I can't even do that, what purpose do I have here?"
"You are our strategist, the one who guides us in battle," Tanin said
calmly, placing his hands on Krella's shoulders and forcing her to look into
his eyes. "Without you, we would have never gotten Iridal's Tear, nor handed
the Chosen Ones such a solid defeat in the last battle, the Holy Vengeance
notwithstanding. Never doubt that we need you."
Krella nodded, hiccuping a bit as she fought to hold in her tears.
"Thanks Tanin," she said with a rueful smile. "I'm sorry, I don't know why--"
"We both know why," Tanin said firmly. "Finish up your research and
then get some sleep. If I find you in here again, I will carry you to your
bed and force you to sleep. Are we understood?"
"Perfectly," Krella said, pulling away from Tanin's grip and sitting
down at her book again. "Don't worry about me so much."
"But you're the only one I do worry about," Tanin whispered as he
teleported away.
Whether or not Krella heard Tanin, she just continued on with her work.
So engrossed was she in her studies that she failed to notice a single tear
sliding down her cheek and splashing onto the page below.
As Tanin finished making his rounds, the Unholy One sat upon his chair,
musing silently to himself. Things were going well, but not well enough.
True, his Fallen Ones had recharged two of the Chaos Emeralds, but one was
beyond their reach for the moment. He could sense his master's impatience,
his need to be reborn in this world and make it his own. And he would be, of
that the Unholy One had no doubt.
The sound of a door opening pulled him from his thoughts, but he showed
no sign of it. "Enter," he said, gesturing with one hand.
Charisma walked in slowly, clutching her black cloak very closely about
her. "Father, I have a report to make," she said, dropping to her knees and
lowering her head. "If it is too late at night I can wait until morning."
"No, let me hear this report," the Unholy One said after a moment's
thought. "But if I find it unsatisfactory...." Charisma cringed slightly at
the unspoken threat, but proceeded to tell all she had learned.
Scarcely an hour later, Krella had finally made it to her room and was
getting ready for bed. She had changed from her usual blouse and skirt into
a long flannel nightgown. She set her glasses on the nearby dresser and
crawled into bed, her body ready to fall asleep as soon as it got settled.
"Krella!"
Krella sat up in bed, looking around for the source of the voice.
"Maybe I am working too hard," she mumbled, falling back onto her pillow.
"Krella!" the Unholy One's voice demanded inside her mind. "Come to
the meeting room right now."
"On my way Father," Krella thought, dragging herself out of bed.
"Should I change first?"
"If I wanted you to, I would've told you to do that."
Krella winced at the rebuke in her Father's voice and hurried to the
meeting room. As she kneeled in front of her Father, she caught Charisma
smirking out of the corner of her eye and clenched her fist momentarily. "I
am here Father," she said unnecessarily.
"Tell me, what have you found about our latest objective," the Unholy
One said smoothly, but Krella could detect annoyance in his voice.
"I've found both artifacts that could recharge the Water Emerald," she
began, fighting off a yawn. "But they are even more impossible to acquire
than the Wind artifacts."
"Tell me what they are and let me be the judge of that."
Krella sighed and fought to remember the details. "The first is the
Healing Chalice, a cup created by an ancient Holy One known for his healing
powers to be used in the healing of others. What prevents us from acquiring
this one is the fact that the entire location is suffused with holy energy,
meaning Tanin will have to use all his power to keep us from getting killed
by it. And that doesn't take into accounts the traps designed specifically
to make sure we can't get through, riddles that make no sense to me, not to
mention--"
"And the other one?" the Unholy asked, cutting off Krella's rambling.
Krella flushed and forced her thoughts to move on. "The other is known
simply as the Deep Water Pool. It is said to be the source of the cleanest
and purest water on the planet. There are two problems with this though.
First, it is located deep within a lake, far deeper than any of us could
access even with Tanin's magic. But more importantly, we can't exactly bring
the pool here; we'd have to bring the Emerald to it, and that's a risk I'm not
comfortable taking."
"Your reasons are valid," the Unholy One, making Krella relax a little.
"However, something has come to my attention that changes things. Please
tell her what you've told me, Charisma."
"Of course, Father," Charisma said, bowing before facing Krella with a
smirk. "It seems our pretty princess feels rather guilty about what happened
to her friends. She wants to recover an artifact by herself so as to prove
her own worth and keep the others safe. Unfortunately, she has yet to find
either of the artifacts."
It took Krella a moment to let that process. Then she smiled. It was
such a wonderfully evil smile that Charisma took a couple steps back in
surprise. "I have the perfect book for her then," she said, rising to her
feet only to fall back down from exhaustion. "I'll give it to you first thing
in the morning. But how will you get it to her?"
Charisma blew on the back of her nails with a calm expression. "I have
full access to every room in the palace. I can just plop it down on the table
she works at and no one will be the wiser."
The smile returned to Krella's face. "So be it then. I will look
forward to this."
"As will I my child," the Unholy One said. "As will I."
It was a few hours past sunrise when Alicia was able to pull herself out
of bed. "It's today or never," she thought, discarding her nightgown on the
floor as she walked into her bathroom. She turned on her shower full blast,
letting the heat soak through her fur to the skin and wash away the night's
weariness. She rested her head against the cool tile, seriously considering
giving up and letting the others join in with her.
She shook her head angrily, reaching for her soap to wash her body. "I
have to do this," she said, rinsing the lather from her body and taking extra
care with her tail. "I can't let them get hurt for my mistakes." She took a
few moments to wash her hair with a special shampoo blend she had gotten from
her mother, enjoying that simple pleasure while it lasted. But before she
could give in to the relaxation totally, she turned off the hot water.
A gasp escaped her as the water turned ice cold, but she stood under the
showerhead until she was sure she was rid of any trace of sleepiness. Only
then did she turn off the water and step out of her shower. "I hate having to
do that," she muttered, shivering as she pulled on a fluffy white bathrobe and
tied it securely. She walked back into her room, drying her hair with a towel
as she prepared for the day ahead.
Now dressed in her favorite pink jogging outfit, she walked to the
library and sat down at her customary table. "Maybe there's something I
skipped over," she thought sorting through the tomes she had left on the table
the night before. "Hello? What's this?"
Alicia lifted a book she knew she'd never seen before. It was ancient,
probably older than every other book there. She ran her hand along the black
cover and shivered at the intense feeling of evil she sensed. "I really have
to get more sleep," she thought, shaking it off and opening the book up.
It was only after a few minutes of perusing the book that her eyes
widened in surprise. "This is it!" she exclaimed, her voice echoing off the
library walls and making her cringe. She read through the passage a little
more carefully. "The Healing Chalice," she read, her lips forming the words
as her eyes saw them. "Long ago, a Holy One who devoted his entire life to
the healing arts created a Chalice to focus his powers. When he approached
his last days, he sealed the Chalice away in a deep cave and left behind
numerous traps to make sure no one who wasn't worthy could ever find it. It
is said that merely drinking water from the Chalice can cure any sickness or
injury."
She opened up Nicole and had her scan in some notes on the challenges
that were outlined in the text and the location. "Finally," she said,
tucking the notes in her pocket, "now to get out of here without anyone
noticing."
Alicia ran out of the library, not even bothering to close up the book
she had been looking at. She planned on heading for her running track, the
closest area that she could fly out of without being spotted. But before
getting even two steps, she crashed hard into another animal, knocking them
both down. "I'm so sorry!" she said, helping the other animal up. "Are you
all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine," the other animal, a gray raccoon with black markings,
said as he brushed his security uniform off. "Are you all right, Princess?"
"I'm fine," Alicia said with a quick smile. "I'm sorry to be rude, but
I reall must be going."
The raccoon looked after her for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He walked into the library and saw the book Alicia had been looking at.
Cursing under his breath, he pulled a dark grey communicator from his pocket,
different from the one Donovan used, and clicked it on. "Are you there?" he
asked, his voice harsh and cold.
A moment passed before he received a reply. "It seems the princess has
finally allowed her guilt to cloud her judgment," the raccoon said. "You know
what needs to be done if you want your views to become reality. Yes, you do
that. I have to go or I'll be late for work."
The raccoon flipped off the communicator and put it away. He hurried
from the library and to the security station where Donovan was waiting for
him. "You're late," Donovan said, folding his arms across his chest.
"I'm sorry sir," the raccoon said, looking nervous.
"Oh, don't worry about it," Donovan said with a smirk. "Everyone ends
up late sooner or later. Get to your post."
"Yes sir," the Kameleon said gratefully as he sat down. But inside, the
raccoon was scowling. "How the mighty have fallen," he sneered in his head.
Meanwhile, Alicia had cleared the castle grounds and was now flying for
a cave that wasn't on any map she knew of. According to what she'd read,
however, it was located a number of miles from any civilized area. The
directions took her past the Great Forest which was just starting to burst in
the colors of the approaching autumn.
She thought back to all the times her father had taken her to Knothole
to see the colors of the trees. It was a yearly ritual for them and them
alone. And for a short time they weren't king and princess, or even Freedom
Fighter and Chosen One. All they were were a father and daughter enjoying
their love of the beauty of nature.
True to the book, the cave was right where it was supposed to be, a
mountainside deep in the heart of a jungle. "Who'd ever think to look
someplace like this," she thought, looking around at the lush, and still quite
green, jungle foliage as she landed in front of the mouth. "It's blazing hot
out here, nothing like the weather we're getting back home. Still, it should
be cooler in there." She walked inside the cave and found herself immediately
in a large darkened room.
"WHO ARE YOU?"
Alicia jumped, looking around for the source of the booming voice.
"Hello?" she asked tentatively.
"WHO ARE YOU?"
"I am Alicia Rose of the House of Hedgehog!" she called bravely into
the darkness. "Second in line to the throne of Mobius."
"WHY HAVE YOU COME?" the voice asked as a single red eye started to
glow in the darkness.
"I have come for the Healing Chalice. Minions of Chaos known as the
Fallen Ones seek its power, and I have need to safeguard it."
"STEP FORWARD AND BE JUDGED."
Alicia took a deep breath to calm herself and stepped forward into the
center of the room. The eye glowed more brightly, bathing her body in its red
light. She felt utterly naked under that light, as if the eye could see past
her clothing and even her skin to the heart and soul underneath. By the time
the light faded, she was shaking in both body and spirit.
"YOUR HEART IS TRUE AND YOUR SOUL IS PURE," the voice said after a
moment, accompanied by the sound of stone grinding against stone. "YOU MAY
PASS."
Alicia pushed her bangs out of her face and took a shuddering breath.
She walked toward the direction the light had been seen and found a stone
statue of a one-eyed bird. The eye was now closed, and a stone door beside
it gaped wide open. "That must've been the Eye of Truth," she realized,
remembering what she'd read. "One down, two to go."
As Alicia made her way toward the second challenge, an ecstatic DJ was
looking for her back in the palace. Dr. Penders had just cleared the others
from all restrictions and he wanted to share the good news. He walked into
the library with a smile on his face, a smile that fell away after he saw that
Alicia wasn't there.
Curious and surprised, he walked over to the table where Alicia usually
sat and looked around. There was no sign of her anywhere, but he did notice
an unusual book lying on the table. He looked at the page it was open to and
stared at it. He thought about it for a long moment, his instincts telling
him that something was wrong. Then his eyes widened in fear as he struck upon
the only possible answer that made sense. He grabbed the book and took off
like a shot for the throne room, hoping he wasn't too late.
While DJ made his desperate dash, Alicia stood at the threshold to the
second chamber. This one was decorated like a house of worship, complete
with stone benches and stained glass designs. "I know I had some notes on
this room," she muttered, taking Nicole from her boot and opening her up.
"Nicole, display any and all notes on 'The Prayer Room.'"
"Processing, Alicia," Nicole said. "One entry found. 'Only the truly
pious and those who refuse to retaliate will be allowed to pass through this
room unscathed.'"
Alicia murmured a quick prayer for guidance and stepped into the room
cautiously. "'The truly pious,'" she whispered quietly, keeping an eye out
for anything threatening as she replaced Nicole on her boot. "OK, if you're
pious you pray a lot. And if you pray a lot, your...hands are clasped in
front of you!" She clasped her hands together quickly, just in time to grab
an arrow that had been shot at her heart from an unseen niche.
Alicia stared at the arrow for a moment, her body breaking out in a cold
sweat. "That was too close," she thought. "But wait, there was a second part
to it. 'And those who refuse to retaliate.' That could mean anything, but
another way to put it is to 'turn the other cheek!'" she exclaimed, whirling
around and catching a second arrow in between her clasped hands.
Alicia's knees gave out on her and she sunk down to the stone floor.
"I'll never complain about having to study my catechisms again," she thought,
pushing herself off the wet floor. "Wait a minute," she thought, looking back
at the floor. To her surprise and horror, the floor was covered by an inch of
water and rising rapidly.
She looked around for some manner of escape and noticed a door in the
far wall. Carved into the stone were two arrow-shaped depressions. Thinking
quickly, she splashed over to the door and placed the arrows she had caught
into the depressions. The water began draining away immediately. When the
last trace of it vanished, the door rose up, showing the passageway to the
third chamber.
Krella frowned from beneath Tanin's invisibility spell. "Even if we'd
found a way to get past the first room, there's no way I could've possibly
figured that one out," she admitted in a harsh whisper.
"It must make you sick to have to admit that," Tanin whispered back
with the ghost of a smile.
"Your misery is not what I'm concerned with," Maxwell hissed, fingering
the hilt of his runesword anxiously. "When can we share it with her?"
"When Hugo get to crush?" Hugo asked in a pleading voice.
"Quiet, all of you," Krella ordered as they crept after Alicia. "If any
of you screw this up, I'll make sure Father has your heads over it!"
As Alicia made her way to the third chamber, unaware that she was being
followed, a young squirrel was desperately trying to communicate what he had
found. DJ was in the throne room, standing before the king and queen,
gesturing wildly to try and make them understand. "Can you understand what
he's trying to say?" Sonic asked his wife.
Sally sighed, looking at DJ who was getting tears in his eyes. "No, but
whatever it is, it's disturbing him." She fished a communicator from her
pocket. "Nadia, can you come to the throne room?" she asked as she flipped
it on. "Your son is trying to tell us something."
"I wish I could," Nadia said into her communicator. "But I'm doing the
scheduled maintenance on our computer since Donovan won't. Why don't you get
Desirée? She understands him better than I can anyway."
"No need," Desirée said, brushing past the door guards as she sashayed
into the throne room. "What's going on sugar? Want to tell me what's going
on?"
DJ looked at Desirée with a defeated expression. "Come on DJ," Desirée
said, pulling him into a warm hug. "You know a lot of animals have trouble
understanding what you're trying to tell them. If anything, it's their fault
for not taking the time to get to know you. But then again, maybe it's better
like that."
DJ looked up at her in surprise. Desirée couldn't help but giggle at
DJ's expression. "It's just that I like being the only one to understand you,
you know?" she whispered to him in a soft voice meant only for his ears.
"Makes a girl feel special is all."
DJ blushed with an embarassed smile. But then he remembered why she was
called here in the first place and stepped back out of her embrace. When he
was sure Desirée was watching, he pointed to his eyes before standing up on
his tail with his arms held out to his sides, swaying back and forth. "He's
been doing that since he got here," Sonic said.
"Oh, it's simple then," Desirée said calmly. "He's just looking for
Alicia. Have you looked everywhere for her? Her room, the library, her
running track?" At DJ's worried nod, Desirée's eyes grew worried as well.
"Something's up, isn't it?"
DJ handed her the book which he'd put on the floor near his feet when he
came in, opening it to the page he read earlier. Desirée read the indicated
passage and gasped. "You don't think she would do that?" she asked. At DJ's
nod, she let out a harsh sigh. "That stupid, stubborn little--" she started
before DJ cut her off with a finger across her lips. When she looked at him
in surprise, he rolled his eyes over to the amused faces of the king and
queen. Desirée blushed immediately, aware that she was just about to call
Alicia something that should never be said in front of her parents.
"Now then Desirée," Sally said calmly, too calmly for Desirée's liking.
"Would you mind telling me why you were about to call my daughter some name
I'm sure I would not have wanted to hear?"
Desirée gulped nervously. "Well, if what I'm thinking is right, then
you'll be doing a lot worse than that when you find out. You see, DJ found a
book that shows the location of one of the water artifacts. And since he
can't find Alicia anywhere...."
"You think she went after it herself?" Sonic asked, getting to his
feet. "No way, I know my daughter better than that. I mean, I know she was
blaming herself for the others getting hurt, but still."
"Our daughter," Sally said, stressing the "our" slightly, "has both of
us in her. And you know what we would've done if we thought we were the cause
of everyone getting hurt."
"We would've gone out on our own to make sure they never got hurt
again," Sonic admitted, slamming his fist into the arm of his throne. "But we
don't even know if she left the palace or not."
Sally flipped on her communicator. "I'm already on it," Donovan said
before Sally could ask anything. "It seems she flew away out of her running
track in the direction of Knothole so no one thought it was suspicious. But
she's not on any of the cameras there and hasn't been all day."
"Desirée, gather the rest of the Chosen Ones and go get my daughter back
before anything happens to her," Sally said. "I just hope we're not already
too late."
"You got it," Desirée said. She turned to look at DJ but saw he wasn't
there. A quick look around showed him standing next to a wall, about to ram
his head into it. "Don't you dare!" Desirée yelled, rushing over and
grabbing him by the hair. "None of us could've known she would do something
like this. It's not your fault!"
DJ turned his head to look at her, wincing slightly from the strong grip
she had on his hair. In his eyes, Desirée could clearly see that he didn't
believe her. Desirée turned him around and stared into his eyes. "If you
hadn't found that book, who knows what would've happened? At least now, we
have a chance to make sure she's OK. So don't beat yourself up about this."
Without thinking, she leaned in and brushed a soft kiss against his lips
before hurrying out to find everyone.
DJ stood there, absolutely stunned by Desirée's kiss. In fact, if it
wasn't for Sonic leading him back to his room, he might've stood there until
someone tipped him over.
Unaware that help was on the way, Alicia stood in the third chamber,
faced with a choice. One way out was straight and clear. The other was
filled with dangers such as fire, spikes, swinging knives, and even a pool of
acid. "This should be a no-brainer," she thought. "So why do I have a bad
feeling about this?"
Something was sticking out in the back of her mind, but she couldn't
quite grasp it. "Nicole," she said, taking her off her boot and opening her
up, "were there any notes about this room?"
"Searching," Nicole replied. "The only thing that was written about
this room is that nothing worthwhile is ever gained by taking the easy path."
"Of course, that's one of the first lessons we learned from Tanis," she
muttered. "Guess there's no choice to be made, huh?" Closing her eyes, she
stepped into the danger-filled corridor.
She stood there for a moment, expecting to feel the heat of the flames,
but all she felt was a cool and slightly damp breeze. She opened her eyes and
started in surprise. Where before there had been a trap filled hallway was
now a clear passageway. Looking back into the room she just came from, she
could see flames shooting into it from the other passageway. "Illusions,"
she realized, smirking slightly. She spun around and walked down the short
passage.
Within a minute or two she emerged into a room far larger than all of
the previous rooms. Inside were a multitude of cups of all shapes and sizes.
Rows upon rows of them all glittered in the torchlight that lit the room.
In the center of the room was a small fountain from which water continually
bubbled into a pool set into the floor.
Alicia stared at the room, her jaw dropping open. "There was nothing
about this in the book," she muttered. "I guess no one ever made it this
far. So which is the right one?"
She walked around the room, looking at each of the cups. They were all
made of some precious metal and encrusted with jewels. "This is impossible!
How am I supposed to tell which is which?"
She took a close look at one of the cups, but then shook her head and
moved on, stopping when her foot hit something. She looked down to see what
her foot had hit and shrieked in terror. A skull lay against her foot,
grinning up at her with a horrifying visage. She kicked it away, shuddering
uncontrollably. The skull clattered away noisily, coming to rest against a
headless skeleton.
"Guess I was wrong about no one else making it this far," she thought,
suppressing another shudder that tried to run through her body. Forcing her
revulsion away, she sidled up to the body and examined it. It was garbed in
adventurer's clothes, much like her Aunt Kelly would've worn on something
like this. Clutched in one hand was a goblet, probably the most expensive
in the whole cavern.
"Now I know what happens when you choose wrong," Alicia said quietly.
She stared at the skeleton for a long moment, especially the goblet in its
hand. Something about it just seemed off to her. But then, she'd had this
feeling constantly since entering the cave.
She tried to picture Tanis, Rosie, or even Angela using a goblet like
that. "They'd be so uncomfortable it would be funny," she realized,
giggling. "They'd want to use just an ordinary, earthenware...."
Alicia ran back to the shelves and started tossing the cups aside.
"It's gotta be here," she thought, flinging the expensive stuff everywhere.
She went through almost all of them before finding what she was looking for.
A small cup that looked like it had been hand molded from clay and fired in
a kiln for too long was hidden behind the brilliance of the others. "This
is it!" she thought, closing her fingers around it.
She held it up for a moment and then looked at the fountain. "Only one
way to make sure," she said, walking over to the fountain and dipping her cup
in it. When it was full, she raised it to her lips, said a quick prayer, and
drank deeply from it.
A pleasant warmth suffused her body, filling every part of her with its
comfort. "I was right," she breathed. "This is the Healing Chalice."
No sooner did she say that then two arms appeared out of nowhere,
wrapping around her waist and picking her up off the floor. "What the--?"
she screamed, kicking her feet up in surprise.
"I'll take that," Krella said, walking forward and plucking the Chalice
from Alicia's grasp. "Good job Maxwell. Thank you so much for getting this
for us Princess," she added sarcastically.
"But how did you get in here?" Alicia demanded. "Those traps were
supposed to keep you out!"
"Oh, you mean the traps you conveniently disarmed for us?" Krella asked
with an evil grin, visible despite the skull mask glamour.
Alicia screamed in frustration, flailing her legs backward. By luck or
by design, one of her heels caught Maxwell in the knee. Though not really
hurt by the contact, Maxwell was surprised enough to loosen his grip enough
for Alicia to wriggle free. One spinning sweep later and Maxwell was on the
ground.
"No!" Krella yelled as Alicia flew past, grabbing the Chalice on the
way. "Stop her!"
Alicia sped for the door as fast as she could, but Hugo blocked her way
before she could get there, pounding his fist into his palm. She quickly
veered away, flying up to the ceiling. "There has to be another way out,"
she thought. "But where?"
Outside the cave, Destín lounged about the mouth, ostensibly on guard
duty. But all she was really doing was sunning herself in the midmorning sun.
"This is so relaxing," she said, stretching her body. "I could stay here all
day."
An approaching sonic boom startled her awake. She peered out to the
horizon and saw a brown blur speeding her way. "No one lets me have any
rest!" she complained, slinking off into a nearby crack.
As Destín surmised, that brown blur was Juice, running toward the
mountain at top speed. "Hold on Sis," he thought, pushing himself to run even
faster. "I'm coming!"
In fact, it was all Alicia could do to hold on. She was still trapped
in the central chamber, dodging as many of the cups that were thrown at her as
she could. But she'd been hit more than a few times, and she was weakening.
Not long after, she sank slowly to the floor, directly on the other side of
the room as Hugo.
Krella smirked as Alicia looked around frantically. "Look Princess,"
she said in a very businesslike tone, "I'm a fair minded fox. If you just
hand me the Chalice, we'll let you go, I promise."
"As if I'd believe you," Alicia snarled.
"Like you have a choice?" Krella yelled. "Give us the Chalice!"
"Looks like that would be the smart thing to do," Alicia said, sounding
every bit as defeated as she felt. But then she threw the Chalice down in
anger, shattering it. "But then who said I always have to be the smart one?"
All four of the Fallen Ones there looked at the shattered remains of
the Chalice in surprise. Before they could recover, Alicia flew full speed
at Hugo, diving between his legs and into the passage beyond. "Made it!" she
thought triumphantly, until she felt something scratch her neck.
Krella was the first one to snap out of her trance. "Get after her!"
she ordered. "She cannot be allowed to escape!"
"No need for that," Charisma purred, walking past Hugo and depositing a
paralyzed Alicia at Krella's feet. "But I am hurt. Honestly, I know I don't
come around much, but to think that she actually forgot about me?"
"Just what are you doing here?" Krella demanded. "You're supposed to
be on lookout with Destín!"
"Aren't you glad I'm not?" Charisma asked. "Otherwise this pretty
princess would have gotten away, and Father would have had your head for sure.
I think you should thank me."
"Thank you?" Krella screeched, kicking Alicia's side. "Thank you?
You were just lucky, that's all. And how in the Abyss did you get through
that cave? The holy magic should've been destroying you!"
"Well, I did feel a little uncomfortable, but it wasn't anything too
bad. But why take out your frustrations on me? She's a much better target,"
Charisma said nastily, pointing one black claw at Alicia's prone form.
Krella grumbled a bit but then turned around. "You know, you're right.
She is a much better target." She kicked Alicia a few times in the ribs and
face, taking delight every time she felt a bone break. But soon enough she
got tired, not used to doing any kind of fighting, even on an opponent that
couldn't fight back. "Hugo! Maxwell! Play time!"
Hugo and Maxwell advanced on a whimpering Alicia, an unholy glee
burning in their eyes. They took their time with her, taking a perverse
delight in causing as much pain as possible. But before they could finish
their job, Destín popped her head out of a crack in the floor. "We got
company," she said, a hint of urgency in her otherwise languid voice.
"Alicia!" Juice yelled, charging into the room and barrelling into Hugo
and Maxwell at full speed. He started to rain down rapid fire punches into
whatever part of their body he could hit. But it was to be short-lived as
Hugo grabbed him by his throat and tossed him clear across the room out of the
door.
"No, we have to finish her!" Krella said, grabbing Alicia's chin to
break her neck as Destín slipped back into the crack she had popped out of.
"Krella, we have to go!" Tanin said through gritted teeth. It was
taking all his concentration and more to keep the protection spell up. "If
they trap us in here we're done for! She's finished anyway."
Krella growled in frustration but allowed Tanin to drag her away. It
wasn't a moment too soon either as the rest of the Chosen Ones ran down the
hallway from the other side to join Juice. "Whatever you do, don't let them
get to her!" she told Hugo and Maxwell.
"Get out of my way!" Juice said, trying to barrel through them again.
But because they were ready this time, they simply caught him and flung him
toward the others.
Angela used her magic to grab him out of midair and set him down on
his feet. "Where's Alicia?" she demanded.
"Why, with your Master, of course," Krella sneered. "We'd be happy to
send you there to join her."
A howl of loss was ripped from Juice's throat as he charged blindly at
Krella. Maxwell swung his sword at him, intending to take his head off with
one blow, but the sword was turned away just in time by Darrin's sword.
Alicia could hear the sounds of battle as it raged in the corridor, but
she could do nothing about it. All she knew was the pain she felt in every
part of her body, especially her chest as she struggled to take a breath. But
each one was a little bit harder to draw in then the last, and she knew it was
only a matter of time before she wouldn't have the strength to anymore.
"Forgive me, I have failed," she thought, a tear running down her face.
So consumed by the pain was she that she could not hear the familiar
sound of someone teleporting into the chamber. "I am so glad this place was
made before they knew just what technology was capable of," a voice said
though she could barely hear it. "Made it easy to actually find my way in."
The owner of the voice, a male badger in his late teens or early
twenties, stifled a gasp as he saw the state Alicia was in. He was dressed
in what appeared to be a dark red graduation gown that had a single black band
around the left sleeve. It was frayed around the edges and had obviously seen
much use, but he appeared to be comfortable in it.
He cast his gaze around the chamber, looking for the Chalice, and saw
the shards of it lying on the floor. "Looks like I came just in time," he
said, kneeling down and gathering the pieces together in front of him. "I
should be thankful for two things," he thought, sifting through the pieces.
"First, that she had some before she was attacked or she wouldn't be alive
right now. And second, that the Fallen Ones obviously never heard that once
something like this is made, it can never be unmade." With that, the badger
began to piece the Chalice together, each piece fitting seamlessly where it
was supposed to with no trace of a crack remaining. "I'm just glad the
Lioness always made me put those puzzles together when I was younger."
It didn't take him long since there were very few shards to begin with.
But it was almost too long as he heard Alicia's breath start to rattle inside
her chest. Moving quickly but unhurriedly, the badger got to his feet and
filled the repaired Chalice in the fountain. He knelt again by Alicia's side
and propped her up against his chest. "Drink, my future queen," he whispered,
tilting her head back to let the water run down her throat.
It took a moment for the water to take effect, but the badger could
soon see the ugly bruises that peaked through Alicia's fur vanishing and her
broken bones knitting themselves together. She sat up, coughing and
sputtering as some of the liquid travelled down the wrong pipe. "What's
going on?" she asked in a weak and raspy voice.
"Take it easy," the badger replied in a soft voice. "You need to regain
your strength."
Alicia looked up into the badger's kind face and felt a slight
fluttering in her chest. "Wh-Who are you?"
"Just a humble subject, my future queen," the badger said, leaning
Alicia against the wall.
"Future...queen?" Alicia asked, trying to focus on him and what he was
saying.
"It matters not, at least for now," he said, placing the Chalice in her
hands. "Your friends will be waiting for you. Go to them when you're able to
and they'll protect you and get you home safe. Take care of yourself, my
future queen. The future of Mobius depends on it."
"W-wait!" she tried to yell as the badger teleported away, but it came
out as no more than a whisper. "Wait...."
Outside the room, the battle was raging fiercely. Charisma was right in
the middle of it, trying to find her moment to strike. She kept lashing out
at the Chosen Ones with some of her claws, but her blows were always turned
away or avoided. Frustration built within her as she took more chances and
yet still couldn't score a single hit.
And that's when she saw her chance. One of the Chosen Ones was locked
sword to sword with Maxwell, holding his own despite the obvious size and
strength disadvantage. Just one scratch on his unprotected neck and she could
either disable him or kill him outright, and they'd have one less Chosen One
to deal with. She lunged at him, claw outstretched and poised to strike. But
at the last second she withdrew her claw, not even an inch from his fur.
"It's Darrin!" her mind screamed at her, seeing his face in profile.
She knew she should strike, it was what she was supposed to do. And yet, she
just could not bring herself to around the tightening in her chest. And that
moment of hesitation was all that was needed for Desirée to run over and kick
her into a wall.
"Watch your back," Desirée said to her brother before parrying another
of Hugo's blows. She landed a quick three-punch combination to Hugo's
midsection and then a drop kick to his knee, forcing him to the ground if only
for a second.
Juice, in the meantime, was trying everything to get past Tanin and
Krella, but the young speedster was being held at bay. A strange and angry
light burned in Krella's eyes, driving her to perform feats of agility that
would've made even Destín jealous. And Tanin always seemed to be where Krella
wasn't, hands before him as if ready to cast a spell. Angela was always there
with a spell of her own, but by the time Tanin dived out of the way, Krella
was back in position to block him again. What Juice didn't know was that it
was all a bluff. Tanin barely had enough energy to keep the protection spell
active.
Juice feinted left and then sped right, hoping to catch them off guard.
It didn't work, but then Juice saw something that made it a moot point.
Incredibly, unbelievably, his sister was limping out of the central cavern,
the Chalice held tightly in one hand. "Alicia!" he yelled happily, literally
picking Krella up and tossing her to the side before running over to his
sister.
At Juice's shout, all the other Chosen Ones disengaged from their
opponents and hurried over to Alicia's side, forming a protective wedge in
front of her. "That's impossible!" Krella screeched. "How is she alive?
And she has the Chalice??" She got to her feet and looked ready to make a
suicidal charge at the Chosen Ones until Tanin stopped her.
"The day is lost," he said, starting to drag her away. "Let us go
before we are too."
Krella growled in frustration, the fur on her tail sticking straight
out like a bottlebrush. "Fine," she snarled. "Fallen Ones, retreat!"
Angela and the others watched them until they were out of sight before
seeing to Alicia. "Are you all right?" Angela asked, slipping one of
Alicia's arms around her shoulders to help support the girl who looked like
she would fall down at any moment.
"I'm fine," she said with a slight smile. "I'm just really worn out
right now. Can we just go home?"
"Of course," Angela said, letting Desirée step in to support Alicia
while she readied a teleportation spell to get them out of there. But she
stopped her casting when Juice laid a hand on her arm.
"Before we go," he said in a low voice, moving to stand in front of
his sister, "you have to promise me one thing."
"Juice, can't this wait?" Darrin asked, looking at the prince with
something like disdain.
"No it can't!" Juice exploded, making Darrin step back. He gently
tilted Alicia's head up to look into her eyes. "I don't care what happens
from now on. Don't you ever take on something like this again without us.
We're a team Alicia, and we're only strong as a team. If we lost you, or any
of us, they win. Even if we ultimately defeat them, we are the losers because
the price was too high. Do you understand me?"
Alicia nodded, shamed and slightly intimidated by the tone in her
brother's voice. For the first time in a long time, she got the inkling that
just maybe he would make a good king. She smiled a little as Juice took her
other arm around his shoulders and nodded to Angela to teleport them out.
Sonic paced irritably inside the throne room of the palace at
Mobotropolis. "Sonic," Sally snapped, getting fed up by the constant pacing,
"would you sit down?"
"How can I Sal?" Sonic asked, turning around to pace in front of the
doors again. "That's my baby girl out there! And I'm stuck here with no way
to help her."
"She's mine too Sonic! And I'm just as worried about her as you are.
But you know we have to be here. It's not our time anymore. Our place is
here in the palace; it's the place we can do the most good."
"I know, I know," Sonic said irritably. He took a deep breath to calm
himself down. "I just worry about her, OK? She's more like us than she'd
care to admit, and it scares me."
Sally stood up and walked over to Sonic, hugging him closely. "It
scares me too Sonic," she admitted. "I just hope she comes back from this to
learn from it."
Any answer Sonic might've had was swallowed up by the whirlwind that
suddenly appeared in the room and the five figures it deposited. "Are we
interrupting something?" Juice asked cheekily.
"Alicia!" Sally yelled, running over with Sonic. "Are you all right?"
"Better than all right Mom," Alicia said, standing on her own with some
effort. "I've retrieved the Chalice."
"And I'm proud of you," Sally said, taking the Chalice from her and
handing it to Sonic. Then she turned to face her daughter and slapped her
cheek hard.
"Mom!" Alicia yelped, holding her reddening cheek.
"What is the matter with you?" Sally asked, her voice raising in both
anger and worry. "What were you thinking? Were you thinking?"
Bunnie and Antoine ran into the room, swords drawn. But when they saw
that the commotion was just Sally chewing out her daughter, they sheathed
their swords and backed out slowly. The rest of the Chosen Ones, and even
Sonic himself followed their lead, not wanting to get caught in the fringe of
Sally's anger.
Sally ranted at her daughter for a full five minutes before she realized
that her daughter's gaze was focused on someone or something other than her.
"Are you even listening to me?"
"I'm sorry Mom," Alicia said, letting her chin fall on her chest. "I
know I worried you, but I thought I was doing the right thing. And if it
wasn't for him, I might've died today."
"Him?" Sally asked, all her maternal instincts kicking into high gear.
"Him who?"
"I don't know, he just appeared there. He was a badger, but that's all
I could tell about him. He wouldn't even tell me his name, just saying he
was a humble subject. And he kept calling me his future queen."
Sally's eyes narrowed at the dreamy tone of her daughter's voice. "I
think we need to have a little mother-daughter chat."
Much later, far into the night, three Mobians found themselves kept
awake by their thoughts. The first of these, a white furred cat, sat against
the headboard of her bed, troubled. When they'd returned emptyhanded, Father
had been furious. Once Krella had explained the entirety of the situation,
including Alicia's miraculous recovery, Father had settled into an eerie calm,
and that scared Charisma more than his fury.
She brought her hands up and stared at her black claws. Eight claws,
all of them secreting a special liquid that gave them their black color. From
her right pinky moving left she counted them off. Permanent sleep. Instant
death. Amnesiac sleep. Pure poison. Insomnia. Paralysis. Zombie poison.
And finally her Antidote nail. She thought that most of those poisons could
only be cured by her Antidote nail, except for those that were meant to wear
off like the Amnesiac sleep. But apparently the Chalice could also heal them.
She growled in frustration and flopped over on her stomach. Any of the
seven dangerous nails would've been enough to put Darrin out and let Maxwell
kill him. It was the opportunity she was supposed to be looking for. And
yet, even now just thinking about it caused a dull ache in her chest and her
hands to shake. "What is happening to me?" she wondered. "I've never had
these feelings for any other assignment. Does it have something to do with
that gem Father had me touch? I'm just so confused."
And she wasn't the only one confused that night. Alicia lay awake in
her bed, pondering everything that happened that day. Somehow, it had all
turned out, but it should've gone so horribly wrong. If it wasn't for him....
All her thoughts seemed to be focused on that mysterious badger. Who
was he? Why was he there? How did he know she was in trouble? Why did he
insist on calling her the future queen? And perhaps most importantly, would
she ever see him again? So many questions, and no answers. Alicia knew she
wasn't getting any sleep this night.
The badger who had saved Alicia's life and was currently the subject of
her thoughts was making his way toward his home after a long walk. He was
glad that she had survived and hoped that she would learn from her foolishness
of that night. Those kind of risks were simply unacceptable for the future
queen to take; she was much to valuable.
He came upon what appeared to be a rundown shack, barely keeping itself
upright. But he knew better. After all, he refurbished the place himself
over ten years ago. When he opened the door, he stepped into a room filled
with the latest technology and surveillance equipment that could've even put
one of Donovan's old bases to shame. But then, that's exactly what it was.
He began to take off his graduation gown when a voice from within the
base startled him. "Glad to see you were successful in your endeavors young
Owl."
The Owl hung up the graduation gown and whirled around, clad only in a
shirt and pair of shoes the same color and state of repair as his other
clothes. "Don't do that!" he yelled at the raccoon sitting smugly in one of
his chairs. "So, how is the future queen doing?"
"In deep thought," the raccoon answered, ignoring his compatriot's
outburst, "which you ought to keep in mind."
"Meaning?"
"If you can't figure it out, I'm not going to tell you."
"I really wish you would stop doing that Du--!"
"I am 'The Kameleon' from the Society of Four," the raccoon said,
getting to his feet and interrupting the badger before him. "Just as you are
'The Owl.' We both have our duties to perform; you would do well to remember
that." Without waiting for a response, the raccoon known as the Kameleon
turned sharply on his heel and walked out, slamming the door behind him.
The badger known as the Owl stared at the door a moment before sitting
down heavily on the bed. He tried to think about what the Kameleon said, but
his mind kept returning to the thought that made him take that long walk to
begin with. "It cannot be," he muttered angrily, shoving the thought away.
"And as I was just reminded, I have my duty to perform."
He reached under his pillow and pulled out a small case full of many
different colored darts. He pulled one out, a distinctive brown one, and
stared at it. "It is not meant to be," he whispered. (
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