Dark Falling - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

     “Im…impossible.” It was all he could mutter.
     An entire army, years of design, planning, and building, all destroyed. Gone. Annihilated, by these… these…. He didn’t even know what to call them. Unholy? Unmobian? That was for sure, but what were they? Even in the moments before his death he was curious.
     “How? What?”
     “Questions, questions, questions. Is that all you ever speak, fat man?” The hooded figure before him spoke down to the once proud doctor.
     He was in a wreck. The very hover-orb he had come in on, was now torn and broken into useless scraps of metal and circuitry.. Taken from beneath his very body, sending him to an inevitable crash. His legs did little to break his fall, all they did were break. Now here he was, a bloody mess with, no doubt in his mind, two broken legs. A dark, menacing figure standing over him in a black overcoat that was dark enough to hide every feature of his face, if he even had one. It was no longer a ridicules question to ask.
     An entire army of black, seemingly shapeless, masses surrounded him. Each and every one of them had been born of some kind of life. Earth, water, he was lucky air was included in the list. He couldn’t be sure fire was off of it. But from where he was, they were terrifying. His gloomy eyes looked through his dark glasses to spy each one. His memory never failed him, now was no different.
     They were all different.
     Each had their own body.
     Their own black swirling body.
     Their own claws.
     Their own talons.
     Some had their own wings.
     Others had their own swords.
     But all possessed the same, glowing yellow eyes. A void was all that he saw in them. No life or remorse, just the desire to take and keep taking. The same desire he had always possessed. Always, until now.
     “Can we kill him now Xemnas? I want to hear him scream!” The other figure said with a disturbing amount of excitement. This one had her hood down, and yes, it was a she. Blonde and oddly formed hair. Spiked on the side but matted down the center. Her face was young and full of life, no doubt the same sadistic desires that had washed through his heart before were the same that went through hers.
     “Let me ask a few questions first.” The doctor calmly replied despite the severity of his… predicament.
     It clearly annoyed the female. “You have no right to make demands! Just stay still and die!” Her dark coated and gloved hand raised themselves high into the air. It was as if she were five again and reaching for the skies. That’s all the doctor saw, and nothing about it worried him. How the other one acted, did.
     “Larxene!” He yelled, shocking both of them. Her arms dropped back down, bent over her chest ever so slightly in defense. “He has a final wish. He can know.”
     “Then can I kill him?” She practically begged. He was beginning to doubt she even had a conscience.
     “Yes, then you can kill him.” The dark cloaked man, Xemnas apparently, turned back towards the doctor. “I find conversing with the lower beings stimulating to the mind.”
     “Don’t you mean you love it?” The same blond questioned. The hint of her to shut up passed over her like air.
     “We can’t love anything until Kingdom Hearts, remember my lowly sadist?” She huffed and turned away, nose stuck in the air like a five- year old brat. Xemnas, satisfied with her reaction lifted the dark veil from his face, revealing to the doctor his impossible long white hair, rivaling that of Sonic or even Shadow with the number of spikes it had. He smiled, showing of his white, but deathly edged, teeth. If he had the impulse to, the doctor would have cringed, but for now, he was far more fascinated than anything else. “Now, I’ll begin.” He tilted his head left and right looking over the doctor like a pet.
     He hated it.
     “What is your title?” He simply questioned.
     “Doctor Gerald ‘Eggman’ Robotnick.” He simply answered. “I assume it is my turn to ask a question?” His orange eyebrows raised in patience for a reply.
     “Yes, whenever you are prepared.” In a feet that surprised the doctor, the white spiked man fell back, but sat, on the pure darkness that surrounded him like a thrown. In any other situation, the doctor would have sent out for millions of test to be down on how. More to be done on how to repeat it. Then even more on perfecting it. But now wasn’t the time. He doubted it ever would be again. For now, he would satisfy his taste for knowledge one last, with these powerful beings.
     “What are you and, if you would like to answer, who are you?” The doctor spoke, making himself as clear as possible.
     The man before him smiled before answering. “I am Xemnas, leader of Organization XIII and the beings you see around you. It wasn’t in your question now, so you’ll have to wait till later to now what they are.” He smiled briefly before continuing, “I am a Nobody and, if she isn’t proof enough, We lack hearts, and all the wonderful feelings the bring. Such as love, warmth, kindness.” He smiled till every disturbingly sharp tooth in his mouth was shown.
     “And Regret.”
     “I already find you too complicated to die without understanding.”
     “I couldn’t agree more about you and your world, Gerald Robotnick.”
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     “Here at last,” the silver hedgehog muttered as he stepped off the train, Amy close behind him.
     “Aw, c’mon Silver.” She chided in her speech while her hand rubbed his enormous quills along his forehead. “It wasn’t that bad sitting next to me for four hours.” She put on a hurt face, knowing how he would react. “Was it? Or did you really hate being by me.”
     Like clockwork, he responded the way he always did. “No! No! Amy, No! I thought it was great being by you.” He spoke quickly, putting up both hands in defense of what he preserved to be, Mallet-Time. The pink hedgehog could not help but giggle at the surprise lengths his naivety reached.
     “Don’t worry. I know you would never think of me like that.” He relaxed, breathing a huge sigh of relief. She couldn’t stop herself. “Unless, you don’t want… to think of me anymore. Is that is Silver? Are you breaking up with me?” He flipped.
     “No! No! No! I would never wish to do that. You’re far to important to me. No! I don’t want to break up with you! Please forgive me Amy.” He bowed his head to her in deep respect, and regret. She burst into a fit of laughter.
     “Oh Silver, you have to stop being so naïve. It gets almost too easy at times to tease you.”
     “I’m sorry, I’ll… work on that.”
     “You don’t have to apologize, just work on it.” She grabbed his hand with force as she began to march. “Now c’mon! Tails and Cream are waiting for us!” He began to drag underneath the always surprising strength that made her Amy Rose.
     “Ah! Hey Amy, can I walk? Ow!” Stones were beginning to dig their way past his quills as he dragged down the gravel road. Her head turned, and she blushed in slight embarrassment at her Silver partner.
     “Oops! Sorry about that.” She pulled him up. And regretted it. Immediately.
     His quills immediately scrapped underneath her chin, leaving very faint red scratches along her quill less chin. Hissing, she brought her hands up to rub the barely bleeding scratches. Her partner, the cause, took notice immeaditly.
     “Oh my God! Amy! I’m so Sorry!” He immediately brought himself to her, moving his has with enough for to let her know he wanted to see, without hurting her. She let him. “We need to get Tails to help us with this.”
     “Calm down Silver, it isn’t that big of a deal.”
     “You’re bleeding. Big deal. Period.”
     “Fine, let’s go.”
     “Don’t touch it! It could get worse!” He quickly told her as her own hand reached up to massage her sore jaw.
     “Silver, it’s just a couple of scratches, not a flesh wound.” How ironic. She’s the one hurt, but he’s the one flipping out over it.
     “Yeah, one that I caused. My concern.” They reached the door and, without any warning, he opened the door with his own green aura with his eyes never leaving the pink hedgehog. She took notice in the highest of ways.
     “I love it when you do that.”
     “Do what?” His density really was thick.
     “Use your gift like that. It just seem so, right with you.” She continued to rub her scratches. Completely ignoring her actions, he scratched the back of his own in head in mild embarrassment.
     “Yeah… Well… Years of practice I guess.”
     “More like years of perfection if you ask me.” Her left eye quickly shut and opened in the simplest form of flirting. A wink.
      “Hello? Is someone there?” A high pitched voice vibrated through the house, followed closely by the faint call “Chao, Chao?”
      The voice calling them snapped Silver back into reality rather quickly. Almost too quickly.
     “It’s us Cream! Amy’s hurt.”  His genuine concern for her only furthered her embarrassment him. It was only a couple of scratches. A bus didn’t hit her. Not a big deal. Unfortunately, Cream thought on his wavelength.
     “Tails! Please get the first aid! Mrs. Amy is hurt!” The blush of attention on young Rose’s cheeks only furthered than before.
     “Please Cream! It’s just a couple of scratches, where are you anyway?” Yelling around the house was quickly getting on her nerves.
     “But Mrs. Amy, the last time you said “It’s just a scratch,” Mr. Silver had to carry you to the hospital.” The little rabbit walked into the room with her floating blue friend close behind her, the concern still massive and evident in her large eyes.
     “And besides, now you say, ‘It’s a couple of scratches,’ can’t mean anything good.” A twin tailed blonde fox walked into the room shortly behind Cream, caring a red crossed box in his arms. Lab coat adorned, he made his way over the pink hedgehog.
     “Thanks Tails, glad you know how to do this.” Silver spoke from behind the fox.
     “I keep telling you guys, it really isn’t that bad.” Amy whined again as she stared at the ceiling, showing her scratches to the fox.
     “I don’t think it hurts you Amy, but if this goes unattended,” He straightened himself up with pride, “you could receive a serious infection that could lead to the required removal of your jaw.” Hers dropped. “You see my point?”
     “Thanks Tails.”
     “Any time.” With one last spray and bandage applied he spoke with pride. “Finished.”
     “You look so well now Mr. Amy.”
     “Thanks Cream, but Tails what is it you wanted to show us?”
     The fox began to scratch the back of his head nervously. Should he tell them now? No, best avoid it till later. But what if they didn’t trust him later? They were his friends, he could always trust them. Even now. ‘Thanks Cream.’
     “Well… actually… It was supposed to be finished when you got here, but it failed the proper tests and the basic Law of Light Formula brought down my scientific theory. So the one-dimensional rift was relocated into an unknown vector 3.1415796283…”
     “The short version, if you wouldn’t mind.” Silver interjected. His head was beginning to throb from the numbers this kid was throwing at him.
     “In the short run… it failed before you got here. I’m sorry.” The guilt was returning. Not only had he failed Sonic, but now he had failed his other friends. He didn’t even consider Silver. He was a friend of Blaze long before Sonic, how must he feel about it? Losing one of his closest friends like that, even if he had found another. It wasn’t a tie easily knotted.
     “Aw, it’s alright Tails,” Amy said in her most sincere voice. He was trying hard, the bags under his eyes were the biggest clue. There was little doubt in her mind that he was working himself to death on this. But he refused to quit on a friend, much like another long eared friend of theirs…
     “Just take your time young wunderkind. If anybody can do it, you can!” The silver hedgehog flashed a thumbs oh so familiar to their currently missing friend. It did little to help Tails.
     “Please Tails, you’ll get it. I know you will.” The same bunny that had helped him before was comforting him again. Somehow, it helped me once more.
     “Thanks Cream. That helps.”
     “So where does that leave us?” Amy finally managed to say between the affectionate stares her friends were giving each other.
     “Well… you could help me with the testing?”
     A nervous silence fell over the four friends.
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     “Get back here Batgirl!” Through the mess of the jungle, a red echidna came running out. His long dreadlocks were tangling helplessly behind him as he ran through the ticket of branches and leaves. His gloves, cut for his immense and spike paws, were knocking down tree after tree in pursuit of its… prey.
     A bat, towing an emerald the size of a car.
     “Have to try harder than that Knuxie!” The white haired bat mocked the red echidna below. The anger in his eyes was just somehow, pleasing to her. Almost as much as the amount of money should could roll in once she cashed the gem, then it was someone else’s problem. “You’ll have to move faster than that to catch me!” Her wings beat in the air as she shouted down to him on the ground.
     Her words only seemed to force him to move faster, and punch harder. The trees no longer just moved out of the way, they were shattered and strewn away.
     “I will get back the Master Emerald Rouge!” He continued to yell at the top of his lungs as he beat his way through the trees below. He had lived on this island all his life. Angel Island, his home, sanctuary, the only thing he truly held dear. To take the Master Emerald was like ripping out the heart of the thing he loved most. He couldn’t and wouldn’t stand it for someone to do such a thing. Now was definitely, and never would be, a good exception.
     “I’ll get you Batgirl!” With all of the might he could gather, Knuckles ran up a falling tree and jumped off at the tip, hard enough to send the tree back into the ground a good 10 feet.
     “Yeah, Yeah. Give it a rest will ya?” The bat, so sure she was out of reach, didn’t even bother to look at the angry echidna below her. Too bad, it might have helped her get away if she had.
     No sooner had she last spoken then had Knuckles slammed headlong into her, knocking the Master Emerald clear out of her hands.
     “Ah! No!” No concern towards the bat, Knuckles quickly moved his attention back to the falling emerald, attempting to grab it before it hit the ground beneath them.
     Rouge didn’t do anything. She couldn’t if she wanted to.
     She was knocked out cold.
     “Gotcha!” He screamed with delight as he managed to wrap his enormous paws around the massive gem that was truly his life’s goal. The glee on his face couldn’t be hidden. As straight as he could, his decent slowed, gem still in hand. He did it. He had beaten that stupid batgirl before she had gotten off the island with his emerald. It was so… invigorating.
     “Better luck next ti…” He cut himself off.
     The bat was falling fast. Too fast.
     Pure instinct took over the echidna. Letting go of the emerald, he pushed off and headed headlong for the bat. She was falling fast. It would be close even if he reached her in time. But he had to try. He didn’t know why. But he had to try. She was there. Right in front of him. His paw opened, ready to grab her arm. Just a few more inches.
     “Gotcha!” He shouted for the second time that day. Happy as he was for saving a life, even one that he wasn’t owed to save. “Alright batgirl, you better hold on tight.” There was nothing but pure concern in his words. He couldn’t glide, not with something in both arms. There was nothing he could do now but hope he could survive the fall.
     “God, she’s gonna owe me for this one.” The canopy of the trees below was approaching fast. It wouldn’t be much longer before they hit. He pulled the bat closer, doing everything he could to keep her from being ripped from him. Unconscious, there was little hope she could survive the fall. Knuckles was literally Rouge’s only hope.
     “By the Master, let me survive this.” He silently spoke as he closed his eyes and waited for the impact. It came, and it hit with a vengeance.
     Being the sole guardian of the Master Emerald means that you are self-involved with a lot of difficult training. Knuckles was no slacker in his training. As such, his body had become a perfect example of endurance and strength, matched only on occasion with Sonic. His body had been tested with destroying robots, smashing ships, and fires of mountains, but never, ever before, had he been forced to fall without his ability to glide. For every time before, he always had someone or something there to help him with the Emerald. Now he watched the emerald tumble into the forest as he quickly followed.
     The branches and twigs whipped and scratched at his body, their own way of begging him to let go of the bat he was trying so hard to protect from the fall he was enduring. But his honor was solid, and his mind made. He would not let her be hurt, no matter how much she deserved it for stealing from him. She would deal with him later, but for now, she was helpless, and honor told Knuckles, in a deep commanding voice, “DO NOT LET GO OF HER!” And so he didn’t.
     Not even when his body hit the ground and everything went dark.
     He still held on to her.
     And their they lay together, unconscious, but safe.
     For now…
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     Camillia, she loved her name. It was one of the only words she knew that simply flowed off the tongue. It made talking to someone just that much better. Hearing her name, hearing someone talk to her, it was just so nice. What’s better, people loving her talk to them, or loving them talk to her? It wasn’t something she could decide on.
     She wasn’t selfish; in no way shape or form was she. Whenever anyone came to her out of concern, she would listen and help. Call it an obligation if you will, but the pink cat just couldn’t help people who were in need. It was from that that she was able to meet some of the greatest friends of her life. Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Tails, Rouge, and even Blaze. She had helped one, then another, and another, till she had helped them all in some way. Then in return, they considered here a friend.
     That’s why she hurt now. She couldn’t find any of her friends. Blaze was back to her own realm, only heaven knows how she would ever be able to come back, Rouge and Knuckles wouldn’t stop the other from keeping the Master Emerald they both loved so much. Amy had found a deep relationship with her friend Silver, someone she had yet to personally help herself, and worst of all, Sonic was missing, Shadow with him.
     It wasn’t her own fault, vulnerable she may be, but she was never stupid. Some things were out of her control, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t help but feel guilty when they happened. There was always that one last thread of hope that she could have done something, something that could have changed the way things turned out, but she didn’t. There was nothing she could have done, but still she felt guilty for doing nothing.
     So here she was now, watching the plain outside of the city. How peaceful it always was, it relaxed her so easily. Just the feeling of the wind blowing off the field and into her long waist-length hair, it relaxed her. Countless memories she had of running through this field, just unprovokingly, undecidingly, running through the field without a care in the world. It was how she had become so fast, not as fast as the blue blur mind any curious minds, but considerably fast none the less.
     But as she stared into the field, miles from the town she lived in, she saw something in that field that worried her almost as much as losing her friends, as losing the people that she cared for.
     A swirling mass of nothingness.
     She couldn’t describe it past that, it was literally just a mist of nothing ness moving over the field, corrupting it. Disrupting the wind. Disrupting her peace. It was awful. No other way to describe it, just plain awful.
     And it was heading towards her, towards the city.
     “I have to warn them. I have to!” That was it, she turned to run, ready to push all the speed she had ever gained into one more test.
     But she was stopped, not by the nothingness, but by a woman, in a tall dark cloak, with short banged blonde hair.
     “Oh looky! A cat! Do you want a ball of yarn Mrs. Cat?” The woman was clearly mocking her, and Camillia Starr was the last person you wanted to do that to.
     “What’s wrong with you? Look!” She shouted as she pointed one of her white gloved hands towards the swirling nothingness. It was gaining fast, she had to move now. “We have to go, and don’t you dare call me ‘Mrs. Cat’ again!” Saying what needed to be said she tried again to run for home, ready to warn everyone of the nothingness. But once more the woman stopped her, not by her presence however, but by her force.
     Or knives more like it.
     “Sorry pretty kitty, but those are my little pets that are trying to do their job.” The smirk the blonde gave not only sent cold chills down Camillia’s spine, it also fueled her rage. “Do you want to be one of my pets?”
     That did it.
     “No! Not move!” She didn’t bother to avoid a bout now, she punched the blonde in front of her as hard as she could, square in the gut. The cloak pulled in as she bent forward in pain, clearly not expecting her to do that. “And don’t underestimate Camillia the Cat again!” For the third time, she started to run for the city. Third times the charm, she would do it this time.
     It was the blonde’s third try too.
     Before she could react, the dark cloaked woman had grabbed her around the chest, lifting her off the ground and away from her only means of escape.
     “You know,” she whispered into one of the cat’s ears above her head, “That kinda hurt, stupid bitch!” Her knife dug into Camillia’s arm.
     The pain was unbearable. She screamed as loud as she could. Her arms and legs thrashed madly to be free, kicking and scratching the woman as much as she could, but it did little.
     “Oooo, kitty got fight.” Once more, the blonde whispered into her ear, but not is silenced the cat, it made her fear the blonde for the first time. “Now fight for me and the Nobodys.” Without a second’s hesitation, the woman through her, farther than anyone else ever could, farther than Knuckles even. She threw the poor cat…
     …into the nothingness.
     It was no longer a mist as the shaped appeared to be from far away, but millions of swarming bodies, crawling around as she began her decent into them. What could she do? How would she get out of this? No answers came to mind, only cold fear.
     They swarmed her as she made her impact on the ground.
     The last sight she had, before the bodies of the nothing consumed her, was a pink glowing hear, twirling in the air before her emerald eyes.
     “Aranelion… Pl… ease… Help… m…me…” Her world went dark.
     She feared for the first and last time.