The Universal Link

I'll link these later.

Location: Southern Shoreline of Lake Superior

Time: 3:17 am CST (Central Standard Time)

Date: May 25, 2000

            It had seemed like it was going to be a peaceful night. The moon’s light was shining down on the land below as a mild breeze blew across the lake. The sky was completely clear, with the stars twinkling peacefully in the seemingly endless heavens.

However, amongst the sea of space, there was an abnormality. It tried to hide itself within the field of stars, but it still stuck out like a welt. Its shape, though practically unnoticeable to the naked eye, was fluid and chaotic, slowly shifting as time passed. It glowed with a reddish hue, one that was nearly crimson in nature. It was like a drop of blood in the heavens.

However, it wasn’t the thing that would destroy the tranquility of the night.

            A ball of fire fell from the heavens, filling the air with a low-pitched cry, one that sounded like a demon’s joyful screaming. It closed in on the high rocky cliffs, looking like it directly collide with a lone house that sat on top...

            At the last second, it unnaturally leveled out, just missing the house. It began losing most of its speed as it headed for an island far offshore, while at the same time, losing most of the fire, revealing a dark, metallic object which flames reflected off of.

            It eventually hit the water's surface only a mile away from the island, making a loud sizzling sound as it began to sink. It soon came to a stop, the weight of the water pulling it into the abyss below.

            A figure shaped like a man emerged from the sinking object, hidden by the darkness of night. With an inhuman bound, it leapt a small grouping of rocks sticking out of the water almost a football field away, landing awkwardly. It adjusted, then leapt again, repeating its process until it was standing on the rocky shore of the island, where it turned and watched as the object was swallowed up by the water.

            There was a short flash of light behind the shadowy figure. It turned around to see another figure, one noticeably shorter and dressed in a hooded cloak, standing behind it. It soon started shouting words in what was probably an alien language as it pointed at the cloaked figure.

            "Relax," an electronic voice spoke from the cloak, "you're ship is in working order. We didn't do any irreparable damage."

            The humanoid figure's recognized the language, paused, then replied, "Why did you attack me?!"

            "Because we needed you to land on this planet," the electronic voice said. "There's something on this planet you need to retrieve."

            The humanoid figure laughed. "Are you joking? There's actually something of value on this forsaken world?! Why couldn't you get it yourself?"

            "We only can play a limited role... for now." The cloaked figure turned around, slowly beginning to walk away. "Anyways, if our calculations are right, you should find what we request before the end of this day."

            "And if I don’t?"

            "Then you'll remain here until you do." It turned back to look at the humanoid figure. "You'll know what it is when you feel its presence." It continued walking away.

            "Wait..." The humanoid figure raised its arm, holding out a glowing white ball of energy, only to blink and its hand blasted. It held it hand, moaning in pain from the burn.

            "There's no time for games,” the cloaked figure said, not even turning around. “You'd better go and rest up. These humans are as primitive as they seem."

            The humanoid figure sighed, clenched its fist, then disappeared.

            The cloaked figure stood on the island, looking out on the moonlit horizon. Minutes later, a woman's voice sounded from the communication device on its arm. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked, sounding rather worried. "This Chellosua doesn't seem to be someone to be trusted."

            The figure reached into the hood, removing a mask-shaped device. It then lifted its arm to up to speak toward the device, and in a man's voice, answered, "I know it’s risky, but if we can get them to become allies, we may be able to save our worlds." It looked back out on the horizon, saying to itself, "This is perhaps our only chance we have..."

Time: 7:50 am CST

            Another annoying day, he thought.

            Nathan Mathios walked into the hallways of Somerset Middle School, his gaze blank. Many of the school’s many students walked by him, most of them paying no attention to him, others nodding or saying a simple greeting, at which he acknowledged with a simple nod. It was chaotic and noisy enough as is, but it was worse for Nathan.

            Nathan was what seemed to be an average fourteen year old. Everything about him seemed plain, from his neatly cut brown hair to his choice of clothing, a simple navy blue sweatshirt and blue jeans. However, this simple exterior hid something else.

            Inside Nathan’s head echoed the emotions of everyone around him. Happiness. Sadness. Anger. Hate. Almost any other emotion that could be imagined rang inside his head. This “gift” of being able to feel other’s emotions was more like a curse, forcing him to carry a weight greater than he wanted to. He had gotten used to most of it, managing to tone most of it out. There were a few emotions he couldn’t tone out, those including hate and pain.

            He walked to his locker, slowly opening it. It wasn’t exactly well organized, but just about nothing in his chaotic life was. He took the book bag he had strapped to his back off, setting it on the floor. As he opened it up to retrieve some things he needed for his classes, he heard the locker next to him open up. The person at this locker had a warm and cheerful radiance to their personality, and Nathan knew exactly who it was.

             Nathan gathered the rest of his things he needed, quickly throwing the rest of his stuff in the locker. As he closed the door, he saw the cheerful face he came to expect.

            “Hi, Nathan!” said Heather, a cheerful, light brown haired girl, as well as a classmate of his. She was a little shorter than he was, wearing a rather neat looking pink shirt and medium-length jean skirt.

            “Uh… Hi,” Nathan muttered, blushing. If there was one flaw about his personality, it was that he was incredible shy around girls, especially one that he thought were cute or attractive, or the one’s he knew had a crush on him. Thanks to his reputation, a lot of them simply ignored him, thinking he was loser. Heather, however, was one of the one’s who seemed to like him, perhaps having the biggest crush on him than anyone he had met. The feeling was mutual, but he never had the nerve to say anything to that extent.

            “So,” she continued, her face still beaming, “how’s the day going for you?”

            “Fine,” he replied nervously. “How’s yours been?”

            “It’s been pretty good so far,” she replied. “It looks like it’s going to be nice today, not as cold as it has been the last few days.” Nathan started to walk off to class, Heather walking beside him. After a brief silence, she added, “Hey, did you hear about that meteor crash last night?”

            “Huh?” Nathan said, surprised she’d mention such a thing. “What meteor crash?”

            “You really haven’t heard?” she said, surprised. “I thought you were into all that sci-fi stuff?”

            “I am,” Nathan said. “I guess I just rushed out this morning and missed the news.”

            “Really? What were you doing last night? Kicking Mike’s Peach with your Daisy?” She paused, giggling at how Nathan face turned a bit red, then added sarcastically, “That sounded wrong, didn’t it?”

            “Yes,” Nathan said sheepishly.

            Heather chuckled, then continued. “Anyway, there was supposedly this big meteor that fell over by the old McKinney place. It apparently fell so close that it scorched the entire roof and took off the tops of the trees before crashing into the lake. Not many people are believing it was a meteor though.”

            “Why?”

            “Because of how it supposedly crashed. I mean, it burned the ENTIRE roof and the tops of the trees before crashing into the lake, apparently going at more of a horizontal angle. Now what normal meteor does that?”

            Nathan said nothing. He thought back, remembering a strange sensation he had felt last night. It had felt like he was being watched, feeling that it was so close. Whatever it was, it had been enough to wake him up, sweaty and shaking, almost like a nightmare. He remembered looking at the clock and seeing it had been about half past three.

            “What’s wrong?” Heather said, snapping him out of his trance.

            “Uh… Nothing,” he replied sheepishly. “I was just thinking about something.”

            Heather gave him a concerned look, then smiled and said, “Worried that the little green men are going to take you back to Mars, are you?”

            They both laughed at her statement. Soon, the hallway branched off to the left, which was the way Heather was going to class. As she walked away, she turned back to wave, saying, “I’ll see you later, Nathan!”

            Nathan waved to her, nervously saying, “Yeah… I guess…”

            He continued his way to class, in a slightly more upbeat mood. He thought a little about the feeling he had the night before and its possible connection to the meteor. It troubled him a little, but he had some dreams that things like that happened. Still, he couldn’t shake that something else was up.

            Maybe what Heather said is true, he surmised jokingly. Maybe the Martian’s are indeed after me… He smiled to himself as he turned the corner.

            At that very instant, however, any enthusiasm he had about the day came to a crashing halt, coming to a complete stop with one of the biggest roadblocks ever to walk the hallways of the middle school in his path. This roadblock was known as Chad Aswies, another one his classmates, and perhaps the biggest jerk he had ever known. He stood a good foot taller than Nathan, and was built like a rock. He also had a big grudge against Nathan, and the feeling of hatred emanated from him.

            “Hey, Mathios,” Chad said, a smirk crossing his face.

            Nathan just looked up, then started to walk around him. Seeing this, Chad tried to grab him. Sensing this impulse, Nathan jumped backwards, just avoiding his reach.

            “I said ‘Hey,’ dickface!” Chad shouted at him. “Is it that hard for you to show some respect?!”

            “I don’t need to show respect for you, or anyone else like you, people who push people around because they feel they can,” Nathan said. “Ass wipe.”

            “Ha,” Chad responded, cracking his knuckles, “you’re still a little punk, even after that wailing I gave you a month ago.”

            Nathan sighed, annoyed. “You forgot that I gave you one just a good.”

            “Yeah, whatever. I don’t know why I shouldn’t beat you to a pulp right now.”

            “You could try,” Nathan replied calmly, “but that’d make you late for class.”

            The first bell range, signifying that there where only five minutes until class started. Chad looked at Nathan puzzled. “Whatever,” he snickered. “I’ll deal with you some other time.” He then took off past him.

            Nathan continued walking, noting the clock that was placed in the upper part of the hallway. Yes, he thought, it’s going to be a rather annoying day indeed.

-=-=-=-

Location: Southern Shore of South Island

Time: 9:37 am HST (Hawaiian Standard Time)

Date: May 25, 2000

            A once quiet and relatively inactive military base suddenly echoed with loud sirens. Along one of the high bridges connecting two of the buildings rushed a blue creature, its incredible speed blurring any details. Sentry drones floated up from underneath, trying to hit it with lasers. It was too fast for them, every laser missing its mark. It continued to travel until it reached the other building, where a security door managed to beat it out. Reluctantly, it finally came to a stop...

            Sonic the Hedgehog looked impatiently at the door that stopped him. It was made of high-grade steel, one that would be impossible to break down with his trademark spin-dash attack. "Man, it’s been awhile since I've been stopped by a road block." He looked around, noticing a steel bar outside a window going down to the lower levels. "Well, I guess I've got time to grind."

            He leapt at the window, curling up into a ball as he broke through. He placed his feet on the rail, keeping his balance as he slid down. As he did, he looked around. He spotted an odd, poorly built rocket tower, one that hadn't been there he past few trips to South Island. "That's where Tails said the Master Emerald's at. I have to get there soon--"

            He was cut off by a laser blast striking just in front of him. He glanced over, noticing to drones on his tail. "Sorry guys, but as much as I have respect for G.U.N., I can't let them get away with this!" He pushed up off the rail, leaping in the air as the drones passed underneath. Once above, he curled into a ball, launching at one, then the other, smashing both to scrap metal.

            However, he soon realized that he had made a terrible error, as he the second left him too far away from the rail. There was nothing to grab onto, and the area below was mostly water. He could try to propel himself towards the building, which would get him closer to the narrow platforms below, but it was risky considering there was a chance he would overshoot them and land in the water.

            "Well," he said, "either way I'm in the drink..." He curled up, giving himself a boost towards the platform. It wouldn't be long until the water would be below him...

            He landed on the very edge of the platform, landing off-balance. Slowly, he managed to regain his balance, inching back on to the platform. He then looked at the water just feet below, commenting to himself, "Well, a few more inches and I would have been Sonic the drenchhog..."

            Then there was a loud crash behind him, on that made him turn quickly around. On the far side of the platform where a building connected to the platform laid an unconscious man dressed in a G.U.N. uniform. Behind him was a large hole in the wall, as well as the silhouette that looked striking similar to Sonic. In his one hand, he held another unconscious man by the collar. In the other hand was a long metal staff, which he held over his shoulder.

            "You really need to learn how to slow down, Sonic," came a voice similar to Sonic's, except in a slightly lower pitch. He dropped the man, then walked out from the shadows. His spines, while in the same amount as Sonic's, were shorter and differently colored, a green with a black stripe going down the top of each. The top stripe widened when it reached the top of his head, covering most of his forehead up to short of his eyebrows. Other than that, the resemblance was nearly identical.

            "Sorry, Ashura," Sonic shrugged nervously. "Its a bit of a bad habit."

            The green hedgehog nodded, a friendly smile crossing his face. "You never were one who had any patience, Sonic."

            Sonic noticed one of the men groan in the background, at which he breathed a sigh of relief.

            "What?" Ashura said, a little surprised by Sonic’s reaction.

            "Nothing," Sonic replied. "Just wasn't sure if they were alive or not."

            Ashura scowled. "Now what's THAT supposed to mean?"

            "Never mind." Sonic turned around starting to jog towards the other side of the platform. "C'mon, we don't have too much time left."

            They continued running down the lower path until they came across the entrance to one of the buildings. Ashura held Sonic back and peeked inside, noting that the hallways were surprisingly empty. He then motioned for Sonic, and they continued their run until they came to an elevator.

            "Something's odd," Ashura stated, looking around as Sonic impatiently eyed the elevator. "Its too quiet..."

            "Who cares?" Sonic said, pressing the button for their trip up.

            Ashura looked over as the door opened. "We don't know if it’s a trap..."

            Sonic had already entered, and was holding the door open, waiting for the green hedgehog. "You comin’?"

            Ashura sighed in frustration, then walked into the elevator. He looked at the numbers for the floors, and pressed the very top one, number 25, much to Sonic's dismay.

            The door closed and they make their trek up.

            Ashura reclined against the back wall of the elevator, his arms crossed, his staff leaning against the wall. While his eyes were closed, he could tell Sonic was growing impatient with the long climb to the top, even though it had been only a minute.

Sonic stood staring up at the numbered lights on top, arms crossed and tapping his the tip of his shoe. He sudden stopped tapping his toes. "About back there..."

            Ashura opened his eyes and looked up. "What about back there?"

            "Well," Sonic, looking down at the floor, continued reluctantly, "I was worried that you had killed those two soldiers.”

            Ashura was a little surprised, though he quickly understood what he meant. “Sorry,” he replied seriously. “I guess I got a little carried away.” He looked outside through a glass window, watching the horizon as the ascended. “Though, its really not in my nature to kill.”

            “Yeah,” Sonic said, “But I don’t know that. You may be my brother—or, in some sense, were my brother in another life, but I feel like I really don’t know you.”

            "That's because you never visit the damn island," Ashura replied, trying to sound more sarcastic than annoyed. "You know I have responsibilities to Westside that keep me from traveling more than a few hours away. Hell, the only reason I left is because that damn echidna shattered his emerald to keep it from falling into the wrong hands, so the people who wanted it sent some Chaos-charged psycho to my island, wailed on me, and stole my emerald. They don't have a clue what could happen if its not returned soon." Ashura paused, then said, "As much as I hate that echidna, I hope he leave his Emerald in place of mine. If he doesn't, Westside will be nothing more than volcanic ash in less than a day."

            “Don’t worry,” Sonic said, “Knuckles may be a hard-ass at times, but he knows when the stakes are high. But don’t be surprised if he’s going to ask for something in exchange.” Sonic paused, seeing Ashura’s expression turn to one of annoyance. “By the way, how good are you at the drums?”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?”

“That’s probably what Knuckles will be asking, if you’ll take over for him at the next Sonic Team concert. Besides,” Sonic added, giving him the thumbs up, “it’d be great way to spend some quality time together.”

Ashura sighed. “I’m not sure if I’m any good at the drums, but I do seem to remember having some interest in the electric guitar.”

Sonic looked at him surprised. “Wow, you actually remember that?”

Ashura paused, thinking back to the past. “It’s all very fragmented,” he said. “Whatever they did to me back then seems to still be blocking things out.” His expression turned to a somber expression.

Sonic noticed this. “Sorry,” he said, “didn’t mean to bring it up.”

Ashura shrugged the memories off. “Don’t worry yourself about it. Its not your fault.”

Sonic smiled, thankful to see his brother so easy-going about these things, even if they did haunt him. The elevator began to slow to a stop, the floor number reading “25.” "Why'd you want to go to the 25th floor anyways?"

            Ashura smiled. "It seemed like you had something on your mind."

            The elevator finally stopped, and the door slid open. "C'mon, Sonic said, "let's hurry!" Ashura watched Sonic rush out, seemingly not thinking about what lay beyond.

            Ashura had just walked out the door when he saw someone attack Sonic as he ran past the intersections of hallways, knocking him out of Ashura's sight. "Sonic!" he shouted, rushing forward.

            As he did, he saw Sonic stand up, facing his attacker, someone that Sonic seemed to recognize. "So, Shadow," he said, preparing to face off against a certain black and red hedgehog, "what's are you doing here in a place like this?"

            "I believe that should be my question," Shadow replied, preparing for Sonic's counter attack.

            "I believe he asked first," Ashura said, slowing down as he caught up to Sonic.

            Shadow studied the other hedgehog, then straighten up in a non-aggressive stance. "You bare a bit of a resemblance to him," he said to Ashura. "You two wouldn't happen to be somehow related?"

            Ashura took a defensive stance. "Depends on who's asking."

            "I see. Well, you're definitely more serious than fraud-boy." Shadow crossed his arms and shut his eyes, stating, "I'm here because I heard there might be something about my past hidden on this base. This base was supposed to have been closed down decades ago, but yet many of the supplies were never removed from here. From what I've heard, there's supposed to be some sort of black operation going on here, but like all government secrets, there's next to no actual information." He opened his eyes and stared directly at Sonic, "Now what's YOUR story?"

            "That's none of your business," Ashura replied quickly, not giving Sonic any time to respond.

            "I see... I should be on my way then," he said, pointing back in the direction he came. "I didn't find anything about my past back there, but I did see some men loading the Master Emerald onto a space shuttle." Sonic and Ashura looked at each other, while Shadow added, "I must say I'm amazed that the echidna hasn't shown up yet..."

            Ashura rushed past Shadow, catching him a little off-guard. "C'mon Sonic, we don't have much time."

            Sonic nodded. "I'm right behind you, Ashura... for a change. Sonic rushed past a bewildered Shadow, then looked back, waving, "Thanks a bunch, Shadow."

            Shadow just looked, a puzzled expression on his face. "What the hell's going on?"

            Minutes later, Sonic and Ashura stood at the outside of what they thought was the launch complex. It looked like it had been thrown together quickly, with large metal sheets held together either by nails or welding covering the outside of the building. There were no doors where they were, with the only means of access being various makeshift docks underneath.

            Ashura seemed very on edge, sensing the power of the Emerald on the other side of the wall. "It’s in there."

            "It'd be nice to know how much time we have," Sonic said, kneeling to look down at the docks below. "To be honest, I'd rather not go through that way." He got to his feet, then spoke into a watch-shaped radio, "Tails! Talk to me buddy!"

            Tails voice came over, but was badly broken up by static. "Sorry...ic, the sig...being jamm..."

            "Damn," Ashura said, looking up in the sky, "I was really hoping HE wasn't coming."

            Sonic looked up to see Knuckles gliding through the air. "Knuckles!"

            Knuckles spotted them, then, almost reluctantly, floated towards them, dropping when he was in front of them. "Great," he muttered, looking towards them. "I didn't know he was coming."

            "Trying to start something, echidna?" Ashura muttered angrily, preparing to draw his staff.

            "Of course he was coming," Sonic said, swiftly moving between the two, playing the peacekeeper. "It's his Emerald we're after."

            "I really meant HIM," Knuckles replied, pointing beyond the two hedgehogs. They both looked to see Shadow dashing towards them, gliding swiftly on his air shoes.

            "Great," Sonic said, Shadow slowing down as he approached. “Now all we need are some chicks and booze and we can throw one hell of a party."

            "Geez," Knuckles replied, "I don't know if I can handle THREE hedgehogs."

            "So, Shadow," Sonic said nonchalantly, "did you finally decide that being a historian was a bit too cut and dry for the world's 'Ultimate Lifeform?'"

            Ashura gave Sonic a puzzle looked, then muttered under his breath, “Ultimate… Lifeform?”

            "Don't be so absurd," Shadow replied, not paying attention to the green hedgehog. "I just came back because I didn't think that you could handle the task ahead on your own." He paused, chuckling to himself. "Besides, I figure you'd be interested in this..."

            He held out his hand, his arm from the elbow down beginning to glow red. The light soon began to gather towards his hand, forming into a bright ball in the palm. The light then brightened briefly before subsiding into an eight-sided gem.

            "A Chaos Emerald?!" Knuckles said.

            "That's can't be a Chaos Emerald!" Sonic replied.

            "That's also what I thought when I found it," Shadow said as the stone floated in his palm. "In fact, its not quite as powerful as the one's we know as THE Chaos Emeralds. However, after I saw the green hedgehog's reaction when I mentioned the Master Emerald, I figured the legend had to be true."

            "What legend?" Sonic said.

            Ashura looked at the gem, and as he did, he felt his spines beginning to stick up on edge. "Where'd you find this?"

            Shadow's answer was cut off when a loud siren went off. "Damn," he said, almost perfectly calm.

            "We're too late!" Ashura said anger quickly filling their voice. The concrete began to start cracking it began to vibrate violently. "They're launching!"

            "We have to get in there!" Sonic said, rushing towards the steel wall. He did, however, the tip of the rocket began to clear the top of the building.

            Sonic, Ashura, and Knuckles all looked up as it began to get higher and higher up in the air. Knuckles glanced briefly over to Ashura, muttering, "You owe me big-time for lending you MY Emerald."

            Ashura just ignored him, looking up as the rocket's thruster began to become visible. As it inched further into view, he clenched his fists tighter, and his face grew angrier.

            "You should really learn to relax," Shadow said, making Ashura nearly snap. He held the gem in his hand, which began to glow brighter. "As I said, I thought you couldn't handle this situation alone. I must warn you not to get your hopes up, however, considering this Emerald doesn't have quiet as much power as the others..."

            Sonic’s face beamed with joy. "Chaos Contro-"

            There was a very bright flash, which covered the area with light, then suddenly dimmed. The concrete pathway soon collapsed into the water below, but the four of them were nowhere to be seen.

            The rocket continued its ascent into the heavens.

-=-=-=-

Location: Formerly the JFK Space Center, Southern Florida

Time: 3:05 PM EST (Eastern Standard Time)

Date: May 25, 2207

            Zero reclined back in the elevator as it traveled down, his eyes closed. Deep down, he hated this place. It brought back too many bad memories. Of course, that wasn’t anything new.

            He had been having a relatively peaceful day up to about an hour ago. Then all hell broke lose as three Mavericks were reported doing damage to a research facility. When Zero finally arrived, however, he found most of the personal had been killed and an experimental engine stolen. It didn’t take long before they were tracked to this space center, the very same one that Repliforce had used years ago.

            Damn, how long was that?  he thought. It couldn’t have been more than twenty-five years ago. Why does it still haunt me?

            The elevator finally stopped at the bottom. He opened his eyes and pushed off the elevator’s back wall. As he moved closer to the door, he reached back and slowly drew his inactive energy saber from its holster on his back. Then the doors slid open.

            He semi-casually walked out, gripping the now glowing saber tightly, his tension rising. He looked both ways down the hallway. It was completely empty, the emergency lighting giving it a dreadful appearance.

            “Its quiet,” Zero said to himself, “too qui--“

            “Don’t go quoting some cliché line on me yet, Zero,” spoke a male navigator over a speaker in Zero’s helmet, making Zero jump a bit. “There’s about five mechaniliods at the end of the hallway to your right. Nothing too fancy, just a couple of Mets and a few Bats. You shouldn’t even break a sweat.”

            “Thanks,” Zero replied, turning to the right. “How far is it to the target?”

            “About one hundred meters. That’s not including another elevator, which you need to go up. From here, it looks like it’s out of commission, so you’ll have to climb it manually.”

            “That’s okay,” Zero replied, slowing down as he came closer to the room at the end of the hallway. “Its usually faster to climb rather than ride. Besides, I hate elevator music.”

            As soon as Zero entered the room, three bat-like robots dropped from the ceiling, homing in on his location. He pointed his left arm up, his hand and wrist converting into an energy cannon. He sniped two of them, the third coming too close. He hopped backwards a few feet, then sliced the bat with his saber, slicing it diagonally, after which it exploded.

            A brief shock struck him in the back. He spun around to see a small robot peak out from under a copper-colored helmet. He sliced at it, but it had ducked under before the blade connected, its energy canceling out.

            He paused and looked around him as it hid, quickly observing his surroundings. He was in was appeared to be a cafeteria. There were many tables in the room, many that appeared to have been destroyed in some sort of fight. He couldn’t see the other Mettaur, though.

            The Met that had attacked him peaked out from under its helmet, and seeing that Zero wasn’t looking directly at him, started to run off to get a better shot. Zero, however, spun around, firing off a shot from his Buster. The Met exploded, its helmet flying a few feet in the air.

            “Robby, where’s the other damn Met?” Zero called.

            “Looks like it took up a position in the entrance to the next hallway,” the navigator said. “That hallway should stretch for about ten meters until you reach one of the storage bays. There’s a good fifteen mechaniloids in there. Those won’t be quite as easy as the last ones.”

            “I’ll be able to handle it,” Zero replied, walking slowly over to the entrance to the next hallway. “I was getting a little bored anyways.”

            “Alright,” Robby replied. “Just be careful; there’s plenty of adjoining rooms along the way, so watch out for sneak attacks.”

            Zero saw the Met on the floor, hiding under its helmet. He came close, standing right next to it. It sat there, waiting for him to move away.

            Zero gave it a swift kick, sending it flying, flipping end over end. Zero fired a shot at it, catching it on its helmet side, the shot ricocheting into the nearby wall. He took another shot, destroying it.

            He continued his trek towards his target. It was still dark and eerily quiet. “So,” Zero said seemingly to himself, “any info on my target?”

            “There were three Mavericks awhile ago,” Robby replied. “However, they seem to have activated some sort of jamming device around one of the launch bays. I’m only picking up one of them, a one Magma Oxford. He’s a fire-type animal-class reploid designed for volcanic exploration. He uses the heat of the magma stored in an internal tank to keep running, which is a downside because it’s prone to damage from extreme cold and-“

            “That’s enough, Rob,” came a woman’s voice over the speaker. Zero chuckled as he immediately recognized the voice.

            “Err, sorry Miss Alia,” Robby said, a little panicked. “Guess I got a little carried away.”

            “That’s alright, Robby,” Zero replied. “I thought it was a bit too quiet anyways. Just for future reference, what’s he weak to?”

            “Err… one moment,” he replied, still sounding a little nervous. “By the way it looks, he weak to extreme cold temperatures, so your techniques of Hyouretsuzan and Hydroga should prove effective. Hayate should also be useful against him, though not to quite the same degree.”

            “Alright, I’ll keep those in mind,” he said. He slowed his pace as he came closer to the opening to the storage room.

            “Just so you know,” Robby said nervously, “the mechanaloids’ most likely know your coming… thanks to, um… me…”

            Zero laughed. “Don’t worry yourself. You’re only a rookie -- you’re bound to make mistakes. Thankfully, you’re a navigator leading one of the top-rated hunters.” Zero stopped, getting the best glimpse of what awaited him ahead. “And besides, I’d prefer a straight fight over all this sneaking around.”

            Ten minutes later, Zero approached the last room before the elevator shaft leading to where the Mavericks had held up. From where he was, however, he could tell that someone had already been there. With that in mind, he rushed towards the room, worried about what awaited him.

            “Robby!” he spoke, “Speak to me! What happened?”

            “Huh,” Robby said, somewhat amused. “We seem to have had an unauthorized hunter enter the base awhile ago.”

            Zero dashed to the center of the room, stopping to examine the remains of a large mechaniloid. As he studied, he noticed something rather familiar about how it had been destroyed.

            “It looks someone hacked this mechaniloid to bits…” Zero said, slowly standing up, deactivating his saber. “Someone with an axe to grind.” He slowly began to turn around to look at the wall behind him.

            Leaning against the wall behind him, arms crossed, was a rather attractive black-haired female reploid, suited into moderately simplistic green armor with tan shoulders and joints. The left arm of her suit was more armored than the other, meant to give her better strength when swinging her large, high-tech battle-axe that was at her side.

            “I’ve confirmed the identity of the Hunter,” Robby responded, “Its –“

            “Dee,” Zero said, cutting the navigator off.

            She looked up. “Hello there, Captain Zero.”

            Zero crossed his arms. “Dee, the Special A-ranked hunter who joined the Hunters just last year. By far one of best female hunters in all of Maverick Hunter history. And for some strange reason, she seems bound and determined to join the Special Zero unit, one of the harshest units in all of the Maverick Hunters…” Zero smiled, blushing a little. “Rumor has it she has a bit of a crush on the leader of that particular unit…”

            Dee blushed a little and giggled as she put her hand to her mouth, saying, “Opps, was it that obvious?”

            Zero chuckled. “So, are you going out of your way to request a date, or are you stalking me?”

            “Well,” Dee said, pushing off the wall, her expression turning serious, “I actually was trying to prove that I’m worthy of Unit Zero.”

            “Well,” Zero said seriously, “I’ll be honest and say this is a bad time for that. After all, there’s a group of Mavericks planning who knows what…” Zero paused, then asked sheepishly, “Unless you took care of them already?”

            “Nope,” she replied. “I think I could have taken that Magma Ox one, but I figured it’d be best if I had back up…” She paused, then added,  “just in case…”

            “Alright,” Zero said. “We’d better get moving. The elevator shaft is just ahead, right?”

            Dee nodded, pointing towards the door on behind Zero. “Just go through that door and look up. Something looks like its on fire up top, so we’d better be careful.” She retrieved the axe from against the wall, and, with little effort, hoisted it over her shoulder.

            Zero walked towards the door, letting Dee keep pace behind him. Once through, he immediately leapt to the wall in front of him, clung to it a bit, then kicked off it. He repeated the process, gradually gaining height.

            Dee had jumped to the wall behind him, and was just a little below him. She didn’t wall-kick like Zero did, but actually scaled the wall. She was able to match his speed, managing to not get ahead of him. Needless to say, he was quite impressed.

            Five minutes passed, and they managed to get to the top, the trip up being rather uneventful. However, there was a raging fire in front of them, and about twenty feet of the passageway ahead of them was destroyed. Beyond there was the door that most likely led to the target.

            Zero studied the obstacles that lay ahead. “Well, this really isn’t that difficult,” he said. “Just a good wall kick and air dash should do the job…”

            “Umm… Captain Zero?” Dee asked, embarrassed. “Could I ride you?”

            Zero blankly looked at her. “What?”

            “Well…” Dee said, her face turning beet red. “I haven’t been equipped with either Kuuenbu or Heinyako, and I can’t exactly kick off the wall very well.”

            “And you need me to carry you over?” Zero said, rather annoyed.

            “…Yes.”

            Zero sighed, then turned around. “Climb on,” he said, less than enthusiastically.

            Dee hopped onto his back, her arms wrapping around his shoulders. She clung on tight, making sure she didn’t fall during the trip.

            Zero straightened up, looking towards the door. “This is so embarrassing…”

            “Good luck, Zero!” he heard Alia say over the speaker, a lot of laughter echoing in the background.

            “If any of this leaves that room, I’m going to go Maverick on all your asses!” He was a little angry, and still incredibly embarrassed. He looked over his shoulder to Dee, whose blushing face was covered with an expression of glee. “Don’t enjoy yourself too much…”

            She quickly tried to make a serious face, saying, “I’ll try not to… sir.”

            Zero let out an annoyed sigh, then dashed towards one of the wall. He leapt up, Dee’s weight greatly decreasing his jump height. He then kicked off the wall, trying to gain as much height as he could while moving closer to the gap. Once he reached the very end of the wall, he leapt off, and at the height of his jump, used the thrusters in his feet to boost him across.

            When the boost ran out, they began to fall. Zero could tell that they didn’t have enough to make it. However, before he said anything, Dee removed one of her arms from around him. The next thing he knew, he saw the axe go flying, its handle replaced by a long metal wire. As Zero began to lose sight of the door, he saw it hit the wall just next to it, sticking deep enough in to hold their combined weight.

            They continued falling until the wire reached its maximum distance. There was a sudden sharp jerk, after which Zero found himself briefly falling, Dee losing hold of him as she held onto the handle that was connect by the wire. She quickly caught his arm as he fell, making sure not to lose him. She then smiled down to him, a relieved expression on her face.

            She pulled them back up to the ledge. When she couldn’t go any higher without dropping Zero, she threw him up to the platform with as much ease as she had lifting the axe before. Zero quickly landed on him feet, then turned around, kneeling down while offering a hand. She took it and climbed up with his help.

            “When we get back,” he said as she moved over to the wall to remove the axe, “I’m making sure you learn BOTH the double jump AND air dash, as WE ‘experienced’ Hunters refer to them as.”

            “Really?” Dee said, still smiling as she retrieved her axe. “If that’s the case, why don’t you call the ‘Hyouretsuzan’ the ‘thrusting ice stab’?”

            “It doesn’t sound as professional,” Zero said. “Plus the way you put it makes it sound obscene.”

            He slowly walked towards the door, which opened up as he approached. As he did, she watched him, the smile turning into a more quizzical expression. As she went out of view, he said reluctantly, “Thank you for saving me back there.”

            “You’re welcome,” she replied. “And thank you for helping me get across.”

            Zero said nothing for a while, then sarcastically replied, “I swear I’ll get you for that.”

            Zero stopped in front of the door leading to where the Maverick waited, giving Dee a chance to catch up. He felt edgy look at the door, as it really hadn’t changed since all that time ago.

            He heard her approach behind, making him instinctively reach for his saber. She either didn’t noticed or pretended not to notice his reaction, saying in a serious tone, “What are you waiting for?”

            Zero finished drawing his saber, pointing to the ground in front of him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to ready himself for the impending battle. “Nothing,” he said in a cold tone, one that probably made Dee a little nervous. “Let’s go.”

            He walked through the door, Dee close behind, with her axe at ready. The room ahead was almost exactly like the room him and Colonel had fought in decades ago. It hardly was a room at all; there were no walls to the left and right of them, and was no ceiling. The floor was the same metal floor that was here last time, though it was pretty clear it had been repaired. The only things that were different were the sky, which was a blue afternoon sky instead of one during sunset, and the Reploid he was going to battle was directly in front of them.

            A large round Reploid about twice as high as Zero stood in front of them. His appearance looked that of an Ox, though his horns where made of swirling fire coming out of the sides of his head. The tips of his fingers had holes in them, the very edge of the metal melted a little from heat exposure. His chest had a shutter on it, most like where he refilled his lava, or where he fired it as a weapon. His armor color was charred black, most likely also from exposure to extreme heat.

            “Magma Oxford,” Zero heard Dee say nervously, “I presume.”

            “Correct, young lady,” came a deep, bellowing voice.

            “Why have you infiltrated this space port?” Zero demanded.

            “I’m surprised you haven’t guessed,” Oxford replied. “Me and my brothers plan to prove that humans and Reploids shouldn’t travel to the stars.”

            “Your saying you’re from Terra’s Champions?” Dee asked.

            “The T.C.?” Oxford laughed. “No, I’m part of the Children of Earth.”

            “That’s rich,” Dee laughed in a serious tone. “You expect us to buy that? The C.O.E. believe in peaceful protests. I you’re a member, you would have been kicked out.”

            “Not that we’ll give you a chance,” Zero replied, readying to attack. “You murdered people back at that research facility, both human and Reploid. Your nothing but a Maverick!”

            “You really wish to stop us?” Oxford took up his fighting stance, his arms stretched forward. The flames that made his horns began to swirl violently, while the tips of his fingers began to light up. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

            “You must be insane,” Dee said, readying her axe. “You’re going to go up against two Special A’s? You don’t have a chance!”

            “Perhaps,” he replied. “But at the very least I can die as a martyr to my cause.”

            “Shut up already!” Zero dashed forward, leaping into the air. Oxford fired a shot of lava towards Zero, but his timing was off as it went underneath, hitting the wall behind. Dee dodged to the right as it did, waiting for Zero to do his attack before striking.

            Zero managed to get above Oxford, then thrust his saber downwards. The blade became pure ice as he executed the Hyouretsuzan. The tip of the blade smashed into the metal of Oxford’s head, the shards of ice melting as they came in contact with the flaming horns, extinguishing them. The attack barely left a scratch, but the impact was enough to send Oxford stumbling.

            Dee went in for her attack as Zero leapt away. Dashing forwards, she swung her axe, the blade singing in the air. However, Oxford had stumbled away, so the cut went shallow, slicing on his finger cannons in half.

            “Damn!” She rushed forwards again, leaping in the air. She brought the blade down in a vertical chop. Oxford had regained his balance, bringing his right arm up to block the shot. Sparks flew as the blade collided with the thick armor. However, it was pretty clear that it had only made a scratch.

            “You fool,” he said, pushing Dee’s axe away with his arm. “You think a simple axe will do any damage? This armors thick enough to handle the heat from one hundred meters inside a volcano!”

            “You’d better watch your back instead of taunting, you fool!” Zero said. He was once again in the air, aiming to hit again with the Hyouretsuzan. He landed the ice blade again, this time hitting the large Reploid in the back. This time, he had found a weak point, cracking the armor as flames briefly erupted.

            Oxford reeled back in agony as Zero leapt away again. Dee saw she had an opening at what was most likely his weak spot: the front shutter. She took a quick horizontal slash at it, scraping the metal and leaving a pretty deep gash. He stumbled backwards as she dashed forwards, taking another swiped at the shutter. She managed to land it in nearly the same spot, cutting the gash deeper.

            He managed to regain his focus, aiming one of his arms at her. “Burn!” he shouted, five shots of lava launching from each finger. As Dee went to avoid the shots, he spun around, trying to aim at Zero. However, when he looked behind him, Zero was nowhere in sight. He only saw Zero’s saber on the ground, pointing up…

            He froze in horror as he realized what was about the happen. Zero stood right behind him, his Buster pointed directly at his back. Without a word, he fired a shot, knocking Oxford forward to the ground, the saber impaling him in the chest. The armor on the shutter cracked and burst, lava spilling out from underneath him.

            Oxford laid there, the remains of his Reploid life fading away. Both Zero and Dee walked up towards the front of him. He looked up at Dee, using what ever little strength he had to say, “Why? Why do… do you fight for them? After what… they did to you?” Dee expression went pail in realization of what he meant.

            Zero didn’t immediately notice, just saying, “He was just an ordinary Maverick after all.” There was a long eerie silence, which made Zero realize something was wrong. He looked over, seeing Dee’s pail face, a long and sorrowful expression on her face. “Hey,” he said, reaching over to supportively touch her shoulder, “are you okay?”

            She was a little startled at this. She shook her head, stating, “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

            Zero knew she was lying about it. However, the building started to shake. He heard a loud roar over in the direction of the door Oxford had been guarding. “Damn!” he shouted, running over to the door at full speed.

            He blasted through the door. One of the shuttles was taking off from the launch bay, with the door leading to the outside wide open. He clenched his teeth in frustration.

            Dee slowly walked through, looking out towards the launch bay. “This is all my fault…” she said, in a deeply depressed tone.

            Zero didn’t say anything. He just watched as the shuttle gained height, getting further and further out of view.

            The speaker in Zero’s helmet chimed on, and Robby’s voice shouted over. “What’s going on?!”

            “They got away,” Zero replied.

            “What’s the condition of the shuttles?” Robby asked frantically.

            Zero looked down at the rest of the bay’s shuttles, noting that none of them were damaged. “They appear to be in working order.”

            “Good!” Robby shouted. “Awhile ago, we got the specs for that engine they stole. Douglas has been putting it together, and all the simulations show green. With the jamming field out of commission, he can transfer himself and the engine straight into the bay.”

            “Good,” Zero replied, not quite as cold as before. “Get him over here right away.”

            “Alright, he’ll be in there in a few minutes.” There was a pause, then Robby added, “How are you two doing?”

            Zero looked at Dee, who was looking towards the ground in shame. “Fine,” he replied.

            Douglas had arrived with the engine a few minutes later, and began installing it immediately. Zero reclined against a nearby shuttle, his arms crossed and eyes closed. He glanced out every once and awhile, looking towards Dee, who was sitting on some crates, just out of view of Douglas. He sighed, not sure what to do about the situation.

            About an hour passed, but for whatever reason, Zero wasn’t anxious like he normally would be. He found himself worrying more about Dee, and what she might do. Maybe this would just pass in time, or it might not. He realized, however, that the sooner the issue was dealt with, the better.

            “Captain Zero!” he heard Douglas shout. “The engine’s installation is complete! Permission to prepare for take-off in five minutes?”

            Zero sighed, then replied, “Better make it ten.”

            Douglas just looked at him, rather puzzled. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll prepare to take off in ten minutes.”

            Zero nodded, then walked over to Dee. She looked up briefly, her face tear-stricken, which surprised Zero. “Are you alright?” he asked.

            “Yeah,” she said, ashamed to have let Zero see her in this condition. “I’m fine.”

            “Don’t lie to me,” he replied sternly, catching her by surprise. “If this is going to compromise the mission, then you’d better deal with it soon.”

            Dee looked away. “I’d rather not talk about it,” she said.
            Zero paused, then said, “What Oxford said back there… about fighting for the Hunters… or, perhaps the humans…”

            “I’m not fighting for the humans,” she said blatantly.

            Zero was surprised, then asked, “Then what are you fighting for?”

            “I’m just trying to prove myself,” she replied coldly. “I don’t give a damn about the humans, I just want to prove that I’m more than what I am… I WAS.”

            Zero sighed. “That kind of thinking is why others like Sigma went Maverick.”

            “I’m not a Maverick,” she replied sternly.

            “Try not to act like one,” Zero said coldly. “If you do, you’ll someday be considered a Maverick, and more than likely I’ll be the one who’s going to hunt you down, and more than likely retire you.” He turned around, his expression still cold, and started walking away. “And to be honest,” he added, “that’s something I’d rather not be forced to do.”

            She looked at him. “Why do you fight?” she asked, stopping him dead in his tracks. “Do you fight for them?”

            Zero closed his eyes, thinking. “No,” he replied. “I fight because it’s my duty, to the Hunters and to my friends.” He paused, thinking back to the Eurasia Incident. “And besides, I’d don’t want to have to fight him again.”

            Dee just sat there as Zero continued walking away. He stopped, then turned to her. “Well, are you coming? You said you had something to prove. Let’s go get those other two Mavericks.”

-=-=-=-

Location: Near the old McKinney residence, Northern Wisconsin

Time: 7:30 PM CST

Date: May 25, 2000

            Nathan leaned on the fence that stood between him and the edge of the high cliff overlooking the lake. A cool lake breeze blew towards him, making him shiver a little. He stared out on the horizon, watching the water ripple, splashing quietly on the rocks below.

            He often found himself doing this, staring out upon the horizon, looking out across the lake. It usually helped him relax on a bad day, letting him focus. There usually was never anybody around except a few animals, allowing him a moment of relative calm.

            Today was different, however. He couldn’t figure it out, but it made him feel edgy. He thought it was related to the presence he had felt, or maybe this mysterious meteor crash, or maybe the thought of a possible connection between the two. 

He looked down upon the water, where one more search boat floated, a couple of divers emerging from the depths. He sensed they were disappointed, as they apparently didn’t find anything.

“Maybe it burned up before it hit the water,” he heard one of them say.

“With the damage done to the old building,” the other said. “The thing should have been large enough for us to find something.”

The first diver sighed. “Well, it’s getting late. Let’s call it a night and head back. We’ll resume our search tomorrow.”

The other one nodded as they climbed aboard the boat. They started it up and took off towards the east.

Nathan watched them go, then took a glance at the building that sat on a nearby hill. The roof was scorched like Heather had said, but it didn’t seem as bad as he imagined. The trees nearby looked like the tops had been ripped off, and the higher portions had been lit on fire.

He sensed some people in the old building, which he thought was a little odd. The old McKinney place had been abandoned for about fifty years, and a “No Trespassing” sign hung on a fence that encircled the property. Nathan never came too close to the place, always staying far enough away. It had never interested him, as he had heard stories about some students entered the place to find nothing of interest.

He shrugged, looking back upon the lake to the spot that the divers had been checking out. There wasn’t anything strange about it; the only thing being of possible interest was an island off shore. Still, there was something strange in the air.

Was it a presence? Was he being watched?

“Hi Nathan!” came a familiar, cheerful voice, scaring him half to death. He whipped around to see Heather, her face cheerful as usual, a purse hanging around her shoulder, and holding two fast food bags in one hand and two bottles of soda in another.

“Heather!” he shouted as his heart raced. “What are you doing here?!”

She looked at him, a concerned expression on her face. “Are you alright? It’s not like you to be so jumpy like that.”

“It’s not?” he said, a little surprised.

“No,” she replied, “you always seem to know when someone’s around.” She held out one of the bags to him. “Anyways, I brought you something to eat.”

He took the bag nervously. “Thanks…” he said. They sat down on a rock, facing the lake. Nathan opened the bag, taking out a burger wrapped in foil. As he unwrapped it, he asked, “How’d you know I’d be out here?”

“I had a hunch,” she replied. “I thought you’d be out here, looking around to see if there was anything interesting. So I thought this would as good as time as ever for a date.”

He swallowed the food he had been eating a bit hard, caught off guard by her statement. “A… date?” he said, his face turning red.

“Why not?” she replied. “We’ve known each other for years. I’ve actually been waiting for you to ask me out, but I always figured you be too shy to do that.”

Yeah,” Nathan replied nervously. He took a drink of his soda, then asked, “But aren’t we a little young for that?” He soon realized that had to have been the dumbest thing he’d had said in his life.

Heather just laughed. “No, I don’t think so. Mary Sue’s been dating that Johnny guy for almost half a year now. Besides, I know a lot of people who’ve already had sex at this age, so--“

Nathan had been in the middle of drinking some soda when the word “sex” was mentioned. His immediate reaction was to spit his soda out, misting in the air in front of him.

Heather laughed at him, clearly amused. “What’s wrong? You don’t want sex?”

“No!” Nathan stuttered, his face turning about a shade of red a second, “I mean, yes! I mean… isn’t that going a little fast?”

Heather had been trying her best not to laugh. “I was just teasing you,” she said with a giggle. “To be honest, I’d really like to keep this simple, maybe just going to see a movie, and maybe stop at McDonald’s. Nothing too complicated.

She looked out upon the lake. “Besides, we’re just entering high school. After that, we’ll probably both be off to college. A lot of thing can happen between now and then. What if you don’t think I’m not the right one?”

            “Sure you are,” Nathan found himself saying.

She turned to look at him, a little surprised. “Do you really think so?”

“…yeah,” he replied, a little embarrassed. Trying his best to overcome his nervousness, he added sheepishly, “You’re one of the nicest… smartest…”

“Hottest?”

Nathan paused nervously, “Well, I think you’re cuter than you are hot. Besides, the hot one’s are usually personality-less automatons.”

“Really?” Heather said, laughing at this statement. “Still,” she said, “it means a lot to here that from you.” She looked back out on the lake. “Ya’ know, a lot of the other girls think I’m a fool to like you. They all think you’re this big loser, someone who hangs out with all the weaklings in the class. To be honest, I don’t believe that.”

“You really don’t?”

“No,” she continued. “I’ve seen some of the fights you’ve gotten into. Most of the time, you’re there to try to help someone who’s being pushed around by Aswies or people like him. Its like you don’t want to see people have to suffer.”

He felt her hand touch his, catching him by surprise. She began to lean closer to him, her eyes meeting his. He began to feel nervous, sweat beading on his forehead. He also felt a little excited, realizing this would be his first kiss. However, he found himself holding back, as something inside him felt he wasn’t quite ready.

Before he had a chance to try to fight this subconscious reaction, however, he was hit with a sudden sharp joint of pain, one that, while not being him, made him stumble off the rock. He felt right arm suddenly felt numb even as he leaned up on it, making him reach over to check if it was still there. His face went pale, as a cold sweat began forming on his brow.

Heather looked down at him, surprised and puzzled at this sudden reaction. “What’s wrong?” she asked, a worried expression on her face.

Then they both heard it. There was a blood-curtailing scream off in the direction of the old house, making them both look in that direction. Nathan sensed emotions from four people in the house, consisting of pain, fear, anger, and pure glee in that direction, making his hair stick on end and his stomach churn. If there was one thing he hated the most, it was someone getting pleasure out of someone’s pain.

“Oh my god!” Heather cried in nearly pure terror. “That was Asweis!”

Nathan got to his feet, stumbling a little from the sudden change of emotions. “Go get help,” he told her. “I’ll go and –“

Another shot of pain hit him, which lasted much shorter and was followed by the feeling of what he deemed equivalent of someone’s soul being ripped from their body. He lost his balance and landed on his hands and knees, vomiting soon after from the shock.

“Nathan!” she shouted, terror in here voice. “Are you—?”

“I’ll be fine,” he blurted. In reality, however, he didn’t feel fine. His entire body shook with sudden shock of death, a feeling that something he rarely felt, and it had never been this strong. He found himself filled with fear, his OWN fear for a change, and he considered running away and just reporting this to the police.

However, the foul taste of malicious amusement that almost was the only thing that remained in the McKinney residents made him want to keep going. Was it heroics, or was it just plain foolishness? Why did he want to keep going?

He felt a warm arm reach around his arm, helping him to his feet. He looked to see Heather, her once smiling face covered in an expression of fear, tears starting to run down her face. She was worried for him, not sure exactly what was happening.

“You sure don’t look okay,” she said.

“Heather…” he started, “I don’t think—“

“I don’t know what’s going on up there,” she said, cutting him off, “but somehow, it’s affecting you. I don’t know if you can do this on your own.”

Nathan looked at her for a moment, not sure what to say. He was soon hit by another burst of pain, not nearly as bad as the last, causing him to stumble, Heather’s strength keeping him from falling. He shook it off, quickly regaining his balance.

“Fine,” he said, smiling through the shock, “you win.”

They ran up to the house together, Nathan managing to walk up under his own power after a few minutes. Heather had taken the lead, trying to not get too far ahead of him. He worried, more like knew, something bad awaited them up top, and tried to get her to slow down.

            She reached the door first, her face turning pale as she looked in. She turned around, looking at him briefly, a sickening expression on her face, then went over to a nearby bush, vomiting behind it.

What lay beyond the doorway looked like something out of horror film. The dimness of the interior gave off an eerie atmosphere, as blood formed a virtual ocean on the floor. A deck of cards was sitting in the blood pool, the stack knocked over with a few cards floating next to it, every one seeming soaked crimson red. There was someone’s severed arm about in the middle of the room, with two bodies lying nearby at odd angles.

In the far corner of the room facing the door was Chad, lying against the wall, his skin an almost ghostly pale, his clothes covered with blood. He looked very weak, his eyes almost half rolled back in his head. His right arm short of the shoulder was completely gone, drops of blood landing in a small pool underneath.

            “Are they…” Heather asked, coughing a little.

Nathan sensed that Chad and one of the others were still alive. He slowly walked in, glancing at the bodies only briefly, trying to keep his composure. He immediately noticed that one of them, laying face down in the pool, had been decapitated. The other was still alive but unconscious, his throat literally torn out, making a hideous gasping sound as he tried to breathe. Nathan checked his pulse, even though he knew that his life was slipping away. There was nothing he could do for him.

            “Hey dickface,” he heard Chad say. Nathan looked over, seeing Chad looking at him. He weakly glanced over to the doorway, muttering, “What’s she doing here?”

            Nathan looked over to see Heather slowing entering the room, holding a handkerchief to her mouth. “Chad…” she said quietly. “What… HAPPENED?”

Stood up, walking over to Heather, and put his hand on her shoulder, trying to lend support. He felt her hand touched his, cold from the horrors she had seen. She looked at him, tears streaked down her pale face, and managed to make a weak smile.

“Me and the boys were in here,” Chad started to say, “just playing some cards after we studied what little there was to see. Then, this short, weird-looking guy just appeared out of nowhere, asking if we were the one he was supposed to find. We didn’t think much of it, just some oddball acting like some fucking alien. We started making fun of, after which he got pissed and fired off this strange blast…” Chad looked towards his what remained of him arm.

“The first shot took out a good half-a-foot of my arm. The guys panicked, Adam frozen like a deer in headlights while Will trying to run.” He pointed over to the headless body. “Will ended up getting his head blasted off from behind; I don’t think there’s anything left of it.” He pointed over to the other body. “Adam, after seeing Will get his head blasted off, decided that he had to try and fight. It looked like he was fairing pretty well, but that freak show he was only toying with him, after which he ripped Adam’s throat out with his bare hands.”

Chad laid his arm back down, his hand hitting the floor with a loud thump. “Heh…” he laughed as glanced towards Nathan, his eyes half rolling back as tears began to form, “I supposed this is something you always wanted to see, eh Mathios?”

“No,” Nathan replied, catching Heather by surprise. “While there were times I absolutely hated you, I don’t think anyone deserves this…” He then looked at the remains of Chad’s arm. He removed the cord that tighten the hood of his sweatshirt, then used to wrap around what remained of the limb, in hopes of cutting off the blood flow.

“Wow,” Chad muttered, trying to sound sarcastic. “You tied that so tight I can’t feel my arm… oh, wait…”

They laughed uneasily at the situation. “We need to get you out of here--“ Nathan started to say. However, he felt a sudden chill, like he was being watched. He snapped around, looking behind to a doorway to a nearby room.

Heather looked at him, the fear in her voice growing. “What is it?”

“You can feel him, can’t you?” Chad muttered, catching Nathan by surprise. “He’s still here, waiting for this person he’s looking for. We should get out of here, before he comes for you two…”

Nathan stood up, staring at the doorway. “Heather,” he said calmly, “help Chad, then get out of here.”

She stared at him, worrying about what he was about to do. “You’re going to go looking for this guy?”

Nathan nodded. “I want to confront him about what he’s done.”

“Are you fucking crazy?!” Chad said, putting as much strength as he could into his voice. “Look what happened to us! You think you’d fair any better?!”

“I don’t know,” he said. “But I promise I’ll come back alive.”

As he pressed onwards, he felt both of them watch him, a feeling of dread filling them both. He then heard Chad mutter, “I always knew he had a death wish.”

            He slowly walked through the house, heading towards a large, broken window that looked upon the lake. He could still hear Chad and Heather’s mumblings, as well as sense their emotions. He could sense the presence as well, but couldn’t figure out where it was coming from exactly. He assumed that he’d confront whomever the source of his sensation was if he kept going straight, but he had yet to find anyone.

            He soon reached the last room along his path. However, there wasn’t anything of interest in the room, just some only dusty furniture. Looking around, noticed a door on his right, deciding that he’d go that way next.

            “So,” he heard a man say behind him, “you wouldn’t happen to be the one I’m looking for?”

            Nathan turned to see a man dressed in a bland-looking grey uniform standing behind him, his arms crossed. He was less than a foot shorter than Nathan was, sporting slicked-back hair, which appeared to be either dark brown or black in the dimness of the interior. A sarcastic smile crossed his angry face. His right hand was covered in blood, more than like Will’s blood.

            Nathan turned to face him, trying his best not to look afraid. He could feel not only his emotions, which consisted of hatred, amusement, boredom, and annoyance, but his power. He could tell that trying to fight him would more than likely be a death sentence, so he could only hope he could debate with him.

            “Who are you?” Nathan said, trying not to stutter with fear.

            The man looked at him, a puzzled expression on his face. Nathan could sense that he was curious about something. He wondered if he could sense in some way that Nathan wasn’t quite what he seemed to be.

            The man quickly changed his to a more serious expression. “My name is Shic Gogach, one of, if not ‘the,’ last surviving member of the Chellosua race. I’m here on this miserable planet against my will, having been chased and shot down by a force I don’t recognize. All I was told was to find something on this planet that was of apparent value, and that I would know what it was when I felt its presence.” He chuckled to himself, then pointed at Nathan. “That something is you.”

            Nathan panicked, uncertain at how to respond, “…ME?!”

            Shic nodded. “That’s right. You’re different than a lot of the other second-rate trash on this world. Its fairly weak, but the aura emanating from you is superior to most of the other humans on this planet.”

            “I… I’m not THAT different from everyone else…” Nathan said. He paused, thinking about his gift, saying a bit under his breath, “Am I?”

            “Let me guess…” Shic continued, “Its some form of telepathy, isn’t it?” Nathan looked up, seeing that Shic was mildly amused at his reaction. “Well, probably something not quite as strong. Empathy would probably be the correct assumption, wouldn’t it?”

            Nathan nodded, not saying a word.

            “That’s what I thought. Well, it seems you’re abilities are fairly undeveloped at this point. Perhaps with a little… persuasion, you can reach you’re full potential.” He offered a his blood-stained hand to Nathan. “Are you interested?”

            Nathan looked at the hand, then looked at Shic, his eyes blazing with anger. “No,” he said firmly. “Not after what you did.”

            “What do you mean?” Shic replied, clearly amused at the response. “All I did was clean up some of the low-level trash that wasn’t of any use to me. Besides, what do you care? You’re far better than any of them anyways.”

            “I refuse to believe that,” Nathan replied. “I feel I’m no different than they are. Even if this ‘gift’ of empathy makes me better than everyone else somehow, I—“

Nathan then felt someone approaching. He looked to see Heather approaching, her face still pail. In the background, he heard sirens blaring as the members of law enforcement began traveling in there direction.

Shic sighed. “Looks like there’s no more time for this little debate.”

Nathan slowly backed up towards the door, trying to see if there was any chance to get away. He then felt someone tug at his arm from behind.

“Nathan,” he heard Heather cry, “please, let’s leave. The police can handle him.”

            “Well,” Shic said, “you’re really not giving me a choice, are you? I guess I’m forced to have to take you with me.” He held out his arm, forming a ball of light. “But we can’t leave any witnesses, can we?”

            “Wait!” Nathan said. “Please don’t—“

            Shic fired the ball of light, aiming it directly at Heather. She just stood to Nathan’s side, frozen as he arm tightened around his. Nathan, realizing there wasn’t any he time to think, stepped directly into the blast’s past.

            “Please let this be enough,” he said to himself, just before the blast ripped into his chest…

-=-=-=-=-=-

Place: Unknown

Time: Unknown

Date: Unknown

            Am I… dead?

            Nathan slowly opened his eyes, looking into darkness. His eyes slowly began adjusting, and he soon realized that he was no longer in the old house. The walls appeared to be made of dark steel, with some strange lights flickering here and there. The air in the room was cold, making him shiver.  He couldn’t feel any presence around him, making him feel like he was in some strange void.

            He felt his chest, feeling a bit of a sting, which made him snap his hand away. However, when he examined his hand, he realized it was clean. He looked down and realized that his blue sweatshirt was replaced with a loose-fitting grey uniform top.

            A door slid open, releasing light into the dark room. Nathan instinctively shielded his eyes as they tried to adjust to the change.

“So you’re finally awake,” he heard a disturbing familiar voice.

            He looked past his hand, his eyes slowly adjusting to the intruding light. He saw the familiar figure of Shic, but this time be couldn’t feel his emotions. There was a strange headband wrapped around his head, made of a weird foil.

            “You’re probably wondering why you can’t read me,” he said. He pointed up to the headband, continuing, “Well, I took some precautions to prevent you from doing so.”

            “What happened?” Nathan said. “Where’s Heather?”

            “The girl?” Shic replied. “Oh, she’s fine. I decided to spare her… for your sake, of course. Then again there is one price for all this.”

            Nathan looked at him puzzled. “What do you mean?”

            Shic looked at him. “From now on, you shall do what I order you to. You no longer will have your freewill, as you will be my ‘humble’ servant.”

            Nathan looked down to the floor, a mixed bag of emotions filling him. He then sighed futilely. “I guess… it’s a fair price for letting her live…”

            Shic smiled sinisterly. “Glad to see you come to your senses.” He turned around, exiting the room.

            Nathan was left alone in the darkness, wondering what his seemingly bleak future might hold.