Realm Sagas: Story Eleven: A Truth Uncovered By: Chandra Rooney -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Legal junk {for all the legal junkies!}: Sonic & Knuckles, and all related characters are copy-right of Sega and Archie comics. KTE, ETK, and Masked Echidna are copy-right of KTE. Vampire Sephiroth is copy-right of Vampire Sephiroth. Moon the Echidna, Gabriel Shadows, k.a. Echidna, Sailor Evil, Belladonna, and all other original characters are copy-right of Chandra Rooney. All the characters and ideas presented are my own, unless otherwise noted. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter One: Silver Echidna Home Realm "Halt! Who goes there?" A guard asked. The tall silver echidna with the silver eyes paused. "It's Belladonna." She shifted the white pack from one shoulder to the other. The other silver echidna squinted. He could barely make out her face in the fading light. But he knew that she didn't look very old. Not old enough to have a sixteen-year-old daughter. He moved up beside her. The small red one resting in his arms was asleep. They'd been traveling for what seemed like a long time. The guard must've asked something else. "The young Ashrire, and KTE." Belladonna replied. "May we enter now?" The heavy gates swung open. "What did he ask you?" KTE asked, rushing to keep up as the hem of her navy gown disappeared through the gates. "He wanted to know who was traveling with me, and I told him." Belladonna replied once they were inside. "I didn't hear you mention k.a." "I did. I said 'the young Ashrire and KTE'." "His name isn't Ashrire. Is that a translation for Knuckles Ash in some other language?" Belladonna frowned. "Ashrire doesn't have a translation. It's his name." "Uh..." KTE began. "Are you sure?" "I'm his mother, KTE, I should know what his name is. I gave it to him after all." KTE nearly choked. "Lara-le's his mother." "Quite impossible." "How can you be his mother? He's not even silver!" She sighed. "That's a long story." "I'm disappointed in what I've seen so far," Queen Hecate-Chaos was saying. She narrowed golden eyes. Long, burgundy hair fell around her black gown. "But I have faith that you will improve. This Sephiroth will no doubt be a valued addition to the team. Although I frown upon you acting without my consent, Sailor Evil, I must admit you've managed to keep it from blowing up in your face. Now make yourself more presentable, your outfit is in a disarray." The sailor girl in the black outfit was silently fuming. Her dark blue eyes narrowed, and she kept twisting her long silver hair around her gloved fingers. She tugged at her black scarf, straightened her black skirt, tried to adjust her black bows, and inspected the toes on her high, tight black boots. Hecate-Chaos continued to watch Vampire Sephiroth. He'd made no move to comfort Sailor Evil. They'd agreed it was best to keep their relationship a secret from Hecate-Chaos. ETK, however, had flashed looks of concern as she'd reamed Sailor Evil out. "I must say, Sephiroth," Hecate-Chaos began. "I find it odd you stand before me. Tell me, are you the Sephiroth of legend? One of the first Realm Protectors?" "Quite impossible, Your Majesty," Vampire Sephiroth replied, green eyes calm, his own silver hair neat. "Number one: I am a vampire. Number two: to have belonged to the first team of Realm Protectors would place my age at over 1000 years." "Still," she looked doubtful. "I assure you, your majesty, I am *not* him." "Very well," she left it at that. "I suppose not. I'm sure someone of that magnitude of experience would not be overcome by a little fool like Jack. A fool supposedly dead..." Vampire Sephiroth didn't say anything. He just touched a healed wound. "We don't know how he survived, majesty," Sailor Evil began. "It doesn't matter. Speaking of such," Hecate-Chaos turned to the last before her. The red, 13-year-old echidna. "What news have you for me, clone?" ETK winced. Sailor Evil knew how he hated to be called that. She just hoped that he had the sense not to speak up in front of Hecate-Chaos. "I had the Masked Echidna, ma'am," ETK began, removing his hat. "I had him. But then that Jack guy hit me from behind and-" "Did you or did you not see the face of the Masked Echidna?" Hecate-Chaos demanded, cutting him off. There was a pause before ETK finally answered. "I did not, ma'am." She frowned. "You're all dismissed. One last thing, Sailor Evil, see to it that ETK gets his submission treatment." "Another one?" ETK protested. "The effects don't last as long as Yadot and I had hoped," Hecate-Chaos replied. "Kit and Ember have already been attended to. But I thought you might want to handle ETK's personally. So it's done right." Sailor Evil handed ETK the vial of greenish liquid. "Take it or don't. I don't care," she replied. "In fact, *don't* take it. The last thing I need is my second-in-command as dull and useless as Kit or Ember." "Yes, boss!" ETK grinned, and dumped the vial's contents down the sink. "I'm still second-in-command?" "Why wouldn't you be?" "Well, I thought, y'know, Vampire Sephiroth is here and..." "Screw Sephy. You're my second-in-command. You run things when I can't. And don't you let Sephy push you around. He's the new member here. All he has is new-member status. Which amounts to less than nothing." ETK's grin grew slightly broader. "Don't try that on me, boss. Maybe it convinces Hecate-Chaos, but I know you too well." Sailor Evil shrugged. "Okay, so he's a little more than a new member. And maybe I *will* demote you. That is, unless you tell me who the Masked Echidna is." "I told you. I didn't see his face." "Liar. I can see it in your eyes. What did he look like?" ETK was silent a moment. "He looked like a silver echidna." Sailor Evil looked disgusted. "That's a big help." She blinked. "I'm going out. Keep your neck covered, and watch your back." Gabriel Shadows blinked green eyes. His night-vision wavered. He needed to find someone to donate blood. He probably shouldn't have left it for so long, but it was the first time he'd been able to sneak off. He brushed at his black hair. "Hey, Gabe," a voice called. He turned. The figure dressed all in white waved to him. Gabe blinked. "Chaos Knight? Is that you?" The guy nodded, his dark blue eyes were the only part of his face that was visible. Now, they were filled with concern. "Yeah. Something's gone wrong. Moon's in danger. C'mon, she needs your help." "I can't just leave." "This can't wait! It's her life at stake!" Gabe paused. His hunger subsided. Moon's survival mattered just as much if not more than his own. Such was the draw-back of a soul-bond. He sighed, and gave in. "Where is she, Chaos?" KTE entered the main yard of the castle with Belladonna. They walked into a lush garden. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming," a voice said. Bella turned, smiling. "Dimitri." "DADDY!!" k.a.'s eyes snapped open. He jumped down from KTE's arms and ran. KTE's eyes flickered up. But it took him a moment to register the sight. The echidna was a dark silver. Roughly the same color he was now. But clearly silver and not gray. He was wearing a navy-blue trench-coat. Twilight blue eyes sparkled as he patted k.a.'s head. k.a. looked up with eyes the exact same color. "You're all silvery like Mista KTE!" Dimitri's eyes darkened. "Yes, I suppose I am." k.a. laughed and hugged him. "I missed ya, Daddy!" Dimitri smiled. "I missed you too, Ash." He handed k.a. the Blade of the Guardian. "Why don't you and I have a father-son talk?" "Moon's down here?" Gabe asked. The dungeon was dimly lit by a few torches. "Yes," Chaos nodded. "In this one." He gestured to a cell. Gabe stepped in. "Moon?" The heavy wooden door slid shut. "Chaos? Is this some kind of sick joke?" "You have never been confronted by a true shape-shifter before, have you?" The mocking voice asked. Gabe turned. Through the small barred opening in the door he could see Chaos' features were melting, he was becoming... "Vampire Sephiroth!" He hissed. Vampire Sephiroth laughed. "Oh, yes. Your skills are no match for mine, boy. Your telepathy, your sense of smell, sight, and hearing are all useless in detecting me. I can fool them completely, as I have just demonstrated." Gabe growled. "You let me out of here..." "Oh no. You see, being born with a somewhat curious nature, I have often wondered what would happen if a vampire was deprived of blood for an extended period of time. Now, I have a subject to help me find out." "When I-" "Get out of there? Trust me, you don't want to. It will be safer for you in there. I'll make sure to kiss Moon good-bye for you..." As Vampire Sephiroth spoke his features shifted and changed again. "That is, right before I.... er, *you* kill her." Chapter two: Vampire Home Realm A loud buzzing awoke ETK. He'd fallen asleep at the message monitors. He yawned and looked at the incoming message. An ancient-looking dot matrix was spitting out print. ETK reached for the paper and rubbed his eyes as he scanned its contents. His mouth dropped open. He read the message again, out loud. "Attention: Your Majesty Hecate-Chaos. The KTE clone is finally complete. It took longer to create than I had thought, but this is a touchy science. The need for the temporary look-alike I created for you is non-existent. I suggest that until the clone arrives you do not terminate him. He should remain unaware of his previous existence so long as the submission treatment was administered. DO NOT allow the treatment to go unadministered. It is of vital importance that the boy does not begin to regain his true identity or form..." ETK trailed off. "Signed: Yadot." He paused. He reread the message. "What the hell does that mean?" KTE looked doubtfully around the room. It was cluttered with crystals, herbs in jars, books, and other mystical junk. "You're sure that you can make me red again?" he asked. Belladonna pulled a large leather-bound book off a shelf. "No, I'm certain *we* can make you red again." KTE paused. "We?" Belladonna nodded. She flipped a few pages ahead in the book. "My, it's been a while since a young male has been in this study." She paused, eyes far off. "Not since Lirsage left us..." "Who's Lirsage?" KTE asked. "Lirsage was a student of mine," she paused. "It's another long story." "I'm not going anywhere," he told her. "And you look like you want to tell it." "Maybe I do," Belladonna smiled slightly. "And you probably are the perfect person to tell it to." Gabe moaned. He'd been throwing himself against the door for almost three hours now. Not that his vampire strength could budge the wood. He growled in frustration. His fangs had descended, and he couldn't find enough effort to make them retract. He had to get out of here. Vampire Sephiroth had fooled him, and he was naturally suspicious by nature. Moon didn't stand a chance, not with her trusting nature. Chapter Three: Silver Echidna Home Realm The 17-year-old red echidna stared at the elder silver one. "Dad? What happened to you?" Dimitri gestured for him to sit. "Ash, there's something we need to talk about." "No kidding." Ash replied dryly. "Who did this to you?" "Ash," Dimitri began. "No one did this to me. I am a silver echidna. I was born one." "No you weren't." "Ash, listen to me. I *was* born a silver echidna. A very long time ago. I...I'm not Edmund's brother. I was sent to replace him when he died." Dimitri paused. "It's what we silver echidnas do, son. We ensure that the events in realms continue to play out as they should. If a principal character dies prematurely, we send someone in to complete their actions. I was sent to see that the Chaos Syphon was built and used in your home realm." As he spoke, Ash's eyes had grown darker and darker. "I was abandoned... or so I thought," Dimitri continued. "When I was released from Mt. Fate, I was spurned by the others. All I had done was carry out orders, no one knew that they would have such disastrous results. Only Belladonna was willing to accept the changes I'd undergone." "Well, that's just lovely," Ash replied sarcastically. "Any other things you'd like to tell me?" Dimitri disregarded the remark. "It defiantly bothered you mother that another woman was raising her child, but it was either that or have the silver echidnas revealed to an unprepared realm." "What the hell are you talking about now?" "Watch your language, young man." He paused. "Lara-le is...a wonderful woman. She accepted you as her own child. But...she didn't realize that I was your biological father. She thought that you were abandoned..." "Excuse me? Do you mind telling me what you're babbling about?" "Bella is your birth mother, Ash." "Well, gee, Dad. Thanks for telling me that." "I don't like that tone you're using." "Well, Goddess, what am I supposed to do? Sit here, smile, and nod?" Ash fumed. "Dammit, when I first came to in Knothole, after you found me in Robotropolis, and you told me what had happened to me, and then you told me who you were... you remember that? I was sure at that moment that we had an understanding. Maybe it wasn't what I wanted to hear, but it was the truth. And now I find out that you were lying. Who's to say 2 months from now you won't change your mind and tell me another story? Mother Goddess! If Mom isn't even my *real* mother, then maybe you aren't my *real* father!" He paused, then continued. "How the hell am I supposed to know who I am when you won't stop lying to me about who you are?" "Ash," Dimitri's eyes softened. "Calm down." "Don't tell me to clam down! I have every right to be upset!" "Ashrire, please, I'm not finished..." "No. I think you're quite finished *Father*." Ash stood. "Next time you want to have a parent-child talk, call Moon." He stormed out. "I've tried to help many find their specialty focus points in Magic. Lirsage's mother was a student of mine. Her name was Lillian," Belladonna began. "She was a very intelligent woman. Very strong." She paused, and smiled faintly. "But even the wisest of us will sacrifice our thoughts for our feelings. Lillian had a small...'fling' with a red echidna who stumbled upon our realm. They grew very close. If it was possible, I'd suggest that they were soul-bonds. It seemed impossible that two who barely knew each other could become that close. After three weeks he returned, reluctantly, to where ever he'd came from. Maybe two weeks later she learned she was carrying his child." She looked at KTE and smiled. "She gave birth to a perfectly healthily silver male. With the oddest red streaks in his dreadlocks. She named the child Lirsage, after his father." "His father's name was Lirsage?" KTE asked. Belladonna shook her head. "You see, Lillian never knew his true name. He referred to himself as the Masked Echidna. Interesting, don't you think?" KTE paused, thinking. "You said my mask came from my father." "It did." "So are you saying that I'm this Lirsage?" She laughed softly. "You're far too young to be Lirsage, KTE. Although I will admit I was wondering if you were when I first saw you. No, Lirsage would be four years older than you are." She paused. "And he is silver. You, my young KTE, are red." She gestured to the mirror. KTE looked. He was no longer silver. The red color had returned to his fur. "Now, to see if I can't free Moon from this materia." "Uh...thank you, Belladonna. For you help...and your story." "No, thank you, KTE. For listening." She paused. "Would you be so kind as to hand that bag of stones to me?" ETK was restless. Sailor Evil had told him to watch his back, but she hadn't told him he couldn't go for a walk. He couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that had been haunting him since he'd read that message. Did it mean he wasn't a clone. If so, then who was he? Did he have a family worrying about him? There was a tap on his shoulder. ETK spun to see the silver echidna. Large, dark blue eyes narrowed at him. "Mother Goddess, you scared me, Boss." "What are you doing outside the palace?" She demanded. He looked at her. She was cut, dirty, and looked like someone had tried to beat her up. "Jeez, what happened to ya, Boss?" "I got in a fight. With another girl over...food. You think this is bad? You should see her." She paused. "You shouldn't be out here, ETK. Food is scarce." She took his hand. "Now, stay close. We'll just hope people think you're a vampire." "Me? A vampire? Boss, I don't think so.." "Shhh. Stop calling me 'boss'. You'll draw attention to us." "You're being paranoid," ETK said. "Shhh. Hear that?" She cocked her head. "Someone's coming." "Who?" he asked. "Duh, vampires." "Of course." He nodded, considering what this meant. "How many?" "I don't know... maybe half-a-dozen." "Half-a-dozen?!" "They travel in packs now. There's gang wars over turf, food, members..." "Damn. Half-a-dozen." He shook his head. Not good. "Get out your gun." She instructed. "My gun won't help," ETK told her. "We need wood." "And where do you suggest we get it? This is a *vampire* realm! Wood is *forbidden*!" "Yeah, well, we'd better find some somewhere...and quick." Gabe coughed. It seemed to be getting hotter. But he knew it really wasn't. He was simply beginning to feel the effects of blood deprivation. He didn't know what was going to happen; he'd never starved himself before. It was getting hard to think. All thoughts of escaping, of *anything*, were slipping though his fingers. There was someone...someone he'd been worried about before...but for the life of him he simply couldn't focus on anything. He was blanking out... KTE had stuck around. Handing Belladonna things, poking at the unusual objects around the room, and trying to make sense of the alien characters on the page she was reading. "Almost ready," Bella said softly. She'd been saying things to the materia for the whole time. "Can Moon hear you?" he asked. "No...she's in a state similar to that of a deep sleep." She looked up. "Not that jar, KTE." KTE looked down at the open jar in his hand. The faintly scented gold powder made his nose itch. "I hoped you didn't get any of that on you," she said, concerned. "No ma'am. Why?" "That's a mixture of rare herbs, but that's not why I was concerned. It's often used in regression sentence procedures." She smiled. "We just got you back to normal. Wouldn't want to have something happen already." "You got that right," KTE muttered. "The other jar is the right one then?" Bella nodded. "Whatcha doing, mista KTE?" k.a. asked, coming into the room, and of course, getting in the way. "Helping Belladonna, k.a. Now can you scoot?" KTE asked. "I'll help too!" k.a. announced. He scrambled over, and as KTE tried to move the two collided. Golden dust from the jar fluttered out, and fell on KTE. "k.a.!" he cried. "Ashrire! You stay back from him," Bella instructed. "We have to get that powder off. You didn't get any on you, did you?" "I'm sorry!" k.a. cried. "I'm sorry Bella! It was an accident!" "It's okay," Bella told him. "Only a small amount fell out. But it seems to be counteracting your own sentence." She looked down at KTE. "This stuff makes me feel nauseous, Bella," k.a. said. But something sounded wrong. Bella looked back to see the seventeen-year-old male echidna with the twilight blue eyes. "You've really done it, Ashrire," Bella said softly, putting a hand to her head. "Come on, KTE, you're all right." Ash blinked. "Can you fix it?" "Not now, Ashrire." Bella said softly. "I need to get Moon out of this materia. Because, you are responsible for this accident, you are now responsible for the care of kte until I can return him to normal. Have I made myself clear, Ashrire?" The blue eyes looked down at the five-year-old standing at Bella's side. "Crystal, ma'am." A hand extended towards kte. "C'mon, kid. Let's go bother someone else." The small, red echidna looked up at him. "Oh-kay..." "They're coming," Sailor Evil hissed. Six shadowy forms passed into the clearing. "Get ready," ETK whispered... to be continued... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cast: Belladonna: can she free Moon from the materia? Ashrire (Knuckles Ash): how does he feel about his father now? KTE: can Belladonna return him to normal? Gabe: will he be all right? Vampire Sephiroth: What does he have planned for Moon? Sailor Evil: Will she regret not giving ETK the submission treatment? ETK: Who is he?