Yea! Next chapter... which I somehow forgot to add earlier O.o
Oh well, enjoy
Insert traditional disclaimer here.
"Training course one completed. Would you like to advance?" came the static voice of the computer.
"No, computer," said Yellow with a satisfied grin, wiping a drop of sweat off his brow, "That's enough for today."
The computer beeped, and the door in the enclosed room opened. Yellow looked at the room before he left, seeing it as it actually was instead of how the holograms cloaked it. Really, the entire room was no more than ten feet square, and the walls were a series of various metal battle apparatus. There were large padded poles, blunted spears, and several branched logs to act as fighting dummies. All in all, it looked nothing like the training course it was.
But, it was one of the most sophisticated devices for training known. This was because of the holograms, making the entire room look like one of various different locations. The one that Yellow had the most trouble with had always been the fire scene… he had always been afraid of fire, though to no cause he could identify. That was the sequence he had been working on, and the sweat on his face wasn't only because of the exertion needed for training. One of the main things about the Hologram device was that it made its scenes as realistic as possible, up to the point of increasing the temperature of the room or misting the interior with water or snow.
Yellow exited the training gym, coming into the long hall that connected to the living room. He thought briefly about getting on the computer to surf the Internet, but quickly rejected the idea. What he needed first was to wash off. If there was one thing Yellow hated, it was feeling dirty.
Luckily, there was no one already in the bathroom, and he entered quickly. In a place like this one, there was always a chance that someone might zip into a room just before the one walking towards it.
Yellow turned the faucet on, feeling the cold water slid over his hands. It felt good, and he splashed his face liberally with the chill liquid. As he rose his head from the sink, he caught his reflection in the small mirror, and couldn't help but realize how much he had changed from the small, frightened Chameleon that had looked into the same mirror but a month ago.
I'm smarter, now, he thought with a faint smile, not so naive.
It was true, he had grown much in mind as well as body. He still had a bit of a habit of asking countless questions, and still wanted to go planetside at the first opportunity, but he was no pushover like he had been. Training had put some muscles on his lean frame, and he was much more agile than he had ever thought possible.
Perhaps Vortex will put me on a mission, soon? thought Yellow as he exited the bathroom, throwing a towel he had used to wipe his face back on the rack, I've been training long enough.
Despite all, though, Yellow was still green… in the sense that he hadn't participated in a single mission for the old fox since he had come to this place. He didn't even know what jobs he would be performing; yet his training provided some small clue that it wouldn't be easy by any means, and that it would probably be illegal, if anything. Yellow didn't really care, as long as Vortex kept his end of the bargain.
The black Chameleon came back into the living room, and slowed when he noticed Illusion's familiar form reclining on the single worn couch. She must have been there for a while, and Yellow didn't know how he could have missed her when he was walking past to the bathroom. He shrugged, writing it off to his one-track mind, and sat down at the table, taking a book from the shelf and looking at it curiously. It was a strange one, a book that he had never seen before, even though he had often looked at this bookcase.
There was a sudden tingling feeling on the back of his neck, and Yellow looked up slightly and turned, as if he was shifting to a more comfortable position. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a black sliver of Illusion's gaze over the top of the dark book she was reading. He lifted his head suddenly, and saw the golden hedgehog quickly remove her gaze.
"Hey Illusion," he said casually, leaning back in the chair and tipping it slightly, "I just had a thought-"
"How terrifying, it has a brain," mumbled the hedgehog, flipping a page and glancing over the book cover.
"How old are you, anyway?"
"Why the hell should I tell you, and why do you even give a shit?" snorted Illusion just as casually.
"Just curious," said Yellow, flipping open the new book and skimming the inside flap. It seemed to be about the Chaos Emeralds, an interesting topic if Yellow had ever read one.
Illusion snorted again, her eyebrows angled oddly over her nearly expressionless eyes.
"I'm nineteen, okay? Not like it matters."
"Really?" said Yellow, a bit surprised, "I would have guessed twenty or older."
Illusion was silent for a while, but Yellow again felt the piercing tingle of her gaze on his neck before he had more than a few minutes to read the first pages of the red book.
"Well, hick, how old are you?" said Illusion sarcastically, "Let me guess… twelve!"
"I'm seventeen, dammit!" said Yellow a little tersely. He didn't like being mocked about his age… he knew he looked younger than he actually was. It didn't matter if Illusion was teasing or not.
"Touchy," commented Illusion, remembering to stockpile that little fact away in case she needed to get Yellow angry sometime. It never hurt to know the fine points of those around you, in her opinion.
"When do you think Vortex will let me on a mission?"
"I don't know," sighed Illusion, putting her book down as lost and lifting her head so that she stared directly at the black Chameleon, "Probably when he thinks you're ready, or when your talents are needed. You know that only a month's worth of training barely counts for jack shit in this line of work."
"So?"
"Don't get overconfident, Yellow, I've had too many partners die that way."
That sentence shut Yellow up, and, with slight hesitation, he stood and took the book with him down the hall towards his room. Illusions words had reminded him, rather forcefully, that the job he had taken was life threatening, and quite possibly fatal under certain circumstances. They also released a sort of apprehension within him… and a suspicion that whatever happened in the hologram device could easily come to pass in real life.
Finally, he thought as he opened the door to his room, somewhere comfortable!
Yellow flopped down on his bed, ignoring the screeching protests of the springs as the weight forced them down. Yellow had done a lot for the room since he had come here, mainly fixing up the walls and ceiling. He had even managed to find some black paint in a closet somewhere, and had painted the entire room to match his skin color. Now, he didn't even need to turn invisible to be unseen in this place, all he had to do was cover his horn with a hand so that whoever entered didn't see the pearly whiteness.
But that was at night, during the daytime the light from the window, though small, illuminated everything due clever placement of several mirrors to reflect the light. Yellow had even found a way to 'adjust' the brightness of this light by simply turning a numbered mirror away from the light, reducing the number of beams in the room. Of course, Yellow never left these turned to the sun when he wasn't around, a fire could start too easily in this place, especially because of the heat-absorbing black walls.
Yellow was just about to open the book and begin reading, when he glanced up at the ceiling. A small movement had captured his attention there, and as he looked, he saw the small form of yet another firebug scuttling across the tiles. With an exasperated smile, Yellow stood on his bed and reached up, gently plucking the insect from its march and examining it.
It really was much bigger than it had seemed while crawling around above him, being basically about a millimeter bigger than the average ladybug. But, unlike a ladybug, it had no spots. Its entire body was made of an iridescent red color that turned to orange in the light, and, except for a tiny scratch near one wing case, the color was unmarred. Staring at it for too long, one could imagine how it could seem like a drop of fire.
Yellow smiled, and opened his window slightly. After making sure that it wouldn't slam shut, as it often tended to do, he set the tiny bug on the windowsill and pushed it with a finger to get it to wander near the edge. As soon as the firebug encountered empty air, it spread it's large wings, ones that Yellow now saw were of a rosy tint, and took off, spiraling into the unknown depths of the city.
With a sigh, the black Chameleon sat back down on his bed, deciding to leave the window open for now. The higher elevations of the building tended to get stuffy if left too long, and the fresh air was a welcome change to the normal smells of everyday occupation. Yellow picked up the book, which he had left on the stand near the bed, and began reading.
"The seven Chaos Emeralds are the most powerful sources of energy yet known on this planet. There is one for every element, Fire, Earth, Water, and Air, as well as three specifying unknown elements that can only be guessed to be Light, the Mind, and perhaps Dark. These powers are all unified and held dormant by the might of the Master Emerald, a gigantic green gem that, though highly effective at close range, loses the power to restrict the dormant Emeralds if they are taken out of range of its control.
"As vessels for power, the Chaos Emeralds are unparalleled by any technology known, for it is yet to be determined exactly how much energy one contains. They are often said to be inexhaustible, but this theory is in doubt by some researchers. Nonetheless, combined, they are a mighty force useable for both destruction and light."
Interesting, thought Yellow, looking up from the book, these gems sound like a real catch…
"One looking to use these Emeralds must beware, however, for even singularly they are unpredictable, and may end up killing the prospective user in the most extreme of cases. The only force able to regulate their power is the Master Emerald, located in a hidden area of the Floating Island. It is said that these Emeralds are the force that allows the Island to levitate, a phenomenon that has never been recorded elsewhere, but researchers are divided upon this subject. It is impossible to gain any conclusive proof, however, for the Emeralds are fiercely guarded by an entity known only as The Guardian, a chosen force whose lone mission is to prevent any and all threats to the Master Emerald, and so to the seven Chaos Emeralds as well."
Doubly interesting, thought Yellow again, idly wondering about the Guardian and what life must be like living entirely for a single cause, a single goal.
It must be difficult, he concluded at last, It would be like living a life that wasn't your own. Maddening… I wonder if he's insane? That seems like it would be the only way out…
Suddenly, Yellow saw a small, six-legged form crawling across the top of the book. He plucked it off, looking at it, and raised an eyebrow in speculation. It was another firebug… one that looked exactly like the one he had just let go out the window… He looked closer, just out of idle curiosity, and saw that the firebug's wing case had a tiny nick in it, just like…
"Hey, you're the same firebug!" he exclaimed, surprised. Then, Yellow winced, feeling foolish for speaking to a bug, of all things. But, it was true; this was the exact same insect that had been in his room before.
Why'd it come back here? He wondered, letting the bug crawl across his fingers, I would have thought it'd be halfway across the city by now!
With a shrug, Yellow let the firebug crawl some more, and then set it gently on the stand. There was no use in trying to get rid of something that would just keep coming back, so he might as well keep it. Besides, it was a pretty thing, and as long as it didn't get too adventurous and crawl up his nose while he was asleep, he didn't mind.
Yellow settled back, opening the book once more, but he frowned when the all too familiar shape of the bug fluttered across his line of sight. The insect wasted no time in landing directly on the pearly white horn atop the Chameleon's head, making Yellow sigh in exasperation. Perhaps he would just set it free and close the window? But no, if it was as determined as it seemed, it would just find another way in, and Yellow would again be seeing it crawling across the ceiling in less than a day.
Perhaps it had even been living in his room longer than Yellow himself had? The thought was slightly disturbing, but Yellow did distinctly remember the brilliant red bug he had seen after his first night in the building. It was a possible conclusion.
As if to agree with his thought, the tiny red bug perched on his horn fluttered its wings and jumped into the air before the Chameleon's nose. Yellow watched as it made its slow, languid way to the ceiling, and then as it scurried into a small hole in the wall, right above the still empty shelf.
As Yellow was sitting back, watching this, the door burst open and slammed into the wall, making the Chameleon jump and fall off the bed with a yelp. Illusion smirked slightly, and rustled her mutilated wings.
"Whatd'ya want?" groaned Yellow, rubbing a sore spot on the back of his head where he had hit it upon the small stand.
"It's time," said Illusion simply.
"For what?"
Those expressionless black eyes narrowed, boring into Yellow's soul for a moment before the golden hedgehog answered.
"Your first mission."