FicWad

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/Alternate Mobius/
6am, day three.
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Hours passed. The passage of time was unknown to those inside, because there was no light to see or sounds to hear. The cells were dark, cold and silent except for the sound of breathing and movement as the prisoners huddled together.

Despite her renewed optimism, Aura slept fitfully, caught between the space of being awake, and sleeping soundly. In just a few hours, there were dreams, sketches of the past, this time the fragmented memories of her parents' death, of being able to feel the heat of the fire but not knowing why it came, then being whisked off her feet after stumbling around her room to find Sonic holding her.

He was younger, but still had the same determination as every time he fought Robotnik.

But this was the first time.

Then he held her close, and she was afraid, then heard a crash as the window smashed from the force of their exit. The feeling of falling, the searing heat replaced by the cool air, and then the hands curling tighter on her as they landed.

Screaming, only dimly aware it was her own... Then, outside the house, seeing the moonlight, the stars...

That was the clearest memory of that night and for weeks afterwards, there were nightmares. But as she grew older, became happy with her brother, they dwindled, until it was rare for them to happen at all. But when she had found this strange new fire ability, that memory had been awakened with full force.

"Aura..."

"Huh?.." Aura murmured, opening her eyes to find Zachary shaking her arm gently, then glancing back to the doorway.

There were footsteps.

"They're coming, right?" she asked, stretching with a yawn, then getting into a sitting position.

"Yep" Zachary nodded. The others were either already awake or just getting up, and the footsteps were coming closer now, louder, echoing in the dimly lit corridors. "So what do we have to do?"

They were all looking to her, and it felt good, though she was still nervous about the entire thing. Was this how Sonic felt before each and every encounter with Robotnik, or any of his badniks or henchmen? It felt like a burden, having to decide the plan, carry it through, and deal with the consequences. For Aura, who had spent all those years effectively 'on the run', and only had to rely and be responsible for herself, it was strange and disquieting.

Did she sound as nervous as she felt, was her voice shaking, or just her imagination? If she was, they didn't seem to have noticed. "They don't know you've got the shackles off, so when the doors open, keep your arms behind your back or somewhere they can't see them, so when one comes to get you, we can catch them off guard"

The footsteps were closer now.

"Then what?"

"You said there's another cell here, so we need to locate that panel you told me about, and uncover some way of disabling it, while I try and find a way to get these cuffs off, they must have something which controls them, and if I can break it, they should come off..." Aura trailed off, there was no going back now, and it could end up as do or die. Inside, she was close to panic, but tried to keep it from showing outwardly.

Zachary nodded, and motioned to the others behind them "What about...?"

"What about us...?" One of the prisoners asked.

"Just get out of here, the more people who linger, the bigger chance we could get recaptured..." Aura explained "I have a backup plan in case something goes wrong, but I can't use it if there are too many if you, so this is our best chance of success"

"Take Shelly with you" Zachary said, glancing at his sister.

"Zachary!"

"No, Shelly!" he turned to his sister "You heard what Aura said, the more people here the more dangerous it'll be, and I don't want anything to happen to you"

"But I can help!"

"Shelly..." Aura pleaded "Please, please go with them, your brother's right..."

"But..."

"You've helped a lot already, and we couldn't have got this far without you, but there's nothing you can do to help now, and I don't want to be responsible for somebody else getting hurt!" Almost yelling those last words, she saw Shelly nod, and pass by her to one of the others.

"It wasn't your fault..."

"Maybe..." Aura murmured, then started as the door to the corridor opened, and clanged with a metallic twinge as the troopers came through. Listening to the footsteps, there was more than one, perhaps two, or three, but no more than that. It was a good sign, the less, the better.

"Ready?" she whispered to Zachary, who nodded in the pale light created as their captors had entered.

The troopers didn't know what hit them. The door had been opened, and one came up to Zachary, who held his arms behind his back. Then as it leant over to grab his arm, two of the other prisoners had rushed it. With their combined strength, they managed to knock the robotic drone to the ground, even going as far to whack it several times with their feet or the metal bindings that had been used to confine them.

"Okay guys!" Aura yelled, after the second trooper, and thankfully the last, had also entered, the same thing subsequently done to it. "Get out of here, we'll take it from now on!"

"Meet in the square in an hour!" Zachary yelled "And get Shelly home first!"

"Zachary!" came the indignant cry, but it dwindled as Shelly was quickly dragged, at least for the first few seconds, along with the other prisoners from the cells. Now it was only Aura and Zachary, and each knew their respective tasks, taking a different direction on leaving the cell.

Zachary turned left, heading to the panel, which was located right down the end of the hallway, glinting slightly from the silver of the metal plating. As he ran, he would glance back and forth to the other cells passed, checking for any sort of life. If there had been any, the commotion of just minutes before would surely have been enough to bring them close to the bars so he could see them. As he had also suspected, only one other cell was occupied, and sprinting to the other end of the corridor, those prisoners were watching him intently.

"What's happening!" a hare yelled as Zachary slowed down at the end of the fastest run he could ever imagine doing. "How did you get out, are we all getting out!" the hare rambled in increasing frequency "Don't just leave us here!"

"I'm trying!" Zachary studied the panel. Troopers were a good foot, almost two, than even a full sized Mobian, and were a good one and a half his height, as would Ivo be, if he ever actually came down this pit. So although the panel had appeared reachable from a hundred or so meters away, up close it was very high up and quite intimidating.

Not that he ever wanted to admit that out loud, but it was.

Stretching his arm high, he tried to reach, fingers going out as much as they could, but only brushing against the bottom edge of the panel. Feeling defeated, Zachary glanced around him in frustration, eyes alighting on some shackles hung a few meters away, and these unlike the panel were accessible.

"It could work..." Grabbing one, he ran back to below the access panel for the containment cells, then swung it in rapid succession, over and over above his head, until it was just a swirling mass of metal, then slowly stepping back a few meters, and throwing it. It hit the panel square on, sparking and emitting a high pitched whine. It was sure to attract attention and forced Zachary to put both hands over his ears in an attempt to block it out. Then, a series of clicks were heard, and the neurotic hare from the cell gingerly pushed the cell door open.



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Control panel...control panel...control panel...

Eyes flashing back and forth, from left to right, Aura ran down the other corridor. This, this was a real mission, a real freedom fighter mission, dangerous, like a good few of her adventures travelling, but not just for her, giving her a high that topped even arriving on a new world. There were people who depended on her, proving that she wasn't as useless as she thought, and despite the responsibility making her nervous, Aura revelled in it.

If Sonic could see her now.

Aura grinned.

Realising she might miss something by going so fast, Aura stopped to look around, flattening herself against a wall shadowed in darkness as a trooper ran by. There was a long whining noise in the distance which she hoped wasn't a bad sign. At the least, the small time they had was obviously drawing to a close, making her search doubly difficult.

"If I were a control panel for a lot of electronic shackles which are infinitely annoying..." she whispered "Where would I be...?" Probably close to the cells so the prisoners could be controlled, but far enough away to deter anybody from trying to escape when taken out. But the covertness of their escape had given Aura more time to look.
It still took several more minutes to find, and this was between lurking in hallways, ducking when a trooper or two ran by, and making sure there were no cameras recording her. They had been lucky in the cells, but it was much more likely they were here where most needed. The control panel itself, turned out to be a device on the wall consisting of a screen, dials, switches and various other electronic bits and pieces all on a metal backing raised slightly from the wall. But Ivo must have installed the knowledge of the contraption in their databases because none of it was labelled in any way.

"Not even a 'switch off' sign" Aura muttered, though humorously "Well...what a pity, I'll have to do it my way" This basically consisted of placing both hands against the controls, concentrating hard, and sending the largest jolt of power available into it. Afterwards, it was hard to tell what it had once been, since most of it was now melted and sparking madly. A pair of shackles also lay on the floor with nobody in sight.

In the corridors nearby, Aura sprinted madly, a grin spread across the entire breadth of her face. Now she just needed to find Zachary, make sure he had managed to get his part done, and get out of there. The only problem lying in not getting caught by the troopers.

Again.



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"Ok...the hard part's over" Zachary murmured to himself, seeing the last few people go around the corner, then shooting quick, fervent glances in every direction, hoping for some sign of Aura, somewhere. She had to be here soon, not that he could say with absolute certainly, but she seemed a very capable person. There was certainly something she was hiding, though whether for good or bad reasons he didn't know.

Retracing his steps back after the last few people had left, he was crouched in a thin, dark alleyway, peering outwards for any sign of her.

A noise startled him.

It was a cry.

A child's cry.

Zachary's breath caught in his throat, seeing the trooper emerge from the shadows less than a hundred meters away, carrying a struggling Shelly in it's grip. "No..."

Elsewhere, a grin, on a maniacal face of undisguised malice, a bright orange moustache bristled in the light.

"Just as I had planned" he murmured, fingers drumming against themselves, then knuckles being cracked. His eyes watched a trio of screens, the first with the recaptured Shelly, then another, hidden in the alley, watching Zachary.

And then, a third, watching Aura running down the corridors.

It was all falling into place.

Perfect.

He left the room.

Shelly's wrist felt as if it would be snapped in two in a second's time. The trooper didn't seem to have any qualms about hurting it's prisoner, indeed, it was a robot that possessed no feelings or emotions of it's own, built only to do what it was commanded by the person who had created it.

"Please...let me go..." Shelly sobbed, eyes streaming with tears, "I...I want my mommy..."

Her captor said nothing, not even looking at her.

"Please..."

"Let you go my dear...no, I don't think we will be doing that" Ivo came towards them almost out of thin air, striding towards them in long, even paces. He walked in front of Shelly, flanked by another two troopers, which halted to stand side by side of the dictator, who had for so long ruled with a an iron fist over the entire planet. Each continent, ocean, city and town, belonged to him; many of the people there were either his slaves, or were afraid of him. There were and would always be people who tried to stop him, but they were few, and his army was large. Each attempt was crushed.

Without even looking, his hand waved to the left, gaze fixed firmly on Shelly, bringing a hand underneath her chin. "There is another child around here, in the alley, go and secure him"

Zachary tried to run, towards his little sister, get her out of there as fast as he could, but he didn't even get within ten meters of her.

"Stupid child..." Ivo sighed, stroking his long moustache "If you want to be with your sister, I will keep you together when you work and rest. I am not wholly a cruel man"

"That's a matter of opinion!" Zachary sneered, brought so close that he could feel the human's breath against fur, bristling at the anger.

Ivo fumed with indignation, then chuckled, "Then, if I am so cruel, I doubt you will be shocked when I turn your sister into a badnik"

"No..." Zachary swallowed "You can't..."

"Right in front of you"

"You're evil!" Zachary spat, struggling against his captor, then brought next to his sister. Both were let go, drawing her into a hug so tight, he never wanted to let go.

Ivo feigned ignorance, accompanied by fake shock, and smiled, "Really, I would never have guessed"

"Zachary..." Shelly whimpered, pressing herself against him, scared to let go even for just a second "I wanna go home...an..an..see mommy, and daddy, and Sparky, and Hayley..." she cried harder, tears soaking deep, hands clenching at his clothes.

"I know, I know" he soothed, though he was anything but calm himself "We'll be okay, remember Aura's still around, and she said she was going to help"

"You...you really think so?"

Zachary tilted her head so that Shelly faced him, and smiled "I know so"

"Ah yes" Ivo cut in, both turned to him, his expression was not reassuring. "The last link in the chain, but don't worry, I'm prepared for your little friend" he sneered, motioning to both of the troopers, fitted with some sort of new device "My electromagnetic nullifier will make any electrical attack virtually useless, so don't expect your friend to save you. She will just be another who will fall to me, just as all the others who have dared to stand up and fight have done, and failed"

Aura... Zachary felt his breath catch.

"Ah, and here we come now"

Aura was completely unaware of what was happening and running from a hundred meters or so in the distance. She spotted the troopers with Ivo, then Zachary and his sister who stood with all three of the robotic drones, weapons set on them.Bringing her hands together then spreading them out, Aura sent a wave of power at the troopers flanking them, expecting both to fall, but it didn't happen, as the electricity was absorbed into the strange device built on the arms, the nullifier doing exactly as its name implied.

"Aura...don't!"

But with one dangerous addition.

A second later, forced to jump, Aura dodged the laser blast sent back, amplified twofold by her own power. A second one hit her, but only forced her to the ground for a second, since enough of her own energy still resided in the output to keep major damage away.

"You see my dear, just because a camera cannot be seen, does not mean it is not there, and though I never would have imagined this exact situation to happen, having the surveillance so skilfully concealed from the prisoners was a move that fitted so well into my plan today, it was a move of pure genius!"

Great...He's covered my plan for escape...and my abilities... "Ok Ivo..." Aura sighed. Stopping and letting her hands fall to her sides, she took slow and steady steps towards the troopers with one arm held painfully, exhausted and tired, her chest heaving up and down "I give up...that stupid device on those troopers...I...I was going to get us out of here with my power...but you beat me, you're the worst person I've ever met!"

"Well, thank you" Ivo laughed "I do my best"

"It's not a compliment, you fat ugly idiot!" Aura shot back, brought to him by the trooper, arms pinned behind her back and dropped on the floor by Shelly and Zachary. It then stood, with the same weapon now aimed at her head, while Ivo gloated.

"You see my dear, nobody can defeat me. I have far too many robots, badniks, troopers, as well as my own intelligence, to let just one person get far enough, though I do command your persistence"

"Look, I know you're going to turn us all into badniks, and we can't get away, so just get your hands off them!"

"You think I'm that stupid!" the dictator laughed "Troopers, keep hold of the other two, I will take care of this insolent brat myself!" he stressed the adjective and grabbed her by the arm, as Shelly and Zachary were held in the strong grip by a trooper.

"So what are you going to do with us?"

The thunder that rumbled, echoing in the sky overhead added an almost ominous touch to the scene.

"Your new friends will become badniks for my army. I cannot have any more chances of their escaping, though little chance of that there may be, so I shall strip them of free will, and make them loyal only to myself"

"I suppose you'll do that to me as well?" Aura asked, utter contempt dripping from each syllable.

"No, you are far too valuable to be a mere badnik, at least, not of the level of technology I have at the moment. The sheer power you hold will be mine when I can find a way to harness it, perhaps with an improved badnik shell, so that it will be forever present but only at my command"

"As if I'll help you"

Ivo brought her upwards, so that his gaze met her own "You don't have a choice, brat, I will control you and you cannot stop it!"

"Would you like to bet?" Aura narrowed her eyes.

"I don't need to!"

"I think you do"

"I do not!"

"Are you sure?"

"YES!"

"Really?"

"I DO NOT NEED TO BET WITH A USELESS CHILD!" Ivo screamed at the top of his voice, making everyone else, except for the troopers, cover their ears.

"You're right"

Ivo blinked, "You agree?"

"No, but you don't need to bet" Aura stated.

"Obviously" Ivo said in satisfaction.

"Because you'd lose"

It was the confidence behind her words that virtually made his blood boil. Shaking her from side to side, then holding her so that their faces were inches apart, he tried to intimidate Aura, who both confused and angered him at the same time.

"You say I would lose" Ivo murmured, appearing stillingly calm.

Aura nodded "Yes"

"Want to bet"

"Yes" Aura nodded again "I do"

Chaos broke loose in the seconds that followed.

Ivo yelled in pain, falling backwards when Aura suddenly brought her hands together, concentrated, then flung each onto one of his shoulders. This process was fast, and landing on the ground as she was let go, Aura didn't even spare a glance at Ivo, having no doubt he would live. As much as he had done here, she didn't think she could go to that extreme, the same for his counterpart - Robotnik - on her Mobius. It would hurt for a while, and he deserved that, but he would live. In any case, he wasn't the main worry right now, that was the three troopers in front of her, one holding Shelly, the other Zachary, and the last going to fire at her.

"GET THAT CHILD!" Ivo yelled, pushing his arms against the ground, "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THOSE OTHER TWO, JUST GET HER!"

Complying immediately, Shelly and her brother were dropped, scrambling to their feet, and watching the scene unfolding in front of them.

One trooper was chasing Aura, while the other two helped Ivo to his feet. The trooper firing at Aura didn't have the nullifier, giving her an advantage, but strangely she didn't seem to be taking it. Instead, she was just running and allowing each blast to hit her, crying out, but not falling to the ground.

"STOP FIRING AT HER, SHE'S ABSORBING YOUR BLASTS, CHANGE THE BASE ENERGY OF YOUR WEAPON!"

If the situation wasn't so dire, it would have been funny. Ivo was jumping up and down, until he grimaced from the lingering discomfort, and just shook his arms, making the moustache shake from side to side.

Doing as he said, the trooper stopped, but as the drone was in the middle of this task, Aura did the same, started a move that was very familiar to her. Both hands completed a series of moves, whirling against each other, ending with the fingertips touching, energy sparking from each.

The trooper raised its head, just as Aura did the same.

Both raised their source of power and both fired.

The huge energy wave hit the trooper, wreaking internal systems, and it fell. But in the same second the adjustment to its weapon was revealed as compressed air. This forced Aura back, flinging her upwards into a wall, one arm instantly flung out to cushion her fall. Ivo was furious with her success against his trooper, but cackled when Aura cried out, standing with her arm cradled to the side. He doubted it wasn't injured badly, perhaps even broken, but he cursed because the determination in her eyes, though clouded with pain, didn't waver.

Instantly, she was running again, and Ivo didn't see it coming. The second trooper was fitted with the device, so it couldn't be harmed by her power. He just waited for her to try, fail, and be captured again. Except this time it didn't happen, as instead a burst of flame engulfed the robot, and malfunctioned along with it's already deactivated brother. Aura sank to the ground, gasping, and cradling her arm. It wasn't broken, but the instinctive move to protect herself had used her already injured arm, hitting against the healing burn as well as twisting the wrist. That arm was as good as useless for now, but she wouldn't need it. As she tried to recover, Zachary and Shelly were quickly there helping Aura to her feet.

"I would have preferred you to get out of here" Aura gasped.

"No way!" Zachary said "You helped us, so we'll help you"

Shelly nodded, "Yeah!"

A click, just loud enough to be heard, made all three look up.

The last trooper stood, Ivo stood beside it smiling "There will be more coming in less than a minute"

"I only need a minute" Aura smiled back, holding Shelly by the arm, and motioning to Zachary to take the other. Both were confused, but didn't argue.

"For what?"

"For this!" Aura shouted closed her eyes. She could hear Robotnik ordering the trooper to fire, but concentrating on nothing but Zachary, Shelly, and herself. All other distractions were blocked out as best she could, this wasn't just useful, but vital, especially since she was taking not one, but two people along for the ride. There were two distinct sparks of life energy which she had to keep a hold of, however metaphorical, making sure the energy needed was utalised, and that she had a clear idea of where she wanted to be.

The trooper fired, as more came around a corner, but the blast didn't hit her or the others, just a mark on the concrete on a piece of empty ground.

"WHERE DID THEY GO?"



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In another part of the town where Zachary had told the others to go after their release from the cells, the group had assembled. They were not organised, some were quiet and musing whilst others talked very quickly amongst themselves in soft, nervous tones. Where was Zachary, and his sister, who had disappeared not long after they had started to run, and what about the stranger with them? Of course, none of them expected those three people to suddenly appear a few feet above the ground, then fall in a mismatched pile.

Zachary was the first to get up, helping his little sister, then Aura. Although steadied by Zachary and Shelly, she still shook terribly, teeth chattering, her arms raised as if to hug herself tight but dropped, not having the strength to.

"Aura..." Zachary began, feeling very stunned "What...what just happened?"

She breathed deeply "T..teleportation...". It was little more than a murmur, and her eyes continuously drooped while she forced them to stay open. Swaying, she looked worried, but had a quiet sense of triumph about her. "D...didn't think it would work", she paused again trying to take a deep breath, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. "Had...to try, Robotnik, your Robotnik...Ivo...would have got us".

Another long pause, and Zachary could feel her relying more on his support. Her hand went once more up to hold her head, but again it didn't get that far and just stayed by her side.

"Amazed...I'm still standing"

"Aura?"

"Thanks for helping me...I thought...I thought" Aura trailed off for a moment, lost for a moment in her own thoughts and the strain on her body. It took a moment until her voice came back "...thought I was useless"

"You helped us out a lot" Zachary smiled, but it faded, alarmed when her weight increased and she slumped forward. He shook her a little, but she didn't wake, her breathing shallow, and fur cool to the touch.

"Zachary!" Shelly cried, tugging on his jumper "What's wrong with Aura!"

"I...I don't know" her brother stammered, trying to figure out what to do. "Let's get her back home" he finally decided, taking Aura into his arms and walking back in the direction of their house, Shelly by his side. The others dispersed and the square was soon as quiet as it had been just ten minutes before.