ARAAT4: Origins

~~~

A Rose And A Thorn 4: Origins

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

~~~

Froggy: Hmmm... N/A has a point. But back when this was written neither me nor Harley had played Sonic Adventure. We’re doing pretty well despite that, don’t you think?

Harley: You know what’s most satisfying about all this? I’ve created an Original Character who is actually widely accepted! I haven’t had any complaints about Mirage! At least I don’t think I have... I don’t really count the person who complained that Mirage shouldn’t be able to get pregnant with Midnight. And it wasn't just Crazy Ivan, before he starts complaining. Besides, Sonic manages it with Sally...

Froggy: People, this is your cue to review with any valid complaints you have about Mirage. It’s a bit late to rectify them now, of course. But Harley would still like to hear them. Hmmm... hey, what about Midnight?

Harley: Don’t worry about him too much right now, Froggy. He’s about to get very unpopular...

~~~

Chapter Twenty: The Ultimate Sacrifice

Once again, Midnight was in the ARK's gym, but rather than standing and training, he was just sitting on a bench, tapping the sword in his hand against the floor, looking... deflated. Defeated. Without hope.

Close by, Mirage was sitting on the crossbar, swinging her legs dismally. She looked just as miserable, if not more so, and she was rocking her body back and forth, hugging her stomach. There were lines under her eyes, indicating a number of sleepless nights.

Tap, tap, tap. Midnight just kept tapping the ground rhythmically, as if he were keeping time. And then, suddenly, he slammed it hard enough into the ground to send sparks flying, imbedding the blade into the floor. And then he was quiet again.

Mirage looked up at him dolefully. She wanted to suggest a training battle, but she didn't have the heart. She felt more like she wanted to burst into tears all over again. After a few seconds, she did so, hating the feeling of weakness resulting from it.

Midnight didn't need a training battle. He was having enough of a battle in his own head. A battle between his higher mind and his base instincts; a battle between light and dark; a battle of Midnight versus Quilla. And he knew which one was winning.

Mirage stood up, walking over to him, seeing the pain in his eyes. It reminded her that she was not the only one who was hurting. She touched his cheek gently, "Midnight, I love you still," she said, "And I do not blame you for any of this."

"I know,” he said softly, looking up into her eyes, "But I do." The echidna closed his eyes and nuzzled into the palm of her hand, enjoying just that small bit of contact with her. He had forgotten how long it had been since he had embraced her. All of the last week had been one big, feverish blur, like he was just dreaming it.

Mirage wrapped him in her arms, "It is not your fault," she told him again, "If it was, I would have personally ripped your heart from your chest, pushed it through a sieve, and poured the remains down your throat. It is not your fault."

Midnight shuddered and pressed into the hug, the slight relief needed so badly, "No, it’s not,” he said softly, "But it should be. All that training, all that fighting... and for what? I couldn't stop them."

Mirage wasn't sure of her reply. She just hugged Midnight again. Suddenly, the door to the gym swung open. The Commander, several scientists, and a lot of guards stood in the doorway.

Slowly, Midnight looked over at the humans as they stormed into the room, his eyes half-closed, looking tired, "What do you want? What more can you take from us? Have you come to complain about our lack of training? I don't care."

"No, we've just come to collect you both for some testing," the Commander told them. At the word 'testing', Midnight felt Mirage cling tighter to him, and a wave of terror washed from her mind over his. She was almost petrified with fear.

Holding her tightly to him, feeling her fear and fighting to keep it from sending him into a panic, he knew he couldn't let them near her, "No, you're not,” he said simply, "Leave us alone. Please, if there is even the smallest bit of mercy in your body, leave us alone."

"It was not a request," the Commander said simply. His soldiers flowed forward. Within seconds, they had separated Mirage and Midnight, and Midnight could feel a pistol digging into his back.

"What are you going to do? Kill me?" asked the echidna bitterly, "Am I now too dangerous to be kept alive, so you're going to 'dispose of the violent experiment'? Go ahead. Do it. Blow all those tax dollars away."

"What do you want us for?" Mirage asked the glaring Commander, "You already have my baby..."

"Look at it this way... you've just produced a valuable scientific breakthrough," the Commander told them, "We want you to produce some more." Mirage's eyes widened, and the fear hit Midnight again.

"No..." the echidna breathed. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Yes, the humans had been cruel before, but this was higher than even he thought they were capable of. They were suggesting making her breed for the sheer sake of experimentation, all of the offspring born into a world where the only thing they could expect was to be treated like a slave, "No,” he said again, and then louder, "No! She isn't some baby-making machine! She's a sentient being, for gods' sake! She's flesh and blood, just like you! She thinks, she feels, she has a soul!"

"This cannot happen," Mirage said calmly, her fear well above the range of actually fighting, "And it will not happen." With a few quick moves, she had kicked her way out of the grip of the soldiers. Two of them were lying unconscious on the floor, and she was holding a pistol, aiming it at the group, "Do not come near me..."

Midnight had yanked the sword out of the ground and was standing beside her, sweeping his eyes over the troops, looking for some way to defeat them or to escape. He could find neither.

"You think you can take on the entire ARK with one gun and a sword?" the commander laughed, "My god, you're stupid."

"'Desperate' is the word I'd use,” Midnight told him, holding the sword out in front of him as if he actually thought he could do some damage with it before he was filled with a hundred metal slugs.

"I do not plan to take on the ARK," Mirage said quietly. She stepped away from Midnight and pushed the pistol under her chin, ”I will do it," she said, her voice shaking, "I will do it! And then what will you use for your precious experiments?!"

Midnight glanced over at the hedgecat with wide, frightened eyes, "No, Mirage. Don't do it, please... There's gotta be another way!"

“Shut up, Midnight!” Mirage shouted.

The Commander stared at Mirage, whose finger was tightening on the trigger, and suddenly burst into laughter, "I've seen your personality program, Project Mirage. Maybe if you were a hero, you'd do it. And that's not a taunt; it's a fact which both you and I know."

Midnight stared back and forth between them, frozen, unsure of what he could do, if there even was anything to be done.

Mirage trembled for a moment, and then sagged, "You are right, I cannot kill myself..." she said softly. The Commander looked smug, "But I can do this!" She jammed the pistol into the area just below her stomach, and fired once. There was a horrible pause, during which she smirked victoriously at the Commander, and then collapsed to the floor.

Midnight watched in adrenaline-filled slow-motion as the hedgecat fell to the ground, the one sound in the room being his pulse, like a hammer in his ears. The next sound he heard was some unearthly, primal scream of rage and hate, a battle cry dredge up from the animal side. He realized that the scream was his own and that his body was moving without his permission, charging the human ranks in a suicidal move, the blade held high over his head. The scream was so loud, so sudden that the troops had been stunned into inaction, their minds reorganizing themselves for a fatal second too long. That was when he brought the sword crashing down onto the head of the nearest soldier, the Commander, splitting his head open like an overripe melon sitting in the sun.

Mirage whimpered quietly, suddenly aware that she was in a lot of pain. She was still holding the gun, so she dropped it, I wish I had not done that, she thought.

The soldiers were just starting to react when Midnight twisted the sword away from the falling, ruined mass of the Commander's head and drove the blade tip through another young soldier's ribcage, cleaving his heart in two. Using the dead man as a shield, Midnight pushed the rifle still in the troop's hands towards another human and pressed down on the finger against the trigger, spraying fire into another trooper. Yanking out the pistol from the dead troop's belt, the echidna took aim and fired a shot through another man's eyeball. And then they finally took him down, slamming a rifle butt against his skull, knocking him down. Then they hit him again, and again, and again... The last thing he saw before the world went dark was Mirage bleeding on the floor.

~~~

Midnight again sat in the darkened cell, holding his aching head in his hands, waiting. Waiting... to know whether or not Mirage was dead, to know if he was to join her, to know the fate of their child. Waiting for a chance to change things, to take action. Just waiting. No meditation, no clearing of the mind, just long, hard waiting, suffering in silence. His mind refused to be silent; his perfect memory wouldn't let the past dull. He saw over and over and over as Mirage shot herself, as the troops tore the egg from her grasp, as the red of her blood filled his vision, consuming him with madness. He could still feel the steel in his hands breaking the frail bodies of the men he hated so much. No... not men. Men didn't do those things. Animals did. Monsters did. Monsters that had to be slain.

Quilla no longer seemed so bad to him. He seemed like a friend, a generous friend giving him guidance, instructing him on what he had to do, what he had to learn in order to protect those he loved. He couldn't be weak. Weakness meant failure; Mirage had said so herself. His enemies would use it against him. He could show no mercy, for his enemies would show him none.

The warrior had to be free, had to get out his cell, had to rescue his mate and their progeny. He had no idea how to pull such a thing off, though. But then he entered the cell like some sort of ghost. Midnight's saviour. The being which Mirage had described to him as Black Doom.

"You know who I am,” the alien being spoke to him in his deep voice, "And now, you know of the atrocities which these humans are capable of. Their complete lack of mercy or compassion. You know that they will always take advantage of your own compassion, they will always treat you as their possession as long as you let them. But there is a way out, echidna. You can be free, you and the ones you care about."

The bruised echidna looked up into the burning embers that served as Doom's eyes, "How? How can I do this?"

"You already know the answer to that question,” Doom told him, "The little voice in the back of your mind has been telling you all along. You must prove yourself more powerful than these foolish humans. Since they only understand force, it is force you must use against them. Rise up against your so-called masters, remember your warrior heritage, and crush all those who stand in your way!"

Midnight looked back down at the steel floor. Not long ago, he would have said that such a thing was vile and wrong, sinking to the level of the humans. But now... now, he was beginning to see the wisdom of it. Survival of the fittest was a natural law; those who submitted to the rule of the strong would be trampled. Those who accepted their own strength and rose up would thrive. To outlive the ruthless, you had to become ruthless yourself, "But how?" he spoke quietly, looking back up at the alien, "I am just one, and they are many. If you let me out of this cell, how am I to defeat the humans and their guns?"

"Is it really that hard to understand, warrior?" the floating alien replied, "It’s quite simple. Remember the words of your mate, and then... allow history to run its course."

Midnight's eyes widened in understanding. He knew what Doom wanted, knew what he could do which would bring about the end of the humans which had tormented him so. Midnight nodded.

Although he could not see it, the echidna could sense Black Doom’s smile, "It is done, then. Go forth, Midnight, and unleash your vengeance." The alien disappeared just as he had entered the room, and Midnight heard the door unlock with a soft click.

His face grim and determined, the echidna stood up and pushed the door open, stepping back into the corridors of the ARK. To either side him were the guards stationed to stand watch over his cell, either unconscious or dead. And scattered in front of him were the selection of weapons from the gym: real swords and daggers, staffs and clubs, axes and maces, nets and pikes. Nodding, the echidna ran his hands over the instruments of death, taking his pick. It was now time for the humans to feel his fear and helplessness.

Among the tools of destruction was a note tied to one of his favourites. It was a map of the top secret research wing, and highlighted on it were the locations of where they were incubating his and Mirage's egg, and also of the Artificial Chaos. Black Doom had been planning this for some time. Whatever his motivation was, it didn't matter to Midnight. He could deal with the alien another time. Prepared for battle, Midnight took off quickly and stealthy through the ARK, Quilla following quickly behind him, whispering words of encouragement.

He made his way to the top secret area and waited in the shadows near the door. He didn't have Mirage around this time to make the wall disappear, so he did the next best thing. He waited for a scientists to wander by with the correct key card and slit his throat. He didn't bother to hide the body; there was no point anymore. Sliding the card through the slot, he softly slipped inside. Without resistance, he entered the chamber of the Artificial Chaos, "You caused so much destruction so long ago,” Midnight whispered, "Now, for me, do the same again!"

Walking to the control panel that would release them, he let his perfect memory play back Mirage's exact keystrokes: 89kiujop97uyk. As the glass tubes opened up and the machines within were released, the echidna warrior ran out of the room and drew his sword.

The Downfall of ARK had begun.

~~~

Mirage found herself standing in a long tunnel full of shadows. She looked all around. What was she doing here? She’d just shot herself, she should either be in the medical ward, or dead.

“Am I dead?” she wondered out loud, “Or am I alive?”

THE ANSWER TO THAT, said a voice like the slamming of crypt doors, IS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN YES AND NO.

“Huh?” Mirage turned, and stared at the six-foot skeleton in a black robe, “Death? I did not think you existed. Well, not as an anthromorphic personification.”

NOW YOU KNOW.

“Does this mean that I do have a soul after all?”

THAT IS NOT FOR ME TO DECIDE.

Mirage stared at the light. She turned around and stared at the darkness. Which way had she been facing when she’d opened her eyes anyway? Were you supposed to go into the light or the dark? She turned to face the light again, trying to see what it was hiding. Then she closed her eyes tightly, and took a step backwards.

~~~

She awoke to the sound of screams. For a while she lay there blithely, doped up by painkillers. When the door to the ward opened and a disembowelled soldier slammed against the opposite wall, she realised that this was no longer an option. She got out of the bed, and picked up the gun the corpse had been holding. She was far too high on dope to be unhappy.

So it has come to this, she thought, I wonder how they got out? She stepped out of the door and looked up at the fifteen foot tall Artificial Chaos hunched over in the hall. She looked down at the sub-machine gun, which she had no experience with, and shrugged, "Hell with it."

She fired into the computer on top of the monster's head, and it started screaming in pain. She almost passed out with the wave of insanity that flowed from the creature, as it dissolved into water. It was like jumping on puppies, When I find out who let them out, I am going to wrap this rifle around their neck! she thought, clutching her head and trying to block out the screams of terror, fear and rage that were coming from the Artificial Chaos...

Somewhere close by, and getting closer, Midnight was slaughtering his way through the halls of the ARK, avoiding the creatures he had unleashed and the human weapons, making kills whenever the opportunity presented itself as he neared the medical wing. No mercy. Not even much emotion. He just cut the humans down coldly, mechanically, allowing himself some satisfaction here and there.

Mirage turned at the sound of more screams, to see a few GUN soldiers round the corner. They were being pursued by a bloodstained madman, "Midnight!" she shouted at him, "Oh, gods, it has started!"

Midnight swung the sword in his hand, cutting down the GUN troops who died with gurgled cries of pain. Wiping some of the blood off of his face, he turned towards Mirage and sighed in relief, "Mirage! You're alive!"

"Midnight! What the hell are you doing?" Mirage cried out. At least, she meant to cry out. The vast amounts of painkillers in her system that made it possible for her to stand, made it hard to articulate anything above a slur.

Frowning, noticing her drowsy state, Midnight dropped the sword and rushed over to her side, "Everything has turned to chaos,” he told her, "Everyone is in a panic. I know where they are holding the egg. If we hurry, maybe we can get it and find an escape pod before GUN reorganizes and retaliates."

"The egg will be just fine," Mirage slurred, but if she'd been properly coherent, she would have been screaming, "Dear gods, it is awful, Midnight... cannot you hear them screaming?" An Artificial Chaos came around the corner abruptly and screamed at them both, before hurling a corpse at them, which they ducked, "They are... dear gods they are insane..." She clamped her hands over her ears as it screamed again, "It is like an axe inside my skull..."

A swift, well-placed dagger thrown into the electronic part of the beast sent it spilling onto the ground, babbling in madness before it dissolved completely, "I don't hear anything,” said Midnight.

"For fuck's sake... They are all over the place!" Mirage managed an exclamation, and picked Midnight up bodily, shaking him briefly, "And they are mental! Literally! They are all of them screaming! Do you have any idea how much PAIN they are in?!"

"I'm not surprised. It’s not like the scientists care,” Midnight spoke casually as he unslung a battle axe from behind his back, "In any case, the troops are going to be putting them out of their misery. Us too, if we don't get moving. Come on!" Midnight held onto her arm with his free hand and led her towards the room where their egg was being held.

Mirage found herself dragged behind him, "We have to do something!" she cried out. She clutched at her head.

"No time,” he said quickly, still dragging the hedgecat with him, "We have to move fast. The egg should be just this way. It’s not far..."

Mirage groaned. She had a pounding headache already, and it didn't even belong to her. They approached the door to the incubation room. The echidna simply bashed the door down, not even bothering with access cards. He sighed in relief as he saw the egg, being incubated by another Shard of the Master Emerald, like the one Mirage always wore. He had half-expected wires poking into the shell or something.

For a moment Mirage forgot about wanting to punch Midnight in the face, and darted over to the incubator, cuddling the warm egg, "Well," she winced as another scream hit her head, "Let us get it out of... oh!" The egg was starting to rock slightly, "Oh..."

Midnight's eyes widened as he saw a crack form in the shell, "What the? Wait... is it doing what I think it’s doing?"

Mirage's face broke into a smile as she approached, "Of course it is, you idiot! My baby is hatching!"

Despite the otherwise horrible situation, Midnight couldn't help but smile as well. Wrapping the arm with the least blood on it around her, he whispered, "Our baby."

Mirage smiled as the egg rocked more violently, and the crack gradually widened. A little piece of shell at the top was already lifting, with only the membrane holding it. She was almost inclined to help the infant break out, but she knew that this was the first test of strength for the child. He, she, whatever it was, had to break out on its own. She wondered if it would even be capable of living, or if it would be a hideous freak like her, or worse than her - she had seen worse in the Restricted Area, creatures that couldn't even walk thanks to their deformities...

As the membrane tore and the infant fought to be free, Mirage's smile became broader. It was actually possible to forget what was going on outside the lab. Finally, there was a hole large enough to see into the egg. What looked like claws were breaking through the shell. She reached in gently. As her hand touched the child, it drew its first breath and began to cry. Standing alongside his mate, Midnight smiled widely, looking at their healthy offspring.

Mirage picked it up in both hands and held it up carefully. It was difficult to tell from the mess, as she picked the bits of bloody eggshell off it, but it was male, it was red, and best of all, it wasn't a hideous freak. In fact, it looked exactly like the echidnas of times past, except for the tiny claws on its knuckles.

Mirage felt a sudden desire to stick her head down a toilet and flush it until she drowned, but they didn't have time for that, "We do not have time for this," she said finally, "I do not know what to do!"

Midnight was running his finger along the small, white ring around the baby's neck, not unlike the pale blue one around his own, "We get out of here, that's what. All of us. We find an escape pod, we get to Earth, and we leave this mess behind us forever."

Mirage shook her head, carrying the tiny echidna baby in her vest carefully, "You can go if you like. But I have to stay. I have to help these people!" As she spoke, several GUN soldiers passed the small lab. They ignored her and Midnight; they weren't the threat right now.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Midnight asked her, "Do we fight off every GUN troop on the colony and the Artificial Chaos as well? We already discussed how bad a plan that is, and it’s not like we owe these damn humans, anyway."

"I did not come all this way just to give up, Midnight!" Mirage said, trying to keep her cool, "I came back to help people, to try and stop the carnage! And I could not! You can go to Earth if you like! Maybe you did, you certainly were not there when I woke up!"

"That's because I was springing these monsters out of their damn cages!" he shouted back. The words hung heavily in the air, as if made of lead, "I let them out. It was the only way. The carnage was going to happen anyway, and the only way were ever going to get free is if this whole mess happens first. I gave them a chance, Mirage, I tried really hard to see the good in them, but when they tried to take our child from us..." He shook his head, "No more. They won't get away with their crimes this time."

Mirage stared at Midnight, her tan face turning very pale, "You let them out?" she asked him, "For me?"

"Because if I didn't, they wouldn't stop until everything I love about you was dead,” he said softly, "I couldn't let them do that."

This cannot be happening... this cannot be happening... Mirage moaned quietly, then looked up, "You knew I was trying to stop this," she said, "You knew people would die... and you did it anyway?" Her shock turned to cold rage, "I do not like what GUN have done either," she said, "But I did not come all this way for petty revenge. Because of you, people are dying, people are suffering... and you think that is okay, as long as you get a sweeter deal?" Shaking slightly, she looked him straight in the eyes, "As far as I am concerned, you are as bad as the people who built this place."

Midnight felt his entire world drop out from under him.

~~~

Froggy: Okay, so it’s not a very good cliffhanger. But the chapter was too long otherwise.

Harley: So that’s how it happened! The Downfall of ARK. A very messy business, don’t you think? And next chapter it gets a whole lot messier.