The Dimension Keepers (A Sonic Boom Fanfic)

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

The trek through the secret underground passage seemed to take both forever and no time at all; in the near-total darkness Kay could have no idea of about how far they'd traveled when Espio finally stopped again, handing the burning torch to her and instructing her to hold it up to a certain spot on the wall that now kept them from moving any further forward. Espio brushed away the loose dirt as best he could, then undid three latches – one at the top, middle, and bottom of doors that were only barely visible in the dim lighting. Then he pushed on them, and they swung open with a soft shhhh of shifting dirt.

Espio took the torch from her again, only to snuff it out in a large pile of dirt just inside the doors they passed through. He took her hand once more, murmured something in his native language, and then Kay's other hand was occupied as well. The four of them inched forward until Espio said, "Kaidan. Stairs." It was slow going, but they climbed up slowly and at last made it to another door – this one singular, and very obviously the backside of one of the inner palace walls.

The prince said something to the two men behind Kay. The second hand vanished from hers as they hurried forward and opened up a latch that Espio indicated. Instantly a small but bright patch of light shone through, nearly blinding Kay before one of the men peered through it at whatever lay beyond. He waited a moment, then allowed his companion to do the same. When that was finished, they nodded to Espio, and he nodded back at them. Working together, the two of them managed to get the door open just wide enough for a person to walk through, and then one by one they slipped out ahead of Espio and Kay.

Moments later one of them popped back in, nodded again, and Espio ushered Kay out ahead of him into a brightly lit, well-decorated hallway. Espio and the other men closed the door behind them, and Kay turned to find that it had seamlessly blended into the wall. Anyone walking by would never know it was even there. Kay tried to memorize some of the objects that were around it in the hallway, just in case she had to make a break for it and this was the only way out. The chances were slim, but still, it made her feel better to at least take note for the future.

Espio spoke in whispers that were barely audible to his men. They looked at each other, then nodded slowly. The prince turned to Kay next. "If we are discovered and you have an opportunity to run, do not hesitate, even if it means leaving the rest of us behind. Getting out safely is more important than worrying about what happens to me. Do you understand?"

Kay opened her mouth as if to protest, but once again remembered that things were different in this Dragon Kingdom, and instead nodded hesitantly. "Of...of course, your highness."

"Good." Espio nodded once, then began walking slowly down the corridor to the left of the door they'd just come through, keeping close to the innermost wall. "Now follow me. The war room is this way, and I'm willing to bet they've set up some sort of base of operations there."

The four of them crept along behind the prince, their slippered feet making no noise on the polished floors as they moved. Kay was surprised at first that there were no guards milling about, but then once she thought about it she realized it made sense. There had been an attack on the palace, after all. And if the Dimension Keepers were as small a group as Espio made them sound, they probably didn't have the manpower to post guards in any areas except those that really, really needed guarding.

Eventually the group reached a point where the main corridor they traveled branched off into another, smaller hallway on the right. Espio stopped, peered down the hall, and then darted across the open space to the wall opposite so he could continue down his path. The two men in front of Kay did the same thing, but when it was her turn, Kay peered into the hallway and froze when she met the eyes of an echidna woman who was staring right back at her.

For a moment time stood still, even as Kay realized the men in front of her were continuing on without checking to make sure if she was still behind them. For a moment she considered alerting them, but decided that would put them in more danger than making it seem like she was snooping around alone. So for several seconds, she remained where she was, staring at the echidna who stood just beyond a doorway whose light shone on her and illuminated her features.

Then the echidna woman bolted into the room, and within seconds Kay was moving to catch up with her. If she was about to alert her fellow Keepers about Kay's presence – and by extension the presence of the rest of the rebels throughout the castle – she had to at least try and stop her.

When she got to the doorway, Kay paused for just a moment, scanning the immediate area for any sign of the echidna. When she saw nothing, she slowly stepped inside, looking over her shoulders as she did so. She saw no one at all, even once she was fully in the room – even once she'd checked behind the open door. Kay frowned. She was just gone? How was that possible? She wasn't a chameleon; she couldn't just vanish like that.

Confused, but still determined to help Espio any way she could, Kay stepped further into the room. She glanced behind her, noticing that the top of her shadow was still visible in the hallway. She moved as far in as necessary to keep anyone out in the hall from noticing it, then turned her attention to what lay around her in the surprisingly small space.

It looked like some sort of glorified storage closet, if she was honest with herself. In the back of her mind she wondered why it wouldn't be in the basement of the palace or some other more appropriate place, rather than right in the center of it. There were standard janitorial items, some shelves, and a couple of broom handles whose sweepers had been removed – probably for cleaning. Kay considered a moment when she saw these latter items, then reached out and grabbed one.

The door behind her slammed shut just as her fingers closed around it. Kay whirled around, automatically bringing the handle up in front of her as she would a bo staff.

Leaning on the door was the same echidna Kay had seen before, but had not seen at all upon entry into the small room. For a moment the two simply regarded each other, but then the echidna woman smiled and said, "Hello." Her tone was very light, conversational.

Kay blinked, frowned. "Who are you?"

The woman put a hand to her heart as if offended. "You don't recognize me, Chosen?"

It felt as though she'd been hit with a ton of bricks. All the air rushed from Kay's lungs even as she gasped, taking a step back in surprise. The heel of her foot hit the wall behind her. She hadn't been called that in so long...

"No," she said, but it came out as a whisper. Kay raised her voice. "No. I'm not the Chosen. I'm just a Mobian."

"Oh, child," the echidna said almost sadly, shaking her head. "You will never be just a Mobian." Kay gripped her makeshift weapon tighter as the woman pushed herself away from the door and took a couple of steps toward her. "Do you truly not know who I am?"

Finally Kay allowed herself to observe the echidna a little closer. It was hard to tell in this lighting, but her fur didn't seem completely red. It almost had a purple-ish tint to it. Her dreadlocks were adorned with various beads and other jewelry. She wore a tan vest and black shorts. She looked nothing like any Mobian Kay had ever encountered before.

But then...her eyes. When Kay made eye contact once again, that's when it hit her who she was speaking to. This wasn't the same version of the echidnan goddess she'd encountered before – in fact, she probably wasn't a goddess in this universe – but it was absolutely and unmistakably her.

Kay stared in shock.

"Aurora...?"