The Dimension Keepers (A Sonic Boom Fanfic)

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Espio was right about the Yagyu. Even with her fragile broom handle Kay was able to easily take out three of the bat ninjas on her own, and the prince effortlessly downed the rest of them. It was fortunate for them that the Dimension Keepers didn't truly have a whole lot of manpower on their side, even with the reinforcements they'd obviously obtained by gaining the Yagyu and now the Storm clans' loyalty.

The group of lynxes they'd passed on their way out had, of course, heard the ruckus coming from outside, and they arrived as backup just as Espio was knocking out the last of the Yagyu ninjas. He raised his katana up to the small group of four, and Kay prepared herself as well, but then...

Espio froze. He stared at the oncoming group – specifically their leader – and muttered words under his breath that Kay couldn't understand. When it looked like he wouldn't recover from his sudden stupor in time, Kay hurried to jump in front of him. She raised her bo, knowing full well that she'd be hard pressed to truly stand her ground against a Storm clan warrior, but determined all the same.

That's when an arrow flew out of nowhere and buried itself in the oncoming lynx's left shoulder, making him yell and drop his weapon. Startled, Kay backed up instinctively and ran right into Espio who – thankfully – had lowered his sword in his trance. Before any of them could truly react, another arrow found its mark inside the arm of another one of the lynxes, and another after that. The remaining two had already begun to flee back into the palace after having searched around frantically for the source of the arrows without finding it.

Kay, for her part, grabbed Espio's arm and dragged him away from the drawbridge and back into the trees where they would at least be out of sight. Once there, she turned to him and whispered, "What happened back there?"

"Forgive me, shiriai," he replied in just as quiet a voice. He ran a hand over his face. "That Storm clan warrior...he was...well. I suppose it doesn't matter now, does it?" Espio let out a sigh. "We cannot stay. We must return to—"

Just then, from behind them, there was a rustling of leaves and snapping twigs as what sounded like a handful of people made their approach. Espio and Kay both readied themselves, but lowered their weapons again moments later when Li Yuen and his group appeared before them. Li Yuen said something to Espio, which Espio seemed relieved to hear, and he nodded. For a moment the two conversed, and when they were finished the prince turned to Kay and gestured for her to follow them as they all made their way back through the forest and away from the palace.

Their journey back was much faster this time, as they spent the first half of it sprinting away from the castle and its new inhabitants. Before they knew it they had reached the opposite end of the forest and were back out in the open. Espio called everyone to a halt, and for several moments they all stopped to catch their breath.

But even once they stopped, they could hear footsteps in the trees behind them.

Li Yuen and two of his men leapt in front of Espio, weapons drawn, as they awaited the arrival of whoever was following them. Espio, for his part, made no move to run again. He straightened and watched along with the rest of them as another lynx flew out into the open, screeched to a halt upon seeing the prince's bodyguards, and then fell to the ground.

"Watashi no ōji, watashinojinsei o oshimanai," the lynx gasped in what Kay was surprised to hear was a female voice.

Espio ordered, "Kōtai suru," and his men did exactly that, though their weapons were still at the ready. Once they stepped aside and allowed Espio to look upon the lynx himself, Kay was also able to see her. The girl had thrown down her own weapon – a bow and arrows – and it now lay on the ground just out of her reach. She was bowing with her head pressed into the grass. She was panting heavily. She must have sprinted the entire way along with them.

Espio, too, noticed the bow laying on the ground, and he spoke to the lynx girl in their native language, asking questions that she answered quickly and – seemingly – satisfactorily. After a minute or so Espio paused and looked to Li Yuen, who didn't say a word but clearly looked suspicious. More questions were asked, and answered, and at last Espio took a step forward and held out his hand, his voice a murmur now.

The girl kept her eyes lowered as she accepted his hand and got to her feet. Espio then retrieved her weapon for her and returned it. He nodded at Li Yuen, and he and the other two men finally put their own weapons away. He murmured something else to her, she nodded, and at last he turned to face Kay and explain what was going on.

"Her name is Arashi Nikōru," he told her, "of the Storm clan. She left her people when they vowed loyalty to the Dimension Keepers. She says as long as one of the royals is still alive, she protects the crown, as has been tradition for generations in this kingdom." He was walking now, and Kay hurried to keep up with him, staying slightly behind as he led. "She will stay with us for the time being. We will wait until dawn for the rest of our companions. If they do not return to Ren's home before then, we must relocate ourselves."

Kay nodded her understanding. "Your highness, I...I met their leader. I know what they want. What they're doing."

Espio looked at her sharply, his eyes interested but also wary. After a moment, he nodded. "You may fill me in on all of that later, shiriai. Right now, we need to get away from here."

~

It wasn't until they were all back at Ren's home that Kay really got a good look at their newest traveling companion. She'd known the girl was a lynx, and that her name was Nikōru, but she didn't expect her to look so much like Nicole the Lynx from the Prime Universe. The resemblance was uncanny – from the jet black hair to the deep green eyes even to the color scheme of her fur. The coincidences seemed to be lining up around the block in this alternate dimension Kay now knew herself to be in, and this latest addition boggled her mind most of all, for several reasons.

First and foremost – in the Prime Universe, Nicole wasn't even organic. She was a computer program that gained sentience and created a holographic projection for herself so she could look like the Mobians she was surrounded by. Second, she lived with Sonic and his friends; not all the way out here in the Dragon Kingdom. And finally, because these two things had changed, her entire life story had changed as well – much like everyone else she'd encountered so far.

Where the Nicole she remembered from her brief encounters in New Mobotropolis had grown to be a brave and determined warrior like the princess she served so faithfully, this Nicole – Nikōru – was quiet and demure, keeping her eyes lowered at all times. Especially when in the prince's vicinity. She didn't say a word unless spoken to first. It wouldn't have surprised Kay so much coming from a free woman of the kingdom, but from a girl who was supposedly part of the Storm ninja clan? It was definitely unexpected.

The group kept quiet all night, and by the time the sun rose the next morning, the two men who had entered the palace with Espio and Kay had still not returned. Espio waited as long as he could, but finally he stood up and announced that they had to depart. The group hastily thanked Ren for his hospitality, and then they were on the move once more, traveling even further into the heart of the capital.