Sailor Moon Chronicles R
A Disastrous Diner
Shadow the Hedgehog, Stage On!
The forests felt unsettled by the winds. The winds made each tree shiver with nervousness chills. The trees branches were shaking and whimpering. Though they were beautiful and strong, they were afraid of something, something horrible.
An anthropomorphic wolf strolled down a dirt path with thick trees on each side. He was a handsome white wolf in his twenties with fierce, light blue eyes. He may have been handsome, but it was a devilish charm that he wielded. His body was sculpted magnificently with broad shoulders and stunning muscles, which he showed to the world with his sleeveless blue shirt and pants-less state; he wore blue sandals. Each step was grudging. His joints ached from travel; his sandals smelled heavily of sweat from travel. The inside of his mouth felt dried like a candle. His eyes widened upon seeing a diner down the road. His pace quickened with the need of relief from the dry heat.
The diner was one of 50's nostalgia. The frame was chrome and rounded with long windows that when around most of the perimeter. There was a hoverbike parked outside. The wolf took in the blessed air condition when he stepped through the doors. It looked deserted, save for two patrons and a waitress, a human woman, working at the counter. She had her back to him, so he didn't see that she was human. However, he did see that she had a head of long, flowing, black hair that extended halfway down her back to the tie of her white apron. One of the customers sat at a booth by the far left window by himself. The wolf paid no attention to him. The other was at the bar with a newspaper open. That was who the wolf recognized, so he took the seat next to him.
"Fancy seeing you here, Fang the Sniper," the wolf said with an agitated slur.
The man put down the newspaper. It was a purple anthropomorphic weasel. He was about twenty or so. His fur was mostly purple, but his snout, mouth area, cheeks, and stomach were white. His eyes were brown. He wore brown gloves, a brown belt, white and brown boots, and a brown cowboy hat, but his most striking feature was the wide fang that couldn't help but stick out even when his mouth was closed. He gave the wolf a mocking glare.
"Drago, long time no see," said Fang.
"Give me one good excuse to not strangle you right here and now," Drago said, showing his fangs.
The death stares that were exchanged were halted by the waitress's words.
"Excuse me, boys," she said.
Her melodious voice soothed them. When the two saw her, they were dumbstruck by her beauty and the fact that she was a human, a rarity in that region of the planet. A black crimson color painted her lips. Her eyes were beautiful, striking, and sharp like a snake's glare. The two men gawked at her stupidly with half open mouths.
"What can I get you boys?" she said. Her silky voice melted them.
All that came out of their mouths were odd gasping noises dissimilar to words.
"I'll start you off with some coffee," she answered for them.
The waitress gave them her behind to stare at as though it were a holy relic while she poured coffee into two white mugs. As she was doing this, she added something to the cups from a small vial. With a smile, she gave the mugs to them. Their "thank you" carried pulsations of awkwardness. She brought the menus.
"Call me when you've made up your minds," she said. She disappeared into the kitchen.
The boys watched after her.
"That is one hot woman," they said in unplanned unison. They noticed it and glared at each other again.
"Why don't you just step down, little man," huffed Drago. "She's closer to my height." That was correct. Drago was close to human height, while Fang was two inches shy of three and a half feet.
"Like she'd shag you, Baddie Two-Sandals!" snorted Fang.
When the waitress returned, she asked them if they had made up their minds. In unplanned unison again they answered, "The special." She left them again.
"Give it up," said Drago, bringing his coffee to his snout. "I'm getting a date with her." He took a swig of the coffee. Within a few seconds, he coughed a few times. When Fang drank his, he coughed too. The door to the kitchen was cracked slightly.
The third customer stared at his own coffee and saw his black and red fur reflected in the black pool. His eyes were sharp with a stabbing frustration. The waitress came back. A steaming plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits was balanced on each hand. The boys were ecstatic to see her but more so for the food, which looked delicious. She didn't say anything as she set the plates in front of them. They took fork and knife in hand and tore through the meal. They savored very bite, yet every now and then, each one broke into coughing, which both ignored, giving priority to the food. What they didn't see was the waitress smiling devilishly at them as they ate. The coughing grew more and more severe. Fang clenched his throat, leaving his fork and knife to clatter on the floor. Drago's legs shook as he gripped his neck, futilely trying to stop the wild coughs. Soon, both fell onto their backs motionlessly. A human man, wearing a cook's uniform exited the kitchen. He was a shark with a pointed nose, spiked, black hair, and sharp teeth.
"Is my cooking that bad?" he said with sadistic sarcasm.
"It took a lot of knockout poison to finally knock them out, Greed," said the waitress to the cook.
"Lust, did you see them staring at your a** every time you turned around?" asked Greed, rubbing his forehead.
"I liked it," she said. She looked over to the third customer, who still didn't look back even after all the fuss. "These two should be useful to you. Don't you think, Shadow?"
The smell of rust and decay crawled into their noses and jolted them awake. Their vision was blurred. The moving shapes came together to become an industrial fan above them. It was dark except for the rotted light that streamed down between the fan blades.
"Where I'm I?" Drago groaned.
Quickly, he found in a chair his arms were tied behind his back and his ankles bound to the chair's legs. Fang was in the same position.
"What's going on?" screamed Fang. Cold sweat ran down his face. Panic set in quite comfortably. "Get us out of here!"
Shadow the Hedgehog stood in front of them, watching them with his cruel, blood-colored eyes stabbing into them. This jet black and crimson fur made him blend in with the darkness and bloody rust. Though he was only three feet and three inches, wearing clunky red and white shoes and white gloves, he was scary, not cute.
"Shadow?" heaved Fang. "What the hell are you doing here? Did you kidnap us?"
Shadow said nothing.
"Give us answers!" shouted Drago.
"He didn't really help in kidnapping you." The waitress from the dinner came into view along with the chef and an androgynous person with long, weed-like green hair and skimpy latex clothing. The waitress, Lust, traded her apron for a sexy, low-cut, midnight green dress with matched gloves and coffee-brown stiletto-heeled boots. The chef, Greed, wore a dark vest with a fuzzy, white color and tight leather pants.
"You're that waitress!" exclaimed Fang in shock.
"What do you want from us?" growled Drago.
"You're awfully demanding for someone tied up," said the third "human."
"Now, Envy," said Greed. His condescending remark targeted the captives. "Try to be nice to them. After all, they'll never succeed at getting what they on their own. Why don't we help them after they help us?"
"What do you want?" asked Drago, seething.
"It's simple really," said Lust. "We know that the nemesis that all three of you share, Sonic the Hedgehog, resides in a town that holds a Chaos Emerald. Our leaders want it to use its energy."
"Who are you?" asked Drago.
"You're to the point, aren't you?" retorted Lust, not taking him serious. "We are part of the Dark Kingdom, an evil organization from another dimension that has come to your dimension on a quest of further conquest."
"Why are you telling us this?" asked Fang, still sweating.
"You are going to join us," said Envy, "or die here and now. Don't worry. Our three bosses are a little nicer than us. You'll like them: the dark witch Kaorinite, the Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress, and the shape-shifting mutant Mystique. So what do ya say? You wanna to join in on the fun?"
"What's in it for us?" Fang asked.
"If you get us the Chaos Emerald," said Lust, "we'll give you the tools to kill Sonic and all of his allies."
The captives gasped and stared at her.
"Your mission is to go to Sonic's town, cause commotion, and snag the Chaos Emerald," said Lust. "After you bring the Chaos Emerald to us, we will help you get your vengeance. Shadow and Dr. Eggman will join you."
"Eggman?" Shadow glared at them. "I'm not working with him. That wasn't part of our deal."
"That's a shame," said Lust. She walked over to him and looked down on him. "You have no idea who or what you are or why you were created." She shrugged. "Kaorinite could have used her magic to tap into your locked away memories and find the knowledge you are so desperately searching for. We have no intention of fighting you if you walk out the door." She looked deeply into him with her serpent eyes. "You are so close to getting what you desire. It's your choice."
Shadow stared hatefully at the rusted floor. "I'll do whatever you want," he whispered grudgingly.