Hi guys! I'm back!
This is the second chapter of the story. I decided to post it since there are people who are following the story...Thanks a lot for showing interest! I really appreciated it!
So, after Shadow and Molly, we'll get to see how Sonic and his gang are doing! Everything is the usual, daily life and fights...is it?
Please review to let me know if the story it's worth enough to be carried on! I appreciate any kind of comment!
Enjoy!
Warnings: the story will contain shonen-ai (Shadow x Sonic, Sonadow, meaning male x male), if you don't like, don't read, please! Rating is for future reference to violence!
Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic X or the characters. All characters are properties of Sega and Sonic Team.
Chapter 2 – Troubles…again!
Tails sighed as he gazed at the puddles of water and mud scattered everywhere on the floor. He surely couldn't prevent Sonic from going out for a run, not even if there was the Flood outside, but he still didn't get why that hardhead wouldn't use the towel he always left him in the hall for when he came back. The result was always a sleeping, still dump blue hedgehog on the couch and him having to clean up. The fox put his hands on his hips. It had already happened twice that week. That was really too much. Sonic was his best friend, he was like a big brother to him, but now he was going to give him a good telling-off.
"Sonic, wake up!" he called, approaching the sleeping figure. He shook the other's shoulder. "Come on, I know you can hear me!"
The hero of Mobius opened an eye. "Gee, Tails! What's up now?" he grumbled, still sleepy. "Has something happened?"
Tails didn't answered but simply pointed the floor, slightly tapping his foot. His best friend looked at what he was pointing and then cracked a nervous smile. "Come on, pal! Don't tell me you are upset because of a bit of water!" he tried.
"A bit of water? You have flooded the living room again! Without mentioning the couch!" the younger complained crossing his arms. "I always let you do whatever you want, but since we shared this house you could at least clean up your own mess! I already do the cooking and most of the housework! So you could at least avoid me the overtime, couldn't you?"
Sonic stared at his little companion. He seemed really pissed off. Tails almost never got angry, especially at him, but he became quite dangerous the few times it happened. Not as dangerous as an upset Amy, but close enough. The fox boy would never hurt him physically but he could force him into the most boring and annoying possible tasks. "Listen, I'm sorry for it! It won't happen again!" he hurried up to say, trying to reassure his friend. "I'll clean up immediately, OK? And next time I'll take off my shoes and go straight to take a shower. Are you happy now?"
"I'll be happy when I see you doing it" Tails answered, but his voice already sounded less harsh. "Anyway, hurry up and clean this mess. There's something I need to ask you."
"Why don't you tell me now?" the hedgehog asked. "I can do two things at the same times, you know? Well, at least I usually can…". He laughed grabbing the cloth that was handed to him.
The young genius cracked a smile as well. There was no way he could stay angry at him. Sonic was the most important person in his life and during the past year and half he had been there every time he had needed him, offering that special silent comfort that only the blue hedgehog was able to give. Losing Cosmo had been hard, especially at the beginning, and it had taken him some time to accept that she had to do it to save the whole universe. That was her destiny, and nothing could have changed it. He shot a soft glance at the small tree that was growing outside the window. Thinking about her still made him sad, but now he could also appreciate her sacrifice.
He shook his head and came back to the present. "I'm just giving you another reason to do what I asked you" he stated with a little grin, leaving the room.
"Oh, you can be cruel, Tails!" Sonic joked, flashing him one of his big smiles. He hadn't missed the melancholy in his younger friend's eyes, but he acted as he had. There was no need to approach the subject. The fox knew that he was there for him. So he just focused on his task, curiosity pushing him to be as fast as possible. After all speed was totally his area.
So, ten minutes later, he joined Tails in the kitchen, a satisfied smirk printed on his face. "I'm done! I was quick, wasn't I?" he sang, letting himself fall on a chair.
The other looked up from the project he was examining and smiled. "I expected no less from you" he chuckled, shifting his tails. "So, about that thing. I was cleaning your room, even if it should have been your turn with the housework…But that doesn't matter now. I accidentally bumped into that wooden casket you keep on your night stand …". He scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "I know I shouldn't wander around your belongings, but I didn't do it on purpose. The box fell on the floor and opened!"
The blue blur shook his head. "Don't worry, pal! I would never be mad at you for something like that! You are my best friend, I don't mind you touching my things!" he reassured his little companion. "You don't need to feel sorry. It happens to be clumsy! Just go straight to the point."
The young genius hesitated a bit before speaking again. "Well, I couldn't help noticing what was inside among the other things. It's been a long time so I couldn't help wonder…Why do you still have Shadow's Rings?" he asked, sounding perplexed.
"So this is the big deal?". The blue hedgehog couldn't help but laughed at his friend's uncomfortable expression. "I was starting to get worried!". He crossed his arms and stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe: "I keep the Rings so I can give them back to that faker when he will grace us with his presence once again. I'm quite looking forward to it. It's been a while since the last time I had a real challenge. Old Egghead has not been giving me enough excitement lately. Shadow never failed me, instead."
"You think he is still alive? That crazy, Sonic!" the fox exclaimed, sceptical. "How could he have survived that explosion? He used all his energy!"
"We thought he was gone also after the ARK accident, but he showed up from nowhere!" Sonic stated calmly. "I'm sure that he has made it this time too. He is the "Ultimate Life Form" as he always loves to remember us. He doesn't die so easily. And he can't be dead after knocking me out without warning as he did during the battle! I want my payback!"
"Your reasons make sense, apart from the latter. He is not a normal living being after all. If you are right, I just wonder what is keeping him from coming back" Tails mused, pensive. "It's already been more than a year and half."
"Twenty months". The blue blur shrugged. "I don't know, maybe he lost his memory again. Or he isn't in the mood to see us. You know how lunatic he is at times!" he offered. "But…Why do we have to talk about that dark piece of ice, by the way?"
"You are the one who keeps his Rings and waits for him to come back!"
"It's just because I'm getting bored and I need some news. You were the one who started the discussion asking me about the Rings!"
Tails sighed. "I'm not the one who knows exactly how much time has passed since the last time we saw him…" he mumbled. "Listen, just drop this, OK? I agree, we don't have to talk about him. If he showed up we'll see what to do. Until he doesn't there's nothing we should worry about."
"That's what I wanted to hear!" the hero cheered up giving a nod of approval. "Now, what about a snack? All that cleaning made me hungry…"
The young genius couldn't help laughing. "Why I'm not surprised?" he commented. "Give me five minutes, I'll cook you something."
"Sure!". Sonic leaned back against the seatback, absently observing his friend getting busy with the food. His mind was still on their previous argument, even if he had said he didn't want to talk about it. Tails was right, maybe it had been a bit stupid conserving those Rings for such a long time. Even if Shadow was alive he had no reason to come back to them. He had never hung out with them, partially because they had always been on opposite sides until the final battles and mostly because the dark hedgehog simply never hung out. He was a loner, that wasn't a secret. At times he seemed to dislike any kind of company and if he stuck with them was only for sense of duty. He didn't have any bonds that could link him to them, even if the dark creature had heard his rival referring to him as a "friend" soon after knocking him out to prevent him from getting hurt during their last battle. Both his words and actions seemed to show that the black hedgehog cared about him and the others to some extent, but he didn't dare to speculate too much on it. Shadow was an obscure abyss for most part, and you never knew what his true reasons were.
The blue blur ran a hand in his quills, chasing away that thought. There was no point in wasting time wondering about his nemesis right now. It wasn't like he had to deal with him. He would just leave those considerations for the next time their paths would cross. He instead turned his attention to more urgent matters. He had just told his best friend that Eggman's lastest attacks had been lame, but he had the feeling that there was something going on. Every time their enemy had started to go "soft" on them he had later come out with some new sort of deadly weapon, giving him and his companions a really hard time. And he suspected that it was what was going to happen. But that time he wouldn't let the madman fool him. He gazed out of the window, losing his green eyes in the storm. Whatever the doctor was planning, he would be ready to smash it.
§§§§§
The rain kept falling hard, making it difficult to see what was going on all around. Three figures wrapped in brown raincoats were advancing on the muddy path, trying their best not to trip on the soaked ground. They couldn't have thought of a worst weather to go on a mission, especially such a delicate one. They had tried to convince their boss to wait until the storm was over, but there had been no way to make him change his mind. He was looking forward to put his hands on that information, it was quite clear, but that still didn't justify the fact that they had been sent out to face the harsh climate while he just stayed seated in his base.
"I wonder why it's always us who have to suffer the most uncomfortable conditions" the tallest complained. "I hate the rain! I can feel my limbs already getting rusty!"
"Don't tell that to me! I'm fed up with all this dirty work we are forced to do!" the one on his left snorted, obviously irritated. "If I get wetter I'll surely short-circuit! I'm glad that we are almost at the base!"
"I can't even fly with this storm!" the shorter cried out, pouting. "If I could it would take me much lesser time to get back!"
"Shut up, Bokkun! You have already caused enough troubles today!" the first one pointed out, glaring at him. "You and your explosion! We have almost got trapped because of you!"
"Well said, Decoe! I really didn't get why you had to come with us in the first place!" the second one agreed. "At times it seems that you do it on purpose!"
"But…But…It's not true!" Bokkun squealed grabbing Bocoe's arm and shaking it. "Why are you so mean with me?!"
"You are the one who messes with us!" Decoe talked back, while the gray robot freed himself from their companion's grip. "How can you ask us to act nice with you?!"
The smaller robot stamped his feet but he couldn't find a proper answer, so he kept quiet. He didn't get why nobody could appreciate his pranks. They were a lot of fun for him. His victims instead always got furious, especially the doctor, and forced him to flee as fast as possible. Their reactions scared him every time.
The three went on walking without speaking for the rest of the time, until they finally reached Eggman's headquarter. It was a huge construction, all made of metal and glass, build against the side of a slope. It was located deep in the forest, far away from every town or dwelling place, and it extended his foundations deep in the ground. They literally ran inside, eager to get out of the rain and sighed all together as soon as they found themselves in a dry place.
"Finally!" Bocoe exclaimed, quickly taking off his soaked coat and dumping it on the floor. "Let's go and see the doctor. Then we can dry off!"
The other two nodded and got rid of their clothes as well, before following him along the corridor. The control room was in the middle of the building and it took the three several minutes to reach it. Once there they entered without knocking and found their creator in a heated discussion with a certain bat they knew too well. Or, rather, the mad scientist was quite worked up, mostly because the thief had actually found a way to elude his security system once again, while Rouge was just standing in front of him, apparently untouched by his harsh words.
"We are back!" Decoe announced loudly. "Mission accomplished!"
"Mission, uh? What are you plotting this time?" the bat asked, curiously eyeing the CD that the yellow robot was carrying. "Some new weapon for world domination?"
"None of your business, bat" Eggman rudely answered. Then he turned to his creations. "Here you are! I was starting to think that you had got lost! Why did it take you so much? You just had to get it from my old headquarter! Nothing so difficult!"
"Have you looked out of the window?" Bocoe asked, clearly irritated. "There is a huge storm! We are not comfortable in the rain!"
"And the place was completely destroyed! It wasn't easy to find the data!" Decoe added with the same tone of voice. "And moreover Bokkun decided that he had to give us one of his explosive surprises while we were still inside the ruins!"
Bokkun groaned at those words and puffed out, but he carefully kept his mouth shut. The last thing he wanted was to be punished for his bad timing.
The doctor grabbed the CD. "I wouldn't care even if you had run into that annoying hedgehog" he said. "The only thing that matters is that now I have the program. I can complete my new creation now!". He let out a belly laugh, gaining a perplexed glance from all the presents.
"Don't tell me it's another robot! I've seen enough of those!" Rouge exclaimed. "Why don't you try to get more creative? We are all tired of those metal toys of yours!"
"Don't insult my genius, you thief!" he warned. His glasses shone in a dangerous way. "This robot will be my ultimate weapon! I'll destroy that cocky creature once and for all! Then I will start my empire and rule the universe!"
"Tsk, I don't even waste time to contradict you. After all everybody knows that you are going to lose. Sonic will kick your butt again" she stated, crossing her arms. "There's no "ultimate weapon" and there will never be. Well, apart from a certain common acquaintance of ours. But he is gone, isn't he?". She stared right at the man's face, challenging him. She has been fully aware since the beginning that he knew something about that issue, but she had never succeeded in making him spit the truth out. "What a pity."
"You are wrong, my dear. Just stay and see, Rouge, I'll be the one winning this time" the doctor smirked, ignoring her allusions and showing himself to be more than confident about his plan. He approached the main computer and inserted the CD, starting to key some buttons. "My robot is indestructible. Nothing can damage it! Apart from something that my enemies don't possess…"
A puzzled looked appeared on the bat's face. She was starting to get a bad feeling about the whole affair. "And what would that something be?" she questioned suspiciously.
"I shouldn't be telling you this considering how much fond of that echidna you have grown, but, even if you tell him, there will be nothing he could do about it" the man answered. "You see, Rouge, the only power that could destroy my creation is chaos energy. I've worked hard for almost a year to find the right alloy, but in the end I made it! Now, since the Master Emerald is still in pieces and the chaos emeralds are scattered in the universe, there's no way that Sonic and his little friends can fight me!"
"Well, for once I have to confess that I'm really impressed, doctor". She cracked a smile, hiding her growing worry. She hadn't liked the news. Even if she still kept on her own side, following her own goals, she had grew attached to the blue hedgehog's gang, especially to Knuckles who she bothered on daily basis. So she couldn't help feeling concerned for their safety. If what Eggman was saying was the truth, they would have been in great troubles. She needed to warn them, even only to tell them to be very careful. She approached the mad scientist, her expert eyes fixed on the computer screen. Maybe she could do something to prevent the man from carrying out his plan before it was too late. If she found a way to stop the robot before it was completed or to damage it in some way she would make her friends' task much easier. "And tell me, when will this robot be ready? I mean, if it's really as great as you claim, I don't want to miss the battle for any reason! It caught my interest."
"Don't worry, my dear, I'm not going to make a lady wait too much. It would be rude" the doctor laughed, his voice dripping sarcasm. He pushed another button. "You see, I've just finished uploading in my creation's memory all the data regarding my opponents. It is already ready to go and destroy them! It only misses a fundamental detail!"
Rouge fought hard to keep a blank expression, shocked by the news. Could it be that it was already too late for doing anything? "What…What detail?" she managed to inquire.
"A proper name, of course! This is the best fruit of my brilliant intellect! I must find something appropriated!" he boasted triumphantly, before bringing a hand under his chin and assuming a pensive expression. "How could I call it?"
The bat saw her best chance to flee and give the news to her companions. "Well, let me know when you are done, doctor. I'd better get going, I still have some things to do. You know, I owe a club now and it keeps me really busy! See ya soon, honeys!". And without waiting for an answer she ran out of the room as fast as she could.
"Don't you think we should stop her, doctor?" Decoe asked blinking. "She is surely going to give the news to Sonic and Co.!"
"Ah, let her do what she wants. It's too late for them!" the man mumbled. "Besides, there are more important businesses I need to take care of!"
"Yeah, finding a name for that stupid piece of metal" Bocoe mumbled rolling his eyes.
"I heard that!" Eggman exploded, pointing the door. "You are the stupid piece of metal! You useless robots! Now, get out of my way, you are disturbing my brainstorming!" The three immediately fled, not wanting to suffer his fury. He snorted crossing his arms. He wondered why he still kept those three with him. They did nothing but causing troubles and complaining to him. They were useful when it came to the low tasks, but he could have easily built more efficient and especially less talkative robots to replace them. Yet, he couldn't really bring himself to do it. They were the only ones among his creations who had survived during all those years of fighting and he would have lied if he had said that he didn't care at all about them. But, of course, those thoughts would never leave his mouth. He shook his head. "Those idiots would never understand the greatness of my creation! It will destroy that hedgehog fore…". He stopped midsentence, hit by an idea. "Oh, here is the perfect name!". He approached the controls once again. "Everything is ready! Now rise and do your job, Destroyer-S!"
§§§§§
Rouge flew quickly above the forest, heading towards the town were Sonic and friends lived. The storm seemed to have finally ended, and she was grateful for it. The rain would have made her task impossible. She needed to warn the blue blur about what was coming and she had to be fast. It wouldn't take too much time to Eggman to find a stupid name for his weapon. Her muscles were complaining for the sudden efforts, but she ignored them. She was almost there, she could already see the roofs.
Two minutes later she landed in front Tails's place. She didn't bother knocking and she burst into the house, finding the two friends on the floor of the living room, busy with some kind of game. They gave her a questioning glance, but she started to talk before one of them could open his mouth and ask what she was doing there.
"Eggman has a new robot and he will be activate it soon! It's a matter of minutes and…" she started, out of breath, but she couldn't end the sentence because an explosion made the ground shake. They all looked out of the window to see the smoke rising from the forest.
"I guess this new robot is already here!" Sonic exclaimed happily, hopping on his feet. "Good, finally some healthy action!"
"Sonic, don't…" the bat tried, but the blue hedgehog was out of her sight before she could warn him. "Ah! That idiot! He doesn't know in which kind of troubles he is getting himself into!" she growled, pissed off for being ignored. "If that robot kicks his ass I will laugh!"
"What are you talking about, Rouge?" Tails questioned seeing her reaction. "What's so special about this robot? You seemed worried when you arrived here!"
"Oh, I'm so glad you are more reasonable than that idiot!" she mumbled, before turning serious. "Listen, Tails, Eggman told me that he has created a new alloy to build that robot, an indestructible one that can be damaged only by chaos energy. So no matter how many times Sonic will hit that thing, he can't destroy it!"
The fox's eyes grew wide with worried. "That's bad, really bad. We need to do something. That thing must have a weak point!" he said, biting his lip. "We need to find it! But before that we need to warn Sonic of the danger!"
"That's what I was trying to do! But he is so careless at times!"
"Don't get pissed, Rouge. He is liked that. Let's follow him now, we don't have time to waste!"
She nodded, still a bit annoyed, but followed him out of the house and they took off, heading towards the smoke curtain. Rouge allowed herself a smile, seeing that the little genius was almost able to fly at her speed.
"You have got faster" she commented, playfully. Then she sped up. "But you still need to work hard to compete with me!"
"I have no doubt, Rouge!" he answered, with a brief chuckle. "Listen, since you are faster than me, there's something else you could do to help us. Go get Knuckles! We will surely need his help, Sonic can't fight alone this time!"
"With pleasure" she answered smirking and suddenly bending to right.
Tails went straight on and arrived on the battlefield just in time to see Sonic and Eggman yelling at each other. He immediately understood that something wasn't right. The new robot, a giant anthropomorphic machine, wasn't aiming specifically for his best friend, but seemed more interested in destroying everything around it.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" the blue hedgehog was shouting, incredulous. "Talk a language that I can understand, Egghead!"
"Ah, you are such an ignorant being! I can't believe I'm not able to get rid of you!" the man cursed. "What I am trying to say is that there was a problem with the artificial intelligence of Destroyer-S and now he doesn't answer my commands anymore!"
"So you did a mess, the thing went crazy and now you have no control on it?"
"If you want to put it that way…Yes."
Sonic dogged a laser beam. "Oh, wow! You are the worst, man!"
"Sonic! Be careful, that thing can be damaged only by chaos energy!" Tails shout, approaching them. "And since now not even Eggman can stop it we really are in big troubles…"
The hero stared at his younger companion, completely astonished. Then he turned to face Eggman again. He couldn't believe it. "I hope one of you can find a way out while I'm distracting that thing because if you don't we are all damned!". And with that he jumped on the robot, cursing. "That poor apology for a doctor owes me a lot this time!"
