Five Months Later…
It was Christmas time in Safe Haven…
The snow was falling on the island, covering it in a soft, powdery blanket of snow. Even now the training program was tough on the soldiers, but it wasn't scheduled the same as it was in the summer. Training only amounted to the morning, and then the soldiers had the rest of the day to do what they felt. Most of them used their time to help the island and shovel away the snow from the streets of the town, while others shoveled around their barracks.
Christmas decorations were put up all over town; green trim, colorful lights, golden, sparkling stars and silver sparkling snowflakes. Warm feelings were through the air for most soldiers… most…
"…I hate Christmas…" groaned Diablo, staring up at the decorations with a glare.
"...it only brings memories about nasties..." Kiri murmured, staying close to Diablo.
"...right...me too," Diablo murmured, looking away. "...c'mon Kiri...let's get some hot chocolate..." and he took her hand to walk away. With a brief nod, Kiri followed Diablo.
In the pub, Ani was whistling a merry tune of "Jingle Bells" while she was wiping the tables down with a cloth. She loved Christmas time, especially with her Dad and his friends. It was pretty crazy…
"I see that the Christmas spirit is in high gear?" As the pub door opened, Queen, Miser and Ripper walked into it, each of them giving Ani a nod.
"Sure is!" Ani announced with a chuckle. "I sure can't wait for the huge Christmas party!"
"Now here's a question for you; have you been a good girl, this year?" Queen chuckled, as the three of them took a seat.
"Because if you haven't been one, you only get a lump of coal, kekeke!" Ripper snickered.
"Aw c'mon! I've been totally good!" Ani said. "You know how hard it is to stay good when you see all the soldiers get drunk, huh?"
"Relax, Ani; we have no reason to doubt you being good." Miser said with a smile.
Ani chuckled in response. The door opened again and three more people came in. When Ani saw who it was, she smiled. "Sonia! Jill! Hi!"
"Hiya, guys!" Sonia called with a wave.
The other three gave them a nod and a smile. Jill smiled back, and she looked at Joy in her arms.
"Dabu dabu dada baba ookoo!" Right now it was utter gibberish, but it worked for Joy. After all, she was more social now…
"Hello to you too Joy!" Ani giggled.
"She seems healthy; that's a good sign." Queen noted with a chuckle.
"Kekeke! I'll say!" Ripper nodded in agreement.
Jill smiled at them again.
"So Jiiiiiiiiiill!" Ani walked up behind Jill. "You wanna come to our Christmas party?"
"The Christmas party?" Sonia uttered, before she smacked her forehead. "Dang it, I've forgotten all about that!"
"You have been pretty busy lately, Sonia..." Miser mused. "...maybe going could be a good way to just relax for both of you?"
Jill became intrigued about all of this, looking at all of them in question about this party.
"King plans it with a little too much enthusiasm if you ask me," Hunter walked right into the pub right then through the butler doors.
"Well, that's how King does things, kekeke." Ripper mused, glancing at Hunter as he came in.
"You don't think I know?" Hunter mused. "After all, us two had a rivalry going on since we were born…you get to learn a lot about your rival if you want to learn how to beat him." Then he chuckled.
"Dad, you're not thinking of challenging King to any kind of competition this year, are you?" Ani asked suspiciously.
"….noooooo…" and he looked away from Ani.
Jill would chuckle if she could. Instead, Joy did that for her, giggling and kicking her legs, though Queen, Miser and Ripper chuckled as well, while Sonia just smirked.
"…speaking of which, I actually have to help Sage out with some things!" Hunter cleared his throat and put on a thick coat and scarf. "Look over the pub for me, would you Ani?" and he was out the door.
"…right…" Ani chuckled.
With a snicker, Sonia shook her head with a shrug. "That's Hunter for ya, I suppose." she mused.
Now Joy kept kicking her feet and whining, which indicated to Jill that she wanted to be put down. She decided to set Joy down by Queen's chair, and the little girl started grabbing the chair to pull herself up onto her feet.
"Wow, Joy's getting to be a big girl," Ani remarked, watching her.
"I'll say." Queen mused with a slight smile.
Joy tried to let go and take a step then, but she lost her balance immediately and fell back onto her butt. Then she giggled again, finding it amusing.
"Well, she'll get there eventually," Ani said with a shrug.
"Definitely." Miser nodded.
With that, Jill decided to pull over a chair and sit at the table that Queen, Miser and Ripper were at, looking down at Joy as she chose Jill's chair to climb up this time. Sonia, on the other hand, took a seat by the counter, and looked back at Joy as well.
"So, you guys want some breakfast?" Ani asked.
"Sure." Queen nodded.
"I could go for something to eat, yes." Miser nodded as well.
"Something for all of us, then! Kekekekeke!" Ripper chuckled.
"Alrighty," Ani said with a chuckle, tying on an apron.
"Hey, you wouldn't mind making some breakfast for us too, would you Ani?"
Ani looked, and saw five hounds walking into the pub. "Oh, hi guys," she said. "Sure, I can make breakfast for you lot."
"Thanks; mighty appreciated," Cowpoke said with a tip of his hat.
"Indeed." Merde hummed with a nod.
"...you five hanging in there?" Miser inquired, glancing at the five hounds.
"Eh, I can't complain, really." Rott mused with a shrug.
"Go ahead and have a seat, boys. I'll get your food shortly!" Ani called.
"Don't mind if we do," Cowpoke replied, taking a table that was right near the one where Queen and the others were.
"Muh! Muh!" Joy was pointing at Mud-Pie and calling out at him.
"Wow, she's talking now?" Mud-Pie said in amazement.
"Yep, she is." Sonia said with a nod. "Pretty amazing, isn't it?"
"Well, it's a first, I gotta admit..." Rott hummed, rubbing his chin.
Joy fell on her butt again and quickly crawled her way up to Smokey's chair. The large dog looked down at the baby as she climbed up to her feet again, and Joy looked back up curiously at Smokey. "Dababa ta babooo…" She muttered, reaching her hand up to Smokey.
Smokey grunted a little bit… and he pet her head. "Cute…" he muttered, though he didn't smile.
"Wow, she won Smokey over," Cowpoke joked.
"Curious." Merde mused, rubbing his chin.
"I'll say." Rott remarked.
After Smokey was done patting her head, Joy patted her own head wonderingly. That was when Ani came around with trays of dishes with food on them. "There you are everybody!" she said, setting some down on Queen's table and others down on the table with the hounds.
"Much obliged." Merde said with a nod.
"Alright; I'm starving! Kekekekeke!" Ripper cackled.
Ani came over behind the counter when everybody started eating. "Hey Sonia, did you want anything?"
"Um... just a soda, and some eggs and bacon." Sonia hummed with a quick nod.
"Okay, comin' up," Ani said, handing her a soda and getting to work on the eggs and bacon.
They all started chatting while eating and it went back and forth between different things. Throughout it all, Cowpoke was making an occasional glance at Jill, but she didn't notice him. She was too occupied watching Joy crawl around the pub, making sure she didn't get hurt. Though one who did notice this was Sonia, who just happened to shoot him a glance when she was about to put her soda bottle against her lips. With a silent hum, she looked away; pretending not to have seen anything.
It wasn't long before the hounds finished their meal first, and they each set money on the table. "Thanks a bunch Ani," Cowpoke said with a nod. "We should take off and see if Sage or King need anything done."
"Right." Merde nodded.
"Thanks for the meal, and all that jazz." Rott said, before he stood up; along with the other hounds.
They all headed toward the door, and Joy noticed that. "Chooo!" she squealed.
"Bye bye!" Mud-Pie called back at Joy.
Cowpoke halted and looked back at everyone; mostly Jill. "…see you 'round," he said, and then all of them were gone.
"...what a pleasant crew." Miser hummed with a smile.
"I'll say, kekeke..." Ripper nodded.
"...hm." Queen nodded as well.
Only Sonia was silent, as she took a swig from the soda bottle.
"Mama, uppy!" Joy waved her arms up and jumped on her butt. "Uppy!" Jill was done eating anyway, so she got up from her chair and picked Joy up.
"There you go Sonia," Ani said, handing her a plate of what she wanted. Then she noticed how silent Sonia was. "…something wrong?" she whispered to Sonia so the others wouldn't hear over their chatter.
"...nothing's wrong." Sonia whispered back. "I just... noticed something interesting."
"Oh yeah?" Ani muttered. "What is it?"
"...well... did you notice how Cowpoke looked at Jill?" Sonia hummed.
"…wait…he was looking at her?" Ani became bewildered. "What do you mean he was looking at her? Why?"
"I dunno; he was just looking at her in a way that caught my attention..." Sonia whispered.
"…I hope that Cowpoke's not just another creep…" Ani muttered. "…but since he's got a kid, I guess that wouldn't be true…"
"No, he seems like a reasonable and likeable guy." Sonia whispered. "A far cry from creeps like Raider and Hex, that's for sure..."
"Tell me about it," groaned Ani.
"...hmm..." Sonia hummed... before she smiled. "...maybe I can visit him later and ask him what's up?" she mused, before taking a swig from the bottle.
"…that wouldn't be a bad idea," Ani mused.
Hunter finally arrived to his destination, which was somewhere else in town, and it wasn't long at all before he found Sage. "Okay Sage; you said you needed my help?" he said.
"Yep." Sage nodded, before she closed her eyes. "Let me just fill you in..."
Instantly, a large mass of information appeared and flowed through Hunter's head. He blinked, and his eyes widened. "…are you serious?" he complained. "Will and his group chose Christmas time to play such a practical joke?"
"It was meant as a harmless prank, sure, but it ended up causing a lot more damage than needed." Sage sighed. "We can't let it look like it does with Christmas around the corner..."
Hunter sighed too, and rubbed his brow. "…well, with enough soldiers, I'm sure it can get cleaned up in a jiffy," he said.
"Hopefully, yeah." Sage nodded, rubbing her head.
"…let's get to it then…" Hunter muttered. "Take me where the building is…"
"Right this way." Sage said with a nod, before she began heading off in one direction.
Hunter followed her, and the two walked down the road for a long while. The snow started to fall thicker now, and every time it hit their faces, it bit coldly. However, Hunter was used to such a cold winter like this from years of his own experiences living in the cold. Sage seemed more attuned to the harsh weather as well; her experiences combined with her psychic abilities let her traverse the cold without as much as a grimace.
Eventually they reached where they were headed, and already there were a bunch of soldiers there. It used to be a building, but now it was in shambles of broken glass, boards, shingle, and many other things. It looked like a twister took it right down, but it looked very off-taking considering that the other buildings around it were perfectly unharmed.
"...well, here it is..." Sage sighed, looking at those ruins.
"Okay…" Hunter cracked his knuckles. "Step back everybody!" When everyone saw him raise his hands, they were quick to run out of the way. It took quite a little bit of concentration to lift most of the pieces out of the way to lessen the mess. In fact, Hunter wasn't quite able to get all of it and he had to stop.
"…Damn… I must be getting old or something…" he muttered.
"...you want me to give you a hand?" Sage inquired, tilting her head as she walked next to Hunter.
"…no, it's fine," Hunter said. "I was just rearranging the mess so that the rest of the soldiers could work more easily…" and after that, the soldiers went back to work.
"...don't worry; you're not growing too old just yet." Sage chuckled, patting Hunter on his shoulder.
"Whether we want to deny it or not, we'll get old eventually," Hunter remarked. "Then we'll have to find people to hand down the responsibilities of taking care of everything…"
"...hey, that's not gonna happen for at least 25 years from now." Sage chuckled. "For now, let's just do what we do best."
Hunter chuckled then. "…knowing King, it would be over 30 years for him…maybe even more."
"Definitely more," Sage chuckled in return.
"…sometimes I envy the energy he has…" Hunter murmured. "…but I don't envy the trouble he got into when he was younger…"
"...well, we all got into our own sets of trouble." Sage mused with a shrug. "Not much that can be done about that."
"True…" Hunter murmured. He saw more soldiers passing by that came over and started to lend a hand; that group of five hounds included. With more of the help, Hunter decided to at least pitch in a little bit, and he rose some more of the pieces off the area like the rest of the soldiers. Sage decided to help as well; by moving other pieces out of the soldiers' way.
Jill stood outside in the cold. She was wearing a coat that Sonia let her borrow… and boots and mittens and a scarf too. Sonia let her borrow a lot of things… after all, the only thing she had was that cloak when she came here during the summer months ago and the clothes on her back, along with the blanket that Joy was wrapped up in.
Other than that, she had almost nothing. For Sonia to give her so much stuff, she was thankful. Most of her old clothes were torn and worn out; except, somehow, for her favorite green jacket that she's had for all these years. That green jacket must have been enchanted or something…it's been with her for so long, through so many things, standing the test of time and hardship with only a little rips here and there, but rips that were easily fixed.
…that's the only possession she's had to hold the most memories…along with some written journal entries that she carried around with her.
Right now, she was standing in the snow, taking another full look around Safe Haven. Yes, she's been here for a few months now, but because Joy was so young, Jill had spent most of her time in that little cozy cabin over the summer and autumn. It wasn't until recently that Jill actually started getting out more, and she was taking in the sight of this town with some amazement. She never knew a settlement like this could be built on an island that was once nothing more but a military prison base.
She wondered what Sonic, Shadow, and all their other friends would make of all this.
Joy was with Ani, Miser and Ripper in the pub. When Queen left to attend to her duties, they strongly insisted that Jill finally walk around a bit and take a breather. Jill was almost certain that Ani wanted more time to play with baby Joy, and she would've giggled at the thought. Though she was apprehensive about the idea, Jill finally agreed to it… and for the first time ever, she was away from Joy for now, all alone…
"...so, you're this Jill, hm?"
Jill blinked, and turned her head.
The one who called to her was a female octopus, who gave Jill a nod. "...it's a pleasure to meet you." she said with a sultry smirk.
Jill just kept staring at her, wondering who she was.
With a chuckle, the octopus approached her. "...let me introduce myself." she said, taking Jill's hand. "My name is Hex." Jill's eyes widened then and she yanked away her hand with a glare of detest at her. So this was the Hex that tried to take her away all those months ago…
Hex just chuckled. "Oh, my; how angry you seem." she mused. "Was it something I said?"
Jill only glared back at her.
"...what's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Hex chuckled, shaking her head. "I can see that you're... agitated. Why don't we step inside, and …talk it over?"
Jill only folded her arms and kept glaring at Hex, more suspiciously now. She remembered what happened, and going with this woman somewhere was a bad idea.
"...oh, what's with that look?" Hex chuckled, pressing a finger against her own lips. "I just want to talk, honest. I won't hurt you... unless you want me to."
Jill shook her head at Hex, and turned to walk away from her. Before she could, though, Hex suddenly snatched Jill with a tentacle, keeping her from moving. "Now don't be rude, Jill." she huffed. "I'd just like to get to know you better. Is that so wrong?"
Jill looked at the tentacle that Hex wrapped around her, and she glared back at Hex. She wanted her to let go…
"...now... shall we step inside?" Hex hummed, motioning towards the cabin. "Or would you rather we step into my personal quarters?"
Jill put her hand on the tentacle and tried to pry it off of her. In response, Hex just coiled it slightly tighter around Jill. "Oh, no, no, no, don't be like that... mmmh... actually, do be like that. It makes things more exciting." she chuckled.
"You take your slimy, slithering little tentacle off of the lady…"
Jill took another look, and realized that someone was standing between her and Hex, holding a shotgun in his hand. He flicked his cowboy hat up, showing Hex a harsh glare. "I thought King and his troupe made it perfectly clear that you leave her alone, Hex," growled Cowpoke.
Looking at Cowpoke, Hex grit her teeth. "...upstart little country bumpkin..." she hissed. Though her glare didn't lose its intensity, the tentacle uncoiled itself from Jill, letting her go.
"I wouldn't harm a hair on a mouse, but you push yer luck, and I'll be forced to use ol' Buckwheat here," Cowpoke said, pumping his shotgun. "And I ain't afraid to go back to prison…"
That saying really took Jill's attention, not to mention that he pumped the shotgun. Was he really going to use it?
…and… he's been in prison?
Cowpoke then pointed the shotgun at Hex. "So why don't you just be on your way, huh?"
Hex snarled again. "...you won't be here forever, pup." she huffed, before she slithered off; shooting Cowpoke a hateful glare before she left.
When Hex was gone, Cowpoke let down his guard, and a smirk appeared across his face. Then a chuckle, which turned into amused laughter. Jill stared at him in bewilderment and slight fear. Why was he laughing so much?
"I didn't even have any ammo in this thing," Cowpoke laughed, popping the shotgun open. Sure enough, there wasn't any ammo in there. "Good thing she bought my bluff…"
Now that Jill understood what was so funny, she actually smiled a little bit. That was pretty amusing…
"Yer okay, right?" Cowpoke asked. Jill nodded. "That's good," he responded, looking relieved. "…believe it or not, I really would use this thing if it was that serious…"
Jill was a bit surprised to hear him say that. She didn't know that there was actually someone besides King's group and Sonia that would get violent if it meant keeping her safe.
"Yeah, Petunia never really approved of that kind of behavior, but what can I say? A man's got to do what a man's got to do," Cowpoke said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "…even if it DOES mean going to prison for it…"
So he was telling the truth about the prison. Jill tilted her head in wondering.
"Oh, you wonderin' what I went to prison fer?" Cowpoke asked, just to see Jill nod. "…well, I was young back then and I thought I was kinda above rules. Only reason they were able to catch me was 'cause they were just a bit faster. I put up a hell of a fight too, and I was put in jail a lot for assault…but I still think I dun some of them things for good reasons. After all, most of the times I hit someone was because they were pickin' on somebody smaller'n them."
Jill blinked. She didn't know that he had a history of fighting like that… maybe Safe Haven was a good place for him…
"…that's mostly why my Pa has issues with me," Cowpoke continued. "See, I've been quarrelin' with the guy for my whole life. He'd give me such a lecture for makin' my poor Ma worry about me so much. We even got in our own fist fights… I guess I brought Mud-Pie here so that I can show him to be a strong man like his daddy… that… and I don't wanna treat him like my Pa treated me…I wanna encourage the boy to be good."
Jill smiled and nodded in agreement.
"…oh damn, I just went flapping my gums without warning, didn't I?" Cowpoke chuckled in embarrassment. "Sorry…" Jill shook her head with a smile and waved, meaning that it was alright and he didn't have to apologize.
Cowpoke smiled at her.
"…I… gotta go find my buddies," Cowpoke said, kicking a pebble. Then his head lowered. "Y'see, we've still got some things to do before Christmas comes around and we can relax."
Jill nodded.
Cowpoke looked back up at her… this time, with kind of a sad smile. "…be careful, 'kay? It's pretty easy to get cornered like that again if yer all alone, and there might not be somebody to step in next time…" Jill nodded again in understanding, and that was enough for Cowpoke to start walking away.
That look was still very intriguing for Jill, and she watched him walk away with wonder.
"Jill!"
At that point, Sonia ran up to Jill, glancing towards where Cowpoke was walking off. "...what happened?" she inquired, glancing back at Jill.
Jill reached into her coat for the notepad.
I finally met Hex, and she saw how agitated I was, so she insisted that we "talk somewhere private." I knew that would be a bad idea, but when I tried to walk away, Hex grabbed me. Then Cowpoke stepped in and drove her off, she wrote.
"...oh, I see..." Sonia hummed, before she looked back at where Cowpoke once was. "...I went and checked if he was home, but he wasn't... guess that explains where he went." Then, she sighed. "Good thing that he drove away Hex; if she had gotten you somewhere no one could get to you..." she uttered, shuddering.
…you wouldn't have to tell me anything, Jill wrote, shuddering as well.
"...hn." Sonia grunted, before she looked at Jill. "...did you and Cowpoke talk?"
Well, more like he talked and I listened, Jill wrote jokingly, smiling when she wrote.
"Aah." Sonia nodded, smiling as well. "...just curious, but what kind of impression did you get from him?"
He seems very friendly, Jill wrote. At first, he seemed really violent with Hex with a shotgun, but when she left, he showed me that it didn't even have any ammo in it, and he thought it was so entertaining that Hex bought his bluff… but he told me that if Hex actually hurt me, then he really would've used it.
"...really..." Sonia hummed, rubbing her chin. "...anything else?"
He's been to prison before, apparently, Jill continued to write. He said that it's mostly been for assault charges because he's been sticking up for people, and he got into a lot of fist fights; even with his own father. He said that he brought his son here so that he could encourage him to be strong, and not have to be treated like how his father treated him.
…then he looked a little sad when he said that he had to go find his friends, and he told me to be sure and not get cornered again. He actually seemed a little worried when he said that next time, there might not be someone to step in for me, Jill finished writing.
"...is that right..." Sonia hummed, as she rubbed her chin. "...I getcha..." Then, she nodded. "Right; the important thing is that Hex isn't bugging you. You wanna go pick up Joy, now?"
Jill nodded, and stuck her notepad back in her coat. Rubbing her hands together, Sonia began walking ahead of them. ...very interesting... I should confront Cowpoke about this soon, she thought to herself.
Nighttime fell over the island, and that was when the blizzard picked up a little bit. Not many soldiers walked around on this evening outside. Most stayed in the pub, where the alcohol would warm them up.
"Just one more day until Christmas Eve!" Ani cheered.
A bunch of soldiers cheered as well and raised their glasses to that.
"Amen to that!" one of the soldiers laughed.
"...loud as always..." Sage chuckled, as she sat by the counter, "...just like it should be."
"They'll all be pretty happy to know that there's no training tomorrow and they could relax," Hunter added. "Plus, there'll be lots of people to come and visit some of them. Tomorrow sure is going to be crazy…"
"I'll say," Ani said. "There's always going to be people here!"
"Right you are." Sage chuckled.
""scuse me, can I have another round?" another soldier said, raising his glass at the counter.
"Coming up!" Ani said.
"Hey, can I get one, too?" another voice called, as a certain rattlesnake raised her glass towards the counter as well.
"Sure Sonia!" called Ani.
Cowpoke chuckled. "…this is some place," he muttered.
"Great, isn't it?" Sonia chuckled.
"…where do people like them come up with the idea for Safe Haven?" Cowpoke wondered, taking a sip from his large mug.
"I guess King's been having that idea for many years." Sonia shrugged. "He's never really disclosed why, though."
"…hm…to build a place like this, you'd have to be daring and crazy…" Cowpoke mused, looking at his drink.
"Here you go Sonia!" Ani finally came around and poured more for Sonia.
"Thanks!" Sonia said with a smile, before she turned back to Cowpoke. "Well, daring and crazy are just two words one could use to describe King with." she snickered.
"No kidding," Ani agreed. Then she looked at Cowpoke. "You want a refill?"
"No thanks, I'm good," Cowpoke replied.
"Alrighty then!" Ani said, vanishing away into the crowd.
With a small laugh, Sonia took a swig from her drink, before placing the glass on the table. With the crowd full of chatter... "...so, Cowpoke... how are things nowadays?"
"Not too bad," Cowpoke said. "Me and my boys have gotten the hang of things around here, so we've been able to stay outta trouble."
"That's good." Sonia hummed. "Have the others found anything particular to do in their spare time?"
"Smokey's been explorin' on his own around the island," Cowpoke started, tapping his chin. "Merde and Rott in the meantime have been pretty much doing their own thing. In fact, the times we're all together are usually when it's lights out back at the barracks or when we decide to gather here and have ourselves food that's better than what the Mess Hall can offer."
"Right..." Sonia hummed. "...and you and Mud-Pie?"
Cowpoke smiled. "He's been getting better," he said. "I can see some improvements in him, and he's so durn happy about it too. It's adorable, really…"
Sonia smiled as well. "...what about you, then?"
"I've been alright," Cowpoke said with a shrug. "After all, I'm still not used to a place that actually lets me beat the crap out of somebody who's bugging me without too much of a punishment… guess I've been around the outside world for too long."
"Hm." Sonia mused, taking a small swig. "...are you enjoying the sights, by any chance?"
"Well, island's pretty big. I'd say that Smokey would be enjoying the sights more than I was," Cowpoke said.
Sonia giggled a little. "I wasn't talking about the scenery, Cowpoke."
"Oh, you weren't?" he asked curiously. "Then what were you talkin' about?"
"C'mon, you know what I'm talking about." Sonia giggled, playfully nudging Cowpoke's shoulder. "You can tell me; there's no need to be shy about it."
Cowpoke blinked at her. "…talk about what?" he asked again. "I'm confused."
"Oh, come on; it's been a few months." Sonia said with a smirk. "There's got to be someone you've set your eyes on, right?"
Cowpoke took a minute to think, and then a small smile crossed his face. "Oh…I see what'cher talkin' about now…" and after her took a drink, he stared down at it. "…so you noticed…huh?"
"...kinda hard not to." Sonia hummed. "Just a glance the right way, and..."
"…I see," Cowpoke murmured.
"Hey, like I said, don't be shy about it." Sonia chuckled. "Go on; confide yourself with me. I'll be more than willing to support ya."
Cowpoke looked at her a bit, and eventually he chuckled. "…well, for one thing, I don't know one thing about romance. That's the reason my marriage was a bust…I mean, we were both REALLY young when Petunia became pregnant with Mud-Pie; she was just 15 and I was 17 at the time. It's just a disaster…"
"…but here I am, thinking about it again…"
"...well..." Sonia hummed, rubbing her chin. "...what exactly are you thinking, when you look at her?"
"…Petunia was 'cause I was some crazy kid back then and I didn't know better," Cowpoke said. "…but your friend…she's different."
He looked up at Sonia with sincere eyes. "…I'm a good judge of character… and while your friend has the guts to stand up for herself… she's been through so much abuse that she can barely handle taking care of Joy…"
Sonia hummed, nodding a few times as she looked right back at Cowpoke.
"…but there's something about her that really stands out…" Cowpoke added. "…I don't know why, but I feel kinda drawn toward her I guess…maybe 'cause she's got a baby and she was young, like I was…"
"…your friend…she's from a really far place, ain't she?"
"...yeah." Sonia nodded. "She used to live in a village, far removed from society and everything... but she was exiled, and had to wander off on her own." Then, she sighed. "...she's been through a lot."
"…somebody told me that something tragic happened to Joy's father," Cowpoke said. "I think it might've been Ani…"
"...yeah... she lost him to some robbers." Sonia sighed, looking down at her glass.
"…somebody like her that's been through so much… and she's still on her feet like that," Cowpoke said. "…I…admire her for that…"
"...really, now..." Sonia hummed, nodding a little.
Cowpoke took another drink, falling silent after that. He looked a bit sad again, but he tried to hide it in front of Sonia.
"...is there something else on your mind?" Sonia inquired, tilting her head at seeing him looking a bit sad.
"…with your friend the way she is, I don't want to push her into something that she won't be able to handle," Cowpoke said. "…and my divorce was pretty ugly, so…in a way, I guess I'm not sure if I'm ready to try again or not…"
"...hmm..." Sonia hummed, before sighing. "...I can get it if you're not feeling ready yet..." she mused, as she took another swig, "...but you wouldn't necessarily be pushing her into it. It doesn't have to be sudden; it could be eased into..."
"I suppose," Cowpoke responded. "…but we got children in the factor too. Joy, maybe not so much since she's too young…but I'm not sure if I should let Mud-Pie get attached to her, only to find out that we won't see each other again. After all, the divorce hit my son harder than me…"
"...right..." Sonia nodded, drumming her fingers against the table. "...well... I'm no expert when children are involved... but before you involve the kids, I think it might be best if you and Jill find out whether or not it'll... y'know, work." With a small nod, she took another swig of her drink.
"Right…" Cowpoke took another drink of his. "…sometimes…I wish she could talk…just so I could hear what her voice might sound like… maybe it'd sound as gentle as her…"
"...I'm sure it does." Sonia nodded, before he finished what was in her glass. "...damn it all, I'm gonna be waking up in bed next to some random guy while swearing never to drink again tomorrow." she eventually snickered. "That's how it usually goes."
"Why not just stay here?" Cowpoke suggested. "The storm out there's not looking too good, and drunks aren't fit to walking around in the ice and snow; even though it's funny as hell to watch them slip all over themselves."
"Even so, I'm still gonna end up waking up next to some guy tomorrow morning." Sonia chuckled. "That's what happens when I get drunk; no exceptions."
Cowpoke chuckled a little bit, and took one last drink to finish it off. Then he fell silent for a little while, until…
"…Brownie…"
Blinking, Sonia looked at Cowpoke. "...come again?"
"…hm?" Cowpoke looked up at Sonia curiously.
"...you... just said Brownie." Sonia pointed out. "What, are you getting the munchies?"
"…no…" Cowpoke murmured. "….that's…what she kinda reminds me of…she's brown, and she seems sweet…like chocolate brownies…it just came out of nowhere in my head."
Sonia blinked. "...uh... huh." she blinked. "...you... sure you're still sober, if only a bit?"
Cowpoke shrugged. "Maybe I'm piss drunk for all I know…"
"...you know, maybe I am, too." Sonia shrugged, before she raised her glass. "Hey, Ani, can I get a refill?" she called.
"Sure!" Ani called from across the pub.
"…I still suggest staying in one of the back rooms of the pub," Cowpoke said; "if you plan on getting so drunk... hell, that's probably what I'll have to do. It'd be too cold in the barracks for Mud-Pie to try and sleep."
"True..." Sonia nodded. "...but I'm still gonna be dragging some guy with me in my drunken stupor." she shrugged.
"Choose wisely then," Cowpoke chuckled.
"Right." Sonia nodded, before she began looking around her. "Let's see... who looks good right now, and who's going to look fifty times better when I'm giggling like a schoolgirl thanks to the alcohol?"
Cowpoke shrugged, and when Ani came by to pour them some more drinks, he started looking around.
Then his eyes fell upon another's in the pub. It was Sage, who seemed to be eying him and Sonia from the corner of her eye. Rather than looking away in a flustered manner, she just shot Cowpoke a quick smirk, before she returned to her drink.
Cowpoke only found it suspicious, but he let it go when he took another drink.
"...oh, it makes me mad!" With a yell, Hex tossed an empty wine bottle right against a wall, before she slumped down on her king-sized bed with a massive pout. "Damn good-for-nothing stupid filthy pound dog..." she murmured, folding her arms. With a groan, she turned over on her bed. "Not only does he have the nerve to insult me, but he ruined my fun as well..." With a hiss, she grabbed another bottle, and tossed it at the wall. "I'm not a gas station toilet, damn it!"
Before this one hit the wall though, a hand caught it.
"...hngh?" With an angry scowl, Hex glared at the wall she thought the glass bottle would strike.
"We don't want to make a mess, do we?"
It was Diablo standing there.
"...Diablo...?" Hex uttered, slowly sitting up. "...you, coming into my abode? That's a first..."
"I'm sure it is," Diablo spoke. "But then again, holidays call for the unusual…"
"...unusual..." Hex hummed, before she glanced downwards... and her mood turned from sour to bright. "...now who's your little friend?"
As it turned out, Kiri poked out from behind Diablo, looking warily at Hex.
"She's my little sister…" Diablo answered, pulling something out from behind his back. It turned out to be a knife. "…and if you try touching her, you'll get this lodged up that hole of yours."
"Mmmh..." Hex chuckled, wagging her finger at Diablo. "So quick to violence... that's what I like about you." Then, she rose from the bed, folding her arms. "So, what brings you here? Couldn't get enough of the holiday spirit?"
Diablo scoffed. "I don't give a crap about Christmas. It's all bullshit… I'm just wondering what happened this morning regarding that woman and the cowboy. It was a curious sight…"
"...you saw that?" Hex huffed, before she folded her arms. "I attempted to pay Jill a visit when she was all on her own. The soldiers I was going to pay to deliver her to me didn't do any good, so I figured I'd give it a shot myself... and that... flea-ridden scum... just showed up and killed my buzz. Hell, he could've killed me, with that damn shotgun of his..."
Kiri just narrowed her eyes a little.
"…so that's it," Diablo murmured dryly.
"...feh." Hex scoffed. "I can't stand that bag of fleas, anyway. He's just no fun..."
"...you're just mad because he made fun of you for being a nasty." Kiri pointed out.
This just made Hex fume, as she had an incredibly offended look on her face from that remark.
"I'm sure he was bluffing about using the shotgun," Diablo spoke. "Maybe he just has a strong-willed façade, hiding an insecure inner being…"
"...insecure...?" Hex blinked, looking crossly at Diablo.
"…I can tell that a lot of soldiers on here pretend to be tough, just because it's a warrior nation and you have to be tough," Diablo said. "But in the barracks, the soldiers are really nervous and jittery when things go bump in the night…perhaps the same could go for that cowboy?"
"...hrm..." Humming, Hex rubbed her chin; as if the thought hadn't struck her before now. "...curious..."
"...you mean you didn't consider that the nasty was a phony?" Kiri scoffed.
"Shush." Hex huffed. "For being so young, your little sister has quite the mouth on her, Diablo."
"Don't blame me," Diablo said.
"I'm not." Hex groaned, rolling her eyes. "...hm... if he's just putting on an act to make himself look tougher..." she mused, glancing to the side with a thoughtful look.
"Anyhow, we'll be leaving now," Diablo said, taking Kiri's hand to walk away. "If I even cared at all for this stupid holiday, now would be the time where I wished you Merry Christmas…"
"...right." Hex hummed, as she was rubbing her chin. "...on your way out, would you tell Mordecai to come up here? I need to discuss something with him."
Kiri just stepped closer to Diablo, shooting Hex a look.
"Whatever," Diablo grunted. Then they were gone…
With a hum, Hex sat down on her bed, picking up one of the empty wine bottles; just weighing it in her hand with a thoughtful expression.
In a little while, her manservant, who was a male Siamese cat, came into the room. "You wanted to speak to me, madam?" he asked.
"...yes." Hex nodded, placing the wine bottle on the floor. "You're aware of those five hounds who were part of the new recruits, correct?"
"Yes, I believe so," the cat answered.
"...I want you to keep an eye on two of them; the father and his son. I have some... business to deal with them." Hex nodded. "The son, for instance... how old would you say he is?"
"I would say he's about five or six years old," the cat supposed.
"Hmph... not much of a challenge, there." Hex hummed, drumming her fingers together. "If he was about ten years older, I could've focused my efforts exclusively on him; I'd get something proper out of it, then... but, I suppose blackmail and hostages would be par for the course." Then, she nodded. "From now on, keep an eye on them, and give me reports on what their weaknesses are..." Then, she sighed. "...and... go get one of the slaves in the dungeon; I haven't gotten anything in a while..."
"…yes ma'am," he answered, turning to leave.
With a sigh, Hex dropped onto the bed, fanning herself. "The things I have to go through..." she murmured, though she grinned a little, "...but, I suppose the payoff will be more than worth the effort."
The next day came to Safe Haven, and since it was Christmas Eve, there was all kinds of activity going on throughout the entire island. Soldiers were running through town to see what shopping they could do for their buddies, and the dock was crowded with so many Mobians, awaiting the ferry to roll in and unload loved ones and friends that came to visit each of the soldiers.
Every time the ferry came, the soldiers cheered out loud and those on the ferry would rush out to meet the soldiers. Others on the ferry calmly disembarked.
Like one Mobian for instance.
Flamenco even had to stop him for a moment. "…Senor, I believe you look familiar…have we met?"
"…not sure," answered an older looking ram with a pony tail and maroon colored horns. He may have had wrinkles, but he had a perfectly healthy, strong looking body. He had a large bag over his shoulder stitched up roughly in some places.
Flamenco shrugged, and moved him along with the rest of them.
The ram moved his way through the large crowd of soldiers until he was out in the open, and with that, he continued walking up the slope into the island, wondering where the person that he came to visit would be.
"...ugh." That pathetic groan came not too far from where the ram was headed; as someone was trudging through the snow whilst holding her head. "...why do I keep doing this...?" she uttered.
"…That kind of groan sounds familiar," said the ram. "You wouldn't happen to be on a hangover, would you?" After all, he was a friendly guy and he was used to making conversation with strangers.
"...you hit the nail on the head, hammer-sir." the girl groaned. "I'm heading home to get a shower and just drop down in bed... like I do it with every other time I get a hangover..."
"Make sure and have something to eat with lots of protein, fats, and carbs. That'll really help too," suggested the ram. "I've had my fair share of drinking and that's always helped me."
"...really?" she uttered. "...huh... never thought of that before."
The ram smiled. "Well, have a Merry Christmas. I have someone that I'm looking for…" and he started walking off.
"...hey, hold on!" the girl called. "Who are you looking for? Maybe I can help you out a bit?"
"Is that so?" the ram stopped and looked back at the girl. "Well, that would be very much appreciated ma'am. Thank you."
"No problem." the girl, who was a rattlesnake, nodded. "The one you're looking for... what does he or she look like?"
The ram chuckled a bit. "Well, for starters, she looks quite a bit like me. I'm looking for my daughter, you see."
The rattlesnake blinked... and her eyes widened marginally. "...y-your daughter?" she sputtered. "Wow, so you're her... holy- uh, just follow me!" With a nod, she began heading off in another direction.
The ram was surprised at the rattlesnake's response, but without further ado, he followed her. The rattlesnake was silent as she kept moving, but from what the ram could tell, she was more than surprised.
The ram was still bewildered by that.
But then…
"HELP! OH GOD, HELP!" screamed a voice.
"GET BACK HERE!" another voice yelled in return.
The rattlesnake stopped immediately, before glancing to the side. "Shoot... what now?" she hissed, before running towards where the voices came from.
"Hm, sounds like trouble," mused the ram, following the rattlesnake quickly. "Well, it's a warrior nation after all…"
They got there and a Mobian with cuffs around her arms and legs tied to chains was trying to get back on her feet before that monster caught her. She was a very colorful bird, but all her colors were faded from the abuse she had taken.
Before she could get on her feet, however, a large boar suddenly grabbed her by her head, pushing her against the ground. "You should've stayed in your cell, slave!" he grunted.
"...kkh... one of Hex's cronies." the rattlesnake hissed, before she prepared to run right up to fight the boar.
"…hm…"
The ram set his bag down on the ground. Then he opened it up and pulled out something; a bow and arrow. "Hey you!" he called out to the large boar, right as he shot an arrow at him.
"Hn?" was really all the boar managed to say, before the arrow struck true; right in his arm. With a pained yell, the boar let go of the bird, and stomped away from her, whilst glaring at the ram. "You...!"
While surprised that the ram had been carrying a bow and arrow with him, the rattlesnake quickly ran over to the bird, helping her on her feet. "Don't worry; you're safe now." she assured, quickly moving away from the boar; with the bird in tow, of course.
"Oh Sonia, I'm so glad to see you!" the bird almost was in tears at this point.
Meanwhile, the ram put his bow around himself. "Well, you're a big guy, aren't you?"
The boar grunted, glaring at the ram. "What's it to ya, old man?" he snarled. "Now apologize for that! It really hurt!"
"I think you're the one who owes the apology to the miss here," the ram replied. "What was this whole thing about anyway?"
The boar scoffed. "She managed to slip out of her cell recently, and my boss told me to get her back." he said. "I don't get involved in what business Hex has with her slaves, but as long as I get paid, I do as I'm told."
"…slaves…"
The ram shook his head. "…where I come from, we look down on slavery…so in which case, I'm going to have to stop you from taking this woman."
The bird stared in wonder. "…Sonia…who is he?"
Sonia blinked a little. "...he's... Jill's dad."
The boar roared, and quickly charged towards the ram; aiming to give him a solid punch to the face. The ram ducked underneath his punch, and he threw his head right into his gut. For most people, it would only hurt a little…
…but his large horns, combined with a massive amount of strength behind this head-butt, it would surely make a big guy like him fly. And indeed it did; sending the boar flying high up in the air, before he slammed against the snow. Groaning, he tried stumbling up on his feet, but to little avail.
"I'm not sure who has a thicker head; you, or me," the ram remarked. "…but I must be on my way, so Merry Christmas." With that, he went back to Sonia and the bird and picked up his bag.
Sonia just looked at the ram with wide eyes. "...whoa." she uttered.
"So you do know my daughter," the ram continued, without regarding the boar whatsoever. "My name's Ray."
"...uh... hello, Ray..." Sonia uttered, giving him a nod. "...I'm Sonia. Me and Jill are... well, I guess you could say roommates." Then, she looked at the bird. "...just hurry to the infirmary. Miser's bound to be there to lend you a hand." she told her.
"I'm s-sorry, would you take me there?" the bird uttered. "I don't want to go anywhere alone ever again!"
Sonia looked at her, before she sighed. "...alright, I'll take you there." she said, before giving the bird a pat on the shoulder. "Relax; Hex is never gonna do anything to you again, you hear?" Then, she looked at Ray. "Guess we're headed for the infirmary first."
"That's fine," Ray replied. "I would like to catch up with King and his group after all. It's been a long time since I last saw them."
"...you know them, too?" Sonia hummed, before she smiled. "It shouldn't be a surprise, and yet..." she murmured, before she began walking; leading the bird along. "It's this way."
The bird held tight to Sonia while Ray followed them.
For some reason, Ray had the feeling they were being watched, and he looked around. He didn't see anyone as far as he knew, but he still had that feeling.
Eventually, they made it to the infirmary, and without even knocking, Sonia went right inside. The only one in there at the moment was Miser, who looked at Sonia with a surprised look. "Wha- what's happened?" she uttered, quickly walking towards them.
"She managed to get away from Hex's place." Sonia said, patting the bird's back. "She'll need someone to keep watch over her for a while, I can tell."
"...of course." Miser nodded.
The bird was hunched over, just trying not to cry. Ray came over and set her hand on her shoulder. "It'll take time…but you'll get through it," he said. To the bird, he had just such a calming voice, and she managed to calm down for now. Sonia, in turn, stepped a bit away to give the bird some space.
They got the bird into a bed, and the moment she was lying down on it, she fell to a peaceful sleep; probably the first peaceful sleep she's had in a long time.
"...there..." Miser sighed, wiping her brow, before she looked at Ray and Sonia. "Good thing you got her to me right away..." she hummed, before she blinked; looking more closely at Ray. "...have we met before?" she inquired.
"I don't think we've met, but I know who you are," Ray replied. "I think the only one that I've actually met was Queen."
"...Queen..." Miser hummed, rubbing her chin a little. "...hm. I don't think she's mentioned you... but you do look familiar..."
Ray chuckled. "I'm Jillian's father."
That certainly made Miser reel in surprise. "Jill's dad?" she sputtered.
"You know, that's about the same reaction I had." Sonia noted.
"Buh..." Miser uttered, quickly composing herself. "...Jill's dad... I see..." she slowly nodded. "...you're here to visit her, then?"
Ray nodded.
"...right..." Miser nodded. "...um... last I remember, she and Joy slept over for the night in the pub."
"As did a good deal of us." Sonia remarked. "I was gonna take Ray over there so he could meet Jill."
"Oh, is that right?" Miser hummed, before she smiled. "I suppose I shouldn't take up your time, then."
Ray nodded again. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Miser said with a nod.
"Alright; let's head off." Sonia said, before she headed out of the infirmary. Ray turned and went ahead after her.
"I should NOT have gotten drunk last night," groaned Hunter, with his face practically sagging against the counter that morning.
"A sentiment I share with you." Sage groaned, rubbing her head a little. "Though I think Sonia had it worse when it came to hangovers."
"Ha ha, I didn't drink," teased Ani while she cleaned up the counters.
"And believe me; I'll make sure that it stays that way," Hunter muttered, glaring at Ani.
"I suppose I'll have to make sure that you make sure of that." Sage sighed, as she glanced at Hunter.
"Agh, don't confuse me like that," moaned Hunter, holding his head.
"Sorry; that's just what I do." Sage shrugged.
The butler doors to the back opened and someone walked out, rubbing his tired head under his hat. "What a night…" moaned Cowpoke, sitting himself on one of the stools at the counter.
"Good morning." Sage said with a nod to him. "Are we feeling well? The answer is not yes." she chuckled.
Cowpoke chuckled a little bit. "Well, even then, I'm used to what a hangover is like…I can deal with it better than most people."
"Then I envy you," Hunter moaned.
"Where's Mud-Pie?" Ani asked.
"Still asleep, along with Jill and her baby," Cowpoke replied.
"Ah." Sage nodded. "At least they won't wake up with hangovers." she chuckled.
"Right…" Cowpoke chuckled. Then he rubbed his temples. "I don't think I could get behind the idea of Mud-Pie drinking…"
"I know how you feel," Hunter added.
"Hm." Sage hummed in response.
At that point, the door opened, and two people walked in. "Hiya!" Sonia called as she entered the pub.
"Hi Sonia!" Ani said, looking over… and then she flinched considerably- "WHA?—Ray?"
"Ani, you've really grown since I saw you last," remarked the ram, eyebrows raised.
Cowpoke looked over curiously.
"...Ray..." Sage hummed, shooting him a glance and a nod, smiling. "...been a while."
Ray nodded back at Sage. "It sure has, Sage."
"Oh, I remember you now," Hunter pointed out. "…you're…"
"I'm sure I can figure out what you're going to say," Ray chuckled, walking in and setting his stuff down into one of the chairs.
"Jill's asleep in the backrooms right now, and so's Joy," Ani said.
"Is that so?" Ray asked. "That's good then. How've they been?"
"Hmm..." Sage hummed, tapping her chin. "...well, she's been fine. We've been taking care of her, Ray."
"Right!" Sonia nodded. "In fact, you guys said something about a surprise for her, right?"
"Oh, yes; we've planned something special for her when the new year comes around." Sage said with a smile.
"That's good to hear," Ray said with a smile. "So she's been doing better?"
"Yeah," Hunter replied.
Cowpoke kept looking back and forth between whoever was talking, until finally he cleared his throat, and looked at Ray. "It seems like you're an old friend. Pardon me for asking, but how do you know Jill and Joy?" he asked. "Who are you?"
Ray only smiled at Cowpoke. "I'm Jillian's father."
"…ah…" Cowpoke made much less of a reaction than Sonia or Miser did beforehand, but he grew thoughtful while he looked away from Ray. Sage shot Cowpoke a brief glance, but didn't say anything.
"...she's in the back, right?" Sonia assumed.
"Right, but like we said before, she's still asleep," Hunter muttered.
"Well that's alright," Ray said. "I can just take a seat and wait until she wakes up." He picked a seat next to Cowpoke and sat down. "You don't mind if I accompany you, do I?" Ray asked Cowpoke.
"Not at all," Cowpoke replied with a tip of his hat. "Name's Cowpoke."
"Cowpoke eh? I'm Ray."
"Nice to meet you Ray," Cowpoke said.
"So, Cowpoke, if you don't mind me asking, how do you know my daughter?" Ray started.
Cowpoke shrugged and looked away. "…just an acquaintance of sorts…"
Sage hummed a little. "...Ani, do you think you could cook something up for Ray? I'm sure he must be hungry."
"I know I am." Sonia noted, sitting down. "Ani, could you serve me something with lots of proteins, fats and carbs?"
"Me too," Cowpoke added.
"Alright, so anything that would consist of all those is a hamburger," Ani chuckled, tying an apron around her waist. "A few burgers coming right up."
Hunter blinked and looked at Sonia. "Why so specific?"
"I told her that eating something with those nutrients usually helps with a hangover," Ray spoke. "It's the nutrients that are depleted when someone drinks alcohol."
Cowpoke looked at Ray. "I'm sure you're a fellow drinker as well then, if you know this?"
"I won't deny it," Ray chuckled.
"...hm. Curious." Sage chuckled.
"On our way here, we ran into a little trouble," Ray said, to start conversation.
"Oh?" Hunter perked up a bit. "Did a soldier decide to try and hassle you around, Ray?"
"Well... not exactly." Sonia remarked, rubbing her neck. "Someone managed to escape from Hex, and Ray drove off her pursuer."
"…what kind of person enslaves other soldiers like that?" Ray questioned, growing a bit solemn.
"…someone like Hex," Hunter replied, grumbling. "…and you don't want to know what she does to them Ray…it's horrendous…"
"…hm…" Ray folded his arms over on the counter and closed his eyes. …I'm sure it can't be as evil as Deity Novagod, he thought.
...on a grander scale, not really. Sage responded in his head. But just in terms of short-term consequences... not many leave Hex's abode without both physical and mental scars. Sad, really...
…what a shame… Ray thought in response. …my daughter and granddaughter haven't had the misfortune of meeting this Hex, have they?
As far as I know, no... and I am thankful for that. Sage responded.
…that's good… Ray thought, calming down a bit. …so you all have been doing your best to protect her…?
We have. Sage hummed. So far, I'd say that we've been doing a good job.
Ray smiled a little. …thank you.
Eh, don't mention it. Sage hummed with a chuckle.
The butler doors opened finally, and Ani had finished cooking the burgers too, handing them onto the counter while she looked over at who was walking out. Jill was carrying a still sleeping Joy while she had Mud-pie by her other hand. When she saw who all was here, she stopped.
Ray smiled more, and stood up. "Surprise."
Jill broke into a big smile, and Ray came over and hugged her carefully to make sure they didn't wake Joy up. Though nothing was said, the others just smiled at this sight.
"…you look much better," Ray said, stroking back Jill's hair. "…and it looks like Joy's grown a bit since I last saw her," he chuckled, looking at the sleeping baby in her arms. "It's nice to see you honey."
Jill nodded with a big smile in return. She was glad to see him too.
"...you wouldn't happen to be hungry, Jill?" Sage hummed. "I'm sure that Ani could make you something, if you'd like."
Jill nodded in appreciation. She actually was pretty hungry. Seeing that nod, Ani threw another burger on for her.
"Morning Dad," Mud-Pie said, taking the open seat next to him.
"Hey there sport; you're taking Ray's seat," Cowpoke chuckled.
"Don't worry about that," Ray mused.
"...so, is everyone excited for tonight?" Sonia eventually asked, glancing around the pub with a small grin.
"I sure am!" Ani exclaimed, and Hunter winced because of her yell.
"Not so loud Ani…" moaned Hunter.
"Oh?" Ray grew curious when he took his plate of food and moved it to his new seat; Jill taking another seat next to him with sleeping Joy in her arms. "What's tonight?"
"The Christmas Party!" Sonia said with a wide grin.
"It's a get-together we're having in celebration of the holiday." Sage mused with a smile. "I wonder, Ray; do you think you'll be around for the festivities?"
"Oh, I'm sure I can stay long enough to come to this party," Ray chuckled, folding up his burger to begin eating.
"They've got their own party going on at the barracks, so me'n Mud-Pie'll be there," Cowpoke said, taking a bite out of his burger. "But maybe me and the boys can stop by and say hello, if King would allow it?"
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Sage hummed. "As long as we don't get a brawl, things should be alright."
Taking a large bite out of her burger, Sonia nodded a little.
"I think I'd me more worried about my Dad and King getting into a brawl," Ani remarked, laughing a little bit.
"Hey," moaned Hunter. "I'm not that bad…King's the one that starts it…"
"Unless you're both drunk; then both of you start it," Sage chuckled.
Hunter glared at Sage and stuck out his tongue at her.
"Mature, aren't they?" Ray chuckled.
"…oboo…" Jill looked in her arms and Joy's hands started flailing a bit before she realized where she was. Waking up with a small whine, she started touching her mommy's face.
"Oh, she woke up." Sonia pointed out.
Ray looked over. "She's talking now too? Full of surprises…"
Joy heard a new voice and looked over at Ray. She noticed that he seemed a little familiar but she wasn't sure who he was. He looked a lot like her mommy, that's for sure.
"Hi there, little one," Ray began, taking Joy up in his own arms. After all, he was already done with his burger, and he could spend some time with Joy while Jill got something to eat. "You don't remember me, but I remember you."
"Baba," Joy spoke back at Ray, touching his face as well; especially his bearded chin.
"...I just can't get over how adorable she is." Sonia remarked with a slight smile, before she took another bite out of her burger.
"…yeah, she certainly is adorable…" Ray agreed, smiling down at his granddaughter. Joy returned a hand to her face to suck on her thumb and nuzzle up to Ray. This was very familiar to her…
"Aw, she likes you," Ani cooed, placing a burger in front of Mud-Pie and Jill.
"Well, I'm her grandfather after all; I would hope that she likes me," Ray chuckled.
"I don't think you need to worry about anything else." Sage chuckled.
After that, they conversed quite casually while the rest started eating. For Jill, she really was having a good time just listening to all of them talk; she was really glad to see her father show up and visit. It also seemed like Ray and Cowpoke were getting along pretty well.
Eventually, Cowpoke got off his seat. "Well, me and Mud-Pie have to go. I'm sure that his mother is going to come on that ferry and want to see her son after all."
"Okay," Ray said with a nod. "We'll see you around then?"
"Sure," Cowpoke replied with a tip of his hat. Then he turned to walk out with Mud-Pie; once again glancing at Jill before he left.
Jill noticed the glance this time, but she wasn't sure what to make of it. It was strange… like that sad smile she saw yesterday.
"...they sure are a friendly lot, those hounds." Sage remarked with a slight smile, as she kept eating.
"He's got quite a lot of personality," Ray said. "His son is very lucky to have him as a father."
Jill smiled in agreement… and then she had her own sad little smile that no one else noticed. She still wished that Brick was alive… she knew that Brick would be just as good a father, and he would love Joy with all his heart…
...penny for your thoughts, Jill? Sage hummed in Jill's head; to everyone else, she was just occupied with her meal.
…I mostly wish that Joy still had a father… she thought. …she's doing alright now…but… Jill couldn't really finish the thought, and she turned away from everyone else, resting her chin on her palm to think.
...well... just rest easy. Sage began; as a way to try and cheer Jill up. Worrying too much about it won't get you anywhere.
…I suppose you're right about that, Jill replied, glancing at Sage. …so the party's back at Sonia's cabin?
Yep. Sage hummed. We plan on having different locations for each year's party, just to make things more interesting, she added with a mild chuckle.
Jill smiled. King's idea I suppose?
You know it. Sage replied.
"Graba!" Joy sputtered, giggling at Ray. This stole Jill's attention and she looked over.
"Well, that's close," Ray laughed. "It's 'Grandpa!'"
"Graba!"
"Stubborn, aren't you?" Ray chuckled, rubbing his nose with Joy's nose to make her giggle some more.
After that, Joy kicked her legs and reached for Jill. "Mama! Mama!"
"Oh I see how it is," Ray mused. "You can say Mama, but you can't say Grandpa." With a chuckle, he handed Joy back to Jill.
"...well, to be fair, Grandpa is a more complicated word." Sonia chuckled.
"True," Ray replied. "…Sonia, you said that Jill was staying with you. You wouldn't mind if I stopped by your cabin to take a small tour?"
"Oh, not at all." Sonia said with a nod. "I'll show you the way, even."
"Great," Ray said with a smile, getting up from his seat.
Jill got up too. Guess we're going to the cabin to set things up I suppose, she thought.
Alright; see you later, then. Sage hummed with a chuckle.
"Let's go, then!" Sonia called, as she got up and walked out of the pub. "Just follow me!"
Their Christmas party was lively that night. They sat around a warm fireplace talking and laughing like the old friends they were, having a jolly old time on the holiday's eve. A beautiful Christmas tree was standing in a corner with all kinds of decorations and lights; sparkling elegantly. Foods of many different kinds were lined out on the table, thanks to the efforts of more than one cook.
Once again, King was the one talking, and everyone was laughing at all the stories and jokes he told; Ray included. Mostly, Ray was just amused by him.
"...and with just a single punch, that cheating cheetah surrendered and left the region!" King finished off one of his stories.
"Kekekekeke! That never gets old!" Ripper laughed.
"His dirty tricks sure didn't help him in the long run." Queen mused with a smirk.
"Here, try this story on for size…" Ray began. "A unit of mine and I was out hunting one day and for a while, we weren't getting much of anything…"
Jill rolled her eyes and shook her head. She's heard this story a thousand times.
"Finally, one of my men start shooting their bow at something," Ray continued. "Then he tried again, and apparently the thing they were shooting at wasn't going down. "What're you shooting at?" I asked him. "There's wild game over there!" he told me. "But it's not falling!" "Try shooting it again," I told him, and he did. I saw where he was shooting and sure enough, the animal wasn't going down. So we all went to investigate this weird creature."
"Oho?" Sonia hummed, looking curiously at Ray; along with the others, who looked at the ram.
"Turns out, it was just a tree stump. "Nice shot," I told him. "Looks like a Maple. I hear they taste like chicken.""
Queen snickered a little at that. "Some blunder." she remarked.
"I also remember some more stories, but I COULD always just pull out an embarrassing story about someone," Ray mused.
Jill shot a look back at him in shock. He wasn't talking about her, was he?
"Ooh, embarrassing stories?" Ripper hummed, tilting his head a little. "I like the sound of that, kekekeke!"
Jill shook her hands nervously, disagreeing to that.
"Oh, it wasn't that bad, and you know it," chuckled Ray. "Besides, in most of them you were little. You didn't know any better at those times."
"...well, as long as it's not too embarassing, I suppose a few stories like that couldn't hurt." Sage chuckled. "Lord knows that King has embarassed us more than once as well."
"Oh- name one time I did that!" King sputtered.
"I would, but then I'd embarass myself." Sage chuckled.
"Well, I'd have to pick one that isn't too bad…" Ray murmured, rubbing his chin. "…oh! The Raid of the Munchkins is a good one."
Jill shot her father another shocked look; this time, turning beat red.
"…dare I ask?" Hunter muttered.
"Oh, if you have a sense of humor, you'd find it the cutest thing ever," Ray chuckled. "Then again, most of the villagers didn't have a sense of humor was the thing; ESPECIALLY the Elders."
"Well, we all have our senses of humor at the ready." King nodded. "So lay it on us, Ray!"
"Everything was pretty nice and calm in the village," Ray started, "but little did I know that my daughter was cooking up something quite mischievous that day with most of the boys that were her age at the time; I think she was maybe 3 or 4?"
"That young, huh?" Miser hummed, tilting her head a little.
"Suddenly, here comes Jillian running out of the brush, naked as a jay bird and painted green so she could blend into the brush," Ray continued, making Jill steam a bright red color out of embarrassment.
Hunter burst out laughing. "She did WHAT?"
"I'm not kidding!" Ray laughed as well. "Behind her she's got a band of boys all running; THEY'RE all naked as jay birds and painted green, and when some of the villagers saw them coming, it scared them enough to send them running as well. So I was called back from a hunt along with most of my men to discover that our village was overtaken by a band of naked children."
"PFFFT!" It was hard for the GUN veterans to keep from snickering at that; though they kept listening to what Ray would continue with. Jill's entire face flushed, and she wanted to leave the room at that moment it was so embarrassing.
"I found it to be absolutely hysterical, but sadly, the Elders weren't as amused. They gave me an earful about how improper it was for my daughter to run around like a heathen along with all those children like that. They insisted that attacks on the village are not anything to joke about. I merely told them that they were children being children, and pointed out that Jillian was actually quite a smart girl for her age. After all, she was able to gather the boys together into a team and lead them onto a battlefield of sorts, and they understood the concept of good tactics for such an early age!"
"But once again, the Elders weren't amused in the slightest," Ray said, shrugging his shoulders. "So of course, I took Jillian home to get her cleaned up and to tell her that it was wrong to do that… but I was always impressed with how she put together something elaborate when she was so young."
King kept snickering, nodding a little. "Honestly, that sorta tactic would be good just to startle the opposition!" he noted.
Sage just chuckled a little. Hey, if it's any consolation, some of us have done a lot more embarrassing things than that, she said in Jill's head.
That got Jill to look back at Sage curiously.
"Better watch out Jill; Joy might go through a phase like that," Hunter snickered.
Jill just stuck out her tongue at him.
"That would be quite a sight, though." Queen pointed out.
"I know it's something Ani would do, that's for sure," Hunter remarked.
"HEY!" Ani yelped defensively, turning red herself. The others just laughed at that.
After a short while, Sonia happened to glance towards the floor... and she blinked. "...hey... where did Joy go?"
"…what?" Hunter blinked, and looked. She was right; Joy wasn't anywhere to be seen.
Jill grew worried and looked around. Everyone began looking around, wondering where she had gone; aside from Sage, of course.
Now Jill looked all over frantically, wondering where Joy went, and then her eyes caught something by the tree. When she looked, she froze. The rest of them did when they saw who was standing in front of the Christmas tree.
Joy was staring at all the pretty things that were on the tree, but when it got silent, she turned her head and looked back at all of them. "…Ta!" she pointed up to the tree and waved her finger at it. "Ta!"
"…she's standing…" Ray muttered.
"...whoa." King uttered, tilting his head.
"...well, isn't that something else." Sage remarked with a smile.
Jill went to kneel on the floor a few feet away from Joy. Then she held out her arms to her. …come on Joy, she thought. …show me…
Joy looked back at her mother and smiled with a giggle, putting one foot forward. When Jill saw that, her heart skipped a beat and she swallowed. Joy toddled closer and closer to her, until she was able to put her hands on her mommy's face again, and she giggled some more.
…she did it… Jill thought, hugging her closely. …she walked.
Ray smiled faintly, and sat back in his seat. "…now I really do feel old," he muttered. "…I just saw my granddaughter take her first few steps…"
Ani smiled too. "…I gotta say, that's one of the best Christmas gifts we've gotten."
"Amen to that." Sonia said with a smile. In fact, just about everyone was smiling at that sight.
…I couldn't agree more, Jill thought, feeling a small tear of happiness roll down her face.
Then there was a knock at the door, stealing the moment.
Sonia hummed. "...it's open." she called.
The door opened, and soon, into the living room walked in the big group of hounds. "Howdy," Cowpoke greeted, tipping his hat.
"Nice to see ya." Rott greeted as well.
Merde regarded them a simple nod. "...hey."
"...well, guess we got some more guests around." Queen hummed.
"Kekekeke! Remember to close the door after you!" Ripper pointed out. "No good if we catch a cold!"
The door closed at that, and Smokey walked in along with them. Joy say all of them and started giggling, and toddling toward Cowpoke.
"Well look at you," Cowpoke chuckled, whisking Joy up when she got to him. "You're such a big girl, aren't you, pumpkin?" When Joy giggled at that, he chuckled too. Then Joy pointed up and when Cowpoke looked up at the ceiling, he chuckled some more. "Well look at that; mistletoe."
With that, he gave Joy a kiss on the forehead. "There you go, sweetheart," and he set her back down on the floor.
Jill stared when Cowpoke did that. In her head, she saw some flashes of Brick kissing Joy on the forehead, and calling her "pumpkin" and "sweetheart." It could've been wishful thinking, which probably explained the slightly wistful feeling she had.
"...well, don't just stand around; come on, take a seat." Sonia said with a smile. "There's room for all of you!"
"Thanks," Mud-Pie said, going ahead and taking his seat next to the Christmas tree. "Wow! You've got a pretty looking Christmas tree!"
"Ta! Ta!" Joy spoke, crawling hurriedly to where Mud-Pie was.
"Of course! It's gotta be fancy for the holidays!" King said with a grin.
"It took a while, make no mistake about that." Queen remarked.
"I'm sure it did," Cowpoke chuckled, taking the seat that was closest to Jill; she was still trying to get over what flashed through her head earlier, and she looked at Cowpoke. When he smiled at her, she actually smiled back.
That…almost relieved Cowpoke a little; Jill could notice it, but once again, she wasn't sure why.
"Alright; does anyone else have a story to tell?" King hummed, glancing around.
"I COULD tell you how Mud-Pie got his name," Cowpoke chuckled.
"No! Not that one, Dad!" Mud-Pie yelped.
"Why not? We've started telling all the embarrassing stories," Ray remarked, chuckling.
"It's not like we're going to judge you for it." Miser pointed out.
"No; we're just gonna snicker and laugh about it, like we do whenever we hear any embarrassing stories." Sonia said with a grin.
So Cowpoke started telling the story about how his wife at the time, Petunia, was going to give birth to their son, and Jill didn't mean to be rude, but she started to tune out of that story.
Jill looked at the tree, thinking how alien it was to have Christmas here with King and his friends. What was Christmas like with the Professor and the boys? For Charmy and his units in GUN?
…for Metal?
She looked back at Joy, seeing her stand back up with some support of a nearby chair and she walked back to the tree, looking up at it with bright, wide eyes. Cowpoke was right… she was getting to be a bigger girl. Soon she would say more proper words and start forming sentences, and maybe even...
Jill cut off her thoughts there. She was going off of how she was raised, and was suddenly startled to think about teaching Joy archery, and how to play the violin, and how to survive in the wild, among other things that her father started teaching her. Sure, she would have to start teaching Joy how to defend herself…because sooner or later, something will happen and Joy might not have any help to defend herself…
All the things in her past, she knew would come haunt her one day…and if she wasn't prepared to teach Joy anything before then, it might turn into another tragic loss for Jill.
...you feeling alright? Sage hummed in Jill's head.
…I'm not prepared to take care of Joy by myself, Jill concluded. …all those times that we were ambushed by someone since we came here…I haven't been able to defend myself or my daughter with my own power alone… she actually felt fairly depressed at the thought of it.
...I see... Sage hummed. ...well, you have our support, at least, Jill... I'm not sure if it'll help in the long run, but if you ever need something, we'll be there to help out.
…I appreciate your help and all their help…I really do, Jill thought. …but… the more you help me, or defend me…the more I feel like I'm just a burden, because ever since I lost my powers, I haven't been able to fight anyone else… without my powers, I'm completely useless…
...oh, don't say things like that. You're not useless, Jill. Sage sighed.
…but I feel useless… Jill thought. …that's why…I want to join the training program with the soldiers.
Sage blinked a little. ...you're... sure? she hummed.
…I've been thinking about it since the summer I came here, Jill thought. …I'm sure.
...I see. Sage hummed. Alright. I'll bring this up to King a bit later... for now, let's put those dreary thoughts aside, and just enjoy the evening. Alright?
Jill heard laughter from everyone else and assumed that Cowpoke must have finished his story. …alright…I'll do that, Jill thought, smiling a little bit.
Good. Sage thought, as she chuckled a bit.
Eventually, the party had to come to an end. Hunter and King had gotten drunk once again and went outside to have a brawl like the 'good old days.' Of course, all the rest of them just let him have at it, but once it was getting late, they went out to see if they were still at it. They all discovered that both of them passed out in the middle of it, so Ani and Sage took Hunter back to the pub while Queen, Miser and Ripper took King back. That left Sonia, Ray, Cowpoke and his buddies, and Jill and Joy.
Joy fell fast asleep and Mud-Pie was starting to, so Jill put Joy to bed and Cowpoke took Mud-Pie and handed him to Smokey. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up," he told them.
"Right." Merde nodded.
"See you back at the barracks." Rott hummed, before the hounds began walking off.
"See you tomorrow!" Sonia called to them, waving them goodbye.
Jill looked curiously at Cowpoke. "I figured I could at least help clean things up a little before I left," Cowpoke offered.
"Well, that's generous of you Cowpoke," Ray said.
"It really is." Sonia nodded. "Let's go get things cleaned up, already!"
To be honest, there wasn't really much of a mess to clean up. There were mostly dishes of food everywhere and cups and bottles from drinks. Jill helped with dishes and the others wrapped up the food and stored it away in the fridge for leftovers.
It wasn't long at all until it was nice and clean.
"There we go; good as new!" Sonia hummed, rubbing her hands a little. "Thanks for the help, Cowpoke; it's really appreciated!"
"You're welcome," Cowpoke said with a nod. "If that's all done, then I should probably head out too." And he was going to turn out the door to leave.
That was when Jill came out from the kitchen from finishing the dishes, and stopped Cowpoke with a hand on his shoulder. He turned and looked at her with an intrigued look. "What is it?"
Jill held up a finger for him to wait a minute, and she ran into the guest room. Sonia hummed, glancing after Jill.
Jill came back out, and she had a folded quilt in her arms, walking back to Cowpoke. "What's this?" Cowpoke asked curiously, only to find a written note on the folded quilt.
You mentioned that the barracks got pretty cold for Mud-Pie, so I made a quilt for him. Think of it as a Christmas gift from me, it read.
"…a gift for Mud-Pie, eh?" Cowpoke chuckled. "…thanks…that's very kind of you." And he took the quilt from her arms.
Just then, Sonia let out a surprised gasp. "Guys... mistletoe!"
Both their eyes widened, and shot up. Cowpoke had almost forgotten that there was mistletoe there, and now he was standing under it again…with Jill.
"Well now," Ray chuckled at the sight of this. It was entertaining to see how shy Jill suddenly became, and how red in the face Cowpoke got. Sonia kept quiet, though she had a huge grin on her face; she wanted to see where this would go.
Neither of them knew which to take the initiative on this; Cowpoke or Jill. They both stared at each other in embarrassment for a while.
Finally, someone moved. Jill was the one to lean forward, and Cowpoke's heart nearly skipped a beat, because he didn't expect her to move first… the most she did was give him a kiss on the cheek, because Jill knew she never would've been comfortable with any other form of it. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, because that was enough to turn Cowpoke even redder.
Still, this was enough to make Sonia giggle a bit. Ray chuckled a bit as well. Cowpoke finally tried to clear his throat but he still stumbled over his words, "Well, I-um… I should get uh, going here…thanks fer invitin' me, you know and uh…"
Jill, admittedly, found this a bit amusing and she smiled. Then she nodded to him in response.
Cowpoke smiled a bit sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. "See ya…" and he was out the door.
When he was gone, Sonia just shook her head. "Anything related to Joy aside, that might've been the most adorable thing I've seen all day." she remarked.
"Boy, he sure turned red," Ray chuckled.
"I know!" Sonia giggled.
Jill would chuckle too if she could, but now that she thought about it, she was actually pretty tired. She took up the notepad from her pocket and wrote a note for Sonia. I think I'll tuck in early, she wrote.
Sonia nodded. "You do that." she said. "Me... I think I'll take a stroll for the night before I come back and call it a night."
"You don't mind if I join you, do you Sonia?" Ray asked, standing up.
"Not at all!" Sonia said with a smile. "I'd appreciate the company."
Jill nodded, and Ray came to hug her with one arm. "Good night," Ray told her, letting her go to the guest room so that him and Sonia could head outside.
As they walked, Sonia just looked up at the sky. "...I really like snow, I gotta say." she hummed. "Say, how are the winters over in your village?"
"The snow is more inches higher than it is here," Ray chuckled. "After all, you're all just at the water level, and the village is up in the mountains."
"Ooh, that sounds neat." Sonia hummed, before she glanced ahead of her. "...hey... just a fair warning, but I may ask about things that might be kinda uncomfortable to talk about. If you feel that I'm pushing it, just tell me, and I'll stop."
"I'll keep that in mind," Ray replied. Then he looked at her curiously. "What would you like to ask?"
"Well... about Jill." she began, looking at Ray. "How was she, growing up?"
"Ah…so you were wondering that, huh?" Ray said. "…it was tough, to say the least. There was a lot of discrimination against her from a lot of the villagers. When she was young, she couldn't tell, so she was very independent and strong… but the more she realized how people saw her, the more hurt she felt. She tried to hide it and be strong…but I knew that her self-esteem was going away little by little because of what the villagers would say about her…"
"...ah..." Sonia hummed, nodding a little.
"…but… at least she's gotten better now," Ray said. "It seems like her time here has helped a little bit…"
"...right..." Sonia hummed. "...when she left... was it tough?"
"…very…" Ray murmured. "…I lived for almost a year…wondering if she was alright or not…at some point, I was convinced that she was even dead, and it was all about a battle of keeping myself from becoming bitter…"
"...must've been tough." Sonia remarked, rubbing her arm a little.
"…but it didn't remain that way forever…" Ray spoke. "…something suddenly dropped into the village one evening…something that changed that. What fell in our village one evening was a shining, purple jewel…"
Sonia blinked at that. "...a purple jewel... you mean... a Chaos Emerald?" she assumed.
"Yes…" Ray replied. "…that's what they called it; the group that came to retrieve it a few days later…"
Sonia hummed. "...what group was it?"
"…Most of them were children," Ray chuckled, "and some of them were robots. I don't recall if they told me why they wanted the emerald at the time, but they knew my daughter… and they told me that she had become a fine warrior."
"...really?" Sonia hummed. "...so... they were friends of Jill?"
"Yes," Ray replied. "…in fact…I believe at that time, they were fighting…" and Ray cut off, realizing how much he said already.
Sonia blinked. "...fighting... what?" she inquired.
"…I'm not sure if I'm at liberty to say," Ray replied. "It depends on how much my daughter told you…"
"...well..." Humming, Sonia rubbed her chin. "...I'm... tempted to say Metal Sonic, but... I'm not really sure if that's the case..."
"…hm…" Ray looked away from her while they walked a little while.
"…actually… you're right."
Blinking, Sonia looked at Ray with a tilted head. "...so she did fight against Metal Sonic." she uttered.
"…yes," Ray said. "…she and her friends teamed up to fight Metal Sonic on the behalf of Captain Charmy, Professor Miles "Tails" Prower…and Shadow the Hedgehog, who died in battle."
"...yeah; the news talked about how Shadow died while stopping Metal's plans..." Sonia noted, before she folded her arms. "...but it wasn't Shadow who stopped Metal, was it?"
"…no, it was my daughter…" Ray replied. "…but GUN told the public that it was Shadow, because my daughter is deathly afraid of people sometimes…she would never have been able to handle the publicity if they ever found out it was her…after all, she told me once that Sonic the Hedgehog made being a hero look so fun, when it really wasn't…she's had to make heavy sacrifices throughout her entire life…"
"...right..." Sonia nodded, folding her arms with a small nod.
"…but, it wasn't that way for long," Ray continued. "…eventually, Metal Sonic had to make a truce with my daughter…because they would have to combat an evil that was much greater than the metallix and his rising empire."
"...what?" Sonia blinked, recalling the conversation she had with Hunter many months ago. "...something more evil than something Doctor Eggman built?"
"…such a thing indeed exists…" Ray murmured. "…or in this case, such a person does…" His look darkened considerably after he said that.
Sonia blinked. "...what... person could be like that?"
"…a man with dark powers," Ray replied. "…a man that I would wish my worst enemies never to meet…"
Sonia actually shuddered a bit at that, "...geez... that bad, huh?"
"…if you knew, you would truly understand…" Ray replied. "…that man is what makes my daughter shudder in her nightmares…that man is the reason that she is the way she is…"
"...so... Metal Sonic didn't make her that way...?" Sonia uttered; her eyes widening. "...man... that's heavy."
"…Metal Sonic didn't do anything to her…" Ray replied in agreement. "…on the contrary…my daughter did something for him…believe it or not Sonia, my daughter had powers too, long ago…because of those powers from her and that man, it slowly changed him from the machine that he used to be in his days..."
Sonia blinked, as she recalled what Hunter had told her...
"…mysterious powers… and the compassion of a friend."
"...just... how did he change?" Sonia inquired, tilting her head again.
"…all I can say, is that Metal Sonic is in hiding…because he still fights that man with the dark powers, to keep him away from the rest of the world," Ray spoke. "…so in the end, my daughter really changed him after all…if Metal Sonic had taken that sacrifice for her…"
"...whoa," Sonia uttered with wide eyes. "...that's... really hard to believe..."
"…there's so much that happened that the whole public doesn't know, Sonia," Ray told her, looking at her with sincere eyes. "…and most of it, I'm sure that they all would find really hard to believe…"
"...amen to that," Sonia nodded, folding her arms. "...we should probably keep quiet about this, though; there's no telling who could want to pester Jill about it."
"…with the soldiers here that I've heard about, I would believe you on that matter," Ray spoke.
"...right." Sonia nodded. "So... let's keep it hush-hush, alright?" she added, with a small smile, "For Jill and Joy's sake."
"Right," Ray said, nodding.
"Right," Sonia affirmed, before she let out a yawn. "...man... I feel tired. Feel like calling it a night?"
"Yes," Ray chuckled. "I've found that I've actually been getting tired more easily with this cursed old age of mine…"
"...well, don't sweat it too much; stress just makes you even more tired." Sonia pointed out with a chuckle.
"Of course," Ray agreed.
While they were walking away, a figure slipped away into the shadows without being detected whatsoever. When he was far enough away from their earshot, he rushed as quickly as possible through the snow fall and the woods.
"…it's gold!" he chuckled; "it's pure gold's worth of information! Who knew?" and he laughed all the way through the woods…
He made it to his fort in the old abandoned GUN office, and Raider sat in his chair with a spin, still laughing. "Oh, what juicy information!" he laughed. "I can just call it my own little Christmas gift for the holiday!"
Hurriedly, he logged onto his computer and started typing. "Now all I have to do is keep watch for any documents on this, and I can add to it…"
And suddenly, the computer screen blacked out.
"Wah?" Raider jumped at that, and then he growled, hissing. "Damn piece of junk…" and he impatiently pressed the on/off button. "C'mon you stupid thing…"
However, no matter how much he kept pressing it, all it did was make the screen flicker. "…the hell?" Raider growled, "…if I find out somebody's been messing around with my computers…"
Finally, the screen stopped flickering, and let Raider see that a document was open... and then, something began typing on the screen.
You know, this has got to be the most pathetic Christmas celebration I've ever seen.
"…huh?" Raider blinked at that, not really sure how to respond now. He wasn't angry anymore…that was for sure.
I mean; is this all you do? Just sit alone in this dump and write about anyone you find interesting? Geez, and I thought I had it bad...
At that point, the mouse cursor actually began moving on its own.
...so, what embarrassing files do we have here? Eeney meeney miney mo, catch a vouyer by the toe...
Raider jumped up from his seat in shock, stepping away from the computer while he stared at it wide-eyed.
Ooh, what do we have here? Shall we have a look? And instantly, a folder of images popped up. Now what have you been up to? That's not very nice, you know...
"HEY!" Raider yelled. "Look, I don't know if you're just a hacker, or something, but all of that is MY blackmail!"
Blackmail, eh? That's something I would've scoffed at. Well, off to the bin with you! And instantly, the entire folder was deleted. Onto the next one! And yet another folder opened up. ...hey, now... this brings back memories... With that, the images were enlarged, with whoever was in control of the computer scrolling through them.
"HEY!" Raider jumped forward and grabbed the computer. "Don't you dare delete my files!" But he also wondered how this entity actually heard him. Did this hacker have a camera set up in his office too?
"…wait…this is King's and the other's files," Raider suddenly took a look at some of the images and recognized them.
Now how did you get these? Probably gotten from that deceased colonel's personal files...
At that point, the images stopped scrolling, when they came across an image of a deceased lion with a large hole through his chest and a scar across his forehead, being surrounded by several GUN agents in contamination suits...
...and suddenly, the dead lion's face shot Raider a smug grin. "...hello... Raider."
"AGH!" Raider jumped back again, this time out of fear.
"What? You've never seen the dead talk back to you?" the lion chuckled; even though he was still motionless in the image.
"Who the hell are you?" screamed Raider, growing furious now. Mostly, anger was a way to cover up how freaked out he was right now…
Suddenly, the lion's smirk turned into a scowl. "...I'm your worst nightmare, if you ever decide to fuck with her again." he snarled.
"…with who?" Raider uttered, gritting his teeth.
"You know damn well who the fuck I'm talking about, you damn stalker." the lion kept growling. "So you better keep yourself under control; otherwise, I'm gonna show you just how fearsome a Leoniel can be."
"…a Leoniel…"
Raider's eyes suddenly widened.
"…no…it can't be…" he uttered. "…but…but he's dead…you can't be…"
"...I died at least thrice, and I'm still around. Big shocker, huh?" the lion huffed, before his eyes suddenly began glowing red. "Now, are you gonna be nice... or am I gonna have to get serious?"
Just as he said that, the entire area around him on the image suddenly burst into flames, and hellish wails suddenly erupted from the computer. Raider yelped and started growing even more scared at what was going on, shuddering and looking frantic.
"...so, are you gonna be nice... or naughty?" the lion now chuckled in a demonic voice, as eerie music and disturbing imagery began flashing rapidly on Raider's screen.
"No! You're not alive! This is just an illusion!" Raider screamed, shutting his eyes and trying to ignore what was going on.
"...is it?" the lion chuckled. "Would an illusion be able to do this?"
Suddenly, a spark shot out from the computer console, which struck another computer nearby; frying it instantly. Raider eye's shot open and he yelped helplessly at that.
"Now, answer me, Raider... are you gonna be nice, or naughty?"
"Okay! OKAY! I'll leave her alone!" Raider yelped. "But why the hell would a ghost like you care about her? You didn't care about anyone!"
"...I care about one person... and she happens to be staying inside of her for the moment," the lion huffed, as another spark suddenly shot from the computer console.
Raider shot a look of surprise at the lion. "…what do you mean…?"
"...you just keep yourself in line; if I find out that you hurt Callous in any way, you're a dead man," the lion uttered... before he chuckled. "Until then... MERRY CHRISTMAS, MOTHERFUCKER!"
With that, the lion let out a maniacal cackle, before the computer monitor literally blew up. Raider dove to the ground in a panic, holding his hands over his head with another scream.
Eventually, the laughter began fading into the air, before it was nothing more than an echo in the empty halls of the facility.
Raider eventually uncovered his head and looked back up at his computer. All of it was totally destroyed; shattered glass and wires everywhere and smoke rising out from the broken monitors. All that data was lost now…
When he stood up, he tried to believe what he just saw… could that really have been him?
…and who's Callous?
Raider tried to think long and hard.
Those red eyes… those red eyes that he saw when she burst into his lab months ago and stole away Sonia's blackmail…she stopped a punch without even looking at him, and he saw how she tore apart the GUN robots. Needless to say, that was pretty bad ass…
…that wouldn't be like Jill at all. Not for a mother of a little girl like Joy…
"…I wonder if that rumor about what Will saw was true…" Raider murmured. "…that witch…maybe that's who Callous is…" but that still didn't explain why a dark figure from King and the group's past would know of something like that…or have anything to do with Jill…
He stared at the computers a bit longer after that.
"…maybe I need a break," he uttered, leaving the room hurriedly, in case anything that paranormal wanted to reoccur. "After all, I could use some working out to get back into shape…"
Ooooh! Big bad Johnny scared mean old Raider! XD
