Chapter 04
Angel Island- Echidnopolis- Slums
"She's not pleased that you stopped her. Of course, when is Cress ever pleased."
Gares cleared his throat, before addressing his brother, who sat in the shadows of the decrepit bar. "You know how much she hates Espio. The mercy you're showing him, she's convinced your rage has dulled. I find it necessary to ask-"
"Trust me, it hasn't," Spex interrupted, a coin flipping between his metallic fingers. In the dim lighting, it was all Gares could see of his younger brother. "Yes, my first intention was to just kill him as soon as we found him, and the madness of being unsuccessful for so many years made me into quite the hellion towards you two, but now… praise that article, though, eh?"
Spex was referring to the story in the Station Square Tribune about the world renowned 'Sonic Heroes', of which the Chaotix was considered. He'd gone into a fit o hysterical laughter upon reading about that. The notion of Espio as a hero was preposterous to him.
"Why the mercy, brother?"
The metal-clawed chameleon stared dully at his brother, dim blue eyes burning holes in him even through the darkness. "Because he jokingly offered it to me. Right before he killed me."
Route 99 Forest- Ray the Squirrel's Hutch
Ray let out a long whistle as Espio completed his tale; the soup he'd served himself hadn't been touched since the chameleon had begun. "That's messed up, dude."
A weakened smile played its way onto the ninja's lips. "Please, be more specific. It's not clear anymore what part of it's normal."
"None of it as far as I could tell," Ray admitted, leaning his chair on its back legs, "but the worst part is that your bros wouldn't back you up. Sure, you're beat up, but I hear ninjas are supposed to be able to work like that, no problem."
"Don't mind the part where I killed my best friend?"
"Apparently, you didn't do that, so don't worry too much on it. Right now, you should be focused on finding this guy, Spex, since he obviously wants you dead. And take it from me, vengeance is a motha."
Espio smiled a bit wider and said, " I've got to say, I've known you a day, and by comparison, you're the best friend I've got."
"Promise not to try and kill me," Ray laughed, but cut himself off at the sudden drop on the chameleon's face. "Sorry, man. I guess that was an unnecessary shot. So, uh… any ideas on where to find Spex?"
"Somewhere on Angel Island." Espio perked back up at his own comment. "And if that's the case, then there's one person who can help me."
"Who?"
"Sometimes, it's good to be friends with the Guardian."
To be continued…
Sorry for taking such an extremely long break from this story. However, as it's clearly my most popular forgotten story, I'm bringing it back.