Well, here we are. The start of a new chapter of Faust. This might take a while, but equally, it might be very quick up. The reviews and response to the story so far have been excellent, and it just fires my writer's blood to know that people appreciate my writing. However, I am exceedingly slow, and I have exams and requests and other stuff to do…Well, we'll see. Here, in the lucky seventh chapter of Faust the bat!
In other news, I have a few original fictions planned. Also, I really must get around to learning to touch type…Yes, that is one of the main reasons I'm so slow. I use two fingers when I type. It's not funny, okay?
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Chapter Seven: A new hero appears…?
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"Talk." Another blow crashed into Marcus Barret's face. Shadow's visage was twisted into a grim scowl as he progressively disfigured the soldier's formerly handsome looks.
"Never, you furry scum." the soldier rasped. He wiped a streak of copper tasting blood from his swollen mouth. His neck and head were only just beginning to break out into bruises. Heel prints could be seen on his battered skin. He was a wreck.
"Hmph. More fun for us, then. Tell me, now. Why were you trying to destroy Omega?" Shadow hissed. Rouge cocked back her heel for another bone shaking kick, and Omega watched in silence, his mechanical arms gyrating and rearranging themselves into intimidating shapes with sickening crunching noises. A bead of sweat dropped across the soldier's brow, and he held the hedgehog's eyes as long as he could bear to. Then, he flipped up his middle finger in a gesture of vicious contempt. Shadow's head moved a fraction, and Rouge struck. Her boots, so effective as digging tools, made nauseating contact with Marcus' nose. Beneath her heel, she felt the snap as the man's face suddenly changed beyond recognition. She slowly withdrew her boot from the pulp of his face, and saw that he'd fainted dead away.
"Tch…I guess we won't get any information out of him now. Still, it was more fun that I expected." Rouge said casually, wiping her feet on the dusty ground.
"HUMANS ARE TOO FRAIL TO BE EFFECTIVE BATTLE UNITS." Omega boomed in his guttural, metallic drone. Rouge rubbed her ears, irritated by the robot's voice.
"Omega, hun, we're gonna have to see if Fox Boy can get you a new voice box." she said, patting the robot on the arm.
"…You really think Tails can repair him?" Shadow asked, his vigilant red eyes fixed upon Rouge's face.
"Of course. Fox Boy might be naïve, but he's a top-notch engineer. He more than rivals Eggman these days. Maybe that's why the good doctor's been launching so many random attacks these days….plain old evil genius jealousy." Rouge shrugged. It was true that Eggman had been making far more attacks of far less intensity- more like annoyances than outright attacks. It was just one of those weekly things the Sonic Team had to deal with.
"Hmph. I suppose you're right. Still…What do we do with…that?" Shadow gestured, poking his thumb at the battered soldier.
"…Shadow, hun, do you still have that Chaos Emerald you carry around? I just so happen to have a great idea…" Rouge smirked, her eyes twinkling mischievously.
"Certainly…But why?" Shadow asked, producing the sapphire hued gem from the folds of his cloak. Rouge's eyes gazed at it hungrily for a second, then she pulled her gaze away.
"We're going to pay a little visit to GUN Headquarters."
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"Chao. They're just like pigeons. But better at karate." Knuckles mused, casually tossing another fruit into the gathering mass of chao. Every since the incident with Chaos, he had never really been alone on his island- the chao now flocked around the shrine, keeping both the scarlet guardian and the Master Emerald company. Here, he often considered life, the world, and other stuff. Like how very much he missed his hat. He felt the breeze whispering through the lush vegetation on the island, and heard the annoying squeaks of the lovable chao. Tentatively, he cracked open one of the fruits, and popped a piece into his mouth. He spat it out immediately, the inside of his mouth covered in a taste much like that of orange peel. The echidna grimaced, and rushed to the fountain. He plunged his fiery head in, and took in great gulps of cleansing liquid. It felt good, to be in the fresh clarity of the fountain's water. He jerked his head out, spraying water backwards in an arc. The sunlight caught it for a fraction of a second, and a miniature rainbow formed before the water splashed into the grass.
The peaceful, lonely life on Angel Island was one that Knuckles was now thoroughly used to- and unquestionably bored with. He craved the excitement of fighting Eggman, having arguments with Sonic, laughing at Tails' next less-than-brilliant invention…The good life, basically. It had been a great and never ending problem when Sonic the hedgehog had first stepped into Knuckles' life. At first, enemies, then rivals, then friends. Slowly, but surely, the hedgehog's way of life had pervaded Knuckles' own existence, and only now did the guardian know the horror of loneliness. The chao had kept him company, but it wasn't the same. They couldn't talk, crack wise or challenge him to fights. They couldn't run circles around him and then roll on the floor laughing until their spines got stuck. Knuckles, for the first time in his long, lonely existence, wanted more.
The red warrior sat abruptly, crossing his legs and closing his eyes, gathering his thoughts. Although he wasn't what you'd call 'smart', Knuckles had something that no one else in the Sonic Team had. No one knew what it was, but he had it- a certain sense of duty, of logic, of force.
This is my island, my birthplace, and my ward…so why do I feel like it's now my prison? Why can't I do the things that the others do so freely? Is it because of some great sin I committed? Is it just pot luck? What's my purpose in being here? Why was I chosen to guard the most powerful artefact in the entire world?
The echidna just couldn't figure it out. He had never questioned it before, and he couldn't find any answers. All he had was a great sense of yearning to be amongst his friends, and to explore. But, if that happened, who would defend the Master Emerald? The chao looked at him quizzically, noticing that there was no more fruit on the ground. Suddenly, Knuckles found he needed to get away from it all.
"You guys stay here. I'll be back soon." the echidna motioned to the chao. He knew that there was only one place he could go, and that was up. His feet started to ache as they remembered just how hard it was to climb the mountain.
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Faust felt the cold metal of the barrel of a gun pressed against his head. His entire body was held in the robot's powerful vicegrip. He struggled, but to no avail. The robot's arms were unmercifully still around the bat's thrashing body. Faust groaned and lay still. What a great idea it had been to dress him up in clothes he couldn't fight in! As he silently cursed his luck, the 'hoooooooouuuuuumBRSH' of a robot's jet engines fired behind him, and he found himself being dragged clean off the ground. The gun was still pressed to his head, but at least he could see what was going on a bit better. He watched Sonic the hedgehog pinging about between different robots like a ball in a game of tennis. Back and forth, taking down one robot a serve, occasionally taking time to drop to the ground and tackle on in a split second. And all while being harassed by a hail of gunfire.
"ATTENTION, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. IF YOU DO NOT DESIST YOUR ATTACK AND SURRENDER POSTHASTE, THIS INNOCENT WILL BE SHOT." came a mechanical voice blasting from somewhere near Faust's right ear. The robot had landed on an exposed branch of a tree, dangling the bat over the edge like a puppet. The fighting stilled as the hedgehog slowly stopped moving. The robots surrounded him instantly.
"Dammit, Faust! What were you doing? I thought you were supposed to be a weapon!" Sonic spat, realising the situation he was in.
"Shut the hell up, you blue freak! I'm wearing women's clothes, for goodness' sake! How am I supposed to fight in these?!" the bat shouted back angrily, the voice of the president's aide rising to a screech.
"SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. SURRENDER NOW, OR THE BAT WILL BE KILLED." the robot blasted again, the harsh wail of a megaphone piercing Faust's ears.
"…"
The hedgehog stood still, his eyes fixed upon his feet. A drop of sweat trickled down the bat's brow. The hedgehog was supposed to be a hero, committed to saving lives. But even a hero could falter…And given the situation, Faust couldn't blame him. Sonic had been willing to sacrifice his life for the Earth, yes, and he was perfectly prepared to die for the ones he loved. But a military weapon, conceived for the purpose of destroying him? The same military weapon that had thrashed him back near Tails' house, and who was, more or less, the cause of all their problems?
"YOU HAVE UNTIL THE COUNT OF TEN."
"…"
"ONE." The bead of sweat that had trickled down Faust's forehead suddenly went cold.
"TWO." The hero still looked at his feet.
"THREE." Faust's hands clenched and unclenched. The bat bit his tongue.
"FOUR." The silence in the area was suffocating. Deathly, even.
"FIVE." Faust closed his eyes and opened them again, the blazing gold irises dilated in panic.
"SIX." Still, the hedgehog didn't move, save for a spasm of his chest.
"SEVEN." Faust's mind was hit by the heavy realisation of his fate.
"EIGHT." "I'm sorry, Faust." the hedgehog said, his eyes glazed, his fists curled into balls.
"NINE." "No, you're not. You never will be." the bat said softly. The cold metal binding him was still just as firm as it had been before. There was no escape.
"TEN. PROCEDING TO THE DISPOSAL OF THE BAT." Faust heard a click as the robot's solid finger pulled back the trigger, cocking the shot that was to follow.
"Is this why I was brought into this world…? To have my brains blown out? It sure seems that way…" Faust mused sadly. Another second passed, and Faust felt his heart beat for what might be the last time. He closed his eyes, and waited for the shot.
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Rouge cackled as she stuffed the still-KO'd soldier into her superior's locker. Shadow gave a snort, which Rouge supposed was his way of laughing when he wasn't being maniacal. Omega kept watch, his optical sensors scanning both ends of the corridor at regular intervals. Making sure to put the soldier in the most embarrassing position possible, tried to hide her giggles.
"Was it necessary to strip him to his boxers?" Shadow asked, his eyebrow arching.
"Yes. Yes it was. Plus, we can use the uniform later. But, seriously. What kind of soldier wears satin boxer shorts?" Rouge giggled, girlish laughter coming from her mature frame. Shadow snorted again.
"SHADOW AND ROUGE. MY AURAL SENSORS ARE PICKING UP THE CONVERSATION IN THE GENERAL'S COFFEE ROOM, AND MY POINTLESS DRIVEL BUFFER WILL OVERLOAD SHORTLY. PLEASE FINISH YOUR OBJECTIVE." Omega said a little too loudly.
"One last thing. Omega, honey, you couldn't use your flamethrower to weld that locker up, could you? Try not to hurt anything inside. We wouldn't want to have him wake up with his satin panties on fire." Rouge cackled. Omega's arm clunked and twisted until it became a flamethrower, and set to work. The robot swivelled his head round to watch the ends of the corridors, whilst Shadow caught the uniform in a flick of his cloak and made it disappear.
"How do you do that, anyway? I know a magician never reveals his secrets, but I doubt that's a conventional magic trick." Rouge smirked, sidling up to Shadow.
"Observant as always. No, it's no ordinary magic trick. I use the power of Chaos Control in a very special way when I use it."
"Oh really…Tell me more, big boy." Rouge purred.
"….Ahem." Shadow flustered, then regained his composure. "When I use Chaos Control, what happens? Either I teleport, which is the space aspect, or I slow down time, which is the time aspect. However…When I slow down time, why doesn't time slow down around the world? Why does it only slow for me?"
"Why are you asking me?" Rouge snapped.
"It was a rhetorical question." Rouge sweatdropped. "Anyway, when I slow down time, it's actually another form of teleportation- I take me and my surroundings to a place where only I can move freely. It's the Chaos Realm. In it, everything, including time, is slowed by the power of Chaos. Except for the Chaos Emeralds and myself."
"What does the Chaos realm look like?" Rouge asked, patting out a stray ember that hand landed on her clothes. Omega was still welding behind them.
"Kind of like the normal world, but with more purple. Anyway, by simply sending an object to that world with a flick of my cloak, I can leave it there so I can retrieve it at a later time. Travelling in that world is very easy for me, because I can just Chaos Control to any place in it I want to." Shadow explained.
"…You lost me, hun. Just say it's magic and leave it at that." Rouge groaned, feeling a headache coming on.
"It's magic, and we'll leave it at that." Shadow said in his dusky voice.
"Thanks. You done over there?" Rouge called back to the robot.
"AFFIRMATIVE. LOCKER IS SECURE."
"Then let's go. We should be getting to Station Square, so we can find Tails and get Omega fixed up." Shadow said, pulling out his emerald again. A flare of light enveloped the three, and they were gone.
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It seemed to happen in slow motion. The gun flew out of the robot's hand, tossed far into the air. The readied shot was released, and hurtled through the air before embedding itself in a tree. Faust was sent flying, shards of broken metal and enough wires for a whole branch of Curry's flying behind him. Faust noted the fact that he was alive, and then hurtled like a brick towards the floor. Sonic's expression was half way between disbelief and horror, fixed on some point above Faust's head. Faust felt a hand snag the waistband of his jeans, and suddenly the world kicked back into normal speed. The bat's vision shifted into a white blur as a human's voice rocked into his ears-
"You'll be safe soon." It was a masculine voice- but it felt somehow weak and reedy, as if it were put on.
"Don't count on it." Faust muttered, mentally weighing up the situation. He could fight now- in a fashion. Fashion was the right word, because even though he'd taken off Tails' gloves, Cream and Amy's 'disguise' was going to severely hamper any chance he had of fighting off the robots.
Faust felt the human's weight shift in the air, and suddenly they had twirled up into a tree. Faust found himself slung over he shoulder of a middle-aged man, his bottom up in the air. The bat's hand went to his face as he saw the outfit the guy was wearing. It was, off all things, a blue jumpsuit- and he seemed to have put on his (poorly dyed) green underwear on over it. The guy was wearing thick rubber kitchen gloves that were finished in snot green, and was wearing a pathetic mask that had been made of cardboard. It was almost embarrassing to be saved by him. Pfft…Is this guy for real? I wonder what the hell is goi-
"WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Faust's thoughts were broken by the ear-splitting din the man started to make as some kind of victory cry. "The hero of the people! Has stepped FOR-WARDS! Yeeha! I, the-" he paused to take a gulp of air- "PIKO PIKO WARRIOR, have saved this beautiful young woman! I have done what Sonic could not!"
Sonic groaned. The words 'Piko Piko' were never, ever a good sign. Amy's squeaky hammer immediately came to mind. The hedgehog's face was an exasperated, embarrassed picture as the man dropped from the tree and onto the ground with the minimum of grace. Faust muttered an 'oof' as they landed.
"Faust? Is this the weirdest thing that's ever happened to you too?" Sonic winced.
"Sonic. I'm dressed like THIS, I've just been held hostage by some short, fat robots, and now I've been rescued by a guy who wears his underwear on the outside. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK?" Faust burst out. The Piko Piko Warrior just guffawed.
"I'm happy to help, Madame! It's always a pleasure to receive the attention of a dangerously sexy woman like yourself!" the man laughed, slapping his belly for some odd reason. A split second passed, and Faust's body spasmed. Sonic wondered why for a second, and then saw Faust pulling himself from the man's rubber-gloved grip. Within a few seconds, Faust was standing on the pavement, visibly shaking. Sonic was surprised to see a very ugly emotion flashing through Faust's face- a very malevolent, forceful look.
"You, sir, are a cad, a failure and a DAMNED PERVERT!" Faust shouted. Instantly, a blue glow sliced through the air as the bat swung his fist. The 'hero' went spiralling off into a tree, hitting it with a heavy metallic clang. Sonic didn't know whether to laugh or cry. On one hand, Faust's disguise was up. On the other hand, something damn funny was going on.
"What did you do that for? He saved your ass!" Sonic laughed.
"He felt my ass!" Faust shouted indignantly. Sonic's jaw fell open for a second.
"Yes, that's right! That stupid, rubber gloved peon just goosed me!"
For a second, there was no sound except the Piko Piko Warrior groaning in the background. And then, huge floods of laughter rushed through Sonic's system and started to gush from every hole in his entire body. The hedgehog was laughing so hard he couldn't breath. So hard he couldn't move. His ribs were cracking. Sadly, he got his comeuppance a second later when Faust spat out Tails' custom made voice changer and threw it straight at the hedgehog's noggin. It hit Sonic with a thud, and he went down like a sack of hammers, still laughing his little blue buttocks off. Faust glared at him in a bloodcurdling way until the hedgehog's last hiccoughs of laughter had gone.
"Change of plan. I'm going home to get changed. I'm done with this." Faust said in a snake's hiss, extracting the oranges from his bra and throwing them onto the floor. The bra soon followed, but the sweater remained. The bat stood there, his naked hands sporting angry red marks and his eyes golden and livid with fury. He was still visibly shaking.
"Hey, wait. We can't let you be exposed like that…" Sonic started, before laughing himself stupid again.
"Think, hedgehog! If I come back dressed as me, and help to destroy these little pest robots of yours, then that'll be some good publicity for me, won't it? 'Government weapon saves the day.' Worth pursuing, I think." Faust hissed, stalking off abruptly.
"You know, Faust…The more and more I see you, the more you remind me of Shadow." Sonic called after him. He was gratified to hear the bat muttering angry curses as he walked away. Eventually, the bat disappeared into the urban landscape.
"Ugh…What's her problem, dude?" the Piko Piko warrior asked, staggering forward- Injured, but reassuringly conscious.
"I'll give you a clue. She's a he." Sonic smirked. He took a mental photograph of the absolute disgust on the Warrior's face. If only Faust had stayed around to see it!
"So, wait. I just goo- err, saved, a guy?" he asked.
"Yup. Good job there, bucko. Leave the rest to me." Sonic smirked.
It only took one look at the Piko Piko warrior's face to see where this conversation was going. Just like every conversation Sonic had had with Knuckles, it was leading into rivalry. Aside from his (frankly daft) costume, the so-called 'Piko Piko Warrior' wasn't actually a bad guy for the job. He wasn't well built, but was bulky, to an extent, and the muscles in his arm showed in big lumps under his jumpsuit. Strapped to his back was some kind of hammer. The human caught Sonic's eyes staring at it, and proudly hefted the weapon off his back.
"I see you're interested in THIS, my hedgehog friend. This is the grand instrument of justice! This is the weapon of truth! This is-"
"Get to the point, Batman. I don't have all day." Sonic tutted.
"This is the Piko Piko 2000! Unlike the original Piko Piko hammer, it's made of a lightweight but sturdy alloy to deliver maximum carnage!" the man said proudly. It didn't look too much like Amy's Piko Piko hammer- the shaft was much longer, around Sonic's height. The head was also much smaller, and there wasn't a scrap of pink on it- it was coloured dark green and blue. It looked heavy, despite the 'lightweight alloy' that the human was spouting off about. All in all, it was like a polo mallet- long handle, small head, hurts a lot if you get hit by it. Sonic wasn't fazed.
"Hmph. Is that all…? Listen, pal. Leave this to the real hero here, and go and make yourself a cup of tea. You'll get pretty cold in that jumpsuit." Sonic shrugged, making to walk away.
"No. YOU listen, pal. I'm going to prove now who the real hero is. I'm sick of you and your little companions taking all the glory for helping people. What about humans? We're one of the most intelligent and industrious races on the planet. Where's OUR respect?" the Piko Piko warrior lectured.
"Then…It's a duel!"
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Sorry about having a) a short chapter and b) a late chapter. I've been somewhat ill lately, owing to my natural frailness, and writing was difficult. I decided to split this- which would have been a somewhat longer chapter- into two shorter chapters. I'm also sorry for not answering my reviews, although it was heart warming to find that someone had actually missed reading it. Sorry about that, man. Also, this is important- I'm changing the Faust writing schedule to one chapter every two weeks instead of every one week. This is necessary because I've run out of pre-made chapters to put up, and I'm a slow (and lazy…ugh) writer. Also, it's Christmas, so I won't be getting too much done anyway.
Oh, and I decided to nix that little thing at the bottom. I figured no one would miss it, and it makes editing for multiple sites easier.