It was pitch black when Nic opened her eyes. A burning sensation shot through her face, and she winced in pain. "Wha…what happened? Where am I?" She tried to stand up to walk around, but something was holding her firmly in place. "The hell?"
Suddenly, a switch was flicked on, and light spilled across the room. The round form of Dr. Robotnik stood grinning at the door with a hand on the switch.
"Robotnik!" Nic shouted in surprise, and tried to pull out her gun from her belt.
"No use trying to struggle. You are bound to that chair." The doctor smirked, and pointed to the ropes secured around Nic's middle and wrists. "All thanks to my latest creation. I'm sure you've met him. He was nice enough to bring you over to me." Robotnik stepped aside. Leaning on the wall was none other than Metal Fang!
"It's you!" Nic stared at the cyborg in disgust. "I remember you! You look just like-"
"Uncanny resemblance, yes?" Robotnik chuckled. "He's much like Fang, except he's far more powerful. Oh yes, and he's err, metallic. Speaking of which…your brother is on the lookout for you as we speak!"
"Nack? He's coming?" Nic perked up when her brother was mentioned.
"Of course!" Robotnik brushed back his mustache. "It's not going to be a piece of cake for him, though. You see that clock?" He pointed to a little plastic clock hanging on the wall. "Approximately two days from now, I'll have my little robot kill you." The doctor watched as Nic's eyes widened in shock. "If Fang makes it in time, I'll have both of you in my grasp. M.F. will be having quite a time firing rounds."
Fang's doppelganger nodded in agreement.
A beeping sound came from Robotnik's pocket, and the man took out a device that resembled a phone. He read the message that had been sent to him, and waved to his captive. "Sorry that I have to leave so soon, but I've got some 'business' to take care of. You two play nice." He laughed and slammed the steel door behind him.
Nic sighed. "That's just peachy…I have to be stuck with you, you Nack impersonator!" She stuck her tongue out at the robot.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." M.F. walked over to Nic, and held out his arm. It started to shake and it pulled into the robot's frame.
"Wow. You lost an arm…" Nic rolled her eyes. "I'm soooo scared."
Before she could comment again, a magnificent silver sniper rifle rolled out of the hole where M.F.'s arm used to be. He pointed it at Nic, and aimed. "Master said not to kill you until your time runs out, but I'm tempted to pull this trigger right now." His choppy robotic voice hinted no emotion whatsoever.
Nic gulped, and shut her mouth.
---
"Hey, I thought I was leading the way!" Rouge yelled as she watched Fang wander through Station Square's busy streets, wary of oncoming cars.
"I'm just going to get a few supplies before we head off. I think I used my last bullets on those two police suckers back there. I know there was a weapons supply shop somewhere around here." Fang looked around at the many shops lining the sidewalks until he found one called 'Bullseye Bean's'. The sign was very noticeable; it was painted a bright yellow and had a winking green duck on it.
Rouge shook her head as Fang walked into the store. "Boys and their weapons…" she muttered, and followed him.
Inside the shop, there were wooden shelves on the walls showcasing various weapons. Guns, bows, knives, shruikens…but the most common ones were the bombs. Liquid bombs, rockets, missiles, detonators, TNT, fireworks; heck, if you accidentally dropped a match in the store, you could blow away the whole street!
The duck from the sign was behind the counter, fumbling with a circular black bomb. He had not noticed the two newcomers until Rouge spoke.
"So, you must be Bean." She watched as he carefully set the bomb on the counter, and turned.
"Oh, thank goodness you got my name right! Everyone who comes in mistakes me for that stupid hawk that rides on the air snowboard!" Bean snorted. "I'd like to meet him someday and give him a piece of my mind."
"Uhh, we aren't looking to chat. We're kind of on a time frame." Rouge pointed to the clock that now read 2:39 PM. "My friend here needs some ammo for his pistol."
Fang was busy staring at an expensive new sniper rifle. He had his face pressed against the glass case, and his eyes were sparkling with delight.
"I'll need to see what kind it is." The duck took out a huge black box from behind the counter and set it beside his bomb.
"Fang, give him your gun." Rouge snapped.
Fang kept on staring at the sniper rifle and totally ignored the bat.
"FANG, SNAP OUT OF IT!" Rouge yelled.
"Huh? Oh." He forced himself out of the trance, and slid his pistol across the counter to Bean.
Bean inspected the gun for a minute before sliding it back over to Fang. "A Colt Magnum, if I'm not mistaken." He opened the box he had taken out earlier, and spun it around so it faced Fang and Rouge. Inside were hundreds of assorted bullets each sorted into sections. The solid gold bullets caught Fang's eye. "So where are you two off to?"
"We're looking for my sister. Dr. Robotnik captured her, and Rouge here knows where his secret base is. That's probably where she's being held hostage." Rouge gave a little wink at the mention of her name.
"Robotnik? Ick, that isn't good. I've been in a few conflicts with him. Turns out he keeps asking me to work for him since I have such a great knowledge of explosives. I say no every time. He would just want to use the bombs for his own evil reasons." The duck shrugged, and continued to search the box. "I think the best ones would be these." Bean grabbed a handful of lead bullets, and set them on the counter. "Good for long and short range."
"Fine. I'll take them." Fang quickly swiped them and loaded his pistol. "C'mon Rouge, that's all we needed." He turned to leave when Bean gave a shout.
"Hold up!" Bean ran over to Fang and handed him a small grenade. "Robotnik isn't going to give up without a fight. You might find use for this. Be careful though; this grenade is the most powerful one I make. It doesn't look like it, but it can cause quite a blast. Use it only as a last resort."
"Err, thanks." Fang latched the grenade onto his belt, and walked out the door with Rouge behind him.
"I left some money on the counter." Rouge whispered to the weasel as she dashed in front.
"Good luck getting your sister back!" Bean waved in the doorway of his shop as the two disappeared down the street. "You'll need it…" he quietly added.
The clock read 2:53 PM.