Well, here it is. The vital tenth chapter of Faust the Bat- and the last chapter, may I add, of the whole Faust goes to the big city thing. One way or another, it ends now! …Well, that was unnecessary. I'm quite pleased at having reached the tenth chapter, especially as my last story (it was called Inked In Flame, and it was written back when I was a fledgling writer- I decided against putting it up on , but there are a couple places on the web where it can still be found, as well as half a dozen stories that I started and then never wrote more than the first chapter of) finished after thirteen chapters. Well, I can tell you this- Faust is likely to last just a little bit longer than that! (Considering I have over 7 more chapters planned, and there's still a helluva lot of story to go, yeah, it'll last quite a while.)
Anyway. It's time for the story to commence!
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Chapter Ten: Piko Piko Showdown!
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Sonic's chest heaved, his blue spines shaking with every intake of breath. His body was scuffed and dirty, the tan pink of his belly streaked with jet-black oil and motor fluids. One arm hung lower than the other, reaching towards the floor, towards rest and submission. But there was no mercy for heroes, and once again, shots rang through the square. Without hesitation, ignoring the lead that had settled in his limbs, he rushed towards yet another squad of robots. Rolling himself into a ball, he let his own momentum hurl him into the robots like a bowling ball. He hadn't the energy to do anything else. The robots felt the brunt of a lazy impact, but nevertheless, it was an impact that knocked them to the floor. None of the robots got up again. Neither did Sonic. His arms and legs had finally reached their limits, and all he could manage was to fall to the ground, face to the dirt, and gather his energy safe in the knowledge that he was a sitting duck and he could be killed at any time. Somewhere behind him, he heard a groan- a very human sounding groan. He also heard the thud of a heavy hammer falling to the ground, followed by another thud.
"Hey…Looks like we're both down." Sonic said, fatigue dragging his words down like iron weights.
"Heh…I guess this whole 'hero' thing is harder than it looks." the Piko Piko Warrior said in the way of an answer.
Both man and hedgehog fell silent. The only sound either could hear was that of the other's laboured breathing. Sonic pondered now, his adrenaline rush well and truly exhausted- what had happened to Tails and Amy? What about Faust? Was the bat, right now, fighting the remaining robots in the city? The thought was a discomfort. Tails may have believed in the bat, but Sonic couldn't bring himself to trust the weapon. He remembered the fire in Faust's golden eyes when the bat was swatting him around in midair, the dull, steady malice that lit his features each time he saw the hedgehog. The bat had nothing to offer except danger. Sighing, Sonic's mind flashed, with guilt, to the image of the bat, with a gun at his throat, and the melancholy resignation in his eyes as he saw that Sonic, the 'hero', didn't care to save him.
Slowly, a new, different sound filled the square. The sound of hushed whispers, cautious warnings and concerned wishes. Sonic raised his head, and saw the people of Station Square gathered around both him and the Piko Piko Warrior. They were of all colours, heights and sizes, but all shared a common cause- the heroes that had saved their city.
"Hey. It looks like most of the robots are gone. The police managed to take care of the rest of them. You guys did good." one bystander offered.
"Certainly. If not for you two, many more would have died." another smiled.
"Heh…well, sorry, Sonic, but we still have a score to settle." This time the voice was the Piko Piko warrior's. He'd dragged himself to his feet, and offered a hand to help the hedgehog do the same.
"Queensbury rules. No eye-gouging." Sonic joked grimly. In truth, he didn't want to fight.
"You ready to start?"
"It's cliché, but I was born ready."
The two heroes prepared to battle, and the townspeople respectfully moved away to give them room. The Piko Piko warrior readied his hammer, and Sonic steeled his courage. But, destiny had another path for the heroes to follow; because at that moment, the one thing no one expected to happen, happened.
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Rouge stumbled through the discarded pieces of metal and assorted rubble, with Omega no more than ten paces behind her. Shadow and Faust had gone ahead a long time ago. Sensing the lack of movement within the city, Rouge assumed it was finally over. This had been the biggest attack in a while. In recent times, it seemed that Eggman was just making attacks to give himself something to do at the weekends, but this was something else. It was meticulously planned, with good numbers and resources- not typical of Eggman in recent times. The answer struck Rouge quickly- the good doctor had been playing possum. He'd been making false attacks to lull the Sonic team into a false sense of security, whilst building his numbers in secret. If his plan had gone off correctly, there was little the Sonic team could do to stop him; the attack was too sudden, too decisive. However, he hadn't counted on the presence of Faust, Team Dark, or this 'Piko Piko Warrior' that Faust had described. If it weren't for that, the city would probably be saluting the doctor by now.
Rouge was torn from her thoughts by a small movement in a pile of rusted scrap to her right. Instantly alert, she focused on it entirely. Within a few seconds, a single Eggbot, with a damaged arm and chassis, burst from the scrap. It fell at Rouge's feet, whining metallically, engaged in the equivalent of robot death throes. Rouge watched intently; too intently. With her eyes and ears focused on the dying 'bot, she didn't notice the quiet footsteps behind her. By the time she felt a presence, it was too late- the ambusher had a gun to her head. Rouge looked up at her attacker, and saw a familiar orange moustache. It was Eggman.
Eggman put a grubby glove on Rouge's shoulder as Omega opened his arm cannons. The doctor made sure that the gun was very visible indeed. Omega faltered. Rouge tried to twist out of the doctor's grip, but his hand was clamped like a vice to her delicate shoulder.
"What do you want, Egghead?" Rouge asked, changing tact. She tried stomping on his foot, but felt a dull clang. Steel toe-capped boots.
"Ohohoho! Why the harsh words? Can't an old friend say hello from time to time?" the doctor cackled.
"We're a long way past friends, doctor. Spill it. Why take the trouble to ambush us?"
The doctor stroked his chin thoughtfully, the way he always did before making a partially insane monologue. Rouge sighed. Eggman hadn't changed at all.
"I just wanted some information, my dear. Would you happen to be familiar with the name 'Faust the bat'?" Eggman asked suspiciously.
Rouge sniffed. "That joker? He thinks I'm full of silicon."
"Don't we all…A-anyway", the doctor blustered as Rouge's eyes flashed fire, "I want some information about that bat. You see, I ran into him earlier, and my robot scanned him…he seems to have a few of my parts. Why does he have them?"
"Ask the President. I'm sure he knows."
"Be serious, Rouge. I won't kill you, but bullets hurt, you know."
"I'm being serious. He's a government weapon. They made him, they'll have his blueprints and what have you." Rouge sniffed.
Eggman rubbed his bald head with the hand holding the gun. Instantly, Omega surged forwards, shoulder charging both the Doctor and Rouge. But whereas Rouge gracefully flipped away without breaking a sweat, Eggman fell as quickly as his namesake and landed with an almost audible crack. Grunting, he drew himself to his feet, holding an injured arm. He found the unwelcome sight of both Rouge and Omega staring him down, Rouge holding the gun that had fallen from Eggman's hand.
"Now, Doctor…Why do you want information on our little bat friend?" Rouge asked sweetly, flaunting the gun in Eggman's face.
"I have a scientific interest in him. And I want to know what he's doing with my parts." Eggman said coolly.
"Ah. Well, Doctor…we'd be quite pleased if you'd curb your curiosity. Faust is under Team Dark's protection." Rouge threatened.
"Hmm, well…In the meantime, what on earth happened to Omega?" Eggman asked, pointing at the dents in Omega's panels.
"You can ask the President that as well."
Rouge was disturbed to know that Eggman's face could turn from a pale, flabby kind of pink to a burning red in less than four seconds. Although the doctor just stopped short of exploding, for a second Rouge could have sworn she saw steam coming out of his ears.
"WHAT?! Those Government crackpots have the nerve to damage one of MY best creations?" Eggman thundered. Omega clicked and whirred, raising his other arm. The robot didn't like being reminded that he was one of Eggman's 'creations'.
"Quiet down, Eggy. Now, what are you going to do to make us let you go without giving you your recommended daily amount of lead?" Rouge said, poking the gun into Eggman's flabby stomach.
Eggman was silent for a second, evidently pondering how to get himself out of his decidedly sticky situation. Rouge watched with amusement. Omega's arm cannon was still pointed directly at the doctor's face.
"I'll make you a deal, Rouge." Eggman whispered.
"Oh? And what do you have that could interest me?" Rouge asked, picking the words carefully.
"Oh, I have a few notable gemstones that I could bear to part with…Including, if you would believe me, a Chaos Emerald." Eggman observed the glow in Rouge's eyes, and knew he had hooked her.
Despite all the changes that had happened to the Sonic team, it seemed that Rouge's loyalty could be still be bought for the right price.
"I'm listening, Eggman. A chaos emerald could be quite beneficial to my interests." Rouge smiled.
"I want information…About that bat. He's…interesting. My parts, disappearing eyes, being made by the government…It doesn't add up. I want schematics, data, parts lists, specifications…anything." Eggman said with alarming urgency.
"Heh…Shadow dictated to Tails the information we found at the GUN facility. It should still be on his computer. I can get you that. And you'll give me the jewels?"
"Certainly. You have my word, Rouge." Eggman said solemnly. "So…We have a deal?"
"Not quite yet, Doctor. You see, there's one other thing I want before I'm willing to let you go free." Rouge smiled.
"Hmph! And what could that be? A Chaos emerald should be more than enough compensation." the doctor glared.
"I want Omega's blueprints." Rouge grinned.
"Omega's blueprints? But they're encrypted to be uncopiable, so that any hackers wouldn't be able to get their hands on them. They have to be removed from my computer manually. That means I won't have a copy." Eggman mused.
"Perfect. I was going to tell you to destroy any other copies you had anyway. Omega isn't just a robot or a creation. He's a person, and those blueprints rightfully belong to him." Rouge smiled.
"…Grr! Fine. Meet me in the centre of Station Square at midnight tomorrow. I'll have what you want. But if you tell anyone, I'll destroy those blueprints in an instant."
"Deal. Now get out of my sight. We never saw you."
As Eggman retreated, Omega looked at Rouge with his deep, electric eyes.
"WAS THAT TRULY THE RIGHT THING TO DO?" Omega asked in his cold voice.
"You mean more to me than that bat, Omega. You're a member of Team Dark, and this needs to be done." Rouge said, a sly smile curling her lips.
"…THANK YOU, ROUGE." Omega said, starting to walk once again.
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Sonic fell to his knees, taken down in a single blow by a well-placed hammer blow. But, the Piko Piko Warrior hadn't even moved- save to drop his jaw in amazement as the events unfolded. Amy Rose, a champion hammer-chucker, had applied her art with- well, not deadly, but certainly very painful precision. As the crowd gawped in what may have been understated as awe, Amy walked resolutely up to her target, and tied his arms and legs with what appeared to be inferior quality complementary towels. Tails and Cream ran a few seconds after, panting for breath. Tails had a wad of tissue stuffed up his nose.
"Soooooonic! Do you have ANY idea what we went through whilst we were waiting for you to save us? We almost had to strip! You should be ashamed of yourself!" Amy berated. Not that it did any good- the hedgehog was out like an economy light bulb.
"Uh…Amy. I think you may have…uh…interrupted something…" Tails muttered sheepishly. Amy ignored him, and started to heave the KO'd hero onto her shoulders. Cream had started apologising to the crowd, looking distinctly ruffled.
"Hey! I was…We were…I was about to fight him!" the Piko Piko Warrior protested feebly. Amy threw him a withering glare, and the man visibly shrank. Tails made motions for the man to shut up. It was a wise decision, really- an angry Amy Rose was like a depth charge in a thimble- always spectacular, and usually wrecked everything for ages around.
"Sorry, sorry. It's, uh…It's her 'time of month.'" Cream said desperately, waving the crowd away so Amy could move through without hurting anybody.
After picking her way through the rapidly dispersing crowd, Amy unceremoniously dumped Sonic in a heap onto the floor. She stood for a second, deciding what to do next. With a slow, deliberate movement, she turned her head to look at the Piko Piko Warrior. Fire danced in her eyes, and a grimace took root in her face. She turned, abruptly, and marched towards the man.
"H…Hey! W-what do you think you're doing?" he stammered, holding his hammer in front of him for protection as she pounded forwards relentlessly. Amy picked up her own hammer from where it had fallen, and twisted it through the air as she moved.
"So! You were going to fight MY Sonic, huh? NO ONE gets to clock him with a hammer except ME!" Amy barked, like a cross between a big sister and a possessive bunny boiler.
"It was a duel! A man's competition! Besides, he can't fight me now, so I suppose I'll…just, uh…go away." the Piko Piko Warrior stuttered. He could now see why Sonic was so scared of Amy Rose in a bad mood.
"Oh no. You wanted a fight, mister, so you're getting a fight. Get ready to defend yourself." Amy stormed, hefting her own Piko Piko hammer into a battle-ready position. Seeing he had no choice but to do likewise, the Piko Piko Warrior followed suit.
Without hesitation, Amy started the fight. Her hammer screamed through the air in a pink and yellow blur, crashing heavily into the Piko Piko Warrior's side. The blow knocked the air out of the man's lungs, allowing Amy to strike a second telling blow, this time aimed at his legs. As she drew back her hammer for another strike the warrior's fighting instincts finally kicked in. Moving swiftly, he jerked the hilt of his hammer around, catching her hammer's head with the shaft. With a flick of her wrist, Amy broke the hold, and struck again, aiming for the shaft itself. The Piko Piko warrior took a step backwards, feeling the force behind the blow as it whistled past. This time, he mounted his own offensive, swinging his hammer like a great pendulum around himself. Amy jumped over it and took the opportunity to attack once more, bonking him on the head. He took another heavy stroke, but his aim was poor; Amy was well behind the head of the hammer, and caught the shaft with her own, her heels digging into the ground. The two struggled, a bead of sweat forming on the Warrior's brow behind his mask.
Once again, it was Amy that broke the stalemate, flipping her own hammer down and ducking the blow. Staggered, the Piko Piko Warrior realised that he was at a disadvantage. He had no time to ponder, however; the fight abruptly became mobile, as Amy threw a powerful overhead strike. The Warrior jumped backwards, allowing the extra weight of his hammer to flip his body in midair. He landed on his hands, and with another powerful thrust towards the ground, threw himself back to his feet. Amy ran towards him, throwing a veritable storm of blows. The Warrior ducked and weaved, but he was too big and too slow; a blow connected with the side of his head, the force throwing him to the ground. He was up again in a second, but he now knew he could never win this fight- and that it was his own fault.
His mind cast back to the development of the Piko Piko 2000. He had wanted it to be heavier- much heavier- than the previous Piko Piko hammer. Force was mass times velocity squared. If you had more mass in the hammer, you could do more damage. It was pure logic. But, he had made a schoolboy error- he hadn't considered the purpose of the weapon. The Piko Piko hammer had always been marketed as an 'urban defence weapon'- it wasn't meant to kill or seriously injure. But the danger with the Piko Piko 2000 was that he was having to hold himself back, to reduce the power of his strikes. And reducing the power meant reducing the speed. And reducing the speed meant that he'd never land a single hit. Amy, on the other hand, could swing just as hard and fast as she wanted.
With the realisation came the punishment. Amy's strikes were much stronger than his own, and he hadn't hit a single time. Amy swung one final time, her hammer moving faster than the human eye as it smashed into the Warrior's chest. With that, he went down. The blows that had landed on him in the fight finally had their effect, and he crumbled like a Lego house under the impact.
Amy looked down at him, her chest moving swiftly as she drew her breath. Despite the ease with which she won, it had tired her out. Without a word, she turned and marched away. Tails and Cream moved aside to let her pass, and then followed from a safe distance as Amy hefted her hedgehog prize and stomped off towards the train station.
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"Hey! It's him! The one from TV!"
"Yeah, I'd recognize that face anywhere! He flipped the tank!"
"Everybody, stay back! He might be dangerous!"
Faust pressed a bandaged hand to his forehead. Not only was he blinded by these people's voices, but they were immediately biased against him. It was to be expected, but still, the bat didn't like it.
"People of Station Square. May I have your attention?" Shadow spoke up, his acid voice cutting through the noise. The gathered people fell silent as the hedgehog moved towards them. As much as the two didn't get along, Faust was very grateful for Shadow's presence at the moment.
"The information given to you by the Government was…" Shadow deliberated a second, deciding what would be the best way to proceed. "Flawed."
"Flawed? In what way? He flipped a tank! He's dangerous to people!"
"Faust is not your enemy. In fact, he was designed by the Government themselves, for the purpose of…"
Shadow grasped at the words. Faust shuddered. He would have said it himself, but he couldn't lie. If he spoke up, he knew he would end up admitting that his purpose was unknown, but seemed to have something to do with eliminating the Sonic Team.
"Defending against Eggman. Now, of course, in order to make him a good android, he needed to be kept secret. He's not finished at the moment, which is why the Government wants him back. They want to keep him secret so he can be finished and used against Eggman." Shadow invented wildly. He noticed Faust glaring at him when he said the word 'android'.
"It's true, mommy!" The voice came from a child in the crowd. "I saw him smacking some Eggbots with Shadow!"
Other members of the crowd began to murmur about sightings of the bat helping Shadow to defeat robots. Shadow decided to capitalise on the development.
"He means you no harm. But, if the Government finishes him as a weapon, he will possess no self will anymore- which is why both the Sonic Team and Team Dark are protecting him." Shadow said solemnly. "We think that today's performance shows he is capable of fighting Eggman anyway."
The crowd murmured some more. Faust bristled. He knew that Shadow's explanation was an outright lie- but he couldn't see it. It was disquieting for the bat.
"To that end…We want you citizens of Station Square to support us in Faust's right to life. Do not help the Government to capture him; we, Team Dark, will guarantee that he is safe to be amongst you. If he isn't, then we ourselves will hand him in to the authorities."
Faust glared at the hedgehog. He couldn't tell if Shadow was lying or not. But, somehow, he couldn't put it past the ebony hedgehog. Still, the bat rebuked himself, it didn't matter. He didn't mean these people any harm, and if he kept from hurting them, he would be safe.
"However. Let it be known to all that if the Government comes and demands him, Team Dark will destroy anyone who threatens him. Is that clear?" Shadow finished, adding a touch of ice to the final sentence. The crowd collectively nodded.
After they had dispersed, a little old lady walked up. She smiled at Faust, and took one of his hands in her own.
"I remember you, sonny. Near the train station. You were badly hurt. I didn't believe it at the time, but here you are. I support you. When you're as old as me, you can see if people are good or not from their eyes. Your eyes are scary, but good. Keep your chin up, son."
With that, she shuffled away. Faust said nothing. In his mind, a single thought bubbled up and spread across him with perfect clarity. He said it out loud, testing how it sounded:
"Human kindness and human cruelty are both unlimited."
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Phew. I'm actually rather tired now, and I fear that it'll show in my writing. It's a good thing that the fight scenes are coming to an end for a little while…That way, I can rest myself for the next big encounter. But don't think that it won't be exciting- there's a whole lot of intrigue and mystery afoot! Join me next time for chapter eleven- Games At Midnight!
…however, that chapter may be a little later than usual. You see, I have exams closing in, and I have to focus myself on revision for a while. Also, I want to refresh myself with two other stories I'm working on- Sunshine, a horror story, and Dude Where's My Watch, a comedy. If I get them finished, I'll post them up.