5 Years Later – Chapter Eleven…
"Eggman laughed and waved his hand, bringing out this gigantic Egyptian rock golem!" Right now, the group was sitting in a room on the pirate ship, sitting around Striker as he told the story.
Joy sat right in front of him, a pirate hat on her head that occasionally slipped down over her eyes because it was a bit too big, but right now she was immensely absorbed in this story he was telling.
"…so Sonic was running around," Striker continued, "when this Egyptian rock golem tried to smash him!"
Joy gasped.
"But Sonic was too fast, and there wasn't a scratch on him!" Striker said, easing Joy, "Because nobody can beat Sonic the Hedgehog!"
"Ooh, ooh, now comes the best part, Joy!" Jack whispered to her, as he was sitting right next to her, equally as absorbed in the story.
"Sonic took a flying leap!" Striker even made the gesture with his hand like a shooting rocket. "And with a kick, he knocked the dumb machine off of the golem's head, setting it free from Eggman's control!"
Joy was amazed. "It was under Eggman's cotrol?"
"That's right!" Striker said. "But now that Sonic broke that machine, the golem went after Eggman instead, so Sonic, the Professor, Amy, and Knuckles ran so that they could catch the space ship before it launched!"
"They went into outside space?" Joy uttered; she meant outer space, of course.
"Yeah!"
"Man! They managed to go to space, too?" Lin uttered in absolute awe. "That's too awesome!"
"Come on; keep on telling!" Tails Doll chimed in, as he was perched on Lin's head during this story session.
"So they go to space," Striker continued. "But Knuckles is driving!" Another gasp from his audience, while he chuckles. "Something hits the ship and the hatch opens, so the pieces of the Master Emerald scatter out, and Knuckles goes off to look for them while the gang finally crashes aboard the Space Colony ARK."
"Where's Shadoh?" Joy asked.
"I'm getting there," Striker chuckled at Joy's enthusiasm.
Ani really admired how he told the story. It seemed like he's done this before, either that or he's really brushed up on his charisma. Either way, she felt like the story was being told to her the first time, being just as absorbed into it as the others.
Striker finally got to a good part, "So Shadow and Sonic finally meet, but they only exchange a few words before they fight!"
"Yaar, 't must`ve been quite th' struggle!" Whisker laughed, as he was also listening to this story.
"Don't stop there! Go on!" Lin urged.
"It was a long battle, and the two clashed like nobody's business!" Striker said. "But like I said before, nobody beats Sonic the Hedgehog!"
"Sonic won?" Joy asked excitedly.
"For now," Striker was now adding more suspense. "When Sonic beat him, he and Knuckles tried to go looking for Tails and Amy, and that's when the entire Space Colony ARK started shaking!"
Joy gasped again. For a 3 year old, she was able to imagine what happened perfectly. She could imagine Eggman appearing to them, tall twig legs, and that egg-shaped pot belly, and that large mustache...Rouge reading Professor Gerald's entries with her deep, breathy voice... All of them reluctantly agreeing to work together, so they could stop the Space Colony ARK from crashing into the Earth. They hafta make it, she thought. They just gotta make it!
She saw Sonic running through the hallways made from glass and titanium, running into ugly scientific experiments and robots that stood in his way, but Sonic wiped them all out no problem; just like she hoped he would.
"Finally, they reached the chamber," Striker's voice echoed in the void of her imaged scene.
Yes, they reached that chamber; Sonic and Knuckles, the latter carrying the Master Emerald with him. They had to place the Master Emerald on that tower thingy on the other side of the chamber.
"But before they could do anything, the Biolizard appeared!"
Joy gasped again. Oh no! Watch out Sonic and Knucklohs! That giant creature seemed to pop out of nowhere, bigger than life itself and roaring down at the tiny Sonic and Knuckles before it with anger.
"Sonic and Knuckles were just fine though, because Shadow appeared in the nick of time to help them!"
"Oh, man, this is intense!" Tails Doll uttered in excitement.
Before the mighty lizard could strike down on the two, Shadow did indeed walk past them, a renewed resolve in his own mind, ready to strike down the failed attempt at creating an ultimate lifeform. Joy saw that black hedgehog with the red stripes walk up past the blue hedgehog and the red echidna, both of them looking at him in shock. "Shadow?"
"...leave this one to me." Shadow uttered, quickly looking at Sonic and Knuckles. "You go and get the Chaos Emeralds!" he roared, before glaring back at the massive monster.
Sweeping past the beast, Sonic and Knuckles headed for the tower while Shadow took on this giant creature. You can do it Shadoh! Joy thought. I bewieve in you!
With a small smile, Shadow actually nodded, before he leapt up towards the beast with kick at its head.
Yay! Joy thought.
The battle was long and trying for Shadow. Knuckles meanwhile, put that giant green rock on the tower thingy and started saying weird things. "The servers are the seven chaos. Chaos is power, enriched by the heart. The controller serves to unify that chaos!" And that giant green rock started to glow. "Master Emerald, stop the Chaos Emeralds! You must keep this Space Colony ARK from crashing into our planet!" There was a bright flash, and Joy blinked, suddenly returning to the pirate ship where Striker was still telling the story.
"So it stopped the ARK, but the Biolizard still wasn't going to give up!" Striker continued. "It used Chaos Control too, and attached itself to the outside of the Space Colony ARK! Making it keep heading toward the Earth with a more deadly velocity!"
Even Ani gulped.
"But they hafta stop it!" Joy protested.
"That's right Joy, they had to," Striker grinned, getting to the climax of this story. "So they used all seven emeralds to become Supers!"
Joy's eyes widened. She saw Shadow and Sonic surrounded by those pretty glowing rocks of different colors, spinning faster and faster until Sonic and Shadow poofed! Now they were shiny! Sonic was golden, and Shadow was silverish, both of them glowing like angelic warriors. They used Chaos Control too, and popped back into outside space to find that big, mean old lizard on the front of the giant Space ARK...thingy. "You ready, Shadow?" Sonic chuckled with confidence.
"...let's do this." Shadow nodded, as he simply looked at the massive beast.
Be careful! Joy bid, and the two of them nodded as they tackled the beast. The battle was breathtaking for Joy! They used powers she only dreamed of, and they flew around in outside space like super fast birds! The Biolizard swiped, and shot beams, and threw projectiles at them, but it was useless!
"But they were running short on time! The Space Colony ARK was reaching the Earth's atmosphere and burning up like a meteor!"
Joy gasped once more, seeing the fire engulf the front of the Space ARK as it was getting too close to Earth. Oh no! It's gonna crash!
"Shadow, we gotta stop that thing!" Sonic uttered frantically, flying up in front of it.
Shadow, however, didn't respond, as he, along with Joy, heard a girl speak in his head.
"Shadow...give them a chance to be happy. Even if they didn't deserve it...give them another chance, Shadow. I beg of you..."
Joy clutched to her heart in desperation when she heard that voice. Yeah Shadoh, you gotta save them! she thought. There are lotsa nice people that gotta be saved!
His eyes widening, Shadow seemed to gain a newfound resolve again. "...Sonic! We'll combine our powers, to warp the ARK away!" he called, as energy gathered around his hands.
Sonic mimicked what Shadow was doing, while questioning whether or not it was going to be safe, but there was no time for questioning at the moment. "I hope you know what you're doing!" Sonic called back, while the two gained more and more energy.
"Trust me; I do!" Shadow called, as the two flew right towards the incoming space station. When the two clashed against the Biolizard, the energy in their hands began brimming, before they gathered it in a massive sphere.
"CHAOS... CONTROL!"
The entire Space ARK was taken by that sphere and with a bright flash, it was suddenly gone. No more crashing into the Earth! However, there was one thing that hadn't vanished; Shadow, who had become drained from such a massive feat. As his being plummeted towards the planet, one last thought ran through his head.
...Maria... this is what you wanted, right? This is my promise... I made to you...
Joy held her mouth in shock. Oh no! Shadoh was falling! Then she saw the ARK again. The ARK wasn't shaking no more. Everybody in it was all safe and sound, but they were a little scared. Where was Sonic and Shadoh? Then the door opened and Sonic walked in. But no Shadoh?
"...where's Shadow?" Rouge asked.
Joy was almost afraid to find out. She saw Sonic hold up just a golden ring with a pained look on his face, and she gasped. No! Shadoh still had to be okay! Joy was ready to cry, pouted lip and tears rolling down. Rouge looked a little sad too, taking the golden ring and looking up at Sonic.
Striker suddenly stopped, and grew worried when he saw Joy crying. "What's wrong Joy?"
"Shadoh didn't come back!" She said heart-wretchedly, sniffing. "Is Shadoh okay?" Blinking, everyone glanced at Joy.
Striker smiled in sympathy, rubbing her head comfortingly. "Don't worry Joy. He's really okay. They see him again later on, and he's just fine."
Joy smiled with relief, and she wiped away her tears happily.
"No matter how many times I hear that story, it never gets old," Milo remarked, smiling.
"...did Shadoh keep Mawia's promise?" Joy asked, stopping the motion in the room once more.
Striker was stunned that Joy even asked that question. Sure, later on Tails found out about Maria, and how she and Shadow had been close those years ago, but when Striker told the story just now, he never even mentioned Maria, or the promise that Shadow wanted to keep. Eventually, he gave her a smile to keep Joy from asking about his surprise. "...Yeah, Joy," he said. "Shadow kept Maria's promise."
...First that drawing of Jill, Ani thought, looking at the little ewe. ...and now this?
...weird... Jack thought, as he looked at her, before smiling. ...she'd fit right in with us.
That's when another question popped into Joy's head. "Strikoh, how come Metoh looks like Sonic?" she asked.
Boy, was that a dozy to try and explain to her.
They all looked at Striker, who looked back at them questionably. What was he going to say? He had to say something, because Joy was just going to ask the question again. Any 3 year old would ask that question again if they didn't get an answer. There was NO WAY he should tell her that Metal was once a killing machine for Dr. Eggman.
"Metal's...uh..." Striker suddenly got a very funny idea. "...That's because Sonic was Metal's grandpa!"
WHAT? Milo thought in a fluster.
Joy was in awe, "WOW!"
Ani suddenly took Striker aside. "What do you think you're doing?" she whispered sternly.
"I HAD to say something or she was going to ask again!" Striker protested in another whisper. "It's better than telling her the truth! It just means we'll have to tell Metal that we said that though, so he'll play along, but you know..."
Tails Doll couldn't help but blink, whilst looking at Striker. ...wow... I can't imagine how Big Bro would react to hearing that, he thought.
At that point, Joy heard a thud, as someone crashed into the ground, barely able to move.
"...huh?" Joy turned, wondering who it was. It was Shadow, lying in a crater where he had landed after falling out of the sky. The silver glow around him faded away, and his black fur became prominent once more. A clap of thunder rang across the empty fields, as rain started to pour down the area.
...Shadow was lying so peacefully there, asleep. He really was okay...Strikoh was right...but Shadoh was gonna catch a cold if he didn't wake up. C'mon Shadoh, wake up, Joy thought worriedly. However, Shadow didn't move. It was as if all power had been drained from his entire body.
Joy could see someone walking towards the unconscious hedgehog, with heavy, slow steps. She wondered about that, all at the same time scared of what she might see, for some reason.
Eventually, she got a good look at it. It was a machine of sorts, though somehow it looked like Sonic. One could tell that it wasn't Sonic obviously, but the overall design seemed to be derived from him. Stopping by Shadow's body, this machine simply looked down at him with those cold, red eyes.
This machine looked unfamiliar to Joy for the most part...except those piercing red eyes. She remembered seeing one of those on...and she gasped. No... It couldn't be...could it?
Silently it simply looked down at him, and then the machine picked up the fallen Shadow ... before its gaze instantly directed itself towards Joy.
Joy let out a shudder of fear while looking back.
The machine heard something ring in his ear. "Have you reclaimed him?" Eggman's voice uttered in his head.
"...yes." the machine nodded.
"Excellent! We'll initiate the Shadow Android project right away! Return to base... Metal Sonic!"
With another nod, jets flared up underneath the machine's boots, before he rocketed up into the rainy sky, taking Shadow with him.
Joy gasped, covering her mouth. She even recognized the voice coming from that machine, despite the fact it sounded more synthetic and mechanical. ...Metoh?
"Hey!" Striker suddenly blurted which snapped Joy out of her thoughts. "We could try to look for Professor Gerald's prison cell on the island!"
Ani brightened up, sharing his enthusiasm. "I never even thought about that!"
"Just think of the equations and notes he has up on that wall!" Striker continued excitedly, pounding his fist in his hand.
"...it would certainly be interesting to look at," Snap admitted.
"That would be the best!" Jack laughed. "Let's go and see it!"
"Sorry, but I've gotta pass on that one." Lin said with a small laugh. "I've got to get back on my shift, soon."
"Aaw..." Tails Doll moaned. "Lame."
"Well, it can't be helped, I guess..." Jack shrugged, as he glanced at Joy. "What about you? Do you wanna come along too, Joy?"
Joy looked at all of them. She wasn't sure what she saw just now, and she was a little scared because of it, but looking for Professor Gerald's prison cell sounded really fun! Like some sort of... "...it's lika treashure hunt for piwates!" Joy uttered, smiling wide.
"Yeah! That's a good idea!" Striker laughed, liking the way Joy thought.
"Yar har har har har! A treasure hunt, 't is!" Whisker laughed, as he clapped his hands together. "Sea dogs an' land lubbers, let`s find that booty!"
"Aye!" both Jack and Tails Doll cheered.
Joy jumped to her feet, holding up her large pirate hat on her head as she, Tails Doll, Jack, Lin, and Whisker marched out the door enthusiastically. Striker and Ani noticed Milo hesitate, and they looked at him. "What's up?" Ani asked.
"Just now...I could tell that Joy felt scared," Milo answered, "for no reason whatsoever." Then he walked past Striker and Ani after the others. "You better hope that Joy believes what you said about Sonic being Metal's grandpa," they heard him say.
"...what's that supposed to mean?" Striker questioned, but Milo was too far from ear shot to hear him.
"...weird..." Ani murmured.
Then the two of them ended up finding each other's eyes, and stared at each other again.
"Uh!" Striker pulled away hurriedly, blushing. "We should follow the others..."
"...yeah," Ani replied, blushing herself. Striker did this without thinking, but he grabbed Ani's hand and dragged her along so that they wouldn't get left behind by everybody. Looking at their hands, Ani blushed even more.
"...Oblivion." Standing a distance from Oblivion and the sleeping Charon was Krieg, who had his arms folded. "Spiel is expecting you."
Oblivion drew a heaving sigh. "...alright." So she stood up with one last glance at Charon, and went following Krieg down the road.
For the most part, Krieg was silent, as he kept focused on walking down the path without tripping or going over the edge. "...how did you two meet? You and Charon." he eventually inquired.
"...I found him dying in a pit 4 years ago," Oblivion answered. "Naturally...I felt for him, and nursed him back to health. He told me that I shouldn't have helped him...that I should have left him dying in that pit. I asked him why he said something so cruel...and he just remained silent."
Krieg nodded, though he said nothing.
Oblivion looked up at the sky. "…after a while of getting used to my company, he became more willing to tell me about himself. Many thought he was a monster…judging him on his ferocious appearance and his temper…he even may loose himself on a rampage…but I knew he was someone else inside…"
"…someone else thought that too."
"...hm?" Krieg hummed with interest.
"…he never really told me who she was," Oblivion murmured. "All he told me was that she cared about him, even if everyone else thought he was a monster…but Charon grew very quiet when I asked what happened to her."
Still silent, Krieg turned his head towards Oblivion.
"He waited until we became closer to tell me, when he felt more comfortable," Oblivion said, "and even then…it wasn't anything pleasant. Something drove him to anger and rage, and he couldn't control himself…" Oblivion shuddered when she thought about what she was going to say next. "…in the midst of his rage, she tried to stop him, and he…killed her."
"...my condolences..." Krieg muttered, as he looked away. "...what was her name?"
"…her name was Jane," Oblivion murmured. "…I know, because sometimes when he's asleep…I'll hear him murmur her name…"
"...hm." Nodding, Krieg let out a small sigh. "...why did you two come to this island? And for that matter... how did you hide him away for so long?"
"…this island was far away from everyone who would hold prejudice against Charon, or fear him enough to try and kill him," Oblivion said. "Safe Haven's very name sounded like…salvation. As for hiding him for so long, well…" She looked at her own hands. "…I've had to erase more memories than I can count."
"...hm..." Krieg hummed. "...becoming one of Spiel's followers, without actually sharing his beliefs... it's beneficial for you, just as much as it is dangerous."
Oblivion became a little uneasy, "How so?"
"...Spiel is an influential character." Krieg said, folding his arms. "No matter who it is, as long as they follow him, he'll provide protection for them... however, that comes at a price." Then, he turned his head to Oblivion again. "...they need to pay for that protection. Not with money, nor with their bodies... but with deeds Spiel wants them to fulfill. Deeds that require brute force... he might think of sending you or Charon to brutalize someone."
Oblivion grew silent at the sound of that. She would do anything to keep Charon safe, but the thought that he would be used was worrying. "…what reason do you have to follow him?" she asked, turning back to Krieg.
"...we share the same goal." Krieg uttered, looking away from Oblivion. "He longs to see a united world... and that is what I wish for; a world where there is no conflict and everyone is allied with one another."
"…A united world…" Oblivion uttered, looking down at the ground. "…that kind of idea…could mean two different things between you and Spiel…" she didn't know why, but Spiel just…wasn't the friendly type, even if he seemed to be.
"...I doubt it." Krieg noted. "...let us hurry; Spiel wanted us by his side. He's about to gain another follower."
Oblivion grew more curious at the mention of that, so she made an effort to pick up the walking pace.
After a while, the two got to the bottom of the path, where they came across a hut that had been set up a small distance away. Entering it, the two saw Spiel sitting in a chair, his head resting on his left hand, whilst looking at someone in front of him. "Aah... Krieg and Oblivion. What good timing! Why don't you introduce yourself to them?" Spiel chuckled, which made the one he addressed glance towards them.
"...um... the name's Ruki?" the red scorpion uttered.
"…Oblivion," she answered, bowing her head politely.
"Krieg." Krieg uttered with a brief nod.
"Alright..." Chuckling, Spiel returned his gaze to Ruki. "...now, why did you come to Safe Haven?"
Looking back at the pig, Ruki nodded. "...because I wanted to get stronger!"
"Really? How noble." Spiel chuckled. "Indeed; with King as the leader, you're bound to grow stronger in due time..."
Oblivion remained silent, since she was not addressed to.
"...however..." Spiel hummed, as he stood up. "...King's short-sighted. He usually only acts on impulse, and rarely thinks ahead of time..."
"...many great leaders have been like that." Ruki noted, not taking her eyes away from Spiel.
"Of course, of course; I'm not trying to make King look bad, here!" Spiel laughed, as he approached Ruki. "Being able to lead an entire nation of soldiers, whilst having that kind of thought process is a good thing! But... is that gonna help you get any stronger?"
Oblivion didn't exactly like the way he was talking. It was just…the subtlety of it…
"...well... I need to become stronger, so..." Ruki uttered, glancing away from Spiel.
"...what would you prefer?" Spiel hummed, as he turned away from Ruki. "Would you prefer waiting for the day King's ways will allow you to grow stronger... or would you rather become stronger as quickly as possible?" Smirking, he closed his eyes. "...it's all up to you... Ruki."
Ruki blinked, before she closed her eyes in thought. "...I..."
…don't be hasty, Ruki, Oblivion thought to herself.
"...I..." Gritting her teeth, Ruki eventually looked back at Spiel. "...I... absolutely need to grow stronger! Rather now than later!"
"...that's what I wanted to hear." Spiel chuckled. "So... you'll become one of my followers?"
"...yes." Ruki nodded.
Hearing that, Krieg sighed. Oblivion also shared that sigh, as well as shake her head, but she made sure that Spiel didn't see her do that.
"...that's good." Spiel chuckled, turning to place a hand on Ruki's shoulder. "Just keep this a secret between us... no one else needs to know about this, unless you want them to."
"...I understand." Ruki nodded. "As long as I can grow stronger, I don't care what I need to do."
"Good. Now, hurry along. Krieg will fetch you to me if I need your assistance." Spiel chuckled, and with a nod, Ruki walked out, brushing past Krieg and Oblivion.
Once Ruki was gone, Oblivion looked back at Spiel. "…I've spoken with Charon…and we both are going to agree to your bargain," she murmured.
"...good." Spiel chuckled, as he folded his arms behind his back. "You and Charon... what a curious pair."
"...Spiel?" Krieg uttered, as he tilted his head.
"A girl who can erase memories... and someone with monstrous power... both of them close to each other..." Spiel mused, still chuckling. "Yes... truly a curious pair..."
Oblivion's look actually grew sour. "…may I leave, or do you have more business with me?" she asked.
"...take your leave." Spiel chuckled, as he turned away. "Krieg, be kind and escort her back up."
"...as you wish." Krieg nodded, before he turned towards the doorway, waiting for Oblivion to follow him.
Once Oblivion followed Krieg out, she softened. "…does Spiel intend to do anything about what Diablo has planned?" she asked quietly, not to arouse suspicion in other people.
"...Diablo's plans?" Krieg uttered, as he led Oblivion up the path. "I'm sorry, but... I think I may not be informed enough about that. Care to elaborate?"
"…Diablo is trying to tempt the dark powers that are said to lurk within Jillian," Oblivion murmured.
"...hrm... I see..." Krieg hummed, as he folded his arms. "...well, Spiel and Diablo aren't exactly on good terms with one another... I'm not sure if he cares about Jillian's condition or not... but if he finds that Diablo steps out of line, he'll likely take care of it."
Oblivion wasn't sure what to think of that, but she wondered just how bad things would get. ...whatever happens, she thought, closing her eyes, I only hope that Joy is kept safe and sound...
"...we shouldn't keep Charon waiting." Krieg noted, as he picked up the pace. "Let us move."
"Right..."
"...really, Sage, why'd you pull us with you, too?" King grunted, just as he, along with Tasha, Sage, Queen and Hunter, entered Raider's old hideout. "I can understand that you wanna get to the bottom of this, but we've got to take care of the soldiers and villagers that were injured..."
"Which is exactly why I only brought you four with me." Sage hummed, as she held the data stick she had taken from Raider in her hands. "You and Tasha definitely need find out what kind of information that ox tried getting rid of..."
"...it wouldn't surprise me if he and Diablo have gone into hiding..." Queen mused, unaware of Raider's ultimate fate.
"We'll find them soon enough," Hunter said.
"But until then...I guess we have to find out what they did," Tasha supposed.
Nodding, Sage sat down by one of the computers, switching it on. "...let's see, now..."
"...hrm..." Humming, King folded his arms, as he waited for Sage to obtain the info they needed.
The computer itself, they found, seemed to be wiped clean from any information they were looking for; only information about each soldier on the island and miscellaneous data. When Sage inserted the data stick, however, it opened up a window that showed a few files. One named "BACKGROUND INFORMATION," another named, "IMPORTANT PEOPLE"...
...and one more, named "PROGRESS ON EXPERIMENT: CALLOUS."
Hunter's eyes widened. "...no..."
"...experiment Callous?" King uttered. "Those bastards..."
"...how could they know about Callous...?" Queen hummed.
"...I think we need to find out." Sage said, as she attempted to access that file.
More documents were presented. Text documents reading "Day One," and "Day Two." "Day Three" did not exist, perhaps because that was when all the chaos erupted and could have interrupted their "experiment," as the psychos insisted on calling it. There was also security footage of Jill, just to make sure she didn't try to escape.
"...why would they..." King snarled.
"...there must be some form of explanation for this "experiment" of theirs somewhere around here..." Sage muttered, quickly scanning through the documents.
While looking through Day One, Sage read through parts of it. "Even after more than 50 lashes, the subject hasn't responded other than pain. Perhaps Callous is stubborn? Would she come out if Jill were finally broken, I wonder?" and another part like, "Then again, physical torture is commonplace for her after what Deity Novagod had done to her, and-"
"They knew about Deity Novagod, too?" Hunter uttered, catching that line with his eyes.
"...someone has been busy..." Sage muttered, keeping on reading the document. ...damn... why didn't I figure this out earlier? she thought, gritting her teeth.
"End of Day One, and Jillian has proven to be tougher than I thought. Even if she seems to be tender, she can also be hard as nails to break. Like I wrote before, physical torture may not work. Perhaps we need a more psychological twist in these methods...
I decided to see if letting Raider loose on her would have any effect. He was more than delighted to oblige. After all, sexual abuse can be both physical and psychological."
Tasha covered her mouth in horror, and shook her head in denial. "...no...how could they?"
"...honorless curs..." Queen snarled, as she slammed her fist into a wall. "...I will wring their necks when I next see them."
Keeping silent, Sage kept reading through the documents, a hardened look on her face. King noticed that, and glanced at the raven with a curious look.
"Day Two. Another thought occurred to me. Callous could only be summoned in dire situations, such as Jillian's life being threatened? So I decided to let her continue to starve just to see how long Jill can last in strength, and to see if Callous really would finally come out in the last minute of life she has left. It's tough though; Jill still hasn't shown signs of breaking...even after Raider abused her for the second time."
"...they were trying to draw out Callous, but why?" Hunter questioned.
"...I doubt that they did it for laughs; they must've had some form of motive." King muttered.
"...were they intending to stage some form of coup?" Queen uttered.
"Perhaps the answer lies somewhere around here..." Sage hummed.
After looking a bit, Sage managed to find a paragraph somewhere. "The powers to manipulate the dark...how intriguing. If only I could have powers like that; evoking the worst fears in someone, creating even more haunting illusions than my own, bringing back the dead... "
"...he's heard of Corruption," Hunter murmured, reading the same paragraph.
"Judging by the history they have, Callous should not have a care for Jill's welfare anyway; perhaps that is why she doesn't come out. She may even want us to kill Jillian, just to set her free, but no, that would mean we would lose Callous too. It has come to my attention that we cannot allow Jill to die. She has already gone the first two days without food, and she can only last for so much longer. Therefore, I think it's time we bring in Oblivion..."
"End of Day Two."
"...and with no documentation on the third day... that's it..." Sage muttered, sighing.
"...damn it..." King growled, as he sat down on a chair, rubbing his temples to try and let the it all sink in. "...this went on behind my back..."
"...don't beat yourself up over it, King." Queen uttered, setting a hand on his shoulder. "We've been through far worse. Diablo and Raider will pay for their sins."
Tasha looked at King helplessly. She wanted to try and comfort him...but she didn't know how.
"...still, how do they know these things about Jill, and Callous?" Hunter asked. "Does the 'BACKGROUND INFORMATION' file have anything to offer, Sage?"
"...let me see..." Sage hummed, as she went over to that file.
More files popped out and Sage clicked one. "Callous was an alter ego created by a vampire named Deity Novagod," she read. "According to Jill's stories, Callous possesses weapons such as dual whips and a large scythe. Mostly, she uses seductive charms and manipulative powers to get what she wants; similar to Hex's tactics, but I suppose Callous wasn't a nymphomaniac. At least, not unless Johnny's involved..."
"Dear lord..." Hunter uttered in disbelief. "They know about Johnny too."
"...how..." The more King learned of what Raider and Diablo knew about Jill's, and even their own pasts, the more distraught he appeared.
"Kkh... someone's really been busy." Sage growled, as she kept on reading.
"Callous seemed to be concerned only with getting rid of Jill, Metal, and ultimately Deity Novagod. Her plans for what she would do afterwards are unknown, but it's obvious that she wasn't going to let anyone tell her what she was and wasn't going to do. After Jill's sacrifice though, her intentions seemed to change, especially when Johnny was finally killed and put away with. I wonder sometimes how Callous still feels about that..." That was that entire one, so Sage went onto another file.
"Jillian Condit. A girl with extraordinary abilities, and yet, no one has ever heard of her. Why? GUN lied to the public about the events concerning Metal Sonic, that's why. Shadow the Hedgehog was said to have died a hero, but he never stood a chance against Metal Sonic. Only Jillian was a worthy enough challenger to fight him. She had quite childish friends, such as Striker, Milo, Jack, and even Anistasia Symphony. Also, there was a Brick Cainfield that was recorded to be deceased 3 years ago. I can only assume that this is Joy's real father, because of the intimate relationship Jill had with him. Many others stood behind her as well; like King and his group for instance. Many were much older than her...yet they followed her? Oh, how ironic... but I suppose that is all you can do, when Jillian is the only one who could fight Johnny."
Hunter was speechless at what he was reading.
Sage also seemed to grow more serious the more she read, as she noticed that King was getting really anxious. With a sigh, Sage kept on reading.
"Metal Sonic. What an interesting case indeed. He began as nothing more than a machine created by Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik in the image of his arch rival, Sonic the Hedgehog. He awakes years later long after the famous Sonic's death and finds himself in a twist of fate when he challenges Jillian Condit. Baffled by defeat, he finds ways to destroy her, but his methods are only much too weak in efficiency. When he begins to learn of the forces that Jill has been involved with, it has caused enough trouble for him that he was actually willing to make a truce with Jill, just to stop Callous and Johnny. Throughout training, the two grow a respect, which starts to bloom into a friendly bond. Oh, how a machine could feel when Jillian threw away her life for him; nobody could have anticipated that, or that they would separate in the very end when everything was finished. I could very well be that because Metal sealed Deity Novagod away within himself, he didn't want to cause any harm to Jill by simply being near her."
"But look now. Metal has returned once again to Jill, and intends to protect her and Joy at all costs, even with his life. Why Metal would return, I would not know, but I believe that he is a dangerous thorn in my side. If Jill was willing to give up her life to save him from Callous though, then he could be one of the key tools to help break Jill, and bring out Callous."
Reading this, Queen snarled. "...is this the end of it?"
"...let me see..." Sage replied, as she checked to see if there was more data left.
There was one more file. It had only a title like this: "? ? ?"
"...what the heck?" Hunter muttered.
"...let's find out what this is, then." Sage nodded, going into this file.
When Sage clicked it, another text document opened up.
"King, Sage, Anybody...if you guys are reading this, I hope that you already know what Diablo and Raider have done to Jill..."
"...well, this was written in a different tone," Hunter remarked.
"I have already looked through all this information myself, and am amazed. I had no idea Jill had...such a past. On the third day when Jill and I escaped, she was...very thoroughly traumatized by her experience. The only strength she was able to hold onto were the thoughts Joy and Metal. She doesn't remember anything now...she didn't deserve to remember the horrible things done to her. If that woman transformed a cold, heartless machine into an honest man, then she didn't deserve to remember the past three days. But this doesn't mean that Diablo and Raider are done yet...no... Diablo had gone so far as tried to burn Jill's house and throw that knife at Joy to get Callous' attention, so he is driven to find a way to pull Callous out of Jill and use her to his whim. You have to find him and stop him before he does something too drastic...and knowing Diablo and Kiri, anyone who is close to Jill could be in grave danger."
"Sage, if you are the one reading this, then you already know who I am."
That was all of that document.
"...who... wrote that...?" Queen uttered, as she looked at Sage.
Sage, however, was silent, as she closed her eyes. ...Oblivion...
"...that's it." With a fierce scowl, King stood up, cracking his knuckles. "...he did all this crap, just to try and harness Callous' strength... as of this moment, Diablo, Kiri and Raider will no longer be considered a part of Safe Haven."
"...that means..." Queen mused, as she looked at King.
"Yes..." King nodded, as he looked at everyone present. "...we can beat the shit out of them!"
"If we can find them, first," Hunter added. "Raider will probably be no problem to find, but Diablo and Kiri seem to be more slippery."
Tasha just looked at King in disbelief. Sure, she knew they had done horrible things, and of course, they needed to be stopped... but was beating them senseless really a practical solution to this? Even beating up a 7 year old little girl, despite the way she made flesh crawled at her sight?
"...just leave Raider to me." Sage hummed, without looking at King. "We should organize the other agents to search for any traces of Diablo and Kiri."
"...it would be wise to employ the assistance of Teams Chaotix and Alpha, too." Queen shot in. "We also need to find someone who can keep a watchful eye on Jill, Joy and Metal; if any of those three fall into Diablo and Kiri's hands..."
"...you know..." King muttered, as he folded his arms. "...I think I know a guy who can help out."
Tasha knew things like this had to be done, of course... but what King said still bothered her. Finally, she just turned around and started leaving. King blinked once Tasha left, before he followed her. "Sage, you know what to do." he said before he left.
"...I see..." Sage hummed, as she watched the two leave. ...this is... she thought.
"...something on your mind, Sage?" Queen mused, as she glanced at the raven.
"...nothing." Sage lied.
Tasha stopped walking when she heard King following her, but she didn't turn to him.
"...Tasha... is something wrong?" King uttered, as he stopped directly behind her.
"...is what you said true?" she uttered. "...that you would pummel them without any mercy?"
"...Tasha..." Rubbing the back of his neck, King sighed. "...well... it's not like they don't deserve it, but... I might have been too extreme with what I said..."
"...I don't know King. You're usually pretty frank with what you say." Using that name, King could tell that Tasha didn't sound too happy. She was still faced away from him. "...you would even harm a 7 year old girl, because she deserved it?"
King blinked, before he looked away. "...well, I couldn't hurt kids, Tasha... but even then, Kiri might be even worse than Diablo."
"...so that's the way it is, isn't it?" Tasha uttered. "...you let Callous get away with murder because it wasn't Jill's fault, but you'll attack a little girl? As far as I'm concerned, King, Kiri didn't have any involvement with this "experiment." It was only Diablo and Raider..." Well, pressing the issue was a bit much, but what Tasha's father told her about King... that was deep in the back of her mind.
"I..." King uttered, as he eventually placed a hand on Tasha's shoulder, a calm look on his face. "...listen; Jill couldn't control Callous, so there's no way she could be punished... but Kiri..." Gritting his teeth, he looked away. "...fine... I'll leave Kiri out of it..."
That sort of thing wasn't what Tasha really wanted out of it. "...King...that's not the point I was getting at," she uttered. "...I just don't want you to be reckless. I don't want you to senselessly beat up any criminal that does horrible things like this...if you did that...you wouldn't be any different than they would..." She, herself, didn't anticipate that coming out of her mouth.
Hearing that, King blinked. "...Tasha..." he uttered, before closing his eyes. "...I... I'm sorry... it's just that... the things they've done behind my back are..."
Tasha finally spun around, glaring at him, although there were also tears welled up in her eyes. "Jill has had things done to her! Right in front of her face! I don't know all of what was done exactly, but it sounds to me like she's been through a lot! But does she go and viciously rip them to shreds because of what they've done to her? No!" She turned away, ashamed that she let King see her like that.
King was astounded by that outrage, as he could only look at the lynx in awe. "...Tasha..." he uttered.
"...send your search parties, and do with them what you want when you find them...but I won't have any part in it..." then she wiped her eyes. "...if you'll excuse me, my people are still injured and need my care..." and Tasha started walking away again.
...Tasha... King thought, simply watching her leave. Before long, he looked away, holding his hand before his eyes. ...damn it... this wouldn't have happened, if I had dealt with this problem before... Placing a hand against the wall, King tried holding back tears. ...what kinda leader am I supposed to be...?
Jill was cozily asleep under the covers with her head nuzzled up to a warm chest in comfort. Still awake, Metal simply glanced down at Jill. ...seems like she was right... he thought. Somehow, it felt natural, what he did... but more importantly, the feelings he found from this were extraordinary...
...especially those regarding Jill.
While still asleep, she snuggled closer to him with a small smile. Metal smiled too, as he placed a hand on Jill's head. ...Jill... I thank you... from the bottom of my heart... he thought.
A longer time of silence passed on...
...finally, Jill took in a deep sigh as she cracked her eyes opened a tad. It took a few sluggish blinks to wake up, before she looked up at Metal. "...how long was I out?" she mumbled.
"...you were out for... I think at least 20 minutes." Metal answered, still looking at Jill.
Jill smiled in amusement. "I didn't realize you were keeping track," she muttered.
"...force of habit, I guess." Metal chuckled, as he smiled as well.
Jill laid her head back down on his chest, still smiling. "...it's funny," she murmured. "I never thought this would happen to the two of us..." Then she became nervous that it might have come out wrong. "..well, I didn't mean it in a bad way, it's just that..."
"...I know..." Metal said reassuringly, gently stroking Jill's cheek with one finger. "...it's truly a curious case... but nonetheless... it's a good thing."
Jill found the stroking pleasant. "...how did it feel...for your first time?" she asked a bit curiously.
Metal blinked, as he looked up at the ceiling. "...there's a lot that I felt..." he mused. "...but to summarize it... it felt... good."
She sort of buried her face in his chest to hide the fact she was blushing a bit. "Even if it wasn't my first time..." Jill murmured. "...it felt pretty good for me too..."
"...really?" Metal hummed, as he looked down at Jill. "...that's... good... right?" he eventually said, not noticing that he was slightly blushing as well.
Jill looked up at him and giggled when she saw that. "...yeah, that's good," she answered.
Smiling awkwardly, Metal scratched his cheek a little.
Jill smiled awkwardly too, but for a different reason. "...I'm not sure if I want to think about what Sage's reaction to this is when she finds out," she murmured.
"...though, she did say that she'd keep it a secret... until we're ready to reveal this to the others..." Metal mused.
"Right..." Jill chuckled while she laid her head back down on Metal's chest again. "...but then the reaction of the others..."
"...hm..." Metal hummed, falling silent. He did wonder how the others would react to this... likely not with immediate acceptance. "...we'll worry about that when the time comes..." he eventually resolved.
"Yeah..." Jill's turn to fall quiet came. How was Joy going to react? Obviously you couldn't tell a 3 year old about sex, but Jill meant more in general about how close she and Metal were. Joy already was pretty attached to Metal, and if Jill said something... Joy might think that Metal was becoming her... "...Metal, do you care about Joy?" the question came out before Jill even realized she asked it.
Metal blinked, as he looked at Jill. "...yes..." he nodded. "...I do care for her... why do you ask?"
"...just a thought," Jill replied quickly.
"...alright..." Metal hummed, before looking back at the ceiling.
Now Jill didn't want to leave it at that. Aw, darn it... "...I was just wondering...if Joy would think you were her..." she couldn't even finish it. "...her father." There we go.
Metal blinked at hearing that. "...her... father..." he mused. Could that really be done? A former machine such as him, being the father of a child like Joy?
"...that... actually sounds plausible..." he eventually hummed.
Jill bit her lip. "...it's a bit of a big change..." After all, while she was beginning to get used the idea of letting Brick go as a lover, it was hard to think about letting him go as Joy's real father.
"...it is..." Metal nodded, as he looked at Jill. "...I won't force you to make a decision, Jill; it's all up to you." he said with a smile. "Take all the time you need."
Another funny thing was that Jill was about to worry that she might be rushing Metal. It's only been a week and a day or so that he's been here, and already they were talking about this? Well...they were also in a bed only a day after they first kissed. So much for rushing it... "...it's something to think about," Jill said.
"...it certainly is..." Metal replied.
"...do you think we should get up, and get back before the others start wondering about us?" Jill asked.
"...if you feel that we should do it..." Metal mused, before nodding. "...then we'll do so."
"Oh...really?" Jill started blushing again, and felt warm all over. "Because I was actually wondering if..."
Blinking, Metal glanced at Jill. "...you..." he uttered, feeling a bit hotter, too. "...you want to... do it once more?"
Jill's feet shuffled a little. "...I mean, if you don't want to, that's okay...but..."
"...actually..." Metal uttered, managing a smile. "...I... think I'd like to do it again."
Jill looked up at Metal. "...really?"
Metal nodded, placing a hand on Jill's cheek. "...really." he said, still smiling.
Jill touched the hand on her cheek, smiling as well. Slowly, she kissed his hand, and then soon she reached over and kissed his lips. As she kissed him, Metal gently wrapped his arms around Jill, bringing her closer to him as he kissed her back. Jill caressed his back while their heated bodies pressed against each other. Metal also caressed Jill's back, letting his emotions take over once again. Jill's breath quickened more anxiously. Was it getting warmer in the room? No matter, since she was more interested on stroking his thigh again. When she did that, Metal quivered in excitement, eventually slipping one hand over to Jill's chest, gently starting to massage her breasts once more. Jill let out a whisper of a moan again, feeling the temperature rising higher. She even wrapped her leg around his this time. When she did that, Metal grew more excited, using his other hand to caress Jill's belly.
This... really was good.
So there they were, the Clubhouse Pirates, marching through the green forest merrily. Jack was playing a tune on his harmonica while the boys were singing a tune just as lively as Jack's playing. Joy clapped her hands and giggled with it.
"Oh, so launch me overboard if I ain't an honest man!" Striker and Milo sang; their arms over each others shoulders. "But mind ye be careful, 'cause there ain't much I demand!"
Ani was laughing. This was an entertaining sight. Snap finally learned the definition of "mischievous" and he used the definition in context, taking pictures of the boys so animated with delight.
"I hope there comes the time where we may spot a bit of land," Striker sang.
"Oh, wouldn't that be such a time, why it would be so grand!" Milo replied.
"If only there would be a lass there I could call me own," Striker heaved; making Ani blush wildly.
"There is a lass you call your own; it be your mum from home!" Milo mocked.
"Oh, so launch me overboard if I ain't an honest man! But mind ye be careful, 'cause there ain't much I demand!"
"Yar, ye got 't!" Whisker laughed, clapping his hands in rhythm with the song. "Next verse!"
"Yay~! Next verse!" Tails Doll cheered, sitting on top of the robot pirate's hat.
"I chose the life of sailing the seas to gain myself some leeway!" Striker continued.
"You sure it ain't to sing the songs and play the pirate way?" Milo questioned.
"Sure you laugh and mock me now, but wait until you're comatose," Striker retorted. "I'll grab your by your skinny ankles and tickle you by your toes!"
"Oh, so launch me overboard if I ain't an honest man! But mind ye be careful, 'cause there ain't much I demand!"
"Solo!" Striker shouted, pointing at Jack.
The moment he said that, Jack broke out in playing the harmonica in a faster beat, performing a catchy beat that rang through the woods. They all clapped on tandem happily; well, maybe except Snap who didn't exactly know how to keep a beat, but even then he was more busy taking pictures. Joy, somehow, actually did keep a beat. No doubt that a sense of rhythm was so natural for a girl who shared her musical talents with her mother.
Soon Jack's solo finished, and Striker and Milo continued to the last verse.
"So when time has passed and all my adventures are coming to an end," Striker sang, a bit slower with more feeling. "I fear that I must say that all our mates will come to rend..."
"Oh, but don't fear faithful companion, we do not abandon yet," Milo replied; with the same feeling. "We'll always remember the times, the good, the bad, and especially when we met!"
"Oh, so launch me overboard if I ain't an honest man! But mind ye be careful, 'cause-" Both of them took a deep breath for the big finish in harmony, "-there ain't much I demaaaaaaaaaand!" When they were finally done, they got an instant applause from everyone, and Striker and Milo bowed.
"Whoo! That was amazing!" Tails Doll cheered as he applauded the two of them.
Taking the instrument off his lips, Jack took a deep breath, wiping his brow. "Man, I love that song!" he laughed.
Ani shook her head, still laughing. "You guys have a lot of free time on your hands, thats for sure," she chuckled.
"Well, of course," Striker replied. "That's why we put it to good use!"
"I like that song!" Joy giggled, trying to hold in the giggles.
"...you know what?" Snap decided to mention this, "I know that Ani and Joy can sing too." Ani blushed bashfully, while Joy smiled bigger.
"Be that right?" Whisker noted, before laughing. "Well, this be news t' me!"
"Alright! When we sing our next song, you two gotta join in!" Jack laughed.
"But Ani's gotta sing a song by herself!" Joy insisted. "She's got a pretty voice!"
"Is that so?" Striker raised an eyebrow in interest at Ani, smiling.
"...oh...well, I don't know," Ani was blushing even more.
"...come to think of it Ani, I never got the chance to hear you sing, myself," Snap added.
"...yeah, that's right!" Tails Doll chimed in. "Come on; sing a song!"
Ani looked to the ground shyly.
Striker scratched the back of his head. "...well, you don't have to sing if you don't want to-"
"Cinderella's on her bedroom floor, she's got a crush on the guy at the liquor store," Ani suddenly burst out, startling everybody which such a voice. "Cause Mr. Charming don't come home anymore and she forgets why she came here."
"...whoa," Striker uttered with wide eyes.
"Sleeping Beauty's in a foul mood. For shame. She says none for you dear prince, I'm tired today," Ani continued. "I'd rather sleep my whole life away than have you keep me from dreaming."
"'Cause I don't care for your fairytales. You're so worried about the maiden, though you know, she's only waiting on the next best thing."
Everyone could only look at Ani in surprise as she kept singing.
"Snow White is doing dishes again cause, what else can you do with seven itty-bitty men? Sends them to bed and she calls up a friend, says will you meet me at midnight?" She went on the next verse. "The tall blonde lets out a cry of despair says 'Woulda cut it myself if I knew men could climb hair!' I'll have to find another tower somewhere and keep away from the windows!"
Then she returned to the chorus. "'Cause I don't care for your fairytales. You're so worried about the maiden, though you know, she's only waiting on the next best thing."
"...she's good," Milo whispered to Striker in awe, but the bear didn't even respond. He was hypnotized by her voice.
"Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom; Man made up a story said that I should believe him. Go and tell your white knight that he's handsome in hindsight, but I don't want the next best thing! So I sing and hold my head down and I break these walls round me! Can't take no more of your fairytale love!" Then the chorus again.
"I don't care for your fairytales. You're so worried about the maiden, though you know, she's only waiting on the next best thing."
Jack was in absolute awe from hearing Ani's song, as were both Tails Doll and Whisker, neither of them being able to look away from her as she sang.
"I don't care...I don't care..."
"Worry bout the maiden though you know, she's only waiting, spent the whole life being graded on the sanctity of patience and a dumb appreciation, but the story needs some mending and a better happy ending, cause I don't want the next best thing!"
Striker felt goosebumps when Ani looked at him.
"No, no, I don't want the next best thing." When they were sure that she was done singing, they applauded her wildly; except Striker who was just sort of frozen.
"Wow Ani, you're really good!" Milo commented.
"See?" Joy giggled again. "She's gotta pretty voice!"
"She's got an awesome voice!" Jack laughed as he applauded her. "You could join a band with that kinda voice!"
"That was awesome!" Tails Doll cheered.
"...I guess I kinda am in a band," Ani admitted. "I sing a lot at the pub, so...yeah." She noticed that Striker was still staring at her. "Is...something wrong?"
Striker turned away hurriedly, totally red in the face. "Oh, n-nothing's wrong! Nothing at all!" He rubbed his arm uneasily. "...you've got a lovely voice."
"...thanks," Ani murmured, blushing once more.
Milo looked back and forth between them in disbelief. Was this what he thought it was? Jack, however, while noticing the two of them blushing, completely missed the obvious. "...hey, did you two catch a fever, all of a sudden?" he asked in an oblivious tone.
Both of them jumped. "Oh, n-no, it's just a sunburn for me!" Ani tried to make up an excuse. How could Jack still have so innocent a mind in his 20s?
"And uh...I just burned my face not too long ago..." Striker uttered.
Milo raised an eyebrow. Sure he did...
"Aw, I hope you feel better," cooed Joy sadly.
"It doesn't hurt, does it?" Jack uttered, as he tilted his head. "I think we got something for that kind of thing back on the ship... but we've got treasure to look for!"
"Oh, don't worry it doesn't hurt," Striker chuckled sheepishly. "I'll be fine."
"...alright, then..." Jack nodded, before pointing ahead of him. "Let's go find that prison cell, then!"
The group started walking again; with Milo remaining behind the group. That was when he felt that disturbance again, but when he looked around, he still didn't see anything. "...hm," He turned back around and kept walking, keeping his unease in the back of his mind where no one would see it.
"...he seems to know we're nearby..." once the group was far away enough out of earshot, Diablo's head barely poked out from the leaves.
"...he's a curious one..." Kiri hummed, peeking out from the same spot as well. "...we need to wait for Joy to become separated from him... preferably with only the bigger lion as company; he seems the least harmless of the bunch, aside from the plushie."
"Yes..." Diablo murmured. "...and how interesting they wish to look for Gerald's old prison cell."
"...really curious..." Kiri hummed. "...if Raider wasn't out of commission, he could have figured out why they would want to find that place..." she mused.
"…let's just keep following them…" Diablo murmured.
"Capt'n Whiskoh," Joy started; who was STILL sitting on his shoulder. "What's the Pofessoh like?"
"...th' Professor?" Whisker hummed, before laughing. "He`s incredible! E'en fer his age, he can still handle a wrench like he be still th' same as he be in youth! An' he`s really nice an' patient, t' boot!"
"Really?" Joy looked up at the sky. "I wish I could meet him."
"…yeah, I kinda wish the Professor was able to come," Milo admitted. "But I'm sure that he would really like you if he met you, Joy."
"Definitely!" Tails Doll chimed in, fluttering by Joy.
"...hey, Joy?" Glancing at the little ewe, Jack held out his harmonica to her. "Do you wanna try playing this?"
Joy smiled wide. "Really?" She tried to reach over and take it…
…then somebody else popped in and snatched it with laughter of mockery. It turned out to be the zebra from the group before, and he was holding the harmonica out of their reach.
"Not so hot without your harmonica, huh music boy?" he snickered.
Ah- HEY!" Seeing that, Jack tried getting the harmonica back. "Give it back! I got that from my mother!"
"Give it back, you meanie!" Tails Doll called, as he fluttered up to the zebra, quickly pummeling the top of his head... of course, with his arms made out of nothing but fluff, the zebra didn't feel a thing.
"That's not funny!" Ani said, stepping up to him threateningly. "Give it back or I'll make ya!"
"Says who?" the zebra snorted.
"Says us!" Striker retorted, pulling out his aluminum bat.
"Along wi' me!" Whisker snarled, stepping closer to the zebra, whilst placing Joy down next to Milo. "Now, give me first mate back his instrument." he growled, glaring at the Mobian.
"Just what can you pipsqueaks do to me that music boy can't?" the zebra chuckled. Then he pushed down Milo, who just fell onto the ground with an "OOF!"
"Oh my," Snap uttered, backing away.
"Hey, stop doing that, you bully!" Jack said, as he glared at the zebra.
"You think I'm gonna stop if you just tell me? What manners!" the zebra laughed in his face. "What are you, a Mama's boy? Go on Mama's boy! Make me!"
Gritting his teeth, Jack clenched his hands into fists, when...
"...fine."
Before the zebra would know it, Jack suddenly shot his hand out, grabbing hold of his throat, before slamming him into the ground with enough force to crack the ground underneath the zebra. "...cut it out." Jack growled, simply glaring at the zebra.
Joy gasped, while everyone else looked at Jack in disbelief. The zebra still clutched onto the harmonica, staring at Jack in dumbstruck awe.
"...are ya deaf?" Jack growled, raising his free hand up, as if he was preparing to punch the zebra. "I told you to cut it out... so you'd better cut it out."
Milo shook his head in horror while he watched this. …no…
"Ack-ah-alright!" the zebra put the harmonica on the ground and showed nothing else in his hands; growing afraid of how dark Jack had suddenly become.
"...good boy." Jack uttered, letting go of the zebra, before standing up, still looking down at him. "Now get lost."
The zebra hopped to his feet in fear and scurried away.
"…Jack…" Ani muttered, staring at him wide-eyed.
Jack merely watched the zebra run off, before he picked up the harmonica... and then, he looked at the others as if nothing had happened. "...what?"
"...Jack..." Tails Doll uttered, slowly floating towards the lion. "...what... was... that?"
"...what was what?" Jack uttered, before he looked around. "...where'd that zebra go?"
"…Jack, you just totally slammed that guy into the ground!" Striker uttered, throwing his hands into the air. "Don't you know what you just did?"
"...huh?" Blinking, Jack glanced down at the ground, noticing the small crater where he had slammed the zebra down. "...eh? I did that?" he uttered in surprise.
"Dasn't tell us that ye`ve forgotten!" Whisker uttered in disbelief.
"You did it just a few seconds ago!" Tails Doll called.
Milo slowly got back up to his feet. "…you don't remember?" he murmured; his suspicions about this growing.
"...I really don't..." Jack uttered, as he held his head. "...weird... for some reason... I got a headache, now..."
Milo looked a little serious. For a minute, he thought he sensed…
"…Jack, you okay?" Striker asked.
"...yeah, I'm fine." Jack uttered. "Don't worry about me."
While none of the others could see anything, Milo then recognized a figure standing by Jack; an all too familiar figure...
Milo frowned when he saw him, but he had to pretend that he didn't see him for the sake of keeping the others from noticing. "…let's get going guys," he said, walking on as the others started following without question.
…just what could he be doing here? Milo wondered in thought.
...what; can't a guy look after his nephew? a voice chuckled mockingly in Milo's head.
The only person you ever cared about was Callous, Milo retorted in his head. So don't give me that…
And Callous seems to have taken a liking to Joy. Can't have my family look weak around the little princess, can I?
Milo was surprised to hear that. …she has? How do you know this?
Oh, I've been keeping an eye on Jill ever since that day five years ago... you should've seen what Callous did some days ago to keep away people who wanted a piece of Joy. Classic, I tell ya...
…what do you mean? Milo questioned. You know what's been happening around here?
At least about what's going on with Jill. We can have a discussion about this later, but for now... I'd keep an eye out for Joy, if I were you.
Milo's gaze sharpened as he looked on ahead. If you say so…
"Look!" Ani pointed out a tall wall covered in vines and moss, but when they took a closer look it was a wall of titanium steel. Striker went over and brushed some of it aside, revealing a logo with a big G on it.
"What's dat?" Joy asked, pointing to it.
"One of GUN's old bases," Striker said, while turning around and smiling at the group. "If we're lucky, it might be the prison base we're looking for."
"Awesome!" Jack said with a smile. "Let's see if that's the case, guys!"
"Alright; let's do it!" Tails Doll called.
"Hey, there's a button here too!" Striker happened to notice it while looking along the wall, and he pounded it down. They could feel an obvious shake in the ground while a perfectly straight crack ran up the wall, and started to split apart. It became apparent that this was a large door opening. Not too long later, the shaking stopped and they all peered down a pitch dark cave of a hallway.
"…whoa…" Snap uttered, taking another picture.
"...now this be interestin'..." Whisker mused.
"...come on; let's go inside!" Jack said, as he headed into the hallway before the others could even react.
...remember; keep an eye on her. Milo heard that voice utter.
Milo nodded, and followed Jack in, leading the others to do the same, and all of them finally disappeared inside.
The song "Fairytale" is by Sara Bareilles, and I do not own it. I DO own, however, that funny pirate song Striker and Milo were singing. NO STEALING!