Thanks to kilatails for also reviewing. You guys really inspire.
This chapter is exceptionally longer than the last few. Sorry about that.
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There were two buildings in Station Square that had the least chance of being targeted, and they were also the largest: the square center that doubled as the train station, and the hotel. Bradley decided to take shelter in the former. Apparently, other people of the city had the same idea, because the square was packed with residents. Police officers kept the massive crowds in check as they flooded in and found places to stand. The noise was deafening.
Since Bradley was one of the first ones there, he was able to sit at one of the benches. Better yet, he was able to sit alone. He was soot-covered and bloody and smelled of smoke. Instead of sitting next to him, people favored whispering conspicuously and staring. At one point a cop came over and questioned him. He responded with "A building exploded on me". He was too busy thinking.
Bradley was very deep in thought. What possibly could be behind the explosions was baffling him. He had no doubt the black figures were the reason, but he couldn't see how it was possible. His reasoning always involved the massive craft, however. It didn't seem like the explosions could be occurring without it. He ran scenarios through his head until it hurt. He didn't have an answer.
One of the cops near Bradley was cursing. He was bonking the top of his radio with his fist. The radio was spewing nothing but static.
Another cop came over beside him. "What's the problem?"
"My stupid radio won't get a signal." He bonked the top of it again. "There's some sort of interference…"
Bradley nearly jumped off of the bench. Interference. Radio signal interference. The radio signals were being intercepted by another radioactive signal that was stronger. A control signal, perhaps?
Bradley stood up off of the bench. He walked briskly toward the exit.
"Hey!" Bradley stopped as one of the cops called out. He stepped beside Bradley. "No one is permitted to leave until the situation is under control."
"Under control!?" Bradley was almost shouting at him. "This situation won't be under control if something isn't done. Furthermore, these people won't be safe here forever." Bradley made a gesture involving everything around them. "They're going to bring down every building in the city. We are not invisible here. We can hide, but they'll find us."
"And what," said the cop, exasperated and trying to hide his fear; "could you possibly do to stop this?"
Bradley was either going to answer or storm out the exit when the crowds around them changed tone. They were jabbering in confusion, and some people were yelling. They had dispersed around the center of the room – and there stood a tall humanoid figure, cloaked in black.
This wasn't the same as the others Bradley had seen. The others were short and had strange shapes. This one looked exactly human.
For a long while, it did nothing but stand in the center of the room. The cops were whispering angrily amongst themselves. "How did he get in without us seeing?" "We should arrest him!" "Is he involved in this?" "Look at how he's dressed! We should arrest him!"
Eventually the cops stopped bickering and they formed a line in front of the stranger. The citizens were piled into the walls and corners of the room. The room hushed and the oldest cop – most likely the chief – commanded: "You will place any weapons you may have on the floor in front of you. You will come silently with us to be questioned, or you will be placed in custody."
Silence. The person didn't budge.
The cops were uneasy. The same one shouted again. "If you do not have any weapons, then come with us. Now."
Another silence. Bradley was starting to wonder if the person was some sort of plastic statue when the stranger finally raised his black arm. His gloved hand was pointing accusingly at the line of police officers. Bradley noticed with intrigue that this person had four fingers on each hand.
The stranger spoke. He sounded young, but cynical and edged. "I don't have weapons in my possession, but I will not come with you."
The crowd whispered anxiously. The cops looked at each other, then raised their pistols and the chief responded: "Then we will place you in custody."
Bradley's heart leaped. Don't do it, he pleaded silently. Two of the cops ran forward. They approached the cloaked figure, one of them raising handcuffs – then, in a movement almost uncatchable to the eye, the stranger snapped out his arm. The cop who was brandishing cuffs now lay writhing on the floor.
The place was in an uproar. People were yelling and squeezing against the perimeter of the walls. The other cop took a swing with his club at the person, who took the cop's arm and used it to bonk him on the head with his own weapon. This was followed by a punch in the gut. Both the officers were on the ground, and the rest of the line approached the attacker.
He reached both arms into either sides of his trenchcoat-like cloak. His arms re-emerged with two black handguns that he pointed at them. The officers stopped and the crowd's horror rose.
"I was lying," the stated simply. He twirled the weapons and – he was flying toward the ground, his handguns soaring forward. They landed in front of the police officers. Standing behind the cloaked stranger on the floor was Bradley.
"Get them out of here," he suggested, cocking his head toward the people around them.
The officers stared at him, gaping.
"Get them out of here, please. I'm going to take care of this for you. Get the people out and get help!"
The attacker was getting up now. Running in different directions, the officers were shouting at the citizens. The person was up now, and his hood was down. It was a boy, no more than two years older than Bradley. He had long and wild black hair and a crescent scar above his nose. His grey eyes were rotated in slightly, and his ears were pointed up strangely. On the collar of his trenchcoat, Bradley noticed the same mark that he had seen on the ship. He gazed daggers at Bradley while the noise around them died down and the people had moved.
Once the activity around them had completely ceased, the boy spoke in a low tone. "You can't imagine what you've plunged yourself into…"
"I can imagine lots of things."
The boy narrowed his eyes. "You don't even know what I am."
Bradley let an amused expression touch his face. "Gauging by the number of fingers on both of your hands and your slight alterations of the face, I'm guessing you're an Overlander."
If the boy was surprised, he didn't show it. He didn't reply.
Bradley eyed him. "Now that I know what I'm dealing with, may I kick your ass?"
High laughter echoed throughout the room. It didn't suit the kid. After he had finished, the boy said, "You still can't imagine what you're dealing with."
He sprinted. Bradley got into his fighting stance and prepared for the first blow.
\_.|._/
Tails ran at a fairly normal pace. He wanted to catch every single Theta Black member he may pass. His bangs were flipping into his eyesight. He didn't care. He didn't care about anything but revenge. He saw three Mobians in the hallway, rushing around in confusion due to the alarm that was going off. Tails jumped and vaulted off of the first one, sending him into the wall; spun around and swept his leg into the second one, and flew over the third one, planting his shoes into his gut while falling in front of him. Tails rolled to his feet and kept running.
Any members that got in his way were pummeled. One of them was aware of his presence and attacked him. Tails ducked under his fist, blocked his kick, then planted his hands on the ground and thrust out the rest of his body. He felt his feet blast into solid matter, and the member soared backward. Tails sprinted at him while he was getting up, hopped, and kicked four times in a running motion in the air. He continued at the same rate after the member crumpled behind him.
After he downed four others in another stretch of the corridor, he stopped briefly when he heard a strange noise come from one of the members' trenchcoat pockets. Tails knelt and pulled out a radio. It clicked to life, and he heard a voice on the other end: First Class Kyouln, please respond for further orders. Over.
Tails grinned. Perfect.
He took off again. He said into the radio, "He's not conscious at this moment. May I take a message?"
There was silence at the other end was a moment. Then, What?
"I don't think I need to repeat myself..."
Where is Kyouln!?
"On the floor, around three hundred feet behind me."
Tails came across two more members. With one hand, he flipped over the head of one, grabbed him, and threw him into the second one, whom he realized to be female. He was confident they saw not so much as the color of Tails's fur. Then he heard a response.
What was that?
"I just edited the number of neutralized forces from seventeen to nineteen."
Another silence. Are you the cause for the alarm?
"With pride."
Tails flipped open his scanner with his other hand and traced the location of the radio signal he was at the end of. He came across five members while doing this. Using just his legs, he spun around twice, hitting one with one foot, then the other. Still moving, he lifted off of the ground, turned his body parallel to the ground, spun rapidly, and careened into the next enemy. He scrambled up and nimbly hopped to the side as a black leg swung at him, hitting the member Tails had just attacked. He kicked off of the wall and slammed into the third member's back. He rolled over his head and side kicked him while falling. The last two came at him simultaneously. He dove forward, flipped halfway over in mid-air, and did a splits kick; catching them both in the head.
Tails was panting now. "Twenty-four," he announced into the radio. He looked at his scanner again, memorized the route to the other end of the signal, and put it away. The people on the other end of the radio had to be top-class members to be commanding a First Class.
You seem determined to make this operation difficult for us.
"Does 'The Cellus Raid' ring any bells for you?"
There was a pause at the other end, then, Yes.
"I'm here for revenge."
For the first time in the exchange, he heard emotion in the speaker's tone.
Miles Prower…?
Tails turned a corner into a narrow hall.
"I'm coming for you," Tails said through gritted teeth. His heart was pounding at an incredible pace. "I'm going to find you."
He saw the door he was searching for. "And when I do…"
He blasted through the door. It exploded off of its hinges and careened into the room. With a short pang, Tails looked into it and realized it to be the one in his nightmare. It was a very large and dark room. It appeared to be mostly empty except for what looked like a giant computer and many panels taking up a small portion of the left wall. It was lighter than in his dream. The walls were patterned and lit up.
In the middle of the room were three Mobians with their dark hoods down. At the sound of the door busting open they jolted and glanced toward the entrance. One of them was a hazel-tinted cat, the second one a black cat, and the third a mahogany raccoon.
Tails's fear washed away as soon as it came. His rage came back in full force, and he finished the statement he had begun.
"I'm going to send you all straight to hell!"
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=0 OH GAWD
