5 Years Later – Chapter Twelve…
Sage, Hunter, Queen and King finally returned to the shelter, and while Queen and King split away to deal with other matters, Hunter and Sage headed downstairs to check on Metal and Jill, and the group of Whisker and the boys that were probably still down there.
But all they found was a written note on the door.
"Whisker and the boys have Joy. Me and Metal headed to my shop."
"-Jill."
Hunter raised his eyebrow at this. "…well, I guess she never really got to see her shop fixed up, did she?" he supposed.
"...she didn't." Sage hummed, looking completely neutral, though suppressing about fifty different senses that wanted to burst out into giggles. Most curious... she thought.
Instead of growing curious about it like Sage, Hunter just brushed it off. "I'm going to see how Tasha's handling the injured patients," Hunter said, walking away. "Then I'll see if I can meet up with Captain Charmy or Wiper to see if they made any progress."
"...you do that." Sage nodded. "I need to start looking for Diablo and Kiri..."
Sage caught a growl from Hunter when she said that, disappearing around the corner. Just the mention of those two, now, didn't bode well with him. As he vanished around the corner, Sage let out a brief sigh. ...how they managed to collect all that info escapes me... and with Raider's mind shattered so much, I can't ask him how... she thought, closing her eyes.
"Oh, hello Sage. I didn't realize you were back already." Cal walked up past her in the hall, stopping by Sage. "So, what info did you and King find?"
Glancing back at Cal, Sage nodded. "...we found out a whole lot, to be honest." she muttered. "Though... it's pretty rough. Do you want me to tell you, or just transfer the information directly to you?"
"Can you handle a transfer?" Cal asked.
"Don't worry about me." Sage said with a slight smile. "...but are you sure that you want to know?"
"…if it's anything disturbing, I'm sure I can handle it after going through what Callous, Johnny and Deity had to offer…" Cal said. "Go ahead and do it."
"Alright; but don't say that I didn't warn you..." Sage hummed, as she closed her eyes.
Then, she opened them again, both of them glowing, as a stream of knowledge went from Sage's mind, directly into Cal's, chronicling everything they had learned from the data disk.
It took awhile, and it definitely had an impact on Cal with more information he gained. Funny he should mention those three…especially when some of that information was in there. Not only that, but the things they did to Jill… "…dear god," he uttered.
"...I know... horrible, isn't it?" Sage muttered, as her eyes returned to normal once she was finished. "...right now, we're going to try and find Diablo, and have him answer for what he's done."
"Just Diablo? Whatever happened to Raider?" Cal questioned.
Sage was silent, though Cal suddenly learned whatever became of Raider, since that was passed into his mind as well. "...don't tell anyone that I did it."
Cal's eyes were wide as melons, staring at her. "…damn…you can be cruel when you want to be," he murmured under his breath.
"Just be thankful that you didn't make me lose my temper when you were still with Metal five years ago." Sage chuckled, before she closed her eyes. "...still... he got what he deserved."
"…speaking of Metal," Cal murmured, "he and Jill have been gone for a few hours…I saw the note on the door but…would being at the shop really take that long?"
"...who knows..." Sage hummed with a light shrug.
"Should we go check on them?" Cal asked. "We don't want what happened to Jill 4 days ago happen again after all..." But then again, Metal was with her and if anything happened, Metal would be sure to stop it.
"...Metal will take care of her." Sage said with a nod. "Don't worry about that just yet. King's going to send word to an old friend to keep an eye on her, though... in the meantime, I'd like for you, and the others from GUN to help me scour the island for Diablo. You and Natal would definitely come in handy for this kind of task."
"Can do," Cal said with a nod.
"Alright." Sage nodded. "Just give the groups the lowdown, and meet me outside. Diablo's not getting away with what he did."
Cal nodded once more, and started walking away when he stopped again. "Oh, before I go, have you found anything else about the creature that everyone's talked about?" Cal wondered.
"...not yet." Sage muttered, as she shook her head. "I've asked someone to look into it, though. She should be able to find out something..."
Cal nodded one last time and left.
With another nod, Sage sighed, as she closed her eyes. ...wonder how King is doing... she thought.
Meanwhile, Hunter made it to the infirmary part of the facility, looking around at the injured tribal members. A good portion of them were asleep, which was good. They needed all the rest they could get. Hunter spotted King sitting by a window by himself, and another look around told him that Tasha wasn't here. Hunter wondered why, while he walked up to King. King didn't seem to notice Hunter, however, as he simply looked out of the window with a depressed look.
"What's up?" Hunter asked, folding his arms.
"...nothin'..." King muttered, before sighing.
"C'mon King," Hunter said. "You can be only these things in this situation." He held up one finger, "One, you're so angry that you still want to pound the snot out of Diablo and Raider," he held up another finger, "or Two, you're trying to cheer up the wounded with jokes and stories," and he folded his arms again. "So being glum is not one of those options. What's wrong?"
Rubbing the back of his neck, King sighed. "...it's about Tasha." he muttered.
When ISN'T it about Tasha? Hunter thought, keeping that opinion to himself. "What's going on with Tasha?"
"...she..." King muttered, before rubbing her temples. "...she went back to see how her father and the others are doing, but... I doubt that she'll come back."
"...why do you say that?" Hunter murmured.
"...I think I really screwed up this time, Hunter..." King muttered. "I was so pissed off at what Diablo had done... learning about Jill's past, and about our pasts, too... I really wanted to smash his face in... and Raider's... and even that little brat Kiri..."
"...but Tasha... doesn't think that resorting to violence is the right thing to do..."
"...hm," Hunter waited for him to continue.
"...she yelled at me; telling me that Jill had been through all that crap, without flying into a blind rage over it... but the way she worded it... viciously rip them to shreds..." Then, King closed his eyes. "...goddamn it all... I haven't felt this conflicted since Desperado died..."
Hunter's attention was drawn when King compared this to Desperado's death. How in the world could that compare to what they went through? Diablo, Raidier and Kiri were small time crooks doing this to one person; what he, King, and the gang went through years ago, they almost had no choice but to be subjected to the horrors that GUN put them through. None of them even knew their real birth parents... "...King, does Tasha even know what we went through?" Hunter answered him.
"...no." King muttered. "She's never asked, and... I'm not even sure if I should tell her..."
"Well, whether or not you told her," Hunter said, "We've had the same experiences as Jill...and we didn't rip GUN to shreds for what they did to us. We killed others, yes...but back then, we were forced to. I'm not saying Tasha lacks perspective, but...she's been on an island her whole life."
King grew silent, as he just looked out of the window. "...I heard her talk to her father... he told her to stay away from me; because of both my position and powers..." With another sigh, a brief crackle of electricity pulsed through his left arm. "...and with her yelling at me like that..."
Hunter became silent this time, trying to think of what to say. He knew that he might have to dig into his own experiences to give helpful advice. "...do you love Tasha, King?" Hunter asked.
King gritted his teeth, slowly clenching his hands together. "...yeah." he nodded.
Hunter looked out the window too. "...well I loved Melody, too," he began. "Her own life was in danger if she had anything to do with me, and I risked my own life with GUN to sneak out to her...there were so many bad reasons for us to be together..." Then he closed his eyes. "...but I didn't care."
Blinking, King glanced at Hunter. "...you..."
"...I didn't care," Hunter told him, "WE didn't care..." He looked at King again. "...because Melody and I knew that love was never wrong. Those who say otherwise are either a fool who's never known what love was like...or somebody that's lost it, and is afraid to lose it again."
Blinking, King could only look at the wolf in awe. "...Hunter..." he uttered.
"...I think Tasha loves you back, because she's disobeyed her father more than once to be with you," Hunter said.
Blinking, King nodded, as he looked down at the floor. "...yeah... maybe you're right..."
"She probably yelled because she was scared and confused, going through problems she hasn't faced before," Hunter continued, "...but she's going to come back, because she needs you to help her through it; your experience, your support...and your love."
After a while, King nodded, as he stood up, lightly jabbing Hunter's shoulder. "...thanks, Midnight." he chuckled.
"Anything to keep you from moping around, Twilight," Hunter answered back. "Seriously...it's kind of a drag." Translated loosely, he only meant that he was happy to help.
Chuckling, King patted Hunter's shoulder. "Thanks again." he nodded, before he began walking off. "I've got a letter to write. If you'll excuse me..."
While King left, Hunter looked back out the window. "Like the old saying goes..." he murmured under his breath. "It's better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all...right Melody?"
"Mmmh..." Chuckling, Hex entered a small room, where she walked up to someone chained to the wall there. "...how are we doing, my frightened pet?" she chuckled, placing a hand on her prisoner's cheek.
He jolted away from her in utter fear. "G-get away from me!" Raider pleaded.
"Mmmh... why would I do that?" Hex chuckled, leaning in close to Raider, whispering in his ear. "After all, you are my pet from now on..."
Raider shuddered, screaming again.
Chuckling, Hex began slowly nibbling at Raider's ear. "...doesn't this excite you?" she chuckled mocklngly.
Raider tried to pull his head away, horrified at what she was doing.
"...Uh, Madame?" Appearing behind the two was a Siamese cat, while usually quite stoic, was a bit bewildered by what Hex was doing to this man. He knew that some of her victims were afraid at first, but they grew to strangely like what she did. With this one, he was screaming 24/7.
With a slight frown, Hex pulled away from Raider, before looking at the cat. "...mmmh... did you have to disturb me now? What is it... pardon me, but I seem to have forgotten your name. What was it, again?"
"Just Koopman will do, Madame," answered the cat with a droll.
"...Koopman... I'll keep that in mind." Hex hummed, casually tipping one of her tentacles against Koopman's chin. "So, what is it?"
"I have been informed that there seems to be unusual activity by the mountains concerning Spiel," Koopman answered, paying no heed to the tentacle under his chin. "There are also some visitors here; a group that call themselves the Clubhouse Pirates."
"...pirates?" Hex hummed, before chuckling. "My, my, that does sound interesting. Tell me; have they tried setting off another disaster, like that creature did yesterday?"
"They seem to be nothing else but a bunch of adolecences acting like children," Koopman answered. "But Ani and Joy are accompanying them, so it's implied that they may be old friends."
"...mmmh... interesting." Hex hummed. "...did you happen to get any pictures of them? Some of them could become worthy additions to my collection..."
"Just this one Madame," he answered, holding out a photo. When Hex took a hold of it, her eyes fell upon the sight of a strapping young black bear; Striker.
"...mmmh... now he is quite a catch." Hex chuckled. "Remind me to seek this little cub out once I'm done playing with my pet." she said, glancing back at Raider. "...oh, that's right; you said something about Spiel, didn't you, Koopman?"
"Yes Madame," Koopman responded. "It seems he's taken refuge at the base of the mountains and is not letting anyone through to climb it."
"...mmmh... he must be hiding something there..." Hex hummed, before chuckling. "Unfortunately, him and his lackey Krieg know to resist my charms... if we want to find out what he's hiding, we'll need to plan accordingly."
"Very well Madame," Koopman responded.
"...now, please leave us." Hex hummed, before she wrapped two tentacles around Raider. "Go and keep an eye on those pirates... I do wonder if they have anyone else I'd be interested in..." she chuckled.
"...very well Madame," Koopman answered, turning and leaving.
"W-wait!" Raider yelped. "You gotta help me outta here, man!" Koopman only seemed to ignore him as he left. His pleas fell on deaf ears. "DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE WITH HER!" Raider screamed.
"Oh, don't be so modest, Raider." Hex chuckled, the rest of her tentacles wrapping around the ox. "We have only just begun..."
Raider screamed again.
"Now, which way?" The group was caught at a fork in the hall, looking between their options with uncertainty. Striker was just trying to think of what to do.
"...we could split up!" Jack suggested. "We'll cover more ground like that!"
"But is that gonna be safe?" Tails Doll inquired, tilting his head.
Milo looked back at Joy. Yeah, was it going to be safe, especially when this disturbing sense he kept getting was getting worse? "...I'm with Tails Doll on this," Milo said. "We could get lost more easily if we split up.
"Then why not have each of the machines go with the groups? I could have Tails Doll with me, and Snap could go with Joy and Jack, while Whisker goes off with Striker and you?" Ani suggested to Milo. "That way, the bots can easily track where the other groups are."
"Aye, that sounds like a good plan!" Whisker nodded, as he folded his arms.
"...well, if you say so." Tails Doll nodded.
"Alright, this is gonna be awesome!" Jack cheered, before looking at Snap and Joy. "Think of what we could find, guys! This is too exciting!"
...looks like I'll have to keep an eye out for Joy, instead. the voice in Milo's head chuckled. Can't leave my nephew outta sight, either.
Joy was carefully plucked off of Whisker's shoulder and placed on the ground, taking Jack's hand with a smile. "M-hm! It'll be losta fun!" she said.
Milo heaved a sigh. If anything happens, I'm sure you'll just plow the troublemaker into the ground again. Sarcasm was sure a rarity for Milo...
"Alright, me, Milo and Whisker will go this way," Striker said with a point to one way. "Ani and Tails Doll, you go that way," a point in another direction, "and Snap, Jack and Joy can take that way," a point in the last direction.
"Let's go!" Jack cheered, leading Snap and Joy down the way they would go. "This is just gonna be too cool!"
"Let's go, Ani!" Tails Doll called, planting himself on Ani's head. "Onward!"
"Alright, mateys, let`s be off!" Whisker called, giving the group a nod. Milo and Whisker turned to their hall, while Striker hesitated with a glance toward Ani.
"Be careful," he said.
Ani smirked. "You forgot who I was, right? The missy with the telekinesis?"
Striker chuckled. "Just saying it is all." And he turned to walk down his own hallway after Whisker and Milo.
Ani smiled a bit, taking the path down her own hallway with Tails Doll still sitting on her head.
Once the groups were gone and out of sight, a certain duo came out of hiding to confront this same fork, looking to the hall that Jack, Joy and Snap went down. "Perfect chance, don't you think Kiri?" Diablo murmured.
"...definitely the perfect chance." Kiri giggled. "I'd like to see that lion dangle with a knife exposing his innards..."
"Then let's go," Diablo said, walking ahead into that hall with her following.
Meanwhile...
"So Striker," Milo began. "What was that little show about earlier?"
Striker was clueless about what he was talking about, "What show?"
"Oh, you know...you just so happened to burn your face awhile back..."
Striker quickly turned away to hide the fact that he was turning red again. Had Milo really noticed that?
"An' what be ye two whisperin' about?" Whisker hummed, as he glanced back at Striker and Milo. "Somethin' ye`d like t' tell yer captain?"
"Just wondering why Striker was acting weird," Milo said, ignoring the glare he got from Striker.
"Ah, I be seein'..." Whisker nodded thoughtfully. "...tho 'tis curious; he didna act like that before we showed up on th' isle..."
"...I think he started acting weird when he saw Ani again," Milo chuckled.
"That's not true!" Striker barked defensively.
"Be ye sure about that?" Whisker mused.
"I..." Striker's mind went totally blank, trying to think of excuses. Milo was right though...this all really started went Ani and he first made eye contact. "...what do you think it means?" he finally asked.
"Aye... I be havin' me suspicions..." Whisker mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"...what?" Striker asked.
"...well, why dasn't ye ask Ani about 't later? From th' looks o' things, she`s been actin' strangely as well when ye two saw each other." Whisker noted with a chuckle.
"...true," Striker murmured, looking back up ahead to where they were walking. Milo chuckled to himself again, looking at him. He could tell Striker was just so unsure, and yet, so oblivious to what chemistry was cooking up between the two of them.
Ani wasn't clueless though. She knew very well what was going on.
She hummed a merry tune as she and Tails Doll wandered down their hallway.
"...hey, Ani?" Tails Doll hummed, as he fluttered around her head. "You two really didn't get a sunburn, did you?"
"...I guess we didn't," Ani muttered admittedly.
"I knew it." Tails Doll nodded. "So, what is it? Come on, you can tell me, Ani!"
"Weeeeell..." Ani thought of a way to put it. "I guess it's like...Brick and Jill in a way, a long time ago."
Hearing that, Tails Doll perked up. "...you mean... that you and Striker are..."
"...at least, that's kinda how I feel about Striker," Ani mumbled, shuffling her feet and blushing a bit. "...I don't really know how Striker feels though..."
"...do you think you should ask him about it?" Tails Doll hummed, tilting his head.
"...yeah, I think I will ask him about it," Ani said.
"Man... what do you think you'll do if he feels the same way, Ani?" Tails Doll hummed curiously.
Ani smiled. "I don't know, but if it happens, then I guess me and Striker will find out."
"Wow, this place is huge!" Joy uttered in amazement, looking all over the place while she walked at Jack's side, holding his hand.
"It sure is!" Jack laughed, as he looked around him. "Man, I hope we manage to find Gerald's cell. That would be awesome!"
"Yes. I'm quite curious about these 'equations' written on the walls that Striker mentioned," Snap added, taking one or two pictures of his surroundings. Just look at what they were passing by! Most of it was government architecture of titanium base, but there were one or two robots lying around that had been offline for years. This was picture worthy for sure!
"...man... with that photo ability of yours, we could take the equations with us back to the Professor! That would be some homecoming present, huh?" Jack laughed.
Snap smiled. "That's not a bad idea, Jack."
"First we gotsa find it!" Joy reminded.
"Right!" Jack nodded, as he looked around with a smile. "Where could it be, though...?"
Joy turned her head forward, and for a minute she was quiet.
She saw a giant pair of blue, robot legs stomp by. There was somebody in the seat making those robot legs move, and it looked like...a yellow kitsune with two tails. Holding fast to the wing was a pink hedgehog in a red dress. "...he should be around here somewhere, Amy..." the fox muttered, as he turned the machine from side to side, as if it was looking out for incoming attackers.
"...I really hope so," this Amy muttered uneasily,
...the Pofessoh? Joy thought, looking at that fox.
"...but with Eggman in here, we should hurry up." Tails muttered, as the machine began walking down the hall. "As soon as you've gotten Sonic out of his cell, we need to get back to the mainland!"
Soon that machine was gone, and Joy tugged on Jack's hand. "Let's go this way!" she insisted, pointing to where she saw that giant machine go to.
Jack blinked, before nodding. "Sure; let's go that way! Snap, let's go!" he laughed, going down the way Joy pointed out.
"Coming!" Snap called, hurriedly following them.
Then Jack and Joy stopped.
They peered down a hall of jail cells. They were so close! Jack didn't even know how close they were, because he couldn't see what Joy saw. Joy saw that pink hedgehog standing at one of the cells, smiling and talking to someone.
When what she saw wasn't there anymore, she released Jack's hand and walked down that way, with Jack and eventually Snap following her.
One of the jail cells were opened; the door of jail bars risen above to allow entrance. It was just an empty room once, but now this place was like a secret forest grove. Vines and moss thrived on the brittle walls, and in some places, writing could be spotted. She never understood what this writing was...but she recognized some of them as numbers. On the ground, some weeds had sneaked through the concrete floor, so there were patches of soft green on the ground. Even a few toadstools made their home here. The only light offered was through a crack in the corner of the ceiling. A variety of bugs fluttered around here, but mostly dragonflies and butterflies of many different colors.
"...whoa..." Jack uttered. "...this... is it..." he said, before suddenly smiling widely. "...we did it! We found the cell! This has got to be the cell!" he laughed, before looking at Snap. "We need pictures of this room, right now!"
Snap took a picture of the overall scene immediately. "Wow, so this is Professor Gerald's cell," Snap murmured, trying to brush away the moss to read the writing.
Joy was preoccupied with observing the butterflies.
One particular butterfly stood out. It had frosty white wings, and it fluttered over to Joy's gentle hands, making her giggle at its touch. It wasn't afraid of her like all the other butterflies minding their own business; this one almost seemed like it was a good friend to her.
Jack happened to notice this, as he simply looked down at Joy and the small butterfly.
"Amazing..." Snap murmured, moving to various places of the walls and taking more pictures.
The butterfly nestled onto Joy's shoulder and she smiled to it. Then she directed a smile at Jack.
Jack smiled back. "I think it likes you." he said, motioning towards the butterfly with his head.
"Really?" Joy asked, looking back at the butterfly on her shoulder again.
"Yeah; really." Jack nodded, before he sat down. "...how long do you think it's been here?"
"Dunno," Joy answered. Then suddenly, the butterfly picked itself up and fluttered away. "Butterfwy!" Joy called. "Where are you going?" Joy watched it flutter over and ground, and she tried to go over to it.
Then a foot came out of nowhere and squashed it flat.
With a gasp, Joy looked up at the meanie who would do such a thing...and backed away slowly.
"Good job finding Gerald's prison cell," spoke a malevolent leopard, shrouded mostly in the dark.
"Hn?" Jack had no idea who that was, but an inner voice, along with this leopard suddenly crushing the butterfly, quickly led to him grabbing hold of Joy protectively. "Who are you?"
"...so you got another new friend, Joy..." a female voice giggled, as a small, mischievous owl stood by the leopard's side. "...what's his name?"
Snap recognized that voice and whirled around. "...K-Kiri?" he uttered fearfully.
"Oh... and you have your robot friend with you..." Kiri giggled, as she folded her arms. "...where's Metal?"
Gritting his teeth, Jack began backing away from the two, still holding Joy close to him. "Answer me! Who are you?" he repeated.
The leopard walked out of the dark, showing the intimidating gash across his face. "My name is Diablo," he spoke; making Joy shiver at the sound of that name.
Gritting his teeth, Jack simply glared at the leopard. "...what do you want?" he uttered, without letting go of Joy.
"Why...we want to play with Joy," Diablo replied, stepping closer menacingly.
"...no...pwease..." Joy pleaded with only a whisper, holding fast to Jack.
"It won't hurt... we promise..." Kiri giggled, as she stepped towards them as well.
"...I don't think she should play with you two; you don't seem nice!" Jack said, as he kept on moving away from the two of them, not letting go of Joy. "Snap, tell them that we don't wanna play with them!"
"Uh...um..." Snap might be unreliable, because he was pretty afraid of Diablo and Kiri right now. What changed his mind though, was the fact that they wanted to 'play' with Joy, and she didn't look too happy to see them; in fact, she was shaking violently in Jack's arms, Snap could see. "...stop right there," he said bravely, stepping in between Jack and Joy, and Diablo and Kiri.
Seeing Snap step in like that, Jack smiled, as he made sure not to let Joy leave his sights.
"...don't be a spoilsport." Kiri hummed.
"...I heard about the things you did," Snap uttered shakily, bringing up the arm cannon, aiming at them. "...you're not going to lay a finger on Joy."
"What makes you think we'll do anything bad to her?" Diablo asked, undaunted by the cannon while he continued to approach the robot.
"...you guys seem like nasty people." Jack replied, as he held Joy even tighter. "And that's usually a bad thing!"
"...you talk too much." Kiri spat, before she looked up at Diablo. "I don't want to play with the robot, Big Brother... I wanna play with Joy and the lion."
"So be it."
"You s-stay away!" Snap unleashed the cannon's power right at him, but when he looked again, Diablo was gone. "...huh?" And down from above, Diablo jabbed a knife into Snap's helm, which dug pretty deep into his central CPU. Electricity sparked, and his limbs twitched erratically.
"SNAP!" Jack cried at the sight of this.
"...robots don't bleed..." Kiri muttered, as she looked at Jack and Joy with a scowl. "...they're boring."
Once Snap's shaking stopped, the limbs fell from place, and finally the torso clunked to the ground, lifelessly. Diablo yanked the knife out of its place in Snap's head, and looked at Jack and Joy with a devious grin. "Now..." he stepped closer to them, making Joy clutch to Jack for dear life.
Jack, too, was absolutely in panic. ...Snap... he thought, as he could only look at the fallen robot.
"...don't kill them, Big Brother." Kiri giggled. "I want that privilege..."
His breath growing rapid, Jack looked from Diablo to Kiri multiple times. ...these guys... they're like Callous and Johnny...
...hey, is that a way to remember your uncle by?
Before anyone could react to it, Jack suddenly aimed a fierce kick at Diablo's stomach, sending the leopard rocketing out of the cell, without even letting go of Joy. After hitting the wall, Diablo slowly got back up, growling. He didn't anticipate him doing that, and he SHOULD have, after watching what he did to Will's lackey earlier. He questioned how he could do that, though...
...but instead of standing there like a dufus, he brought up the knife again. "Come here, boy!" he said, running to slice Jack.
However, still clutching onto Joy, Jack simply stepped aside from the slice, before lifting his leg into the air. "...what sorta amateur are you, anyway?" Jack said in a mocking tone, before slamming his leg down onto Diablo.
Kiri still looked at Jack with a look of surprise, but that look slowly changed into a look of excitement. ...this feeling... she thought, before giggling.
Diablo got back up again. That kick ripped open his gash again, and blood trickled down his face. Taking a lick of his own blood horrified Joy. "Just what are you anyway?" he grumbled at Jack.
Jack, however, simply glared at Diablo, without letting go of Joy. "...I'm a Leoniel." he uttered, raising his leg again. "Now get lost." he added, before aiming yet another kick at Diablo, intending to send him flying out of the cell once more. Diablo was smart this time, and he ducked beneath Jack's kick. The recovery from the kick for Jack was long enough for Diablo to get a cut at Jack on his arm. However, the cut didn't even seem to phase Jack, as he quickly spun around, aiming a backwards kick right at Diablo's face. Diablo's face plunged into the wall, and he lay limp for a moment.
Joy looked at Diablo in fear. Then she looked at Kiri, even more frightened. As it turned out, Kiri was smiling a smile wider than ever before, simply looking at Jack.
With a scoff, Jack merely looked at Diablo. "...are you gonna leave, now?" he uttered.
Joy just held Jack tighter, while her eyes were locked on Kiri. "...we gotsa go...Jack," she whispered.
"...they can leave first." Jack uttered. "I'm not leaving without Snap."
Diablo pressed a hand to the wall and got back up, glaring daggers at Jack. Then he noticed something off.
The butterfly he swore he crushed propped its wings back up, and took to the air, fluttering to Joy again. Joy was relieved to see that this butterfly was still alive, and a ray of a smile appeared in this dark moment. Kiri blinked, as she looked at the butterfly.
"...now... are you two gonna leave?" Jack uttered again.
Diablo's ears perked over. He heard the sound of running feet, and it was heading their direction. "...we'll be back," Diablo murmured, coming over to Kiri and taking her hand. "C'mon."
Nodding, Kiri waved at Jack before Diablo took her away. "...see you around." she said with a giggle.
When the two were gone, Jack let out a sigh of relief, before looking down at Joy. "...are you alright?" he asked in a slightly scared tone.
"...M-hm..." Joy nodded sadly, and then she looked over at Snap. Jack could see tears coming to the 3 year old's eyes. "Smap..." she uttered.
With a slight frown, Jack knelt by Snap. "...I... think Striker can fix him..." he uttered, hoping to cheer Joy up even just a bit. Now they heard the running feet too, and shortly after they noticed it a group of silhouettes came out of the shadows.
"...Oh no!" Striker yelped, running right over to Snap. "Snap!"
"No wonder Whisker and Tails Doll suddenly felt Snap go offline!" Milo said.
"How did that happen?" Whisker uttered, as he looked down at the fallen robot, before looking at Jack and Joy.
"...two people wanted to take Joy away..." Jack uttered. "Snap tried stopping them, but..."
"...wait... two people?" Tails Doll uttered. "...don't tell me..."
"...Kiri...and Diabwo," Joy answered, looking pretty much ready to cry as she sniffled and wiped her eyes.
Ani's eyes sharpened sternly. "...those two."
"...what's wrong, Ani?" Striker asked, noticing her grow unusually serious. "And who's...Kiri and Diablo?"
"...bad news," Ani answered back, coming over and picking up Snap's torso. "I'll tell you guys about it when we get back. We have to go now."
Milo looked at Snap while the thoughts of what he sensed from before crossed his mind. Could this Kiri and this Diablo be the source of what he sensed? Had they followed them, waiting until they separated to get their hands on Joy? He watched Striker pick up a leg, and then the other. Milo came over and picked up the arm cannon, and Joy took Snap's other arm, holding it as tears rolled down her face. "Is Smap gonna be okay?" she asked, crying.
"...don't worry Joy, everything's going to be okay," Milo assured her with a hand to her shoulder. That's when he noticed Joy's little butterfly friend.
Seeing him notice that, Jack smiled, before he picked up Snap's head.
...hey, some thanks would be nice. Milo heard that same voice mutter in his head.
Milo frowned. Well, sorry if I didn't know, he replied. ...but yes, I suppose we owe you thanks for protecting Joy. I'm sure Callous would have appreciated that...
Hell, I know she'd appreciate it. the voice hummed. Just be thankful that Jack was with her; otherwise, she'd be long gone.
Right... "C'mon guys. The sooner we leave, the sooner we get back," Milo said aloud.
Evening finally rolled around the island; but just barely when the sky was a fading blue, right after sunset.
Jill felt a little weaker than she was earlier when she and Metal went to her shop; no doubt exhausted from their 'activities' from today. A smile remained on her face though as Metal helped her walk out of the shop and into the streets, aiming to head back to the sheltered facility where everyone else was.
"...you're alright?" Metal inquired, as he glanced down at Jill whilst helping her along the street.
Jill nodded. "...just tired," she murmured.
"...right..." Metal nodded, before smiling. "...a good night's sleep should make things better, shouldn't it?"
"...yeah," Jill answered, reflecting the smile back to him.
With a slight chuckle, Metal briefly stroked Jill's cheek, before looking back ahead of them. Jill blushed when he stroked her cheek, and she, too, looked forward to where they were going. It didn't take very long to get to the building, but going down the stairs was a bit of a challenge for her. Finally, they reached the floor the room was on, and they were confronted by Hunter.
"Oh, there you two are," Hunter said.
"...hello, Hunter." Metal said with a brief nod.
"I was wondering when you would be getting back," Hunter continued. "What took you guys?"
Jill averted her eyes nervously. "Well...you know. I wanted to get a good look at my shop..." Was Hunter going to accuse them of something going on between them?
The accusation never came, thankfully. Hunter just nodded. "Yeah, I guess you haven't seen your shop in awhile." Jill let out a secret sigh of relief. "Anyhow, Whisker, Ani and the boys have yet to come back. I'm just standing around keeping an eye out, since teams Chaotix and Alpha followed Sage to track down Diablo and Kiri."
Jill blinked when she heard that. "...what for?"
Hunter suddenly remembered Sage telling him that Jill didn't remember the 3 days past.
"...I'm sure she has her reasons for doing so." Metal shrugged, deciding to play himself off as clueless; anything to divert Jill's attention from the topic.
Jill looked at Metal, and then back at Hunter questionably. Hunter ignored her look. "You might want to head to your room," Hunter said. "You still need your rest after all. If I see Ani and the boys, I'll direct them in your direction."
"...I'll take her there." Metal nodded, as he began leading Jill down the hall. "Come along, now..."
"...right," Jill went along with Metal, shooting once glance at Hunter who still refused to look back at her. That sure was strange... Jill started wondering if this concerned the things she couldn't remember, but at last she let it go finally. No use thinking about it if she wasn't going to get answers at the moment.
Hunter headed back upstairs to the entrance so he could carry out what he said he would; keep an eye out for friendlies, or enemies.
Half an hour or so later when the sky was slightly darker, Hunter's eyes caught the sight of an incoming group. The moon being about half-empty at this point, there was still light giving off of it. That same light reflected off two of the figures running this direction, revealing them at least. Hunter was relieved to see them coming back, that is, until he saw the reason they were running.
"Dad!" Ani was the first getting to him, catching her breath. The others finally got there, and they too huffed.
Hunter looked at the parts of Snap in each of their hands in questioning. "What happened?"
"It was-" Ani still had to catch her breath, taking a moment to do so, "-It was Diablo and Kiri."
Hunter's eyes widened.
"...what was that?" At that point, King, Miser and Ripper walked up behind Hunter, each of them seeing all of Snap's parts in the group's hands. "...did they..."
"...they wanted to take Joy away..." Jack uttered, as he looked down at Snap's head. "...Snap tried stopping them, but..."
"...kekeke! We can't just stand here; we need to get him repaired!" Ripper chimed in.
"And we need to get inside; they could have followed you here." Miser muttered, letting the group in. "Hurry; I'll take over watch for now." she said.
"...right," Hunter went ahead and entered with the rest of them, shutting the door behind them all. The group brought Snap to the nearest table they could find, which was the one in the facility kitchen, and set all of his parts down onto it.
"Ani, I need you to take Joy to her mother," he instructed.
"Right," Ani took Joy's hand... and then she, too, finally noticed the butterfly companion Joy had somehow gained. What the...? But Ani pushed inquiries aside and pulled Joy off, who was still crying her little heart out.
"Pwease say that Smap is gonna be okay," Joy sobbed.
Ani's heart swelled seeing such a sweet girl crying like that. "I'm sure that Striker will fix Snap all better, Joy," Ani assured. "Just wait and see...Snap will be on his feet again."
When Hunter watched his own daughter leave with Joy out the room, he sighed, feeling the same heavy heart as Ani did. "...what happened?" he finally asked the boys, looking upon the lifeless Snap.
"...I told you; Diablo and Kiri were planning on taking Joy away." Jack muttered.
"You see, we went exploring, and we found this old building..." Tails Doll began. "...and we came to a fork in the road, so we split up; Jack, Joy and Snap went down one path, me and Ani went down another, and Striker, Milo and Whisker went down a third..."
"...they must have followed you," Hunter said, something that Milo certainly reacted to. "But what were you all doing, exploring around like that?"
"...we were trying to find Professor Gerald's prison cell," Striker answered.
"Didn't Ani tell you guys about what's going on?"
Milo shook his head. "She didn't go into very deep details about anything like that. All we were told was that the island was blown up."
"Yeah, and Rudy said that some creepy stuff was going on, but that was it," Striker added.
Hunter sighed again, but in frustration at the fact that Ani forgot to warn them about what was going on. Could be that she forgot while swooning over Striker; a thought that placed an instantenous and momentary smile on his face. Then he frowned again to focus back on the matter. "There are dangerous soldiers on this island boys," Hunter said, "and Diablo and Kiri are not the only ones."
"...not the only ones?" Jack uttered.
"There's three others, and I doubt that you'd like any of them." King muttered. "They're called Raider, an ox, Hex, an octopus, and Spiel, a pig. If you see them, steer clear."
"...ain't 't kind o' a bad idee t' be havin' dangerous soldiers like that on th' isle?" Whisker mused, as he looked at King.
"That's something you just have to expect..." King muttered, before folding his arms. "...but lately, they've been more active than they've used to..."
"...and all of it started when Diablo decided to pull off the damn shenanigans on harassing Jill and Joy," Hunter threw in.
"...Jill too?" Milo squeaked.
Hunter looked at the boys solemnly. "He tried to burn down her shop, tried to impale a knife into Joy..." then he looked away in shame. "...and you don't even want to know what else Jill went through."
"You mean...why she looks all severely beaten and torn up?" Milo croaked, "...and why she's so unhealthily skinny?"
"...trust me... you guys don't want to know." King muttered.
"...them bastards!" Whisker snapped, quickly pounding his fists against each other. "Let me at them, an' I`ll keelhaul them!"
"Keke, hang on! You can't underestimate Diablo like that, Whisker!" Ripper quickly said, trying to calm down the pirate robot.
"...but she doesn't even look like she went through anything horrible," Milo said. "I don't get it...she looks perfectly happy to me, like-"
"-she never even went through the stuff," Hunter finished. "Yeah, I know. Sage discovered that her memories of the 3 days she was missing were erased."
"...erased memories?" Jack uttered, tilting his head. "How does that work?"
"Sage would probably have filled you in..." King muttered, as he rubbed the back of his neck. "...but in any case, I don't want any of you guys to talk about that to Jill. After what she's been through..."
Striker looked at King with a genuine look. Then he nodded. "We promise not to say anything."
"...good." King muttered, before sighing. "...hopefully, this whole thing can be resolved soon..."
"...keke... did you deliver that letter, yet?" Ripper hummed, as he glanced at the tiger.
"I had Flamenco send it earlier today; hopefully, he should get it soon." King nodded.
"...letter?" Jack blinked, as he looked at King. "Who did you send a letter to?"
"Old friend of ours who's gonna keep a watchful eye on Jill and Joy," Hunter said, smiling. "I think you'd know him. He's a certain bounty hunter we met awhile back."
All of the boys' eyes lit up. "You mean..." Striker uttered eagerly.
"With any luck, he should be here in the morning." King mused, as he yawned, before walking out of the room. "For now, I think you guys need to fix up Snap, before you hit the sack."
"...right!" Nodding, Jack glanced at Striker. "We're gonna fix him up, right?"
"Right," Striker said, turning to examine Snap. "The damage definitely isn't permanent. I just have to see how bad it really is."
"It shouldn't take too long..." Jack hummed, as he glanced at Snap's head. "...he only attacked the head, so..."
"And it doesn't look like that stab was too deep," Striker murmured, having gotten a good enough look at it. "Some memories might be damaged, but other than that, he's gonna be okay."
Night fell on the island after a while, and even though some remained awake, most of the island's inhabitants were heading for bed.
One of those were King, who walked towards his bed with a slight yawn. ...tomorrow's gonna be a long day... he thought, before he sat down on his bed, letting out a brief sigh. All of a sudden, there was a small tap on his bedroom window. Blinking, King turned to look at the window. Outside was much too dark to see what was caused the tap... and in curiousness, he opened it. "...who's there?" he uttered.
"...King..." gently whispered a voice. It was still a little too dark to tell, and the voice was a little quiet, but King thought he heard...
"...Tasha...?" King uttered in surprise.
"...may I climb in?" she asked. It turned out there was a trail of vines leading up to King's window, which Tasha had effortlessly climbed.
"...um... sure." King nodded, stepping back a bit so Tasha wouldn't be obstructed when she entered.
Tasha slipped in quietly and smoothly, closing the window right afterward. She didn't turn to face King yet. "...I..."
"...Tasha... is something on your mind?" King uttered, as he looked at Tasha with a concerned look. "If there is, then..."
"...about what I said today," Tasha murmured, still not facing him. "...I didn't mean to be so forward."
"...Tasha..." Blinking, King slowly approached her. "...don't worry about that; you just said what you wanted to say, right?" he said, stopping right in front of her.
"...no, I...I was talking out of line." Tasha insisted, her shoulders shaking a bit. "...I didn't even know what you went through..."
King blinked, as he tilted his head. "...what I... went through..." he uttered, before something clicked in his mind. "...you mean that..."
Tasha was silent, her head falling a little lower. "...Sage showed me something that happened to you and your friends a long time ago..." she mumbled. "...when...others died...like Bliss and Desperado..."
King blinked, as he closed his eyes. "...I see... she showed you that, huh..." he sighed, before looking down at Tasha.
"...so you see..." she uttered. "...I didn't know what I was talking about...it's just that...what my father told me when you left..."
"...Tasha..." King placed his hands on Tasha's shoulders, simply looking down at her.
Tasha finally looked up at King, trying to hide how hurt she was. "...Twilight...I'm so sorry."
"...Tasha..." At that point, King suddenly hugged Tasha, holding her close to him. "...you don't... need to apologize... you couldn't have known about it... right?"
Tasha buried her face in his shoulder, holding him extra tighter. "...my father wants me to stay away from you," she muffled in his shoulder. "...but I can't stay away. I feel scared, and bewildered...and all I know is that I want to be here...with you."
King was silent, as he closed his eyes. "...a friend of mine had the same problem; forbidden from going to see the one he loved..." Then, he pulled a bit away, so he could look into Tasha's eyes. "...but he still saw her, in spite of the danger... and even if your father curses me for it, I won't stop seeing you, either... because I love you, Tasha."
Her heart jumped, and she felt so weak when she heard that. "Twilight..." her hands reached to touch his furry cheeks, looking right back into his eyes. "...I love you too."
*If you do not wish to read the rather mature content that follows this, I would suggest you skip ahead...
Smiling, King placed a hand on Tasha's cheek as well. Tasha smiled back at him, just before she craned forward and kissed him. Kissing her back, King gently held onto Tasha, pulling her closer to him. She soon clutched to King, kissing a little more urgently. Soon, he also began caressing her arm whilst they kissed. Her breath quickened at the tingling she felt when King stroked her arm, and she felt his chest. Suddenly, she longed to feel those abs underneath that shirt. Somehow, King seemed to think the same thing, as he began trying to remove his shirt, still not breaking away from the kiss he shared with Tasha. Tasha helped with that, and once it was off, her wishes were fulfilled. She got to feel King's strong chest and abdomen with grateful pleasure; hard like a rock, but smooth like baby skin. Something happened to Tasha that she was slightly embarrassed about, but couldn't really stop because she was so caught up with what was going on.
She started to purr.
As he began stroking Tasha's neck as well, King didn't seem to mind that she began purring; in fact, he found it quite cute. Her hands made a round from his abdomen to his back and over his shoulder blades, trying to purr a little more quietly. In response, he moved his hand from her neck, down across her back towards her thigh. That provoked her purring to be a bit louder, a rush of heat overtaking her while she moved them, ending up with King pinned against the wall as they continued to make-out. While surprised, it didn't stop King from continuing the make-out, as he kept caressing Tasha's thighs. Her skirt was so short that King's hands were practically touching bare legs, and the goosebumps made her shiver. Not to mention her purring was a tad louder. That seemed to spur King on further, as he began trailing his hand up from Tasha's thighs, up across the sides of her body. Tasha grew breathless, all the more purring louder while kissing him harder. Deepening the kiss as well, King moved his hands towards Tasha's back, holding her tightly.
After letting him hold her close, Tasha distanced, feeling the need to untie her upper wrap. Noting this, King decided on helping her untie it as well. Once loose, Tasha dropped the wrap to the ground, and pressed their bare, warm chests together longingly. As she did that, King wrapped his arms around Tasha again, further pressing their bodies against each other. Purring quite intensely now, ears twisted back and everything, Tasha reached for King's black jeans. Nodding, King assisted Tasha in removing them as well. It was Tasha's turn to feel King's thighs and her hands glided up back toward his abs again. Then, King wrapped his arms around Tasha once more, leading her over to the bed, which both of them settled onto. Underneath the pressure of his body, Tasha was overheating and overwhelmed with emotions, purring even more.
"Oh...Twilight..." she moaned in her heat.
*Okay. Now you are safe.
Jill had Joy in her lap while they sat on the bed, and Jill was rocking Joy back and forth to soothe her crying little girl. She was still upset over Snap, and scared over what happened. For the first time ever, Jill was humming a soothing lullaby to her while stroking her short chocolate hair.
Jill didn't seem to notice the frosty white butterfly perched on the window sill in the room, watching them. Metal, however, did notice it, as he kept an eye on the butterfly whilst he leaned against the wall. ...what's with that butterfly...? he thought.
Joy was just a mess of sniffles now; most of the crying had been over with earlier. She tried to listen to the sound of Jill's voice, finding it very soothing and comforting. She remembered only hearing the lullaby in her dreams...but this was real. It was like magic. Joy still wondered how her Mommy got her voice back, but now she was becoming too drowsy to care. Jill felt the same; that it was magic. Up until yesterday she could scarcely communicate with her own daughter...now she finally could sing to her this lullaby.
The butterfly just sort of turned away, and peered outside the window.
Raising an eyebrow, Metal kept his gaze at the butterfly. ...it's been with Joy ever since she got back... why is that? he thought.
Jill finally felt Joy grow limp in her lap, and smiled down to see the 3 year old asleep. She raised her off her lap and set her on the bed carefully, tucking her underneath the covers with one last stroke at her hair. That's finally when Jill gazed upon the butterfly on the window sill.
"...quite peculiar..." Metal mused, once he noticed that Jill looked at the butterfly as well.
"...yeah," Jill murmured, staring at it. "...they found that at Gerald's prison?"
"That's what I was told." Metal hummed. "...though why it would follow Joy all the way here, I don't know..."
"Hm."
The butterfly looked over at Jill now, and a strange chill went through her when she looked back. It wasn't like a negative vibe; it was just strange... like it was actually cold in here.
Metal glanced at Jill at that moment. "...is something wrong, Jill?" he hummed.
"...I just get this weird feeling when I look at it," Jill replied; her eyes still locked onto that butterfly.
"...just a weird feeling, huh..." Metal hummed, before looking back at the butterfly. "...wonder what it means..."
Jill fell silent, still staring at that butterfly. Something couldn't help but rush back to her mind then...
It was a day she walked through a forest covered in a blanket of snow and the snow continuing to fall. The biting, cold air gnawed on her legs while she trudged each cold step onward; her chattering teeth releasing puffs of white breath. The most she had for warmth were two layers of coats, and she desperately tried to cover up the bulge of her stomach to keep her precious womb warm. It was the only thing pushing her forward; that...and the thought of her late beloved. Bitter tears rolled down her face, with no voice to express the anguish she was in.
Oh Brick... why did this have to happen to him? Why did cruel fate have to take him away from his developing daughter...and away from her?
Jill remembered stopping and looking up sorrowfully at the silver sky, caressing her enlarged stomach. She thought about when she died for Metal, and how she watched them from afar in the spirit world. Could Brick be doing the same thing? Right now even? Maybe he was with her mother up there...
Her legs trembled in the cold and under the weight she carried with her. She would have to find somewhere to stay soon, before she caught something. Cold, pneumonia...maybe something worse. She couldn't let that happen; she had to take care of herself, and more importantly...of little unborn Joy. So she started up again through the woods, wondering if she would find a sign of shelter or at least a way out of these woods.
Jill stopped again. She heard a disturbing rustling at the side, but when she quickly glanced, she saw nothing.
She heard another sound with a startled jerk toward another direction. It sounded like...a wolf howling.
No...
She stepped onward, cautiously walking backwards to keep a watchful eye on her back. Another howling from behind made her twist on her heels with a gasp. This was not good. This was NOT good at all. Jill started up in a sprint away from the howling noises, hoping to get away quickly.
Swift paws trampled right past the trees in the direction she ran off.
Jill picked up the pace when she swore that she heard rustling all around her, ignoring the snowflakes prickling her face as she ran through them. She grew more frantic when she heard feral pants all around her, and noisy, running feet crunching through the snow rapidly. Now she saw numerous figures gathering at the sidelines, speeding up ahead of her before she could catch a glimpse of what they were. The sounds suddenly started to shrink then, and for a minute she relaxed as she slowed down, but when she arrived at a clearing, she stopped in utter fright.
A pack of wild, ravenous, dark-gray wolves were standing there, waiting for her; growling at her. Jill trembled more than she did with the mere cold, taking a step or two backward. There was no way she could outrun this many, and a feeling of helplessness rose from within her.
No... not Joy. Anything but that! Jill would beg these hungry wolves not to eat her and her child. She needed Joy; the girl deserved her first breath of life before brutal death took her away! It was unfair! But these wolves weren't going to be so understanding. Each paw that inched closer and closer to Jill only made her feel even more helpless and afraid. Jill accidentally tripped backward on a twig, and the fall hurt her, as well as put the fetus at unease. So Jill sat there, watching the wolves approach her menacingly while she was frozen; in more ways than one.
Just when she felt like the wolves would pounce, and it would be a tragic end for her, Jill saw something. At first it was hard to see, because it was just as white as the snow on the ground, but then it came closer. It was...a butterfly. A butterfly, with wings as frosty white as the snow itself. The butterfly came up to her, and it's graceful movements calmed the frightened mother...
The wolves barked and jumped. Jill snapped out of the trace of the butterfly, cringing to brace for her fate...
...but it never came.
Jill couldn't move...she just couldn't, but she never felt anything touch her. So when she heard sudden noises, like whimpers, raging huffs, snorts, thundering steps and thuds against the snow, she couldn't move. Only she could finally move when she heard paws pattering away, the whimpering vanishing within the trees. She looked up at where the wolves once were, and saw nothing. They were gone.
Slowly and carefully standing back up, she rubbed her belly again to comfort the shaken fetus, and that's when she saw the evidence of what happened in the snow. A lot of it was pushed aside with skid marks, but just mostly distorted. There were paw prints everywhere...
...and there were also hoof prints.
Jill looked at this, baffled at what she saw. She stood there staring at it for hours until the cold got the best of her... so she began her trudge through the snow yet again. Somehow, she was very lucky.
No, she couldn't be stupid. It wasn't luck. Something came and saved her...but what would try to save her that had hoof prints?
It hit her like a slap in the face, causing her to stop her feet dead in the snow, and stand there, stupefied. Of all the outrageous things she had seen in her life, she could at least make a guess or two at what it could have been.
...but was it possible?
"Brick..."
Jill blinked, finding that she had been staring at the window sill for who knows how long. The butterfly was gone now to her disdain, but she remained frozen there since her thoughts seemed to take over her entire body.
"...Jill?" Glancing at Jill, Metal tilted his head. "You've been silent for a while, now... are you alright?"
Jill felt something trickle down her cheek, and it took her a minute to realize they were tears. "...I saw that butterfly before..." she muttered.
Metal blinked, as he approached Jill, sitting down by her. "...you... saw it before...?" he uttered.
"...when I was still pregnant with Joy, around wintertime, I was walking through some woods somewhere...I was cornered by a pack of hungry wolves..." she muttered.
"...you were?" Metal hummed in surprise, placing a hand on Jill's shoulder. "...what happened?"
"...I saw that butterfly."
Jill looked at him long and hard. "...and just when the wolves were upon me, I was saved..." Her mind traced back to those hoof prints she saw in the snow, rendering her hesitant to continue. "...I didn't see what happened, but something warded away the wolves. I took a look at the snow to see what could have happened...and I saw hoof prints."
"...hoof prints..." Metal uttered, a thoughtful look on his face. ...it couldn't have been... him...?
"...but now the butterfly's gone," Jill murmured, looking at the deserted window sill. "...so I suppose I won't be able to get any answers..." she sighed in more disdain.
"...perhaps those are answers for another day?" Metal hummed, glancing at Jill. "...try not to worry about it. Rest for now, Jill."
"...okay..." Jill looked to her sleeping daughter; a sight that managed to take her mind off of what she was thinking. She pulled up the covers for her to slip into and once her head was one the pillow, she put an arm around Joy, which triggered the little ewe to turn over and cuddle up next to her mother; all while in her sleep.
Metal couldn't help but smile at that, as he briefly nodded. "...good night, Jill." he said.
"...good night, Metal," Jill responded, closing her eyes and relaxing.
Nodding, Metal glanced back towards the window, as he let out a small sigh. ...to think that things would come to this... he thought. ...quite curious...