Chapter 14: The Day Tails Ate at Subway Part 1
Disclaimer: Sonic cannot be owned. It will end the world!!!
Sonic and Amy woke up to the pitter-patter of rain droplets hitting the ground en masse. Sonic sat up and felt his back. It was knotted and hurt from sleeping on the cement patio in the park. Sonic turned his head to the right and saw Amy sleeping on the cement. Her hair covered her face as she laid belly-down on the cold, hard stone. She lay in such a position that it revealed her natural curves. She snored quietly and supported her head with her arms. She looks cute when she's sleeping, thought Sonic. He tried to get up to wake Amy up. When he stood up, pain surged through his legs and he clenched his teeth. He doubled over and seethed with a quiet moan. He felt like he was about to fall back down, this time, he wouldn't have to worry about the world. Ever.
Sonic felt something grasp his chest and pull him upright. He thought it was a Conclave member that slithered through the night to strike him when he was weak. He readied himself to spin around and nail the Conclave brute with a forceful right hook, but he stopped himself. The touch and feel of the hand was quite gentle and loving, yet very stern.
"Are you okay?" A voice asked.
Sonic opened his eyes and turned his head in a slow motion. He found himself staring into the green eyes of his fair pink maiden, Amy. Her eyes shown with the worried look of a lover caring for her other. He smiled at Amy and said, "Yeah, I'm okay, Ames." She wrapped her arm across Sonic's back and grabbed his armpit. With a slight jump, she hoisted Sonic up from his feeble position with little effort. Sonic's feet were fixed on the ground and he made himself walk. Amy grabbed an umbrella and clutched the lever. The umbrella flew open and provided instant cover from the torrent of water droplets. She began to walk, and Sonic followed her lead.
"Where are we going?" Inquired Sonic.
"We're going to see Tails," answered Amy as she stared straight ahead.
"But we don't know where he and the others are."
"Oh yes we do." Amy reached into the right pocket of her dress. She pulled out a small slip of paper. She unfolded the paper with her left hand and handed it to Sonic. It read: Hi Mr. Sonic and Ms. Amy! We made it over to this district. And my gosh, it looks so pretty! We found a place to stay. Well, actually, my Tails found a place for us to stay. He is so responsible and mature, you know. Anyway, we're staying at a hotel Mr. Chris owns here. It's called the Piedmont and Crowns.
-Cream and Cheese
PS: Cheese says hi.
Sonic chuckled. "My Tails? Sounds like our little Cream is growing up in some odd ways."
"Oh c'mon," said Amy as she smiled at Sonic, "don't act like you didn't know this was coming."
"Well, they seem like they could make it work."
Amy nodded as they walked in the rain and streets. They both walked on in silence, as they let the sound of nature rule the city. It seemed as if the Conclave were transfixed by this sound. No matter how civilized one could be, nature will still rule them, through either shock or awe.
Suddenly, Amy grabbed Sonic and they fell into an alley. Before Sonic could yell for help, Sonic's mouth was grabbed by Amy. Sonic closed his eyes, waiting to feel his underpants ripped off and things to happen, but he opened his eyes. Out of the alley's opening corridor, he spied six Conclave troopers. Three were like the footmen he saw yesterday, but he noticed that two were wearing skin tight armor bearing the insignia like a piece of heraldry. They were lead by a female person who resembled the erudite Sonic saw. But she had on a more practical and decorated robe. On the robe was the insignia and the words One mind, one body and one soul written on the front and the word Elite Scribe written on the back. The guards wielded riot guns. The elite scribe had nothing save a mercenary's knife. As they marched, she said to the guards, "The rain and its sound is a beautiful thing. To the humans, the sound is a dirge that the clouds full of mournful spirits create in silent grieving. But to us Vodeiyanoi, it is a symphony of nature's greatest sounds and splendor." A guard raised his hand. "What, Ivi'r?" Asked the scribe. "Can I go to the bathroom?" "I told you to go when we were back at the base." "But I didn't need to use the bathroom then." "Fine." The soldiers marched at a brisker pace.
Sonic and Amy got up from the floor. Amy and Sonic ran to the Piedmont and Crowns.
The hotel was quite beautiful. The floors and walls were cut from marble. The mantel in the reception room was cut from marble as well. A fountain resembling the one in the park was in the room as well. A TV hung over the fireplace. The floor had Persian rugs laid out in neat rows. The fireplace was dimming as the last of its orange embers were dying out. The people in the hotel were chatting and joking amongst themselves in an attempt to forget the outside world. Sonic and Amy walked up to the elevator. Sonic pressed the button with the number 7 inscribed on it. They waited as elevator muzak floated and echoed in the elevator. Amy stood with her hands at her side. Sonic crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. When the elevator arrived at the floor, Sonic grabbed Amy's hand and ran to the room.
Sonic knocked on the door. He rapped on the door two times. The door opened and at the door was Rouge in a white towel with soap in her hair.
"So you finally decided to come, eh?" Said Rouge. "Unless you've brought more towels, you and your girlfriend aren't coming in."
"Well…err…" Said Sonic.
"Just kidding. Now get in. I don't want you staring."
They entered the large room with eleven beds total. The room resembled the reception room seven floors below. One the mantle were the five Chaos emeralds the gang had collected. As the door closed, Sonic heard a voice call out from behind, "Hi Sonic." Sonic turned around and couldn't believe who he saw. He saw Bokkun taped to the door by piles of silver duct tape. Sonic responded, "Hi." He then left and saw Tails, Cream, Shadow, Knuckles, Vector, Rouge, Decoe and Bocoe watching the TV. They all turned from the TV and greeted Sonic and Amy.
After the warm welcome, Tails said, "Okay, gather round, we have work to do."
"Aw," groaned Rouge, "can't we watch more of this show?"
"No," responded Tails, "Family Guy will still be there after we do today's mission. Now, gather round."
Everyone groaned, except for Shadow, Sonic, Knuckles, Cream and Vector, who were all happy to get back out on the field. Tails pulled out a recording machine and put it on the coffee table.
"We are up against a dangerous foe. These aren't just gangsters who rule the streets. The Conclave are highly armed, dangerous and disciplined to the point where one of their squads can best an entire company of GUN troops. Their like a military force. Mercenaries, even. If we are going to beat them and get at Abraxis, we need some intell. We are dealing with a clandestine group that's difficult to comprehend, let alone defeat. That's why I had Rouge contact GUN. We needed to find Topaz. Rouge tells me that Topaz's last assignment was to infiltrate the Conclave. She came back with this tape of all of Topaz's dead drops."
Tails stared at the device and pressed the play button with a sense of foreboding. The cassette began whirl and hum, and then it played its contents. Topaz's voice sounded on the cassette.
"Well, that's it. GUN has quarantined the entire city. And I'm stuck with the Conclave. I guess the only course of action here is to gather as much intell as possible."
"The Conclave is ruled by a man named Abraxis. He is fairly tall and well built. He has grey skin and onyx eyes. Veins seem to cover parts of his head, and red and black lightning races down his arms. The other members tell me he is a great leader and that he has ruled the Conclave for decades. He is a true believer and has an agenda. I think we may have to strike at him quickly."
"A woman called a scribe led me to a room to practice what she calls 'The Repairman'. She bound me to a chair with her ESP powers. She then grew to twice her size and started to slug me across the face. I felt like I was being hit with a bus over and over again. I squinted my eyes, pretending I was doing something with my mind. She laughed and looked me straight in the eye. She told me I had to grasp the movement and the feel of an action in order to use ESP. She then told me that if I couldn't do that, she'd beat the tar out of me. She then punched me so damn hard I blacked out."
"Woke up in the infirmary. I was in a cot, bandaged and hooked up to some IV fluids and machines I've never seen before. Other than a nurse, nobody sees me. I found out that I was hooked up to dopamine. So much for their medicine…"
"Background information: the members of the Conclave are of an alien race called the Vodeiyanoi. These are humans who have developed powerful psychic abilities and they have undergone a forced evolution process. They have grey skin, red eyes and grey hair. They are tall, slender and graceful. They are extremely intelligent. They live in a militaristic society ad they are highly imperialistic. They show a strong belief in the motives of imperialism, and they have a vast empire to affirm their dogma. The Conclave itself was developed for imperialistic purposes. A Conclave is a trading post, local government post, research facility, hospital and military base. I have a bad feeling about their presence here on Earth…"
"I was assigned to protect a high ranking researcher/ESP master (also known as a scribe) named Arvana. She looks like a honey pot, so I should be careful around her."
"Background information: the Conclave refers to their members differently depending on their vocation. For example, scientists and physicians are referred to as Scribes, ESP masters are called Erudites, soldiers are called Guards, and merchants are called…well merchants."
"Arvana and Abraxis have entered a romantic relationship today. They seem happy together. But I do notice that Arvana often mumbles to herself, saying things about how she doesn't understand why Abraxis has to be "different" or why he can't do as he's "told". It is obvious something is amiss about the normal dynamics of a relationship."
"Abraxis and Arvana had a public falling out today. I don't know what sparked it, but I do know it resulted in Arvana physically attacking Abraxis. It took me and twenty other people to pull her off of him. I was ordered to escort her off the premises. She cursed all of us, and threatened to have her revenge. If looks could kill, I'd be dead. I expect to be reassigned to Abraxis."
"For the past few weeks, the Conclave have been under attack by a group called the Phantoms, led by none other than Arvana. She has five Chaos emeralds, while we have two. Something's going on here, and I don't know what."
"The Conclave are suspicious of me. I think they might be on to me. I'll try to lay low for a while."
Tails turned off the tape. "And there's nothing more," Tails replied. "We need to find Topaz. Her life could be in danger."
"I agree," said Rouge, "we need to find her. I'm not letting her die at the hands of that Conclave."
"Glad you agree. Because I need to go find her."
Everyone jumped and yelled "WHAT?!" They all went to Tails and tried to convince him to reconsider. They had enough information from the tape, they said. But Tails stood firm on his decision. He laid out his plan in front of them.
"There is a subway system underneath the district. The Conclave have seized the trains and use it to store prisoners as collateral to keep the citizens of the Cultural district in line. I am confident that this is where Topaz is being held. I will go to the subway as an engineer hired by the Conclave to repair the train system. I will commandeer the train and escape with the prisoners. When I get to a safe zone, I will free them."
"But it's too dangerous!" Cried Sonic, "You won't survive!"
"I will. Don't worry."
Tails left and put on his disguise. He was dressed as a construction worker and had a fake ID issued by the Conclave to slip by the guards. He left toward the door with his tool box. Suddenly, he felt something yank on his collar, and he turned around. He saw Cream. She was on the verge of crying.
"No," she cried, "I won't let you go."
"Cream, I have to go."
"No you don't! You can stay here, where it is safe! Forget about the Conclave and Ms. Topaz! What about us? What about Mr. Sonic? What about Mr. Knuckles? What about me??"
Cream started crying and leaned her head on Tails' chest. He felt the warmth of the fresh tears stream down his torso. He heard Cream's breaking and shuddering cries. He nudged Cream off of his chest. He opened his arms and hugged Cream. She hugged back. He then let go of her, saying, "Don't worry Cream, I'll be back." And Tails left without another word. Amy led Cream to bed, while the others were flabbergasted.
To be continued…