5 Years Later

by JC303

Metal decides to return, and check to see how everyone has been for the past 5 years since the events of Future Generations...only to find out some surprising things. Again, co-written with YolkaEd.

14. Chapter 14

Pretty long one this time, and there's AGAIN some content...

---

5 Years Later – Chapter Fourteen…

...so, I bet that you want to know what my deal is? As Milo stood on his own for the time being, that same voice called in his head.

Yeah, I've been wondering for awhile now, Milo responded in his meditation.

...well, Jack's busy right now, so I'll tell you. You guys have REALLY been missing out, lately.

On what? Milo inquired. If you would quit beating around the bush already…

Look, you kids need to get with the times... anyway, you should know how I've been able to let Jack act out of character at times, first of all.

Possessing him, right? Milo supposed.

Yep. Though, it only works because he's related to me. If Shadow could do that with Proxy, why shouldn't I be able to do it with Jack? However, I can't stay in him indefinitely; he's too pure for that.

...makes sense.

Of course it does. And I'm telling ya; bringing Jack here might have been a saving grace for you. People have practically been hunting Jill and Joy ever since good ol' Toaster showed up.

But why? Milo asked him. What is their deal with Jill and Joy? They haven't done anything to earn that kind of attention...

Oh, they haven't done anything, per se... but some people found out about everything. About you guys, me, Novagod, Callous, that whole shebang five years ago... and this little brat thought it'd be a great idea to try and bring Callous out of Jill, so she could have a merry little murder spree with her.

...that brat you're talking about is Kiri, isn't it? Milo guessed. ...but how? How could they find out so much about us? We don't even know them!

Kid, this ox has been hounding information about Jill for quite some time, now. He knows everything about her, and I mean EVERYTHING. Hell, I'm pretty sure he knows stuff about her that even Callous would likely have forgotten about... but he did get his comeuppance, after they spent three days trying to bring her out...

...what did they do to her? Milo demanded.

...stuff that I'd normally find to be high-class entertainment. But just thinking that they did all that to get a raise outta Callous sucked the enjoyment right out of it. The ox got what he deserved; Diablo and Kiri are still on the loose, though...

Hm... Milo grit his teeth. He had an imagination, and knowing what things Johnny and Callous delighted in, he only felt so much more sorry for Jill. ...all this just to get Callous out? Don't they know that Callous isn't going to listen to them? She doesn't have any reason to.

To be honest, I don't think they cared. I think they just wanted her to come out for the hell of it. Though, now that you guys are here, you can help me keep an eye out for the three of them.

...do you think they'll finally figure out a way to lure Callous out? Milo wondered. You said that she had a soft spot for Joy...and they're targeting her too.

Oh, they've already figured out a way. And it not only involves Joy... it involves the Toaster, too.

...how exactly would they use Metal to draw Callous out of Jill? I know that Jill probably still cares a lot about Metal...but still...Callous wouldn't give a damn about him.

That wouldn't matter. You see, Kiri plans on inflicting the greatest kind of wound on Jill, which is gonna force Callous out of her whether she wants it or not...

...heartbreak.

Milo fell quiet as he thought about it. Why? Why did these horrible people want to break down Jill like that so badly? Did Jill just have the knack of attracting the wrong crowds toward her? It wasn't right at all. ...in the event that it really does happen, what do you think we should do about it?

...you can't let it happen. All of a sudden, the voice became a lot more serious. I dunno why, but that Diablo guy gives me bad vibes... and if Toaster kicks the bucket, then you know perfectly damn well who's going to be unleashed.

...and that's going to be more trouble than any of us want, that's for sure, Milo thought. Alright, I get how bad it is. I still find it...a little unusual that you happen to be on our side for this.

Heh, your side? the voice scoffed. Please; I'm on Callous' side. She just wants to keep Joy safe, and if it means taking care of Jill and Toaster too, then so be it.

I bet you're hoping for an opportunity to reunite with Callous, aren't you? Milo supposed.

Hey, relax; I'm waiting patiently for Jill to die peacefully, not by being slaughtered. Besides, if Callous did take over Jill's body, the only way I could interact with her would be via Jack, and... that'd be awkward.

"Ugh..." Milo shuddered to think it. Damn it Johnny, don't put those kind of images in my head... do you even know how Jack reacted when he figured out where babies came from?

He's got the mind of a 10-year old; I'd imagine that he reacted accordingly.

Milo sighed. For the most part, the memory of that was more comical than traumatizing, so he was able to put it aside without much issue. ...well, the others are going to start wondering about me if I dawdle. Just as he was going to leave though, something very useful suddenly occurred to him. ...oh yeah. You wouldn't happen to know where Jack is right now, would you?

...oh, yeah... well, I'll only tell you if you do not tell anyone else; it's a secret. Then, the voice breathed in and out. ...he's playing with the monster everyone's talking about.

Milo didn't have a response to that. Not right away. ...he's playing with the monster everyone's talking about? he repeated in disbelief.

What, is there an echo in your head? I think you heard me the first time.

...Just how AND why is Jack playing with the monster?

...let's just say that I had a hand in it. The monster actually made sure that Jill managed to escape from her captors during that three-day period, so he can't be that bad.

The monster saved Jill? Milo was certainly more surprised at Johnny the more they talked. ...you know what, I'm just going to take your word for it now instead of asking any more questions.

Just remember; I don't want you telling anyone about it. Little Jack decided to pinky swear, of all things, that he'd keep the monster a secret.

...I understand. Milo got up from where he had been sitting in meditation to leave the room and go join the others.

...keep an eye on Joy and Metal. was the last thing the voice said, before Milo fully left.

Milo nodded to himself as he walked down the hallway alone. He walked through a bit of the facility before he found everyone again; and the numbers of the group had doubled a bit. The original ones in here; Striker, Ani, and Snap, along with Hunter, Miser, Ripper, were joined by King, Cal, Boomer, Newt and Natal. Milo could tell that all of them were in high spirits. "What's up?" he asked.

"Well, everything's tense," Boomer replied. "So King's trying to set up a tournament that the whole island can participate in, just to help relieve some stress."

"And from the looks of it, he's put a hell of a lot of thought into it, y'know!" Newt said with a nod.

"It'll take a while to set up..." King hummed, as he folded his arms with a nod. "...but this is exactly the thing people need to get their mind off things!"

"I agree!" Ani exclaimed with a grin, cracking her knuckles. "It's been awhile since I knocked some soldier heads together!"

Milo laughed and shook his head. Ani was still so spunky after all these years. Then it was even funnier when Milo noticed Striker smiling at Ani when she said that with that kind of enthusiasm. Milo tried to hold in snickers. "I think it's a good idea," he finally said, trying to straighten up.

"Oh? This coming from the lion cub that used to be afraid of everything? That used to be a pessimist?" Ani cynically retorted.

"Hey, I grew out of that," Milo chuckled. "Besides, I'm not the only one who has problems." When he gave Striker a bit of an evil smirk, Striker almost shuddered.

"Observe. When a Mommy and Daddy-"

"AAAAAAAAAGH! SHUT UP!" Striker screamed, holding his ears.

That was enough to send the entire room roaring with laughter; such a cunning quip was enough to make the group forget of the drama that had transpired on the island, at least for a while. Striker turned red in the face with embarrassment.

"Hoo..." Ripper chuckled, before he leaned closer to Miser, whispering to her, "I don't get it."

"Alright, everyone!" King said, as he stood up from his seat, slamming his knuckles together. "We've got a lot of work to do to get this tournament running, so let's get started!"

"Right!" Ani said. "C'mon Dad. I'm sure that if we open up the pub, we can get the word out through customers."

"Sure," Hunter said, standing up.

"...wait a minute..." Milo stared at Ani in disbelief. "...you work in a bar Ani?"

"Yeah, so?"

"...but...but you're only 15!" Milo replied in protest, due to his reaction to this.

"And she's been working at the pub since she was 12." Miser shot in. "She's able to hold her own, Milo."

Milo shot a look at Miser. "...what?"

Ani laughed. "Whatever happened to 'I'm not the only one with problems'?" And she laughed as she and Hunter walked away.

Ripper watched as the two left, before glancing at Milo with a shrug. "Don't worry; she might work at the pub, but she's kept away from any alcoholic beverages, kekeke..."

Miser nodded, as she folded her arms. ...of course, there was that one time... but they don't need to know about that. she thought.

"...I guess I just find it unusual is all," Milo uttered.

"If everything goes to plan, the tournament should be ready in three days." King hummed, as he looked around. "That way, everyone who wants to sign up can do so, and still have time to train; giving us time to set this up!"

"Well then, we'd better spread the word as well," Boomer said, heading to leave as well.

"Alright!" both Newt and Natal called, as they stood up to follow Boomer out.

"...hey Cal?" Milo asked, stopping the monkey before he could leave. "Where's Captain Charmy?"

"Oh. He was looking for a phone to use," Cal answered. "...I think he wanted to call the Professor."

Milo and Striker looked at each other nervously.

"...you're worried that he'll tell the Professor about what's been going on here?" King hummed, before sighing.

"Kekekeke, or is there something else?" Ripper hummed, as he and Miser looked at Milo and Striker curiously.

Milo remained quiet.

"No, it's mainly just the reason King said," Striker replied, unaware of whether or not Milo had other reasons. "I mean, the Professor still doesn't know anything...like Jill being here, and Joy, and whatnot. I'm not sure how he's going to take the news."

"...well, I'm sure he'll be a little surprised, but that's only natural boys," Cal replied. "After that, I'm sure that the news will relieve him of worries he might have had for a few years...that is, if the Captain doesn't mention what's been happening around here..." and with that, Cal left the room.

...I don't think he'd mention all that other stuff... King thought, before he, Miser and Ripper began leaving too. "Hurry to the pub, you two; I'm sure Ani could whip something together for ya, if you're still hungry."

"Okay," Striker said, grabbing Milo and dragging him out the door.

"B-but...I don't want to be near alcohol!" Milo uttered.

"Relax, it's not like they're gonna make you drink the stuff," Striker grumbled; though the mention of that suddenly gave him a very cruel idea. After all, he still had to get back at Milo for embarrassing him like that. ...nah, I'll save that for another time, he thought mischievously as he and Milo left.

---

"...then what happened next?" Oblivion asked Jack with growing interest.

"Alright, so after Sonic beat up Eggman's mech, Dark Gaia erupted from the magma!" Jack said enthusiastically, wildly moving his arms about. "Eggman tried having it destroy Sonic and Chip, but then he got smacked right out of the center of the planet!"

"...incredible..." Charon hummed, as he looked at Jack with great intrigue.

"Then, the big bad Dark Gaia actually sucked out the werewolf-part of Sonic, and he began pushing the last piece of the earth back outwards!" Jack said, shuddering in excitement at the very thought of it.

Oblivion was truly amazed at the skills Jack had for story-telling; much less how he knew these stories about the famous Sonic the Hedgehog. She only listened more closely to the story... waiting to see what would happen next.

"Then, when Dark Gaia tried attacking them, Chip suddenly used his Light Gaia powers, and did something awesome!" Jack called.

"...awesome?" Charon hummed curiously. "What did he do?"

"You see, he summoned all seven of the Gaia Temples, along with the Chaos Emeralds... and he fused them together to create a gigantic golem!" Jack said, throwing his arms into the air.

Oblivion chuckled at how Jack seemed to love telling the story. "Go on," she urged.

"Then, Chip used the golem to punch Dark Gaia senseless, and Sonic stung all of the monster's eyes!" Jack said with a huge smile. "And then, Dark Gaia turned into Perfect Dark Gaia, sprouting a lot of arms and eyes to try and destroy Sonic and Chip!"

"...then what happened?" Charon uttered.

"Oh, I'll tell you..." Jack said with a giddy tone. "Sonic used the Chaos Emeralds to turn into Super Sonic, and he and Chip completely blasted Perfect Dark Gaia! BAM! BA-ZING! KAPOW!" Jack laughed, moving accordingly to emphasize the various sound effects he called.

Oblivion just laughed; but she was definitely amazed by what was happening in the story.

"And then, to finish it off, Sonic pierced Dark Gaia's main eye, and won the battle!" Jack said, pumping his hands into the air.

"...so the earth was put back together?" Charon mused.

"Yep; but Chip couldn't come along with Sonic. He had to throw Sonic out of the center of the earth, while Chip stayed behind to be sealed again." Jack hummed, before smiling. "But he left his necklace with Sonic as a memento; and the Professor still has it to this day!"

"That's amazing," Oblivion remarked.

"Isn't it?" Jack laughed. "Man, I'd give anything to try out one of those adventures with Sonic once..."

"...do you have time for another story?" Charon asked.

"Sure I do!" Jack said with a smile; just then, however, he heard what sounded like growling. Blinking, Jack looked down at his stomach. "...heh... I guess I'm kinda hungry..."

"...not a problem; I've still got some food left further in the cave." Charon nodded, before he began heading into the cave. "Just wait there, you two; I'll be right back."

Oblivion smiled when she watched Charon leave. It was so nice to see him interact with someone else, and get along so well with them.

"...so, do you know any stories?" Jack hummed, as he glanced at Oblivion. "It could be fun hearing one; and afterwards, Charon could tell a story!"

"…I'm not sure if I have any as exciting as the ones you have though," Oblivion replied, giggling.

"Aw, really? Too bad." Jack hummed, as he glanced towards where Charon had headed. "Well, I could tell another story, like..." Humming, Jack tapped his chin a few times, trying to think of a story he could tell.

Oblivion looked at him, waiting to see what he would come up with next. "Like…?"

After a while, Jack smiled. "...like when me and my friends first met the new Babylon Rogues, and the bounty hunter Lock the Sniper!"

"...I don't think I've heard of those before..." At that point, Charon came back with a large bag of food in his hands, which he placed between himself, Oblivion and Jack. "...so this should be interesting."

"WHOA!" Jack said in disbelief at the sight of the bag. "And there's just food in that? I don't think I could eat all of that, even with a week to do so!"

Jack continued to amuse Oblivion so. "…I believe I have heard of Lock the Sniper; he is a reputable bounty hunter," she said. "…as for these Babylon Rogues, I don't believe I know them."

"Well, they're two birds from Future City who are the grandchildren of Jet the Hawk, the former leader of the group!" Jack began, as he looked back at the two.

"...Jet... you mean the guy who cheated against Sonic in that Extreme Gear race you told us about?" Charon supposed.

"Yeah, him!" Jack nodded. "So, me and my friends went to Future City, and there, we met both Punk and Gale; the Babylon Rogues. They tried picking a fight with us, but then Lock showed up, and managed to scare them away just by standing there!"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Oblivion chuckled, and quieted to listen on.

"So, the reason we were in Future City was because we were going to register our Extreme Gears; mine was a Power Type, by the way... but as it turned out, Lock had an Extreme Gear, too!" Jack continued.

"...did he, now?" Charon hummed.

"Yeah!" Jack said with an enthusiastic nod. "You see, his rifle can be transformed into an Extreme Gear that can go forwards and backwards, and it can shoot energy balls from its exhaust pipes!"

Oblivion didn't know that, and she looked at Jack in astonishment.

"...this Lock certainly seems like an interesting character." Charon mused.

"I know, right?" Jack laughed. "So, anyway, we all went to the Extreme Gear tracks, and since me, Brick and Lock had Power-types, we went there! And there we blasted our way right through boulders and barrels, plowing and shooting down anything in our way!" As he spoke, he began moving his arms wildly about again.

"…Brick?" Oblivion remembered reading that name on Raider's computers awhile ago. She had only ever gotten the glance at the name though…which was why she wanted to know who he was. "…who's he?"

"Oh..." Humming, Jack scratched the back of his head. "...he was a really good friend, and he was the one who designed all of our Extreme Gears... but he died a few years ago."

Hearing that, Charon let out a small growl. "...I'm... sorry to hear that." he muttered.

"...that's alright; he wouldn't want us to be sad about it forever." Jack said, smiling a little.

After he said that, Charon simply looked at the lion.

"…this Brick," Oblivion wondered if it was a bad idea to ask, but she knew it would bug her if she didn't. "…what relationship did he have with Jill?"

"...him and Jill..." Jack hummed, looking up at the ceiling. "...they were really close; you know, close-close?" he said, placing his hands together to emphasize his point.

"...they were a couple?" Charon hummed.

"…a couple…" Remembering that Jack said Brick had died, Oblivion only felt so much more sorry for Jill…

"...hey, like I said; he wouldn't want us to be sad about it." Jack said, as he looked up at the ceiling again. "Some times, I do wonder if he's watching us from up there..."

"...I hope he does." Charon nodded, as he looked up at the ceiling as well. "He sounds like... a nice person."

"…this might be a personal question," Oblivion said, looking at Jack, "…but this Brick…would he happen to be Joy's father?" If Jill and Brick were a couple, then Oblivion would figure as much without the need for explanation.

Jack blinked, before he nodded. "...yeah... he is." Jack nodded. "...but how did you know about Joy? Do you know Jill, too?"

"…a little," now Oblivion grew nervous. She hoped that Jack wouldn't ask questions like that.

"...it's weird, really; Jill never did mention you, Oblivion... then again, I just got here yesterday, so-" Jack began, when something hit him; something he hadn't thought about before. "...hang on... Jill couldn't remember anything during what had happened 3 days ago... and you can erase

memories!"

Oblivion gasped and covered her mouth. She didn't expect Jack to figure it out like that at all...

Perhaps this man child wasn't as naive as one would think.

"...but... why would you erase her memories, Oblivion?" Jack uttered, as he crawled a bit closer to the unicorn. "Did you get mad at her?"

"I...I wasn't mad," Oblivion answered. "...I did it...mostly because I couldn't let her remember the horrible things that Diablo and Raider did to her..." then she turned to Charon nervously. "That, and...I had to keep Charon safe..."

"...she saw Charon?" Jack hummed, as he glanced at the black dragon, who simply looked back at Oblivion. "...and... what horrible things did they-"

"That doesn't matter now. What matters is..." Charon shot in, closing his eyes. "...that Jill's safe now."

Oblivion was silent, pretty guilty about the whole thing again. The only thing she could say was, "...I didn't mean to interrupt your story, Jack...sorry."

"...no, don't be sorry." Jack said with a smile. "I'm just glad that you didn't erase her memories to be mean."

Hearing him say that, Charon chuckled. "...you're really interesting, Jack." he mused.

"...thanks." Jack laughed. "...oh, yeah, the story! So, we were racing, and we came upon a fork in the road..."

---

"A tournament?" Jill asked.

"Yep," Striker said, beaming. "King said that everybody might be stressed out about what's going on, so he's setting up a tournament for everybody to participate in!"

"...that sounds interesting." Metal hummed, as he looked at Striker curiously. "When will this tournament start?"

"King said if everything works out, it'll happen in 3 days. That'll give everyone a chance to train and brush up on their skills for it," Striker said eagerly.

"...three days..." Jill really started to think about that for a minute. She was starting to think if she would be recovered by then...chances were that she probably wouldn't...

...and yet, she wanted to challenge that idea.

So she placed a hand on the wall and started getting up. "...do you think I could try for it?"

Striker looked at Jill in disbelief. "...Jill?"

Blinking, Metal glanced at Jill. "...are you sure, Jill? You're still suffering from your wounds..."

"I need to start moving around again; it'll help build up my strength," Jill said. Then she winced and sat back down on her bed.

"...I don't know Jill, you still might need rest," Striker murmured.

Jill grit her teeth. She wanted to do this. She didn't want to be stuck in a bed for much longer; she was so used to being so busy that she was restless and she wouldn't be able to stand being bedridden. So she stood back up. "I'll be fine, I promise," she said.

Looking at Jill, Metal had a concerned, yet understanding expression on his face, regarding a nod to the ewe. "...just don't strain yourself too much, Jill." he said with a slight smile.

"...okay then," Striker said, though he still was in doubt about Jill's health. "I got stuff to do, so I'll gonna leave if that's okay." When he came to the door, it opened before he even touched it, and in walked Snap. "Oh, hi Snap!" Striker said with a smile. "Nice to see you moving around."

"Yeah, thanks," Snap answered, but suddenly twitched with a spark jolting from his head.

"...uh...are you okay?" Striker uttered.

"I'm fine...just a side-" Snap twitched again, "-effect is all."

Metal glanced at Striker, blinking a few times. "...seems like quite the side-effect..." he hummed.

"Uh..." Striker scratched sheepishly. "I guess I'm still trying to fix him...maybe...sorta."

"It's really nothing Striker," Snap said, and then he twitched again. "Other than this I'm just-" twitched once more, and afterward the robot actually looked like he was in some pain. "...ow."

Striker sighed.

"...looks like he still needs some repairs..." Metal mused.

"...c'mon Snap," he moaned, walking out the door.

"...mind if I come along?" Jill asked. "You know...stretch my legs a bit?"

"...I guess," Striker said, looking worriedly at Jill.

"...would you mind if I came along with you?" Metal hummed, glancing at Jill.

"I wouldn't mind," Jill replied, smiling at Metal.

Smiling back, Metal gave her a nod. "Let's go, then."

The four went out the door, and Striker mainly took Snap back to the kitchen to work on him, so Jill and Metal strayed away and went topside to town. Jill took it slow, but found that she was able to walk on her own this time. Whether or not it was how determined she was, or if she really was getting better, she didn't know. She just found it relieving.

"Well, if it isn't Jill and Metal!" At that point, the two of them noticed two others approaching them; namely, Sonia and Wiper, the former waving at Jill. "Hey, how are you doing? I haven't gotten the chance to talk to you yet, Jill!" Sonia called.

Jill smiled. "...I feel better, thanks," she said. "How're you guys?"

Both of the snakes reeled back in surprise once they heard Jill speak. "...did... you just talk, Jill?" Wiper uttered, whilst Sonia could only gawk at her.

"...that, she did." Metal nodded, as he folded his arms.

Jill rubbed her arms. "...I guess you guys didn't catch the news that I could talk..."

"...holy crap..." Sonia uttered. "...this isn't a dream... you're actually talking..." In that instant, Sonia suddenly let out a squee, rushing at Jill to give her a hug. "That's awesome, Jill! Congrats, congrats, congrats!"

"...looks like someone's happy for her." Metal chuckled.

"I'll say." Wiper mused with a slight smile, hissing.

Jill chuckled a little, hugging her back. "Thanks Sonia."

"...so, that's what you sound like!" Sonia said, as she let go of Jill, looking down at her. "Man, I couldn't have imagined... whenever you and Joy show up around the Music Square from now on is bound to be interesting!"

"...right," Jill said, chuckling some more in embarrassment. She wasn't sure if Sonia meant singing, but Jill wasn't even sure how she would sound trying to sing. She hadn't done that in...well, 5 years.

"...now, I'm curious; what brings you two outside?" Wiper hummed, as he glanced at Jill and Metal, folding his arms.

"I wanted to move around a bit, after being stuck in a bed for a few days," Jill said. "I also heard Striker talk about a tournament King's setting up."

"...he's setting up a tournament?" Sonia hummed.

"Yes; it'll begin in three days, if I'm not mistaken." Metal responded, as he folded his arms.

"...hm... that's just what I'd expect King to do..." Wiper chuckled.

"Well, he's hoping it'll take everyone's mind off of what seems to be going on," Jill said.

"WHAO!"

Jill turned quickly, seeing that a trio of Mobian dog brothers had passed by, and stopped to stare at Jill.

"...I thought you didn't have a voice!" Duke uttered.

"...well, obviously, she has one." Wiper noted dryly, as he folded his arms.

"But... the rumors said that she was mute!" a different dog noted.

"Guess the rumors were just rumors, then." Metal hummed.

"...whoa..." Butch muttered. After staring at Jill for a bit longer, the three brothers grabbed each other and took off.

Jill looked nervous. "...I really hope me having my voice back isn't going to be the talk of the island."

"...let's hope that's the case..." Metal muttered.

"...somehow, I think people are gonna talk more about the upcoming tournament than Jill's voice coming back..." Sonia hummed, before she glanced at Jill. "No offense, but... you know how the soldiers are."

"Yeah, I understand," Jill said, smiling. "...kind of relieving, really."

"...well, I know what I'm gonna do in the coming days!" Sonia said, as she clenched her hands together. "I've got to train for the tournament!"

"...hrm..." Humming, Wiper looked at Jill. "...do you plan to recover in time for the tournament?"

Jill nodded. "Yeah. I want to be a part of it too."

"...then, how about all four of us aim for the top?" Sonia suggested, folding her arms. "It should be interesting, all right!"

"...hm." Nodding, Metal folded his arms. "...I suppose I could join in on the tournament as well."

"Same here." Wiper nodded.

Jill smiled. She liked the idea of that. "...I guess it's been a long time since we sparred, hasn't it, Metal?" she mused.

"...it certainly has." Metal chuckled, as he glanced back at Jill.

That brought memories back to Jill, and she smiled. Though there was no time for reminiscing really, since Jill was the kind to get lost in thoughts like that. "...did anyone happen to see where Lock and Joy went?" Jill asked, changing subjects.

"...I did notice them headed towards the docks." Sonia hummed, folding her arms. "Maybe they were looking for someone there?"

"...maybe we'll head over there," Jill said. After all, she still didn't want to be separated from Joy for long periods of time. It just wasn't a good idea. "...is that okay with you, Metal?" she asked.

"...sure; that's alright." Metal nodded.

Jill and Metal started walking away, with Jill waving at Wiper and Sonia. "See you guys later!"

"Later, Jill, Metal!" Sonia called, as she and Wiper waved after them.

Around this time, Lock and Joy were at the docks by now, boarding onto the large pirate ship that had been parked there. Lock carried Joy across the deck and then inside the ship.

"Jack!" Joy called through cupped hands, hoping her voice would be loud enough to be heard.

"...is Jack here?" At that point, Tails Doll suddenly fluttered towards the two of them, stopping in front of them. "Hiya, Joy and Lock! Did you see Jack anywhere?"

"...actually, we're here to look for him."

"Well, sorry t' disappoint, but he ain't here." At that point, Whisker approached the group as well, rubbing the back of his head.

"Aw...Jack's not here?" Joy asked in disappointment.

"I thought that he was with you guys by now?" Tails Doll hummed.

"No; he's been missing since I showed up earlier today." Lock mused.

Joy tried to reach over and managed to grab Tails Doll to cuddle him. "...but where's Jack?" she asked.

"...we... dasn't know." Whisker muttered, as he sighed.

"...hmph..." Lock hummed, as he glanced at the robot pirate. "...by the way, we need a band-aid. Can we find one on the ship?"

"Aye; jus' follow me." Whisker nodded, before he began heading down the hall. Placing a hand on Joy's back, Lock led her and Tails Doll after the pirate. Joy went obediently, fondly squeezing Tails Doll a bit against her little cheek.

After a while, the group reached the ship's infirmary, which Whisker allowed the others to enter; he stood outside. "Ye`ll find band-aids in th' desk-drawer." he said, folding his arms.

"...thanks." Lock hummed, picking up Joy and seating her on the medical bed. Then he went to open the said drawer Whisker mentioned. Joy placed Tails Doll on the side of the bed so that when Lock found what he needed, he could tend to her without Tails Doll being in the way. "...let's see, here..." Humming, Lock took out a few things from the drawer in addition to band-aids; disinfectant and cotton. Carefully administering some of the disinfectant onto the cotton, Lock went to unwrap the piece of cloth around her arm. "...this might sting a little, Joy." he said, before he carefully began cleaning the wound.

Joy let out a surprised yelp because it, indeed, stung bitterly for the 3 year old, and she bit her lip to get through the pain.

Lock just made sure not to apply too much pressure on Joy's arm so she wouldn't feel more pain than necessary. "...Tails Doll, could you bring a band-aid here?" he asked.

Nodding, the small plushie hurried over to the desk for the band-aid Lock had taken out of the box, and fluttering back, Tails Doll noticed that Lock had finished cleaning Joy's wound. "...that was quick."

"...now the wound won't get worse." Lock mused, sticking the band-aid over Joy's wound. "...and there; it's done."

Joy smiled when it was over, "All better!" And she put her arms around Tails Doll again lovingly. "Thankies again, Lock!"

"...don't mention it." Lock hummed, tipping his hat to Joy.

"...but it's kinda weird that Jack just vanished like that..." Tails Doll muttered.

Joy's mind reset to the issue at hand at what Tails Doll said. "I hope he's okay."

"...I'm sure he's fine." Lock said reassuringly, rubbing Joy's head. "Don't worry about him too much."

"Mkay..." Joy mumbled, hugging to Tails Doll some more.

"...now, how about we head back?" Lock suggested. "With any luck, Jack should have gotten back by now."

"Yeah!" Joy said, hopping off the medical bed and hurrying outside past Whisker. Upon reaching the deck, Joy screeched to a stop and saw two familiar figures walk up to the dock. A big smile appeared on her face as she waved. "Hi Mama! Hi Metoh!"

Walking up behind her, Lock and Whisker saw the two approach the docks as well. "...well, what do you know." Lock hummed.

"...there they are." Metal mused, glancing towards the pirate ship with a slight wave back to Joy.

"Lookie Mama! Itsa big piwate ship!" Joy exclaimed loudly.

Jill giggled. Joy quickly disembarked the ship and rushed to Jill. When her mother knelt down to her, Joy threw her arms around Jill, releasing Tails Doll to hug her. "Is that Captain Whisker's pirate ship?" Jill asked her, hoisting Joy up.

"Uh-huh!" Joy said, beaming. "Strikoh taked me there and we had lotsa fun playing piwate!"

Jill giggled some more.

"Nice to see you guys outside!" Tails Doll chimed in, fluttering up into the air. "What's up?"

"We heard that Joy and Lock had headed to the docks, and decided to swing on by." Metal replied with a slight nod.

With a mild nod, Lock leaped off the ship as well, casually approaching the small group.

"Strikoh also telled us a story about Sonic the Hedgehog!" Joy said, and she turned to Metal smiling. "Then he telled me that Sonic was Metoh's Grampa!"

Jill was utterly baffled when she heard Joy say that. While a Sonic story was no problem with Jill, the fact that Striker said Sonic was Metal's grandfather was a bit of a twist that took her by surprise for sure.

Lock blinked, as he glanced over at Metal, who seemed even more baffled than Jill; for good reason, mind you...

"...Joy, what story about Sonic did Striker tell you?" Jill wanted to know because she hoped that Striker didn't give a reason to question why Sonic looked like Metal, or really the other way around honestly.

"Oh yeah! It's the one about Shadoh and the Space ARK place!" Joy replied eagerly. "This big bad lizard was gonna break the Earth and they turned all gold and silver to beat it! But Shadoh fell to the Earth and then was picked up by-" Joy covered her mouth to stop herself.

"...Joy?" Jill murmured worriedly.

Joy looked back at Metal again, almost afraid of his reaction would be to this.

Metal could only look down at Joy in surprise. ...how on... he thought. ...the only ones who should know who picked Shadow up after he stopped the ARK are me, Shadow and Eggman... so how on earth could Joy know that?

"...nevoh mind," the 3 year old uttered.

"You sure?" Jill questioned, not really aware of what was going on.

"...m-hm," Joy nodded, though she still kept looking at Metal uneasily.

Metal, too, couldn't help but look down at Joy for a while, before directing his gaze away from her. Joy grew a little worried; she just hoped that she didn't hurt Metal's feelings or anything.

"So what brought you guys to the docks?" Jill asked.

"We went here to look for Jack, thinking that he had wandered off here." Lock replied, folding his arms.

"...but you didn't find him?" Metal inquired, looking at the bounty hunter.

"No; he hasn't been here all day." Tails Doll noted.

"…that doesn't sound good," Jill murmured, setting Joy back down on the ground.

"He wasn't anywhere near the facility when we left, either..." Metal hummed, as he folded his arms. "...just where did that lion wander off to, now?"

"...you guys don't think that Jack was kidnapped?" Tails Doll uttered worriedly.

"I sincerely doubt that." Lock shot in. "He should be able to handle himself. He is over 20 years old, after all."

Joy remembered what happened yesterday; where Jack was faring just fine against Diablo. "…Jack's gotta be okay," she murmured in agreement.

Jill rubbed Joy's head. She, herself, was a little worried over Jack, but she hid it well.

"...well, perhaps we should head back, now?" Lock suggested.

"Perhaps." Metal nodded. "I'm sure that King's busy planning for that tournament..."

"Tournament?" Tails Doll hummed, looking curiously at Jill and Metal.

"Yeah, King's setting up a battle tournament in 3 days," Jill remarked.

"Whatsa 'battle tournament'?" Joy asked.

"It's where people go up in front of a lot of other people and they fight for fun."

"Oh, I get it!" Joy exclaimed.

"Ooh, that sounds interesting..." Tails Doll hummed, looking at the two. "Do you plan on joining?"

"...yeah." Metal nodded.

Jill took Joy's hand. "You hungry?" she asked her daughter, and Joy nodded in reply.

---

Tasha was walking through the jungle on her own. After having consulted with her father, she managed to convince him to let her stay on Safe Haven territory; for the sake of the injured being cared for there. She wasn't sure if her father suspected what happened between her and King last night, but she decided not to worry about it. After all, it would deter her from remaining on guard, in case anything wanted to ambush her.

With her spear firmly in hand, she walked on, keeping her eye out.

As she walked, however, she failed to notice one character who walked into her path, which caused the two of them to collide, both of them crashing to the ground. "...sorry about that." the stranger uttered.

"...that's alright," Tasha said, getting up. Then she quickly noticed the stranger's eyes. He was blind. "...oh, I'm sorry sir."

"...about what?" he inquired, as he got up on his feet as well. "The way I see it, I bumped into you. So the fault is mine."

"...I just noticed you were blind, is all," Tasha replied.

"...ah." the stranger hummed. "Still, there's no need to apologize." he said with a nod. "...I believe we haven't met, before. Call me Krieg."

"I'm Tasha," She replied with a polite bow of her head.

"...Tasha... I'll keep that in mind." Krieg hummed, as he folded his arms. "Your voice is new to me. Are you one of the new recruits?"

"Not really. I'm just a friend of Twi...erm, King's," Tasha answered. "I'm from the tribal colonies on this island..."

"...tribal colonies..." Krieg hummed. "...haven't heard that one before." he mused after a short while.

"...so you don't know?" Tasha chuckled a little. "I guess not. We live in places on the island where King forbids the soldiers from going to..."

"...hm. So that's the reason..." Krieg hummed, before nodding. "...very interesting..."

Tasha just realized that this stranger was in the jungle. While he was blind as a contributing reason, she wondered, "What are you up to?"

"...wandering." Krieg responded with a simple nod. "Some times, one needs to take a moment from ones line of work, just to admire the wonders of nature."

"...I admire that," Tasha said, "but I must warn you that if you keep continuing forward, you might encounter my father and his people; and they aren't very forgiving of the soldiers of Safe Haven as I am..."

"...hm." Krieg hummed. "No offense to your people, but I assume that they are quite old-fashioned?"

"...somewhat," Tasha admitted.

"I see..." Krieg nodded. "...well, if that is the case, perhaps I should turn back; I wouldn't want to send your people into an uproar."

"I appreciate that, thank you," Tasha said with another bow of her head. "Incidentally, I happen to be going the other way, so would you mind if I accompanied you?"

"...not at all." Krieg nodded. "It would actually be somewhat convenient, given my condition." he chuckled, as he turned around. "Shall we?"

"Of course," Tasha said with a nod, and she started walking with Krieg beside her.

Whilst they walked, Krieg would sporadically look around him; his blindness aside, he seemed content with just listening to the sounds around them. Tasha didn't want to interrupt Krieg's enjoyment of his surroundings and she remained silent for the moment.

"...you said you were friends with King?" Krieg hummed after a while.

"Yes, that's right," Tasha answered.

"...does that mean that you know about King's other friends as well?" Krieg hummed curiously.

That question only reminded her of the tragic things that Sage showed her about him and his friends. "...yes," she muttered.

"I see..." Krieg hummed. "...stop me if I'm becoming too personal, but how long have you known King?"

"For a few years, maybe four," she replied.

"...hm." Krieg hummed. "...how did that go, exactly? Your first meeting, I mean."

"Well..." Tasha smiled a bit at how they first met. "...it was back when King and his group first came here to turn the island into what it is today..."

"Geez...this jungle is huge!" Ani exclaimed, while following her dad and his friends through the wilderness of old Prison Island. Ani was 11 years old at this time, and while she remained short, it was noticeable the transition she was making from child to girl.

"You're telling me..." Queen hummed, looking cautiously around the area. "Everyone, remember to stay in one group."

"Kekekeke, like we would forget that, Queen!" Ripper laughed, as he was with King in the front, using his blade-arms to cut a way for the group to walk through.

"It doesn't hurt to be careful, though..." Miser shot in, looking around as well.

"This place sure is amazing..." Hunter murmured to himself, pulling his daughter along with the rest of them.

King was silent, as he just made sure to keep an eye on the path Ripper was cutting for them.

"...you've been quiet for a while, now, King." Sage hummed, before chuckling. "Having second thoughts?"

"Of course not." King replied, before smiling. "I'm just thinking of how we're gonna set Safe Haven up. You oughta know that, Sa-YEOW!" A small monkey managed to sneak up on the group, having grabbed King's tail and bitten it, something which startled the group; King moreso.

"...huh. There's a monkey." Queen noted dryly.

"I KNOW IT'S A MONKEY; IT JUST BIT MY TAIL!" King roared, something that startled the monkey enough to make it flee. "WHA- GET BACK HERE! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY!" Before the group could stop him, King bolted after the monkey, leaving the others behind.

"...keke... should we follow him?" Ripper uttered, looking back at the group.

"...nah, he'll be fine," Hunter grumbled. "He's King, remember?"

"Besides, who among us really wants to get in his way when he's pissed off like that?" Queen said with the same dry tone, and got complete and utter silence as her reply. "...I thought so. We'll just meet him again when we go back to our camp."

Meanwhile, King still ran after the monkey, electricity crackling off his body. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, YOU TAIL-BITER! I'LL SHOW YOU NOT TO MESS WITH ME!" he roared.

Unknown to King, something rapidly trailed after him through the treetops swiftly and silently.

Whether it was his electric powers or just the undiluted rage he exuded, King was soon able to not only catch up to the monkey, but nearly out-running it altogether. He finally remembered to actually grab it when he overtook it, and once he had the tiny simian in his grasp, King skidded to a massive halt, bringing up the monkey to his eyes so he could properly glare at it.

"NOW, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?"

All the monkey could answer with was a frightened yelp.

Abruptly, a figure swooped down from the treetops above King, kicking him fiercely away to free the wild animal from his grasp.

The kick knocked him out of his enraged state, as he blinked wildly. "...the hell?" he uttered, looking around him. "Who's there?" he called.

King was met with the edge of a knife; or once he observed farther up, it was a spear. It was some strange being with a shawl made out of ragged grass, and they had an ugly face. Ironically enough, the face resembled a monkey. Sadly, that irony wouldn't help his would-be attacker.

"MONKEY!" he roared, grabbing hold of the blade, and driving electricity through the blade; while not fatal, it would be enough to force the attacker to let go. The monkey being dropped the spear like a hot potato, suddenly backing away uneasily at the sight of King wielding such a supernatural force of electricity.

Then it decided to stay its ground, and even run forth with another kick. This time, however, when the attacker tried kicking King, he quickly grabbed the incoming leg. "MONKEY!" he roared again, before hurling the attacker right towards a tree.

The being became limp upon hitting the tree. That monkey face popped right off and rolled onto the ground; showing that it wasn't a real face at all, but only a mask. Moaning and wincing, what sounded like a woman tried to get up but found that the pain forbade her to get up. She looked up at King, and that's when King got a good look at the pretty face that had been underneath that monkey mask. This woman was a linx with short ginger hair, and long ears. Frightened blue eyes stared at him shakily.

Would this stranger finish her right here?

However, rather than finishing her, King only managed to utter two words in panic. "...oh, shit!" The moment he said those words, he quickly rushed to the linx's side, kneeling by her. "Damn- sorry, I thought you were a monkey, of all things..." Then, he grabbed hold of her, trying to help her get on her feet.

The linx was so startled by King's change of heart that when she was on her feet with his help, she backed away from him uneasily again.

"...um..." Seeing that, King rubbed the back of his neck. "...sorry about that; I wouldn't have thought of throwing ya into a tree, if not for that mask... so, again, sorry." Then, he tilted his head. "...you sure that you can walk on your own?"

This linx only kept her eyes locked on King warily. Another step and she let out a pained cry, falling back on her knees to clutch to her ankle.

"Ah, I thought so." King muttered, as he went to the lynx's side again, helping her on her feet again, though making sure that she wouldn't be putting pressure on her ankle. "Hrm... it's gotta be sprained." he muttered, whilst looking around. Great... I'm no good with those kinda injuries; I can only treat cuts, not sprained ankles... he thought.

The linx stared at him still, but she was softening when she was finally believing that this stranger wasn't going to hurt her. "...what are you?" she finally spoke. "You, who can wield the lightning from the skies?"

"...hm?" King blinked, as he glanced at the lynx. "...what I am?" he hummed, before glancing at his free hand, which he allowed a spark of electricity to shoot out from. "...I'm Twilight." he said after a while; rarely did he use the name GUN branded him with all those years ago, but somehow, he wasn't sure if he should utter what he and his partners considered his true name.

The linx was slow to respond. "...Twilight..." Would she give this stranger her name? It would only be polite... "...my name is Tasha," she muttered.

"...Tasha..." King hummed, before eventually nodding. "...nice name." he said.

"...why were you attacking my friend?" she asked him.

"...your friend?" King uttered, when he suddenly recalled that monkey again. "...oh, right... well, he bit my tail, and I... overreacted." he said with a slightly nervous chuckle.

"...overreaction is certainly a way of putting it," Tasha mumbled. "You gave me the impression that you would do fatal harm to him."

"...well, I wouldn't harm the little guy..." King muttered, rubbing the ack of his neck. ...though I would've yelled at him a lot... he thought, choosing not to utter that sentence.

Tasha just kept wondering how King was able to summon lightning to his will. "...surely, you must be some type of god?" she asked him.

"Wha- god?" King uttered in surprise, looking at Tasha with a bewildered expression.

"To bring forth lightning in your very palms, you must be a god...right?" Tasha supposed.

King simply looked at Tasha with a baffled expression, before he looked back at his hands. "...I wouldn't consider myself a god, really..." he mused.

This stranger was a very curious sort to Tasha. He didn't consider himself a god, even though he had unnatural powers? "...just where have you come from, to make you think that?" she asked.

"...I-" King began, when he heard something not too far from them. ...who the...

"King!" At that point, a few trees were suddenly sliced to ribbons, as the group led by Ripper finally caught up with him. "Kekeke, there you-" the mantis began, when he noticed Tasha. "...are?"

Tasha looked at each of them the same way she looked at King the first time. Ripper's scythes were a bit intimidating, so she sort of moved behind King to hide from him. The others were less of a scary sight; especially when 11 year old Ani walked into Tasha's view.

"...who's this?" Hunter asked curiously, regarding a nod to Tasha.

"Oh, this?" King hummed, as he gave Tasha a slight nod. "This is Tasha."

"...Tasha..." Miser hummed, when she noticed that King was helping her stand. "...is she hurt?"

"...she kinda sprained her ankle..." King muttered, as he glanced away from the group.

"She got in the way of your rampage?" Queen assumed, folding her arms.

"...She got in the way of my rampage." King admitted guiltily, looking down at the ground.

"Thought so." Queen sighed, before giving the group a nod. "We should head back to the camp, so we can fix up her ankle."

Tasha continued to look at all of them, and her gaze returned to King. "...why do they call you King, Twilight?" she asked him.

King blinked, as he looked back at Tasha again. "...um, that's because..."

...he told her that name? Queen thought in surprise, before shaking her head. "...it's a nickname." she lied. "We call him that because he leads us, like a king."

Everyone in the group simply looked at Queen in surprise.

Ani wanted to oppose "...but that's not-" Hunter covered her mouth up then, implying for her to hush. Tasha didn't seem to pay any mind to what Ani was going to say...

"So they took me to their camp," Tasha continued telling Krieg. "And they tended to my ankle while I got to know them a little bit." She chuckled. "...I still feel a little embarrassed at how naive I was, thinking they were gods..."

"...intriguing." Krieg hummed, nodding. "It's certainly a lot more interesting than any story I could hope to tell you." he chuckled.

"...unfortunately, I stayed at that camp longer than I should have," Tasha said. "And this summoned search parties my father and some of my other people sent. There was misunderstanding and...well, it took a long time before we convinced my people that King and his group hadn't kidnapped me..."

"...but you did convince them after a while, didn't you?" Krieg supposed, turning his head towards Tasha.

"Yes," Tasha nodded. "...but then my father learned that King wished to use this island and turn it into a warrior nation. My father accused him of coming to take away our home...and needless to say, more warring ensued..." Tasha didn't even want to get into it. It was hard enough that she had to go through that when she just wanted to know them more and be friends, especially when she found that she had grown closer and closer to King in that time.

"...hm." Krieg hummed, before turning his head forward again. "...but the warrior nation stands today, so they must have come to an agreement."

"...yes. My father and King created a form of treaty," Tasha explained. "King would only take certain territories of the island for Safe Haven; and the other territories would belong to us. The treaty also stated that we were not allowed to cross into each other's territories unless there was urgent business that meant otherwise. Lately, activity has stirred among Safe Haven...not to mention some of those explosives around the island harmed some of my people a few days ago, so it would explain how freely I've been allowed to wander on this island."

"...wait a minute..." Krieg hummed, as he tapped his chin in thought. "...does that mean that after the treaty was formed... you didn't get to see King and his comrades again until recently?"

"...that's right," Tasha murmured, not wanting to be reminded of that. It was hard knowing that King was on the island but she couldn't see him for a few years.

"...pity, I suppose..." Krieg hummed, before he sighed. "...well, with all the chaos dying out for now, you should at least be able to catch up with each other." he said. "...some times, you need to look at the positive side of things..." he eventually muttered, turning his head away from Tasha.

"...yeah," Tasha answered, taking what he said to heart.

"...when your people have recovered..." Krieg hummed, holding his arms behind his back. "...what do you think you'll do?"

Tasha knew it would be awhile before everyone healed up, but like Krieg pointed out, they would all return to their home and go back to being forbidden on Safe Haven territory. "...I don't know," she uttered sadly.

"...I'm certain you'll figure it out." Krieg said, placing a hand on her shoulder after a while. "For now... enjoy the time you have with King and his friends."

"...right."

---

The sun was beginning to sink down under the horizon, and evening approached rapidly. By the foot of the mountain, where no one currently was hiding, a black figure slowly descended from above, landing on the ground, letting someone step off his back. "Thanks for the ride, Charon!" Jack said with a smile, looking back at the black dragon and the unicorn on his back.

"...hey, I couldn't let Spiel figure out that you were on the mountain." Charon chuckled.

"Make sure and be careful on your way back, Jack," Oblivion said. "And thank you for the stories. We enjoyed listening to them very much."

"I'll be careful!" Jack said with a nod. "And don't worry; I've got a lot more to tell! I'll be back tomorrow!"

"Someone's eager..." Charon chuckled. "...but you don't have to come."

"Too bad; I'm coming anyway!" Jack laughed, as he began heading off. "See you later!"

Charon blinked, before chuckling. "...he's an unique one." he mused, before taking to the air again, flying up the mountain.

"...he certainly is," Oblivion giggled. "...but it was very nice to have him over." She looked to the skies. "...it was comforting

"...comforting..." Charon hummed, as he glanced at one of his hands; the one he had used to form the pinky-swear with Jack. "...I look forward to tomorrow." he said with a smile. "I... want to hear more of his stories."

Oblivion smiled and patted Charon's back that she was riding upon. "I do too," she said.

It took Jack awhile; approximately a few hours, but he finally made it to civilization. The first he ran into was Hunter, who was actually ready to set out to search the island for the same lion that so happened to be walking up to him. "Oh, Jack, there you are," he said. "You've been gone all day. Where were you?"

"Who, me?" Jack hummed, as he glanced around him, before looking back at Hunter. "I went exploring!" he said with an innocent smile.

"...heh, figured as much," Hunter chuckled, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder and taking him toward town. "C'mon. Striker and Milo have been looking for you, and I'm sure that you're hungry after all."

Blinking, Jack placed a hand on his stomach, before nodding. "...yeah, I am kinda hungry." he nodded.

The two reached the pub, and entered inside. Jack found that this place had a lot of customers tonight, a good portion of them conversing amongst themselves and laughing; having a good time. Others just drank silently to themselves, looking around thoughtfully. No bad spirits seemed to linger here. Ani was busy behind the counters, concocting drinks and making dinner dishes.

"Found him," Hunter said, seating Jack on one of the stools at the counter.

Ani spun around and smiled. "Oh, hi Jack! Hungry?"

"A bit, yeah!" Jack nodded. "What can I pick from?"

"There's a lot, but I'd recommend a steak or a burger," Ani said with a grin. "They're the bomb!"

"Ooh, that sounds good!" Jack laughed, before nodding. "Alright; I'll have a burger, please!"

"Comin' right up!" Ani exclaimed, spinning around and returning to her duties. With a small smile, Jack eagerly awaited his order to come along.

"Hey, what are you, 3?" a random man asked Jack sitting next to him. "Quit jumping up at down in your seat for crying out loud..." This guy was a gazelle with big horns, and he looked pretty tough.

Jack blinked, as he looked at the gazelle. "...is something wrong?" he asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Yeah, you're acting like a little kid and its annoying," the gazelle grumbled. "So shape up."

"...well, no need to be so grouchy about it." Jack replied, looking back at the counter. "...not like anyone's commenting on you being irritable..." he murmured under his breath.

"What was that?" The gazelle questioned him quickly.

"...what was what?" Jack uttered cluelessly, glancing back at the gazelle.

The gazelle just looked at Jack. Eventually, he broke into laughter. "So, you act like a kid but you have the nerve to talk about me behind my back?" he chuckled. "What? You got something to say but you're too scared to say it?"

"I really have no idea what you're talking about." Jack said with a mild shrug. "So do you please think you can shut up and mind your own business? You're being annoying."

Ani shook a little hearing Jack say that. That wasn't like him at all.

"Oh really? ME, being annoying?" the gazelle laughed again. "You're the one who looks like he's sittin on the swing set waiting for his mommy!"

...uh-oh, Ani thought suddenly, realizing that what happened last time was triggered when that guy said something about Jack's mom.

"...do you have a problem with that?" Jack uttered, as his tone suddenly became a lot darker. "Go on; say what you really feel, already."

"...Hank, I think you'd better watch what you say," Ani uttered.

"Aw, shut your pie-hole, Ani," the gazelle called Hank said. Then he presumed to egg on Jack's nerves, "Grow up boy and act your own age! Your mommy's not going to be around forever! And she sure as hell ain't here right now to make me stop, so there."

"...you know, her not being here right now is a good thing." Jack uttered, before grinning. "Because if she were... she'd scold me for doing this."

Then, as he turned away from Hank, he "accidentally" kicked out the leg of the stool the gazelle sat on, causing him to fall right on the floor.

"Oops." Jack uttered in a mock-innocent tone.

Hank jumped right back up on his feet in a fury, causing all the commotion in the bar to halt and direct attention right at the two of them. "A wise guy too, huh?" Hank snarled. "Fine!" Being the stupid one, he clenched up a fist to throw at Jack's face. Jack, however, calmly tilted his head so that the fist passed right by him.

"...now that's not nice." he chuckled, grabbing hold of Hank's arm. "And neither is this." Then, he simply chucked Hank right onto a nearby table, with relatively little effort.

Hank broke the table with his weight, ruining drinks and dinner for two other guys, and the moment Hank got up, the other two growled at Jack. Then they ran at him.

"'scuse me!" Jack laughed, as the moment the three got to him, he quickly planted his hands on their shoulders, vaulting himself over them so he landed behind them, before turning to face them. "...too easy." he chuckled.

"C'mere punk!" one of the dudes yelled, reaching to grab him.

However, as he tried grabbing him, Jack quickly grabbed hold of that arm, shooting his attacker a wicked grin. "...amateur." he chuckled, before swinging him right at Hank and the other one.

That knocked the three of them over the counter, and Ani ducked just in time for them to crash into the glass shelves of the different liquors and alcohols on there. It also had knocked over other drinks on the counters and made more customers mad. While Hank and the two dudes recovered and hopped over the bar counter, another customer grabbed one of the dudes and socked him in the face on his backside.

More people wanted to join the fight, rushing at either Hank and the guys or Jack.

"BARFIGHT!" called out a voice in the bar.

"Now THAT'S more like it!" Jack laughed, quickly elbowing one customer who tried attacking him in the gut.

Ani equipped a helmet on her head for safety. While she thought these barfights were always fun, the fact that Jack started it was very unsettling. Something was wrong with him...

The doors toward the bar flipped open and Striker and Milo rushed out.

"COOOOL!" Striker exclaimed excitedly. He ALWAYS wanted to see a barfight up close.

Milo, meanwhile, held his head in worry. "Oh no..." he groaned.

"Ah, Striker, Milo!" Jack laughed, waving at them whilst ducking under a thrown chair. "What took you two so long?"

"You're so lucky, Jack!" Striker called out, and then he noticed some guys coming at them. "Uh oh."

"Join the party kids!" A guy laughed, aiming to punch him. However, Striker had his aluminum bat out in a blink of an eye and he swatted the guy away from him and a cowering Milo.

"Good one!" Jack laughed, as he quickly leaped to stand on one hand, aiming a kick right in the face of another man who targeted him.

"Aw no..." Milo groaned again, diving behind the counter with Ani.

"Guess you're still a chicken after all these years," Ani chuckled.

"Please tell me that Jack didn't start this, did he Ani?" Milo whined.

Ani shot a look back at Milo, wondering why Milo would ask such a direct question like that. "...yeah, he did," she said suspiciously. "But why-"

"INCOMING!" Another guy crashed into more shelves over the counter, sending a shower of shattered glass upon the two of them. "Sorry about that!" Jack laughed, as he had been the one who threw that particular customer. Not that he seemed to mind though, as he quickly grabbed two people, slamming them head-first into each other.

Striker, in the meantime was going to town having the time of his life; swinging his bat back and forth. "HOME RUN!" he called out, after having lauched a guy clear across the bar with a swing.

The brawl was getting more and more out of control. Ani knew that she had to stop this now or they won't ever stop and Milo was just getting more and more scared while hiding underneath the counters. Just then, their prayers were answered and the entrance doors opened. Nobody in the bar really gave a damn who was standing there at the entrance, until they gave out a loud yell.

"HEY!"

Everything halted again; customers with bleeding noses, bruises, black eyes, all finally turned at the entrance to look at who gave the yell. When Striker got a peek at who it was, he dropped his baseball bat in fear. "Jill?"

Yes, Jill was standing there with her hands on her hips, looking at all of them sternly.

"...dude, did she just speak?" one customer uttered.

"No way...I thought she was mute!" another remarked.

"I can damn well speak, thank you!" Jill snapped, startling everyone in the bar. That's when Milo and Ani peeked their heads over the counter to see her. Milo noticed one detail about Jill that shook him up even more.

Her eyes were red.

Jack also seemed to notice that, and his eyes widened, though not in panic... but in glee. ...well, would you look at that. he thought, folding his arms, whilst looking at Jill.

"Now!" Jill looked around. "Who's the ass that decided to start this?"

The crowd shrank away to the sidelines hurriedly, leaving only Jack standing there, looking back at her. Jill rolled her eyes. "Very funny...I happen to know that..." and she stopped when she took another look at Jack. Her anger seemed to melt away while she silently looked at him.

Jack simply gave her a nod, a clever smirk on his face.

Milo looked back and forth between Jack and Jill, and his own eyes widened. Oh no, don't tell me... he thought in disdain. He had the feeling that this would be the beginning of a much bigger mess.

"...you're really the one who started the fight?" Jill asked, folding her arms, trying to hide her slight anxiety.

"You'd better believe that I started the fight." Jack said, still not losing his smirk.

...this is so creepy, Milo thought, shuddering. Ani noticed Milo shuddering, and wondered even more what was going on in that lion's head.

"...well, then, you'll have to come with me," Jill muttered.

"...by all means." Jack shrugged, as he walked over to Jill, giving her a nod. "Shall we?"

Jill nodded back, and then glared back at everyone in the bar. "As you were," she growled, shutting the entrance doors afterward.

Once she and Jack were gone, murmurs rose in the crowd in the bar, while everyone started getting the tables and chairs back in place. A good many of them were wondering who that lion was, while others were shocked at the fact that Jill had spoken; and so harshly nonetheless. Wasn't that woman a mother?

Striker went over to Milo and Ani. "...man, I forgot how scary Jill was when she was angry," he uttered.

"Same here," Ani remarked.

Milo was ready to have a seizure.

If only they knew the truth...

Outside, Jill was leading Jack away to somewhere else.

Glancing around him, Jack made sure that there wasn't anyone around to overhear them. "...not quite the way I thought we'd meet again." he hummed after a while.

"...I never even thought that we WOULD meet again," Jill murmured, stopping in an alleyway that was plenty private for them. "...at least, not until Jill died."

"For a while, I thought I had to settle for that... but thankfully, Jack decided to swing by the island, so I can get an outlet." Jack muttered, before he suddenly grabbed Jill in a hug. "...goddamn it, Callous, I've missed you!"

It caught her off her guard, but she held him tight. "...if only you knew how I felt, Johnny," Jill uttered.

"Oh, I can only imagine..." Jack muttered, still not letting go of her.

"...too bad we're in their bodies and not our own, though," Jill grumbled.

"Yeah; that's the one downside to all this." Jack muttered. "And I doubt that we can freely spawn new bodies..."

"...better than nothing though," Jill figured, looking up at Jack with her red eyes.

Looking back down at her, Jack smiled. "...yeah... better than nothing."

The Callous within Jill really wanted more from this than a hug, but she knew that anything could have an effect on these 'supposedly innocent' two they were housing. While she could care less; and actually enjoy scarring Jack and Jill, she knew it would only cause unnecessary problems. Joy getting involved in the drama somehow crossed her mind, and she sure as hell didn't want that.

"So what have you been up to?" she asked. "I clearly couldn't do very much stuck in Jill's head, but what's a gal to do, huh?"

"Well, I haven't been doing much. Mostly waiting for Jill to wind up dead." Jack shrugged. "...but I'd rather that she didn't die from some of the chumps on this island pushing their luck; I'm sure you wouldn't want that."

Jill scoffed, "Tch, no kidding. All they really succeed doing is pissing me off...they're just annoying."

"I noticed." Jack scoffed. "...though, I'd imagine that things have gotten more interesting, now that good ol' Toaster decided to swing by, right?"

Jill chuckled in amusement. "First he's crying over her dead body, and now look at them..."

"I can almost smell the irony cooking, already." Jack chuckled as well. "...but I do gotta hand it to him; living with that guy stuck in him for five years, without breaking down... Toaster's tough, to say the least."

"Yeah, well, let's just hope that Diablo dufus doesn't get his grimy hands on him and kill him to set that vampire free," Jill grumbled.

"Really, if that chump managed to kill Toaster, I'd be mighty disappointed." Jack muttered.

"...right..." Jill was having trouble again. She wanted to hold it back, and she knew that if she did this, they might never get a hold of themselves again. But she slipped. Jill grabbed Jack, and thrust her lips on his. It was only for a minute though until she finally she yanked herself away.

"...hmph...so much for controlling myself," she muttered under her breath.

Jack blinked, as he looked down at Jill. "...Callous..." he hummed.

Jill said nothing.

...oh, the hell with this. Before Jill would know it, Jack suddenly took hold of her, pulling her closer so he could kiss her as well. A minute afterwards, he pulled away as well. "...we're even." he mused, looking down at her.

A smirk crawled across her face. "...somehow, I still think that's unfair." And she pressed Jack against the wall in the alley, kissing him again. "...there."

"...oh, really now?" With a smirk of his own, Jack suddenly flipped around so that Jill was against the wall, kissing her once more. "There we go." he chuckled.

Jill chuckled back, pulling Jack even closer to herself where he had her pinned on the wall. "You sure like to push limits, Johnny," and she kissed him once more.

"Well, you know me, Callous." Jack chuckled, kissing her back.

Now Jill just wanted to do away with words and get to it, kissing Jack longingly. Jack, too, kissed Jill back longingly, wrapping his arms around her. Jill's hands dug up his back, thinking that Jack didn't do a bad job taking care of himself over the years, since she could feel how broad his shoulder blades were. As their bodies pressed against each other, Jack felt that Jill's breasts certainly had grown since last he saw her. Wasting little time, he sneaked in one hand to fondle them. Jill uttered out a moan of satisfaction. For so long she's wanted to do this... and she was slowly forgetting that this was Jill and Jack; beginning to think more along the lines of it being Callous and Johnny themselves...the same went for Jack...

So Johnny, as he was deepening the kiss between him and Callous, forced his tongue into her mouth. Callous welcomed it with pleasure, wrapping her arms around Johnny's neck and letting their tongues squirm playfully with each other. As the two made out, Johnny eventually slipped a hand under Callous' shirt, groping her from underneath that set of clothing. Callous moaned breathlessly, stroking Johnny's thighs in reply close to a particular spot. Letting out a moan as well, Johnny moved his other hand towards Callous' thighs, beginning to stroke them as well. Callous' hand wandered up his thigh and to his lower hip, pulling that closer to her. Allowing her to do so, Johnny began slowly circling a finger around her navel, moving ever closer to her pelvic area. Callous only quivered, wishing him to go farther and farther as she kissed him more aggressively. Feeling her grow hungrier, Johnny began kissing her with the same aggression as well.

Callous was slowly losing control altogether. She even started pulling off the green jacket. Johnny noticed this, and quickly began helping her remove it. Next was the top, and it was cold out, so she shivered a tad once that was taken off too; leaving the jeans the last remainder of clothing on Callous.

Would they really do it? Here in the alley?

Callous only thought, ...why not?

Johnny didn't seem to mind, as he kept kissing Callous, moving a hand to help Callous remove her jeans.

Callous took Johnny's hand, stopping him. Not because she didn't want him to help, but because she had conveniently spotted a door in this alleyway. "...look..." she whispered.

"...what do you know..." Johnny hummed, before he quickly took Callous, heading for the door. Through the door, they entered into a small room. Closing it behind them and turning the light on, they saw that all the room consisted of was a lamp, which was connected to the light switch...

...and a bed.

"...damn, we're lucky," Callous chuckled.

"...I'll say." Johnny chuckled, as he looked back at Callous. "Now... where were we?" he said, before he began kissing her again. Callous freely reached for the jeans on her and unbuttoned, pulling Johnny toward the bed. Letting her pull him towards the bed, Johnny began unbuttoning his own pants as well. They climbed onto the bed, him on top, before Callous decided to push down her pants and slip them off completely. Whilst she did that, Johnny slipped his pants off as well, before he began kissing Callous' neck, moving his hands across her entire body. Callous let out gasps at the goosebumps Johnny sent throughout her body.

---

"Well now, I don't think your readers should see this, JC. Very naughty..."

Wha? Callous? What're you-

"It'd be a lot better if you censored this, for the sake of those poor little sensitive readers."

*CENSORED CONTENT*

---

Johnny and Callous started calming down; the latter just trying to catch her breath. Johnny, while he had caught his breath, still quivered just a bit after that, as he simply looked at Callous.

"...that felt...SO good," Callous whispered.

"...it felt... amazing..." Johnny uttered, resting his head next to Callous. "...god, I've missed that feeling."

"...so have I," Callous muttered, staring up at the ceiling.

After a short while, Johnny glanced back at Callous. "...but I've missed you a lot more." he said.

Callous turned her head to him. "I missed you too. Sure, I won't admit it openly, but I missed you..."

"...that's good..." Johnny chuckled, placing his hand on Callous' cheek.

Callous smirked at tad. They remained like that for a while, simply looking at each other. Eventually, Johnny gave Callous a quick kiss on the lips. Callous returned it graciously.

"...well, as much fun as it would be to see their reaction to this," Callous murmured after the kiss. "I suppose we ought to get these two back before people start to question where they went."

"...seems that way." Johnny muttered, as he sat up, though still looking only at Callous.

"...what's that look for?" Callous asked with interest, slowly sitting up herself.

"Oh, nothing..." Johnny hummed, whilst nodding. "...save for the fact that you look stunning, Callous."

Callous smirked at that comment, certainly appreciating it. Then she shrugged, "Well, I can't really take the credit. This is Jill's body after all..."

"Well, you and Jill do look exactly alike." Johnny shrugged. "So if we had won out that battle five years ago, I'm sure you'd look just as good, if not even better, than Jill does right now."

"Oh, you sweet talker," Callous chuckled. "...I'll tell you something though...Jack's definitely your nephew." If Johnny knew what Callous meant.

Johnny simply chuckled at that. "I tell ya, if he wasn't mentally like a kid, I'd be surprised that he hadn't gotten himself a girl before this."

"Oh well. His loss," Callous chuckled in amusement. She snatched Jill's gray jeans from where she pushed them off, and pulled them back on. Chuckling, Johnny grabbed hold of Jack's black pants, pulling them on his own legs as well. Callous looked around for Jill's other clothes, and then remembered that they had been left outside. A glance out the door confirmed her memory. "Huh, silly me," she murmured. "Might have gotten carried away."

"...seems that way." Johnny hummed, as he got off the bed. "Want me to fetch them for you?"

"Would you?" Callous asked, batting her eyes at Johnny.

"Of course." Johnny chuckled, heading for the door. "It'll only take a sec." he said, before he ventured outside.

Callous' smirk faded a bit. Would this be the only moment she and Johnny ever have? Well, if it was...then Callous was secretly thankful that she had this chance, rather than letting it pass up.

Something caught her eye and she looked quickly around, but there was nothing. For a minute...she thought she saw a shadow. Why did she suddenly become a little uneasy? She folded her arms to hide her breasts, continuing to look around.

She had the feeling that she was being watched, and it wasn't a very good feeling at all.

"Got 'em." At that point, Johnny entered the room again, holding Jill's jacket and top in his hands. "All ready for..." Just then, he noticed that Callous seemed uneasy. "...something wrong?" he uttered.

Callous' expression remained unchanged, yet she lied, "...it's nothing." Seeing that Johnny had the rest of Jill's clothes, she took them and put them back on, warily looking in the corners of the room as she dressed.

"...it's gotta be something." Johnny noted, as he leaned against the wall whilst she got herself dressed. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have been looking around the room like that."

"...I just thought I saw something, but it was probably my imagination," Callous murmured. Mostly she was in denial herself, but she kept feeling like she was being watched.

"...really..." Johnny hummed, as he glanced around him, seeing nothing too noteworthy around them.

"...do you think we would have another opportunity like this, Johnny?" Callous asked with a sigh once she was dressed.

"...I hope so, but... I can't say for sure." Johnny muttered. "...but if nothing else... I'm glad we got this opportunity together."

"...me too," She turned to Johnny and gave him a soft, lingering kiss. Johnny said nothing, merely kissing her back. It felt like forever before Callous pulled away, and when she did, she turned out the door and left.

Johnny simply watched her leave, before sighing. ...man... if we only had our own bodies... he thought, before he began heading for the door as well. ...yeah, right; like we'd get that lucky.

Once the two were gone from the alleyway itself, a pair of hand-like feet appeared hanging from the rooftop. Cal was looking down where they just were in shock. "...oh, hell no," he uttered. They didn't just do what he thought they did, did they? Jack and Jill?

No, it wasn't them per se. He overheard most of what they were saying, and the way they conversed was not like Jack and Jill at all. Somehow, it was Johnny and Callous.

Cal rubbed his eyebrows in irritation. It was hard enough to believe that Callous could still take over Jill, but now Johnny was back? And he could do the same with Jack? Surely if those two knew the things that Johnny and Callous just did, they'd flip. Course, there was no real reason to tell them. Cal would keep this secret to himself.

He also decided he'd follow Jack...or Johnny. Whoever was currently in control of that lion. Anyhow, it appeared that the lion was heading right back into the pub. Glancing around him, the lion eventually entered the pub, surveying how it looked since he had left.

The tables and chairs were back up, but somehow the bar was emptied out of customers. Milo and Striker were sweeping up shards of broken glass from the shelves, bottles and other various things that broke in the bar, while Ani patrolled dust pans around with her telekinesis.

Blinking, he looked around. "...hey, it wasn't this messy earlier! What happened?" Jack uttered, as he looked towards Striker, Milo and Ani.

That stopped the three of them dead in their tracks. "...you don't remember, Jack?" Striker uttered in disbelief.

"...remember what?" Jack uttered. "I remember that gazelle being a jerk... but nothing after that."

Milo frowned.

"...yeah, he was such a jerk that Hank tried to punch you," Ani answered. "And you just knocked him onto a table and broke it, starting a big fight in here."

"Is that what happened?" Cal asked, walking inside the pub while taking a look at the place.

"Yep," Striker said.

Jack blinked again, as he scratched his head... before reeling back in surprise. "EH? I CAUSED A FIGHT?" he yelled.

"Believe it or not Jack, you did," Striker said.

Cal looked over at Milo, and he was just minding his own business sweeping. Cal remembered that years ago Milo knew all along that Shadow's spirit hosted in Proxy, a Shadow andriod that broke free from Metal's control. Would he already know about Johnny in this case?

"Then Jill came and stopped all the fighting, and you left with her," Striker added.

"...okay..." Jack nodded, as he scratched the back of his head. "...sorry, Ani; I didn't mean to make a mess out of the pub..."

"Apology accepted," Ani said, smiling. "You still hungry for that burger Jack?"

"...kinda, yeah." Jack said with a small smile.

"Alright then. I'll make you one," And Ani withdrew the telekinesis to head to the back of the counter, near the cooking area.

"So Jack, have you heard that King's gonna make a big tournament?" Striker started up, eagerly wanting to change conversation to that.

Jack blinked, as he looked at Striker. "A tournament? Really?" he said curiously.

"Yeah!" Striker said, beaming. "He's gonna set it up so that it'll be in 3 days-"

"4 days."

"Huh?" Striker quickly turned to Cal.

"King changed it to 4 days," Cal repeated, "so that he could give everyone an extra day to train."

"Ooh, really..." Jack hummed, as he glanced at the group. "...do any of you guys plan on joining that?"

"Of course we're joining!" Striker exclaimed. "In fact, we wanted to know if you were going to join too!"

"Yeah Jack, it wouldn't be the same if all of us weren't in the tournament together!" Ani added with a giggle.

"Really?" Jack said with a grin. "Ooh, it sounds like a lot of fun..." However, he wasn't too sure if he should say yes or not; on one hand, the tournament sounded fun, but on the other hand, he did promise Oblivion and Charon that he would visit them tomorrow...

Milo stopped sweeping and looked over at Jack. While he could tell through his spirit that he was unsure, he wasn't a mind reader like Sage to tell what he was thinking. "...I guess you don't have to decide right away Jack," Milo told him. "You have 3 whole days to think about it."

"Yeah, that's true," Cal agreed.

"Oh, yeah, right." Jack said with a small laugh, scratching the back of his head. "I'll think about it."

"Alright then," Milo said, smiling a tad.

"Here you are!" Ani said, placing a plate on the counter that had a big, steaming burger on it.

"Ooh!" Jack exclaimed, quickly taking a seat, before biting down on the burger. "...mmmh! This is delicious, Ani!" he laughed once he swallowed what he had bitten out of it.

Ani grinned proudly.

---

"...hm?" Jill suddenly looked around, awakening from whatever trance she was in. She was back at the facility again, right smack in front of the door to her's, Joy's and Metal's room. When did this happen? She swore she was heading to the pub to say hi to Ani and the boys; and maybe check to see if Jack had come back yet.

She stood there a minute to try and recollect her thoughts. Jill remembered opening the doors, and seeing the brawl going on...

"...weird," she murmured to herself. While she would worry about this, she felt that she was much too tired to even think much. She was exhausted of her energy and she was aching again; the strange part being that she was also aching a little more in...unusual places.

All she needed was some rest, she told herself, so she pushed open the door to go inside.

Then Jill smiled at the sight she saw. Joy was fast asleep, sucking on her thumb and nuzzled up next to Metal whom was also asleep, though one could see a faint smile on his slumbering body. That, right there, warmed Jill's heart. She couldn't help but stare at that for a long time, while her thoughts wandered. Then she became a little sad.

...was Metal really willing to get into this? What about Metropolis? What about the Chaos Emeralds, that should still be there if she last remembered?

She stopped thinking when she saw Joy snuggle closer to Metal; the 3 year old growing a smile of her own. When she did that, Metal actually placed one of his arms across Joy, almost in a protective way.

Jill sighed...almost in a content, yet depressed way.

Instead of getting into the other empty bed, Jill carefully settled onto the same one with Metal and Joy, with Joy between her and Metal. She fingered Joy's hair a little, lovingly, and then she placed her head on the pillow to close her eyes.

"...night... Jill..." she suddenly heard Metal murmur in his sleep.

Jill cracked her eyes open a little, and reshut them, placing a hand on Metal's. "...good night, Metal," she mumbled.

---

"Awww...aren't they just adorable?"

Shut up Callous...