"Hide?" the pink hedgehog questioned him. "Shouldn't we be running?"
That's what he had been doing from the very start, just not with as much success as he initially hoped.
"I'm afraid I'm in no condition to do more than shuffle, Miss Rose," Johnny responded as he winced through the pain. "The motel room is just down the block. I doubt they have found it yet."
The guardian had done everything to mask his presence in this city. Paid with cash for every purchase, limited his time in public, and minimized his interactions with anyone besides an up until recently unconscious hedgehog.
"Are you okay?" Amy asked again, her concern still very present.
If he had to guess, it was his diminishing strength. Just because he couldn't die didn't mean his body didn't behave like a normal humans. Blood loss lead to weakness and a questionable state of consciousness. Needless to say, a hole in the heart was a quick way to get rid of a lot of blood if you were in a hurry.
"I just need to rest," he insisted, forcing himself to place one foot in front of the other.
There was no helping the growing weight in his steps or the color fading at the edge of his vision. Without Amy's help, he would have already collapsed, becoming hopeless until an EMT decided to do their job.
Great, Johnny sighed, the last thing I need is to wake up in a morgue, again.
It was difficult to keep track of the number of times he had woken up on a cold steel table, naked save for the white sheet some city work had wrapped him in. Death was no easy thing to undo, yet The Source found an excuse to display its power each and every time.
Inching closer to their room, Johnny wanted nothing more than to lie down in the musty sheets and sleep. He was useless in this condition, and until The Source found the time to mend his injuries he was going to stay that way. He watched as the tiny pink hedgehog pushed open the door to their tiny room. It was largely the same save for the two heavily armored bodies on the floor, dead or incapacitated he couldn't tell.
"I thought you said they didn't know about this place?"
I didn't think they did, but he didn't have the strength or will to say it. Even then, that wasn't what was on his mind. He didn't recall redecorating the room with highly trained soldiers before he last left. Two armor clad Dominion agents littered the floor of his newest home. Someone other than Julian's finest had been here looking for them. Johnny longed to open his mouth and tell the pink quilled Mobian as much, but the power to form words was no longer with him.
Stepping inside their only possible refuge, Amy quickly leaned him down on the bed, their roles now reversed. Ripping the buttons off his blood soaked shirt, the Mobian grimaced when she saw the wound. Blood flowed freely from the hole in his chest until Amy pressed down firmly with a damp washcloth.
"You didn't do a very good job covering your tracks," a voice came from the corner of the room.
The outline of another Mobian moved about the red tinged shadows until it reached the soft light let in through the open door. Shutting it gently, the vixen stepped into the feint light of the dimly lit room.
Amy appeared as if she wanted to scream, her breath now racing as her eyes shot to every part of their enclosure looking for a way out.
"How bad is he?" Fiona asked approaching the man.
"Stay away from him!" the hedgehog growled as tears began to form in her eyes. "Just stay away!"
The velvet fox paused, unsure of what to say.
"I know who you are! Sonic warned me about you!" the quiled Mobian continued.
Fiona did her best to smile under the circumstances, "It's a little more complicated than that now. I'm not here to hurt you."
"Then why bring your friends?" Amy asked as she stole a glance at one of the Dominion Agents who were still lying motionless on the floor.
"My friends," Fiona sighed deeply. "Who do you think did that to them?"
"I don't care who did it to them! I won't be made into one of Kintobor's little pets. I won't let him use me against Sonic."
The vixen laughed as she attempted to sit down next to Johnny, "let me help you with that."
Almost immediately, Amy lashed out, but despite her strength and speed, Fiona was quicker. Catching her arm like one would a child's. The red-furred fox appeared to be growing short on patience.
"Miss Rose," Johnny coughed upon seeing their struggle turn physical, "you should trust her."
Working in his industry meant you knew everything. Fiona had been a Freedom Fighting in the making for years, but had been forced into a life of servitude instead. Johnny had always admired her resolve, hanging on to even the smallest threads to make a difference when it mattered most.
"I don't work for him anymore," Fiona replied strongly, "I was the one who killed him."
"All the good that did, considering he's still alive," the hedgehog scoffed.
He had been longing to ask Amy that very question. Was he the only one that had seen the doctor? Or was it just part of his dream? It appeared now as if Amy had seen him too, making the world they lived in dramatically scarier.
"Trust me when I tell you he isn't, I put a bullet in his head."
"Are you sure you didn't miss like Tails? You foxes seem to…"
The vixen put a single finger to Amy's lips, silencing her. The sound of armored boots could be heard trudging along the uneven sidewalk.
"Even a blind man could have followed the trail of blood you two left behind," Fiona lamented as she picked herself up off the bed.
Johnny watched from his bed as the fox exited the room with the calm and cool demeanor he had only ever seen on the likes of Tails. The world would have anyone believe she was a cold-hearted killer, but that was no truer of him than her. Fiona was a product of her circumstances, forced to live a life as a bounty hunter with no remorse. Whether it's what she wanted however, didn't stop her from being good at it.
"What the hell?" a random voice blurted out, "What are you doing here?"
After that, all that could be heard was the sound of steel plating clattering to the ground amidst the grunts of a one-sided struggle. There was a brief moment of silence followed by solitary gunshot cutting through the ominous atmosphere. This far out in the west that type of thing could be overlooked, but in light of recent events it was bound to eventually draw some attention.
Together he and Amy waited with untold anticipation to see who would walk in the room next. With the curtains pulled shut everything was a mystery, leaving them to the horrors of their imaginations. While neither appeared surprised when the fox returned, both he and the hedgehog exhaled deeply in relief.
Wiping stray droplets of blood from her face with the backside of her paw, Fiona responded to the argument they never finished, "Tails only missed because I made him, and I assure you, I did not miss, I watched Kintobor die."
She said it in such a way that there was no question as to her sincerity. It had only taken a few hours for the whole world to find out that Julian's pet had been the one to do him in, which was a shock to no one. Caging an animal with her level of cunning and willpower was dangerous. Reciprocity was the least he could have expected if she ever got loose.
"Could Julian be a guardian?" Amy asked turning to face the man bleeding out in the hotel bed. "Maybe he can't die like you?"
It hurt to laugh, but a thought like that was humorous, "Dr. Kintobor, take orders from something else beside himself? I doubt it."
"I am not sure you understand what dead means," the vixen growled as she began to rip the bed sheets into smaller pieces.
"No," Johnny responded, "I'm afraid Miss Rose is right. Dr. Kintobor is not as dead as we believed."
Fiona stopped mid tear, switching her focus to him. Her stare was burrowing deep into his soul, searching for any part of Johnny that might be lying.
"Who do you think took Sonic?" Amy added rhetorically, as if that much were obvious.
Johnny watched the fox mull it all over in her mind. For anyone who hadn't seen the man, let alone the person who killed him, being told he was still alive was bound to be a shock. Ignoring them, Fiona returned to her work, shredding the cloth into smaller strips. The guardian suspected she might take additional convincing.
"Roll him on his side," the vixen barked, "we don't have a lot of time."
He could feel their paws at work, wrapping his chest with makeshift bandages. Breathing deeply he fought off the pain as they tightened fabric, making it especially harder to exhale. It took every ounce of his concentration to prevent himself from slipping back into a dream world he longed to visit again.
When she was done, the vixen took a hold of his face with a grip that might as well been Knuckle's, guiding his eyes to hers she asked, "Are you still there, Johnny?"
The only thing he could do was nod. Up until now he had never seen the Red Shadow in person. The fox was an urban legend, with roots in Capital City nearly as deep as that of the Guardians. Yet here she was in his room and if he had to guess, to save him and Miss Rose.
Maybe it was because he was human, but he never could see what Miles was after in her. She was just another injured fox. Not physically, but there were several unhealed emotional wounds, some fresh, while others were older and deeper. The Mobian did, however, have the kind of curves that might make a woman attractive, perhaps the smile too. Even now she wore a charismatically wry grin that told more than she let on.
Miles is a sucker for the broken ones, Johnny concluded, not that he was one to judge. The man was as broken as anybody. What he would give for someone to care about him was indeterminable. For now he would have to settle for The Source.
Fiona was quick to point out the obvious, "we need to go, there will be more of them."
"I can't move," Johnny replied bluntly.
With the bleeding stemmed, the color was returning to his world, but his strength was still illusive.
"I thought Guardians couldn't die?" the red-furred fox inquired while looking at his sorry state.
"We can't, but it doesn't mean we don't bleed like the rest of you."
"Can you pick him up?" Fiona asked of the hedgehog.
The rose colored Mobian nodded her head in response.
"Good, get him ready."
Johnny watched as Fiona exited the room, carefully stepping over the bodies that still lay strewn about the floor.
"Come on, Johnny, up you go," Amy began as she wrapped her paws around his back.
With her shoulder pressed into his side and an arm around his waist, the two of the made for the exit.
"You're sure we can trust her, Johnny?"
"Yes," he replied before coughing up more blood.
Some sounds were so unique you knew what was making them before they arrived. The man wanted to laugh when he heard the distinct rattle and the squeak of an uneven wheel. Stepping out into the overcast day he raised free hand to shield his eyes from the light as he looked down the sidewalk. The velvet fox nearly appeared maternal as she pushed a shopping cart down the side of the road, her tail wagging in a gentle breeze.
"Fiona," Johnny gasped through a shortened breath, "I sincerely hope you have a plan."
"You're the Guardian, it's time to pull your weight," the fox replied as she helped Amy lower him into the metal basket.
"Pull my weight? I can barely stand."
"Why don't you use some of those special powers and dress us up a little?"
"I can't use them on others," he sighed, shifting his weight uncomfortably from side to side.
The man barely fit into the cart, his legs bent over the side like some type of discarded manikin.
"Bullshit," the fox retorted loudly, "They told me you couldn't leave the city, but here you are, a thousand miles from home. How?"
"I…" he began only to be cut off.
"They told me you couldn't use your powers to influence anything but your own safety, but you were able to save her. How?"
"I - I don't know."
"The rules don't apply to you like they used to, Johnny. Can't you see that?"
She was moving him at break neck speed, every rock and bump felt like a hammer hitting his back.
These contraptions were never mean to be ridden in.
"Any day now, Johnny," Fiona muttered under her breath as they approached a busy intersection.
He had never had to disguise others before and still wasn't sure if it was possible. Closing his eyes he conjured the only thing that might make sense, wrapping the light around the three of them.
"Not bad," Amy exclaimed as they moved past a glass storefront.
Johnny turned his head just in time to catch a glimpse of his reflection. An injured Dominion Agent laying on a gurney being pushed down the street by a medic and a fellow agent.
Not bad, he agreed quietly to himself.
It took a lot more concentration. No longer was it like putting on a new piece of clothing. He had to keep track of disguises for three people and an object all at once.
Amy, armor. Fiona, medic. Me, armor. Shopping cart, gurney. The thoughtslooped in his head on repeat. If he hadn't spent so much time casing the hospital it might not have even been possible. He had seen this scene played out a dozen times as emergency worked rushed patients in to the waiting hands of ER staff. The only difference now was that they were wondering the streets aimlessly.
"Come on people, move it," Fiona barked at pedestrians who seemed content to stand in their path.
It was hard to tell if the illusion was working. Everyone was looking at them as if they didn't belong. However, even with their current disguises they didn't. The Dominion were hated nearly as much as the Resistance in this town, so regardless of what people saw, they were going to stare.
Spinning the cart down an alley, the vixen aimed the towards a rusty painters van.
"Johnny," she whispered while nodding to the van.
You can't be serious.
"I'm not sure I can do that much at once," he complained
Grimacing, he managed to make lights appear on the top along with the traditional EMT badges on the back. It was enough to make an average person feel a little safer about two random people wheeling an injured solider down a tiny street.
Amy opened up both doors before helping Fiona tip the cart into the backend. Johnny nearly cried out in pain as collapsed onto the floor of the van.
Certainly an ordinary person would have died now, right?
It was beyond him how the human body could endure so much, especially when as far as he could tell there was nothing left for him to live for. Johnny had watched things like love and revenge see people through the most trying of times. His wasn't fortunate enough to have such an excuse. Who would believe that a divine entity would deign to interfere so directly in the life of such a meaningless mortal.
The hinge of the driver door creaked as it opened and shut. With Amy still at his side, he could only assume it was Fiona in the driver seat. The hedgehog's paws pulled him upright, scooting him to the side. Leaning his weight on the steel paneling, the man could finally breathe a sigh of relief and release these hideous disguises.
"Where will we be going, Miss Fox?" Johnny asked now that he finally had enough room in his brain to think.
The vulpine was quick to disappear below the dash, shredding the wires behind the instrument cluster until she found what she was looking for. With a grin she listened to the engine gurgle into existence.
"You tell me. You're the local."
It was then that he noticed the small leather pack strapped to her back. She had spent so much time in the shadows, real or manufactured he had failed to notice it before. They were almost a ubiquitous part of the Resistance uniform. That was, if you were in its upper most ranks. Johnny had seen Tails, Sonic, and even Sally all with very similar bags, the contents of which always eluded him.
Dropping the shifter into gear, Fiona pulled forward until she reached the other end of the alley. Turning onto one of the main roads, the red fox checked her mirrors for uninvited guests.
"I'm afraid I don't remember much about this town," Johnny admitted between labored breaths.
He watched her gaze shift between the road and the mirror, occasionally locking with his through the reflection.
"What were you doing out here Johnny? Why run all this way?"
He had asked himself the same question a dozen times over the last week.
"I - I don't know…" he muttered, unwilling to admit the truth.
"If you wanted to keep Amy safe, why not go back to The Den? No one can touch you there."
"I was searching for myself," he said plainly.
The look on her face told him it sounded every bit as ridiculous as he thought it might.
"Find anything?" the vixen asked, only half as sarcastic as he was expecting.
"No," he exhaled, not knowing where to begin. "I just know a part of my life used to be here and I thought if I came back here I might find it."
It was true. Brining Miss Rose this far out into the middle of nowhere was not as much of an accident as he wanted to pretend. Johnny was attempting to reconstruct his life so he could try it all over again. While a Mobian was a far cry from the daughter he may have had in the past, Amy seemed to fill the void that no drug ever could.
The icy stare that confronted him in the mirror was the same lack of understanding Johnny got from everyone. No one ever thought about things for his perspective, the perspective of a Guardian.
"There was no subtle fade in or childhood memories for me. I woke up naked in a city morgue without a purpose."
He let that set in, as both Mobian's ears perked up, eager for more.
"Do you know what it's like not to die, Miss Fox? What it's like to leave a life you never knew you had behind? What it's like to have a gap so large in your memory that the only thing you can remember is waking up and existing?"
Her gaze had shifted uneasily, its intensity diminished to almost nothing until it found the road again.
"No," Fiona replied softly, "I don't."
"I've felt enough pain to fill five lives and that's not counting the one I can't remember."
"You're barking up the wrong tree," the vixen replied gruffly. "Until you've done the things I have had to do…"
Johnny wasn't looking for sympathy. He should have known better than to press her on the issue of pain, especially of the emotional variety.
"Like sell us all out," Amy whispered softly, but still loud enough for the fox to hear.
Surprisingly, there was no response, only the hum of an engine that needed repair.
"Was it worth it?" the hedgehog pressed. "Did you even care?"
"Miss Rose," the Guardian tugged at her shoulder, "It's best not to metal in things you don't fully understand."
"Oh I understand them just fine. Fiona sold us all out so she could keep living. One life for thousands."
If Johnny didn't know better he could see a tear rolling down the vixen's cheek, but she was too strong to let another find its way down the side of her muzzle.
"If I told you how sorry I was and that I regretted everything, would you forgive me?" the fox asked, her tone racked with sincerity.
"No," Amy replied bluntly.
"And I have no doubt Princess Sally will have a similar opinion of you."
Even with a pounding headache, the hedgehog let out a vicious growl, "How dare you…"
Johnny recognized a bad situation when he saw one, "Ladies!"
Fiona knew a fair bit more about Amy that she had initially indicated. All along she had paid the Mobian no mind, focusing solely on getting Johnny out alive. The Red Shadow was well regarded for doing her homework, but knowing something like that was far from common information. Sonic had paid the Johnnies a lot of money to keep any information about her away from everyone, Resistance or otherwise.
"But she knows about," Amy begged before the guardian cut her short.
"I know, and it doesn't matter. You two are going to have to try and get along."
"For what it's worth, no one else knows…" Fiona muttered softly as she braked for a stop light.
"But you just said you were going to tell the princess."
"I doubt I will have to when this all over. Besides, it's not my place."
Johnny let the silence between them settle in. It was boring riding in the back, even with Miss Rose. The windowless rear of the vehicle didn't afford him any sense of direction. Even if he peered between the two front seats, he wasn't able to see much out the windshield, only the war torn landscape of a city never repaired. Soon enough even that left them behind as their vehicle wondered further into the out skirts of town.
"Where are you taking us?" Miss Rose finally asked.
A massive billboard crept by as their vehicle slowed to a roll. Its color was near faded, but it was still possible to make out the blue river flowing around a snow capped mountain.
"Blue Flow Steel," Johnny commented as they pulled into the abandoned compound.
Rust clung to every surface adding a dull vermilion tinge to the landscape.
"I thought all this was new to you?"
"It feels like déjà vu. There's something in the back of mind trying to claw its way out."
The vixen's eyes darted between him and the refinery repeatedly. No doubt his less than ideal mental state made him hard to trust.
I am a guardian after all…
"Before the war, this place was what put Rocksburrow on the map," Fiona began, answering the questions he didn't think to ask. "Rocksburrow was where many of the Mobians fled. So logically Kintobor nearly flattened it in attempt to root out the Resistance."
"I know about that part," Johnny was quick to comment.
I was there.
"To make things right, Julian offered to rebuild everything, but it's debatable how well that's worked out. Miles blew up the second factory and even before that this place was a shadow of its former self. Now there is almost nothing left."
"Why here then?" Amy asked.
"It's out of the way and the Resistance has used it the past to move people and supplies. The rail yards are just on the other side of this building."
"And then what?" Amy challenged the fox, "where do we go next?"
"Back to Capital City."
"No," both the human and quilled Mobian replied in unison.
"I'm never going back there," Johnny continued. "Not as long as I can be free."
The hedgehog nodded in agreement.
"I don't think you two understand how this works," Fiona replied stubbornly, "I save your asses, and then I take you where it's best for everyone."
"How could Capital City be best for everyone?" the Guardian pleaded, "didn't we just get done telling you Julian is still alive? Why could you possibly want to go back there?"
"I don't care if he's immortal, running away now isn't going to help anyone but yourselves. Johnny and Knuckles made it clear that I have to bring you back."
They must be desperate if they're sending her to do their dirty work. Fiona isn't high on their list of favorite people.
"In exchange for what?" he asked, knowing their must be something motivating her.
"What does it matter to you?"
"It matters quite a bit, Miss Fox."
Desperate people were never careful with their words. Johnny had learned to read between the lines and listen to what was not said. A necessity for negotiating with the shallow types he often dealt with.
Raising his voice, he went on the offensive, "You have the audacity to go as far as to accuse us of being selfish when this whole charade could be for your own personal gain. What does brining us back alive get you exactly?"
"Miles," she replied bluntly.
That's why he isn't here, that's why she is so persistent.
"What happened to him?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," the vixen growled as she wrenched open the door of the van.
With a sharp slam, the vulpine left them in the vehicle to stew. Johnny had seen what Fiona would do in the past when people got between her and Miles, and he was inclined to follow her for that reason alone. With Julian running around, especially unknown to the resistance, anything could have happened to the kit.
"Come on Miss Rose, I don't think we should keep her waiting."
"Do you really think we can trust her?"
"Right now I am not sure we have a choice. We would be dead without her."
With a sigh, the quilled Mobian threw open the rear doors before hopping down on to the dusty gravel. Inching his way along the floor of the vehicle Johnny accepted Amy's out stretched paw.
Unsurprisingly it was quieter. The derelict steel yard had been picked clean for anything useful long ago, leaving behind the skeleton of a once state of the art factory.
"Miss Fox," Johnny yelled after the vulpine.
Her attempts to put distance between them were not deterred by his pleas. The vixen tightened the straps on her leather pack, hoisting it higher on her shoulders almost as if to shrug him off.
"I think it's important to consider what could be happening in Capital City right now," he shouted after her. "Is that really where you want to be?"
"Where I want to be?" her voice echoed off the large steel structure in front of them. "No, but it's where I need to be. If Dr. Kintobor is rounding up resistance fighters we need to stop him."
"Yes, but I am not sure there is much we can do."
Stopping, the fox turned on her heels, "Do you know what he does with prisoners? With Mobians?"
Both he and Amy shook their heads. Those types of things rarely made it out of Dominion headquarters.
"I do, and it doesn't end well, especially for the Resistance. They're dead inside of two weeks and wishing they were after one. If he has Miles…"
"Or Sonic," Amy was quick to point out.
"And I for one would not like to find out what he would do with a Guardian."
"You can't die, she reminded him."
"And neither can he apparently. The difference is I feel pain yet he thrives on it."
"If it's the pain you're scared of, I can help."
"I'm afraid only the source is capable of removing that burden."
Crossing her arms, Fiona's wry, nearly cynical smile crept up the side of her face suggesting she for a change knew something he didn't.
"Miss Fox," he began only to be cut off.
"Fiona," she said in an annoyed tone.
"Fiona, I don't wish to argue, but perhaps there is another way," he begged.
"You can argue all you want but the next train leaves in two hours. Both of you will be on it," the vixen stated firmly.
Guardian or not he wasn't about to raise a hand to the Red Shadow. If nothing else, the threat of having both her and Tails nipping at his heels was enough to make him go along with her crazy plan. Johnny only wished that there had been a purpose to this trip. He had gained nothing by dragging Miss Rose halfway across the country. The man still wasn't anymore sure of whom he was then he used to be.
Amy clung to his side as they neared the entrance to the foundry. Nothing about this place felt right and if he didn't know any better it had all the makings of a trap.
We can trust her, Johnny reminded himself again, realizing that if Julian was alive, perhaps so too was Fiona's unwelcomed alliance with him.
Moving beneath the massive structure's shadow the air grew colder. This factory was a ghost town on to itself. Entering through the massive gates once used for large equipment, the trio was swallowed whole by the gutted factory floor. Only steel pillars and items too large to move remained.
Almost naturally they all separated, exploring their new surroundings. Johnny's eyes gravitated towards the small room tucked away on the side. It appeared to be an old break room, complete with uneven tables and bent chairs.
He could hear the hedgehog's tired footsteps lagging behind his. There wasn't much to look at save for the old and deteriorating bulletin boards. Schedules from nearly twenty years ago clung to the wall. Overnight everything had been abandoned and left to rot. Moving his way along the perimeter his eyes were drawn to one object in particular.
"Look at this," he whispered to no one but himself.
Plucking an old photo from the wall Johnny did his best not to stare, but it was hard considering he was looking at a ghost. Twenty of Blue Flow Steel's foremen stood shoulder to shoulder with vague semblances of smiles on their faces and soot on their brows.
These were men of Rocksburrow, he thought proudly.
"What is it Amy asked as she rummaged around what was left of the kitchenette.
"It's me."
Or at least he thought it was. The man third from the left could easily pass for him, only a two decades younger. Not to mention the caption, which read 'Cye Roberts.'
The dreams were right… or am I just seeing what I want to see?
Johnny had made it very clear that The Source had a way of making people do exactly what it wanted. It was possible that it had given him these false memories just to give him some purpose, a purpose it no doubt needed.
"What do you mean it's you?" the hedgehog laughed.
"I mean I think I used to work here, look."
There was no mistaking she saw it too. Even despite the years the photo had spent fading into obscurity, the image was still clear enough to see what was evidently a younger Johnny.
"You two find anything?" Fiona yelled from the old mill floor.
Her voice echoed around the empty chamber obnoxiously, nearly begging that he put his hands to his ears.
"No," Johnny answered reluctantly, not wanting to bother the vixen with his story.
"Well that's a shame," a new voice replied.
Looking out the door, he could see Fiona turn around to face their newest visitor.
There was still too much machinery in the way of the entrance to get a clear view. Stepping out into the main room, Johnny inched his way forward until he could peer around a massive lathe.
"Adam," the vixen chuckled, "I thought you were dead."
"Nah, the doc fixed me up real good on the account of my loyalty and all. Shame you had to go and kill him. Colin just ain't the same."
Three dominion soldiers, all in full armor. If he weren't still recovering, this might be a fair fight, but given their current disadvantages this wasn't looking good. Red Shadow or not, this was going to take some kind of miracle.
"Adam," Fiona sighed, "you never were better than Foxtrot, what makes you think you are now?"
"Mostly on the account of I got this armor on and a lot more guns than you."
Johnny couldn't help but admire how quick she was. If he blinked he would have missed the fox drawing her weapon. The .50 AE round put a ring in his ears, its intolerable bark echoing off the metal siding in all directions.
Fiona must have been expecting more to happen, because she had confused look on her face.
"Like I said, I got this armor on," a soldier laughed, "the doc made it real special, so it's going to take more than your little toy gun to go through it."
"Johnny," the vixen yelped, "I think I am going to need some of your help."
"Running to your Guardian? How cute. Did you miss your human so much you had to go and find another?"
Fiona was standing in the middle of the shop floor. There was no cover to speak of. At best she was a sitting duck waiting to be shot. All three of the Dominion agents were closing in on her making her only option to stand and fight.
"Alright then, how do you assholes want to do this?"
"Do what? Kill you?" the man in the center laughed.
Johnny was done standing around idly. Fiona had put her life on the line to save his and Miss Rose's, and now it was time for him to do the same for her. Walking perpendicular to the men, he didn't hide his presence. As calm and collectively has he could, he approached the vixen's side.
"There he is," the soldier chided. "I knew he would be lurking around here somewhere."
"Get lost," Johnny requested politely as he felt around his pockets for the pack of cigarettes.
"Make us," another man said snidely.
Grabbing a filter with his lips he pulled his prize from the tattered box. With his offhand he made a move to snap his fingers but stopped when all three of the Dominion Agents transferred their sight to him.
"You snap your fingers and we'll turn you into Swiss cheese," the one Johnny had determined was called Adam said with as much authority as he could muster.
Lowering his hands he let the cigarette hang in his mouth, "Relax fellas."
"Where is she? Where is the hedgehog?"
"What do you need with her?" Fiona asked as if bartering their way out of this situation was a viable option.
"Orders are orders. You should remember those."
"Look gentlemen, I don't want you to get your panties in a bunch, but I'm afraid you'll have to go through me if you want to deal with Miss Rose."
Raising his hand again, he threatened them with the only thing they were scared of. They had armor for bullets, night vision for the darkness, but at the snap of his fingers he could produce the unknown. Light or dark, it didn't matter they were his to call upon in any of their forms.
With a small growing smile, he locked eyes with the man in the center, daring him to make the first move.
SNAP
It was the only sound that filled the room, and everyone hung onto the near silence waiting for something to happen, most of all him. In what he expected to be another dying breath, there was nothing expect for a flash of red. The vixen had taken off towards the nearest cover, which was twenty feet too far for someone who wasn't Sonic. At this range she would be easy pickings unless he did something.
Almost instantly, all three agents shifted their attention back to the fox, finally letting loose with a barrage of bullets. She didn't make it easy for them, ducking and weaving between their unwavering onslaughts of firepower. In the end it was a futile attempt. One rounder caught her in the shoulder, spinning her around like top. The next two put sizeable holes in her back, adding to the spray of the blood covering the dusty shop floor.
It's a good thing Miles isn't here, Johnny concluded as he put his hands up.
Walking closer, the three men eyed the dead vulpine, worried she might get up.
"Good riddance you fifthly animal," Adam spat in her direction. "You never did amount to anything without Jake."
Pointing the barrel of a riffle in Johnny's face, another solider began to question him, "I'm not going to ask you again, where's the hedgehog?"
With a subtle glance at the hand raised above his head, the guardian asked, "Am I the only person wondering what happened when I snapped my fingers?"
A wave of uneasy glances passed between the Dominion Agents.
Adam approached him pushing an armored finger into his chest, "I know what you are, Johnny. Your powers are useless here!"
"I'm glad you think so."
Lowering his hand into the man's face, Johnny dared them to test him.
"If you do anything other than tell me where that hedgehog is, I'll make sure we take the time to bury you in four separate holes. I'd love to see how that works out for you."
SNAP
It's been a while. Feedback appreciated, good bad or otherwise.
Cheers,
M.D