CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
"WOOHOO! WE'RE HOME!" roared Striker excitedly as he tore through the halls toward his own room.
"WOO! It's been forever!" Jack laughed, as he ran after Striker, laughing like a kid.
"Aar, wait up!" Whisker called, as he also ran after Jack and Striker.
"...heh. Like kids, aren't they?" Natal muttered, as she smirked.
"Well, some of them are kids." Proxy noted. "The others are just very excitable."
Out of all the kids, Milo was the only one who lagged behind, walking with Natal and Proxy. "I hope Brick can finish helping the Professor so they can come over too," he said.
Meanwhile, Striker plowed through the door into his room. "It's all still here!" he said, beginning to jump on the bed.
"Wow! Cool room Striker!" Rudy said looking around in awe.
"Chao!" Buddy was also very happy to be back, hopping on the bed with Striker.
"Waah, it's still here!" Jack said in a happy tone, as he looked inside Striker's room. "Just like when we left the Clubhouse!"
"Well, this seems like a cozy place t' stay!" Whisker said, "Much more cozy than any brig on me old ship, that`s fer sure!"
"You guys'll like this place!" Striker said, jumping right off the bed onto his feet. "It's got all the cool stuff a tree house has, and more! C'mon! I'll show you around the other places!" Then he darted out the room. "We've got a kitchen, and a room with lots of computers, and even a room with a giant TV where we can watch scary movies!"
"Seriously?" Rudy laughed. "SWEET!" And the kangaroo eagerly followed Striker.
"Scary movies? Ain`t ye kids a bit too young fer that sorta thin'?" Whisker inquired, as he and Jack quickly followed Striker and Rudy.
"Jill and Brick says that if I watch with them, it'll be alright!" Jack said with a smile.
"...an' how old be ye again?" Whisker asked.
"17! Why do you ask?" Jack replied, which left Whisker with a dumbfounded look, as the two ran after Striker and Rudy.
As Proxy, Natal and Milo walked after the kids and Whisker on their own pace, after a short while, Proxy glanced towards a window. "...strange..."
"Hm? Something wrong?" Natal asked, as she glanced at Proxy.
"...I just felt something weird, is all..." Proxy shrugged.
"...no, I feel it too," Milo said, suddenly clutching to Proxy insecurely.
"Hrm..." Natal hummed, as she glanced outside as well. "...want me to check it out?" she asked, as she looked down at Milo.
"...Can you?" Milo asked in unsureness.
"Sure thing." Natal said with a smile, as she rubbed Milo's head. "Wait here." Then, she turned around, and made her way down the way they had come from.
"...whatever I felt was sort of vague..." Proxy muttered, as he glanced at Milo. "What about you? How did it feel for you?"
"It's vague for me too," Milo said. "...but it didn't feel good. It felt scary...like something bad's coming."
"...I see." Proxy nodded, as he folded his arms. "We'll just have to be cautious, then..."
Outside of the clubhouse, Natal walked out in the field, her tongue gripping the hilt of her nodachi, as she glanced cautiously from side to side. Alright... she thought. ...who's there?
"Um...e-excuse us?" Soon, Natal saw a certain blue butterfly coming out of the bushes nervously; it was Gloom. "W-we're lost..."
"Yeah, could you tell us where we are?" Now the pink one came out with her sister; Bloom.
"...you're lost, huh?" Natal questioned, as she looked down at the two butterflies. "Well, you're in the Mystic Ruins... just where do you two live?"
"Mystic Ruins? That's far!" Bloom said in amazement.
"W-we don't really know where we l-live..." Gloom said. "All w-we know it's...well, hidden somewhere."
"...hm, that is a bummer..." Natal muttered, as she folded her arms. "So, what are your names?"
"My name's Bloom!" the pink one said enthusiastically. "This is Gloom, my sister!"
"H-hi," Gloom said shyly with a small wave.
"Bloom and Gloom..." Natal noted, as she nodded. "Fits, I guess." Then, she glanced back at the clubhouse. "Well, until we find out just where you live, you could-" At that point, Natal stopped. "...hey, did you two hear that?"
"H-h-h-h-h-hear wh-wh-what?" Gloom nearly panicked, clutching to her sister in fear.
"...I dunno." Natal muttered, as she scratched her head. "It kind of sounded like someone was yelling "no" very loudly..." Then, her eyes widened, as she took out her nodachi, looking up in the air. "Something's coming!"
And if the two butterflies would look above them, they'd see what looked like an orange bolts in the sky, headed right towards them.
"EEEEEEP!" Gloom shrieked, just as Bloom grabbed her and yanked her out of harm's way.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the bolt suddenly yelled, as it brutally slammed right into the ground, which startled Natal beyond belief.
"What the hell is that?" she yelped, as she quickly took out her two remaining swords, watching the dust bank that was created from this collision.
"Don't know," Bloom said, as her and Gloom took aflutter to the air over the area where the bolt hit to look it over.
As the dust cloud dispersed, they were able to see just what had crashed into the ground which was a small, cute, harmless-looking plushie, lying limply on the ground; Tails Doll.
"...where did that come from?" Natal uttered, as she cautiously stepped closer to the doll, in spite of it being completely immobile.
"Awwww, it's so cute!" Bloom squealed, going over to pick up Tails Doll.
"Bloom, w-wait!" Gloom called, but couldn't stop her sister from cuddling the plushie.
For a while, it seemed like this was nothing more than an idyllic scene, as Bloom kept cuddling the plushie... when all of a sudden, Tails Doll's head span around to glare at the butterfly. "HANDS OFF, HELLSPAWN." he said in a deep, dark, demonic voice, as his head began shaking wildly, as if he was possessed.
Bloom released Tails Doll on the spot, but instead of being scared, she glowered at it. "Look who's talking!" she snapped.
"Bloom," Gloom urged in warning.
"...what's going on?" Natal inquired, as she alternated glances between Tails Doll and Bloom.
"...I'm talking right now." Tails Doll said, though his voice now lost the demonic quality, but still kept a genuinely creepy, dark tone to it, as he slowly floated up in the air, glaring at Bloom. "And I'm telling you to leave this place; you're not welcome here."
"What? You planing to do something to us if we don't leave?" Bloom asked, setting her hands on her hips with attitude.
"As a matter of fact, yes." Tails Doll said, as he stretched his arms out. "I will show you a nightmare beyond compare; nothing you do will be able to save you from the absolute terror you would experience." Then, he glanced at Gloom. "So, tell me; what are little butterflies like you afraid of?"
Gloom just grabbed Bloom by her arm. "Bloom, c'mon," she pleaded. "We d-don't want to start any t-t-trouble..."
Even if Bloom wouldn't usually comply, she did understand the point; Callous had told them to lay low until it was time, and if they had to fight Tails Doll by that time, then so be it. "Alright, we'll leave," Bloom grumbled, taking her sister as they started walking away.
"...good." Tails Doll mused, as his arms fell down.
"...what the hell just happened?" Natal uttered, as she looked at Tails Doll, who suddenly turned to face the bullfrog.
"Those people were bad guys!" Tails Doll suddenly said with his regular voice, as he fluttered over to Natal. "Bad, bad people who wanted to do bad, bad things to you people! Big Bro told me to help you out!"
"...Big Bro?" Natal inquired, before she shook her head. "But they were just kids. They didn't seem all that bad."
"But they could get REALLY bad!" Tails Doll retorted. "Just trust me; those guys are trouble!"
"Which guys are trouble?" That moment, other figures came out of the brush which turned out to be Brick and Tails. Brick stopped. "Tails Doll? What are you doing here? Weren't you with Brownie?"
"I was, but Big Bro wanted me to help you guys out!" Tails Doll said, as he fluttered towards Brick. "You see, these two butterflies are bad business, and Big Bro wanted me to make sure that they didn't get near you!"
"...Tails Doll." Tails eventually said, as he looked at the doll with a serious look. "Tell me something; just what on earth is Metal Sonic planning?"
"Yeah, since when did Metal Sonic care about us anyway?" Brick asked. "Wasn't he trying to kill us before?"
"You're not listening!" Tails Doll said, as he began shaking his arms about. "If you would let the butterflies with you, you'd become targeted by Callous!"
"Callous?" Natal uttered, as she looked at Tails Doll. "Wasn't she with Metal?"
"Not anymore!" Tails Doll said, as he looked at Brick. "Callous is a mean, mean lady, and even Big Bro doesn't want her around! If she had her way with you guys, that would make Big Bro sad!"
"Whoa, just hold up," Brick said. "You're not making much sense here. I get the part where Callous is targeting us, and after all the crap we went through with her, I'd get that Metal would be irritated with her. But why in the world would he be sad that Callous got to us?"
"Because if you guys were gone..." Tails Doll uttered, as he scratched the back of his head. "...then he'd have no fun at all!"
"...really..." Tails nodded, as he closed his eyes. "...well, we'll have to be on the lookout for Callous and those butterflies. If even Metal Sonic tries intervening with her business, whatever she has planned can't be good."
"So Callous broke away from Metal and she's acting on her own..." Brick murmured. "...I wonder if Brownie knew about this. I get the feeling she's keeping secrets from us again."
"Too bad that she's off training..." Natal muttered, just as she thought of something. "...say, Tails Doll." she said, as she looked at the plushie. "Where is she training, anyway?"
"I..." Tails Doll began, as he tapped his arm against his forehead. Then, he shrugged. "I can't tell you."
"Why can't you tell us, exactly?" Brick asked, eying the plushie suspiciously.
"Because it would be rude." Tails Doll said back to Brick.
"Uh-huh," Brick responded doubtfully; however he decided not to push it. "Well, I'm guessing that everyone's just about settled in, right Natal?"
"Yep; Striker and Jack are showing Rudy and Whisker around the clubhouse." Natal nodded, as she glanced back at the treehouse. "Proxy and Milo are probably still waiting in the hall. Should we go check on them?"
"Probably," Brick said, walking towards the humongous tree house.
At the Chaotix HQ, currently, Sage was sitting in Ani's room, holding her arms over the sleeping husky, as her eyes were closed. I'll find a way to help you out, Ani. she thought. Even if Jill isn't here, I think I'll manage on my own. As she thought that, she opened her eyes just a bit, to look down at Ani, who now had her plushie, Cocoa, lying beside her. Smiling a bit, she closed her eyes again.
Charmy entered in to check on things, and seeing Sage, he smiled. "I hope I'm not interrupting," he said.
"No, not at all." Sage replied, as she opened her eyes. "She's doing just fine, at the moment." Then, she glanced at Charmy. "I've been busy with Ani all day, so what's happened in the meantime?"
"A GUN chopper came to inspect the place, but luckily they listened to Wiper when he told them there was nothing here," Charmy said. "However, I bear unfortunate news. There's telling that a 'Johnny' has come back...and that he's looking for you and your friends."
Hearing that name immediately caused Sage to get a panicked look, as she reeled away from Charmy. "...d-did you say... Johnny?" she uttered fearfully.
"Yes I did," Charmy said, observing her reaction. If Sage was afraid, then Johnny was certainly a very bad thing. "Sage, who is Johnny exactly?" he asked her curiously; "If you don't mind me asking, of course."
"...Johnny..." Sage began, as she calmed herself, trying not to seem as frightened. "...he was a character from our past; the GUN agents, you see. He proved to be an obstacle that not even me, King or Queen could overcome... in the end, a friend of ours, along with Wiper, killed him. But... he's returned from the dead? How?"
"Apparently GUN has found some way of reviving him," Charmy said, rubbing his chin. "But what is to happen if he found out you and your friends were all hiding in CDA HQ?"
"...I don't even want to think about it." Sage said, as she shuddered. "Listen... Johnny is nothing short of a monster. He doesn't care about anyone other than himself, as long as he can murder people. There isn't a single shred of good in that person's soul."
"I can see that from your expression," Charmy nodded. "Sounds like he wants payback for whatever events transpired in your past." He glanced at Ani and knew the situation would be too dangerous for her to be involved; especially if Hunter knew. "Do you have any plans of taking care of Ani before that time possibly comes?"
"Not at the moment." Sage admitted, as she looked at Ani as well. "But I wouldn't do much good in a battle against Johnny; GUN gave him some form of mental implant that makes him immune to my powers." Sighing, she raised her arms over Ani again. "The only thing I can do is pray that he doesn't come before I can help her."
"Say, what happens if Ani wakes up?" Charmy asked, curious of that as well.
"I'm not sure." Sage said, as she kept her mind focused on Ani. "But I can only guess that it's not something we want on our hands. Well, she's going to stay asleep for a while, anyway..."
"Alright then," Charmy said, heading for the door. "I'll leave you to tend to her then."
Outside in the hidden brush, a hole of darkness opened in the ground. Callous and Johnny popped out of it, and an instant afterward it sealed shut.
"Well, here we are," Callous said, gesturing to the building they saw from behind the bushes.
"Is that it?" Johnny scoffed, as he rubbed his head a bit; the trip through the dark had affected him a bit. "Hmph... well, time to take out the trash." he said with a smirk, as he began making his way towards the building.
"Heh," Callous decided to sit back and watch as Johnny took care of his business, leaning on a tree while she watched him walk to the HQ.
Currently in the living room, Wiper, Queen, King and Miser were sitting, discussing amongst themselves. "I can't believe it..." King muttered, as he had his arms folded, growling. "To think that they'd go that far..."
"I can see why they would even consider such a project, though..." Miser said, as she closed her eyes with a sigh. "For a moment, during that fight..." she began, as she briefly looked at King, to see if it was alright for her to continue.
"But that opens up a whole new sleuth of problems." Queen muttered. "Sage's psychokinesis did nothing, and he was actively shrugging off King's electrical attacks. I guess only Miser is really able to stand against him, and that's only because she can't die..."
With a surly look, Wiper glanced out of the window while the other three were talking. At that moment, however, he noticed someone walking towards the building. "...oh no..."
Hunter passed by, and noticed Wiper's concern he questioned it. "What's wrong?" That wasn't until he looked out the window too that he saw the problem. Then he grew eerily silent.
"Huh? What're you all..." King muttered, as he, Queen and Miser glanced out the window as well, letting them see just who was approaching. "...son of a bitch... it's him!"
"Hey!" Johnny called from outside, as he cracked his knuckles. "GUN Renegades! Get out here, and let's get this over with!"
"Damn..." Queen muttered, as she gritted her teeth. "How did he find us so quickly?"
"Hey... doesn't he seem a bit young?" Miser pointed out. "He looks just like he did fifteen years ago..." However, at that point, Wiper suddenly ran towards the door. "Dawn?"
"Everyone, stay inside!" Wiper called, as he glanced at the other agents. "I'm serious... none of you follow me!" Then, he exited the building, closing the door behind him.
"Don't follow him he says," Hunter growled. Personally, he didn't remember much of that night himself like the rest of the group did, but he was going to storm after Wiper…
…and then he stopped suddenly.
Ani, he reminded himself in thought.
"Don't tell me that he's honestly..." Miser uttered, as she looked out the window, where she could see Wiper approaching Johnny.
"Oh, he is..." King uttered, as he clenched his fist, before moving towards the door. "Someone's gotta give him back-" Before he could finish his sentence, however, Queen suddenly rushed towards the door, blocking King from going through. "Hn?"
"He told us not to follow him." Queen said, as she looked at King with a serious look. "We'll have to have faith..."
"...fine." King growled, as he looked away. "...but if it looks like he'll be killed, I'm going out."
As that went on, outside, Johnny grinned as he saw Wiper. "Well, now. There's a face I didn't expect to see." he said in a cocky tone, as he cracked his neck.
"I don't know how you were revived, Johnny..." Wiper muttered, as he stopped moving. "...but you'd better leave... or else."
"Or else what? You get me between the eyes, like you did all those years ago?" Johnny said with a cocky grin, as he pointed at his scar. "I'm not gonna let you get that chance, and this time, you don't have Desperado around to save your ass."
Up high above, Charmy peered through a window, and Boomer accompanied him.
"Newt, come here," she motioned toward the window as she watched Wiper and Johnny. "You need to see this too."
"What is it?" Newt asked, as he looked through the window as well, only to gawk at the sight. "Hey, isn't that Jack? What's he doin', squaring off against Wiper?"
"Well, I hope you're ready, Wiper." Johnny said with a sneer, before he ran towards Wiper, who had taken his fighting stance. "You may have grown up, but you're still no match for me!" Then, he reeled his hand back, preparing for a punch.
However, as he threw the punch, Wiper moved his head to the side, before instinctively shooting his own hand forward, piercing Johnny's body. Upon seeing that, however, both of the combatants looked at it in surprise. "...did I just..."
"...the hell?" Grunting, Johnny pushed Wiper away, before backing away a bit, looking at his new wound. "...lucky shot, that's all." he muttered, before smirking. "Good luck doing that again."
"No, that's not Jack, Newt," Charmy said, somewhat baffled that it DID look like him. "According to Wiper, that's Johnny."
"Johnny?" Boomer asked, eying her boss strangely. "Who the hell is Johnny, and why are they fighting?"
"Long story short, Johnny wants revenge for something that Wiper and his friends did to him," Charmy said. "And Johnny seems serious enough to take their lives as his payback."
"WHAT?" Boomer uttered. "Well, how did he find the HQ? How did he know they were here?"
"Couldn't have been GUN, because we just shoed them off not five minutes ago," Charmy said in eager deduction. "Our little Johnny had some outside help."
"I think I know who that is, y'know..." Newt muttered, as he watched the two again. "...but he ain't gonna win against Wiper, y'know!"
"Alright, let's try that again!" Once more, Johnny rushed at Wiper, both of his hands clenched. "Try and survive this!" he yelled, before throwing a flurry of punches at the snake.
However, as he threw them, Wiper gracefully parried the punches, using the flat side of his hands to push the punches away before they could hit him. What's going on...? he thought, before he aimed a kick at the lion, which sent him reeling back. His attacks... they don't feel that strong! Is he holding back?
"Kkh... cheeky little-" Johnny growled, as he ran at Wiper again, punching furiously at the snake, but no matter how furious his blows were, he couldn't connect a single blow against the snake. The hell? He oughta be dead by now! What's wrong with me?
A whistle suddenly filled the air, hoping to catch everyone's attention.
And it did, as it got Johnny to stop punching at Wiper, before looking around him irritably. "Alright, what is it now?" he yelled.
"Who knew you'd get so snippy so quickly?" And out came Callous, which startled a great many and brought all the more dread.
"All I wanted was to lend a hand or two. That so hard, Johnny?" she snickered.
"There's his outside help," Charmy concluded as he glared sharply at the ewe. "Callous!"
"Tsch..." Johnny grunted, as he glanced at Callous, before he glared at Wiper. "...just stand back for a bit. I'll have him dead in no time." Then, he threw another punch at Wiper, who took it this time, as he was too startled by Callous' entrance to notice.
However, the punch only caused Wiper to skid a few feet away, which surprised both him and Johnny. "...was that it?" Wiper uttered in an honestly surprised tone.
"Kkh... just die!" Before he could be stopped, Johnny rushed at Wiper again, throwing more punches, but Wiper was quick to evade those blows, before he aimed a kick at Johnny's face.
"I don't get it!" King said, as he watched the two duke it out. "They're fighting just about evenly! In fact, I think Wiper's got the advantage! What happened? Did Johnny lose some muscle?"
"No..." Miser uttered, as something dawned on her. "...he's still as strong as when we last faced him... but that was fifteen years ago. We've grown even stronger since those days."
"So in other words..." Queen muttered, as she watched the fight. "...we have a chance."
Hunter gritted his teeth, "We'll have a chance if Callous doesn't do anything to Johnny to make him stronger!" And before anyone could stop the wolf, he ran towards the door to get outside.
"Please Johnny, you're embarrassing me," Callous yawned, watching as the fight went on.
"Tsch- I didn't ask for your opinion yet!" Johnny retorted, just as he avoided a karate chop from Wiper. That, however, allowed him to grab hold of Wiper's arm. "You're mine." Then, with a heave, Johnny slammed the snake head-first into the ground, actually cracking it up.
At that point, however, Wiper suddenly spun around, knocking Johnny away from him, before hissing. "...I don't know why, but I get the feeling that you're not as tough as I recall." he said, before he rushed at the lion. "That means that I can do this!" Then, before Johnny could evade the attack, Wiper began rapidly stabbing his hands forward, striking numerous pressure points around Johnny's body.
However, even with several wounds now on his body, Johnny stood his ground, coughing blood. "...it doesn't hurt." he spat, as he glared at Wiper. "You may have grown tougher, but it still doesn't hurt. Maybe you should try lifting a few more weights?"
"Maybe you aught to try taking someone's advice, tiger."
A black hand clamped down on Johnny's shoulder. It was Callous' hand coated in Corruption, leaking onto Johnny's shoulder and starting to crawl on him; whether he wanted it to or not. "Wiper's afraid of a new thing now…" she sneered with an evil grin.
Hunter made it outside, only to see what was going on. "No!" he screamed in despair.
"Hn?" Glancing at the black ooze crawling across his shoulder, Johnny shot a look at Callous. "What are you doing?"
...Corruption! Gritting his teeth, Wiper ran right towards Callous and Johnny, pulling his arms back. "Let go of him!" he yelled, as he shot his arm forward, intending to impale Johnny's body.
But Callous simply yanked Johnny aside effortlessly away from the snake. "Listen Johnny," she said. "I can make you stronger, but only if you don't fight it." She gestured to the ooze which had now coated his upper chest and was going onto his arms.
"YOU BITCH!" Hunter screamed, running to punch Callous.
However, she just whirled around Hunter and gave him a massively strong kick to the back of his head, knocking him on the ground easily. "Save your energy, hound dog," she murmured.
"Don't fight what? The tar you're covering me with?" Johnny inquired, as he looked at his body. "Just what is this stuff, anyway?"
"Tsch..." Wiper grunted, as he glared at Callous. As long as she's holding onto him, I can't finish him off...
"Yo, Callous!" At that point, right out of nowhere, a sphere of electricity rammed Johnny's side, with enough force to successfully separate him from Callous' grip. "Hands off the lion, if you know what's good for ya!" As it turned out, King had exited the building, and had been responsible for that attack. "Now why don't you just scram?"
Coughing, Johnny glared at King. "It got some more punch than before... but it still didn't hurt, King..."
"Because I'm just a little mistress of mischief!" Callous chuckled. "I can't very well mind my own business, can I? I have to butt in everyone else's!" Then she smirked at Johnny, who was now almost completely covered in the tar except for his head. "Besides, now he can not only get the payback he wants, but now he'll be virtually immortal to your attacks."
"Tsch... we'll see about that!" King yelled, before he shot a massive stream of electricity from his hands, aimed right at Johnny, pinning him to the ground. "Hunter! Get something big, and crush him! He won't be able to move, while I'm pinning him down!"
Growling, Johnny glanced at Callous, with a look that didn't seem to mind the electricity at all. "Would you just tell me what this tar is supposed to be?"
"It's called Corruption, Johnny," Callous said, now that the tar was reaching over his mouth and finally covering his head. "It's the most powerful thing you'll ever feel…"
Hunter was frantic uprooting a tree with his telekinesis and throwing it at the lion, hoping to crush him before the Corruption took its effect, and who knows how bad things could get.
"You'll feel like a god, Johnny," Callous' voice continued hauntingly.
Just as Callous uttered those words... the tree landed straight on Johnny, seemingly crushing the lion.
"Oh yeah!" King laughed, as he pumped his fist in the air. "Hah! Was that it, Callous? Was that the 'godly' power of Corruption?" he said brashly, as he kept laughing. "And that went by much easier than I would have expected!"
Wiper, however, kept his gaze at the tree. "...wait." he muttered, as he noticed something. "...uh oh..."
"What? What's wrong?" King inquired, as he glanced at the tree... and saw it suddenly blow up into so small parts that the shrapnel was practically invisible. "...eh?"
"Even without this stuff... that didn't hurt..." As it turned out, Johnny was standing on his feet now, his arm raised, as it was coated in a dark aura. "...but man, this made it feel like a feather was thrown at me," he added, before he grinned.
Callous let out a laugh, "Yeah baby! Johnny's back in business!"
Boomer clasped her hands over her mouth in horror, while Charmy stared in stunned shock.
"Well, this can't be good," the old bee muttered.