WARNING: There's some content at the end of the chapter that would likely raise the normal rating of the story. Please proceed with caution...
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
"Damn it!" Hunter screamed. Then he ran after Johnny and threw a punch. "I won't let it happen!"
However, just as Hunter rushed at Johnny, the lion simply tilted his head, letting the punch sail right past him. "Put a sock in it, Hunter." Then, he reeled back for a punch of his own. "Say hi to Bliss for me!"
"You can say it to her yourself!" Before Johnny could throw that punch, King unleashed another volley of electricity, pushing him away from Hunter. "I don't care what it takes; I'm not gonna let you kill any of my comrades!"
"Oh, I'm shaking!" Johnny laughed, as even though the electricity was pushing him back, he looked as if he wasn't being fired at in the first place. "Oh, wait; no, I'm not!" Then, he began slowly moving towards the electricity, slowly moving towards Hunter again, as he grinned wickedly.
"Crap…" Hunter uttered.
Callous was impressed. Johnny was doing a pretty good job harnessing the Corruption; much better than Cal would've done actually.
It was that minute that she suddenly felt a piece of her frizzy hair lopped off in a split second.
Next thing they knew, a certain cyber simian was standing on the field with new katanas drawn.
"What's HE doing here?" Boomer roared in utter rage. After all, she hadn't forgotten at all what Cal did to her.
At the moment he appeared, everything seemed to stop; King halted his barrage of electricity, and Johnny even stopped advancing, as everyone glanced at Cal. "...and who is this?" Johnny said, as he raised an eyebrow.
Calculate... Wiper thought, as he looked at Cal, just as he hissed. "What do you want here?" he uttered.
"I was sent here, believe it or not," Cal said. "Don't ask why." Then he looked over at Johnny. "You're Johnny, I presume?"
"...yeah, that's it." Johnny nodded, as he folded his arms. "What's it to you?"
Cal then got into a fighter's stance. "Well, that makes things simpler. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you down."
"Well Cal, I didn't think you'd show up," Callous said, smirking.
"I'm not here for you, Callous," Cal snapped sternly.
Hearing that, however, actually got Johnny to chuckle, though he mockingly "tried" making it look like he wasn't trying to laugh. "Sorry, I don't think I heard that right." he said, as he shook his head. "You, take me down?" Then, he gave Cal an evil look. "Why don't you come and try?"
He was sent to take out Johnny? Wiper thought, as he looked at Cal. How? He shouldn't be able to know about him! Unless... no, that can't be...
"I won't try; I will do it," Cal said. Then he came at the lion with a swipe of a katana.
However, Johnny simply grabbed the blade when it came at him, as he slowly cracked his neck, whilst looking at Cal. "If that's the case, then you aughtta put more effort into it!" Then, he gave Cal a solid kick to the chest, which would knock him away from the lion.
Flying through the air by the kick, Cal's tail grabbed a nearby tree branch, hoisting him around on its perch. "Maybe, but you aught to keep that big mouth of yours shut before I rip if off," and leaping high into the air, Cal came to strike Johnny down from above.
With a smirk, Johnny leapt back before Cal could get an opportunity to strike him. "Tough words. But can you back them up?" Before Cal could move, Johnny rushed at the monkey, slamming his arm into the monkey's neck with a clothesline strike.
"OOF!" That certainly was a good blow on Cal, and he staggered backward trying to breathe again, before he glared at him. "Of course I can back them up," he said, charging after Johnny again with a cross-slash.
However, Johnny quickly blocked the cross-slash by raising his own arms, letting them absorb the attack, preventing them from reaching his body. "Somehow, I doubt that." he said, before quickly grabbing Cal's arms, aiming a head butt at the monkey.
"I'm getting a sense of deja vu, here..." King muttered, as he watched the fight between the two. "He's pretty much immortal! How the hell are we gonna stop him now?"
"..." Blinking, Wiper glanced back at the HQ, as something hit him. "...if that's the case..." With a nod, he made a run for the HQ, with one thing on his mind. I don't think he's immortal... and Miser should be enough to send that message home!
"Now Wiper's running back in the building," Boomer said. "What's that about?"
"He might be running to get Miser," Charmy said. "But I'm not so sure her own immortality can stand up to Corruption…it's proven to be quite hazardous." He turned around and went towards Boomer's door then. "I need to warn Sage so we can move Ani; in case things get worse."
Meanwhile, Cal was knocked off his own feet by that head butt. Damn it, he thought. That Corruption's made him too strong… He knew of the events that happened because he had been stationed nearby under the influence of his cloaking device.
"Aaw, what's wrong?" Johnny said mockingly, as he approached Cal, cracking his knuckles. "Don't tell me that you can't do better than that?"
At that point, King noticed something; namely, the steel compartment lodged in Johnny's chest. What is that? he thought. ...don't tell me...
While Cal tried to get to his feet, Hunter started running for Johnny; having noticed the steel compartment in Johnny's middle as well. "Hey Johnny!" He said. "Why don't you show us what's in that compartment!" And he tried to grab Johnny.
At that point, Wiper and Miser rushed out of the HQ, stopping only when they saw Hunter try and grab Johnny. "Hunter, wait!" Miser called.
"!" Before Hunter could grab him, Johnny quickly ducked underneath the wolf, so he missed. "I can tell you, but first, you'll have to sit down!" he said, before aiming a kick at Hunter's gut from his current position.
"AGH!" Hunter couldn't move to dodge it, so he was kicked right into the ground without the strength to get back up.
"Heh..." Cracking his neck, Johnny looked from Hunter to Cal, before looking back at the wolf. "...just stay there. I'll get right back to you." Then, he approached Cal, as he raised his fist, preparing to slam it down on the monkey. "Say good night, now, chimp."
However, before he could attack Cal, someone grabbed his arm. "Leave him alone." As it turned out, it was Miser, who glared angrily at the lion.
"...oh. Little Miser..." Johnny chuckled, as he glanced at the rhino. "Still not dead, yet?"
"Nope, and I'm not done either!" Since Miser took Johnny's attention, Cal decided to take the opportunity to try and cut him with a katana.
As Cal tried that, however, Johnny quickly grabbed the blade with his free hand, glaring at the monkey. "...honestly, you people make me sick." Then, in a surprising bout of strength, he managed to knock away both Cal and Miser at the same time. "Can't you just see that I'm superior to you guys? Just lie down and let me kill you; this is really starting to get pathetic."
Meanwhile, Charmy burst into the room with Sage and the sleeping Ani. "News flash Sage, Johnny's here," Charmy said. "Not only that, but Callous seemed to give him a little support!"
Blinking, Sage glanced at Charmy. "He's already here?" she uttered, before looking at Ani. "...guess we have to relocate her, for the time being. I don't want her anywhere near him..."
"They don't really listen, Johnny," Callous said. She was amused at watching the fight; and her eye was locked on Johnny with even more interest than before. "It just takes patience to kill them."
"You're not going to kill anyone!" roared Hunter, who finally got back on his feet. "I've got too much to loose!" And he rushed at Callous, but the ewe stepped aside, and when one of her whips was in her hands, she whiplashed Hunter down to the ground.
"Like your daughter, Hunter?" she said. "Please, I've heard enough."
That moment, Sage and Charmy would strangely see Ani flinching noticeably.
"Hm?" Charmy was bewildered by that.
Seeing that, Sage's eyes widened. "...don't tell me that she's waking up already?" she said, as she looked at the husky. Her subconscious shouldn't wake up this soon! She's a lot stronger than I expected...
"You stay away from him!" King roared, as all of a sudden, a massive jolt of electricity slammed into Callous, pushing her away from Hunter.
"Hmph..." Watching that, Johnny looked down at Cal, before grinning. "Ready to die?"
"You first!" At that point, Miser tried slamming her fists down on Johnny, but the lion easily caught her hands before she could reach him. "Kkh..."
Ani, even though she appeared to be asleep, was clenching her teeth. She was rising out of the spell, and the ability to think was beginning to work again. Dad…he's in trouble! I can feel it!
"Try telling him not to act out of his place then, Twilight," Callous sneered, as she also whipped down King brutally.
Cal stared at Johnny's steel compartment, and with an idea forming in his mind, he tried to cut it open with his katana while Johnny was busy with Miser.
However, as he slashed, Johnny suddenly raised his leg, letting that absorb the blow. "Honestly..." he muttered, just as he heaved Miser right over him, causing her to crash right on top of Cal. "...is that all?"
"Ungh... sorry..." Miser groaned, as she got on her feet, before glaring at Johnny.
With a growl, King got back on his feet, before glaring at Callous. "You just stay right there, and I'll make you pay!" he said, before electricity began covering his entire body. Then, he rushed right at Callous, before delivering a punch with quite the explosive force.
Watching Ani stir, Sage quickly glanced at Charmy. "We should move; I doubt that she's going to be happy when she wakes up!"
"What do you mean?" Charmy asked uneasily, although his answer was shortly answered.
A demonic air suddenly filled the room…and Ani's eyes popped open…
"You'd hit a girl, Twilight? Shame on you," Callous taunted, tsking. She simply batted the fist away with her own hand, and she was about to strike him down, when she stopped.
Her senses picked up something…unnerving.
BOOM! A wall of the Chaotix HQ building was blown apart, or rather plowed through. It was enough to stop everything going on the field, and attract attention from everyone.
"What the hell?" Cal uttered, looking at the dust cloud that loomed over the broken wall.
"...hn?" Blinking, King looked at the dust cloud as well. "What the..."
"...hell is that?" Johnny inadvertly finished, as he turned around to look at the dust cloud.
That kind of presence... Wiper thought, as he looked at the dust cloud as well. ...just what is it?
Hunter tried to look up, and what he saw probably surprised him the most.
Once the dust cloud cleared, it revealed a large figure and soon, the figure was identified. It wasn't his little daughter, but a tremendous and terrifying looking beast.
Ani was a Werewolf.
"Leave my dad and his friends alone!" Ani growled ferociously.
"Is that…is that Ani?" Boomer gasped, looking at her.
"...dad?" Johnny uttered, as a smile crept over his lips, before he glanced at Hunter. "...so, you went ahead and got yourself laid! I'm impressed, Hunter!" he said with a laugh.
"Is... is that really Ani?" Miser uttered, as she watched the hulking beast.
Ani looked at Johnny with a deadly glare since he heard him laugh. "You look like the kind of guy I'd pick out of my teeth when I was done with them," she grunted. "If you don't leave my dad and his friends alone, I'll assure you that'll be what happens."
So this is what happens when she's touched by Corruption, Callous thought in amusement.
"Oh, is that right?" Johnny chuckled, as he motioned for Ani to come at him. "Then why don't you try and stop me, daddy's little angel?" he said semi-mockingly.
"I don't even need to come over there."
In a strange occurrence of events, Ani launched a fist forward, and as a result, her arm stretched like rubber as the fist headed right for Johnny's face.
Blinking, Johnny quickly moved out of the fist's way before it could hit him. "Well, now..." he muttered, before he grinned. "You're just full of surprises." Then, he cracked his knuckles. "Now, let's see just what little werewolf-girls are made of!" Then, he ran right at Ani, reeling his fist back for a furious punch.
Even if the punch hit Ani square in the stomach, she didn't move an inch. Heck, she didn't even flinch. She only continued to look at Johnny, as a crooked grin appeared. "I can tell ya that they're made out of really strong stuff!" she chuckled, just as she suddenly whacked Johnny away with a large hand.
"That didn't affect her?" Cal uttered in amazement.
Even as he was whacked away, Johnny didn't seem affected at all, as he looked back at Ani, as he cracked his neck. "...not bad. I actually felt that one." he said with a grin, before clenching his hands into fists. "But if you think that's gonna take me out, you've got another thing coming!"
"I'm not that stupid, you moron," Ani growled. "I know it'll take more."
Callous stepped up to the plate then. "Well, then how about this?" and one of her whips were already on their way toward Ani.
"NO!" Hunter cried.
But there was no need for daddy to worry, because Ani caught the whip with her hand, and then yanked. Callous was hurled into a tree, while Ani tossed the whip away, dusting her hands off the Corruption energy that had been around the thing.
"No way," Cal said, observing the fact that Ani wiped away Corruption like it was nothing.
"..woah..." King uttered in awe, as he watched Ani. "...how'd she do that?"
"Then let's not waste any time." Johnny chuckled, as he looked at his fist, just as it was covered in a dark aura. "You know, your dad had nothing on me when I wasn't powered up like this. Now that I am... what chance do you think you have?" Then, he ran right at Ani again, aiming another punch with the fist covered in darkness.
Ani caught this punch this time, and the darkness disappeared once it touched Ani's hand. "You have no idea what my mom went through, you ignorant son of a bitch," Ani muttered. Then she socked Johnny in the face and knocked him off his feet.
"What in the world is going on? It's almost as if…" Boomer suddenly made a very shocking connection. "…Corruption doesn't affect her."
At that point Newt heard something from the computer. "H-hey, it just found an emerald signal, Boomer!" he said, as he approached the console, seeing just where the signal was coming from. "It's... coming from right outside?"
"That steel compartment!" Boomer blurted, knowing immediately. "It's in Johnny's steel compartment!"
Coughing, Johnny got on his feet pretty quickly, as he wiped blood away from his lips. "Too bad; I didn't know her to begin with." he muttered, before grinning. "So, this stuff doesn't work on you, huh? Then I think I have something that will."
"If it's threatening my dad, then you're even lower than you're given credit for," Ani said.
"Oh, don't worry; I'm not gonna hurt your daddy..." Johnny began, as he grinned, just as the light on the compartment began blinking rapidly.
"But why would it be in there?" Newt inquired, as he looked back outside.
"...but believe me; when I'm done with you, you'll want me to switch targets!" Then, Johnny suddenly vanished, before reappearing above Ani. Then, he furiously stomped his feet down on her, with even more force than before, knocking her to the ground.
"The Captain said that he was brought back to life," Boomer said. "I think they did it with a Chaos Emerald and after that move he did there, now I'm sure it's in that compartment."
Ani was lying face down in the ground, and after awhile, she finally got up, spitting dirt out. "That's supposed to intimidate me?" she grumbled. "No, that just makes you annoying..." She grabbed Johnny with her humongous hands and brought him to her face; nose-to-nose in fact. "You're annoying enough with your arrogance, you know."
"Yeah?" Johnny chuckled, as he didn't seem all that pained from being restrained by Ani. "Well, that's just a damn shame, ain't it?" Just at that point, something exploded around him; some form of aura, which was strong enough to knock away both of Ani's hands. "Now, just stay still!" At that point, he began delivering a flurry of punches against Ani, each of the punches seemingly exploding upon impact.
The punches were pretty brutal, and Ani couldn't stop Johnny from punching her so.
Charmy and Sage appeared out of the hole in the wall then, and encountered the scene. Charmy grew very concerned about Ani as he watched.
Finally, Ani just pushed Johnny away, and with her werewolf strength, he was pushed away a good distance. "I'll admit those hurt," she said. "But I've been through worse." Ani's hands rose and once she clapped, it shot a devastating psychic sound wave at Johnny; which was the tele-clap. It was so bad that it tore up the ground it shot over.
However, Johnny didn't budge, even as the wave rocketed towards him. "Is that it?" he scoffed, as the light on the compartment began blinking rapidly. "How disappointing!" Then, he suddenly let out a massive roar, which created another sound wave that collided right into the wave Ani had created. "Not only this Corruption stuff... but the power-up GUN gave me, too; I've never felt stronger!"
"You're real cheap, you know that?" Ani grumbled. "It's no fun fighting bad guys like you that bend the rules; especially that Callous chick."
"And speak of the devil," Callous popped out of the tree and started running at Ani, intending to take her down with her scythe.
When she cut Ani, it freaked Hunter out even more causing the wolf to jump to his feet. "ANI!" he screamed helplessly.
"Ow," complained Ani, rubbing the Corruption off of the cut on her arm like dust.
Callous grew even more interested. "Just how can you do that?" she asked.
"None of your business," Ani growled.
"...not that I'm not enjoying this, but..." Johnny began, as he cracked his neck. "I got a job to do. We'll finish it later, wolf-girl." Then, he glanced at King. "Now, let's see how long it'll take!" Then, he rushed at King with blinding speed.
"I don't think so!" At that point, the ground in front of King suddenly erupted upwards, creating a wall that blocked Johnny from approaching King. "My powers may not work on you, Johnny..." Sage said, as she had taken flight, just above the others. "...but it doesn't mean that I can't fight you!"
"Sage..." Johnny muttered, as he glanced at her. "Why bother? You won't be able to take me out!"
"Why don't you just shut your pie hole, jungle cat?" Ani snarled.
"I agree," Cal said, raising his katanas.
With that, both of them went after Johnny this time. Ani suddenly grabbed Johnny and threw him into the air, while Cal kicked on the jet boosters and shot after Johnny to slash him in midair.
However, when Cal attempted that, Johnny was quick to grab the blades Cal slashed with, before suddenly shattering them in his grip. "Look, no offense, chimp... but you're out of your league." Then, he gave Cal a powerful kick, which sent him rocketing to the ground.
Cal remained motionless on the ground after that attack, even as Callous walked up to him. "Look where we are now," she chuckled deviously. "Even after the fun we had."
Cal clenched his teeth. "Go bug someone else Callous. I have no business with you anymore."
"Is that so?" Callous asked, raising an eyebrow. "Even if he shut down your lust, you still possess Corruption…and sooner or later it will take its effect again."
"Cal, what is she talking about?" Hunter asked. "You didn't…" A disgusted look crossed his face when he made a connection. "Cal, you're really twisted!"
"It wasn't my fault!" Cal protested, turning red. "She was moving in on me!"
"What's this, now?" Johnny inquired, as he landed back on the ground, glancing at Cal. "He's an old flame of yours, Callous?"
At that point, however, Johnny and Callous were surrounded by the other GUN agents, all of them glaring at them. "Callous... I'd suggest that you get the hell out of here." Sage uttered with a venomous tone. "And take him with you." she added, motioning to Johnny.
"Or what?" Callous asked sassily.
"Or we'll fry your hair," Ani said, with a big sharp teethed grin.
"...and?" Johnny chuckled, as he glanced at the group. "Come on; the only one who stands a remote chance is the werewolf-girl, and who knows when she'll revert?"
"We'll overpower you." Miser said, as she glared at them. "Now leave."
Callous really didn't care either way. She wasn't afraid of them, but she was getting bored with them after all.
However, it wasn't until she saw something on the top of the HQ building that it caused her to make a decision.
For the first time, they saw true fear in Callous, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. She stepped away from the HQ cautiously. "…fine, I'll leave," she uttered.
"Huh?" Blinking, Johnny glanced at Callous. "You serious?"
"...well, go ahead, then." Sage muttered, even though she found it strange how quickly Callous changed tone. "Leave."
Callous stood there a moment more, staring in fear at whatever stood atop the HQ. Then she finally turned and walked into the darkness in the ground. "Come on Johnny," she said.
"...fine." Johnny muttered, before glaring at King. "But don't think we're done yet." Then, he followed Callous into the darkness.
"...good riddance." King muttered, as he closed his eyes.
"...but just who could have..." Wiper muttered, as he glanced up at the HQ as well.
Once everyone looked, who they saw surprised them; mostly Hunter, for standing at the top of the CDA HQ was Goddess.
Only Boomer and Newt had no idea who they were looking at, and the fact that everyone was staring at the HQ was disturbing. "What are they looking at?" Boomer said.
Hunter growled. It was the woman that he had trusted the late Melody's life to, which angered him even more to see her.
Cal also remembered this woman…he had caught a glimpse of her before in Westopolis, but back then he thought he was imagining things. Now he knew he wasn't crazy. Even with the blinking he did, this woman did not disappear this time.
Even Ani felt a sense of familiarity about this woman, but she was clueless how or why that was.
"...who's that?" King uttered, as he looked at the woman. "Sage, check up on her."
Nodding, Sage looked up at the woman, only to widen her eyes in surprise. "...I can't read her." she said as calmly as she could. "I don't know why, but I can't read her!"
"What?" Blinking, Wiper tilted his head. Sage can't read her... who is that woman?
Goddess stepped up to the edge of the building and off, floating down to the ground smoothly and gracefully. Then she walked toward Ani.
When Hunter realized this, he bolted over and stood between his werewolf daughter and this strange woman. "NO!" he screamed. "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HER FROM ME!"
"Hunter?" Cal was confused.
Goddess stopped and looked upon Hunter with pity. "I won't take your daughter away, Midnight," she said.
"How do I know that?" Hunter snarled. "You didn't even save Melody! You let her die, didn't you?"
Melody? Hearing that, Wiper approached the woman, standing in front of Hunter. "...so you're the one Hunter talked about. The woman who was going to save Melody..."
"Huh?" Hearing that, King approached the woman as well. "What's this about, anyway? Just who are you?" he asked, as he folded his arms.
"My name is Goddess," she spoke, "and if I hadn't been there, Midnight, then both Melody and your daughter would've died horribly."
Hunter eased up, but he didn't completely let up from his anger. "What do you mean?"
"I wanted to save Melody," she said, "But she pleaded that I save your daughter instead. Melody…wouldn't have been able to live with the memory of a daughter that died before her first breath of air, and I could not have been able to save both of them." Then she glared at Hunter. "Don't you realize she willingly sacrificed herself to allow your daughter to live?"
"Hey, don't put it like that!" King said, as he gave Goddess a scowl. "He just met his daughter a few days ago! How do you expect someone to be able to piece that together, when they've been rendered-"
"King." Wiper said, as he gave the tiger a look. "We shouldn't get involved; this has nothing to do with us."
Wiper was right, because Hunter was beginning to feel ashamed.
"Because Melody was infected with Corruption, so was Ani. Her premature birth was risky, so when I delivered her, I made sure to give her some of my strength," Goddess continued, looking up at Ani with a sympathetic look. "That's why the Corruption was ineffective, because she is protected by my power." Goddess walked past everyone to reach a stunned Ani, and set a glowing hand on her forehead. "You may go back to sleep now, Anistasia," she said.
The instant that Were-Ani closed her eyes she started to shrink in size. She reverted back to little Ani, with ragged ripped clothes.
"...Goddess, wasn't it?" Sage uttered, as she glanced at her. "I'm unable to read your mind... just what are you?" she inquired.
At first, Goddess just glanced at Sage. Then she started walking away from them. "I am a messenger," she said without looking back.
Hunter suddenly thought of something. He remembered that this was Jill's mother as well. "What about your daughter?" he called, which actually stopped Goddess in her tracks.
"...daughter?" Blinking, Wiper glanced at Hunter. "Hunter, what are you talking about?"
Hunter didn't answer. He was waiting for Goddess to answer his question first.
Goddess looked back at Hunter. "She has her own duties Midnight. It's not my place to help her." Then when everyone blinked, she was gone without a trace.
"Daughter?" Cal inquired suspiciously. "Hunter, what do you mean?"
Hunter finally turned to all of them. "That was Jill's mother."
"Say WHAT?" King uttered in shock, as he looked at Hunter in disbelief.
"...that is a major coincidence." Wiper noted, as he looked at Hunter. "I take it that Jill told you that?"
"Yes, but when Jill told me, she was unsure that I was talking about her mother," Hunter said. "After what just happened, though, I'm positive that was her."
"If that was Jill's mother…" Cal murmured. "…then what does that mean for Callous?"
"...I would reckon that, on a technicality, Callous considers Goddess as her mother as well." Wiper proposed. "I could be wrong, but it's the best guess I can fathom."
"Hmm..." Sage nodded, before she glanced at Cal. "...so, that leaves you."
"WHAT?" Cal kicked on his rocket boosters. "I just remembered I have to be somewhere else. BYE!" And he was gone nearly as fast as Goddess was, taking off in flight across the sky.
Hunter just shook his head, "Good for nothing…"
Sage couldn't help but chuckle, as she watched Cal fly off. "That was a bit funny..." she mused, before she glanced at Ani. ...she's asleep again... she thought.
Hunter trudged wearily over to her and picked her up. "Let's take her back inside," he uttered, although he almost would've fell on the first step if Charmy hadn't come.
"I'll take Ani," He said, chuckling. "You need to rest, again."
"I suppose most of us could use some rest." Wiper muttered, as he folded his arms. "...but Johnny being with Callous has me worried."
"Tsch... to be honest, I can't make up my mind of who's the bigger monster of the two." King muttered, as he and Miser walked over to Hunter, helping him on his feet.
"And now that they're together, it's going to be even more hell than we wanted," Hunter groaned.
"Well, nothing else to do but to suck it up, for the time being." King muttered, as he and Miser began carrying Hunter to the HQ. "Now let's get some rest; I need to take my mind off this."
As Sage followed them, Wiper remained where he stood, as he glanced at the spot Cal had been on. ...why did he come here? he thought, as he folded his arms. He said that he was sent here... what is Metal Sonic thinking?
"Wiper, are you coming?" Charmy called.
"...yeah, sure." Wiper nodded, as he followed Charmy.
"Ugh... that didn't go as planned." Johnny muttered, as he rubbed his temples. "The least those suits could've told me was that they'd gotten stronger while I was out of it..."
"Maybe I should have warned you about that," Callous muttered. She had her back turned to him, and she was relaxed now...
...but she was still thinking about having seen Goddess.
"Well, no sense in crying over spilled milk." Johnny shrugged. "I'll just get them later." Then, he glanced at Callous. "...say, why did you decide to leave, all of a sudden?"
Callous was quiet, and then she shrugged. "...I was bored with them," she said. "I decided I didn't want to waste my time anymore."
"...right." Johnny muttered, before he looked away, glancing at his own hand. "...say, this Corruption stuff... apart from enhancing my body, what else can I do with it?"
"If you're good enough, you can learn how to manipulate others with it," Callous said.
"Manipulate others?" Johnny inquired. "Like... I can get people to commit suicide, without being near them?"
"Yes, that's possible," Callous chuckled; a suggestion like that amused her, which thankfully improved her mood.
"It is?" Johnny said, as he couldn't help but laugh. "But... what about having said incoming suicide victim commit mass murder first? Would that work, or would it just be too complex?"
"I'll admit, it's complex," Callous said. "It just depends. 1. If this said person is capable of a feat, and 2. if you're strong enough to coordinate the Corruption that way, but other than that, it's still possible."
"Well, I ought to start practicing soon." Johnny chuckled, as he turned to face Callous. "Any other ways I can use it, though? Like, I don't know, manipulating it in physical form, or something?"
"Of course." Callous promptly opened her palm and balls of dark smog appeared. Then she proceeded to juggle them. "You just have to concentrate."
"Concentrate, huh..." Nodding, Johnny opened his own palm, before looking at it, focusing intently. "...hrm..." As he looked at his palm, dark ooze began forming in his palm, before suddenly, a small tentacle erupted from his palm. Whistling, Johnny smirked at this sight. "Neat."
Callous shared the same smirk. "It even gets really fun to play with," she chuckled, "because it can create illusions, and shape-shift real objects into false realities."
"Is that right?" Johnny chuckled, as the tentacle retracted back into his palm. "I guess I got a lot to learn... good thing I got a smoking hot teacher standing right in front of me."
"Oh, you sweet talker," She giggled. She had to admit that she liked it though.
"No, I'm being serious." Johnny said with a smirk, before he glanced upwards. "...but that monkey guy, back there... who was he?"
"He was someone I wanted to use," she said, "but he's Metal Sonic's little pet, and Metal Sonic's been fixing him up to a point where he can resist me."
"Metal Sonic, huh?" Johnny muttered, as he folded his arms. "I overheard some people at GUN planning to retake Westopolis, since the hunk of scrap apparently hasn't done anything worth their time yet." Then, he raised an eyebrow. "But how'd someone like you get involved with someone like Metal Sonic, anyway?"
"It's a long story," Callous said. "We were working together, and he broke it off because I was too much trouble for him. That's the nutshell of it anyway."
"Eh, he probably didn't appreciate what you did for him." Johnny shrugged, as he folded his arms. "But from what I hear, you seem to have some history with mechanic people, like Metal Sonic and the chimp. Is there anyone else like that you've worked with that I should know about?"
"Nobody other than my Daddy," she said. "But I didn't like working for him. I never had much freedom to do what I wanted..."
"Then why bother trying to wake him up?" Johnny asked. "I mean, Bloom, Gloom and Ri- Slashers seemed to be ready to free him, from what I gathered."
"Well, its sounds kinda stupid and ridiculous," Callous said, "but I'm just getting him out so he can take Jill's life without mine being affected. You see, Jill and I are connected because we share a soul. If one of us were to die, so would the other. Daddy's the one that arranged it that way, and he's the only one that can alter it to suit my demands." And a smirk grew again. "Then I'll just get rid of him when he does that."
"And how do you plan on doing that, after you've gotten him to meddle with that soul-thing?" Johnny inquired. "If he had the power to revive Bloom and Gloom, don't you think he'd be strong enough to wipe the floor with both you and Jill at once?"
"Yeah," Callous agreed, "although both his and my concerns are to get rid of her first."
"...really." Johnny nodded, as he rubbed his chin. "But I take it that you have some form of plan, to deal with him once she's dead?"
"Just simply taking him down," Callous said. "I know his weaknesses, and while the battle will be long, it can be done." Then she reached over and tickled Johnny's chin. "Although if you'd like to help..."
At that motion, Johnny smirked. "How could I turn down a lady in need?" he said, before nodding. "Sure, I'll help you take him down, when the time comes."
Callous chuckled, "Excellent..."
"So... what now?" Johnny began, as he leaned closer to Callous. "It'll probably take the butterflies a while to finish up their objective, so until then..."
"Until then, we have a little free time," Callous said, leaning closer to Johnny as well with a sexy smirk.
"And I think I know just what to spend that free time on..." Johnny chuckled, before he made his move; landing a deep, lustful kiss on Callous' lips.
Callous took it in pleasurably, kissing back in the same intensity. As he kissed her, Johnny moved his arm around her back, dragging Callous closer to him, as the kiss only intensified. Callous liked his spirit, and it evolved into french kissing while she played with his hair. While she did that, Johnny moved his hand underneath Callous' clothing, stroking her back, not letting up for one second with the kiss. Callous liked it even more, and she wrapped her leg around his while the make-out proceeded. Soon, Johnny moved his other hand underneath Callous' clothes as well, but while he still stroked her back, he also began fondling her breasts, without breaking away. Callous quivered in utter delight, and since Johnny was so forward, she began to strip her clothes. Even while consumed in the make-out, Johnny was quick to assist Callous in removing her clothing.
Callous was really taking a liking to Johnny.