Science centers around explaining how the world works in terms that all can find common.
Faith is about explaining WHY the world works in terms one cannot ignore.
The two are rarely compatible. And Magic's foundation is found in faith. The elements of the world, the manipulation of time and space, the healing of any and all wounds, these are possible with magic, as long as you remember...
All magic has a price.
Nothing...is free...
Episode Thirty-Five:
復讐は雌犬です!
Payback is a Bitch!
"Amazing." Emerl remarked in awe as he clapped his hands happily, standing atop the majestic Nocturne fortress with Bark and the others of the base, the barrage that had been levied at the forces of Central having finally finished. "Even without Shade here, it's good to see how monolithically impressive our defensive forces truly are."
Bruce stood alone in the middle of a horror show that was the field of battle. There was not a single Central Soldier left. Not a single tank that wasn't in ten million pieces. Every piece of weaponry, every limb from a body, EVERYTHING but he...and Bean, who nonchalantly lit a pipe off of the burning corpse of a mallard duck sapient draped over a wrecked cannon...was ripped apart.
"We've...lost?" Bruce gasped.
"Well, look at it the bright side."
"...bright...side?" Bruce growled furiously, an angry tic mark appearing on his forehead as he turned towards Bean, slowly turning a dark, furious shade of purplish blue.
"Despite the hailstorm of missiles that they launched our way, we weren't hit a single bit. Much like that iconic scene from "Pulp Fiction"." Bean remarked cheerily, holding his pipe up in the air and letting out a breath. "You should be grateful. There's nothing more precious than the gift of life."
"I'm gonna take you and chew you up like a piece of gu-" Bruce began to say.
Now I say "Began" because, regrettably, the next missile did NOT miss, and one of them struck Bruce squarely in the stomach, launching him high into the air and causing him to explode into an enormous splatter of salty guts and gore, an intestine neatly popping into Bean's pipe, forever ruining his ability to enjoy a good smoke from thereon.
"Yech." Bean commented, and with that he tossed the pipe away, sighing slightly. "Still...I think this is good enough." He decided, poking a discarded lung on the ground nearby. "Yes...bloody enough."
...
...
...
... "I told you! You're not readin' the Rhythm of the Earth! That's what Yakin Shīru is all about!" Marine insisted, poking the floor beneath her as she and Tails sat in a hut at the village they were temporarily staying at, an annoyed expression gracing the raccoon's features.
"And I'M telling YOU that I don't-under-staaaand-you!" Tails groaned, elongating the word deliberately as he gesticulated with his hands.
Marine rolled her eyes as her pet koala folded it's arms. "Look, you gotta sharpen yah senses, mate! Like THIS!" She said, putting her gloved hands to her head, a strange expression coming over her face as if she was trying to drill a hole through the air with her mind. "THERE! I sense it!"
"I TRIED that already!" Tails whined, beating the ground with his hand. "Explain it MORE!"
"Go WHOOMPH and let it come naturally!"
"Whaddya mean "whoomph"!"
"...they sure are a lively bunch." Master Bokkun said as he rode atop of Omega's shoulder. Yes, he and several dozen Shanazarans were also holing up in the village.
"I am simply sorry you must hide out here." Omega insisted as snow began to gently fall around them. "They're...disruptive at times. And this is being polite."
"You love it, and you know it." Master Bokkun insisted. "You're one of them. In fact, you're practically the king of them. You're a natural leader." The master laughed and whacked Omega playfully on the head...then promptly nursed his sore hand.
It wasn't like they weren't enjoying themselves there at the village, though. Ms. Amy was quite a lot of help, and the younger Shanazarans loved hearing her tell scary stories in different languages, a talent she'd picked up from her world-traipsing parents. Even now, Amy was sitting around a campfire with a bunch of young Shanazarans and Mobian dibbuns, a scarf wrapped around her neck as she spoke in a low, creepy tone.
"Dis donker, donker, middernag...naaaader kruip die ZOELOEMAG!" Amy whispered.
The children all shivered as Bokkun visibly trembled. He'd heard that one before, it WAS frightening.
Nack however, had a different method of getting the kids' attention. Twirling his gun and sheathing it back in its holster, Nack smirked proudly as the kids looked over the apple he'd blown apart with a single shot. "Woah...100 yards..." One of them whispered.
"That's nothin'. I could blow dah antennae of an ant at fifty paces!" The weasel/wolf bragged proudly, making a fake gun with one hand and going "ba-bang" at the little ones.
"Have you guys seen Ewan?" Johnny inquired of Omega as he and Big approached them from the other end. "We're supposed to go out to get more firewood."
"No, I have not seen the chao. Why do you ask?" Omega wished to know. "He told me that he was going out to get firewood with Nack."
"Nu-UH." Nack said, overhearing and walking over to them. "He told ME he was going to go get firewood with YOU." Fang the Sniper insisted, shaking his head thoroughly.
"...hmmmmm." Omega's red eyes slowly opened and closed as his tone dropped ever-so-slightly. "Where could he be?"
Where indeed. Ewan was out in the forest, meeting with a cloaked blue hedgehog that was totally bundled up...a hedgehog that was not truly a hedgehog at all. "This way. I'll take you there."
"Oh, by all means, lead the way, chao." Metal commented calmly, removing the hood and letting it fall down to reveal his dark red eyes.
...
...
...
...meanwhile, at Central HQ, Rouge was now in her finest black outfit, serving Dr. Eggman a nice cup of coffee as he sat at his desk, working away at what appeared to be some kind of new robot. He had the television on and there was something of an interview on FOX News being broadcast. It was an interesting one, to be sure, but what Dr. Eggman was more interested in, even more so than the robot before him or the interview...was Rouge's uncomfortable silence towards him.
"...I understand...you discovered the truth about Cheese."
"Yes. I did." Rouge said bitingly, giving him a momentary glance before putting the filter in the coffee machine. "...I found out in a rather...disturbing...way." She added.
"And you also know of my own real identity?" Dr. Eggman added.
"Yeeeep." Rouge mumbled.
"Well, I guess the question on everyone's mind right now is...why are you coming forward now? Why should anybody believe your claims?" The FOX News reporter inquired of the woman she was interviewing, a green-haired woman with an odd-looking crown atop her head and a regal outfit.
"As to the first question, the answer's simple...I got tired of the hypocrisy."
"...as one of the huddled masses, I feel the need to ask, how do you honestly feel about all of this? Me, a Golem, being the leader of this country with a son as a Golem as well?" Dr. Eggman inquired, an intrigued look coming into his eyes behind his goggles.
"...disappointed." Rouge admitted. "No matter what you might have done, I had respect for you because I respected the office you held, and...and there were times when you managed to show a glimpse of humanity. And no, I won't take back the term." She added with a slightly insolent glare.
"I got tired of him pretending to be somebody he's not...a decent, honorable guy. The people who think he is need to hear the other side." The woman on the television went on.
"It's sad. You didn't really earn anything on your own the way we "inferiors" did. You got the position not because of your talent but because of whom your father was. The ultimate beneficiary of affirmative action. It's disgustingly sad." Rouge added, turning around to fold her arms before him. "Sadder still to think you played up the whole "great family man" angle."
"And isn't there ALWAYS another side?" The woman on the television continued. "Isn't that what the news has taught us about everyone? Politicians, clergy, teachers, EVERYONE?"
Dr. Eggman chewed his lip as he put the small robot into a box and began to wrap it up in a kind of glittery paper. "True...my men...this laboratory...my position...my son...all given to me by my designer. All of it flowed from him. Even my own talent isn't my own. But...you're wrong in one way. I wasn't playing up any angle with my family. I chose Vanilla and Cream."
Rouge blinked as Dr. Eggman attached a red bow to his Christmas present, standing up, politely nodding at her, and then leaving the room.
"...wow."
...
...
...
...meanwhile, back at the lonely village far off from Central, Johnny was helping a young man with his recent loss of parents. Regrettably they'd been raped and hacked to pieces by a psychotic bird. Big, who had also decided to assist the poor panther through this horrible time, was patting the young lad on the back as he finished his tale.
"And-and at the-the crime scene, all they found was a hand, my mom's head, and a gravy-flavored condom!" The panther sobbed, covering his face with his hands.
"Kid, it'll be alright." Johnny insisted. "We'll walk ya through this."
The kid kept wailing. "Thanksgiving is never gonna be the same again! No more pumpkin pie...no more cranberry sauce...just TURKEY!"
"Son, I know how you feel. I too experienced great loss. I was once one of the head men of the 5th Laboratory in Central. I grew so attached to all of my interns, and then one day, one of them exploded during an accident. Right in front of me." Big shook his head, sighing sadly. "I told Billy not to touch that wire..."
"...that is pretty bad." The panther admitted.
"I don't even know where my interns are right now." Big added quietly. "...I miss them. I never had a family of my own, so..." He nervously shrugged, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I kinda imprinted on them..." He mumbled.
"Listen, I know what'll cheer you up." Nack said as he approached the panther with a rifle slung over his shoulder. "Whaddya say we go on a good, old-fashioned...TURKEY-SHOOT." He offered, placing very large emphasis on the last words, a grin spreading across his face.
A grin began to spread across the panther's face as Nack handed him a gun. "Oh, YES, please!" The panther laughed happily as the two quickly headed off, Big turning to Johnny.
"Think he'll be alright?"
"...I doubt it. That kid's gonna be screwed up for life the longer he hangs out with-"'
"Heeeeeyyy!"
They turned around to see somebody heading up the hill towards them, moving through the snow. One was Ewan, the other a cloaked blue hedgehog with odd-looking red eyes. "Ewan? Where the heck were you!" Johnny wanted to know, hands folding across his chest.
"I found this drifter outside of the village, he says he'd like to see a doctor, so I thought I'd take him to you, Big." Ewan explained, shrugging his shoulders.
"That's good enough, chao. It was hardly Oscar material, but it doesn't matter...I think I can handle this on my own." Metal Sonic said, tossing the cloaked garb away as the fur transformed into harsh metal, his claws curling slightly in anticipation.
"...ohhhhh dear." Big commented, chewing his lip. "...this soon..."
"Hello, hello, helloooo, kitty-cat!" Metal laughed coldly as Ewan quickly made a retreat to the side. "Whatever are you doing out here? I mean, even for you, this is simply the sticks. These are people are positively..."
"Provincial." Big protested.
"Common?" Johnny wondered.
"PEASANTLY." Metal corrected, almost wishing he had the capacity to sneer at these filthy organics. "You've got some nerve you stupid little flea, trying to put one over on yours truly? I mean, really, did you think this was some kind of "Fugitive" movie, ending with you dramatically overcoming me and obtaining your freedom?" The robot laughed, cold and cruel, shaking his head back and forth as he continued to advance...
Not noticing that Ewan had winked over in the direction of Big, who gave Metal a calm, proud look.
"Oh, you smile? You think this is some kinda JOKE?" Metal Sonic laughed.
SCHA-SCHLUCHA! An enormous array of spikes suddenly shot out from the earth, striking through Metal Sonic's side, foot and his muzzle, making him reel back, gasping and vaguely squawking as his arms flailed, his body trying to heal itself. "Wh-wha! You...you led me into a TRAP, you dirty little beast!" He howled at Ewan, the chao calmly waving over in his direction as he walked over to Big and Johnny.
"Hey, you're the one who said to stop the acting." The chao laughed.
"We were waitin' for you, we were HOPIN' for you, you smug snake!" Big told him, turning around and smacking his butt in the Golem's direction. "I KNEW you were so confident and full of yourself you'd wanna go after me without help. Now we GOTCHA, cuz I've placed Metallurgic land mines all over the place!"
"Well look who dug down deep and finally found he had a pair of testes." Metal snapped. "You're still nobodies. No matter how many times you add zero together, it still comes out to ZERO!" With that proud statement, he stepped forward again. "Besides, this doesn't even-"
THA-THWOOOM! Giant fist to the face, knocking him through the air like a volleyball as another fist shot up and WHACKED him back down to the ground.
"Please tell me you're recording all this." Big asked happily.
"Oh, definitely." Johnny said, holding the camcorder and adjusting it to get a good look at the twisted expression of shock and pain on Metal Sonic's face.
"I'M! GOING! TO! MAKE! YOU! HURT!" Metal Sonic roared out, his voice devolving into a guttural growl as he tried to rush forward, only to be struck squarely in the stomach by a large statue with a lance that suddenly rose up from the ground. "GUAAAAGGGGHHH!"
"You know, it's kinda like shootin' fish in a barrel. After some time...you're gonna get bored." Ewan admitted.
"...I dunno. I've shot fish in a barrel before. Doesn't get old." Big admitted.
"F-fine, if you've got stupid "landmines" around here, I'll just walk in the places your stupid little friend was walking!" Metal Sonic hissed, trying to step in the holes that Ewan had made in the snow. Naturally, this went about as well as expected, and he was once again sent spiraling through the air, smoke rising off his body as Johnny began laughing so hard he almost dropped the camera.
"They ONLY react to Golems. And thanks to all this snow, you can't even SEE the landmines around here." Big explained calmly, shrugging his shoulders. "By the way, once you're beaten, I've arranged for a nice choir to come here to help me commemorate the event in which we, the "inferior trash" you look down on so much, kicked your shiney metal hiney."
"I almost feel bad for him." Marine admitted as she and Tails and her pet hid far off in a shack quite some distance away. "It's just remote Yakin Shīru. I'm having so much FUN, though! I gotta do this more often." The raccoon giggled slightly, one gloved hand holding onto a piece of paper, with several dozen responding "pieces" hidden in the snow around Metal Sonic.
"Thanks for walking me through this." Tails admitted. "I think I understand it a bit more." He added, holding up a casting paper of his own.
"...you...YOU...LITTLE...!" Metal Sonic began to growl, his body shaking and pulsing with fury. "I'll teach you to make a fool out of your superiors!" He roared like a lion, his body transforming before their eyes. "I'm going to put you in your place, you FIIIIIILTH!"
Metal had now transformed into his "Overlord" form, towering high above the snow, his draconic, metal-armored body shaking with rage, his serpentine tail lashing the ground furiously and fang-filled mouth opened wide letting out an animalistic roar.
"Oh boy." Big commented.
The Metal Overlord smashed his segmented spiked tail at their direction, and our dear, frightened protagonists rushed out of the way as his enormous, thick claws struck out to try and skewer them. Luckily, he missed again. Unluckily...
He had a cannon on his right hand. Holding it up in the air, a very smug sneer on his face as energy swirled around it's tip, finally shooting forth at Johnny and knocking him through the air. Regretably, this also meant he dropped the camcorder. Luckily, though, it didn't break.
"The camcorder's fine, it's fine." Ewan said, picking the thing up.
"Well, I'm glad IT'S fine!" Johnny screeched angrily, now hanging from a tree limb.
The armor of the Metal Overlord pulsed, the thousands of poor souls that made up his body screeching and sobbing and wailing, their faces all too visible within to those upon the outside as Marine looked away, horrified at what she was seeing, her pet koala nuzzling her gently as Tails patted her on the shoulder to comfort her. It was the most horrifying thing she'd ever seen in all her life!
"You're annoyingly persistent!" Metal Overlord growled in Big's direction as Johnny quickly hopped out of the tree, grabbing the doctor and rushing him off to the side. A moment later a harsh blow of golden energy struck the Metal Overlord in the face, knocking one of his teeth out as Ewan, now transformed into his tiny but powerful self, shook a fist in the Metal Overlord's direction.
"And YOU'RE just annoying!" Metal Overlord hissed at him.
"Don't sell us "filth" short, you overgrown tin can!" Ewan roared out.
"Damn you!" The Metal Overlord rushed forward, claws held high, but Marine acted quickly, another powerful array of spikes shooting through the golem's body. Unfortunately, this time the robotic being was much, much bigger, and he easily tore through the spikes, his tail lashing out and knocking Ewan through the air like kicking a puppy. "HA! You think your two-bit magic's going to help you now!"
"Let us see you contend with THIS." Omega roared out as he, no longer hidden, jumped up from the snow and through the air, slamming claws into the Metal Overlord's back as dark energy coursed through them and into the golem's quivering metallic form. The monstrous beast shrieked and howled in pain as purplish lightning surged through the air...
And then...THWOOM.
With that, the Metal Overlord fell to the ground, apparently unconscious. Big and the others stepped far away, the cat looking at the fallen form of the golem. "...y'know, I think we got 'im!" He said cheerily, turning around and facing the others, giving them a big thumbs up...
Not noticing the large electro-whip that quickly shot out from the claw-like cannon of the Metal Overlord, wrapping around him and hoisting him up as Metal Overlord laughed uproariously. "You know, I almost don't feel GOOD about winning this. Almost."
"DOCTOR!" The others yelled out in shock and horror.
"You put him down or so-help-me..." Omega growled furiously, purplish energy dancing around his claws like flames.
"Ah-ah-aaaaah." The Metal Overlord sneered, waving a claw back and forth in the air, the electro-whip sparkling and lightly shocking Big, who let out a cry of pain. "You try anything and I will snap him like a TWIG." He poked Big's head with said claw for good measure, leering at the cat. "He's already brown and skinny, I think it would be very easy."
"You disgusting little..." Tails growled under his breath as he and Marine stood near Omega, the others too nervous and frightened to move.
"I told you...if you were to try anything funny, I would erase that precious town of yours from the map."
"I...won't..." Big managed to growl out. "Let...you...do that!"
The Metal Overlord responded in a mature, adult fashion. By which I mean he took one claw and whacked Big squarely in the face with it, breaking his nose and sending blood oozing down over his quivering lip. "Oya-oya! The beaten cat doesn't get t mewl back."
"...grrrrr..." Big growled.
"Hmm." Metal Overlord rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a twisted smirk coming to his draconic features. "I know what'll get you to stop this annoyingly resistant attitude...I'll trash that annoying waste of space that is the village you've been staying at here." He decided.
"DON'T!" Big screamed.
"Simply crushing them or eating them or grinding them into powder would be FUN, but...not quite...satisfying. I know." The Golem looked from the village to Big, chuckling. "I'll bring whomever would bother you the most back to Central to become a new Chaos Emeralds."
"You're still making those insane things? You let my interns go!" Big demanded, struggling against the electro-whip, trying to ignore the pain that shot through him.
"Bit late for that..." Metal Overlord said calmly. "They've become the ingredients for the latest emerald."
Big's mouth slowly fell open, his eyes brimming with tears as his weak body began to shake. "...no...not them too..." He murmured, his tail and ears drooping down.
"Why are you getting so upset?" Metal Overlord spoke coldly, leaning in close, one burning, fiery red eye intently looking at the sobbing features of Big the Cat. "You've made DOZENS of Chaos Emeralds over the years...all using innocent lives." He added with a soft laugh.
For what seemed to be a long, long time Big was quiet as the faces within Metal Sonic's armor all seemed to change from leering and snarling to sad, somber expressions, Big lowering his head in shame as Metal Sonic's cold, metallic laughter rang over the fields like the tolling of an unholy bell.
"...it's true...I spent so...so long...not doing the right thing...hurting so many people...I learned more than anyone else in the military about how to make the Chaos Emeralds..." Big whispered tearfully, holding his hands over his eyes and whimpering. "...but..."
His hands reached down to his mouth as he spat out something into one of them, and he slyly put a strange, golden ring with a burning silver inscription written upon it on one finger. "When you learn how to make something..."
No longer cheeking his secret weapon, he held his hand high.
"YOU FIGURE OUT HOW TO BREAK IT DOOOOOWN!"
His fist slammed into the enormous golem's eye. And with that, waves of multicolored energy were sent spiraling out like twisted lightning from the Golem's body, the area surrounding them all spiking in temperature as the clouds above began to part, Metal Overlord screeching and wailing like he'd never done so before, his entire body beginning to dissolve away into tiny flakes that slowly melted into nothingness before their eyes.
It was, in a word, glorious. A Technicolor series of explosions were rocking the beast's body as he broke apart, releasing Big from his grasp as Omega carefully caught him and quickly stepped far away, the Golem's form reverting back to his hedgehog-esque appearance.
"Da-daaaamn...yoooou..." Metal Sonic manged to gargle out, a "mouth" ripped open along with most of his chest and stomach, showing off the chaos emerald embedded in him, a mouth filling up with what appeared to be lifeblood. "This...this can't be happen...happening...not to...not to me...not to ME..."
The metallic hedgehog was now transforming into a shorter, smaller form...silver in color, with orangish yellow eyes and stubby fingers, with thick boots for feet and a heavily-ironed appearance. "Don't...you... don't...don't you go...go looking d-down on...on meee...don't..."
Even that was slowly changing...that form too was dissolving away into a disgusting, bony skeleton of a thing that staggered towards them, naught but metallic waste barely given life.
"Don't...you dare..."
And with that, the "thing" collapsed, a tiny, egg-shaped little thing now lying in the ground, with a red and orange body and spindly little arms digging into the snow as teeeeny-tiny legs limped uselessly behind it. It tried to stand up, only to fall back down, it's pulsing, pinprick orange eyes glowing. "Look awaaaay...look away, look away..." It whined in a sound that was oddly reminiscent of computer static.
"...THAT'S Metal's true form? It's a freakin' EGG." Nack commented as Omega picked the thing up by it's tiny legs.
"You did it, Big. You beat him." Omega said gently. "...nicely done."
...
...
...
...needless to say, when they brought Metal's true form into the village and showed him off...the golem's pride took another nosedive.
"Ah one, two, a one-two-three-four!" Big cried out as the church choir began to dance around, singing at the top of their lungs as Big waved his butt proudly in the golem's face.
Payback is a bitch!
Payback is a bitch! (Oh yes!)
Payback is a bitch! (Oh, baby!)
Payback is a bitch!
You know it is, you know it is, oh baby,
Payback is a bitch!
"Lookin' at this thing?..." Amy commented, hands on her hips as Omega continued holding the little egg-golem-thing up in the air. "I almost don't feel guilty about you guys beating it. ALMOST."
"What is that SMELL?" Nack wanted to know, sniffing the air. "This thing?" He added, smacking the little prick with his hand. "...ooh, this is fun! Change my pitch up," he struck the thing again. "Smack my bitch up! Change my pitch up, smack my bitch up..."
"Ha-ha, you're Nack's BITCH...wow, that's sad." The panther that had been hanging with Nack admitted as he slung a decapitated turkey over his shoulder.
"Holy frick, is that a SMILE?" Amy asked him.
"I just killed the most diabolical turkey in all the Western Hempishere. Hmm. What now?" He wondered, turning to look at the turkey over his shoulder before laughing evilly, going off to start a fire.
"You gotta be careful, that sort of magic could have backfired and blown YOU to pieces instead of Egg-Robo over there." Tails warned Big as they sat him down on a tree stump. "You gotta be more careful, you GOTTA."
"I had to do this. I had to settle things for myself. I...I owed it to...to all those people who's lives I ruined by...by turning them into chaos emeralds." Big murmured sadly, head hung in shame.
"...it's alright. You did great." Amy said, patting him on the back.
"AAAA!"
Everyone turned their heads to see that the annoying little golem had finally had enough and had actually unhinged it's jaw and BITTEN Nack squarely on his hand. The weasel/wolf was now flailing around, arm waving hysterically in the air as he tried to get his balance, the golem sniggering. "Yum, finger food!" It got out before leaping on top of Nack's forehead, tiny hands stretched out as a series of wires began to work their way into skin.
"Oh dear." Amy gulped.
"Looks like I got myself a hostage." Metal sneered, forcing Nack to do the "Egyptian" before their eyes as his eyes blazed triumphantly. "I have LEVERAGE. Now this is very simple. If you want me to spare his life, you'll have to-"
"Go ahead. Fuck 'em. I don't care." Johnny said, Ewan nodding in agreement.
"WHAAAAAAAAAT?" Nack and Metal shouted.
"Oh, Mr. Nack!" Marine said, wiping a tear from her eye as her pet koala played a sad violin tune, Tails blowing his nose...somehow...into a Kleenex. "You're so BRAVE, sacrificing yourself for us. We will NEVER forget you!"
"Omega, sir, PLEASE tell me at least YOU'LL help?" Nack begged tearfully, prostrating himself before the Shanzaran and kowtowing over and over so many times his hat began to collect snow.
Omega blinked, folded his arms, then promptly did a perfect 180 degree turn around, ignoring him.
"NOOOOOoooooooo." Nack sobbed, covering his face and sobbing into the ground. "Not you toooooo!"
"Don't...screw...around...with us." Amy growled, hands on her hips. "We're not playing around here."
"Yeah. If we hafta kill that guy to get to you, we will. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one. I know it's true because Spock said it." Big said firmly.
"...oh bloody f—kin' hell. FINE!" Metal snapped, releasing his grip on Nack and falling to the ground as Tails scooped him into a jar.
"Nice bluff." Amy complimented Big, patting him on the back...as the old man finally collapsed, the stress of everything getting to him. "AH! Call a doctor!" She yelled, tugging on her hair. "...I AM a doctor!"
"YOU GUYS SUCK!" Nack screeched.
...
...
...
... "Damn you...damn you..." Metal mumbled as he sat inside the jar.
"I think it's time you spilled the beans, or I'm gonna introduce you to a little thing I like to call "PAIN"." Johnny said, picking up the jar as everyone stood around in a shack, the chao shaking the jar back and forth, knocking Metal against it over and over.
"Get 'em hard, shake and bake, stick it to that lousy snake! Gooooo JOHNNY!" Marine and Amy cheered, now somehow dressed in cheerleader outfits and doing a jumping cheer dance.
""Why should I tell you? You'll just kill me after, won'tcha? And...hey." Metal blinked, looking around. "How come Blue Bubblebutt isn't here?"
"Oh, he's should be at Nocturne. He just had some business to take care of at the base camp." Tails said simply, shrugging.
Metal giggled. "Not what IIIII heard. I heard that the base camp near Nocturne, well...blew up."
"WHAT?" Tails gasped in horror as Amy drew in a harsh breath.
"Yep. BOOM. The Dynamite Metallurgist knows his stuff." Metal laughed.
"So...what do we do? Head out to check on him, then?" Big wanted to know, scratching his head.
"...no." Tails insisted. "My brother would want us to keep moving forward. So that's what we'll d."
"I'll have to go my separate ways from you." Omega spoke up quietly. "I am no longer interested in a petty thing like revenge. I want...more. And to get it...I'll need you to come with me, doctor." He informed Big, turning in the cat's direction.
"There's someplace I should go to as well. Knothole. If my guess is right..." Tails murmured.
Marine sat nervously by the jar on her lonesome, chewing on her lip. Omega calmly approached her, sitting by her. "You need this. Take him and go back to your land. It is a golem, after all. It has a chaos emerald within it...doesn't die even when you kill it...isn't this what you were looking for? The Metatron would be most impressed with the knowledge you could gain from this thing."
"...But...if I go home, who will teach you all about-"
"You have your OWN problems to worry over!" Omega insisted loudly, getting everyone else's attention. "What happened to that resolve you had at the beginning? If you don't bring this to Soleanna, you know what shall befall your people! We can handle our country's problems...you handle your own. Understand?"
He gently placed a clawed hand on Marine's shoulder as the raccoon bit her lip.
"You have people at home counting on you. It'll be alright." Tails said gently.
"...I...th-thank...you..."Marine murmured nervously, taking the jar, tears brimming in her eyes. "...I...I..."
...
...
...
...it wasn't long before Marine was on her way to the train station, clutching the jar that held Metal tightly, tears trickling down her cheek as her pet koala nested on her shoulder.
"They're good people, aren't they?" Metal asked softly. "You really want to help them. I get that. It's all noble, heroic, that Russel Crowe "Gladiator" crud. Look...think about it. You're just one little girl. They've already got a lot of help. You don't HAVE to go back."
"...but I did...I did promise myself I'd head back to Soleanna with...with the secret that I so needed...the power my clan needs to survive..."Marine murmured to herself.
"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not the weakest of us. I'm not the most powerful, but I'm not the weakest. The most powerful lives down in Central, but you've got your whole "duty to your family" thing to think about." Metal added calmly.
"...those people back there...they're family too. I can't abandon them, mate. Nobody gets left behind!" Marine insisted. "Screw this noise, I'm goin' to Central, they'll be headed there eventually anyhow!"
Metal grinned darkly to himself. Gotcha, bitch.
SEASON FOUR ENDING CREDITS!
(Sonic stands alone in the wreckage of where his home was, Tails standing across from him as the two turn to look at the slowly setting sun.)
Kawashita hazu no nai yakusoku ga,
kyou mo...bokura no mirai wo ubaou to suru!
(Poses of all the Golems are shown with a final shot of Void, arms folded as he stands above Central, smiling proudly)
Hoshigatteita mono wo te ni shite mo,
sunao ni...umaku waraenai no wa naze darou!
(A scene of NiGHTS sitting underneath the stars, musing to himself is shown, which fades to a scene of Rouge looking at herself in the mirror, eyeing the shadows nervously as Shadow calls from the next room, getting her attention)
Afureru namida wa yowasa ya koukai ja nai!
itami ga unda...kakera deee!
(All of our heroes are shown running along a plain, ready for action.)
Donna shunkan datte unmei datte,
hitotsu dake tashika na...mono ga aru to...shii-iiitta!
(A scene of Amy walking proudly through a long hallway towards Sonic is shown as she takes his hand nods, the two of them running off a moment later.)
Genkai datte konnan datte akirametaku nai yo...
kono mama! Hanaaasaide!
(A shot of many ring-wearing hands is shown, reaching up for the heavens as a bright light emits from them all, leading into a transition that shows everyone standing around in a group shot, the Metal Brotherhood at the front.)
Kataku nigirishimeta kimi no migite no nukumoriii...
Koko ni aruuu kara!
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Consider this my Christmas gift to all of you...the end of another season of my story, and what an end indeed! I hope you all have a great holiday season/winter break. :D