How many of these are there going to be? Meh, don't know. I keep saying this is going to end...and then it doesn't. Hope that's not a bother. I'm trying to wrap it up quicker, but I don't want to leave something WIDE open. o_O
I badly want to rewrite this story. X.X
How's about I finish it first? Seriously, I'm SO bad for starting things and not finishing them.
._.
On with the show! ;D
-Chapter 107: High Ground 4-
The floor evened out and Rolph walked properly again. He went back to the lab with the metal version of the guy he knew as 'Sonic'. "If I were a crazy doctor who turns people into robots and the steals their limbs, where would I store the severed legs? Would I keep them at all? Maybe I'd destroy them." Rolph's softened, drug addled brain still felt the hivemind, though it was dimmer. "That bozo left the base? Looks like the farther away he gets, the quieter he is...good to know he's not going to be paying attention to any of this," he said to himself and rooted around the lab. He went through a couple drawers and a few boxes before he paused for a face palm. "I'm fuckin' dumb." He found a reflective surface and flipped his eye patch up. "...there they are." He left the room and came back seconds later. "Score: Broom closet legs." Rolph put Metal's legs back on. They automatically connected. "Magnets? Interesting." After he grabbed a laser blowtorch from a lower drawer in the main desk, he powered Metal on with a button on the side of the titanium wall slate he was fixed to.
Metal's body was fastened in place with unbreakable metal bands around his wrists, neck and torso. His eyes lit up green and he became aware of Rolph's attempt to free him.
"You can't feel this, can you?" Rolph noticed the laser blowtorch left a mark on his chest.
Metal shook his head and allowed himself to be freed. When able to move again, he signed the letters for, "Thank you," then proceeded to tear the contents out any cabinet or drawer he could get his hands on. Bits and bobs were strewn about the floor.
"You nailed sign language, but maybe what you need is a voice. We should look for a voice box for ya. Is there one around here," Rolph flipped up his patch and looked at Metal's back. He saw nothing but white. "Why's that keep happening?" It was the same as when he looked at Amy.
Metal headed for the door.
"Hold on a sec," Rolph reached out to him and was met with a fist lined up, ready to strike. He held up his hands and took a step back. "Wait, you think I'm Shadow, don't you?"
Metal signed speedily, "You sound like you eat gravel for breakfast, of course you aren't Shadow."
He laughed with his coarse voice, "You got me there, buddy. I'm Rolph, a sibling of Shadow's. I know he and the other guy named Sonic don't like each other very much, so I want to let you know, I want to help you, I got no intention of fighting."
Metal gave an exasperated and bored shrug, coupled with an eye roll.
Rolph was surprised. "Geez, you really are a person in there. That was a very 'people' thing to do; not rigid like a robot, at all. I want to help you turn back to normal and get you back to your dimension. You're probably from another dimension if you're also Sonic and not some lookalike or family member."
Metal left the lab and speed walked to his destination.
"Hey! Hold on! I can help you find the room with the machine that'll turn you back to a person." His words were ignored. "What's this guy's deal?" Rolph followed him, confused.
Metal stopped and turned to a closed door. He pulled it to the side and opened it with force.
"Oh, maybe you don't need my help in that regard." Rolph followed along.
Metal, again, tore the room apart, but this time, he had success. He came back to his saviour with a remote similarly coloured to his metal body.
"What's this? Is this the thing? I thought it'd be bigger, like, you'd need to step into it, kind of big."
Metal signed the letters, "Destroy that."
"Destroy? Does this deactivate you?"
Metal nodded.
"If the doctor can't shut you down, you can defend yourself and, or, leave back to your time, or dimension-your home, right?"
Metal nodded a shallow nod.
"I got this," Rolph flipped his eye patch up again. "What's it gonna take to break this hunk of junk?"
Metal acknowledged the Black Arm hybrid's ability.
Rolph's blood ran cold as many possibilities poured into his vision. None of them were good. "You can't destroy this yourself, because of a fail safe." He looked up to Metal, who had his fists on his hips and tapped an impatient foot. Rolph stood back. He pulled his eye patch off and stuffed it in his dress coat pocket. "If I destroy this, you're going to turn on me right away." He allowed his arm fall loosely at his side, but held on to the device tightly. "I should have never turned you on. I'm not thinking right. Your situation of imprisonment is different from ours; my siblings were all good people, for starters-" Metal lunged at him with a balled fist. Rolph dodged effortlessly with a quick dip to the side. "You aren't going to be able to hit me. Just let me power you down, you monster."
Metal rubbed his nose with the back of his finger. He calculated in a split second and took off toward the only door.
Rolph was quicker and blocked his path. He hit the robot with the remote. It momentarily stunned the bot and he shuttered to the floor. "Why can't I see your future? I mean, other than the ones that involve you trying to kill me and run off? Is it that there are too many possibilities?" Rolph again bobbed, weaved and dodged Metal's onslaught of punches and kicks with little to no effort. "Or does time flow differently for an inorganic being?"
Metal paused and looked furious with tightly clenched his fists.
Rolph noticed something. 'I can see more if I look for longer!' He concentrated. "You're gonna run, but hey, I didn't need to look forward to know that. You're a little weakling, just like that stupid virus that tried to use me and my sister!"
Metal went for his opponent's eye with a pointed finger poke powered with his jets.
"I also knew you'd do that," he said and landed another smack with the remote. "Looks like hitting you with this is triggering the fail safe-" Rolph suddenly saw another possibility form from the light. He tossed the remote into the hall and jumped on Metal. He wrapped his arms and legs around the robot. "All you got is running, and you're taking me with you!"
Metal launched them at top speed. The two barrelled through the steel walls of the lair and the small amount of stone that stood outside. The piece of mountain sailed down to the water far below and made a considerable wave. Nothing that had an effect on the ongoing tsunami, but it damaged a large stretch of coral reef.
Rolph went for a ride as Metal tried to shake him in the ocean, skidding against the ground or smashed him off rocks. He flew right at the mountain where a clutch of villagers gathered and escaped the rising waters.
On the mountainside, the people of Hedgehog Village, and a few outsiders there looking for Mina, witnessed their livelihoods get washed away. Knuckles and Julie-Su stood and kept an eye on their house. "Time to see if the double weather stripping Xaun insisted on, holds up," Julie-Su had set of binoculars fixed on her and Knuckles new home.
As the bigger portion of the wave hit, the water level rose another three feet. The entire foundation uprooted and their home floated down the coast in one solid piece.
Team Sonic failed to say any words and could only watch on in silent dismay.
Jules lowered the binoculars and sighed, "I noticed there were a lot of air bubbles in the cement when we mixed it, I should have said something."
"Don't worry, babe, I'm sure it'll be fine," Knuckles said and gave his partner a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
Eggman finally made an appearance in his flying transport vehicle.
"Not now!" Sonic bellowed with his low werehog voice. "I know you had something to do with this. As soon as we can prove it, you're going down for good."
The doctor backed up and stretched his arms out wide, "You've got me all wrong. I'm here to offer support!"
Orbot appeared on top of the doctor's transport with a t-shirt cannon. He fired it and knocked Dave over with a high speed roll of paper towels to the face. "Moral!" the robot declared.
"See?" Eggman said as he half bowed and presented the gift giving robot.
"Get lost!" Sonic snarled as he stood guard of Amy, covered in a blanket(to avoid unnecessary chatter).
He chuckled warmly, "Honestly, I'm here to give you all bit of good news, amidst the-" he saw city hall out of the corner of his eye, as it crumbled into the water, "- oncoming moisture. I want to buy all your farm land so I can revolutionise it's revitalisation and desalinisation processes; all at a loss to me, but if it'll help in the long run, I believe it's worth it to give back to my community."
Lady Walrus spoke up, "That won't be necessary. We have plans for the acidic soil. You can go."
The townspeople who were nearby, and Eggman, looked to the middle aged woman. "Come again?" he said with a low tone.
As she adjusted her fine pearls, she nonchalantly looked up, "I said you're not needed, what's not to understand?" She scoffed and chortled with her one percent friends.
"You think you're going to push me off this island? Think again, Lady. I'm five percent away from owning this stupid rock."
Lady Walrus huffed, "Pompous windbag! Why don't you run some calculations with the newest numbers? You should be miserably surprised," she said and gave another haughty laugh.
Eggman spun around and faced his robot sidekick. "Orbot, what is she talking about?"
"I'm unsure. Allow me to go online and check the regist-...oh that's not good." Orbot didn't need to calculate the numbers to know how different from the ones he'd used previously. "These aren't real numbers. There has to be a trick."
"Spit it out, Orbot!" Eggman said with gritted teeth.
"Sir...as of right now...based on numbers updated by satellite a day ago...Lady Walrus owns sixty-two percent of the island...she owns us."
Eggman's jaw dropped open, "How did you manage that?! I call a do-over! You measured the island wrong! I own half! Nearly half!"
Lady Walrus walked up to Eggman and stood with her arms folded. "You see my good man, once we realised what you were doing years ago, we decided to inflate our ownership. We found the schematics that controlled the float of the island. Those ancients were marvellously well equipped, and only minor repairs needed to be done to get it back up and running. The 'floats' as they're call, instigated the movement of the islands into the archipelago we know today. Sadly, we couldn't get them all working, but we got enough of them to serve our purpose. We stretched the island in our favour. Everybody liquidated their assets to me and now I have the majority ownership. And let me tell you doctor there are going to be changes made around here." She reached over and took the mayor's hat from his two outstretched hands that presented it to her. She placed the little top hat atop her head. "Big changes."
Rolph and Metal Sonic landed in the middle of the dispute with a crash and a healthy helping of dust and flung debris. Rolph yelled, "I fucked up! I lost the remote! Kill him! Do it now!" Metal Sonic finally landed a kick on him. Rolph flew into a four foot wide jungle tree and snapped his neck upon impact. He went unconscious for his nano machines to heal him quicker.
BG saw what happened from the crowd and screamed at the horrible sight of Rolph's limp neck and head.
Eggman scrambled away. "No way! If you don't have the remote, he's your problem now," he said and quickly bailed on the whole situation, back to his floating lair. Orbot stayed behind by pretending to miss the getaway vehicle.
Metal sonic powered up a hand beam and pointed it towards the crowd of innocent people, who stood behind their new mayor.
Sonic debated if he should jump in or stay to protect Amy. Suddenly, shots rang out and hit Metal Sonic in succession. The sniper-like accuracy dented his eye socket and sent his left eye offline. Metal was forced to retreat. The being took off into the jungle below and toward the waters of the tsunami.
"No you don't!" Sonic took off after him. "Watch Amy!" he yelled as he swung into the jungle after his counterpart.
Manic and Roater stood tall at the top of a nearby hill, their poised and aimed rifles were lowered. They both grinned and fist bumped in victory. "Let's go meet the people," Manic said.
"You mean: The people and my x-wife," Roater grimaced as he noticed Lady recognise him from a distance.
They slid down the slope to the group of cheering people below.
Aww, a touching reunion is about to be had. :3