Chapter 4: G.U.N returns
I have watched Sonic Boom. The newest incarnation of Sonic. In that version, Sonic is still a hero, but is also much more of a rude and unpleasant jerk who is far less considerate of the feelings of others.
He is especially less nice to Tails and Amy. He also sees his fights with Eggman as more of a game rather than something to be taken seriously. And when Eggman stopped fighting the group, Sonic became an unbearable menace who started ruining his friends lives because of his need to go fast.
We can therefore see from that iteration where there are no human characters, that Sonic himself would be a less than appealing main character, if focused on extensively. He works better as the quiet hero in the background who mentors another less experienced fighter.
If anything, Tails and Amy are the closest to main characters in the Sonic series. The main character is someone who undergoes significant development during the story, and thus the story is told from their point of view.
Tails and Amy both change very dramatically in learning to become independent from the blue hero, while Sonic stays more or less the same. While Knuckles has a tragic tendency to forget everything he's learned and to go back to trusting Dr Eggman completely the next time, no matter how far-fetched or evil Dr Eggman's plans really are.
Human characters are clearly a welcome addition to the Sonic show. The animal characters in Sonic Boom and spoiled jerks like Antoine from Sonic adventures, are clearly not nice.
Also there are Sonic characters in the Sonic live action movies and those did extremely well. No one bats an eyelid at those humans. Just like the Smurfs movies where the smurfs go to the human world.
Chris needed to learn his lesson much sooner. He needed to become independent and stand-alone at least at the start of Season 2. Also, it is a massive bummer that only Chris got to go through the Chaos portal to Sonic's world 6 years later, while his amazing friends had to stay behind.
That's just unfair, and completely botches the message of Chris learning to be his own man.
The key plot points that I feel the show missed:
-Shadow didn't get to meet Helen and see the similarities between her and Maria. How they are both blonde, sick girls who don't deserve to die even if the rest of making is evil.
-Chris's friends didn't get to go through te portal with Chris. People say teenage Helen looks cute, but I personally also think teenage Frances is pretty smoking hot too.
-Molly, the human rebel from planet Cascada, (during the Metarex part with Dark Oak and Earthia) and Cosmo the Seedrian should have gotten to meet Chris's friends. Even briefly.
-Knuckles and Rouge should have been called out for their wrongdoings, in choosing to work with Dr Eggman multiple times despite knowing him to be a traitor.
-If Maria was brought back to life somehow, she should have reached out to Dr Eggman (Ivo), and tried to talk him down. Sure he might have said no, and kept being evil, but it would further emphasize Maria's supposed niceness and gentleness that Shadow loved her for.
-Frances should have been revealed as the daughter of reporter Scarlet Garcia. The resemblance between them is just too striking to ignore.
It would also be nice for Ivo Robotnik to have one relative who doesn't completely hate his guts.
The show can still be interesting even if Eggman turns good. In Death Note, after Light beat L, Near and Mello came to give Light a new challenge.
Before I proceed with the chapter, the first and last names of every character so far:
Hedgehogs and other animals.
-Sonic Swift
-Miles "Tails" Prower
-Amy Rose
-Rouge Skeffington (Rouge the bat)
Humans
-Ivo Robotnik (Eggman)
-Gerald Robotnik (Eggman and Maria's grandfather)
-Maria Robotnik (Eggman's cousin)
-Frances Garcia (Scarlet Garcia's daughter)
-Scarlet Garcia (Frances's mum)
-Manuel Garcia (Frances's dad, a low ranking officer.)
-Helen Priestly
-Lina Priestly (Helen's mum. A florist)
-Doug Priestly (Helen's dad. A convenience store clerk. His name is revealed on the Sonic X Wiki page)
-Danny Darnell
-Wesley Stewart (Mr Stewart)
-Hiroshi Tanaka (Mr Tanaka. Chris's butler)
-Ella Sinclair (Ella, Chris's maid)
Frances POV
Ice was not the only monster that tried to take advantage of Helen for her disability, and me for being a carer of a disabled person. Plenty of the less friendly kids at school tried to tease us both especially during our early years, although thankfully never going so far as to try and kill us like Ice did.
Luckily, most of them could be silenced by my harsh glare or at worst, a raised knuckle and a stamp of the ground. Then they backed away, and insulted Helen and me no more.
Mum and dad were very nice parents who I did not fully appreciate at first, due to their apparent strictness.
Each time I asked for a toy or a video game, they would reply in much the same manner:
"Go exercise."
"Dad, Can I have Call of Duty modern warfare for Christmas? I've been a good girl all year, doing the dishes, cleaning the house and mowing the lawn and much more."
"Frances. Did you not hear me? Go exercise."
"Mum? How about giving me Street Fighters for my birthday? I've always said please and thank you just like you taught me to."
"Your father told you the answer, and I'm not going to change it. Frances. Please. Go exercise."
So I drooped my head, gritted my teeth and did as I was told. Boy was I glad that mum and dad refused to give me a single video game.
So too, was Helen pleased. For when I did go and exercise, I did it in her yard to give her a delightful show. Even if she couldn't move her legs, she could at least be entertained as I performed a myriad of astounding stunts with my well-honed physique.
"Now, do a barrel roll please Frances" Helen would happily request.
"Alright. Here." And I did a barrel roll from one end of her garden to the other. I was a little dusty and dazed by the end, but it was all worth it to hear Helen's roaring applause as she nearly fell out of her wheelchair in happiness.
"That was amazing. Frances. How about a cartwheel next?"
"Your wish is my command, my dear princess."
I liked to envision myself as a Knight in shining Armor. I did after all know how to operate a gun from dad's lessons during my youth in the crime den of Mexico. Guns, bullets and bayonet. The modern day bow, arrow and sword.
"Oh so lovely. Frances. You rock. If you er don't mind. Can you demonstrate one last front flip please?"
"Prepare to be flipped beyond all belief." I witfully punned as I delicately launched my body forwards, head first and did a complete spin from head to toe before landing poised and balanced on my right foot.
Then Helen threw a pile of leaves into the sky, trying to pretend the leaves were confetti as I basked in my glory of one audience member. But the only audience member that actually mattered to me in the whole wide world.
Dad the junior officer, and mum the reporter were grooming me in the most caring and nurturing manner that two overworked parents could be expected to take care of their young daughter. They were making me into a dangerous one-girl army that could demolish entire mobs of angry criminals.
And encouraging me to spend more time with Helen to boot, while keeping my legs, arms and eyes strong and healthy.
It was well that they told me to go play with Helen so often in my early years, since in my later years their work picked up even more. Dad was promoted to Ensign while mother was made head reporter up from junior reporter. This meant more household chores which I now had no choice but to perform in their stead, and much less time with dear Helen.
I trusted Chris to keep Helen in good company while I worked, but that was the gravest blunder in my whole life. Chris did not return the favor from when we provided the younger him with his first two friends outside of his mansion.
He saw a blue hedgehog, a yellow fox and an adorably attractive pink hedgehog, and poor Helen was as good as thrown to the wayside. Helen's sun had become her moon instead, with how icy cold his mannerisms toward his first real friend became.
And a flower without sunshine was doomed to die.
Helen was near death now as I pushed her wheelchair as quickly as my legs would carry me. She had been left without company for far too long. Unlike Chris, she did not have the mobility of her legs, nor the vast power and affluence afforded to Chris by his extremely wealthy parents and lifestyle.
So it was up to me to bring her in this dark hour of need, to her finest hour.
She needed a coalition soldier and she would get one.
The best one in the neighbourhood, who's father had a mantle full of trophies, medals and plaques alongside an armoury full of weapons he was allowed to bring from the battlefield, should duty call the distinguished defender of liberty elsewhere.
"Woah Frances. Please slow down. I know you want me to be less lonely and to see my favourite island, but please steady on. You're going too fast." The blonde girl pleads.
"Did you not love blue hedgehog Sonic explicitly because he let you go fast, Dear Helen? I am only trying to be like Mr Sonic even though he cannot be here." I reply confidently.
"Fair point Frances. In that case. Go faster." Helen cheerfully orders in response, her smile getting bigger and brighter with every step forward.
"Now that's the Helen I know." I happily say, as I pump my legs ever harder and barrel forward with fewer inhibitions than ever before.
"Faster Frances. Faster. Not fast enough Frances. Not fast enough." Helen cheers, lost in sheer bliss and not knowing we are coming to the edge of the top of a very steep hill. The last hill between us and paradise. Helen's paradise of flowers and meadows and singing birds. The sun was shining so vibrantly. The weather was so perfect.
But night would come in soon and this opportunity would be lost forever. Lost time was never found again.
So I stopped pushing briefly, stepped back, took a deep breath and then resumed pushing Helen's wheelchair with far greater force and focus than before. I knew that the hill would give me great momentum and I wanted to make the most of it.
"Gotta go fast. Gotta go faster. Faster. Fa,fa,fa,fa faster." I sung, hoping Sonic didn't sue me for copyright later for stealing his musical number.
"Moving at the speed of sound. Quickest hedgehog around. Got ourselves a situation. Stuck in a new location. Without any explanation. No time for relaxation." I sang loudly, knowing fully well that I wasn't a hedgehog nor match the speed of one. But I would give Helen the speed she never knew, even despite that shortcoming.
Helen would find happiness with or without Sonic to kindly watch over her. Even when Sonic found all seven chaos emeralds and went back to Mobius, he could rest easy knowing his duty as a true friend to Helen would not go undone. Never go undone.
"Thank you Sonic. Thank you. For teaching me how to be a better friend. A better person." I whisper to myself as I nearly lose control of my grip. The sheer speed is so great as to make it impossible to keep my feet on the ground. I'm sent flying downhill alongside Helen, and I start to scream while she laughs louder than I've ever heard her laugh before.
She sobs joyfully as we reach terminal velocity, and nearly collide with a rock below but thankfully don't. How I wish this speedy moment would never end. I don't care that it got me screaming in fear with my eyes closed and my entire body shaking.
All that matters is that Helen's happy again despite everything Chris did to try and break her spirit like an angry child breaks a toy they no longer need. Screw you Chris. Screw you.
May you be stung by the poisoned stings of a thousand Mexico beach scorpions. May you be feasted upon by the sharp beaks of a hundred starving vultures. May Heaven have mercy on your soul, for I certainly will not.
May Sonic abandon you to a dark and gloomy future, just as you abandoned Helen when she needed you most.
Friendship terminated Chris Thorndyke. Friendship terminated. The second I go home, I'm going to rip up the peace treaty. The Garcia and Priestly family have no further need for the inconsiderate mockery and pretentious snobbery of the disgraced Thorndyke manor, any longer.
We managed fine without you, and we can go on perfectly well without you now.
The next time we meet Chris, consider yourself our sworn enemy. Expect no quarter, for you gave the poor and needy Helen, none. Your next future meeting with us, is tantamount to no less than a declaration of war.
Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in. So shame on me now. You flew Helen to places she's never been. Till you put her down on the cold hard ground, and couldn't be bothered to pick her back up.
"Maybe we can go find Chris sometime soon, and ask him why he's doing these cruel things." Helen suggests as we continue the rest of the still very long way much more slowly, with her choosing to wheel herself forward. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation and maybe Chris isn't so bad after all. Maybe he just needs our help again."
"Forget him!" I snap, quietly but dangerously. "That uncaring jerk is as good as dead to me. He..."
Then I hush up as I hear the faint sounds of a clicking gun and smell the rancid odour of cigarette smoke. Tobacco fumes travel much further than one might expect, especially when only 15% of the actual smoke is inhaled by the smoker.
Thinking quickly, I wheel Helen behind a tree and put a finger to my lips, as deep throated muttering rings out quietly from the distance.
She nods, perfectly apprehensive as I creep very cautiously to behold three large men in sharp and tidy dark business suits, that look so tight as to strain their wearers. They certainly seemed from a distance like professional and brilliant adult men, not too unlike the most respectable Mr Stewart.
But then I take one slightly more careful glance, and all foolish ideas that they might be anything but bad-news bears quickly flies past me. For all three of them from the shortest to tallest, thinnest to thickest, have one awful point in common.
A fearful and frightful unifying theme that places them in the exact same boat as Ice, the yellow jacket and pale blue haired gangster. Which is that all three, held a small but equally fearsome Glock pistol in their muscular hands, attached to very well-built and stocky arms.
They were clearly trained killers, who had killed before and would rejoice at the prospect of doing it again.
Despite our distant spot from behind a grove of conveniently positioned trees, we could hear the terrible trio perfectly. There was no traffic or other city noise to muffle their voices out here in the idyllic countryside lake, which was also visible from our vantage point.
We knew that if we had gone one step further without hushing up, we'd be lying lifeless by the trees now, with bullets riddled in every part of us. The forest would be painted red by our blood and we would never be heard from again.
So we stayed still and silent, trying as best we could to catch what the men were murmuring amongst themselves. They clearly did not know they were being listened in on, and we had no intention of announcing ourselves. It was normally incredibly rude to eavesdrop, but when the speakers carried guns and met in secretive places away from the public eye, such rudeness was excusable.
The three gunmen introduced themselves as, in order of size: Macloed, the largest of the three with the short, dark hair and small moustache. A sinister pair of shades covered both his eyes, giving him even more menace about him. No doubt to denote him as the head honcho of the pack.
Mcbride, a tad shorter than Macloed, with longer spiky brown hair and a much more complete, fluffy beard of medium length that covered his entire chin.
He could easily pass for Captain Brownbeard if he donned the appropriate pirate gear. He seemed slightly less unfriendly, though that was not saying much when he had a gun that he was excitedly twiddling in his right hand.
Last but not least: Mclean. Whose name essentially told you everything you needed to know about his almost unhealthy thinness. Bald to the last hair on his head, his face and his neatly shaved chin. He reminded me greatly of Ice, if Ice shaved, and tried to look halfway presentable to fool the law.
Mclean looked like Ice, he behaved like Ice. As I would learn just seconds later, he spoke just like Ice, with freezing coldness in his every syllable.
I crept as close as I dared. I couldn't see their lips move clearly, but their body language more or less told me, who was who.
"So. Our glorious syndicate G.U.N's finally got their act together again. No more beating around the bush and back to serious business, once again?" Mclean grumbled impatiently, as he drew out a cigarette and lighter for a smoke. A few quiet but painful coughs, filled the air soon after.
"That's what we've been telling you, you dimwit. The new general of ours is a fine man, isn't he? Not like you Mclean. You're useless." Mcbride snapped back.
"The new General is certainly much more competent than the old one. Can't believe it took us that long to replace the crazy old fool off his rocker. The new plan to finish off G.U.N's unfinished business with ARK, and achieve total global domination, really is a master plan. And I thought I was the greatest genius." Macloed finished, raising a hand to the sky in triumph.
"Such a stupid, disobedient and immature, whiny little brat. That Maria Robotnik. To think she could have stood in the way of us, G.U.N, the most powerful syndicate in America. No. The most powerful syndicate on the face of this planet. Her brain dead old man, Gerald, must really have passed his stupidty down to her." Mclean mockingly remarked.
It was apparent that Mclean had a penchant for insulting others at every possible turn.
But I wasn't paying much attention to any of what the three hired gunmen were speaking amongst themselves, nor that their dastardly scheme threatened the very safety of the Earth itself. I cared only that with just three words they spoke, Helen's mask of sanity seemed to crumble away like fragile glass being smashed with a giant sledge hammer.
The mere mention that the three men worked for G.U.N, caused her sky-blue eyes to go as wide as saucers. The talk of this so-called ARK, made her jaw drop completely.
The combination of the two names "Maria" and "Gerald" by Mclean, was what really drove the wheelchair bound blonde off the deep end. As her face went as white as snow and her entire body began to spasm out of control. While big, sticky tears came out of her eyes and she let out a quiet, but painful whimper.
But this was the first time she had heard these things mentioned, as I had. Why would Helen have such strong reactions to such seemingly innocuous details? She wasn't nearly this perturbed when the overweight Dr Eggman drove up to us in a killer robot that towered far over us, with full intent to squash us like bugs.
Nor did Helen exhibit trauma in any significant way, when she told me and Danny all about the time when Sonic took her on her previous island adventure of a lifetime. There were men with guns, attack helicopters and electric hovering scooters chasing her and Sonic, all so that the selfish Mr President and the speaker of the house could get free publicity.
Yet Helen took even that deadly chase in stride, nothing more than a pleasant and fun memory.
"They've come to get me" She wept, unable to control herself. "They've come to take the ARK and Shadow and take over the world."
Then with a completely blank stare at me, which made Helen seem far away like in another world, she grabbed my shoulders and shook me.
"We have to stop them, Frances. We can't let them get away at any cost. We can't, we can't let them kill me again."
Something was wrong. Something about Helen had changed. I felt it in her voice. I felt it in her expressions.
My dearest friend had been hiding something very sinister from me, and before I took any further action, I needed her to spill the beans. This wasn't Helen. It was someone very similar, but the differences, however subtle, were still differences.
"What's wrong? Helen. How do you know so much about all this? How can you be so frightened of a group of people and things, we've only just met and only just now know about?" I demanded, softly but firmly.
"I, I don't know." the blonde' girl replied, once again salvaging a light tough of composure, despite her earlier panic. "Maria knows. She knows everything. ARK was her home, and Gerald was her beloved grandfather. G.U.N were the ones who killed her at the very young age of 12, the exact age I am now."
Maria. Maria...
That name sounded familiar. Like something I'd heard very long ago, but didn't know where. Like someone I'd glanced at briefly from the window of a train, before I could properly see them. Like a fleeting shadow that dashed past me once, fully intending for me to never see.
Hearing it from the big man with the gun, rang a bell. Hearing it from Helen, roused the entirety of my bell tower of memories. There was no denying that Maria was no stranger to me, in the same way Maria was no stranger to Helen.
Now I remembered well. I recalled hearing Helen briefly mutter to herself "Maria. It's alright. No one else can hear us now and you can speak freely to me once again." She had been standing alone on the playground, not knowing I was earlier than usual for our break time play date, as I edged out from behind a bush to give her a pleasant surprise.
I thought nothing of it at first, but then I recalled that she was alone in that corner, with no one else for several yards and certainly none of them paying her any heed whatsoever.
"Who's Maria?" I succinctly inquired, intuiting that Maria was the answer to this great mystery. I knew that the gunners were still hunched over just inches away in further discussion, but I didn't care. They had not heard us yet, and didn't seem eager on going anywhere any time soon.
Helen POV
I never saw Maria as anything other than a kind, compassionate friend and guardian, that had watched over me since the day I was born and before. She was there to witness my creation, my birth and my growth.
Everything that happened to me, she was a part of it. There was no secrets between the two of us. We were knit to each other closer than siblings, closer than teeth and gum.
Like a stem and flower, we nurtured each other's growth and were inseparable.
Like voice and tone, we blended into each other in such a way that we could not be discerned apart from each other.
Like mind and soul, where one of us ended and the other began was never truly clear. But it didn't matter. The differences if there were any, were so minor that they could easily be ignored anyway.
I liked to envision my body with my blonde hair, my blue eyes and my fair skin, to be like a grand palace. With Maria and me as the two princesses that inhabited the residence, and who took turns sitting on the throne. The palace had multiple wings, that were more than big enough for the two of us to live comfortably together for as long as we wanted.
A power-hungry warlord once made the ridiculous and senseless claim: "There can be neither two suns in the sky, nor two sovereigns over the people.
This was ludicrous, since even Mr president in his White house had a cabinet and ministers. Under democracy, every citizen could have their say in who got voted into power and who didn't.
Maria helped bring these ideas into the limelight, when she kindly showed me that not all spirits were like the scary ones in horror movies. The ghosts that took control of a person and forced that person to jump from a cliff. Or the evil spirit that lured living humans into the frightful afterlife, all so that it could haunt them and torment them for all eternity.
Maria was nothing like the mean and nasty ghosts in Ghostbusters, which had to be stopped at any cost to save the human race.
Maria wasn't an agent of darkness, but a shining star. She sowed no confusion nor discord, but was like a guiding light that I could trust in, even on the darkest nights where all hope seemed lost.
When I saw her, I saw no evil.
When I heard her, I heard no evil.
When she spoke to me in dreams or otherwise, she spoke no evil.
Of course she had flaws and we couldn't agree on absolutely everything. But that did not make her evil, anymore than it made me, or Frances or mum and dad, evil. It made Maria just like me. Just like us all.
She was only human, like me. A not-so-bad state to be in, for it applies to us all. Even very evil people like Ice, Dr Eggman and G.U.N, fit this criterion. They too, are only human for all their faults.
Maria's first words to me did not come until when I was three. She had been doing her best to stay hidden, but one night in my sleep, I heard her speak. Her voice was and still is, truly beautiful.
It was right then and there that I realized, I was not truly one but truly two.
"The world has changed" Maria seriously remarked to herself. "I feel it in the water. I feel it in the air."
"Who are you." I demanded, still in my sleep. My first ever lucid dream.
"Dear Helen. Thank you so much for letting me live inside your body, all these years. I did not ever intend for you to know about me, but please do not be scared. If it is what you so desire, I can leave. But if I leave, I leave for good. I will be no more. But if I frighten you, it is what I must do." Came Maria's nervous reply, as if she'd committed a bloody murder.
"What do you mean?" I asked in reply, with affected concern. She sounded so demure, so pure and innocent. Yet here she was, ready to give herself up without any resistance.
"I mean that if I leave your body now, I die. And this time, I die for good. Perhaps for the better, for you will be so much better off, without me. Helen. Just say the word and I will go." She replied, sounding even more ashamed than before.
"I don't want you to die" I said. I didn't know who she was, or what she was, but she sounded so hurt and broken that I didn't have the heart to do anything cruel to her. "What's your name? Who are you?"
"My name is Maria Robotnik. First and only daughter of Aaron and Sarah Robotnik, and grandaughter of Gerald and Rin Robotnik. It's very nice to meet you."
Then she showed herself to me for the first time, in all her majestic beauty. Flowing blonde hair, not too different from my own. A navy cardigan and a pale blue skirt, with simple red school shoes and dark stockings. The clothes she wore during her last day as a living, breathing human.
Then I woke up, feeling more invigorated and enlightened than I had during my entire life up to that point. Knowing that my life would never be the same again, but feeling more okay with that realization than I had ever been with anything else.
Imagine if you will, that two children want to see a movie meant only for adults. So they stand on top of one another, while wearing a long trench coat and the one on top puts on a cowboy hat to hide their face. The guard thinks that the tall, shady cowboy must certainly be an adult, and lets both kids into the theatre.
Everyone watches the movie, not knowing that the tall cowboy is actually two children posing as one adult. Think of this image, and you will have a good idea of my relationship with Maria.
Helen and Maria are two such children.
And they will be, until the day one of them passes away.
Maria agreed with me on almost everything. Whenever I wanted to go out and see lovely flowers, she agreed and told me she loved flowers.
When crispy Bacon and fried egg was served for breakfast, Maria cheered inside me and told me that she very rarely ate anything else for the first meal of the day back on space colony ARK, despite the wide variety of choices.
After a certain point in my life however, I began to despise the horrible torture Maria was trying to inflict upon herself. There were some things that her and I clearly did not see eye to eye on.
So gradually, I had to encourage her to protest against me when she really didn't agree. There was no point to her second life, if I was just going to live it out for her, with her getting nothing her way.
Just as even the most respectable saint had moments of sin, so too did the gentlest pacifist need a breaking point. So too, was the happy entertainer allowed to weep in public once in a while when the situation truly called for it. So did the best of friends need the occasional bickering argument, for it was only healthy that they voice their opinions.
The next time I wanted to step into the garden to see more flowers, and I sensed Maria's reluctance, I immediately stepped back despite her pleas that I go and enjoy myself.
The next time I put the Pokemon DVD into the disc drive, but I could hear Maria whisper that she'd rather watch Dr Stone instead, I quickly switched the Disc exactly as she wanted.
When she got sick of Bacon and eggs every day, I called mother and begged her to make pancakes with honey and butter instead. This was my body, but it was also hers and she had a right to it as much as me. I never would have made it out of the womb alive without her help.
I was doing these kind things for Maria not because I had to, but because I wanted to. Just like Frances wanted to show-off her amazing acrobatic stunts for me. Just like Chris once wanted to keep me and Frances company, before he went over to the dark side, from where he never returned.
It helped that even when I did the things she wanted most, those things often happened to be at least my second, or third favourite thing as well. And even if they weren't so high on my list, I never outright hated any of Maria's favourite things in the same way she could never bring herself to wholly despise any of mine.
I drew pictures of myself in my pink dress, and Maria in her blue clothes to hang around my room. Pictures where we smiled and held hands, like we would do if she only had her own body and didn't have to use mine.
Even though we couldn't look each other in the eye from across the room like normal friends, we could still do a lot together.
We could play chess, as long as my body took turns moving my pieces and then hers. We could play I spy, permitting only one of us spoke at a time and we were alone, so as not to disturb anyone else and make them think I was going crazy.
We could also play Sid Meier's Civilizations, where I usually picked to play as the land of Greece, and Maria chose to play the Japanese empire. Maria soundly trounced me every time, but I didn't mind. She chose Japan, because she liked Anime and Manga. Like her old friend Shadow also did.
Upon knowing this, I immediately asked mum and dad for an entire shelf of Manga.
A similar thing happened, when Maria claimed to enjoy science. I bought scientific textbooks, a model volcano and a diagram of the solar system to my room where I slept every night. Or idled when Frances, Chris and my parents had no time for me.
In the words of Grigori Rasputin, Lenin and the other Bolshevik Russians. Not my room. But our room.
...
I had waited a long time for Frances to ask that question. Now Maria couldn't hide any longer and I didn't have to either. Of course Frances would understand and sympathise with Maria as I did. I had long dreamed this day would come.
I had begun incorporating Frances into my drawings of me and Maria. Now Maria could interact with Frances much more closely than before, where she could only watch from the side-lines as me and Frances did our thing. No more would she be just a third wheel in this long and beautiful lifelong friendship.
"Show yourself Maria." I demanded, knowing Frances could hear everything I was saying, and feeling glad of it. "It's alright. You can trust Frances as I do. She needs to know everything anyway, if we're going to stop those bad people you fear so much."
"Please Helen. I don't want Frances to abandon you." Maria pled one final time from deep within me.
"Well Maria. I'm sorry to have to say this. But I will have to abandon you if you don't show yourself. Frances and I are a team package. Where one of us goes, there will the other be also. The same rule applied for you and me, so don't pretend you don't understand. I appreciate your selflessness, but your selflessness must end."
Frances listened with bated breath, the voices of the G.U.N agents long fading into irrelevance. Not because we didn't care about their murderous intentions, but because what we were speaking about was so important.
"It's okay. Maria. I won't hurt you. I promise. I'm on your side and I'm an ethical lady of refinement and eloquence." Frances encouragingly reassured, already beginning to understand everything. This was clearly not her first time, hearing Maria and me speak to one another. "My vow of protection to Helen, extends to you too. So come now, knowing that you are protected by my power."
This was when Maria finally relented, and my own thoughts took a back seat in the vastness of my mind. Finally, Maria had the floor once again.
Chris POV
"No Chris. I will not hang out with you anymore. Not for all the Thorndyke fortune." My new best friend, blue hedgehog Sonic, sternly responded to my offer that we spend some time together now that Eggman seemed to be out of the picture momentarily.
"Just why not?" I demanded with a hand on my heart, feeling like he had broken it with his harsh words. How could he turn so cold and bitter all of a sudden. After all we'd been through to search for the Chaos emeralds, risking our lives together countless times.
Sonic met my gaze with his own. The look in his eyes, was utter disdain and pure hatred all melded together in one perfect storm.
"I hung by your school today and saw Helen. She was dying of a broken heart, because of you." Sonic explained, never taking his eyes away from me, even as he saw me shrink back in utter terror and sheer remorse at the mention of the lovely student, that I secretly had a romantic crush on.
"She was nothing like her usual happy self. All because of you. Frances had to give herself up totally, just to attend to Helen, because you wouldn't. So until you go back to that nice kid and say you're sorry Chris, I'm sorry. I can't be with you any longer."
"Very excellent choice of words Sonic. And very rich coming from you. You cowardly jerk." Came a third voice that was usually known for its softness and timidity.
We looked to see none other than Sonic's young sidekick and master engineer, the yellow twin-tailed Fox, Tails.
His usually bashfully grinning face, was contorted with loathing and he looked down at Sonic with more anger than I'd ever see him look down on Eggman or any of our sworn enemies.
"You hypocrite." Barked Tails, not even giving Sonic or me, the chance to defend ourselves with words or otherwise. "You accuse Chris of not taking proper care of his significant other, when you can't bring yourself to take care of your own. You dare to tell-off Chris for not properly tending to his sweet flower, when a certain very special flower in your own garden is shrivelling up completely from your lack of caring."
Tails put special emphasis on "VERY special" as he crossed his arms, while looking away from Sonic with complete disappointment. I had never seen Tails so mad like this, and from the looks of it, neither had Sonic.
"Your Rose is about to wilt from your thoughtlessness. Your amazingly epic, one-of-a kind Rose who put herself on the line for you, more times than I can even count. The one animal that loves you even more than I do, and you blow her off like she means nothing. And I do not say this lightly, having looked up to you and been with you, for as long as I have."
Tails was not even trying to be discreet. He had already let his gaze wander to a recently planted red rose in a pink vase on the upstairs corridor where he now stood, stamping his feet and clenching his fist, while his two tails spun around menacingly.
"You put it very well, Sonic. You're not going to talk to Chris again, until he goes back and makes up with Helen, like a responsible friend. And I'm also not going to talk to you again, until you go back to a certain Rose of great beauty."
"Tails. You can't do this." Sonic anxiously retorted, trying and failing to sound intimidating to his younger brother figure. "Be reasonable. You can't just leave me because of one little..."
"Because of the many years of painful heartbreaks you've given that extra special Rose, who all but doesn't want to go back with us to our world anymore, even if we do find the Chaos emeralds. Sonic. I can do this. I can and I will. It hurts me, but I must do this. For your own good as well as hers."
Then Tails breathed a deep, nasal breath and resolutely turned away. He didn't need to use the stairs down, since he could fly with his two tails, and Sonic and I both knew we'd not be seeing the yellow fox cub anytime soon.
Sonic did not speak again until the sound of Tails's footsteps had died away.
"Little guy's completely right you know."
I nodded painfully. For I did know. I knew that I had cheated a friend, and wasted the chance that I'd been given. That I would never dance again, because guilty feet had no rhythm.
But most of all I knew, that though it was easy to pretend, Sonic and Tails were not fools. The only fool in this mansion, this country, this continent and this planet. Was me.
I had indeed hit my head on the curb, and been living the last several years of my life, brain-dead. But even brain-dead coma patients still had a heart. I did not.
I claimed to be good at Maths, but I couldn't even count my many valuable blessings. My loneliness, I saw now, was not because fate had been unkind to me. It was self-inflicted. All my own dang fault.
Rouge POV
Coins don't stink. Gems aren't worthless. The highest bidder gets my loyalty and my invaluable services. The crappy excuse for a Government, thought they could strong-arm a flower as delicate as myself into working with them all for free?
Well it ain't going down that way. I don't care that others will be hurt by G.U.N's latest scheme. I only care that there is a precious treasury of jewels in that spaceship they call ARK, and that I'm going to be first to steal it.
Such shiny treasures shouldn't sit unappreciated, and unused in the vast emptiness of space after all.
Besides, G.U.N's new big man says he's going to pay me well for my cooperation.
Shadow. Do not overestimate your cleverness nor competence. The great and powerful Rouge Skeffington sees all, hears all and knows all. Your lovey-dovey emotions not typical of a lone wolf, have made you weak, slow and predictable.
I know your every move before you so much as give the signal.
Unlike you, I am willing to form alliances and exert the charm and devotion to maintain them. Well. Until that is, my new minions prove no use to me any longer. Then I can't care less what becomes of them.
Scarlet POV
I came home late as usual, following another long day of delivering news reports to the masses that needed my vital information in this trying time of upheaval and risk.
This new Eggman fellow, had proved a deadly threat not to be trifled with along with his robot empire. And the newly spotted bands of vagabonds, said to be the remains of the sinister crime syndicate G.U.N, were also quite concerning.
They were mobilizing very rapidly. It was only a matter of time before something truly terrible happened. My previous report had even detailed their most recent movement, heading straight towards Lake Liberty.
Frances's friend Helen's favourite lake for the flowery island that had been preserved in its centre. A true spot of natural beauty.
It was when I found the floor of the entry hall still dusty and caked with stains, that I began to realize something was up. Rushing worriedly to the kitchen, I saw the raw meat and vegetables were still laid out untouched, with their plastic covering still tightly sealed.
The overgrown lawn in the backyard, was still far too tall to even consider trying to wade through.
"Frances. Frances, dear. It's your mum. Please. Frances. Come out, come out wherever you are?" I pleaded, just as a beep from my phone drew my attention.
I fished it from my trouser pocket with a shaking hand. I had already had a premonition early this day upon arriving at the studio. That I would never see Frances again.
I brought the phone to my eyes, and clicked the message.
"Mum. I am sorry, but Helen needs me more than ever. Chris betrayed her again, and left her to suffer in loneliness like the jerk he is. I have taken Helen for a trip to her favourite lake island, that her own parents never found the time to take her to, despite her saying they would. Feel free to punish me for not doing the chores around the house, that I was supposed to."
"I am sorry, but Helen's welfare takes priority over everything. I've already had to leave her alone for many days because of my chores, but you can ground me and cut my allowance if that is what makes you happy. Mum."
"Mum. Please understand. You would do the same for me. Love. Your beloved daughter Frances."
The phone dropped to the ground as tears blurred my vision, shattering its screen with a crack as it hit the unpolished floor.
The room seemed to jump several degrees in temperature. I felt my blood boiling and my head hurting like crazy, as everything seemed to spin around me faster and faster.
A mental image of the chief of NERV: Gendo Ikari, harshly forcing his son Shinji Ikari into the giant robot known as the Evangelion, came to me. His father cruelly forcing him to do what he hated most, while his mother Yui Ikari walked away, whistling a happy, carefree tune, blind to his suffering.
Then I saw Luke Skywalker, and heard his scream as his right arm was cut-off by his abusive father, the evil Darth Vader AKA Anakin Skywalker.
These two images melded into one final memory of young Chris, when he ran crying to me during one particular instance, where his parents' constant absence finally became too much to bear. When he needed the shoulder of a responsible and caring adult to cry on. In this particular instance, even Frances and Helen could console him not.
Only I who understood the burden of parenthood and being a mother, could rouse him from his depression.
I took a quick few seconds to slap myself hard in the face, for becoming an almost exact replica of Mrs Lindsey Thorndyke, the star actress with great concern for her fans and none for her son.
Then I scooped up my now cracked cell phone, and dialled 911.
"Emergency services here. What particular service do you require? For Medical needs, press 1. For..." Came the dull, emotionless monotone from the other end.
"MY DAUGHTER'S BEING SHOT IN THE BACK BY A HUNDRED BULLETS!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, between weeps and sobs. "G.U.N have her. They're forcing the twelve year old student and her helpless, disabled friend to sniff cocaine, heroine, weed and pot. They're trying to sell the two girls to a brothel. They're zapping the girls with a thousand volts of electricity and brutally molesting them, with no regard for their welfare."
"Er. Sorry Ma'am. What service do you require?" A much more emotive and concerned voice asked, replacing the call machine almost instantly.
"All services sir. Just give me all services." I commanded as I paced back and forth. "Get LCPD (Liberty city police department). Get the army. Get FBI. Get Forensics. Get emergency medical services. Get everyone."
"With all due respect ma'am, I am not at liberty to provide more than one service at a time."
I clenched my teeth as I clenched the fist that wasn't holding the phone. I nearly broke my knuckle that day in my intense rage.
"If you don't get all the services, I'll make an all bad about the police force in my next report, and the public will never have faith in any of you ever again. I'll make sure none of you eat another doughnut again, if it's the last thing you do." I threatened, putting as much calm in my frenzied shriek as humanly possible, as I took shaky breaths.
"NOT THE DOUGHNUTS!" cried the voice on the other side. "Alright Ma'am. Reporter Scarlet, I mean. Steady your nerves and accept my sincerest apologies. We will do exactly as you wish and place the threat level at urgent."
"Put 5 stars wanted." I demand, having refused to buy my daughter the videogame "Grand-theft-auto" after seeing that it promoted such cruel violence.
I knew that at one star wanted, a few officers chased you. A few very incompetent officers, who couldn't catch a sleeping turtle.
At two stars wanted, a few police cars joined the chase.
Three stars added a helicopter.
Four stars, turned the normal cars into armoured cars that could easily withstand most bullets, and fire back with a nasty ram.
At five stars wanted, and only five stars. The tanks were mobilized, and the military stealth jet was deployed. The only things that could stop G.U.N, had any chance against G.U.N, proved any threat to G.U.N.
"I'm sure, that's not necessary Ma'am. Surely four stars is already..."
"FIVE STARS. Now! An innocent girl and her lovely tree-hugging friend's lives are on the line, and you don't care? FIve stars. No exceptions."
"Al, alright. Steady on, Scarlet darling. Five stars. Just like you want."
"Good. Get right on that and I hope to hear from you soon." I conclude as I ring off.
Then I make one more call.
"Hey there. What up? Game electronics here. I'm Daniel speaking. What can I do for ye?"
"Hello." I boldly state, having finally calmed the slightest bit down. "This is Scarlet Garcia. Of the Garcia residence. There's not much time, so listen closely. I want one of every single game in your store. I mean every game. Except Grand-Theft-Auto (It's a bad influence for children). Even the biggest and best-selling titles. And I want it on express delivery, arriving at my house for my little girl immediately. All charges to my credit card and at this address."
Then I gave both my credit details, and address to the clearly overjoyed phone operator on the other end, whose deafening laughter nearly made me deaf.
Chris's parents once claimed that they would buy him an entire toy store just to get him to come back, and realize how loved and valued he was by them.
I would do Frances, and by extension good pal Helen, one better. This was the way of the Garcia family.
"Hello. Pizza express. I want five super-large sized pizzas with everything, except anchovies, on them." I hastily explained to the next number I just as hastily dialled. "Make that six. And Ice cream. Buckets of ice cream. At least enough to fill an entire fridge. Let's say, 50 jumbo tubs. And I need it now."
As the loving daughter of a head journalist, Frances simply loved sensational scoops. Especially cherry flavour, her favourite.
I didn't give them a chance to answer, before dialling off.
Then I carefully applied my make-up. Powder, lipstick, perfume and all. Before putting on my long, orange coat and stepping back outside to drive back to my studio.
I needed to help Frances and her friend Helen, but I also needed money, so they didn't starve once I found them. But the best part about being the head reporter, was that no-one ever told you where your next report had to be. So long as it was a wild story that got everyone on their toes, creative liberty was all mine.
I swaggered into the news room, and quickly stepped before the camera without casting a glance at any of my loyal and lovely crew. To whom I would try to give a promotion to everyone one of, when all this hubbub and insanity was over, and Frances was safe with Helen.
"BREAKING NEWS!" I announced as the clock struck five. News rush hour.
...
Thank you so much for reading, please review. You really are all amazing people and I love you all.
