Chapter 4
Walking through the double doors with the large overhead logo of the Groovy Train, Rouge looked around at her new surroundings with awe and bewilderment. It was an old retro mix of colours of purples and greens. Around her, customers continued on as if nothing was happening as they took their coffee, listening to the live band that were playing on the stage. The whole place was buzzing with laughter and conversation, while others welcomed the group with smiles and waves. The bat took in the warm atmosphere, until they arrived at the office. Which was nothing compared to the outside, plain and boring beiges, with a standard desk and office chairs.
"This place could certainly do with the colour" The bat joked as she sipped down on her own coffee.
But then she winced from the sudden sharp pain. Looking from behind her, an old female dog was adjusting the bandage around the wing. Next to the desk was the opened first aid kit, where the feline sat down with her own coffee in her hands. The dog looked just as puzzled as she was, when the group walked in.
"I'm afraid you are out of commission for a while. Could take a few days to recover." The dog stated, placing the unwanted bandages back into the aid box.
"Just what I need. Another scar to add to the list." She mocked.
"Just be lucky it wasn't a full blast. You may never have flown again." The cat replied, watching her every move.
"Well, gotta thank my lucky stars for that." The bat smirked.
As she sipped on her coffee, Rouge was left alone with the two women. But the mood was intense as she saw both pair of eyes resting on her. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
"Saved by the door" Rouge thought to herself, glad to feel the tension off her for a brief moment.
She watched from her chair as the feline opened it, to see the yellow hedgehog walk in. He was carrying a shoulder bag, filled to the brim with newspapers, while carrying the shades in his other hand. He shook his head in annoyance.
"No sign of them. Should we be worried?"
"Well, that depends on our new friend here. Just how long have you known those goons for?" Ebony asked, folding her arms.
Rouge looked at her dire situation; a very powerful mage that she literally bumped into, one destructive demon that she knew from old records and as for the dog; no clue on her but the bat knew she was clearly outnumbered and outmatched. She sipped more on her coffee and smiled.
"Just a little business trip." She smiled.
"Hmm, and what exact business are we dealing with here?" The dog asked as she closed the first aid kit and placing it back near the door.
"A girl has gotta keep some of her secrets in tact; which you never asked my question. How come you know those two? Old acquaintances of yours?" The bat winked at the feline.
"You can say that. Just don't agree on certain things." Ebony replied back.
Pyjamas looked at Super Sonic, as he looked confused. She mimicked her lips, to express that she will explain to him afterwards. Nodding his head, he went inside the bag to pull out the newspapers.
"Does this ring any bells?" The hedgehog asked, placing the front cover of the newspapers in front of her.
The bat leaned down to see the article in question then raised her arms in defence.
"Beats me, never seen it before. Quite a pretty little thing, don't you think?"
The feline smirked; she wasn't so easily persuaded by the bat's charm. She stepped closer to the bat, whisking her tail quickly in anticipation.
"I heard one of them mentioning the stone before they attacked us. I suggest you come clean, otherwise, what makes me stop from going straight to the police?" The feline smiled, trying her best to not look devious.
The bat continued to sip on her cup.
"Hmmm…How about him? Sure, he's a good reason not to Tattle Tale on me." She smiled looking straight at Super.
The hedgehog scowled at her, folding his arms this time. Annoying she did make a strong point. If the bat was brought to the police, they could arrest Super Sonic as well. The hedgehog looked at his friends, knowing for once, the bat did hold the upper hand.
Smiling, the bat finished her drink and placed it onto the table. Standing up from her chair, carefully standing up straight to not cause any more pain to her wing. When she pulled her bag over her shoulder, she smiled, trying to hide the surging pain from the weight of the bag. At least they didn't pry their eyes on her stuff. But she had to move, time was running out.
"Look thanks for the patch up and coffee, I do appreciate the kind hospitability. But must dash. Unless you have something on me, you can't keep me here. It was fun and all; like the retro look. Very retro" She winked as she headed straight towards the door.
But something didn't feel right. As she checked her pouches, she couldn't feel the object within her clothes. Her hands went all over the body, trying to find the object, but nothing was there. She turned around to them all and snarled.
"Ok sweetheart, hand it back. You shouldn't take something that isn't yours!" The bat snarled.
"What are you talking about?" The dog spoke, confused.
"Don't play dumb with me! You know perfectly well what it is you took from me." She waved her hand, directly to the newspapers cover page.
"That's funny, I thought you said you had never seen it in your life. Now, either you have terrible memory, or a terrible liar. Which one is it?" The hedgehog smiled.
The bat was getting agitated, now she was feeling the upper hand was suddenly taken from her. When was the stone taken from her? Was it the felines' magic? The hedgehog's speed? Or the dog when she intended her wounds? Blast she thought to herself. There was no way she could fight all three to get the stone back.
Options and back up plans, rushed through her mind. She knew the boss would be most displeased with her failed efforts and the state she was in now; she couldn't do much. There was only one option left in front of her.
"You know what? Keep it! I got bigger things to collect, that are worth way more than a stupid piece of rock." She humphed as she headed towards the door.
That was her only option; leave for now and come up with a plan to infiltrate and find the stone later on. At least she would be able to come up with a solid plan. She headed to the door, ignoring the pain that was throbbing from the shuffling of the bag.
"Well, I don't think you're going to go too far." The feline smirked.
"And what makes you think that? You think a little bump to the wing will stop me?" The bat questioned her, as well as mocking her.
"Well, maybe not that. But certainly the tracker spell that has been casted on you will."
Suddenly as her hand was around the doorknob, she stood there in silence. Quietly turning around, she looked at the group.
"Wait…what spell?" The bat asked slowly.
"Oh? Didn't you know? You have a spell casted on you; Omen has a knack of being sneaky himself. And frankly, it is one complicated spell. A good Sorcerer such as myself of course, will be able to remove it. But it will take some time." Ebony smiled.
"And what makes you think I'll stay put?"
"Because as soon as you leave this place, you'll be no longer protected. After an incident with a crazy mechanical robot, I devised some more protective spells around the building. Any threat to my place will surely get the boot. You leave, you'll no longer be safe and the gorillas will be on you in a heartbeat. You are safer here, then out there." Ebony smiled.
Again, she was really starting to hate this group. Not only did they take her prize, but now her freedom? Her wings will surely slow her down. And with not just Omen's gang but also the potential police on her trail, what options did she have? But then, an idea came into her mind like a struck of lighting.
This time it was her trying her best to withhold a sinister smile. She will comply, until she had time to find the stone. No sooner will they reveal the location of the precious object. Then as soon as the mage finished the spell, she'll be out here like a shot, no matter what state her wing was. All that mattered was the deadline and already time was ticking. Sighing, she waved her hands in defeat.
"Fine, you win. And what exactly should I be doing in the meantime?"
But as soon as she asked that question, the yellow hedgehog couldn't help by give a sinister smirk back at her. Making the bat regret asking that question.
A few minutes later, she got her answer as she was ordered into the kitchens, cleaning up the huge pile of dishes. The pile of dirty tableware was ever increasing as more needed to be cleaned. Pyjamas walked in to make sure she was doing the job well, commenting on the bat's washing techniques, and reminding her to add more soap. The bat was furious but she knew, what needed to be done.
"Oh, by the way, you missed a bit" The dog joked.
Sighing, the bat returned to her messy work…
Meanwhile upstairs, Super Sonic reached for under his bed and gently removed the small box that was hidden underneath.
Reaching inside, he pulled out the stone. He lifted it up high to see it fully through the bedroom window, letting the reflection shine onto the precious rock. Twisting it around his fingers, he saw the small delicate fractures and small stones embedded onto the rock, forming a rough surface.
And yet, something about it intrigued him. He of course never held the stone in his hands ever in his life, until he first picked it up from the streets.
When he helped the Bat get up from her ordeal at that time, it fell from her clothes. She was still too dazed to notice it was in his hands, and now looking at it properly, no doubt it was the stolen precious cargo from the newspapers.
But something felt odd, like he had held it once in his hands before. Why? He winced as he felt an annoying surge of blurred images and old distant memories recall to him. But they weren't exactly his memories, but of Sonics. He rubbed his head in frustration.
"Are you alright?"
Super was still dazed by the object that he didn't notice Ebony had walked in. Placing the stone back into the box, he turned to face her.
"Something about it seems familiar. But I don't know why."
"Something from your past?" Ebony looked at him, concerned.
"I don't think so, I've never seen it before. But something about it, I just don't trust it. Best to keep it hidden from the "thief". By the way, how is our unwelcome guest?"
"Complaining of course, but she'll live." Ebony smirked.
"Does she really have a spell on her?"
"Oh yes she does; but kind of lied it was a tricky spell. Really it can be done in a jiffy. Just thought if it was the case, she would boss me around to remove it and away she'll go."
"Do you trust her?" Super asked her quietly, quickly looking behind his friend. The door was left wide opened.
Turning around, Ebony realised that what her friend was asking. Quickly closing the door, she made sure her magic detected any eavesdroppers. No one was listening to their conversation.
"Not really. If she has dealings with Omen and his group, it could only be bad news. He did use to work for the rotten egg himself, as a bounty hunter. So, who knows what her background is."
The hedgehog nodded his head as he was caught up with all the information about Omen and the gorillas, from what Pyjamas explained to him. It seemed even then, Omen and his group weren't so easy to bring down.
"Then the best course of action is to know more about this." Super stated with the box in his hands, which Ebony agreed.
"I don't think the Bat is going to give us any answers on that part. So, the only thing we could do is, head back to the gallery ourselves! Maybe there are some clues there, as to what it is." Ebony spoke, getting excited.
"You're maybe right. But what will stop the Bat from taking off with it? After all, it won't be long before she discovers it's here. Not exactly the top notch hiding place." He stated, pointing towards the bed.
"Well, we just take it with us." Ebony smiled.
"Are you sure about that? It could be an old bomb for what little we know about it!" Super protested.
"Don't worry about it, my magic will deal whatever it throws at us." Ebony smiled.
"Hmm, and does that include Omen too? Sounded like last time you had difficulty with him. And today didn't convince me either." Super spoke in annoyance.
Ebony could tell he was clearly worried for her. She smiled.
"Then you can hold it, until we know what it is. If you want to that is?"
Nodding his head, she could still feel that he wasn't so sure about this plan of theirs. But what little choice did they have? They couldn't even return it to the gallery; for the desire to know its origin, brought way too many red flags to simply take it back to them. They simply had to know what the fuss was all about.
"Then it's settled; we going on a little trip." Ebony smiled.
"Then we need all the luck we can get. Maybe you call on those trees for help? Or even call on Knuckles, seeing you two have a little bit of history together."
The feline turned and suddenly felt the slight joke towards her. She laughed and winked at the hedgehog.
"Do I detect a slight hint of jealousy there?" Ebony asked with a grin, raising her eyebrow at him.
"Ha! As if! Come on, we gotta get moving!" The yellow hedgehog stormed away, grabbing the stone and hurrying downstairs.
Ebony couldn't help but snigger as she followed him in quick pursuit….
TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT PART "Work Experience"
