The Robotnic Complex
Chapter 8
Location: Knothole, Hut 53
The morning was still. Not one sound crept through the small village. But,
in front of hut 53, movement. Sonic and Tails walked softly up the path to
the hut and knocked softly on the door. "Come." They heard a voice from the
inside say. They opened the door slowly and entered. Brian was sitting on
the couch siping a cup of coffee he had brewed earlier. Sonic walked up to
him. "Good morning, I hope you slept well." Brian sighed. "I only sleep
1 hour a night, unless of course I'm forced to, like when Knuckles
knocked me out and Dr. Quack put me to sleep." Tails looked confused. "Why
don't you sleep?" Brian stood up and put the cup on the table. "The process
that allowed me to become a guardian and interact with computers has a very
strange effect on my body. I barely need sleep, and I hardly need to eat. The
only thing I still need in regular amounts is water." Brian turned toward
them. He pointed at the coffee pot. "Do you want some coffee?" They both
accepted and set down at the table. "So," Brian asked as he poured their
coffee. "What brings you here at..." He glanced at his watch. "6 AM?" Sonic
started to answer but brian broke in. "How do you take your coffee?" Tails
and Sonic responded at the same time. "Black." He handed them the cups and
sat himself down. "Please, continue." Sonic sipped at his coffee. "Very well.
We are taking a trip to Robotropolis in 2 days and we may need assistance. I
was wondering if you might join us." Brian just looked at them. Finally, he
spoke. "And this couldn't wait until later this morning...? Why?" "Well, one
thing is that we have no idea your level of combat skills. We need to run you
through our training course. And you need a weapon besides the watch, so we
need to stop at the Armory. Are you in?" Brian stood up and put his cup in
the sink. "Ok, but one thing. Can you give me 15 minutes to get ready? I need
a shower and a change of clothes...damn, their all still in the lab." Sonic
quickly cut in. "Sally and I brought over all your stuff and put it in the
bedroom." Brian walked into the back hallway, throwing a thank you over his
shoulder. A minute later the shower was running. Sonic and Tails walked into
the front room and sat down. Tails spoke. "Sonic, I'm worried about St. John
and Knuckles. When does St. John arrive?" Sonic thought for a second. "I
think later this afternoon...right when were at the hand to hand combat
training. And you know St. John is going to want to lock horns with Brian the
first chance he has." Tails sighed. "Were in for a long day..."
Brian stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed. He reached over
and pulled a towel off the rack and begun to dry himself off. After he was
done, he pulled a can of 25 century old shaving cream out of him bag. He
pushed the button...and it still worked. 'Hmmm...Humans may have ruined their
planet, but wow! Can we make a can of shaving cream or what?' He grimmly
chuckled at the joke and begun to apply the cream. He shaved, washed his
face off, and applied aftershave. He ran a hand over the cool, now bare skin
of his face. "That," he said to himself, "Is much better." He pulled on his
black boxers and his guardian uniform pants. They were black and skintight,
consisting of a nanofiber that was as light as a feather and strong as steel.
Then came the socks. Also made of the nanofiber, they were waterproof and,
since made of nanofiber, fireproof. His boots, which he put on next, were leather
with zippers instead of shoelaces. The belt he owned was a feat of innovation
itself. It was a standard belt, only with a liquid holster that could hold any
size gun securely up to a rocket launcher. His shirt was also made of nanofiber
and was a bright green, skintight, T-Shirt. It had a United Hackers Force logo
on the left breast. Finally, he took a full-length leather jacket out of the
bag and put it on. The jacket didn't have anything special about it, but
combined with the other articles of clothing, he looked intimadating. He
combed his hair back and smiled at himself in the mirror. "Lock and load."
Tails heard a sound of metal-on-metal as the bedroom door opened. He
saw Brian and gasped. Sonic turned in his seat and had the same reaction.
"Are you guys ready?" Sonic shut his mouth. "Um...Yeah. Let's go." They all
walked out the front door.
Sonic pulled a ID card out of his pocket and punched the number on the
card into the card reader. The door to the armory slid open without a sound
and Brian, Sonic, and Tails walked into the room beyond. Tails flicked a switch
on the wall and the room was illuminated to show racks upon racks of every type
of gun, bomb, sword, cannon... anything you could think of, it was there. Brian
stood there in awe for a second before snapping back to reality. "Wow..." was all
he could say. "We don't like using the weapons inside the city because Robotnic
can pick up the energy signature and trace it back to us. And we can't make the
regular firearms work because of the noise they make, which would also attract
attention, so we're stuck with hand to hand, swords, or staffs." Brian walked
forward and investigated what looked like a sawed-off shotgun. "If I could get
one of these to work, can I use it?" Sonic chuckled. "Go ahead and try." Brian
picked the gun off the shelf. Suddenly, he flicked his wrist and spun the gun.
A blank was loaded and he quickly holstered the gun. "This is going to be fun."
Brian picked up a simple wooden staff and also but that into the holder. "You
guys ready?" Tails checked his jacket pocket to make sure his gun was still
holstered, and Sonic checked his shoes and their attachments. "Hold up. If the
noise is such a big deal, then why is he carrying a handgun?" Brian asked them,
now confused. "This gun has a built in silencer. We can't use regular screw-on
silencers because the city security network still detects the sound and trips
the intruder alarm." Tails told Brian. Sonic glanced at his watch. "We better
get going if we want to make it through at least half the course before 2 PM."
Brian loked at Sonic. "What happens at 2?" Sonic and Tails glanced at each other.
They were both still worried about St. John, but they just had to deal with him
when he got to Knothole. "Nothing Brian. Lets just get to the course." They all
turned and walked out the door, Sonic locking the armory behind them.
Chapter 8
Location: Knothole, Hut 53
The morning was still. Not one sound crept through the small village. But,
in front of hut 53, movement. Sonic and Tails walked softly up the path to
the hut and knocked softly on the door. "Come." They heard a voice from the
inside say. They opened the door slowly and entered. Brian was sitting on
the couch siping a cup of coffee he had brewed earlier. Sonic walked up to
him. "Good morning, I hope you slept well." Brian sighed. "I only sleep
1 hour a night, unless of course I'm forced to, like when Knuckles
knocked me out and Dr. Quack put me to sleep." Tails looked confused. "Why
don't you sleep?" Brian stood up and put the cup on the table. "The process
that allowed me to become a guardian and interact with computers has a very
strange effect on my body. I barely need sleep, and I hardly need to eat. The
only thing I still need in regular amounts is water." Brian turned toward
them. He pointed at the coffee pot. "Do you want some coffee?" They both
accepted and set down at the table. "So," Brian asked as he poured their
coffee. "What brings you here at..." He glanced at his watch. "6 AM?" Sonic
started to answer but brian broke in. "How do you take your coffee?" Tails
and Sonic responded at the same time. "Black." He handed them the cups and
sat himself down. "Please, continue." Sonic sipped at his coffee. "Very well.
We are taking a trip to Robotropolis in 2 days and we may need assistance. I
was wondering if you might join us." Brian just looked at them. Finally, he
spoke. "And this couldn't wait until later this morning...? Why?" "Well, one
thing is that we have no idea your level of combat skills. We need to run you
through our training course. And you need a weapon besides the watch, so we
need to stop at the Armory. Are you in?" Brian stood up and put his cup in
the sink. "Ok, but one thing. Can you give me 15 minutes to get ready? I need
a shower and a change of clothes...damn, their all still in the lab." Sonic
quickly cut in. "Sally and I brought over all your stuff and put it in the
bedroom." Brian walked into the back hallway, throwing a thank you over his
shoulder. A minute later the shower was running. Sonic and Tails walked into
the front room and sat down. Tails spoke. "Sonic, I'm worried about St. John
and Knuckles. When does St. John arrive?" Sonic thought for a second. "I
think later this afternoon...right when were at the hand to hand combat
training. And you know St. John is going to want to lock horns with Brian the
first chance he has." Tails sighed. "Were in for a long day..."
Brian stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed. He reached over
and pulled a towel off the rack and begun to dry himself off. After he was
done, he pulled a can of 25 century old shaving cream out of him bag. He
pushed the button...and it still worked. 'Hmmm...Humans may have ruined their
planet, but wow! Can we make a can of shaving cream or what?' He grimmly
chuckled at the joke and begun to apply the cream. He shaved, washed his
face off, and applied aftershave. He ran a hand over the cool, now bare skin
of his face. "That," he said to himself, "Is much better." He pulled on his
black boxers and his guardian uniform pants. They were black and skintight,
consisting of a nanofiber that was as light as a feather and strong as steel.
Then came the socks. Also made of the nanofiber, they were waterproof and,
since made of nanofiber, fireproof. His boots, which he put on next, were leather
with zippers instead of shoelaces. The belt he owned was a feat of innovation
itself. It was a standard belt, only with a liquid holster that could hold any
size gun securely up to a rocket launcher. His shirt was also made of nanofiber
and was a bright green, skintight, T-Shirt. It had a United Hackers Force logo
on the left breast. Finally, he took a full-length leather jacket out of the
bag and put it on. The jacket didn't have anything special about it, but
combined with the other articles of clothing, he looked intimadating. He
combed his hair back and smiled at himself in the mirror. "Lock and load."
Tails heard a sound of metal-on-metal as the bedroom door opened. He
saw Brian and gasped. Sonic turned in his seat and had the same reaction.
"Are you guys ready?" Sonic shut his mouth. "Um...Yeah. Let's go." They all
walked out the front door.
Sonic pulled a ID card out of his pocket and punched the number on the
card into the card reader. The door to the armory slid open without a sound
and Brian, Sonic, and Tails walked into the room beyond. Tails flicked a switch
on the wall and the room was illuminated to show racks upon racks of every type
of gun, bomb, sword, cannon... anything you could think of, it was there. Brian
stood there in awe for a second before snapping back to reality. "Wow..." was all
he could say. "We don't like using the weapons inside the city because Robotnic
can pick up the energy signature and trace it back to us. And we can't make the
regular firearms work because of the noise they make, which would also attract
attention, so we're stuck with hand to hand, swords, or staffs." Brian walked
forward and investigated what looked like a sawed-off shotgun. "If I could get
one of these to work, can I use it?" Sonic chuckled. "Go ahead and try." Brian
picked the gun off the shelf. Suddenly, he flicked his wrist and spun the gun.
A blank was loaded and he quickly holstered the gun. "This is going to be fun."
Brian picked up a simple wooden staff and also but that into the holder. "You
guys ready?" Tails checked his jacket pocket to make sure his gun was still
holstered, and Sonic checked his shoes and their attachments. "Hold up. If the
noise is such a big deal, then why is he carrying a handgun?" Brian asked them,
now confused. "This gun has a built in silencer. We can't use regular screw-on
silencers because the city security network still detects the sound and trips
the intruder alarm." Tails told Brian. Sonic glanced at his watch. "We better
get going if we want to make it through at least half the course before 2 PM."
Brian loked at Sonic. "What happens at 2?" Sonic and Tails glanced at each other.
They were both still worried about St. John, but they just had to deal with him
when he got to Knothole. "Nothing Brian. Lets just get to the course." They all
turned and walked out the door, Sonic locking the armory behind them.