My comp went nuts when I was uploading the last chapter. Sorry, everybody.
Hopefully THIS chapter comes up just fine! Because we are nearing some good parts!
And if you don't like them I'll cry......sniffle.....
It has never occured to me to wonder what its like being hypnotized. But I'll bet being under Cross's little 'body-control' was almost the same thing. Whatever he was going to do next, he had such a high level of influence over my body that after a while, I really stopped caring.
I actually stopped caring if Cross was going to double-cross me. I stop caring if he was going to destroy the world after he got his brand new body.
As a matter of fact, Cross could have tried inhaling water and I wouldn't have cared about drowning. It was like I was in some kind of drugged stupor - and I didn't care about THAT either!
Of course, looking back on it would make anybody uncomfortable, but at the time I, as I have already stated, didn't care.
Not caring didn't mean I wasn't paying attention to what Cross was doing with my body, of course. He was busily flying the hovertank I/we had stolen. We were over a large body of water - the ocean? - and headed, according to the compass, dead south.
It was a five-hour flight before Cross's target came into view on the radar. Some islands off the mainland coast. I wasn't sure exactly where we were because my little green hitchhiker wasn't talking to himself. Anyway, all of the islands had some big, old stone buildings on them, but the island with the biggest building also had some not-very-old high-tech defenses added to it.
"And now for the entertaining part," Cross said with a dark chuckle, speaking more to let me hear it than for any other reason.
He shoved the throttled past maximum and set course directly into the highest concentration of guard bots he could locate. They were scrap metal in six minutes, with the hovertank careening onwards to slam into one of the power generators and blow the whole thing sky-high.
Cross was, of course, safely outside the tank before it hit anything. In the confusion, no one noticed him sneaking from the edge of the island to the nearest wall of the huge and very old stone building.
'An ancient temple,' my brain informed me, and for a second I wondered when it had been made and by whom.
After the second was up, I stopped wondering at all.
My mostly-black personage easily blended in with the pitch-black stone as Cross made his way towards the main entrance. Most of the bots blocking the way in had gone to check out the many explosions coming from the ex-power generator, leaving only three. Cross seemed to enjoy smashing them into their basic components - so much for stealth - before hurrying inwards.
At least he still seemed to be following the plan he'd told me about - he didn't stop until he found the room with Vox in it. There was also a lot of strange-looking equipment, some of which Vox and his cronies were using. Apparently curious, Cross snuck his way across the room to get a better look.
"I'll show them all," Vox was growling, "I'll create a weapon of such power, the world shall BEG for a chance to serve me! Muwahahahaha!"
He was beinging to sound disturbingly like Eggman.
"It's finished, sir!" one of Vox's technicians said.
When 'It' was displayed, Cross snorted quietly to himself in sheer disbelief. If I had been in my right mind at the time, I probably would have burst into giggles.
Vox's so-called 'supremely evil geniusness' had produced...
...A very large laser gun.
Granted, it had legs and could move around, but how, exactly, was a laser supposed to be at all threatening? At least Eggman was creative in his weapons of 'destructive mayhem' and so forth.
Vox was hopping around like a kid that had gotten a new bike for his birthday. He climbed right onto the laser's control chair and began practicing how to aim the stupid thing.
"Once I unleash this lovely little toy on those fools that tried to stop me," Vox cackled, "Control of the world shall be mine!"
He was just starting to laugh again when Cross finally decided to make a move. He stepped into the open, getting everyone's attention immediately and bringing Vox's happy mood to a dead halt.
"What the - YOU! Project Shadow! How did you find my hidden base?!" Vox demanded.
Cross laughed, before speaking and making no effort whatsoever to sound like me.
"You DARE compare me to that one?! He can't even keep me from taking control of his pathetic body whenever I want! The only creature I find more laughable is you. As for your base, a blind rat could find this place with one hand tied behind his back. And it took ME even less time to do so."
"What are you?" Vox wondered, "You sound just like -"
He gasped.
"Project Cross!"
"That's 'Supreme Being' to you, human," Cross sneered.
"But you're supposed to be dead!" Vox yelled.
"The reports of my death are all greatly exaggerated," Cross replied, "And now, pathetic human, I would put that little toy gun away before you hurt yourself. Despite your immense ego, I am only here for certain pieces of equipment that you are unlucky enough to possess."
Vox suddenly looked grim, and his laser gun on legs suddenly swiveled to point directly at Cross.
"Such a shame that you won't be alive much longer to use that equipment," Vox sneered.
Then Vox opened fire. Cross was able to avoid the green blast with ease - if I had been in control I would have scorched the ends of my quills - but the large machine directly behind us - whatever it was - glowed bright green, before melting into what smelled like bright green acidic sludge. It began eating into the floor, meaning it must have been very acidic after all.
Vox was laughing as he kept taking shots at us. Cross was firing right back with my Chaos Spear and his own Nightmare Ring, not letting himself get hit. Vox's laser gun was also running around, preventing Cross from landing any hits.
And that's when Sonic and the others walked in.