Chapter 7 – Adding Chaotix to Confusion.
A/N: You've probably guessed from the title who's appearing in this chapter, but once more, I wave my wizardly wand a la Harry Potter and, shazam! Charmy is not the hyper six year old everyone seems to think he is – in this he's about fifteen and only slightly annoying. No that's made clear, as always, some words of thanks:
Sonicron – Glad you're still enjoying it; hope the schoolwork's easing up for you buddy. Good to hear your reviews. As to your point about Big, that'll become important later – as in, in the next fic after this (what, you didn't think there'd be a sequel :-))
Komodo342 – Ah, my dear, embattled brother in nerd-hood; too well I understand your suffering at the hands of a cruel, cruel world (and evil web administrators). I offer you some precious words of comfort; if ever you feel the pressure to re-conform to dreaded normality, recall this famous quote from that very pinnacle of nerd-hood itself – the Nerd-God incarnate – Bill Gates:
'People should be nice to twits and nerds – they usually end up working for them'.
May your collection of manga and comics never get caught in the rain. Your fellow soldier in the trenches of geekdom – I. Rowland.
The last of the Christmas bubble and squeak was eaten and the clearing up was done; as the stars began to shine overhead, the only thing left to do was for the vast majority of the heroes to bid farewell to their hostesses as they left for their own lodgings.
"Thanks for everything Vanilla"; Rouge hugged the rabbit as she stood on the doorstep, Knuckles stooping at her side to receive a peck on the cheek from Cream.
"See you soon Mr Knuckles". The guardian rubbed her oversized ears as he stood up,
"Take care of yourself floppy", Knuckles stretched to full height as Tails, having loaded the back of the Tornado's jeep mode as much as was possible, approached the two rabbits and mustered his courage,
"Er, okay, thank you for letting me stay Vanilla". The elder Mobian smiled down at the kit as he shuffled on the spot, darting tiny, almost imperceptible glances at her daughter as though trying to figure out the best thing to do next. Looks like that crush might be working two ways.
"You know you're more than welcome Tails". The fox gave a weak smile and then offered Cream his hand,
"Thanks for going to the Park with me". She shook the hand timidly, not meeting Tails' eyes as she mumbled a response,
"My pleasure, thank you as well". The two separated as Shadow extended his own hand to Vanilla, his cool demeanour tempered by a warm smile as he offered his own thanks for the rabbit letting his stay at her home.
"Just as long as you don't mind accompanying me to the next cute couples give-away, we'll call it quits".
"Consider it done", the ebon hedgehog agreed before looking around distractedly, "now where's Sonic?"
"Just coming" the blue hedgehog shouted from the kitchen, emerging a second later carrying an armful of the pots and bowls they'd all used to carry their own dishes to Vanilla's house. Vanilla and Cream moved respectfully to the side as Sonic carefully walked outside, the assorted kitchen equipment jangling at every step as he headed for the Tornado. Tails popped the boot open and, after spinning his tails to get an aerial view and arrange a few of the bulkier presents, helped his brother pack the condiments into the back of his vehicle. After wiping his hands clear, Sonic reappeared at the front door.
"Sorry about that, but at least we're ready to go now", he shook Vanilla by the paw and then turned, to find Cream's nose level with his own. Before he could register anything about this she'd hugged him around the neck.
"Thanks for looking after my big sister Sonic"; as he gingerly supported her dangling body weight, she shifted in his grip to whisper in his ear, "Cheese and Chocola say thanks too; they're big Pokemon fans". Sonic somehow managed to both hide his expressions to this discovery and fight off the resultant threat of a heart attack as he whispered back,
"Keep it under your hat or I'll have to go Elmer Fudd on your tail". Cream giggled as she let go and floated back to the ground, waving as her friends slowly departed for the Tornado; she kept her eye on Tails as he opened the door and hopped into the driving seat. I wish I could drive like him; she'd always envied the fox that particular gift – if her calculations were right it'd be at least six or seven years before she could even start to learn to drive. As the tail lights of the jeep cleared the front of her house and were swallowed by the night, something squeaked in her ear and Cheese dropped into her line of vision from above.
"Chao?" All her reservations and regrets melted away as she stroked the top of the chao's head and felt his brother settle down on her shoulder.
"Yeah I know; I've got a lot of things to be grateful for, speaking of which", she looked up at her mum, who nodded acquiescingly as she second-guessed the question, "shall we take a little nibble?"
"Chao, chao!"
Tails pulled his car to a stop a short while later, allowing Sonic and Shadow to disembark and pop open the rear of the jeep. The other three also took the opportunity to stretch their legs and help the hedgehogs take all their assorted presents and cookery utensils up to their shared apartment. When all was cleared away, the pair escorted their friends back to the car; Knuckles and Rouge would be staying one more night at Tails' home in the Mystic Ruins and he'd fly them back tomorrow with assorted presents. Sonic shook the echidna's paw as Knuckles smiled,
"See you around Sonic; I'm sorry you and Amy had to miss part of the day". The blue hedgehog shook his head and waved the apology away as though it were some kind of irritating fly,
"Don't sweat it Knucks, it's hardly your fault. I'll tell Ames you said goodbye when I see her next".
"Thanks", the guardian stepped away to say goodbye to Shadow as Rouge examined the blue hedgehog exasperatedly; when he didn't move after several seconds she sighed and put her hands on her hips.
"Well, aren't you going to say goodbye to me?"
"Goodbye me" he replied nonchalantly, keeping his poker face as Rouge made a rapid deduction – he's still upset about that bit with Amy's ear stud.
"Oh come on, you can do better than that".
"I certainly can, but I'm not going to". The bat pouted a little to hide a smile; she enjoyed her verbal fencing with Sonic as he was a bit more on her wavelength than Knuckles was and made an intriguing opponent – it was a bit like trying to argue with a reflection of herself. She offered her hand just, she remembered, as he had the night before when Big had entombed them with his snowball surprise.
"Get over here and say goodbye, spiky". Sonic reluctantly approached and took the hand, smiling eventually as Knuckles and Shadow looked on,
"See you around batgirl". She suddenly stepped in close and looked directly into Sonic's emerald green eyes,
"Listen here hedgepig – only Knuckles gets to call me that and live, get it?"
"Is that because he's the better martial artist?" Argh, man down, man down, send in reinforcements; the bat gritted her teeth,
"No, it's because he can run faster than me". Sonic cast a glance at the echidna as Knuckles stifled laughter; this was really entertaining to watch,
"Good idea Knucks, I like your planning; fatten her up with ice-cream and…" Sonic dodged out the way as Rouge lashed out with a soft kick in his general direction. Laughing, the hedgehog danced towards the Tornado and hastily shook his brother's paw. Tails kept his eyes on Rouge as he gabbled his goodbyes,
"See you around Sonic – now look out!" The blue blur ducked inside his apartment block as the bat steamed and shouted after him,
"You better run", she turned towards the other three Mobians and wagged a warning finger, "and one word out of you three will result in instant and painful revenge".
"But of course Rouge", Shadow overdid the pacifist act with remarkable aplomb; it was the only way he could avoid losing it completely, "no-one here would ever dream of hurting your delicate feelings".
"Just as well, I'd hate to have to break your delicate bones". Knuckles didn't even bother to hide his grin as he pointed to the Tornado, where Tails was gently bumping his head against the steering wheel to prevent hysterics overtaking him.
"Come on second best, our ride awaits – take care Shads". Rouge nodded at the black hedgehog as he waved them off; Tails gave a thumbs-up as he pulled the car away from the kerb. When he was perfectly sure that he was out of range of even Rouge's super-sensitive hearing, Shadow took a deep breath, threw his head back and burst out laughing.
The night passed peacefully enough for all who slept through it - it was the new dawn that presented one particular person with an extremely intriguing problem. Amy had awoken to find pale sunlight streaming in through her window and a piece of paper embedded to her cheek; she'd fallen asleep at the desk she'd been working on. Ow, that's stiff as a board; she winced as she gingerly raised herself up from her slumped over position, grimacing as her back complained about this in long series of sharp clicks and soft popping noises. As she massaged some life back into her dormant body, her eye absent-mindedly caught the clock hanging on the wall and she started as the time of 12:33 was displayed on the wide face. She'd been asleep, as well as she could work out, for over ten hours and she still felt tired even now. I need breakfast, a shower, then I need to sit down and work out what I'm going to do next; the pink hedgehog shuddered a little from both apprehension and excitement as she remembered the flash of inspiration that had occurred last night – she knew where her unknown contact was calling from. As she headed towards the shower, her mind was already ablaze with thoughts of what could be done next.
I can't tell the others; Amy had her eyes closed as her fingers massaged some sweet-scented oil into her spines – for some reason she didn't want to drag them into this. It appeared that she, and she alone, had been singled out for this and that made it her responsibility to rescue whoever needed help. However, that was all well and good, but there were still several problems she had to overcome to fulfil her duty. The first was a lack of transport – knowing where to go was useless if you couldn't physically get there and Amy wasn't even sure how far it was to get to that particular mine shaft. Hitchhiking had occurred to her but, after a long internal struggle, she'd turned that option down; she wasn't sure what could have been waiting for her on the open road and, though she was sure she could handle herself in most situations, she didn't want to take the risk. The fact that this place was fairly remote as well made it unlikely she'd be able to get there this side of New Year, so that idea had to go on the back burner. She also didn't want to go there alone just in case something happened to her while she was down there; normally Amy would have taken her phone and been alright but, she smiled, she didn't reckon mobile companies but receiver units God-alone knows how far deep into the earth, so she doubted she'd get a signal. I need someone to stay on the surface and pick me…; she had to pause in that thought as her phone rang.
Swiftly terminating the stream of hot water and wrapping herself in a towel, Amy padded across her apartment in bare feet and picked the phone up, speaking urgently into the receiver,
"Hello?" She smiled as her curiosity over who had rung was dissipated; only one voice she knew was that cheerful and eternally upbeat.
"Hey Rosie", the pink hedgehog heard one of Cream's chao chirp in the background as the rabbit continued, "are you feeling better today?" I never even noticed that; Amy shook herself slightly as she answered awestruck,
"Um, yes, yes I'm feeling a lot better; I'm just a bit tired, that's all. Just my luck to come down with a 24-hour bug at Twinkle Park". On the other end, Cream commiserated with her sister before brightening,
"Yeah, that's really rotten luck, but I'll send you the pictures when they're printed, and Big's sketch as well", the rabbit remembered what had been said the previous night, "and I'm sorry I never noticed". Amy's voice filtered back through, a little curious as to what the rabbit was talking about,
"What do you mean Bun?"
"Don't call me that, please?"
"Aw, it's such a sweet name, but okay", the hedgehog relented before restating her question, "but what didn't you notice?"
"Your new jewellery; Ms Rouge said Sonic had given it to you for Christmas". Oh did she now; the plastic cover of the phone creaked ominously as Amy tried, and nearly succeeded, in bunching up her fist, well Ms Rouge and I are going to have some serious words next time we meet.
"Yes, Sonic gave me a new ear stud; I'll show it to you next time I'm round", she broke off at the sound of giggling "what's so funny?"
"Tails said something as well…" That ominous creaking continued and, if anything, became ever more worrying,
"I can guess what Tails said; you tell him from me that next time I see him, I'm going to kick his twin tails from one side of Station Square to the other and when I get there, I'll turn around and kick them all the way back". That's if Sonic doesn't beat me to it; Amy felt herself flush a little as she recalled that particular moment in exquisite detail – she was so caught up in the memory she only caught the tail end of Cream's next line,
"…really do it would you Ames?"
"What? No, of course not", she chuckled as Cream breathed a sigh of relief for Tails' sake, "you should know I'm too soft to try anything that nasty".
"You sounded like you would, but anyway, I'm glad you're feeling better; remember to call Sonic and the others and tell them the good news".
"I will, now I need to get back to my shower before I turn into a popsicle".
"Oh sorry Ames, you should have said. Ta from me and Cheese and Chocola". There was a click as the receiver on the other end was put down and Amy gave a shiver; she slammed the phone down and raced back into the comforting warmth of the bathroom and the steamy interior of the shower.
Ahh, Heaven; as the hot water washed over her and displaced the chill from her skin, Amy squirmed a little in delight, relishing the new realisation that compared to yesterday evening she was feeling full of beans. Quickly rinsing the last of the suds out of her spines, the young hedgehog vigorously towelled herself off and raced into her bedroom for a new dress, feeling fully Mobian for the first time since yesterday. As she dressed herself, she re-ran the conversation with Cream through her head again and again; something was nibbling at her thoughts, almost as if she'd said something that should have been important but couldn't remember exactly what. She replayed the conversation again, frowning as she couldn't really see what she might have missed; you should have said; ta from me and Cheese and Choco…
Her smile grew and blossomed into a laugh as she realised she could have looked from now until Doomsday and she wouldn't have seen it, simply because there was nothing to see. It was a sound-a-like that had triggered her memory – as she decided the best thing she could have for breakfast was a really unhealthy but tasty fry up, the full implications of that discovery began to sink in. This was perfect; discreet and mobile, they'd be able to help her and she was sure she'd be able to come up with whatever price they demanded. All she had to do now was find their phone number and she'd be off to a flyer.
The sudden trilling of the phone echoed through the part-time office, part-time home that passed as a place of business in this part of town. Normally, the crocodile managing the chipped and splintered oak desk would have snatched it up and be trying to pump the caller for details of their case and more importantly, the size of the pay-check he and his associates could expect at the end of it. However, these circumstances were far for normal in his eyes; the ramshackle heating of this shack had finally given up the ghost and it was so damn cold; Vector almost swore his breath wasn't just visible as mist, it was falling to the floor as snow. Answering the phone would have meant talking his hand out of the nice, deep, warm pockets of the overcoat he was now wearing to preserve heat and exposing it to the cold harshness of the outside air. As the phone continued, the Mobian crocodile grudgingly conceded that, considering business had been poor recently, there was no way he could risk losing a sale; slowly extending his hand and trying to stop his teeth chattering, Vector picked up the telephone and spoke through it raspily,
"Hello?"
"Hello, is that the Chaotix Detective Agency?" Funny; Espio had always said Vector wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and the cold weather wasn't helping his sluggish metabolism, but he almost thought the voice on the other end sounded familiar. That didn't stop him sounding out the traditional greeting however,
"Yes, that we are; the greatest finders of things lost that ever were. How may we help you and what is your name". Some distance away, Amy Rose rolled her eyes; this was the right number all right.
"You should know who I am Vector", huh, I knew she sounded familiar; before he could match name to voice she had done it for him, "it's me you dummy; Amy Rose?"
"Amy?" The croc furrowed his brow for a second, brain beginning to crank up the gears as he expended body heat, "oh, Sonic's dame?"
"In a manner of speaking"; Amy stifled giggles as a sudden fear gripped Vector,
"Listen, this isn't about that little incident with the chao is it? I'll swear before any jury that was an accident, and it was".
"No it's not you great lunk", the voice sounded exasperated as she filled in details Vector seemed to have forgotten, "you apologised to Cream and she forgave you, the matter's dead and buried, get it?" He gave a sigh of relief before turning both serious and business-like,
"Glad about that – so, what can we do for you?"
"I, er, I need you to help me with something".
Curiosity gripped the croc as he fished a battered old notepad and the nub of a blunt pencil out of one of the draws of his desk; he set them down and began recoding the important bits of the conversation.
"Right, what sort of job is this? Is it something you've lost, do you need to find someone…" Amy pursed her lips and recited the explanation she had prepared for this; she didn't want to give too much away to the surprisingly perceptive crocodile on the other end of the line.
"Yeah, I lost something, and I know where I lost it, but I need to get it back".
"Okay", Vector nodded, inwardly totting up how much he could reasonably charge for this – at the minute it didn't sound like much, "where abouts is it?"
"I know where Vector, I need you and the Chaotix to come with me to this place and just wait for me to get to it".
"Hardly a detective job is it?" Vector sat back in his chair – he reckoned fifty maximum plus expenses and it barely sounded worth the effort if truth be told, "why don't you get one of your other friends to go with you?"
"They're all busy; now do you want the job or not?" Well, business is slow, and it'll get us out of this shack for a while; Vector ummed and ahhed for a few seconds before deciding,
"Okay Amy, we'll take you on; is there somewhere we could meet you to talk about this in more detail?"
"Can you get to the memorial park at about, half-four?"
"Fair enough, I'll send Charmy around to get the details – north entrance okay for you?"
"Sure, don't be late". Despite himself, the croc felt a slow smile creep onto his face as he answered,
"Not for a customer; hear from you in a little while". As the replaced the receiver, Vector frowned a little, wondering what the pink hedgehog could have lost and why it could have been so important to her. He didn't know Amy very well, but she had seemed nice enough when their teams had actually stopped pummelling each other and started talking about who owned the chao; Espio had recovered from his bruises after a couple of days, though he had since developed a rather severe phobia of large, pink hammers. Charmy had teased him for weeks about how the serious, well trained ninja had gotten his butt kicked by a girl; even now, Vector couldn't help but laugh at the memory of the face Espio had pulled when the bee had jumped out from behind a closed door wielding a painted inflatable mallet. Almost as funny as Esp's revenge; toothpaste on the eyelids as Charmy was asleep; the croc chuckled as, in his memories, the bee rushed past first thing in the morning with foam and tears pouring out of his eyes, screaming that he'd gone blind as the chameleon had cracked up in the background. Still, this was business now, and in the world of business, punctuality paid; rising to his full and not unimposing height, the crocodile used the communication facilities of their office to the full.
"CHARMY!"
Not two minutes after the croc had called, the door to the office swung open and the bee himself emerged into the office. He was sucking some kind of drink through a straw as he spoke first,
"You bellowed?" Vector half-stood to allow himself to see more of his team mate, wrinkling his nose as he caught a whiff of whatever Charmy was drinking.
"How do you drink that stuff?" That was a mistake; Charmy was a fairly smart kid, but the bee couldn't have identified a rhetorical question if one sat up and bit him.
"Well, I pour the drink in a glass, add a straw and…" Vector slapped a paw to his face and slowly counted to five, trying to persuade himself that the sudden urge to act out the fantasy involving Charmy and half a mile of flypaper really was just a bad idea brought about by the cold weather; it was a hard tussle but he eventually succeeded.
"What I meant was", he spoke slowly and in a very calm voice that Charmy recognised as implying 'your future health is dependent on you staying quiet and nodding in the right places', "how can you drink something that smells that appalling?"
"I need the energy, especially in this weather". That much was certainly true; as an insect Charmy had a seriously high metabolic rate and needed to consume a large amount of sugar every day just to avoid running out of fuel. In the cold, he had to take on even more calories to keep himself warm; Espio had joked once that if they could have hooked Charmy's pulse to a synthesiser, they'd be able to record a techno-beat dance sensation.
"Anyway", the bee opened his wings and flew up onto the desk, sitting on the wooden bench as the crocodile wondered if this was the best thing to do, "what did you want?"
"Hmm, oh yeah; we've got a case".
"Really", Charmy did his customary summersault in celebration of this fact, "we've got a job on and", his eyes went wide and pleading as a sudden thrill ran through his body, "you, you need me for work?" Vector smiled as the bee wrung his hands; Charmy wasn't his first choice for interviewing clients, but in this case he could make an exception.
"Yep, I need you to interview the client; calm down", he demanded as the bee started zipping all over the office in excitement, "you'll give me a headache. Now, I need you to go to the north entrance of the memorial park and be there at four o'clock, no sorry, half-past. You remember all the important questions?"
"You bet – we need to know all the details about what's been lost, where it was last seen and anything we can about the client", a sudden shudder ran through the bee, "who is he anyway?" Here's the difficult bit; Vector wasn't sure how the bee would react to this,
"It's a she, and it's someone we know; the name Amy Rose ring a bell?"
"Amy, the pink hedgehog?" Charmy chuckled as he remembered the circumstances they'd met under, "yeah, she gave some of my fondest memories". Vector raised an eyebrow and questioningly,
"Remember Esp's face when I jumped him with the mallet?"
"How could I forget – how is he anyway?" Charmy's face fell a little as he remembered the chameleon teen upstairs, shivering under his blanket as the cold weather afflicted him worse than Vector; the croc at least had thick skin to help insulate against the cold, Esp didn't even have that.
"He's currently rolled in his mattress with three layers on, a dozen hot water bottles and", thanks Vec, I'd nearly forgotten; the bee reached into his knapsack and brought out something held in one hand, offering it to his larger team mate, "one of these as well". Vector felt something small drop into his hand and examined it questioningly – to him it looked like a funny-looking cigarette lighter,
"Er, thanks; what is it?" The bee smiled,
"Press the little button on the bottom". With a small ticking noise, Vector did so; he then gasped as the metal rod began to pulse with a warming heat, insulating the cold scales of the reptile's hand.
"Charmy", Vector spoke after a second of enjoying the source of heat, "you are a miracle worker".
"I know"; that's why I like the guy, but, oh no; Vector sighed as something unpleasant occurred to him – he didn't want to know, but he had to ask,
"Charm, how'd you buy these, and I want the truth?" The bee put on a pained face but Vector was resolute; eventually, looking at the window to the side of him, the bee mumbled something unintelligible,
"Speak up Charmy; I'm not going to get angry, I'm just curious". Face reddening, the younger Mobian spoke a little louder,
"Pawn shop, but don't worry, I hardly ever used my radio anyway, so it's not such a big deal is it?" Vector sighed, face softening as he couldn't decide whether to be upset or grateful of the bee's sacrifice.
"Charmy, you shouldn't, well, I can't say I'm not grateful and that'll go double for Esp, but, just, let me know next time okay", he offered his, recently warmed, hand, "we're a team remember – we work together, we play together, we make sacrifices together".
"We're the Chaotix", Charmy smiled as he finished their motto and shook with his older friend, "I'll get going now; if I fly I can make it with time to spare".
"Go for it kid", Vector put his hand on the bee's shoulder, "remember Charm, things are a bit grim at the minute, but they'll pick up soon enough".
"I know, now I better hurry". Charmy excused himself and left the office; Vector heard the front door slam as the bee exited the house and sat back down again, the metal hand warmer resting on the desk. Damn it Charm; Vector smiled as all his monetary concerns flew out the window, melted away by the simple gift the bee had given him, I can't ever stay angry with you – you've got too big a heart.
Amy was well wrapped up for this meeting to prevent a second outbreak of the bug she'd had; she had a heavy coat and a scarf on as she stood by the entrance to Shadow's favourite walking place. She was trying to recall what all the members of the Chaotix looked like; she knew Vector was the crocodile, but who was Charm-something; she couldn't even remember his name fully. Just as long as it wasn't that purple lizard-guy; he was really sarcastic to Big; Amy ran her memories through her head again, shivering as she tried to recall at what point this had looked like a good idea – she didn't know any of these Mobians well and she was entrusting them to go with her on a journey she couldn't predict the end of. Maybe she should just call it off, but then if she did she'd have to find some way to get to Eggman's old base; like it or lump it, this looked like the only option she had.
"Hey"; the pink hedgehog alighted her train of thought as her name was called out, "is that you Amy?" She glanced around, looking for the source of the shout and getting a little confused as she couldn't see anyone who could have shouted; great, now I'm hearing things as well as dreaming them…
"Up here". This time Amy did manage to catch the source of the call; she even managed a little sideways shimmy to give the descending Mobian a clearer landing. She watched as he landed with his back to her, pulling his gossamer thin wings in behind his back and stretching out his yellow and black striped abdomen. Oh, that's right; Amy suddenly remembered as the caller turned to look up at her, he's a bee.
"Is, er, is that you, umm, Charmer?" The bee raised an eyebrow before putting on an exaggeratedly seductive expression,
"For you baby", he slowly ran a hand over his antennae, "I could be"; as Amy giggled at his false suaveness so did he – a good first impression could be the difference between getting a contract and getting turned down. Charmy had always been able to make people laugh, so he usually used humour as his medium; if anyone was interested he could do a mean impression of Tom Jones.
"The name's Charmy, but you can call me Charmer if you want". He extended a hand which Amy shook as she replied,
"I think it might suit you, but anyway, I'm sure you're busy so I'll try and keep this short".
"Just a sec", Charmy reached into his knapsack to gather out his notebook and pen, "let me find a clear sheet and we'll be away", he hastily leafed through the pages that were covered with doodles and games of noughts and crosses, "ah here we go. Right, your name please?"
"You already know my name". The bee looked up apologetically at the hedgehog's confusion.
"Sorry but I've gotta do this; makes it official and all that – your name please?" Amy bit back a sigh,
"Amy Rose".
"Occupation?"
"Store assistant".
"Legal status?" The rose hedgehog looked down curious as Charmy hid a smile behind his notepad,
"What kind of question is that?" The bee acted confused and scratched one side of his face with the end of his pen,
"Not sure, but Vector always said if you're chatting to a girl, that's one of the first things you should find out…" Amy wasn't sure whether to smile or shudder as she gently but firmly pointed the bee in the right direction,
"I'm fairly sure that doesn't apply here Charmy". He looked up grinning,
"Funny thing that, I thought so too". The hedgehog smiled; she was getting to like the small bee stood in front of her – he had a sense of humour and sounded like a nice guy. It was then she noticed he was only wearing a thin scarf and appeared to be shivering in the frosty air.
"Are you alright? You look a little cold". He put a smile on his face, stopping his teeth chattering by the simple but eye-watering method of inserting his tongue between his molars.
"Nah, it's just the winter; none of us like it, especially Vec and Esp, what with them being cold-blooded and all, it's really not a pleasant time of the year". He really is a little cold, hmm I wonder;
"Walk with me for a bit Charm – don't mind if I call you that do you?"
"Nah, sounds fine to me". The bee kept pace with Amy as she began to walk into the park, unconsciously warming up as this action generated heat from his working muscles.
As the pair walked, the conversation kept up; unlike his friends, who tended to stick purely to business when they had a client with them, Charmy was quite content to wander off the beaten track for a little while. He liked talking to people, but Vector was well aware that this overly friendly nature could put some of the more discreet clientele off; as a result, Charmy didn't often get to interview people as he was now.
"So how are things with Big and the little rabbit you had with you; sorry, I can't remember her name for the life of me". Amy looked at the bee mock-sternly as she answered,
"Have a care there; that's my little sister you're talking about. She's called Cream and I saw here and Big yesterday in fact. We went to Twinkle Park for Christmas and…"
"You went to the Boxing Day Bash?" Charmy was looking at her with goggled eyes, "what was it like, I'd have killed to get into that".
"It was alright, but lucky me had to catch some kind of bug and leave half way through", the pink hedgehog was trying not to make the bee think he'd missed much, "what did you three do for Christmas". Charmy gave a nervous smile; we had a nicely done turkey with gravy and all the debts were paid off, that's about it.
"It was pretty quiet", he gave a casual shrug, "didn't do much, just had a quiet day in". Amy glanced sideways; from the look on his face she could have hazarded a guess that the bee wasn't being entirely truthful.
"So how's business", she said, trying to change the subject and unwittingly making the situation worse; Charmy grimaced as he remembered their recent slump in fortunes; two months without a decent case was eating into their finances like a cancer, but even so, this wasn't as bad as it could have been.
"Not so good, we're in a bit of a slow patch at the minute", the bee smiled as he remembered one of Espio's favourite sayings, "the wolf's at the door so often we've started to call him Rover".
"That bad?"
"Nah, not really, it's been worse", he shook himself, "which is why I'm supposed to be here, keeping the wolves at bay", he took out his pad and pen again, "now, what is this job you've got planned about?"
"Well", Amy took a last check of her reasoning and launched into her short story, "I was in a mine system not so long ago and I lost something down there; I only just realised it was still down there. Everyone else is busy at the minute, so I found your number and gave you a call". Charmy scribbled all the notes down and, after examining what he'd written, picked out the questions he needed answering,
"Right, what was lost?"
"I'd rather keep that private, if that's all right – look I don't need you to actually look for this thing, all I need you to do is wait for me on the surface…"
"You're going underground", the bee increased his writing, "right, better make a note of that, sorry carry on" he spoke as he recorded that detail and Amy could continue,
"…and just get me there", a sudden suspicion cropped up in the hedgehog's mind, "you do have transport right?" Heh, heh, yeah; Charmy subconsciously rubbed the back of his neck as he answered,
"Sometimes; we got a car but it's a touch unreliable; don't worry though", he was quick to reassure the customer, "it'll get you from A to B no fuss".
"Okay, that's good; so, do you reckon that's enough for you?"
"Just a sec, let me check", the bee examined his notes thoroughly; he couldn't think of anything obviously he'd missed, "no, I think that should do it. I'll fly this back to the V-man and he'll be in touch", aha, contact details, "do you have a number we can contact you by?" Amy swiftly gave her mobile number which was duly recorded by the diligent bee.
"Okay, got it all; like I said, we'll be in touch. Take care Ames and", he leaned forwards conspiringly, "do you still have that hammer thing you used earlier?"
"Umm, yes", the pink hedgehog looked down confused, "why?"
"Just curious; can I see it, please?" As Amy slowly produced her weapon Charmy gave a happy sigh,
"Thanks, that thing gave me some of my happiest memories", he answered her question before she could ask it, "don't ask, in-house joke". I'll take your word for it; Amy replaced her weapon before nodding,
"Right, when can I expect to hear from you?"
"Sometime this evening, that cool?"
"Sure, thanks a lot", she offered her hand again and the bee shook before leaving, "you've been a big help Charmy". The bee nodded in mute agreement as he spread his wings; as he took to the air he smiled shyly; though Vector and Espio often joked about it, he'd never been completely at ease around girls; at the same time they fascinated and confused him. The crocodile had said it was something he'd understand as he got a little older but for now he didn't have much of a clue.
It was dark by the time Charmy used his battered old key to unlock the front door to his shared home, calling out the time honoured greeting as he slipped it shut behind him.
"Hey guys, I'm back". There was a desultory response from the kitchen and, as he slid off his knapsack, the bee wandered in and sniggered at the sight in front of him. Espio was sat on one of the chairs, swathed in a blanket and from the looks of things he had a coat on under that as well, while Vector was cooking something on the rusty stove. The chameleon looked around as Charmy walked in, almost daring him to say something about this necessary insulation against the cold.
"Go okay Charm?"
"Fine, went like a dream; got everything you need to know".
"That's a first", Espio mumbled bad-temperedly, sniffing another lungful of the freezing air as Vector shot him a reproachful glare before asking,
"Okay, let's test that theory – did you get the place?"
"Amy said she'd go with us".
"Good, what are we looking for?"
"We're not", as the other two Mobians glanced over the bee explained, "she just wants us to get her somewhere, oh it's underground by the way, down a mine or something, and she'll find what she lost. She didn't say what it was, said that was private".
"Not really a job for a detective is it?" Espio sat back in his chair, unknowingly miming Vector's speech from earlier as he thought about what materials they might need for the mission.
"Can't deny we could use the cash though; when does she want to move out?" Charmy slapped his face; knew I forgot something,
"Sorry Vec, didn't get that one, but I said you'd call her later".
"Fair enough, good job Charm".
"Yeah don't worry buzz boy, we all make mistakes; I made one once", the bee looked over at Espio, scarcely believing that the chameleon was admitting he had a flaw.
"Really, when was that?" Even a master of disguising his emotion couldn't stop himself smiling as he answered dryly,
"The day you flew in front of the car and I hit the brake". Typical Esp; Charmy rolled his eyes at his friend's desert-dry comment – though he came across as acerbic and sarcastic, Espio did have quite a refined sense of humour, it was just as biting as a pack of starving sharks and took a bit of getting used to.
"So speaks the great Karate Kid; tell me your next pearl of wisdom oh mighty sensei". The older Mobian smiled as he assumed his 'wise' look,
"The wise man sayeth, search the heart of ice for the drink of the gods".
"He means check the fridge", Vector called over as he ladled the bean stew he'd made into three separate bowls, remembering to go easy on the onions for his bee friend, "we got you something to say thanks for the hand warmers".
"Guys", Charmy squirmed a little; that had just been a necessity – he could see his two reptile friends were suffering and had to do something to help them, he didn't expect thanks for that, "you shouldn't have…"
"I know, but tall, green and gruesome over there twisted my arm" Espio admitted as Vector made a gagging noise.
"And I should let you have some of this why exactly?"
"I brought the ingredients". Damn, knew there was a reason; crafty ninjitsu master; the croc deposited the bowls on the table just as Charmy's shout of delight echoed through the room; the bee had discovered his gift and, judging by the way he was now orbiting the light overhead like some kind of deranged asteroid, he seemed pretty pleased about it.
"Yahoo, I got a frappacino, and it's strawberry; I love you both". Vector smiled as he skilfully grabbed the bee by one of his legs and pulled him back to earth,
"Grovel later, eat now".
"Fine by me".
Amy was relaxing by reading a book on top of her bed when her pocket vibrated, shattering the illusion of the young maiden waiting on a stone fence for her lover to meet up with her, unaware that he had been detained by her uncle and her father was on his way with belt in hand. The hedgehog shook off the absorbing nature of the book and answered on the fifth ring, recognising the deep voice on the other end and saying so.
"Hey Vector".
"Ah, hi Amy; just got the info from Charm – he didn't bug you too much did he?"
"Nah, he was really nice about the whole thing", she recalled some of their conversation and chuckled slightly, "and what's with you wanting to know my legal status?" It's not actually possible for a reptile to blush but Vector came pretty close to it as the pink hedgehog laughed down the line; Charmy Bee, your blind date for this evening is a can of insecticide.
"Umm, just a private joke; I never thought he'd take it literally".
"So I guessed", Amy shook her head as the crocodile's embarrassed silence before turning more serious, "now, how much is this going to come to?"
"I reckon about forty plus expenses, including petrol". Amy totted up how much of her Christmas pay she had left before realising she could afford that fee quite comfortably.
"Cool, when can you get ready to go, tomorrow?" I don't know how much longer this thing's got – the sooner the better.
"Day after", the reply came through, swiftly followed by the explanation, "we'll need to pick up a few things; Charm mentioned we'd be going underground, that true?"
"I'll be going underground, you three will be waiting on the surface in case I need any help".
"Right", why doesn't she want us down there; she's searching for something private; Vector kept that information squirreled away as he confirmed the case, "we'll see you on the 29th; same place you met Charmy. That okay with you?"
"Fine, I'll have the route plotted fine by then and I'll let the others know I'm gone. Be there for ten o'clock, it's a bit of a drive. See you then".
"Chow". Vector replaced the phone and exhaled slowly; for the first time in too long, he and his buddies had a case on the go. Time to celebrate, but first…
"Oh Charmy", the croc said in a sing-song voice, stalking through the house as the bee heard and did his best to hide; he knew that tone from Vector meant trouble, "come out and say hello to Mr Choke-hold".
"What'd Stripy do this time?" Espio appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, sipping his cup of green tea with one hand while the other held his blanket around his shoulders like a loose shawl.
"He asked Amy's legal status and blamed it on me". Espio nearly spluttered into his tea; only his formidable training in concealing his expressions prevented him laughing out loud; that was a good one Charm – never thought of that; still, Espio knew he had a reputation of unfairness to maintain and, with a sly smile, did so,
"Right, well in that case, you should seek where the smelly socks gather".
"Esp you cheat"; Charmy exploded out of the washing up basket and rocketed up to the roof, flying high to try and stay out of reach of the tall crocodile as Vector jumped after him, "you said you…"
"Fingers crossed" the chameleon assured him as Vector caught the bee on a high jump; Charmy eeped in terror as he suddenly remembered just how many teeth a crocodile has in its mouth and realised he had a ring side seat to all of them.
"Right", Vector said slowly, holding the wriggling insect as he tried to decide the most fitting punishment, "what should I do with you?" Charmy gave a cheerful smile,
"You could let me go?"
"I could", the unofficial leader of the Chaotix agreed before smiling viciously, "I'm not going to but I could – that's a theoretical possibility".
"Oh come on, I did a good job; I was just getting to know the client, there was nothing malicious in it". That much was certainly true; both his team mates would have been the first to accept that Charmy didn't have a malicious bone in his body; the fact that as an insect he didn't have bones could be overlooked in this case.
"Hmm, decisions, decisions", Vector held his grin in check as he realised just how much this stalling was freaking the bee out, "what d'ya reckon Esp?" Uh oh, now I'm for it; Charmy saw the chameleon slowly stand up, letting his blanket fall to the floor as he flexed his fingers and intoned.
"Pressure point testing".
"No way!" Charmy made a concerted writhe for freedom as, unseen by him, Vector nodded and gave a tiny glance to the target he wanted the chameleon to hit, "I don't deserve it, lemme go!" The ninja approached, carefully stretching the fingers of his favoured right hand,
"Does anyone truly deserve anything Charmy?" Gotcha! As the bee looked at this confused at the question, his friend pounced and, using one hand, pressed firmly either side of the bee's knee, capturing the pressure points expertly. Charmy simply gasped as sensations ranging from unbearable ticklishness to indescribable pain, and everything in between, flooded up to his brain; he'd been hit like this before but he could never prepare for it, the mixture was different every time.
"Gahhhh, Esp, leggoooo!" He threw himself around in the crocodile's iron grip, trying to kick his leg free and avoid howling like a madman. One out of two wasn't bad; with a shuffle backwards, Espio released the pressure and the bee slumped, worn out by the effort of trying to sort out everything he'd felt in the matter of seconds he'd been held.
"Okay, better stop before the neighbours think they're living next to a pack of serial killers" Vector said, supporting the woozy bee as he set him on the ground. When he finally remembered what had happened, Charmy glared up at Espio murderously.
"Espio, I respect you as a friend and an ally, but I swear you are going to wish you had never done that".
"Good, it worked then", the chameleon shrugged as the other two members of team Chaotix regarded him askew, "you've forgotten what day it is haven't you?" Vector was the first to remember after a glance at the calendar.
"He's right as well Charm; Wednesday, and you know what that means".
"Oh yes", a manic gleam stole into the insect's eyes as the implications of what was going to happen next sank in, "prepare to wish you'd never done that Espio Chameleon".
"Good, I need you to go all out", the ninja led the way to the cramped cupboard that passed as their living room; it was just about long enough for Vector to lay down in, if he'd ever had any desire to acquaint himself with the unmentionable contents of the ragged carpet. Espio sat on the stained settee and extended his hand, voice becoming completely toneless as he mentally worked himself up into a state of resistance.
"Start at the hand and work up". Charmy nodded and took the chameleon's paw, remembering where he had to press to cause maximum pain and stopping the instant Espio tapped with his free hand. Vector watched from the doorway; though it appeared this was just some sort of masochistic ritual Espio was putting himself through, it was actually an integral part of his ninja training. By having Charmy hit pressure points that caused extreme discomfort he was building his resistance to pain; it was a mark of his dedication that the bee now had to use two thumbs, one on top of the other, to force him to tap out. Vector had tried one of those points once and, even though he knew he had thick skin, had tapped out at even moderate pressure from the bee. Nice one Esp; the croc mentally complimented his friend, psyche Charmy up by tormenting him, then get him to go for it – he's less likely to go gentle. That line of thinking was just so typical of Espio; it was an elliptical train of thought, but, as it always did, it got the result he wanted. The ritual ended, as it always did, two hours after it started, with the chameleon thanking Charmy profusely before disappearing for a cold shower. Not too long after that, all three friends decided to call it a night, saying they'd work out exactly what they needed in the morning.
The recipient's mind slowly became more accessible; the being quickly accessed all it could, and saw within the kaleidoscope of fractured images only a single, all-important factor – freedom for itself.
The next day had passed very swiftly; for one side of the expedition it had been a fifteen minute trip to the hardware store, for the other it had been a slightly longer day plotting the quickest route to their destination. Amy had eventually managed this, but even she wasn't completely sure how she'd recognise precisely which hole it was she had to go down; she just trusted to fate that she'd be able to identify it when she saw it. The night had followed peacefully as well; Amy had slept fitfully and was perfectly sure she was completely over her slight cold, or whatever it had been. The first order of the day was to let everyone know she wouldn't be available today or tomorrow; that was easier for some than it would be for others. Tails had been the most curious, but that was just his nature; a promise that she'd tell him all about it tomorrow pretty much solved that problem, as by the time she saw him next the fox would probably have forgotten exactly what she'd said underneath a mound of his other projects. Cream had wished her good luck and Sonic (Shadow had been in the shower trying to scrub a large set of Akita paw-prints off his chest fur) had just wanted to check she was feeling a lot better before saying the same. As the clock rolled around to nearly half-nine the hedgehog picked up her bag, checked her torch was still working and then finally locked her apartment up and left, heading towards the red light she'd been running to in her dreams for as long as she could recall.
Come on you three; Amy rubbed her hands as she waited by the park gate; though it wasn't technically as cold as it had been for the past couple of days, the wind chill factor was lowering the temperature dramatically. It was the wrong kind of wind as well; rather than the gentle breezes that seemed to roll over you, this howling gust cut through you like a handful of razorblades. Small nests of it were currently whipping around the hedgehog's spines and freezing her skin bare; she shook her head and checked her watch again, it was three minutes to ten – she was early, but had always believed that five minutes early was better than five minutes late. Except on a day like this, she thought acidly, I wonder if I can start deducting them cash if they're more than…wait a second; something that sounded suspiciously like a firework went off to the left of her. Amy remembered what Charmy had said about the car the Chaotix Detective Agency owned and shuddered; steeling herself as she heard Vector call her name she slowly turned towards the left and felt her heart drop into her shoes.
It might have been a car at some stage; some stage fifty years ago. The pink hedgehog was half-expecting the clunking jalopy to fall apart as the crocodile smoothly pulled up alongside her and hailed,
"Hey Ms Rose, ready to go?" She didn't answer immediately; she was still looking for the strand of cello-tape that must surely have been holding the whole thing together. She hadn't seen so many wrinkles and slight bumps on anything that wasn't an elephant and she'd seen a better paint job in the aftermath of an explosion in an emulsion factory. She blinked, blinked again and then finally just began to believe that this would be the vehicle that would take her to wherever this thing was calling from and then back again. Well, if worst comes to worst we'll have enough spare parts to build some kind of rickshaw or…
"Hey, Ames, you coming?" She came, unwillingly, back to reality as she caught sight of Charmy waving at her from one of the back seats.
"Er, sorry, I was, um, lost in thought". To her surprise, Vector simply chuckled and replied,
"Don't sweat it, we get that all the time. Don't worry, this car's as reliable as they come, hasn't let us down yet". He gently patted the steering wheel and Amy winced as she saw the ripple pass through the entire body of the battered old hulk. She gingerly reached for the door facing her, opening it gently as she tried not to imagine suddenly pulling it clean off the car and sending it clanging to the pavement. The interior was hardly much better, the upholstery was cracked and the headrest seemed to hang at an awkward angle, but at least it smelt nice and appeared clean. As she seated herself in the leather seat, Vector turned to face her and gave a toothy smile.
"Welcome aboard Amy; I understand you're to be our navigator for the day", she nodded and timidly pro-offered the hand-drawn map she held; though he couldn't help it and tried to be as open and friendly as possible, Vector was pretty intimidating up close and personal, "good, good; now you've met Charmy, just re-introduce you to the rag man in the back there – say hi Esp". Amy looked back and returned Charmy's winning smile; it was then she remembered exactly who Espio was – the purple guy who'd been sarcastic to Big. A golden horn protruded from a mass of blankets that covered most of the back seat and a pair of steely eyes regarded her coldly.
"Good morning".
"Hi", she replied, instinctively disliking Espio as much as she had instinctively liked Charmy; I know you're type sunshine; she decided to give his ego a little poke, "no hard feelings I hope?"
"None at all". The chameleon's face remained passive but deep in his eyes she could see a faint shudder run through him as he remembered what had happened last time they'd crossed paths and, for him at least, it hadn't been pretty. Noting the air in the car tangibly drop in temperature, Vector cleared his throat and made to press on.
"Got the map Amy – you said it would be a bit of a drive".
"Yes, that's right", all thoughts of the obstinate chameleon were forgotten as she realised this was it; she was standing on the threshold of finding that which she felt, no, she knew, she had to find. Rapidly reading out her instructions, the pink hedgehog guided the Chaotix out of Station Square.
"I remember you"; Amy looked around at the cashier of the service station they'd pulled in to refuel.
"Oh, hi there, I didn't recognise you at first", Amy casually brought down a packet of mints from the stand nearby, "how have you been doing?"
"Not so bad", the teenager quickly tabulated the bill as he recalled the last time he'd seen this particular Mobian; she'd been with some others then, "where are your friends this time? There was a black hedgehog and, umm, that red guy with the funky dreads – never got his name".
"They're all okay, but I'm here with a second group this time; they're all waiting in the car this time".
"You footing the bill". You don't know how right you are.
"Isn't it always the way?"
"You said it", the cashier slid the change back under the counter, "oh, did you manage to catch up with the burnt guy in the end?"
"Umm, yeah we did", in more ways than one believe me, "he's…all right I suppose".
"Oh good, I did wonder. See you". As the shop bell tinkled behind her, Amy suppressed a shudder; that little exchange had unwittingly popped open a nasty can of worms in Amy's mind as it reminded her of where she was headed for and what had happened there last time. Luckily she managed to keep this apprehension quiet as she re-alighted her temporary ride, a little more confident in the reliability of the motor now as it had yet to shatter into metallic dust.
"Ready to go?"
"You bet", she nearly trembled with excitement as she realised just how close she was; it was only when she popped open the bag of mints she'd brought that she noticed something odd,
"Didn't you lot buy anything". Uh oh, umm, excuses time. Vector cleared his throat before answering,
"Well, we brought our own food; don't trust any of that packeted stuff, you know?"
"Fair enough"; Amy was perceptive enough to realise that the croc wasn't being entirely truthful here but let it lie to spare his embarrassment. As she sucked on her first sweet, she popped one in her paw and offered it to Vector. Flicking his eyes to the side for a split-second, the taller Mobian let the small comestible roll into one of his larger hands as he whispered his thanks. As he flipped the mint into his jaws, Amy offered her sweets around the back.
"You mean it; cheers". Charmy dug his hand in enthusiastically as his sweet tooth came to the fore; Espio, however, was a slightly different matter.
"No thank you".
"Sure?" It was an innocent comment but, as either of his friends would have told you, you couldn't make that kind of mistake against Espio and expect to get away with it,
"Perfectly; I am well aware of my own mind" the chameleon replied with just enough of a hint of a sneer to make it sound a little down-putting as Amy retracted her arm.
"Fine then"; sheesh, he's enough to make Knuckles look completely emotional.
Man, she's annoying enough to make Charmy seem almost alright.