It had been months. The limb should have been close to fully healed by now, but whatever had caused the injury in the first place hadn't just left physical damage. The arm had been infected with a degree of demonic energy, causing cellular decay that meant the arm would never fully heal. The fox would be wearing the arm brace for the rest of his life.
Fortunately he enjoyed tinkering, and had made several modifications to the device himself. Enhanced servos entitled the arm with more strength than it normally would have possessed, and additional armour had been crafted around the gauntlet. A thick pauldron had been affixed to the shoulder, which served to absorb the recoil from the arsenal of larger two-handed weapons the fox had been trained to wield in his months aboard the ship.
With the modified brace, combined with the thick knee-high studded boots the fox had built himself and the bandoliers filled with tools and equipment, the fox was beginning to resemble a fluffy mini-Slayer himself.
The Slayer couldn't help but feel proud of his apprentice as he watched the alien fox-boy stripping a heavy assault rifle, taking apart the weapon and reassembling it as fast as any Marine.
Then the fox hissed in pain, gripping at his braced arm.
The Slayer stood and began to approach, with concern for his charge, when Nuts turned his attention to the human and offered a meek grin.
"It's okay, Green... " the apprentice said, stretching and rotating his arm, "Bolts is just giving me some jip, that's all..."
The Slayer chuckled. Bolts. The kid had named his arm Bolts.
Nuts and Bolts. The Slayer appreciated the dumb humour.
Besides, the arm was as much a part of the kid now as the Slayer's own Praetor Suit.
Nuts had come on in great strides in his time under the Slayer's training. Where once had cowered a small, frightened, tattered bundle of orange fuzz, now stood a whipcord-thin, lean-muscled Sentinel recruit.
The Slayer was slowly training the fox in the ways of fighting Hellspawn, and had been surprised by the kid's abilities.
On the range, Nuts had become an extremely proficient marksman, despite training with weapons designed for human standards. To compensate for his short stature, Nuts had developed his own downsized versions of the Slayer's rifles and combat shotgun, and carried an energy pistol and blade in his belt wherever he went.
But guns weren't everything.
Fighting the forces of Hell didn't just require being a good marksman. You could be as accurate as you liked, but if you stood still even for a moment, you were dead. Demonic combat required a lot of moving, jumping, ducking, diving and taking your shots when you could. It was less combat and more art form, that became something close to a dance when mastered. You just had to be fast.
And Nuts was fast. Incredibly fast.
Using his twin tails, with terrestrial gravity and air resistance, Vega had estimated that the fox could reach speeds of roughly seven-hundred miles per hour - just short of Mach 1. The Slayer had been astonished, and even Vega had been unable to figure out the physics behind the incredible fox-boy's flight abilities.
And he was strong. Despite his small frame, Nuts was capable of wielding full-size firearms and lifting heavy weights while flying.
Combining all of his abilities, Nuts would make for an unexpectedly proficient demon Hunter... once he became old enough to fight.
Seventeen. The Slayer had decided on seventeen. The same age he himself had joined the UAC Marine Corps, a million lifetimes ago.
Then he would be ready to exact his vengeance.
The Slayer hummed as he looked back to his tactical console. This current invasion was bewildering. No matter how many missions, no matter how many demons he slaughtered or Gore Nests he tore apart... there was just no stopping them. They couldn't even determine the origin of the invasion. It looked as though the slayer would have to destroy each and every demon one by one to rid this world of the evil that had consumed it.
He grunted and flicked off the console. If that's what it took, that's what he'd do.
He would continue his scans later. Right now he had some... business to take care of.
let the kid know what time it is, Vega...
Vega's smooth artificial voice emanated from above. "Nuts..."
The fox perked his ears and looked around at the ceiling, while the Slayer went to retrieve the required tools. "what's up, Vega?"
"The Slayer wishes to remind you of the... other duty you have scheduled today..."
The fox cocked his head and frowned. "Other duty? What-"
He was cut off by a harsh buzzing. Startled, the fox jerked around searching for the source of the disturbance... to find the Slayer, with an evil grin on his face, wielding some kind of electric razor.
Nuts' ears drooped and he groaned as he realised what Vega was talking about.
"Great... I forgot about that..."
...
A moan of despair released from the fox's throat as the Slayer carefully ran the razor down his back, clumps of orange fluff dropping to the floor. He grinned as he remembered his own first marine cut, the instructor wrenching the seventeen year old recruit's head around as Strawberry blond hair fell about his shoulders. He'd try to be a little more careful than that instructor. He owed the kid that much.
Nuts had reluctantly, but dutifully, shaved the rest of his body, groaning with misery for the entire time. The Slayer vaguely remembered Bessie, the family dog, being periodically clipped. He wondered if the old hound had complained as much as the orange fox before him.
It was a necessary task if Nuts was to become a Sentinel. He'd spend much of his time encased in close-fitting armour, which would leave no room for a thick full-body covering of fur. And besides - fluffy orange fur and fire-spewing demons didn't mix. The fluff had to go.
He powered off the razor and patted the kid on the shoulder, signalling that the ordeal was over. Nuts launched himself away from the Marine and shook himself off, dreadfully skinny without the thick orange coat.
The Slayer had been merciful. The kid had kept the fur on his head, neck, and chest, but the rest had been reduced to a near skin-level covering of fuzz.
The human raised an eyebrow as his apprentice shivered. You okay?
"Fuckin' freezing..." the fox's teeth chattered as he rubbed at his elbows. " how do humans live like this? "
In answer, the Slayer handed him a bundle of drab green fatigues manufactured from the ship's replicators.
The fox groaned as he took the fatigues. "I hate clothes..."
"The development of garments for the purpose of protection and practicality was an important step in human evolution," Vega chimed in helpfully, as the fox slipped the green shirt over his head. Triangular ears flopped through the hole.
"Yeah well... I guess we skipped that part..." Nuts stumbled as he attempted to enter the fatigues trousers, obviously unaccustomed to wearing pants. "Spent more time getting smart..."
The Slayer raised an eyebrow. The fox barely spoke of his previous life before the demonic invasion, and if he did It was in very vague terms like his prior statement. The human couldn't help but wonder at the life the fox would have had if none of this has happened.
Nuts finished buttoning the fatigues' rear hole over his twin tails, then spread his arms unenthusiastically. "Well? How do I look?"
The Slayer offered him a thumbs-up, before approaching the shorter figure and holding up a metal chain, upon which dangled a pair of oval tags.
The human dropped the tags into Nuts' hands. The fox noticed that there was writing engraved in the metal.
"Nuts... Blascowickz?"
The human nodded and grinned at the improbable name... his true name, from another time when the Marine was still a mortal. His family name.
Nuts had loved the ludicrous name when the Slayer had divulged it. The human figured he'd appreciate this little surprise.
"Nuts Blascowickz..." The fox repeated the name, trying it on for size.
"The designation is yours should you wish it," Vega said, channelling the Slayer's thoughts. "alternatively, you may inform us of your true identity, so I might manufacture..."
"No," the fox snapped, cutting off the Sentient Intelligence a little more harshly than he had intended. He dropped His ears and offered an apologetic look around the ceiling. "Sorry, Vega..." He looked up to the human and grinned. "Nuts Blascowickz... pretty fuckin' sweet!"
The human, who never tired of the orange fox's potty mouth, chuckled silently and held out a fist. The fist was bumped by the gauntlet of Nuts' mechanized brace, and he quickly ruffled the kid's head.
The transformation was slow-going, but the kid was slowly becoming a Slayer.
...
"Agh, son of a bitch MOTHER FUCKER!"
Nuts cursed loudly at an unexpectedly harsh twinge from his right arm, dropping his wrench in the process. He slid out from his position beneath the plasma conduit and uncomfortably gave the arm a stretch.
"Bolts, I love ya buddy, but you're a pain in the ass sometimes..."
The arm brace didn't reply, having no intelligence of its own.
"Nuts, do you require assistance?"
Vega's voice emanated from the ship's internal communications, causing the fox to jerk in shock. One hand hovered over the grip of his pistol.
"No thanks, Vega..." The fox replied, relaxing his grip. He retrieved his wrench and slid himself back under the conduit. "Just my arm is all."
"Affirmative. Please inform me should you require anything."
Nuts smirked. "Thanks, mom..."
He finished his work on the conduit, then slid himself back into the deck and stood. His fatigues hung from him uncomfortably. He was still getting used to being largely shaven and wearing clothes. He missed his thick coat of orange fluff.
Nuts slipped his tools back into their designated pouches and pockets and continued on his maintenance rounds, fat boots stomping across the deck of the ship's engine room. He hummed to one of the Slayer's heavy metal tunes currently running around in his brain. Metal. A genre of Earth music the Mobian fox was becoming increasingly fond of.
The fox marvelled at the engines of the Fortress of Doom. a crazy mixture of advanced technology, cogs, chains and gears, that drove the ship at speeds Mobian scientists could only dream of. Even Robotnik would be utterly outclassed by-
Nope. Squash it. Squash the memory.
Miles... Nuts Blascowickz shook his head, banishing the dangerously close memories into the back of his brain. He had gotten good at forgetting over the months. He could almost fool himself that he was a completely different person from... That other fox.
The traitor that had unwittingly brought Doom to his world.
Nuts briefly ran a hand over the tags that now lay around his neck. His mouth tweaked.
Blascowickz. Nuts Blascowickz.
The new name helped. Helped him detach further from the life and the world that were dead.
"Fascinating technology..." The fox grinned, observing the clanking and whining heart of the ship. "What do you think, Bolts?"
he looked down to the arm as he spoke to it. Again, no reply. He knew he was crazy for talking to it the way he did. didn't care. He loved all technology, all of his creations. The image of a bright red biplane flashed through his mind before he squashed that memory, too.
Nuts shook his head, rotated his aching right shoulder, and continued with his work.
" Y'know, Vega... " the fox grunted as he slotted himself beneath steaming brass pipes, tools clanking in their pouches. He selected the appropriate tool and got to work. "I never asked how this thing works..."
"Please determine 'this thing'," the intelligence replied .
"Uh, the engines? Shit..." Nuts flinched as his elbow grazed a hot pipe, suddenly appreciative that there was now very little fur on his bare left arm to singe. "This is technology like I have never seen... how does this thing even move from point A to point B? "
"The Fortress of Doom was a Night Sentinel flagship and personal vessel of the Slayer during the Unholy Crusades." Vega replied offering a brief bit of context. " it is built around a core of advanced Makyr technology, which even I lack sufficient data to properly understand. "
"'at's 'unferting," said Nuts, wrench between his teeth.
"would you like me to continue?"
The Fox's ears drooped a fraction. "S'rry..."
"The ship's core produces enough energy to provide indefinite operation," the intelligence went on, not missing a beat. "It achieves faster than light travel through a means of temporal displacement, warping time and space as to counteract the effects of relativity, and provide near instantaneous interstellar travel."
"You make it sound like a time machine, Vega. "
The intelligence paused as he considered. "Interesting analogy. Yes, perhaps some of this vessel's capabilities could be likened to a time machine."
Nuts grinned as he thought about an Earth time-travel movie the Slayer had shown him. That had been cool. The fox had even thought to craft his own working hoverboard after watching the sec...
...ond one...
Time machine?
Among the cogs and pipes and gears of the ancient battle station's engine room, the inner workings of the fox's brain slowly began to clank and grind.
No...
Slowly, an insane plan began to form.
There's no way...
The fox jerked and banged his head on a pipe as he came to the revelation.
"Ow, suck my nutsack!"
"Nuts, are you okay?" The intelligence's voice projected worriedly, as the fox began to scramble from his work space.
"I'VE GOT IT!" Nuts cried out, eyes bulging and hands gripping his ears. "SON OF A BITCH, I'VE GOT IT!"
...
The Slayer, in one of the few moments of sleep that came to him, was dreaming about... rabbits.
The Hellwalker, the Unchained Predator, the only one to stand against the slavering hordes of Doom, liked to dream of rabbits. Brown, fluffy rabbits. Hopping around a field.
He happily sat cross legged while they hopped around him. His own bunny, Daisy, lay in his lap, sleeping while he lightly petted her behind the ears.
Peace. For now at least, the Slayer was at peace.
Daisy raised her head and blinked up at him with big black eyes.
"Green?
He smiled and wiggled his fingers in greeting.
"hey! Wake up! "
The Slayer frowned. The rabbit was suddenly on his knees, gripping him by the shirt.
"Wake up! Wakeupwakeupwakeupwakeup... "
Slowly, blurrily, the rabbit's brown face and black eyes were replaced by orange fur and blue irises.
...
The Slayer groggily shifted in his chair as the fox-kid hopped from his knees and began to hover in the air in that curious way that he did with his twin tails, chattering excitedly and whipping to and fro like a hummingbird.
"I've got it, Green! I've freaking got it!" The fox's eyes were positively popping out of his head as he darted around in the air before the human. "Everything we need.. This ship has everything we need! it'll take some major adjustments but by my calculations it should absolutely be possible!"
The Slayer shook his hands side to side while Nuts spoke at a hundred miles an hour.
Slow down! Slow down!
The fox dropped from the air and planted his boots into the deck. He took a few deep breaths before raising his hand excitedly.
"I... I've figured it out, Green!" The fox looked on the verge of tears, as though he'd discovered the secret of the universe. "A way to... stop them for good! To save my world! And not just mine but yours too! Maybe even every world ever destroyed by those bastards! "
The Slayer raised a very bewildered eyebrow.
I have no idea what you're talking about, kid.
The fox just grinned and hopped back onto the human's knees and grabbed his shirt, his orange face so close the cold wet nose almost touched the Slayer's. Wild, enlightened blue eyes bore into his.
"We go..." The fox said, barely able to breathe with excitement. "Back. In. TIME!"
The Slayer wore a very bewildered expression at that.
...
Mobius, Southern Islands... one year earlier.
It was another beautiful day in the Green Hills of South Island. Emerald green meadows, scattered with yellow flowers, ruffled in the breeze. Palm trees stood tall, animals and birds chattered and squawked, and lazy white clouds drifted beneath the gleaming yellow sun.
Then the creatures began to scatter, sensing danger.
Time seemed to stand still as blue-white lightening crackled over the meadow, building into a writhing gnashing tangle of electricity. Blossoming from the centre of the disturbance, like a flower in bloom, a swirling blue portal tore the fabric of time and space.
From the portal a visitor, alien to this world, stomped yellow flowers beneath fat boots as he hopped from the portal. Behind the armoured green giant, the transportation portal shrank and flickered to a close.
All was quiet as the visitor slowly observed his surroundings, one hand resting on the large shotgun at his hip.
From his shoulders, a smaller figure clad in green fatigues and equipment pouches fluttered to the ground with twin tails, staring around his environment in blissful awe.
"It worked..." The fox whispered, voice small and eyes wide. "It freaking worked!"