MerendinoEmiliano: Humor, angst, drama. I want it all in the story. I really just chose angst because it seems to be synonymous with emotionally active characters.
So, there will probably be another delay. More stuff came up, but I'll try to be posting regularly.
/*-*/
Sonic trudged back to Freedom HQ. He wasn't sure how to feel about that interaction. He'd had a moment of emotional weakness where he thought it would feel good cut into that traitor. It didn't, and if anything, he felt worse than ever. He wasn't a cruel person, heck he usually couldn't even get angry with most people. Sonic also felt a wave of shame as he rose out of the prison. He'd torn someone down just to feel good about himself.
Scourge's words came back to him, One bad day is all it takes, and you'll be just like me. Sonic needed to watch himself, because those words felt truer now than ever before. Sally was waiting for him with her arms crossed, and a curious expression on her face.
"I didn't learn anything new." Sonic muttered, "I actually was… worse."
Sally blinked a couple times, "What do you mean?"
"I just… She got away with hurting everyone for so long… So I wanted to hurt her heart like she hurt ours." Sonic muttered.
"I wasn't upset to see her go." Sally snorted, before shaking herself, "But I get it. If I had been hurt like you were… well…"
She wasn't going to admit it. She never could. Sonic was a little bitter, but he needed to keep himself in check, so he just nodded, "Yeah."
The two trudged back to Freedom HQ, another snow falling along the way. Sally shuddered as a flake landed on her nose. Sonic decided it was best if they just got back to Freedom HQ. He scooped her up, earning a lovely yelp out of her, and bolted back to the doors of their home.
Sally was panting, and let out a shaky break, "Whew… that was rush, just like old times huh?" She prodded.
Sonic knew where she was going, and he caught the undertone of When we were together. He just ignored it, "Yeah, but usually we were running from Robutnik's goons.
"Yeah, but thanks to you, we always made it." Sally seemed slightly upset that he didn't dare walk into that trap. He wasn't going there, he wasn't ready to start going after her again, nor was he going to deal with another unity-shattering crisis that would come from the fall out. He was tired of off-and-on dating.
"I didn't always save everyone." Sonic reminded her. That's how Fiona came about, that's how some of the legions came about. He hadn't been there when they needed him, and thus, they became enemies. In a way, it was his fault Fiona was locked up. He had a suspicion, but he was going to test it later.
Before Sally could make another attempt, a red Fox walked in through the doorway, "Ah, Sonic, I trust you have returned from an eventful afternoon, judging by the snow on you."
"Frederick, what are you doing here?" Sonic asked, trying his best not sound inconvenienced.
"Alas, I… do not have many friends." Frederick slumped shyly. That was a fair argument.
"Well, I guess just-" He looked at Sally who threw her hands up, which he interpreted as a yes, "Come on in.
Frederick walked further into the headquarters, before walking into the command room.
Elias jumped up, "We have another cold wave coming in."
"Yeah, we felt it." Sally muttered, clearly upset and pushing past Elias.
Rotor cleared his throat, "Is everything alright?"
"Fine." Sally muttered, and sat at her chair, "Just waiting for Nagus to call and tell me how much of terrible job I am doing at controlling the weather."
Sonic looked at Frederick, "So, Um, we are kind of occupied, so do you need anything, or is just a friendly visit."
Frederick bowed his head, "I did not realize you were busy, but I am in need of some aid. My city and villages are busy trying to rebuild after Robotnik's fall, but I require a manor or castle. I was wondering if you could spare some workers or hands to help."
Sonic blinked a couple times. That was a bit of a large order to fill. They had building experience, but nothing quite as complex as an estate. "That's a pretty big deal for twenty people."
"Oh, no, no I don't need you build the Manor, I just need some help clearing the rubble of my Father's castle. It was devastated during the war, and I haven't rebuilt it yet." Frederick explained, smiling shyly.
Sally nodded, "Well, I think we can spare a few people once this storm lets up. I can't imagine it's too good for the crops."
"My farmers have certainly come to me and asked for insulation. This weather has been rough for everyone." Frederick seemed to slump down. He frowned, "I don't know why any of this is happening, but I can't help feeling useless as my people are uncertain of their future."
Sonic looked at Sally, who caught the silent message. She smiled, "We can only do so much to help our citizens. Sometimes, things happen that are out of our control. This doesn't make you a bad leader, You just need to handle each crisis with the best of your ability."
Frederick closed his eyes, but nodded, "I will do everything I can to help the farmers."
"Sally, Temperature is rising again." Rotor exclaimed, and Nicole appeared on the screen.
"There is a brief movement of energy that occurs before each storm. I will try to figure out where it is coming from, and maybe provide ample warning before each storm." Nicole proposed.
"You are truly a gift." Frederick exclaimed at the screen, "You have my thanks."
Sonic nodded at Frederick, "Alright, so where are we heading?"
Sonic scooped up Frederick, who yelped, "What are you doing?"
"I'm faster than any steed, where are we going?" Sonic repeated, ready to get started, or just get done.
Sally exclaimed, "Sonic, we don't know if there will be another storm, You should stay here until-"
"Frederick doesn't have time for that. Where are we heading, buddy?" Sonic asked a third time.
"Uh, south about four miles, and east one mile." Frederick stated, nervously.
Sonic bolted, zipping through the trees, past a river, and… Yeah that should be four miles. He turned right, and kept running, before passing… hell.
Sonic kept moving as mobians quickly moved out of the way of his streak. He saw imploded houses that had collapsed from fire, others completely covered in moss, or having collapsed walls. All through out the street, there were mobians, sitting down against the rubble, and others slumping in alley ways.
Sonic arrived to a large pile of rubble which he assumed to be old, collapsed castle, "What happened here?"
Frederick walked out of Sonic's arms, and stumbled, towards a ditch, letting out a large bark, before another, more wet sound left his throat. Right, high speeds weren't for everyone.
Frederick hurled again, before panting, using his arm to stabilize against one of the walls that were still standing. He turned to Sonic, looking sad, with his ears slumped, his mouth drooling, and his eyes half closed. He jerked around and puked again into the ditch.
Sonic finally walked over, "Hey are you going to be Ok?"
"I don't get why I am suddenly sick. It wasn't this bad when you took me from the palace." Frederick slumped against the wall.
"I kinda went full speed this time." Sonic scratched his head, a little embarrassed by how much trouble he just caused Frederick.
The fox nodded, scowling before taking a deep breath, "What happened here… was a lack of management, and my incompetent rule."
Sonic blinked, "You aren-"
"I am not my brothers." Frderick slumped, this time from depression, "My brothers were strong, powerful, willful. Father loved them so much, trained with them every day. My sisters were beautiful, polite and obedient. Then there was I, the most unappealing, average child of them."
Sonic nodded slowly.
Frederick continued, "I was the only one to survive Robotnik's rise, so the land is mine by birthright, but why am I the one to survive. My brothers could have fixed this city in a matter of days, yet here I am, unable to even fix a building on my own."
Sonic frowned at that thought. Frederick wasn't exactly in the right state of mind for leading. He needed to get more positive. All Sonic had to offer was sentiment.
Sonic placed a hand on the queasy fox's shoulder, "Hey, you survived for a reason. I don't why yet, but I'm sure you can do something great, as long as you don't become like Nagus."
Frederick chuckled a little, still heaving from his accident, "I will do my best."
At least that lifted his spirits temporarily. Sonic clapped his hands, "Ok, so what exactly do you need done?"
Frederick gestured to the area inside the walls. There were dried out bushes with vines growing up them. A fountain had collapsed and scattered shards all around the walk way. Weeks were growing all up in the yard, though they were pretty. The Grass was tall, and the ground was lump, and that was just the front area.
"We need to clear the grounds first, and make it safe to walk through, then we can go inside what is still standing, and look for any family treasures that might be destroyed in the demolition process." Frederick explained. He'd actually thought it out perfectly. Unfortunately, Sonic was fast, not terribly strong.
"Uh, I'm not exactly a landscaper." Sonic joked.
Frederick nodded, seeming to have recovered, "Yes, That is why I asked for multiple people to help."
Sonic looked around, "I guess I can help clean up the grounds." He zipped around with a garbage bag, picking up chunks of ceramic and glass.
The whole place was devasted, except for the west wing of the castle/manor. It's roof was caved in, but there were still walls and what looked like a working door. The Vines that crept up the walls indicated how long this place had been abandoned.
Sonic still couldn't help but admire the place as he imagined how awesome it would have looked if it had still been standing. He could see how the grounds would have had pompous nobles talking about their wealth, each trying to outshine the other. Over by the fountain would old generals and nobles, each boasting their military achievements, oblivious to all the casualties their wars had created.
Sonic cleaned up what was hopefully the last of the shattered fountain, and moved on to the pretty weeds. He ran into the shed and grabbed what appeared to be large scissors, and went, cutting the base of the plants, and bundling them up. Maybe he'd give them to Sally, as an apology for his recent outbursts.
Sonic began to bundle up the beautiful bloomed flowers with bright orange petals, and the purple coned flowers with black strands sticking out. He continued to grab the flowers, picking up a lovely bundle of small red buds that grew along the edge of the old dried out bushes. There were also some nice yellow blooms that had thorns on the stalks, so he kept them in the center, he didn't want her to prick her finger.
Sonic then ran and grabbed a manual lawn mower, and ran over the sections in an(admittedly) sloppy way. He had to un over them a couple more times. On his second trip, however, He felt a light gust of wind, and noticed the citizens all began to huddle around little fires they had made.
Sonic then Noticed the snow that had begun to fall, and ran into the small shed again. Frederick was waiting there, and Sonic noticed a…bed.
"Frederick…do you live in here?" Sonic asked, kind of bewildered.
Frederick nodded, "I do. Do you need a blanket, these storms can get cold?"
Sonic frowned, "Why don't you live in the city or something?"
"And leave my village unattended? No, I will stay here until my father's estate is rebuilt." Frederick declared.
As he felt a light shiver in his body, Sonic couldn't help but feel a small sense of respect for that mentality. The red fox was sitting through the cold, maybe not as fierce as what his citizens had to, but still sharing the cold with his people.
Sonic thought for a moment, realizing something else, "Hey, can I actually have a blanket, something a little heavy."
Frederick blinked and nodded.
/*-*/
Fiona slumped back in shade of the prison cell. She recounted everything that had happened. She had encountered a wolverine, it had killed the Destructix, she had wound up in a village, she had worked in the village, Scourge found her, she worked more in the village, She got turned in.
The Fox growled at the fact that everyone conspired against her yet again. She couldn't trust anyone. Scourge hadn't save her, but there had to be a reason. He was planning to come and get her, but why didn't he try to stop it from happening?
Fiona growled again in frustration. She then sighed, watching a puff of breath dissolve in the air. A puff…
She felt…cold… The room's temperature had dropped. Didn't they have Air conditioning in this prison?
Fiona looked around and saw a vent next to the bed in the back of the room… that had scorch marks around it. Probably someone's poor attempt at an escape plan. Another thing gone wrong in her week.
Fiona tore the thin sheet off her cot and wrapped it around herself. It did little more that stir the air in her room. Talk about the worst time to be in prison. It felt harder to escape this prison than it did to escape the Zone Cop's prison. Probably because she didn't exactly have help. Scourge, where are you?
She needed to be optimistic. Fiona needed to be positive. At least it can't get any worse.
A blue flash appeared in front of her, and she immediately knew she had jinxed it. Sonic stood in front of her, looking mildly disturbed. Great She growled to herself.
Sonic smiled, holding up a thick white cloth blanket, before pressing a button on the control panel, dropping the thick, clear door.
"Uh… Hey, brought you a blanket because… well the weather hasn't exactly been consistent." Sonic joked awkwardly.
"And in the other hand?" Fiona pointed to his hand that was behind his back.
Sonic pulled his hand around, revealing a bouquet of wild flowers. Monk's hood, Buttercups, and a few others. Fiona was good with those kind of things.
Sonic frowned, "I got this for Sally, and she got really mad at me. I don't get it, don't girls like flowers? Oh sorry." He must have realized that he still hadn't handed her the blanket. Sonic tossed it in the cell.
Fiona didn't bother picking it up, but she had quite the time with his mild displeasure and inexperience, "Oh, you gave her that? Yeah, I'd get pissed at any bouquet from you, but that one especially."
"Did I spit on your chilidog. Why do you hate me?" Sonic growled. Ah, so he was finally catching on.
"You should be able to figure it out." Fiona growled, "Anyway, your bundle of flowers is full of insults, maybe try learning a skill before trying to woo a girl. It'd save us all a lot misery."
Sonic growled at her, before turning around and walking out, "Who gave flower's a language?"
"Someone smarter than you." Fiona spat.
Sonic pressed the button, and clear door closed. Fiona felt pretty proud of herself. She'd cut him down a peg, and maybe he'd learn from his mistakes.
She felt herself shivering. Fiona's eyes gazed down at the blanket. She wasn't exactly thrilled, but she wanted to keep warm, so she wrapped herself up, and gradually felt a little warmer. Anything to survive, that was her policy.
/*-*/
Johan trudged through the blizzard. The scents had been inconsistent, and murky, which really screwed with his tracking.
Still he sniffed the ground, trudging forward, certain he was going to find something.
His nose brushed against something solid… stone. He raised his head to gaze into an cave with what appeared to be unnatural light.
Johan trudged forward, ready to flush out his cornered prey.
/*-*/
Next chapter starts the beginning of "The Wild Beast" arc, or what ever you want to call it.
Please leave a review, and tell me what you think.