-Chapter 251-
Breakfast with Nightmares
Sand Blast City
At Jack's suggestion, the Freedom Fighters had all turned in for the night. The group had made their way to back storage areas, which had been repurposed into makeshift bedrooms with cots and old thrift store blankets and pillows. Despite the accommodations, the group had managed to nod off fairly quickly and were sleeping peacefully; everyone, save for Sonic…
-X-
Sonic sat up with a groan, rubbing his head.
"Oh geez…I think that take-out had something in it." Feeling a breeze, his eyes snapped open. "What the…?"
He found himself in a part of Sand Blast City at night, the area partly demolished.
"This…This looks like Sand Blast City. What happened here?" He perked at the sound of a terrified scream. "What the…!?"
Sonic ran off to find where the scream came from. "Hey! What's going on? Are you o–?" He rounded the corner, stopping short to see a trio of dead bodies lying on the ground. "By Aurora…"
Sonic got a closer look at the victims. They were a family, a mother, a father, and a little girl; all of them had been shot fatally.
"What…What happened here?" He perked, hearing soft crying. "Huh?"
Sonic looked ahead and saw a boy on his knees, his face buried in his hands, sobbing.
"Oh geez…" He walked over. "Hey there, you alright?"
The boy didn't acknowledge Sonic's presence and just kept crying.
"That…That's your family, aren't they? They were killed by the Dust Riders?"
The boy just kept crying.
"Don't worry, my friends and I are here to help." Sonic reached out to the boy. "We'll find who did this and stop them, I promise. It's gonna be okay–"
A gunshot sounded. Sonic suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, causing him to instinctively clutch it.
"Agh!" Sonic pulled his hand away to find it covered in blood. He looked down to see that he'd been shot in the chest. "What…the…"
"Never forgive…" Sonic looked up at the boy, recoiling in horror to find him wearing the Diablo Kid's sunglasses, scarf, and hat, and pointing a gun at his face. "Never forget…"
Sonic couldn't react as he pulled the trigger, the bullet striking home in the white patch of fur between his eyes (1)...
-X-
"NO!"
Sonic bolted upright, breathing heavily. He looked around, seeing he was still in the backroom, the city and buildings still intact. To his surprise, he was the only one there.
"Dream…just a dream…" Sonic shook it off as he got up. "What the hell was that?"
-X-
Meanwhile, in the main room, the Freedom Fighters were going about their business with Jack, Shift, and Jolt. Ray fidgeted in his seat, a mug of coffee in his hand when Mighty arrived with a fresh pot.
"Freshen your coffee, Jitters?" he asked.
"Yeah-yeah-yeah!" Ray let out, eye twitching. "Keep it coming! Put the pot down! Get away!"
Mighty poured him a fresh cup, leaving the pot on the table…which Ray proceeded to drink straight out of.
"Okay, Mr. McSquirrel, I think you're had enough." Jolt grabbed his mug, only to get his hand almost chomped by Shift's beartrap bola.
"Oh, no you don't!" Shift snapped. "The last time you got your hands on some 'dark chocolate', you ran so many laps around the city, you dug a moat! Then you fell asleep for three days after you crashed!"
"First off, it was Blue Cow," Jolt clarified. "Second, I was out for five days. I am that good."
Shift shook his head as Jack facepalmed. "That's one way to put it."
"Quite the group, aren't they, Princess?" Nicole questioned.
"That's…one way to put it." Sally noticed Cream looking uneasy. "Cream, is something wrong?"
"Hm?" Cream perked, looking nervous. "Oh, I'm sorry, Princess Sally, I just…" She turned to see Sonic in the door. "Oh! Mr. Sonic's finally up!"
"Hey guys…" Sonic let out a loud yawn, stretching.
"Mornin', Big Blue!" Jack winced. "Damn. You don't look so good."
Sonic nodded. "I had a rough night. Crazy dreams."
"Lemme guess. Nightmares about the Kid?"
Sonic perked. "Yeah… but how'd you know?"
"Flex told me what happened. He whammied ya with that fancy eye of his."
"Yeah, what was that?"
"The Devil's Eye, the Kid's secret weapon. It's a cyber-eye that lets Kid beam his thoughts right into your mind. He uses it to mess with folks' heads; make'em see nightmares from Hell. Guessin' yours were pretty bad?"
"No kidding…" Sonic cringed. "I woke up to find the city in ruins. Looked like one of those pics of battlefields. Even found a family that had been caught in the crossfire."
Jack stiffened briefly. "And…?"
"The sole survivor was a boy. He was crying... and when I tried to help him, he turned into the Kid and shot me in the face."
Cream covered her mouth in horror.
"Jeebus…" Mighty let out.
"Well, why don't you take a seat and get your head back on straight?" Jack offered. "Tex and Avery took some of your pals out to grab some grub. They should be back any minute."
"We're back, bitches!" Avery's voice came.
"Speak of the Devil," Shift noted.
"Woohoo! Donuts!" Jolt cheered.
Tex and Avery walked in, carrying several bags and boxes.
"Sorry we're late, folks," Avery told them. "Lines were crazy!"
"We would've got back sooner if you hadn't stopped pestering the guy behind the counter to make the batches fresh," Tex remarked.
"Hey! Power Rings (2) are best fresh out the fryer. It's a universal truth!"
"Lines weren't the only crazy part," came Sam's voice.
He, Rotor, and Hope entered, Hope guiding Shard, who was nursing a cracked optic.
"Shard!" Nicole gasped.
"Oh my goodness!" Cream exclaimed.
"The hell!?" Lily demanded.
Hope led Shard over.
"What happened?" Sally demanded.
"Apparently, anti-robot sentiment has reached this far out," Hope explained. "We were just minding our own business in the line when some jackass threw a rock at him."
"They what!?" Sonic shouted.
"It's just a cracked optic," Shard told them. "I'll be fine."
"An easy fix. But yeah…" Rotor shook his head in disdain.
"Yeah…" Jack chuckled a bit before, clearing his throat and becoming serious, "Real sorry 'bout that, folks. Things have been gettin' a lil...crazy around here, so folks have been on edge."
Sally raised an eyebrow. "Define 'crazy'."
"Avery, show 'em," Jack ordered.
"Gotcha, boss," Avery pulled out a tablet from his pocket and set it on the table. "Pull up a seat and get some munchies, boys and girls. Time for a clipshow. Computer, play Battle Recording 4."
The group watched as a video began playing, showing the Sand Blasters out in the desert. Jack was making some kind of video journal. The footage looked like it'd been recorded a while ago, as Jack looked younger and had both his eyes. He was sporting several injuries and looked like he'd run a marathon for several days straight. All in all, he looked like shit.
"Jack's Log, 0542 hours, Spirit count… not good. We just finished dealing with the fifth wave of Badniks this week! Seriously, where the hell does that fat bastard get the metal for all these things? Anyway… Tex just took a Volkan Cannon to the back. He's alive, but it's lookin' like he's gonna be outta commission for a while. Avery's tryin' to get his new defense system up and running. Jolt's off in the corner singing showtunes… And Shift's traps are doin' jack all. As freaking usual..."
"I heard that!"
"Shh! Anyway… Point is...we are fuggin' BONED! We're runnin' out of ammo. We're runnin' out of food. And we're running out of steam. I'll be honest...it's gonna take a mother of all miracles to..."
Suddenly, an explosion went off. The tablet got knocked out of Jack's hand as he screamed.
"Jack!" Shift cired out.
"Boss!" Jolt shouted.
"Jolt, grab the tablet!"
"On it!" Jolt snatched up the tablet. "Sturdy lil' bastard. Avery sure knows how to build 'em."
Jack let out a pained groan.
"Crap!" Jolt ran over to Shift and Avery, the former leaning over Jack. "Shift! Is he okay?! Is-"
For a brief second, the group saw Jack's condition. It wasn't for long, but...now they knew why he started wearing an eye patch.
"Awww jeez!" Jolt fumbled with the tablet. "I think I'm gonna ralph!"
"Well, get the first aid kit first! He's...!" Shift perked as they heard several loud stepping noises. Jolt turned to see a huge horde of Badniks coming in.
"Guys…" Jolt gasped. "It's WAVE NUMBER SIX!"
"I can hear it!" Jack snapped.
"We need to go!" Shift yelled. "Now!"
"Okay!" Jack stopped the video. "I think they've seen enough!"
"By Aurora…" Sally gasped. "That was..."
"One of our biggest battles against Eggman's robot army," Jack explained. "One of several. And one we were all damn lucky to walk away from. Only reason we survived was 'cuz Avery managed to convert the radio tower into a magnetic field generator and fried every bot in the area."
Hope, Shard, and Rotor perked.
"Magnetic field?" Rotor asked.
"The tower uses special tech to produce signals that interfere with technology," Avery explained. "Helps keep Badniks out of the cities and weakens the Dust Riders' implants."
"Hold on," Hope began. "Is that what's causing all the electrical interference?"
"Yeah…" Avery sighed. "I don't like it, but it's the only thing keeping Eggman from sending out his bots en masse. And you just got through seein' what happened the last time…"
Hope winced. "Right…"
"Yeah, that was bad," Sonic remarked.
"Bad?" Jack repeated incredulously. "Bad?! That ain't bad, Hedgehog. Bad is waking up at 3 AM cuz a mortar shell went off a few feet down the street from where you're sleeping and collapsed a whole building. Bad is hunkering down in an abandoned parking garage trying not to get spotted and shot dead by SWAT-Bots and oversized Catcher-Cost (3) toys. Bad is watching innocent people get rounded up like cattle and driven out into the desert to build railroads so they can haul more of 'em to the factories to turn them into robots to round up even more! And you can't call for help because the phone lines got blown up and all the big boys are off with their heads between their butts like a bunch of ostriches!"
"Jack!" Tex yelled.
"Boss, calm down!" Avery called.
Jack's eye widened as he realized what he just did. He looked at everyone's terrified expressions, Lily and Rally being especially shocked.
"I'm sorry…" Jack sighed, massaging his temples and composing himself. "Point is, what you saw ain't bad, Sonic. That was Hell on Mobius. A Hell this city and all Wyldwest have been trapped in for the better part of a year, and it only got worse when the Riders blew in." He took a breath before smiling. "But it's all okay now!"
Sonic blinked. "Eh?!"
"What do you mean 'Okay now?'" Rotor asked.
"Ain't it obvious? You guys are here! With your skills and our guns and tactical know-how, we can finally get those dusty bastards outta our city and keep'em out for good! Whaddya say?"
"I... well," Sonic rubbed the back of his neck, unsure.
"Somethin' wrong?"
"It's not that, Jack. Don't get me wrong, we really wanna help you, especially knowing someone like Kid is running amok. But the whole reason we came out here in the first place was to rescue Bunnie's uncle. Especially now that we know he's been captured by the Dust Riders."
Jack shrugged. "Two birds, one stone. You save Rabbot, and we get our town back. Win-win. And while you're here, maybe you could...Oh, I dunno...help us build up our defenses a smidge? Maybe give us some reinforcements?"
"Of course!" Lily declared.
"Lily!" Sonic objected.
"Sonic, come on! These guys have been fighting Eggman and his goons on their own! We can't just leave 'em hangin'!" Lily turned to Sally. "Sally, help me out here!"
"Well…" Sally began.
"Please, Princess," Jack requested. "I know you got a lot on yer plate, but please…"
Sally looked at Jack. "Well… I can't promise much, but we'll offer what aid we can."
Jack nodded. "That's all I ask."
Cream looked at Jack suspiciously.
"Okay, enough of the heavy stuff! Let's eat!"
Ray suddenly gagged, spitting his coffee out in disgust.
"This isn't Yemeni! It's Sulawesi!" His hand shook uncontrollably. "And the cup's shaking! I don't want my coffee shaking!"
"Hey Ra-err, Jitters, are you alright?" Sally questioned. "You seem a little…wound up."
"Yeah, and your face is greasy," Sonic added. "Really greasy. You been up all night?"
"Course I've been up all night! Not because of caffeine. It was insomnia. I couldn't stop thinking about coffee. I need a nap," Ray fell asleep for less than a second before waking up and grabbing a cup of coffee. "Coffee time!"
Ray took a big swig, Sonic and Co. wincing.
"Yeah…" Mighty sighed. "Jack, I'm gonna take Jitters out for a bit. Let him burn off some energy before he breaks something."
Jack nodded. "Do whatcha gotta do, Flex."
Mighty turned to Sonic and Sally. "You guys wanna come with? I'll give you a tour of the city."
Mighty gave Sonic a look that said "We need to talk", the two quickly picking up on it.
"Yeah, sounds great!" Sonic agreed. "Thanks, Flex."
"It would be nice to get a lay of the land," Sally nodded.
Sonic, Sally, Nicole, and Mighty grabbed some breakfast…and Ray…and prepared to head out.
"I better get going too," Avery decided. "I gotta do some maintenance work in case the Baron's goons show their ugly mugs. Plus, my nephew's in town and I promised I'd hang out with him for a bit."
"In that case," Sonic turned to Hope. "Hope, why don't you and Rotor give Avery a hand?"
"Huh?" Sonic gave her a look, Hope quickly picking up on it herself. "Oh! Yeah, that's a good idea. Commander Tower wanted me to investigate the interference anyway."
"I'm down for it," Rotor agreed. "I kinda wanna see how this thing works. Maybe we can figure out how to deal with the interference."
"Mind if I come too?" Sam requested. "After what happened with Shard, I…well, y'know."
"Thanks Sam," Hope said gratefully.
"Just try not to get in the way, alright?" Avery asked.
"No prob."
As the two groups left, Tex got up next.
"Where you goin', Tex?" Jack asked.
"I got some stuff to do too."
"Really?" Jolt questioned. "What kinda stuff?"
"Just stuff. Seeya later."
They watched as Tex left
"Can any of you fellers get a read on that guy?" Bunnie asked.
"Nope." Shard shook his head.
"Non…" Antoine said.
"Uh-uh," said Jolt.
"Negative," Shift replied.
"I'm afraid not," Cosmo answered.
"He's a weird one," Jack concluded.
"Welp…" Bunnie got up. "We'd better get goin' too."
"Oui," said Antoine. "We're going to look more into Monsieur Beauregard's capture. Maybe some of the locals can provide some information on our Dusty friends."
"I'll come too," Shard decided.
"You sure 'bout that, Shard?" Bunnie asked, concerned.
"I'll be fine, Bunnie. I promise."
"Hmmm…alright," Bunnie turned to Cosmo. "In that case, Cosmo, would ya mind lookin' after Cream fer us? I'd do it myself, but–"
Cosmo smiled. "I'd be happy too."
"Thanks."
The trio headed out.
"Welp, I know what I'm gonna do," Lily said as she got up and prepared to walk out. "C'mon Rally, we got somewhere to be."
"R-Right!" Rally nodded, following her.
"Well, so much for eating together," Jack sighed.
"And then there were three," Shift mused.
"Eeeeeyup," Jolt turned to Cosmo and Cream and held up a donut box. "Hey girls! Wanna see me shove all these crullers in my mouth at once?"
Cosmo and Cream winced
"Ummm…no thank you," Cream said.
"Lily! Rally!" Cosmo called, standing up. "Wait for us!"
They hurried after her, Jolt blinking in confusion.
"Was it something I said?" the roadrunner asked.
Shift facepalmed. "Idiot."
"Alright, that's enough!" Jack snapped. "Soon as you bozos finish yer food, we got work to do!"
"Why, Jack?" Jolt asked. "What are we were workin' on?"
"I believe he's referring to the big plan," Shift mused.
"Bingo. Now that Sonic and his pals are here, we have enough people to actually make it work," Jack grinned evilly. "By this time tomorrow, the Dust Riders are gonna be dust in the wind."
He began to laugh, Shift joining in. Soon, Jolt joined in as well, taking it to an excessive, over the top level that eventually got him smacked by Jack.
"Ow!"
"Shut up, Jolt!"
Meanwhile, Sonic, Sally, Nicole, Mighty, and Ray arrived in what appeared to be a junkyard.
"Alright, this should be good," Mighty set up some scrap into a makeshift table and chairs. "Have a seat and relax. The locals avoid this area like the plague, so we should be good."
"Don't mind if I do," Sonic said. As they took a seat, Sonic looked around at the various piles of scrap. "Hmmmm…"
"Is something wrong, Sonic?" Sally asked.
"Not sure. But this place is giving me a serious case of deja vu."
"It probably reminds you of Robotropolis or the Scrap Brain Zone. This is a junkyard," Nicole mused.
"Yeah, that must be it." Taking a seat by Sally, Sonic grabbed a donut, sniffing and smiling in contentment. "Avery was right, Power Ring donuts are best fresh out of the fryer. Ain't that right, Officer Sprinkles? Deputy Glazed?"
The donuts said nothing.
"Hey! Don't gimme that look, that dusty bastard got the jump on me!"
Still, the donuts remained silent.
"Okay, just for that, you're getting dunked." Sonic grabbed 'Officer Sprinkles' and dipped him in a cup of coffee, putting on a soft, high-pitched voice. "Ahhhhh! It burrrrrns! It burrrrrrns!"
"Sonic, quit playing with your food," Sally ordered.
"What? Donut Lord does it all the time!" At her look, Sonic sighed. "Okay, okay…sorry."
"Sorry about that, Mighty," Sally lamented.
"It's alright, Princess. I'm no stranger to this kind of weirdness…" For emphasis, Mighty pointed to Ray, who was running around in circles.
"Everybody Su-per So-nic Ra-cing / Try to keep your feet high on the ground!" Ray sang off-key. "When you're Su-per So-nic Ra-cing/ There's no time to look around!"
"Wow…" Sonic let out. "Look at him go."
"Is he going to be alright?" Nicole asked.
"Yeah, just a sec." Mighty stuck two fingers in his mouth and let out a loud whistle. "Ray!"
Ray froze in place with an audible screech, his body vibrating a little bit from the sudden stop.
"We're clear. You can stop now."
"Oh, thank Aurora!" Ray slumped over and slowly made his way to the table. "Seriously, this crazy coffee addict act is exhausting!" He rubbed the back of his neck. "My neck hurts from vibrating all the time."
Sonic perked. "Wait…hold on, you were just pretending?"
"Uhhhh…yeah?"
"But…I just saw you downing a whole pot back at the Sand Blaster's base!"
Ray chuckled. "Oh that? That was just decaf. I'm not allowed to drink coffee. Vector and Espio already have their hands full with Charmy, and he's naturally hyper."
"Right…"
Sally cleared her throat. "So, Mighty, Ray, not that it isn't nice to see you two again, but what are you doing here?"
"Yeah, and what's with the fake names and the secrecy?" Sonic added. "You guys doing some undercover work?"
"You just answered your own question, Sonic," Mighty replied. "That's exactly what we're doing."
"There's some scary stuff goin' down here, Big Blue," Ray clarified. "Really scary stuff!"
"Yeah, I know. Kid gave me a front row seat to some of that last night. If you guys and the Sand-Blasters hadn't shown up when you did, who knows what could've happened. Thanks for that by the way."
"You're mighty welcome, my friend." Mighty grimaced. "But I'm not talking about the Dust Riders…I'm talking about Jack and his crew."
Sonic, Sally, and Nicole paused at that.
"Wait, what?" Sonic let out.
Mighty sighed and began to fill the Freedom Fighters in. As he did, they failed to notice that they were being watched. Buried beneath a pile of scrap stood a tiny figure with glowing, yellow eyes…
Dust Riders HQ
At the same time Sonic and his friends were waking up, the Dust Riders were also starting their day. Matti makes her way down the line to get her breakfast, where a Mobian bobcat was waiting.
"Good morning, Matti!" the bobcat greeted cheerily.
"Hello, Ms. Cougar." Matti greeted, totally deadpan as always.
"You don't need to be so formal, dear. Just call me Rosa. Everyone does."
"Whatever you say, Ms. Cougar. Could I have my breakfast now, please?"
"Oh, right!" Rosa gathered all the bits together on a tray for Matti. "Here you are, Matti. I added a bit of a syrup in the oatmeal as a special treat. I hope you like it."
"Thank you, Ms. Rosa. Have a nice day." Matti walked off, leaving Rosa to sigh sadly.
"Oh Matti..."
Matti made her way around the mess hall, looking for someone.
"Matti! Over here!"
Matti turned to see Jose and Bill at a table, waving her down, and immediately headed over to her.
"Good morning, Jose, Bill," Matti greeted as she took her seat.
"Buenos dias, niña." Jose greeted.
"Mornin'." Bill nodded in her direction.
"So, Rosa's working the kitchen," Matti mused. "Her turn to cook today?"
"Naw, she's just handin' it out," Bill replied. "She's still banned from the kitchen after the Enchilada Incident."
"Thank Aurora for that…" Bill and Matti gave Jose shocked looks at that. "Oh come on, Jefe's not even here! We don't got nuthin' to worry 'bout. Right, Matti?" Matti said nothing, just eating a spoonful of oatmeal. "Matti?"
"Five…" Matti began counting, "four… three… two…"
"What are you-?" Bill began, but Matti was spared the effort of an answer when the door was thrown open with a violent bang. Bill and Jose flinched, while Matti just shrugged.
"New record," she deadpanned.
All activity in the mess hall stopped as everyone turned to the entrance. Kid stood at the doorway, a broken picture frame lying to the side as he made his way in. As Kid walked, everyone watched him cautiously, some glaring in contempt, but he ignored them as he made his way up to Rosa. The bobcat looked at him nervously, but tried her best to smile.
"G-Good morning, Kid," she greeted.
"Hmm." Kid just nodded in her direction.
"Would you like some breakfast? We're having oatmeal today."
"Coffee. Black."
"Coming right up!" Rosa poured a cup of coffee, handing it to him with a tray of food. "Here you are."
Kid just grunted before taking the coffee cup and walking off.
"Ummm, Kid!" Rosa called after him. "You forgot your food!"
"Don't need it. Don't want it."
"But breakfast is the most important meal of the…" Kid just kept walking, "day."
Kid walked over to join his friends. As he passed by, everyone in the room reacted to his presence. Some kept their heads down, trying not to get noticed. Others whispered amongst themselves, and a good chunk of him gave him hateful glares. Kid ignored all of them. Eventually, he made it to his friends' table and took a seat next to Matti.
"H-Hola, Jefe!" Jose greeted.
"Hey." Kid took a sip of coffee.
"You, uhh… look like you're feeling better. Have a good dream last night?"
"No."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Jose laughed nervously as Kid just stared ahead before gulping. "Look...Jefe, I just wanna say…"
"I'm sorry," Kid piped up suddenly.
Hose perked. "¿Qué?"
"I'm…" Kid sighed, looking away awkwardly. "I'm sorry that I...blew up on you like that, Jose. I wasn't thinking clearly and… I'm sorry."
Jose and the others just looked at Kid in shock.
"Well, isn't this a surprise?"
The four turned to see a cyan Mobian scorpion with a cybernetic tail and red eyes with black sclera approach, followed by a blue and black Mobian condor with a mohawk and a pir of round goggles with yellow tinted lens, and a tall, well-built Mobian bighorn sheep with mechanical arms and legs.
"The Diablo Kid, behaving himself for once," the scorpion went on. "I half-expected to find someone being taken to the infirmary for a bullet wound or a missing eye right now."
"Ah, hell…" Bill sighed.
"El escorpión…" Jose gasped.
Kid just rolled his eyes, turning his head only slightly to see the scorpion.
"Look, Lesath, whatever you wanna bitch and moan at me about, can it wait until after I've had my coffee?" he asked, his tone somewhere between exhausted and bored.
"That's Sub-Boss Lesath to you, devil. You no longer outrank me."
Kid scoffed. "Don't remind me."
"Kid…" Matti sighed.
"So, what does the Baron's right-hand arachnid want with me? If it's about Mirage Saloon and the cantina, he beat you to it last night."
"Butch and the Riddlemen are dead," Lesath spat, causing Kid to pause.
"Puerco Loco?"
"Happened while you all were away," the condor continued, "They decided to hit up the saloon in the Sandstone District and tried to strong-arm the locals into letting them have their way with the place."
"They ended up starting a riot." Lesath finished, her eyes narrowed.
"How many dead?"
"Fifty-seven casualties, over three hundred wounded. A good chunk of them were fellow Riders sent to stop them."
Kid took another sip of coffee. "I see."
Lesath scowled. "That's all you have to say?!"
"Butch was an asshole, even before he joined the Empire."
"The Riddlemen were one of your divisions."
"And I wasn't here, so how is this my fault?"
"Because you decided to let that bastard become a Rider in the first place!" the bighorn snapped.
"Whoa!" the condor cried. "Easy, Chopper!"
"Screw easy, Twister! Because of El Poncho Wacko's pet swine, our brothers almost got killed, and he doesn't even care!" Chopper scoffed, looking Kid right in the eye. "Robotnik demoting you in favor of the Baron was the best thing that ever happened to the Riders. If only he'd just Crack you already…"
"He won't," Kid shot back. "And you wanna know why?" He stood up. "Because I'm the real power of the Dust Riders. Robotnik's secret weapon. The Baron's just an old geezer he put in charge to save face. We wouldn't be half as successful at taking over Wyldwest if it weren't for the fact that everyone is scared shitless of yours truly. You clowns are nothing without me."
"You…" Chopper growled.
"Stand down, Chopper." Everyone turned to see the Baron enter.
"Master Baron, sir!" Lesath saluted.
"Oh, good…" Kid let out sarcastically. "The gang's all here."
"Kid…" The Baron shook his head. "Can we just have one day without you trying to cause an incident?"
"Hey, we were sitting here eating breakfast when Lesath and her goons here came to start shit. I just wanted to finish my coffee in peace. Blame her, not me."
"It's Sub-Boss Lesath, you insubordinate little…!" Lesath cut herself off, sighing.
"Kid, did you forget our little conversation last night?" the Baron asked.
"Hey, I haven't crippled, maimed, or killed anyone."
"He's telling the truth, Baron," Bill chimed in. "Lesath and her team were the ones who came to us, not the other way around."
"Sir, Kid and his Hellrazers have committed countless Class-A infractions in this week alone!" Lesath insisted. "I'm simply doing my job as Head of Discipline."
"That doesn't give you or yours the right to needlessly antagonize them, Lesath."
Lesath gaped. "Needless?! The Riddlemen, one of his units, are dead! Along with several of our own soldiers and numerous civilians, and even more wounded! If the Kid hadn't planted the idea of the Riders being the scourge of Hell in their heads and just focused on following Dr. Robotnik's orders, that wouldn't have happened!"
"I told you, Butch and his goons acted on their own," Kid spat. "We were miles away when it happened. Maybe you should get whatever your species uses to hear examined, Lesath. Honestly, it's times like this that I miss Shaula."
Lesath scowled, her eyes practically glowing as she took a step forward, "Don't you dare speak her name, you–"
"Stop it! Both of you!" the Baron ordered, holding up a hand.
Lesath and Kid flinched before backing down.
"Lesath, you're Sub-Boss of the Militia. That's no way for someone of your station to behave."
Lesath winced. "Yes, sir. I apologize for my outburst."
"You should," Kid spat, only for the Baron to turn to him.
"And Kid…" Kid flinched as the Baron slammed his cane on the table next to him. "Lesath is your commanding officer and a valued comrade-in-arms and friend. You will treat her with the respect she is due. Are we clear?"
The Baron looked down at Kid. Kid glowered, but ultimately stood down.
"Yes, sir. I'm… sorry."
The Baron cleared her throat, motioning to Lesath. Kid sighed.
"I'm sorry...Sub-Boss Lesath. I will try to keep a tighter leash on my men."
"See to it that you do," Lesath shot back. "Twister, Chopper, let's go."
"Yes, ma'am," Twister nodded, the trio leaving. WIth that, the Baron turned to the other Riders.
"As you were, folks! Nothin' to see here!"
Everyone went back to their food.
"Now then, I'll let y'all get back to yer food. Stay outta trouble, y'hear?"
"Yes, sir!" Jose, Matti, and Bill all declared in unison.
"And Kid?" The Baron gave Kid a look. "I'm saying this as a friend, rather than your Boss. You can't keep doing this. If you do...you're going to get yourself killed."
Kid scoffed. "I told you, I'm not afraid of anything, old man. Whatever you and yours can do to me is nothing compared to what I've been through."
The Baron sighed. "That's not what I meant." He turned, walking away. "We'll talk later."
Kid shook his head. "Stupid, old fool."
"And pick up that picture frame before you leave!"
Kid scowled. "Damn it!"
The Baron watched Kid and the others for a moment before shaking his head and leaving the mess hall. As he did, he noticed Lesath and her teammates gathered around something and talking amongst themselves.
"Are you serious?" Lesath asked.
"Damn serious, Scorpi," Twister replied, "This is either really good or really bad."
"What's really good or bad?" the Baron asked as he approached, prompting Lesath to salute.
"Sir, Twister's drones just sent a transmission," Lesath explained as she turned to Twister, "Show him."
"On it." Twister put on his goggles, then tapped the right side, causing the lenses to project several holo-screens. The screens showed the Freedom Fighters and the Sand-Blasters going about the city, from Sonic, Sally, and Nicole meeting up with Mighty and Ray in the junkyard, to Cosmo and Cream catching up to Lily and Rally as they fled the Sand-Blasters' base.
"The Freedom Fighters," the Baron said, a hint of awe in his voice.
"Yeah, they showed up last night at around 7:00," Twister explained, "Popped out of thin air along with Jack and his Looney Brigade."
"They're currently spread out across the city," Lesath began, "Sir, if they've already made contact with the Sand-Blasters, then they've likely–"
"Let's not get hasty, Lesath," the Baron cut-in, "They haven't been here that long. We still have time."
"Ya sure 'bout that?" Chopper asked, unconvinced, "These guys–"
"I'm sure, Chopper," the Baron snapped, before taking a breath and calming down, "I'm sure…"
Chopper raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
"Do you want us to go after them, sir?"
"No. I'll handle ol' Spiny Norman myself," the Baron said as he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, "I got another job fer you fellers." He handed the piece of paper to Lesath, who looked it over for a moment before nodding.
"Understood, sir, we won't let you down," the scorpion said as she handed the paper back and turned to Twister and Chopper, "Twister, Chopper, let's go."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The Baron watched the trio run off for a moment longer before resuming his trek back to his office.
"They won't give in that easy," he whispered, "They're stronger than that. She's stronger than that," his hands trembled as he gripped his cane with all his might, "Stronger than you ever were…"
With that taken care of, the Baron made his way down the hallway…not realizing that Kid had heard the whole thing.
"Well now, this is interesting."
"Kid, what are you doing?" Kid turned to see Matti walk up to him, Bill and Jose following.
"Big news Matti, I just heard that Sonic and his buddies are in town. Looks like we have another shot at them!"
"Another shot?" Bill asked warily.
"¿Estás loco en la cabeza, cabrón!? (4)" Jose screamed.
"Keep your voice down, birdbrain!" Kid hissed, prompting Jose to nod.
"Jefe," the crow whispered, "You know we can't go to the Sandstone District unless we're on a mission! If the Baron finds out, we'll be in big trouble!"
"Yeah, we would…" Kid nodded, "But we might be able to get away with it if we were to say…bring in the heads of Jackass Rabbit and Sonic 'Priority One' the Hedgehog themselves to Dr. Robotnik."
The others paused at that. Jose let out a chuckle.
"Good one, Jefe! You're hilarious!" Kid just stared at him.
"Uhhh Kid, this is the part where you say you're joking." Bill said.
"I'm not joking, Bill." Kid said, "I'm dead serious. We're going out into the city, and we're going to kill Sonic the Hedgehog."
"Kid, this isn't going to work," Matti reasoned, "They outnumber us 10 to 4, and with the radio tower's anti-tech field weakening our implants–"
"We're just going after Sonic," Kid cut in, "He's the real power behind the Freedom Fighters. Without him, the whole group will be easy pickings. It'll be ours, Matti. Revenge will finally be ours!"
Matti watched as Kid's hands clenched and trembled with what appeared to be excitement. She knew he couldn't be reasoned with when he was like this; honestly, she didn't know why she bothered trying to.
"Fine," she sighed, a hint of reluctance in her voice, "I'll go warm up the Buermobile."
"Que!?" Jose screamed.
"Kid, please! Think about what you're doing!" Bill pleaded.
"I know what I'm doing, Bill," Kid said, "I'm finally evening out the score with the world."
"Forget the score! You've done more than enough damage!"
"It's never enough!" Kid spun around, glaring at Bill, his eye faintly glowing, "It's never going to be enough. Not until everything is in ashes and all of Mobius is lying bleeding and broken at my feet."
Bill and Jose swallowed nervously as Kid glared at them.
"Now, we are going to the city and we are killing Sonic, and you two are–!"
"Kid!" Matti piped up as she clutched the human's hand, "Stop it! Bill and Jose are our friends, remember?"
Kid turned to his fearful companions.
"Right," Kid said as he took a deep breath, the light in his eye fading, "Friends."
Bill and Jose sighed in relief.
"Anyway, we're wasting time, we have work to do." Kid said as he walked off.
"Si, Jefe!" Jose said with a salute. Bill merely nodded.
"They'll pay…" Kid whispered as he clutched his scarf, "I swear, they'll pay. Every last one of them."
Author's Note:
(1): Taking in part from the movie redesign. It looks like Sonic has two conjoined eyeballs, but the apparent conjoining is actually a strip of white fur between his eyes.
(2): Mobian Krispy Kreme.
(3): Mobian Fisher-Price.
(4): Are you crazy in the head, you bastard?!
The plot thickens. What will happen next?
Lesath is from Archie Sonic Online, while Chopper is WindstarOsprey's OC.
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Lesath - Kira Vincent-Davis (Lucy/Nyu from Elfen Lied, Anchovy from Girls und Panzer, Izuna Hatsuse from No Game No Life, Ayumu Kasuga from Azumanga Daioh, Mirai Kuriyama from Beyond the Boundary, Kansai from World's End Club, Minagi Tohno from Air, Mizuki Tachibana from Gravion, Rino Rando and Pucchan from Best Student Council, Chaika Trabant from Chaika - The Coffin Princess, Mio Sakamoto from Strike Witches, Kokoa Shuzen from Rosario + Vampire)
* Chopper - Phil Parsons (Nappa from Dragon Ball Z, Kenny Ackerman from Attack on Titan, Renji Yomo from Tokyo Ghoul, Leonard Burns from Fire Force, Buccaneer from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Azazel from High School DxD, Jesus Burgess from One Piece)
* Rosa - Cynthia Cranz (Bellemère from One Piece, Chi-Chi from Dragon Ball Z, Botan from Yu Yu Hakusho, Rika Aragami from Corpse Princess, Mitsuru in Fruits Basket 2019, Tsurara Shirayuki from Rosario + Vampire)
Please R&R. Until next time!