All the legal stuff is on the first page and carries forward to all subsequent chapters. I really don't feel like rewriting that stupid thing every time so deal with it. Anyway, hope these revised chapters are better then the ridiculously long chapters from before. I also hope everyone reading enjoys the story and please feel free to send a review, any review that isn't completely rude of course.
A Visitor from Afar
Chapter 3: More Mysteries
Knothole Hospital…..
Sally made her way through the dimly lit village at a brisk pace. Her fears about Tails' safety were no longer what plagued her thoughts; rather whatever it had been that Doctor Quack had wished her to see so badly. "Come to think of it, didn't he say Tails had brought someone home with him? Was this person what the Doctor wanted her to see?" She contemplated long and hard as she passed through the dark village, hardly any lights illuminating the area. Something just didn't add up for Sally however, she had seen injured Mobians come trough the hospital before; dozens of times. Most often after Robotnik's latest scheme involved attacking one of the many small villages in the forest. "Perhaps this person has something important to tell her." That was the only reason Sally could come up with as her head raced with thought.
Sally rounded the corner of Dr. Quacks hut, and saw Dr. Quack waiting for her just outside the well light vestibule of the hospital. "Ah, Sally good to see you made here so fast." The Doctor greeted holding out his hand to shake the monarch's hand.
"Alright Dr., I'm here, now what is going on?" Sally asked; a note of annoyance in her voice. The Dr. picked up on this and backed away a little, afraid she might have another outburst like on the phone.
"Yes, well, sorry if I seemed a bit vague on the phone, my dear." The duck apologized taking a step towards the hospital behind him. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you what I was referring to." Sally nodded and Doctor Quack took the lead through the doors of the vestibule and into the hospital beyond.
Just inside the hospital, off to the right of the doors was the waiting room. Snuggled in a small ball of golden-orange fur was the sleeping form of Tails. Sally noticed him immediately and rushed over to the young fox. "There, you see, he's fine, exhausted from carrying his friend all the way here, but in the morning he'll be back to his energetic self again." Dr. Quack smiled as he walked beside the Princess. Sally lightly stroked some of the fur away from the young child's face, seeing no cuts; and a peacefully innocent face.
"Friend? What do you mean?" Sally asked looking up from the fox.
"He's the reason I called you here. Come, follow me." The Doctor replied, again walking away from the Princess, headed for the patient's rooms. Sally got up from her kneeling position and followed the duck down the hallway.
"You said Tails carried this person here; from where?" Sally questioned while she followed the doctor.
"From what Tails explained, yes, he had to carry him all the way from Robotropolis." Replied Quack.
"Well that explains why he got back so slowly." Sally breathed out, satisfied with part of the mystery solved.
"Yes, and it also explains why the lad dropped out like a light bulb as soon as we arrived at the hospital. The poor tike, as fit as the young boy is, lugging this fellow all the way home was quite tiring for him." Dr. Quack replied hanging head in empathy for the young, exhausted fox.
"Here…" Dr. Quack stopped in front of a door and pointed at it. "This is where he is. Beyond here lies some answers, and raises many more questions. Go and have a look Princess." The doctor gestured her to enter. The room's lights were out, but the light from the hallway spilled into the room enough to illuminate the most basic features. It was a typical recovery room: the window was directly in front of the doorway on the opposite wall. The head of the bed was against the left wall, leaving a small gap on three sides of the bed. A chair sat beside the bed, with what looked like some of the persons possessions, she didn't give them much notice as she flipped on the light switch next to the door.
The lights winked on giving Sally a good look at the occupant of the lone bed. At the sight of it she froze. Even the silhouette of the legs beneath the blankets looked unusual, to say nothing of the head of this creature. She stared at the odd shape for some time before she walked closer to get a better view. An IV unit dripped untiringly into the creatures left arm, and a heart monitor incessantly beeped away the rhythm of the creatures heartbeat. As she approached she could see the creature's unsteady breathing upon its chest. Its wrists were bandaged up, and a few burns here and there suggested it had been hit with some mild laser fire; but otherwise no other injuries could be seen.
Sally took a good long look at the creature's face, the tattoos under its eyes and forehead were a deep green colour and triangular shaped. The points of the triangles curved away in an exotic manner, they were like nothing she had ever seen before. It possessed a large jaw, boney spikes projecting from the top of its skull and along the creature's spine. The spikes along the creature's neck had neatly matted themselves to the neck against the soft touch of the pillow, while the others remained ridged and unwavering. She lifted the blankets away so she could see why the legs appeared so strange, and quickly saw why. The legs resembled the hind legs of many of the non-sentient animals on the planet, yet the creature distinctively stood upright. Something else Sally spotted caused her to gasp a little, the tail ended with a similar, smaller set of spikes to the ones on the creatures head.
Sally finally broke her critiquing gaze on the creature and looked to the doctor in disbelief. "Dr. Quack, what is it?" The doctor shrugged at her as he walked beside her. "I… I just don't know dear, he's like nothing I've ever seen before." The doctor admitted.
"He doesn't match any of the DNA samples we have?" Sally asked still staring at the bed-ridden creature.
"No, it is completely unique. I thought he might be reptilian or a lizard at first but neither one even remotely matched." The Dr. confirmed. He placed one hand under his bill. "The only sample that came even remotely close was, believe it or not… Dulcy." The doctor concluded.
"You mean he's a… dragon?" Sally replied almost bug-eyed. Dragons were incredibly rare since Robotnik's take over. Most had either been killed in the initial attacks or were captured and robotisized. The possibility that there were others out there was a perplexing idea, and no doubt Dulcy would want to know in the morning.
"Well, when I examined him, he did have the two glands in his mouth that produce the chemicals that, when mixed together, produce a dragons fire breath, but his DNA is still too far off of Dulcy's to say he is for certain. My guess is he may be a unique sub-species' of Dragon." Quack finished; puzzlement still in his voice.
"What happened to him?" Sally asked, hoping that she would b able to get a better answer from the duck then the last.
"Tails said Robotnik had him on some sort of torture rack, he's been electrocuted several times. I gave him some medicine to dull the pain and relax his muscles. As for the wrists, the struggling the torture caused, dug the bonds into his skin. I patched him up as best I could, he'll survive, though his body will be aching like mad by morning." Quack finished his diagnosis.
"That's good; I want to ask him a few questions in the morning then. What are these?" she asked pointing at the objects on the nearby table.
"Those are what the creature was wearing when he arrived." Dr. Quack replied as Sally walked over to the items and carefully picked them up. The only things there were a pair of black, fingerless gloves that had a metal plate over the top of the hand part, a leather sash, and what looked like a pair of metal armbands. The odd thing was the armbands tapered-off above the part where the thing attached to the arm, with two small slits on one end of the bulky armband.
"Let me tell you Princess, we had a tough time getting those armbands off of him." Dr. Quack said pointing to the strange armbands.
Sally was a little puzzled by this and said. "Well, I'll see if Rotor can figure out what they might be." Sally explained simply. She put the armbands back down and looked at the contents of the sash. Most of the pockets were empty, but in one pocket she found several small metal spheres barely a cm in diameter. They looked similar to the smoke bombs Rotor made in his workshop. She placed one in her pocket to take to Rotor's for examination as well. She collected one of the armbands and walked towards the door. "I'll send someone over in the morning to keep an eye on him." Sally instructed to the doctor.
"Very well Princess, now, let's both get some sleep." Dr Quack smiled as he followed Sally out the door, closing it behind them.
Sally returned to the waiting room and smiled to see the sleeping fox exactly the same way she had left him. She bent over and gently picked up the small kit in her arms. Tails' body was very warm and his orange fur was very soft to the touch as she carried him. Thoughts passed through her mind of how proud she was of the young orphan. She cared deeply for the boy, even though they weren't even remotely related she still thought of him as a little nephew, or at some times more like the son she never had. He hardly moved as she carried him across the village, he was quite light for his size. Probably because his bones were hollow like a bird's were, she figured. It made sense, with solid bones the extra weight would be too much for him to be able to lift off the ground, just like a bird would.
She approached the hut Sonic and Tails shared and quietly opened the door. As always, Sonic had left the door unlocked; why would he need to, there was no crime rate in the village so why bother. Sally didn't bother turn any lights on since she didn't want to wake up Sonic. Still, in the dark Sally managed make her way across the small hut and lay her young charge on his bed. After gently tucking Tails into bed she left the foxes room, quietly closing the door behind her.
She walked away from the hut and made her way across the village to Rotor's workshop. The still night air was chilly, but refreshing none the less. Sally rounded the corner of Sonic's hut and walked past Sonic's window, laughing to herself from the snoring she could hear coming from within. As she approached the walrus' hut she could see a faint light under the crack of the door. "Good at least I won't wake him up." She thought, reaching the door. She knocked calmly on the door and asked out loud "Rotor, it's Sally are you asleep."
"Nah, come on in, it's open." Rotor called back. Sally turned the knob and pushed the door open. Sally looked around the workshop; which was a mess as always. She spotted Rotor tinkering away with something on his workbench, his back to Sally.
"Hey Sally, what brings you so late?" Rotor greeted, finally looking behind himself as he grabbed a clothe and wiped his hands.
"Well, maybe I'm here to make sure you go to sleep for once instead of working all night as always." Sally joked, a big smirking grin on her face. Rotor blushed and laughed in his own embarrassment. "So, what are you working on this time?" Sally asked trying to look over Rotor's broad shoulders to see what lay on the table behind him.
"Well… it's just something… I've been tinkering with, nothing major." Rotor replied nervously as he kept moving to block Sally's view.
"Oh come on Rotor, I want to see." She insisted, but Rotor would not move out of the way. Finally Sally had enough of Rotor's persistence. "Rotor move aside, I want to see." Rotor sighed in defeat and moved out of the way. There, on the table sat what Rotor had tried so hard to keep Sally from seeing, and brother was she not happy. "Rotor is that a rifle!" she scolded, trying to keep her voice down but her anger easily detectable in her voice.
The long barrel of the gun sat upon the table, parts of the weapon were disassembled, but it otherwise looked almost complete. "(groan) Yes Sally, a sniper rifle to be exact." He said his head hanging low like a kid who's hand had just been caught in the cookie jar.
"I can see it's a sniper rifle, what I want to know is what you're doing building one! You know how I feel about guns!" Sally shouted anger boiling over at how her friend had been constructing a gun behind her back.
"Sal, I was going to let you know, just as soon as I was finished this one." Rotor said sadly.
"'This one', you mean there are others!" Sally exclaimed in shock. Rotor smacked himself on the forehead for letting that slip out and sighed in defeat. He walked over to one of the many upper cabinets hanging from his wall. He pulled out a key ring from his sash and started searching through the numerous keys, each key making a jingling sound as they passed through his fingers. Finding the right one he lifted it up to the lock on one of the cabinets above him. With a muffled click the lock opened and Rotor pulled open the cabinet doors. He reached into the cabinet and pulled down another rifle-sized weapon and a smaller pistol.
He placed the weapons down on the table, making a small thud as the two weapons made contact with the wooden table. The pistol was a polished, silver colour, with a black grip on the handle of the weapon and small rectangular patches of blue lining the barrel. Sally could see that the handle of the gun was hollow, presumably for the ammo clip.
The other rifle was much smaller then the sniper rifle. A small, hollow space on the underside of the stock looked like the loading place for the ammo clip. The rest of the rifle was relatively sparse except similar rectangles of blue on the side of the gun similar to the pistol and a handle on top of the rifle, about half-way on the length of the rifle with a tube shaped scope on the handle. The whole rifle appeared about half a meter long from stock to muzzle.
"These are what I was working on during those all-nighters you caught me on earlier this week." Rotor explained holding his hand over the three weapons. "You already saw the sniper rifle I was working on, so let me show you the other two. This pistol I've been working on fires about 8 rounds per clip; it's light, and accurate up to 20 meters." Rotor explained as he picked up the weapon and showed it to Sally.
"The other one is an assault rifle. It has a 2X scope, and carries 40 rounds per clip. It can dish out about 15 rounds per second. It's got a range of up to 40 meters." Rotor finished describing the rifle before handing it to Sally.
"As for the sniper rifle, it's got some vision enhancement features for the scope like infared, night vision and so on. The sniper rifle is good for about a Km." Rotor explained holding the dismembered weapon up.
"Um… very impressive Rotor, but I still don't understand why you made them. What makes you think I'd approve of the Freedom Fighters using these things?" Sally asked placing the assault rifle gently back on the table.
"Well that's just it, they don't fire ballistic ammo like the old overlander guns did. I designed themto use a magnetic accelerator system and they fire a specially made energy shot. When they hit a bot they cause a power surge that fries the circuitry." Rotor smiled as he plucked one of the shots out of an ammo clip and held it up, showing Sally. "The shots aren't lethal to living creatures, just bots. If some one did get hit by one it would just give 'em a bit of a welt, but nothing fatal. The shot needs to hit metal before it discharges the electricity." The walrus smiled with pride.
Sally's face wrinkled as she thought hard. "I don't know Rotor, I still don't really like the idea, after all we've managed to fight Robotnik just fine without needing guns up till now; I really don't think they're necessary." Sally said grimly, it hurt her to say no to Rotor's well intentioned idea, but she had Royal integrity to maintain. "If we start using guns, we'd be no better then Robotnik." She thought as she saw the hopeful look in Rotor's stance faded, his head and shoulders slumping over in defeat. "Sorry Rotor, it's just the way it's going to be I'm afraid." Sally stated as she put her hand on the purple walrus' shoulder empathically.
"Alright your highness..." Rotor sighed, disappointed. His face lit up again after a few moments of despair. "So, um… what'd you came over for, Sally?" Rotor asked, changing the subject.
"Oh, right, Rotor can you take a look at these for me?" Sally asked digging into her pocket, retrieving the small sphere she had taken from the creatures sash. She also picked up the armband that she had casually put down on a bench beside her while she had been looking at the guns.
"Sure thing, Sally…" Rotor happily replied as he took the items from his friend. "Hey this thing looks like one of the smoke bombs I make!" Rotor exclaimed as he took a quick glance at the small silver ball.
"I thought it did, can you be sure if it is Rotor?" Sally asked.
"Well there's one sure fire way to know…" Rotor taunted raising his hand above his head and prepared to throw it to the ground.
"Rotor WAIT!" Sally shrieked as Rotor gestured to throw down the spheroid.
Rotor laughed out loud and said teasingly. "Heh heh. Gotcha… this will just take a sec Sal." Sally gave him an angry glare as Rotor walked over to a large machine and placed the ball under an instrument. He pushed a button and the machines began scanning the object. A few moments later the computer spewed out a piece of paper. Rotor took the sheet and scanned over the readings. "According to the scan, this thing shows similar attributes to the smoke bombs I made, so it's safe to assume that's what it is." Rotor said calmly placing the sheet down on the desk, and returning the smoke bomb to Sally.
"As for this thing…" Rotor trailed off as he placed the arm band on the table and reached for some screw drivers. "Let's see what makes you tick." he said to the armband. He looked over the armband, but could not find any screws, or even a seam for that matter! "Wow, that's strange." The walrus muttered to himself.
"What's wrong Rotor?" Sally asked looking over Rotor's shoulder.
"I can't seem to find where this thing comes apart. There aren't any holes where screws would be, no welds, not even a seam I can pry open. It's almost like this thing, came exactly as it is, no assembly." Rotor explained, shaking the object hearing something rattle around within. "It sounds like something is inside, but I can't see how it got in there."
Sally could tell he was only speculating, and that worried her, Rotor never let her down when it came to figuring out something mechanical. "What are you saying Rotor.' Sally asked, just as baffled herself.
"I'm saying that nobody built this it came like this naturally. I just can't understand how that's possible. If someone did build this, they've got some amazing craftsmanship." Rotor responded, irritated that he couldn't figure this thing out.
"Well see if you can at least figure out what it is; without destroying it that is." Sally requested walking towards the door. "And make sure you get some rest!" she shouted back as the door closed behind her.
Rotor laughed and shouted back to her that he would. Rotor sighed as he put away the weapons he was working on and locked them back into the cabinet. "I just don't understand why she won't let us use these weapons, they'd be a huge help; it's not like everyone can curl themselves into a buzz-saw like Sonic. Oh well, maybe she'll come around someday." He thought as he secured the cabinet and locked them. After he was sure the cabinet was securely locked he turned to the armband still sitting on the table. "Alright you doirty rat, now you're gonna get it." Rotor retorted using his James Cagney impression.
As Sally walked away from the hut she glanced back at Rotor's hut and saw through the windows of Rotor's workshop numerous flashes of light, sparks flying and could even hear faint curses coming from the hut. Sally laughed out loud in the chilly night air. "Rotor wasn't one to be denied." She thought to herself.
As she walked home she passed by Antoine's hut and a thought hit her. "Antoine is always up early in the morning, I think I'll get him to keep an eye on that creature in the morning. Provided he doesn't panic and faint." She muttered in her mind.
Morning…
The faint light of the morning dawn gently cast its golden rays of sunshine through the thick canopy of the tall trees. The morning was cold, but as the sun broke across the horizon the morning mist quickly evaporated and warmed the hidden village. The sleeping birds drowsily awoke and fluttered their feathers, flinging the morning dew off their delicate bodies. They flew from their nests and began singing their cheerful morning songs without a care in the world.
Almost all the inhabitants of the village were sleeping peacefully, dreaming, happy and content. Not all were sleeping however, the still and calmness of the morning was broken by the sight of a coyote wearing a royal blue uniform and red boots. Antoine walked briskly through the village the damp grass getting the soles of his boots wet. He headed towards the hospital, as the princess had requested. The princess had left a message with him sometime last night and had instructed him to keep an eye on a patient in the hospital and to inform her when he awoke. She did mention something about being prepared for a shock, but otherwise it would be an easy task. It was a simple and perhaps a little menial, but he couldn't really complain. It was better then risking his neck in Robotropolis; after all, he just had to watch over one, unconscious patient, what could be safer?
A few hours later in Sally's hut….
As the sun rose higher into the sky, the morning light began to shine through her open window, gently warming her face as it rested comfortably on her pillow. The light slowly began to wake the young Princess, though she kept her eyes shut, trying to savor this moment of peace and serenity. "Oh if I could only stay like this for a little longer, the warm sun on my face; just relaxing like this…"
The sudden ringing of her alarm clock broke Sally's slumbering bliss as she irritably slammed her fist on the blasted thing. Sally slowly got out of bed, grumbling all the way, and fumbled over to her bathroom in her morning drossiness. A quick shower and a few moments in front of the mirror later; Sally reemerged from the bathroom, refreshed and ready to face the day.
She grabbed a quick bit to eat in her kitchen, grabbed Nicole off her dresser and marched out the door. She headed through the village, now busy with people going about their business, towards Tails' hut. She had a few questions for the young kit. It wasn't a long walk, most of the official Freedom Fighters bunked closely together for simplicity sake. She approached the hut and quietly opened the door; nobody in the living room/ kitchen area. Sally wasn't entirely surprised, Sonic was prone to sleeping in as long as the others would allow him. Being careful to not make a great deal of noise Sally walked over to Tails' bedroom door and softly tapped on the door. "Tails, you awake?" she asked, listening for a response. Hearing nothing she knocked a little louder. "Tails, you up yet?" asking a little louder; still no response.
Sally remembered that she had left the door unlocked last night when she had tucked him in so she turned the handle and gingerly entered. The young boy's room was in a state that only a child could get it in. Blankets tossed aside, toys strewn about. Sally hardly paid any notice to the mess, she had more important things to worry about then a messy room. She daintily entered the room, careful not to crush or slip on anything.
Sally saw Tails still fast asleep, chest down on the mattress, tails protruding from underneath his blankets, arms and legs sprawled out on the bed, and one side of his face buried into his pillow. It looked like an awkward position to Sally, but the look on Tails' face told her that he was quite comfy and very much relaxed. As much as it killed her to wake him from his well deserved rest, she felt she had to; there were too many unexplained questions to be answered.
Sally carefully sat down on his bed beside Tails and gently reached out her arm and nudged his shoulder. "Tails, wake up sweetie, its morning." Sally said warmly. Tails moved around, muttering something incoherently, still half-asleep. She giggled under her breath, he must have been really tired if he was still this drowsy. She gently shook his shoulder again, this time Tails' head dazedly looked up from his pillow, scanning the room. His gaze passed right past Sally and continued on further to the left. He half-heartedly blinked a few times and returned his gaze back to Sally. He rubbed his eyes with his ungloved hands, rubbing the sleepy haze out of his eyes.
"Aunt Sally?" the fox muttered.
"Morning Tails." Sally greeted warmly.
"Morning, Aunt Sally" (yawn) sleep still gripping the boy. "(yawn) Sorry, I must be still tired from last night." The young fox apologized after yawning for the third time.
"I'm not surprised, after you lugged that stranger back all by yourself." Sally mused with a knowing grin.
Tails' eyes bulged, "You know about him?" he exclaimed.
"Yes, Dr. Quack called me last night, he showed him to me, and then I brought you home." Sally said sternly.
"But I asked him not to tell you I was at the hospital; I didn't want to worry you." Tails said fear in words, his pointy ears flattening against his head sadly.
"He told me about that too…" Sally grumbled, the irritation in her voice stemming from how Tails had been absolutely right. She had freaked out; and Doctor Quacks ears could prove it. Her tone quickly changed however, as she saw the sadness in the young fox. "…and thank you for your concern, but I'd feel a lot worse if didn't know where you were at all; understand?" Tails nodded glumly, resting his head on his knees, wrapping his arms around his legs.
Sally decided to change the subject. "So Tails, exactly what did happen in Robotropolis last night?" she asked leaning back on the bed against her hands, pulling Nicole onto her lap. Tails' head perked up and hoped off the bed.
"Well I got into the air-ducts like we planned and started crawling for Robotnik's computer room. Then I hear ole' Blubber-bolts laughing his head off about something; so I decided to go find him. I start crawling in the direction of egghead. Before I could find him something causes a huge noise that was so loud I couldn't even hear myself think! And the light was so bright I couldn't see a thing!" Tails exclaimed, Sally leaned forward, resting her elbows on her lap with great interest.
"Do you have any idea what caused the explosion?" Sally asked. The young kit simply shrugged and nodded no. "Alright, what happened after that?" Sally asked pressing the conversation forward.
"Well after the blast, I had a loud ringing in my ears for a few minutes, and I was still trying to clear my vision so I lost Robotnik for a while." Tails paused for a moment, contemplating what happened next. "After my vision and hearing cleared I kept crawling through the vents. After a while I heard Robotnik laughing it up again, followed by a scream." Sally head jolted up from Nicole's screen in surprise. "I crawled as fast as I could, and eventually I found Robotnik and Snively torturing that creature."
"Robotnik had captured the creature?" Sally asked
"Well not exactly, when I found him he looked… well, different." Tails admitted with an unsure shrug of his shoulders.
"Really; how so?" Sally asked puzzled.
"He was green, those spikes on his head and tail had skin webbed between them; it kind of looked like some kind of Mohawk." Sally sat intrigued at the fox's description. "He was also wearing armor." Sally's shocked eyes gave her disbelief away to the twin-tailed fox. "Ya, on his chest, arms, legs, even a helmet that fit around that funky frill of his. Oh, and he also had a sword and shield and as tall as a Swatbot!" Sally eyes widened at the statement, and Sally furiously typed this data into Nicole.
"What? How can that be the same creature you brought home?" Sally asked thinking about how such a transformation was possible.
"It' defiantly the same guy, I saw him transform." Tails confidence assured Sally that Tails' certainty.
"How's that possible, how'd that happen?" Sally asked trying to calm herself down.
"Well, Robotnik and Snively were still interrogating him when I arrived so I was forced to watch a little. When they left the room they kept the electricity running, so as soon as they left the room, I jumped out of the vent and turned it off." Tails explained, spinning his tails like a helicopter and lifted off the ground then dropping tot the ground; acting out the story as he told it. "I untied him and helped him off the table. I guess being tortured like that really tired him out considering how weak he was; he could barely stand." Tails described, in a more solemn voice. "He asked me to bring him to some crystal that Robotnik had taken off his armor and had put down on a pedestal across the room. So, I carried him over to it." Sally listened intently at his story absorbing as much as she could. "…Soon as I dragged him there, he touched the crystal and the next thing I know the crystal started glowing, then he started to glow so bright I had to close my eyes. When I open my eyes afterward he's out cold and looked the like he does now." Tails explained, his twin appendages flailing behind the fox excitedly. "Unfortunately he tripped an alarm by accident and I had to book it before I could think to bring the crystal with me." Tails' ear drooped sadly as lowered his head.
"He transformed when he touched the crystal…?" Sally mused to herself.
"Ya, it looked like a ruby, set in a golden shield." Tails interrupted without thinking.
"Nicole, how is that possible?" Sally asked the small computer on her lap. "Unknown Princess, based on the data Tails has provided, the crystal would likely be the cause of the transformation." The computer replied in its female, monotone voice.
"Gee Nicole, like that wasn't obvious enough." Sally groaned. "Any idea as to why it caused the creature to change?" she asked, with irritation.
"Not a clue." The machine answered plainly.
"Thanks a lot!" Sally sighed in defeat and put the computer aside for the moment.
"Tails, is it possible that crystal you saw was a Chaos Emerald?" Sally asked, tilting her head inquisitively.
"No, when Robotnik took it that was the first thing he said it wasn't." Tails replied.
"Umm… then we've got to get our hands on that crystal." Sally placed a hand under her chin in thought.
"Sorry Aunt Sally, I blew it, I shouldn't have panicked like that. If it was Sonic there he would have grabbed the crystal and the Slasher and be gone in a heartbeat." Tails sadly commented absent-mindedly dragging his toe along the floor.
"It's alright Tails, I don't blame you for panicking; if I was there I might have done the same thing with all the strange stuff happening. Besides, recovering that crystal's owner might yield more answers then just the crystal." Sally replied comfortingly placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Wait… his name is Slasher? Why didn't you mention that before?"
"You never asked. Besides, with a name like that I figured it was just his nickname, like how mine it Tails." Tails shrugged his shoulders innocently.
"Hmm, you're probably right." Suddenly the loud snoring from the next room broke Sally's concentration; and also served to give her a truly devilish idea. "Say, Tails, how's about we go and wake Sonic up?" Sally added with menacing grin.
The young kits face lit up with excitement at hearing that. "I guess so, why?" Tails asked not aware of Sally's true plans.
Sally placed a hand under her chin in thought for a moment. "I have a score to settle with that spike ball after he freaked me out last night. Do you have a bucket around here?" She replied rubbing her hands in a devilish manner.
At that exact moment outside Sonic and Tails' hut…
Bunnie Rabbot sauntered over towards Sonic's place partly to find Sally, and at the same time she was curious to see if Tails had made it home alright. She was just about to open the front door when she heard a bone chilling scream from within. Not sure what had just happened, but assuming the worst, Bunnie flung the part-way open door wide open and raced inside to the room the scream had come from; quickly discovered it to be Sonic's room. When she burst through the door, the first thing she saw was a soggy, soaking blue hedgehog. She quickly gathered what had happened as she spotted Tails in a corner busting a gut laughing and Sally holding a still dripping bucket of water. She took another look at the victim, still dripping with water. All of his spikes were matted to his body and hung limply to his body. Bunnie tried hard to not burst out laughing; putting a hand to her mouth to stop herself, to no avail. "No wonda' ya'll don't like water Sugar-hog!" Everyone burst into another laughing fit, Tails fell to the floor holding his sides from the pain of so much laughing.
After everyone calmed down a bit, Sally finally said something. "I warned you not to sneak on me like that Sonic the Hedgehog." Sally sneered trying hard not to burst out laughing at the victimized hero again.
"Okay, okay Sal, I surrender, just don't soak me outta bed like that next time will ya." Sonic whined holding his hands high in the air like he really was surrendering.
"Good." Sally replied with great satisfaction. "Well, that feels better." Sally placed the bucket on the ground and dusted off her hands feeling very satisfied with herself. "Sonic go and dry up already, you're dripping all over the floor." Sonic grumbled loudly as he walked into the adjoining bathroom and grabbed a towel off the rack.
"So, Bunnie, what brings you here this morning?" Sally asked looking towards the rabbit.
"Well Ah' was on my way ta find you; and ta see if lil' 'ole Tails here got back alright. Course, I come through the door an' hear Sugar-hog scream'n bloody murder." Bunnie explained laughing at here original fear of what happened as she had entered.
(Giggle) "Ya, well, I needed to get a little payback. But as you can see, Tails got back just fine, and he brought someone home last night that we all need to have a talk with." Sally said in a serious tone as she mentioned the stranger.
"Really, who?" Sonic asked, walking out of the bathroom while drying his head.
"We're not sure, I take a look at him last night, but I've never seen anything like him before."
"Was he awake when ya'll saw 'em?" Bunnie asked; Sally could only nodded no. "Then how ya'll know he's male?"
"He spoke when I rescued him, he certainly sounded like a guy; he calls himself Slasher I think too." Tails answered the question for Sally.
"It doesn't matter anyways, whatever he is we'll find out as soon as Antoine lets us know when he wakes up." Sally finished explaining. "In the mean time, I gave Rotor something of the creature's to examine; I want to find out what he's learned right now if anyone would like to join me." Everyone nodded in agreement and with that the group filed out of the hut and headed for Rotor's workshop.
End Ch 3
Another on bites the Dust (dum dum dum) Another one bites the dust... heh heh, sorry couldn't resist. be forewarned, bumb jokes will doninate this part of my chapters. o well
