DISCLAMER: I do not own any of Sega's characters nor do I pay rent, but that has nothing to do with this.
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Rabid RENThead: yes I know who you are, and I'm glad you like the story.
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WL: well Tails that was your firs chapter.
Tails: that one sucked compared to the last two
WL: …
Mal: oh no…
WL: I LIKED THAT ONE! ;;
Mal: great Tails, just great! You made the author cry.
Tails: I didn't mean to!
Mal:sigh I guess I'll just have to start us off. Here is the story.
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just outside the mystic jungle: Mal's POV
It was noon, It was hot, and I still and to walk through a rainforest. I was standing atop a low ridge over looking the jungle. To my left the ridge rose sharply into a rocky wall that made up just over a forth of the jungles border. To my left the trail, and it was a trail now, made its way down the trail in a set of switchbacks. Directly in front of me over the tops of the trees, I could see the city. As I stared at station square my thoughts drift to the one place I didn't want them to go, but looking at that city I couldn't help it. I remembered the real reason I hated cities. I thought of my brother.
Of course he wasn't really my brother, but he might as well have been. I had known him since I was three. We grew up together at an orphanage called the plantation boarding house, in South fork a city to the southwest. We called it the plant, everyone did and when I asked why one of the older boys laughed and said "its because its like a factory they put us in and expect to get perfect little kids back." It didn't work that way. The plant being a government facility and all was terribly under funded, and wile living there was comfortable, there were only 3 permanent workers not including chowder the cook. Needles to say with close to a hundred kids ages 2 – 10 everyone did pretty much what they wanted when ever they wanted and for some of the more violent that meant pounding on anyone they considered a easy target. And since I was… different it was usually me, and usually when no one was there to see it. Until one day…
/flashback/
" I don't get it, what did I do wrong?" I asked in a whimper.
"You didn't do anything, your parents did." Said a dark brown bulldog leaning over me. I just stared at him with the one eye I could still see out of in confusion. My parents?
"wha..?" it was the best comeback I had at the moment.
"they gave birth to a freak like you." Said a red hedgehog who played the roll of lackey to the bulldog. I did the only thing I could do the only thing that any three year old can do in those situations. I started to cry.
I could fell the tears in my eyes and began to sob uncontrollably "aww is the little baby going to go cry to his mommy? Oh that's right, you don't have one!" I climbed slowly to my feet, I was shakeing my fists clinched at my sides I was mad now and not thinking clearly.
"AT LEAST MINE DIDN'T LEAVE ME HERE ON PURPOSE!" It was the wrong thing to say and I knew it as soon as it was out of my mouth. The bulldog's eyes narrowed and swung at me. I yelped as it connected and fell backward. The two bullies closed in on me and trying to get my breath back I knew I was a goner.
"Leave the fox alone Bruce" my attackers spun to face the owner of the voice.
"This is between me and the freak, so buzz off." Bruce the bulldog snarled. In the gap between him and his hedgehog friend I could see the guy who had spoke up for me. He was a white swallow wearing a steel gray hat and gloves. I had seen him before, always off by himself reading a book or something. From the look on his face he wasn't buying the line a bout it being personal and sure enough.
" If its between you and the kid then why is he here?" he jabbed a finger at red.
Bruce was pissed now. "Fine you wanna know what's going on? I'll tell you. Were going to pound him to a pulp, and you too if you don't scram!" the swallow looked at me and in desperation I silently mouthed 'help me'. He nodded and Bruce, taking this as an answer to his threat started to gloat.
"yeah that's what I thought now blow off before I…"
THWACK
The swallow hit him with a back hand slap so hard he went reeling. And before he could get his balance he tripped and hit his head on a rock with a dull thump. Bruce was out cold. Red took one look at him and high tailed it out of there. Laughing at Red's retreat he walked over to me and held out his hand "you ok?"
I smiled weakly "I think so." I said taking his hand getting to my feet. "thanks."
"No problem"
A long silence followed and I could tell that there was something he wanted to ask, and after a few minutes he did.
"So… um why where they picking on you, anyway?" he asked, and I cringed
"Because, I'm a freak" I said in a whisper. This was the part where he would realize how weird I was and leave, they all did.
"look kid, just because those jerks called you a freak doesn't mean that you are one." He said
"But its true! There right I an a free." I said almost at a yell. He opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off with a sigh. "Just look at me…" I turned around and showed him not one but two tails. Looking over my shoulder I saw that expression of shock that everyone got the first time they saw my tails. "See I am a freak." I said it like it was a fact but I couldn't stop my voice from trembling.
" ok I admit that's not something you see every day," he muttered "but it still doesn't make you a freak." I smiled at that. He seemed to think for a few seconds then… "my names Slide, Slide the swallow. If anyone gives you trouble, you come to me ok?" he said and started to walk away.
"Ok I'll do that" I said as I watched him leave. There he goes just like every one else. I sighed. I had hoped after that line about me not being a freak that he might still want to be my friend. I pressed my ears flat against my head and felt the tears start to come back. That's when he stopped, turned and looked back at me, and said four words that would change my life.
"Well? Are you coming?" those four words meant the world to me. Even after seeing my tails he still wanted to be around me.
"SURE!" I yelled and ran to catch up. He started walking again and I slowed to a walk next to him. We continued to walk side by side for awhile then he looked over at me.
"You got a name kid?" he asked
"Malcolm Phunction." I replied happily. He burst out laughing. "What?" I asked confused.
"I get it!" He cried still laughing "Malfunction!" I started laughing to, I hadn't thought of that. "Stick with me Mal, and…" he trailed off. "Just stick with me."
/end flashback/
And so I stuck with him through out my time at the plant. At first I was nervous around him. Afraid that he would get annoyed by having someone 6 years younger then him follow him everywhere. My fears where unfounded he seemed to enjoy the company and taught me every thing from math to how to hotwire a car. (I still don't know how he picked that one up) we quickly became inseparable, if you found one of us the other was never far away. We even managed to blackmail, bribe, or otherwise talk are way into becoming room mates. I still remember laying on the top bunk hours after lights out just talking to Slide. More often then not our conversations drifted to the one thing we didn't have, families.
We talked about what we remember about our families. Neither of us could remember much just vague details, a mother's smile, a deep jolly laugh, a car trip. It wasn't much but it was all we had. It was one of these talks when we were wondering what it would be like to have a family that I asked that question
/flashback/
"Slide?"
"Yeah?"
"Are we brothers?"
" We might as well be we spend so much time together"
Silence
"Slide?"
"hmm?"
"Thanks I needed a brother."
/end flashback/
after that he started referring to me as his little brother. It confused the hell out of the plant management and potential parents looking to adopt alike. I didn't find out tell later that Slide had turned down three different families because they wouldn't or couldn't take me too. And so life continued as it always had, eat, sleep, get into a fight, not that Slide ever let me fight he was too protective of me for that instead he taught me how to get out of fights. How humor in the face of insults could confuse people enough to let you get away, the use of snappy come backs to trick them into doing something stupid, and if all else failed he would hold them off wile I ran. I hated running away it made me feel like a coward, but the one time I stayed to help in a fight Slide chewed me out for an hour. Never again did I stay for the fight.
In retrospect running wasn't all that easy ether. Slide couldn't always keep all of the bullies pined down, and then they would come after me. None of them ever caught me though, it wasn't that I was faster then them, was just better at avoiding things. My tails surprisingly enough gave me a huge advantage, using them I could pretty much balance on anything and so running along the tops of walls or grinding down a banister I could usually lose my larger and clumsier pursuers. After such fights Slide and I would meet back up in our room were I would take care of whatever cuts or bruises he had gotten during the fight.
When he turned 16, which made him legally an adult by mobian standards, he got kicked out of the plant to fend for himself. When he left, I left with him. I don't think anyone even noticed. Nothing changed when we left the plant. Slide got a job at a local bar and the owner let us stay in a small apartment upstairs. My tails still got me unwanted attention though now it was mainly from angry drunks from the bar, they rarely actually tried anything tough. And when they did… well lets just say drunks don't corner very well. We had food shelter and a steady income, life was good. It was the happiest time in my life, but it wouldn't last.
/flashback/
It was just after closing time, Slide was out running errands, and I was seated at the bar having a chat with owner and bartender Rusty Aldridge. Rusty was a nice guy and being a human couldn't see anything wrong with me having two tails. I'm sure he wondered about it but he never said anything. He was telling me about a conversation he had with one of the customers that night when from be hind me came the sound of the door chime and several voices.
"I'm sorry boys but we just closed." Rusty said, a tad bit nervous without Slide around to act as bouncer. "you'll just have to come back tomorrow"
"hey man all we want is a drink!" I knew that voice it was one that after he left the plant I had hoped never to hear again. It was Bruce. I started to wag my tails it was a nervous habit of mine and unfortunately it attracted the attention of one of Bruce's gang.
"HEY! Look at that, the kit has tails!" it wasn't the most coherent statement ever but it worked. I could feel every eye in the room turn to look at me.
"well if it isn't the little freak." Oh shit, he had recognized me. That could mean trouble. Putting on a fake smile I turned around to look at him a rested one arm on the counter.
"Hiya Bruce!" I said as cheerfully as I could manage. "Its been awhile." He had a small following with him. Red was there, but that was the only face I knew, the others, four humans and a dark blue rabbit girl, looked confused.
Rusty raised an eyebrow at me. "you know these guys Mal?" I nodded. "well a friend of Mal's is friend of mine, hold on a second and I'll get you something." I saw Red's eyes light up at that.
"who said we where friends?" Bruce said coldly. I sighed well there's that plan down the drain. Red scowled at Bruce's back.
"aw come on Bruce the kids not bad, He was gonna get us drinks!" that was Red. I felt a moment of gratitude towards the hedgehog
"Shut it!" Bruce snapped at him.
"What do you want Bruce?" I asked. He grinned.
"Well I was hoping to get a few beers in me but I guess I'll just have to settle an old score first." Bruce said and cracked his knuckles. I tensed and pulled my feet up so they where resting on the top wrung of the barstool. I didn't like where this was going.
Bruce noticed my movement and smiled "Not so tuff without Slide around to back you up are you? You two tailed freak." I flattened my ears and sighed. Being called a freak didn't really bother me anymore, but it didn't look like I was going to be able to talk him out of a fight. "What's the matter freak no swallow to go running to this time?"
I decided that I should at least get at least some fun out of this and looking right at him I said "No I had just hoped you had gotten over this fixation you've got with my tails, you know it would never work out between us." Bruce sputtered, and I heard at leas two of the guys be hind him stifle laughter. Red didn't bother he was grinning openly.
"That's it you little freak!" he yelled "Dave, Tyler, get him." Two of the humans moved slowly toward the bar grinning. I looked at Rusty and he nodded, he would be okay.
"Go on kid, get out of here, I'll tell your brother." I gave him a quick smile and turned back to my would be attackers.
One laughed and pulled out a knife. "your not going anywhere." He lunged at me.
Pushing off the top wrung of the stool I jumped high into the air, coming down hands first on knife boys head and flipped over him. I hit the ground running and heard the thud as he lost his balance and fell behind me. Ok now all I had to do was get passed the five between me and the door. I dropped and rolled directly between the legs of a very surprised looking Red, and took of out of the bar and down the street. I heard cries of "don't just stand there get him!" followed by foot steps.
It wasn't long before the rabbit, Red, and I where a ways ahead of the others. I had been chased by red before, he was fast, fast enough that he was gaining on me, but he couldn't stop to save his life. Coming to a street corner I saw my chance. A car parked in the entrance to an ally way so that the font stuck out into the side walk. Using a fire hydrant for a footstep a vaulted onto the car and jumped down the other side still running.
Clang! Red hadn't stopped in time and had hit the car. The rabbit however cleared the car entirely in one jump. In an attempt to lose her I turned down the next side street and again into an ally way. It didn't work; the ally I had run down was a dead end.
A shadow fell across the brick wall and I looked around. The rabbit stood in the street in front of the ally breathing hard. She grinned at me and looked back the way we had come. "HEY! RED! Over here, I found him!" a few moments later the entry to the ally was crowded by Red, Bruce and company. I backed up tell I felt the wall. I was wildly looking for a way out. There! Along one side of the ally was a large steel dumpster the ladder for the fire escape above it was out and close to the ground. I could use that, but it was closer to Bruce's gang. If I made a brake for it they would get there first. I was starting to panic now. I looked to the other side of the ally. There was a door, no good, it would be locked.
There was a clatter from the mouth of the ally, everyone turned to look, and there out on the street, a full bag of groceries at his feet, was Slide. "What's this Bruce, still picking on the kid after all these years?"
"Slide." Bruce's voice was cold. He walked toward my brother. Every one was staring at them. Realizing that no one was paying any attention to me, I made a beeline for the fire escape, still running I grabbed the bottom wrung of the ladder and swung myself onto the lid of the dumpster. I landed with a clang and ran along the top of the dumpster and made a flying leap to the ground. I landed just short of the street and as I rounded the corner I heard Bruce shout. "Red, Bell doesn't let the Freak get away." Then my brother.
"Oh no you don't!" there was a smacking sound and only one set of foot steps following me. I didn't look back to see who it was, the steps where getting closer and that meant Red. I was almost back to the bar when I felt a hand on my shoulder holding me back.
I tried to shake it off but Read grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him.
"GOTCHA, you little…" he was cut off by a gun shot from the way we had come. Red let go of my wrist and we both stood there looking back towards the ally. We looked at each other and took of running back the way we came. Red and I rounded the last corner at the same time and came to a abrupt halt we both stared. There on the ground lay Slide. His white feathers stained red. There was a hole in his chest surrounded buy broken feathers and blood. He wasn't moving, and over him was Bruce. He was putting something back inside his jacket and I knew it was a gun. I just stood there staring in shock. Red snapped me out of it. "MY GOD BRUCE, YOU SHOT HIM?" Bruce looked up and saw me.
"great, now the freak knows I did it!" I didn't wait around to see what happened next. I ran. I ran faster and harder then I ever have in my life before or since. I was vaguely aware of Red shouting in the distance and of the sound of footfalls behind me. I didn't care, I kept running. I didn't stop when they stopped following me, I didn't stop when I reached the edge of the city. I just kept running.
/end flashback/
Two years later and looking at that that city in the distance I could still feel the pain and fear of that night. I felt a tear in my eyes and realized I had been crying. Blinking away the tears I moved away from the ledge that I had been standing on for who knows how long. I didn't need this right now, right now I needed food. If I wanted to eat I would have to go into Station Square weather I wanted to or not. I loved my brother, and I would never forget him. When I was in the city it was different every time I saw a dark ally or a rundown bar the memories of that night would come rushing back to me. As I started down the trial into the trees below, I wondered what kind of work I could find. Hopefully I'd get a job at a repair shop or garage. I liked working on cars and the like, it was something I had picked up from Slide. with fond memories of my brother going through my head once more, I walked underneath the first trees and crossed the border into the mystic jungle. I didn't realize it but I was smiling.
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HOLY CARP THAT WAS LONG! 8 pages! First off I would like to apologize for not only giving Mal two tails but also for having a chapter completely dedicated to the back-story of my OC. As you shall see both are completely plot important. Now that I have been properly apologetic I condemn you lazy bums for your lack of support. I was forced to make up additional OC characters on my own. FOR SHAME …. Ok I'm done now. You may continue your reading of other stories.