Sonic the Comic; A Helping Hand
Chapter 2
As Johnny landed at Metropolis city, the animal folk were already making themselves back home from either school or work. The shops were calling out their final rounds. The marketplace at the neighbourhood, were already tidying up their stock and closing their stalls for the day.
The rabbit pressed onwards to the other side, where he knew a famous coffee shop was waiting. Just as he last saw it, the Groovy train was still ever so vibrant and collective of coffee, music and glam. As he stepped inside, he almost knocked through a young couple as they left the café. Apologising, Johnny stepped inside the psychedelic set up.
But it seemed they were also preparing for closing time as the final customers said goodbye to the manager, who held a broom in her hands. The feline said farewell to them with a sweet smile, until she caught Johnny at the door. He didn't know if he was a welcoming or unwelcoming site for her. She lay the broom on the side and folded her arms. She gave a smile, but for Johnny it was mixed feelings.
"Evening Ebony, trust today was busy?"
"As always Johnny; its' good to see you. If you are after Super, you're a bit late. He's already took off."
"Wait what?" Johnny asked confused.
What did she mean he had gone? In run away?
"Where did he go?" The rabbit jumped into the question.
"Did he not tell you? Urg! That hedgehog." Ebony mocked as she sighed.
Suddenly from the office, the co-owner stepped out. Pyjamas the dog was looking at the pair of them as she sipped on her coffee. She didn't have to foresee that this could exhilarate quickly.
"It's Thursday. So, he's off to his volunteer job at the homeless canteen. It's only about 20 minutes away, so it's easy to get there by foot." She smiled while taking another sip.
Suddenly a rush of relief overwhelmed him. Of course, he wouldn't bag up bags and leave and yet, there was maybe a slight hint of panic from him. Especially when Ebony could sense it too.
"Don't worry, he's not getting into any trouble; I assure you." She replied with a wink.
Again, the nervous laugh broke out from him. Smiling back, he asked the ladies of the location. Pyjamas showed it to him on his mobile. The feline simply returned back to her cleaning, but before Johnny rushed back outside, Ebony called out.
"And tell him if he leaves again the dishes, he'll find them on his bed to finish them." She winked.
A light warning or an actually threat? Johnny pondered. But sure, Super would agree that she meant it. Waving back to them, he dashed back outside and ventured down the street. Using his phone, the location took him through the busy parts of the city. But something did make him think. The last time he ventured out with Super, he was clearly uncomfortable of being seen, even with the hooded jacket covering his face. So how was he able to go down these busy streets? All sorts of animals would have seen a yellow hedgehog passing by and he certainly didn't think he was going to show the world who he was. His imagination started to kick in of such ridiculous scenarios, till his GPS alerted him that he had finally arrived.
When in fact it wasn't the place he detected first, but the hit of delicious smells that came from it.
A rich aroma of spices hit his senses as it drew him to a temporary stood up building. It was already hectic with animals crossing paths, either collecting more ingredients for the food or simply waiting in anticipation for some good grub. He couldn't believe just how buzzing the place was.
"About time you showed up."
Johnny turned around and almost gasped out loud a laugh as he quickly grasped his hand over his mouth. The rabbit turned to see Super Sonic. But unlike his usual waiter appearance, his white apron was already full of food spillages and hand marks from his messy gloves. His spikes were tied up at the back, being held up by a red bandana. His spikes were almost falling over the place. He looked like a mess as he carried the large tray of fresh carrots. He was tapping his foot impatiently as he saw Johnny sniggering.
"Laugh it off bunny boy, cause you're gonna help me with these. You can grab an apron from there." The hedgehog nodded his head towards the temporary building.
As he continued onwards with the tray of carrots, Johnny looked surprised to see all sorts of life helping out. As he went towards the man in charge, he managed to catch glimpse of some of the folk; he was dead certain some of them looked familiar. Had had even fought one or two in the past?
Suddenly he was greeted by the boss. He was almost caught off guard as a huge metallic tentacle swooned above him. The rabbit turned around and saw that instead, the tentacle held a spoon and was stirring a huge pot cooking away behind him.
"We need more stock. I'm not serving my customers flavoured water! And you, are you here to volunteer or gloat around like a sea urchin?"
Johnny moved as the robotic tentacle recoiled back to the source of a huge backpack; surrounded by more multiple tentacles. The source was coming from a machine, attached to the back of a huge orange shell. Turning around, the master pressed a few buttons, cursing away the movable machines like they were a pest. Steeping forward, the orange crab adjusted his blue captain's hat and folded his large claws in impatience.
Suddenly Super Sonic shouted from the other side.
"It's alright; he's with me!"
"Well, what are you waiting for? Grab him an apron and get him to work. You can both work on getting that broth ready in an hour. If not, I'll throw you both into nearby waters" He croaked, waving his claw up.
Johnny didn't wait another moment as he was pulled away and got straight into work. Adjusting the apron upon his tall lean body, he looked completely out of place. The hedgehog however was good to explain the situation. Hungry mouths need food. They were on stews and broths while other volunteers were on other dishes on other stations. The rabbit moved around the site like clockwork; cleaning, preparing and chopping the vegetables. He had never worked so much in such little time. He could feel his hand feel numb from the constant cutting; blisters started to form on his fingers. But what also made it feel tense, was the alarming presence of the crab and his tentacle machine, circling pots and food as the head chef checked on the progress. The rabbit's ears turned down as he could hear the cursing and shouting from a distance.
"Don't worry about him; he's just bad tempered all the time." Super smiled as he continued working on the vegetables.
"Who the heck is he?" Johnny spoke in a low tone.
"That will be Captain Claw. Once upon a time, he used to scavage the seas of Mobius to find riches. And then he decided to have a go at bounty hunting; one in particular of a red echidna. Well, you can see how that turned out." He joked, pointing his sharp knife at the crab.
But then as the rabbit continued working, he noticed some other familiar faces. The hedgehog could see his curiosity. As Captain claw moved his way to another part of the cooking station, Super moved closer to Johnny and spoke quietly.
"A lot of volunteers here used to work for or under Robotnik. See those two-chopping food for the dumplings? Those two are Bert and Cam from the BARF"
"What's that?" The rabbit asked.
"You wonder how badniks are suddenly restored after Sonic's give them a good bashing? That's because they used to fix them. Well until Robotnik fired them soon after."
"Ok, what about him?" Johnny asked, pointing towards the sneezing feline, cursing as he rubbed his nose with his metal arm.
"That is Fleabyte; another bounty hunter. Apparently, he was after Tails for quite a bit; turns out the kid is a lot harder than meets the eye." He smirked.
Johnny couldn't help but feel intrigued. As the conversation continued, Super Sonic was able to point out nearly everyone who was volunteering. From either working with Robotnik previously, or being a bounty hunter; heck he was even surprised some members from the DRAT association working away.
"I don't get it; why so many here?" The rabbit asked.
"Well think about it. Some folk had to work for Robotnik to keep a roof over their heads. Now he's gone, they're free to go. Sadly, some don't have homes to return to. Bounty heads were no longer profitable, so lost cause there and some…well, maybe they're just trying to make a better life for themselves." He finished as he continued his work.
The rabbit thought straight away he was talking about himself. So, Johnny changed the subject.
"So, is this where you went before? You know when you were on the streets yourself?"
"Yeap, pretty much for a bit; until at least they told me there may be some work going at the Groovy train. And that is now ancient history." He smiled back to him.
Suddenly both of them were caught off guard as Captain Claw reached out with one of his mechanical tentacles and hit both of them with a wooden spoon.
"Less talking and more working! You got twenty minutes!"
"YES CHEF!" Both of them shouted back in demand.
Feeling the little sore on top of his head, it was better to get straight back into it. Super had finished the last part of the stew and threw the rest of the vegetables into a large pot. Johnny did the same and helped him out with the stock. Minutes later, the strong smell of the broth blocked all his other senses; even his stomach growled in anticipation. Suddenly a large tentacle passed the both of them and stirred into the pot. With the spoon, Captain Claw was able to take a taste of their work.
"Needs more salt! After that boys, get the cleaning done and get ready for departure." Captain Claw ordered.
The hedgehog asked Johnny to add the salt while he got the cleaning down. Suddenly there was a small collection of animals nearby as they were delighted to welcome other volunteers, bring in more fresh produce and most importantly the fresh bread for the broth and stew. Johnny couldn't help if he could maybe take a little bite, but the fear of Captain Claw withdrew that idea straight away.
Speaking of the crab, he was testing the freshness of the bread, smelling and hearing the crunch through his large claws. For once the creature smiled and welcomed them all in to chip in. Johnny was soon after taken over by another volunteer as he helped the hedgehog clean up the mess. The rabbit watched as the food was collected from the large pots, into individual packages. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that he wouldn't be able to try out the dish they both worked aimlessly for.
Suddenly he was patted on the arm by Super Sonic.
"Come on, we got to go." He spoke as he removed his apron.
"Go where?" The rabbit questioned.
"The next stage of course. Go and grab your jacket quickly, we only got ten minutes to set off." He shouted back as he took off.
Completely confused, the rabbit went in search of his jacket. As he did, he noticed the other volunteers talking to the yellow hedgehog. He was chatting away and smiling to them, until he was ordered by Captain Claw to get a move on. There was one similar trait of the hedgehogs Johnny thought, they both liked to chatter. But instead of the usual gloat Sonic would present himself, Super came forward a bit reserved; even maybe a bit shy. But he wondered being a waiter at the Groovy Train, was helping him being more social? He never would think of having a conversation with him, especially when, not so long ago, he was on the brink of killing him.
Finally finding his jacket, he noticed he was gone. Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder. But as he turned around, hoping he was found, he was caught by surprised, that the arm shimmered of different machine parts. Pulling away from him, Johnny saw the nasty smirk of Fleabyte, chewing on strong tobacco. The rabbit was turned off from the disgusting smell coming from the creature.
"I thought I recognise your face. Once upon a time, even your pretty little ears had a nice bounty on them. Shame they're now just a waste." He sniggered as he left the building, carrying his jacket over his shoulder.
Johnny watched with concern; it seemed some folk still have a hatred for the freedom fighters. After all, like Super only just said that without Robotnik, some lost their jobs and mainly their income. Adjusting his jacket over his neck, he went outside to get some fresh air.
But like inside, outside was just as busy. In a formal line, animal folk were queueing up for their night supper. Looking at them, it made him feel guilty to see so many of them. He wondered how many did work for Robotnik? Suddenly he felt uncomfortable as he hoped no one else recognised him. Suddenly a whistle called him over. Waving his arm up, the yellow hedgehog had just finished talking to one of the homeless folks as he waved them goodbye.
Johnny looked closely and suddenly recognised the bird; the one from the group of animals that eventually helped him find Super Sonic in the first place.
"Sorry about that; not even enough time for a break. Right, cargo is already set up. It may be a tight squeeze but sure we'll get there in time."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Johnny asked.
He then noticed something behind the yellow hedgehog. A group of the volunteers had placed boxes of the food inside a large container. Then placed the content inside what looked like a passenger seat. Super moved backwards and like a magician revealing his trick, removed the waterproof sheet. Johnny watched as the sheet revealed the rest of the passenger seat to only reveal that it was in fact a sidecar. The sidecar was attached to a small red motorbike, but looking at closer inspection, Johnny saw that the red colour was quite worn away. The thing looked ancient. Again, the hedgehog saw his amused face.
"Hey, she may look old but she still reaches the mile. Sadly, you'll have to take the back seat, the foods pretty much taken the side car". He replied as he threw a helmet to the rabbit.
The helmet itself was of an old leather style antique. He was able to shove through his long ears through the slits but as for Super, he couldn't resist anymore and had to laugh. With his hair still tied up from the bandana, the helmet was simply too large for him. The added goggles didn't help as well.
"Hey, these were to fit a dog, not a hedgehog!" He shouted in embarrassment.
"Wait, this is Pyjamas's bike?" The rabbit asked in shock.
"She used to tour with this all over Mobius. Apparently, she was quite a traveller. Come on, we need to go before the food gets too cold." The hedgehog asked as he adjusted the strap under his neck.
He then moved towards the bike and grabbed something else from the sidecar. Johnny watched as he placed a black jacket over him. As he looked at him, getting the engine to start, he only noticed that with all the gear, it would take a few minutes to recognise him. And then the pin finally dropped.
That's how he's getting around Metropolis without being spotted. Just like Sonic with his Bob Bleaky disguise, the only hint of the hedgehog was his ponytail of yellow fur and the sneakers. Everything else, you would see was the bike.
"So where are we going?" Johnny asked as Super waved him onwards.
"We're dropping these at another section of the city; just about thirty minutes' drive. We're already late so you better hold on." He shouted over the roaring of the bike.
Even Johnny winced as the engine didn't sound too good as it croaked into life. The rabbit sat down behind Super, holding behind the handle grips. Super looked behind and gave him a thumbs up. Johnny smiled and returned the gesture. The engine spurted out a puff of smoke as it moved forward and took to the streets; it's light beaming down the city.
As both of them cross through the busy streets of Metropolis, Johnny started to realise just how busy the city was at night. The bike then stopped at the traffic lights. The rabbit could hear the buzzing of busy night restaurants and bars; all welcoming their nightly customers. In the night sky, the lights glistened onto the dark street as the engines of vehicles roared as they wait for the light to turn. The rabbit watched as all sorts of animal folk were screaming, cheering and staggering over themselves in excitement for their drink. And yet as they waited; none of the folks took one glance at any of them. The lights turned green and off the bike went in a puff of smoke. Taking a steady ride, Johnny felt more relaxed, until Super made a turn off the main streets and into a maze of streets and cobbled roads. Hoping he wasn't going to fall off from the constant shaking and jumping, Johnny grabbed onto his seat.
"Just a quick shortcut!" Super shouted.
As he said it, he took one final turn and stopped the motor. One second later, the engine was switched off. Super Sonic jumped off to check the side car's contents. Johnny followed pursuit as he whizzed the waterproof sheet to see that all their work was still in one tack. Suddenly from up the street, Johnny could see some animal folks approaching. Waving, it looked like they were expected.
"Hello boys, thanks so much for getting us so quickly. I know the traffic is horrendous tonight." The lean bird came towards Johnny
"Yeah, sorry about the delay." The rabbit replied.
Quickly helping the yellow hedgehog empty the side car, they were soon joined by other animal folks who were more than happy to help; as they were the ones who were eating it. Groups of animal folk were waiting desperately to have a good supper. The lean bird gave out the food to each one of them, while Super and Johnny provided the still warm bread. The warm drinks were also provided by other volunteers. As soon as the work begun; it had ended. Not even a crumb was left behind.
Johnny watched as everyone had a share of the food. Talking, chatting, even having a laugh. These folk were certainly not to be starving in the streets. And in the end of it all, Johnny actually felt good to help. As he gave his last bread to the last animal, he couldn't help but feel a growl from his stomach as well.
But then suddenly there was a slight commotion. The motorbike erupted in action as the beast awoken from its slumber. Now with the side car empty, the hedgehog whistled him out. All thanking him for his help that night, Johnny waved them all a good night and raced to the bike. As he sat down inside the car, it was surprising warm. But then with a lot of warm food resting before, he wasn't surprised.
"Come on, we'll head somewhere else."
But where to? All the food was gone and handed out. There was a slight annoyance that another job awaited them. He checked to see his phone and was surprised that it was almost 10PM. He hoped it wouldn't take too long to not catch the last train back to the Emerald Hill. The engine erupted and strolled down the last cobble streets, before landing back into the busy streets of Metropolis.
Wonder where this ride would take him now? He thought…
