140 views, 4 favorites, and 3 follows?… Well, its more than I was expecting. Let's get to the next part and get the story moving! We do got one review to respond too:
From megarexmg:
I finished reading it and I thought it was great.
You can count on me that I will be in every new update
Bakuganman: I sure hope so, hoping to see you down in those comments again.
Chapter 2: A New Job, A New Start
(AN: Optional music: Sonic Adventure 2 - In the Groove.)
Tails: Hey there! My name's Tails Prower... Tails is fine though. Please don't pay any mind to what that demi-human said about my real name, being Miles. Now that I'm older, the name "Tails" is just more fitting, don't you agree? Its only been about a year or so; but it feels like me, Willem and Sonic have been in this world for centuries... ironic, when you consider the circumstances. Makes me wonder what happened to the world while me and Sonic were flung forward in time.
No one treats us as heroes anymore, they seem to just tolerate us before insulting us when they get the chance. Thankfully, not ALL Islands are like this. Places like Island 15 or 11, the latter better known as Corna di Luce, are actually quite welcoming to all races. Even to Mobians like us! I'm sure Willem would be accepted too, he might even like it there... though there are allot of Reptrace that live there too, and he despises their cooking with a burning passion...
Its really not THAT bad... could be better I suppose...
Something interesting did happen earlier today. We met this girl with long, blue hair; who was chasing after a cat throughout the entire town before she ended almost up falling to her death. Me and Sonic were busy at the time which some stuff she and the cat knocked off the ledges they were running across, but thankfully Willem was there for her rescue. Gotta admit, she was cute... if a bit strange. She really wanted to go the cities bell tower. The 3 of us had some free time anyway.
After taking her there and exploring the city, some guards in military outfits came for her. She then asked us to forget about her... see what I mean? She must not get out very much. Maybe she was royalty or something? We didn't get the chance to ask her as she already ran off with the guards, but it looked like she genuinely had fun with us. I guess all there is to do now is return to Grick's. Maybe work at my workshop in the mountains to pass the time? It was a pain to build by the way, not like back in the Mystic Ruins.
In any case, might as well get back to Sonic and Willem. Grick actually just returned from a trip to the surface, and were meeting him at a small diner. He usually shares stories of what he finds, we share some of ours about the past... what? You wanna join us? Sure! Pull up a chair, there's plenty here!
(AN: End music.)
XXX
Location: Sky Island 28, 8:00PM; Grimbjhal Town - Town Diner
"HA! No matter how many stories you Mammalanians' tell, I still can't believe them!" Said Grick with a small laugh, having heard yet another one of Sonic and Tails' escapades. He did trust them, don't get him wrong, but the stories they told were about as believable as an Italian Plumber wielding fire. They were currently in a local diner, Sonic was next to Willem on one side, Tails was next to Grick on the other.
"It's true! I really DID go into a book... TWICE!" Sonic insisted, holding up two fingers after his claim to visualize his point.
"And yet you met Tails both times and he somehow had no idea who you were?" Willem interjected. While he didn't know Sonic as long as Tails did, those two were like brothers. You couldn't find one without finding the other somewhere nearby. Honestly; both he and the fox just wished Sonic would stop lying about the books and just admit he had a really bad cold one day, and forgot his date with a pink Hedgehog on another. He even claimed to have gone to Mount Olympus and met the Gods there at one point. Crazy stuff.
"That's not exactly what happened," Sonic explained.
"What about you, Grick? Wasn't Annala and Gulgura with you last time?" Asked Tails, looking over that the goblin. Annala and Gulgura were Borgles' like Grick, and the trio had met them a few times before. They were good people, having no problem with the likes of 'the sinners that released the Beasts' taking refuge on this Island. They'd always be with Grick though, and it made the fox wonder why they weren't here.
"Oh, them?" Grick answered curtly, not taking his eyes off the bills in his hand as he counted them to pay for the food and drinks. Money was known as Bradal in this time, be it coins or paper notes. "Annala screwed up big time. A 3rd had him over for dinner last month... Gulgura's gone too. Island 47 sunk last summer." He continued, his tone could be interpreted as depressed even though he was sort of used to this. Salvagers' like him for the Orandry Merchants Guild died all the time.
"Sorry to hear that," Willem said, giving his condolences. So two more people died, huh? One by the jaws of the demons below, and the other by the Island crashing into the surface. Gulgura was most likely a small stain on the ground below. And if the impact of the Island didn't kill him... Seventeen other things would be more than happy too.
"Yeah, probably shouldn't have asked," Tails apologized, scratching a side of his head.
Grick gave a small laugh, pretending not to be bothered too much by it. "Don't worry about it. That's the life of a Salvager. From the moment we decide to set foot in that Hell, we're prepared to die... Those two lived pretty long though. Most of us don't last the first day." He said, then finally finished counting the money. "Yep. That's 32,000 alright." He neatly aligned all the paper bills before putting them back the table for the server to come collect.
And no. 32,000 Bradal isn't expensive at all... that's an average price. They are splitting the bill of course, as you do. "But seriously, guys... are you all really okay with this?" The goblin suddenly added.
"Okay with what?" Willem asked.
"It takes you a year to earn 30,000. These two make double of that in half the time" Grick said, gesturing to the two Mobians' with them. "You only have 150,000 left in your name so even if things go well for ya, it'll take another two and a half years."
"Well. I can't exactly bring in the dough any faster." Willem said. Grick of course, knew why. The human was in horrible shape when he and his team found him.
"Look, I'm not trying to rush you into anything, but..." Grick paused, then continued. "This Island is filled with Markless-hating people. Even those two barely make the cut. You're all barely scraping by with random low paying jobs." He started tapping his muscular fingers on the table, obviously irritated. "Are you doing anything else with your life? It's been half a year since you've woke up. Haven't you found anything you want to do? Anything you want to enjoy?"
"Isn't life fun just living?" Was Willem's response.
"Ya see, that's your problem!" Grick answered, suddenly blurting that out. He then glanced toward Sonic. "Isn't that what you told some witch or whatever? Make the most with the time you have?" He quoted the Hedgehog, then focused back on Willem. "I do that everyday. A sea of treasure lies down there, materials and technologies we don't have up here just rolling around for the taking and bringing them back to sell, accidently stepping into the nest of 6th... moments like those are when I feel the most alive." Grick then gave a grin. "Speaking of which, I think I've found you an even better job. A woman, lovely lady by the way, was looking for a caretaker. Blue Britches and Yellow Fellow can also join you as your handymen."
"Caretakers?" Asked Sonic. The last time he was asked a question like that was when an aforementioned pink Hedgehog asked to look after a bird.
"Yeah! It's for the Règles Aile Military." Grick began to explain. The military here on the Sky Islands, also known as Règles Aile, are called the 'Guardian Wings Military' or the 'Winged Guard'. They are strictly neutral, but will help with domestic terrorism or civil unrest if necessary. Their main mission is to defend the Islands from the Beasts, but even they have some trouble with them. Those same Beasts were able to destroy the planet in mere weeks after all, so it was no surprise, but that didn't stop the organization from trying. Thankfully, none of the species of Beasts can fly... the known well-documented ones anyway.
"They aren't looking for anyone special either, just people who are trustworthy. You'll be managing the Winged Guard's special secret weapons," Grick continued. "You 3 have military experience anyway, don't ya? You were a Brave or something, you built a walking plane with a laser blaster, and you were training units by running around San Francis or whatever, right?" Grick added, mentioning a few things his 3 friends claimed to have accomplished in their past... which got those three to sweatdrop. That wasn't exactly how those things went down...
"You three are perfect! Come on, guys! Ya'll make a ton of cash at this joint!" Grick said. The 2 Mobians and 1 human however, just stared at him unconvinced. It sounded like this was about money, stereotypical to most goblins in pop culture. "You can at least pretend to be excited about it..."
"No thanks, Grack. I'm not one to sit around." Sonic said, calling him the name of another goblin he once knew.
"Yeah. I think we'll pass." Said Willem.
"Actually... it's not too bad of an idea," said Tails after giving it a bit more thought. He liked inventing things anyway, so what's the harm in watching a few things for the government? He can also get new ideas for his own inventions.
"Thank you! At least Youkai-Boy gets it!" Grick said. "You guys can start having an actual life up here, not worry about everyone hating your guts for something you didn't do!" He continued. Grick, like many others of this time period, didn't have a great opinion of the ancient Mammalanians and Emnetwihts. But after meeting these three and getting to know them, not to mention the Mammalanians bought them time precious time to return to their airship when they first appeared, his point of view on them changed. One of them had also been trapped in ice for so long, so he clearly had nothing to do with the Beasts summoning.
"Grick... I appreciate you looking out for us, but I've made my decision. I live here on my own free will." Willem responded, still not interested in the offer, though appreciated everything Grick had done for them.
The goblin the sighed before leaning back in his seat. "I understand, kid. Believe me, I do. Keep living like a dead man walking, right? I get where your coming from, Will. The dead don't come back..." said Grick, then shot up out of his seat which caught Tails and Sonic off guard. Willem wasn't effected however. "But your not dead yet! You still have a life you can live!" Grick then walked over to Willem, leaning on the table with one hand and got into the humans face to try and get through his skull. "Use this money and find your own way in life! Find SOMEWAY to be happy! You don't think I-?!" Grick was then about to ask if he thought Willem didn't think he understood how he felt, which was far from the truth considering what the goblin does for a living, but then backtracked and calmed down. "Ah, sorry man... think I'm getting a little soft from seeing so many pass away." The Borgle's face twisted into a bitter smile.
Sonic happened to take a sip of his cup now that things began to calm down, but then his eyes widened and he spit out what he drank, starting to have a coughing fit. "Sonic! You ok?!" Asked Tails.
"What's eating you? Wrong pipe?" Asked Grick, wondering if the Hedgehog was ok.
Willem just so happened to drink his beverage at the same time Grick spoke and revealed why. "Nah. This coffees too salty."
He was hoping Grick would drop the subject at that point, but it didn't work as the Borgle's amber-colored eyes just returned to stare Willem down, not willing to back down. This was typical. He was tough, which was required for a job like his; but behind his sturdy voice and rough exterior, there was a real softie inside. In general, most Borgles are relatively simple people; they just follow their instincts without any rational thought. Of course some variation exists among individuals, but Grick... he was different. He was a clear and logical thinker. He was also a nice guy and surprisingly sympathetic for one of his kind, an aspect of Grick's personality that Willem often had trouble with. Seeing how far the goblin was going made it harder to decline the offer.
"... Argh! Dammit, Grick! FINE! I'll do it!" Willem gave in after slamming his coffee back down on the table, Sonic now wiping his mouth with a napkin and looked in the direction of Willem.
"You'll take the job, then?" An evident happiness showed on Grick's face.
"Yes. Are you sure they'll want me though? Sonic and Tails can fight, I can't, let alone kill. Being trapped in an icebox wasn't exactly good for my health" Willem said, agreeing to do this, but still doubtful if he was called into battle or something. While he can use some of his powers, he can only use them in VERY short bursts. The fact he was able to save that blue-haired girl without him snapping himself in half was nothing short of a miracle.
"Don't worry about it," said Grick, then wiggled his index finger for the group to get closer, and added in whisper: "You'll all be official soldiers, but your work can't be made public since you'll only be managing secret weapons at a warehouse on Island 68."
"That already sounds like trouble..." commented Willem.
Grick happily pushed Willem away, not too hard if course. "GREAT! I'll let her know your coming, she'll fill you in! You three'll thank for this, trust me!" He said, glad he got Willem to cooperate. The lady was going to be especially happy, but Grick'll let the trio find out for themselves. No harm no foul, right? He took a swig of his own coffee to celebrate. "Oh, your right. It is salty."
XXX
Location: Sky Island 68, 10:30PM; Sky Archipelago Harbor
One thing Willem, Sonic and Tails learned the hard way; was the Islands had varying distances. Sky Island 1 was at the center of everything, with the rest of the Islands spreading out like a spiral. Island 1 was also rumored to not only be the first Island to take to the skies (this does not always apply to the rest of them however), but also had a power source that kept all these Islands afloat. It's unknown what that device or item was, or even IF it actually existed; but there HAD to be one, right? Angel Island being a prime example. Despite that, Tails and Sonic never found the OG Island from their Tornado trips, no matter how many miles they traveled.
That was another thing. The first 40 or so Islands were relatively close together like neighbors, taking a few hours or a day at best to reach via airship. In some cases, two Islands can and sometimes were connected by bridges, which saves airships fuel and does promote strong economies and cultural exchanges... near 70 and beyond however, they were more spread out, either an error in mapping or they just drifted off themselves. Island 68 was no exception. The trio had to stop on 53 before the airship needed to be refueled to make the rest of the trip.
They didn't have much to pack, seeing as Sonic and Tails didn't wear much clothing. All they each had was a small bag, one of them holding the last surviving Chaos Emerald. Willem had a slightly larger one, for his clothes and other supplies. He wore a coat over his new military uniform, and good thing too because it was kind of cold and windy tonight. Tails of course had some tools in his, but he sadly had to leave the Island 28 workshop behind. Luckily, he was able to bring the Tornado itself thanks to the large size of the airship.
Of course, without a workshop to place it in, he had to leave it at one of the small hangers on the harbor, which thankfully there was an empty one. He'll probably build a new workshop near the warehouse for personal use later on. Not tonight as the sun had gone down.
"Home sweet home," Sonic commented as the three of them helped Tails park the Tornado, the airship that brought them here already long gone.
"I wonder what kind of weapons they store here?" Tails thought out loud. A strong, cooling breeze blew past; making the trio shiver a bit. Mostly Willem due to his lack of fur.
"Brrrrr... lets find this place, THEN worry about that" Willem said. It didn't take long for them to follow the road signs that lead them in the right direction, or at least they hoped. They've never been on this Island before, and whenever Sonic and Tails did some Tornado runs, they were ordered by large battleships via intercoms to turn back around if they got too close. These ships had guns and cannons unlike the other ones, a few even had weaponry that reminded the Mobians' of their first encounter with the first Egg Carrier, such as cannons with star-shaped missiles and laser beams. Those however, were VERY rare to see due to this times limited technology.
Following the path; the group ended up at a bridge that was built over a shallow, murky lake; when they heard wolf howls. In Willem's prime, he could very easily have overwhelmed a whole pack or two with energy to spare... in his current state, he might be able to fight off one or two (three if he was lucky) before his body gave out from the strain. Thankfully, Sonic and Tails were with him so it shouldn't be that much of a problem. As they crossed the bridge, Willem had taken out a lantern and lit it. It wasn't allot of light, but at least it was something.
"So if we're attacked by wolfs, which one of us are being thrown?" Willem said.
"Eh, probably you." Said Sonic, going along with the obvious dry joke.
"You DO have the most meat on you. Would buy us some time" Tails joining in.
"Nice to know you guys, ca-"
SNAP! CRACK!
Willem's next step broke a wooden broad of the old bridge, half his shoe from the sole up was covered in the murky water. "And now our bridge is breaking, can this night get any...?"
*Rustle, rustle.*
The group attention was taken off of Willem's shoe, and snapped towards the bushes on the opposite side of the bridge. Something was in there, the groups senses on high alert as they eyed the other side very carefully should anything rush at them. 'Please don't be a bear...' Willem prayed as the rustling continued to persist.
...
...
...
DASH!
"ATTAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"
While they expected ANYTHING to rush at them... that didn't include a little girl. She had short purple hair and purple eyes, some of her hair covering her right eye, and wore a matching robe. Her shoes and shorts being a darker color. She was armed with a wooden sword, and came rushing at the heroes as fast as her legs could carry her. Caught by surprise, neither of the boys moved as they processed this new information. This was a military faculty, right?... So what was a little girl doing all the way out here?
The shock didn't last very long, also because the girl was going to whack them with that sword. Her first target was Sonic, whom was in front, but he merely zipped backwards a few times, easily avoiding her strikes. She did have a level of multi-tasking, as she then went for Tails, who did the same thing though not nearly as fast. Willem was also a target of her swinging, and he had to admit she knew how to swing decently well, but he ended up doing the same thing as the two Mobians, none of them having the heart to actually attack her. They kept dodging, the girl making "HA!" sounds with each swing and refused to give up even when she missed.
She then tried a new type of attack on Sonic, doing a 180 swing that would have gotten the Hedgehog if he wasn't paying attention. 'Who trained this girl, Caliburn?' He asked himself, impressed by the young girls swordsmanship.
She then went after Tails with an uppercut, forcing him to take flight to avoid the strike. "Whoa!" He yelped.
Willem was also next to Tails at the time, so he had to move too, and he leaned into the rickety old bridge, making it snap under his weight again. "Hey! Wait!" He tired to warn the loli, but she was already coming at him with a leap up followed by a downward slash with her battle cry and a perfect parabola. He moved out of the way, and her feet ended up on the railings... but the already snapped wood couldn't support her weight or the G-Force either. She lost her balance, and would have gone into the water if Willem didn't catch her tiny body in time.
SPLASH!
Sonic and Tails looked in the direction of the splash from their current positions, seeing Willem in the water, holding the little girl above his body with both hands to stop her from getting wet. His lantern had to be sacrificed for this, as they could see it was just laying in the water with its flame out. As thanks, the little girl hit Willem in the head with the bottom part of the hilt with a 'bonk' sound, also using her battle cry at a lower volume.
It didn't hurt Willem, but it made him wince. He let the girl down so she was sitting on top of his chest, safe from the cold water he was lying in.
"Pannibal! What are you doing?!" Asked a voice, one that made a question mark appear over both Sonic and Tails' heads at the same time. That voice was all too familiar, sounding like someone they met very recently. They looked behind them, only to see a girl running down from the other side of the bridge with a similar lantern Willem had lost. Her outline was familiar, but her long blue hair gave her away as she got closer.
The girl was in fact, the young teen from this morning.
"I've defeated one of 3 suspicious individuals." The loli girl said while looking in the direction of the other girl and giving a salute, her name apparently Pannibal.
"Yeah. Like there's anyone else..." The new girl said, doubting anyone else was here on the Island, but stopped and just stared at the 'individual' Pannibal had 'defeated'. "What? Y-You?" She questioned, then noticed the other two. "And you? I... but... you... Wait, what are you doing here?" The girl continued, sounding very confused. She also appeared to be rocking herself side to side, unsure what do say or so. It was also at this point Pannibal made an "eh?" sound and looked at the 2 animal-men first, then back to the man she was currently sitting on top of. Her face said two things:
1) "Did I mess up?"
And 2) "Do they know each other?"
Sonic, Tails and Willem also looked back at the blue-haired girl; the human having to lift his upper body a bit to see her. Their faces were just as confused, also saying: we should asking you that question. First a kid, now a teen? This was a private Island for the army, correct? So why the heck were seemingly normal kids here?
"Ya wanna talk about it all night, or help the guy out?" Sonic answered.
Willem sneezed in the wetlands, making him fall back in them. "Yes... that would be preferable... "
XXX
Location: Sky Island 68, 11:00PM; Sky Archipelago - Orandry Merchants Warehouse #4
Willem couldn't stay dripping wet like that forever, so the blue-haired girl lead the group to the warehouse they were after. Was this why those guards were after her? Did she work here?
In any case, after helping the older man out of the lake and taking them to said weapons warehouse, she lead them to a bathroom they could use to clean up... this place looked anything BUT a weapons warehouse. The floor consisted of old, worn out wooden boards, plaster covered the walls, and a few rooms lined the hallway at even spaced intervals. Pasted on a hallway wall were three sheets of paper: one displaying the rotation order for chore duties, one warning of a dysfunctional toilet on the second floor, and one saying "don't run in the hallways!"
"This a warehouse or a schoolhouse?" Asked Sonic; he, Tails and Willem in one bathroom. While this took some getting used too for the Mobians, they mainly did this in case Willem's body started having... episodes.
"Maybe that one kid is a daughter of a swordsman?" Suggested Tails, mentioning the purple haired girl from earlier. It would explain why those two girls were here. Willem wasn't too sure either. As he stood in the shower; there were loofahs, bubble bath mix and a rubber ducky on a shelf near the tub he was standing in. What kind of military base was this?
*Knock, knock!*
The door had someone suddenly knocking on it. "Uh, just a minute!" Willem called out, turning off the water. He was done anyway, now he had to dry off and get his clothes back on.
"I got it!" Sonic zipped over to the door open it. Once he did and the door make a creaking sound...
"Ahhhhhhh!~" A woman in a maid outfit, probably the one Grick was talking about, stood on the other side with her hands folded, and sparkles in her green eyes. She was near Willem's age or in her early twenties at best with hip-length light red-pink hair that is curled at the bottom. She looked very much like a human. Sonic just stared at her.
...
...
...
SLAM!
Sonic slammed the door shut. "Why'd it have to be her?" He mumbled to himself.
"Sonic, what was that about? That was rude." Tails said, opening the door in the same fashion.
"Ahhhhhhh!~" The woman repeated, not having moved at all. Tails also stared at her.
...
...
...
SLAM!
And repeated Sonic's actions. "Seriously, what's wrong with you guys?" Asked Willem, having gotten fully dressed but wondered why his two friends kept slamming the door on whomever was on the other side. It's not like it was the old mad scientist.
"AHHHHHHHH-HA-HAAAAAAAAA!~" The woman, still having not moved, now appearing more happy that Willem answered the door. He stood motionless after seeing who it was but instead of slamming the door in her face for a third time, he slowly backed up while trying to close the door. He didn't get to finish as he was dragged out by his hands by the woman. "Its been forever, Willem! Welcome to the secret weapon warehouse!... And you brought Sonic and Tails! This is just like old times... oh my, have you gotten taller?" The woman asked, clearly excited about seeing old friends.
Willem stared with a blank expression into the woman's eyes. "We tried to warn ya..." commented Sonic.
"Nygglatho..." Willem said with a sigh. Of all people to run into... her. It's not that he had a problem with this woman per se. She was kind and all, it was just her... taste. "Of the hundreds of Islands, why are you here of all places?"
"Why? Grick didn't tell you? I work here now!" The woman, Nygglatho said in a cheerful voice, also jumping away and did a pose. "Oh, congratulations on the promotion, Willem. Second Enchanted Weapons Technician... rising up through the ranks pretty fast, huh Quasi Brave?" She added a small joke in after looking back and getting out of her pose.
It was here the trio understood what was going on now, putting two and two together. Nygglatho used to be part of Grick's team that found Willem initially, but got promoted to a new job soon after. That mischievous, rotten goblin! He knew the whole time! He set them up! Each of them made a mental note to Venenum Punch, Tails' Attack, and Spin Dash into Grick the next time they saw him. "That bastard Borgle..." Willem grumbled.
"You guys are still good friends, right?" Nygglatho asked.
"We were." Said Willem, walking past Nygglatho and into the main building. Since she was gonna be the one to explain the job according to Grick, they might as well get this over with.
XXX
"This warehouse is run by both the Guardian Wings Military and the Orandry Merchants Guild, so it requires caretakers from both parties." Nygglatho explained to the men as they walked down a hallway, leading them to her office. "I represent the Guild, of course. Willem, is the Military caretaker!... He looks so delicious in his uniform!"
"Hear that, big guy? You look delicious" Sonic joked.
"Can someone just choke me..." Willem said, ignoring the comments and continued forward. The uniform was kinda tight, especially around his neck.
"Come on! Quit being so negative! You looked 20% more tasty after we thawed you out, and since everyone knows toppings accentuate the flavor of a dish, you now look twice as appetizing as you've ever been!" Nygglatho complimented.
"In other words, my life is in twice as much danger?" Willem 'asked'.
"Oh, have a little faith. While yes, I AM a Troll, and yes, your an extremely rare cuisine; I have no intention of eating you. Not yet." Said Nygglatho, revealing her species and opening the door for the men to join her. Seeing as Willem was the last surviving human on the planet, it was one of the few foods she hasn't tried yet. She would express this back in the day as well, and this included Sonic and Tails to a degree; but she claimed to have eaten demi-humans of their animal type already and therefore, her instincts weren't bugging her about their flavor... too much.
Trolls like her were classic examples of monsters, a type of Ogre to be exact. They often appeared in stories told by travelers. A handsome man or beautiful woman would be living all alone in a house far away from any town. When tired travelers came by, they would invite them in, welcome them with a feast, take care of them (which Nygglatho claimed was a natural instinct)... then in the middle of the night, eat them. Nygglatho might be cute with the things she does, but the fact she was a Troll forced the trio to always keep their guards up around her.
"Good to know." Said Willem, dryly.
"Keyword," Tails started.
"Yet." Sonic finished, the Mobians joining them in the office. Right as the door closed, four small shadows peeked out from the other end of the hall, watching them.
"It's honestly a shame," Nygglatho said, pouring the tea for the boys in her office. It was a cozy room; which had a small desk and chair, a bookshelf, a bed, and various convenient accessories scattered about. There was also a fireplace in a corner, which was also used to heat the tea. The were sitting in the middle of the office that had two sofa that can each fit 3 people. "But to waste the last human in the world just to satisfy one moment's hunger... I know better." She claimed as she brought the refreshments over. "Of course, if any of you gave me permission to eat you, I'll certainly consider the honor."
The boys sitting next to each other sweatdropped. Here we go...
...
...
...
"So how about it?" The Troll slid in from the right, closing in on Willem, her main target.
"Hell no." He responded quickly, then tried pushing her back with a hand on her forehead, but she was fighting him by pushing forward.
"No? Well that was quick, why not think about it for a second?" The Troll asked again.
"Still no." He responded quickly again, answering exactly one second after her question. He pushed back a bit harder while she met him by pushing forward more.
"Really? I'd be fine with your non-dominate arm, maybe just the hand if that's too much..." Nygglatho, trying to be reasonable with her cravings. "Even a pinky would do for me!" She added, her cheeks getting red and her eyes getting dreamy at the possibility. She was then yanked back by her hair by Tails, and pushed on her tummy by Sonic, both giving Willem more leverage.
"Stop it." Said Willem in an adamant tone, also getting a bit annoyed. The Troll giggled, her hands reaching forward as if to grab Willem. It didn't take long for her to get back to her senses and sit on the opposing sofa. While this was going on, those same shadows had their ears on the door, but didn't open it yet. They were just listening in on the conversation. "So what exactly am I supposed to do?" He asked.
"Not a damn thing!" Nygglatho said, cutely. This came as a surprise to the boys', three question marks popping up over their heads. So they wasted all that time coming here for nothing?
"So we packed our bags and took two trips for nothing?" Asked Sonic.
"Packed your-... Wait. You guys aren't actually planning on staying here, are you?" Nygglatho asked, realizing what Sonic had just said. She didn't expect the boys to go that far. From the time she knew the Mobians, one of them hated staying still for long periods, and the other would rather work on his gadgets. As for Willem... she thought he was gonna live out the reminder of his life on Island 28.
"Well, how else can I do my job as caretaker?" Willem asked. While he wasn't too keen on doing this at first, he already promised to try it out.
"You could just use that Emerald to warp back and forth," the Troll pointed out, aware of how it works.
"That's not the point," Willem argued, though the redhead did bring up a good point. With the way his body was though, it probably wasn't the best idea to use the Emerald himself. "If we're going to take care of weapons, then it would make sense to live as close to them as possible."
Nygglatho took a sip of her tea before responding. "The only reason I ask is because none of the other caretakers bothered showing up again after the first day."
Again, a trio of question marks popped above the boys' heads. "... Why? That doesn't make any sense," Tails said, which was true. If there were ACTUALLY powerful and top secret weapons just laying around here, then why didn't ANY previous employees stick around to manage them? Or at least guard them? Wasn't that the job? The fox could only imagine what a certain scientist had to go through to get a 50-year-old, ageless weapon from the military back in their time.
"Aren't you guys also trying to generate enough power for your Emerald to get you home? You don't have to be here if you don't want too" the Troll said as she put her teat down on the table, also fully aware of what Sonic and Tails were trying to do on the side. She didn't know exactly how those things worked, but understood they needed more than just one gemstone. One barely worked against a Beast that attacked them over a year ago.
"Kinda hard to do when everything I need is down there" Tails said, pointing downward with one of his namesakes. This new world was very limited when it came to tech. Like Grick said, what Tails needed was just down there in the ruins of surface life. Even with the resources Tails had access to and at Island 28's workshop, he could only generate enough Chaos Energy to go what he estimated about 113 years back. That wasn't even close to enough.
"In any case, I can arrange something more fitting for you three. Your own private sector? Off-Island accommodations, maybe?" The Troll suggested as she reached down on the table again to get some cookies she had baked, offer other solutions. The cookies reminded them of animal crackers; each had varying shapes and sizes from bears, elephants, rabbits. Conveniently, she picked out one that was human-shaped.
"You say that like you won't bite us in the ass when we take our eyes off you," Willem said.
"Wow, you guys are the worst! What kind of monster to you take me for? *NOM!*" Nygglatho said, then ate the cookie by popping it into her mouth and chewing it. The boys each had a deadpan expression.
"The kind that can rip a bear in two with their bare hands..." Tails started.
"The kind that decorates their home with bones on Christmas..." Sonic added.
"... And the kind that eats people." Willem finished. "Still, we're not the kind to walk away after committing to a job. We discussed it and are fully willing to stay right here" He added. At this point, the shadows from before slowly pushed the door open to avoid making a creaking sound, or at least not loud enough to give them away, revealing 4 pairs of eyes. Their overwhelming curiosity forced them to now see what was going on rather than simply hear it.
"Really? Great! I knew I can count on you guys!" Exclaimed Nygglatho, standing up from her seat and clapped her hands together, looking happy. "There's a spare room you guys can use upstairs. You must be hungry from such a long trip too... I'll have a breakfast feast prepared tomorrow, look forward to it!" She continued, then giggled to herself before going lower and leaning against the small table, her hands propping up her head as she looked up at the trio with happy puppy-like eyes. "It'd be a pleasure to get to take care of you three again," she then added with a small smile that Willem's heart skip a beat: "I'm getting excited just thinking about it."
This was in fact true by the way. After getting stuck in this time period, Sonic and Tails didn't have anywhere to go, and Willem of course had just been dug out. Back then, Nygglatho took it upon herself to make sure all 3 of them were well-fed and rested... whether or not it was genuine kindness or her Troll instincts, or a bit of both, was hard to tell. She would always comment how good they looked back then as well, which was always taken with a grain of salt considering what she was.
Willem especially had always found her a little hard to deal with, worse than Grick if that was possible. Ignoring the fact that she wanted to eat him (which was pretty regular), something about her behavior... just didn't feel right to him as a man; and a young man at that. Seeing he was also the only adult in the trio, he had many complicated emotions stored up inside his heart. To put bluntly; a situation like this, being taken care of by a friendly young woman, made his heart flutter a bit. Was her kindness love she was expressing? Probably not. Her affection was essentially of the same type that farmers give their cows or chickens. It was part of the cycle:
A) Raise with lots of love.
B) Feed them regularly.
C) Bon Appétit!
'Don't get the wrong idea, Will. Your in the face of a predator. This isn't about spending time together... its about a Troll having eyes on 3 sheep and wants to fatten them before she devours them!' Willem thought to himself, his voice cracking towards the end. Sonic and Tails had the same reaction as the human, just without the mental dialog.
"Why so gloomy, guys?" Nygglatho asked innocently, completely oblivious to Willem's internal struggle.
"Just to be clear: your not planning on eating us?" Willem asked, needing to be sure for his own safety. Its not that he didn't trust Nygglatho, its just... he didn't trust her.
"No, I'm not." She answered.
"Not at all?" Tails questioned, having the same concerns as Willem.
"Nuh-uh." Nygglatho answered again, giving a small head shake once.
There was a few seconds of silence before Sonic added in: "Not even a nibble?"
"Really. Not even one." Nygglatho confirmed for the third time. She then stood up from her position and clasped her hands together, interlocking her own fingers. "I genuinely have no desire to eat any of you, I only wish to take care of you. Didn't I once tell you Trolls are bond by an instinct to serve every and all guests with love and dedication?" She added. "I promise I won't try to eat you," she promised, then a close-up of her mouth is shown, showing off her sharp fangs that can easily tear flesh from bone. "You can trust me. You have nothing to worry about."
While the boys still kept their wits about her, it didn't appear she was lying. She had plenty of chances to eat them over a year ago when she served them the first time so if she was really a hunger-crazed monster, she probably would have done something at some point if she really wanted too.
"Ok, back to the topic; this building IS the weapon warehouse, right?" Willem asked, getting back to the actual reason he and the time travelers came here in the first place. Something was bothering him as they walked through the halls of this establishment.
"Yes. This is the warehouse. Why?" The Troll answered.
"That's the problem. It looks nothing like a warehouse," Willem said.
"Me and Tails have been to plenty; even fortresses with deadly, multi-colored laser cannons." Sonic added.
"If this is the building, where's all the guns, the ammunition, and…?" Tails was asking, adding more to the conversation. Heck, he's seen storage rooms full of weapons when a Presidents escape pod was being attacked by black aliens. However, it was at that moment everyone in the room heard a small sound coming from the door to the office and they all turned in its direction. Was someone eavesdropping on them?
Nygglatho gave a small smile while looking at the doorway, then put a finger to her lips as she backed up slowly towards it. "You know what? Let's continue this conversation tomorrow. Its gotten late, you three are probably tired from your journey..." she ended up next to the door, put a hand slowly on the knob and quickly turned it. "AND the naughty walls have ears!" She added at a slightly raised volume while yanking the door open.
"WAAAAH-OOF!"
The second the Troll opened that door, 4 figures fell to the floor and on top of each other, probably from having been leaning against the door. It was actually 4 kids, 1 of whom the boys recognized though none of them looked no more than 10-years-old maximum, with brightly colored hair like the blue-haired teen they met a few times already. The only difference was the styles and the colors of hair themselves:
One of them was a purple-haired girl… it was the one who "attacked" them. Pannibal. She was way in the back, which was ironic considering she seemed to be like the one to jump headfirst into action.
A girl next to her had short blonde hair with a single pony tail on the right side of her head, and orange-brown eyes. She also wore a brown dress with an orange and white striped T-shirt beneath it.
Beneath the orange-haired girl, was one with bright green eyes and matching green hair, which was shoulder-length and had 2 bangs on each side of her face that went a little past her shoulders. Like her eyes and hair, she wore a bright green dress.
Finally, below Pannibal, was a pink-haired girl that had long hair like the blue-haired teen, but in multiple strands and her fringe (a top portion of her hair) was tied in a ponytail on top of her head. She wore a white shirt and unlike the previous 2, was the only one aside from Pannibal who wore shorts that were also pink like her hair, but darker in color.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the blonde apologized frantically, as those two words kept repeating like a broken record. She was also bowing her head over and over, involuntarily pinning down one of her partners in crime.
"Ow! Stop pushing me!" Complained the green-haired girl, needing to look up at the apologizing one.
"Oh, hi Nygglatho. Fancy meeting you here," Pannibal said, cooly. Apparently she wasn't just the one to charge into battle, but was also the chill and 'straight-man' type.
"We're here!" The remaining pink-haired one said in a cheerful voice with an energetic tone and grin. The 3 boys didn't think they'd meet so many colorful characters in one day… pun slightly intended.
Nygglatho had closed eyes and a smile. Despite that, she uttered a single command with a friendly, yet stern look: "Go back to your rooms, ladies."
"Kay, but; before we do, we thought it'd be nice if we properly greet and introduce ourselves to the new caretakers" said the green-haired girl, with the other 3 nodding in agreement.
"Otherwise I'll eat you…" Nygglatho added in a soft, gentle tone like a mother confronting her baby… but had dark undertones, which the 4 kids were VERY much aware of judging from their expressions looking like they've been paused by a remote.
Scrambling to get up, like they didn't want to piss the Troll off any further, they did so quickly and stood up very straight next to each other. "Good night, Miss Nygglatho." They all said in perfect unison before leaving the room and going down the hall in an orderly manner.
"Night!" Nygglatho said kindly as she looked down the hall and watched the children go, then closed the door and looked back at the trio in her office. "There should be a free room ups-" she was gonna offer them a room, but noticed their expressions. While Willem remained neutral, Tails had an amused smile on his grace, and Sonic's arms were crossed as he smirked and chuckled a few times. "What's so funny?" The Troll asked.
"Oh, its nothing." Tails said, retaining his smile.
"The kids are cute." Sonic added.
"And nice to know we're not the only ones allergic to you." Willem said, dryly.
Nygglatho gasped at this, then put a finger on one of her cheeks. "You big meanies…"
XXX
As Nygglatho said, there was a free room upstairs, which was large enough for all 3 of them. It had a small desk near the window, and a wardrobe and drawers for clothes, which was fine considering 2 members of the group only wore shoes and gloves. It only has one bed though, but that wasn't too big of an issue since it could also fit the trio… they don't swing that way, however.
"Pretty cozy." Said Sonic, looking around the room.
"There is another empty room next door with 2 beds. We could use that one." Tails said, referring to him and Sonic. Up until this point, they had been living in Grick's apartment complex, but it was made for Borgle laborers. Besides the cleanliness issue, Willem found it impossible to sleep in the provided beds as a result of the body size difference between him and those goblins… Sonic and Tails were fine, of course; since their species were similar in size. Willem needed 2 beds and if an extra wasn't available, he slept on the floor curled up in blankets. Seeing as salvagers came and went due to the… nature of the work, this wasn't always a problem.
Didn't make it easier on the humans back, however… Other than that, these rooms seemed like heaven, if a bit bland.
"Do what you want. Not like we haven't shared a room before." Said Willem as he sat on the bed, the laid back on it. It was comfortable at least. Laying here made him smile, recalling a memory from ages ago:
'Papa?… Sheesh, Papa. You gonna sleep all day? How long you plan on staying in bed?' Asked a voice in his memories, belonging to Almaria. She was above him along with some other kids, shaking his body to get him up. Almaria was a young girl, appearing around the same age as the blue-haired girl. She had brown eyes and brown hip-length, low-braided hair with a white bow tied at the bottom of her bangs, while there were 2 shoulder-length hair strands hanging on each side of her head. She normally wore a white and pink T-shirt with a long grey skirt that was covered by a brown apron.
She was Willem's "Daughter" so to speak, but it was mainly just the joke around the orphanage they lived in as they were always together… it didn't help she'd end up calling him "Papa" on occasion. She and Willem took care of everyone else when the owner just stopped coming one day, so they took it upon themselves to keep the engine running. She was a kind girl too, but like Willem, can be sassy with an equally dry sense of humor when she wanted to be.
Following the explosion of Chaos Energy from True World HQ, he had to leave her behind a year later, for a war started and Willem was called in. The trios ears then perked, picking up the small sound of whispers from the door to their room:
Blond Girls Voice: You think their asleep?
Green-Haired Girls Voice: Don't ask me. I've only seen men in movies.
The men in the room had to give those girls credit; they didn't give up so easily. Willem gave Sonic a look and, understanding what the former warrior wanted; zipped over to the door with an innocent look on his face, put his hand on the nob…
Pinkette Girls Voice: You think men even sleep?
Pannibal: I think maybe we should keep it down, guys. They might…
Sonic yanked it open.
"WAAAAH-OOF!" They fell on top of each other for the second time that night, in the exact same way and formation as before. Willem had walked over the moment they 'dropped in', and crouched down to make eye contact with them. Sonic had moved away from the door, standing next to Willem, and Tails walked over himself on Willems other side. They couldn't help but smile at the kids antics.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," history repeated itself, for the blonde started apologizing again in the same fashion as before.
"Seriously! Will you stop shoving me, UGH!" Complained the Green-Haired girl, in a more annoyed tone than before, for she once again was being pushing down by the Blonde behind her as she bowed over and over again.
"Oh, hey gentlemen. Lovely night, isn't it?" Pannibal asked, coolly.
"Yes! Lovely night!" Said the Pinkette, repeating Pannibal's talking point.
The 3 boys held one finger to each of their mouths. "Shhhh." Was Willem's response, which got the kids to be quiet.
"Or the big, bad Troll's gonna hear you." Sonic playfully warned.
The kids were kids, and were innocent because of it, but they weren't stupid. Each blinking once, now understanding these men weren't as strict as Nygglatho was, they copied the mens' actions and shushing sound before getting up and joining them inside the room. Frankly, the boys didn't mind the company. There weren't enough chairs for them, for the room only had one at the provided desk, but they'd get caught if they stayed out in the open... a fact the girls must know all too well.
"So... who do we have the pleasure of speaking with tonight?" Asked Willem, taking a seat on the bed. Tails joined him by dropping from the ceiling, or at least that's what it looked like to the kids. Something similar happened with Sonic, only he seemed to sit next to the oldest boy out of nowhere. Weren't those two Featured behind them a second ago? The kids were even more interested in the boys than before. Who were these men? While the girls stood in front of them, they began talking at the same time.
"My name's Collon!"/"I'm Tiat."/"Pannibal."
That was said by 3 of the 4 girls. The pink, green, and purple-haired girls; the blond-haired one didn't get a chance to respond, but glanced at her friends. "If we talk at the same time, they can't hear us!" She said at a slightly louder volume than she normally did, and you could tell she was soft-spoken due to her apologizing immediately after. "Sorry. I'm Lakhesh." She said with a head bow.
"Collon." Said Willem, making the girl look at the older boy whom called her name. She was also the only one to grin.
"Pannibal." Sonic said, getting the purple-haired girls attention.
"Tiat." Tails said next, getting the green-haired girl to give a cute-sounding "eh?" and looked at the trio in shock that they caught her name in the commotion.
"And Lakhesh. Nice you meet you four." Finished Willem, causing the shyest one to slowly raise her head, but was just as surprised as the rest of her friends. They looked in awe at the trio, impressed by them and… despite what Lakhesh said not even a minute ago, rapid-fired more questions at them, and a few in unison:
"What's your names?"
"Where'd you come from, misters?"
"What's your relationship with Nygglatho? It sounded really scandalous."
"What kind of species are you guys?" (This was mainly aimed at Sonic and Tails.)
"What food do you like? What food do you not like?"
"And out of all these questions, which one will you answer first?" Asked Pannibal, who was the only girl to remain silent until this point, and the was only one to ask her question calmly. She along with her friends were also interested to hear the trios answers… assuming they actually heard any of them.
"Hmm, tough call" Sonic said with a smile and finger under his chin. He and the others did clearly hear all questions they were asked, but figured he'd toy with these kids a bit. "What do you think, big guy?" He asked Willem.
"I guess we can start with her question to start things off," Willem said, then proceeded to answer the food question, as he indirectly already answered Pannibal on which one first. "Spicy meat dish are usually our favorite."
"Can never go wrong with a Chili Dog." Sonic added to it.
"I prefer extra cheese on mine. Reduces the spice." Tails admitted.
"Though I can't stand Reptrace cuisine," Willem said, dramatically waving.
"GACK!" Sonic stuck out his tongue and pointed to it with a finger, giving his own opinion of the dish.
"It's not THAT bad..." Tails said with closed eyes with how overdramatic his roommates were being... but couldn't deny it wasn't partially true.
"Nygglatho and us are like Little Bo-Peep and her lost Sheep. And we lived on Island 28 until this morning" Willem finished, answering the final question.
"Though me and Tails go wherever we want in the Tornado," Sonic added.
"Provided it wasn't private military property or anything..." Tails added with a low tone.
"That was only the one time," Sonic said with a sigh. "I jumped to that Island completely by accident. Besides... you picked me up pretty quickly."
"We almost got shot outta the sky by cannons aimed at the wing!" Said Tails.
Sonic then grins a silly grin, thinking of a certain memory. "... Not like we've haven't been there before..."
Tails knew EXACTLY what he was referencing, so he responded in a dry tone with: "That's not funny."
To say the little girls were impressed was a MAJOR understatement, for gasps of admiration came from the girls' mouths. From the second the boys began talking, and able to pay attention to their questions despite being asked at the same time, the girls quickly become enthralled with them upon their answers. Learning that a man ate food, that they traveled from such a far island and two of them went wherever, that they can ride Tornadoes... they couldn't stop their eyes from sparkling.
"My name's Willem Kmetsch," Willem fully introduced himself. "But just Willem is fine. Makes it easier."
"Mine's Tails... for obvious reasons," Tails introduced himself next, also showing off his 2 namesakes. He also stood on the bed and spun them like a helicopter rotor, even taking flight with them for a few seconds so he was hovering a few inches over the bed before stopping himself and dropped back down, and skillfully back to a sitting position. The girls, even Pannibal, couldn't hide the childish wonder on their face now.
"Sonic's the name..." was Sonic's first response but then in a flash, he was gone, having gone out the door quickly.
As he was gone, he dashed outside and got some random flowers from the garden in front of the warehouse before heading back inside with equal speed. As he did his, a certain blue-haired girl was walking down a hall as...
ZOOM!
"EEEK!" She jumped, the sudden appearance and wind blowing catching her off guard. She happened to look up the stairs and see a blue blur for less than a second rush up those stairs and down the hall of the next floor. She blinked a couple of times as she stared up there.
Sonic rushed back into the room. As he did, he placed one flower on each of the girls heads, causing the girls to glance up and see said flowers have somehow gotten there. Sonic then sat back on the bed after appearing from his blur, with a 5th flower in his hand. "Speed's the game."
The girls could no longer contain themselves, and they began jumping around with glee. Tiat and Lakhesh jumped a few times but also clapped their hands together with each other like patty-cake, and Collon leaned against the bed and raised herself up and down multiple times. Finally Pannibal, like the straight-man she was, simply stood with an impressed expression, but you can tell she was probably holding back the same childish urges.
"Hope you girls like company. We'll be helping out for awhile and be living here." Willem said as the little girls did their thing.
"Wait, so; you three and gonna stay?" Tiat asked, all the girls faces focused on him now. While 3 of them were still standing; Collon was the only one to lean on the bed while holding her head up with her arms and elbows, looking up at Willem with innocent interest and then the same surprised expression upon him revealing he and the 2 Mobians were living with them.
"That's the idea." Said Sonic.
More sighs of admiration from the girls, they also clapped their hands in unison a few times. From the girls reactions, Willem and the boys could guess that outsiders coming to stay was an unprecedented event. Traveling to this Island was no easy task, so just having new faces show up must have been an exciting event for these kids; hence the reason they tried sneaking to see them not just once, but twice.
"It's really not that big of a deal." Willem assured them.
"No, it actually is," Lakhesh said in a soft tone. "Before you, no one from the Military has ever bothered to live here before..." she continued, twiddling her fingers together.
"Oh yeah, Trolly did mention that," Sonic said, which STILL made no sense to the boys. Again... powerful weapons were stored here, yet no-one seemed to take an important sounding job like that seriously. It just didn't make any sense, considering the fact that literal demons were just waiting on the surface for a snack to come falling down.
"Good grief..." came a new voice, but a familiar one. Looking in its direction, everyone in the room noticed that leaning against the door's entrance, was that same blue-haired girl again. She was also folding her arms, and looking as stern as Nygglatho did when she reprimanded the girls to go back to bed, yet wasn't smiling. Instead, she held a neutral expression. "Your seriously still out and about?... And weren't you told to give them space? They've come a long way, and they must be exhausted."
Now, the 3 boys couldn't deny that weren't tired to a degree, but they didn't mind the company at all. "So what? We don't mind." Sonic cut in with a shrug, getting attention back on him.
"That's not the point," the blue-haired girl said, calmly. "It's very late, and WAY past their bedtime anyway. They know better."
"Er, well. Ya know..." Tiat tried to defend their actions. It was Collon however, whom answered confidently.
"Curiosity got the best of us!" She said as she puffed out her chest.
"Uh, yeah! It's what you'd call an irresistible force..." said Pannibal.
"Exactly! You should know better than anyone, Chtholly! We didn't tell anyone you were leaving either, because girls don't have the power to resist curiosity!" Tiat agreed with them, hoping this would deter the older girl.
"Does that include Nygglatho?" Was the bluenette's counter, cutting off the flurry of excuses, and making the smaller children break out in cold sweat.
...
...
...
All: ... GOODNIGHT!
Upon wishing them farewell in synchrony, the four little kids scrambled out of the room and down the hall back to their rooms before the older one can make due on her threat. "Nice-to-meet-you-guys! See-ya-tomorroooooooooow!" Was the final sentence from those girls, that one coming from Collon.
With only the bluenette (known as Chtholly, apparently) and the boys left in the room, she sighed. "I swear, between them and Ithea..." she said before closing the door with her inside the room with the boys. "Sorry about them, they tend to get worked up easily... annoying at times," she continued, clearly having had bouts with that group of girls before. At least things would be interesting around here.
"Its fine. We're used too it." Tails assured her.
"We're actually good with kids, believe it or not." Willem added.
While the blue-haired girl was stern just second ago, she then refused to look in the boys' direction. She also had her hands behind her back as if she was nervous. Sonic and Tails did notice this, but they didn't say anything about it, mainly cause they were trying to figure out this weird girl. "Er… well.. try not to spoil them. It'll go right to their heads so…"
A short silence then followed. The girl; who Willem, Sonic and Tails thought would leave soon after driving off the kids; didn't budge. However, she did glance over with a small turn of her head, but then glanced away just as quickly. "Oh, and… sorry about Pannbial…" she apologized, referring to when the young girl 'welcomed' them back in the forest earlier that night.
Willem chuckled. "It's fine. You lead us in the right direction right away, and my hot shower helped." He said, assuring the girl there was nothing wrong, nor any harm done.
"For what its worth, she's knows the way of the knight" Sonic said, complimenting the younger girls skills.
"I… I see. Well… umm…" Chtholly once again pause, unable to find the correct words. She just stood there almost nervously. "Ch… Chtholly… my names Chtholly…" she finally managed to say.
"So we've heard." Willem joked.
"Yes. I know its a little awkward, since I told you to forget me. Then the time we spent back in the town with the cat and the fairytale thing and-" While Chtholly ranted, she then stopped herself. "Never mind."
Sonic and Tails stared at this girl, then glanced at each other at the same time with their eyes in confusion. The only one making this awkward was her. Also, judging by her body language; she seemed very nervous, fidgety and skittish. The last time they experienced something like this was when a certain pink Hedgehog began to fall for the blue one in this room.
They couldn't help but wonder… did this girl develop a crush on one or more of them? Either that, or she only put up that big sister stunt as an act.
"Well, in any case," Willem then got off the bed he was sitting on, standing up straight and turned to face Chtholly. "I'm Willem." He introduced himself, unaware or simply ignoring the bluenette's actions.
"Ye… Yeah… I heard. I was in the hall…" Chtholly responded, awkwardly. "Sorry to bother you, guys. Goodnight." She continued, saying farewell until to tomorrow as she turned to the door to leave.
"Wait, hang on a second," Willem said, something having slipped his mind in all the confusion that took place her tonight; including the loli attacks, the unexpected reunion with a certain Troll, and the reacquaintance with Chtholly. "We've been little confused about something." He said.
Chtholly just stood there looking at the boys and listened, not denying the request.
"From what we understand, we've been hired as caretakers for special weapons, right?" Was Tails question.
"Right." Chtholly confirmed.
"These special weapons are kept on this Island for safekeeping, right?" Sonic asked.
"Mm-Hmm." Chtholly nodded.
"And this is the military warehouse for those weapons, right?" Willem asked.
"Correct." Chtholly said.
"Then why does this place look nothing like a warehouse?" The older teen asked point-blank.
"Where are all the guards? And personnel? Why do they not bother coming out here at all?" Tails added to the set of questions the boys had.
"Where are all the weapons, anyway? The storage rooms?… Ya know… something" Sonic added.
"But for the love of things, please answer this: Just who are you girls? And why are you living in a military facility?" Willem finished, having asked all the questioned that plagued them.
No matter where they looked, all the trio saw was a big, fancy residential building in the middle of nowhere on an Island far away from civilization. Of course, unless the weapons were huge like Golems or something of the like, then that could be the case. However, some Beasts were twice the size of even behemoths like them. It was also rare for Golems to grow anywhere CLOSE to the size of a Beast anyway. Plus, Golems were public knowledge, so what would be the point of keeping them a secret?
Chtholly seemed to stare blankly at these men from their questions, but then she blinked and tilted her head to the side, the realization striking her. "Wait… you took this job not knowing about us?" She asked.
"We had no idea you'd even BE here." Said Sonic.
"And you spent time with the little ones without that knowledge?" Chtholly asked again. The trio could say nothing in return, which made the bluenette deadpan. "Your the type of people that go with the flow, aren't you?"
"These two mainly," Tails thumb-pointed to Sonic and Willem.
"Yeah. He's our Designated Flyer." Sonic said, repeating Tails' gesture.
Chtholly sighed. "Fine. I'll clear this up." She offered, then put both her hands up, each holding up a finger. "The answer to the first set of questions are in the second set," She used her right finger to point to her left hand. "And the answer to the second set, weeeell…" Chtholly smiled at this point. "Lies in the first set." She pointed to her right hand with her left one, her answer being cheeky.
The boys stared blankly at the riddle she gave as an answer. Even Tails, the smartest one, had to ponder hard on what exactly the strange girl was trying to say.
"Yeah… crystal clear, alright" Willem said.
"Don't think too hard on it," Chtholly said. "The truth is… its us. We are the special weapons you were sent to care for."
…
…
…
The boys had no words. They stared at her in shock of the truth-bomb she just tossed them, her words slowly processing in their brains. "… What?" Was the only word that could come out of Willem's mouth.
Chtholly put her hands behind her back again, only this time without embarrassment. "Makes sense, now? We're all glad you showed up. Isn't it great? Starting tomorrow, you'll be taking care of a bunch of cute girls." She said, then giggled with closed eyes and a smile after finishing her statement.
With a final goodnight, Chtholly walked out the door and left the room, shutting it behind her, leaving the boys' alone to their thoughts. They just still stared at the now-closed door in front of them.
What… had they gotten themselves into?