Previously, on the Tale of Roy and Samantha:
Our heroes were on their way northward when they came upon a cliff wall in their path.
However, as the two of them were discussing how to get through the wall, they were confronted by Stretch, one of the Eggman Empire`s Custom Mod Bots. During the confrontation, Roy was rendered unconscious and did not wake up until after Samantha was buried under several tons of snow that fell from the top of the nearby cliff.
When Roy and Samantha`s opponent noticed that Roy was awake, it came after Roy and was defeated by him, but only after Roy realized that he was not in a dream and that his opponent was a real threat.
After he defeated Stretch, Roy quickly found and unburied Samantha. Samantha then broke through the cliff wall and the two heroes continued on their way north.
After some time of walking, the two heroes came upon a massive scrap heap that was filled with decommissioned SWATbots and other machines, and as they traveled through it they encountered Anita, a Mobian Chupacabra that was looking through the scrap for valuable items to sell; she told the two of them that the Freedom Fighters had survived and that their refugee camp was nearby. After hearing this, Roy and Samantha were eager to go to the camp and Anita agreed to lead the way.
Episode Four…
"So, Anita, how survivors were there in Knothole?" Roy asked the chupacabra.
"Well, the camp is pretty big, so ah reckon quite a few survivors," she replied while scratching the back of her head, "If it's of any help, ah know fer sure that the top guns survived."
"What do mean by 'top guns'?" Samantha asked.
"I`m talkin` about Sonic and them, ya know, the original Freedom Fighters; they all made it out safely, though don`t ask me how, I wasn`t there," Anita replied, gingerly stepping across a frozen creek in their path.
"Well, if you weren`t there, then where were you?" Roy asked as he made the crossing himself.
"Well, it`s a bit embarrassing, but I spotted a little ole dragonfly, just moseyin` about in the wintertime as if it the cold didn`t bother him at all," Anita replied shrugging, "jus as I was finding out where the poor lost thing was going, I lost the trail and only found mah way back ta Knothole after it was being destroyed and everybody was hurrying past me."
"Well, to me, that sounds less embarrassing and more fortunate," Samantha commented.
"I guess, but I would rather have been there; I could`ve done at least somethin` to help out … not sure what good mah nose could've done but I coulda sworn I could've helped at least a lil bit."
Heh, it`s better than how I managed to avoid the attack. Roy thought wryly. "Hey, Anita, you said that the people of Knothole were running past you when you arrived," Roy said aloud, "where were you exactly, would you happen to have been at the northern part of the village, would you?" He said aloud.
"Why yes, yes ah was, how`d ya guess?" Anita replied.
"Well, during the attack, Hershey saved me and told me to head north," Roy replied, "if I were to hazard a guess, she was telling me that there was a fallback location up north which was where everyone was headed to, but I guess I must have missed the memo since I don't know much more than that."
"Yeah, in retrospect, that's probably where everyone was running to." Samantha commented.
"Oh, so that's where ya`ll heading to?" Anita asked Samantha.
"Why would you think that?" Samantha replied.
"Ya`ll just said 'in retrospect'; folks only say that when they`re describin` somethin` that they`ve been there for." Anita explained.
"Well, in a usual sense, you would be right, Anita, but in this case, not so much; you see, I have all of Roy`s memories…" Samantha continued on to explain all of the previous events to Anita in full detail (regardless of Roy`s protests), and even though the chupacabra was quite interested in the tale, I think you would probably fall asleep if I were to give you a recap of everything, so let us skip to the end.
"-and that`s when we met you at the scrap heap." Samantha finished.
"Huh, I believe ya`, but I`ll be doggoned if that isn`t that the weirdest story ah`ve ever heard." Anita commented.
"Yeah, it`s pretty weird," Samantha remarked, "so weird in fact, that Roy here thought that was all a dream for an entire day." She mentioned with a laugh at the absurdity of it all.
"I thought that you said you`d let that go?" Roy fumed with a huffy stomp.
"Sorry, I forgot," Samantha replied, "umm, Anita, could you keep that little fact between us? It`s a bit embarrassing for Roy."
"Alright," Anita replied, "so, now that ya`ll know what ya`ll headin` north for, what do ya` plan to do after ya` get there?" She asked.
"Huh, we didn`t think about that," Samantha replied, "what do you think, Roy?"
"Well, Anita just said that the top players of the Freedom Fighters are still alive, so that would mean that Sally would be alive as well; perhaps we could go talk to her. She'll know just what to do." Roy replied.
"That makes sense," Samantha commented.
"Well, ya`ll know what you`re doin`, that`s nice," Anita said, "but if I could just ask ya` one little favor?" She asked.
"What would that be?" Samantha asked in reply.
"Well, I`ve been collectin` tech from that there scrap heap for a few days," Anita replied, "and I would really appreciate a little help haulin it back to base camp so I can sell it to the Freedom Fighters. Now, I don't want y'all commentin about mah tent when y'all see it" Anta commented turning round to face her newfound companions. "It's not very much to look at, but its home fer now."
"That`s not a problem," Samantha said in agreement, "so, um, where is the tech that you`ve collected, anyway?" She asked while looking around for it.
"It`s about halfway between here and camp and if y'all don't know exactly what you're looking for then it can be pretty easy to miss, but that`s not the case fer the scrap." Anita replied animatedly.
The three of them continued onward through the snow-covered evergreens. After a few minutes of walking, they came upon a large pile of usable salvage as well as other odds and ends, all sitting precariously atop of a large bleached-yellow fiberglass sled.
"Ok, when you said you gathered a lot of tech, I thought you were talking about a few SWATbots worth, but this is insane," Roy commented when he saw the scrap pile; his mind`s eye coursed with ideas and inventions.
"Well, I did say that I was gatherin` tech for a couple a` days, now didn`t I?" Anita replied/
"That you did," Samantha replied, "how were you planning on getting all this over to the camp?" She asked Anita as she gawked at the scale of the salvager's operation.
"Well, before ya`ll showed up, I was kinda plannin` on toting this it one at a time and askin` fer help while I was there, but that`d take too long," Anita replied.
"What`s your plan now?" Roy asked.
"I was thinkin` that Samantha here could just pull it along," Anita replied, "but I know that bits and pieces would jus keep falling off of the sled the moment it's being pulled." She mentioned.
"Hmm, that is a problem," Samantha commented, "any ideas, Roy?"
"Hm, let me see," Roy replied as he pressed a button on the side of his goggles and immediately began searching through the pile as if he was looking for something specific.
"Did you figure something out?" Samantha asked.
"Maybe…" Roy replied flatly as he started pawing through the pile; his eyes were intensely focused as data-streams flew by on his goggles` display. After a few seconds, Roy stood up with a SWATbot head and few seemingly random pieces of junk in his hands.
"Now what are ya` goin` to do with all that?" Anita inquired.
"Hold on a moment," Roy replied curtly, "explaining what I`m about to make always makes me forget what I'm building, so keep quiet and watch."
Roy dropped the robot parts onto a flat rock that was nearby and without pause set to work, "This will only take a few minutes…" Roy muttered as he quickly and efficiently disassembled and reassembled the pieces in front of him with such a speed that his hands appeared to blur. True to his word, Roy stood upright not a minute later and to the amazement of everyone he revealed an odd looking device that looked like a number-pad attached to several metal rods; each of the rods was wrapped with a coil of copper wire, though most of the wire looked like it was threaded together like strands of rope.
"What`d you build, a space heater?" Samantha asked jokingly.
"Yeah… no," Roy replied, "it`s actually an electromagnet." he explained.
"What are ya`ll going to do with that thingamabob?" Anita asked upon giving the newly-christened device a once-over.
"Well, strong though as Samantha is, she's not going to be able to bring any of this back owing to attrition. So, the electromagnet is going to coalesce all this salvage into one big bile so that Samantha can pull it along safely," Roy explained, a hint of pride in his words, "it`s easy enough to build an electromagnet; all you need is a few rods of iron, some copper wire and a power source and boom; you`ve got an instant magnet."
"Oh, really, that`s cool," Anita commented, "what`d ya`ll use as a power source for that there magnet, anyway?"
"Oh, I just grabbed a SWATbot power core." Roy replied.
"What!? Ya` used one a` my power cores!?" Anita exclaimed while angrily making a grab for the device, "Do ya`ll know how much those things are worth!?"
"Hey, I didn`t know," Roy replied as he pulled the magnet away from Anita`s reach, "and besides, you wouldn`t get any of this stuff over to your camp without it!"
"Yeah, he`s right, Anita," Samantha added.
Anita calmed down, but it was clear she was infuriated with strangers tampering with her property, "Fine, I`ll let you use that power core, but I`ll have ya` know that ya`ll cost me about a couple thousand, the Freedom Fighters pay good money for those."
"Well, I'm not gonna apologize, and it'll still be salvageable afterwards; it might even be worth a little more put together than when taken apart," Roy mentioned making his way back over to the pile of scrap and placing it electromagnet at the back of a convenient recess deep within the pile;
Upon making sure it was securely in place, Roy pressed a few buttons on the number pad and stepped back a few feet. Without warning, the pile of metal suddenly shifted and contracted a few inches; seating it perfectly on the fiberglass sled like an egg in a nest; albeit an over-sized egg.
"See? Solid as a rock." Roy commented, knocking on the hardened pile for effect.
"Huh, well shoot." Anita commented giving the pile a knock of her own.
Samantha stood there with her arms crossed, Yeah, I`d expect that from him. She thought. "So, now that that issue is out of the way, shouldn`t we be going?" Samantha said aloud.
"Samantha, think you can pull this thing along ok?" Roy asked with a note of concern.
"Probably Roy, but the salvage is not gonna stay on the sled once I start pulling it," Samantha replied when an experimental pull had caused loose bits and pieces from the top of the heap and whole pile to nearly wobble off the sled entirely.
"Huh, if we had some rope, then that wouldn`t be a problem, but my pack definitely doesn't have enough to do the job, and there's not enough natural plant fiber lying around to weave more rope." Roy remarked
"Oh, wait just a minute; ah` have some rope in mah` tent that might do the trick!" Anita exclaimed as she headed over to an inconspicuous green canvas tent that lay virtually flush to the ground. It was covered in branches and snow as camouflage.
After a few seconds, Anita crawled out of the tent flap with a large coil of rope in her hands, "Here it is, ah use this to abseil the junk heaps, so don`t ruin it if you can help it." She commented, proudly handing it to Roy.
"Don`t worry, I`ve got an idea, your rope will be just fine," Roy replied as he began taking the rope over to the pile of metal; then something struck him as he spun to face Anita, " why was this in your tent, anyway?"
"Oh, so ah don't get all em pins and needles when ah get up"
"Huh, well I guess that makes sense," Roy remarked as he made his way to the metal pile and pulled one end of the rope from the coil. He took the end of the rope and fastened it to a convenient loop on the side of the sled. Then he took the other end of the rope and looked at it for a moment before turning to Samantha, "Could you fly this end of the rope over to the other side of the pile and see if you can`t loop it through a few items while you`re up there?" He asked as he gestured for her to take the end of the rope.
"Alright," Samantha replied as took the rope end and floated off of the ground and over the top of the pile; her hands glowing a deep blue. "Hey, you said that you needed this rope to loop through something, right?!"
"Yeah, if there`s a good spot to loop it through, that is!" Roy shouted as he secured the other end of the rope.
"There's a problem: can't find anything to loop this through!" Samantha shouted back.
"Hey, Roy, what's with yer friend's hands, I know you said she could fly, but why are hands glowin like that?" Anita asked as she noted the strange effect.
"Yeah, I really don`t know, her hands just do that when she flies and I haven`t had the time to figure out what that is," Roy replied as he continued to loop the rope through the rope holders on the sled, "but don`t ask me if it`s normal or not, I only just found out she could fly a few hours ago."
"So, she can fly, she has super strength and she has all yer memories; why haven`t I heard of her before? It`s only natural that ah would, folks like that aren`t far from the limelight." Anita asked.
"Heh, I honestly don`t know," Roy replied, "she said that she was stuck in some kind of place that wasn`t a place, you know, like a pocket universe or something, but that`s too vague for me to really know what happened," He remarked, "who knows, maybe she`s lying to hide who she is or something, I don`t know, it`s not hard to do these days; Knothole got pretty big before it was attacked."
"Yeah, ya got that right, nobody knows anybody anymore these days," Anita said, "would that mean that she might be lyin about havin yer memories, that does sound just a bit far fetched ta me." She asked.
"Actually, that part is perhaps the one thing that I know for sure about her, some of the things she knows about me are simply impossible to know, even if you were there," Roy replied, "I really don`t know how, but she actually has my memories."
Anita was about to reply, but their conversation was interrupted by Samantha, who at this point had grown impatient. "Oi, you two, you done chatting!" Samantha asked sarcastically, "I still need something to loop this rope through!" She mentioned while wagging the end of the rope for added effect.
"Well, is there anything up there that ya`ll can turn into one?!" Anita asked with a gesture to the top of the pile.
"Hold on, let me check!" Samantha shouted back in reply. She took a look around and found a sturdy looking antenna amid the junk pile. That`ll work. She thought as she drifted over to it.
She took the antenna with one hand and bent it like putty into a spool; then she threaded the rope through the new loop and fed it down the other side of the pile to Roy, who promptly took it and went around the pile a few times to better seat the pile of metal on the sled.
"Alright, that should hold, or at least I think it will," Roy said as he made one last tug at the last knot to tighten it properly.
"Umm… ah ya`ll sure this`ll hold?" Anita asked as she surveyed the pile of scrap; it was all bound up like some giant metal eating spider had caught it in its convoluted web.
"Oh, don`t worry, it`ll hold," Roy replied confidently, "Samantha, will you do the honors?"
"Well, I don't know, maybe since you were the one that came up with this idea, you could be the one to tote this thing along…" Samantha replied sarcastically.
"Yeah yeah, very funny…" Roy commented as he brushed some snow off of his knee.
"Ok, I`m going to start pulling this now," Samantha said taking hold of both ends of the rope, "is there anything else we need before we go?"
"Well, ah` do need to get m`ah tent and other thangs packed up, but that`s not a problem."
"Oh, and let`s not forget the equipment chest," Roy mentioned.
"Oh yeah, that`d be a bit silly to leave it," Samantha remarked as she went over to retrieve it. She slung it over her shoulder and then made her way back to the two rope ends, which she then took hold of with her free hand, "umm, you might want to step out of the way, Roy."
"Shoot, heh, sorry." He said as he got out of the way.
After she was sure Roy was clear, Anita gave the go-ahead, Samantha gave a mighty pull, causing it to start forwards with a lurch and a cracking sound as the ice beneath it gave way. After overcoming the initial molecule bond that occurs when a thing holds still for awhile, the sled began to easily slide across the snow as Samantha dragged it along with little strain on her part. The three of them continued on like this for about half an hour before Anita motioned for them to stop.
"What is it, Anita, is something wrong?" Samantha asked as she braced herself against the sled to stop it from sliding forward.
"No, it`s nothin` too bad, it`s just that we need to wait here a little bit," Anita replied.
"Uh, why would we do that; aren`t we heading to the camp?" Roy asked.
Before Anita could reply, a hooded figure dropped out of the treetops and pointed a rifle in Roy`s face, followed by two more figures, each of whom leveled their weapons at Samantha.
"Ok, Anita, who are these two?" Spoke the lead figure, the one with the rile at Roy`s head.
"Ya`ll can relax, Gauda, they aren`t auto-automatons," Anita said annoyed.
"Y-yeah, I`m pretty sure I`m Mobian." Roy stammered as he tried to move away from the rifle`s barrel, but the figure just kept re-centering the weapon to center body mass, much to the red fox`s chagrin.
"How do you know that?" The hooded figure inquired of Anita, "The latest models that the Eggman keeps sending are starting to look pretty darn real; if you ask me, even you`ll get fooled one of these days, and besides, there are those traitors running around." The figure stated.
"But today isn`t one of `em and both of these here fellas aren`t traitors fer darn sure, Roy here is from Knothole, ya`ll should've seen him around at least once, even in a big ole village like that." she shrugged.
"That may be the case, but I'm sure I haven`t seen her around," The figure motioned to Samantha, "and from the looks of her, she`s pretty strong, a bit too strong if you ask me."
"Hey, I know I`m strong, but that`s no reason to call me a robot!" Samantha exclaimed in protest, provoking the two figures that were pointing weapons at her and causing them to tense up.
"That`s just about enough, Gauda, ah`m gettin` a bit tired of ya`ll actin` like ah`m gonna go and do somethin` silly like that." Anita said exasperatedly, "these two folks are as much red-blooded Mobians as you and I."
"Oh and before y'all start pointing fingers neither of em` ah traitors and that`s that," She stated with a huff, "now if you`ll excuse us, we`re headin` on our way to the camp so ah` can sell mah scrap, and if ya really need it, ah` can go talk with Sally and vouch for the both of em`."
"Heh, you really do know how to talk," Gauda remarked as her stiff posture went lax and she pulled back her snow-white hood to reveal a pale-yellow vulpine beneath. "I guess I can trust your judgment, but only just," Gauda remarked as she lowered the rifle and barked orders for the other two figures to do the same.
"Ok, then, now that there isn`t a weapon in my face, I guess we should introduce ourselves," Roy commented in the politest tone he could muster "Greetings, sir, my name is Roy Vanderlind"
"I know who you are, you screw-up. First of all: my name is Gauda," Gauda replied, "and secondly: IT`S MA`AM, TO YOU!" she yelled with a voice that made Roy`s hair stand on end.
"I apologize," Roy shakily commented after he regained his composure halfway, "I did not mean to offend you, ma`am, and I honestly had no idea." He said in an attempt to calm the angry yellow fox; his eyes made a quick sideways glance at the gun she was holding.
"Well you`d better get the idea real fast or I`ll-" Gauda growled.
"I think that`s just about enough," Samantha interjected; completely interrupting Gauda`s fuming, "we apologize for the rudeness, and we won`t make that mistake again, but regardless that, we are headed to the camp with this pile of scrap, so are we done here?" She asked in an officious voice that surprised everyone.
At this, Gauda stopped fuming and turned to Samantha, "Yeah, we`re done here," She replied to Samantha; though her eyes spoke of deep suspicion, "just had to check and see that you`re all real people and not robots; that is my job for now, after all." She remarked as she started walking towards the direction of the camp while motioning for the others to follow her and her men.
The now larger group continued on to the refugee camp, led by Gauda and one of her escorts taking point and the remainder as rear-guards.
Anita went to the front of the group so she could talk to Gauda, leaving Roy and Samantha to wonder, "Hey, Samantha," Roy whispered, "what was that before, you know, you suddenly talking like an official or something?" He asked.
"Why are you surprised?" Samantha asked in reply, though her voice was similarly quieted.
"Why wouldn`t I be surprised? I don`t talk that way, yet all of a sudden you do, I mean, I know that my dad`s a bureaucrat, but he never talked to me, so I never learned any of his tricks," Roy replied, "but just now you sounded exactly like him."
"Well, maybe you did hear him once or twice, goodness knows that he talked at your mom a lot," Samantha remarked, "'at' being the operative word." She added.
"Oi, could you not go talking about my dysfunctional household around strangers, please? It`s bad enough that you know." Roy pleaded with Samantha while still trying to keep his voice down.
"Oh, right, sorry," Samantha replied with an honestly apologetic tone.
Meanwhile, at the front of the group, Anita had caught up to the pale yellow fox that was leading them.
"Howdy, Gauda, it`s been awhile," Anita called out to her.
"Oh great, now you`re the sociable one..." Gauda commented, "what do you want, Anita?" She asked annoyed.
"Ah just wanted to say 'hi', that`s all," Anita replied, "and I also want to know just why ya` on guard duty, aren`t ya a scout or somthin`?" She inquired.
"The term is 'reconnaissance trooper', and it`s kinda` hard to do any of that when your home base has just taken a beating," Gauda replied, "so for now, I'm doing this, or at least until Sally decides to go on the offensive again." She remarked. "By the way, I saw you stop before we caught up to you; how did you manage to notice me? I thought you said that I have no scent, so you shouldn't have been able to track me."
"Now that's simple: ya` may have no body odor, but yer men sure do, and besides, I can smell canvas body armor from a mile away." Anita boasted with a gesture to the scout's outfit that Gauda was wearing.
"Huh, I guess I`m going to have to switch to polyester to avoid your notice?" Gauda commented.
"Nope, sorry, that won`t work, if ah can smell the difference between brown and grey hair ah can sure as hay smell polyester too," Anita replied, "and besides, that stuff makes so much noise when ya` wear it that it renders being odorless kinda moot. I`d stick with the canvas armor; there aren`t many robots that have a sniffer quite like mine, but them sentry bots sure can hear as well as I do."
"Heh, yeah I get you, but I still don`t like it that you can sense me from a mile off," Gauda remarked with a huff, "it makes all my camouflaging efforts seem like a real waste."
"If ya` plan was just to avoid detection from little ole me, then ya` really failed," Anita commented with a gesture to herself, "but ya`ll aren`t tryin to avoid me, are ya`?" She noted.
"Tch, whatever, let`s just get you and these two..." Gauda replied curtly to Roy and Samantha both of whom were oblivious to the discussion, "back to the camp so I can get back to patrolling." She finished as she picked up the pace of her march and ordered her men to do the same.
The group continued onward to the camp, only stopping once so Samantha could move a rock out from the path. Gauda and her men got spooked nearly shot her, but Anita provided explanation to the situation and rebuked them for their jumpiness.
After some time, Gauda spoke up, "Ok, you three, I`m going to send word of our approach so the guards manning the towers don`t shoot us and so they know that that," She said gesturing to the giant pile of metal that Samantha was pulling along, "isn`t a threat." Turning to her men, she ordered one of the two soldiers, a dark orange hedgehog, to take point.
Nodding, the male hedgehog obeyed, sprinting away at a brisk pace through snow-covered pines, only stopping when he saw the demarcation of their hidden camp: a distinctive gouge in an otherwise unremarkable rock. The soldier fished a rolled-up neon-orange flag from a pouch and unfurled it in full view of a seemingly abandoned ridge-line. The hedgehog waved the nylon flag: once, twice and thrice before rolling it back up and returning it to his pocket.
He waited and stood stock-still, save for his breathing which fogged up in the frozen air. He saw another orange flag appear amid the trees and wave three times before disappearing, followed by the same thing happening in several other spots in the snow-covered canopy. Not long after, a lone figure descended from the trees and approached the soldier.
"What is it?" Asked the figure; a blue-furred coyote wearing a snow-white gillie with a pistol at the hip asked.
"We have a few survivors coming in, Gauda`s leading the group."
"Geez, Gauda; she`s got to be pissed at getting pulled from her patrolling right now," The coyote remarked as she shifted her weight, "who are they; are they anyone we know?" She asked.
"Well there are two, including Anita, and one of `em we actually know: it`s Roy, Roy Vanderlind." The hedgehog replied.
"You mean that Roy; the fox that turned Rotor`s door alarm into a robot when he was a kit?" The coyote asked.
"Yeah, and I`m pretty sure Rotor`s still pissed at him for that." The hedgehog replied laughingly.
"Who`s the other one, the one we don`t know?" The coyote asked.
"Well, it`s another fox," The hedgehog replied, "she calls herself Samantha, but I don`t think Gauda likes her, like, at all." He remarked.
"Why`s that?" The sniper inquired.
"Cuz she`s strong, like, stupidly strong," The soldier replied, "right now she`s pulling a giant pile of metal on a sled and she`s got a mahogany frigging chest slung over her shoulder like a duffle bag." He explained animatedly.
"Are you pulling my leg? Only echidna and armadillos are that strong, not foxes." The coyote scoffed disbelievingly.
"I`m telling the truth, I mean, that`s why I here: I`m under orders from Gauda to tell you guys not to shoot her when she comes within range." The hedgehog explained.
"Heh, I`ll request a safe passage order, but I still don`t believe you." The blue coyote remarked as she retrieved another nylon flag from her armor, this time it was sky blue. She unfurled it, held it aloft and waved it in the air five times in quick succession before returning it to her pocket. The soldier and the sniper saw several other blue flags appear amid the forest and disappear, a reply to the all-clear order, and nodded "So, what about Anita, is she done scraping tech from that valley, or what?" She asked as she turned back to the hedgehog.
"From the looks of it I would say yes," The soldier replied, "it looks like that pile of metal that the strong fox is pulling is actually Anita`s haul."
"Well, it`s been a couple of days, is she alright?" The sniper asked with a note of concern.
"Yeah, it looks like it, but I think the only reason she`s coming back right now is that Samantha girl is able to drag the stuff she collected over here; it`s a big pile, like, really big."
"As I said before: I`ll believe it when I see it." The blue coyote stated.
"Well, you won`t have to wait for long, here they come now," the orange hedgehog remarked when he spotted the group approaching in the distance.
Gauda was in the lead of the group, but the sniper`s attention was on the gigantic pile of scrap that lumbered towards them like a molehill on wheels. "Ok, I take that back, that is big," The coyote commented, "and you`re saying that just one person is dragging that along?"
"Yep, any minute now you should be able to see her," the hedgehog replied.
"How the heck is she doing that?" The coyote exclaimed when she saw Samantha pulling the massive metal pile along, a look of confidence and surety gracing her calm face as the ropes stretched tautly.
All of the guards in their towers and treetop hideouts looked on in awe of the amazing sight, not even caring if they exposed their positions as they beheld the impossible view before them.
"Uh, why are they looking at us?" Roy asked aloud; noting the multitude of voyeurs amid the trees.
"That`s obvious, they're probably wondering whether or not your girlfriend here is an automaton wearing plastic skin," Gauda commented.
"Ok, I`m not a robot," Samantha shot back at the pale-yellow fox, "and I`m definitely not his girlfriend, not by a long shot." She added with a slight blush that she quickly hid.
"And how do you know that you`re not some sort of Manchurian Agent, hmm?" Gauda snapped, "Some of them auto automaton infiltrators didn`t even know that they were bots until they were until they start-"
"Oh, Gauda, would ya` quit that silliness," Anita interrupted curtly, "I swear, ya`ll get suspicious of yer` own shadow at times." She chided the pale-yellow fox.
"Tch, you know what, ignore me." Gauda snapped at the chupacabra as she turned away and went ahead to the camp. Her subordinate hurriedly ran up to follow her.
"Could ya`ll please not take what Gauda said ta heart," Anita pleaded of the two, "she`s had a real hard deal in her life, and she tends to get worked up, but she`s not all that bad when ya get ta know her." She explained.
"What happened?" Roy asked.
"I don`t know all the little details, but ah` heard that her Parkour teacher accepted a student that turned out ta` be an automaton that went ahead and killed him," Anita explained in reply.
"Geez, that had to suck..." Roy remarked, "Um, by the way, what`s Parkour, anyway?" He asked.
"Oh, it`s an athletic technique that folks use ta` get up and around large and mostly impassable obstacles without slowin` down," Anita explained in reply while moving her hands around to illustrate jumping and dodging obstacles.
"Oh, that`s cool, and Gauda knows this technique?" Samantha asked.
"More like mastered it," Anita replied, "ah`ve seen her pull some of the craziest stunts ah`ve evah` seen and not get a scratch." She remarked.
"Really? That`d be cool to see, for sure." Roy commented.
"Well, don`t go expectin` a performance, Gauda only uses her Parkour fer scoutin` duty," Anita explained, "but enough of that, we gotta get this here scrap ta Rotor, he`s been waitin` fer a while now." The blond and gray chupacabra remarked with a gesture for the two to hurry along.
"Um, I`m not going to accompany you to go see Rotor," Roy mentioned to Samantha in a quieter tone.
"Why`s that?" Samantha asked Roy in an equally quiet tone.
"You should know why," Roy whispered reply.
"Oh, yeah, I remember," Samantha remarked, "yeah, it`d probably be a good idea for you to make yourself scarce, for your sake." She said.
"Yep," Roy commented as the group neared the camp.
The three of them did not take much longer to reach the camp, but when they did, they were greeted by a sobering and awe-inspiring sight.
Before them was a valley clearing filled with thousands upon thousands of tents, some large, some small, but all of them looked almost identical with snow and sticks covering gray canvas or nylon fabric for each and every tent in the valley, and each one looked as threadbare as they could possibly be while still remaining useful.
The people in amid the tents looked almost the same as the tents themselves, as each person had either a hurried or sullen look on their face or even a combination of the two; their normally bright and varied colors now faded from both deliberate attempts to cover their fur and feathers or simply just pure and unfiltered exhaustion.
But despite all this, there was an uncanny feeling permeating the air: determination. Not a single person in the camp looked as though they had given up; as if the fires of their freedom still burned as bright as was possible without getting noticed, and that it would not take much to start their hearts ablaze once more.
"Wow, it`s amazing that they're so many survivors..." Roy remarked, beholding the sight before him.
"And quite fortunate too," Anita mentioned, "with this many folks, there`s a good chance that ya family survived and that they're somewhere in this here camp." She mentioned.
"You know, she`s right, there is a good chance that they're here," Samantha commented, "perhaps you should go ask around and see if you can find them." She mentioned with a bit of emphasis for Roy to take this comment as an excuse to leave. "I`ve got to tote this over to… Rotor`s, was it?" She asked Anita.
"Yep, Rotor`s gone ahead and started a scrap collection station ta get more tech supplies fer the Freedom Fighters," Anita replied.
"Ok then, I`ll go check around for where my family is staying, and I`ll catch you two later," Roy said as he rushed off.
"Oh, and Roy," Anita called out to him as he pulled away, "ya`ll do better ta start by headin` to the Refugee Listings Tent, it`s over that way!" She suggested.
"Sure thing" Roy replied as he followed the direction of her gaze.
Anita and Samantha continued on to Rotor`s tent. Though they did have to weave around the camp a bit to avoid crushing any tents beneath the moving pile of scrap. Everywhere they went with the pile in tow was filled with awe-filled eyes, and one or two people even began to follow them as they traversed the winding pathways on the way to Rotor`s.
"Rotor`s tent isn`t far from here, so we should be able to get this here scrap sold before lunch," Anita said, "so, what`s the issue with Roy, and what kinda trouble is he in with Rotor?" She asked, much to Samantha`s surprise.
"How`d you hear… oh, yeah, you`ve got a really good hearing," Samantha replied, "well, might as well tell you..." She remarked, "yeah, Roy`s been on Rotor`s bad side for a while now." She explained.
"Oh really, why`s that?" Anita asked.
"Well, it kinda started when Roy took apart Rotor`s door alarm and turned it into a fish catching robot," Samantha replied, "but that`s what everyone knows, and everyone thinks that`s why Rotor`s ticked off with Roy, but that`s not what happened." She explained.
"What did happen?" Anita asked as the two of them rounded a corner to a particularly long stretch of pathway lined on either end with open tents for smith-working or surgery, or even both in some cases.
"Well, Rotor was an engineering instructor at Nichole`s school, and Roy really wanted to join him, but he was way too young," Samantha replied.
"How young was he?" Anita asked.
"Oh, about five, give or take a few months," Samantha replied, "but he really wanted to join the class, so he decided to prove he had what it took," She explained, "so Roy went ahead and snuck over to Rotor`s place and dismantled his door alarm as I said earlier. Rotor was, of course, angry, but when Rotor saw the robot Roy built, he was quite impressed."
"So, what`d Rotor do then?" Anita inquired.
"Well, Rotor went and asked Nichole if he could take Roy on as an apprentice," Samantha replied as she reveled in the pride she borrowed from Roy, "needless to say she approved."
"Yeah, ya`d think Nichole would approve, what with her havin` two apprentices of her own, ya` know, Tails and that jackrabbit girl, er, what`s her name, oh right, Flower," Anita remarked, "so, what happened next?"
"Over the next few years, Roy apprenticeship under Rotor seemed to be going well and Roy was learning quite a bit from him," Samantha replied, "but after a while, Roy and Rotor had their differences."
"I do hope it wasn't anything serious." Anita remarked.
"Oh no, it was primarily a difference in philosophy. You see: Rotor saw machines as useful tools to be replaced whenever they break, but Roy thought that his inventions had a life of their own and if he ever built a robot that was advanced enough to 'feel' and 'think' on its own then it would become equal to a living thing with the same rights accorded to any other freethinking sentient Mobian." She elaborated.
"That's a pretty heavy theory he`s got," Anita remarked, "you mean that that`s all it took to get on Rotor`s bad side?" She asked.
"Actually, no, but it did play a part," Samantha replied, "you see, Roy re-purposed a captured Robotisizer and turned it into a device that crafted form-fitting mechanical armor right on top of a person`s body, making a seamless shell around them that also enhanced their physical strength," She explained, "it was a very effective machine that did its job perfectly, and the armor could easily come off if the wearer wanted it to, but all Rotor saw was the fact that the machine used to be a Robotisizer."
"What`d he do then?" Anita asked.
"Well, when Rotor found out about the machine, he told Roy to dismantle it, but Roy refused and an argument ensued. During the argument, the machine was knocked over and it went haywire."
"Oh dear, did anybody get hurt?" Anita asked with a worried hand to her mouth.
"Well no, the device didn`t scratch Roy or Rotor, but it did severely injure one of Rotor`s assistants who was working there at the time." She elaborated as they neared a very large tent that had several people wandering around it, all toting bags, carts and boxes of metal, and all waiting patiently. A wooden sign hung above the entryway that read: -"Drop your scrap here, every bolt counts; Rotor."
"Why that`s awful," Anita remarked, "what happened afta` that?" She asked as the two of them came to a stop, attracting all sorts of attention to the metal pile as it came to a halt.
"I`d love to tell you, but Roy wants to keep it a secret," Samantha replied in a hushed tone so eavesdroppers couldn't pry in, "besides you and me, no one really knows what happened except Rotor, his assistant, Sally and Nichole. Ideally, Roy and Rotor would really like to keep it that way."
Anita was about to say something else, but they were interrupted by a shrill chirping noise and the whole line scrambling forward, forcing the two to go with the rest of the line in stepping forward and the question slipped from her mind.
The line repeated this a few times before it was Samantha and Anita`s turn, but the stall owner already knew they were there (with a pile of scrap that big, it was kinda hard not to).
"Ah, Anita, you`re back, I see," remarked the stall`s owner, a light purple Mobian walrus that wore a red bandanna and a leather tool sash across his chest with several different screwdrivers and a wrench in the holder-loops that ran the length of it; brown leather welder`s gloves adorning his hands as he reviewed the gigantic pile of scrap, "that`s a great deal of tech, heh, well at least you weren`t wasting your time out there."
"Yeah, I`ve picked out all the best thangs from the scrap heap, too, Rotor," Anita commented with pride, "that is what ya ordered, isn`t it?"
But before Rotor could reply, a sparking sound started coming from the middle of the pile. "Umm, what`s that?" Samantha asked as everyone gawked at the pile with even more interest now that it was making noise. The sparking noise began to intensify and it was now accompanied by flashes and sparks of light from the middle of the pile.
Then, it clicked in Samantha's mind. "Everyone, back up, it`s gonna collapse!" Samantha called out to the bystanders, all of whom took heed of the warning.
"What's going on, Samantha?" Anita asked as she followed suit.
"That electromagnet that Roy built, I think it`s starting to fail!" Samantha replied as she stepped away from the wobbly pile while making sure everybody else was clear of the danger.
The pile began to quiver and shake, and sparks flew out sporadically from deep within the pile before the sparking seized with a loud whine. Then, junk began to spill out from the edges of the pile and cover the whole area from the edge of Rotor`s tent all the way to the edge of the tent on the other side of the wide path.
"Ok, can somebody explain to me what just happened?!" Rotor exclaimed as he surveyed the mess.
"Well, you see, we put an electromagnet in this scrap to keep it together, and it looks like the battery died," Samantha explained slightly embarrassed.
"I can see that," Rotor commented as he knelt down, retrieving a nearly intact SWATbot arm which had slid out from amid the carnage. "Well, I guess that answers the question of how you kept all this together." The walrus remarked jovially.
"Yeah, sorry about the mess..." Samantha said apologetically.
"Don`t worry about it, as long as all the odds and ends are in good shape, I don`t mind." Rotor remarked with a good-natured shrug.
"And speakin` of the scrap gettin` here," Anita chimed in, "ya`ll did say somthin` a few days ago about me gettin` paid if I brought some scrap in, and here it is, so ah`d like to get paid now." She mentioned impatiently.
"Yeah, I did say that," Rotor replied, "err, hold on, let me just go get the check," He said stepping over snow-covered metal that was in the way to his tent, "hey, how much scrap is this, you know in pounds?" He asked retrieving writing material from a drawer at the back of his large tent.
"It`s about 300 pounds of aluminum, 745 pounds of steel, 414 pounds of copper, mostly wire, about ten pounds of platinum and three ounces of gold," Anita replied as she counted with her fingers, "the other 946 pounds of it is all working SWATbot tech, so I would think that would be way more valuable than scrap especially after ah went through all that trouble sortin it out."
"Yep, that it does," Rotor remarked as he ran the numbers through his head and wrote them down, "here you are," He said stepping over the splayed out salvage and handing the script to the chupacabra, "take that to commissions and they`ll pay you."
"How much did you get?" Samantha asked as she peered over the chupacabra`s shoulder to see what was on the check, "10,405 acorns?! Girl, that`s a huge haul!" She exclaimed.
"Yep, and that`s the number I expected, too," Anita remarked, "mighty pleasure doin` business with ya`, Rotor, I trust ya`ll handle this all ya`self." She commented as she began to leave to go cash in her check.
"Ya`ll should follow me, Samantha," Anita said, "I'll pay ya` fair and square for your help in haulin all this here." She mentioned.
"Oh, no, that`s not necessary, I just wanted to help out, that`s all," Samantha said with a nervous titter as she readjusted the equipment chest on her shoulder.
"Now, don`t be like that," Anita commented, "ah don't give out handouts and you've done me a good turn, so please just let me pay ya` for ya` help. I couldn`t have gotten half this much if it weren't for you."
"Ok, I guess, but afterwards I need to talk to Sally to find out how I can help the Freedom Fighters," Samantha remarked as she followed her newfound friend.
"Well, Sally is their leader, so I`d guess that she`d be handling payments or at least she`d be at the tent." Anita mentioned as the two of them navigated through the maze of snow-topped tents.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the refugee camp, Roy stood waiting in line at the Refugee Listings tent. The line seemed to move like molasses as Roy found himself internally debating whether he could find his family faster by himself.
"Alright, next!" Shouted a grating and high-pitched voice from the end of the line, "and remember, no pushing and shoving, one at a time!".
"We`ve heard that a hundred times!" someone further back in line complained.
Oi, how much longer am I going to have to wait? Roy complained in his thoughts as the line slowly dragged along, one grating announcement at a time.
The tortuously slow line dragged on for at least an hour before it was finally Roy`s turn. That was a dude making that noise!? Well, that`s one stereotype that been dissolved. The red fox thought as he walked up to the tent stall that was run by a lanky ram with a thick woolly coat that came in shades of brown and grey. The ram torpidly hung over the edge of the counter with a clipboard and pen in his gloved hands; his baggy eyes at half-mast, a clear sign someone in desperate need for a breather.
"Alright, I need you to sign your name here." The ram said as he handed Roy a pen and set the clipboard down on the makeshift counter.
Roy jotted his name down at the bottom of a very long list of names, all of which belonged to someone that was in search of a loved one.
"So, who are you looking for?" The ram asked with a yawn as he retrieved his clipboard.
"My mother and my brother, Samantha and Reggy Vanderlind," Roy replied.
"Hold on a moment while I look through the files..." Said the ram as he turned around to a row of file cabinets that were set up on bricks to keep them away from the snow, "you said their last names were both Vanderlind, right?" He asked Roy.
"Yeah, Samantha Vanderlind and Reggy Vanderlind," Roy replied.
The ram opened one of the drawers and flipped through the tightly packed set of files inside before singling one out and plucking it from the row and returning to the counter. "Ok, let`s see…" said the ram as he opened the file, "yep, I see one Samantha Vanderlind registered to tent Fifty-four."
"What about Reggy, is he there too?" Roy asked.
"Sorry, nope, I don't see your brother in the file," The ram replied, "but I do see one Roy Vanderlind the Third on this list registered there as well, is he related to you?"
"Yeah, he`s supposed to be my dad," Roy replied with just a hint of bitterness.
Clearly, though, he wasn't subtle enough, for the Ram frowned "Well, I`m sorry about your brother, but don`t get me involved in your family issues. I`ve got enough to do."
"Oh, sorry, and thank you for your help," Roy said as he hurriedly left with a worried expression.
"Oh, and the residential tents are over there, they`re all numbered, so you shouldn`t have a hard time finding the one for you`re looking for." The ram called out to Roy while pointing in a direction.
"Alright, thank you!" Roy replied as he made his way, chiefly on his mind the fate of his little brother.
To be continued…