Section 5: New Years
Chapter 12
James' POV
It had been a simple day for Rouge, Amy and me. After watching TV we went out to eat and then returned and watched more TV. It was a boring day really. Once night fall came we played around and soon drifted to bed. I had dreamt of Rouge and Amy and what might happen if they started acting like Jenn and wanted me to pick between them. I woke up several times during the night from small nightmares.
After the night of waking up and going to bed I woke up a last time. I looked at the clock and it was 5 in morning, too early to get up, but too late to go back to bed. I sighed and got out of bed, not waking the other two. I got dressed and threw on my grey wind breaker that Rouge had gotten me for Christmas. I decided to go for a walk around town. I left a small note by the bed before heading out to go for a walk. Once I got outside I saw people walking around, some were decorating for New Years tomorrow night. I walked around the block and was surprised to see the joint where I had found Strike was at the corner of my apartment. I looked at the door, it said open. I decided I should drop in and thank him for everything; he'd helped me a bit since the whole Nova thing. I walked in and my face fell red. My eyes are poor, but they managed to see Strike and Mimi through the door to the back room. They were doing stuff I'd rather not share with you. I noticed no one else was in the bar, so that would explain why they were at it. I left the bar, deciding it would be rude to disturb them. I walked down to road and looked around. I found a large clearing on the outskirts of the city. I decided to keep walking in a straight line. I walked and watched the snow fall. What is it that causes snow to fall? It was something I had always wondered since it started snowing, no one ever told me. I watched the snow and thought of where it came from and what it was. I knew it was water, but why would water take on such a form? When cold it becomes ice, when hot it evaporates, so what made it become snow? I thought for awhile and decided water didn't need a reason to do what it did. I kept walking and soon realized I was in a weird place. It was empty, filled with dead looking trees. I turned and saw the snow had covered my foot prints. I looked around and decided to get back home.
"Chaos… CONTROL!" I boomed. I shut my eyes and waited. I opened my eyes and saw I hadn't moved. I tried again a few times before deciding it wasn't working. I gulped, without my powers I was completely defenseless. I looked around and saw small creepy red eyes looking at me from every angle. I took a deep breath and thought. I heard foot steps all around me. I felt sweat roll down my face as it started to get colder. I tried to relax, but every time I was almost calm, something else startled me. I was beginning to, for once in my life, feel scared. I looked up and everything seemed to be getting dark. I had no idea what time it was, but it looked like a storm was brewing. I gulped and looked to see the red eyes still watching me. I started to shake, both from the cold and my fear. I had never felt so helpless, it scared me. Soon I saw a pair of eyes approaching me. I gulped and tried to back up, but tripped backwards. I fell on my back side and hit my head on a dead tree. I slowly blacked out as the red eyes around me approached.
I woke up and my head hurt horridly. I looked around and lucky me, the lights were off. I sighed and tried to stand up, but felt something restraining my arms and legs. I heard the metal clangs and realized I was held by chains. I pressed my chin against my chest and felt my fur. My clothes were gone. I clenched my fists and my gloves were gone too, meaning I had no supplies either. I shut my eyes and prayed my Chaos Control would work, but it didn't. I sighed and let myself drop to the ground. I don't know how long I had been gone, but I knew Rouge and Amy would be upset. I had said on my note I'd be back by lunch time and I had a feeling I had been out far longer then that. I sighed and thought of them. If I was going to die, I wanted to die happy. I thought back to all the fun things Rouge and Amy did with me. No not the stuff in bed you perverts, the actual playing around and stuff. I sighed and drifted into thought.
I think it was an hour before I was disturbed from my thought. I heard foot steps and a dim light flicked on. I squinted as my eyes adjusted and saw a shadowed figure step towards me. Once my eyes adapted I saw them. They were about six feet tall and were covered in a black robe. I squinted, but couldn't see a face or any features. They stopped in front of me and I looked up at them. They said something, but it was in such a weird language I couldn't understand, maybe it was French. I watched them as they looked at me. They repeated themselves and I assumed they wanted an answer. I shrugged shaking my head
"Je ne comprends pas francais?" I told them, it means I don't understand French for those of you out there who don't speak French. Suddenly they coughed and cleared their throat.
"Are you Symbiote Blue?" he asked, his voice seemed cracked. I looked at him and squinted
"Who's asking?" I asked him tilting my head, but keeping my view on him. He shook his head.
"Stubborn… I am" he answered. I lowered my eye lids, but decided I was in no position to be making demands. I nodded at him. He seemed to chuckle, or crackle or something. I turned away and left through a small door. I sighed, but was glad they left the light. I looked around and saw I was in a weird lab of some sort. It was silvery colored, with plenty of tables and weird looking instruments. Some of them made me shiver. I waited, until I decided he wasn't coming back. I lowered my head and thought of what in god's name I was going to do. It took awhile, but I eventually remembered one weapon I may still have. I pressed my chin against my chest again and ruffled the fluff on my chest. After awhile of fiddling it fell out. I looked down at the small pin. I kept it incase I was required to pick lock and at the moment I needed to. The chains gave me the reach to grab it. I put it between my lips and managed to pick my right hand free, then picked off the rest. I got up and rubbed my wrists as I looked around. I put the pin away and saw I had no shoes either. I crept over to the door. I looked out and my eyes widened at what I saw. There was the black robed man, but his hood was down. He was human and at the moment very glad. This was probably because of the woman kneeled down in front of him. She was dressed in a revealing, yet demonic, outfit. I felt a slight blush cross my face as I looked around. It was a large room; the man was sitting on a heart shaped bed with his 'friend'. I couldn't see any other doors, but there was a small passageway to my left. I held my breath and put my back to the wall. I slowly crept down the passage. I turned to my left to see if the coast was clear and my eyes shot open. I heard a pair of foot steps coming from down the hall way. I gulped and pressed myself against the wall. I quickly made my way back to the door, but waited in the shadows near it. I looked down the hall and saw a tall red haired woman come down the hallway. She was headed right for me, but stopped in her tracks. She glared at the man in the robe and started screaming at him in French. The man got up and started yelling at her. I managed to squeeze around them without being seen. I went down the hallway cautiously, until I heard the man scream loudly. I turned and heard foot steps coming towards me. I saw a light and realized they had a flash light, so I booted it down the hallway. I ran as fast as I could, which didn't mean fast without my shoes. I looked back and heard them stop. I froze, but then started running even faster once I heard dogs barking viciously. I shut my eyes and rushed as fast I could as I heard the dogs and people getting closer. I opened my eyes in time to see a turn. I was going left or right. I looked right and quickly turned to run left. The right was a door, but it was guarded by the biggest black bear I had ever seen. I looked ahead and saw this hallway was empty, with little light. I heard the bear growling at the dogs, but then I heard him chasing with the dogs, coming down the hallway. I gulped and ran even faster. I looked ahead and saw it was a dead end. I looked around and saw two doors, one on either side of the hallway. I turned around and heard the foot steps getting louder. I thought and knew what to do. I started running towards the foot steps. I saw the man, his dogs, the bear and both women running at me. I squinted my eyes and ran faster. They all charged at my screaming as I ran to the left wall. I jumped and kicked myself off the wall, soaring over the mob. I landed and rushed down the hall. I turned back to see them stop and turn around. I looked ahead and saw the door the bear was guarding. I heard the man scream at me and I grabbed the door handle. I pulled it open and my eyes widened. There, standing before me was a massive green, cat-like creature. Its right arm was completely metallic and his left eye was a red light. Its left ear was partly metal. He looked down at me. I stepped back and heard the mob behind me stop in their tracks. I looked back to even the bear had stopped. I looked back up at the green cat and he seemed to smile. He patted my head and walked past me. I watched him as he walked briskly down the hall. I watched as he beat on them one at a time.
Jenn's POV
I woke up the next morning and looked around. It was about 10 o'clock I assumed. I yawned and got out of bed, deciding to take a shower since Neo was sleeping. I was in the shower for two hours and heard a knock on my door. I wrapped myself in a towel and opened the door. There stood Amy in a detective outfit with Rouge in a cop outfit behind her,
"Where were you on the night of this morning?" Amy asked me. I blushed,
"Umm…taking a shower?" I responded. Amy looked me over with her giant magnifying glass. Rouge then stepped forward,
"We're looking for a missing person" she showed me a picture of James, "Have you seen this person?" she asked me. I nodded,
"That's James the hedgehog…" I said. Rouge nodded,
"I see, when was the last time you saw James?" she asked me. I frowned,
"A couple of days ago when he moved away…" my eyes filled with tears, "I haven't seen him since…I miss him so much…" I cried. Rouge patted my shoulder,
"Miss, we need you to stay focused. James is missing and we need your help to find where he is" she comforted me, "Does he have any relatives around here?" she asked me. I thought for a moment, wiping my eyes,
"I think Eggman is kind of his dad or something…" I responded. Amy exclaimed after I said that,
"To Eggman!" she said, pointing her magnifying glass towards Eggman's room. I peeked my head out when they were going down the hallway,
"Can I come?" I asked them. I then heard a voice from behind me,
"Your not going anywhere without getting some clothes on first" I turned around and Neo was standing behind me, his arms crossed. I blushed and quickly got dressed, trailing after Rouge and Amy. When I got to them they were talking to Eggman in low whispers. I shrugged and walked over to them,
"So do any of you know where James might be?" I asked them. They all turned to me and shook their heads. I shrugged and decided I should have a little fun before I go on the search for James. I quietly crept into Mephiles' room and snuck up behind him, "Hello!" I giggled. Mephiles jumped a little and turned to me, obviously doing something he wasn't suppose to and no not something disgusting you perves out there,
"Oh hey Jenn…I was just umm…trying on some new products I umm…bought for you…" he blushed. I giggled and hugged him,
"You're so silly Mephiles…nice eyelids by the way…purple is your color" I smiled. He blushed more and hugged back,
"Do you wanna umm…give me a minute and I could get washed up and we could do something?" he smirked. I blushed a little and nodded,
"Sure…go ahead" I replied. He got up off the bed and went to the bathroom to get cleaned up and came back with sexy clothing on. I giggled,
"Aww your so cute Mephi…are those for me too?" I teased. I heard the door open and caught a glimpse of Neo at the corner of my eye,
"Hi Jenn I-" he stopped in mid sentence and I saw flames come from his eyes. I gulped and put my hands in front of me,
"It's not what it seems…nothing was happening…he was showing me…" but before I could finish, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Because of his strength, the door fell over and left him standing there glaring. When he tried to put the door back up, one of the walls gave in. He growled and continued to try, but every time the same thing happened. Let's just say there's no more GUN base in the East and everyone was out of a job. I sighed and picked up what was left of my stuff and headed out in the cold to find somewhere to work.
I eventually decided to go to the bar I always see James in. I walked over to the bar and sat down on the stool, putting my bag beside my stool and laid my head down on the bar. I looked over to the bar tender that was doing her usual tasks. I sighed and held up a hand,
"Can I get a strawberry daiquiri over here" I asked her. Almost immediately one appeared in front of me and I drank from it. "So…do you guys have any job openings?" I asked her. She completely ignored my question. I sighed and laid my head back down on the bar 'til she was done. I decided to go explore the bar to see if there was anything I could find. I found a door that led to a room, but before I could get to it I was stopped by the bar tender and decided to sit back down and wait for her to finish.
She was finally finished at 1 am in the morning. She sat down on the stool behind the counter, seeming to sigh in fatigue. I looked up and rubbed my eyes,
"You look like you need some help here…" I said to her. She shook her head,
"No I'm fine thank you" she assured me. I sighed and laid my head back down,
"Alright then…then there's probably no jobs for me here then…" I said to her. She stopped me,
"Actually" she said pointing over at a stage to my left, "You can perform there whenever you want. Any money you make, you keep" she said. I stared at her,
"You mean like…a stripper?" I asked her. She shrugged,
"Anything you think you can do to make money" she replied, stretching. I blushed and shook my head,
"No I'm ok…I don't think my body would be good enough to do that anyways" I sighed, lowering my head. I heard her giggle,
"Oh don't think that way. The guys who come in here are too drunk to tell the difference between a woman and a bottle" she assured me. I got up and walked over to the stage and touched the pole silently, then looked over at her. The girl looked around, "No one's here, give it a shot" she giggled. I blushed and did a few unmentionable things on the pole and felt weird doing it. When I was done I looked over at her. She was giggling, "You've never done anything like this before have you?" she put her hand over her mouth, "Are you a virgin?" she teased. I blushed a deep red and looked away,
"No" I said in kind of an offensive tone. She tilted her head,
"Then how did you entertain them when you did that?" she asked. I blushed,
"Well…I'd rather not talk about it" I blushed a deeper red. She giggled and waved a hand and gestured it was ok. I turned away and decided to practice a little more.
James' POV
I stretched, getting my clothes back on. I sighed looking over at the large cat as I approached the ground. This mysterious cat had taken out the mob that was chasing me and found me my gear and he was now flying me in a small escape pod back to the out skirts of the city. I thanked him again and I hopped down to hit the ground. Suddenly as I landed something hit me. I had never told him my name, yet he knew who I was. I thought some more and remembered what Strike had told me about Dr. Mecha. I turned and saw his ship disappear into the sky. I finally found Dr. Mecha and I let get away.
"Damn it…" I muttered. I sighed and headed back to my apartment. I sighed, then remembered how long I was gone and bolted for the room. When I opened the door I saw Rouge, Amy and Eggman all seeming to get ready for a big trip and I realized they were going to look for me. When I walked in their faces lit up.
"JAMES!!" they all roared at once. I sighed as Rouge and Amy tackled me and smothered me in hugs and kisses. After the little reunion Eggman stood up and cleared his throat.
"Well, as you have been found, I shall return to my base, now that GUN has been destroyed, I am free to resume my research, I discovered something called Extreme Gears and they've caught me interest" he explained. I nodded to him as he packed up his gear and headed out.
"I'll go get changed" Rouge giggled, that's when I noticed she was in a very revealing police outfit. I sighed as she left. I sat down on the coach. I looked up to see Amy walking over to me, looking a bit upset.
"What's wrong?" I asked her. She bit her lip.
"James…" she started "I… I have to tell you something" she cleared her throat looking up at me "I still have feelings for Sonic… I know I don't have a chance, but I still love him" she said. I smiled and got up hugging her.
"Then go to him dear Amy" I told her. She looked up me sweetly and pecked my cheek. She headed to the door and I realized her bags were packed beside the door. I waved her good-bye as she left.
"So she's gone?" Rouge asked walking in wearing her purple leather outfit.
"Ya…" I replied. She sighed and seemed to avoid eye contact with me.
"That means we're pretty much dating then, huh?" she asked. I nodded, seeming unsure. She took a deep breathe "James… I'm not sure I could go along with a real relationship, it was just a big game with Amy around, but if it's just you and me… I just can't…" she seemed to almost cry. It felt like me heart had just been torn out and crushed. I held back my tears and nodded to her.
"Alright, I understand…" I lied. She looked at me and kissed me softly.
"James… I'm so sorry" she said as she quickly rushed to our room door "Besides… we can't afford the place without Amy…" she tried to joke. She vanished into her room and I shut my eyes. My love was just a big game was it? Well I don't want to feel that kind of pain. Time I let myself restart, after all, unlike everyone else, I can. I quickly tore off my clothes and headed to the window. I opened it and stood on the railing. I put my arms out and nodded. I put one hand on my hip, grabbing at the patch, putting the box in my glove, my gloves and shoes were all I was taking with me.
"Good-bye, James the hedgehog" I announced as I let myself fall. I tore off the patch as I fell and felt my memories slowly slip away as I fell into a deep sleep.