Oi, hello again people. I had writer's block again...argh. Either way, I'm getting over it, so here's Chapter 6. Hooray!
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After paying the innkeeper for their room, the twins went out into the town to try and come up with a plan. They figured the walk would do them good, and they might possibly learn something about the castle. The twins soon learned that it was Market Day, so the streets were alive with vendors and shoppers. Even the lady whom they had attempted to rob before had a booth, offering luxorious jewlery.
"If we walked up to her stall and took a look at those gems, do you think she'd notice us?" Yume asked, eyeing the prizes from a distance.
"Sis, we have more important things on our mind than jewlery," Akumu pointed out. "We have to get to that castle, the sooner the better."
"Oh, I guess so," Yume replied, though she considered dropping by later if there was time. Suddenly, an echidna bumped into Akumu.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" The echidna yelled at them.
"Excuse me, but I believe you should watch where you're going!" Yume retorted. The echidna sneered at them before walking off.
"Something's missing," Akumu muttered, looking in his backpack. His eyes widened. "Yume, I think that kid stole the Chaos Emerald!"
"You're joking," Yume said. "No one would dare steal from us."
"It's not like he knows who we are," Akumu noted, "Or he wouldn't steal from us."
"Either way, that kid's gonna' feel sorry after we're through with him," Yume grabbed her brother by the wrist, and then broke into a run.
"There he is!" Akumu cried as Yume raced past. She did a u-turn, tackling the echidna theif to the ground.
"All right buddy, hand over the Chaos Emerald," Yume ordered. The echidna glared at her.
"No way," he said, "This is my emerald now. Finder keepers, losers weepers."
"Sorry bud, we don't play by those rules," Akumu declared. "Hand it over, or else."
"Or else what?" As soon as the theif said those words, Yume pinned him to the ground, stuffing her foot into his face.
"Or else you get a taste of my airshoes," She replied. The echidna was quiet. Akumu reached down to grab the emerald from his hand, and was punched in reply. In an instant, Yume activated the airshoes, the flames from the bottom melting his face.
"Sis, what are you doing?" Akumu asked, shicked at his sister for doing this.
"Hey, it's supposed to burn the fur, not melt it!" Yume explained as she removed her shoe. The echidna's face was gone, only melted gray metal and malfunctioning circuits.
"He was a...robot?" The twins asked at the same time. The bot was still, and all activity in the streets had stopped as all eyes fixed themselves onto the twins.
"Murderers!" Someone yelled. "They murdered Josh!"
"How could you be so heartless?" Another cried. "He was just a boy!"
"He was a robot, people!" Yume retorted. "He wasn't real, just a copy."
"Liar! Murderers!" The crowd began to chant these words over and over again, closing in on the twins. Akumu bent down, retrieving his emerald.
"Hurry up Akumu," Yume ordered. "Just grab it, and let's get out of here." The crowd was getting louder with their chants, and the kids were surrounded on all sides. Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard.
"Silence!" Everyone suddenly stopped. The twins looked around to see what was going on, as the crowd began to make way for someone. A light blue hedgehog in green robes stepped into the open space the crowd made. A figure stood behind him, but they couldn't tell what.
"Presenting our leader, Master Zynth!" he declared, as the crowd cheered. Out came the figure from behind the hedgehog, a black hedgie that looked like Shadow at first glance. A closer glance, however, showed that he was indeed someone else.Where Shadow's stripes were, Zynth had only an outline of the stripes. There were two blue marks under his eyes, deep crimson irises that were focused on the twins. After regarding them for a few minutes, he held his hand up to signal the crowd to be quiet, which they complied to do.
"So, you're Zynth?" Yume asked. He nodded.
"I am indeed," he replied. "And you are known as Yume. Your brother is Akumu." The twins gaped at him.
"How do you know our names?" Akumu asked. The black hedgehog shrugged.
"I have my ways." Zynth smirked in a fashion similiar to the twin's father. "Now, will you two be so kind as to explain to me what this is all about?" Something about the way he said those words made Yume's fur stand on end. He was calm, almost too calm, considering what was going on. All suspicions of Zynth possibly being their father disappeared, for there was no way Shadow could be that calm in the event of a murder.
"This echidna stole my Chaos Emerald," Akumu explained. "So my sister and I went after him to retrieve it. He wouldn't return it, so my sister threatened him. He still wouldn't give it back, so..."
"So they killed him!" cried a member of the crowd. More people began to agree, only to be silenced by Zynth once more.
"I didn't mean to kill him," Yume added. "My air shoes aren't supposed to burn through fur. Besides, he's a robot."
"And what is the difference between killing a robot, and killing an organic lifeform such as yourselves?" Zynth asked. Yume stared at him quizzitively.
"Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "Robots are just copies that are made to look like the real thing. There's no way they can live like one of us. Besides, if one dies, you can just make more of them in a factory." The crowd gasped at this reply, and even Zynth's servent seemed taken aback. Their leader, however, remained calm. Akumu thought he felt a small surge of energy at this comment, but the feeling soon went away.
"I see," Zynth replied. "So that is how you feel. We shall continue this conversation back in my citadel. Guards, take them away." Two guards, a bat and a fox, grabbed the twins by their shoulders, leading them away. Behind them, the crowd cheered at the prospect of the "murderers" being sent away.
"Well, isn't this a nice way to start our investigation?" Yume asked.
"Shh, keep quiet," Akumu ordered, gripping his Chaos Emerald.
"I'll be taking this," Zynth added, snatching away Akumu's emerald before he could do anything with it.
"Bastard," Yume muttered once he was out of earshot.
"Well, at least we'll be in the citadel," Akumu noted. "Maybe we can figure out where our parents are."
"I hope we can," Yume agreed. Without anything else to say, the twins continued to be marched to the looming citadel.
"And now," Zynth muttered to himself, "I have the Ultimate Lifeform's whole family."
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Okay, didn't see that coming, did you? If it's confusing at the moment, that is perfectly fine, it's supposed to. A bit of the stuff shall be explained next chapter. Until then, I'll be seeing you. Please tell me how I'm doing, alright? Thank you.