Hey there everybody! Summer is here for me and I'm so excited. I hope everyone's having fun. Here's the next chapter! Read and Review!
Chapter 31:Called out by the past
Flying overhead the dessert region
Here again we see the 5 assassins sent out by the G.U.N to stop Commander Smokestack's mission.
Rasshu; second in command of unit 7; has blond hair and a pink bandana on his head; blue eyes; His attire is a plain white suit.
Buru; Training instructor of unit 7; spiked black hair; Squinted eyes; Muscle bound; Attire consists of a black suit with golden spike straps around them with an unknown purpose.
Shoui; Business and paperwork handler of unit 7;The only woman; Eye patch on her right eye with the G.U.N symbol on it; Silver hair; Attire consists of a black and purple suit.
Mardo; Head of the security division of unit 7; Big and round with skinny legs; red hair; Attire consists of blue shorts with a Hawaiian t-shirt (Why he would wear such a thing while he had a cold and is on his way to an ice region is unknown)
Hato; First in command of Unit 7;Plain straight black hair; Tuxedo attire; Black eyes
Hato begins to eye their monitor after what seemed like an eternity of boredom. On the panel screen in front of him were two moving yellow dots on a green grid. The first one marked their ship. The second marked the ship of Smokestack's.
"Hmm… I'm thinking it be best if we ignite the rocket engines now." He spoke all the while not taking his focused eyes off the grid. His arms and legs were crossed and he didn't slump back at all in the chair as he spoke.
The silent Buru moved his pupils over to Hato for a split second then back at the window. It seemed as though he was about to speak, however, Rasshu spoke first.
"Yeah, Haha! I had a feeling you'd figure this irregularity out sooner or later Hato. I had a hunch something was up but I couldn't be too sure. Haha!"
Hato simply nodded as Buru reached for the lever and floored the ship they were in.
"HATO!! Why must little ship go… uhhh…?" Mardo began before losing his word placement again.
"Fast. The word you're looking for is fast. It would very much please the audience if the actors remembered their lines okay?" Shoui said speaking up after being unusually quiet for sometime.
"… Um… okay." Mardo seemed as though he didn't care.
"Hey Shoui, why must you always speak as if this is some fantasy play. This is real life you know. If it isn't real enough for you I could always kick you out. I bet the impact you feel when you hit bottom would probably be your first real impact! HAHA!" Rasshu laughed while Shoui simply scuffed.
"Yeah that's what she said you brain dead toothpick! An amateur actor like you doesn't deserve to be in such a highly anticipated play." Shoui remarked turning away from Rasshu.
"Oh please, your not going through your period again are you. That'd be the 7th time this week. Looks like your behind schedule. Haha!" Rasshu's remark didn't reach her ears however as she had completely blocked him from her train of thought.
Hato ignored his partners and stared at the monitor. Something was still wrong. They were moving faster but they hadn't reached Smokestack's ship yet. Since they were riding in a special model with a rare turbo speed module that G.U.N rarely used they should've caught up with him by now.
"Hmm… it would seem an unnatural deity has interfered with our mission… interesting."
In Smoke's ship
"Hey bat! Get up!" Smoke shouted as he pressed buttons on his console. Rouge had been asleep and woke up to see a frustrated and angered Smokestack.
"Yeah so what else is new…? Wait a minute… are we still flying? Why aren't we at least in the Ice Region yet? All I see is sand down there." Rouge looked out the window and let her sweat drop. If she had known it was going to take this long to reach the Ice Region she would've started her hunt for the emeralds a long time ago before they got out so far.
Big and Froggy were a bit confused as well. It didn't seem at all natural for them to not be there yet. Due to them speculating about this subject they were both surprised to see a small black sparkle floating outside the window. Suddenly they both felt cold.
"Uh… Rouge…Smoke… take a look at this thing." Big tapped both their shoulders and pointed to the small sparkle. Suddenly more came and floated by the window. As they did the sky around them grew dark and the ship began to take on turbulence.
Smoke gritted his teeth and pressed a button on the ships panel. Immediately the top hatch of the ship opened up and, without saying anything to the confused bat and cat, jumped out and on top of the ship. He then closed the hatch with his boot.
"Why'd he do that?" Big asked.
"He has his reasons. Right now I think I'd better take control of this thing before we crash." Rouge said as she crawled up in front.
Outside Smoke was looking intently at the now darkened sky. It was beyond stupid that a storm would just come out of nowhere like this. Not to mention the violet sparkles that were floating by were completely unnatural. It wasn't until Smoke saw the clouds spiraling apart that he knew what was going on.
Apparently he wasn't able to figure it out soon enough as a huge blast of black smoke shot down at Smoke and slammed against his ship with full force. The turbulence it caused made the three people inside the ship flip backwards.
"What the heck was that?" Rouge looked at the windows and saw them overshadowed by a black fog. "Well then… I'd saw this was pretty unnatural weather we're having but I guess it sort of goes without saying."
Meanwhile Smoke stood on top of the ship with his fists clenched and his teeth grinding against each other so hard they could've cracked if they weren't made of smoke.
An all to familiar figure materialized in front of him holding something grotesque.
"Darkness. Damn you…"
"Hello Smokestack. Glad I caught up with you. Would you like some?" Darkness asked holding up the grotesque item, which turned out to be a decapitated horse head.
"…You…sick bastard… did you actually?"
"Nope. Come on, you know me better than that. It was just a joke. I killed the horse and took its head to show. I thought it'd be appropriate to make a clownish entrance. Lighten up would ya?" Darkness said as he through the head off the ship.
Smoke straightened up and kept clenching his fists.
"You've got one twisted sense of humor."
"So I've been told. But despite you not liking my humorous greeting we've got matters to discuss." Darkness said putting his hands behind his back and walking back and forth on the ship.
Smoke stayed quiet while watching Darkness passé across the ship. The way he did it was so maddening. He was so calm. It was as if he didn't consider him a threat. It was extremly disrespectful.
"You see the time draws near when the fox is too reach the point of his awakening. And it would seem that you still haven't given up your ridiculous resolve to destroy him. At first I let it pass because I considered your efforts laughable. After all only fools try their hand at fate."
Smoke remained quiet.
"However, after the events that have transpired it would seem that perhaps I've been to careless in letting you progress like this. Things are happening that shouldn't be. Events that weren't predicted are taking place such as the arrival of 5 assassins sent here by your childish army. If something like this could happen it's pretty much guarantied that something else might happen that originally wasn't in my plans."
"… Really… how sad for you…"
"Yes well, I feel no emotion except for all the bad ones. However, I do grow tired of your idiotic prattling. It was amusing at first but…"
"Shut your mouth! How dare you refer the avenging of my clan as amusement! Especially if it's something that amuses a twisted guy like you!"
"Oh yes… that clan. The Diox Clan was it not. I wonder how well it's prospering." Darkness said while fiddling with his fingers.
Smoke was about to lose it when he said that. Not only was his clan not prospering but also they had been completely obliterated and Darkness knew that! He was playing with him!
"Well I don't care. The point is that your services are no longer required. You've done your part and to be completely honest… you've stayed alive a lot longer than you should have."
"What makes you say that?"
"Remember our alliance Smoke… the one you, me, Dr. Eggman, and Bear Mayor made? The alliance that was officially broken when you decided to murder Bear Mayor. Remember?"
"… Yeah I remember."
"Well then you should realize where I'm going with this. It was every man for himself after that. We were each free to manipulate each other in any way possible in hopes of reaching our own goals. Ticking each other off, obliterating the allies of the other, and even killing our own if it were necessary. Eventually it would prove that the man with the strongest ambition would last the longest. Bear Mayor died almost immediately because of that. His ambition was to simply watch as people picked on the little fox and dispose of him when he saw no entertainment in it for him."
"Yeah he was a idiotic douche wasn't he?" Smoke straightened up not taking his eye of the cloaked schemer for a second.
"I don't consider him any more or less of a nuisance than you. Your idiotic venturing around this place is not only leading you nowhere but it lead you straight into a fix no one can get out off once involved. Your resolve to avenge your clan is stupid and it will not prosper. Despite the fact that your plans are doomed to fail I cannot let you continue. For if I do you prattling may cause something unpredicted to happen again. I'd much rather do things by the book. That's the kind of guy I am."
Smoke snorted and pulled back his fists. Smoke already started to accumulate in them.
"You done talking yet. It's more than clear what you came here to do to me."
"Oh, if it's that clear then I guess we can finally skip the formalities." Darkness raised one smoking black hand and slammed it of the top of Smoke's ship. Seconds later darkness started to spread from his hand and flow all across the ship.
Inside the ship Rouge noticed the controls breaking off and the seats started to rip apart. It certainly wasn't anything natural.
"What! The whole ships coming apart!" Rouge shouted trying to make sure her chaos emerald was with her.
"Hey stop it! I thought you here to simply destroy me!" Smoke shouted at the shrouded maniac as the ship began to come apart.
"Why don't you stop it? This is war, remember!" Darkness shouted while increasing his pressure. Dark smoke shot out of the ship and ripped through the metal. It engulfed Smoke and the three animals inside of it.
Eventually the dark powers flowing inside of it overflowed and blew the ship to pieces. Rouge, Big, and Froggy began their descend toward the planet. Smoke tried to extend his smoke outward to catch them but the dark smog emitting from Darkness swallowed it up and started to surround itself around the Commander.
Smoke could no longer see Darkness but he could clearly hear his annoying voice.
"Have you ever heard the phrase 'surrender yourself to the darkness' before?" He asked with a mocking tone.
"DAMN YOU!! Let me go! I haven't come this far so I could die by your hand! If I die I'll die by three hands only, natural death, the fox, or myself! You have absolutely nothing to do with my mission!"
"Oh don't I?"
"NO!! YOU DON'T!!" Smoke shouted as he let his power explode. With one quick power thrust he flung the darkness that was around him off and used his smoke to shoot himself downward. He eventually made his way down into the regular fresh air and saw that he was now in the ice region.
He flipped his body over so that his feet faced the ground and landed in snow perfectly. After about a minute of looking around he stood up straight and looked around again. His speculation was right.
He didn't know his exact location.
"Those three aren't here either are they?" Smoke said knowing that he was on his own now. "Damn. Guess I've got no choice, do I?" The commander looked at his watch and pressed a small button on it. A small compass slide over the clock in his watch and showed him which way was North.
"… Okay… So I have to go that way huh? Hopefully the fox is there too." Smoke took two steps forward before stopping and looking up at the sky. There wasn't a single trace of Darkness there. It was as if he hadn't shown himself at all.
"Pff! I hate it when nature does annoying crap like that." He said as he continued he trek across the snow.
Meanwhile a ship flying overhead was now entering the Ice Region as well
Hato looked at the green grid and noticed the yellow dot they were chasing just disappeared.
"Hmm?" Hato noticed it stopped as soon as it entered the Ice Region. "Which means we're right on top of him!" Hato pressed a button on the ship's console and it began to slow down.
"Hmm? What are you doing Hato?" Rasshu asked while raising an eyebrow.
"It would seem we suddenly ended up right on top of Smokestack. We're landing here."
"Cool, Hawaiian snow for everybody!" Mardo said while sneezing soon afterward.
"Yeah sure. We need to make sure all the other G.U.N troops are prepared too. This fun little war is finally about to reach it's climax!" Hato said while sneering
Meanwhile halfway through the Dessert Region
"I don't believe this! How many freaking people are here anyway!" Eggman shouted angrily as he rode his eggmobile through the skies. He had to leave Sonic and Strobe's fight early because his beckon picked up many G.U.N ships heading inside 3-way-villa.
"They must've followed me here after I declared war on them. Out of all the times for this to happen! It would've been no problem if 4 of my 6 commanders hadn't died on me. What's worse is that the other two, Hang Nail and Metal Sonic, are clearly rebellious! I didn't get to see who won Sonic's fight but from the looks of things when I left Sonic was obviously going to come out on top again!"
Eggman picked up and small signal from Bocoe and Decoe. They were already in Coordinates 000 so they could pick up on who was heading there. Apparently the fox was getting closer to them as he spoke. Eggman had to smile at this.
"Heh Heh! Fine! If G.U.N wants a war… THEY'VE GOT A WAR!!"
Near the end of the Dessert Region
Knuckles and Amy make their way to the end of the Dessert Region after what seemed like an eternity.
"Finally! I can see the Ice Region's mountains." Knuckles said as he began to pick up his passé.
"W-wait for me Knuckles. The air is getting a bit cooler but I'm still tired from all the running." Amy pouted.
"I thought you said you were an abundance of countless energy Miss Marry Sonic!"
"I do have a lot of energy but I'm still a regular person! I'm not made of bricks like you Knuckles! Oh and I will marry Sonic! You'll see!"
"Yeah sure." Knuckles kept walking until he saw something strange up ahead. "Hmm? What's that?"
"Sand probably. It's always sand out here." Amy guessed.
"No, it looks like… a ship… someone must've crashed." Knuckles quickly ran toward the wreckage and spotted a white bat sitting on the ground rubbing her head.
"Sheesh! Can't I go one place without someone blowing something up in my presence." Rouge sat there and complained. She took out her purple emerald and wiped the sand off of it, wanting it to be as spick and span as possible.
"Hey you!" Knuckles shouted as he ran up to her. Rouge looked annoyed and immediately looked up to scold whoever it was that called her but stopped when she saw his face.
"What are doing with a chaos emerald?" Knuckles asked her as he knew that both him and Amy possessed the green and light blue one already.
Rouge stared at Knuckles' face and explored his features.
'Wow. Crash in the middle of a desert and meet the hunk of the century. Not a bad deal. He looks a lot better the Gel That's for sure.' Rouge paid no mind to his shouting.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Knuckles yelled getting angry at her lack of response.
Rouge quickly stood up and grabbed Knuckles' hand. This took the echidna by surprise.
"Amazing. You're hands are so tough and hard. They look like they could break stone. Oh yeah! This is what I was looking for!" She blurted out loud not minding the confused echidna.
"… Do you have some sort of problem lady?" Knuckles asked. Rouge chuckled at that statement and let go of his hand.
"My name is Rouge the Bat, okay slugger. Just call me Rouge."
"Uhhhhh Okay." Knuckles simply responded. About a second later Amy showed up.
"You're way too fast Knuckles!" Amy panted. Rouge got one look at her and was confused.
"That your girlfriend?" Rouge asked causing Knuckles to flip out.
"WHAT!? HER!? MY GIRLFRIEND!? THAT'S JUST SICK!?" Knuckles shouted in defense. It was enough to convince Rouge. It convinced her even more when Amy brought down her hammer down on Knuckles' head.
"What's so sick about being my boyfriend Knux! I'd make anyone happy especially my Sonic! Hmph!"
"D-damn you. That hurt you know!" Knuckles said while rubbing his head.
"Knux? That's your name?"
"A-actually it's Knuckles… the Echidna. YOU can just call me Knuckles. The whinny little bitch beside me is Amy."
"Sticks and Stones Knux!" Amy said with her arms crossed. She then immediately walked in front of both of them and made her way toward the end of the region.
"Hmm, what an interesting team you two make. I do believe my luck is about to change." Rouge said as she followed the girl. Knuckles got up and walked after her. He still wished to know why she had an emerald but decided not to ask it. After all what was important was actually getting them all together.
Ice Region Center
"Are you sure you don't need some help Tails?" Espio asked in a worried tone as he carried the injured and tired Charmy Bee on his back.
"I'm fine Espio, really? You don't need to worry about me." Tails continued to walk forward on his tired legs. In reality he didn't want to keep going like this but he knew he had too. The reason everyone was here was because of him after all. He didn't understand why though.
What could've happened in the past to cause all this? Why does everyone want him dead? He was only four! He surely couldn't have been that important.
"Hey, something's up ahead." Espio said all of a sudden. Tails looked up and realized that Espio was right. A figure was walking toward them. It was slow and obviously limping.
"Who-who is that?" Tails said as he continued to look on.
Ice Region Starting Point
The G.U.N ship carrying the 5 assassins landed at the start of the Ice Region. Soon after about 50 smaller ships landed beside them. Every soldier stepped out with their guns in hand and stood completely alert.
Hato and the other four assassins walked around the snow as a means of deducing the amount of snow that had been accumulated in the region. When they were done they stood in a straight line and looked at the G.U.N troops with serious looks.
"All right. We're about to inform you all about how this mission is to be carried out. Listen carefully because I do not repeat myself. If anyone asks me too I won't hesitate to kill them. If anyone does anything that isn't by our orders they will die as well." Hato explained in a straightforward manner.
The soldiers flinched at Hato's scary demeanor. The way he could just stand there with a clear face and say they will all die if even one thing doesn't go by the book was downright scary.
"This is how it is to be done. Rasshu and his unit will head off toward the Dessert Region to completely surround the entrance from there into the Ice Region. The entrance is long so soldiers will be lined up at the exact line that separates both regions. People could try to come in at any location on that line. Stay alert at all costs." Hato explained.
"Figures I get the boring job." Rasshu complained as he crossed his arms. Hato ignored his statement and continued.
"Mardo and I will stay here with our share of you solders to make sure the Ice Region is rid of the pests that are undoubtedly here. Once we find Smokestack we'll detain him."
"Okay Hato but I want a snow cone afterward. AAAAAAAACHOOOO!!" Mardo sneezed again, wiped his nose, then took out an ice pack and tied it around his forehead.
"This feels nice and warm." He said as he wiped his hands over his Hawaiian t-shirt.
Hato's sweat dropped but he kept his focused demeanor on.
"Buru and Shoui will take their ships and head DIRECTLY to Coordinates 000. Of coarse a share of G.U.N troops will be helping them." Hato explained.
"Ah, a worthy partner. That's good. The stars of the show can't be mediocre pussies like Rasshu." Shoui said laughing. Rasshu flipped when he heard that.
"AT LEAST I HAVE A PUSSY DAMNIT!! INCONCEVABLE BITCH!! I'LL HARPON YOUR EYES OUT!!" Rasshu shouted. Shoui simply laughed at this.
"Enough! We're beginning now. Does anyone have any questions?" Hato asked. One of the soldiers raised his hand. Hato quickly took out his pistol and shot the soldier in the brain. He fell to the ground as he died instantly.
"Impressive. Only one raised their hand. That was a test. It seems we really were given a good batch of soldiers."
Hato didn't notice it but every soldier's heart skipped a beat when the gun went off.
"All right. We have our missions Let's get to it." Hato finished. Rasshu quickly jumped into action.
"Heh Heh! No problem! With my speed coming close to that hedgehog's speed I'll be back at the Dessert Region in a flash! Hope you soldiers can keep up!" Rasshu immediately took off after that leaving the other soldiers to take their ships.
Buru and Shoui ran to their ships and took off for Coordinates 000 with their share of soldiers. Hato and Mardo turned to their share of soldiers and motioned for them to move on.
"Leave your ships behind and embrace the cold air. If you cannot bare it speak now and I'll let you go back."
No one said anything.
"Good. That was another test. If any of you had spoken one word without my permission I would've literally ripped your brains out and teared them to pieces." Hato said as he began to walk.
"It's true. I've seen him do it before. It was cool!" Mardo said as he continued on. The look on the soldier's faces clearly showed that they didn't think it was cool.
Dessert Region Starting Point
Sonic zoomed out of the Green Hill Region and finally made his way into the Dessert Region. He had to catch up to Tails as soon as he possibly could. He now had two promises to keep. The one he made to Strobe and the one he made to his little brother.
"Come on feet! Go faster!" Sonic sped across the dessert hoping that he wasn't too late.
Dessert Region Close to Ending Point
"Wow, sounds like living on that island must be boring." Rouge said in response to Knuckles' explanation.
"Yeah… I get decent reception up there though. If only I had cable damnit!" Knuckles shouted.
"Oh yeah, that's certainly what you need. T.V rots your brain you know." Amy said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"…Guess so… Hey what's that?" Knuckles saw something heading toward there location at an incredible passé. They didn't have time to question what it was again before in stopped in front of them and dusted off the bottom of it's shoes.
"Hello there! You must be Smokestack's accomplice." Rasshu said with a cheerful friendly smile on his face. He had gotten there surprisingly quick.
Rouge looked up at the assassin and squinted her eyes as if she was reading him. The way he ran here reminded her of Sonic. Who was this weirdo?
"And you would be?" Rouge said in an annoyed tone. She was trying to get to know her new interesting red friend here.
"Oh! My apologies! I'm Rasshu! I'm second in command of Unit 7 of the G.U.N."
"What? But that's an assassination unit!" Rouge shouted obviously shocked.
"Why yes it is." Rasshu answered with his still cheerful smile on.
"Why are you here! Were you the ones who made Smoke's ship crash?" Rouge flew up to meet Rasshu's face. The assassin simply chuckled.
"Could be. I don't know. All I know is that while we were tailing your ship it suddenly disappeared from our beckon. We decided to land and guess who I ran into. An interesting bat character. You don't have anything of value on you, do you?" Rasshu asked.
Rouge was about to respond to that when Knuckles butted in.
"Look, I don't know what's going on and I don't care. Frankly I don't trust either of you two if you're with the government. Those G.U.N geeks held me and Amy up a lot when we were doing our research and I don't appreciate them holding us up now." Knuckles said as he walked past the two of them with Amy following.
Rasshu raised his eyebrow at Knuckles then spoke.
"You look pretty messed up there buddy. You get into an accident or something?" Rasshu asked as he turned his body completely toward the echidna.
"…A fight… for a friend… a fox with two tails. I've gotta go. Come on Amy." Knuckles said as he started up again.
Rasshu stayed quiet for about another minute before he spoke again.
"A two-tailed fox… I see…"
Suddenly a rush of wind went by Knuckles and before he knew it he was face first in the sand with a smoking boot on his head. The echidna was confused as to how such a shift in position could happen so fast until he looked up and saw Rasshu and his boots. There was smoke coming from the bottom of their soles.
'This guy is fast' Knuckles thought.
"A friend of the fox we were sent here to kill eh?" Rasshu said in a silent tone. Knuckles and Amy freaked when they heard that.
"You've come to kill-" Amy began before Rasshu shushed her.
"Please don't talk. I'd like to get this all over with. You're all coming with me, conscious or not."
Ice region near ending point
Tails walked faster and faster as he slowly begins to realize the shadowy figure he and his company have spotted was in fact a person. Not just a person but a little boy at that.
When Tails had fully caught up to him he immediately bent down to face him and see if he was all right or at the very least alive! The clothes this kid wore were defindently not well suited for this kind of weather!
"Hey! Are you okay! Get up or you'll freeze!" Tails said lifting the boy's upper half into his arms not even aware of Espio and Charmy's presence behind him.
The little boy had his eyes closed but they soon began to flicker open again. It was possible that hearing another kind voice again after such a long while triggered it but that was not the issue here.
"It's a kid. What's he doing here especially when he's dressed like that?" Espio asked to no one in particular. Apparently ninjas were like that.
"Who are you?" Tails asked in a silent but warm voice. It was very welcome to the child for he would prefer anything warm to this frozen over hell.
"I…my name… I forgot…" The kid squeaked. He sounded very tired. If Tails didn't know any better he'd say the kids lungs were frozen.
"You forgot your name?" Tails wasn't sure if he really did of if he was just delirious.
"I…my name… my name is Shimon… but… it's not important…" The kid spoke as if he had no desire to carry on anymore. "… Are you… is your name… two-tail…?"
"T-Two tail?" Tails asked now in a confused state. There were only a few people in the world that called him that and none of them should be alive. Could this boy be someone who survived? All of a sudden Tails didn't feel like helping him but knew he'd feel guilty if he didn't.
"Yeah… that's what… he said… your name was…" Shimon said slowly followed by a cough. Tails' eyes bugged out.
"H-he?" Tails was confused again. If it wasn't him then who told this boy his old taunt name. Tails looked the kid over and saw claw marks all over his body. Ice crystals filled them in and obviously caused the poor kid amazing discomfort.
Tails couldn't believe how injured this kid looked. On top that he looked near frozen and he was wearing summer clothes in a clearly winter environment.
"Why are you dressed like that? What are you doing out here like this?" Espio asked in an almost scolding tone. This kid should've known better than to go out in weather like this dressed like that.
"I… live in the… Green Hill region… but… I was… taken here… against my own will…"
"By who? Who did this to you?" Tails asked almost getting ready to shout. He started to fear the worst had happened. He wanted to leave his horrible past behind but this awful situation just wouldn't allow him to forget!
Tails didn't notice it but his palms were sweaty despite the cold weather and the fact that their only protection were thin white gloves. His heart would've beated out of his chest if he weren't positive that it was frozen by now.
What he was suspecting just couldn't be true! Maybe he was jumping to conclusions! It could've just been someone who saw his two tails and misinformed Shimon! As much as Tails wished that were true his incredible deductive reasoning kept telling him the opposite.
"Please… just tell me… who did this to you?" Tails asked again a little quieter then before. Shimon finally spoke up.
"He… told me… to give you a message… he said… he said he is waiting… waiting for you at… at coordinates 000… He said he wants… a re-match with you… he told me to… tell you… that… he wanted to kill you… for his… friends sake…"
"WHO told you that? WHO is he?"
"My memory… it's a little fuzzy… but I think I…He's… his name… he told me to call him… Commander…"
"C-Commander? Commander who?"
"Commander… Hang… Nail…"
Tails heart just about stopped. He almost fell backward and fainted from the shock. It wasn't fair. This couldn't happen. After an extremely long early childhood life of torture he finally thought he could get away from such trouble.
It almost seemed like he attracted all this pain and suffering. Were the small and helpless really such tempting targets to the world? Maybe that's just how he was born.
Tails didn't want to think about this anymore. He didn't want to do anything anymore. But for some reason just looking at what Hang Nail did to Shimon angered him to no end. Hang Nail was a bully all right but he was only supposed to bully freaks like him. This kid was ordinary and he doesn't look like he did anything wrong! And what does Commander have to do with him?
Suddenly realization came to Tails so fast it would've left a scorch mark in his brain.
"Hang Nail… works for Eggman now doesn't he?" Tails asked in a small shocked voice. He didn't notice it but he was clenching his fists really tight.
"Y-yes…" Shimon answered ever so slowly.
"He… he actually… joined up with that mean egg guy after he killed his bully friends! How… could he… how could anyone…?" Tails was clenching his fists so hard that they would've caused his hands to bleed if he weren't wearing gloves.
What Hang Nail was doing strayed way past mere bullying. He wasn't even teetering on borderline evil. He WAS evil.
"…Did… did he want me to come by myself?" Tails asked with angry tears in his eyes. Shimon noticed them and harbored a confused look on his face but answered the little fox's question never the less.
"Y-yeah… he said… it was supposed to be… an honorable one-on-one match…" Shimon said while coughing again. Tails nodded and looked out into the snow.
It was obvious that Hang Nail was still an ingenious liar. One look at Shimon would tell anyone that there was nothing honorable about this.
Tails looked down at Shimon and could tell he didn't want to answer any more questions. He obvious wanted to get someplace warm and go to sleep. However, Tails had one more question to ask.
"How far did you have to walk…?"
"…N-not too far… you should be able… to get there from here… by foot… but… he's dangerous… he's…"
"It's okay… you don't have to talk anymore if you don't want to…I'm going." Tails said as he handed Shimon over to Espio. "Could you do whatever you can to warm him up? He looks like he feels really bad.
Espio took Shimon in his hands and then looked straight at Tails. After serious interrogation with his eyes he finally spoke.
"Tails… as a ninja… I'm all for honor… but… after your fight with Karst you seem pretty banged up. I frankly think it's a miracle a kid your age is still conscious. Are you sure you wish to go on your own?" Espio said not budging an inch. It was clear from his posture that he was ready to allow Tails to do anything he thought was right.
Tails looked at Espio straight in the eyes and nodded. In response Espio sighed then smiled lightly.
"All right if you honestly believe you can handle it then go. I won't try to stop you." The chameleon was impressed with the fox's bravery.
"Thank you Espio… really…" Tails said quietly before turning around and running toward the direction Shimon came from.
Espio hadn't realized it but the snow had stopped falling a while ago. It was silent now. He looked on and eventually saw Tails disappear in the distance. He sighed once more and backtracked his steps all the way back to the cave with Charmy on his back and Shimon in his hands.
"I swear I'm like a traveling daycare center…" He mumbled while still smiling in contempt to himself.
Meanwhile hiding behind a rock near the scene
Big and Froggy sat there feeling relieved that they were alive. It had to be luck but they didn't dwell on it. They had just spotted the fox Smoke was after.
"I should probably call that Smoke guy." Big deduced as he pulled out his communicator. He pressed the ON button but it didn't turn on. It figures. If both Big and Froggy survived the crash it would've been a downright miracle if all their technology did as well.
"Guess we're gonna have to get the info to him some other way huh Froggy?"
"Ribbit!" The frog croaked signaled a yes and they both continued to sit there and think of their options.
Ice Region starting point
Sonic had finally reached the line between the Dessert Region and the Ice Region. Just a few more steps and he'd be there!
However when he saw the line he was greeted by G.U.N soldiers with their guns pointed at him.
"Hey! Is that Sonic?" One solider asked.
"It doesn't matter who it is! We can't allow anyone past this line or Hato will kill us! Fire everyone Fire!" Another soldier shouted. They all agreed, took aim and fired at the hedgehog.
Sonic would've made some joke if this was any other situation but by the look on his face he sure as hell wasn't in a joking mood. As soon as they fired he dodged left, right, up, and down until he made his way toward them.
He didn't even care if they moved or not. He proved that by bowling over two of the soldiers in his way and entering the Ice Region.
It instantly grew cold and he could feel his feet sink into the snow with each step he took. He kept running however and didn't dare to look back. That's when he met the wall, the ice wall!
Sonic stopped dead in his slowly disappearing tracks and stared at the huge wall of ice in front of him. He could've spun into a ball and slammed through it but that would probably cause him more bad then good. He didn't need a mountain of humongous ice cubes raining on him.
"Damn! I'm gonna have to go around!" Sonic picked up his feet and was ready to move when a familiar voice stopped him.
"Hold it hedgehog!"
Sonic stopped and for the first time turned back to see someone he hadn't expected to see in a place like this.
"You… I remember you… what are you doing here?" Sonic asked in a surprised tone as the person he addressed walked toward him with a huge grin plastered on his face.
"Oh you know. I'm just here to help. After all you helped me out and I don't like not repaying debts. I'll blow a hole through this ice real quick. It may get a little wet but nothing destructive will happen." He said confidently while pulling back his breath then releasing it sending out a huge gust of fire through the wall of ice and making a big enough passage for them both to get through.
"Wow! Nice work! I really appreciate your help!" Sonic said in astonishment.
"Ah don't worry about it! This mission is completely free of charge considering the circumstances. Don't worry about a thing because the great detective Vector is on the case!"
And with that Sonic and Vector headed out together.
Thank You! Thank you everyone for reading this long chapter! Sorry it took a little while longer to get this one up. Review please and the next one will be up in a while.