Chapter 13- The Surf
"Thank you very much! I'll be here all week!" I called, setting the microphone back on the stand as I walked off the stage. Once out of the multi-colored lights I placed my hands over my eyes and sat down on a chair a few feet away from the curtain.
"You haven't been performing to your full potential, Charolette."
"Mogul. What a pleasant surprise." I said, leaning back.
"Don't get snippy with me." The mammoth spoke, placing both hands on his ornate cane. "Why haven't you been doing your job?"
"Well I don't know. Maybe if I didn't have this frackin' tracer in my arm I'd be a little happier and might actually smile more on stage." I said, motioning to my forearm.
The electric blue material from my shirt drew eyes up towards my face, which was strewn with glitter and make-up of all colors of the rainbow, but it could not deceive my own eyes which had seen without lights the imperfections of my body.
A slight bump, hardly noticeable unless at a certain angle, rested underneath my skin. I'd touched it once before, and that only time I ever did. A metal tracker-at least, that's what I thought it to be- made it's home in the sinews and muscles on my person.
I don't know how Mogul could think I'd perform better knowing this.
"Well, if you'd actually do your job instead of trying to escape every five minutes I wouldn't have had to put it in." He returned.
"Well, if you'd let me return home I wouldn't have to try to escape! Anyway, it's not as much fun performing for a crowd that gets incoherent after a minute of singing."
I crossed my arms.
I still couldn't control how much energy I took from people. Most of the time it depended on the tempo of the song, but that fluctuated constantly. And it didn't matter in the end anyway. All the energy I got from the crowd Mogul took to power the Casino.
He did it first for the fact that it was cheap, and second for the fact that he didn't want me blowing a hole through the wall again. Let's just say the first attempt at escape didn't end as well as I would've hoped.
"That's business." He said with a slight grin.
Out of the corner of my eyes I saw movement and reached out my hand as Naugus jumped up. A short blast of energy -in the midst of transferring to the main generator- blasted his face, and he leapt away, rubbing his cheek against his arm like a monkey.
The partially bald one horned creature glared at me with yellow eyes, saliva dripping down the side of his mouth. Ratted purple rags adorned his person, with long sharp claws protruding from the sleeves.
Mogul's little pet freaked me out if anything. And it wasn't cool with me that he constantly tried to come near me. His eyes, though filled with incoherent thoughts, still retained some sort of hibernating intelligence. It was the intelligence that freaked me out. He always found me when I was transferring the Chaos energy.
Mogul hit his humanoid pet with his cane with a hiss in response.
"Stop it, Naugus. Charolette is our guest and you must be polite."
"Easy for you to say." I mumbled under my breath, placing my chin in the palm of my hand.
"Besides your lack of performance, I wanted to let you know that I am having a friend of mine over for a meeting this evening, and I want you in attendance."
"What sort of deal is this now? Energy? Emeralds? A bomb?" I asked, rolling my eyes.
"Potential." He answered shortly. Unusual for him. "Only potential business. It all depends on how well he can work his words."
He began to walk away.
"So, when will he be arriving?"
"Shortly."
"Should I change?"
"No."
The stage door leading out the main floor of the casino closed and I was left alone.
"Freakin' elephant." I cursed, getting out of my transfer seat to walk around. It had been almost three months since I was traded to Mogul from the "Suppression Squad" as the papers where now calling them. I'd been following them in the newspapers the casino gets daily, and let me say they've drastically changed management.
Apparently, according to the press, Finitevus got involved in this revival of an ancient being and disappeared shortly after that. A guy named "Enerjak", or something to that strange nature, was resurrected on a place called Angel Island and released onto the planet of Mobius. It was in the edition that showed the destruction caused that I got my first glimpse of the Sonic the Hedgehog Scourge seemed so Hell bent on destroying.
He looked pathetic.
Nothing special about him.
I was very unimpressed.
More so for the fact that someone of Scourge's stature was intimidated by that little blue pipsqueak.
But, that little blue pipsqueak managed to get involved in some pretty big stuff during the course of my stay.
He overthrew this crime lord -of sorts- named "Eggman". The name had been mentioned to me before by Mogul in passing and not in a good light… But, I suppose he was trying to destroy this planet "Mobius", and Sonic finally broke him. Pretty big thing but it paled as soon as the Iron Dominion came into the picture. There was a huge ordeal made over this Iron Queen and ruling Mobius, and in clear predictability, Sonic took her down as well.
Honestly, I don't know why the papers even bother to cover the story since they know it'll be taken care of...
But, wars were being waged outside. And there was nothing I could do. Mogul wouldn't let me leave, and my only hope was that the "Suppression Squad" would come back for me because they realized my potential as an ally. That sort of thinking got dashed quickly, though.
Hit men came to the casino for either drinks or business and I would get to talk to them about what was going on outside. There was one in particular, Nak, who took a liking to me and gave me information on the Squad's actions. Normally, Sonic made the headlines so any actions made by the squad were overlooked.. There was never enough information to satisfy my curiosity of their progress and general well-being. Nak was able to tell me all the parts that I'd missed during my imprisonment.
For example, there was one point in time where Scourge tried to take over Mobius! Shortly after they got rid of me if I might add, and the newspapers printed nothing about it! The Squad had dropped the Doctor at that point and acted solely on Scourge's ambitions and Miles' intelligence. Not that that surprised me much. None of the others had the drive to lead a group. They were all followers.
Nak had been able to dig up information for me concerning the outcome of this little escapade.
Failure.
Scourge lost to Sonic largely in part that the Anarchy Beryl didn't match the power of the Chaos Emerald Sonic had used.
I told them. I told them that day in the lab that the power of the Emeralds outshone the Anarchy Beryl tenfold.
I wondered often if Scourge would've prevailed if he had me there….
But, there was one other item of interest Nak uncovered. Something that continued to give me hope for escape.
The Star Rods. I'd seen them back in Finitevus' lab, but I had no idea what they were used for. Yeah, we'd use them every single day to get me to the casino, but I had no idea they could also get me to different planes! And, I guess, if I got enough power to charge it, I could somehow get back to Earth.
Not that I had any idea on how to do that, but I'm sure I could find SOMEONE who would know what to do.
But, until that happened, I was stuck at the casino. Singing for Mogul.
"Screw this, I'm outta here." I said, walking towards the door myself. Sure, I was supposed to go back on in five minutes… but did I care was the question.
Walking out, the smell of cigarette smoke and boos flew into my nostrils with an overwhelming presence. I placed my hand over my nose and walked over towards the bar where a pair of robots and my favorite informant waited patiently. I grinned to myself and walked faster.
"Evening." Nak greeted, doffing his boony hat to me. I nodded to him and sat down.
"You as well." I said, before turning to the robot behind the bar. "Grounder, get me an iced tea please?"
"Sure thing, Miss Charolette!" The robot wearing the chef's hat smiled and scurried off –or however a robot scurries- to fetch my drink.
"And Coconuts, how are you?" I asked, turning slightly to face the robotic monkey at the seat on my other side.
He sighed and glared at me.
"No better than I was before, Miss Charolette." He replied.
"Well, don't sound so optimistic about it." I said, swerving back to the purple weasel. "And what brings you here tonight? Not that I don't mind the unexpected visit."
He grinned as snaggle tooth grin and took a sip of his vodka and tonic.
"Pleasure." He said. "I got a pay raise for getting my last job done so nice, so I thought, why not get nice and go to the casino? You sang nice by the way. Never heard ya before."
"Don't do it too often." I said, grabbing the glass passed over the counter. Slowly, I took a sip of my tea. Just like home.
"Oh? Why's that? You gonna get embarrassed?"
"No. But you may fall into a sort of drunken stupor and help pay for the casino's energy bill if you do."
"Understood." He said, quirking an eyebrow and taking another sip of his drink.
"So, do you have any news?" I asked, looking out over the casino, trying to not act too excited.
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Unless someone can tell me what slots to play?" He asked, looking between me and the two robots present.
Grounder shrugged and Coconuts sighed.
"Slot 19." The monkey said before walking away towards the door.
I looked at the weasel.
"Will that do?"
"Sure."
"So, what have you got?" I asked.
He grinned once more and leaned his arm over the bar top.
"Well, your "friends" are planning another attack on Sonic and his groupies near as I can tell. Fiona and some of the regulars from the back sprung Scourge out of that inter-dimensional prison I was telling you about, and from what I've heard they're gonna make a move pretty soon."
"Do you know if the rest of them are going to be involved?"
"Like who?"
"Miles. Patches. All them."
"I couldn't say. They stay out of the spotlight, unlike the green one."
"I see…"
"And, not that this really matters to you either, but Eggman might also be launching an attack."
"So? Doesn't matter to me. Sonic will stop him."
"What makes you so sure?"
I looked at him over the lip of my glass.
"Statistics." I answered. "Anyway, wasn't Eggman a ball of droll a couple weeks back?"
"Was. But, from the activity in his base he's gotten better. Snively isn't smart enough to run a base that big by himself."
"Again. Who cares?"
"Just thought you might." He said, raising his hands in defeat.
"Well, I appreciate it." I said, placing my hand over his own.
"No worries kiddo. Anyway, your monkey friend hasn't been wrong yet. I'll see you in a week or so." He said, standing and giving me a one armed hug, his other occupied by his drink.
"Enjoy your evening." I said, waving to him as he walked away.
He nodded, and was swallowed by the crowd.
I sat there, sipping my drink and watching the casino's inhabitants. Mobians, humans, and robots alike all mingled with one another. Part of me wondered if any of the humans were from Earth, but I knew that was impossible. There was no way for human's to get from there to here… wherever HERE was.
And now easy way to get back. Of course, most humans would probably adjust and adopt to the wild clothing and living styles and blend in. But even then it would be difficult…
The woman I saw the first time I entered the casino, the one with the seaweed hair, walked by with a man sporting a suit made completely out of what appeared to be chainmail.
My electric blue top and hot pink skirt paled in comparison.
I did wonder how the humans got here. I know Eggman was a human of sorts, yet the entire species was a minority group. How strange it was. Not to be the dominant race… to be servants to beings that were ours on Earth. I felt a pang of understanding for how the African Americans must have felt when they were brought out of their homeland by the whites.
"Miss Charolette!" spoke a voice. I turned and saw Grounder tapping the bar top incessantly.
"What is it, Grounder?" I asked, turning around.
"You've been spaced out for a while now, and Mogul wanted me to tell you to get over to his office right away!"
"All right." I said, stepping onto the carpeted ground below my stool. "But I'll take my own sweet time doing it." I muttered.
With my drink in hand I walked slowly toward the office. Robots in passing would offer me a quick greeting of "Evening, Miss Charolette", or something of the like before scurrying away to continue their duties. Young men, both human and non, bowed their heads to me out of adoration of some sort. Women would look at me with distaste for stealing their lover's attention for the brief moment of my presence and then continue to fawn over the hand dealt at the table.
Coconuts was waiting for me at the door.
"You're late." He warned.
"Oh well." I answered, walking into the small, lavish room.
Mogul was sitting at his mahogany desk, his cane hooked onto the edge, and his hands folded in deep contemplation in front of him. There was a man –sorry- a skunk in dress clothes facing him. Both of them stopped mid sentence to look at me.
"You're late." Mogul's deep voice stated.
"Take it from my pay." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes as I walked over to his right. The opposite of Naugus.
"Excuse me. This is my casino's singer, Charolette Thompson. Charolette, this is Geoffrey St. John."
The skunk looked at me with clear blue eyes and bowed. He looked familiar.
"Charmed Miss." He said, with a blatant Australian-esque accent.
"And you as well." I nodded my head to him. "But, please, don't let my intrusion interrupt your conversation." I said, motioning for them to continue as I took another long swig from my tea.
The ice clinked against one another.
"Very well. You were saying Geoffrey?" Mogul asked.
The skunk cleared his throat and pulled at his collar.
"Well, Mogul, as I was sayin' before… I'd made a promise to him to bring 'im back when the time was right. And since the Freedom Fightah's are so involved in dealing with theah A.I. it would be no problem to get an Emerald."
My eyes locked onto the skunk.
Mogul leaned back.
"I suppose you could attempt it if you'd like. I won't stop you."
"But ya won't deny me if I succeed." He prompted.
Mogul held his hands up.
"Upon my word as the owner of this casino."
I nearly burst out laughing.
"Very well then. I'll bring it here when I'm ready." Geoffrey said, starting toward the door.
"Goodnight, Miss." He said, sweeping his arm before disappearing out of sight.
The wooden slab closed, coating the room in silence.
I leaned up against the desk and looked at Mogul.
"Two questions." I said.
"Ask away, little one." He said, leaning back in his wingback chair.
"What was the point of my being here?" I asked.
"Only to observe. Next question."
"What is he going to try to do with a Chaos Emerald?"
"Magic." Mogul answered, before standing. "And if you'd have been here on time then you would've known yourself. Now, if you'd be so kind as to go back onstage and sing a couple more pieces before retiring for the evening?"
"Sure." I said, slapping the glass onto his desk in hopes that it would leave a stain. "No problem at all."