Hey guys, thanks for sticking around for this fic. It's been fun writing this one, even during school I worked on this. I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews, this was a different kind of story that I'm used to writing. Last chapter of the story here, enjoy and let me know what you thought of it!
Chapter 10: SKYLINE
Tails froze on the spot when towering bulldozer ripped into the concrete and powered its way over. Cream grabbed hold of his black hoodie to pull him away and they jumped inside the open doors of the shipping container, a second before the dozer smashed into them. The container shook furiously and a door broke off, but Harvey continued to drive the machine forward. It banked right with the precision of a show-room muscle car and roared like a monster truck.
Espio Kilo traded punches in a side office while the mysterious raccoon made his way toward them with the shiny metal pipe in his hands. Kilo push-kicked the chameleon, forcing him into a wall. Just before his next punch, the raccoon swung the pipe and struck Kilo in the face. The wolf flew backwards, shattering a glass window with his massive head.
The raccoon helped Espio back up and the two faced off with their large advisory.
"Have we met?" The chameleon asked while keeping his eyes on Kilo.
"We have, you probably don't remember me though."
"Probably not… I'm guessing you ran into my friends at some point."
"I've seen you guys out there."
"We'll save that for later, Ultimate Warrior is coming right at us."
Espio and the raccoon split up as Kilo charged forward. The protector swung his pipe but Kilo caught it and snapped it in half, which gave Espio the chance to strike. He leaped up and kicked the wolf in the muzzle which knocked him backwards. The bulldozer sped toward them so Espio pushed the raccoon back and Kilo took the full impact of the dozer. He bellowed aloud as he broke through the brick wall and disappeared into the shadows.
Tails looked out the container door and saw Espio facing the bulldozer, so he stood to help his friend. Cream grasped his arm and stopped him, forcing Tails to look at her.
"You're hurt. Be smart about this."
"I'm fine. They need my help.. don't worry about me. Stay in here, I'll be back in a minute."
Espio's face lit up as the headlights of the bulldozer shined on him, then the raccoon walked beside him, and finally Tails joined.
"So.. got a name, buddy?" The fox asked.
"Marcus."
The bulldozer revved its powerful engine, releasing grey clouds of smoke from the exhaust and filling the whole building. Espio looked up at Harvey in the driver's seat and noticed the four chaos emeralds floating beside him. He then noticed red lines coming from the emeralds and into the front grill of the bulldozer.
"He's got the emeralds powering the whole machine…" Espio told the fox.
"That explains the street racer modifications he's getting out of that hunk of shit...if someone took the emeralds out, he'd be toast."
Tails surveyed the situation closely. "I need someone to cause a distraction so I can fly up there and take them back, then we can take him out without getting run down."
"I'll bring him my way so do whatever you're gonna do FAST, I don't wanna get flattened." Espio ordered.
"Right. On the count of three we do this.."
Tails and Marcus ran to opposite sides of the dozer while the Chameleon got in place and counted out.
"Alright, now!"
Espio scooped up a brick and threw it at the bulldozer's windshield, getting Harvey's attention. Just before the dozer moved, Espio got pulled from his spot and was attacked by Kilo again.
"Shit.. can you distract him? I think Espio is busy."
"Yeah, just be fast."
The raccoon took off and Tails moved out of sight of the dozer, which was tearing the building apart, bringing down beams and walls as it roared on. Kilo and Espio brought the fight into the main room where the dozer was, which distracted Marcus long enough for the dozer to speed toward and knock him backward. Tails noticed the metal cover for the grill was starting to come off, revealing the red hot motor inside, which gave him an idea. He flew over to Marcus and helped up then found a blindspot to use for cover.
"You wouldn't happen to have a lighter on you, would you?" The fox asked.
"My last one..."
Tails took the lighter and ripped off a piece of his clothing then glanced over at Espio's back pack he dropped at the entrance. He flew over, scooped it up and reached in but the bottle of liquor was gone. He avoided the incoming dozer and looked at Espio, holding said liquor bottle in one hand while he fought off Kilo.
"Espio!" The fox yelled to his friend. "I need your drink!"
The chameleon took one last drink then tossed it 10 feet across the room into Tails' hands. The fox tied the ripped clothing to the neck of the bottle and looked at Marcus.
"I need you to rip that piece of metal covering the grill, big guy. Then take cover fast."
"Tails!"
The fox looked back at Cream. "Grab Cheese! He's in a cage!"
The fox flew over to a computer desk and grabbed the cage, waking the small chao as he returned him to Cream. She opened the cage and held Cheese in her hands. Tails discarded the cage and ran back into the fight.
The raccoon ran in front of the dozer, avoided being crushed by debris and clamped onto the front of the machine. Without Harvey seeing, Marcus pried the metal sheet off and revealed the grill, now smoking from the damage it's taken. Marcus jumped off and rolled toward cover.
The smoke became thick and Harvey now noticed it, but by the time he saw Tails light his molotov cocktail, it was too late to react.
The fox landed on the roof of the bulldozer and reached for the chaos emeralds while looking Harvey in the eye.
"Fire in the hole, you son of a bitch!"
The fox kicked off of the bulldozer and threw the flaming bottle at the exposed grill, causing the dozer to implode immediately. Everyone was knocked backward by the force and debris rained upon them. The only thing still intact was the now charred metal shipping container. Cream groaned as she crawled through the doorway and looked on at the destruction.
10 minutes went by and the only sound that could be heard was the blaring police and fire truck sirens in the distance. Cream slowly got back to her feet and avoided the fire that surrounded the ruble.
"Espio! TAILS!" She desperately called out.
Marcus pushed large pieces of metal and bricks off of him and he got to his feet. He joined Cream in the search for her friends near the center of the explosion, but couldn't find either. They stood back when they heard rumbling to the left of them, then sighed in relief when the chameleon's head popped up. Marcus spotted two singed orange tails sticking out from under a piece of the roof.
"There!"
He moved everything out of the way and pulled the unresponsive fox out of the blackened debris. Cream knelt down and rested Tails' head on her thighs for support, while checking for a pulse. She lightly pressed her fingers on his neck, then went to his wrist but felt nothing.
"No, no - don't do this!...Tails! Just wake up!..." She whimpered softly. "...please..."
Espio limped next to Marcus and looked at the broken fox, scanning his charred face before turning away. Marcus looked at the still burning bulldozer for a sign of life from Harvey, but didn't find any. He spat on the blackened machine and walked back to the group.
The tears streamed down Cream's face as she put her forehead to the fox's. Espio started to move more pieces of debris off of his friend and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tails' hand holding a chaos emerald that was still glowing. He uncovered the rest of the emeralds and they were all glowing.
Marcus and Cream then heard faint, weak coughing before Tails opened his eyes and gingerly sat up. He felt the rabbit's arms wrap around him, while Espio nodded at his friend. The sirens drew closer and Team Skyline knew that was their cue. As he stood up, Tails made eye contact with Cream.
"Are… are you crying?"
"I thought you were dead in my arms, YES I was crying!" She admitted with the biggest grin on her face.
The four made their way through city parks and back streets, walking to the only place they could stay. Ron jumped out from the counter and sprinted away when Espio entered the motel lobby and led everyone to the torn-apart motel suite. Tails sat in a chair while Cream looked at the damage to the place. Espio and Marcus looked around as well, then they grabbed chairs and sat down next to the fox. Cream sat down on her bed and Tails tossed the chameleon's backpack on to a dresser.
"Well, that was a fun night.." Tails said before yawning.
"Yeah, right! I gave up the last of my liquor so you could be pyromaniac!" Espio rebuffed.
"Well, it didn't go to waste.. so, Marcus-"
Tails looked at the raccoon closely. "I.. I think I know you - you're the guy we saw the night that street gang tried to mug Cream."
"Yeah, that was me...you two saved my life from the same gang, so I figured I'd return the favor tonight." He coughed.
"We'd all probably be dead if you didn't show up, so thank you." Cream said. "But how did you know Harvey stayed in that building?"
"The gang I used to run with was working directly with Kilo and he'd have us working in there for hours. I hated it, but being in the gang was the only way my older brother could keep an eye on me...then that 'roided-up wolf killed him. Between that and what they were going to do to you that night, I knew I had to quit."
Tails felt he somewhat related to his new ally. "So what are you gonna do now?"
"I don't know.. I'd like to help keep kids from the street life, but I kinda need something to rely on for myself."
Tails looked at Espio and then back at Marcus. "Well, there's a spot open on the team if you want. We could use a guy like you out there."
Marcus thought about it for a few seconds, then gave his answer. "I'd do anything to help out around here and kick some ass in the process."
"Alright then, Marcus.. welcome to Team Skyline." Tails said.
"You drink?" Espio asked the raccoon as they exited the room, leaving the young couple to be alone.
Tails closed the door and Cream met him with a kiss, eager to continue where they left off. They embraced for a second before wincing in pain, both were still feeling the affects of the confrontation with Harvey. Cream smiled as she ran her fingers along Tails' chest playfully and they sat down together.
Marcus knocked at the door to ask, "We're not actually staying in this shit hole, are we?"
After a few hours of rest, the team got up and made their way to a place Marcus knew that was better than a destroyed motel suite. Espio made the crosstown trip last longer with his constant visits to liquor stores and drink breaks. The sun started to set on the horizon as the four friends walked across a grassy area. Marcus led the way through the grassland with Espio conversing with him, while Tails and Cream trailed behind.
"Dude, are you sure you know where you're going?" Tails asked.
"Of course I do. I used to live around here." Marcus answered.
"Well, how long ago did you live here?"
"..not too long, I'd say.. 10 years ago."
"10 years? You know, a lot could've changed in that 10 years.. trees grow, annexations, squatters moving in-"
"Tails, shut up." Espio said, cutting off the fox.
"Fine, fine. But if we don't find this place.."
Marcus pushed past one last branch and he got to the edge of a hill. At the bottom was a sandy beach and the waves crash on the sand. He looked over to the right and spotted his home.
"We're here, guys." Marcus announced as he made his way down the hill.
"This place is beautiful, Marcus!" Cream said as she looked at the beach.
"Wow.. I have to say, I wasn't expecting a place like this." Tails chimed in.
Marcus and Espio reached a 3 story high cottage with a garage in the back that led to a dirt road. The cottage was on the city limits of Two Gates and right by the highway. Marcus tried to open the front doors but they were locked, so he looked in the mailbox. He found an envelope and a house key, so he opened the door and let everyone inside the huge cottage. He sat on a black leather sofa and found a letter inside the envelope. Espio, Cream and Tails sat on the other sofas in the big living room and admired the vintage-looking interior of the cottage.
Marcus and his brother's names were written in all capitals on the envelope, then he read the letter aloud.
Boys,
I've been watching over this house for nine years because your parents asked me to wait on you two. I understand you have lives in the city now, but just in case anything happened, your parents wanted to give you this house. They said it's all they had to pass down. I don't have much time left here, so I'm leaving this letter-
Marcus started to choke up, but continued reading out loud.
to you guys if you ever come back. I love you boys like you were my own sons and always will. Enclosed in the book cabinets are every photo album of our family. By the time you read this, I will not be here. Stay strong and make us proud.
-Uncle Marley
Marcus lowered his head while Tails, Cream and Espio remained silent. A tear dropped from his eye and onto the floor, then he wiped it away. He folded the letter and put it in his pocket.
"I'm sorry about your uncle, Marcus."
"He was a good man.." Marcus stood up and walked to a table in the dining room. "Marley was one of my heroes, man, and he died waiting for someone to show up.. I don't deserve any of this.."
"We all make mistakes. We just have to live with them and like he said, stay strong." Tails said.
The raccoon nodded. "You're right. And so was he.. everything I do will be for him."
Marcus walked to the bookcase in another room and grabbed a photo album. He opened it and found a picture of him and his brother as kids. He unfolded the letter and stuck it inside a flap, then closed the book. He walked back into the living room and looked at his friends.
"I think I'm done being sad now, so uh.. make yourselves at home guys and pick your rooms." Marcus exclaimed.
"Dibs on master bedroom!" Tails called out.
"First one there gets it, Prower!" Espio said.
The two raced off, leaving Cream to laugh with Marcus. "C'mon now guys. Remember whose house we're in."
"Sorry fellas, heh, but that ones mine!" Marcus yelled upstairs.
"Then I call the second biggest room!" Tails muffled voice called back, followed by a loud crash and a yelp.
"Not if I can get there first." Espio ran off to find the room, leaving Tails on the floor upstairs.
"Thank you, Marcus, this is amazing." Cream said, holding Cheese in her hands.
"You guys saved my life and you let me into your family. I'll always have your back."
She smiled at him and Cheese flew over into his hands.
"Just make sure they don't bring this place down." Marcus joked.
Tails made it to the top floor first and rested on the closest bed exhausted, while Espio continued to look around the house. Cream came into Tails' room and closed the door behind her.
Espio stopped when he saw a large cabinet with glass doors, and liquor bottles inside. He jumped on the bed and lied down. Marcus put the photo album up in his room and sat on his bed admiring the large photo of his whole family on the wall. Espio opened the liquor cabinet, took the first bottle out and switched on an old radio as he walked out onto a balcony.
"All Summer Long" by kid Rock played and Espio leaned on the railing to admire the view of the sunset over the ocean.
Well there it is, readers. Thank you for reading it all the way through, I gotta say I almost didn't finish it because of the stuff going on in school and what not.. anyway let me know what you thought of this story! And if you haven't heard All summer long, go search it up, it's a good tune.. until next time, Readers. Later..
-Menace3117