Chapter four
A crash course in Human festivity
Tails was in the hotel suite bath room, grooming himself for the evening. Anticipation making his furry fingers tingle. Eli and tails had been talking once they had entered the lavish space, Royal blue wallpaper adorned with white marble trimmings. Chandelier glittering, hanging from the ceiling, which was beautifully painted with bizarre Human art, the far wall held a large tapestry.
Scenes of ancient Human conflict painted with the greatest of care, the detailed image seemed to envelope the room. Tails could have felt wind, and smelt the pungent smoke of the Humans cannons it was so vivid. On one side of the enormous fabric hanging, Human males were in a tight square, faces grim and set in stone, eyes aglow with stubbornness.
All wearing bright red tunics, odd black caps atop their heads the primitive long stained oak and iron guns at their shoulders. They were 3 rows deep in there formation. The first row had the Human solders on their knees, dead and wounded comrades lay in mass at their feet. In the middle of the small band of red dressed Human warriors rode the obvious leader on a rearing brown stallion, large black three corner hat sat above his long white hair, which was tied in a tight bun at the back of his head.
Proud defiant look on the elderly man's face, the Human had many medals fitted with ribbons, a verity of colors pinned to his puffed out chest. One arm bent at a 90 degree angle at his waist, had his shinning steel sword held tightly in his hand. Other arm pointing at their fellow Human attackers, Tails had to wonder if these red fighters had traveled back in time. The enemy seemed next to be next to naked. Straw and grass skirts around there waists, dark toned skin, much darker then the taxi driver he had seen earlier. Thin paper like shields and spears in hand, charging their white, human counter parts, the gore and bloodshed depicted in the tapestry disturbed Tails; he had seen death and carnage before. Eggmans desperation in the later years made the "game" of world domination a suddenly very serious situation.
But it was totally different in the young foxes mind, the Freedom Fighters destroyed mindless, killer robots, hordes of them. It only got to be too much for the fox when Eggman started to robotize Mobian's. War was relatively clean on his planet. High power phasers left tight, cauterizing holes in the victim, easy to heal, just painful. If you scored a hit in the center of mass… besides from a horrifying numbing sensation, and subsequent death, it would be somewhat quick, clean. Thus reflective body armor was made, making conflicts on Mobius long and drawn out.
But humans discovered a chemical powder instead of light energy, which hurled hot, devastating lead. Tails found that out the hard way… with Eggman destroyed, some Mobian's were disgruntled with the constant ruling family. They felt it was an outdated monarchy. The decade and a half war with the evil doctor had tired out and frustrated a fair percentage of the populace. For the Royal Acorn family had taken to ruling the terrified and hungry citizens with a stern, tough hand during the conflict. At first… it was pamphlets, dropped by the bagful from tall super structures. Provoking the people of Mobotropolis into riots, when that was not enough, the "Independence" as they referred to them self's, was formed.
Made up of everyone from retired veterans of the royal Acorn army, to students, union workers and wives of husbands, who received nothing for their life companions sacrifice but a purple envelope. That letter had plagued Mobian families from Mobotropolis, to Angel island. The Independence had made deals with shady humans on the new planet, in the brief time when there was, for lack of cooperation, no regulation on the newly developed portals. They acquired human arms.
The resulting uprising was devastating. The standard Acorn solders reflective pharser armor didn't stand a chance to hot lead flying at 1500 feet per second. When more wives received more purple letters, in what was supposed to be peace time… the support for the Independence plummeted. As disgruntled as the percentage of the populace was, everyone was sick of death. Everyday commoners seemed horrified at the idea of Mobian on Mobian violence. When there was no one backing the Independence, the sputtering flame of revolution was extinguished. Geoffrey St John and the Acorn secret service saw to that.
Eli broke Tails out of his trip down memory lane by flicking on the TV of the lavish room, the noise and light tearing his eyes away from the tapestry. After a time when the fox was finally done in the bathroom, adding the finishing touches to trimming his nails and whiskers, he was ready. He puffed out his chest, and pulled off his best suave smile. 'Off to a Human party' Tails thought to himself looking himself in the large hotel bathroom mirror.
Suddenly nerves tugged at the young fox, what if he did something to embarrass himself? What if he hated the taste of the human's beloved liquor? His train of thought was broken when there was an impatient knock at the bathroom door. "Tails let's roll lad, the nights not going to be young for long, you're a busy fox tomorrow right?" he was right thought Tails, a busy and exciting day lay before him, but now, was his time to have a once in a life time experience.
Tails opened the bathroom door, and stepped out, Eli leaning on the wall opposite the bathroom gave him a thumbs up, bathroom light lighting up his odd glasses, making them flash like tiny metal disk's. Striking a pose, Tails flashed a toothy grin, "So what do you think Eli? Will Bonnie like it?" asked tails tugging the makeshift vest Eli had fashioned for him, "The places were going to tonight, they won't let you in wearing a 'Mobius birthday suit" The reddish fox quipped when they arrived in Tails room, witty smile playing on his mouth. Then asking if the young fox had anything resembling human cloths, to which Tails nodded his head.
The vulpine opened one of his suit cases, pulling out a pristine white lab coat, Eli's eyebrows raised and a smirk creased his lips, "This I can work with" and with that he pulled a small folding pocket knife out of his own faded leather jacket, He stuck the tip into the seam were the coats arm met the torso. And started cutting the stitching, when both sleeves were removed he put down his knife and bit away the excess twine with his teeth, and after some clever trimming Eli had fashioned Tails a smart looking white 'lab coat vest'. It was great for a last minute garment.
A deadly mix of anxiety and tension was playing a juggling game with the vixen's tummy. Acorn secret service was legendary. After Eggman was defeated the Freedom Fighters disbanded, the ones who still had aggression joined Geoffrey St John's group, sanctioned by the court of acorn and the King himself, to hunt down defectors. She sat in the lobby of the Gemini's premier Matrix Hotel. What was keeping Eli? Wringing her hands nervously, half expecting the handsome skunk and his men in their sleek black agent's attire to appear any moment. Bonnie gave a shiver of agitated excitement at the thought of the imposing, Acorn agent chasing her. She licked her lips, if she had a chance she was going to toy with that bastard, draw out the inevitable.
To many allies had been hunted like insects, 'for god and country…' as St John would say. When the vixen and her two companions dealt with the Young orange fox, she was going to render Geoffrey a broken man. Bonnie, turned when the solid bronze elevators *pinged* open, Eli was first to exit, then nothing. Her jaw clenched and eyes went wild, Eli smirking.
Bonnie was about to let loose a torrent of rage, 'The fool! He-!' her thoughts raced, then "TADA!" her glare turned to wide eyed amazement... mostly relief. She sighed. Tails sprang from the elevator; his three bangs geld back, in a white vest that came to Tails knee caps in length. Bonnie could have melted, not over their guest's new attire, over the fact the plan was still on track. She remembered she should have more faith in her older brother….