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Chapter 18: Dealing with the Devil
"So, Doc. How is he?" Back at Hooligan Headquarters, Bean and Bark were standing around the coach, where their leader, Fang, was lying unconscious as he was treated by Fiona. With some medical knowledge, the fox was the closest thing possible to a doctor.
"Aside from some exhaustion and physical stress due to pain, I can't tell if there's anything wrong. But he's otherwise stable. He's breathing and his heart is steady." Fiona explained.
"...Say what?" Bark groaned at how little his partner comprehended as he face palmed. Fiona sighed as well.
"He's tired, but OK." Fiona dumbed down, Bean nodding with understanding.
Knock Knock!
The three Hooligans looked at the door. Bark balled up his fists as he walked over to the door, Fiona bolting ahead as she opened the door. Standing outside, to the criminal's surprise, was what appeared to be a lone suitcase. Fiona, suspicious, picked up the item and walked inside and placed it on the table.
"OOH! What is it?! What is it?!" asked Bean, practically hopping around.
"Shut your trap so I can figure it out!" snapped Fiona, not effecting the demo duck. The Fox opened the suitcase to see a screen inside as it was playing. Suddenly, Eggman appeared on the screen.
"Greetings, Hooligans! I do hope your all OK!" greeted the doctor as Fiona and Bark stared daggers at the mad man, "Oh, come now, what's gotten your fur in knots?"
"What do you want, Robotnik." growled Fiona, not in the particular mood for the scientist.
"Oh, Fiona. You should address by my preferred alias: Doctor Eggman."
"Is it because your all round like an egg?" the duck asked, causing Fiona to snicker as Bark covered his mouth with one hand in order to stop himself from snickering. Eggman looked ready to blow a fuse, but he quickly calmed himself.
"Moving onto more pressing matters." Eggman quickly said, "I'm contacting you all to strike a deal with you all. Where exactly is the Weasel?"
"He's...indisposed of after your last little 'deal'." Fiona had her arms crossed as she glared at the doctor.
"From the reports on the news, I assumed he failed." Eggman stated, "No matter. I didn't truly expect him to succeed, even with those weapons I gave him."
"Then why exactly are you hiring us? And more importantly, why strike a deal with us again?" Eggman chuckled a bit.
"You see, my dear, little Fox." Fiona was boiling at the pet name Eggman gave her, "I didn't expect Fang to pull off the assassination, let alone take out Shadow. No, this was a test for both my weapons to see how properly they worked as well as a test of his abilities and skills. I must say, his display was quite surprising." Bark was listening intently curious as to what Eggman was driving at, "Now then, I have a few tasks I'd like you four to do for me. In exchange, you'll be payed for your services, handsomely at that."
"...What did you have in mind?" Eggman chuckled a bit darkly as a picture of a Chaos Emerald appeared on screen.
"You see, I've learned that G.U.N. has taken the 7 Chaos Emeralds and have placed them in seven secret places across Mobius to keep them not away locked up, but to make tracking them impossible. In fact, I can't even track their energy signature and they're usually off the charts."
"And you want us to go get them for you?" assumed Fiona, "Care to tell us why? You have an entire army of robots on your side, not to mention various underlings. Why hire a bunch of bounty hunters and mercenaries?"
"Simple: you four have no ties nor formal alliance with me." smirked Eggman, "If any of my other associates were to fetch the Emeralds, then Sonic and his friends would be all over me like a wild fire. But...if a group of bounty hunters were to steal and sell the Emeralds..."
"I gotcha Doc. But how much is 1 Emerald?" questioned Fiona.
Eggman chuckled as he asked, "How much do you want?"
"Oh! Oh! Give us 2 Dozen Cupcakes!" interrupted Bean, "And make them really, really-" Fiona pushed Bean out of the way as she got back to Eggman.
"What my associate meant to say was that 1 Chaos Emerald should amount up to, say, 10 Grand on its own." Fiona explained.
"And 2 Dozen cupcakes!"
"*sigh* And 2 dozen cupcakes..."
"Deal."
"And don't try to bargain or-wait, what?" Fiona asked, shocked that Eggman had agreed to the terms.
"You heard me. I'll wire 10 Grand to you as well as 2 Dozen Cupcakes in exchange for 1 Chaos Emerald. So you better collect them all." sneered Eggman. The Doctor's expression had turned from its previous cheerfulness to a more strict and darker tone.
"Ha. Piece of cake." smirked Fiona smugly. Eggman nodded as the screen turned black.