o3o: Sonic is in a very rough spot. This seem to be looking up for him though, with Mecha Sally treating him well. She's certainly showing some level of care and kindness for him. The trick is if Sonic will be able to find a loophole for her to get out.
The dream… well, I'll explain it later if it goes unnoticed.
Anonymous: Sonic may or may not have been swept up in the moment, and left at the mercy of two Echidnas. Sonic is afraid for Sally, as there are so many things that could go wrong… and Eggman isn't exactly merciful.
Sticks contributed plenty to the fighting. She struggles with sneaking and being subtle, but when it comes to fighting, Sticks carried her team. They might have been able to avoid the fight, and that's where Sticks' fault lies. She's blood-thirsty and eager to prove herself… which concerns her teammates with the aggression she handled the situation with.
The Battle for Echidnapolis will be a bit more drawn out. The enemy certainly has a lot to fight for, and the commander is more eager to win. Of course, that hunger for victory will come at a cost….
/*-*/
Sonic braced himself as Eggman marched into the room once again. His arms and legs didn't hurt as much, and his bones were not nearly as sore as they once were. Sonic felt better, he felt a reason to keep fighting.
Mecha Sally walked in behind Eggman. Sally was in there, fighting to get out. Sonic would stay strong. He would save her.
Eggman stopped in front of Sonic, "You know, I see you're feeling better over night. I can't decide if I should resume the torture process or let you rest some more. Maybe I should find something else to torture you with?"
"I think you should keep up the torture, it might get you into shape if you did it yourself?" Sonic laughed with more strength than he had in a couple of weeks.
Mecha Sally stood there and watched him. He made eye contact with her for the briefest moment, to let her know that he was trying to save her. Her metal form didn't make any motions of responses, which was probably smart. Sonic didn't want Eggman learning anything about her freedom.
Eggman smiled, locking his fingers together in a tight ball, "I see some of your spirit has returned, hedgehog. That's good… Maybe we can try something else today… I've decided I won't hurt your body anymore, not for today at least."
Sonic grinned back at Eggman before realizing that it wasn't a call of surrender. He shifted in his restraints and grumbled slightly as he struggled to hide his lack of comfort with the tone of Eggman's voice.
"I was thinking, I need to review my current badniks… and I know just the way to find out what badniks I need to make more of. I'm going to have a little tournament, just something for my badniks to prove their worth." Eggman smiled at Sonic. That didn't sound too bad, but there was something about the tone that continued to rub Sonic the wrong way.
"So you're just going to break more of your own toys?" Sonic asked with a taunting laugh.
"Indeed. I'll have all my badniks compete in the tournament… Include my beloved Metal Sonic and your precious princess." Eggman taunted back. Sonic suddenly felt the air sucked out of his lungs at that thought.
His mind flashed to the thought of a cut in half Mecha Sally. Then the image of a Mecha Sally with metal rods piercing her chest. His mind flashed to the idea of Metal Sonic's claws through her chest.
Sonic gulped and felt his chest begin to tighten, "You can't afford to waste that many badniks. You'll be down and out in a few weeks." He tried to deter the mad scientist from pursuing the idea. Damages were very difficult to fix, and how de-roboticizers worked was still inconsistent, and if Sally was de-roboticized before hand… how she'd get fixed was a mystery.
"Maybe, but the proposition of your precious princess getting hurt or destroyed is all too pleasant to ignore. After all, you'll be watching the whole thing." Eggman grinned at Sonic, rubbing his hands together in a menacing fashion, before turning to the echidna's who were looking over Sonic's health and other things on the computers, "What do you think about my little plan?"
"W-well, Sir, I think our troops need help on the frontlines… so I would recommend sending all our extra badniks to help out our soldiers." The Male Echidna proposed
Eggman seemed to lose his joyful posture, before turning slightly agitated, "Is that so? Well I think you little creatures can't enjoy a good time if it slapped you in the face. We'll proceed with the little competition."
The Echidnas sighed as Eggman smiled, "Good, Now that it's settled, we will get started on preparations right away. I think I am going to go tell my Badniks personally that who ever win this tournament will be able to decide what I do to the hedgehog… no limits."
The Echidnas actually seemed surprised by that statement, "They're all autonomous?" Asked the female echidna.
"Of course not, but I don't hold much hope for the ones that aren't anyway. The ones that will win will be the officer badniks of course." Eggman smiled, before shrugging, "I suppose if the simple badnik's win, I'll simply take the wish myself."
The Echidnas groaned and rolled their eyes again. Fortunately for them, Eggman wasn't looking and turned around to rush out the door, "Time to make preparations! We'll have our first match in an hour."
He left, leaving the two Echidnas to sit there.
Mecha Sally walked up to Sonic, before giving the order to the Echidnas, "Leave us."
They didn't need to be told twice. The two stood up and walked out of the room, shuffling quickly out of the door.
"You need to stay out of it. Eggman wants you to get hurt." Sonic pleaded to his Roboticized Girlfriend.
"I will not. He only needs to give the order and I will join the battle. I will fight, and free you when I win." Mecha Sally stated, before raising her arm in a rather cold, mechanical fashion to Sonic's face, brushing it down with her metal claws.
Sonic shuddered, but his heart leapt for joy at the prospect of being free. This was a roller-coaster of emotion with the idea that Sally could also be destroyed completely. His heart was truly torn.
"Eggman will make an offer to make you suffer for my aide… I may need your help." Mecha Sally stated coldly at Sonic.
He felt himself get chilled blood. It was one thing to be forcefully tortured against his will, it was something else to ask for that torture all together… and embrace it fully. Still, it would free him faster, so it was worth it.
"I'll do it. I'll take the pain of the world for you, Sal. Just don't get hurt, make it through this stupid, twisted tournament. We'll get out together." Sonic demanded at Sally. They had to get through this together.
Mecha Sally turned around, and walked out without another word. Did Sonic say something? Did she not want to be free, or did she think it was impossible?
Sally should have known that nothing was impossible with Sonic.
His wounds started to ache from the idea of being tortured for his will. He found himself wishing he had brought the Chaos Emeralds to the Death Egg. This whole battle would have been over so soon. But everyone was caught up in the moment.
Was Johan caught up in the moment, or did he just want a fight? Sonic asked himself.
The door reopened as the two echidnas walked back into the room, the female stating, "Look it doesn't matter. No one cares about old alliances and claims. We have what we need now."
"But It could solidify a rebellion and a schism." The male countered.
"No it won't! Listen to me! We don't care who owns the city. It's about survival at this point. Eggman is the best bet for that… for now. Let them have the city." The Female groaned, walking up to her station.
"I think it'll be good if she can take the city. It'll show a lot doubters just how committed Lien-Da is to keeping the Legion together." The male countered and the two opened up their computers. Nothing was going on in either of their machines. They were talking about Lien-da, and that was about all Sonic understood about the situation.
"Look, we don't have the blood to waste on side quests and extra grounds. Eggman want's us everywhere, and sends us everywhere. We need to attack as one with a good strategy and commander." The Female groaned, clicking away at the keyboard.
"Don't get caught questioning him or he'll send you to the roboticizer, or maybe he'll set the fuze off." The Male Joked, nudging her. She rolled her eyes with a smile. They were clearly having fun joking around which wouldn't have been so morbid if it weren't for the fact that Sonic was about to watch a bunch of badniks destroy themselves while trying to kill Sally.
So Sonic was waiting for a good two hours before the large screen came back on. Sonic saw several Badniks all standing, floating, and parked around in a circle. Orbot and Cubot floated in front of a camera.
"Greetings, Tortured hedgehog, we are here to present to you a private tournament for your and Doctor Eggman's amusement. Please stand by and prepare to be tortured." Orbot spoke so elegantly into the mic.
"Yeah, and Eggmna's going to have fun too." Cubot cheered, throwing a robotic fist into the air.
Sonic almost laughed at the two, and would have if his heart wasn't wildly fluctuating between feeling terrified for Sally and being grateful that the pain had stopped.
Eggman walked through the large doors, causing the Echidna's to immediately go back to work, trying to look especially busy with the boss watching over them. Eggman didn't even look at them as Metal Sonic flew overhead on the screen. The Doctor cackled at Sonic, "I hope you're all too comfortable. I'd hate for you to miss the coming show. It'll be one to… die for."
That awful pun almost made Sonic groan. Instead, he chose to fake a groan to hide his fear, "You're the one wasting badniks."
Eggman snickered, "Oh I have plenty to replace them. My super-factory is making a thousand a day. Your kingdom is going to fall… horribly, just like your princess."
Sonic grit his teeth as Orbot finished going over the brackets. Sonic didn't really pay attention, as the only one he cared about was Sally. Sonic was ready to hurt for her, as he had been ever since their rebellion started.
"Our first match, Motobugs vs Swatbots!" Orbot proclaimed on the screen, as if he were announcing a new product.
"The rolly-bugs vs the walky old guys. The police ones." Cubot echoed, flailing his arms around.
Sonic didn't pay much attention to the match as the two sides clashed with each other. His mind was racing as fast as his feet normally would, and it was not focused on Eggman destroying his own machines.
Of course, the bits of the battle that did make it to Sonic were more than enough to show him why he needed to care for Sally. The Motorbugs cut into the Swatbots' armor, damaging the outside with sharp cuts and tears. The Swatbots stomped and swung at the Motorbugs, crushing their hides and smashing the electronics. There was gruesomeness that came from Eggman making them all do this for his amusement and for Sonic's dread.
The Swatbots won it easily, with the busted up metal bugs scattered about in several pieces from the enforcers.
"Well… That was interesting." Orbot gave a shapeless smile.
"And horrifying too." Cubot proclaimed nervously.
"Up next… Egg Pawns vs Buzz Bombers." Orbot gestured to a projection behind him. Sonic actually looked and saw that Sally was up after this match, against… Balkiry. It looked like a three on one match up. Sonic gulped as the badniks began to fight.
The Egg Pawns were able to shoot at the Buzz Bombers easily, and their armor was too tough for the Buzz Bombers to actually damage. The result was very one-sided.
"How tragic. We'll proceed to the next round, Mechas versus Balkiry… Well, we only have one Mecha, and that is Mecha Sally." Orbot exclaimed from his floating position as metal parts were cleared from the area of the fighting.
Cubot was silent this time, thankfully.
Orbot continued, "This will be a fight to the total destruction of either party, lets hope that both sides have a good strategy planned out."
Sonic panted from his restraints, his arms suddenly feeling heavy, "Eggman, you don't want to lose her. She's your prize, right?"
Eggman stopped and looked at Sonic with a smile, "Oh… she'll be dying for a much better prize."
"Eggman, Please! What do you want from me?" Sonic shouted, jerking in his restraints.
Eggman backed away as Sonic pushed out further than he did before. Eggman regained his composure, before smiling, "What are you willing to offer me if I do help her win this?"
Sonic gulped, but he knew he was going to have to suffer for her. Now that he knew that she was in there, it was worth it to suffer for her, "Rip out one my back quills… do it. You want to torture me, go ahead… I'll suffer." Sonic panted as he could already feel his back tightening.
Hedgehogs could lose their quills. When one would get infected, he could pluck it out or wait for it to fall out. Having one torn out, however, was far more painful, and usually had some light bleeding involved.
"I don't know, hedgehog. You don't seem to care anymore." Eggman smiled, interlocking his fingers while facing the hedgehog.
"PLEASE!" Sonic barked as Sally drew her blades and flew at the mechanical birds.
"Oh… if you insist." Eggman's face darked and his grin grew greatly. He reached behind Sonic as Mecha Sally cut one wing of the Lead Balkiry off. The Badnik tumbled down as the other two swept in to poke Mecha Sally's chest and head, leaving dents. She was completely on the defensive, using her arms to guard against any dangerous blows. She should have been faster, but two enemies must have been overwhelming.
Sonic suddenly felt the pain of a quill being ripped out of his back as Eggman cackled, before seeing the inch thick spike in Eggman's gloved hand, before he pressed at button on his Egg Mobile.
The pecks stopped, and the two bird badniks began to fly around in circles. This bought Mecha Sally enough times to lower her guard, and draw her blades once again. She flew up and cut the two Balkiries' wings off in a single motion.
"Incredible, Mecha Sally struck with such precision and speed and won this round." Orbot proclaimed with excitement and horror.
"And she was fast too." Cubot sounded equally surprised.
Sonic panted, aching in his backside from the forceful tug that ripped out a defensive spike. He felt a little bit of blood drip down his back as he already felt woozy.
Eggman smiled, "Ah, I believe this is going to be a wonderful tournament indeed…" His grin continued to grow as the world seemed to get darker.
/*-*/
Fiona was standing in a small rowboat, drifting through a murky, foggy lake or slow river. Fiona couldn't tell which it was, and it didn't matter. This was obviously a dream, as she was asleep in the storage room back at the outpost.
Still, she drifted through the fog. Fiona felt a hand along her waist, and felt her fur stand up on the back of her neck. She jerked around and saw a grinning green hedgehog, tightening his grip on her waist and pull her closer, "You belong with me, babe."
He was warmer for sure, it was comfortable, being under his arms. Of course, him twisting her head to kiss her was not as comfortable as before. His hands wandered her body, and he pulled away, with Fiona feeling greasy and dirty, "Fuck this world. Fuck everyone in it. You and me, that's all that matters."
Fiona pulled away and shook her head, "No… This is over, you know it. I'm not going with you. I'm here to save Sonic."
Scourge shook his head at her, clearly upset. Fiona stood her ground, and glared at him.
"He already has a bitch, and she has him wrapped around her fucking finger. You can't do shit to stop it." Scourge growled as he stepped forward. Fiona could see his quills flaring up in anger.
She stood her ground, "This isn't about being… anything more, it's about settling my debts!" Fiona growled, her breath picking up.
Scourge pushed her back onto the boat, and gripped her throat, lowering his face to hers, "You're a great liar, ain't ya? You can even lie to yourself." His thumb pushed against her lips, trying to wedge her mouth open.
Fiona bit down and threw her arms against him, trying to push him off of her. His body was practically made of concrete, with how hard and heavy it was.
He laughed, "You're pretty weak now, aren't you. That honor and shit can't really save you now, can it? Face it, you're fucking mine. You belong to me!" He pressed his lips against hers, feeling like a mountain on top of her.
This was a horrible dream, which begged the question: Why wasn't Fiona waking up. Scourge's hands continued to wander her body, and Fiona swung at him, only seeming to hurt her wrists as she did.
Please… wake me up, someone. Fiona prayed, desperately. God promised not to abandon her, now was his chance to prove it. Her hope began to fade as Scourge continued feel down her body. Fiona grit her teeth and pleaded once again. Lord, You promised… don't you dare abandon me in this dream!
Fiona tried to push against Scourge's face as he grinned at her. He never stopped grinning, or smiling. It was so… unnerving to her. Fiona kept pushing back against him.
Then she heard whispers, small little words that seemed to give her strength. Fiona began to push Scourge back, until she was standing on her own two feet in the boat. Scourge continued to smile as Fiona pushed him with all her might, and he fell backwards out of the boat.
Fiona stayed on guard and ran to the edge of the vessel, waiting for him to re-emerge. Instead, the water turned green as if he dissolved into it. Fiona panted and rested in the boat for a little bit. The fog began to lift… slowly.
Fiona sat up and looked out to see another small boat, drifting through the water. There was a single figure in the boat. A Retriever dog, rowing out to the water. Fiona could see a figure, floating in the water. She appeared to be a Timber wolf, waiting in the water.
The Retriever saw her and suddenly began to wag his tail in excitement. He rowed towards the Timber wolf, who seemed to be trapped in the water. The wolf struggled and whimpered loudly as Fiona saw a branch holding her down.
The retriever quickly rowed toward the wolf who was crying, and throwing her hands out. Fiona rowed closer, and saw that the branch was actually a root in the tree. The retriever wasn't going to be able to move the trapping of the wolf.
Fiona started waving her hands as the boat drifted towards the two, "Wait! You can't save her! Don't get out of the boat! You stupid dog, STOP!" Fiona shouted angrily at the dog.
The retriever didn't even looking at her before stopping the boat near the wolf. Fiona ran to the oars of her rowboat, and began to aggressively row towards the two.
She looked over her shoulder to see the dog stretch his arm out to the wolf. The wolf took his hand.
Fiona began to row faster, trying to get to them faster.
The retriever tried to pull the wolf out of the water. He strained and struggled, but he couldn't pull her out of the water.
Fiona kept rowing, harder and faster. She felt desperate to help the dog of all things. Fiona felt like he was in danger.
Fiona then looked back over her shoulder, and gasped. The wolf's fear turned into a smile as the dog wrapped both hands around her arm. She then jerked down and the dog tumbled into the water.
Fiona started rowing faster.
The dog struggled under the waves. Fiona gave up on rowing and jumped into the water-
Her eyes bolted open, and Fiona sat up inside the Storage room as the others were packing up. The moon was rising in the doorway. They had plenty of time to move. Fiona then saw Sticks standing over her, with her fingers interlocked in a tight ball.
Sticks looked down at Fiona, and the two starred at each other.
"What are you doing?" Fiona asked, panting as she sat up.
Sticks moved away from Fiona, "I was praying for your soul. The devil tried to take your soul in the night."
Fiona blinked a couple times, before nodding, "Thanks."
Sticks nodded at her and stood up. They packed up their bags full of supplies, and set out in the night. Fiona moved along the upper hills, where the ground was dry and the trees were wilted but as Sticks put it, "Sleeping".
They moved under the light of the moon. Sticks was still pretty fast, moving with the rest of them despite the extra weight of the sword which weighed probably around twenty to forty pounds. Sticks was strong, and impressive... even if she was a bit blood thirsty.
Fiona carried her pack, full of food as they moved along, climbing through the trees. She saw a patrol, two of the scanner badniks were wandering around, spreading the bright red cone across the hill. Fiona stayed behind the upper trunk of the tree and signaled the group to stop.
She could see Sticks sitting down, practically frothing at the mouth to the patrol. Thankfully, she controlled herself as the badniks stopped, scanned and waited. Fiona held her breath, and let it out before holding it again.
Then the badniks started moving. They continued to move quickly through the forested hill. Fiona kept moving and spotting ahead as the boys trudged along, with weak breaths.
They found a dip in the hill, where roots overlaid and set up a sort of hiding spot. The moon was setting as they set up camp under roots and trees.
"The forest protects us." Sticks cheered as they pulled out some canned fruits that somehow made it to the supply station. They wouldn't light a fire while the badniks were out on patrol.
Fiona ate under a root, with little strands poking the back of her neck. Sticks came over and set her sword in between them while she ate. Fiona took a quick glance at the blade, and continued eating.
"You all are the best warriors I could ever ask to follow me… except for you, Renault. You're good for other things, but not fighting." Sticks stressed, pointing at the pig who smiled.
"W-Well, I try to be useful." He mumbled, shifting nervously at the attention.
"Bah, come one, you're supposed to be noble, a man among the people! Come on, smile, or your people will never follow you." Sticks laughed, flaunting her arms around.
"Quiet, the last thing we need is to find out those darn scanners can hear." Oscar growled lowly.
"Bah…. Fine." Sticks seemed to start to dismiss the notion, but then she calmed down and whispered in a lower voice.
"My… Estate… was lost due to my grandfather's excessive gambling debts. I don't have any followers. Our inheritance… has not been much. I spent the last of it… trying to get into the Wolverine's eyes." Renault gave an embarrassed smile.
Oscar glanced at their… friend and asked, "Why would you want his attention? Do you have a death wish?"
"I believe he can get me my grandfather's estate." Renault shifted nervously.
Fiona and Oscar looked at each other. Fiona resisted the urge to laugh, as did Oscar, and they took the moment to look Renault up and down. He was timid, not very strong-willed, not very strong in general.
Oscar shook his head, "You're wasting your time. He won't give you a car or wagon, much less a big plot of land." Oscar had a smile on his face, but it was clearly pained.
"W-Why?" Renault whined as they ate their fruit.
"Zip it." Fiona growled at him in a whisper.
Oscar explained, "You aren't strong and you can't fight. You aren't even worth his time." Oscar sounded confident, but also a little sorry for the pig.
Renault looked down at his legs, and sighed a dead sigh. The kind a person did when they realized they had no other options, and they wasted the last of their resources.
Sticks cleared her throat, "That's not true… " Sticks grinned and scratched an itch on the back of her head, "Make yourself useful, and He'll find a use for ya."
Fiona frowned at that. Johan was powerful, but ultimately, the king gave out estates. It wasn't Johan's place to do so, "Don't raise his hopes. He needs the King's approval."
Sticks smiled, and shook her head, "The king will do whatever he wants. If Johan wants the pig to have lands, the pig will get lands."
There was a sobering thought. The group stared at the badger as she smiled and shook herself proudly.
"Sticks… Did Johan say he was ruling the kingdom or anything like that?" Fiona asked, nervously. She tried the opportunity for that to be true, but the truth was that she only found fear. There was no great reveal that would beat the wolverine. The nobles would fight and probably die.
"Well, No, but's obvious who holds the power." Sticks smiled, and leaned back against the dirt.
The group looked at each other and Fiona sighed, "How many days behind are we?"
"I don't think we're going to make the beacon mark." Renault sighed, "We've lost so much time."
"We'll have to hope for an extension." Oscar sighed, slumping back, "Maybe they'll do another fly over until they see our beacon."
"Can we rely on hope?" Renault asked, sounding even more nervous.
"Hope's all we got out here. We'll be fine, we have Sticks to lead us." Fiona laughed with a joke.
"That's right." Sticks grumbled from her sleeping bag.
/*-*/
The city had grown loud as Johan moved through the night. The two were each seeking vengeance against the attack that the others had believed. It was a deception…
Johan hated his plan. It was cowardly, to deceive others. Yet it would provide his army the time to set up defenses, and weaken their enemies. It was… necessary? No, But it was strategically important.
Johan sniffed around some rubble. He had the scent of the Garden Defender he was looking for, so he started by tracking it. The army would get rest while he searched for his prize. Her scent was weak and fermented, a sign of age. This was an ealdorman, one that earned great respect from her tribe.
Johan found the scent growing stronger, slowly as he moved deeper into the destroyed areas of the city. If she was dead, Johan would need to find alternative ways of securing what he wanted. Johan could simply kill the council and assert Ezra's leadership. They would resist, but he could easily crush any resistance they put up.
Still, if he could keep them alive and in his service, these people would be much more useful.
Johan's nose caught a different, pleasant smell. Blood. Johan followed his nose and came to a red stain on the concrete ground. He sniffed the area, and followed the smell of the blood. There were cuts and tears on the ground, not like weapons. Johan did not enter a trance, which made him watch carefully around.
He could smell something strange. It was not natural, it smelled bitter and disgusting. It was a beast of course, but Johan couldn't figure out what it was… what they were. There were many of these beasts. Johan counted three scents.
Johan found himself growling at the scents instinctively. Johan sucked in air and controlled himself. These creatures were not a threat, and he should not give them the power of a threat. He sniffed around a metal post. He had wasted enough time.
With anger, Johan pulled away and searched for the scent of the Pale Garden Defender. Johan found it after sniffing the area he came from.
He followed the scent and worked his way towards the less destroyed areas of the city. He could hear the gunfire getting louder as he approached the partially destroyed buildings. He prowled through a street was he followed the scent. He continued to smell blood, but the scents would disappear, as if they had been washed at rather strange places to be cleaned.
He continued along, smelling the concrete for the specific Garden Defender, although her scent grew crowed as he did. Then his ears heard something, movement. Soft, slow walking across the ground.
Johan lightened his steps as he approached the sounds of movement. He moved to the area that separated the patrol from him with only a building. Johan waited until their steps aligned with the building's walls.
He burst out, and was immediately shot by the Legionnaires, who stood in a three-man V-formation, backing away, and shouting at him. He struggled to process the words, instead focusing on shaking off the light pain on his hide before rushing down the first Garden Defender, biting into her leg, earning a shriek of fear and pain.
The other two turned around and rushed forward and began to strike Johan's snout. Admirable qualities of unity, they would live. Johan stood on his hind legs as the Legionnaire Garden Defenders tried to beat him down. Johan shrugged off the strikes and dropped the Female Garden Defender onto her back.
She collapsed as the others rushed towards her. Johan stretched out his two arms and grabbed them both, slamming their heads together. The two collapsed. Johan took care to move the Legionnaires together, and bound them together by some chains which had been abandoned.
Johan then walked in the direction that they had come from. He sniffed the ground and followed the scent back to a larger piece of the destroyed city. The buildings were still standing with little damage in the area. He prowled until his nose picked up several scents which were clearly Legionnaires by their scents and the smell of weapons on them.
There were other scents as well, scents which were different from things that Johan had smelt before. He tracked them to the buildings to his left, rubbing his nose against the door. These creatures came recently, as the scent was strong. Johan looked around the area and saw that there was destroyed poles which seemed to be forced down, and several burnt areas along the sides of buildings.
Johan decided to waste no more time pondering pointless topics, and instead do something with his body. Johan slammed into the door, and ripped it open. Johan saw a guard who fell onto the ground. He turned around to start attacking Johan.
Johan grabbed the guard and swung him into the wall. The Garden Defender's head collided with the wall, cracking the skull on the concrete walls. Johan dropped the form and roared at the Garden Defender's corpse.
"What was that!" A voice shouted from the second floor, and a set of footsteps filled Johan's ears. He ran to the stairs and climbed up the stairs. The Garden Defender shrieked in fear as Johan grabbed him and dragged him down to Johan's level before crushing his throat with a strike from his paw.
Johan sniffed the air for any new scents. He found the other creatures in the smell. Johan crawled up the stairs and approached the cell.
He saw strange creatures, beasts of scales and plates, insects, and a pink Garden Defender, who bore metal pieces on her form. They stood away from the clear walls of the cells. Johan sniffed the scents and found that they led to the cells.
Johan growled in his throat at them. They were different, and he did not know much about them. They were the enemy of the Legion, which was his enemy, but so were the Dingoes. Were they allies, or just another enemy coming to claim the civilized city housed on a hill dung.
Johan continued to sniff as a… winged squirrel walked up close to the glass barrier, "Hello, You seem tough." He seemed… nice. Still, his approach did deserve a response, even if his courage came from a foolish lack of fear.
"You are right. I am strong, and tough." Johan growled at the strange, winged… no, webbed squirrel.
"Well, then why don't you let us out." The Squirrel asked, again in a nice stance, rubbing his blue… cloth. Johan had not seen such a piece of clothing.
"Why would I release you? I do not know you. You are not my allies." Johan growled at them.
The pink Garden Defender stepped forward, "We're enemies of the Legion. That should be enough, Right?"
Johan cocked his head at her, "You could be an enemy of me and my enemy. I do not trust you."
"Look, We're here for the city, buster. If you don't like you, you can run off into the sewers." The Large scaled beast growled at Johan.
He was direct in a way that… was rather difficult for Johan to understand. Why would he run to the sewers? Johan cocked his head.
He needed to make a decision for these people. There were more cells, so Johan decided quickly, that the value of them as an ally outweighed the few seconds it would take to kill them if they were an enemy.
"I will free you, and I will rip your insides out if you should betray my trust." Johan growled, and he smashed the control panel for the door. The door opened and the prisoners walked to the edge of the cell.
There was a scaley beast with ridges on his back. He stood in front of the squirrel. There were two scaled beasts as well, one with horns and another with a spike on his nose. They stood close by.
The last one, the pink Garden Defender had machine body parts, and a smell which was like that of one he knew, but Johan could not remember who.
"Thank you." The Pink Garden Defender sighed, clearly feeling more anger than grace with Johan. It mattered little to him.
Johan opened the cells of the other prisoners, various garden Defenders who had been captured.
Then, the alarm sounded. Johan perked up, before looking at the prisoners, before growling, "You all might have some use to me now."
/*-*/
Plots and pain, talk and gossip, saying and slaying. All wrapped up in a single chapter.
I loved working on this chapter, and setting up some things to come. The next two chapters will be dedicated Johan chapters, so be prepared.
Also, I just got a job, so some things might be changing with uploading schedules and how stories are handled. This is fair warning.
Remember, leaving a review helps keep morale high. I love to hear from you all. If you don't want to leave a review, you can send a private message and I will respond as soon as I can. Otherwise, I'll reply to reviews in the next chapter.