Chapter 3: Snake Strikes
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MEH BURGER, A FEW HOURS LATER
Sonic returned one last time to give Isabelle the pays for his last deliveries, after which his shift would be over for the day and he can go home where his little brother, Uncle and cousin were waiting for him to have dinner. But before he could leave, Isabelle stopped him to give 25$.
Sonic: *A bit surprised, but happy* Thanks, to which satisfied client do i say thanks to?
Isabelle: Miss Cobra, she left us a 20$ bill each and a score card giving are restaurant a solid 3 out of 5 stars, with a note that says she might return in the not so distant future for another bite.
Sonic: *Smiles* That Annelise sure is a pretty sweet gale for a supermodel.
Isabelle: Guest not all Supermodels are snobbish, picky bitches.
Sonic: *Chuckles* Yeah *Looks back at the money and frowns a bit in confusion* Quick question, if she left us 20$ each, how come i got more?
Isabelle: Oh, the extra 5 is part of Dave's 20. After giving away a meal for free and Miss Cobra gave me the 3 20's, i took 15 out of his share to pay for that meal and giving you the rest because you're a far more reliable, competent coworker.
Behind her, an angry Dave was sweeping the floor and heard everything.
Dave: What would you know? He's out all day delivering food and never helped us here, not once.
Isabelle: Oh shut it Dave, delivering food is his job and he does it right, which is more than what i can say about you more than half the time.
That was the last straw for Dave, who threw the broom on the floor and started a rather heated argument with Isabelle, totally ignoring the blue hedgehog still at the counter. Amused, Sonic watched the fight unfold for a few minutes before deciding to leave.
SONIC AND TAILS APARTMENT, LATER
Sonic: *Opens the door and walks inside before closing it* Tails? I'm Home *Hangs his jacket on the coat rack and walks to the kitchen. Seeing his uncle Chuck and cousin Zinnia already there helping him prepare dinner and smiled*Hey Uncle Chuck.
Chuck: *Looks at him and smiled* Hey there Sony boy, welcome home.
Tails: *Does the same while holding a bowl of something brown and smiles* Hey Sonic. How was work today.
Sonic: *Shrugs* Same old, cept for meeting an actual supermodel and when i ran into Zi's crime scene on my way to a delivery *Turns to his cousin* By the way, did your psychic give you any new info yet?
Zinnia: *Sighs while continuing to slice a tomato* Not yet, i brought her what evidence i could and she told me to come back tomorrow, claiming she'll have something by then *Sets aside the sliced tomato pieces before grabbing another one*.
Sonic: Hope so.
Stomach suddenly growls, making everyone look at him with amused looks while he chuckles with a hand on it.
Chuck: Sounds like you could use a bite to eat Sony.
Sonic: *Chuckles* Delivering food on foot all day will do that, so what's for dinner.
Tails: Spaghetti and Meatballs. I'm handling the spaghetti while Uncle Chuck and Zinnia are handling the Tomato Sauce.
Sonic: Right, leaving me with the meatballs, got it *Walks to Tails to take the bowl, which is full of meat, and begins shaping them into balls*
Another hour later, the meal was done, and everyone sat at the table to eat and engage in conversation about their day and how things were sense they all last saw each other. When dessert time came up, Tails suggested they go to the Ice Cream shop for some softies, which they all agree...
Chuck: Euh Zinnia dear, why don't you and Tails go ahead and Sonic and i will join you in a bit, there's something i need to talk about with your cousin.
Zinnia: *Frowns* You sure this can't wait tell after dessert dad?
Chuck: *Nods* Very sure, go on we'll catch up soon.
Zinnia nodded reluctantly and walked a slightly confused Tails out the door and into her car.
Tails: *Buckles his seat belt* Hey Zi, What is it that Uncle Chuck wants to tell Sonic? He made it sound like its pretty important.
Zinnia: *Buckles her own belt, then turns to smile at him a bit nervously* Oh, he... just wants to give him an early birthday present is all.
Tails: *Raises a brow* What kind of present? And why now and not on his birthday?
Zinnia: Sorry cutie, but that's not my business to tell, ask Sonic later.
She then Turns on the engine and drives to the Ice Cream Shop. Seconds later, Annelise in much darker clothing, came out from the shadows of the building and nearby trees looking slightly annoyed.
Annelise: Damn it, seems like i won't be able to kill two birds with one stone after all. *Smirks* No matter, i'll take care of little miss Detective later, *Takes off the dark green bundle she was carrying* for now let's give her daddy a little present, *Opens the bundle* are you ready my pet?
From the bundle, a purple scaled Cobra came out, larger than the average cobra, bobbing its head affirmatively at its creator's question.
Annelise: Excellent, then go inside and seek out an elder blue hedgehog, use the acidic venom in your fangs to kill him and leave nothing of its body behind, then come back to me, without letting anyone else in the building see you, understand?
The Cobra nodded and slithered towards a pipe mounted on the building wall, getting in so it can climb up the building's pipping system and get in the building to begin the search.
BACK IN SONIC'S APARTMENT
Sonic: *Sits on the couch in the living room* So Uncle Chuck, what did you want to talk about
Chuck: Actually Sony, it's more that i have gift to give you *Takes out a small box and gives it to his Nephew* open this and you'll see.
Sonic opened the box to reveal a golden ring inside, shaped like a leaf with an emerald at the center.
Sonic: Heuuu, Thanks Uncle Chuck, but my Birthday isn't for another 2 months. And i'm not exactly a ring kind of guy.
Chuck: *Laughs* Know it on both accounts Sony boy, but i wanted you to have this sense it's been a long time in the family, part of a set of 3 jewels said to be powerful weapons against beast mages.
Sonic: Beast Mages?
Chuck: Overlanders with the ability to use magic, which they use to hide themselves among us as fellow mobians...
This caused Sonic to have a flashback of earlier at Meh Burger, Annelise sudden change that shocked him into choking on his lunch. She did look like an Overlander in some weird clothing, maybe he didn't hallucinate after all.
Chuck: Sony? You alright sport?
Sonic:*Snaps out of his flashback* Oh, euh, yeah, just spaced out for a second. What were you saying about Beast Mages?
Chuck: Well, according to are family history long ago, an ancestor of ares named Matthew the Hedgehog, used 3 amulets: A Sapphire Necklace, a Ruby Bracelet and that ring you're holding, to hunt down and kill Beast Mages, whom many were harming innocent mobians for one reason or another.
Sonic: Sounds no different than how regular Overlanders treat us, but you don't seriously believe that there are magic using Overlanders out there, do you uncle?
Chuck: 'Believe me my boy, i wish i didn't' It's not impossible, magic exists and Overlanders exists, so why can't there be Overlanders that uses magic?
Sonic: *Thinks about it a second* Well, maybe, but then why would these Overlanders be hiding among us, most of them hate mobians and don't want anything to do with us?
Chuck: Overlanders in general have always shun things that were unnatural, at least from their point of view, its quit possible Beast Mages were shun away by their fellow Overlanders for the magic they posses and had no choice but to swallow their own prejudice so they might survive among us, sense there's really nowhere else for them to go.
Sonic: That makes sense. *Shows Chuck the ring while Smirking* What about this, want me to go see if they do exist?
Chuck: *Laughs* No, that and this *Shows Sonic a Golden bracelet under his right gloved wrist with a ruby at its center* i'm pretty sure are just regular pieces of jewelry that was gathering dust in an old chest at are family's storage room. Now i'm having everything moved out and selling everything that has value, except for the jewels that's staying in the family. I have the ruby bracelet, your cousin has the sapphire necklace, and you have the emerald ring.
Sonic: *Smirks knowingly* Cause emeralds suit me the best, right?
Chuck: *Smiles* Exactly.
Both Hedgehogs laughed wholeheartedly at the ironical joke before deciding they should go join Zinnia and Tails at the Ice Cream shop, but first Chuck needed to use the bathroom. While he did, Sonic took the chance to examine his new ring more closely.
Sonic: *Sees a weird gleam in the emerald as he examined it, that flashed in his face before vanishing a second later, startling him* 'Well that was weird. Could the ring be a magical amulet after all?' *Chuckles* 'Yeah Right'.
Suddenly, he heard Uncle Chuck shouting in the bathroom.
Sonic: Uncle Chuck!? *runs to the bathroom, dropping the box and the ring on the couch*
IN THE BATHROOM
Chuck was done with his business and was washing his hands, when the purple cobra who was traveling through the building pipes to find him, finally came out of the shower head and landed in the bathtub with a thud.
Chuck: *Hears the Thud* Hein? *Opens the shower curtain to see what it was, and the purple cobra pounced* AAAAAAAH *Grabs the snake just before it can bite down on his face and struggles against it while walking out the bathroom backwards*.
Sonic then turned a corner and saw his uncle fighting the snake.
Sonic: *Outstretch his hand* Uncle Chuck!
Chuck: *Struggling* Stay back Sonic, that oversized fangy purple earth warm is a pretty strong fellow *Grabs its head before it can bite down on his shoulder* and it has a willfully bad attitude.
In the struggle, Chuck tripped and fell on his back, loosing his grip on the cobra's head, so the snake took the chance to spit its cursed venom at his face, but he managed to turn his head away and avoid all but 1 drop of corrosive venom that burned his cheek quit badly.
Chuck: *Shouts in pain, then looks back at the cobra with a smirk* Should have known you weren't a normal snake wormy *Struggles to raise his right hand* Why don't you spit on this!
He finally got the bracelet raised to the cobra's face, causing the ruby to react with a bright red light that separated the two and send them crashing on opposite walls, knocking out the older hedgehog.
Sonic: Uncle Chuck!?
Sonic tried to go check if his uncle was ok, but he was stopped by the Cobra that quickly recovered and with lightning speed, stood between the blue speedster and his uncle, hissing like mad. Half the skin on its face was burned off by the Ruby's magic, revealing half its skull and a missing eye. He tried to hit Sonic with another Acidic venom, but he was faster and dodged it before doing a spin attack aimed at its head sending it crashing again on another wall, but it recovered quickly again and did a low sweep with its tail that got him off his feet and on to his back.
The cobra was then going to dive in for the kill, but was tackle by a recovered Chuck, who managed to apply his weight on its head to keep it pin down.
Chuck: *Struggles to keep it down* Sonic, get up, go grab the ring and put it on.
Sonic: *Gets up while rubbing his head in pain*
What are you t-
Chuck: No time for discussion sport, *Almost lost his grip, but reapplies his weight* DO IT QUICK.
Sonic didn't get why his uncle was asking him to do that when there's a giant, acid spitting cobra attacking them, but he complied and ran back to the living room to grab the ring from its box and puts it on. To his astonishment, the glow he thought he saw earlier returned stronger the moment it was on his finger, and a thin but visible beam of light came out to point in the direction of the cobra.
Sonic: 'It really is a magical amulet'
His uncle shouting for him to hurry up snapped him out of his astonishment, and he ran back to him.
Sonic: I got the ring uncle Chuck.
Chuck: *Struggles harder against the snake* Good, point the stone directly at the Cobra's head, hurry.
He did, and from the stone a larger beam of green light came out, hitting the cobra between the eyes and spreading the light through out its body. It hissed and screeched in pain, until the light covers it all, and then, it exploded into dust, sending the two hedgehog crashing into the walls, again.
Sonic: *Gets back up groaning in pain, but saw the cobra nowhere, probably vaporized in the explosion* Man, that snake sure went out with a bang, i'm i right Uncle Chuck?
His only response was a groan of pain from the older hedgehog, causing the younger one to look in his direction to see his uncle slump on the wall with some blood staining the spot above his head.
Sonic: Uncle! *Runs at his side*
Chuck: *Looks at his nephew with barely opened eyes* Is the snake dead?
Sonic: *Nods* What ever that energy was in that ring, it completely vaporized it.
Chuck: *Sighs in relief* Good *Then grabs his ring hand* Whatever you do sport, never remove this ring, keep it on you always, it.. will.. protect *Lost consciousness because of his head injury*
Sonic: *Looks worried and tries to shack his uncle awake* Uncle? Uncle Chuck? Protect me from what?
Nothing, that last wall crash injured his head bad enough to knock him out cold, and he was bleeding pretty bad. In a panic, Sonic ran back in the kitchen to grab the phone and dial 911.
Phone Receptionist: *Rings*... 911, what's your emergency?
Sonic: Its my uncle, he was attack and his head is hurt very bad, i need an ambulance RIGHT NOW...
TO BE CONTINUED...