A Tale of Two Brothers
Hey Peeps, I don't own anything related to Sonic or his universe, that's SEGA and all other companies relevant to the creation of his various back-stories, and even though most of them have tanked it now that is beside the point. Honestly, I actually own very little in this fic (next to nothing to be exact) but this is my story and even though I am using characters from Archie, DiC and SEGA I will be fleshing many of them out because they were only 2-dimensional so in some ways they will appear very OC hopefully you'll bear with me! Anyway, I've bored you to tears with this disclaimer so enjoy and let me know what you think! X
Review Replies:
Nyx27Seth: Haha if you like them that much they may come back! And I've decided to roll with your jealousy idea in the next chapter but I've twisted it. Lol I don't think having a marshmallow in you r mouth mid smooch is a good idea… sounds like a death wish actually XD
Slayer 666: Mmmm, Christmas time? I know it's mentioned in the adventures of Sonic but I kind of picture that as a human holiday. Can we do a compromise where I make another kind of celebration at the same time as Christmas as a substitute? That I can do easily. And I can understand that reasoning behind the last Charlie chap and I promise he will speak to more mobians in this chap. I have taken your suggestion about him speaking to the king on board and am working it in. Obviously he can't just magically speak to others without a reason too, most people would see right through that one. And wow! You've put some serious thought into that sequel idea of yours… I do like it but it doesn't quite fit with where the story is heading but I am deliberating over some points in it as it's such a well thought out idea. Thanks for the suggestions :) x
Chapter Fifteen: Separation And The Symposium
The door to Trev's House of Tuxes jingled brightly as two teenage hedgehogs entered the suit parlour on Mobotroplis Main Street. A mild-blue hedgehog entered first. He had a bushy moustache and was wearing a long brown jacket and a set of dark-red hi-tops with two yellow stripes. Behind him was a clean-shaven cobalt-blue hedgehog that was slightly taller and wearing a long navy-blue overcoat, an old red and white scarf and a set of scuffed brown combat boots. After letting the two hedgehogs browse the shop-floor for a few moments the beige-furred weasel-salesmobian in the sharp Armobian pin-stripe suit approached the two teenagers.
'Can I help you gentlemobians at all?' He asked in an amiable tone.
'Yes..' Charles said brightly as his brother paused from fishing through the rails of suits and turned towards the salesmobian. 'I'm looking for a suit to wear to a symposium next week.'
'Well you've come to the right place my young friend. We stock a wide selection of suits for every occasion. Do you have any idea what kind of suit you're looking for?' The weasel flashed a suave leer to the mild-blue hedgehog but Charles only got as far as opening his mouth before Jules immediately pushed his way in front of his older sibling and flashing his most charming grin.
'I'll field that one bud! I'm thinking we could go for a straight-cut charcoal dinner suit with sharp-white tuxedo shirt and what have you got in a bow-tie and cummerbund combo? I'm thinking of something in a soft cerulean or powder blue that will bring out my brother's eyes?' Jules reeled off confidently to the salesmobian and Charles could only blink at his little brother. He already seemed to have worked out exactly what to dress him in.
'Ah, a hedgehog who knows what he wants! Well let's take some measurements and see what we have in stock.' The weasel-salesmobian declared brightly with a snap of his beige-furred fingers. 'Right this way gents and I'll ask you to shrug off your jacket, if you don't mind.' He added as they approached the back of the shop-floor where a large mirror, a couple of chairs and a large dressmaking table with a few different sized mannequins. On the wall behind the dressmaker's table were tools of the sewing trade that were neatly stacked in a series of cubbyholes. Charles glanced at his little brother and Jules flashed him an encouraging smile. The mild-blue hedgehog then shrugged of his brown jacket revealing a green knitted vest-top then passing his coat to his younger sibling. Jules took the jacket and hung it up on the coat-stand nearby before turning back as the weasel-salesmobian whipped out a tape measure.
'Will I need to take off my jumper too?' Charles asked in a hesitant tone. He lacked a lot of the self-confidence that his younger sibling had and could be very self-conscious in social situations like this which was another reason for bringing Jules along.
'That is entirely your choice.' The weasel-salesmobian said kindly as he pulled the measuring tape taut. 'It won't affect the measurements too much.'
'Ahh but my brother Charlie here likes to be as accurate as possible, don't you bro?' Jules strutted in a lazy cocksure manner towards his older sibling then slid an arm around his sibling's waist as his newly cast-free arm patted the shoulder nearest him. Then quicker than Charles could even object Jules' nimble fingers moved swiftly to the bottom hem of his brother's green jumper and whipped it off in one clean sweep.
'Jules!' Charles cried out indignantly as he now stood on the shop-floor in nothing but his deep-red hi-tops with twin yellow stripes. 'He said I could keep it on!' The cobalt younger sibling only threw his brother an impish grin of delight as the older mild-blue hedgehog tried, and failed due to Jules' naturally swift reflexes, to claim his jumper back.
'Yeh… but why risk being a little out when we can be exact.' Jules narrowed his hazel eyes teasingly towards his older brother, enjoying his moment of discomfort. Charles pouted irritably at his little sibling. He hated it when Jules teased him in this manner. He only did it because he knew Charles was not fast enough to grab anything off of him, Jules had been teasing him for as long as he'd known he was faster than his older brother which had been when he was a mere toddler of three. 'Missed it again.' The cobalt-blue hedgehog immediately added brightly as his older brother swiped for his vest-top again and Jules to jerk it out of reach. 'Now, be a good hedgehog and stand still while the nice weasel measures you for your suit Charlie..' The cobalt-blue hedgehog sounded in a slightly patronizing tone, speaking to his older brother as if he were a just a little hedgehoglet while wearing a cocky smirk and moving to hang the vest-top beside Charles' brown jacket.
'You are insufferable, you know that?' The mild-blue hedgehog spoke back in a hiss of annoyance. When he was younger the mild-blue hedgehog would have punched his little brother for daring to speak to him in that tone of voice. He may not have been as fast physically but he was definitely faster in the mind and could often out-smart his more agile but less-witted sibling.
'And that's why you love me.' Jules merely smirked back in mild amusement, his hazel eyes then narrowed with gleeful amusement as his older brother narrowed his eyes in irritation but looked pointedly away without answering, proving what he said was true.
'I'm sorry about this.' The mild-mannered older Hedgehog brother turned and apologised to the weasel-salesmobian.
'Oh don't worry about it my friend. It's not the first time. Now just relax and hold your arms out for me.' The beige weasel said lightly, dismissingly their sibling tiff as if it was nothing and making Charles wonder just what else he had witnessed. The twenty year old hedgehog then complied and held his arms out. Immediately the salesmobian whipped the measuring-tape around Charles' back, through the natural tapering off along his back-quills and underneath his armpits. He then finished off by drawing the tape across his chest.
'Alright, twenty-five inches on the chest..' The salesmobian murmured making a note before measuring his arm length then noting it on the pad on the corner of the desk. He then proceeded to measure out his arm-length and the thickness of his upper-arm before placing the metal-edge of his measuring tape on the floor at the mild-blue hedgehog's feet. 'If you could put your foot on the tab for me.' Charles obeyed and the measuring-tape was immediately brought up swiftly and fluidly before him and the weasel-mobian took note of his height.
'Three foot ten inches..' He uttered noting the height down with the other measurements.
'He-hey! Charlie, you grew an extra inch, congratulations bro a few more and you might even catch up with me.' Jules declared brightly.
'I doubt it Jules, I've done all the growing I'm gonna do. We're not all lucky enough to be tall and long-limbed like you.' He said as he looked over his brother's tall athletic body, he'd always had a slight pang of jealousy over how good his brother looked with so little effort. It was something that Jules had definitely inherited from their mother. Even when she'd been wearing no make-up and had her cobalt-blue quills messily up in rollers Sonia Hedgehog had always been beautiful in her eldest son's eyes. It made Charles sad to know that Jules couldn't remember anything about her. Their mother had been a gentle soul with a big heart, always eager to help another mobian out no matter who they were or what they'd done.
'Alright, that's a waist measurement of twenty-four inches. Now, it's just your leg measurements and then we'll see what we have around your size.' Immediately the voice of the salesmobian brought Charles back to his current situation as the weasel proceeded to take the final measurements and record the results.
Once all the measurements were taken the beige-furred weasel in the sharp Armobian suit smiled warmly before moving down the shop-floor. He then pulled out a rail of suits and wheeled it back across as the younger Hedgehog brother appeared beside his older sibling.
'These are what we have in your size, I'd ask if you need help but it seems like your brother already has a look in mind.' The weasel-salesmobian said with a smile to the cobalt-blue hedgehog and Jules flashed a grin to his older brother. Charles regarded his little sibling as he was throwing him a look that clearly said 'you trust me, right?' The mild-blue hedgehog then turned back towards the salesmobian and smiled warmly as his brother continued to eye him carefully.
'Yes, he does.' Charles sounded as he felt his brother's hazel eyes still watching him. 'No-one knows me better than him..' He then turned to Jules with a smile tweaking under his bushy moustache. '-and I trust his judgement.'
'Well, in that case..' The weasel-salesmobian said to Jules before gesturing to the rack of suits. '-please, be my guest.'
It didn't take very long for Jules Hedgehog to pull a look together for his older brother and Charles soon found himself in a smart black dinner jacket with matching trousers and white tuxedo shirt which had simple layered stripes running vertically down it. The jacket only needed taken in slightly but the trousers would have to be taken up drastically as they dragged on the floor. Still, it was enough to give both the salesmobian and his older brother a glimpse into what the cobalt hedgehog was going for.
'Whadda you think Charlie, nothing flashy just a well-worn classic.' Jules sounded with a flick of his wrist as he outlined his choice unnecessary. His older brother seemed to consider his reflection before turning back to him with a smile.
'It looks good. I like it.' Charles replied and Jules narrowed his eyes as his smile tweaked into a roguish smirk.
'You certainly have an eye for detail.' The beige-furred weasel-salesmobian said in agreement as he eyed the young hedgehog's choice of suit with approval. 'Have you ever considered selling suits? You'd be a natural.' He added offhandedly and this made Jules raise his brows at the very idea.
'Thanks but I think I'll just stick to my day job for now.' The cobalt-blue hedgehog said lightly before he then kinked a brow at the beige weasel in the sharp Armobian suit. 'So what shades of blue do you have in a cummerbund and bow-tie?' The blue-quilled teenager added casually and the salesmobian grinned and turned to a shelf which stocked the desired items.
'Well, we do have a cerulean but not a 'powder blue', however we do have periwinkle which is only a shade off.' He passed Jules the two shades of blue before turning back to the shelf and routing as the cobalt hedgehog raised the two colours up to study them against Charles' quills and eyes. Jules' hazel eyes squinted as he grimaced, he couldn't decide which looked better.
'Hmmm.. I'm not sure.' He uttered as the salesmobian returned holding a shade of mid-blue that looked slightly grey next to Charles' quills.
'Try this azure bow-tie, I think it may be what you're after.' The beige-weasel said helpfully passing it to Jules and taking back the other blue bow-ties back. The minute Jules slipped the bow-tie around his brother's neck he grinned widely.
'Wow, its perfect, those science broads will all be wanting a piece of you Charlie-Boy.' Jules exclaimed as he admired the effect that this greyish shade of blue had on his brother's outfit. The darker bow-tie and cummerbund was really going to make his blue eyes stand out.
'It is sir; this blue really does highlight the subtle difference in colour between your eyes and quills.' The salesmobian added with a wide smile. Charles too seemed to agree with them on this front and admired his reflection. With the outfit now complete the older mild-blue hedgehog appreciated how this suit had a slimming effect on his slightly chubby gut. This was a combination of poor diet and lack of proper exercise but whereas Jules' metabolism was insanely high Charles seemed to have been landed with a sluggish one. Although it was most likely due to his irregular eating habits as he only ate when he remembered to and it was mostly fatty junk food or other grab-on-the-go food.
'He'll take it.' The younger cobalt-blue hedgehog said decisively as he turned his attention back towards the beige-furred weasel-salesmobian. Charles looked around with a light smile at his brother as he shook hands with the salesmobian.
'Excellent.' The beige-weasel said enthusiastically. 'The suit will be ready within a week and a half once all the alterations are complete.' The weasel replied airily as he took back the suit that Charles stripped out of before putting his knitted vest-top and big brown overcoat back on.
'That's a few days before you need it Charlie, that fly with you bro?' Jules immediately turned back to his brother and kinked a brow questioningly at him.
'Yeh that's fine..' Charles replied lightly.
'Got your date book with you?' The cobalt-blue hedgehog immediately followed up his first question. 'Cause you better put it in, I know what you're like you'll just end up so engrossed in your lab work that you'll forget it and I won't be here to remind you.' He frowned slightly thinking vaguely that his brother needed another hobby to get him out of that stuffy studio-lab of his.
'Fine, fine..' The mild-blue hedgehog droned as he pulled his little black datebook out of his pocket and flipped to the page with the desired day. Charles gave a wry smile as he whipped out the pen that was attached this little book. He knew his cobalt sibling was only looking out for him and was worried about leaving him alone so he let the nagging slide.
'Is there a particular time I have to pick it up?' The mild-blue hedgehog asked the salesmobian who was carefully putting the suit away in a protective sleeve to keep it clean and dust-free.
'Oh no, anytime during opening hours that day will be fine.' The beige-weasel replied as Charles wrote down the details.
'Well in that case I better phone Lionel to come in and see you that day and make sure you remember to go.' Jules sounded whipping out his communicator and moving to the door of the suit shop. 'And I'll phone Ernie's and get you an appointment there.' Jules added as he pushed the door and let some of the freezing cold winter air inside along with a little drifting snow.
'What for?' Charles asked curiously.
'To sort those brows and 'tache..' Jules said sternly, pointing to his brother's untidy facial hair. '-you are not going to some fancy shindig without getting them sorted.' He then paused adding an afterthought to himself. 'Actually if I call Ernie's first I can tell Lionel when that is too.' He then smirked to himself for his cleverness before shutting the door and dialling the number of the mobian barbershop.
'He obviously wants you to look your best for this symposium of yours.' The salesmobian grinned widely as Charles turned back to him.
'Yeh. I know.' Charles sighed, thinking his brother might be worrying a little too much by getting Lionel to check up on him while he was gone next week but if it made Jules feel better he'd just go along with it to keep him happy. 'So do I pay for this now or when I pick it up?' He added curiously and the salesmobian smiled.
'I'll take a deposit now then you pay the rest when you pick it up.' He replied lightly and immediately the two of them began to sort out the details while Jules was outside talking on his communicator.
'Alright Charlie, you remember you've gotta be at Ernie's for three o'clock the afternoon of your symposium, right?' Jules frowned in concern to his older brother as the two Hedgehog brothers stood together by Mobotroplis' airport which was known as Sky Base International. This airport was one of the largest in Mobius and usually shared connections with the whole world. However, in light of the recent war Mobius had shut off its connections with its eastern continents Mercia, Efrika and for good measure Downunda. Though the Mobian Military still kept in contact with the small continent they wished to keep their conversations brief so as not to alert the Overlanders to the existence of the Downundian mobians. If they were suddenly invaded by the furless alien-beings it would be days before Mobius could send in help and this could devastate the small continent, wiping them out in a single massacre.
Sky Base Internacolae was a huge airport hub, one massive building with 15 terminals and runways, although most of these had been abandoned since war had broken out making travelling by air a dangerous threat. The neglected runways were being utilized by the Mobian Air-Force who were using them to run practise drills with military planes that were mostly used to courier supplies as their weaponry was nowhere near advanced enough to use against the Overlanders high-tech equipment.
'Yes, yes.. I have it all in my little black book Jules, stop worrying.' The elder mild-quilled hedgehog rolled his eyes with slight irritation at his little brother's fussing.
'He's right.' Lionel added as he'd come to say bye to the cobalt hedgehog too. 'Besides, I'll be around to remind him so you just worry about keeping our monarchy safe, ok?' The blonde-maned lion winked at his best friend before rubbing his brown-mittened hands as the winter air was biting.
'Alright fine… I won't say any more.' Jules said, finally dropping his navy overnight bag onto the asphalt ground at his feet as it was quite heavy on his shoulder. He then smiled at his brother then added as if he were unable to restrain himself. 'Just promise me you'll take care of yourself Charlie.'
'Only if you do the same Jules.' Charles added throwing his brother an anxious look of his own. This week would be the longest the two Hedgehog brothers had ever spent apart and neither of them were sure how they would handle this separation. It would be a real test for both siblings as they were used to each other's company.
'Deal..' Jules grinned widely back at his brother. 'Alright, let's cut the macho act.. Bring it in Charlie.' The younger sibling added as he stretched out his arms and Charles relented, allowing himself to step forward and embrace his little sibling warmly.
'I'll miss you while you're gone little brother.' The mild-blue hedgehog murmured this quietly in his brother's cobalt-blue pointed-ear so it was only heard by the two of them.
'Yeh, yeh, I'll miss you too.' Jules uttered back with a slight smirk as he clung to his older sibling. 'And call me after your symposia and tell me how it went.'
'Juice!' A high female voice suddenly called out causing the group of three young adult-mobians to turn in unison. The Hedgehog brothers immediately broke apart from their hug and saw a red-headed chipmunk-mobian dressed in a long black coat, a pink scarf with matching mittens and white earmuffs. On her feet were a set of white faux-fur snow-boots. She waved enthusiastically as her sapphire eyes caught sight of the cobalt-blue hedgehog and the female chipmunk began running across the salted asphalt ground leading away from the airport terminal.
'Hey Alice..' Jules grinned back to the seventeen year old chipmunk-mobian that had come to see him off, moving away from his brother and Lionel to greet her. As the pair of young teenagers hugged warmly Charles kinked a bushy light-blue brow in slight confusion.
'When did Jules start speaking to Alicia Chipmunk again?' He turned and asked the blonde lion-mobian standing beside him but Lionel shook his head just as bemused.
'I dunno, he never said anything about her to me.' The blonde-maned lion shrugged. The two of them continued to watch as the ex-couple continued to talk while walking towards them on the asphalt.
'Don't you remember how miserable he was after she left him?' Charles added in a low voice as his pale-blue eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the pair chat amiably as if nothing had ever changed between them. Alicia was even holding hands comfortably with his little brother and smiling warmly as they talked.
'Sure but don't you think your being a little over protective Chuck?' Lionel added as he could tell Charles was not impressed with Alicia being back in the picture but the blonde lion-mobian knew that it wasn't up to them to choose who Jules hung out with.
'I'm his big brother; it's my job to look out for him.' The mild-blue said firmly, there was a slight hint of a haughty sniff in his words. 'It was me who had to pick up the pieces when she broke his heart.'
'Yes I know, but Jules is too laid back to hold any kind of grudge against her for that.' Lionel replied lightly causing Charles to sigh as his shoulders sagged a little. At this moment both Jules and Alicia approached the two science-minded mobians with big smiles, though the female chipmunk's then faltered at the distant look on Charles' face.
'Hello Lionel, it's good to see you again.' Alicia said in a friendly tone, her smile widening to her old classmate as they used to share an advanced mathematics class and a social studies class with the rest of their year group.
'Hey Alicia, nice to see you too.' The blonde-maned lion-mobian grinned back at the red-headed chipmunk. He'd never had an issue with her and he'd understood her reasons for leaving Jules.
'And er… h-hello Charles.' Alicia added timidly to Jules' older brother. She'd always had an awkward relationship with the mild-blue hedgehog and as much as she'd tried very hard to get to know him Alicia had always felt a 'wall' between them, like he was merely putting up with her for Jules' sake.
'Have a safe trip Jules, (d)mail me when you land, ok?' Charles turned pointedly to his younger brother then turned away, blanking Alicia in the process. Jukes blinked in amazement at his brother's rudeness while the female chipmunk looked a little hurt by being so openly snubbed.
'Charlie… don't be like that bro..' The cobalt-blue hedgehog called out to his older sibling but Charles ignored his words, stuffed his hands in his huge brown overcoat and carried on walking towards the main building…
The days rolled on slowly for Charles after his brother had left Mobotroplis as part of the King's Elite Team for the G-Seven summit meeting. He still had no idea of his brother's destination but Jules had sent him a digital message through their communicators the moment he had had a free moment to do so telling his older sibling he was safe. Charles had hidden himself away from the freezing winter weather by continuing to keep himself busy in his studio-lab. Nothing however could distract the mild-blue hedgehog from missing his little brother. The days seemed longer without his daily invasion. Charles wasn't short of company though. Lionel still came around to help him out and he'd even had Professor Morgan over for a coffee and a chat about the symposium at the weekend… but neither of them could replicate the presence of Jules.
With only a few days before the Symposium of Science Charles found himself down at the Mobian Council building to finalize the details for the day, taking careful notes in his little black daily planner so that he wouldn't forget. Without Jules to remind him of things he was supposed to be doing Charles found himself consciously flicking through it more often. He wanted his little brother to know he could get on fine without him just like he was sure that Jules would be alright without him around.
'Charles!' A female voice called out causing the mild-blue hedgehog to turn his pale-blue eyes over his shoulder. He immediately saw Alicia Chipmunk tottering towards him in her blue court shoes, dressed in a sharp navy-blue suit with an orange blouse underneath. The eldest Hedgehog brother groaned inwardly and moved quicker, not wanting to speak to his little brother's ex-girlfriend. 'Charles… Wait! I wanna talk to you!' She added desperately, practically sprinting in her high heels down the hall which was an impressive feat.
'Stop!' Alicia added sharply gripping his shoulder the second she had caught up with him. 'Look. I know you're still mad at me for what happened with Jules but if he can forgive me I don't see why you can't.' She folded her arms tightly across her chest.
'I just don't want to see him hurt again.' Charles stated plainly so she understood his position.
'Neither do I Charles.' Alicia's sapphire-blue eyes shone with the sincerity of her words. 'I still care about him; that will never change. He's a great guy and he deserves to be happy.'
'Yes he does.' The mild-blue hedgehog said in agreement, relenting slightly though he was still acting aloof to her. Alicia ignored this as she was used to Charles giving her the cold shoulder.
'Have you heard from Jules lately? I haven't since the day he landed..' Alicia asked curiously and for a long moment Charles deliberated on whether to answer it or not.
'No but he did tell me that digital signal is seriously distorted where he was, the only signal he can get is right on the edge of the remote island he's on.' The mild-blue hedgehog then relented once again and answered her query.
'Well I guess that makes sense, considering where he is.' The red-headed female chipmunk reasoned and immediately the elder male hedgehog linked his pale-blue eyes in shock.
'Wait, you know where he is?' Charles exclaimed in shock and immediately Alicia smiled sweetly at him and nodded.
'Sure, it's my job as a clerk to know these things, although I'm not supposed to tell anybody about it, what with it being a secret of national security and all...' The light-brown female chipmunk tailed off before her sapphire-blue eyes scanned the grand hallways for any of the council members. When she was sure that there was none of her superiors around her red-ringlet-covered head snapped back to Charles and she suddenly seized his arm sharply. Charles gasped as Alicia dragged him to a quiet corner before glancing around again.
'Alright, I could get in a lot of trouble for this but you deserve to know and I can't believe Juice didn't tell you.' She rolled her eyes at this point and tutted in disbelief at her ex-boyfriend's sudden respect for rules. 'The G-Seven summit meeting is on Angel Island. Y'know… it's the home island of the Master Chaos Emerald and it's that that distorts out digital network making it the perfect place for the meeting as the Overlanders can't hack our signals without their own network being distorted too.' Charles only gawped at her in amazement.
'The Floating Island is real?' He said softly, still in shock over this new information. 'I thought it was just a myth that Kirby wrote about in one of his books.'
'Keep your voice down!' Alicia hissed in an angry whisper. 'If they find out I told you this I could get fired..' She scowled at her ex's big brother before her expression softened. 'And I know you're a mobian of science but believe it or not but not everything the Kirbys wrote is completely fictional.' Alicia folded her arms across her chest with a deadpan expression. She knew Charles Hedgehog was closed-minded when it came to believing in the old mythological stories but there were small facts sewn into the myths written in the Tales of Kirby.
'Ok, fine. So the Kirbys got a few small facts correct, it doesn't suddenly make all their stories credible.' Charles snorted in instant disregard while waving a hand dismissively.
'I never said it did but doesn't it make you wonder just how the Kirbys found all of the information for their stories?' Alicia looked dreamily and immediately the mild-blue hedgehog made a noise of disagreement making the female chipmunk blink out of her daydreaming.
'Isn't it obvious?' Charles kinked his bushy blue eyebrow. 'The early Kirbys were travellers who wandered the terra of Mobius and wrote about the myths and legends that fascinated the mobians at their time while the later Kirbys settled and began recording the events that happened in their lifespan.' At his words Alicia narrowed her eyes in slight annoyance at his vast intelligence; he knew exactly how to ruin the magical sense of wonder that the Kirby stories had brought her as a little kiton.
'Er, yes… I guess that's feasible.' She added with a slightly strained smile, trying to brush away her irritation and keep things civil between them for the sake of her ex-boyfriend. 'Well I admit I was hoping that Jules would be able to tell me if the story of the Solitary Guardian was true. It was one of my favourites growing up.' The female chipmunk with copper-red ringlets added with a smile.
'That's the story of the lonely echidna that stayed guarding the Emerald while life just passed him by?' Charles then frowned as he remembered a profound moment in that tale. 'Doesn't he die alone in the end?' He queried, pretty sure that was the end of it.
'Yes but I always thought the moral of the story was to live life to the fullest..' Alicia said with a light but slightly sad smile. 'Anyway, I gotta go Charles. I'm meeting Max for lunch then he has a meeting with the council to discuss his ideas to help keep revenues and jobs steady. With this war taking a certain percentage of our mobian-youth away the council are keen to keep the economy stabilized so we have a future worth fighting for.'
'Yes, I think we all need to do our bit to keep Mobius running.' Charles then chanced a glance at his digital wristwatch. 'I must be going too I have a lot to get finished before the week is out..' He then gave her a slightly awkward half-wave goodbye then turned around at left her to meet up with her new partner…
'So, your brother mentioned some kind of fancy shindig when he made your appointment last week.' The middle-aged barber, a silver and black-furred lemur named Ernie, said conversationally as he gestured Charles Hedgehog into the salon swivel-seat opposite the large mirror.
'Yes, I've been invited to attend the annual Symposium of Science this year and present my latest invention to the entire science community.' Charles said with a hint of pride in his voice as he took his seat and leant back into the comfortable leather-padded seat.
'Wow. Sounds like a real fancy shindig.' Ernie replied his large round yellow eyes widening for a moment before they narrowed pleasantly as the silver lemur pulled over a salon trolley. On this trolley was everything he would need to cut and groom the mild-blue hedgehog's facial-quills and the barber wheeled it into position so it sat neatly by his side.
'Yes it is but Jules said I wasn't allowed to go without sorting out my bristles.' Charles said with a light smile, thinking about how lucky he was to have a little brother who knew so much about male grooming. He would never have even considered getting his quills tidied up for this evening. Thankfully everything was now set. He'd picked up his suit yesterday and it was hanging up in the studio-lab. One holophone prototype was sitting under a dustsheet in the side-car of his dark-green motorcycle ready to be connected up at the symposium. He and Lionel had already set up the other prototype in science lab number two in the Science and Technology department at Mobotroplis University. They had tested out the connectivity just last night and given it some final tweaks to make sure that both sound and picture was perfect and both young mobian-scientists were delighted with the results. Charles was certain that this would change the way mobians viewed the telephone forever.
Ernie chuckled with light amusement at the young mild-blue hedgehog's words.
'There's nothing wrong with having pride in how you look. So am I to take it that you're just after a close-shave and an eyebrow and moustache trim?' The middle-aged lemur asked with a smile. His face was slightly rounded and his deep-sunken yellow eyes were made more pronounced by the black ring of fur around them. He was dressed in a simple white barber's jacket and had a long black and white striped bushy tail that was longer than his whole body. At the moment his extended tail was comfortably wrapped around his large silver-furred feet.
'That would be perfect, thank you.' Charles sounded with a smile as the old lemur pulled a hot steaming towel out from a power-stone heated towel-warmer. Ernie then wrapped the towel around the mild-blue hedgehog's pale-skinned muzzle, letting it sit to open up the pores and soften his tough facial-quills and stubble, then turned away to sharpen a cut-throat razor for that precise close-save that Jules usually looked for when he booked himself in. Just like their father before them the cobalt-quilled hedgehog came to Ernie's once a month for a close-shave and to have his quiff of quills cut. Maurice Hedgehog had taught his sons how to shave using the same techniques with metal straight-edge razors that had been passed down their Hedgehog line from father to son. When his sons sprouted their first bristles Maurice had brought them both to this very barbershop to get their first shave from Ernie before then presenting them both with their own set of metal razors. It was the tradition in the Hedgehog family that every son got a new set of razors when they sprouted their first bristles and when they died the razors were buried with them. Maurice's razors had been placed in his coffin beside him by Charles before the casket had left Knothole's small temple.
As Charles lay reclined in the swivel-chair with a warm towel he closed his eyes drinking in the smell of sandalwood essential oil that filled his long black nose. The mild-blue hedgehog could remember the first time he'd ever come into this place, he'd not long turned sixteen when his first bristles had poked through and his father had brought him here, face itching and uncomfortable, to Ernie's barbershop. Two years later Jules' bristles poked when he was fifteen and their father took him to the barbershop too but whereas Charles had only gone the once Jules started going with their father once a month. The mild-blue hedgehog later learned that the reason he did this was because shaving was one the few things that the two of them had truly bonded over.
'I was sorry to hear about your father passing away, he was a good mobian.' Ernie said at that moment bringing Charles back to the present. The barber gently peeled the steaming towel away and began to lather the warm skin of his muzzle, carefully avoiding the twenty year old hedgehog's moustache. 'I would've liked to have gone to the funeral but unfortunately I was heavily booked on the day.' The silver lemur sighed with slight regret but he'd had the bookings before he knew when the funeral was and couldn't cancel them. 'Haven't seen you in here since your father brought you in when you were sixteen Charles. How have you been?' Ernie asked as he heated up the incredibly sharp blade of the cut-throat razor before bringing it to the mild-blue hedgehog's face and began to carefully shave in small precise movements.
'It's alright Mr Pottos, I understand. And I haven't been too bad, just nervous about introducing my new invention to the Board of Science tonight.' Charles replied making the silver lemur chuckle with good-natured humour at his politeness.
'Please Charles; call me Ernie, your brother does. And I'm sure you'll do just fine. Jules always keeps me up-to-date with how you're doing and if Maurice were here I know he'd be very proud of both of you.' The barber said as he wiped his blade clean of glycerine-cream, dipped it in almost scalding water and tilted Charles' head so he could follow the curvature of his muzzle under his chin.
'Thanks Ernie, that means a lot.' Charles murmured, careful not to move his jaw too much and disrupt the movements of the blade.
'You're welcome. I know your brother was very distraught when he died but I told him that Maurice cared for him deeply. He would come in here and worry about what Jules was going to do with his life. I used to tell him that his son would figure out a path eventually, he just had to have faith that your brother would come through.' The lemur said as he angled the razor to cut around the edge of his muzzle. As he wiped the blade again and dipped it into water Charles straightened his head, his pale-blue eyes narrowing with pleasure at his father's barber and old friend.
'That's what I told Jules too but I'm glad you were able to reinforce the message. He and dad always did have a turbulent sort of relationship.' Charles mused sadly, remembering how the two of them used to argue fiercely with each other and how their father's last words to Jules seemed to haunt him to this day..
'It's funny sometimes how we don't realise how much someone means to us until their gone, isn't it?' Ernie sounded as he shaved away the last of Charles' stubble then cleaned off the dregs of watery shaving-cream that was left on his clean muzzle. He then put the razor down and turned his attention to the aftershave balms next to him on the trolley. 'Now what type of aftershave balm would you like? You're brother goes for witch-hazel but your father used to favour bay rum.' After smelling them both Charles chose to go with the bay rum as he found it less zesty than the witch-hazel. Ernie then picked up a fine-tooth comb and sharp needle-scissors and proceeded to trim his moustache carefully.
'I have to say Charles; you're really starting to resemble your father, especially with this moustache.' Ernie said as a smile tweaked his mouth when he finished this he did the same thing with his eyebrows, following the natural curve and only cutting away the stray hairs.
'That's what most mobians who knew dad tell me.' Charles smiled warmly when Ernie pulled back and allowed the hedgehog to look at his reflection now the job was finished.
'Well it's true.' The lemur smiled as he moved the trolley away as Charles touched his clean-shaven muzzle admiring how soft his skin felt after a 'proper' shave.
'Wow, I don't think my muzzle has felt this smooth in a few years.' He uttered to himself and it caused the lemur barber to chuckle.
'You shouldn't wait so long for your next appointment.' Ernie added with a slight reprimanding waggle of his index finger. Charles, who had been appreciating his newly trimmed brows and moustache, turned and smiled at the mobian-barber.
'I won't..' He promised the lemur solemnly.
'So, are you ready to do this Chuck?' Lionel's voice said, dragging Charles' attention back to the blonde lion-mobian who'd been waiting with him outside the function suite doors of the Hill-Top Hotel. This was the fanciest hotel in all of Mobotroplis and tonight it was playing host to the Symposium of Science, welcoming the best and brightest of Mobius' science community along with their new ideas inside its huge revolving doors.
The mild-blue hedgehog let the door to the function suite fall back into a shut position. Charles had been peeking through it just to see how many mobians were in the room. The Minister of Science Professor Owl was inside along with many of the distinguished members of the Board of Science including Doctor Barkenstien who had discovered the lost location of the tomb of Amanrapi. He was an infamous prophet from Ancient Mobigypt whose burial pyramid had been lost in the Zahara Desert Zone. Unfortunately Doctor Barkenstien had been planning to return to Efrika to resume his research into what exactly the ancient blue hedgehog had predicted that had made him such an admired figure of his time. But thanks to the Overlanders hostile takeover of the Efrikan continent this seemed unlikely to happen anytime soon, perhaps when the war was over he would go back but for now he wasn't going anywhere. Mayor Acorn and a couple of other well-off aristocrats were present as well as a couple of echidnae scientific councillors who had come merely out of interest to see how Mobius was advancing in comparison to their own far more advanced race, there was also the latest descendant of the original Kirby inside. Despite their family's stories still being the subject of much debate in the scientific community it was a well-known fact that this Kirby was a mobian of science and took great pride in doing thorough research into anything he wrote. It was well-known that he was currently following the news of this war, obviously working on an account of it for future generations. Charles was curious to find out his opinion of this war, since this Kirby was the descendant of the same Kirby that wrote his little brother's book he owed it to Jules to speak to this mobian-great-dane.
'Ready as I'll ever be Lionel..' The mild-blue-quilled hedgehog finally murmured back as he scratched a large blue eyebrow with slight anxiety.
'Then as Jules usually says; 'let's do it to it'.' The blonde mobian-lion winked as he imitated Jules' usual thumbs up and cocky grin before straightening his deep purple bow-tie. He then proceeded to quickly check that Charles' suit had no lint on it so he was respectable for the science community.
'Yes. Let's…' The mild-blue hedgehog smiled then tweaked the edges of his neatly trimmed moustache to neaten the edges before he then raised a white-gloved hand to the cool surface of the door nearest him. Charles took a soothing breath to steady his nerves before he pushed the doors open and entered the room with Lionel close behind, the doors swinging shut after them…
'Ladies and Gentlemobians..' Professor Owl said, attracting the attention of all the science community through a microphone on the main stage of the hotel function suite. 'Welcome to our eighty-seventh annual Symposium of Science where the combined quest for knowledge continues from that first symposium which was started by my grandfather Archimedes Owl.' The brown-feathered tawny-owl-mobian beamed widely around his peers who were seated with their wine glasses facing the stage. 'And to begin we have a budding young scientist who has already made a name for himself with his brilliant invention the ring-restraint gun but he comes before us tonight with his latest creation. So without further ado I give you Dr Charles Hedgehog.' Professor Owl gestured to the twenty year-old mild-blue hedgehog and he immediately came onto the stage to the sound of clapping. Charles looked a little nervous as he walked out and shook hands with the Minister of Science before turning to the audience as the tawny owl vacated the stage.
'Hello everyone. It's a pleasure to be here amongst so many like-minded mobians.' Although his voice was strong the mild-blue hedgehog felt his whole body become a mass of nerves as he gazed at the many faces looking back at him, most of them he only knew through reputation and achievements alone. Charles immediately took a sharp gulp of air, feeling his palms grow sweaty underneath his white gloves.
'Tonight I come before you with a new idea for digital communication. I have with me my colleague Lionel Lion..' Charles paused, gesturing to the seventeen year old blonde-maned lion-mobian who waved in a friendly fashion to the science community. '-who has been helping me rig up my invention and I'd like to thank the manager here at Hill-Top Hotel for allowing us to patch into their digital phone-line in order for this demonstration to be possible.' There was a small round of applause that seemed to ease Charles Hedgehog's nerves making the young inventor smile more easily. This wasn't quite as bad as he'd feared it would be.
'The device I have here to show you is called a holophone..' At these words Lionel Lion immediately rolled back the curtain that had been obscuring the back wall of the stage and the large screen of Charles' new invention was revealed to the audience. The crowd gave an impressed gasp and a small murmur went around the group of scientists. 'Using the similar technology as holovision sets we merely need to punch in the phone-number at talk using a live video-feed which is sent through the transmission lines in the same manner as our voice would be during a phone call. Although in this case picture and sound would both be sent simultaneously.' As Charles finished explaining his device to the group their voices rose in volume.
'It's brilliant..'
'This will change the way we make calls forever..'
'Where has this young mobian been hiding all this time..'
These were only a few of the voices that could be made out as the science community and its investors continued to admire his machine. Charles in the meantime turned back around to Lionel and threw him a questioning look.
'Are we up and running?'
'Sure are Chuck and Professor Morgan has called to confirm everything is up and running in the lab at Mobi-U.' Lionel said with a grin. 'We're ready to roll when you are doctor.' He added with a cheeky glint in his navy-blue eyes.
'Thanks Lionel..' He then turned back to the crowd who were waiting eagerly for the demonstration they were promised. 'And now ladies and gentlemobians we have the Head of the Science and Technology Department of Mobius University; Professor Morgan standing by and if this works we should be able to call him up right now. And if not…' Charles paused with a wry smile to Lionel. '-well then I'll be having strong words with my assistant.' He said in a voice of light jest which made the audience of the science community laugh with amusement.
'Alright. I'll just punch in the phone number for Mobotroplis University along with the extension of the science lab..' Charles murmured as he tapped the number pad, dialling the appropriate numerical combination for the science laboratory where they had set up the second holophone. '-and hopefully we will have a connection.' There was a brief moment where the screen remained blank and the sound of a dial tone was the only noise coming from the screen of the holophone. Then suddenly there was clicking sound and immediately the science lab that Lionel still occupied at Mobotroplis came into focus on the big screen and a dark-skinned human in a charcoal grey tuxedo and orange bow-tie smiled back at Charles and the audience. A round of applause sounded from the crowd as the mild-blue hedgehog smiled.
'Hello Charles.. Hello distinguished members of the science community it's good to see so many of you at the Hill-Top tonight.' Professor Morgan said brightly, beaming widely and waving politely to the crowd behind his greatest student.
'Professor Morgan, can you prove to the audience that we are indeed receiving you live from the science lab at Mobotroplis University right now.' Charles said in a business-like tone as he leant back on his heels and folded his arms.
'Well Charles if the clock behind me isn't proof enough..' Professor Morgan chuckled slightly in amusement at former student as his arm gestured towards the large silver clock on the wall, which was automatically tuned to the time of the big university clock. '-and the fact that I'm not there with you right now doesn't help my case I don't know what will.' He added cheerfully with a wide smile.
'In that case Professor Morgan how long would it take for you to get here, seeing as how your already looking sharp in that dinner suit it would be a shame to waste it.' Charles said a smile curving under his neatly trimmed moustache as he flattered his old professor and friend.
'Heh-heh why thank you Charles..' Nate Morgan said with a wide smile. 'And judging by distance and time I'd say about fifteen minutes if I catch a cab now.' Suddenly there was the sound of knocking at the door and an indistinct female voice sounded, drawing Professor Morgan's attention to the unseen womobian who had clearly just stuck her head around the door. 'Ah, thank you Miss Penny.' Nate said before turning back around as the door shut again. 'And what do you know? My cab has already arrived; I guess I'll see you all in fifteen minutes.' He grinned widely before reaching to his keypad and clicking on the red button which caused the screen to go blank. Charles immediately turned away from the screen and pulled the numerical keypad into view of the audience.
'Well that was a live call made on my holophone. As you can see it's been designed with simplicity so that anyone of any age may use it without difficulty and the only requirement is an existing phone number as this device uses our existing digital phone-lines and powers itself through our renewable power-stone energy supply. I thank you all for allowing me to have the stage tonight I hope you've enjoyed my presentation.' The mild-blue hedgehog took a bow as he received a standing ovation and a massive round of applause from the large crowd of scientists, investors and science lovers that were all in attendance tonight.
'By Jove the kit's a genius..' Lord Montclair sounded in his nasally drawl as he threw Mayor Acorn, who was sitting next to him, an almost serpentine leer. '-this will revolutionize the way we use the digital phone. The king will want to hear about this..' The light-blonde mink-mobian liked to attend these events to see if there was anything worth investing his vast fortune in.
'Indeed Henley and I have no doubt that you will be the first one to inform him of this.' Maximillion Acorn said with a wide smile appearing on his cream-furred muzzle, the aristocratic fox-mobian tweaked his thin ruby-red moustache knowingly.
'Oh, absolutely my dear boy. But unfortunately I'll have to resort to using the outdated digital phone to do so..' Lord Henley Montclair sounded drolly as if using the ordinary phone was already beneath him. 'Now what do you say we go and congratulate this Dr Hedgehog quickly so I can make sure that my family has the first holophone in town..' The snobby mink said getting up out of his seat and moving to the aisle. Maximillion Acorn rolled his eyes at his late father's friend. Frederick Acorn had been a well-respected member of the king's inner-circle back in his own day and principle of the once prestigious Acorn Academy. He'd been surprised when his own son had chosen not to carry on the family tradition of running the private school; instead Maximillion had allowed it to be sold to the public sector believing that their ancestor First Minister Alexander Acorn would have much preferred it if anybody could attend the school bearing his surname. Instead Maximillion chose to follow their family's routes and go into politics, wanting to make a real difference in the lives of mobians just like his infamous ancestor had done.
'Oh very well..' The Mayor of Mobotroplis drawled, picking up his drink and moving after the quick-footed mink that was already pushing his way to the front of the mobians surrounding and congratulating Charles Hedgehog…
'It went great Jules..' Charles Hedgehog said brightly into the receiver of his digital phone, trying hard to ignore the slightly static noise due to the distortions in signal from his brother's end of the line. '-I've already got investors lined up wanting to buy my holophone. Can you believe it? I never thought it would generate this kind of interest right away.' A smile curved his muzzle as he perched himself on the edge of his workbench, his bow-tie untied giving him a relaxed demeanour despite his tiredness.
'Aw… that's radical; I… knew you'd be fine.' Jules' voice sounded faintly from the other end of the line, having answered his call on his communicator after the fifth ring. It had obviously taken him that long to get to a place where the signal would be good enough to answer.
'And you'll never believe who I met there tonight!' Charles added excitedly as he undid the top buttons of his shirt letting the collar loosen.
'Hu-ooh?' A jump in chaotic-static-energy caused the line to distort Jules' query.
'The latest Kirby..' Charles sounded and for a moment there was no response, Jules clearly didn't know what to say.
'No way… Charlie… you.. yank.. my quills..' Jules' voice finally replied, once again breaking up over the bad connection. He then paused and added before his brother could speak. 'You serious?'
'Of course I'm serious. I spoke to him.' The mild-blue older Hedgehog brother scowled slightly, he would never joke about something that meant this much to his little brother.
'What did he say?' Jules' voice asked curiously finally coming in kind of clear due to a break in the distortion.
'We were talking about the developments in this war and he told me that he was following it closely as it's what his next book will be about.' Charles said conversationally. 'I also met the new Mayor of Mobotroplis; he seemed like a nice, well-balanced guy. I can see why Alicia went for him.' He added with a smirk of amusement.
'Yeh… see, I can tell by your tone… there's an… insult in there somewhere.' Jules' voice replied dryly as the distortion of chaos energy returned.
'Hey, you know you were an idiot letting her go.' Charles replied with a bite of seriousness in his tone. 'Even dad said so.' He knew this would annoy Jules but their father had really liked Alicia, he had made no secret of that. Apparently Maurice had thought she had a really 'calming' effect on his tenacious son.
'Yeh, well, dad said a lot of things… didn't he? Besides, I don't… regret it and we both agree that we g..et on much better as friends.' Jules' voice hinted at repressed irritation but it was immediately swept under the rug by his bright and breezy tone, like he wasn't going to let it bother him.
'So what's it like out there on Angel Island?' Charles asked conversationally, twiddling a screwdriver idly as he spoke to his brother.
'It roasting bro.. I'm sweating in my uniform and…' Jules' faint voice tailed off and Charles could just picture the scowl appearing on his little sibling's face. 'Hey, wait a nanosec… how in Chaos did you… know where I am?' The younger Hedgehog brother's voice sounded haughty and bothered not.
'Alicia told me.' Charles sounded with a smug smile.
'Yeh? Well I'm gonna be having sharp.. words with her when I get back Charlie.. just don't let on you know… ok? I… was sworn… to secrecy when they gave… me this assignment or I'da told you myself.' Jules said in a deadly serious tone, a rarity for him but it showed he was taking his job seriously. Charles could not help but let a proud smile tweak his lips. His little brother was finally growing up.
'Don't worry Jules, your secrets are always safe with me, you know that.' The older hedgehog sounded reassuringly down the phone to his brother. 'So have you had a chance to learn anything about how the island floats, I've been rather curious about that.' He added with a hint of interest lacing his tone.
'Sure Charlie… the Guardian of the Master Emerald told me about that.. when he gave me a tour of the island.. Whoa, hey, look I gotta run bro… but I promise to fill you in about that when I'm home next week 'kay..' Jules' voice sounded distractedly; clearly someone or something where he was had caught his attention. 'I'll see then..'
'Of course. Bye Jules..' Charles said and immediately the line went dead as Jules hung up first. Charles put the phone back in its charger before he began to get ready for bed. It had been a long day and his days were not about to get any easier..
Little Notes:
Hey peeps, I know you found the last Charlie chapter a little boring but hopefully this one wasn't quite as boring. He is speaking to a larger amount of mobians in this chapter. Ok, I know I keep writing about their father in nearly every chapter and it might seem a little repetitive but I think it's important to see just what kind of effect he's had on both his sons as old Maurice Hedgehog is kind of the catalyst that drove both his sons to go in the directions they're heading in. I kind of wanted to show in this chapter that even though he has obviously said some things that have been taken negatively he's also done some good things as a father. Hence the whole shaving scene. I may be a girl but I imagine that learning to shave from your father as a boy is kind of one of those real bonding moments. I know there's others but this is something that the Sonic cannon never touches despite Sonic's bouncing of age. Charles has a moustache so clearly the bristles will poke through at some point in his life… also I was looking into booking my dad in for a 'wet shave' for his birthday as a little treat and the whole idea spawned from there..
Ok, I took inspiration from Bernadette's relationship with Charles as it was stated in the comics that she wasn't particularly close to him. I felt it necessary to do the same kind of thing with Charles and Alicia to suggest that the issue might actually be that Charles has a small 'issue' with whoever his little brother dates… but I'll get to the crux of that later, right now there's slightly more important stuff that needs covered..
If you're worried about me holding out on details, such as Alicia and Jules' conversation at the airport and what has distracted Jules from his brother's call, don't be. Those questions will be answered in the next chapter. In fact the chapter kicks off with Alicia and Jules as it pretty much picks up from Jules' perspective from that moment onwards… clever eh? I surprise myself with my own brilliance..
Also a few new minor characters in the next chapter along with the return of Lara-Le as I've missed that girl.
Until next time…
Ditzy x