{Before the Battle for Red Mountain}

Chapter 33 PART ONE

The Hard Boiled Heavies

"There isn't any point resisting, darling." The robot reminded Cream for the third time. Heavy Magician, or so she had introduced herself, held her top hat in her hands and loomed threateningly over Cream.

Cream kept her eyes primed on the ground. The robots had imprisoned her in the bunker of their ship; the Heavy Brigadier, a thin, falcon shaped flier that was surprisingly spacious. Heavy Shionbi sat across from Cream and audibly sharpened his serrated katana.

Despite this open threat, the presence Cream feared the most was the silent mech standing still as stone at the rear of the bunker. Emerl, as Cream had heard the others call him, had remained silent but there was something strange about his large blue eyes that unnerved Cream. They were more alive and piercing than a robot's had any right to be. Every so often he would turn his head slightly to stare at Cream and Cheese. His gaze gave Cream the disturbing sensation of being x-rayed.

"Where is the Chaos Emerald? We know you've been near one recently." Heavy Magician continued. "Denial is not going to save you."

Cream gulped. She did not wish to give up the location of her village. They needed the Chaos Emerald to clean up their river. Furthermore, the emerald belonged to Tails and Cream did not want to betray Tails's trust by losing it. "I…I don't know what you mean." Cream squeaked. She had always been a terrible liar (not that she ever practiced much) and today was no exception.

Heavy Magician released her top hat, but somehow kept it airborne with some kind of magnetic attraction. The hat started to spin and its sharp metal edges cycled into a blur of deadly fury. Cream edged away but with a motion of her finger, Heavy Magician sent the spinning hat inches away from Cream's face. "It's rude to intentionally waste someone's time."

Before Cream could respond to this, the bunker doors opened and the Heavy King strode forward, his red cape billowing behind him. "Do we have a location yet?" He asked in a commanding tone.

Heavy Magician quickly returned her hat back onto her head. "The prisoner was just about to talk."

Thud. The Heavy King slammed the pommel of his rod down on the ground. "Don't play with your food mage, this isn't a vacation. Emerl!" At the call of his name, the silent robot stepped forward. "Get the information out of her."

Heavy Magician drew back as Emerl approached. The machine had a gilded exterior that appeared like a strange mixture between gold and bronze. He stood only a foot taller than Cream which caused him to be dwarfed by the Hard Boiled Heavies. When he looked down at Cream she cringed away from him.

"This won't hurt." He said stiffly. Like everything else about him, his voice was far too living for Cream's comfort. Emerl extended a five fingered hand and placed it atop Cream's forehead with a gentle but firm grip.

"What are you-" Before Cream could ask the machine's eyes shut. Cream felt herself fall through the hull of the ship and zoom across the sky. She landed in the center of her village and watched, as if inside a movie, the memory of Tails handing over the Chaos Emerald.

As soon as it had started, Cream returned to the ship. She rocked forward and nearly spilled out of her seat. Emerl had already stepped away from her and addressed the Heavy King. "The emerald is in a village near Leaf Forest. On the banks of the river."

"Well done Emerl." The Heavy King saluted him with his rod before leaving the bunker. When the door slid shut, Heavy Magician rounded on Emerl.

"Way to go." She said mockingly. "Must be nice to put your little freak skills to work." Emerl did not respond to this. In fact, he didn't even look at Heavy Magician but kept his eyes forward, staring at nothing in particular. "Did you hear me?" Heavy Magician placed herself right in front of Emerl. "You may be our ticket to power, but don't think for a second that makes you one of us. You'll always be that little freak we picked out of the trash."

Emerl's eyes darted upward to glare at his comrade. "What makes you think I'd want to be one of you?"

"Look out-" Cream covered her eyes in fright. CLANG! She fanned her fingers out and peaked between them. Heavy Shinobi had slashed down at Emerl with his sword but the smaller mech had caught the blade in his hand and held it with seemingly little effort.

Heavy Magician snapped and a gust of swirling wind staggered Emerl, allowing Heavy Shinobi to wretch back his weapon and kick Emerl to the ground. "Remember your place, freak." Heavy Magician spat down at Emerl, who had made no attempt to pick himself off the floor. "Or keep forgetting, because reminding you is so much fun."

She gestured to Shinobi and the two Heavies left the bunker. When the door closed, Emerl pushed himself slowly onto the chair opposite Cream. "Are you alright?" She offered hesitantly.

Emerl stared blankly at the ground between them. "An attack of such little output cannot damage me."

For the next several minutes there was a heavy silence. The more Cream looked at Emerl the more she became convinced that he was no ordinary machine. There were no seams anywhere on his metallic exoskeleton. It did not appear as if the armor had been applied on an existing frame, but had grown around him like true skin.

"How did you know where my village was?" Cream found herself asking.

Still, Emerl did not raise his head. "I have a deep connection with the Chaos Emeralds. I can sense them if they are nearby or if they have been in someone's possession recently."

"But it felt…it felt as if you read my mind."

"The mind does nothing but constantly shift and redistribute sensory data. As long as the echo of the emeralds remains, I can tap into the stream."

Cream wondered if she would be pushing her luck if she asked more questions. Even if Emerl's alliance with the Heavies was shaky, that did not necessarily make him an ally to her. "The others…are they Doctor Eggman's creations?"

"We all are." However, there was a change in the machine's tone with this admission. He sounded almost ashamed.

"Is that why you want the Chaos Emerald? You're giving it to Doctor Eggman?"

For the first time, Emerl raised his head. His blue eyes were as clear and moving as the ocean. "We shouldn't talk. The Heavies would not like that." Emerl turned away from her and laid down on his back. His eyes closed.

Cream sat in stiff silence. The sudden end in the conversation had reinforced the reality of her situation. Fear dripped into her veins like poison. "What are we going to do?" She whispered to Cheese.

"Chao."

The bunker was locked up tight, and the only exit led straight towards the Heavies. Cream shivered. It was cold inside the ship and there were no cushions or any sense of comfort located anywhere. The Heavy Brigadier was obviously a transporter of machines who had no use for comforts anyway. Cream's stomach rumbled and she had the sickening realization that there would probably not be any food as well.

Hours later, Cream awoke when the ship jostled violently, nearly spilling her onto the bunker floor. She hasistly wiped away the drool that was dripping out of her open mouth but she needn't have worried. It was pitch dark inside the bunker. Cream felt around and found Cheese huddled between her knees. "Argh!" Cream cried out as the ship rattled for the second time.

"It's nothing to worry about." Across the wall of darkness, Cream could see Emerl's gilded armor shimmering slightly in the gloom. "Just some turbulence."

Too rushed with adrenaline to make a second attempt at sleeping, Cream sat upright. "When we get to the village…your friends won't hurt anyone will they?"

"Not unless they have to."

Cream's stomach squirmed. Her anxiety reflamed her hunger and her belly growled audibly. "Excuse me." She whispered faintly.

Clang. Clang. Emerl stood up suddenly and approached the door. He knocked twice against it. A few minutes later, a voice answered back. "What do you want?"

"The prisoner needs food."

"And I need an oil rub." The crude voice snapped back.

"Get her some food or I'll tell King you threatened the mission by letting the prisoner starve."

Silence followed this threat. Emerl stood back from the door and after a few minutes it opened. A squat purple badnik thrust himself into the bunker. He carried a heavy chained morning star in one hand and a plate of stale looking bread in the other. His eyes never left Emerl's as he strode forward and deposited the plate contemptuously beside Cream. "Order up." He said with a suppressed laugh.

Emerl's eyes stayed locked onto his fellow machine until it left the bunker. Once alone with Cream, Emerl's shoulder slackened and he sighed. Could a robot sigh? For the moment, Cream was too fixated on the bread to consider the matter more deeply. She scooted over to the plate and gingerly broke the bread in two. Cheese floated down on its half and attempted a few feeble bites. It quickly spat out flakes of food and wiped its hands over its tongue to rid itself of the taste.

Cream was not as picky. Though the bread was stale and tasteless she did not taste any mildew or rot. As she ate, she turned her head slightly to watch Emerl. He was still staring at the door. "I'm sorry about him." He said after a pause. "Heavy Rider is lacking in manners."

Cream swallowed, suppressing her desire to spit her food back up as Cheese had done. "Pardon me…mister…but you don't seem to be the same as the rest."

Emerl clenched his fingers. "No…." Before he could say more, he was distracted by the sound of Cheese spitting out more of the bread.

"Sorry about Cheese," Cream offered. "Chao can be picky even when they're starving."

Emerl strode forward and glared down at the Chao. Cheese stopped making a show of turning down the food and wilted beneath the pressure of Emerl's stare. For a moment, Cream thought Emerl was going to attack Cheese but then the machine knelt down. "That's all we have. You had better eat what you can. You will need to keep up your strength."

To Cream's astonishment, Cheese nodded and ate a crumb of bread as large as its head. While it chewed, Emerl chuckled. "They are funny little things aren't they?"

"Chao are mythical creatures," Cheese explained. "But they are temperamental and need to be protected. They don't like to be taken captive and they don't usually like-" Just as Cream was about to say strangers Emerl held out his hand and Cheese floated onto it. Emerl raised the Chao to his face and gently patted it on the head.

"I know about Chao," Emerl said with an air of mystery. Cream had never seen Cheese warm up to a stranger so quickly. It rested easily in Emerl's hand. Cream exhaled and felt a good deal of her anxiety flush away. "Though I've never actually met one in real life. I can feel myself remembering," Emerl continued.

"Remembering?" Cream's question was cut short when the bunker doors opened. Heavy King entered, followed shortly by the four others. Heavy Magician and Shinobi shot ugly glances at Emerl who hastily deposited Cheese back onto Cream's lap.

"We will reach Leaf Forest within the hour," Heavy Metal announced. "But there has been a bit of a hiccup."

Heavy Gunner, the blue plated Heavy wielding a large double barreled rocket launcher chuckled and slapped his knee. "If you call an all out war a hiccup."

"What's happened?" Shinboi interjected.

"Omega's been taken down by Metal Sonic. He's in charge of all the mechs now and has sent out a call for everyone to meet him at the Egg Carrier. Seems he plans on launching an all out assault on Aurora."

"All right!" Heavy Rider exclaimed. He raised his heavy morningstar to trumpet his enthusiasm and nearly knocked Emerl over in the process.

"Watch where you are waving that thing!" Heavy King scolded as he reached out to help steady Emerl.

"So are we joining Metal Sonic?" Magician asked.

King shook his head. "And trade one master for another?" He turned his head and spat. A bolt shot out of his mouth and ricocheted off the bunker floor. "Power's already gone to Metal's head. He signed the message as Metal Overlord. Who does he think he is?"

"Don't you go by Heavy King?" Gunner pointed out.

Whack. King smacked his subordinate with his golden scepter. The others chortled. "My point is, what's Metal Sonic to us? We've been waiting for this chance for years. Ever since we were thrown into the trash heap. Eggman was strong enough to keep us in our place, but he isn't here anymore. Why should we answer to anyone? I say we let Metal and Aurora knock each other around while we stay in the clear."

"But what happens when the fighting is done?" Magician asked. Whoever wins will come for us next. Especially if it is Metal Sonic. He won't forgive us for missing the fight."

"It won't matter," Insisted Heavy King. "Whoever wins will be damaged. They won't turn their attention to us right away. Besides, we have a secret weapon." He pointed his scepter dramatically at Emerl. "Once he is fully powered there won't be anything that can stop him, not Metal, not Aurora, not even Sonic the Hedgehog." King reached into his cloak and drew out a metal box. He flipped open the lid and sparkling light illuminated the bunker ceiling.

Cream shifted in her seat so she could see what was inside. She gasped. Four colorful Chaos Emeralds glimmered inside the box. "Once we have them all we will be in charge of the greatest power on earth. Nothing will be able to stop us. G.U.N, the Eggman Empire, Sonic and his annoying friends, they will all bow to us." King closed the lid and the light faded. "All we have to do is plan our next moves carefully."

This final demonstration had silenced the doubts of the Hard Boiled Heavies. They all gazed greedily at the box in their leader's hand. The only one who seemed disinterested in the emeralds was Emerl. He stared absently straight ahead as if he was trying with all his might to remove his mind from the present conversation. "Leaf Forest is too close to Hot Crater for us to approach it too soon. We can't alert Aurora to what we are up to. Let's let the fight start first and make our moves in the aftermath. Rider, bring the ship down. We will wait awhile before going to the village."

Rider obeyed at once and the rest of the Heavies filed out of the bunker. At last, Cream was left alone with the Heavy King and Emerl. Once the bunker doors slid shut, King wrapped an arm around Emerl. "I hope you will forgive my presumption," King started.

"I thought we were going to join Omega. He would have been a good leader of the mechs," Emerl said softly.

"We were." King agreed. "But Metal defeated him. I may have been able to convince Omega to split the rule with me but Metal…he and I never saw eye to eye."

"Does it matter who rules? If Metal can lead us to victory against Aurora…what difference does it make?"

"What difference does it make?" The Heavy King's voice rose with sudden anger. "All the difference in the world. I would rather be the king of a broken world than a slave."

"Maybe Metal won't make us slaves. Shouldn't we at least hear him out?" Emerl persisted.

"Metal Overlord. That is what he has titled himself. Have you ever known an Overlord who preached liberty? Emerl, let me teach you a little lesson about life. The greatest deceit of all time is the illusion of a middle way. There is power and there is weakness. Those who have power are kings, those who do not are slaves. The great challenge of all despots is finding a way to convince their subjects that they have some power. Give the masses some semblance of control and they will delude themselves into believing that they are not enslaved."

"But…if that's true…" Emerl fumbled for some response or argument. "Then the only equality would be anarchy and chaos…"

"Exactly. That is why the masses are willing to be enslaved. They know that their bondage is the price of their safety. Only by accepting the manacle can they attain the peaceful little lives they crave so desperately. To live, Omega and the others have ceded their freedom in exchange for the power and promise of salvation that Metal has offered them. But I will not make such a futile trade. I would see everything burn rather than give up my crown."

"Power…" Heavy King's voice was laced with greed. Cream could see his red eyes burning with red vengeance. "Ultimate power lies within my grasp. With it I can ensure that I am nobody's slave ever again. Not Eggman's, not Metal's, no one. This world will belong to the Hard Boiled Heavies…and…to you Emerl." King let go of Emerl and took a step away from him. "You play the most important part in all of this. With his legions Caesar transformed the world and set the stage for an empire that lasted for generations. You are my legion Emerl, but as I will never die, my empire need not end until the sun burns this earth away and the ocean's boil."

Emerl hung his head. He could not seem to bring himself to look Heavy King in the face. The ladder flung his cape over his shoulder and turned to address Cream. "My apologies, but it seems you shall be our guest a little longer than I intended. Once we have the Chaos Emerald you will be free to go. Your village will not be harmed as long as they give the emerald over without a fight. On that you have my word." The Heavy King jerked forward as if to bow and then left the bunker.