-Chapter 246-
Silicon Souls
Tranquil Gulch
While the rest of the Freedom Fighters prepared, Rotor and Hope were in the middle of some work of their own. The duo had set up shop at the local auto garage, graciously loaned to them by the owner, where they were working on cracking open Pete's decapitated body.
"Seriously, did Tekno have to make Megatal so stupidly tough?" Rotor remarked, using a laser cutter to try to slice it open. "Seriously, my Omnitool's already gone through five power cells!"
The Omnitool's blade suddenly vanished and its lights dimmed. Rotor sighed. "Make that six."
"Here." Hope held out a fresh power cell. Rotor took it, plugging it in before getting back to work.
"At this rate, Thunderbolt and her goons will be here long before we crack Pete." the walrus grumbled.
"Just keep at it, Rotor." Hope encouraged.
"Is everything all right, you two?"
Hope and Rotor turned to see Cosmo and Sam walk in, carrying grocery bags.
"Perfect timing, you two," Hope remarked. "You got the stuff?"
Sam jiggled the bags a bit. "Yep! We're all set for tomorrow."
"Excellent!" Rotor grinned. "Set it in the corner for now."
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Cosmo asked as they did so.
"'Fraid not, Cosmo," Rotor replied.
"Not unless your Mover Mode claws can shred Megatal," Hope added. "But thanks for the offer."
"We'll holler for you when we have something though." Rotor grimaced. "If we can ever get this stupid thing open."
Cosmo sighed as Rotor and Hope got back to work.
"Very well," she said before unloading the bags with Sam.
"The heck could Rotor need with all these refrigerator magnets?" Sam muttered to himself. "Probably something big, knowing him. What do you think, Cosmo?"
"Hmm?" Cosmo perked. "Oh, I'm sure it is." She seemed a tad distracted.
"You seem kinda out of it," Sam realized. "Penny for your thoughts?"
Cosmo blushed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Is it that obvious?"
Sam shrugged. "I notice stuff. I'm not smart like Hope, but I notice stuff."
Cosmo sighed. "I just don't feel like I'm contributing to the team as much as I could be. Before I unlocked my Mover Mode, I was...just there. The 'flower fairy' who follows Cream and Tails everywhere. And even after gaining it, I haven't really had a chance to use it. And with everything that's happening with the Empire and the incident with Cinder..."
"You're worried you're going to be left behind or drag everyone down."
"Yes…"
"I know what you mean," Sam assured. "A lot of the agents my dad works with feel like that sometimes. Hell, I feel like that sometimes."
Cosmo perked. "You do?"
"I'm a military brat, Cosmo. Not just because my dad and Grandpa are GUN soldiers, either. The Bakers have been serving in GUN for six generations, at least. Hell, Grandpa Frederick was one of the few decent GUN officers before Tower took over."
"Goodness…" Cosmo let out.
"Yeah. The point is, I'm part of a legacy. My family name may not be as big as Hope's, Sally's, or Knuckles'... but it's a part of who I am. And with everything that's going on… It's looking like my chapter in it is coming up." He took a nervous breath, "Not gonna lie, I'm not sure I'm ready for this."
"I see…"
"Finally!" The two turned just in time to see Rotor throwing his arms up in triumph.
"You finally get it open, Rotor?" Sam asked.
"Not quite. I was able to cut through most of it though. So now, I can just pry it off manually."
Hope perked. "Wait, manually?"
Rotor stuck his fingers into the slice and began attempting to pull it apart. The others watched as he pulled at the robotic shell, gritting his teeth as sweat trickled down his neck.
"Uh, Rotor?" Hope began. "I don't think it's working."
"Hang on. I'll go get a crowbar or…" Sam was cut off by the sound of screeching metal and a loud grunt from Rotor. "What the?!"
"My word!" Cosmo gasped.
"Come on...you stupid, hunk of junk...open up already!" With a mighty bellow, Rotor tore off half of Pete's body, revealing the contents. With the shell open, Rotor slumped over, breathing heavily.
"Phew... yeah, when we get back to Knothole, I'm gonna start working on my cardio." He clutched his arm.
"Rotor!" Cosmo cried. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. Think I pulled something, though."
"And you're surprised!?" Hope exclaimed. "You just tore open a robot made of Megatal!"
"Seriously dude, that's…" Sam shook his head. "I keep forgetting that you're almost as strong as you are smart."
"It's cuz I'm fat, isn't it?" Rotor questioned with a deadpan stare.
"Oh, no! Of course not!" Sam shouted out, holding up his hands defensively, "Sorry, I didn't mean to-!
"Relax, I'm joking!" Rotor held up his hands. "I can joke, can't I?"
"Right..."
Rotor chuckled. "Now, let's see what makes Petey Pie here tic."
The quartet leaned over to get a look at Pete's insides. All of them went absolutely bug-eyed.
"What the...?" Rotor managed.
"No way…" Hope gasped.
"I don't claim to know much about machines, but I'm certain that they don't work like that." Cosmo said.
"I don't think anything would work like that," Sam remarked.
"Call the others," Rotor ordered. "They need to see this."
-X-
A bit later, the others had gathered in the garage and were looking at the robot.
"Okay…" Sonic began, "What am I looking at?"
"I have no idea," Sally remarked.
"You an' me both, Sally girl," Bunnie said.
"And I make trois," Antoine said.
"Four," Nicole chimed in.
Shard just stared, slack-jawed and… disgusted. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
Rally and Lily arrived.
"Sorry we're late y'all!" Lily declared.
"I left my phone back at the barn and Lily's is old, so…" Rally perked. "What in tarnation?!"
The horse and "rider" walked over to the slab Pete's body had been set on.
"What in David Bruce's (1) white hat is that?!" Lily exclaimed.
"Ah Lily, nice of you to finally make it," Sonic greeted. "Rotor and Hope finally managed to crack open Pete's chassis."
"We were hoping to figure out how he worked so we could take down the other Horde Commanders more efficiently," Rotor explained. "But all we got was…"
Rotor gestured to the Badnik's inner workings. After over two years of fighting Robotnik's robots, the Freedom Fighters had come to expect a lot from the doctor: cutting edge technology; complex, almost arcane hardware; advanced and efficient systems underneath the goofy, toy-like designs. Pete, on the other hand, was a wild, hodge-podge of parts and scraps haphazardly stuck together and stuffed in a metal suit.
"Are you kiddin' me?" Lily questioned. "Thunderbolt's big bad Despicable Desperadoes are nothing but rusted out, steam-driven piles of junk on the inside?"
"I have to admit, it's very...underwhelming," Nicole remarked.
"Underwhelming nothing, this is just…" Sonic shook his head. "I-I can't even think of a good word here!"
Sam blinked. "I think that limb's held together with...paper clips?"
"And that processor looks like it's from an old Orange Navel computer (2)," Hope noted. "And… is that a toaster?"
Rotor tapped a rectangular apparatus in the center of Pete's chest, causing a slice of burnt toast to pop out. "Yep, that's a toaster."
Cosmo scoffed. "Tails could build a more efficient robot with nothing but a box of Pego blocks! (3)"
"Hell, I could!" Sonic declared. "And these are supposed to be her 'finest creations'?"
"Considering they're still able to function as well as they do, despite their...unorthodox construction, I believe so," Sally remarked.
"Except there's no way that should be possible," Shard cut in. "Pete's systems are so junky, he should've fallen apart before he was even turned on!"
"Shard's right," said Hope. "Building a fully functional robot takes time and actual effort. You can't just slap together random scrap and call it a day. Something's holding these bots together and keeping them functional. But what?"
"Allow me," Nicole offered. "Sally, is there something on Pete you can plug my terminal into?"
Sally looked around for an access port of any kind before finding a USB port-like slot hidden in what appeared to be a metal sphere with a lightning bolt symbol on it. "Found it."
Nicole sat down, retracting into her terminal and protruding a wire. Sally plugged it in before pressing a button.
"Alright, you're jacked in."
"Beginning Cyberdive…" Nicole's terminal briefly glowed with magenta pixels, which traveled through the cord and into Pete's body, which began glowing similarly.
"Cyberdive?" Sonic asked.
"Another of Dr. Ellidy's upgrades," Sally replied. "The Cyberdive system lets Nicole 'dive' into any computer system she's hooked into, bypassing all but the toughest firewalls instantly."
"Wow…" Rotor managed.
"Nicole, are you there?" Shard asked, tentatively tapping Pete's body.
"Yes, I'm in," Nicole's voice came. "And you aren't going to believe what I've found." Suddenly, Nicole's holo-form leapt out of Pete's body with a big splash of pixels before slowly floating down to the ground. Lily and Rally looked on in amazement at what they witnessed.
"What the…" Lily gasped. "Where the hell did she come from?!"
"Oh yeah, we never really mentioned it," Hope realized. "Lily, meet Nicole the Holo-Lynx, an AI created by Dr. Ellidy, one of the top scientists of the Kingdom of Acorn."
"A…I?" Rally remarked, unfamiliar with the term.
"Oh great, another robot," Lily sighed, annoyed.
Nicole gave her a dirty look, but maintained her composure. "I'm not simply an AI. I'm the digitized consciousness of Ellidy's daughter. I was a person just like you once."
Lily blinked. "Digi-what now?"
"Yeah... try to remember the most advanced thing we have 'round these parts is TV and radio, will ya?" Rally suggested.
"Right, sorry," Sally said. "To paraphrase, Dr. Ellidy's daughter, Nikki, was very sick. There was no treatment or medicine at the time that could cure it, and none of the available machines could extend her life long enough."
"So, my father did something…drastic," Nicole went on. "He built a special machine that converted my mind into data and uploaded my consciousness into a computer."
"He… he did that?" Lily asked, getting a nod.
"At first, I couldn't recall anything of my old life, so he thought that process failed. But over time, I was able to recover those lost memories, so now...I'm myself again."
Lily could only stand there, horrified. "By Aurora, that's...that's just...that's horrible! What kind of sick bastard would do that to his own daughter?!"
"Watch your mouth, Lily," Hope warned. "That's her father you're badmouthing."
"The father that basically turned her into a robot! What Eggman does all the damn time! H-How can you all be so...okay with this!?"
"Well, Dr. Ellidy did it to save her life, so..." Rotor began.
"And what kinda life can she have like that!? Can she eat? Can she sleep? Can she dream or feel anything!? Did she even have a choice!?"
Surprisingly, that last question gave the Freedom Fighters pause.
"Actually, that's a good question," Sam realized. "Nicole, did you consent to having your soul digitized?"
Nicole paused for a moment, looking genuinely conflicted.
"No…" she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "When my father began the process, the disease had rendered my body completely paralyzed. I couldn't even move, let alone speak."
The Freedom Fighters gaped in shock. Sally and Bunnie in particular were dumbstruck. Sonic couldn't believe what he was hearing. Shard looked as though he'd become trapped in a logic loop. And Lily, she looked half-ready to kick someone in the gut.
"Yeah, I thought so," she spat.
"But even still, I'm grateful for what he did." Lily's eyes widened in shock at Nicole's words. "I won't deny that my rebirth came at a great cost. Many of the simple pleasures people take for granted are lost to me. I'll never be able to eat or drink, or feel the warmth of the sun or the wind in my fur. At least, not in the same way most people can." Nicole looked at her hands as they flickered slightly, signaling her form was beginning to grow unstable. At that, she looked Lily right in the eyes, her own practically glowing with resolve. "But even still, I am grateful for what I have. For my life and the man who saved it. Because without that, I would never have the wonderful friends I have now."
Lily could only stand there, dumbstruck.
"But you...that's..." She shook her head, taking a few steps back. "Crazy...yer all crazy…"
"Lily…" Nicole sighed.
"The robo-hog ain't really a person! An' you ain't a person no more! How can any of you just… accept this?! I don't get it!"
"It's not that hard to get, Lily," Hope told her. "Shard and Nicole are our friends, and just as much people as you and I. They may be made of metal, but they have feelings and can think and make their own choices. Which means they have souls. Souls of silicon, maybe, but souls nonetheless."
"Impossible," Lily shook her head. "Machines don't have feelings, they don't think, they just do whatever they're programmed to do. They ain't alive."
Sonic scowled. "So by that logic, you feel the same about Robians, then."
"Sonic!" Sally gasped.
Lily's eyes went wide. "What did you say?"
"You heard me. Maybe they started out as humans and Mobians, but Robians were still robots once upon a time. Is that what you think of them? Soulless automatons that just do whatever we tell them to do without question?"
"What?! No! Th-They didn't have a choice! Eggman turned them into robots!"
"So what makes 'em different, Lily?!" Bunnie demanded. "They were still machines! Do they stop bein' people when they get changed?!"
Lily paused, looking confused. "I… what?"
"You heard me. When a feller gets Roboticized, do they stop bein' a person?"
"N-No, I just said..."
"And why? They're made o' metal and oil 'stead o' meat and blood. They do what'er ya tell them to, no questions asked! So what makes 'em people til they get changed back?!"
"I… that's…"
"Well, Mademoiselle Hino?" Antoine said. "What do you have to say?"
"Yeah, plead your case to the court," Sam insisted.
As Lily wracked her brain for an answer, Sonic had his hand on his hips, tapping his foot and looking at an imaginary watch.
"C'mon, Lily," he insisted. "We're waaaaiiiiiiitiiiiiing…"
"I… I-I…" Lily grimaced before running off.
"Lily!" Rally shouted. "Dadgummit! Lily, come back!"
He hurried after her. Sam sighed.
"She really is stubborn."
"No kidding," Sonic deadpanned.
Nicole looked down sadly.
"Just let it go, Nicole," Shard said. "She's not worth it."
"So…" Cosmo got to the point, "what did you find?"
"Oh, right!" Nicole pointed to her terminal. "Take a look at this."
The screen briefly flashed magenta. Sally looked over the contents.
"By Aurora..."
Rotor leaned in to take a look. "Well now, this is interesting..."
Meanwhile…
"Lily!" Rally ran around town, looking for Lily. "Lily, where are you?!"
"Rally?" Rally turned to see Father Wolfwood approach. "Is everything alright?"
"Father Wolfwood! Didja see Lily run by?"
"I believe I saw her head back to her family's farmhouse. She seemed upset."
"Yeah… I know." Rally ran off, making it to the farmhouse and heading for the barn. "Lily, you in there?"
Indeed, Lily was sitting amongst her weapons, looking distraught.
"Lily…"
Lily didn't look up at Rally. In fact, she barely acknowledged his presence.
"I don't get it…" Lily let out. "I just… I don't get it! How can anybody be friends with those...things?!
Rally sighed as he walked over and sat down beside her. "Lily, they might be things to you, but to Sonic and his friends, they're people. They live and breathe just like you an' me."
Lily scowled. "They don't live, Rally. They just act like it."
"Sure seems like they're alive to me."
"No!" Lily pounded her fist on the ground. "They're robots! Machines! They don't even have souls!"
"Is that how you feel about the Robians, then?" Rally demanded.
That stopped Lily. "What?"
"The Robians. The folks who got thrown into Eggman's Robocizer and got turned into robots. Do you hate them too?"
"What?! N-no!"
"How come?"
"Cuz they ain't robots!"
"They got turned into robots, though."
"Th-That's completely diff'rent!" Lily stammered. "They all started out as people! They were born just like you and I were! 'Sides, they all got changed back!"
"And so did Nicole. She started out as a person herself."
"And her pa turned her into a machine!"
"She seems fine with it."
"She shouldn't!" Lily slumped backward in her chair, looking up at the ceiling. "I just. Don't. Get it, Rally. The Robo-Hog ain't a real person. An' that cat lady ain't a person no more. And they all act like it's no big deal!"
Rally sighed and shook his head.
That night, Lily went to bed. Tomorrow, she'd be facing off against some of Eggman's best, so she wanted to make sure was fully rested to take them on. Her slumber was interrupted however, by the sound of knocking on her door.
"Mmmnh...what?" Lily mumbled as she got out of bed, adjusting her nightgown. She put on some slippers and shambled her way downstairs to the front door before opening it up.
"What do you want?" she grumbled, "I don't want no cookies and it's too damn late fer–!"
"Lily…"
Lily perked, allowing her to see the roboticized Jesse standing before her.
"Lily…" Jesse drawled as he shambled toward her, extending a mechanical hand. "Lilllllllyyyyyyyy…"
"J-Jesse?!" Lily managed as she backed away in horror.
"Lily...L-Lily, IiIiIiiiIt's m-m-m-m-m-m-mmeeee...IIIIII'm hooooOOOOOoooooOOOooome…" Jesse said as he started to glitch out. His voice erratically changed pitch and tone as his body twitched and spasmed like he was having a fit.
"Oh Aurora…" Lily stumbled away, the world around her seeming to disappear. "S-Stay back!"
"Why...are you...scared? D-Don't y-y-yooouuu reCOGnize mmmmeeee?" Jesse stopped, his computer screen eyes staring back at her. "O-Or... am I... not a person anymore to you?"
Lily froze.
"Jesse...No, you're not...you're not a machine...you're… You're a human being..."
"Heeeeeeeee-yuuuuuman?" Jesse asked, "Could a hu-hu-human beeeeeeeiiiiing do thhhhhhhiss!" Suddenly, Jesse's arm fell right out of its socket; his shoulder leaked fluid everywhere as the wires in his shoulder crackled with electricity.
"Oh Aurora..." Lily gasped.
"OrrrrRrrrRr this!" Jesse's head, arm, and torso began rotating at a full 360 degrees, making a sickening, mechanical whirring noise as they did.
"Jesse, stop…!" Lily bedded, "Please..."
"Orrrrrrr howwwww abooooout THIIIIIIS!?" Jesse spun even faster, his body twitching, sparking, and smoking violently. Lilly could only look on in horror.
"Jesse stop! Please, stop!"
But Jesse did not stop, he continued to spin and spasm; his robot body letting out a rapidly crescendoing cacophony of whirs, clanks, beeps, and bangs. Then, when the noise reached its peak, Jesse's robotic body exploded, sending his parts everywhere.
"Jesse!"
As a rolling sound greeted Lily's ears; she felt something bump into her feet. She looked down to see what it was, and nearly blanched at the sight of Jesse's robotic head looking right at her.
"Li…ly…" he said, weakly, "Am...I...still...human...Lily?" Jesse's voice started to slow down and grow lower pitched. "Am… I… still… your… frrrrrieeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnn..."
The lights of his eyes flickered, then died. Lily shrieked in horror…
-X-
…before bolting upright in bed, panting and sweating. She looked around, holding her chest as she got her heart rate under control.
"Dream…" she managed. "It was all…" Lily's eyes bolted open as she remembered what happened yesterday. "Wait, what time is it!?"
She snatched up the alarm clock by her nightstand, finding it was morning. "Morning?! The Dust Riders!"
She scrambled out of bed, hurriedly getting dressed and gathering her weapons before taking off for the Sheriff's office.
"Hey! Sonic!" She pounded on the door. "Sonic! You there?!"
She looked through the window and Sonic was indeed there; he was asleep at the Sheriff's desk, his hat over his eyes.
"Are you kiddin' me?" She barged in, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him awake. "Wake up, Sonic! This ain't the time to be takin' a nap!"
"Mmmm…" Sonic mumbled, still out cold. "What'd you say, sugar plum?"
Lily blinked before shaking her head. "Don't you call me sugar plum! I ain't no ballereener!"
She grabbed his nose, causing him to snap awake.
"Hey, what?! What?!" He demanded before seeing Lily. "Lily! What's the big idea? I was in the middle of a really sweet dream! I was dancing with sugar plums..." He blinked, turning red. "Y'know, when I say it out loud, I kinda regret having said it out loud."
"Never mind that," Lily shouted, "The Dust Riders are gonna be here soon! Get your spiny blue butt up, man!"
At that moment, they heard a loud clap of thunder.
"Sonic the Hedgehoooog!" came Thunderbolt's singsong voice. "Come out and plaaaaay!"
"Correction, Lily," Sonic noted. "The Dust Riders are already here."
They hurried out, soon joined by the others in various states of wakefulness and/or dress.
"They're here already?" Hope let out.
Sonic nodded. "Yeah. Thunderbolt just announced her arrival."
Indeed, Thunderbolt was riding toward them astride a mechanical horse, the Despicable Six by her side. She rode up as close to them as she could before stopping; taking a moment to look down at, and on, them.
"Well, well," she said, "Good morning, rabble-rousers."
Thunderbolt made to get off her robot horse, only to run into trouble when her foot missed the leg holster, causing her to lose her footing.
"Ack!" She cried out as she clung to the saddle for dear life, her stubby legs kicking rapidly. "Damn it… somebody help me down!"
Earp got down from his horse and dutifully picked her up, setting her down on the ground. "Here ya go, Sheriff."
"Thank you, Earp." Thunderbolt cleared her throat while the Freedom Fighters and Lily fought back laughter. "Now then, Sonic. What say we skip the formalities and get straight to business? Just give me the deed to the town, and you and your friends don't wind up buzzard bait. Are you in… or out?"
Sonic scoffed. "It's you who's out, Thunderbolt. Outta your mind."
"You…" Thunderbolt's eye twitched.
"Hey Sheriff, look! It's Metal Sonic!" Billy pointed to Shard. "Hoo boy! Yer gonna git it now Fightdom Freeters! The Big Boss is gonna whip yer butts gooood!"
"That's not that worthless robo-hog, you idiot!" Thunderbolt shouted, "That's the even more worthless copy GUN made!"
"Wow." Shard deadpanned, "Rude."
"Are ya sure?" Billy asked.
"Yes, I'm sure," Thunderbolt said, "He's got a mouth! He's not even the right color!"
"Yeah, I was wonderin' where he got that purty, pink paint job."
James sighed. "Billy, how much did you have to drink before we got here?"
"That depends..." Billy pulled a large wine cask from the pocket of his overalls, "How much is in one o' these here barrel thingies?"
The Freedom Fighters exchanged looks at that.
"Oh yeah," Sam said sarcastically. "The elite Despicable Desperadoes, ladies and gentlemen. Tremble in fear."
"Silence!" Thunderbolt scowled at Sonic. "You're an idiot, Sonic. I came down here offering you and yours an easy way out without bloodshed, and you spit it right back in my face! Well, no matter. If it's the hard way you want, it's the hard way you get! Gentlemen!"
Billy hiccupped, looking around. "Who came in?"
Thunderbolt fumed angrily. "Draw your guns and shoot, boltbrains!"
"Fellers!" Earp declared. The Desperadoes all reached for/began charging their weapons.
"Sally, now!" Sonic shouted.
"On it!" Sally pressed a button on Nicole's terminal. "Activating magnet towers!"
"What'd she say-?" Suddenly, Billy was dragged away by an unseen force.
"Billy!" James shouted before he was dragged in another direction.
"What the hell-in-hamster-ball is goin' on...!?" Batch was next.
"Uhhh Sheriff, I don' feel so good." Then Pete.
"Dagnabbit! They set us...Whoa!" Then Earp. DOS just stood there.
"Billy!? Where'd you get that...Eep!" Then DOS, leaving Thunderbolt all alone.
"What the…?!" she shrieked. "Earp? Batch? Billy? James? Anyone!?"
"Wow, those things worked better than I thought they would," Rotor mused.
"You!" Thunderbolt screamed. "What did you do to my creations!?"
"Askin' the real questions here," Lily noted.
"Let's just say they've developed a real attraction to us," Sonic quipped.
"A little something Rotor and I cooked up last night: Magnet Towers," Hope explained.
"We did a little poking around in Pete's body after you left," Rotor added. "And we found something very interesting." Nicole projected a holo-screen, showing an image of a metal sphere the size of a baseball with a lightning bolt emblem on it. "It turns out their bodies are just piles of scrap held together by magnetism generated by these things. As a result, they're extremely lightweight and fast."
"From there, it was easy for us to work out a trap to tamper with the magnet core and get them out of the way," Hope chimed in. "Granted, it won't last for long. They'll escape any minute."
"So…" Sonic raised a hand. "Alright, teams! Break up!"
"Right!"
Lily watched as the FF scattered, leaving only her and Sonic. "Huh?! Wha?!"
"Lily!" Sonic's voice cut in, getting her attention. "Either go join up with one of the teams or head back home! Things are about to get dangerous!"
Lily's fists clenched before she took off after the others.
"Facing me all alone, Hedgehog?" Thunderbolt taunted. "Have you forgotten what happened back at Twinkle Park?"
"Oh, I haven't forgotten. In fact, I owe you big time for that little mess. You won't get the chance to hurt anyone else. This time, the ending's gonna be different, Thunderbolt."
"Oh yes. Because this time, I'm going to take you down. Oh, how Master Robotnik will praise me when I dump your charred remains at his feet."
She sighed with ecstasy, a goofy grin on her face as she imagined being promoted and Eggatha being kicked to the curb. Sonic just rolled his eyes.
"What is with this Eggman obsession of yours?" he asked. "You never got a single date in high school, did you? Here's an idea: go to a bar, meet a nice, good-looking guy, and go catch a movie with him or something. It'll do you a lot of good."
Thunderbolt's eye twitched before she glared at Sonic.
"What? Did I strike a nerve?" Thunderbolt's growl and electrical surge gave him all the answer he needed, and he gulped nervously. "Yeah. Yeah, I did."
"Heeeeeeeeeedgehoooooooooooooog!"
"Guess that's my cue!" Sonic took a fighting stance. "Draw!"
Great Desert
Meanwhile, a large vehicle drove through the desert. It resembled a cross between an RV, an armored convoy, and a tank. Atop it stood Kid, who looked out into the rising sun.
"Hmmm…" he found his mind drifting back to the events of last night…
Flashback - Outside the desert cantina
After collecting his food order and threatening the bartender, Kid made his way through the dust storm and into the cantina's makeshift parking lot.
"Dammit!" he cursed. "Should've had Bill pull the cruiser up front." He looked around. "Now where the hell did he...?"
"Mr. Kid!" came Cream's voice.
"Jefe! Over here!"
Kid turned around to see a large, armored vehicle in the opposite direction he was going. "There. That's where he parked."
Kid ran over to the cruiser; the side door opening up to let him in.
"Welcome back, Jefe." Jose greeted.
"You get lost or somethin'?" Bill joked.
"You could say that," Kid answered, "I got something in my eye."
Kid and the others laughed, save for Cream and Matilda; the former because she had no idea what was so funny, the latter because she didn't think it was funny at all.
"Oh brother," the armadillo said as she rolled her eyes.
"Oh come on, Matti," Kid whined, "You take things way too seriously. Would it kill you to loosen up a bit?"
"Maybe."
Cream and Jose looked and winced at Matilda sympathetically. Despite her apparent attitude problems, it was clear from the way she acted that she had problems.
"So!" Bill cut-in in an attempt to defuse the situation, "You get the food?"
"Yep!" Kid said as held up the bags he received from the cantina.
"Finally," Matti sighed.
"¡Gracias a dios!" Jose declared.
"Bill, get the table set up and activate the autopilot," Kid ordered.
"Roger." Bill replied as he prepared to head off, only for Kid to reach out and stop him.
"Oh! And turn off the you-know-whats." he instructed.
Bill raised an eyebrow in confusion, but nonetheless nodded as did as went off to do what he ws told.
"The… you know whats?" Cream asked.
"Oh!" Kid perked. "Those… well… uhhh…"
"Looks you aren't getting any tequila tonight, Jose," Matti deadpanned.
"Uhhh…" Jose snapped to attention as Matti nudged him. "Oh, right! No tequila for Jose. Estoy triste… (1)" He walked off, sulking.
"You'll survive," Kid remarked. "C'mon, let's eat."
As they walked, Cream looked around at the inside of the cruiser. It was full of all kinds of high-tech machinery.
"Wow…" she let out. "What is this place?"
"Impressed?" Kid asked. "This here's our personal desert cruiser and home away from home: the Belial! Pretty snazzy, isn't it?"
"Snazzy?" Matti snarked.
"Don't gimme that look," Kid warned, only for him to shake his head, "Oh right!" he turned his attention to Cream, "Cream, this is Matilda the Armadillo. Matilda, this is Cream the Rabbit and her Chao, Cheese. They'll be traveling with us for a little bit."
"It's very nice to meet you, Matilda." Cream said with a bow and a smile, "I hope that we can become good friends."
"Yeah, sure." the armadillo looked away in disinterest.
Cream turned to her, looking her up and down before tilting her head quizzically.
"What?" Matti asked. "Do I have something on my face?"
"Oh!" Cream shook her head. "I'm sorry. I just… You remind me of someone I know."
"I doubt that. I'd remember meeting a rabbit with big, floppy ears."
"Matti, don't be rude," Kid ordered.
"Jefe! Matti!" Jose called out, "Dinner's ready! Come on, vamos!"
"Coming!"
Kid led Cheese and the girls into the dining area, where Bill and Jose had set out the table.
"Wow, it all looks so good!" Cream said.
"Yeah, that cantina makes some good, Hexican food." the crow said as he poured himself a glass of soda, "Ahh, right, I don't think we've been properly met." he adjusted his poncho, "¡Hola! Me llamo José Cuervo. And this is mi amigo, Bill Bison. Welcome, aboard the Belial, niña."
"Hola José, hola Sr. Bill, me llamo Cream. Mucho gusto en conocerte."
José blinked. "¿Tu hablas ispañol?"
"A little," Cream replied, "One of my friends has a cook who speaks Spagonian, and she gives me lessons. (4)"
"Ya veo…"
"Ahem…" The two turned to see Bill tapping his fingers on the table.
"Right, sorry Sr. Bill." Jose said as he took a seat, with everyone else following.
As Kid started to pass out the food, everyone froze when Cream clasped her hands, knelt her head, and began to say grace, Cheese mirroring her.
"Dear Aurora, I thank you for this food I'm about to eat and for this gorgeous day. And thank you for leading me to Kid and his friends when I was lost in the desert. In your name I pray. Amen."
As she took her food, she noticed the others were staring at her. Jose was sweating bullets and looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Bill's jaw hung open in dumbstruck shock, as if the rabbit had just said a dirty word. Even Matilda had dropped her deadpan expressions, her eyes wide with surprise…and fear.
"Is something wrong?" Cream asked. Her reply came in the form of slow, harsh breathing coming from Kid. The gunman's hands trembled violently, his fingers clenching and squeezing rapidly.
"Mr. Kid?" the little bunny asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"
"Huh?!" Kid snapped to attention. "Oh, i-it's nothing, Cream. I'm fine."
He reached for one of the cups of salsa and a handful of chips.
"Ummmm, aren't you going to take off your scarf?" Cream questioned.
Kid paused. "No, I'm not."
"It must be hard to eat like that. And you'll get crumbs in your scarf."
"I'll wash it later."
Cream tilted her head. "Are you afraid of something?"
"I…"
"It's because he's ugly," Matti said bluntly.
"Matti!" Kid snapped.
"Chica, are you loco?!" Jose demanded.
"Well, he is. He said so himself."
"But did you really need to say it like that?!" Kid asked.
"Yes Matti, that was very rude," Cream agreed.
Matti's deadpan expression faltered slightly. "Yeah, it was. I'm sorry."
With that, she returned to her food.
"Well I don't care if you're ugly," Cream told him. "What matters is what's on the inside, not the outside."
Kid smiled. "Well, that's nice of you to say." He shuffled his scarf a bit so he could eat a chip.
Flashback Over
Kid sighed, as he watched the sunrise; absent-mindedly tapping his glasses as he did.
"Mr. Kid?" Kid turned to see Cream and Cheese peeking out the hatch.
"What's up, Cream?"
"Cheese and I were just wondering where you went. You weren't anywhere inside."
"I like to watch the sunrise. It… helps me focus."
"Cheese and I like to watch them too." Cream said as she sat next to him, Cheese sitting in her lap, "It's really pretty."
"Heh, it sure is." As the two looked out into the desert sky, Kid felt a vibration in his pocket and pulled out his smartphone. He had just received a text. He opened up the message and skimmed its contents, grinning as he did, "It sure is."
Author's Note:
(1): Mobian John Wayne.
(2): Mobian Pippin Apple.
(3): Mobian Legos.
(4): She's talking about Ella, natch. Word from WindstarOsprey: If any of our readers speak Spanish, please let us know if we got it right, and how we can correct it if we didn't.
Well, things are heating up, aren't they? Next chapter, the showdown at high noon begins.
Please R&R. Until next time!