Fan Fiction / Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Marines Journey - The SHODAN crisis ❯ Chapter 77: Rouge at Casino Night! ( Chapter 78 )

The Marine's Journey

Chap 77: Rouge at Casino Night!

By: Piccard

Sorry for the lack of updates over the last few days, been updating `Elite Creatures Unleashed' (E.C.U) with various gags.

Dark: Can it and get to the action!

It's harder to write than people think, but I'm waffling too much here! Here's chapter 77! I never dreamt I'd get this far!

Jon and Tom: :Obviously bored: Nor did we!

------------------------- /\/**

Disclaimer: It's hard to come up with decent puns. They aren't mine! Happy?

My command? Go nuke things!

-------------------------/\/**

On the shuttle, a third light lit on the board as Xerxes looked out of the window and started smiling, "Here we are Casino night, Lot's a cash and no water anywhere!" The others laughed at how eager the android sounded. "Why not go down yourself?" Xerxes turned and saw the smile on Rouge's face. "Much as I'd like to, I have to pilot the shuttle, now whose gonna go down?" "Well I guess I will." She said as she walked forward, and Xerxes sighed as he saw the look on her face. "Just don't spend all day at the machines." He said as he activated the transporter, and swore that he heard her mutter, "Ha ha!" before she vanished. "Now as for the fifth," Xerxes started as he looked over the controls, "It's in a zone further to the east, according to the scans, the stars are out! Better get going!"

The bat watched the shuttle start flying off before vanishing in a flash of blue light. "What the heck?" she thought as she started forward and looked around. "Wish I knew about this place sooner," She muttered as she walked past all the neon lights, "would've bought more cash!" Just then, she caught sight of a nearby machine, and couldn't take her eyes off it. "Well there's no harm in taking a quick break." She said as she bounded over.

"Look Rouge!" Order yelled through a portal, and the bat stopped and glared. "What?" "I know that you wanted some fun, but it's been half an hour!" He spluttered as he stopped for breath and noticed that she'd folded her arms over her chest. "How are you gonna stop me?" Rouge thundered, clenching her fist as she noticed Order smirk. "You do look cute when you're angry!" Then he realised what he said and went bright red as she gradually smiled and leaned forward. "Which of you said that?" She asked, and then she heard Bio's voice clearly. "Wasn't me dear!" Before the voice changed to Piccard's. "Erm, I, uh, gotta go!" Rouge was laughing her head off as the portal vanished, and she heard a hammer impact on the other side.

"Guess Amy heard him." Rouge said as she walked away from the games and noticed a demon running her way. "So it took them half an hour to find me?" She said as he started running before leaping up and landing behind the demon, taking the chance to kick it hard before she landed. "Not bad," She started as she saw the demon rise, "But I could do better!" Suddenly she shot up into the air, and the demon looked around in confusion before Rouge slammed down from above, violently bringing her foot into the creature's head, making it explode.

"Ew, yuck!" She exclaimed as he wiped blood off her shoe and started forwards, jumping on a nearby spring and yelling in surprise as a bumper threw her upwards. "Who put that there?" She screamed as she slammed into a nearby wall, and as she fell to the ground, noticed Chaos smiling in a portal next to her. "I'd have thought those babies would've absorbed the impact." He told her with the biggest smirk he could muster, and she just glared as he laughed. "Only kidding," He said as he tried to adopt an authority tone, but failed. "Now we did some scanning, and found who has the emerald." He held up a pad, and a figure appeared. "This mancubus near the end has used the emerald to upgrade it's launchers. It's waiting in the large pinball machine at the end!"

She thanked him as the effluence vanished, and as she opened her wings and glided down, she noticed imps running towards something beneath her, and suddenly three purple balls reigned onto them, killing them in one as she landed out of shock, and saw a disciple in a purple and green cloak, and as it saw her, it hovered over. "Do not fight!" It said as Rouge had readied her fist, but she pulled it down as it continued. "D'sparil sent me to help out, he sensed that the mancubus would be too damn deadly." Rouge raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that I have more chance of dying than the others?" "Sonic, Tail and Knuckles faced enemies that only really relied on melee attacks." It explained as he hovered nearer, "Mancubi tend to rely on ranged, and they pump out fireballs like Piccard pumps out." "Well if you say so." She quickly interrupted as he hovered next to her and they both started walking. "What's your name?" She asked, and it turned what she assumed was where it's head would be. "I an Tar' Lock, Captain of D'sparil's guard!"

The two continued down when suddenly Tar was flung by a nearby bumper, and Rouge looked on as the disciple was sent flying around a giant pinball machine, flying out after several minutes with a number of rings. "What a rush!" He muttered before he fell at her feet, and then immediately sprung up like he wasn't dizzy at all. "There must be at least fifty here!" Rouge exclaimed as she started grabbing them, and Tar just raised an eyebrow, "I wish I'd known that they were useful," He started as he noticed her pocketing the last one, "Then I might have grabbed a few!"

She smiled as they carried on walking, (Or hovering if you want to be technical) and Rouge ran round a loop as Tar hovered past, and on the other side as the bat stopped, she heard the disciple starting to chant, and as she looked up noticed three purple balls flying at a looming cacodemon. "Rouge run!" He shouted as he flew upwards and slammed the thing hard, but just as he hovered back to charge, a white blue shot past and kicked the thing hard in the eye, and as the disciple lowered, he noticed Rouge cleaning her boot again. "You were saying about me running?" "Never mind!"

After three more battles like this, the disciple stopped telling her to run as she launched herself out of a pinball tube and rebounded off a small green pad. "Must be getting close now." She shouted as she noticed a blob shaped creature with two launchers in a nearby machine, and she noticed Tar hovering alongside her with no effort. "That things dynamite remember!" He said as he started glowing a light purple. "I can take it!" "Well I have a plan, something that D'sparil considered, but thought it was the easy way out!"

After a minute of ricocheting around loops and bumpers, they eventually landed in the right machine, and the wall behind the sealed shut as the mancubus groaned, turned and started drawing energy into it's launchers. "Get ready to move!" Tar shouted as he shot up and Rouge flew after him, just missing the volley of fireballs flying at her. "I know what you meant when you said that they pump them out!" She exclaimed as they took refuge on a platform. "Well the key to this is disarming it's launchers," Tar said as the glow centralised in his wrists. "And I have just the answer." "What do you mean?" She hissed as he suddenly flew off the platform. "Just get ready to kick his bollocks in!" Came the reply as the disciple started chanting and firing energy at the demon, who just responded with fireballs.

After several minutes, Rouge flew down and noticed Tar starting to tire as the Mancubuses launchers were starting to spark. "I appear to be having the desired effect!" The disciple interjected whilst chanting, and just then, the demon noticed Rouge standing nearby and span, bringing a round of fireballs at the bat, who just stood rooted to the spot. When suddenly, a purple blur shot in front of her, and there was a bright explosion, and as soon as Rouge pulled her hands away from her eyes, Tar was nowhere to be seen, but then she looked up, and saw more fireballs impacting with something, when she heard a familiar voice screaming in agony. "Tar?" She muttered as purple remains fell all around her, and as soon as a crossed trident amulet fell at her feet, she knew he was gone. "What's this?" She muttered as she picked it up and put it on, when suddenly her hands started glowing purple.

"So the amulet contains their powers?" She asked herself as she bought her hands forward and three balls reigned forwards. "Yea, nice one!" She gloated as the beast fired more rounds, but she just flew over them as she fired more. Finally, after several minutes, she hit the beast in a launcher with as strong a kick as she could muster, and notice the device starting to explode. "Now would be a good time to stand back!" She shouted as she opened her wings and flew back up to the platform as she saw the demon explode. And when the dust and parts subsided, only a skeleton and the two destroyed launchers remained on the floor.

She flew down and noticed a green gleam as she started rummaging through the wreckage, and as she pulled out the green emerald, a portal opened and a warlock appeared, however, his smile turned into a frown as she saw the amulet around her neck. "Where did you get that?" He asked as he noticed her lower her head. "Your captain, Tar, he was," She started, but the warlock looked behind her and noticed the small puddle of purple and green ooze on the floor, and his anger was evident as he started scowling, and after several seconds it turned into a roar. "That does it!" He roared as lightning coursed along his body. "SHODAN has definitely gone to far this time!" The portal vanished and Rouge sat down and started looking around, pondering what had just happened.

Inside the shuttle a fourth light lit up as Xerxes pulled the shuttle out of warp and noticed a fairly older tech city below them. "Here we are," He started as he tapped buttons. "According to the computers, this is the Star Light zone, now, who wants a crack?" He glanced over his shoulder to see three left, and a gloved hand went up. "Well it won't hurt to have a crack!" Xerxes attempted a smile. "Good for you Shadow, now get us that emerald!" Shadow smirked as he vanished in a blue light, and Xerxes looked down at the panel. "According to this, the sixth emerald is on a ship in the air, not one of SHODAN's, but from the signatures, one of yours Julian!" He exclaimed, startling the egg shaped one.

/\/**

Here we are, Rouge got the emerald, and the captain who led D'sparil's disciples in the earlier chapters was finally identified and killed. (How sad!) But anyway, how was it? Good, Bad, like a broken pencil? (Pointless!) Please review!

Piccard, logging out! /\/**