Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Inked in flame ❯ Chapter the sixth: Two paths to the graveyard ( Chapter 6 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: TheVulpineHero1 
well what can i say urm yes enjoy
Non Anime: Sonic Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.26.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 355 | Status: Work In Progress
well what can i say urm yes enjoy
Non Anime: Sonic Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.26.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 355 | Status: Work In Progress
Aisling! Sorry about that folks, but I have to give my friend an honourable mention, on account of the fact that I didn’t buy her a Christmas present. I offered her a statue of a chicken, but she said she’d rather have me mention her in a fic. So, hiya! I also make apologies for not updating/writing stuff I said I would. But, in my defence, this is all I’ve really felt like writing recently. Anyway, you should be grateful that I’m writing anything. I’m still grateful to all those who have reviewed or read any of my fics. Thanks! I just hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them. But, that isn’t important. On with the story!
Chapter the sixth: Two paths to the graveyard
“Vector? Are you awake?”
“I don’t know, let me check. Yes, I’m awake. What is it?”
“I’m hungry…”
The crocodile groaned. Although he knew that it was just the bee’s attempt to cheer him up, but he really wasn’t in the mood. Who would be, after getting the snot kicked out of them by one measly cat? It wouldn’t have been so bad if it had just been him, but then Espio and Charmy had gotten involved. They hadn’t beat her, even though it had been three-on one. He had heard that members of the guild were extremely skilled, but this was taking it to a new level. He needed to find himself a plan of action, a strategy to tip the odds in his favour.
“No, seriously, I’m hungry…”
“Charmy, you have more drugs being pumped through you than the Cuban mafia. How can you possibly think about food?” Vector asked, surprised once again by the bee’s happy-go-lucky attitude.
“Well, I was kinda trying to distract myself from the fact that I have more drugs being pumped through me than the Cuban mafia. Why isn’t Espio here?” the bee asked.
“Because he doesn’t have a gaping wound in his stomach or a huge tear in his wings, or maybe because he wasn’t lying in a puddle of his own blood. He was lucky. He only had a broken leg.” Vector said sarcastically.
“Hm. You can’t blame yourself, Vector. That cat didn’t look like much, but she’s a tough cookie.” the bee said.
Vector thought for a moment. What the bee was saying was right. He was blaming himself, and the cat was far more than even they cold have handled.
“Charmy, you sure can be annoying sometimes.” Vector said.
“Tell me about it!” came a voice which was apparently coming from the fruit bowl.
“Oh, hey Espio. How are you doing this morning?” Vector asked.
“I never could slip one past you, could I Vector? Luckily, those nurses upstairs aren’t quite as perceptive.” the chameleon said, becoming visible again. Vector noticed that his leg was heavily plastered up. It was a testament to Espio’s ability as a ninja that he had been able to use the leaf swirl in such a state.
“Espio, did you bring some food? I’m starving!” Charmy whined.
“Charmy, I don’t see how even you can think of food at a time like this. You have more drugs being pumped through you than-”
“The Cuban Mafia, I know! But it doesn’t stop me being hungry!”
Vector smiled. Even though he didn’t tell them, these two really had a knack for cheering him up. Unfortunately, his cheerfulness was quickly interrupted by an ominous laugh.
“Hahahahaha. The security at this hospital really is laughable. Maybe I should drop in a complaint at the front desk…” came a voice from the door. Stood in the door frame was a grey fox. He was tall, but didn’t look very powerful. In fact, he looked quite old, as his grey fur seemed to be fading. Nevertheless, he was an imposing figure. Looking at his face, Vector was sure that this particular fox had seen his fair share of fighting, as various war scars decorated his face. A particularly deep one, which looked like it was permanent, was situated beneath his left eye.
“Excuse me gentlemen. Was it you that were beaten by my associates yesterday?” the fox said, in a surprisingly dignified and polite voice.
“And if it was?” Vector asked, tensing. This guy was trouble.
“Well, it may interest you to know that the feline who beat you was a member of the Arridian Guild who goes by the name of Ivory. I am the leader and founder of the Arridian Guild, Arid.” the fox stated, seeming like he had said the exact same thing many times before.
“B-But…To be the founder of the Arridian Guild, you’d have to at least forty years old! I heard that the leader of the Arridian Guild was one of the world’s most feared warriors! No-one could be a fierce warrior at that age!” Espio shouted.
“Calm down. You’ll do that leg no good at all. Yes, I am forty, although with a dedicated training regime, I have lost none of my prowess in battle. I just came to tell you that it may be in your best interest to stay out of our affairs.” the old fox said, a touch of menace creeping into his voice. Espio stood up straighter, and got ready to throw his shuriken.
“Leave it, Espio. We don’t stand a chance against him in this state. We need to bide our time.” Charmy said. At this point Vector and Espio simply stared at Charmy. Normally, he would have been all for fighting.
“Yes. Listen to your friend’s wisdom. If you’re going to mount an assault on me, it will be more interesting if you’re at full strength.” Arid laughed.
As he was laughing, a cat in black shroud ran up, began to talk in Arid’s ear. Espio nearly went on with his attack, as he that it was the very same cat who had beaten them before.
“Ah, I see you remember Ivory here. Well, gentlemen, please feel free to amuse yourselves whilst she gives me her news.” Arid said. Vector felt a rising tide of fury swell inside him. Through everything, the fox was laughing at them. He saw them as no more than a small amusement! Vector vowed silently to destroy this cocky fox.
“Hm. Him, again? He’s rather like a bad itch.” Arid joked to Ivory.
“Yes, sir, but not many itches go around killing people.” the cat said, uneasily.
“Quite right. Not many itches bother the same organisation for five years straight, either. And even the worst itches don’t give me scars. That kid needs to chill out. Still, he’s probably going to follow us to the ends of Mobius. We may as well try and deal with him now. Assuming it is him, and not some other itch?” Arid asked, expectantly.
“It was his mark, sir. I’ve never seen or heard of anyone else with the ability to leave a corpse like that.” Ivory sighed.
“Hmph. Another of us, he’s got. I knew he was going to be dangerous, but…” Arid muttered, distractedly.
“Sir?”
“Ah, nothing. Report any further activity to me directly. You’ve done a good job, so go and get some rest.” the fox instructed.
“Well, sorry gentlemen, but I have some rather more pressing business to attend to. I’ll see that the security on this hospital is improved. We wouldn’t want anyone else getting in, would we?” the fox said, walking off.
That is one weird villain, Vector thought.
“Cream, can I please get up now? I can’t feel my legs.”
“No! You had a very traumatic experience. You should rest for a while.” came the reply.
Tails sighed. He had been cooped up in Cream’s room for several hours now. He just wanted to get back to his workshop, but Cream wouldn’t hear of it. Raze had been gone for quite a while, and Vanilla was of the opinion that Tails should be resting for at least a day. Ai had gone out for groceries after being asked to by Vanilla. Amy had conked out on the settee, and despite all efforts, no-one could wake her up. Uncharacteristically, Shadow had stuck around, and was hanging around the kitchen. Tails heard the front door swing open, and knew from the heavier tread that it was Raze. Raze’s footsteps were quite loud, but Tails was surprised how lightly he stepped for his size. He must be quite agile. Raze walked into the bedroom.
“Geez, ain’t you up yet? I woulda thought that even a little guy like yourself would have been able to shift himself by now.” he said, walking over to Tails.
“It isn’t my fault! Cream won’t let me out of bed!” Tails whined.
Raze looked at him for a few seconds, than turned to Cream.
“Hmph. You are aware that tucking someone in so tightly can cause loss of circulation and partial strangulation, aren’t you?” Raze asked.
Very hastily, Cream proceeded to tip up the bed, sending Tails bouncing to the ground. Well, at least I’m out of bed, Tails thought. Hearing the unmistakable sound of a ten-year-old fox hitting the ground, Vanilla walked into the bedroom. Tutting, she rearranged the bed. Shortly after she did this, yet another knock came at the door. Ai walked in, with an overflowing bag of groceries. Looking at the bag, Raze spotted, amongst other ‘essentials’, a plunger, a packet of chocolate, a coconut, three pork pies and a small statuette depicting a circus performer juggling turnips.
“Ai! I told you to get only the essentials! Why have you gotten all these things?” Vanilla asked angrily.
“Well, I don’t know what the essentials are, so I just went to the store and asked for one of everything. Oh, and you owe the shopkeeper 250 Mobians.” Ai said apologetically.
As Vanilla sorted through the junk, Shadow walked in. Casting a distasteful look at Raze, he walked over to the settee and promptly kicked Amy off. Luckily for Shadow, she remained asleep. Raze sighed. This was getting real old, real quick. If he stayed in a setting this boring for much longer, he’d go crazy.
Knuckles sighed. Man, had this tiger travelled far. Halfway around the globe, by the sound of it. Jecht was now asleep, after having recounted his tale. The main gist of it was that Jecht had found some travelling companions in a mercenary fox, a hare, and a knightly hedgehog. Apparently, the fox was supposed to have given Jecht is shoulder wounds. Knuckles looked at the tiger, who had just rolled over onto his newly-bandaged shoulder. Knuckles looked up at the sun, and wondered what Rouge was doing. If Rouge found the emerald before he did, he could kiss it goodbye, or at least be prepared to go looking for the pieces. But, two heads were better than one. If he could persuade Jecht to help look for the emerald, he might just stand a chance of finding the emerald before Rouge. Maybe, if he was quick enough, he might even be able to get it back without her noticing. Then, he could laugh at the look on her mug when she found out. He felt a twinge of guilt about trying to embarrass her. Maybe he should just be quick, find the emerald, take it back and play it by ear. The sun shone high above him, and a bead of sweat trickled down his brow. Even if he did find the emerald, what would keep it from being taken again? He needed a plan, a strategy. Who was smart enough to devise a plan to get the emerald back, and who was kind enough to care? His mind went through plenty of suggestions, before resting on the perfect guy for the job. He looked at his companion, who was still snoring away. There was no need to rush, he thought to himself. If Rouge was going to find it, she’d have found it by now. He decided to wait for his friend to wake up before journeying to Tails’ workshop.
“Can you walk any slower? My legs are falling asleep! My eyebrow is going all twitchy! Look at it!” Sonic complained, pulling his eyebrow up and down with his fingers.
“I always walk at my own pace. A real lady never runs around without need.” Eleanor said, smirking.
“I know at least…well…I know a women that runs!” Sonic whined.
“Yes, but is she a lady?” Eleanor asked.
“Uh, good point.” Sonic said, thinking of Amy.
“Anyway, you’re supposed to be giving me a tour, not trying to dash off every three seconds because you ‘need the toilet’.”
“Okay, so I like to run! But it wasn’t every three seconds, and I used different excuses as well as that one!”
The two walked on, although Sonic seemed decidedly edgy.
What is up with this guy? she thought.
He started jogging on the spot, as if to reaffirm her suspicions that he was a nut job. It was like he was incontinent or something.
“Can I pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseple asepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseple asepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseple asepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease pleaseplease go now? One of my best friends in the whole, entire, goddamn world is hurt right now! I wanted to go see him, but I was trapped in that stupid car park!” Sonic shouted. He then turned towards the car park and began swearing under his breath.
“Fine. But, I’m going with you. A man never chickens out on his promises, but I won’t put anything past you.” she said, smirking once again.
“Yay! Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay! Oh, wait, hang on. That may not be such a great idea…”
“Why not?”
“Oh, well, uh… You might get a bit…bruised…” Sonic muttered, again thinking of Amy, and the dramatic consequences and probable medical bills that would ensue if she was there and he turned up with another girl.
“Tough. I don’t wear this armour for fun, you know. Anyway, you can point things out as we walk. Oh, and whatever happened to that other hedgehog, by the way?” Eleanor asked.
“Oh, Shadow? He probably got arrested for streaking again. He’s always doing idiotic stuff. There was that time when he threw his goldfish in the bin and flushed his light bulb down the toilet. There was also the time when he started abducing gnomes. I never did ask him why. Oh, and there was also…”
“I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!”
“That’s my line, kid. You people are really boring, do you know that?” Raze replied, quickly shutting the currently stir-crazy Tails up, and beginning a long and fully ignored telling off by Vanilla.
“…and that’s why you shouldn’t be so rude!”
“Yap yap yap. Do you at least have anything to eat?” Raze asked. Ai looked on despairingly. Shadow simply blinked and went back to reading the women’s magazines that Vanilla had left on the side. Cream was too busy trying to wrestle Tails back into bed to notice, and Amy was on the floor, with several footprints on her dress.
“Hey, fox boy. I need your help on something…What the hell is going on?” said a surprised voice from the window. Tails looked up and saw Rouge climbing through, along with something that had been bound and gagged.
“I was just looking through the window, and what do I see? Anarchy! Strangers! Shadow reading women’s mags! Oh, hey, is that the latest issue of Mobian Woman?” Rouge asked, starting to veer off track.
“Um…What’s with the bound and gagged person, Ms. Rouge?” Cream asked politely.
“Don’t call me Ms, honey. It makes me sound old. This…thing…is something I picked up in a bar a little while ago.” Rouge answered, making sure to wipe her feet on Amy before she started tracking dirt. She then removed the gag from the figure, revealing a bird’s face, and a mouth that was quite busy.
“Hammawoffa deedo, te moulinatta!” it shouted in a rough voice.
“Hmph. Roughly translated, it means ‘Let me go, you motherfu…I’m sorry, but was that supposed to hurt?” Raze said, giving an evil glare to Ai, who promptly kicked him again.
“Wait, you understood that?” Rouge asked, startled.
“Sure do. Holy language o’ the terns. Of course, what he was saying had nothing holy about it…” Raze said, transferring his glare from hare to bird.
“Why do you know it, then?” Tails asked, showing his natural curiosity for details. Raze walked back a few steps, and spread his arms out.
“Come and live the fabulous lifestyle of a mercenary! Job perks include travel opportunities and the chance to hurt your boss if you don’t like them! Cons include that you’ll often be traipsing from country to country in search of work, so being multi-lingual is a big plus!” Raze said in a highly exaggerated tone, making a very sarcastic thumbs up sign.
“Well, at any rate, this punk was apparently part of a gang that stole the Master Emerald. No, Shadow, it wasn’t me this time. You can stop looking so surprised. I’ve been interrogating him, but all I found out was that he’s a member of a so-called Arridian Guild…” Rouge said, carelessly. Immediately, two things happened: Shadow picked up his magazine, having dropped it in surprise, and Raze tensed all his muscles and began to growl ferociously.
“Arridian Guild, eh? Let me talk to him for five minutes, and we’ll see what he can tell us…” Raze snarled, his glare intensifying a hundred-fold as he looked at the bird. Immediately, the atmosphere in the room changed from concerned to extremely tense as Raze became enveloped in his own personal cloud of rage.
“Hey, hold up. Wasn’t it you who said that a mercenary always had to keep his cool?” Ai asked, attempting to cool the situation. Raze turned and looked at her, and she saw pure, cold fury in his eyes.
“If the Arridian Guild is involved, I’m no mercenary. I’m a bounty hunter.” he said, drawing out the last two words. The bird began to squirm obviously in great fear for his life.
“Now. You’re going to tell me everything you know about the Arridian Guild.” Raze threatened. The bird choked in fear, and said nothing.
“Oh! You must have laryngitis!” Raze said, faking a smile and pleasant voice. “How about I rip your throat out and check?” he added in a dangerously low voice.
“I’m new! I was only supposed to be stealing some big gem from some stupid echidna! They said they wanted me because he wouldn’t be able to sense me or something! Please don’t kill me!” he shouted, panic invading his voice.
“A fox, same height as me, but older. Did you see him?” Raze asked, now in a seemingly blind fury. Ai looked at him, and saw that he wasn’t getting the answers he wanted.
“Yeah, that was the boss! He was really scary! I can’t help but stutter around that guy. But, he wasn’t scary in a violent way…It was just scary how casual he was, and how powerful at the same time…” the bird said, thinking back.
“Hmph. Guess that means I’m going to have to do some serious looking around.” Raze declared quietly, moving away. Tails looked at the large fox, as he sat in the chair and tried to calm himself down. What was the connection between Raze and the Arridian Guild? Didn’t that cat say that she was from the Arridian Guild? The thoughts swirled around in Tails’ head. Even Ai didn’t seem to know the connection. However, she did appear to know that now was not the time to be asking. No-one spoke as the blue fox, who was normally so cold, battled against his abject fury. He took a deep breath, then settled down in the chair.
“So, bat-girl, you said you picked this guy up in a bar?” he asked.
“The name is Rouge, hon. And yeah, what of it?” the bat said.
“They sell anything hard there?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah. I’m actually kinda tipsy. I was drinking for quite a while.” the bat said, revealing that she was, in fact, almost drunk.
“Good. Looks like we’re going there then. You coming, fairy?” Raze asked, looking at Shadow.
“FAIRY?” Shadow exploded.
“You are gay, right? No need to be embarrassed. I’ve worked for gay people before. Nothing wrong with ‘um as such. Anyway, it’s time to go drinking!”
Hm. This wasn’t as long as last chapter, but I think it had a little more comedy in it. However, it also raises some major questions, which I will leave you to stew over. The results of my survey were that no-one answered. I’ll take that to mean that it would be best if a writer simply did things as they seem natural. Oh, yeah, and I suppose I should probably ask (not tell) you to read some of the stuff by TheRealScootTh, especially his new one, which I shall be assisting him with. Also, some people have asked me what I was smoking when I made Bowtie of Doom and other randomish fics. The answer, to whom it may concern, was that I was not, in fact, smoking anything. I was simply hanging upside down trying to eat a muffin and talking to my invisible evil twin (Yup! There’s an even eviller version of me!), whose name is Jag, at the time. Let the randomness be with you. Oh, and I’m now trying to prioritise my stories, so I can get them written more punctually. Away!
Chapter the sixth: Two paths to the graveyard
“Vector? Are you awake?”
“I don’t know, let me check. Yes, I’m awake. What is it?”
“I’m hungry…”
The crocodile groaned. Although he knew that it was just the bee’s attempt to cheer him up, but he really wasn’t in the mood. Who would be, after getting the snot kicked out of them by one measly cat? It wouldn’t have been so bad if it had just been him, but then Espio and Charmy had gotten involved. They hadn’t beat her, even though it had been three-on one. He had heard that members of the guild were extremely skilled, but this was taking it to a new level. He needed to find himself a plan of action, a strategy to tip the odds in his favour.
“No, seriously, I’m hungry…”
“Charmy, you have more drugs being pumped through you than the Cuban mafia. How can you possibly think about food?” Vector asked, surprised once again by the bee’s happy-go-lucky attitude.
“Well, I was kinda trying to distract myself from the fact that I have more drugs being pumped through me than the Cuban mafia. Why isn’t Espio here?” the bee asked.
“Because he doesn’t have a gaping wound in his stomach or a huge tear in his wings, or maybe because he wasn’t lying in a puddle of his own blood. He was lucky. He only had a broken leg.” Vector said sarcastically.
“Hm. You can’t blame yourself, Vector. That cat didn’t look like much, but she’s a tough cookie.” the bee said.
Vector thought for a moment. What the bee was saying was right. He was blaming himself, and the cat was far more than even they cold have handled.
“Charmy, you sure can be annoying sometimes.” Vector said.
“Tell me about it!” came a voice which was apparently coming from the fruit bowl.
“Oh, hey Espio. How are you doing this morning?” Vector asked.
“I never could slip one past you, could I Vector? Luckily, those nurses upstairs aren’t quite as perceptive.” the chameleon said, becoming visible again. Vector noticed that his leg was heavily plastered up. It was a testament to Espio’s ability as a ninja that he had been able to use the leaf swirl in such a state.
“Espio, did you bring some food? I’m starving!” Charmy whined.
“Charmy, I don’t see how even you can think of food at a time like this. You have more drugs being pumped through you than-”
“The Cuban Mafia, I know! But it doesn’t stop me being hungry!”
Vector smiled. Even though he didn’t tell them, these two really had a knack for cheering him up. Unfortunately, his cheerfulness was quickly interrupted by an ominous laugh.
“Hahahahaha. The security at this hospital really is laughable. Maybe I should drop in a complaint at the front desk…” came a voice from the door. Stood in the door frame was a grey fox. He was tall, but didn’t look very powerful. In fact, he looked quite old, as his grey fur seemed to be fading. Nevertheless, he was an imposing figure. Looking at his face, Vector was sure that this particular fox had seen his fair share of fighting, as various war scars decorated his face. A particularly deep one, which looked like it was permanent, was situated beneath his left eye.
“Excuse me gentlemen. Was it you that were beaten by my associates yesterday?” the fox said, in a surprisingly dignified and polite voice.
“And if it was?” Vector asked, tensing. This guy was trouble.
“Well, it may interest you to know that the feline who beat you was a member of the Arridian Guild who goes by the name of Ivory. I am the leader and founder of the Arridian Guild, Arid.” the fox stated, seeming like he had said the exact same thing many times before.
“B-But…To be the founder of the Arridian Guild, you’d have to at least forty years old! I heard that the leader of the Arridian Guild was one of the world’s most feared warriors! No-one could be a fierce warrior at that age!” Espio shouted.
“Calm down. You’ll do that leg no good at all. Yes, I am forty, although with a dedicated training regime, I have lost none of my prowess in battle. I just came to tell you that it may be in your best interest to stay out of our affairs.” the old fox said, a touch of menace creeping into his voice. Espio stood up straighter, and got ready to throw his shuriken.
“Leave it, Espio. We don’t stand a chance against him in this state. We need to bide our time.” Charmy said. At this point Vector and Espio simply stared at Charmy. Normally, he would have been all for fighting.
“Yes. Listen to your friend’s wisdom. If you’re going to mount an assault on me, it will be more interesting if you’re at full strength.” Arid laughed.
As he was laughing, a cat in black shroud ran up, began to talk in Arid’s ear. Espio nearly went on with his attack, as he that it was the very same cat who had beaten them before.
“Ah, I see you remember Ivory here. Well, gentlemen, please feel free to amuse yourselves whilst she gives me her news.” Arid said. Vector felt a rising tide of fury swell inside him. Through everything, the fox was laughing at them. He saw them as no more than a small amusement! Vector vowed silently to destroy this cocky fox.
“Hm. Him, again? He’s rather like a bad itch.” Arid joked to Ivory.
“Yes, sir, but not many itches go around killing people.” the cat said, uneasily.
“Quite right. Not many itches bother the same organisation for five years straight, either. And even the worst itches don’t give me scars. That kid needs to chill out. Still, he’s probably going to follow us to the ends of Mobius. We may as well try and deal with him now. Assuming it is him, and not some other itch?” Arid asked, expectantly.
“It was his mark, sir. I’ve never seen or heard of anyone else with the ability to leave a corpse like that.” Ivory sighed.
“Hmph. Another of us, he’s got. I knew he was going to be dangerous, but…” Arid muttered, distractedly.
“Sir?”
“Ah, nothing. Report any further activity to me directly. You’ve done a good job, so go and get some rest.” the fox instructed.
“Well, sorry gentlemen, but I have some rather more pressing business to attend to. I’ll see that the security on this hospital is improved. We wouldn’t want anyone else getting in, would we?” the fox said, walking off.
That is one weird villain, Vector thought.
“Cream, can I please get up now? I can’t feel my legs.”
“No! You had a very traumatic experience. You should rest for a while.” came the reply.
Tails sighed. He had been cooped up in Cream’s room for several hours now. He just wanted to get back to his workshop, but Cream wouldn’t hear of it. Raze had been gone for quite a while, and Vanilla was of the opinion that Tails should be resting for at least a day. Ai had gone out for groceries after being asked to by Vanilla. Amy had conked out on the settee, and despite all efforts, no-one could wake her up. Uncharacteristically, Shadow had stuck around, and was hanging around the kitchen. Tails heard the front door swing open, and knew from the heavier tread that it was Raze. Raze’s footsteps were quite loud, but Tails was surprised how lightly he stepped for his size. He must be quite agile. Raze walked into the bedroom.
“Geez, ain’t you up yet? I woulda thought that even a little guy like yourself would have been able to shift himself by now.” he said, walking over to Tails.
“It isn’t my fault! Cream won’t let me out of bed!” Tails whined.
Raze looked at him for a few seconds, than turned to Cream.
“Hmph. You are aware that tucking someone in so tightly can cause loss of circulation and partial strangulation, aren’t you?” Raze asked.
Very hastily, Cream proceeded to tip up the bed, sending Tails bouncing to the ground. Well, at least I’m out of bed, Tails thought. Hearing the unmistakable sound of a ten-year-old fox hitting the ground, Vanilla walked into the bedroom. Tutting, she rearranged the bed. Shortly after she did this, yet another knock came at the door. Ai walked in, with an overflowing bag of groceries. Looking at the bag, Raze spotted, amongst other ‘essentials’, a plunger, a packet of chocolate, a coconut, three pork pies and a small statuette depicting a circus performer juggling turnips.
“Ai! I told you to get only the essentials! Why have you gotten all these things?” Vanilla asked angrily.
“Well, I don’t know what the essentials are, so I just went to the store and asked for one of everything. Oh, and you owe the shopkeeper 250 Mobians.” Ai said apologetically.
As Vanilla sorted through the junk, Shadow walked in. Casting a distasteful look at Raze, he walked over to the settee and promptly kicked Amy off. Luckily for Shadow, she remained asleep. Raze sighed. This was getting real old, real quick. If he stayed in a setting this boring for much longer, he’d go crazy.
Knuckles sighed. Man, had this tiger travelled far. Halfway around the globe, by the sound of it. Jecht was now asleep, after having recounted his tale. The main gist of it was that Jecht had found some travelling companions in a mercenary fox, a hare, and a knightly hedgehog. Apparently, the fox was supposed to have given Jecht is shoulder wounds. Knuckles looked at the tiger, who had just rolled over onto his newly-bandaged shoulder. Knuckles looked up at the sun, and wondered what Rouge was doing. If Rouge found the emerald before he did, he could kiss it goodbye, or at least be prepared to go looking for the pieces. But, two heads were better than one. If he could persuade Jecht to help look for the emerald, he might just stand a chance of finding the emerald before Rouge. Maybe, if he was quick enough, he might even be able to get it back without her noticing. Then, he could laugh at the look on her mug when she found out. He felt a twinge of guilt about trying to embarrass her. Maybe he should just be quick, find the emerald, take it back and play it by ear. The sun shone high above him, and a bead of sweat trickled down his brow. Even if he did find the emerald, what would keep it from being taken again? He needed a plan, a strategy. Who was smart enough to devise a plan to get the emerald back, and who was kind enough to care? His mind went through plenty of suggestions, before resting on the perfect guy for the job. He looked at his companion, who was still snoring away. There was no need to rush, he thought to himself. If Rouge was going to find it, she’d have found it by now. He decided to wait for his friend to wake up before journeying to Tails’ workshop.
“Can you walk any slower? My legs are falling asleep! My eyebrow is going all twitchy! Look at it!” Sonic complained, pulling his eyebrow up and down with his fingers.
“I always walk at my own pace. A real lady never runs around without need.” Eleanor said, smirking.
“I know at least…well…I know a women that runs!” Sonic whined.
“Yes, but is she a lady?” Eleanor asked.
“Uh, good point.” Sonic said, thinking of Amy.
“Anyway, you’re supposed to be giving me a tour, not trying to dash off every three seconds because you ‘need the toilet’.”
“Okay, so I like to run! But it wasn’t every three seconds, and I used different excuses as well as that one!”
The two walked on, although Sonic seemed decidedly edgy.
What is up with this guy? she thought.
He started jogging on the spot, as if to reaffirm her suspicions that he was a nut job. It was like he was incontinent or something.
“Can I pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseple asepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseple asepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseple asepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease pleaseplease go now? One of my best friends in the whole, entire, goddamn world is hurt right now! I wanted to go see him, but I was trapped in that stupid car park!” Sonic shouted. He then turned towards the car park and began swearing under his breath.
“Fine. But, I’m going with you. A man never chickens out on his promises, but I won’t put anything past you.” she said, smirking once again.
“Yay! Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay! Oh, wait, hang on. That may not be such a great idea…”
“Why not?”
“Oh, well, uh… You might get a bit…bruised…” Sonic muttered, again thinking of Amy, and the dramatic consequences and probable medical bills that would ensue if she was there and he turned up with another girl.
“Tough. I don’t wear this armour for fun, you know. Anyway, you can point things out as we walk. Oh, and whatever happened to that other hedgehog, by the way?” Eleanor asked.
“Oh, Shadow? He probably got arrested for streaking again. He’s always doing idiotic stuff. There was that time when he threw his goldfish in the bin and flushed his light bulb down the toilet. There was also the time when he started abducing gnomes. I never did ask him why. Oh, and there was also…”
“I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!”
“That’s my line, kid. You people are really boring, do you know that?” Raze replied, quickly shutting the currently stir-crazy Tails up, and beginning a long and fully ignored telling off by Vanilla.
“…and that’s why you shouldn’t be so rude!”
“Yap yap yap. Do you at least have anything to eat?” Raze asked. Ai looked on despairingly. Shadow simply blinked and went back to reading the women’s magazines that Vanilla had left on the side. Cream was too busy trying to wrestle Tails back into bed to notice, and Amy was on the floor, with several footprints on her dress.
“Hey, fox boy. I need your help on something…What the hell is going on?” said a surprised voice from the window. Tails looked up and saw Rouge climbing through, along with something that had been bound and gagged.
“I was just looking through the window, and what do I see? Anarchy! Strangers! Shadow reading women’s mags! Oh, hey, is that the latest issue of Mobian Woman?” Rouge asked, starting to veer off track.
“Um…What’s with the bound and gagged person, Ms. Rouge?” Cream asked politely.
“Don’t call me Ms, honey. It makes me sound old. This…thing…is something I picked up in a bar a little while ago.” Rouge answered, making sure to wipe her feet on Amy before she started tracking dirt. She then removed the gag from the figure, revealing a bird’s face, and a mouth that was quite busy.
“Hammawoffa deedo, te moulinatta!” it shouted in a rough voice.
“Hmph. Roughly translated, it means ‘Let me go, you motherfu…I’m sorry, but was that supposed to hurt?” Raze said, giving an evil glare to Ai, who promptly kicked him again.
“Wait, you understood that?” Rouge asked, startled.
“Sure do. Holy language o’ the terns. Of course, what he was saying had nothing holy about it…” Raze said, transferring his glare from hare to bird.
“Why do you know it, then?” Tails asked, showing his natural curiosity for details. Raze walked back a few steps, and spread his arms out.
“Come and live the fabulous lifestyle of a mercenary! Job perks include travel opportunities and the chance to hurt your boss if you don’t like them! Cons include that you’ll often be traipsing from country to country in search of work, so being multi-lingual is a big plus!” Raze said in a highly exaggerated tone, making a very sarcastic thumbs up sign.
“Well, at any rate, this punk was apparently part of a gang that stole the Master Emerald. No, Shadow, it wasn’t me this time. You can stop looking so surprised. I’ve been interrogating him, but all I found out was that he’s a member of a so-called Arridian Guild…” Rouge said, carelessly. Immediately, two things happened: Shadow picked up his magazine, having dropped it in surprise, and Raze tensed all his muscles and began to growl ferociously.
“Arridian Guild, eh? Let me talk to him for five minutes, and we’ll see what he can tell us…” Raze snarled, his glare intensifying a hundred-fold as he looked at the bird. Immediately, the atmosphere in the room changed from concerned to extremely tense as Raze became enveloped in his own personal cloud of rage.
“Hey, hold up. Wasn’t it you who said that a mercenary always had to keep his cool?” Ai asked, attempting to cool the situation. Raze turned and looked at her, and she saw pure, cold fury in his eyes.
“If the Arridian Guild is involved, I’m no mercenary. I’m a bounty hunter.” he said, drawing out the last two words. The bird began to squirm obviously in great fear for his life.
“Now. You’re going to tell me everything you know about the Arridian Guild.” Raze threatened. The bird choked in fear, and said nothing.
“Oh! You must have laryngitis!” Raze said, faking a smile and pleasant voice. “How about I rip your throat out and check?” he added in a dangerously low voice.
“I’m new! I was only supposed to be stealing some big gem from some stupid echidna! They said they wanted me because he wouldn’t be able to sense me or something! Please don’t kill me!” he shouted, panic invading his voice.
“A fox, same height as me, but older. Did you see him?” Raze asked, now in a seemingly blind fury. Ai looked at him, and saw that he wasn’t getting the answers he wanted.
“Yeah, that was the boss! He was really scary! I can’t help but stutter around that guy. But, he wasn’t scary in a violent way…It was just scary how casual he was, and how powerful at the same time…” the bird said, thinking back.
“Hmph. Guess that means I’m going to have to do some serious looking around.” Raze declared quietly, moving away. Tails looked at the large fox, as he sat in the chair and tried to calm himself down. What was the connection between Raze and the Arridian Guild? Didn’t that cat say that she was from the Arridian Guild? The thoughts swirled around in Tails’ head. Even Ai didn’t seem to know the connection. However, she did appear to know that now was not the time to be asking. No-one spoke as the blue fox, who was normally so cold, battled against his abject fury. He took a deep breath, then settled down in the chair.
“So, bat-girl, you said you picked this guy up in a bar?” he asked.
“The name is Rouge, hon. And yeah, what of it?” the bat said.
“They sell anything hard there?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah. I’m actually kinda tipsy. I was drinking for quite a while.” the bat said, revealing that she was, in fact, almost drunk.
“Good. Looks like we’re going there then. You coming, fairy?” Raze asked, looking at Shadow.
“FAIRY?” Shadow exploded.
“You are gay, right? No need to be embarrassed. I’ve worked for gay people before. Nothing wrong with ‘um as such. Anyway, it’s time to go drinking!”
Hm. This wasn’t as long as last chapter, but I think it had a little more comedy in it. However, it also raises some major questions, which I will leave you to stew over. The results of my survey were that no-one answered. I’ll take that to mean that it would be best if a writer simply did things as they seem natural. Oh, yeah, and I suppose I should probably ask (not tell) you to read some of the stuff by TheRealScootTh, especially his new one, which I shall be assisting him with. Also, some people have asked me what I was smoking when I made Bowtie of Doom and other randomish fics. The answer, to whom it may concern, was that I was not, in fact, smoking anything. I was simply hanging upside down trying to eat a muffin and talking to my invisible evil twin (Yup! There’s an even eviller version of me!), whose name is Jag, at the time. Let the randomness be with you. Oh, and I’m now trying to prioritise my stories, so I can get them written more punctually. Away!