I could feel my temper rising as Gerald sidestepped the question with his own rambling tirade. Somewhere in the back of my mind, this rambling sounded much more like the Gerald I knew, but that only made my frustration with the situation all the greater. People don't just suddenly betray and try to kill you on a whim.
This rant just seemed to corroborate my suspicions that Gerald was just acting. Trying to buy my sympathy with a facade of self-recrimination just like he did the first time I meet him. By now I was convinced that Gerald was just trying to cover up his betrayal and I was all out of patience.
"DAMMIT, GERALD!!" I shouted, slamming my fist down onto the table as hard as I could, sending some of the cutlery clattering across the table and even spilling the glass of orange juice in front of me. But I didn't pay any attention to that, my infuriated gaze was locked on Gerald's eyes, sunglasses or no sunglasses. "Drop the sob story act already!! I want to know why you betrayed me and have that water... THING you left with me try to drown me!!" Obliviously, my scars started to light up again in my anger.
Omega simply stared at the blue hedgehog, with a look on his face that seemed to say Sonic had gotten even crazier. He noticeably jumped when Chadin began to yell and slammed his fists on the table, going so far as taking a few steps away from him.
Ji and Anu had no idea what to make of anything happened around them. When Sonic found something in his pocket, though, Ji got a little paranoid and decided to search her own pockets. She found something and was about to take it out when Gerald's explosion of words and Chadin's response to it abruptly changed the subject.
They both looked at Chadin and Gerald now, not sure what their role was now.
In an effort to calm Chadin down, Gail laid a paw on his shoulder. However, the electricity pulsing through the deer's body shocked him briefly, making him retract his paw again. Still, he decided he'd tough it out for a moment as he put the paw back again.
"Chadin, calm down. I know he tried to kill you, but if you keep yellin' at him like that, you'll just get him all flustered and then he won't talk. I still think there's more goin' on here than some kind of betrayal. I think Robo did somethin' to his head while he was in there."
Turning his eyes back to Gerald, he tried to speak slowly and evenly.
"So, Gerald...did Robo try some kind o' mind control machine on you in there, or something like that?"
Damn did he have so much to sort out. Sonic was going to have to take some time to sort things out after this little business was dealt with. Any thoughts he was having at hand though were completely interrupted when Chadin slammed his hands down on the table in rage and yelled at the blonde-haired man; electricity sparking from his being. Okay, that was not a good sign.
"Chadin, calm down. I know he tried to kill you, but if you keep yellin' at him like that, you'll just get him all flustered and then he won't talk. I still think there's more goin' on here than some kind of betrayal. I think Robo did somethin' to his head while he was in there."
He made his way quickly to the opposite side of the table where Chadin was sitting, placing his hands on the wooden surface. He gave him a stern and serious look.
“Yeah, and if you don’t calm your butt down I’ll throw it out!” He might have sound a little harsh, but he wasn’t in the mood for a fight to start just because of a grudge. Sonic looked to the side with a dull expression, as he muttered aloud, “Speaking of which, why did we decided that it was a good idea to let the guy who’s clearly got a grudge help with this? Seriously, man....”
He was actually hoping to catch more or less Epsio’s attention with that last sentence. He had to admit, that was a pretty bad mood; unless the guy knew how to handle himself. Which Sonic was convinced that Chadin wasn’t. The guy obviously had some issues.
"So, Gerald...did Robo try some kind o' mind control machine on you in there, or something like that?"
It was only until Gail mentioned his somewhat far-fetched idea about Gerald being brain washed until something Chadin had said before hit him. And quite obviously it seemed, as his expression turned to shock as though an eighteen wheeler was about to hit him in the face.
"WHOA WHOA Wait a tick!" He quickly interrupted, "Water thing? What water thing? Nobody mentioned any water...thingy...before. No one."
Chadin’s outburst startled him completely. What....what was he talking about? He’d been sure from the start it had something to do with his relation to this...Dr. Robotnik. But now he was mentioning betrayal? That he had betrayed him? He felt the pit of his stomach twist, not with fear but with anger. Chadin said that he had betrayed him somehow, by using his creation to drown him. But he didn’t do anything like that. In fact, he quite frankly remembered trying to help him when he was fighting Robotnik. It might have not been a lot, but he was relieved to see Chadin was alright. But what did he do? He put a knife up to his neck and threatened to kill him.
Needless to say, Gerald was getting angry. And it was clear as he gave him a glare.
“What?!”, He exclaimed quite loudly, clearly offended by his accusation. “I did no such thing! If there’s anyone who’s betraying trust is you!”
"WHOA WHOA Wait a tick!" the blue hedgehog interrupted, "Water thing? What water thing? Nobody mentioned any water...thingy...before. No one."
He looked over towards Sonic sternly, fuming at Chadin’s charges. “He’s talking about the Artificial Chaos that I gave him to protect him...” Gerald turned his gaze back towards the deer. “Which was the ONLY thing I ever ordered him to do! I was busy dealing with that maniac to do anything else. The least I remember happening in his presence was blacking out for a comment before awaking to find the ship rumbling and that fowl man going to go and deal with you.”
Gerald had started to breath harshly, but while he was truly angry at Chadin he was mostly acting out of hurt. His hands clenched tight as his arms rested on the table. The golden markings on his arms that could barely be seen where starting to glow much like Chadin’s own marks.
Espio crossed his arms, shaking his head casually. "No...it's none of that, we're asking you abou-" He found himself cut off by Chadin's moment of outrage, letting out a sigh.
"Basically what he just said.", he said attempting to act as the good cop in all this, cutting into a stack of pancakes. He had brought Chadin in for a reason; having someone to defend Gerald from would probably make it easier for the Gerald to trust him and the others. He merely glanced to Sonic, showing a faint grin for a brief second.
"You see..you and Chadin escaed from that dropship, with Chadin worse for the wear and clearly having it out for you. SOMETHING happened between you two; we just want to find out what.", he calmy explained, taking a bit into his breakfast.
Sonic's brash reation over some water creature did pique his intrest."Mind filling me in here?", he asked with a shrug.
Quote:“What?!”, He exclaimed quite loudly, clearly offended by his accusation. “I did no such thing! If there’s anyone who’s betraying trust is you!”
Sonic and Gail's attempts to calm me down rolled off like rain on a duck once Gerald accused me of betrayal. I rose up out of me seat, leaning on the table scowling furiously at Gerald. "LIAR!!! I Heard your voice over that bulldozer's intercom. First Robotnik comes on, then invites you by NAME and you order that Chaos thing to kill me!!!"
For a moment I backed off pushing myself off the table to stare down at Gerald with contempt. "But what else should I expect besides lies from an opportunistic weasel like you? I knew I should have followed my instincts and not trusted you back when we first me."
I then stepped back, looking to everyone else gathered around the table. "And as for the rest of you: You're DEFENDING him?! I just fought Robotnik all by MYSELF! And you're defending HIM?!" I paused to look around the table, hoping to see at least some of them see the reasoning in my argument. In my anger and frustration however, I didn't even wait for an answer.
"Fine. To sod with the lot of you!. From now on, I work alone!" I spat out, taking a few steps away. " Now if you'll excuse me, I have some REAL Freedom Fighting to do."
As I started down the hallway with steam practically wafting out my ears, I called back over my shoulder to the others. "Oh, and if you insist on playing with fire by trusting that one, go right ahead. Just remember who called it after he betrays you all."
I stormed away, seething with indignation. Bad enough for Gerald to keep denying what he did, but now both Gail AND Sonic believed him. Not only defending him, but telling me off!! ME! The guy who (Albeit certainly not one of my brightest ideas) took on Robotnik himself, BY myself and WON!! And yet, they trust HIS word over MINE! The very idea disgusted me.
In a way, it felt like yet another betrayal. One that stung a little closer to home than Gerald's. Of all the people I respected the most, Sonic brushed me off like a raw green horn. I've fought Robotnik for FIVE YEARS!! I couldn't take it anymore. That's why I made the rather hasty sounding decision to break off from the rest of this group and work to stop Robotnik by myself. In a way, I reasoned, it would be better for everyone in the end. They can go ahead and play psycho-analysis to their hearts content; One person can infiltrate Robotnik's base undetected better than a large group; No one else will be at risk when I go on a mission; I don't have to rely on anyone else; And most importantly I don't have to worry about anyone else betraying me ever again.
Omega crossed his arms, watching the unfolding scene before him. He felt some sympathy for the deer, but didn't know enough about the situation to step in on one side or the other. He simply thought to himself that he wasn't the only one on this island with trust issues.
Once Chadin had left, Omega stepped up to Gerald, looking up to him to get a good look at his face. he hadn't exactly been paying attention to him back in Launch Base Zone, but it was definitely the same guy.
"I don't exactly have much to say in the matter, but when I saw you back in Robotnik's rig, you looked like your head was about to pop open. The only reason I bring it up is because I can't stand seeing someone forced to do something they don't want to, especially by a pig like him."
He turned around, and walked back up to the wall, sitting down against it, looking around at the remaining people in the room.
(Ji) "...I'll go talk to him."
Jijeka-Te couldn't shake the feeling that Chadin had made the wrong decision, as that was common for people who make decisions out of anger. She stood up and ran after him, switching to an aerial glide once she'd gotten enough speed, before landing with a THUMP right next to him. Anu stayed where he was.
(Ji) "Excuse me?"