Chadin's mark hit home, making a nice smoking mark on the bot's visor before it crashed to the floor. At least for the moment, the quartet of freedom fighters had some piece and quiet, until...
"Someone gimme out of this crap! I can't move!" Gail continued to shake all around to get the mega muck off, but it was like he was encased in a cocoon. While he waited for the others to come over, he couldn't help but ask "Tell me, did any of ya'll hear that voice too?"
I let out a relieved sigh as the final bot went down, reduced to an expensive pile of scrap metal and circuitry.
Quote:"Someone gimme out of this crap! I can't move!" Gail continued to shake all around to get the mega muck off, but it was like he was encased in a cocoon. While he waited for the others to come over, he couldn't help but ask "Tell me, did any of ya'll hear that voice too?"
Sigh... so much for the moment's peace. "Alright, alright. Keep your fur on." I sighed as I rose to my feet. I trudged over to the maintenance bot which I'd hurled my knife into and pulled it free with a grunt.
"Jii, keep an eye on that door in case more bots show up. Anu, why don't you collect some of those bot weapons?" I quickly made my way over to Gail and bent down over him, trying to figure out how to get him out of that muck.
"I don't know what voice you're talking about Gail, but this..." I said to Gail, but loud enough that even Jii or Anu would have no difficulty hearing me while pointing my finger at Gail's current predicament. "Is why I told you Freedom Fighting is not for amateurs."
"Well, that didn't exactly go as planned," Ji remarked as she finally touched down, "but I'd say we handled it well." Her remark went ignored.
At Chadin's instructions, Anu got up and began to pick up anything that looked like a weapon, while Ji moved to where she could see the door, ready to jump up again at a second's notice.
"I don't know what voice you're talking about Gail, but this..." I said to Gail, but loud enough that even Jii or Anu would have no difficulty hearing me while pointing my finger at Gail's current predicament. "Is why I told you Freedom Fighting is not for amateurs."
Gail gave a meek little whimper at that. To think that back at Angel Island, he'd wanted to just charge into battle for the sheer fun of it. And it was the same way when they'd decided to go into Robotropolis. Looks like Chadin had been right all along. War was something to take seriously, and the only reason Gail had delighted in it was because he'd never been in it before.
"Y-y-you're right..." Gail muttered, with every syllable being a challenge to bring out since they were all blows to his ego. However, now that he'd gotten over the initial words, they appeared to flow much easier. "I should have listened. I should have never come. I jus' wanna get out of here... Thought I could do anything after I ran away from home and made it on my own, but this...no. I can't. Just can't... Even Jii's better at this than me and she's probably lived in a palace all her life..."
I want my mom...
Aww...aren't you just an adorable little mama's boy?
In stark contrast to what Gail had said before, Chadin would now hear a low growl uttering from Gail's mouth as his eyes hardened.
You shut up and get out of my head.
You want to be treated like a man? Act like one.
Gail didn't have much to say to that, considering how pathetic he'd been before.
Ooohhhh... CURSE MY BLEEDING HEART!!! How can a WOLF have such a good sad puppy face?! I groaned and pinched my nose. Okay, I've sufficiently kicked a dog while he's down, now what do I do? Build him back up a bit, that's what.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came from my mouth, encouraging or otherwise. "Uggghh..." Pep talks are Definitely NOT my thing. Trying to buy me some time to think of something constructive to say, I started to use my knife and hands to try and pry away all the mega muck clinging to Gail. I only hoped that I wouldn't have to shave all his fur off to get him out. "Alright, look, Gail. You didn't do all THAT bad back there. The thing is you can't go treating this stuff like a game. I mean, sure, Sonic kind of does, but he's so fast, he can sort of get away with it. The rest of us? Not so much. You have to use your head. Swat-bots are tough and pack a wallop. If you want to survive, you have to use more than brute force and a cocky attitude. You have to out think them, and you have to out-maneuver them. Luckily for us, they are legendarily stupid and predictable."
I felt my sour mood lifting a little as started to make some headway with freeing Gail. "It's good that you want to help. But if you're going to fight you need a better reason than because: "You thought it would be fun."
(Aargh, good thing the 404 errors were fixed. I was worried sick because I knew it was my turn in this topic and didn't want to be skipped unfairly.)
Neither Ji nor Anu could think of anything to say or do besides what they were already doing.
(...That was anticlimactic.)
When Chadin groaned, Gail's normally pointy ears drooped down. If he felt ashamed now, the deer had just made it ten times worse. So to help deal with it, he decided to focus instead on freeing himself from the mega muck.
As Chadin cut away the muck now clinging to his fur, he started trying to flex his arms and legs. Fortunately, the cuts in the hardened goo allowed him a little more mobility. First his good arm broke free, then he managed to unstick his legs from clinging together. Much of the goo still hung off of his fur and clothes, but at least now he could move around properly.
Still, Gail felt pretty thoroughly torn down by Chadin's speech. Chadin pretty much described exactly the way Gail had been treating all the fighting since he'd started doing this. He thought that if Sonic could be cocky and still win the day, well, why not anybody else?
"Thanks..." he said very faintly, as he rose to a stand. The wolf's voice made it sound more like a small plea rather than an expression of gratitude though.
Among the weapons that Ji and Anu collected would be the laser rifles, the mega muck launcher, plus the rocket launcher. They'd also find a satchel of spare rockets hanging off of the swatbot that had it.
It looked like they'd be good on weapons for a while, but something unusual happened. While the hangar was definitely quieter after being cleared of bots, a lot of noise still resonated through it. Computers hummed, fluorescent lights buzzed, and air whooshed through a nearby vent.
However, something looked like it was interfering with the power grid. The lights started to flicker, not to mention the air conditioning cut in and out. Computer monitors switched on and off. And it wasn't just the electronics. If they looked through the hangar bay doors, they'd see a whole lot more clouds gathering outside than had been around before.
But as soon as it started, the lights ignited on full brightness and cool air poured in steadily from the vents. That certainly took Gail's mind off of how he felt for the moment.
"Huh...I woulda thought Robo's power grid woulda been better than the one we had at my parents' old farm. Wonder what caused that."
Having spent years sneaking into bases just like this one, I didn't fail to notice the irregularity of the situation either. The rocket blast to the ceiling may have severed some wires, but it almost seemed like the entire building was being effected, not just local systems. As my eyes roamed around the room, trying to figure out what might be causing the interference, my eyes fell upon the sight outside.
"Uhh... guys?" I called out, pointing to the clouds outside. Admittedly, Robotropolis always seemed to have gungy clouds hanging over it thanks to the smog and pollution Robotnik's factories threw up into the sky, but this, this was a whole other magnitude of foreboding. The clouds churned and roiled angrily, as if pushed by a strong wind, though none existed that I could feel. Not only that, but I could almost feel the electricity in the air. As if to prove the point, a few stray bolts of lightning lashed out from the clouds, striking the lightning rods atop of Robotnik's HQ. Something felt... wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong.
"That... That's not a natural storm..." I breathed out in awe. Every hair on my back was rising just looking at that storm. Every fibre of my body said to get the heck out of here. But my brain, after waging a fierce battle against my instincts pushed down the fear and trepidation; barely. I came here to do a job, and I'd be damned if I let some nasty looking whether keep me from accomplishing it.
"Come on! I don't like the looks of this. We need to move fast and meet up with the others." Shaking my head clear of those thoughts, I focused instead on what we needed to do. "Jii, Anu, think you guys can figure out how to make some use of those bot blasters? Gail, why don't you take a rifle and maybe that rocket launcher? Might be handy. I'll take this goop launcher.
Being unfamiliar with power grids, Ji and Anu had no idea what was normal behavior for them. When Chadin pointed out the sight outside, though, Jijeka-Te moved to look.
"What... IS that?" The only storms she was familiar with were sandstorms.
Having heard the rest of what Chadin said, Anu set down most of the weaponry and moved to Ji with the blasters. She took one.
(Ji) "I've seen practically no familiar sights recently. But I guess this is a ranged weapon, like the deer's crossbow but... a bit more alien. I'm not even sure how to hold it."
(Anu) "We don't need to be sharpshooters. We just need to hit our enemies without hitting ourselves."
"I get to use...a rocket launcher?"
Just a few moments ago, Gail was pouting about not belonging here. But getting to run around with a bazooka sure brightened things up again. Once more, he almost looked like the guy who'd come here just to have fun. Limping over to the downed bot, he used his good arm to collect the satchel of rockets from the SWATbot's back, before he slung the long tube over his back. Of course he took the rifle as well, but it was the rocket launcher he really wanted to play with.
My my, aren't you the bipolar one?
Come on! How often do you get to play around with somethin' like this?
As you wish, but don't forget the lesson in humility and mortality you went through just a moment ago, or you will relive it very soon.
I don't even know what humility means!
And I'm sad to see you're not being sarcastic, looking over your vocabulary.
Whatever...
In any case, the storm brought with it a dark fog that began to encompass the area outside. Inside the group wouldn't feel the full effect, but once they got out they'd definitely have a harder time seeing a long distance.
Gail...this time I'm serious. Something is coming. Indeed, this was the first time the voice had spoken without sarcasm and humor. Get those shards quickly. I mean it. It's very bad news if you die, particularly to me and the rest of your clan. I know I've been a jerk, but there's a higher purpose in store for you.
Gail definitely noticed the change in the voice's tone, and it certainly got his attention. But one word confused him.
Clan? What do you mean?
You'll find out, trust me. When the time comes, I will reveal myself and show you everything. But for now...
"We need to move!"
Gail spoke with a slight echo effect, both with the voice in his head and his own real voice. His eyes also briefly flashed blue, but then went back to their yellow color. Without any more words, he took off running for the exit.
[Time skip next round guys? Maybe to the exit of the tower?]