Outskirts

[Chadin]

This has to be an all time low for me. Willingly entering Robotropolis... alone. Crouching from my hiding place at the very edge of the forest I can easily make out the grungy, smog-filled sky scrapers of the city beyond the dingy wastelands that separate the city from the forest beyond. Despite looking much as I remembered it from the last time i visited this pit, I can't help notice that somehow the city looks... different.

Thinking back to what the two back in that clearing said about a dimensional merge, that might help to explain things. This might be the Robotropolis of an alternate universe, another Zone. Either way, it makes no difference to me. Inside that city lies the answers I need. Answers that might be invaluable to any surviving Freedom Fighters.

Perhaps it's just last minute jitters speaking, but it dawned on me that perhaps the Freedom Fighters already know exactly what is going on and this whole idea is a waste of time. I brushed that thought aside though. Maybe they do, maybe they don't but I still need to see this for myself.

I have to do this, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to just rush in blindly. My instincts paid off as I watched a roaming Spy Eye silently pass by on it's routine patrol. It will take time for me to clear the distance between my hiding place and the closest building. I decided to wait and see how long it will take for the next Spy Eye patrol to pass. Then, I'll make my move.

[Giichi Twinkieland]

What's that smog in the distance?

The forest around Giichi's car was so green, dark and deep as he drove down the abandoned two-lane highway. But every time he could catch a glimpse of the sky through the leaves, he saw that up ahead it was starting to get smoggy, with billowing clouds funneling upwards from some unknown source. It made Giichi curious enough to keep going forwards, despite how unsettled he felt by the surroundings.

This entire area looked like it'd been deserted for years. Giichi hadn't seen a soul for hours. Every building he passed was abandoned and overgrown. The road itself hadn't seen a maintenance crew in forever. Weeds grew up through the many cracks in the pavement, although it was still quite driveable. Giichi was just annoyed that he'd probably have to wash and buff the Ferrari when he got back, because of the little plants brushing against it.

Eventually, the trees gave way, and he finally saw the source. The cat couldn't help but stop, and then get out on the side of the road to see the sight. His mouth was slightly agape at the sight. Large smokestacks billowed out tons of smoke. Unidentified dots (which were probably planes or drones or something) buzzed around the dirty city like flies. Cannons pointed outwards to repel oncoming threats.

What is this place?

It looked like a besieged city...but if that was the case, where was the opposing force?

In any case, Giichi supposed it'd be prudent to hide the car, since it was bright red and everything surrounding him was green or brown. The cat turned the Ferrari back around. After a couple minutes of driving, he arrived at an abandoned house he'd passed before, and hid the car inside the garage.

Then he started walking back towards the fortified city on foot. It wouldn't be long before Chadin heard him approaching.

[Chadin]

"I'd spent the better part of two hours sitting in my hiding place and watching the robotic patrols lazily pass to and fro. By now I have a very good idea what kind of patrol schedule I have to deal with. Patrol's pass by this sector every twenty minutes. Not much time to clear the distance, but doable. The big trick will be getting around the city. Try as I might to remember the layout of the city from my last visit everything about this place just didn't add up.

Waiting silently in the bushes, my sensitive hearing picked up the rustling of leaves and twigs coming from someplace behind me. Amateur... Whoever, or whatever this is, they either didn't know how to be stealthy in the forest or they didn't care. The only thing that sprang to mind that could roam the forest without fear would be one of Robotnik's Swatbots.

I pulled my crossbow into my hands and silently unfolded the weapon; just to be safe. Still loaded with my energized ion bolts. Good, just the thing for dealing with Swatbots.

Silently I crept from my hiding place, making sure to keep low and use any and all cover to conceal me from view. Before long, I saw what was making all that noise. A cat. Odd. They're usually very stealthy. Maybe this one has no idea he needs to be. The fact he's heading towards Robotropolis made me wonder. I found a good place beside a sturdy tree with lots of thick bushes at its base and waited for the cat to get closer.

Once he got close enough, I made my move. "Hold it right there. Who are you? What are you doing here?" I called out, remaining in my concealed location for now. He may not look like much of a threat, but I wasn't going to take any chances.

[Giichi Twinkieland]

Giichi whirled around at the sound of Chadin's voice. Since he couldn't see the deer, he didn't realize he had a deadly weapon pointed at him. "I could ask you the same thing," Giichi said, whirling around. "Are you from that city over there? What's going on in this place? You're the first person I've met in hours." In the meantime, Giichi appeared to be focusing his eyes on the trees closest to him.

[Chadin]

"Hah, that's a laugh. There's a good reason you haven't seen many people around here. That city is called Robotropolis, and the only living thing in that city is a maniacal scientist named Robotnik. The rest of the city is filled with robots that either serve as his slaves or his tools of war." The fact I had to explain any of that gave me the impression this guy genuinely didn't know anything about Robotropolis. Which to me still seemed as far-fetched an idea as this whole dimensional merge business those other two kept yammering on about. Whatever the case may be, I'm still not going to show myself until I know for certain this guy is on the level.

[Giichi Twinkieland]

Giichi blinked. "Oh...so its a Robotnik base." The cat appeared to stop to look at one particular tree. But it wasn't the one Chadin was behind. Rather, Giichi was looking at a tree in the opposite direction from Chadin.

"Funny...usually his bases and robots are a lot more...colorful...than that. Kind of like a little child designed them. It doesn't surprise me... He may be evil but sometimes he seems as cheerful and jolly as Santa Claus. Did the dimension merge warp his personality?"

[Chadin]

I was a little perplexed by the cat staring off in the wrong direction from me. I couldn't fathom the idea that he was that completely blind to my general whereabouts. On the other hand, if he was bluffing, his feint did a good job of distracting me from thinking of that possibility as well. That, and what he said about Robotnik being jolly certainly helped throw me off as well. I've seen Robotnik's buzzbombers, but you certainly don't think of them as childish looking for long once they start shooting deadly laser beams at you.

As a matter of fact, it got me so riled up that I abandoned my hiding place to tell this joker how I felt face to face. "Jolly? Childish? Mister I don't know how you can possibly say that with a straight face, but you are seriously deluded if you really believe that!"

[Giichi Twinkieland]

The reason Giichi had been facing the wrong way was so he could speed jump to cover away from this guy, if that became necessary. The cat never wanted to fight if he didn't have to.

So Giichi blinked with surprise, upon hearing the sound of crunching twigs and leaves behind him. His fellow conversationalist wasn't moving fast enough for this to be an attack, so he must just be interested in the chat. And since this other guy obviously hated Robotnik, Giichi supposed that made him a good guy in his book.

Putting on a half smile, Giichi whirled around to see who his mysterious new friend was. A deer dressed in a green tunic, holding a crossbow. He looked right at home in this bright green forest, but that also meant he was probably far behind the times too. "Oh...so that's why you haven't heard of the dimension merge." Giichi let out a soft chuckle. "Sorry, you just look like Robin Hood or something."

The cat stoppped to brush his messy hair back.

"Anyway...umm...really? Because in my dimension, Robotnik's a bad guy but he's definitely not pure evil...like you seem to think of him. Sometimes you'd think he was trying to take over the world just for the laughs. I'm guessing the Robotnik from your dimension made that, over there?" The cat waved his hand in the direction of Robotropolis.

[Chadin]

I couldn't help scowling a little from that look the cat gave me when he saw me; and I wasn't too thrilled about that Robin Hood reference either.

"Hey! I happen to dress like this because it helps me hide in the forest where I so happen to live and fight for my survival!" I snapped angrily. Little did I know, but as my temper rose, the lightning patterned scars across my body began to glow, though only very dimly at first. "And for your information I HAVE heard about this stupid dimensional merge thing. I only just found out about it a few hours ago because I've been lying unconscious in the woods for the past week apparently." By now the bluish-white glow was a becoming quite noticeable as my temper steadily rose.

I rolled my eyes irritably and shook my head as I lost track of the cat was saying while I muttered under my breath. "Hmpf, honestly, why does ever city-slicker figure just because a person lives in the woods that automatically makes them some kind of backwards thinking red-neck?"

[Giichi Twinkieland]

Giichi sighed at the deer’s temper, as he crossed his arms and shook his head. “For cryin’ out loud, I’m just here to steal something from Robotnik. My name is Giichi and I’m a thief. You didn’t have to stop me, you know. Anyway, can I be on my way now? Is that okay with you?”

But then the cat started to notice that Chadin was glowing. Giichi’s eyes widened as he witnessed what was happening to the markings on the deer’s body. He subconsciously took a step backwards, letting one hand under his cloak drop to his sai. “Hey, hey...calm down. I don’t want a fight or anything. Why are you glowing?”