Changes Are No Good
By: Chibi
Chapter 2: “Symbol of Resistance”
*
Noon, GUN Central Command…
A
large blue cat walked up to her furiously typing comrade in arms. “The report, Saffron?” she asked.
“Yeah,
“The commander’s old allies?”
“Rosetta,” Saffron replied. “He took off in a rush when the data came
in. I haven’t seen the commander that
spooked since the Doom’s Evangelists tried to capture Dr. Robotnik.”
“I’ll never understand why he cares about that…”
The hare perked up.
“Dr. Prower is here?!” she asked with clasped hands and wide eyes. She grabbed the printout, shoved it in a
folder, then dashed from her seat to the door.
* * *
Elsewhere in GUN Central Command, a peculiar two-tailed
fox stepped away from his work and pulled up his goggles. “This is ridiculous!” he complained. “Everything so far’s been too smashed up to
figure out much of anything, and the other recovered ‘bot isn’t in much better
shape! How do they
expect me to do anything with this?!”
“I take it things aren’t going well,” Saffron said as she
entered, still in the middle of putting on safety gear.
“If by ‘not going well’, you mean, ‘in the toilet’, then
yeah, it’s not going well,” the engineer said.
“It’s going to take forever for any kind of accurate analysis! And I thought I’d have some assistants
around!”
“Sorry about that.
Most of the other engineers here are tied up with the remains from the
other attacks…” She stopped when she
noticed the engineer was looking her over and smiling. “Dr. Prower?”
“Please, call me Miles,” the fox said, moving closer to
her. “I don’t believe we’ve met before,
Miss…”
The hare stood straighter. “Lieutenant Saffron Saunders, Dr. Prower, and
no, we haven’t. Last time you worked for
us, I didn’t have the clearance to see you in action.”
He pulled his goggles back down over his eyes. “Too bad. You’re really pretty. It would’ve made the work on the
countermeasures more enjoyable.”
Saffron almost dropped the file. “I… I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me,” Miles said. He flashed her a
Sonic-like grin. “It was nice meeting
you, but I really do have to work on this.
Sorry, there isn’t much to report beyond that there’s something vaguely
familiar about the recovered machinery.”
He then turned from her and went back to his work.
“Yes, as you were, Dr. Prower…” the hare said
absently. She quietly slinked out of the
area, the door closing automatically behind her. What
was that about?! The commander always described him as shy! she boggled. Is this the kind of people the commander
associated with?
“Met Tails, I take it,” the commander called to her.
Saffron jumped, then stood up
straight and saluted. “Sir! Yes, sir, I was checking on his progress,
sir! I was unaware you had returned,
sir!”
Sonic waved a hand at her, “At ease, Saff. Yeah, I’m back already. Things didn’t go quite how I wanted in
Rosetta…”
* * *
The dark hedgehog
held the green gem against his body and glared.
“Hell. No.”
Sonic
put his hands on his hips. “I can arrest
you for refusing to surrender the Chaos Emerald, you know,” he threatened.
“I’d
like to see you try it,” Shadow replied with a sneer.
The commander
sneered right back, leaning in towards his former rival. “Don’t make me get rough with you.”
“I’m
shaking, really,” Shadow deadpanned, holding his ground.
“Should
I get out the camera and the fuzzy handcuffs?” Amy cheerfully interrupted.
“AMY!”
both males exclaimed.
The
woman giggled weakly. “Well, you can’t
blame a girl for trying.”
Shadow
recomposed himself quickly. “Anyway,
you’re not getting it, you can’t make me give it to you, and if you touch a
hair on the head of my wife or child to try to get me to give it up, I will
take. You. DOWN.”
The
commander folded his arms over his chest and studied the other man. “And that’s how it’s gonna be, huh? What a pain.”
He reached out for Shadow, who reflexively moved away to protect the
emerald. “Oh, c’mon, don’t be like
that. I was just gonna say it was safe
enough in your hands for the time being.”
The dark hedgehog relaxed slightly.
“And… Hey, thanks for keepin’ an
eye on Elly.”
Shadow
shrugged. “I couldn’t well leave her
there; Rouge would have killed me. That
the girl’s your boyfriend’s kid wasn’t a factor.”
Sonic
made an unreadable face. “You’re never
gonna give up on your little theory, are you?”
The
black hedgehog smiled. “No. No, I’m
not.”
* * *
The commander shook his head. “Stubborn jerk. Anyway, what ya got for me, Saff?”
“I
have the reports on the Rosetta incident, and—“ the
hare began, a file folder in her hand.
Sonic cut her off with a wave of the hand. “Same kind of scenario,
Saff? Property damage and troops
lost, but few civilian casualties?”
Saffron nodded.
“It’s strange, sir. I don’t quite
get his M.O. I mean, there were two
unsuccessful bids for local Chaos Emeralds in two of the attacks, but the other
attacks…” she said, idly flipping through the report. One page caught her eye. “Unless…”
* * *
“He has a grudge against GUN. This much is clear,” Ivo began from his
desk. Heavy velvet curtains covered the
large steel-framed window behind him.
Not that it mattered much; it would be difficult to look in on the
strange group on the top floor of the Robotnik Corp. building. Never let it be said the doctor doesn’t have
a fondness for the dramatic. “It also
appears he doesn’t want to get innocent bystanders involved. Is this information accurate, Rouge?” he
continued.
“Civilian deaths are significantly lower than one would
expect,” the bat said with a nod, “which is an absolute miracle, no matter how
well he planned the attacks.”
“Thank whatever gods exist for small favors,” the doctor
said. “Hopefully this means he isn’t
completely lost to us. Do you have the
newest report, Gordon?”
An older man with mismatched eyes rose and held out a
disc. “Just sent
earlier today. You had better be
right about this, Ivo. If my source had
been caught sending this out, she’dve been court-martialed.”
Ivo took the disc from him. “I know, Gordon. I don’t like this any more than you do, but
every piece of information is worth the risk.”
He put the disc in his computer’s drive and opened one of the smaller
files. He scanned the words on the
monitor for anything that could be important, until… “Does any of this seem familiar to anyone
else?”
The bat and the ex-commander peered at the screen. The former’s eyes opened wide. The latter scowled at a name in the file and
balled up his fists. “That’s…”
* * *
“… a name of a former GUN
soldier. Possibly the last living member
of the
“He isn’t anymore,” Sonic corrected with a
barely-contained snicker.
The lieutenant pushed up her glasses. “It’s not funny, sir. I’ve been looking over the reports, and he’s
not the first retired soldier St. Jimmy has killed. It’s been overlooked because usually other
people have died in the same place with them, but…”
Sonic shifted slightly.
“You think he’s targeting old soldiers?”
The hare shook her head.
“No, sir.
The totals of injuries and deaths show one clear target in all this.” She lifted her head, causing her glasses to
flash. “I think he’s targeting all of
us. He’s after GUN itself.”
* * *
“Good riddance,” Gordon growled at the report.
The doctor turned to the withdrawing ex-commander. “Gordon?!”
“I remember that name from the files on the
A soft grumble from the ex-commander could be heard. “Bastard killed Maria…”
Ivo took off his glasses and wiped them with a
cloth. “I see…”
The bat looked up at the doctor. “You don’t think he…”
* * *
“…wants revenge for some slight in the past?” Sonic
offered. “I mean, there’s been a lot of
GUN fuck-ups in the past…”
“But who would have the resources for something like
this?” Saffron asked. “Few could even
afford robots of this complexity, let alone design them.”
Sonic smiled slightly.
“Maybe it’s not one person, Saff.
Or maybe…”
* * *
Dr. Robotnik paused for a moment before replacing his
glasses. “How odd… Did anyone else just feel a deep sense of
foreboding?” The other two shook their
heads. “Hm, just me
then.”
Gordon looked back at the doctor from the corner the
ex-commander was sulking in. “Ivo, is
there anything you’re not telling us? Any reason why you don’t come out and put an end to ‘St. Jimmy’?” The doctor opened his mouth, but Gordon cut
him off. “And I don’t want any
philosophical crap; I’ve heard it all too many times already.”
“It’s metaphysical crap,
actually,” Ivo corrected. He sank into
his chair. “It’s because… If I did it now, there’s a very good chance I
would be arrested, nothing would be changed, and this entire affair would
continue to escalate unchecked until either GUN was destroyed, he was, or both. Does that answer your question, Gordon?”
The ex-commander came back to the desk and stared down at
his seated friend. “Partly, but now I
have new questions. Why would you
be arrested?”
Silence fell upon the room. Gordon attempted to bore holes in the
doctor’s defenses with his eyes. The
doctor tried to ignore him by focusing on the files on the computer. The bat did her best not to be noticed; after
all, what’s a secret worth if you’re told to leave before it’s told? And it had to be a big one, she figured from all
the quiet. A sudden buzz from the intercom
device and the secretary voice saying, “Sir, Mr. Rose and his son are here to
see you,” finally broke the tension in the room.
Ivo reached over and pressed a button on said
device. “Tell him it will just be a
minute, Dorothy.” Without looking up, he
released the button. “Gordon, Rouge, I
believe our little meeting has come to an end.
Family must come first, after all.
If any new information comes up, notify me immediately.”
Rouge frowned for a second, then saluted and winked at
the doctor. “Sure
thing, Egg-baby.”
Gordon continued to stare him down. “We’ll discuss this later, Ivo.”
“Of course, Snugglemuffin,” Ivo replied, barely
containing a grin. The ex-commander
looked as though he had been sucking on an especially sour lemon at this. He then finally broke off his gaze and
started for the door.
Rouge eyed the doctor suspiciously. “And what’s all this about?”
“Private joke,” Ivo replied.
* * *
Eleven
PM that day, behind the capital building in Central City…
Rouge
the Bat looked around, then loosened her tie and undid a couple buttons. The dress
code needs a few revisions, she thought. The Secret Service was a little
safer, but as a spy she at least got to pick her own clothes.
Someone
whistled. “Unbutton some more!”
The
bat sighed and rolled her eyes. “What
did I tell you about visiting me while I’m at work, Jet?”
The
green hawk put an arm around her. “Not
to do it, but I missed you. What did
Eggbutt want so bad you had to break our date for?”
Rouge
walked her index and middle fingers up Jet’s beak. “It’s. A.
Se. Cret, pretty bird,” she said,
ending the sentence by flicking the bird lightly between the eyes.
Jet
frowned. “Aw, don’t be that way,
Bats. It’s about that ‘St. Jimmy’ wacko
and I know it! I can help!”
The
bat nearly jumped at that remark. She
straightened her tie and said, “Mm-hm, and just where are you getting
this information from?”
“I’m
a descendant of
Rouge
went practically nose-to-beak to him.
“Uh-huh, and what’s in it for you, Tweety?”
“Would
you believe it’s to prove my undying love for you?” he asked nervously. The bat didn’t budge. “… all right, true
story then,” he said. He backed away a
couple steps, turned around, and looked up at the sky. “GUN helped me save my friends during the
Doom’s Evangelists mess, so it’s only fair I help save them, OK? I don’t like being in debt to Big Brother.”
“Funny,
considering you help ‘Big Brother’ in a way, Mr.
Security Analysist,” Rouge said with a giggle.
Jet poofed out his feathers. “Not funny.”
She
laughed more. “No, but
looking like a big green feather duster is.” Her face grew serious. “So, just what are you planning, Jet?”
The
hawk unruffled himself, then ran a gloved finger along
the top of her wing, causing her to shudder. “That is my secret,
Bats.” He fell quiet for a moment, then hugged her. “You
be careful. Trust me,
this kinda thing is dangerous to get mixed up in.”
Rouge
hugged back. “As long
as you take your own advice, pretty bird. He’s a dangerous man.”
Jet
pulled away and gave her a thumbs down. “Ha, I can take him!” He smiled softly. “Hope you have a quiet night. Gotta enjoy the peace where
we can, y’know.”
She
watched the hawk retreat. “Yeah, hope
you have one too, pretty bird.”
* * *
Same
time, east Central City…
A
strange little man walked the corridors of the abandoned base. Above ground, it appeared to be a small
church, crumbling from disrepair and several stained glass windows broken by
careless vandals. Behind the altar,
however, was a trap door that led to a high-tech base, filled with mechanisms
bravely fighting time and continuing to function. The strange little man thanked their creator
for a job well done and lightly touched one of the garish painted-on symbols
put there by the man who built the place.
He smiled. The creator would take
the blame if this place was ever exposed, and the strange little man would
still have the chance to take his revenge against those who hurt him, hurt them. No one hurts them, he thought.
Not even me,
his conscience pointed out.
He
proceeded to the assembly line to make sure he didn’t need to “collect” more
materials for the oddly-rounded robots.
*
End Chapter 2
Chibi’s notes:
Stained glass pretty.
The backstory I made for the FUTURE!!! seems
to be becoming more important to the plot than I originally imagined. Not to mention the
And as always, thanks to Typical for (now former) GUN
Commander Gordon Ansem’s unofficial name.