FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Awake boy!" Facil could hear Baso shout as a thick pillow came down on his head, snickers and giggles from the crocodile followed. "Awake boy!!" Over and over until the hedgehog became fed up with it, grabbing hold of Baso's pillow with a defensive growl.

"What do you want?!" Facil glared at the joyful crocodile, wondering what he wanted at this hour. There was still an hour or so left of night and the hedgehog intended to use it for some well deserved shut eye. However, it wasn't a part of the schedule.

"Time do work, boy!" Baso tugged his pillow back, tossing it back onto his own bed. "Come do!" he pulled the sheets off of Facil. "We for ready!" the crocodile went a step further and tugged Facil out of bed against the hedgehog's will.

"Heey! Quit it! I'll get up! I'll get ready, sheesh!!" Facil shook off Baso's grip with an angry grumble. This was far from the future Facil was hoping for. But it was better than what he could have been subjected to. He pondered the boss' words, imagining what kind of work Empyrean would have made him do... Anything had beat mining at this point, He could barely swing a baseball bat right, let alone a pickaxe.

"Let's to, boy!" Baso kept addressing Facil the way the boss did, and it got under the hedgehog's quills. It was demeaning, even if the crocodile genuinely thought it was his name. Facil wasn't going to take that standing down.

"I have a name you know!" Facil scowled at the joyous crocodile, who couldn't be happier to work alongside his newfound friend. "Call me Facil!" He leaned towards the crocodile as he sputtered out in a heated tone. Baso backed off a bit, letting the hedgehog's words register in his head for a moment.

"You, Faaa-ceeel," Baso recited carefully, hoping he got it right. The last thing he wanted to do was make the hedgehog mad for the wrong reasons. "Me Baso! Nice for meet you!" Facil grinned, pushing the hedgehog out the door. "To go!"

"Hey! No need to push! I said I'd go!" Facil shook off the crocodile's grip. He headed for the exit before Baso stopped him with a loud, "Wait!" the hedgehog glanced back, seeing the crocodile carrying an assortment of miner gear.

"Need mine clothes!" He held an arm out towards Facil, coaxing him back to change up into mining gear. The hedgehog groaned as he nabbed the clothes from Baso's hand, promptly changing into them, donning them over the clothes he already wore. Even with the extra padding they were a bit loose, but seeing as it was the best they could do on such short notice, there wasn't much room to complain.

"So are we ready now?" Facil huffed, fed up with the run around. He headed out the door regardless of Baso's decision. The crocodile nodded with a high hum, following the hedgehog right out. The sky was still quite dim, lit only by the tall, standing light fixtures scattered around the site. The air was cold on Facil's face, a refreshing change from the heat he experienced yesterday. His miner gear had kept the rest of his body warm for the most part.

"Much ready!" Baso cheered out, marching along ahead of Facil, making sure to take the lead. The hedgehog jogged up to the crocodile's side, watching him parade forward carelessly. it seemed like Baso was having a good day in Facil's eyes. His enjoyment had the hedgehog envious, wondering how someone could be so happy in a situation like this. Mining was hard work, not even had he yet lifted a finger and Facil was already fed up with his new occupation.

"So... What are we doing exactly?" Facil asked as his imagination ran wild. Venturing into an excavated cavern had peaked his interests a tad, but operating the crane from before seemed like it could be an exciting experience... Granted he didn't lop someone's head off by mistake. This new life was beginning to look a bit better than what he first made it out to be.

"Mining, always," Baso replied, not giving it a second thought. Their schedule was a brutal one, from sun up to sundown, their equipment buzzed on in search for grand treasure. They took small breaks accordingly and only getting the day off if their birthday came around... Another instance of time off would be burying their dead if the tragedy would occur. Sometimes the burial was already taken care of, compliments of the faulty mine. Baso had witnessed a few of those during his time... Not even the optimistic crocodile was spared of the emotional turmoil that set in throughout the day.

"Yeah, I know that, but what exactly!" Facil tried to get a more clear answer out of Baso. The hedgehog hated surprises, and the time spent in their brisk walk towards the site was at a standstill for him. He thought about how long they might be in this area, mining for these elusive crystals. Would this be his life from now on? Until he was old, wrinkly, and grey? The thought was scary to dwell on, but it was a potential reality... This life wasn't so forgiving as his life back on Empyreon.

"Crystals," Baso was just going in circles at this point. Facil's search for answers was a lost cause at this point. The hedgehog gave up in a rumbling groan, his frustration coaxing a giggle out of the crocodile. They stepped into the mining site, the rest of their team already hard at work... Planning, preparing, drilling, delving, and hoping they strike it rich. Their site was drying up, it wouldn't be much longer before they had to pack up shop and relocate to a more promising area.

Their trek had ended at the mouth of a mineshaft, a durable mine trolley had sat outside, stationed for use. Facil glanced inside the cart, two long rifles rested against opposite sides. They looked pretty intimidating to the hedgehog, who had never carried any kind of fire power within his hands before. He swallowed hard, his head filled with the ideas of clearing out the caverns from beasts and creatures looking to make meals out of them.

"Cart ride!" Baso declared as he plucked a rifle out, tossing it to Facil without a care. The hedgehog fumbled over the object, nearly dropping it in the process. The thing was lighter than it looked surprisingly. He was shocked more that the crocodile would give him a dangerous tool from out of the blue, especially without teaching him a single thing about how to use it.

"Wh...What is this?" Facil asked the crocodile, flipping the rifle over in his grasp. He made damn well sure to keep any fingers away from the trigger. The only time he held anything close to this was within a few virtual reality games back on Empyreon. This time it was the real deal, The suspense was hard to contain... As well as his fear and imagination.

"Mine gun," the crocodile replied, grabbing the other rifle and stepping inside. He waved Facil inside as he stooped down, eventually seating himself against the side. Facil waddled his way onto the cart, grunting and groaning, careful not to accidentally fire his rifle off during his struggle climbing aboard. Plopping inside, the hedgehog had little time to recollect himself as Baso engaged the trolley to thrust forward down the tracks.

"Aaah!" Facil waved about for something to grab hold onto, only finding Baso... Which was good enough for the hedgehog for the moment. The crocodile didn't even bother shrugging off Facil's grasp, realizing the ride had the poor guy spooked. "Watch it next time!!" Facil complained at the crocodile, who felt a little bad for the rush. Baso was used to coming down the mines alone, it had been a long time since he had worked with a partner.

"Am sorry..." Baso gave a guilty frown to the hedgehog, knowing he was in the wrong. "...be long ride to," he informed the hedgehog of the lengthy, winding ride to the below. Boredom and Facil didn't mix well at all, the glow of the wired lights and excavated walls could only hold his interest for so long. It didn't help that Baso's broken Empyrean didn't make much for conversation. If anything, it provided more of a headache.

"How much longer?" Was one of the many whining phrases Facil threw out there every few minutes or so. Baso's nerves of steel had ignored every one of them. Eventually, Facil found some interest in his mining rifle once more. Who knows, maybe he could brush up on some target practice on the way to their destination? A few pot shots wasn't going to hurt anything... Right?

Facil's finger coiled around the trigger as his gun was aimed out at the walls. One quick pull and click led to an explosive chain reaction as a short, green laser projected from the barrel, burying itself into the wall with highly destructive results. It was swift to gain the attention of the crocodile, who was none too pleased about Facil's curiosity.

"Facil! Stop!" Baso warned, almost in a pleading tone of voice as he forced the hedgehog's rifle down. "Not safe to us!" As if his words weren't enough to inform Facil's wrongdoing, the cavern began to tremble, sending a shiver down both their spines. Baso cursed profusely in his native tongue as he sped them up further. Glancing behind, Facil caught the ceiling in the distance falling down after them. He released a short, sharp screech before ducking for cover inside the trolley. He clung onto Baso, hoping the crocodile double as a decent meat shield. It was a selfish intent, but Facil made no plans on dying anytime soon.

"Grab tight!" Baso warned, a sharp curve was approaching swiftly. It was incredibly risky taking it at this speed, but if they were to slow down now, the cave-in could overtake them with plenty ease. There was no time to play it safe, the crocodile hunkered down with Facil and hung on to the sides for dear life. Both of their eyes shut tight, the corner came as a surprise to the duo as their trolley unhinged from the track, flipping into a weakened wall that gave way instantly from the impact of the trolley.

The tumble down was overwhelming, causing the two to scream in fear. Their ride came to an abrupt end as the trolley collided with an unbudging wall, the stunt had them both dazed as they managed to crawl out from the wreckage. They tried to get a hold of their vision, but none of the wired lights were in this area of the mine. It didn't really matter at this point seeing as the cave-in had knocked out any connection in it's way.

Facil tried to keep himself from throwing up, though having nothing to eat for the past few handful of years or so his stomach would find the task hard to do. "...Can I retire now?" The hedgehog spoke through strong nausea. Baso came to more quickly, trying to work on his helmet light, though it was damaged in the wreckage.

"Facil," Baso felt around, trying to search for the last he heard his friend's voice. The hedgehog felt a pair of scaly hands grab onto his arm, eventually patting their way up to his helmet. The awkwardness paid off as Baso flipped the light on to reveal success, but it was only half the battle. They were closed in the hole they wound up in. and by the brief survey around, there wasn't much exploring to do.

"Are we gonna be okay?" Facil asked, standing himself up with Baso. The crocodile didn't respond, instead focusing on a way to get out of this predicament. "Are they gonna find us?" he asked again, still not getting a response. Baso's silence was beginning to scare the hedgehog. Facil didn't want it to end this way. A one way trip into the future only to rot to death inside of a deep, dark mine... "...Well if you're not gonna do anything, I will!" Facil grew fearful, not taking kindly to the contemplating crocodile.

The hedgehog headed back for the plugged entrance. He examined it for a few moments before starting to move away the smaller rocks and boulders. If he was going to die down here, he was going to die fighting for a chance at life. Minutes felt like forever, tossing away rock after rock... With no help from Baso to quicken the pace. The hedgehog grumbled, glaring at the crocodile who appeared like he was besides himself, slumped down and facing away from the hedgehog.

Crying about their situation wasn't going to solve anything, no one was going to hear them anyways. As much as Facil wanted to panic and cry himself, he knew it wouldn't do any good. He would wait for the air to run dry before then. "Facil..." Baso called out to the hedgehog, getting him to turn around. The light flashing over the crocodile revealed he was armed with his mining rifle, pointed straight at the hedgehog. In a panic, Facil shot his hands into the sky, not wanting to come to a bloody end.

"B-Baso! W-what are you doing?!" The hedgehog trembled with the barrel looming in his direction. "L-look, I-I know this is my fault, b-but you don't have to do this!" He pleaded for his life, only to have Baso roll his eyes and giggle. The gesture gave Facil mixed signals, was the crocodile really losing his mind down here?

"Go move!" Baso shouted, waving out a shooing hand to the side. Facil was petrified for a moment before it sank in that the crocodile only meant to clear the way, not to execute payback for the hedgehog's misdeeds. The scatterbrained hedgehog followed orders, keeping his head down as he scurried behind the crocodile.

Baso raised his rifle up, aiming down the sights before unleashing laser bolts onto the wall, vaporizing the boulders with each shot. More poured out, receiving the same harsh treatment as those before them. The next batch of rocks to tumble were strangely suspicious. Baso lowered his gun to investigate, Facil trailing right behind.

"What's wrong?" Facil tried to look past the crocodile, seeing the sharp shimmer of the golden glow before him. "...Oh wow, that's bright!" Facil had to shield his eyes, as his light amplified their shine. "...So are we getting out of here or not?" The hedgehog asked, his eyes burning from staring into the alluring sight.

"Facil..." The crocodile had took a brief pause, still trying to comprehend what he was seeing was real. "Us are rich!" Baso dropped his rifle carelessly and pranced about in pure joy. Facil recoiled a bit from the crocodile's celebration, not knowing how fortunate their journey had become. He waiting until Baso calmed down before approaching him.

"So these are the crystals you're looking for?" Facil asked, still plenty confused over the situation. He watched as Baso nodded feverishly with a giant grin on his face. It brought some relief to the timid hedgehog.

"Yes-yes-yes!" The crocodile confirmed, kneeling down at the crystals to pluck them up, one after the other. "Us done all with mining!" He began counting them out, reviewing the results of their spoils. Facil couldn't understand the gibbering Baso was mumbling about to himself, but a good chunk was gotten from the pile, they both could carry it back with some work if they split the crystals up evenly.

"So now what? ...We're still kind of trapped down here, I think we should focus on that first," Facil didn't get too excited about their discovery, it was useless if they couldn't do anything with it. Baso nodded again in agreement, picking up his rifle once again to do some digging. Lifting his gun up once more, Baso took a shot into the rubble, soon receiving an unexpected shot back instantly in return. The impact sent him flying back into the cart behind him.

"Baso!!" Facil shouted, rushing to his friend's side. Terran cursing was heard being shouted off in the distance as the rescue crew came stepping down. Facil gave them a glance, only able to spot out the big boss tortoise from the group, he was armed with a smoking rifle. It didn't matter who shot Baso, he only cared if his only friend in this future was going to be alright.

"Tell you, Facil..." Baso groaned as he leaned up, "Gun not safe for us..." He was still conscious, though in great pain. The hedgehog checked for any visible wounds, but finding none, not even a trace of where the laser had hit him.

"He'll be fine," the boss pulled Facil out of the way. "He'll be stuck in bed for a few days... But fine," he spoke in a grumble tone, knowing this would inconvenience the crew... Baso was one of his treasured workers, it would slow their progress tremendously with him recovering. The tortoise gathered up the sprawled out crocodile in his arms and carried him in his arms.

"B-Boss!" One of the other members of the rescue crew spoke up. He was a muskrat, not too much older or bigger than Facil. "D-did you see what they found?!" He held out a crystal as the boss turned around to catch the glimmer in his view. The surprise had him nearly drop Baso in reaction. He cursed in Terran before a wide smile draped across his face.

"Well I'll be damned! We're set for life! ...Well at least I am, I dunno how you guys are spending your share!" The boss coughed and sputtered out in excitement. "Anyways, gather it all up and pack your bags, We're outta here first thing tomorrow!" He ordered, knowing it would be his last. It felt good, He could feel paradise setting in already. Nothing could ruin this moment, nothing. The whole crew managed their way back out the tunnel. A light, spacy recon vehicle awaited them as they finished their ascent of the steep tunnel. The vehicle was mounted with a large laser turret, responsible for clearing out all the destruction that Facil caused.

The driver shouted at the crew in Terran, waving them all inside. The boss set Baso in the back, Facil hoping in with the crocodile, regardless of what strange looks everyone else gave him. The rest of the crew climbed inside normally, the vehicle departing shortly after.

"Us did it... Facil," Baso smiled at the hedgehog, getting one in return. They were set, but Facil still didn't truly realize how fortunate they were. But as long as he didn't have to pick up another gun, or explore another sketchy cave, he would live easy. A life with Baso would be pretty interesting... No rules, No parents... No problem? Facil shook the thought, finding it hard to still swallow the thought that his parents were probably long dead at this point. There was no chance to say goodbye... He missed his mother's embrace, His father's encouragement.

Facil swallowed the tears and kept his thoughts on the here and now. He would have to find a new family to console in, and the closest thing he had to a family was Baso. He was a little too eccentric for Facil's taste, but his friendliness very well made up for it. He was sure the crocodile would show him the ropes of this future once they settled into their new life together. He would borrow Baso's overflowing happiness in the meantime.