FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"I can't believe they'd fucking call this city that," said FG. "Whaddaya mean?!" asked Scratch. "Well, it's not like the NICEST word to call something." "What, look it's called Cyber City right?" "No no no I meant THAT one, the old name they used to gave it!" "...Genocide City?" "YEAH! Like, the fuck, why would you even CALL it that?!" "Uh...I dunno, someone must really like gemstones!" "...gem...what?!" "Well yeah, I mean, that's like someone who studies rocks and things right?!" "...okay, I dropped out of high school and even I know what that word means because holy shit that is so not what it means." "Whaaa?! Yes it is!" "No, that's a GEOLOGIST dumbass! God just, yanno what, let's get through this city." "Why?" asked Grounder. "Where we going?" "OHHH I DUNNO, just going back to my apartment on Murderdeath Lane, where else?!" "You LIVE here?!" An empty howl of ignorance came drifting through once again, as the sound of thunder came near to them. James only looked at Grounder with sheer lack of caring beyond anything else he said as he turned back towards the night city. Cyber City, as it was now known, was a stark sprawling settlement that despite being called a city, was not actually a very big place. Just tall. Very very tall, with piercing skyscrapers trying to scrape their way through the dark clouds sitting above their heads, the moon high and full waxing as it cast its light shining down on whatever piece of the dark streetways it could. Most of the city was overshadowed by itself, the high-rise buildings blinking away in their solitude from each other, leaving the raptor wondering on who actually lived here. Was this where badniks lived, maybe the other populace of this fair land? He realised he had not seen a single note of sentient life here since his arrival, at least none that were actually born to be living beings rather than just metal and circuits. They reached the city after heading out of the underground mines, taking a detour that went through the underlying bedrock of the Hidden Palace Zone only to emerge out towards a sea. A sea which had the grand petroleum settlement of clustered oil rigs known as the Oil Ocean Zone at one end, and the Cyber City Zone itself at the other. The badniks that James freed from the dark influence of the hidden ruins had lead them here, showing how grateful they were as they made their way back towards home.

Whatever home they went to he did not know. Right now he was still reeling from the city's former name. The city itself however was not entirely safe, for they could hear and see the dark streets of rage burning through the night. From thunderous clouds that sparked lightning all over, to the black long roadways and cloistered houses that made them easy to run on over rooftops, it was not a welcoming city. Perhaps that was the point. Even after they had managed to scale up to the rooftops thanks to the use of some strange red springs, which befuddled FG as to how and why they were placed there, they still had a long ways to go before reaching their destination. Nothing but miles and miles of brick and mortar, the odd neon sign and long safety rail skirting all around the rooftops giving him the faintest of ideas. Even if he still tried to wonder how the springs worked in being able to send up two robots and him right into the air without hassle. "Okay, we need to get through this place as fast as possible, which way do we go guys?" "That way!" pointed the rooster northeast. "See that big greenish tower blinkin' away over there?" "Yeah?" "That's the Metropolis Zone. Dr. Robotnik just HAS to be there waitin' fer us!" "Let's hope he is but first, how we gonna pass through here? I mean, neither of you guys are uh...well trained in the uh...urban training, am I right?" "Nope!" said Grounder. "But I DO know how to tie my shoelaces!" "...why did you learn that?" "Cuz they kept slipping off my feet!" "FOR THE LAST FREAKIN' TIME," roared Scratch, "YOU DON'T HAVE FEET, YOU HAVE WHEELS! GAAAUUH!" "Yer just jealous cuz YOU can't find any shoes that fit you! Look at you, you got those big ol' claws on ya that make it impossible to fit any on you!" "I don't NEED shoes, I'm a freakin' rooster-bot, and neither do YOU! What, am I gonna step on a stone or something with my METAL FEET!?" "Well YEAH, and that hurts!" "If it makes you two feel any better," added FG, "I don't wear shoes either. I mean, claws here too. Now pay attention dammit!" "GUH, yes sir!" "Good, now, we need to get through this city fast, we want no time-wasting or distractions. We got here onto the rooftops, and we need to cross some pretty big leaps if we wanna stay off from the streets like those other guys we rescued said. Now we may have some more springs up ahead and that's good, but we need to work together. Scratch, you may not be able to fly but with enough wind beneath them your wings can glide, right?" "Yes sir!" said the rooster. "They're not bad at it but they don't fly anywhere good!" "Grounder, you can pound through some of those bricks pretty easy with your drills, so if I need any walls that need passing, you're our man." "You can count on ME mister FG!" said the drilltank with a salute. "But, whut about you?! Whut can you do?!" "Hmmmm...huh...there's some rails all around here right?" "Yeah?" "...remember I said I liked to skate more? ...I think I have an idea if we ever need to use them."

One transformation of his feet later followed by a stinging headache that blurred his vision slightly, they were soon wrapped within the strange green and orange fabric of the mysterious skates. The raptor was ready to roll out along with his two badnik allies. Scratch was feeling pumped, ready to go at any moment now seeing his destination so close within reach. Grounder was more eager to show up his friend in a race, the raptor trying to encourage some competition between them in order to make them keep up, saying: "Alright, so this is going to be a speed exercise to see how fast the two of you really are. But...let's make this more interesting. Whoever keeps up with me the most, gets a free promotion." "What?!" cried both of them. "Mmhmm...a nice juicy prrrrromotion. Now I know I'm grading you two on how you work together, but if you're both REALLY good then you'll try to keep up with each other. No falling behind, stick always close with me, and no sabotaging each other's pace. I want you two to win on your own merits, and for both of you to keep up with me so that neither of you get left behind. Got it?" "Got it!" "Alright then, here we go. Three...two...one...GO!" Racing across the roofs, James tore ahead with his skates, ignoring the headache as he leapt over the blacktopped roofs of various shapes and sizes. Hearing the scraping swish of the grinding bladed wheels upon the hard concrete was electrifying to him, inspiring him to shoot further and further as he gained enough speed to hop over alleyways and byways, even using the sloped parts of stairway access points to pick up even more speed or height. Scratch was now more confident of his wings, but he was also more eager at the prospect of beating his friend Grounder in a race. His long-legged gait allowed him to be naturally fast when he wanted to be, but he still had to watch for any gaps or steps that would dare trip him up due to being quite a klutz. Any gaps he did find he would simply fly over with a swift strong glide that lasted just a few seconds. It was enough to feel the wind's searing rush beneath them sharply before flapping down onto the next roof, racing onwards. Grounder, despite looking heavy, managed to rev up his wheeltreads well enough to keep up even if he was lagging behind. He was more or less following FG's path, using the smoother paths and sloping points to gain speed or height like he was. His only problem was that he could not jump, and therefore he had to really make sure he was able to just screech off of a roof before landing hard with crackling gravel onto the next. Anytime he wasn't able to, or would risk falling down, he slammed his drills with high-piercing energy straight into the brick walls.

He was slowed down by having to climb up, but Scratch's natural clumsiness played in his favour as the beginning found them neck-and-neck for a while. James however was ahead of them, being the most agile and able of the three of them to the point that he stopped or slowed down to let them catch up. The night felt young, and his blood ran wild with the need for speed once more, even just skating around in a circle just to keep moving until they would catch up with him. For the most part, the roofs were rather standard all packed up together to allow an easy runthrough of over 40 buildings so far, reminding James of the race he once had with a young goat boy in a faraway land. With that memory he kept in mind of other ways to stay ahead, such as windows to grapple onto or awnings to land on and bounce up from. Springs however were able to give him that, huge button-like projections of red and yellow in various strengths, the tight coils unable to resist shooting them up towards the night sky with a BLUNG of excitement. At one point James saw a spring had been mounted on a wall aiming diagonally downwards, towards a sloping ramp with rails that lead all the way down to ground level after a loop-de-loop, and further beyond into some sort of tunnel system. The youthful fire of adventure burned strong within him, and he decided to follow the path, beckoning the two badniks to follow him. "TIME TO GO UNDERGROUND, TRY TO KEEP UP BOYS!" Kicking off of the tightly-wound spring, he shot off forwards onto the rail and grinded fiercely downwards, clinging tightly to them even when the rails looped into a giant circle. Despite the intense head rush he suffered during it, he never felt himself lose his grip on the rail, whooping it up all the way down to the underlevel, the sheer scraping squeal of wheels on steel becoming music to his ears. Blue sparks shot out behind his magnetic skates, and as the buildings grew higher and higher around him, the world turned darker and darker as his arms spread out for balance, one behind and one in front. The railing stopped in an underpassage, strangely not very full of water but with a disturbingly large number of bones piled up around in corners. His advice to himself was to keep moving. Scratch and Grounder soon joined him, the rooster struggling to grind onto the rail as he screamed from both the speed and the pain of his metal feet tearing along the rail. Grounder had tried to stay on, but his bulk was too much as he found himself toppling over one way and rolling straight down the sloping ramp, like an odd lumpy boulder. Scratch simply laughed at his patheticness, pointing gladly at having something to take his mind off the grinding metal upon his feet. "BUHA-HAHAAAAAAAAAA! L-LOOK AT YOU, YOU STUPID FAT SACK OF-H-HEY WHERE YA GOIN', NO FAIR!" "HUHUHU-OW! HUHUHU-EEH! HUHUHUHU-DOOF!"

The drillbot's tumbling stupidity down the ramp was actually making him go faster than Scratch was, due to his larger bulk as he rolled down into the sewerway. Followed by Scratch shortly after, who was incredibly thankful for the tepid sewer water to help cool off his feet, the two refocused as James barely gave them time to rest. "Alright phase two, sewer level, hope you can handle tight spaces!" The raptor rode off through the sewer, slashing through the shallow water with his skates as he used the smooth circular walls of the passageway to gain speed. Rolling back and forth in a serpentine fashion, he started to blaze through the sewers faster as he came to another sloping ramp, a channel heading further into darkness. But the sewers were not completely dark, having enough natural luminescence from the drains up above and the odd electrical effluence of energy output the city seemed to have. Wires and undercurrents fizzed all around him dangerously so. Where he would normally be afraid of such hazards, his own personal demon of speed had come alive in him, firing up his anticipation as he screeched down the sloping channel without hesitation. Water splashed fiercely on both sides of him, slapping upon walls as he leapt hard from the ramp before he reached the larger drainage pool. Running along the sidepassage, he heard Scratch and Grounder bumbling around behind him from further back. "DOHOHO-Y-YOU, STUPID LUMMOX S-STOP DOING THAT!" "NOT MY FAULT YER SO SLOW CHICKEN!" "WHAT YOU CALL ME DIRTBREATH?! I'LL SHOW YOU WHA-GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" "GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH!" The moment they came pouring out onto the ramp, they both screamed and held onto each other tight, the rooster having to struggle with just normal running while Grounder had mimicked FG in a serpentine skating motion. The ramp however had them both slipping and sliding, even at one point trying to run back up the way with smoking wheels and blurred feet until they blindly jumped to where FG stood. Landing on top of each other at the side-passage running along the drainage pool, they both got up quickly not wanting to look lazy in front of their tutor, who simply smiled and skated on ahead of them. The two rushed in a stumble after him, desperate to beat the other. The passageways ahead were nothing more than just circular channels, both James and Grounder using their wheels to gain speed from rolling across the walls, while the rooster simply had to hike it fast. His advantage however came when another slope appeared that went upwards.

While not slippery enough to stop them moving up, it made wheels harder to climb up on as Scratch mockingly laughed at his fellow racers, his feet giving him purchase. Grounder screeched his wheels hard, splashing water out behind him as FG struggled to latch onto something, scrabbling up inch by inch. "See ya later losers, guess who's the THIRD WHEEL, BUHA-HAHAAAAAAA!" "Oh yeah?!" said FG. "Well it's not gonna be me, WULD!" With a blast of wind, he tore through the passage and went sprinting upwards with a nano-infused gust that shot him ahead of the rooster. He clutched his head with a small groan, forcing a smug grin at the rooster who simply stammered: "H-HEY! Buh, bu-bu-that's CHEATING!" "I only said one rule! No screwing each other over, but if you can win by your own merits then do it! Now come on, get up here!" "YOU-GUH...Grounder!" "Whut?!" groaned the moletank. "Cantcha see I'm busy?! Tryin' to get sum...sum...power...NNNNNGH! HNNNNGH! Come ooooooon give a little!" "...give...a...HEY, I GOT IT!" The rooster quickly went over to the struggling drilltank and looked over at his problem, seeing that it was simply in having not enough power or, failing that, having too slippery a surface to deal with. While normally he would have just rushed off ahead by hiking up the steep channel, he wanted to really show off some power after that display from FG. Power came to his mind as he quickly opened up Grounder's back to see the wiring. "Wh-wh-whuttaya doing?! I'm not broke am I?!" "I got an idea, it's BRILLIANT!" "Oh no, not my eyes again! I get scared of the dark!" "Ya need more power to get up that slope, dontcha?!" "Uh huh!" "Well then let's do this!" Pulling out a special blue jumper cable from Grounder's back which was not connected to anything, Scratch held onto the shorter robot as he stretched one of his legs backwards to open up the back. He hadn't tried this since the training that strengthened his reach and flexibility, but it just somehow occurred to him enough to do this as he reached for a red jumper cable, also not connected to anything. "Whut's that?!" asked Grounder. "POWER!" Joining the two cables together, both Scratch and Grounder were suddenly hit by an electrifying jolt that burned through their senses, shocking them within a pure yellow aura that sparked fiercely across the water. Power was soon shared between the two of them, synchronising perfectly as Grounder's eyes shot up to full power like a pumped gas tank. Scratch held onto his back like a monkey, arms and legs wrapped round as the drillbot screeched his wheels hard before tearing up the slope. The raptor waiting up at the top was suddenly panicked by the sight of the two robots screaming towards him, the rooster cackling his head off while the drilltank was smiling with sheer glee. The water breeched mightly behind them in a sudden blur, as the power siphoned between them as one unit became just enough to overcome the channel ramp, and tear towards FG who began running ahead.

Grounder was now twice as fast, wheels blurring like a motorcycle's underneath him as Scratch felt the wind rushing through his crest, which while metal was still quivering slightly from the speed alone. They chased down FG through the tunnels, the raptor rolling and sweeping fast across the walls to try to keep up momentum, even at one point managing to swing over their heads and grind right along the ceiling smoothly until they finally reached an exit. Back up the roofs they would go through yet another sheer slope. This one however had a volleyful of springs to bounce up on. Seeing the two badniks race right up towards him, he hopped onto one spring and found himself suddenly feeling like he was in a pinball machine, the sound of springs all around him as he bounced back and forth. A few brief seconds that blurred both sound and colour, slamming between walls harmlessly so by the sheer velocity of the smooth-surfaced springs. Before he even realised, he was out on top of the roofs again, groaning as his legs felt dizzy in stumbling forwards on their skating wheels, almost falling over completely before he grabbed at a chimney nearby. Scratch and Grounder laughed at him wildly from alongside him, revving up the ramp with little problem at all as they reached the roofs once again before finally separating from each other. The tower in the distance was much closer than it had been before, the raptor rather amazed at how much ground they covered as he tried to clear his head. Scratch unclasped the jumper cable from Grounder, putting it back inside him before dealing with his own thanks to his newly-flexed out foot. "Think we can't keep up NOW pal?! BUHA-HAHAAAAAAAA!" "HUHUHUHUUU, yeah!" said Grounder. "Looks like WE'RE gonna be beatin' YOU!" "Not...finished yet," murmured FG. "Ugh...these fucking springs." "Gee yer lookin' green as I am! And I'm green!" "Yeah I noticed tha-hu-urgh...ohh god my head fucking hurts too." "Woah sheesh you alright?" asked Scratch softly. "Yeah I-uh...I just need some water, lemme just sit down a bit." Bringing out his bottle he drank up the last of the Kanto spring water, gulping it down heavily before he emptied his supply. He hadn't drank much in the last world and his present self was thankful for it, but he did wish that he still had some Jammin' Jelly on him. Regardless, he sat down against a chimney and took time to enjoy the view alongside the two sitting by him.

"Sure is one shiny tower," said FG. "Yep, sure is," replied Scratch. "Why did Robotnik even give ya skates?!" "I uh...I dunno, make me go faster around places? By the way, nice work with you two co-operating back there, that'll earn you some big brownie points on the test." "Really?!" "Yeah, see, if you two work together you can do anything!" "Like hangliding!?" "Sure!" "Like time travel?!" "Maybe?!" "Like making cheese?!" asked Grounder. "Yeah, why not!" "Like reversing a total timeline so that it no longer exists and has no point to being anything because of a really really stupid prophecy?!" "...okay you can't do ANYTHING anything but you CAN do a lot of things if you work together." "Yaaaaay! I always wanted to make my own cheese!" "Wha-why!?" asked Scratch. "Cuz...it tastes nice!" "...yeah it kinda does, specially the way you use it." "Really?" "Oh yeah! Like uh...uhhh...whut was that thing you made like the day before we met FG?" "A salad?" "YEAH, thassit! That stuff was GOOD!" "The secret was to not tell you that it was paper...heeheehee!" "Alright I'm ready," said FG, "let's move on out!" "Yes sir!" said both badniks. With the raptor now recovered from his spell of dizziness, they made their way down towards the outskirts of the city while still wearing his skates. The roofs were turning rather few and far between, and while James could clear some gaps if he wanted to, the other two were not able to. Seeing that they were nearly out of Cyber City Zone, they ran down a fire escape to find themselves out on the streets, the rough-looking inhabitants not taking kindly to the newcomers despite the obvious intent to get out of town. But while they were not excited about facing any of the intruders, they did look at them briefly before scuttering away back into the alleyways, almost in droves even towards one direction. The raptor was cautious about this, taking his time slowly in walking out towards the endroad towards the high-rising Metropolis Zone far away. Just then, they heard something come charging up from behind them, the flash of headlights streaking its yellow glare across the road as all three of them dodged out the way.

Roaring past with the beastly growl of a V8 engine, was a ginormous sea-green creature with the head of a triceratops and the size of a panzer tank, with wheeltreads to match. Fierce headlights were shaped within its pecs, sprouting out from the mechanical underbelly as its thick welted arms mashed its fist into a palm the moment it turned round to see them. "Well lookie here," said the tank in a thuggish tone, "we got sum fresh scrap here fer us to take apart." "Jesus ANOTHER triceratops?" said FG. "Doesn't Robotnik like EVER think of any other creatures to make robots from?" "Well there's birds," said Scratch. "And moles too!" said Grounder. "A-a-and birds, and-" "I just said that!" "Right, um, and...dinosaurs, and uh...turtles and...bugs maybe?" "HEY," shouted the tank, "I'M TALKIN' TO YOU!" "In a minute," said FG winking at his friends. "We're having a discussion here, do you mind?" "How about my FIST makes a discussion with your FACE?" "Oh, can your fist talk?" "Pfft, no." "Then what the fuck you talking about? Alright, fine fine, what do you want?" "Those two boltheads with you, you know 'em?" "No, we're with Alcoholics Anonymous, why?" "Think yer funny kid?" "I'm not a kid, I'm fucking thirty." "I thought you got made like months ago," asked Grounder curiously. "GUH...thirty MONTHS ago, yeah? God...anyways, what business do you have with us?" "Dr. Robotnik don't take kindly to rejects," said the triceratank cracking his knuckles, "especially if they're too stupid to stay away." "Is that why you're not with him?" "Don't...test me punk." "Test you, alright...so what's this about rejects then?" "Whut are you, broken? Your dumb-bots over there, they're not meant to come back ever again to Metropolis Zone or any other bases!" "What?" "Huh!?" squawked Scratch. "But, wait, weren't we just reassigned somewhere?!" "Hahahaha, that whut they told you?" taunted the tank. "Damn you are stupid the two of you." "We're not stupid, we're awesome!" "Yeah!" said Grounder. "An' we're gonna kick yer butt all the way round here!" "HAH, awww that's cute." The tank triceratops slammed his fists into the gravel, cracking it beneath him as he tore up a piece of the road, lifting up a huge chunk by his very fingers alone the size of a family car, before hurling it straight into an apartment nearby. Crumbling mortar came in an avalanche of grey and ebony, leaving a small pile of rubble and one broken road out in front of them. James however saw that the road leading towards the Metropolis Zone was unguarded by anyone else, and he closely stepped up to his friends to murmur an idea before confronting the tank who offered: "Still wanna fight me?" "Pfft you?" said FG. "Come on, what are you like, V6?" "V8 actually." "Yeah? Cuz your cylinders sound pretty shoddy, did you fix them yourself?" "I'm the best of the BEST around here you deadweight piece of scrap!" "Sorry, but I'd rather have a fight with someone who won't break down in the middle of it, that'd be kinda disappointing." "I ain't gonna break down, I'm gonna break YOU down punk!" "I bet you can't even beat me in a race." "HAH, race?! You wanna race me before we fight?!" "Why not, that way I know you'll actually be worth it. Race you to the sewer way back there, if I win, you fuck off. If you win, we fight." "Pfft, easy, what you have anyway, little baby skates? Why don't you go back to the kiddy park instead?" "Because your mom's there hogging the slide because she too stupid to figure out which way to climb it." "YOU...wait, I don't have a mom!" "If you had one, she'd be that stupid." "...FINE, YOU WANNA RACE?! LET'S DO THIS!"

The tank turned around on its wheels with a roaring screech, James turning round with it as he looked over briefly to where Scratch and Grounder were waiting from out of view. The moment the triceratank was no longer watching them, they started pulling out their jumper cables once more readying themselves for another race of their own. The tank fired up its engine, harder than ever before as it flexed its arms in preparation for what he assuredly knew was going to be a curbstomp victory. The raptor simply smiled alongside him, saying: "How about you count down for us? You know how to count, don't you?" "Oh I know, but after I'm done with you, you won't even have ONE face left." "Hah." "One. Two! THREE!" The tank roared off towards the city, as James turned round smoothly to blast off the other way along with Scratch and Grounder, now joined up by the cables once again to boost their power as one. By the time the triceratank had even noticed, they were now 500 yards down the road heading straight towards the last zone. The triceratank snarled furiously as he turned, roaring louder than his wheels were as he teared off after them. James was skating furiously alongside Scratch and Grounder, the rooster hanging on the back of his molebot friend against the open wind. "I THINK HE'S MAD NOW!" squawked the chicken. "GEE YA THINK?!" cried FG. "WELL TOUGH SHIT, HE WANTED A RACE, THIS IS HOW WE RACE!" "WHAT DO WE DO!?" asked Grounder feverishly. "YOU GUYS GO ON AHEAD, I'LL HANDLE HIM! BUT ON ONE CONDITION!" "WHUSSAT?!" "YOU TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU AND ROBOTNIK AFTER THIS, I'M SICK AND TIRED OF GETTING CHASED AROUND BY THESE FUCKERS!" Bringing out his scissors in mid-dash, the raptor readily screeched into a turning halt, watching the sight of the monstrous machine come roaring up straight towards him. He sped off straight towards him, scissors down low as he summoned a rolling fire from within his fingertips to come bleeding down the blade. Leaping onto the the midsection guardrail of the road, he grinded hard down towards him before leaping straight past his face, scarring deep across the side of its body with burning scissortips screaming sparks of cutting metal. "AAAARGH, YOU LITTLE FREAK! CUMMERE!" "Try and catch me, bigger freak!" The tank kept on rolling past FG before turning hard when the raptor caught up, hoping to blindside him with a spinning turn attack he somehow performed on his wheeltreads. But the raptor was smaller, and much faster in being able to just pull back and roll out of the way to the other side of the badnik, stabbing with still-burning scissors straight into the side of its body. The monster was getting furious, grabbing a nearby lamppost and wrenching it hard from the ground by sheer strength before turning hard with a swinging strong blow.

James almost did not dodge it unless he jumped, due to the low-aiming swing of the 6-foot pole, but the grinding skates somehow got confused on what to grind on and latched themselves magnetically onto it, scraping down hard onto the tankbot's fingers. James took this opportunity to grind harder, screeching across the head and back of the triceratank and barely missing the horns that scratched across his leg, the beast roaring with furious pain before leaping off and dashing off towards the horizon. He just barely dodged the thrown pole of the streetlight the beast hurled at him in blind fury. "I GOT ORDERS FROM ROBOTNIK, AND NONE OF YOU ARE GETTIN' OUTTA HERE ALIVE!" He revved his absolute hardest and burnt through the road, screaming tiretreads that came roaring up towards them faster than FG expected them to. He was pissed, and he was even using turbothrusters. Scratch was panicking at the very sound of the engine behind them, clamping his wings down on Grounder's head and wrapping them around his eyes which made the drillbot swerve. "GUUUUH, I CAN'T SEE!" "JUST KEEP DRIVING, DON'T STOP!" "I CAN'T SEE! I'M BLIND AGAIN! SCRATCH WHATCHA DO WITH THE LIGHTS!?!?" "SHUT UP AND JUST DRIVE YOU STUPI-DOHOHO!" The rooster panicked and ducked hard against his friend at the sight of a large lamppost come hurling down towards them, the triceratank grabbing more and throwing them like javelins straight at the escaping badniks. The raptor had an idea, seeing Scratch panic with his wings clamped around Grounder's head. He turned swiftly on his wheels, finding himself skating backwards before gliding himself to behind Grounder, shouting: "SCRATCH! CLIMB ONTO MY BACK!" "WHAT?!" "LET GO OF GROUNDER AND GRAB ONTO ME, WRAP YOUR LEGS AROUND MY WAIST AND GET ON MY SHOULDERS!" "WHY!?" "JUST DO IT!" Scratch despite his panic, obeyed his "superior" and quickly grabbed onto FG, the badnik thankfully rather light in his metallic design as he wrapped his legs tightly around FG's waist, his arms on James' shoulders. The cable was now pulling both of them backwards at the same speed as Grounder, the raptor still wielding his blades as he shouted: "YOU REMEMBER THAT MOVE I TAUGHT YA!? THE ONE WITH YOUR WINGS?!" "UH...TH-THE ONE WITH THE WIND BLASTING?!" "YEAH, THAT! I'M GONNA GIVE YA A LITTLE HELP! WHEN YA FEEL THAT WIND AROUND YOU, YOU SWING THOSE ARMS LIKE YOU WANNA THROW A BASEBALL THROUGH THAT GUY'S HEAD, LIKE A WHIP GOT IT?!" "O-OKAY!" Diffusing the fire from the bladed scissors, the raptor summoned in turn a furious gust of wind. It was unfortunate that the headache was coming back, burning through his ears with a growing intensity that he could not tolerate. But he struggled through it, gritting his teeth hard as his nanos breathed a vicious gale, channelling through his blades and spiralling straight onto Scratch's body. It was the best he could do in controlling such a force potently onto another person, but he hoped it was all it took. "NOW, DO IT!" "SONIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC BOOM!"

With a squawk of fury from Scratch, his wings suddenly became infused by the power of the mighty wind, forcing them to come through together into one violent karate-chopping strike into thin air. The force of his mechanical wings snapping together, combined with the swiftness of the harnessed air, caused something tremendous to happen that he had never witnessed until now. Even if he had just said it like it were the name of his attack. The air was now sharpened into a single blade of wind, slicing with an almost unblinking speed of light as the sharp razor breeze cut straight through the triceratank. He began to stop as soon as he felt it on him, his wheels rolling down slowly as his arms began to droop. They almost felt like stopping themselves as the beast stared at them, gasping with mouth open. "...I....h-hhhhh...what...what are you...shoulda...warned me that...stupid mon-krrrgh!" Its head suddenly became uneven, a sharp deep diagonal slice suddenly appearing straight in the middle of its face, before the top half began to slide slowly off down towards the road. Sparks shot out with an insane light, fizzing right through the darkness as the triceratank started twitching with an almost unnerving agony. Then its head exploded, completely blown off to reveal nothing but a smoking crater of burnt wires underneath its throat muscle, shutting down at last as its targets rolled onwards, long through the night towards their next destination. James could say nothing, almost not believing what he had just witnessed while still being pulled by Grounder backwards. Scratch was also speechless, which was even more incredible concerning him. Grounder was rather oblivious to all that had happened behind him, as the raptor called out to stop once they were far away enough from the outskirts of Cyber City, not more than a few miles from the Metropolis Zone's limits. A grand pillar of metallic jade that seemed to pierce the nightly heavens. They almost said nothing as Scratch began unhooking both jumper cables from his friend, while FG broke down his skates through the power of his nanos, sitting down on a stone block at the side of the dark empty road while nursing a severe headache. The downtime of the now-exhausted party, running low on energy in their own separate bodies, prompted Grounder to ask: "Whut happened?" "I...I just...I-i-i-" "Whut?! Didya lose yer foot again!?" "I...I-uh...just blew up a FRICKIN' HUGE ROBOT WITH MY BARE WINGS!" "WHUH!?" "BUHA-HAHAAAAAAAA!"

He grabbed both drills of his friend and swung him as hard as he could, spinning round and round with a victorious crowing noise that left Grounder feeling rather dizzy. "I DID IT! I SPLIT HIS HEAD IN TWO LIKE IT WAS A GRAPEFRUIT! I DID IT! I DID IT!" "Whu-u-u-u-u-uuuuuu put me down! I'm getting siiiiiiiiick!" "BUHA-HAHAAAAAA!" He let go eventually, staring up towards the now-closer Metropolis Zone ahead of them, certainly not more than a few miles ahead as he shook up his fist towards the night sky. "YOU BETTER BE READY NOW ROBOTNIK! YA HEAR ME?! I'LL MAKE YA PAY, I'LL MAKE YOU ALL PAY! I'M GONNA CUT YOU IN HALF LIKE THE FAT STUPID PIG YOU ARE!" "Oh really?" said FG smugly. "YEAH REALLY! I-...Bu-b-bu-uuuum, ummmm yeah! YEAH I'm gonna teach...teach him a...a-" "Lesson?" "YEAH! A lesson in uh...uhhhhh ergonomics! YEAH, cuz, uh, c-carpal tunnel syndrome, is the...leading cause of...time lost at...w-work...um-" "Remember what I told you back out on that road? You owe me an explanation." "Wh-wh-...whatcha mean?!" "Come on, look at what's happened. The forest, the desert, that thing just now roaring down on us. All of those guys just kept wanting to stop you from reaching Dr. Robotnik, like you were wanted criminals or something! ...now tell me the truth." "I dunno what's up with them I swear!" "Don't lie to me Scratch. I have walked too far with you two to take anymore of that shit, my head is hurting like fuck and I am so close now to my destination that I am not gonna play nice anymore, now what the hell is up with you and Robotnik, and why does he not want you to ever come back!?" "WHY DONTCHA ASK HIM YERSELF THEN!? Yer the one who came down a-a-an' told us we were ready! READY FOR WHAT HUH?!" "Uh...training obviously!" "Oh that's rich, training to catch SONIC or something?! YEAH, that didn't work, DID IT FG!?" "What the fuck-look I am under orders to bring you back to where Dr. Robotnik is, and if YOU don't wanna follow them then you can just stay here, outside our destination, RIGHT FUCKING THERE!" "THEN WHY IS EVERYONE TRYING TO STOP US FG?! WHY!? How come you don't know and YER the one taking us back to Robotnik then?!" ".......I don't know." "Huh?!" "I don't...look I...I didn't get orders from Robotnik directly I...I got them lower down on the chain of command, I was ordered to get you guys back, and that's it. I don't know why these guys are after you, we were out for like a week weren't we?!" Scratch was trying to figure everything out, the two missions of both his superior and everybody else around him contradicting each other to the point that even he thought was absurd. Grounder however wasn't paying much attention, seeing something altogether more strange upon FG as he pointed it out to them. "...HEY, yer leaking!" "Wha?!" "YEAH, yer leaking like...red stuff down there!" Looking down on himself, the back of his left leg was glinting slightly with something wet from a recent wound. Scratch looked more curiously, gasping with absolute shock at what he saw. Something even he knew that a badnik would not have. "...what the heck's tha-...you." "Wh-what, guys, what's the problem, it's just blood it'll patch up I-...awww shit. Um...f-fuck, listen...I-." "Yer not a badnik at all...aren't you?" ".......um...u-u-um..." Scratch steeled himself with a cold stare straight into FG's eyes, curling his beak with a sudden rage that boiled up in him at a new feeling he had only felt once before. Absolute betrayal. "You LIAR! YOU LYING FREAK!"