Anchors Away - (1-5a)

Rachel · Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 1:13 am

The cool breeze rolling off the mostly still waters at the spring city docks carried with it all the pungent smell of both algae and fish that Jack loathed about open water. The golden griffin waited on the docks with her arms crossed over her chest, target standing at her side, looking over into the water.

"And I didn't bring my swim suit..." The robot mused with a giggle. Jack closed her eyes and took a deep breath, immediately regretting it due to the delightful smell of the water. Not that it was at all unusual, she just wasn't a big fan of swimming.

"You have a bathing suit? Why? You're a robot."

"I'm a fembot. Actually." She corrected. The strange change to Targets chassis had been a startling surprise, but slowly Jack was accepting the impulsive Target's choice. "And of course I do. It matches my paint."

"Oh, of course." Jack muttered, rolling her eyes. They stood under the blue sky waiting for Hoji, and word from some 'Dr.Henshin' who apparently had been the genius behind Hoji's Wild Badge suit. She had a nagging feeling something wasn't right about the doctor, but she'd been told to gather the others and wait here, she assumed it had something to do with the emerald but hadn't bothered to ask. She checked her cell phone for new messages, she'd called everyone and sent the appropriate text messages to alert them to where they should go. She even sent Sheffer some directions since he wasn't from the area and all.

Speaking of Wild Badge suits, there was the sound of a motorcycle engine not far off, and coming closer. The color scheme was unmistakable once it rounded the corner of some warehouse. It's rider came to a stop short of the dock. He was wearing that suit of his, complete with the helmet, which he proceeded to take off upon dismounting.

As for the word from the good mad doctor, he did not come bearing the news, "Hey, guys."

He paused and looked at them, getting the feeling they were waiting for something. Or at least Jack was, anyways. "...He should be contacting us soon." He said before putting his helmet back on.

"It's fine." Jack said, tipping her hat back. Hoji wasn't such a bad guy once you got past his outfit. "We're still waiting to see who shows up. I feel wrong involving everyone else..."

He nodded, putting his hands at his side, thumbs hanging off his belt, "Alright... Everyone's made a choice. I'm sure they have a stake in this, too..."

"Lets hope we can keep from getting anyone killed..." She replied looking out into the water once more.

searchindextag
chapter1search

Kazz · Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 1:52 am

"WAAAAHOOOOOO!"

Well, Mako was definitely there. Loudly. And emphatically. Yes, he was very, very there.
He was running faster than he could remember moving in the recent past (barring the brainwashed-and-crazy-echidna incident), making a beeline towards the water. Once he had found out where they were meeting up, he had very happily cottoned on to the idea, the dangers and imminent disasters not making a lick of difference to him.

Did he even notice the griffin or the raccoon? Probably not, as he cannoned straight past them and head-first off the end of the dock, creating an impressive splash, with a few stray pieces of sea-weed in the frothy mix, onto the dock off of which he had propelled himself. It was extremely evident that the odor that Jack found so off-putting, garnered, if anything, a positive reaction from him.
...
He was a shark, after all. After a few ecstatic turns and spins underwater (which were totally invisible from the surface), Mako's head broke the surface of the water, a broad grin on his face. The gills on the underside of his head, tucked close to his body, were flared and more visible than normal, but they returned to their normal state quickly as soon as they hit the air.

"Hi," he greeted Jack and Hoji cheerfully, treading water and that goofy grin still plastered across his face. "Anyone else here yet?" He paused, looked between them, and laughed a giddy laugh. "I guess not."
Well, he was in a good mood. Almost as if he wasn't here for an important reason.

Sheff · Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2010 12:07 am

Sheffer was quickly approaching the docks, his board gliding above the ground beneath him, feeling, and smelling, the ocean breeze coming in. Fortunately for him, he didn't mind the smell.

He was starting to question why he was doing this. In short, he was diving into worldwide scavenger hunt with a sheriff that hated his guts, a gender confused robot, a literal fish out of water, and two "super heroes". Not to mention a daredevil rodent with an evil pet... well, at least in Sheffer's perspective. Still, he was still pissed at Eggman, and he highly doubt Jack would let him walk off now. Not after her accusations of how it was all his fault, blah blah blah. He was sorry for what happened to the town, but he didn't appreciate that she blamed him of all people.

Soon, he came across the two keepers of peace and vigilant anti standing beside the docks while Mako was finally in his proper territory. Of course Sheffer knew the shark would stink of fish later, but it was better then hearing him whine about the desert heat.

"Hey there," greeted Sheffer, hopping off his board near Jack, taking a look around. "Any reason that Henshin guy wanted to meet here?"

Greens · Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2010 4:24 pm

It was only mere seconds away from the hedgehog's arrival that there came the second of the two super heroes... not that anyone would know until he was there. While not so flashy as Wild Badge's entrance, or even Sheffer's, Power Mask had a taste for the theatrical all on his own-- tumbling down from the heavens like a big green plane crash, landing but a few meters away from the deep blue below.

Where did he come from? Who knew? Perhaps one of the taller buildings nearby, or maybe he ejected from his personal fighter jet, but no matter how he got there, there he was. The landing was certainly loud enough to get some attention, and even left a few cracks in the pavement, contrast to his unusually calm demeanor post-descent. Once he picked himself up, he focused squarely on the ocean beyond, stepping forward emphatically with his arms crossed as Mako had himself more fun than a barrel of seamonkeys.

He groaned cheerlessly.

"That lukes liek fawn..."

psikeout · Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 6:29 pm

Dun dun.

A dark form appeared in the water beneath Mako.

Dun dun.

It began to slowly expand beneath the happy, ignorant swimmer.

Dun dun dun dun DUN DUN.

Okay, there was actually nothing present to make that noise, but it would have been quite fitting as the large, white and blue submarine burst from the sea, hoisting the shark up along with it as it very nearly jumped out of the water, only to splash back down with another foamy, frothy, ocean blast all across the concrete docks (and, probably those standing on them).

"HALLOO THERE," came the grating voice of an old man through some sort of loudspeaker affixed not far from the periscope. (The aforementioned scope seemed to somehow stretch toward the party as he continued his greeting.) "HOJICHAN! Is this our team? You completely neglected to tell me the big fat sidekick fellow was coming along today! This isn't a barge! Ohhh, goodness, I didn't account for this at all."

While the sleek, gleaming vessel was itself pretty large, it did not appear equipped for Tank accommodation, at least judging by the size of the hatch on top, which promptly unscrewed open and flipped up, revealing a... bizarre sight.

He was small, brown, and he looked like he used to be mostly moth. His tattered old wings, withered by age, had been outfitted with metallic-looking prosthetic frame, with honeycomb-patterned artificial membranes, while his eyes were completely obscured by huge, high-tech goggles, the lenses of which didn't really seem to be looking in the same direction. The fellow was quite crusty and elderly for sure, but his labcoat was clean and white, and the array of gadgets he wore all looked slick and advanced, which was certainly a good thing since a lot of them were probably actively keeping him alive, at least judging by his three-years-expired appearance—Or was that just water pruning him? Come to think of it, he looked a little bit soaked.

Rather than further greeting them, he seemed to have taken to muttering to himself while wielding a tape measure about the hatch. It wouldn't take long before he was puttering up through the air (with the aid of his wings and some sort of odd little jetpack-looking thing) and over to Tank, promptly violating any sense of personal space or privacy he may have had by measuring him in virtually every dimension.

"Oh, hold still, Power Mass."

Kazz · Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:51 pm

Mako, for his part, was clinging to anything he could hold onto on the top of the submarine, looking distinctly rattled as he was spread-out on his stomach, legs splayed wide, arms wrapped around the base of the periscope and his eyes very wide. He seemed to be muttering something which, on closer inspection, would turn out to be "I hate the world and the feeling is mutual" repeated quite a few times before it stopped.
'Wait a second, when did I become a world-hating whiny git?', he questioned of himself, before resolutely standing up, putting one fist in the air, and exclaiming, "I am OKAY!", taking a step as though to return to the dock, before promptly falling off and into the drink with another impressive splash. This instance of lack of coordination, for once, didn't seem to bother him, as a moment later he popped out of the water again, this time with quite a bit of inertia sending him into the air as his tail flailed behind him, narrowly returning him to the dock.

"Hey," he said, addressing the moth as he watched him measure the tortoise. "Watch where 'yer surfacin' the big metal monstrosity next time?"

The shark decided, then and there, that he did not like submarines, standing up straight and shaking a bit of water out of his shoes.

Seafarinhare · Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 3:09 pm

Not that you could tell through his big helmet, but even Wild Badge was surprised when the white and blue submersible surfaced near them. He walked over as his "mentor" of sorts came out. His hands on his hips.

"You've been holding out on me, old man. I didn't know you had a submarine." He said before proceeding to gawk at the shiny new piece of machinery, "I get to drive it, right?"

Rachel · Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 4:13 pm

When Tank barreled out of the sky landing on the pavement Jack stood staring, trying to figure out where he came from and how far he fell without any signs of harm. Target on the other hand threw her hands into the air and yelled.

"That was the coolest thing, EVER!" The robot exclaimed as it bounced towards Power Mask. "Dude hanging out with super heroes ROCKS."

Jack shook her head turning away from the pair, just to be splashed by the submarines assent to the waters surface. She was soaked, water splashing over her and collecting in her hat, drizzling out from the brim. She gritted her teeth then the expired moth rose from his contraptiant.

Target stared at the doctor as he did his measuring thing to Tank. "You're getting a little invasive there, doc..."

"THAT is Dr. Henshin?!" she said abruptly looking at Hoji. She wasn't sure if the fact Hoji used the decrepid old moth for parts and weapons bothered her or that the old moth that Hoji looked to for guidence looked to be as batty as a bellfree. And that was before he started talking...

"...why is the doctor wet?" She asked Hoji after taking a moment to look him over. "I ain't a scientist or nuttin', but water ain't supposed to be in the sub, right?"

Greens · Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 7:19 pm

The tortoise, standing so precariously close to the edge of the docks already, was of course absolutely soaked as a wave of water even larger than he was washed over his head. Oddly, his stature didn't change in the least through the entire ordeal. From the initial emergence of the submarine, to the sudden downtime of dripping with seawater, he stood there, arms crossed and unmoving. The only difference at the end, was that his eyes were closed. And, was that his brow... twitching?

"Hai em not a side-keek, prlofessor," he mumbled lowly. "And aye em not fffat, eithur." He raised his arms in a T-shape as the moth measured him. "And mai ey-lias ees Powar Mask." He opened his eyes, but kept an irritated, almost weary look to them as he peered straight forward into the horizon. "And hwe deed een-forlm you off my arrlival, hyew seemply forlgot."

"A-gain."

psikeout · Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 7:48 pm

"Yes, yes, of course," muttered Doc H in a completely placating sort of way as he buzzed back away from Power Mask and evaluated his calculations. "It won't be easy, but we should be able to flush him down with effort," he concluded, meanwhile entirely ignoring the shark's complaints. Well... maybe not ignoring them. Maybe he didn't hear them.

"HOJI!" he again shouted far too loudly for the circumstances to warrant. "There's no time to waste with your tomfoolery! I need you to pilot this submarine!"

Okay, yeah, he really wasn't hearing everything that was being said.

"Oh, but wait!" he suddenly almost interrupted himself, completely changing to a placid, fascinated-sounding tone as if his mind had wandered entirely off-topic in the blink of an eye. "You have such a large team assembled! I'm very impressed. Hohhhh!"

He slowly buzzed up to Sheffer, agape with awe. "If it isn't Sonic the Hedgehog! You've really outdone yourself this time, Hojichan!" Aaand without leaving time for correction, turned and puttered over toward Jack. "And oh, my. Look at you! Look at you! Hwahhh! If it isn't... Sheriff Drake! Why, it seems like it was just months ago that you were but a confused little pink duck, but you've done so well for yourself. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"

The decrepit moth was getting his acquaintances dangerously mixed up.

Rachel · Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 8:16 pm

Jack and Target watched the moth buzz around like he had something better to do. The moth seemed like he wasn't listening to the group. At all. He just went about what he was doing ignoring them. Until he accused Sheffer of being Sonic the hedgehog, which Jack snorted out loud at the notion. She was flabbergasted when he called her Drake.

"Wait what?!" Jack stammered in response. It took her a moment to process he'd been talking to her. "Duck?! I'm not a duck! I'm not even pink! He's insane! Hoji you honest rely on this crack-pot?!"

"Maybe he needs a nap. Moths sleep don't they?"

Sheff · Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 8:22 pm

"I think he's just blind..." muttered Sheffer to Jack, watching the moth move about.

This guy was definitely past his prime. Heck, his own machines seemed to be keeping him alive at the moment. The hedgehog had to give him credit on managing to do just that, but proclaiming him as Sonic the Hedgehog and giving signs that there was a possible leakage in that submarine of his really didn't give him anymore brownie points (though, admittedly, he found the Sonic claim quite humorous).

Scooting over to Jack a bit more, he hid his mouth behind a raised hand, half-whispering.

"But, seriously. You really want to go through with this?" He wasn't worried that the doctor would grow suspicious at the movement; he appeared to be blind as it is. And if that was true, he definitely wouldn't hear what he just said if his ear matched his eyes in efficiency.

Seafarinhare · Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 10:40 pm

"You don't have to tell me twice." The overzealous raccoon said, and headed toward the sub, but stopped when the moth yelled for him to wait so he could examine the members of his party.

...And quite the deductions he had about them. If he wasn't wearing a helmet, you'd likely see a strange look on Hoji's face when he called the hedgehog Sonic, and Jack, Drake. He shook his head, looking at Jack. "Okay, so he's got a few screws loose. His gadgets haven't let me down yet!" He defended.

Then looked at Henshin and laughed, "Eheh. Thanks, old man... Only the best of company... Eh..heh." He said, playing along. He looked at the others and shrugged.

Perhaps in the back of his mind, he was also slightly worried that the submarine might be leaking, because instead of leaping straight into the vehicle, he jumped up and landed ontop of it, he peeked inside first.

psikeout · Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 10:57 pm

Either Dr. Henshin glazed over their comments or just didn't hear them, because he was all business mere seconds after his gushing bout of mistaken identity.

"I suppose now would be a good time to brief you on our mission," he began, folding his hands behind the small of his back as he buzzed back toward the submarine. (Surely to Hoji's relief, it at least looked dry enough inside.) "It took me a while to develop a sensor wild enough to track the 'Chaosol Emeralds'. The radiation they emit is very inconsistent and has bizarre, irregular wavelengths. Lots of fluctuation. Very moody emeralds. However, I've very almost certainly accurately maybe pinpointed one in what seems to be an undersea base owned by Eggman."

He was just brimming over with certainty. His following words were hopefully a little more reassuring: "Even if it isn't a Chaosol Emerald, whatever it is, it's certainly dangerous and needs to be investigated. I've already done some poking around, and the place actually looks abandoned! I would just send Hoji by himself, but..." He scratched at his head. "I simply can't do that—Not in a place like that. I'd really be helpless to assist him if my data proved wrong and something went awry in there."

He raised an index finger rigidly and quickly. "That said! It may be an easy job, but it won't be a safe one, and if you can't swim, you may want to stay here. No offense to you, of course, Sonic. I know you can handle yourself even if you can't swim."

Kazz · Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 11:01 pm

"Uhhh," Mako tried to start after the doctor finished speaking, before he inched over to where the others stood and spoke out of the side of his mouth.

"I the only one thinkin' captain butterfly," (would he ever get anyones' species right?) "Over here may be a few crates short'f a shipwreck?" Probably the bad euphemism to use, in retrospect, but the shark shrugged. He wasn't feeling too happy about being hoisted up... no matter how indescribably hilarious the mistaking of Sheff for the world-renowned hero was. No, no, he was far too indignant to laugh. Or something.
"He don't know Sir Sparkly -- urr, Sheff -- over here from Sonic, and we're takin' his word on this?" Outside of the nickname for the hedgehog in reference to his previous experience with the radiation of the emeralds, he sounded a bit doubtful.
This was strange for Mako, who was not exactly known for his brilliance, and under normal circumstances, he wouldn't antagonize the lack in another, but...

Anchors Away - (1-5a)

Who is online