FicWad

I awake to screaming.

I groan as the pain in my head hits me, almost has hard as the screaming does. Who is that?

I sit up, stretching my aching wings and holding my head. I can see two blurry forms in front of me. One is that of a blue-haired boy, twitching violently; the other is the form of a monster of a woman in a red blouse, holding him down.

I blink, trying to bring my eyes into focus, and I remember who they are.

"Meg, get off him!" I bark, standing. That brute of a girl is going to kill him...

"He's gonna hurt himself! I'll get up when he calms down!"

I walk over, looking down at the boy. The pierced punk is screaming like a little kid, his green eyes alive with fear. Blood covers his face and his pretty blue hair.

"CHAD! Chad, oh God!"

"Chad?" I turn around. Sure enough, Chad is lying there on the ground, face down, splattered with blood. "Chad!" I run to him and shake him. "Wake up!"

"Rouge? What...?" He rolls over, onto his back. His face is red, but I can tell he's not hurt.

"Are you okay?"

"Just a little shaken... what about Sonny?"

"He's calling for you. Get up." I offer my hand to the human, and pull him up. He nearly pulls me down with his weight, but somehow I manage to stay on my feet. He races over to his brother.

As soon as she sees him, Omega stands up. As Chad kneels down by his twin, Omega races behind me. I turn to look.

She's kneeling by Dr. Robotnik... her boss. I blinked. Omega had always raved by how much she hated Robotnik, how she thought he was a fool who was destined to fail. And now she's helping him... Showing such kindness and tenderness toward him. She treats him like a friend...

She's a better manipulator than I thought, I decide.

She helps the doctor to her feet and brushes her black hair out of her face. "Looks like we travel by foot. Let's get going."

I walk behind her, pondering curiously, remembering...

*

It's a funny story, how we met. I never expected I'd be friends with someone like that, and the circumstances behind our meeting are very strange indeed. It's like one of those shonen anime that Chad and Meg watch, with a bunch of characters who should never be friends, but somehow meet and become allies. Contrived as all hell.

I was in the library at the university last year, in the nonfiction section, reading up on Dr. Robotnik. The library had all of his books there, and my boss had asked me to do a little recon on him. The book wasn't very captivating; Robotnik is a great writer, but robotics is so boring. I was just about to put it down when I heard a boy cry out across the room.

I looked up, and there was a young punk sprawled on the ground; an emo kid. His broken glasses lay on the floor beside him, and they were as dark as his hair. Over him stood a behemoth of a woman, probably 6' tall, with hair as black as his.

"Get out of my way, punk." She ordered.

"Screw you!" He replied, standing up.

"I need those books, and when I tell you to move aside, ya move aside!"

"What are you doing reading about robotics, you big oaf? Why don't you do something less cerebral, like go play football."

She swung at him, missing by a mile. In a moment, he snapped his arm in at her, connecting with her solar plexus. She dropped, and cried out.

"What, you think I'm one of those whiney emo cutters? I can take you, bitch."

And then her fist flew into his crotch. "I need those books more than you do, dammit! He WILL be mine."

And then something... something... just stirred in me. I ran over and pulled them apart. "Hold it! Maybe if the three of us work together we can all get what we need to know."

"The hell are you?" the giant demanded.

The boy, who was on his knees, just cocked his head to the side, staring at my chest. "Helloooooo there..."

I cuffed him. "Eyes, boy. My name is Rouge... I'm doing a research project on Dr. Robotnik, but I could use some help. And you two obviously want to know about him. Maybe we can pool our resources and time and get what we need."

"If the little man will keep his hands to himself, I'm game."

"Same goes for the big bully."

"Yeah, baby," I exclaimed, "that makes us a team!"

Not knowing what I was doing or saying, I followed the giant back to her dorm room, where the three of us poured over documents on Robotnik. It was extremely clean, and in spite of the girl's homicidal tendencies, I decided to room with her.

I don't understand that decision, and I don't think I ever will. But it lead to where I am now...

*

Walking down the street behind her, staring at her waist.

Omega leads us like a general, her head held high. A beam from the armored car is clasped in her hands, held up effortlessly when even I would have trouble supporting it. The crazy bitch, as we I lovingly call her, hums a haunting melody by Manson or Zombie or one of those other goth rock groups she loves so much.

Violence follows her wherever she goes, or perhaps she drags it along behind. Omega is a tough customer and I'm very lucky to be her friend. Sure, I have to watch my back if I'm in the bathroom when she wants it, but she covers me when I'm doing something dangerous.

Like what I'm doing now.

But Omega has stopped covering me; instead, she's taken charge of my project. Chad and I are supposed to be leading this little expedition to save Robotnik, and yet somehow it's become her project. Every move he makes, she commands; every time he's hurt, she's at his side. The bitch has taken over my mission, Chad's mission.

And why? Why her sudden compassion for the doctor? Why her sudden eagerness to help a military, a government, that she hates so much? Why would the conspiracy theorist suddenly start spouting such patriotic bullshit as she has?

I can only conclude that she's up to something. The crazy bitch is planning something big, and I'm not sure I want to be around when it comes down.

But at the same time, I do. I'm not a jealous manipulator; I can appreciate another's work.

*

I'm not surprised.

Not more than five minutes since we've been walking and there's an alien in front of us.

With a few swings of the signpost and a sharp cry from my roommate, it's gone.

I sigh with relief, relaxing. "Why don't we clone you, Omega? You'd make a great supersoldier."

"Go to hell, Rouge."

I start to walk forward, but then something slams into me. A wooshing, crackling noise erupts around me, first getting louder, then more quiet.

"Oh shit! That thing is huge!" Sonny screams.

I throw Chad off me-it is Chad who knocked me out of the way, right?-and turn around. A creature towers over us, at least 20 feet tall. It roars, its corpulent body shaking with the tremor of its voice. Sharp teeth line a jawless mouth, and its shadow looms over the ground that its feet do not touch. Small wings, fluttering in the air, hold it up, as if it were some kind of deformed cherub.

"Holy shit, it's Cthulu!" Chad cries.

I do what any hero would do.

I turn and I run.