Sonic Curse Of Flesh: Gemini By Richforce

“Pull!” The target light flitted across the wall 200 yards away at a quick pace. Fang’s new tracking software anticipated the erratic movement, calculated the most fifty or so most probable paths and then his fired the sniper beam that was now built into his arm. Bullseye.

It felt too easy for him, used be to target practice was a means to keep his skills sharp, each shot a different situation he had to adjust to, now with everything he had trying to hit a flying target in hurricane force gales felt no different than what he was doing now.

“Readjust parameters, shoot out with hostiles, maximum difficulty. Score for accuracy and time with penalties for taking fire.”

“Parameters set, begin when ready,” Program Nicole's voice answered.

“Hold for now,” said another voice. A robian she-wolf came in with a laser rifle. She had long since discard her jump suit she'd once wore to differentiate herself from her sister. “I wanted to test out a simulation the pack leader wanted to use to train Units Maria and Ariel in the traditional hunt.”

Nack withdrew the weapon back into his arm. “Let This Unit know when you’re done Unit Lyco, I know when I’m not…”

“This Unit also wanted to take the time to speak with you, I’ve heard you’ve been a bit of a loner since you became your true self.”

Nack growled slightly. The hooligans were torn apart that day, Bark had succumbed to the curse and Bean didn’t take to kindly to Fang trying to put down their teammate. The duck had gotten more logical when he became a robian but still held a grudge against his former leader for being so callous about it, the two hadn’t been on speaking terms ever since.

“Fine, I’ll play along.”

Lyco spoke out. “Readjust parameters, hunt of the pack protocol, adjust targets to simulate damage from traditional weaponry.”

The shooting range displayed holograms of a jungle. “Parameters set, begin when ready.”

“You should turn off your target assist, the point of it is to use your natural instincts to find your prey.”

“In case you haven’t noticed we don’t have natural instincts anymore, we have sensors.”

Nack’s sniper beam lifted out of his forearm again.

“This Unit sees you volunteered to have modifications done to your body. I still haven’t decided if I want to take the plunge yet…”

“The gun This Unit considers as payment for a job Eggman still owed me before money became useless, as for my right optic… I was damaged after our beloved queen flipped the switch, acid spit right to face.”

“You’re lucky, we had to transfer…”

Nack shot the holographic Terapod Bear and returned the gun into his arm. “This is pointless, jungles like this don’t exist anymore, only creep infested landscapes, mutated mobini and plant life. Literally everything is trying to kill you out there, those girls won’t be able to do whatever Unit Lupe wants from them.”

“She just wants to pass on our traditions. With Lobo, Marcos and Athena now twisted like they are she feels it’s important for the Pack to remember where we came from even though we have now embraced our true selves.”

“She lost her boys and the Overlander girl she has left still won’t talk. I thought this was supposed to fix all those fleshy bugs, is it psychology? It’s almost like when the roboticization immunity was taken away it was done in a way that would kick us all in lug-nuts the hardest when the Old Ones made their move.”

“Which is why we have to stick together now.”

“Like Elias and Megan Acorn, Amadeus and Rosemary Prower or Jet and Wave? Fused into one monstrosity that probably put their minds into a blender and made a gestalt brain?” Nack chuckled. “You know Unit Storm actually told me a theory that’s been going around, that those who were fused got that way because they both mutated right when they were ‘making the beast with two backs’ and they became one literally. Seemed quiet when I asked what he thought his old buddies were doing at the time.”

“That’s just a baseless rumor,” Lyco said focusing on the cross hairs. “Between the broodmothers and that story we’re all going to become a bunch of prudes.” Lyco fired and took down her target.

“Well hope this works for you, now I’d like to get back to…"

“Actually, part of why This Unit asked for your help was that Unit Lupe was wondering if you wanted to join the pack,” Lyco said. “She said your mother used to babysit her, Lobo and the other pups in their pack before she married…”

“This Unit doesn’t remember my folks fondly,” Fang snarled. “My father was a control freak who cared more about his legacy than me, and mom, mom just a shrinking violet who never took a side ever.”

“I know you haven’t gotten along with someone in your family in a long time, heck you once poisoned a gang made up of your own cousins to save yourself. But there must have been someone who stood by you at some point, someone who you felt you could tell anything to…"

Nack shutdown the holographic jungle. “This Unit knows what you’re getting at and I don’t need therapy; all I need is a target and a clear shot.”

“Tell me about Nicolette!” Lyco said suddenly. “This Unit heard rumors but, as a twin I find it hard to believe that you would put a price on her head.”

Nack growled. “She acted like she was so damn perfect, the better shot, the better merc, the better person. Yeah, she never worked for Eggman and had a soft spot for sob stories like that Ray kid and Fiona. But she enjoyed the violence while for me it just a job, but even with that some folks say she was a saint who only took out ‘the bad guys’ and was like the mother that fox girl never had. Truth is though Fiona didn’t leave her to be a freedom fighter, Nic betrayed her in some way only they could tell you about, not that they’re talking now, can’t count on anyone indeed. It’s always been Nic’s the merc with a heart of gold and Nack’s the guy Sally kicked in the crotch that one time. So please, shut it.”

The she-wolf groaned. “I just wanted to talk to someone who’d understand. I know what you’re going through, I lost a twin sister to the curse too, so I know you miss…”

Nack’s telescopic right optic zoomed in on the wolf. “This, Unit, does, not, miss.”

“You missed Sonic a bunch.”

“I didn’t have what I do now. Anyway, like I said I don’t remember my folks fondly, Nic most of all.”

“You still feel her, don’t you?!” Nack stopped dead in his tracks. “Like part of you is still corrupted, that it’s stalking you, trying to drag you back with it! You know logically you can’t be made into their servant, but you feel like the Old Ones have a piece of you and you feel it like a phantom limb! You feel that since you were both born of the “same flesh”, as long your twin is their pawn, you’re at war with half of yourself!”

Nack turned around. “How did…”

“I know because I feel the same way! Leeta and I never had any mystic bond or anything people sometime equate with twins, but we spent our whole lives together! The look on her face when the world roboticizer was activated… I convinced her it was still me despite the steel but then before my eyes… she was twisted into a monster! And as strange as it was, I could feel what she was going through, the sheer agony of it, though thankfully I couldn’t hear the Old Ones through her. She used the last bit of her free will to tell me run, before she started trying to destroy me. We had our fights before, but we always made up and stood together. Now half the time I can barely hold myself together. Then Unit Lupe found out about your mother, we’re all sorry about what happened to her oh so long ago and if we can begrudgingly accept Drago’s help then there’s a place in our family for you too. You and Nic couldn’t have always been enemies, she had to have been your first friend.”

Nack’s first instinct was to slap her but there was something about her optics at that moment, reminded him of an innocence that was long, long gone. “Thick as thieves, that’s what Mom called us. As little kids, there was nothing more we loved than playing together and getting into mischief. Pops though, he had ambitions for us and thought we were squandering our potential. In that house we began to see it that way and the more we did the less we saw each other best friends and the more we began to see each other as rivals. By the time of Robotinick’s takeover made him lose everything we’d already ran away and went our separate ways, the only thing we were willing to put aside our differences for was a big payday, a payday like the one that had her working with the Hooligans, the day everything went to hell.

“It was a smash and grab, Eggaman offered a big reward to get some Chaos Emeralds from GUN and bring them back, we lied to Nic about the buyer. So Robotnik was trying to take over the world again, so what? He paid me for errands, he failed every time, and hired me for stuff again.

"So, we went into the base, scrapped with Team Dark, then suddenly me and Bean became bots, but we kept our free will somehow. Everyone was surprised and cautious of us for a few moments then things really turned south. Bark, Rouge and Nic began changing in front of us, Shadow ordered Omega to fall back and kept saying he was sorry he couldn’t help the bat as she cried while sprouting more wings and her eyes atrophied away. Bark as seemed to be arguing with voices in his head and Nic, the last time I saw her that scared was just before Pop gave us both the biggest spanking of our young lives. Strange as it was, I felt like I could feel what was happening and for first time in ages I felt… pity for her. I know I was surprised too, I thought the only thing I could do was put them all out of their misery, but Bean wanted to save them, we got into an argument the next thing I knew…” Nack touched his replacement right optic. “My sister gave me this. We were forced to abandon them but ever since it felt like there was a target on my back, one that the thing that was once my sister always had in her sights. We never had any mystic connection or anything like that, I’m surprised after hating each other for so long I feel this way. Especially since we weren’t identical twins like the two of you were.”

Lyco put her hand over her chest. “But you shared a womb with her, you came into the world together, grew up together. And though the two of you drifted apart so much, you could never erase that bond. But this Unit trusts Unit Sally, even if we can never find a way to grant them the gift of the titans one day, we’ll be able to give our sisters their minds back. Until then, the invitation to join the pack is still open.”

Nack sighed “This Unit isn’t saying he’ll join, but there shouldn’t be any harm if giving it a go.” As they began to leave Nack touched Lyco. “Do you really think we can reunite with our siblings?”

Lyco displayed a hologram of a set of stars from her palm. “Back when This Unit was flesh, my sister and I heard a very old human myth. There were two brothers named Castor and Pollux, the sons of a queen and the god Zeus. One day the unruly brothers sought to steal the herds of their rivals out of revenge for an earlier slight and Castor was killed when they were found. Pollux, an immortal, pleaded with his father for death to be with Castor in underworld. While Zeus could not kill his son, he was able to give half of Pollux’s immortality to Castor and the two would spend half the year in the underworld and the other half among the gods. Zeus had also hung their images among the stars so the world would forever remember their bond, this was the origin the constellation the Humans call Gemini, or the twins. We always took it as a sign that even if we were ever separated, even if never see each other again part of us would always be with the other. Maybe someday, that could make all the difference.”

Nack gave a nod and the two robians left the firing range.

+++

The servants of the Old Ones rooted through the forest of mutated fungus. There was something here their masters told them, something that could be used against or by the masters’ enemies. Two of the creatures found a glint in the dirt and dug up the spot to find a seed, somehow it was both synthetic and organic at the same time.

The Old Ones reached into their minds, this “Krudzu” as it was once called could be the key to restore the curse of flesh to the enemy. They were ordered to return to hive city so it may be studied by those whose knowledge the Old Ones could exploit. As they went back and the Old Ones were quiet for a time each thought that somehow this brought them closer to recovering a half they were missing, a half that must either be restored or destroyed.