Starlis stepped into the room, eyes drifting over the other Fankids already inside. A few she recognized from the Meet and Greet last night, a few from the hallways. She noticed a few of the girls looked more ...shapely than her... The hybrid tugged on her sports top in discomfort, wishing she had something... she didn't know, that looked nicer than her old sports top. It was really the only sports bra that fit well that she had packed.
Starlis started wandering the massive room, watching her fellow fankids exercise and simply chat while warming up. There were several others here, even if it was past 8 in the morning.
There was a Goat mobian at the leg press; he seemed more interested in watching people than doing presses, but he might just be taking a break. She kept moving, seeing a rather interesting scene ahead. A young mobian... a really young girl, she didn't look any older than 5, was holding an entire weight set, barbells and everything, over her head and was walking around. A light blue hedgehog was perched on top of it, begging to be let down. "Please, Star, put me down," he whimpered.
The girl, whom she now noticed looked like a Squid/Hedgehog hybrid but with yellow antenna, didn't say anything, but Starlis swore she heard a "Nuh uh Cop, you were being rude!" from somewhere. Starlis kept walking, trying not to laugh as the scene played out, the boy giving her a desperate look before she got too far away.
As she passed the chaos sparring rooms on her way to the gun range, Starlis paused to watch two fankids she had met last night inside. The older hedgehog, Raiden, was walking through a chaos spear trick for Spectre, who was carefully trying to replicate the move. There was a great deal of energy sparking off the Chaos spear, but when he threw it, it made it about 4 feet before exploding with a loud whump. Spectre stumbled back from it, obviously woozy from the failed attempt.
The lavender/grey hedgehog caught the stumbling chameleon and led him over to sit into a meditation pose before joining the now panting chameleon into what she assumed was some sort of replenishing chaos trick.
'Yeah, best not to bother them.' She thought as she walked away, giving them their privacy.
After a few more moments of searching, she spotted the gun range and headed straight for it. As she approached, she heard someone calling out her name, "Yo! Starlis!" It was another member of the 'Shadow Collective' she had met the night before, Sapphire the Hedgehog. "Good morning, Sapphire." She greeted the blue hedgehog, who waved her over with a toothy smile. "Mornin', girl. Up for a little shooting competition?" The mobian asked as they stepped inside the range prep room.
"Welcome to the Arena's gun range, would you like a shooting stall or a training course?" The bored-looking white cat said from her place behind the counter.
"What do ya think, Star? You up for a lil fun?" Sapphire said with a mischievous grin. Starlis smirked, tapping her glasses into goggles mode. "Let's go, Saph."
"Alright, you want a training course." The white cat sighed before turning to face them. "Firing Range training course One is open, It'll take us a few to set up so go ahead and gear up."
"May I use my custom pistol?" Starlis asked as Sapphire went to change into her 'Adventuring clothes'.
The cat didn't even look up from her computer screen. "Yeah, sure, just no using lethal ammo please."
"Makes sense." Starlis muttered as she signed out her pistol, BackTalk. She quickly checked the pistol over before sliding it into its holster and strapping it to her thigh before heading towards a chair to get Hyperspeed on her feet. It'd be weird to her to not have her custom extreme gear while training.
Several minutes later, Sapphire emerged from the changing room in her leotard and thigh-high extreme gear boots. Her mouth split into a grin when she saw Starlis's expression. "Nice, huh?" She asked, holding up her left leg to show off the boot's detailing. It reminded Starlis of her Baba Shadow's shoes a bit, but in white.
"...why?" Starlis asked finally, her face screwed up in a mixture of horror and awe as she took in the rest of the outfit: Red scarf, black arm-warmers, and white gloves.
Sapphire grinned even wider. "Why not?" she answered with a wink before sitting to talk while they waited for the range to be ready.
"Alright, this is your safety briefing, if you break any of the rules the course will be automatically shut down and you will be asked to leave." The cat stated "Rule 1: Always assume weapons are loaded, Always. 2. Do not aim your weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot. 3. Keep your finger off the trigger unless shooting. 4: All targets are holographic so once you strike them they will vanish. 5: If you shoot your teammate, the scenario will end instantly." The cat listed off with the bored tone of someone who has done this many times. "Understand?" She asked the two girls, her eyes looking between them as she spoke.
Both girls nodded and signed the waiver forms.
"Great, Head on in then." The cat pointed at a large door that looked like a walk-in freezer. "Miss Sapphire, your requested pistols are waiting on a weapons rack inside."
Firing Range - Training Course One
The large heavy door swung shut behind the duo as they walked into the arena. The room looked like an office space of some sort, perhaps a financial firm with a city skyline view. There was a red 'EXIT' sign glowing to their right, down a corridor, while the sound of talking came from their left.
"Unknown hostile forces are attacking the city," A robotic female voice said from hidden speakers all around them "You must battle these enemies and protect innocent civilians."
Starlis blinked a few times, trying to get a handle on just what they were going to have to go against. 'Some kind of army?' She thought to herself. This was pretty much the type of thing she'd expect from one of GUN's training rooms, given that most of their exercises were set up in the same manner: Obstacles, hostiles, and objectives... only difference being that GUN wouldn't pull punches in their 'training'.
'Nothing to worry about here... I think.' Starlis told herself, trying to take some deep breaths as she adjusted her pistol grip on her holster. She glanced over at Sapphire as she considered what might come next.
Sapphire, meanwhile, had found her pistols and was eagerly inspecting them, oohing and awwing as she did so, before putting their holsters on and securing them. "These are like daddy's! Nice!"
"Your Bab-I mean, Your Shadow... Gaia, it's weird to say Baba's name and mean someone else..." Starlis caught herself and shook her head with a sigh. "He uses pistols?"
"Yep," Sapphire said as she finished getting her guns in place and looked at Starlis. "So, ready?"
Starlis couldn't help but let out a chuckle at how excited Sapphire was to start the training course, her own mood lightening. "Let's do this." She said with a smile as she readied her pistol and got into position.
An emergency broadcast broke through on speakers located around the building. "ATTENTION, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY BROADCAST, AN UNKNOWN FORCE IS ATTACKING THE CITY, ALL CITIZENS ARE TO SEEK SHELTER," the automated voice warned. It continued, "REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A TEST, SEEK SHELTER NOW."
"Ready when you are, Star," Sapphire replied with a smile.
Starlis drew her pistol and began to move, "Mission, start."
The duo moved through the darkened cubicles, their weapons at the ready and their eyes scanning for any threats. Both of them were alert, but neither seemed tense, only focused. They were both checking for hostlies or civilians in this maze of desks and office supplies. "Anything?" Sapphire asked quietly after a moment as she checked around a corner for any danger. "No." Starlis replied in kind as they moved out into the open again. "Nothing yet."
Suddenly there was a crash in another room, followed by yelling coming from somewhere ahead of them. They sprinted towards the noise. "HELP! LET ME GO!!" someone screamed. It sounded like a male voice in pain.
The girls exchanged a glance and raced faster. As they reached the end of the hallway where it turned left, they stopped and peeked around the corner, only to see some sort of black figure holding a male mobian with golden fur by the neck. It was something both girls had only seen photos of.
A dark alien species that attacked the planet, led by Black Doom, over two decades ago, for Starlis. One of the few real attacks on their planet.
The black armored creature was big, muscular and covered head to toe in jet black armored plates that looked like it was part of his body. Its face was hidden behind a mask but there were three red eyes glowing through the slits. The creature was easily 8ft tall and looked to weigh about 300 pounds or more.
It turned toward them with a snarl, hissing loudly. "Put him down," Starlis demanded without flinching. She hoped it understood English, these were clearly based on GUN training scenarios.
It threw the mobian it was holding at Sapphire, forcing her to catch him as Starlis opened fire on it. She swore under her breath when the creature showed no ill effect from the shots, barely even reacting to her striking his arm and chest.
It swung an arm at the hybrid girl, narrowly missing her and forcing her backward. She pulled the trigger again, this time setting the pistol to 'heavy', sending a charged shot at its chest. The shot hit like a truck, sending the creature stumbling back with a grunt. "Hmmpff... " The thing hissed angrily.
Starlis smirked. 'That's what I thought you'd do, big boy.' She aimed her weapon at its head and pulled the trigger again. Another powerful energy bullet flew out of the barrel of her gun, smashing into the thing's helmet, breaking it apart and sending it reeling backward before vanishing in a burst of static.
'Woo,' Starlis sighed, shaking her head. "Are you both alright?" She asked Sapphire and the Mobian she had just saved. The Mobian gave a thumbs up before vanishing like the creature before.
"Eh, I've had worse," Sapphire said, shrugging her shoulders. "Let's keep going." They continued forward, following the sound of gunfire.
The duo continued down the building, rescuing several more holographic civilians from Black Warriors, before being faced with a choice: Stairs or an Elevator?
"The stairs are going to be blocked somehow, probably trying to lead us into an ambush. " Starlis muttered. "However, the elevator could also be an ambush..."
"Hmm... I'd say take the stairs. The elevators seem too obvious. That's where everyone will go," Sapphire suggested, "Plus if they decide to drop it..." She mimed something dropping from the sky and exploding.
"Good call," Starlis muttered and led the way up the stairwell. It was quiet in here, eerily quiet. "Keep alert," Starlis said, looking around warily as they crept down the steps towards the 'Safe Room' as the sign said.
They reached the landing before the third floor, when another Black Arm warrior emerged from an emergency exit. This one was bigger than the last and seemed more heavily armored.
"Hey, ugly!" Sapphire shouted and fired at it as it lunged toward them. The shot hit its shoulder plate, barely even slowing it down. "Oh, crap! Look out!" Starlis yelled as the beast swung an arm at her.
Sapphire spun under the creature's swing and dove behind it through the emergency door it had emerged. She popped up with both pistols blazing, shooting rapidly as she backed away. The creature turned and roared angrily, trying to follow after her, but Starlis charged it, spin-dashing into its knee with enough force to cause a loud crunch followed by an inhuman roar of pain.
It staggered sideways, tripping over its injured limb and tumbling down the stairs with a loud thud. It vanished as it reached the next landing.
"Okay... so they're a lot tougher than I thought," Sapphire breathed out heavily as she reloaded her weapons. "But we can still take them." She looked over at Starlis, smiling confidently.
Starlis' gaze was drawn down the stairs, the last few floors until the safety zone. "We need to make it to the safe room; that should end the scenario."
"What, you're not having fun?" Sapphire asked sarcastically, grinning widely. "Besides, what's the worst thing that could happen to us?"
"...you've never heard of the concept of speaking too soon?" Starlis asked before starting down the next flight. 'A very GUN-like setup, too...' She thought to herself, carefully eyeing her surroundings.
Starlis and Sapphire walked warily down the stairs, checking every corner for hostiles. The stairs ended at the ground floor, the 'Safe Room' pointing off to their right. "Alright, let's go," Starlis said quietly, holding her weapon tight as she walked toward the exit. She saw the sign indicating that they were close now. The safe zone was directly ahead, and beyond that were the doors outside. Once out there, they'd be home free. Just then, an explosion rocked the building, causing Starlis to stumble a bit as she regained her footing.
A roar drowned out the sound of the explosion, and Starlis knew exactly what was coming. "Ohhhhhhhh fu-" She cried out as a Black Oak strolled in, several Warriors backing it up.
"We got incoming!" Sapphire shouted, taking aim and firing several shots into one warrior's head, sending it vanishing in a burst of static.
Starlis ducked under the swipe of a Warrior's arm before spinning with a sweeping kick, catching the warrior's leg with her tail. She dove away from another swing and kicked the leg out from under it, sending the alien sprawling down to land flat on its face.
"Hey! Leave Starlis alone!" Sapphire yelled and charged the downed creature with both weapons blazing, shooting wildly into its back as it tried to right itself.
The Black Oak hissed, drawing a large spiked hammer from its back as it charged Sapphire. The other two Warriors stalked towards Starlis, causing her to curse under her breath.
Sapphire fired off several more rounds into the Oak, who blocked them with his massive weapon before slamming the hammer into the ground, sending a shockwave of force and rock towards the blue hedgehog. She rolled out of the way just in time to avoid the rocks thrown up by the attack and fired off another volley at the huge alien. Her bullets hit his armored chest, causing him to growl in irritation. The creature roared as he prepared to charge her again, only this time he found his charge halted by an unexpected Warrior blocking it. It was knocked away enough that Sapphire could get up and retreat.
"Over here, ugly!" Starlis yelled at the creature, "Saph, switch!"
"Switch!" Sapphire yelled in return, diving past her, firing at her pair of warriors to swap targets. Starlis spun her pistol up and shot the approaching Oak as it bore down on her with a loud hiss.
Starlis jumped backwards, using Hyperspeed to spike herself away and turn to face the oak from a distance. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep using her pistol, so she did the only other thing she could think of: she drew upon the Chaos in her veins and declared "CHAOS SPEAR!"
A series of chaotic blue spears shot out from Starlis's hands as she 'Threw' them, streaking through the air towards the monster. It tried to dodge, but they tracked it perfectly, striking it dead center and causing it to drop to its knees as it vanished. Starlis smirked, her tail swaying triumphantly behind her, before the Chaos slipped from her grasp, forcing her to stagger and gasp for breath. 'Gaia, that took a LOT out of me...' She panted as she stared at the empty space where the Black Oak had been. Her vision was blurry, and the world was spinning around her. 'Fuck, that took A LOT outta me...'. The next thing she knew, she was on the floor, feeling like she was gonna vomit from the way her stomach felt...
The familiar sound of pistols firing snapped her out of her reverie, and she forced herself to look up just in time to see the last Black Warrior get a shot directly between its eyes, disappearing as well.
Sapphire was panting hard, her hands shaking visibly as she holstered her weapons. "You ok?" she asked Starlis.
Starlis stood shakily, taking a deep breath, trying to shake off her weariness as she did so before finally standing upright. "Yeah... yeah, I'm fine," She muttered, wincing slightly at how her head ached. Sapphire nodded wordlessly as they moved into the safe zone.
As the door clicked shut behind them and the 'SAFE ZONE' sign flashed green, the arena flashed brightly, and Starlis and Sapphire appeared back in the prep room. "First run, completed. Combat score, 78 out of 100. Congratulations." The robot voice said as they exited the now-open exit door, both girls receiving a piece of paper from the white cat as they emerged, giving a printout of their run's metrics.
"Huh, not bad. Could be better, but not too bad," Starlis mumbled as she looked over her sheet, noting that Sapphire's run had scored slightly higher. "You kicked ass out there. What were your Chaos powers?" Starlis asked curiously, glancing at Sapphire as she holstered her pistols.
"Well... I don't really have any, per se," admitted Sapphire sheepishly. "...Just some basic super strength. Not nearly as impressive as what you can do."
"Well, yeah, but... I couldn't do that without a bit of training from my dads, and besides, being able to punch someone through a concrete wall is nothing to scoff at. You gotta give yourself some credit there..," Starlis replied earnestly. She noted that the timer on the sign above the exit read a little less than an hour left in the morning slot, "Want to go watch Raiden and Spectre? They should be wrapping up their training session in the chaos sparring rooms."
"Yeah, sounds good," Sapphire replied with a smile.
Hallways - Approaching Chaos Sparring Room
As they headed down the halls to the Chaos Training Room, they could hear a muffled explosion from down the hall. "Wow. Someone's having fun," Sapphire commented idly, earning a soft chuckle from Starlis. "Sounds like it. Do you know Raiden and Spectre?" she asked, glancing over at the younger girl.
Sapphire shook her head. "Nah. Only in passing; we've talked once or twice during the Meet and Greet."
"I see... well, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to get acquainted during the tournament, one way or the other," Starlis replied as they approached the viewing window into the Chaos Sparring Room. Inside, Spectre and Raiden were engaged in a furious flurry of strikes and blocks as they traded blows, while a few other kids watched on and cheered. She could have sworn that she saw Shade in that crowd...
"It's so weird that they're actually using their powers," Sapphire said wistfully. "I kinda wish I could do something cool too."
"Don't worry about it, Saph. Everyone's got their own special talents," Starlis consoled her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're just as awesome as the rest of us." She smiled. "Now come on, let's go watch these two duke it out."
"Right." Sapphire grinned. With that, they stepped through the door to the training room, just as Raiden launched an attack on Spectre. A quick burst of lightning erupted around the lavender-colored hedgehog, blasting the chameleon across the room. He rolled to absorb some of the impact and sprang back to his feet, throwing an energy blast of his own at Raiden, who nimbly ducked under it.
Raiden ducked low to the ground and charged forward at breakneck speeds, spinning into a ball and jumping up at the last second to strike Spectre in the chest with a powerful kick. Spectre was sent flying backward through the air, slamming hard against the far wall before slumping down onto the matting, "I-I yield... ughh..."
"Oh shit!" Starlis swore and hurried over to where Spectre was. "Are you okay?" Starlis asked frantically. "Spectre?!" The chameleon blinked as he came to. "Uh... what happened?"
"I'm so sorry," Raiden apologized. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard. I got a little carried away."
Starlis gave her a concerned look.
"It's fine, I guess." The chameleon stood up shakily. "I'm good. I just can't believe you beat me again," Spectre groaned. "You're really strong."
"Eh, I wouldn't go that far," Raiden replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "I mean, yeah, I'm pretty tough, but... I've got 5 years on you, too."
"True." Spectre conceded, taking Starlis's offered hand to get to his feet. "So... wanna spar again?"
The three girls standing around him looked at him like he was crazy. "You just got bounced like a rubber ball across the room..." Starlis pointed out.
"Ahhh, don't worry about me." Spectre waved it off. "I've been through worse." His expression changed to a grimace when Starlis cleared her throat, looking meaningfully towards the first aid kit nearby. Spectre opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "Don't. Let me look at you."
"Alright, alright, fine." Spectre sighed as he followed her over to the small medical locker, where Starlis began inspecting his injuries. They weren't much worse than a few bruises, but still... "Hmmm, doesn't seem too bad," Starlis commented after applying some cream. "Just a couple of bumps and scrapes."
"Geez, are you one of my dads now?" Spectre complained. "Cuz I sure as hell don't remember asking you to look after me." Starlis gave him a stern glare that silenced any further complaints from him. "Better," she muttered.
"She has a pretty good Shadow face, maybe we should enter her in the 'Grump Face' contest," Sapphire joked, earning a snort from Raiden and a poke from Starlis as she walked back over from tending to Spectre.
In the end, it wasn't long before everyone else left the area, heading off to the cafeteria or other parts of the Arena. Raiden, Sapphire, Spectre, and Starlis were heading for lunch. "So... How's everyone else?" Starlis asked, breaking the silence.
"I'm doing alright," Sapphire answered cheerfully. "I heard someone saying that our parents and friends can visit us tomorrow in the arena." Starlis grinned at this. "Really? Well, that'll definitely be interesting. I kinda hope my Baba doesn't get too protective..." Starlis chuckled nervously.
Raiden made a snorting sound, rolling her eyes. "That'll be interesting. I've never even really been around my Shadow... The person who raised me... the closest thing I have to a parent..." Her voice trailed off, her eyes drifting down towards the floor. "...Shadow was... is a jackass. I dunno why anyone thinks of him as a good father figure, when all he did for me was send me to my Sonic..."
The other three looked at her, expressions full of sympathy. Starlis was the first to speak up. "I'm sorry..." she said softly.
"Nah, it's fine. It just kinda... sucks sometimes. But hey, I'm over it, I got my Sonic! And he's been more of a parent to me than Shadow ever was..." She shook her head, "At least that's in the past now. Anyway, whatcha guys want for lunch?" She asked cheerily, looking over the menu posted on the wall next to them.
"Woah..." Starlis gaped at the sheer variety on offer. "There's so much on here! I don't even know what half of this stuff even is..."
"...Pancakes for lunch?!" Sapphire's exclamation rang out as she spotted the food in question, drawing laughs from the others. "I'm getting that. Anyone else?"
Spectre chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Sure. Count me in."
"Not me, I want to try that curry, actually," Raiden said, pointing to one of the dishes listed near the top of the page.
"Hmm..." Starlis read through the menu. "I think... I'll try these sandwiches..." She replied after a moment. "Maybe the steak ones?"
"Well, I'm getting breakfast food," Sapphire stated. "It's pancakes for lunch!"
The four split off to make their orders and meet up again once everyone has their food, finding a spot to sit at a table in the corner. As they sat, Spectre let out a low whistle. "Man... So many Fankids, and even more coming tomorrow... I'm kinda anxious about seeing the fam in the middle of this mess..."
"Ha, that's one way to put it," Raiden laughed. "I can't wait to see what Dad says when he finds out I'm participating in the tournament!"
"Well, we'll know soon enough. After all, the competition starts tomorrow!" Sapphire added.
The four ate in a comfortable silence, enjoying the time together before they'd have to get back to preparing for the competition. Starlis had ordered a very nice steak sandwich, with plenty of veggies and a generous spread of hot peppers. Sapphire, meanwhile, was happily munching on a stack of pancakes topped with maple syrup, butter, whipped cream, strawberries, and banana slices.
Finally finished with their meals, the group made their way out of the cafeteria and into the hallways to return to the Training Area. "So... anyone want to train some more?" Spectre asked.
Harlo Robotnik (by @xinnamonbun and @halastar05)
Spectre the Chameleon (by @funkyfandomlover)
Starlis Maria Hedgehog (by @dragolord19delta)
Copper H Robotnik (by @rottenpills16)
Raiden the Hedgehog (by @mintypsych)
Sapphire the Hedgehog (by @basilbunnycreachers)
Star Hedgehog (by @heroictoonz)
I hope I did everyone's awesome fankids justice...
