ARAAT5: Resurrection

~~~

A Rose And A Thorn 5: Resurrection

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

~~~

Harley: Aha! I mean... um... well, you get the idea.

Froggy: What Harley means is that... well, here we are. More interesting stuff. Interactions between Mirage and Quilla and Eggman and Rouge and all that. Some parts are a bit dull... but don’t you worry. You’ll enjoy it anyway.

~~~

Chapter Four: Freak

The sound of metal striking metal echoed down the corridors and through the rooms of Eggman's base, blending with the sound of motors and humming computers. Quilla entered the inner sanctum of the insane doctor, giving himself one final check for any spots of soot or blood that he had missed. Then he used a wire brush on his metal parts to make sure they shone. Washing yourself as a cybernetic organism had some unique difficulties. Then again, being a cyborg changed a lot of things, "Doctor, I'm back,” he called out.

"Hmm?" Eggman looked up, "Ah, Quilla... did you get GUN's attention?" he asked, looking up from a chart of chemicals that made about as much sense to the average person as hieroglyphics do to the Japanese.

"I'm sure it’s all over the news right now,” the echidna told him casually as he took a seat. He sighed in relief; the weight of his mechanical parts were exhausting, "It was a complete success,” he added, "I left no soldiers alive. Their weapons were nothing compared to the ones you gave me. That, plus my training, ensured my success."

"Good to hear, good to hear," Eggman flicked his attention between Quilla and the chart, "I equipped you for survival in this violent world, and it's good to see that my efforts were not wasted on you. What about..." his face twisted up slightly, "The hedgehogs? Did they show up?"

"Yes, they did,” Quilla replied with a nod, "But I was gone before they could see me. And... she was there also. The clone," he looked down at the floor, seeming to become smaller as he remembered her, "She wasn't what I expected."

"What did you expect?" Eggman asked absently, deeply absorbed in the charts. He moved on to one that from a distance, looked a little like a robotic duplicate of Shadow, whom Quilla remembered perfectly, just like everything else.

Quilla shook his head, "I expected... a machine. Some sort of drone. Not something so close to how Mirage was. This one, she's not just a tool, not some unthinking killer. She, like the one before her, is a thinking, feeling being. Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps she is just another victim of GUN, not another foe to slay," reaching up with his organic hand, he rubbed his face, "And I remember how she looked at me; the horror and disgust. She thinks I'm hideous."

Crap, he's actually thinking for himself, Eggman snarled in his head, "Well, she isn't a machine," he said, "She's a clone. A clone with feelings and emotions identical to that of your beloved Mirage - but one that has allowed herself to work for GUN. She did not attack you because she did not have orders to attack you. When she returns to her employers with her information, they will surely order her to capture you for testing. Echidnas are supposed to be extinct, you know. And they'll take my machines and twist them for their own purposes. As for how she looked at you... can you really blame her?"

"No, I can't,” Quilla muttered, looking down at his mechanical parts, the scars, "I am hideous. I'm a freak, a monster. But still... this disfigurement has given me greater power than I suspected. The strength to crush bones with ease, jump jets to let me leap across rooftops, blaster and twin daggers to shred my foes, the targeting system and sensors... It’s almost enough to make me ask for you to replace the other arm."

"Is that what you want?" Eggman asked him, "I'll do it, if it is what you desire."

"No,” Quilla called out with a sharp shake of his head, "It would make me more powerful, and it would probably make me look better to be encased in steel, but I don't want to become just another machine. My scars, my weakness, they remind me of who I am and why I do this. Besides... I've had this arm for a while. I'm kind of attached to it," the echidna smiled grimly.

Eggman scowled and turned back to his plans, "As you know, Project Mirage was a formidable fighter. This clone will also be extremely dangerous. She will not stand for your plan to bring down GUN. She will fight you. You would be best to remove her from the picture as soon as possible. Her allies too. They'll all get in your way."

"I will not kill her unless I absolutely have to, Doctor,” Quilla insisted, "Perhaps she will get in the way. When it happens, I will end her life, but until that time, she is another victim I will be protecting from the real monsters."

Eggman rolled his eyes. Mirage, alive or dead, was of no real consequence. What was really annoying was that the echidna was still thinking for himself, "You're allowing a murderous imitation of your dead lover to continue soiling her name with murder and treachery?" he shrugged, "It's up to you. But moving away from the clone... GUN are proving themselves dangerous. I believe they intend to take control from the government." It was something he knew Quilla wanted to believe. It wouldn't be hard to convince him.

Eggman's beliefs were confirmed when Quilla snorted in disgust, "I'm surprised that it has taken them this long to get around to it. Guess they were too busy playing God. So Doctor, what do you propose we do to stop them?"

"Stop them?" Eggman sneered, "My personal suggestion is that we do not simply stop them - we crush them! Destroy them utterly! A few soldiers here and there, the occasional midnight detonation... that's not going to stop a military organisation like GUN. It must be done from the inside. Take down their most powerful officers, and then when the upper echelon lies in ruins, crush what remains!" his eyes glinted madly, "You will have your revenge, echidna, and I will have mine."

"And then you will fill in that nice power vacuum left in their wake,” spoke the echidna cynically. He wasn't as dumb as Eggman would have liked him to be. He shrugged. He didn't care what Eggman did afterwards as long as he had his revenge, "Killing the leaders is a good idea. It'll certainly throw GUN into chaos for a while."

"I see you don't trust me, Quilla," Eggman sounded hurt, "I, who saved your life. True, it was not entirely out of the kindness of my heart... but I knew your pain before I awakened you. I am your friend - just as long as you are mine."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Doctor,” Quilla replied with a smile. It hurt to smile, but he did it anyway for appearances, "So, the leaders. You want me to kill them. How do I get close enough to them to do this?"

"There is one way that I have thought up so far," Eggman replied, "And it is not easy. It involves doing enough damage to GUN that they call a meeting of superiors. I can find out when that is held and arrange for a little disruption to be added," he chuckled, "The other part is to find somebody who has access to GUN's upper ranks. This is the easy part. There are several people I can suggest."

"Well, start suggesting,” said the echidna, looking carefully at his mechanical hand, "If GUN really is determined to establish global control, we don't have much time."

"Rouge the Bat. This secret agent is privy to some of the government's most sensitive information. It wouldn't be hard to get information on GUN from her," Eggman continued, "Project Shadow despises GUN, and would be easily persuaded to help you. In fact, he'd probably volunteer. And of course, Project Mirage is in a similar position to Rouge."

Quilla tapped a finger against his chin thoughtfully, "Shadow would have reason to hate GUN, yes, but I remember him as a loose cannon, too powerful for his own good. As for Mirage 2.0... No. I'll have to confront this Rouge character, and see what information I can get from her."

"You can gain her trust, or you can do it the quick and dirty way and beat the information out of her," the doctor smirked, "Rouge the Bat owns Club Rouge as a cover for her operations. Oh, and she is currently dating Sonic the Hedgehog. There is one sure-fire way to gain her trust - help her steal the Master Emerald. She'll give you all the information you want after that."

"Club Rouge. Master Emerald,” the echidna repeated, storing them to his perfect memory. If Rouge was motivated by greed, then perhaps he should appeal to that. Not everything had to be solved with brute force, after all, "That will be most useful. Thank you, Doctor. I will get to work on this at once."

~~~

Earth was still fresh and new to Quilla, but he understood people well. He knew of their darker desires, their repressed animal side that rattled the cage, wishing to be free. It was the same in all times and places, from the ancient Echidna Empire to the modern age, and like back then, the present day had places which allowed people to indulge in that side of themselves, anonymous under the cover of the night. Club Rouge was one of these places.

The echidna walked across the damp pavement towards the brightly lit club, people lined up to enter, the music loud and beating in his chest even from out there. He stepped into the crowded line, patiently waiting his turn to enter, hidden among the masses. He was just another customer, dressed in a long trenchcoat, gloves, and sunglasses. He paid close attention as the line moved along, his scanner eye noting that many of the customers were carrying concealed weapons. Expensive bribes to the bouncers allowed them to smuggle the weapons inside.

The bouncer stopped him, "Any weapons, sir?" he asked, in a polite way that suggested things could get very impolite if Quilla tried anything stupid.

Quilla knew that if he had to, he could tear the bouncer literally limb from limb, but that was not the kind of attention he wanted, "Now what would an upstanding citizen like me be doing bring weapons to a club?" he asked politely as he slid the bouncer a wad of bills provided by the Doctor. Technically, his mechanical parts weren't always weapons, but they would still draw unwanted attention if he were frisked.

When he entered the Club, the music was so loud that it was almost a physical force. Two scantily clad rabbit twins were dancing on the stage to a chorus of cat-calls and whistles, alternately using the poles and each other as props.

Quilla lingered near the stage for a little while, his gaze locked at the two girls, acting like he was really interested in them. Asides from blending in more, it also gave him a chance to learn the layout of the club and to observe the various inside, determining who could be a threat to him. After several minutes of acting as the horny clubber, the echidna slipped through the crowd towards the bar, taking an empty stool as his own and discreetly ordering a drink. Nursing it, taking a sip everyone once in a while for the sake of appearances, the warrior plotted his next step to meeting the club owner. Judging from what the doctor had told him, this ‘Rouge’ wasn't just the manager of the club, "Hey bartender,” he called out, "Do you know if Rouge is going to dance tonight?"

"Sorry buddy, Miss Rouge hasn't danced for a few weeks," the bartender told him, "Haven't you heard? She's pregnant. But the new girls get their tryouts on Saturday nights - and if they're good enough, they come back. You'll see somebody else you like."

Quilla smirked, "I'm sure I will. Thanks." Well, so much for that idea. Still, Rouge had to be in the club, he just would have to take the more indirect route to her. Quilla left the bar and walked towards the back of the club where he suspected that Rouge's office would be. As he expected, there were bouncers guarding the entrance. Walking up to them confidently, he said, "Hello. I wish to speak with the manager of this establishment, if you don't mind."

"Sorry sir, come back when you have an appointment," the largest bouncer told him, "Sit down, enjoy the show. There's a new act on in a moment."

Not budging an inch, Quilla said, "Tell Miss Rouge that I have a business proposition for her involving something large, green and sparkly that she's wanted for a long time. She'll understand."

"Very well, sir," the smaller bouncer went inside the area labelled private, leaving Quilla staring down the largest bouncer, who was well over six feet tall, and almost as broad. Several minutes passed, before he returned, "You're lucky. She's got an appointment free and your offer interests her. You can go in." The two bouncers stood aside, letting him pass.

Quilla bowed his head respectfully, "Thank you." Standing tall again, the echidna stepped past them into the private area, his eyes searching the dim room for the bat.

Rouge was sipping some champagne and sitting at her private bar. She wasn't looking at him, "Hello, Mr 'weird guy in a hat'. You're offering me the Master Emerald... for something in return, I suppose."

It didn't feel right to hide himself from a business partner, and so Quilla slowly removed the sunglasses and hat covering his head. Walking toward the bat, he said, "Yes, that is the idea. I need information which only you can give me."

"Obviously..." Rouge chuckled, "Now, I'd simply love to know what makes you think you can take the Master Emerald when neither I nor Eggman can," she turned, "What - Knuckles?" she asked, shock registering. Then he stepped into the light and she realised that he wasn't Knuckles, "My gods..." She looked as if she was about to be sick.

Quilla grumbled under his breath, holding in the anger and frustration he felt. He knew he wasn't the most handsome guy around, but that didn't mean he wanted everyone to remind him that, "I don't know about any Knuckles... but yes, I can help you to steal the Master Emerald. You'll find that my skills in such matters are exceptional."

"Huh... the fact is that the Floating Island is a simple matter," Rouge had regained her calm, but she still looked at him with disgust. She eyed his metal additions, "I suppose you're saying that your... extra parts will help? The guardian of the Floating Island is a formidable opponent. He's the reason I've never been able to take the Emerald before. He displays martial arts skills matched only by his level of headstrong stupidity."

Carefully slipping the glove off his metal hand, Quilla snapped it up towards her, clinched into a fist, the twin blades extending along the barrel of his blaster, "Bang,” uttered the echidna, "I have a few surprises, yes. My own martial arts skills are quite formidable. I can keep the guardian busy while you snatch the emerald, I assure you."

"I must stress," Rouge said quietly, "I don't like high body counts. If you're going to help me, you're not to kill him. I just want the Emerald. And if you can't take him down without killing him... then you're not as good as you'd like to think yourself."

"Killing him is the last thing on my mind. He is not my enemy,” explained Quilla. The echidna tapped the barrel of the blaster right before retracting it, adding, "This blaster has a stun setting, after all." Standing tall and looking the bat in the eye, he asked, "So do we have a deal?"

"Humph..." Rouge laughed, "You're an echidna. They're supposed to be extinct. Except for Knuckles, Guardian of the Floating Island. He'd probably trust you on sight. All you'd have to do is engage him in conversation."

Quilla's one eye blinked, surprise evident on his scarred face, "The guardian is an echidna?" Suddenly, another memory from his past came easily to mind, that of a space capsule leaving the ARK, a newly hatched baby echidna inside...

"Just thought you should know," Rouge said, "You can change your mind now, if you like, and walk away. Because if we go all the way up there and you change your mind, I will personally reduce you to scrap metal with red stains on it."

"No,” replied Quilla with a sharp shake of his head, "All this does is give me even greater incentive to visit the Floating Island. I'll be going there even if you don't, so you might as well tag along."

"Right then... we have a deal," Rouge extended one large hand for Quilla to shake.

Quilla took it in his own, shaking it, being careful not to grip too tightly, "Name the time and place, and I'll meet you there,” he said.

He felt her shudder slightly at his touch, "Call back tomorrow afternoon. The club isn't open for lunch, so it should be empty. You'll get your information when I get my Emerald." He couldn't help but notice she hadn't even asked what information he wanted. Obviously she didn't care. She must really want that Emerald...

"Tomorrow it is,” said Quilla with a small smile, releasing her hand. Bowing slightly in the bat's direction, the echidna turned and quietly left her office, stepping past the bouncers and back into the club. A satisfied smile crossed his face painfully; things were going well. If everything went as planned, he would soon have the information on the GUN leaders and maybe some on his long lost child as well...

As he re-entered the club, he couldn't help but notice that the music had quieted, and the rabbit twins were leaving the stage. A stage hand came on and fixed a black horizontal bar between the two poles at about six feet up, and the DJ spoke up over the loudspeakers, "Time for a couple of dedications. From Bobby to Katrina, ‘The tests came back, and everything is cool’. And from Sharleen to Kyle, ‘You thieving, murderous bastard, if I ever see you again, I'll rip out your eyes and chew off your ears’. Man, if that don't just tug at my heart strings. Now, you can look but don’t touch, let's have all eyes on the new girl, Mirage!"

All eyes faced the stage, and among them were the surprised eyes of Midnight. Project Mirage 2.0? Here? No, surely it wasn't the same woman. It seemed a plausible stage name, after all.

It wasn’t a stage name. Mirage walked on stage slowly, dressed in nothing but three red silk scarves, one around her waist, another pushing her breasts together and up, actually giving her a cleavage, and a third one binding up her furry quills. She also sported red stiletto heels that she didn't even wobble on. She stretched slowly as the music began to play, stepping up to a pole and winding her body around it to the music, using her natural agility to twist around it, blatantly displaying her curves.

It was her, unmistakably the Mirage that he had met. Before he knew what was happening, he had taken a seat and was watching the stage with a single-minded focus, his jaw hanging open as the all but naked feline twisted around the poles and stretched seductively. Every inch of her was exactly as he remembered, every tightly coiled muscle, every strand of fur, every look of her eyes. His mouth suddenly felt very dry; he closed it and swallowed hard. He was no longer just pretending to be a customer.

The feline-hedgehog hybrid continued to dance slowly, easily dropping into the splits and pulling the silk scarf out of her quills, allowing them to tumble down to her shoulders. Standing up again, she began to twirl it around her body, her hips and tail swaying. Dropping the silk scarf, she lifted herself onto the horizontal bar, and wrapped her legs around it, swinging slowly, ending upside down.

Quilla squirmed in his seat, watching the hedgecat's slow, agile, sensuous movements to the background of the stage lights, loud music, and catcalls. His natural grey eye was fixed on her familiar body while its mechanical counterpart saw Mirage 2.0 in a whole different way. Her body glowed brightly in shades of red, orange, and yellow in infrared, heat rising slowly from her like steam. An invisible targeting laser shot through the air and smoke to caress her every curve with nobody being any the wiser. Quilla was mesmerized, his heart aching, beating fast, and he wished he could reach out to touch her one more time. The fact that she was just a copy was, in that moment, forgotten.

Mirage swung herself upright again, pulling the scarf that 'covered' her breasts tight against her. She slid off the bar and landed easily on the floor, wrapping herself around the pole again, but this time she was upside down. She dropped to the floor again, and as the music halted, pulled off a neat backflip, ending with herself on one knee, facing the audience whom she could not see. Then she snatched up the silk scarf and walked offstage, to a chorus of catcalls and whistles.

Quilla watched her leave and released a breath he hadn't even been aware of holding. The truth of the situation hit him again like a knife being shoved into his chest. Shaking his head, trying to clear it, the blue echidna got to his feet. His eyes swept over the crowd of cheering men, and for one moment, he had a nearly overwhelming desire to kill every last one of them. But greater still was disgust directed at himself. Distinctly feeling the metal parts clinging to his damaged flesh, Quilla turned and walked fast for the exit, just wanting some fresh air and to get away from the noise and crowd.

Mirage bound her quills back up as she stepped offstage. It was a lot hotter on stage than it looked. The stage lights especially made her sweat. She snatched up a bottle of water and stepped out using the stage door exit, taking several deep breaths of cool air. She didn't need those disgusting perverts cheering at her to know she was good. And she didn't need this job, but she needed income to visibly come from somewhere. Besides, the pay from her contractors could be rather irregular. She took a gulp of water, wiping sweat off her muzzle and ears as she leant on the wall in the dimly lit alley.

Quilla stepped into the alley, looking down at the ground, not really paying attention to where he was going. All he knew or cared about was that he was getting away. He reached up and angrily tore away his glasses and hat, dropping them to the ground. Then he heard movement up ahead. Glancing up, the echidna saw... her.

Mirage almost dropped her bottle of water as she saw Quilla in the same instant, but she didn't look disgusted or frightened this time - just surprised. After a few seconds she found her voice, "You again?" she asked, then regained her calm, taking another gulp of water, "I would ask what you are doing here, but I think I can guess. Testosterone poisoning, am I right?"

Quilla found himself suddenly conscious of his appearance and aimed his face slightly to the side, showing more of the healthy, unharmed flesh than the metal and scars. He wrapped the coat tighter around himself, "No,” he said quickly in denial, "No... I was here for something else. I mean I watched, but that wasn't... what I mean is..." He cursed his sudden inability to form a coherent sentence. Focusing harder, he tried again, "I was here on business."

"Sure you were," Mirage smirked, clearly disbelieving, "And I am a Shakespearian actor. What is the matter," she smiled wickedly and took another drink, "Has the cat got your tongue?"

Yes, actually. And a missile had taken his arm and legs. Quilla could feel a sharp headache coming on. For that matter, his arm and legs were hurting badly too. The ones he didn't have, "I came here to cut a deal with the club owner, that's all,” he insisted, "You walking out on stage as I left was pure coincidence. ...What are you doing here, anyway? I was under the impression that you worked for GUN." Mirage continued to surprise and confuse the echidna.

"I work here," Mirage told him. She didn't see why she should blab to a possible target and total nutjob who she was being contracted by, "What the hell gave you the impression that I work for GUN? What else have you been told about me?" her eyes narrowed.

Quilla opened his mouth and almost answered the question. Then he remembered who she was, "I don't know if I can trust you,” he said.

"Maybe you should not," Mirage said, "Now listen, I am sorry about this woman-"

"How do you know it's a woman?" Quilla asked her sharply.

"It is always a woman," Mirage chuckled dryly, and took another drink.

"Humph,” uttered the echidna, hating that smug look she gave him. She was smart, already. Just like his Mirage. It made the loss sting all the more, "I believe there was an unspoken 'but' after that statement,” he told her.

"I am sorry about this woman you have lost, but..." Mirage sighed, "I feel sorrier for you. Do you really think vengeance is going to make it all better? Do you think you can drown your sorrows in a pool of blood?"

After a painful moment of soul-searching, Quilla admitted, "No, it’s not going to make me feel any better. I'm never going to feel better. GUN didn't just take her from me. They dangle her in front of me as if to mock me, and they destroyed my body so that even if she had survived... How could she ever love this?!" Showing his full face, he gestured at his ruined body. He closed his eyes against the rush of emotion, just needing to not see the hedgecat for one moment...

Mirage finished her drink and looked for a place to put the bottle. Her outfit lacked any such areas, so she tossed the empty bottle aside. She walked up to him, and her perfume hit him like a battering ram, "If she really loved you before, she would not care what you look like now," the feline touched his scarred cheek gently, "And if she did, she was not worth having." Mirage didn't know why she was trying to comfort the scarred echidna. She just felt so sorry for him.

His eyes opened upon feeling her touch and gazed into her own. Feelings of longing, of loneliness, rose up inside him and he so desperately wanted to believe that this really was his Mirage, “But she was,” he said. Reaching up with his shaking, good hand, he rested it on her arm. He didn't look like the maniac from before, just a lonely, broken man, "They didn't tell you anything about me..." he whispered in anguish.

Mirage looked genuinely confused, "I really have no idea what you're talking about," she told him. But inside, she was wondering if GUN already knew about this man, and she resolved firmly to find out what they knew.

"I know. Your creators never told you about me, about where you came from,” he told her, "Just another thing for me to hate them for."

Mirage suddenly looked shocked. How did he know she had connections to GUN? How could he have some crazy grudge against her? Why did he act like he knew her, when she didn't know him? And how in hell did he know she was created? She knew she wasn't going to get a straight answer out of him right now, and that knowledge frustrated her, "I still have no idea as to what you are talking about," she said, "But I bet you used to be a nice guy."

Used to be. Not anymore. That hurt a lot. He nodded his head, sighing, "I... I should go. I'm sorry to have bothered you." Painfully, Quilla pulled away from her, walking backwards, still looking at her. After a moment, he tore his gaze away and began to walk away.

"Look at it from my point of view," Mirage said quietly, "You may have lost everything... but I have never had anything. Not even the thoughts inside my head belong to me. I envy you."

"No,” he whispered, coming to a stop, "You should be grateful for that. You don't want this kind of pain. Don't envy me." And with that, he stepped out of the alleyway and into the night.

~~~

Harley: Read and Review, dammit!

Froggy: Man, Mirage WAS worth having! She’s making Quilla feel worse! Yeah!

Harley: Club Rouge is a strip club! Yeah!