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"No."
"Aw, come on."
"No, and that's final."
"Give me one good reason why we can't at least spar. I already did it with Wolf-Tits-"
"Whisper," the wolf glared from across the conference room table.
"-Whiskers here," Surge was determined to never let go of her nicknames. "What's stopping us from going a round, Poofball?"
The Poofball in question drew out a long sigh, every second of which darkened the bags underneath her eyes. "I am well aware of your escapade in the Wispon training facility. Something that should've been discussed with the rest of the team first." Lanolin narrowed her eyes at Whisper who avoided the gaze.
Secret revenge? Hardcore, Whiskers. Surge glanced in the wolf's direction as she clammed up underneath the sheep's gaze. There was a metaphor in there, but said sheep still had the floor, so she kept her mouth shut.
"Regardless," Lanolin focused back on the tenrec. "Nothing beneficial would come from a spar between team members. The most similar thing to us that we fight are Egg Pawns, and I don't need to tell you why those aren't equivalent."
"Bullshit!" Surge slammed her hands on the table. "I've already heard tons of stories from Stripes over there about that... Uh... Who was that octopus guy, again?"
"Mimic?" Tangle responded.
"Yeah, him."
The lemur moved her face closer to Whisper, putting up her hand to her ear for false privacy. "Am I supposed to be Stripes?"
Surge continued. "Besides, Metal Sonic exists. And the way I hear it, he's kicked all of your asses before. What better team exercise is there than sparring against me? Someone who kicked his ass?" She couldn't help but gloat over her victories.
Lanolin pinched between her eyes to suppress the headache she felt from the tenrec's inflated ego. It was a vulgar way to put it, but she couldn't easily refute the argument with everything she knew. "Fine. Say we have this sparring session you mentioned. Why are you asking me?"
"Well, Wolfy here isn't really interested in the runback because she knows I'll win this time." Even without a victory, she still found a way to gloat.
Whisper's tail bristled at the accusation. A part of her wanted to leap over the table and show her how "uninterested" she really was, but she took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Stripes and..." Surge stared intently at the blue, mitten-wearing cat who also sat at the table. "The other guy already chickened out."
Tangle raised her hand. "I just don't like the idea of getting shocked, thank you very much." She grabbed a length of her tail and caressed it. "Even if you are on our side now, I don't trust you enough not to use electricity on my tail."
Duo raised his hand next. "And I agreed with the Commander. I don't think we should be creating animosity between members by doing this."
"Tch." Surge rolled her eyes at Duo's statement. "Wuss."
Lanolin focused her eyes on the tenrec as she rested her chin on her hands. "And given those responses, what made you think asking me would produce a different result?"
"Come on. You're a smart girl. I'm sure you put it together."
"...This is a challenge, isn't it?"
"Ding ding ding! A simple one-on-one. You win, and I go along with whatever dumb plans your menagerie cooks up. I win, and the Diamond Cutters are no more. Not sure what I'll call it, but my name's gotta be in there somewhere."
Whisper banged the top of the table with her fist, her deep calming breaths ineffective. "Ridiculous." She lifted her Variable Wispon up with her other hand. "If it's a rematch you're looking for, then fine. Let's go."
"Whoa ho ho! The Ice Queen's finally got some fire in her spirit! Thought I might have to check for a pulse." Surge wrung her hands together producing little sparks as she did so.
"Whis, wait!" Tangle grabbed the wolf's wrist. "You already won once! You don't have to prove anything to us!"
Whisper looked down at the hand holding her back. Her expression blended into an uneven mixture of fury and concern. Surge chimed in, "Of course you do! Why don't you use the rematch to show how that first win wasn't a fluke. I know all your dirty tricks now, Snaggletooth," she snarled out the new nickname.
The situation at the table became increasingly volatile. Tangle desperately held Whisper back from attempting to jump Surge right there. Surge had put one foot in the chair she sat in and stood the other on the tabletop to tower over the rest of the members. Duo had partially backed away from the table fearing the worst and also to recover his face from showing irritation at Surge calling him a wuss. Lanolin sat in silence until-
"Enough." Her voice wasn't much louder than normal, but her tone sucked the air out the room and dropped the temperature a few degrees. Everyone in the room shuddered, Surge included.
Forget the wolf! The true Frozen Empress has shown herself! "Enough, what?" Her teeth chattered slightly, but thankfully no sound came out.
"From what I can gather, you're going to keep antagonizing the rest of the group until you get what you want." Lanolin stood up from her chair and pushed it underneath the table. "So, I accept your challenge and the terms. The sooner the better."
"Great! Glad you see it my way."
Lanolin said nothing and calmly walked toward the door. Opening it, she looked back at Surge with nothing but tiredness and pity in her eyes. It was similar to Whisper's gaze from after their fight, but it stung more than that. "Meet in the Wispon training facility. I shouldn't need to explain how to get there." She left through the door without closing it behind her. Whisper and Tangle looked at each other before leaving after her; the lemur looked back nervously at Surge and Duo alone in the room.
Surge hopped off the table and nearly started skipping before the blue cat grabbed her arm. Her head snapped towards him in annoyance. "Hands off, Squidgy. I'm busy."
"What do you think you're doing?" A hint of Mimic's rasp broke through as he said this.
"Getting things done. While you've been dragging your nuts with your infiltration gimmick, I'm gonna do what you couldn't and break up this team for good."
"You really think you can pull that off? Especially after losing to the wolf?" There was some venom in the way he said "wolf" that threw Surge off, but she shrugged it away.
"I don't see you coming up with anything better. And I'm sick of waiting around." She wrenched her arm away from his grasp and shot small jolt of electricity at the cat.
"AGH!" For a brief moment Mimic's disguise dropped, revealing his tentacles and black eyes. He rubbed his shoulder as he stabilized and tried his best to look intimidating as he winced in pain.
Surge continued, "Get in my way again, and I'm dumping you out to dry. Deal or no deal."
Duo let out a dry cackle. "Fine then. But if this little stunt of yours fails, don't expect me to bail you out unless you beg."
Surge dusted off the arm his mitten held onto and stomped out the door. "Right back at'cha, jackass," she muttered under her breath.
The training room was still as cavernous as ever, though it was more populated this time around. Surge and Lanolin stood opposed each other about five yards apart while Tangle and Whisper stood nearby the door. Duo had decided to sit this out and stayed in his room. Everyone assumed Surge had scared him off which wasn't entirely incorrect.
Surge took this warm-up time to size up the competition. Lanolin had done next to nothing to prepare for their spar. In fact, it'd be more accurate to say that she had degraded on the way here. Stray hairs from her ponytails were more plentiful and she stood there yawning while pulling her gloves tight around her hands. Surge almost felt secondhand embarrassment from watching the sheep attempt to stay upright.
Poor bastard. She's not even gonna have enough brain power to notice how much I flattened her. "You sure you're up for this, Poofball? I bet a stiff breeze could knock you over. And I'm more like a thunderstorm if you catch my drift." She made a big show of stretching out her back and legs as if being limber made her more dangerous.
Lanolin yawned loudly, squeezing out a few tears in the process. She readjusted the bell attached to her collar and looked up at the blustering tenrec. "Oh, please. I could sleep through a storm like you."
"Hooo! Someone's got jokes! Maybe you can dream up a better comeback after I give you a dirt nap." Surge punched her knuckles together letting out flashy sparks that dissipated almost instantly.
"Great idea." The sheep turned slightly to her right and readied her hand to flick the bell. "I'll sleep like a baby when you're there too as my pillow."
"HAHAHAHA!" Surge stomped once loudly. An evil yet sincere grin conquered her face. "I need to find the guy who writes your material. You're a natural at this!"
Tangle leaned toward and spoke quietly to Whisper, "I don't think I've ever seen Lanolin trash talk this much. You think she's got some kinda plan?"
The wolf nodded.
"I'm not even sure how she's even thinking this up on the fly. If I was that tired, the last thing I'd be doing is coming up with one-liners. There's gotta be a catch."
"So, what's that thing around your neck for?" Surge pointed at Lanolin's bell. "We starting this at the ding?"
The sheep shook her head. "This is my weapon."
Surge paused for a beat. "Seriously? That brass piece of trash?"
Lanolin lightly struck it producing a small shockwave roughly the size of a softball. It hung in the air for a few seconds before fizzling out. "That's what it does."
"Oh, man." Surge scratched the back of her head. Her eyes scanned all around the sheep's body. While she wasn't out of shape, she didn't look nearly as athletic as the lemur or the wolf. She could probably run circles around this woman before they could even turn around once. All of a sudden, the prospect of sparring was no longer fun. "That's just... wow."
Lanolin rolled her eyes and yawned. "You wanted a fight and this is what you're getting. Are we doing this or not?"
Tangle leaned in towards Whisper again. "Aren't Maggie's soundwaves usually bigger than that? Why is she-"
"Shh!" The wolf shushed her. She had noticed the bread crumbs the sheep had been leaving.
Surge sighed. "Whatever. Let's go." She stuffed her hands into her pockets and and walked slowly towards Lanolin until the two were roughly two feet from each other. The tenrec was slightly taller, but the fluff from the sheep's wool billowed above her. She drank in the sight before locking eyes with the other. "Come on. Give it your best shot."
"What do you mean?" Lanolin kept her finger in tension as her opponent drew near.
"I can recognize an unfair fight when I see one. And I'm a nice guy. At least I'm trying to be." Surge made sweeping, dramatic gestures with her hands as she said these words. "So, take your best shot. Hit me as hard as you can. Then we can fight."
The sheep's expression turned grave as her eyes half-closed. Any wobble in her stance ceased in an instant as she steeled herself. "Is that all?"
Surge could shift this change in energy, but couldn't understand where this sense of unease came from. Lanolin's bags still made laps around her eyes. There's no way she was lucid enough to make any decent on-the-spot decisions. So what was it? What about this workaholic lamb chop made her hesitate? She was planning something. They always were. Surge frowned. Whatever it was, she could deal with it. "Yeah. That's all."
Lanolin shook her head. "Shame." Her middle finger struck the bell with such ferocity, it almost seemed like the space around the bell itself distorted. A large, pulsing wave of energy emitted from the bell and enveloped Surge within it.
The effect was near-instantaneous. Something deep within the tenrec began to rattle violently. Static lines crusted her vision. Her face broke into a cold sweat. All of her limbs dropped into uselessness as they became three times their weight. She tried to suck in air, but she couldn't. Why couldn't she breathe? It was as simple as using your lungs. Did she even have lungs? How could she breathe without them before?
Her heart roared to life to keep her conscious. Long dull senses in her brain reactivated. She was a living contradiction. Muscles screaming to move and mechanical systems forcing her to stay put. Seconds stretched to minutes. Minutes to hours. Days. The pain was never-ending. She cursed her creator, the madman who thought it just to subject her to this torture. How fast does a shattered femur regenerate? Can you mend the torn tendons in your ankles? Buried deep, she remembered. She always did. Test after test after test test test test...
...
...
Relatively soon, the sensation stopped. The backup protocols within her endo-skeleton kicked in. Surge's mind was now at operating capacity, but the rest of her body refused to budge. She was completely out of energy. The whole ordeal lasted roughly a minute and during that time frame, Lanolin had put her knee over the tenrec's back and locked her into an arm bar.
Despite her recent pain-induced hallucination, Surge still had enough awareness for some kind of one-liner, "Get off me, you bitch!" It was unfortunately not as elegant as she hoped.
Lanolin obliged, dropping her arm to the ground and backing away from the immobile body of the cyborg mammal. She walked around from behind Surge to in front of face and squatted down to meet her as close to eye level as she could. Her expression was the most alert the tenrec had ever seen but still deeply tired. "How are we feeling?"
Surge bristled at the question but dropped it. "Like ass."
"And the match?"
"I lost," Surge winced as she said this.
"Just wanted to make sure we're clear." Lanolin pulled out a folded piece of paper from a pocket on her pants. She unfurled it into at least three sheets that Surge could see down from where she was. "Designation: Surge. Species: Tenrec. Placed of Origin: Unknown."
The described's ears perked up at this sudden shift in topics. "What the...?"
"Age: Unknown. Original Name: Unknown." The sheep peeked from behind the sheets at the downed Surge. "Lot of unknowns here, hm?"
"Hey hey. What the hell is this?" Surge could feel a void opening in her stomach. The wolf and lemur duo had walked closer to hear what Lanolin was talking about.
She continued, "General Description: Body comprised of a modified strain of the Metal Virus to heal subject of most bodily harm including electromechanical parts of the skeleton." She pulled out a pencil and wrote in the margins. "Parts are susceptible to Magenta Wisp sound waves. Virus still operational."
"Sound waves? I got knocked out by noise?!" Surge roared. She still couldn't move, but she tried her best to make that anger known.
Lanolin held her bell. "Maggie. Come out and keep her company."
The Magenta Wisp in question flew out of the bell. It floated daintily down from above Surge's head before landing on it and making musical cooing sounds. "Thanks," Surge grumbled. There was no fighting it when she couldn't move after all.
The sheep continued, "Temperament: Hot-headed, look before you leap, impulsive, quick to make snarky remarks, as powerful as a freight train but just as predictable-"
"There's no way that's in whatever file you're reading. You made that up."
Lanolin folded the papers in half. "You're right. But I think I made my point."
Surge sighed and rolled her eyes. "Don't get stingy on me. Just say it."
"Just like there's a lot of things we don't know about you, you went into this without understanding your opponent. And so," she gently tapped the the top of her bell, "you paid the price for it."
"So what? You think you're better than me because you read a few scraps of paper?"
"Knowledge is power. Gotta take every advantage I can."
Surge scoffed at what almost sounded like a canned answer.
Lanolin sighed. She gazed down at the incapacitated tenrec with a sympathetic look in her eye before fully sitting down next to her. "How long do you estimate before you can move again?"
The hell is she doing? Surge attempted to wiggle her shoulders but had to settle for her knuckles. "I dunno. Two hour nap or something? Why?"
The sheep motioned the other two to sit down next to her. She waited until they did before continuing. A devious smile spread over her face. "Let's take this opportunity for a team-building exercise, hm?"
"What." Surge was in disbelief.
"You said you'd go along with our 'dumb plans' and this is about a good a time as any." Lanolin's voice bit with snark. It was oddly refreshing coming from a face that perpetually looked one stubbed toe away from ending it all. "A core part of any team is covering weaknesses and augmenting strengths. All three of us are pretty familiar with each other. Now it's your turn."
"...You planned this from the start, didn't you? Knock me down and do this stupid sharing circle shit." Surge could feel her blood boil at the thought.
"What?" Lanolin's tone indicated genuine confusion. "I didn't plan this. Maggie's good at knocking out electronics, but I didn't expect you to be crippled this badly."
She was stunned. "Th-then what about those yawns! Most of those were totally fake; I could tell," she lied.
"I am tired. I played up yawns because you seemed like the type to underestimate people in competitions like this. You letting me get a free hit is entirely on you."
THIS- Surge hadn't even been played by anyone expect herself this time. She left herself open and the sheep capitalized on it. Losing in this way stung deeper than when the wolf got "lucky" as she put it. The rage in her dissipated, leaving behind only bitter disappointment in herself. "Tch. Whatever... I'll do the stupid team thing..." she muttered.
"Glad to hear it." Lanolin turned towards the wolf and lemur sitting nearby. "Tangle. Give her a rundown of what kind of teamwork we have."
"Ooh! Alright!" Tangle raised her hand and waved it. "Uh- My tail is super stretchy and strong, but I have to be pretty close to anything I hit." She threw her arm around Whisper's waist and pulled her in close. "That's why she's usually covering me from super far away."
Surge could see a pink tinge appear on the wolf's cheeks as the lemur held on. Seeing her so flustered was weird until it clicked. Ohhhhh... I get it. What if I... "So Wolf-Tits is usually the one bailing you out of trouble then?"
"Yeah! Whisper," she stressed the correct name. "Always has my back!"
"Yeah." The tenrec gave the wolf a provocative look. "I bet she's probably always looking at it too." She relished in seeing Whisper's face blush harder while her eyes squinted icy daggers at her.
Lanolin interjected, "Stop with the teasing. We've all had enough of that for one day."
"I'll stop when you guys stop setting up punchlines." Surge directed her attention back towards the sheep. "So the Wolfy's long range and Stripes's short range. What about you? Your bell thing has a mean kick to it, but I don't know where you stand in all this."
The sheep shifted her sitting position slightly. "Extra defense. Whisper's good in close quarters situations, but if we ever get overwhelmed, Maggie is our premier space clearer." The mentioned Wisp sang a few notes in response. "In case of civilian evacuation, you come to me for instructions on how and where to direct them. I'll be out in the field doing the same."
"That's cool and all, but where do I slide in? Seems like I could easily do all of your jobs at the same time."
"...Big talk for someone who can't do one job right now," Whisper retorted softly.
Tangle failed to hold back a snort while Lanolin and Surge glared at the wolf, albeit for separate reasons. The sheep returned to the downed tenrec. "Lemme answer your question with a few of my own. You hate sitting around, right?"
"If I ain't sleepin', I'm speedin'."
"And a you're a bit of a daredevil."
"Pssh. I'd like to see those Egg-bots try to kill me."
"You seem quite confident in that."
"You weren't there when I was getting tested." Surge's usual boasting was in full swing, but it had a grim edge to it suddenly. "I crushed them. They crushed me. Difference was they stayed down."
"Perfect. Then I know exactly where you fit in." Lanolin's smile was large but plastic.
"That was fast. What am I then, huh?"
"Live bait."
Surge blinked. "I think some of your fluff got in my ears 'cause otherwise, I just heard something crazy stupid."
"You get to bust up everything in sight and run circles around everything to your heart's content. As long as you're keeping their eyes off of us, go nuts." She leaned down closer to Surge's face and spoke low. "You wanna act cavalier and throw your life away, go right on ahead. But don't drag the rest of us down with you, got it?"
Surge clicked her tongue and looked away. "Yeah, yeah..."
"No. Look me in the eye." Surge instinctively did much to her own surprise. "When you joined the Diamond Cutters, you joined a team. Putting aside animosity, we are here to support and protect each other on missions so we all come back safely. We support you by taking care of your blind spots; you support us by corralling their attention away. Do what you always do and we'll make sure you can do it uninterrupted. Got it?"
Something about the way this tired sheep stressed her words resonated within Surge. She was still on the fence about her "no nonsense" attitude, but she seemed to really understand what the tenrec wanted. A small grin crossed her face. "You got it, Boss."
Boss sighed. She had to take what she could get. "Good." She stood, motioning Maggie to return to her Wispon. "I need to make a report about this and send it up to the director. Whisper. Tangle. Help Surge back to her room. She needs her rest." The sheep yawned as she said the last sentence.
"Filthy rich coming from the guy who looks like they're about to pass out on their feet. You should be in bed counting yourself to sleep."
"If you couldn't handle me at my most tired, than you wouldn't when I'm well rested. I look forward to being in your nightmares tonight." Lanolin confidently strode towards the exit of the training hall and left.
God damn, she's good. Surge looked back at the other couple sitting on the ground still. "You heard the lady. Take me back."
Whisper grimaced while Tangle shrugged. The two of them each threw one of Surge's arms around their shoulders and dragged her limp body away. She had no strength to move even her ankles with assistance; they just dragged along the floor much to all of their dismays. As the trio trudged back to the dorms, Surge could be heard mumbling something under her breath. It sounded vaguely insulting so Whisper opted to ignore it while Tangle...
"What're you grumbling about?" The lemur made a somewhat big show of asking. "You upset about losing twice in a row?"
"Can it, Stripes." She chomped her teeth at her. "I'm trying to concentrate."
"On what?"
"More names for Poofball. I keep getting stuck on Sheep-Tits, but that's too close to Wolf-Tits over here." Whisper jabbed her elbow into Surge's rib cage for that eliciting a mild groan.
Tangle laughed, but then looked up towards the ceiling in thought. "Hey. How come they get multiple nicknames, but I'm just Stripes?"
"Because you bore me," Surge said flatly.
"What?!" Tangle sounded more offended than she intended.
"Bright Eye and... Dinner Bell?" Surge squinted her eyes after saying the nickname candidate before dismissing it and shaking her head. "Wolfy and Sheepy got some meat on them. Interesting backstories and whatnot. I can read you like a billboard and your story's about as complicated."
"Oh yeah? Well I'm totally deep and- and interesting and stuff! My story's just more of a hero's journey than theirs."
The tenrec gave a hearty cackle. "Look. You come up with a fact about yourself a quarter as cool as they are, I'll consider a second nickname, deal?"
"Deal!" Tangle huffed before wracking her brain for any core memories that could fit Surge's criteria. Whisper shook her head as she knew this would be the only thing on the lemur's mind for the next couple of days.
"...What about Duo?" The wolf inquired absentmindedly.
"What about Duo?" Surge shoved back immediately showing her disinterest in the subject.
Whisper logged this odd contempt for the cat away mentally. "...Nothing, I guess."
"Maybe Mittens or something. I dunno. I just don't like him. He smells funny." She recalled the slightly rusty odor coming from his hands after he grabbed her arm. Being on the same team as him in and out of the Diamond Cutters made her ill.
Such a comment coming from Surge gave Whisper pause, but she decided against pushing the subject further. Maybe her own misgivings about their then newest recruit weren't unfounded after all. Putting that aside, the trio continued shuffling toward the dorms until they finally reached the door where the tenrec bunked with Kit.
Tangle knocked on the door. It opened revealing the diminutive fennec whose expression turned ghastly upon seeing his non-functioning partner. "Special delivery!" Tangle chirped.
"What did you do to her?" Kit's eyes glowed a hollow red as his Hydro Pack roared to life.
"Save it, Drippy. I'm fine. Just like last time. Pick me up already." Surge grew weary of his constant worry.
His tentacles snatched the tenrec away from the wolf/lemur couple. "Thank you for bringing her. Please leave." Before they had a chance to say anything, he slammed the door in their faces. Dexterously, he carried Surge's limp body onto the bottom bunk of their bed and laid her down. "What happened?"
"I fought them again. Lost. Ran outta juice. Can't move until I recharge." She was already tired of thinking about how she lost and didn't want to relive it through him.
"Did you at least learn anything new?"
"Yeah." She wanted to sit up for dramatic effect but then remembered her own disability. "Forget the mission. These Restoration nerds are cooler than I thought."
Kit's eyes widened. "But what about our pasts? Mr. Clutch promised that-"
"You really think someone who hires some slimy creep like the octopus is trustworthy? The one who sold us to Starline no less? Fuck him. No more double agent-ing. Now we're triple agents." A large smirk took over Surge's face. "We'll pretend to still be on his side, sell him out, and then get our files from him after these guys catch him."
"Are you sure we can rely on these guys?"
"You trust me, right?" Kit nodded. "Then believe me when I say this Diamond Cutter group packs a punch. If anyone can do it, they can. You in?"
Kit apprehensively looked around the room before focusing his gaze back on Surge with an ignited resolve. "Yes, ma'am!"
"Awesome. Here's what we're gonna do."