Work Text:
Today was just going to be an average work day for the Neo Diamond Cutters. But alas, that wasn’t the case.
An SOS signal had been sent to the Restoration HQ from Glass Hill, saying Eggman had sent some badniks down to tear the place apart for… well, their glass.
Why? No one had any idea. Either it was for a plan, or for something minor, going over the top for it because why the hell not.
Whatever the case, the Neos were tasked with going there to put a stop to it.
-
“Something’s a bit… off, don’t you guys think?” Tangle asked, sitting in the back of the N.D.C’s van. (Now with sheep horns on the front!) They were getting closer to the town that was being attacked.
Lanolin glanced at the lemur through the rear-view mirror as she drove. “Elaborate.”
“I think she’s talking about how quiet it looks,” Ashley pointed out, next to Tangle. “And how there are no badniks dropping down.”
In the front passenger seat, Whisper put on her mask and zoomed into the upcoming town.
“They’re right. It does look a bit quiet,” Whisper said. “The place still looks wrecked, though… like a ghost town.”
Lanolin pressed her foot more firmly on the gas. “I’d say that’s more of a reason to hurry things up.”
-
After parking at the town’s entrance, everyone quickly got out of the van and ran inside.
And looking around the ransacked village, they saw a bunch of smashed buzz bombers, motobugs, caterkillers… any ordinary badnik you could think of was here, and they were all destroyed. Not a single civilian in sight either.
“Did… did we receive the signal too late?” Ashley asked worriedly. “Were we too late?”
“Hang on, let’s not put the cart before the horse,” Tangle said. “Maybe Sonic got here before we did?”
“If he did, it was foolish of him to just leave the town like this,” Lanolin grumbled.
Before the discussion could continue, a giant THOOM rumbled behind everyone.
They quickly turned around, weapons (plus arm and tail) readied up. An Egg Hammer had stomped its way to them, spinning the wrecking ball it had by the chain. And the fact it was completely wrecked, with sparks of electricity crackling out, didn’t seem to even the odds.
“It’d also be foolish to LEAVE ONE HERE! ” Lanolin cried frustratedly, pulling at her wool.
Quickly, Whisper had Pink insert himself into her wispon. She had faced this exact kind of badnik back when Mimic first ambushed her and Tangle. First, she’d have to break the chain-
“Whoops! Missed one!”
Before the wolf could fire her shot, and the Egghammer could crush the four with the wrecking ball, a figure leaped into the air from behind the Neos and BASHED the giant badnik with a wispon, making an explosion go off.
…shaped like a frying pan. Huh.
The figure turned out to be an orange and white cow, and he made a superhero landing as the Egghammer crumbled itself into the ground.
“Geez, that was clumsy on my end,” the cow muttered to himself. “Could have sworn I fully took out all of ‘em…”
He looked at the Neos, who were all gobsmacked at what they just witnessed. That, and they got a better look at the cow. He had on a red and maroon poncho, black cargo pants and black and white shoes. A red wisp also came out of his wispon.
“Oh, hola . You girls some kind of rescue team?” he asked.
“Um… you could say that,” Tangle answered. “Say, all those badniks… did you…?”
“Yeah, I took ‘em out,” the cow confirmed, petting his wisp. “Well, me and Mercury did, more like. I was just wandering around and saw those guys tearing the place up, so I figured I’d save some lives today.”
“ By yourself? That’s incredible…” Lanolin gasped. “I just wish we got here sooner to help…”
“What about the civilians?” Whisper asked.
“I only saw one that was about to get blasted by one of those flying bug guys,” the cow answered. “I stopped it before she got hurt. She’s probably hiding now.”
“That must mean the others are hiding too,” Ashley said. “Either that, or they got stuck somewhere in the crossfire…”
“If that's the case, the job’s not finished,” Lanolin stated firmly. “You can never be too careful.”
-
After this, the Neos split up into twos. Tangle and Whisper searched up high, while Lanolin and Ashley searched down low. The sheep also called for a clean up crew, some doctors and a food truck for the town.
And Ashley seemed to be right in her assumption. The couple of the team reported a family of five stuck on top of a building, and two people that couldn’t get out of a hotel due to some debris blocking off the exits. On Lanolin and Ashley’s end, they found an elderly couple underneath a table in a restaurant, and were currently helping two young bears find their parents.
Something told them this was far from the last of the stragglers.
And while Lanolin was piggybacking one cub as Ashley held the hand of the other, they heard someone grunting and frustratingly mumbling, “Ay, coño…”
They looked to their right, and found the same cow from before, struggling to lift a totaled car off an unconscious freckled cat. Thankfully, it was upright, and it wasn’t crushing her, but she didn’t have a lot of breathing room. And that cow was doing what seemed like a job for more than one person.
“Oh hey, he stuck around.” Ashley’s eyes landed on Lanolin. “I should probably…”
The sheep nodded and gently took the other cub’s hand. “Go ahead. I’ll take care of the kids.”
During this, the cow was still having trouble with the car, panting with his hands on knees. He sighed, squatted down again and put his hands underneath the car. Then he heard someone beside him doing the same thing.
“Need some help?” Ashley asked.
The cow glanced at her, smiling in appreciation. “Yeah, that’d be appreciated.”
“Alright…” They both focused on the car. “One, two, three!”
Both of them grunted as they slowly managed to lift the car, until they threw it on its side, freeing the cat.
“Phew… is the lady okay?” Ashley asked after they caught their breath. The cow carefully lifted her head up and checked her pulse.
“She’s got a pulse. And she doesn’t look too injured,” he told her, picking her up bridal style. “Still, she might need a doctor.”
“My boss called up some doctors from the Restoration. Should be on their way as we speak,” Ashley said. “We’re guiding all the civilians we find into the plaza of the town.”
“Good to know. Thanks for the heads up… and for the help,” the cow replied. “I’m gonna head over there; you should regroup with your boss.”
He turned his head back to Ashley.
“Oh yeah, I never told you my name; it’s Marlow,” he finished off.
“Cool name. Mine’s Ashley!” she beamed before dashing off to find Lanolin.
Marlow grinned a little before hurrying to the plaza.
-
“No need to rush, guys!” Tangle called enthusiastically. “There’s plenty for everyone!”
Two hours had passed. Marlow and Neos had successfully found all the townsfolk, and the workforces Lanolin called arrived at the plaza. The clean up crew was working on fixing up the town, the doctors and nurses were helping those who got injured (none of them were major, thankfully), and a food truck was there for those that were hungry and/or thirsty. Tangle was making sure the line to the truck was in check, Lanolin was chatting with the parents of the children she brought back, Whisper was standing at an undamaged swingset as some kids played with her wisps, and Ashley was sitting at a bench with food and a drink, watching everything unfold.
…from her lunch box. Don’t worry, she wasn’t greedy.
As she took a bite from the last of her sandwich, Marlow approached her, holding a drink of his own while Mercury followed suit. “Hey, is it cool if I sit here?”
Ashley glanced up at the cow. “Huh? Oh, yeah, sure.”
He sighed and plopped himself on the spot next to her, and Mercury mimicked him. “Today was certainly productive.”
The leopard swallowed her mouthful. “It was. Though, to be fair, you did the first half of the job for us.”
“Don’t sell yourselves short,” Marlow chuckled, blushing a little. “Helping the townspeople is just as important.”
“That is true,” Ashley agreed. “...wait, shit, it completely slipped my mind; how’s the girl you found?”
Marlow smiled. “She’s okay. She’s regained consciousness and the doctors deemed her well enough to stand. I saw her in the line of the food truck before coming to see you.”
Ashley breathed out in relief. “Good to hear. Glad she’s okay.”
“Same here. And that goes for everybody,” Marlow added, sipping out of his water bottle.
“By the way, I wanted to ask; you said something about these guys being from a ‘Restoration,’” he continued. “What exactly is that?”
Ashley’s eyebrows rose up. She did bring the organization up earlier. Should she not have done that?
…well, all the workers from the headquarters were here, and the Neos made themselves known. And it was pretty much confirmed Marlow was on the opposing side of Eggman…
“It’s an anti-Eggman organization that helps those in need and stops major threats. There’s a job for everyone there, and the one for me happens to be going on missions and fighting off danger,” Ashley tried to explain. “...okay, it sounds really lame and simple coming out of my mouth, but I’m pretty new compared to my teammates. I think they’d be able to explain it better.”
“Hey, any establishment that fights against Eggman is a good one in my book,” Marlow said, as Mercury floated up and observed Ashley. “...oh, don’t worry about Mercury. He’s a friendly little guy.”
“I can tell, don’t worry,” the leopard giggled. She put up her metal index finger, and Mercury intertwined one of his tentacles onto it.
“Oh, hey! How’d I never notice that arm you’ve got? It looks sick!” Marlow complimented.
Ashley looked back at the cow.
“Ah, thanks! It was a small gift from the Restoration’s machine shop after…” she stopped. “Well…”
Marlow stopped smiling too.
“I was part of something pretty bad,” Ashley confessed, deciding to be honest. “It wasn’t Eggman’s troops, but an organization against him and Sonic. My ex-boss lied to me about one of my now-teammates, Whisper, and I was negatively fixated on her. She did convince me to turn against them, but it cost me my arm in the process. And some people…” She thought about Surge, Kit and the Chaotix. “...still aren’t on good terms with me for it. I’m not sure if they ever will be, either.”
Mercury looked at Ashley sadly and let go of her finger.
“Well… it takes guts to recognize how badly you fucked up. I gotta respect that,” Marlow said, giving her a thumbs up. “It’s great that you’re making up for your wrongs instead of doubling down.”
“Thanks,” Ashley replied tenderly.
Marlow looked back at the crowd of people at the tables in front of the food truck. “If anything, you picked the right crowd to fight for.”
“I guess I did, huh?”
Both of them laughed a little, until Ashley had a question for him.
“So, what exactly do you do?” she asked. “Like, fighting off badniks is one of the things, I know, but…”
“Well the six month war inspired me to help out wherever, whenever and however I can, like it did with a lot of people,” Marlow answered. He showed Ashley his frying pan wispon. “While in hiding, I made this puppy myself and befriended Mercury. It unfortunately didn’t help a lot against all those illusions, though…”
“…yeah. There was… a lot thrown at us,” Ashley muttered. “A-anyway, you said you made that?”
“Yep! My finest creation to date,” Marlow proudly boasted. “I know it doesn’t look intimidating, but… you saw what I did with it.”
“It’s creative,” Ashley complimented. “If it packs a punch, it doesn’t matter how it looks.”
Marlow snorted, and Ashley could swear she saw steam coming out of his nose. “Now that’s a motto.”
The leopard tapped her chin. “Y’know, I think the Restoration could use an ally like you!”
Mercury’s eyes widened, as did his caretaker’s.
“You sure? I mean, I’m flattered, but we’ve only known each other for a few hours…”
“Sure I’m sure! You’ve got a huge desire to help people, a cool weapon and wisp…”
Mercury blushed.
“...and you’ve got a shining, hopeful attitude! You fit the bill pretty well, I’d say!’ Ashley finished. “I don’t wanna pressure you to do something you don’t want to, though. Just putting my thoughts out there.”
Marlow rubbed his chin, tapping on his wispon. “Well…”
Incomprehensible sounds played around the two, and Mercury was looking around, ecstatic.
Both Marlow and Ashley looked up to find Whisper’s wisps and Maggie surrounding them.
As they all huddled closer in the air, the newfound duo looked up adoringly.
“Nice to see Mercury making more new friends,” Marlow said.
“They’re all so friendly with each other,” Ashley observed. “It’s like they’re related to each other or something.”
“Technically, they are.”
Ashley squeaked, and snapped her head around. Whisper was standing by the bench all non-chalant, with Tangle and Lanolin behind her.
“Sorry to interrupt you two, but Jewel gave us a call,” Lanolin explained. “She said everyone else would take things from here, so we’re about to head back.”
“Oh, that so?” Ashley asked. “Well, I guess in that case-”
“Can I come along?” Marlow suddenly interrupted.
All of the Neos’ eyes were on the cow.
“Sorry, I know it’s a bit dickish of me to suddenly ask for a ride with you four. But the Restoration seems like a sick organization, especially after seeing what the workers can do here,” he continued. “I’d like to see what it’s all about, and maybe do some volunteering of my own there.”
Tangle, Whisper and Lanolin all looked at each other.
“I mean, I’m down for it,” the lemur said. “But I think what Lano says goes in this case.” Whisper nodded in agreement.
“It’d be nice to have another supporter of the Restoration’s cause,” Lanolin said, crossing her arms. “But last time someone wanted to volunteer for the Restoration, it… went pretty poorly.”
“I don’t think it’ll be like that this time,” Whisper chimed in. “He’s clearly against Eggman, as we’ve seen before.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be part of a secret organization we don’t know about,” Lanolin countered bluntly. “Just because you’re not with Eggman doesn’t always mean you aren’t on the opposing side.”
Marlow leaned towards Ashley and whispered, “What happened on this team before you joined?”
“Not my place to say,” the leopard whispered back.
The cow put his focus back on Lanolin.
“If you want to do a background check on me, I’m cool with that,” he told her. “I’m not working with anyone, or anything. I just kinda have my own thing going on.
“...well, actually, I do have a group of friends I’ve worked with, but most of them…” He went silent.
All four of the Neos were filled with worry now. And Marlow could see that.
“Oh, no, sorry. They’re not dead, they just haven’t shown themselves since the Metal Virus,” he clarified. “There’s no way people as tough as them have kicked the bucket. I have faith in them.”
A lightbulb went off in Lanolin’s head.
“You know, one of the many jobs the Restoration has is to help find those that have been missing for a while. And they’ve succeeded,” she said. “If this case is like that, maybe we can help you; we just need some information on your friends.”
That perked Marlow up.
“Really? That’d be great!” he exclaimed.
The corner of Lanolin’s lip perked up. “In that case, um…”
“Name’s Marlow.”
“Marlow,” Lanolin nodded. “We’d be happy to show you the headquarters, where our director can give you a better rundown of the place. I apologize for being so wary.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m sure it’s part of your job to be cautious.”
“You have no idea,” the sheep rolled her eyes.
As Ashley and Marlow both stood up with their things, she patted him on the shoulder whilst grinning. “You’re gonna love this place, dude.”
“I bet I am. I’ve gotten pretty good first impressions already.”
Tangle, Whisper and Lanolin all smiled as they all began to walk off, the wisps following suit.
-
A few hours have passed. The Neos were dismissed for the day, and Ashley was heading to her room.
“‘Ey!”
Ashley stopped and looked to her right to find Marlow and Mercury heading her way.
“Oh, hey!” she waved as they stopped in front of her. “Didn’t think you were still here.”
“Yep. I was given a tour of the headquarters,” the cow said. “And… wow, this place is a lot bigger than I thought it was.”
“I couldn’t believe it either,” Ashley giggled. “It’s mindblowing, isn’t it?”
“For sure,” he nodded. “Say, I wanted to ask…”
Ashley raised an eyebrow.
“I was wondering if I could have your number?” he asked. “I wanted to ask your other teammates for theirs too, but I couldn’t find them.”
Ashley’s ears perked up.
“Oh, uh, sure!” She got out her phone. “Whisper and Tangle are usually at their house at this time of the day, and Lanolin’s currently napping in her room. But I can send them a group text and ask them if it’s okay.”
“Awesome,” Marlow replied. “‘Cause you guys seem awesome to hang out with.”
As they exchanged numbers, Marlow had another question.
“Oh, another thing; I was planning to see a superhero movie this weekend, and was wondering if you wanted to tag along.”
“Oh, geez, um…” Ashley rubbed the back of her head. “Saturday or Sunday?”
“Sunday at 5PM.
“Ah. Okay, good.” She put a palm to her chest. “I’ve got training to do with Extreme Gear on Saturday, but I should be fine on Sunday.”
Not sure what she means by that, but… “Great, so it’s a date?”
“Sure is!” Ashley nodded, putting her phone in her pocket.
Marlow smiled. “Sick! I won’t keep you for much longer, then. See you Sunday!”
“You too! Looking forward to it!”
Them and Mercury waved at each other as the leopard walked off.
Once she was fully out of sight, Marlow sighed and petted the red wisp.
“Me voy a encariñar con este lugar, ¿no?”
Mercury bobbled up and down as if they were giggling, and nuzzled the cow’s cheek.