The Colorful Night (1/15) - r

The Las Casino City was a city-state. With its size, it rivaled the Albion City, but the life here was bustling non-stop. There was never a night illuminated by moon or stars anymore. The neon lights were everywhere, flashing, creating moving illusions.

The train station already looked luxurious. It was clean, and people were moving in and out of trains in endless streams. The lines of customers waiting for a ticket were equally long.

When the train stopped, Eclipse clung to Amy more than ever. The air was full of unknown fragrances, the noise was deafening, and emotions of all kinds were bursting into flames around every person.

Amy hugged him around a shoulder, soothing him. Silver paid them minimal consideration, having his own problems. Once they left the station, Amy soon realized why was the psychic so grumpy about coming here.

The buildings were the tallest she had ever seen covered by neon lights. Some had big screens on them with advertisements about different kinds of plays, drinks and meals one could find in every restaurant, and various products from local and far away stores.

Silver rubbed his eyes, kicking in the shin a thief who tried to pickpocket him. He hated this place. All the flashing colors were making his mind dizzy, and they were causing him a headache on top of that. He could only hope he wouldn't get a migraine like the last time.

Another thug tried to rob Amy, and to Silver's delight, she headbutted him. However, he was working in a pair, but the second one fell victim to Eclipse's fangs. Both men quickly retreated.

Amy soon noticed nobody paid them or those thugs much of attention. All the people were walking in thick streams, and many of them bumped into them. She always tried to apologize, but that person didn't even look at her.

"Stop wasting your time and breath," noted Silver, walking in front of them. "Nobody cares about you... unless you are found dead in front of their property," he added sarcastically.

The lass knitted her eyebrow a bit, and she would reply if she wasn't concentrating on surpassing her soul reading ability. Eclipse was doing the same just for his smell and ears. He soon felt annoyed and very small.

There were so many people around walking, crying, pleading, begging, shouting, yelling, fighting, or moving in a general way. Nobody was relaxed, and emotions were changing at an enormous speed, shifting from one to another. It was making him puzzled.

Amy peeked over the crowd to see the famous Bingo Highway. It was connecting all the parts of the city, going in a circle like a big roulette. She actually read in one book the city was modeled after it. It offered over one thousand games of all kinds, and you could easily become rich or poor in a blink of the eye.

As a child, she dreamed of visiting this city. However, she would never imagine this place to be so far away from The Land of Endless Possibilities, as the author of a said book described it. Especially with those drivers constantly cursing and honking at each other.

There was so much negativity in the air, she was glad she never visited this place before. It was full of bad influence, but this city had the most money of all the big cities. It was no wonder it was able to gain independence from the Acorn Kingdom. However, The Order here established a branch before it happened, and it protected this place just like any other city or town.

Finally, they reached the first crossing. Amy looked at the pole in front of her. There was a red ring shining on its panel. She wondered what it meant, but red was considered to mean danger in many technical disciplines. Given the stream of cars, she was sure it was warning you not to cross.

However, she would be really naive, thinking Silver would just wait for it to let them pass. He lifted them, getting on the other side without any effort. For this, they received booing and shouts from people below. Silver needed only one glace to show them their place.

The psychic felt a pang in his head. 'Dang,' he silently cursed. 'Just what I needed.' He thought if he wouldn't pay the lights attention he would reach the office without getting a major headache. However, the city proved him wrong. He growled and flew the rest of the way to get away from them as fast as he could.

Before they reached it, they were almost hit by a green bird on ExGear doing dangerous trick above the crowded streets. It caused havoc as many hats were tossed into the air with the gust behind the illegal racer.

Nothing happened to their group, but Amy yelped as she was startled. Before that bird disappeared, she noted to herself to smack Sonic if he would ever turn like this one. After a couple of minutes, they reached their destination.

"Finally here!" gasped Silver.

His headache got worse, but it was still bearable. He landed in front of a five-story building. Its gable was decorated by a big emblem of The Order like other branches. However, this one was formed of neon tubes and that made Silver sick. It was disgusting and tasteless just like this whole city. They entered through rotating door, walking into the big hall.

It was similar to any other branch. The front desk was accepting and distributing jobs and information, archiving and solving many official matters. The differences started with beer, cigarette smoke in the air, and a few wide smirks toward Amy. She could tell they weren't meant friendly.

"I have been expecting you!" called big tiger, rushing to them.

His body was wide with visible muscles on arms with an extra kilo or two around the stomach. Eclipse sneezed as an aggressive odor of his cologne reached the demon's nose. The tiger shook hands with Silver who was disgusted by the sweaty feel it had.

"When I heard the headquarters is sending you to help with this, I was overjoyed. It's always a pleasure to see a true specialist in the action," he said with a big smile.

Amy lifted her eyebrow. That jolly attitude was fake. From his stiff smile was obvious he disliked Silver. The fact he was ordered by hedgehog when he was a mighty tiger must have made him sick.

The tiger caught her eyes, and Amy quickly gifted him with her own sweet smile. Except, she masked the poison behind it more efficiently. The tiger's yellow eyes glanced at them from top to toes.

"Are those two with you?" He tiled his head. "They don't look they can handle this case. I can call my best men to assist you."

Silver's eyebrow twitched, and he placed the sweetest smug smile on his face before he said, "I appreciate your concern, but you are supposed to give us a full detailed report and not an opinion on my team," he growled the last two worlds.

The tiger's fists twitched. A sharp fang bit the lip to prevent the tiger man from snapping. "I was just about to hand it to you. Wait a bit," he answered, surpassing his anger inside, but some still seeped into his voice.

The local boss turned around and left, heading to his office. He hoped to please this pain in his neck to get him some credit from His Holiness. Well, the first try might not work, but he still had a chance.

When the tiger went away, Silver snorted. He hated that guy, and he knew what all that jolly behavior meant. The psychic had no intention to drop any positive comment about him unless he would do a good job. That was impossible since this guy only cared for his visage and paycheck.

Amy had to correct her opinion on Silver. She expected he would agree or had at least a sarcastic note directed at them. But he decided to take their side. It was really hard to understand what he was sometimes thinking even with her reading ability. Her blue eyes watched him move to a cork-board covered by notes and cuts from newspapers.

"Hi, babe," called her unknown voice.

She snapped her head the other way. Her stare was met with crystal blue eyes and a cool smirk. Both belonged to a green hedgehog with the most common quills style. He was wearing the standard uniform, so he was part of The Order. His gloved hand adjusted shades resting above his eyes.

"Aren't you bored with babysitting old man and a baby?" he asked.

Amy wasn't sure what to think as this person reminded her Sonic, but his personality was too different. Eclipse's grip over her hand strengthened, and a silent growl escaped him.

The hedgehog got a half step closer, lowering his hand. "I know this nice pla—UAGH!" he yelped.

Amy pinched the hand that tried to grope her butt, she lifted it and twisted the skin, adding extra pain.

"Ouch! Ouch!" he squealed, grabbing his hand.

"Amy!" Silver rebuked her.

She looked toward him. He was still checking the notes and hadn't turned around.

"Just don't splatter the dead body everywhere," the psychic added.

The chilling tone sent shivers down the green hedgehog spine. Amy turned back with the sweetest smile dyed in the deadliest poison. She jerked with her hand down, pulling his too. He bared his teeth and tears spurted out. She finally let him go.

He didn't wait and dashed away from her into the corner where he licked his wound. His coworkers were almost dead from the laughing. They called him a crybaby and a coward.

Amy felt a bit sorry for the young man. He was maybe rude, but he didn't deserve such calls. She approached the loudest group.

"Thinking you wouldn't cry?" she inquired with an innocent tone.

Silver's ears twitched, and he slightly turned around. This could be interesting.

"What?" barked huge bear, stepping forward.

"Why don't we make a bet?" Amy suggested. "If you don't cry in ten seconds you can grope me wherever you want."

A few jaws went ajar, especially the one belonging to Eclipse. What kind of bet was it?

A quick whisper ran through the group.

"We agree." The bear smirked, going as the first contestant.

"Alright, nice to meet you," Amy greeted him.

The bear cried after three seconds.

The next one was a dog, two wolves, rabbit, raccoon, and even a young skunk. Neither of them lasted for more than five seconds. The more guys fall down, the more the others were riled up. Their determination to win this bet skyrocketed.

Their last hope was the oldest member among them, the hippopotamus. His skin was tough, and they saw him falling on rocks or glass without leaving a scratch on his body. There was no way the girl could win this round.

The round man gulped the water in his mouth. Amy looked tender, and he was itching to make her cry for him. The hippo man was sure she was hiding nice quality under that uniform. He put his hand forward, expecting an easy victory. Amy smiled at him, putting her fingers on his backhand.

The countdown started.

The young lass pinched him.

A smirk was on his face. He hardly felt this one.

She lifted his arm, pivoting under it like they were dancing.

His face twisted a bit. He was feeling this pull on his skin, but it was bearable. His small eyes glanced at the clock. Six more seconds to go. He could do this!

Amy didn't stop at one spin, but she did another one, twisting his arm completely.

His fat fingers dug into his shoulder as he half-way spun his body as well. The power behind her moves was more than he expected.

When she was going for the third round, she slashed her hand, lifting the huge body in the air. The room was filled with his roar soaked in pain. The heavy body hit the floor the hard way. The hippo curled up, licking and blowing his skin.

He was down in the ninth second.

Amy dusted her arms and then her clothes. She was happy with the outcome.

"So, who is the crybaby now?" she asked them with a big smile.

A few whimpers sounded from the group, but nobody dared to answer. She turned around, proud of her work. Now she noticed Silver was leaning against the wall, enjoying the bet as well. His posture was relaxed, and he was definitely happy he had something to rub over the tiger's face. So much for his best men.

The hippo was furious. He snorted, stood up, snapping out, "You little bi---Ugh!"

His last word was cut short as a small hand pushed him away. His huge body slammed against the wall, shaking with the whole building. The silence was only disturbed by things that fell down on the stone wall. Nobody expected this.

That small, weird looking guy had tremendous strength. It wasn't Amy but Eclipse who outran her by a split of a second.

"What's happening here?" roared the tiger's voice as he emerged from the back door.

His eyes shot open when he saw the catastrophe that occurred in his office. He couldn't stop his jaw from dropping.

"Thank you for the report," Silver said as he snatched the papers from his fingers.

"Ah... What..." the tiger was unable to speak a word.

Silver opened the folder with the report, reading it while walking.

Amy and Eclipse followed him, but before that, Amy dashed to that green hedgehog and gave him a cooling pad. "Don't go groping girl's bottoms, okay?" This time her smile was honest, then she dashed after her partners.

Outside reminded her of the harsh environment of the city, she almost overheard the tiger's yelling. Silver quickly navigated through the bustling area, finding a coffee shop.

"Feel free to fill your stomach, if you don't mind wasting it later," the psychic sarcastically noted.

With the lights, his mood was like on the swing. He needed to get away from them, and he was glad every shop and restaurant had own protection barriers surpassing perceptions of the outside world.

Amy frowned a bit but took the seat without response. When the cat waitress appeared, he ordered only black coffee, and the young lass handled the rest of the order. Silver was still reading the report and paid no attention to the drinks that were put on the table. He just grabbed his cup, sipping the dark liquid.

Eclipse fidgeted a bit. While this place was shielded from the streets, it was still full of different emotions. It was making him uneasy. Add the environment where he needed to watch his manners, and his anxiety was well fed for weeks to come.

Silver put part of the report on the table, noticing there is a cheesecake in front of him. "What's this?"

"No worries, it's on me," Amy ensured him, drinking her caramel latte.

His pointy ears twitched. He didn't mean it that way. He hated when his bad mood reflected on his judgment.

"It's a small thank you for standing for us," she added.

Silver glanced Eclipse who got hot dark chocolate, and he was licking it like a cat. A good amount of the liquid got smeared on his face.

The psychic frowned, but pulled the cake closer to himself. "I just hate that guy, that's all."

She looked out of the window. Everything outside was turned into a big smudge. "This is really a strange city, isn't it?"

"Just ignore it. These people are hopeless, wasting their time and money here." The agent didn't want for her to get distracted.

He looked at his partner, noticing her eye twitched. Amy carefully rubbed it, but the jerking movement remained. Silver knew her soul-seeing ability was behind it.

Appendix given to him by The Order included renewed profile cards for his partners. He was surprised at how much they both improved in the last year. Amy was now able to feel other's souls without looking into their eyes. In normal towns or cities, it might not be such a problem as the emotions were a lot less hectic than here.

He slightly sighed, pressing her temple. "Just stay still," he noted, stopping her from moving away. Silver poured a bit of his energy inside. "Is it better?"

Amy looked around. "Yes, it's much better. The flashing lights are gone. Thank you."

"Just pour a bit of your energy inside. You can get the best result when somebody else will do it. I and Gold do this on a daily basis."

"You don't feel well among huge crowds too?"

Eclipse watched them, but he was constantly distracted by the chocolate cake in front of him. It smelled so nice. He never had something like that, so he was carefully thinking about how to eat it in the most efficient way.

Silver waited a bit, before he answered, "I dislike crowds of any size. Just these flashing lights are causing me a headache. It's harder to concentrate." He wondered why he was in a mood to answer her. Maybe the coffee was behind it.

"Right, you need to have a clear head to use your power. I'm same in this regard."

Silver returned to the rest of the report, not wanting to talk.

She took a bite of her strawberry cake. She visited her parents a few days ago, yet it felt like an eternity since then. She got used to her new lifestyle full of dangers. She kind of liked it. It took her to many new places and allowed her to experience the world. However, this calm moment was something she wished to last for long.

"Your turn," the psychic said, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Amy quickly grabbed it. How long it took him? It had six full pages! He read them in less than fifteen minutes. It might not seem that much, but the writing couldn't exactly be called calligraphy.

The lass considered herself to be a fast reader, but she kept struggling as some words were hard to read, and she was sure she saw big grammatical mistakes. When she found especially confusing part, she had no choice but to ask him what it meant. Since then, Silver summarized her the report without hinting any disdain in his voice.

When he finished, she mumbled, "You are kind of like the citron cheesecake with the black coffee."

Silver stopped, having cup halfway lifted. "What are you getting at?" He wasn't interested in one of her tick-me-off-praises, but her face was completely free of such intention. How unusual.

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