FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

There were times when I wondered if what we were doing was right. There were times when I wished that this was all just a bad dream. Then there were times like this.

We arrived at Annie's house not long after. Her home looked quite tall and imposing; I could tell that the decorum of the front yard was literally flaunting middle upper class living. Brickwork walkway, white wall wooden framework, a two car garage, and a brass-adorned front door greeted us.

This was really the first time I took a moment to re-examine everything there, to take it all in. I had visited a few times before so it shouldn't have been new to me. After getting my head wrapped around that logic, we rushed our way up to the front door in haste.

I had to check my game again to make sure Annie was alright. Switching over, I noticed that those thugs I saved on my game were already being escorted by small critters, probably the police. One of the critters had a coloration of a bruise on its sprite model. I supposed that it must have been the Apartment desk clerk who got knocked unconscious.

Thank God he was alright.

I switched back to Annie. Her Amy Rose counterpart was apparently idling in one of the rooms above, probably talking on the phone. How did I guess that? Well the game ended up shifting into a higher gear of unrealistic.

A faint sound in the background could be heard beneath Annie's voice. I was hearing her conversation with someone on the phone. Throughout their conversation, I found myself thinking 'maybe I should call her another time'. I shook myself out of it when that didn't make any sense.

Rick, on the other hand, was busy knocking feverishly on the door.

"Rick," I tried to calm him down. "Rick. I think we're safe enough to wait."

"Are you kidding?" Rick retorted as he turned around, "We got mad cultists after our heads, a murdering video game that nearly wanted us dead, and all you can think of is waiting?"

"Seriously," I replied, "There aren't any cultists around right now. We can at least try to break it to her gently."

"Pfft." he snorted. But the response he gave me after made me think_seriously_? "I'd rather whisk her off her feet and yank her away from those bastards."

We were in danger, I would agree. We were in a hurry, I would also agree. But trying to play Sir Galahad? That thought alone just made me worry.

"Dude, you said it yourself. We're running from a bunch of cultists and you're suddenly acting like you're a hero?"

"Why not???" he retorted, "It's the first time I get to do this ever! Didn't you ever dream of saving a damsel in distress?"

"She is NOT in distress, NOR is she a damsel!" I yelled.

"Dude, Annie's sprite is Amy Rose, Sega's VERY DEFINITION of a damsel in distress, and you're saying I shouldn't be thinking that?"

Much as I wanted to slap him in the face for that, he was SORT of right. I wouldn't go on with what Sega did with Amy later, considering we weren't in a good position to argue about it. But one thing was for certain. Annie wasn't the damsel type.

I checked the game again to notice Annie coming down from her room. Our commotion must have made her put off.

Her front door opened to reveal her standing behind it, her casual blue jeans hugging her slim hips, along with her sleeveless black shirt. The front of her shirt adorned the image of a punk rock band logo over the upper area.

The look in her olive eyes was enough to make me and Rick wish we could back-track our thoughts.

"Okay you two. What gives?" She went to the point on that one. "I was busy on the phone earlier."

"No time to talk!" Rick managed to speak up, reaching out to grab her hand. "Come with me if you want to live!"

That move only rewarded him with a smack on the head from Annie.

"OW!" He reeled back on that, rubbing his head and groaning.

"I didn't even hit you that hard," she commented. Her hand brushed back her brunette locks behind her shoulders.

Much as I would try to explain what I could, I had to get to the point.

"Sorry to interrupt your call with your friend Rachel though." That was enough to get Annie quiet in an instant.

"... How the hell-" She shook her head. "Did Rachel set you up for a prank or something?"

"No. Just like I wasn't supposed to know about you two going to the Salon in 2 hours for a drink at the Cafe next-" She grabbed me in mid-sentence and yanked me up close.

"If you're stalking me, then so help me god..." Annie was DEFINITELY not someone you would want to piss off. I managed to wrench myself from her grip, strong as it was for a gal like her, and brushed myself off.

"Look. I was standing out here just now. I have nothing on me to indicate how I know this," I insisted. Annie took a very good look at me, yanking my arms up to pat me down, even checking my ears for any earphones or ear pieces.

"...How the hell..." She finally looked intrigued enough to hear me out.

"Okay. How I knew that is from this," I finally held the game gear up to her, showing her the screen. Annie took a look at it for a bit, noticing something off, and tilted her head. She then held her hand on the thing and pushed it back towards me.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I've never seen a Sega game gear with graphics like that."

I nearly lost my head there when she said that. I looked at the screen to check again. To my dismay, it ended up changed again.

The graphics on the screen had 'updated' again for some reason. The background suddenly looked like it was 'somewhat' 3D, decorated with some 2D images, and Annie's Amy rose sprite looked 'newer'. Whereas it looked like a young and simple looking pink hedgehog girl, it suddenly turned into her more mature looking red dress wearing version.

"Oh you got to be fucking kidding me!" I growled out, shaking the damn thing. "What is UP WITH YOU!"

Annie was starting to give me a worried look from how I was acting. Rick, on the other hand, sprung to my back to look at it. "Oh, no way. It's got new graphics!"

"Rick! This isn't the time or place to be fascinated by a cursed game's crazy changes!" I yelled out.

Annie's look changed from concern and confusion to a sudden intrigue. "Cursed?" She asked.

I managed to look back at her, pushing Rick to the side, and gave a quiet sigh. "...This game is called Sonic.EX3."

"...No freaking way. You got THE Sonic.EXE ga- wait a minute," Annie was almost going on a tangent before remembering what I said. "...You mean Sonic.EXE right?"

"No. That's the fucked up part," I responded. I showed her the back cartridge. She took a look at it, eying the sticker, and she gave a quiet shake of her head.

"Still don't believe it," she murmured.

Against my better judgment, I yanked the cartridge out of the game gear. When I did, the game STILL continued to play.

She raised her brow when she looked at it. Obviously, the sprites on the game were showing her distaste on Amy Rose's face. "Either you fixed your thing up to play a flash image or that's a novelty game gear."

My only other way of showing its craziness was turning and throwing it off into the distance. When I did, it ended up hitting a passing by car that instant. Luckily, it only knocked into the hood of the car.

The guy in the car ended up screeching to a halt, stepped out of his vehicle, and yelled at us. "HEY WHAT THE FUCK GIVES!"

Annie yanked me and Rick INSTANTLY into the house before shutting the door afterwards. She stood outside to talk the guy down for us.

Rick gave a rather quiet stare at me with a look that basically said 'really?'

"...How the fuck was I supposed to prove it?" I asked defensively.

"You could have just smashed it on the ground," he replied.

At that moment, I would admit my frustration made me pull something that stupid. But we'd eventually find out it ended up working. The reason I believed that was because I heard the games tell-tale noises again in the house.

I looked down at the carpet to notice the game gear, still in good condition, and yet the cartridge was still in my hand. Apparently this game had understood what I was thinking ...

I picked up the game gear before putting the game back in. I wasn't sure if it was necessary, considering the game was still playing when I pulled it out, but I at least felt better knowing the cartridge was kept safe with the game gear.

"Dude... How the hell did it do that?" Rick managed to finally speak up after the long pause of surprise.

"Oh, this? This was the first thing I learned about this damn game on day one," I retorted rather sarcastically.

But what showed on the screen was Amy in utter confusion after that talk with the driver. Annie must have given him enough apologies to make him back off. That, or she promised to wallop us for him in his stead. But what I was waiting for was for Annie to end up thinking 'didn't that game gear break around here?'

She came back to the front door, opened it, and entered, ready to tell us off. "Okay you two. What the hell is going on with that stunt and-" She paused when she noticed the Game gear, intact, in my hands.

"... What ... the ... fuck?" Those three words were enough for me to work with when she said that.

I gave her a reassuring nod, showing the screen, and was practically cheering internally when the game pulled another spook for us.

The game ended up voicing Annie's words at the same time she spoke, further enforcing the foreboding creepiness of the game, and leaving her stunned silent.

"Annie..." I finally broke the silence, causing her to gaze at me in utter confusion. "We gotta talk..."