Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a cool mid-autumn night. The north-westernmost section of Station Square was abandoned, empty and quiet. The only real noise was the idle hums of the streetlamps illuminating the streets. 

A set of tires whined as a blue car came to a stop on a parking spot against the sidewalk. 

“You have reached your destination.” The artificial assistant, Breeze, spoke with a masculine voice. It was using the satnav system to guide the driver to this place. 

The headlights, almost designed like eyes, shut off. Only the streetlamps were giving light near the vehicle now. Both doors of the car opened at once, as the car was filled with four Mobians that were all piling out of the car- two forms hopping out of the backseat as they didn’t have doors next to them. 

With the press of her keys, Amy locked her new car. She pulled on her Hammer Purse 2.0, clutching the strap across her chest to keep it on. Letting everyone ahead first, Amy pulled out her phone and texted somebody. 

They were parked across from a restaurant called “Eggstraordinary,” which was boarded up and currently abandoned. 

After the destruction caused by Perfect Chaos, in the next months the city underwent extensive reconstruction projects. Most, if not all of the inner city was rebuilt, while the outer parts of Station Square were quickly trying to catch up. 

The front boards were pulled off by Knuckles, the echidna tossing them aside and holding the door open for his friends. With a flip of his hand, Tails activated his Vulcan Cannon, turning on the flashlight feature to illuminate the abandoned and (still) water damaged restaurant. 

It was small, pretty cozy. Too bad it was gone. 

They all walked in silence, walking around the breakfast counter and headed through the kitchen. The quartet stepped down towards the walk-in freezer. Pulling out his tablet for a quick second, Tails detected that they needed to go through it. 

It was strangely warm inside the walk-in freezer. Amy winced and covered her nose at the stench of rotting foodstuffs. 

Fingertips passed around the bare back wall, sliding around until they hit something raised from the wall, outlining a rectangular panel that was slightly sticking out from the back wall. Pulling her hand back with a smile, Cream pushed up her glasses. 

She pulled her Omochao plush backpack around to her front, unzipping the top. She gave Cheese a pet- letting the chao sleep in her bag for the time being- before pulling out a mobile printer and what looked like a wide-beam flashlight with the HEXAeco logo on it. 

Using the flashlight, Cream scanned the raised panel with a red beam, letting it slowly pass over the panel as if scanning it. Once it was done, the mobile printer immediately started up, printing out a long paper with a strange looking paw-print on it. 

Cream pulled it out, pressing it ink-side down against the panel and pressing her own hand firmly against it. 

The panel turned green.

“Hybrid print accepted. Welcome.”

As the rest of the wall next to the panel opened inwards slowly, Cream put her things back in her Omochao backpack, gesturing to the opening with a big smile. 

She took up the back with Amy, letting Knuckles lead with Tails using the light to guide him. They stepped through darkness, only led by the light showing them barren walls and flooring, until they were stopped by a light overhead turning on. 

It showed a table far ahead, with three chairs closest to the group. There was a chair behind it, leaned back as the sitter was reclining slightly. In one hand, on a finger, he was visibly spinning a pistol around from the trigger guard. 

He slammed the pistol down on the table, spinning himself around to face the group. 

“G’day, mates.” Fang the Sniper grinned, his titular fangs bared to the four. 

The quartet stood in a line in the light, facing Fang together. 

“Hi, Nack.” Amy replied. 

Fang’s grin disappeared after that. He leaned in his chair again, still holding his pistol, resting his feet up on the table. He used the barrel of his gun to flick up his hat and see the group better. 

“You certainly know how to track a man or two down, love.”

“Would’ve been here sooner. You aren’t exactly the easiest man to find.”

“Ya think that’s for a reason?” Fang replied. His eyes flicked from each person. “It’s been a bloody hot minute since I’ve seen you hoons. There’s something a bit different about you bludgers…” 

Fang looked over at Tails first, his gun pointed back and away to keep the four from getting antsy. His eyes trailed down to Tails’ feet.

“Blue shoes, eh?”

“I’m a fan of the classics.” Tails shrugged, arms crossed. 

The sniper looked over at Cream next, eyebrow raised.

“Here I thought carrots made your eyesight better.”

Cream huffed, adjusting her octagonal glasses. 

It was Knuckles next, with Fang looking at his hands.

“You got on boxing gloves, mate?”

“Sonic said it made my punches hurt less.” Knuckles pressed his fists together. It was true, he was wearing pure white boxing gloves (to match the paint) though his white spiked knuckles still poked through, piercing through the glove. 

Fang’s eyes rested on Amy, finally. 

“New hammer.” He said. “Think I wouldn’t notice cause it looked the same, eh love? I see everything, know everything.” 

Amy quickly whipped one end of the strap around, forming her purse into its hammer form quickly. The pole extended out though, with a special squeeze of two fingers on Amy’s gloves, stopping only an inch from the sniper’s face.

“It’ll be smacking you upside the head if you don’t give us what we need.” 

She lifted the hammer up and gently bonked Fang on the head, her hammer making an audible piko sound like a toy hammer, before the pole retracted.

As the hammer was pulled back, a swipe of a bear’s claw came from the darkness. Bark bared his teeth at the group in warning as he stepped into the light beside Fang’s chair. On the other side, Bean crept in, poking out from the other side of the chair to peer at the group. 

Fang put his feet on the ground the same time Amy clicked her hammer back into its purse form. Sitting up, Fang rested the pistol on the table again. 

“What is it you need then, love? We haven’t broken any of Station Square’s crummy laws recently. In front of you.” The sniper growled. “You break into three men’s hideout like it’s nothing? As far as I see, you’re down a blue hedgehog. What’s keeping me from firing one round into each of you and calling it a night?”

“You think we didn’t count for that?” Cream said, tilting her head. 

As the sniper lifted his pop gun again, it was suddenly jerked to the side as if something was hitting the opposite end of it. It was pulled out of Fang’s hand, going into the edge of the darkness and landing in a hand that faded in. The rest of the body faded in next, revealing a darkly-dressed chameleon.

“Now doesn’t this look familiar?” Espio twirled the gun around his finger and aimed it back at Fang, staring into him. 

Bark moved to reach Espio, but was suddenly jerked backwards. In from the darkness, Vector pulled the polar bear into a full nelson hold, securing his arms back so he was unable to get out. 

Before Bean could react, tiny hands grabbed onto the Dyna-mite’s handkerchief, pulling it up and holding it over his eyes. Charmy laughed as Bean struggled around, waving his arms wildly as he tried to reach for the evasive bee. 

Fang looked around, then back at the four, a deep frown on his face. He took a deep breath to center himself, drumming his fingers on the table. 

“Alright, alright. You proved your point, ya bunch of drongos…” He growled. “Let my boys go and sit down. We’ll talk.” 

The detectives all stopped their meddling. Charmy snickered as he flew away from Bean, the demolition man very violently readjusting his handkerchief with a huff, his feathers rustled. Vector let go of Bark, jumping at him slightly afterwards. 

“Stay mad, Combi.” The croc said. 

Espio handed the pistol to Fang, who snatched it away and put it in his chest holster under his vest. Joined by his boys behind him, Fang folded his hands on the table to look business-oriented. 

Amy, Tails and Cream sat in the three chairs. The detectives, joined by Knuckles, stood behind the trio. 

“Anyone else, love?”

After a moment’s pause, Amy pulled her phone to her mouth.

“Plan C is a no. Froginator is no longer needed.”

With heavy footsteps, holding a fishing rod against him, Big trudged in to join the group from the darkness. Froggy ribbited his hello to the group from between Big’s ears. 

“What was he gonna do?” Bean asked.

“Stuff you couldn’t even believe, man.” Cream said, waving her hands over her face for an extra bit of pizzazz. 

“What is it that you need, love?” Fang focused on the matter at hand, staring at Amy.

“Sonic’s been taken. We need your help to get him back.”

“What, from that doctor? As much as I’d love a little bit of payback for the things he’s put us through, I don’t think it’s worth our time to do something even big, red and dull over there could handle on his own.”

“My knuckles are razor sharp. They’re never dull!” Knuckles said. 

“Sonic’s been taken by GUN.” Amy corrected herself. “He’s been taken for a crime he didn’t commit. We need the helpful eye of a few allies… outside of the law.” 

“Allies? Is that what we are, love?”

“You still owe Sonic for the Sleet and Dingo incident.” 

“We repaid it by saving your frozen butts!” Bean interjected.

“Then you owed us again when we got the heat off of you after that.” Tails replied. “Either way, we know that Nack over there wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to his precious little rival, right?”

Fang bit his cheek, grunting.

“Plus, it’s a shot at stealing really high-priced technology from the Guardian Units of Nations…” Cream said, in a sing-song kinda way.

“I didn’t want that to be a key factor, but I’m desperate.” Amy added. “Sonic needs our help. We think Ivo is planning something crazy, and GUN has now turned on us. We only have each other left.”

“How touching. What’s in it for us?” 

“What more could you possibly want? Besides the opportunity to steal right under GUN’s nose?” 

“Could always go south, love. I need to know you’re really in it for the long haul.”

Amy was silent. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and letting out a long sigh. 

“Dang it…” She murmured. “We’ll give you information on the location of Meropis.”

“The underwater city? That’s just a myth.” Bean said. 

“No, it isn’t. We have information on where to find it.”

“Amy, no…” Tails murmured. “We’ve been following that for years. You can’t just give it up!”

“Wait, she’s tellin’ the truth?” Fang looked at Tails. 

“After Chaos flooded the city, we got pieces of rubble of some kind of strange architecture we believe belongs to Meropis.” Amy continued. “We’ll give you the map we’ve been working on for the last three months. All you need to do is help us break Sonic out.” 

It was clear the sniper was considering it for a moment, buttoning and unbuttoning the strap on his holster keeping his pistol secured, fidgeting with it. 

Soon, he clipped his gun in, leaning forwards and smiling devilishly at Amy. 

“Sure. You got yourself a deal, love.” He said. “How’s about you tell me what happened? Make sure you start from the beginning.” 

THIRTY-SIX HOURS EARLIER…

“Ugh! Knuckles, stop pulling on my quills so hard! Is this almost done?”

Sonic was sitting on the edge of his bathroom’s tub, placed between Amy and Tails while Knuckles stood in the shower, smearing white paint across the hedgehog’s quills. 

“Yes, it is. I still don’t understand why you’re so weird about your quills.” The echidna replied. “Moss had been doing this to me since I was a baby, and I started doing it to myself when I was as young as five years old.”

“Sonic’s always been iffy about his quills.” 

“I have not!” Sonic replied to Amy. He writhed as Knuckles continued to paint around his top quill spike. 

“What about that time Aleena tried to brush your quills and you tore up the strawberry fields running away from her?” Tails asked. 

“That was different! Those hard bristle brushes hurt…” 

“Done. I think I did well.” 

At Knuckles’ words, the three stood up, crowding around the nearby mirror to look at the alterations done by the echidna. There was a ring, painted in white, placed on their body. It was on Sonic’s top quill spike, Amy’s right hanging spike, and on one of Tails’ tails. 

“Huh. Not that bad. I think it looks good.” Sonic said, turning his head to look at it. 

Knuckles stepped out of the tub, getting the door for the others to leave the bathroom. He picked up his newfangled white boxing gloves from the sink, sliding them on and letting his spiked knuckles push through the holes created in the fabric. He opened and closed his mitted hands to get a feel for them again. 

“With those markings, I hope to make a symbolic gesture to show you three and others my commitment and partnership as a group.” 

“Thanks for explaining it.” Tails snorted as he passed by the echidna. 

They entered the apartment’s den in time to hear a knock at the door. 

“I got it.” Amy said, walking off to see who it was. 

Sonic laid across the futon, letting out a long sigh of relief as he did so. 

“Long day, Sonic?”

“You know it, buddy.” The hedgehog said to Tails. “It’s so hard being such an icon now.” 

As if to add on to that statement, Knuckles turned on the television to show a commercial starring Sonic- now one of many. This one was for some kind of two-in-one console that was far ahead of its time. 

After the reckoning, and subsequent calming, of the water god Chaos, Sonic and his friends were each thrust into the spotlight due to their successful efforts to save the world, becoming international celebrities instead of just in the UF. Ever the guy to take all the fame to spare his friends unwanted attention, Sonic took most of the extravagant deals for commercials and sponsors. 

That didn’t mean they weren’t still given things though. 

Amy grunted and huffed as she waddled inside, carrying a big box that was practically twice her size. Noticing immediately, Knuckles came over and took it from her, carrying it more easily to the den and setting it down. 

“Thanks, Knux.” 

“Oooh, what’s that, Amy?” Tails asked. 

“I dunno. Mailman Dave said it was from a furniture company in Spagonia.” She replied. “It was addressed directly to Sonic, as thanks for saving the world and stuff.” 

“Oooh, goody!” Sonic sat up, cutting the tape down the middle with a spiky finger. 

“Sonic, don’t you think you’re getting a bit too many presents from people?” 

“Hey, I’ll send this back if you send back the Rascal Part 2 .” 

“He’s called The Breeze and I’m not sending it back anytime soon!” Amy said. “I don’t have infinite stamina like you, sometimes I like driving in a car. I’m just glad Dodon Pa doesn’t hold a grudge about that interview I messed up from so long ago…” 

“Maybe he rigged the car to activate a bomb when it hit a certain speed, then when it goes under that speed it’ll make the bomb explode with you inside of it!”

“...you’ve been watching too many action movies, Knuckles.”

The box was opened, packaging peanuts scooped aside as Sonic felt something soft and plump inside. It wasn’t squishy like it was slime, but as if it had thousands of foam pellets inside of it. 

Sonic was nearly completely inside the box, kicking his feet in the air as he searched inside.

Suddenly, he gasped loudly. 

“Holy crap!”

“Sonic? What is it?” Amy asked. 

The blue hedgehog put his feet firmly on the ground, pulling something out of the box with a smooth slide. He held his prize over his head- an elongated, soft plushy thing twice Sonic’s size. From the looks of it, the thing had a bun, a hotdog in it, and chili with cheese on top of it. 

“...a chilidog?” 

“A chilidog bean bag, my dear echidna!”

With a giant smile, Sonic placed the bean bag down across from where Tails’ recliner was, leaping in to lay face-down on the big chilidog. He sunk in slowly, air audibly hissing from the bean bag as the other three watched him pretty much get devoured. 

He let out a long moan as he fully relaxed.

“This is heaven. I think Chaos did kill me and I was sent to heaven…” 

“Dude…”

“Sonic, c’mon!” 

Knuckles chuckled instead of scolding the hedgehog. Seeing Tails and Amy staring at him, he quickly stopped his uncharacteristic, Sonic-like amusement. The echidna cleared his throat in the awkward silence after. 

Strolling over to Sonic, Amy pulled the hedgehog up to his feet and off of the bean bag. 

“C’mon Sonic, we gotta leave.”

“But I just got the bean baaaaag…” 

“Yeah, well, someone promised Vanilla his fox friend would set up the website for her upcoming mayoral campaign.” 

“And I can’t drive!” Tails added.

“You can fly a plane!”

“That’s different.” 

“Why do I have to come, though?” Sonic asked Amy, exasperated.

“She’s practically your aunt, and you were on the verge of dying like, three months ago. She’ll want to see you.” Amy looped arms with him, leading him out. “Besides, staying indoors and wallowing in all your free stuff is turning your brain into chili.”

“Ooh, chili…”

“Sonny. Focus.” Amy snapped in his face. “I get there hasn’t been any significant bad guys in the last few months, but you never know when another one will strike.” 

“What, I can’t enjoy some free time on my own until that happens?”

“I never said that. I just… I have this bad feeling something is going to happen soon.” Amy replied. Knuckles opened the door for them to leave, Tails trailing behind them. “When I was on the fleet months ago, I had this… vision. It looked like you, but… he had a scar over his left eye. He looked disheveled, but he had your clothes.”

“You think it was me?”

“I never know with psychic visions. All I felt was… the intensity of anger, the heat of a scream.” Amy shrugged, walking with Sonic to the elevator. “But… What I’m getting at is… you know, I don’t really wanna risk it. If we have to go to Vanilla’s, I’d rather you go with us instead of being home alone.”

Sonic glanced at Amy for a moment. With the ding of the lift doors opening, he let out a sigh, a small smile still on his face. 

“Alright, alright. I like Vanilla’s carrot cake anyways.” 

“She adds too much cream cheese icing for me.” Tails remarked as the group got into the elevator. The doors closed a moment after. 

“Speaking of which,” Amy unhooked her arm from Sonic’s. “Cream wants to see you, Tails. She’s got a bunch of new gizmo prototypes that HEXAeco created that she would love for you to tweak with.”

“I was under the assumption that HEXAeco created technology that provided energy to citizens.” Knuckles interjected, an eyebrow raised. 

“They did! But with Vanilla trying to campaign for a better, more advanced technological future for Station Square, she’s altering her company to become an applied science company instead of simply an energy provider.” Amy replied. “She’s created prototypes that she hopes to provide to the local government systems- medical services, firefighters, the works- to keep them up to date on the best technology.” 

“Then there’s stuff Cream builds on her own just for kicks.” 

“C’mon, can you blame her, Tails? It feels like she can finally show her full potential with a mom that can engineer incredible inventions. You’re just jealous because she’s catching up with you.” 

“I don’t care if she’s catching up with me!” Tails replied defensively. “I’d honestly love another intelligent sidekick on the team. It just makes us look good.” 

“And it makes us look good to have you with us!”

“Don’t push it, Sonic.” 

They got to the lobby, walking out of the apartment complex to the deep blue car that waited for them outside. As stated previously, as a thank you gift from the oddball tanuki running the local car dealership, Amy was presented with a brand spanking new car- the Drift Breeze, or simply calling it by its model, The Breeze. 

Much like the Rascal (R.I.P.) The Breeze was a convertible, but this time only a two-door car. Sonic and Knuckles jumped into the backseat, letting Amy and Tails use the doors to sit in the front. Amy put her hammer purse on the floor in the back, before starting up her new car. 

“Welcome. Please be wary and obey traffic laws while using this automative system.” The center console spoke- much like the model of the car, Amy simply referred to the car’s artificial assistant as Breeze. 

They pulled off and drove down the streets of Station Square. However, a block away, an ice cream truck pulled away from its curb and began to follow a few cars behind. 

With construction still underway all around, the streets were still relatively empty. Pressure from Governor Pickle forced Velox to give the citizens of the city payments in order to renovate their destroyed apartments, both from his pocket and with assistance to the very sympathetic President of the UF. 

Because of this, a lot of people were busy cleaning up and rebuilding their apartments and businesses, keeping the street clear for construction workers to rebuild public areas, like the park with a statue of the city’s indigenous founder Moon River. 

Not all construction workers were under the city’s payroll, however. The team drove past a large fenced off area with a giant sign on it- “COMING SOON, IN CONJUNCTION WITH BREEZE MEDIA: CASINO PARK”

Good to know Vickie Park was keeping busy. 

Sonic nodded along with the guitar playing through the radio, tapping and swiping his finger across his phone as he played a mobile rhythm game with a pink-haired reporter in space. It was weird, but he loved it. 

Leaning on his door, Knuckles looked at everything passing by. He spotted a lone person on the sidewalk, wearing the mascot uniform for Meh Burger’s Burger Man, waving slowly. The person slowly turned their head, staring directly at Knuckles as The Breeze passed by them. 

Since the streets were empty, it was easier for Knuckles to notice the ice cream truck following them, spotting it as his head followed the mysterious mascot waving eerily at him. Ever the subtle one, he flipped in the backseat, staring at the truck but not seeing the drivers through tinted glass. 

“Sonic…”

“Knuckles, we already went through this, you can’t play when you have your gloves on.” 

“No, not that. I think we’re being followed.” 

That statement got everyone’s attention. Tails turned in his seat to look at what Knuckles was looking at. Sonic locked his phone, peering over his shoulder, and Amy’s eyes flicked to and from the rearview mirror. 

“The ice cream truck? It has to be a coincidence.” The fox said. 

“Why would an ice cream truck be here? The city’s all inside to renovate their buildings.” 

“They need something to cool down from all the work?” 

“It’s the middle of fall. I doubt they’d get overheated with how chilly it’s been here.” 

Amy looked one more time at the ice cream truck- she got a bad feeling in her stomach from just looking at it, whether that be her psychic abilities or just a gut feeling. On a whim, she pulled away and onto the interstate, planning on taking the long way to the HEXAeco building. 

Sure enough, behind The Breeze, the ice cream truck pulled onto the interstate as well. 

“Aaaand now he’s followed us to the interstate. What kid on the interstate wants a disfigured Sonic ice cream pop on a chilly autumnal afternoon?” Knuckles asked, looking at Tails. 

“Okay, nobody panic.” Amy said. “We’ve all gotten just a little on edge. How about we play some tunes to calm us down while we figure out a plausible explanation as to why an ice cream truck is following us?” 

She reached over, turning on the radio and turning it up. It was the end of a song, the guitar playing out the tune before voices came through the speaker. 

“You’re listening to 95.1 FM, Set Jet Radio. This is Pico and Saturn in the Afternoon!” A guy said on air. If you listened casually, you would know that this was the titular Saturn. 

“That was another banger from the King of Pop himself! But we’re interjecting here with a new breaking news story coming down from Westopolis,” A woman, presumably Pico, continued. “It seems that Station Square’s own superhero, Sonic the Hedgehog, is currently being investigated for causing a major disturbance there! It says he reached speeds so powerful it shattered the windows of multiple businesses and cars, as well as tore up the streets! Literally! I wonder what he was rushing for…”

“You what?!” Tails turned around and looked at Sonic.

“I didn’t do that! I haven’t even been to Westopolis!” The blue blur replied defensively. “At least, I think I haven’t…”

“You think?!” 

“I was given golden god powers through the power of positive thinking a few months ago, Amy, anything is possible at this point!” 

The four swiftly noticed that the ice cream truck was picking up speed, now coasting right beside them. The logo on the side, which simply said “I SCREAM” was slowly peeling off, the corner of it flicking from the power of the wind as both cars were driving at high speeds. 

Soon after, the entire sticker came off, revealing the ‘G’ of a GUN logo underneath. The front passenger window of the truck opened, a GUN agent there, staring at Team Sonic with the shaded goggles attached to his helmet. 

“Oh crap.” Amy said. 

The passenger agent pumped something that looked like a shotgun, aiming it at the group. 

“Th-They wouldn’t shoot an innocent kid, would they?!” Tails exclaimed.

“I don’t think so!”

Part of Amy felt like that statement was false. 

“Uh, hi! Look, I know someone did something bad up in Westopolis, but that wasn’t—”

Sonic suddenly sneezed, interrupting his statement. Directly after, the gun fired, sending a red-feathered dart directly into Sonic’s chest. 

“Sonic!” Everyone in The Breeze said at once. 

The blue hedgehog pulled the dart from his chest, looking it over. 

“Ugh. A poison dart is so… cliche…” 

With that, he passed out, landing across the seat with his face pressed down into the cushion. A loud, but muffled snore came from the now sleeping hedgehog. 

“Oh good, it wasn’t poison.” Knuckles sighed with relief. 

Tails leaned forwards, against the glovebox and dashboard of the car, the Vulcan Cannon forming over his hand. He launched a dummy ring from the crimson cannon, aiming accordingly to land perfectly through the passenger window. 

It hit the dart gun, knocking it out of the agent’s hands. Because he was holding it out of the window, it dropped to the street, ran over by the truck and crushed to pieces. 

Reaching behind her, Amy pulled the bag from the backseat with a quick yank. Whipping the bag around, it automatically transformed into the hammer with a flick of her wrist, extending out in front of Tails. 

Amy tilted the hammer in front of her next, pointing the hammerhead towards the pursuing van. 

One of the new features of her brand-spanking-new hammer was the addition of special commands. Tails had created a special new handle that responded to pressure from different fingers. It was truly a marvel in hammer technology. 

With a press of her first two fingers, the pole of the hammer extended out, stretching as far as Amy held her fingers down. The hammerhead flew into the passenger window, slamming against the passenger agent’s face. It didn’t knock him out, but it did hit hard. 

Though she couldn’t exactly see it (eyes were on the road) Amy could feel that her extended hammer was grabbed by the people in the car- most likely both driver and passenger agents. She held on as tightly as she could as the opposing agents tried pulling the hammer away from her grip. 

Amy’s body twisted as her hammer was pulled away from her, partially messing up her steering ability. She looked between the road and the other car, before pressing a button on the wheel with her free hand. 

“Tails?”

“Huh?”

“The Breeze’s on cruise. Take the wheel.”

Tails perked up, wide eyes watching as Amy let go of the steering wheel to hang onto her hammer, standing up on the seat and putting a foot on the door to brace herself. The fox scrambled over and grabbed onto the wheel to keep it steady.

“I told you I don’t know how to drive!”

“Just pretend you’re driving a plane!”

“I SAID THAT WAS DIFFERENT!”

The fox kept the car steady, with Amy playing tug-o-war with her hammer to try and get it away from the drivers in the next car. In the backseat, Knuckles was gently smacking Sonic’s face to try and get him to wake up. 

Grabbing Sonic’s jaw, Knuckles shook his sleeping face. 

“Sonic… C’mon, wake up!” He grunted. 

Knuckles lifted his hand and smacked Sonic in the face harder than usual. After a second, his eyes widened, looking at his hand as if contemplating what he did. 

“What if that just knocked him out deeper?” He murmured to himself. The echidna went back to shaking the hedgehog to wake him up. 

With the freeway empty, both cars swerved together across the lines as they tried to keep up with each other. The truck steered to and from the Breeze to try and get Amy to let go of the hammer (or even fall) and Tails made sure to steer in the appropriate way in response. 

As the driver was trying to keep the hammer at bay, the passenger grabbed another dart shotgun from the wall behind their seat, hanging on a door that led to the back compartments of the truck. 

The passenger agent turned around, pointing the shotgun weapon out of the window and towards the Mobians in the car. 

“Tails, tails!” 

Rather than saying her fox friend’s name twice, Amy was giving out a command to her companion for him to react within a second’s notice. Tails ducked down, still hanging onto the steering wheel to keep it steady, but unrolled both his tails upwards. 

Amy flung herself back, both feet on the door now, the tails set up perfectly for her to land on. Pulling her hammer back, the other end of the hammer slammed into the back of the passenger agent, making him let go of the shotgun. The weapon clattered onto the speeding concrete, bouncing once perfectly to get run over by the back tire, crushed to pieces. 

Making sure both hands were on the handle, Amy squeezed the handle of her hammer with the bottom hand, all five fingers, activating another command. 

The hammerhead expanded rapidly, like a balloon, activating a feature not unlike her long hammer mode from her hammer’s earlier version. The expanded hammerhead slammed into both agents in the truck, knocking them around and making the truck swerve. 

Deactivating the long hammer form, Amy let the hammer slip through the window, flipping back into the passenger seat with her hammer in both of her hands. Tails, in the driver’s seat, slammed on the gas to evade the swerving truck. 

Though they managed to compose themselves only a minute after, the truck was still behind the Breeze, beginning to speed up directly behind the sports car as they continued to barrel down the freeway on the cool autumn’s night. 

“See? You’re doing fine.” Amy pat Tails’ back as the teenager kept the car going. 

Right after the vote of assurance, the truck rammed into the back of the Breeze, making Tails let out a noise of fear and jostle the wheel slightly. The truck behind them slowed down, clearly intending to ram into them again, most likely to run them off the road. 

“Ugh! My car!” Amy ushered Tails away from the driver’s seat and took her car back, grabbing the wheel and keeping the pedal to the metal. “Knuckles, can you take care of that?” 

The echidna nodded. Knuckles let Sonic lay in the backseat, getting up and swinging his legs over the trunk of the Breeze. He slowly slid down the metal of the car, hanging onto the opening of the convertible, so his legs were hanging off the back edge. 

Undeterred, the truck sped up again as the GUN agents inside went to ram into them again. Instead, with his legs out, Knuckles stopped them dead in their tracks with his feet, keeping them a safe distance away from the car as they attempted to speed up. The truck’s engine revved up loudly, the driver attempting to speed into the car but unable to move forwards due to the echidna keeping them back. Knuckles bent his legs slightly at the revving, staring the driver down with a small scowl. 

The passenger agent slammed his fist on the door leading to the back. 

“Agent Mercury, I think you’re up!” He yelled. 

Knuckles straightened his legs out, kicking the truck back with the incredible force of the strongest Mobian alive. The truck was spun, spinning out of control as Knuckles climbed back into the car, watching the truck whirl with squealing tires. 

Suddenly, the backdoors of the truck burst open as something slammed through them, perfectly positioned so the doors were facing the Breeze. It was someone riding a motorcycle, a white and blue motorcycle, wearing a black and gold jumpsuit. 

Human eyes stared down the group as before the agent pulled down her helmet’s face shield, the gold reflective cover mirroring the confused expression Knuckles had as he watched the cyclist speed up. 

“Oh no.” Knuckles said. Tails turned around at that, looking past him. 

“‘Oh no’ is right. That’s an Omnitempus R!” 

“A what-tempus-what-now?”

“It’s the fastest motorcycle ever made, meant to travel over every terrain.” 

“How fast does it go?” Amy asked the fox.

“Over two-hundred-and-fifty miles per hour. That’s like, fifty more than this thing can go.”

Agent Mercury revved her motorcycle to the max, speeding towards the Breeze at top speeds and steering to drive beside it. She simply leaned in, while Knuckles was distracted by the conversation in the front seat, grabbing Sonic by his collar and putting him in the compartment on the back of the motorcycle. 

“Sonic!” Amy yelled, watching the agent speed ahead of them. 

“Can’t this thing go any faster?” Knuckles asked.

“The pedal is to the metal Knux, and last I checked you aren’t paying for gas!” 

“Keep driving.” Tails summoned the Vulcan Cannon into his hand, turning back to Knuckles. “Knuckles, ring sling.” 

He shot a dummy ring at the echidna, who caught it easily. The tether was activated, and Tails jumped out of the car, quickly flying to keep up as much as he could at that speed. He didn’t want to exceed the car, so the tether could get tight. 

Knuckles gripped the ring with both hands, looking forwards towards the escaping Mercury. 

“Go!”

At Tails’ command, Knuckles swung the tether as hard as he could towards Mercury, whipping the fox around and flinging him forwards with a powerful swing of his arms. 

Deactivating the tether and his cannon, Tails used both hands to grab onto Mercury once he finally caught up to her, grabbing onto her jumpsuit and causing her to swerve slightly. The fox reached up to try and grab onto the handlebars, wanting to hit the brakes, but his hand was smacked away by Mercury. 

The agent wildly smacked a hand behind her, hitting Tails in the face and knocking him back. The fox landed on the seat, leaning back against the compartment he knew that Sonic was in. Tails scrambled over to open it, starting to slam his fist into the plastic lock that was keeping it closed. 

Up ahead, the overpass ended with a road straight ahead, and two exits leading to other freeways. Mercury granted what the fox wanted- she hit the brakes, causing the tires to squeal and smoke as she slowed to a stop. The agent swung the back of her cycle around to skid to a stop. 

With no grip on the bike, Tails was flung away, able to swirl his tails in time to slow his descent, only flopping across the road at a smaller speed than it was before. 

Picking himself up, Tails looked up at Agent Mercury, who was staring back. Her attention was pulled away to the car that was quickly headed towards her. It was Amy, of course, with Knuckles still in the front seat. It was unclear if the pink hedgehog was going to hit the agent, or simply pull in front of her to try and prevent her from driving off. 

It didn’t matter either way. Flicking something open on the handlebars, Agent Mercury pressed the glowing red button underneath. Tails witnessed from where he was sitting, inside the area where the engine was, seven separate tubes of different colors glowed brightly, showing off the shards of some kind of crystal inside of it. It made a rainbow glow that shined through the Omnitempus, before the engine roared again. 

The cycle sped off, this time followed by the rainbow path of the crystal drives inside of Mercury’s engine. She was going much, much faster this time, down the exit and underpass within a moment, becoming a colorful streak down the road. 

Amy slammed on the breaks. Tails winced, blocking his face with a hand as the Breeze came to a stop merely half a foot in front of him. Both driver and passenger were out in a moment, with Amy watching Mercury drive off with their friend in her motorcycle. 

Knuckles got Tails to his feet. 

“Ugh… dang it!” Amy kicked the side of her car gently in anger. 

The three stood around the car, eventually catching headlights in the distance on the overpass. That GUN truck was finally catching up- however, the team watched it slow to a stop, signal to turn, and then head down the exit, as if forgetting the others were even there. 

“What’re we gonna do now?” Knuckles asked. 

“We have to save Sonic.” Amy replied with the obvious, climbing into the driver’s seat. The others followed suit, with Knuckles climbing in the back. “Maybe hope that crazy cycle lady won’t come after us again. How did she do that?”

“She has some kind of crystal thing enhancing that Omnitempus’ engine.” Tails replied, watching Amy drive down the road. “It’s making her as fast as Sonic! GUN’s had this tech all this time?”

“Or maybe just recently.” 

“Knowing GUN, I’m going for the former.” The pink hedgehog replied to Knuckles. “Tower’s always been weird about Sonic. I think he was just waiting for an excuse to unleash everything he had against him.” 

“So how are we gonna get Sonic?” 

“We’re gonna bust him out!”

“Bust him out? Of prison?” Knuckles asked. 

“We don’t even know where he went, Amy.” 

“We can ask Chaotix to find them.” 

“It’s probably super high tech!”

“We can ask Cream to get us some tech to break in. Big can supervise her.” 

“Amy…” Tails said. “I appreciate the go-get-em attitude, but we’re only as good as a bunch of young vigilantes would be at, y’know, doing a prison bust! It’s not like what you see on television.” 

“Besides, aren’t we supposed to detest crime?” Knuckles interjected. “Though I suppose the act of us being vigilantes is technically us being criminals… hm…”

“Criminals…” Amy murmured. After a moment of staring at the open road, she sighed. “Tails, call Vector.”

“You’re really gonna ask Chaotix to look for that prison?”

“No. To look for something else. Someone else.”

PRESENT DAY…

Well this sucks.  

Sonic kicked his feet idly as he sat in the metal chair, his hands cuffed to a small ring that was attached to the table ahead of him.

After being held in a prison cell for a whole day, Sonic was finally released… only to be shuffled to this interrogation room and told to wait. 

He was surprised that this interrogation room was a lot like the ones he saw on television. Dark room, a simple metal table in front of him and sitting in a very uncomfortable metal chair. There was a plastic pitcher of water and two paper cups on the table. 

Part of Sonic told him he could easily escape his restraints, run out of the building and return home. But another part of him told him that it would only make him look incredibly guilty if he ran, so he should definitely just face this problem head-on.

A smaller part of Sonic told him they probably had a dozen booby traps outside the door that would either apprehend or eradicate Sonic instantly. 

The door opened, making Sonic look up quickly to see who was coming in, to his left. 

Stark white hair, two different colored eyes and a stone face of neutrality- behind door number one was Commander Abraham Tower. 

“Commander Tower!” Sonic exclaimed. “I never thought I’d be happy to see you. You have to tell your guys to let me outta here, I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Don’t act dumb. You know what you did.” 

The hedgehog looked at him, bewildered.

“Oh sweet Mobius, not you too.”

“I’m the one who put out the warrant for your arrest.” 

“Look, Tower, I know we haven’t really been the best of friends, but… do you really think I did this? I’m a good guy!”

“That’s what they all say.” Tower replied in a deadpan, sitting down across from Sonic and tossing a file onto the table. “They make a grand speech about what they’re doing is the betterment of mankind, how it’ll change the world. You look up to them, expect them to save the world… then you wake up and find everything you love turned to ash.”

“...that’s awfully specific, do you want to talk about something?” 

Tower didn’t reply. He reached over, pouring himself a small cup of water, taking a sip. 

“What did you do with the gravity diverter?”

“The gravity… diverter?”

“Yes. The component you stole from our vaults here in Westopolis. Where is it?”

“Tower, dude, I don’t even know what a gravity diverter is.” Sonic replied. “What would I possibly do with something like that?”

“That’s for you to know, and me to find out.” 

“I didn’t do anything!”

“DON’T act like you’re free of consequence!” Tower barked. Sonic jumped a bit at the sudden exclamation, unexpected from someone like the Commander. “You let those powers of yours get to your head, and now you’re finally found out. You can’t play dumb and get out of this one.” 

“I assure you… I’m never playing about that.” 

Tower slammed his hand into the table, making a loud slam as he did. 

“You’re going to tell me where that gravity diverter is, and you’re going to tell me now.” Tower hissed, his eyebrows furrowing in an icy glare, leaning in. “That remnant is one of the final pieces of the Space Colony ARK remaining after the Project: Eclipse incident, fifty years ago. Whatever idiotic excuse for a plan you’re making makes me sick to my stomach. People have died!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Sonic replied loudly, defensively. “Space Colony ARK? Project Eclipse? Nothing you’re saying makes any sense!” 

“We know Ivo Robotnik accessed the encrypted files about the ARK. Since you’re so close with him, I expected that he’d show you something about the incident that occurred instead of leaving you in the dark.”

“Ivo accessed files about that big arch thing in the midwest?” 

Commander Tower sputtered, red in the face, utterly baffled at what Sonic was saying. The door opened again, a decorated GUN agent rolling in an old television on a rolling shelf, like something you’d see brought into a classroom. Part of Sonic wished it was Topaz rolling that TV in, but alas, she was nowhere to be seen. 

Grabbing the remote from a shelf under the TV, Tower turned it on, the video of a security camera feed playing on screen. From the date at the bottom, Sonic could see that this video was taken about five days prior. It was black and white, and there was no sound, but the video quality was very good. 

It was recording a long hallway, with a glass wall and door seen at the end. There was clearly a keycard scanner beside the door for somebody to swipe their ID and get into this area, most likely the aforementioned vault that was broken into. 

Sonic watched, eyebrows furrowing as he saw the hallway stay empty for a moment. 

On the screen, suddenly, a streak of something came in, stopping directly in front of the glass door, his back to the camera. It was a hedgehog, clearly, but there was something off about this kind of hedgehog. He was wearing Sonic’s clothes- the jacket, the track pants, even the shoes. 

What looked like electricity crackled off of the hedgehog’s body, creating black streaks on the walls around him as it burned everything it touched. Sonic’s eyes widened as he looked upon his imposter, standing perfectly still in front of the glass door. 

They could see on the feed- the faker brought his hand up, before simply snapping his fingers. 

The glass door and wall shattered instantly, the pieces of glass falling to the ground. From the flashing lights around the faker, it was clear that the alarms were instantly set off at that moment. 

Switching the feed to a camera inside of this vault, Sonic watched as, in a blur that nearly obscured the camera, everything was opened and tossed around the room. The faker stopped when he got a bag that he set on the center counter of the room, only half of his face seen as he rummaged through it. 

It was hard to make out, but Sonic felt that there were a few things wrong with him. Disheveled quills, darker quilless spots… probably shorter. 

The faker retrieved his prize- a strange device with a rapidly spinning, glowing core. He gave the nearby security camera a side eye, before he was off again, racing out of the room in a blur before he disappeared from either camera, the boost coming off of this faker shattering the lights in the hallway, making everything go dark. 

Tower ended the tape. 

“Tower, that wasn’t me. I’m not lying!” Sonic pleaded. “I wasn’t anywhere near Westopolis then. I was in Station Square with my friends!” 

“Accomplices making excuses for people found red-handed. They’re lucky we didn’t go after them, too.” The commander replied. “You were caught stealing important GUN property!”

“That’s not me!”

“That- THAT’S NOT YOU?!” Tower yelled, reversing the tape and watching the faker move. “This is 4k definition! WE CAUGHT YOU IN 4K DEFINITION!”

Commander Tower paused the tape on the faker eyeing the camera, slamming down the remote.

“Your weak jokes are a diversion, your crimes against this country will not go unpunished! You will spend the rest of your life rotting on Prison Island, the Devil’s Gulag, just like that other Robotnik who tried to continue that damned professor’s plans! You make a mockery of this country and yourself by acting as if you’re some kind of hero! You’re not! Now TELL ME WHAT YOU DID WITH THE GRAVITY DIVERTER!”

Sonic was twisted slightly, in a defensive position, eyebrows furrowed and eyes wide as he stared at the commander in utter shock.

“...Tower, this is the most emotion I’ve ever seen you show since we’ve met.” Sonic said. “Do you want a number to a therapist or something? There’s one I’ve been seeing semi-regularly, and…”

“Take him away!” Tower barked out the door.

Two agents came in, undoing Sonic’s restraints but locking him up in separate ones, including a pair that went around his ankles. The hedgehog was lifted up by his arms and legs to keep him from going anywhere.

“You’re making a mistake!”

“No, I’m doing what’s right. I’ve been waiting for this day for a long, long time.” 

Looking back, Sonic watched Tower glare at him while he was carried away. Not struggling against his restraints or the agents holding onto him, Sonic was carried back to his cell deep within the facility, tossed inside.

Sonic landed with a grunt, shaking his head after to compose himself. With his body still restrained, it was a bit more difficult to get to his feet. 

“Stay still, hedgehog.” One of the agents said. “The transport helicopter will be here soon to take you to Prison Island. Hope you really like the taste of gruel.” 

The hedgehog watched as the agents walked away, leaving Sonic alone. Sonic sighed, sitting on the bed provided in the cell as he thought over what he saw on that television. Somebody was pretending to be him? If he had a nickel for every time someone was copying him…

Well, he’d have two nickels. Not a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?

His cell had no windows, so he couldn’t look longingly out into the city to wait for his transport. Part of him wondered what his friends were doing- if they were trying to get him out of this cell the legal way, or the incredibly illegal way. 

Sonic was split on which one would be much more satisfying to him. 

He’d have to settle on the latter option soon, however. Sonic didn’t notice that his shoes- a new pair of shoes gifted to him by his beloved Soap brand- was starting to blink. These pairs of shoes were given a few upgrades by Tails, but were also bugged with a tracking device that the hedgehog didn’t know about. 

This tracking device led to the Miles Electric, which was in a car currently parked down the street from the very clearly marked GUN facility. The green sedan camouflaged nicely in the bushes, allowing Tails to peer at the facility without risk of being seen. 

The aforementioned tablet beeped, in coordination with the distant shoes’ blinking, in the back seat of the sedan beside where Tails was sitting. 

“What’s making that noise, Tails?” 

“It’s the tracking device on his tablet, Uncle Big!” Cream said to Big, who was in the driver’s seat. “It’s emitting a frequency that nobody can hear in that facility, but using echolocation to give Tails an accurate reading of the entire building!”

“...how long were you waiting to tell Big that?”

“So long. It’s one of my best ideas! I’m glad Tails implemented it.”

“Wow, Cream. I’m sure that’s the best emitter ever!”

Tails watched a model of the floor Sonic was on be created from his very eyes. He got a detailed look at Sonic’s cell, and around it, but the further away it went, the more predictive the design was of the facility. 

Bringing his tablet up, Tails peered through the camera, spotting where Sonic was located from a blinking blue dot on his screen. He was right in front of the back transport area, where he would soon be loaded up and taken to a transport helicopter that would land somewhere closeby. 

“Sonic’s near the back parking area thing.” The fox said. “You’re sure Charmy has correct information about the guards, right?”

“C’mon Tails, have faith!” Cream replied, turning in her seat to look at Tails. “He spent a whole twelve hours staking this place out to get that info!”

“Right… guess I’m just a little nervous.” 

“We got this, Tails! Sonic will be busted out in no time!”

The encouragement helped Tails feel a bit better, but he snorted a bit at the statement. 

“I never expected someone like you to say something like that, Cream.”

“Hey, since Cheese and Froggy are being sat for this adventure, I can say anything I want without fear of negative influence!” She gasped. “Is this what my mom feels like when I’m off doing Team Sonic stuff?”

“Probably. It’s probably the same for Big, too.” 

“Huh?” Big looked away when he heard his name called, flipping his sun visor closed, having been longingly looking at a photo of Froggy that was clipped inside of it. 

Before he could be caught up, a chao-themed walkie talkie that was on the dashboard in front of Cream started talking through a bit of static. 

“Pinky to Hip-hop, come in, Hip-hop.” 

Cream took the walkie talkie and spoke into it. 

“This is Hip-hop. What’s the 411?” 

“Chuckles and I are in position. Everything ready to go?” 

“The Froginator and Music Maker need to get in their spots, but that should only take a minute. You’re all free to engage.” 

“Everyone set?” Amy asked through the radio. 

“Hoons are set, love.”

“The Gumshoes are ready!”

“Phase one of three is a go.”

“Music Maker?” Tails asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Because of your tablet beeping. I dunno, I couldn’t think of anything else.” Cream said. “Hand over the tablet and get out there.” 

Tails passed the tablet over to Cream, the rabbit sliding down and hunkering in her seat to keep as hidden as she could. She held the tablet in both hands, looking over the diagram of the entire building. 

The entire sedan shifted as Big got out, followed by Tails. Pulling his backpack around his body, Tails pulled out a small square and placed it on Big’s chest, two straps extending out to keep it on Big’s chest. He pressed the small black screen at the center of the white square until it glowed red. 

“The Change Rig should activate once you’re in vicinity of its target.” Tails said to the cat. “Just stick to the plan and I promise you won’t get hurt, Big.”

“Okay…” 

With spinning tails, the fox flew off to get in position. Big started treading down the road to the front side of the building, gently picking at one of the straps on the Change Rig. 

Down at the front side of the facility, inside of the gated off part of the building’s parking lot, a hole was punched through the concrete by a spiked fist. Knuckles climbed out, pulling Amy out next so they were at the edge of the lot. They dusted themselves off of dirt. 

“Ugh. Haven’t done that in years.” Amy said. 

“Same here! I’ve been meaning to start doing it more recently.” 

Lowering their bodies slightly to sneak, they crept down the front of the building to get to the front doors. On security cameras they would probably look very dumb- but that didn’t matter to them, because the more people on them the better. 

Amy peeked out from a corner of the building, looking over at the front doors. 

“Ready, Knux?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” 

Agents of GUN were walking in and out of the glass doors of their Westopolis division, some chatting on phones and some to each other. They were dressed formally, very plainly, though some were in uniform- most likely as the Guardian Units of Nations was formed as an offshoot of the military. 

There were only a few agents on the steps at the moment, as Amy and Knuckles strolled out to the section of the street in front of it. 

“Wow, Knuckles, I sure am tired after assisting Sonic the Hedgehog with that incident in downtown Westopolis!” Amy said loudly.

“Yes. It is good that we were able to get away and Sonic was not.” Knuckles replied stiffly. He definitely was not a good actor. 

“Now we’re here inconspicuously in order to conspire with our friend and figure out why he did what he did! I’m sure there’s nothing anybody would do to interrupt our plan.”

Both of them stood still, pausing for effect. Turning their heads, they looked up the steps of the building, seeing that GUN agents were shuffling in and out like normal. It was like they didn’t even hear what Amy and Knuckles said. 

Amy and Knuckles stared blankly. 

“...should we try it again?” Knuckles asked. “Perhaps I could’ve done better with my acting…”

“Knuckles, you did great. I think these guys are just dead inside.” 

“How are we gonna get their attention, then?”

A black car came to a screeching halt right beside Knuckles, the echidna not reacting but Amy jumping and scrambling slightly. The driver of said car laid on the horn, clearly upset that two Mobians were blocking their way. 

The driver window rolled down.

“Hey! Get outta the road, aardvark!” 

“I am not an aardvark. I am an echidna warrior. Knuckles the Echidna.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever! I have very important business things to do, so get out of the way, Nipples the Enchilada!”

Knuckles’ eyebrows furrowed, both in annoyance and mild anger at the misinterpretation of his name. Before Amy could say anything to him, the echidna leaned down and grabbed onto the front fender of the black car tightly. 

“You first.” 

With a swing of Knuckles’ arm, the car was pushed backwards, tires squealing and smoking at the black car forcibly reversed across the lot, crashing back-first into the fence. 

Satisfied, Knuckles dusted off his mitts. 

“FREEZE!”

Suddenly, Amy and Knuckles were surrounded by GUN agents pointing various weapons towards them. Both Mobians had their hands raised immediately, surrendering to the group. 

“Yes!” The pink hedgehog said. “I mean, oh nooooo…” 

The agents came up behind the pair, forcing both of their arms down to put them in cuffs and force them into the glass doors of the facility. Because of the scramble due to Sonic’s same-day transport, they didn’t really bother to do a deep search of the two, just taking away Amy’s bag and Knuckles’ mitts. 

As they were escorted away, Amy noticed she was being led away from where Knuckles was headed. This was definitely intentional, and Amy was sure she was going to be put in a cell that was far away from where Sonic was- that didn’t matter, the plan could still be put in motion no matter how far or close the team was from one another. 

Amy was placed in a cell in an empty hallway, one with bars akin to a stereotypical prison. The doors closed swiftly, a keycard reader turning red to signal to anyone that the doors were locked.

“Don’t even try to get out. Those bars are reinforced steel, and last I checked, you weren’t as strong as that echidna friend of yours.”

Amy stood quietly, staring straight ahead. The agent, though dissatisfied with their taunt not being reacted to, walked away. The pink hedgehog stood right at the door, staring blankly ahead for a solid minute, doing nothing. 

After a moment, she tilted her head, brushing her tongue against one of her back teeth. 

“Team Breakout, you read me?” She murmured. 

“Loud and clear Amy! Er, Pinky.” Cream said on the other side.

“Are you sure nobody can see or hear this thing?”

“The Communication Crown delivers sounds through vibrations into your jaw and to your inner ear. It’s like those musical toothbrushes that were all the rage a few years ago.” Tails replied. “They work like a normal dental crown, Amy. It’s meant to look like a tooth. Ready to start phase two?”

“I sure am. Make the cameras go dark for a moment.” 

Amy waited for a moment or two for the signal. There was a warping sound somewhere from afar as an EMP generator went off, created by Tails, making the keypad and lights flicker for a moment. 

From information gathered by Charmy, the security cameras were efficient, but had a flaw- it took a whole minute for them to properly restart. Amy spotted the camera down the hall, still turned off when the lights came back on, and turned her hand over to press a button under her single rose gold bracelet. 

It popped open, but split in half, creating four spider-like legs that crawled to Amy’s palm. She offered it to the bars, letting the spider-bracelet crawl across the bars towards the keypad. 

“Are you sure your mom’s alright with turning her bracelet into a hacking device?” 

“Eh, she’ll get over it. What’s she gonna do, leave me again?”

“Amy!” 

“What? I’m just kidding!” The hedgehog said defensively to Cream. 

The spider-bracelet got to the keypad, pushing its thin legs under the edge and popping it out of the wall slightly. It slid underneath the keypad and brought it back against the wall behind it, as if nothing happened. 

“You should be let into the system, Hip-hop.” 

“Roger that, Pinky.”

Down in the green sedan, still hidden, Cream watched as the Miles Electric was filled with a highly accurate diagram of the facility. She scrolled over to the security system, seeing it was nearly back online. 

Part of the plan was for the entire building to look casual. Cream changed the camera views to a looped video that showed everything at peace, as well as the prisoned heroes doing absolutely nothing. 

She went back to the diagram of the building. Cream zoomed into the intensive containment area, down to the red blinking dot she could recognize. 

Cream pressed the red dot. 

“Boop!”

Inside the intensive containment section, the thick stone and metal wall opened up slowly in front of Knuckles, the echidna peering out into the hallway. He touched his Communication Crown with his tongue, turning it on. 

“Phase two is a go! You’re up, Chuckles.” 

Knuckles smiled a bit, running out of the hallway and immediately running into a few agents standing around outside. The echidna paused, like a deer in headlights, as if wanting to be caught by the agents.

They noticed quickly. 

“Hey! Freeze!”

The echidna made an exit stage right, pursued by the agents. 

Outside, in the back transport area, there were two agents standing guard at the entrance point of the glorified parking garage, both wearing heavy body armor. They stared out into the backyard of the division building, down towards the landing area where the transport helicopter would soon be touching down. 

One of the agents turned suddenly, eyebrows furrowed. 

“You alright?” The other agent asked.

“Yeah… just thought that—”

The agent was interrupted by his body suddenly flinging back into the wall behind him, hit by an unseen force. Before the other agent could react, something dropped down and stepped on his helmet, forcing it to obscure his eyes. 

Taking a moment to get the helmet from over his eyes, the agent looked in time for the end of a nunchuck to hit him across the face with a whack, making the agent yell in pain. 

Charmy spun the nunchucks around, passing it over his shoulder to hit the agent with an upwards swing, then passing it behind his body and hitting him one last time with a downwards swing of the nunchucks, making the agent fall to the ground and groan in pain. The bee tucked one end of his weapon under his arm, holding out his hand in a defensive position if the agent got back up. 

The invisible force slammed the first agent’s helmet-covered head into the wall, knocking him out but saving him from any serious injury. Espio reappeared, eyeing the bee and the stance he was in. 

“You really like those nunchucks, eh?”

Easing up, Charmy perked at the question, spinning the nunchucks in his hand again. 

“They’re awesome! They make me feel like those turtles on TV!” He said. “I’m so glad Mr. Kaziwaka taught me how to use them! Or… would I have to call him dad now, because Miss Alianna…?” 

“Charmy.” Espio said curtly, making the bee go quiet. The chameleon looked into the transport area, at the different parking spots, seeing the back wall where the cells were- one of them had Sonic in it. 

He turned on his communication device.

“This is Espio—”

“Who?”

Espio sighed deeply at Cream’s interruption. 

“This is Hayabusa.” He corrected himself. “Where’s the cell that Inky is in?” 

“It’s cell number seventy-seven.”

“Hmmm, let’s see.” Charmy tapped his chin. He pointed out near the door leading into the facility. “Each parking spot is half of a cell, the cells start right about there… seventy-nine, seventy-eight, seventy-seven. There.” 

Espio quickly threw a kunai where Charmy pointed out, letting it sink into the wall right where Sonic’s cell was to mark it. 

“Welp, I did my job!” Charmy said. “I’m gonna go join Cream in the car. Stay safe!”

“Cheerio is on his way to you, Hip-hop.” Espio said through the comms. “Hoons and Music Maker, you’re up. I marked the wall for you- I’ll commence on my next few tasks while the Froginator and Leatherhead continue theirs.” 

With that, the chameleon went invisible once more, just in time for the transport helicopter to start touching down behind the facility. Invisible footsteps kicked up dust towards the aircraft. 

Back inside of the facility, agents continued to scramble across the hallways after the running red echidna, having lost him for a moment but quickly finding him again. A gaggle of the GUN agents were practically climbing on top of each other to try and catch the escaping Knuckles, a lot of them wondering why the alarm systems weren’t going off at that moment. They tried using their comms, but found only static on the other end. 

With the security cameras only showing everything peaceful in the facility, the camera feed watcher was too engrossed in his romance novel to actually see any inconsistencies in the feeds. With the radios taken out, there was no way for anyone to activate any alarms. 

The groups of agents continued to try and go after Knuckles, just missing him as he managed to stay just far enough ahead to be leaving that corridor when the agents were entering. 

Once they turned another corner, that group of agents suddenly crashed into another group, making all of them fall down and topple over each other. 

“What’re you doing?! You’re letting that echidna get away?”

“Us? You’re the one making us lose track of him!”

“He isn’t even going that way!”

“Yes he is!”

The agents argued amongst each other, becoming increasingly suspicious of the echidna they were chasing. They split up again, running down the halls after where they thought Knuckles would be next. 

Both groups found Knuckles. They ran quickly, moving further and further away from the holding cells and towards the front half of the facility, running past the offices. One office, specifically, had Commander Tower- he noticed the blur of red before watching his agents run after it.

His eyes squinted in a fairly monotone scowl, knowing something was up. 

Keeping as close as they could on the echidna they saw, both groups led the Knuckles down the maze of halls towards the furthermost corner of the building. 

Turning corners, the two Knuckles weren’t paying attention, only turning in time to crash into one another with a loud crunch coming from somewhere. Both echidnas landed on their rears, their bodies flickering in and out to reveal the real people under the disguises. 

“Ugh…” Vector rubbed his cheek. “Like getting hit with a freight train…” 

“Uh oh…” Big looked down at his chest, seeing their collision caused both of their Change Rigs to shatter, disrupting their holographic disguises. 

“STOP RIGHT THERE!”

Big and Vector got up in time to see all the agents that were after them point various weapons to keep them still. They both put their hands up in surrender. 

From around the corner nearby, Knuckles peered over and watched the pair surrender. He sighed, upset he had to leave his friends behind, before the real echidna warrior took off towards his next objective, back towards the holding cells. 

In the green sedan, with a tap of the Miles Electric and a “boop” from Cream (now joined by Charmy), she pressed the pink dot on the diagram of the facility. 

Amy’s cell opened for her, the pink hedgehog looking for any guards before briskly walking down the hall. She activated her Communication Crown again. 

“Everyone good?”

“Froginator and Leatherhead have everyone’s attention. We’re in the clear.”

“Pssst.”

Amy turned her head sharply. From the shadows, her bag was tossed towards her, and Amy caught it quickly. Opening it, she made sure everything was there- including Knuckles’ mitts. She zipped it back up and put it over her body. 

“All set, Espio?”

“Yes it is. Regroup with Knuckles and get ready- phase three should go without a hitch.” The shadows replied to her. 

“Right. It’ll be a while until we see each other again, but… Be safe.”

“You too, Amy.”

The pink hedgehog ran away, intending to run into Knuckles somewhere near the back transport area, gripping onto her bag’s strap. Espio, in the shadows but still invisible, headed down towards the front corner of the facility.

Those agents that were holding Vector and Big in place had scattered a bit, a few going to secure heavy-duty restraints for the powerful Mobians, and a few going to inform Commander Tower of what was happening. Tower brushed them off, not caring about the pair, instead headed back to find his prisoner. 

There were only four agents holding Vector and Big still, still aiming weapons at them. 

Suddenly, one of the rifles shifted, as if something unseen hit it, before it was pulled over and hitting another agent in the face. The weaponless agent was kicked into the back wall by someone invisible. 

Espio, still unseen, yanked the weapons away from the other agents, throwing them all away and shoving them back. He reached into his jacket, throwing a bunch of shurikens (which came into view when they left his hand) towards the agents. 

They didn’t hit the agents, but instead their clothes, causing all of them to become pinned to the wall. Espio became visible again as Vector and Big slowly put their arms back down. 

“Hayabusa here,” Espio said into the comms. “Got our getaway ready?”

“Ready and revving up the engine!”

“Charmy, you’re not driving Big’s car.”

“He’s driving Big’s car?!” Vector forced open the chameleon’s mouth, speaking into it. “CHARMY, GET AWAY FROM THE WHEEL!”

Espio swiftly kneed Vector in the gut, making him groan and double over. 

“Let’s go.” 

They left soon after that, leaving the agents behind. 

Back in the holding cells, Sonic sat quietly, thinking everything over still. He had barely noticed the flickering lights, the running agents, the chattering. He was too engrossed in the appearance of that mysterious dark hedgehog that was currently ruining his life.

Not that it took much. That dark hedgehog could’ve parked a little too long in a parking meter zone and Tower would want to arrest Sonic for soliciting, treason, and maybe some kind of attempted murder charge or something. The commander was a man on a mission, and that mission for some reason involved hating hedgehogs. 

What a speciesist. 

Why would someone want to replicate him now, of all times? Part of him mused that he was lucky this faker didn’t want to ruin his life when Metal Sonic was around- may he rest in peace. 

What the heck was a gravity diverter anyways?

Sonic sighed, resting his cheek on his hand as he leaned on the bars of his cell. 

He heard a sizzling behind him. 

His ear twitching from the sound, Sonic turned around to see what the source was from- it was the wall suddenly turning green. Specifically, green markings started to appear on the walls, forming into a smiley face that seeped through to Sonic’s side. 

The blue hedgehog tilted his head curiously, before the entire wall started shaking. He quickly ducked down and covered himself, bracing for whatever was about to happen next. 

Then, the wall exploded. It formed a small hole, before the hands of a polar bear tore off the rest of the wall, revealing a vehicle parked in the parking area that was behind Sonic’s cell. Smoke and dust gathered in the cell, but were pulled out by twin tails spinning in reverse, sucking it all out. 

“Sonic!” 

Tails was standing on the edge of the Marvelous Queen’s trunk, there with Bean and Bark. At the front, Fang was sitting in the driver’s seat, looking over his shoulder. 

“Tails? …Hooligans?”

“Heya, Sonic! Long time no see!” Bean waved. “C’mon, we’re getting you out of here!”

Leaning in, Tails offered his hand over to Sonic. The hedgehog stepped forwards and reached out to grab his best friend’s hand. He paused for a moment though, his eye twitching and nostrils flaring. He sneezed. 

With the duck down to sneeze, Sonic narrowly avoided another sedative dart that instead landed in the trunk of the Marvelous Queen. The blue hedgehog’s eyes widened, and he looked between his legs to see who fired.

Commander Tower tossed away the dart shotgun, shoving his ID into the keypad- however, it rejected it. His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, trying again and again, until the card reader fell off of the wall slightly. 

“Sonic, c’mon!”

Sonic stood up again, climbing into the Marvelous Queen. 

The commander frowned deeply, reaching into the wall and grabbing the spider-bracelet rather quickly. Tower yanked it out before slamming his ID into the reader, opening the door up and briskly walking in as the vehicle in front of the cell took off. 

Tower calmly walked through the destroyed wall, reaching into his service dress uniform and pulling out a thin black prism, and another silver part. He pressed them together, the two pieces unraveling and forming an enhanced laser rifle in his hands. 

As the Marvelous Queen started to quickly leave the transport area, Tower aimed the rifle, closing one eye as he aimed for the vehicle. His sights stayed on Sonic for a moment, just a moment, before traveling over and firing somewhere else.

The shot hit the Queen’s back right thruster, causing the entire vehicle to start spinning out. Without the extra thruster to keep the vehicle in the air, the back right of the Queen crashed into the ground, grinding against the concrete and forcing it down. 

They stopped just in time for two GUN-marked SUVs to pull up right in front of the exit, blocking the team inside. 

“Ah, crap.” Sonic grumbled.

With agents flooding in, everyone was yanked from the Marvelous Queen. As Sonic was forced onto his stomach, another pair of restraints placed on him, he watched a pair of loafers step right in front of his face. He looked up to see Tower staring down at him, hands behind his back. 

He presented the rose gold bracelet to Sonic, dropping it in front of his nose. 

“I believe that belongs to Amy Rose.” He said. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. We’re going to take her, your adolescent accomplice and that annoying echidna friend of yours to the same place you’re going. Congratulations, Mister Hedgehog- your irritating friends get to be arrested, all thanks to you.” 

“Ugh, what is your deal?” Sonic asked as he was forced to his feet. 

Tower didn’t answer, his eyes going to the Hooligans, who were also being restrained. 

“Those three. The Hooligans. If I remember correctly, they assisted you with one of your little ‘Sonic Adventures,’ didn’t they?” The commander asked. “That’s associating with known criminals, and being accomplices. What a lovely addition to your list of crimes- how nice of you to remind me.” 

Commander Tower stared blankly at Sonic for a moment before stepping away, looking past the cars towards the idling transport aircraft. 

“Where are the pilots of the transport helicopter?” 

Two GUN agents appeared, standing in front of Tower. They had on body armor, completely covering their bodies, including helmets that obscured their face. They stood there quietly in front of their commanding officer. 

“Hm. Shorter than I expected.” He said. “You’re free to take these prisoners to Devil’s Gulag.” 

Tower stood there to watch Sonic, Tails and the Hooligans be escorted away by a variety of agents. They were forced into the helicopter, with the two pilots and an extra agent climbing into the aircraft with them. 

He was most likely internally relishing the sight before him, even staring as the transport helicopter flew up into the air and away from the facility.

Commander Tower watched for another moment, before beginning to turn and leave.

“You know, I thought Randall was gonna be the one to fly the helicopter. Who the heck were those guys?” 

The commander paused. He looked at the nearby agents talking.

“You. What did you just say?”

The talking agent paused at his commander speaking to him.

“Uh… well, sir, one of my buddies said they were going to fly the transport copter to the Devil’s Gulag, but… neither of those guys looked anything like my buddy.” 

Tower’s white eyebrows furrowed. Suddenly, there was a bang from a nearby door, making the commander quickly walk over. It was the door to a service room, out of anyone’s thoughts as nobody but personnel was supposed to go into there.

He opened the door. There were four agents tied up in there- two that were clearly meant to guard the entrance to the transport area, and two were in their underclothes. The latter two clearly had their clothes stolen. 

“Whoa! Randall!” The agent from before had joined Tower to look at the sight. 

The commander’s breathing got heavy, his face turning red and twisting into a look of pure fury as he realized what was going on. The sight was enough to make the agents around him back away, while the ones who were tied up cowered in fear. 

“Talk about a low-budget flight. No food or movies, anything?”

“Quiet, prisoner.” 

Sonic huffed, frowning at that. He was placed in the exact center of the hanging bench situated at the back of the transport helicopter, situated between the two sliding doors at either side. He could see into the cockpit, the entrance open. On either side of the opening was an agent and the second pilot sitting on either side. 

He thought it was a bit peculiar that the second pilot was sitting back to watch them, but ultimately thought nothing of it. Sonic swung his feet gently, feeling something placed under the bench covered in black fabric. There was something fairly soft, maybe like some kind of bag, and something beside it that was thin but hard. 

Bored, still, Sonic turned his head to look over at Tails, who was seated right next to him. 

“Hey.” He murmured.

“...hey.” Tails replied at the same volume.

“Thanks for the escape attempt, buddy.”

“Yeah. Sorry we didn’t get you out… yet.” 

Sonic grinned. 

“Quiet, prisoners.”

The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes. 

“Look, Tower showed me something in there. Apparently someone who looks like me stole some high-grade GUN tech.” 

“Someone who looks like you? Like Metal Sonic?”

“No, it was a real hedgehog. Someone’s pretending to be me.” 

“Shut your mouths right now!”

“Why would he pretend to be you? What’s that guy’s endgame?”

“I dunno, but whatever it is, it isn’t good. Especially with Tower’s hatred for hedgehogs. We’re all gonna have to brainstorm a way to figure out who that guy is and—”

“QUIET!”

The agent stood up, storming towards Sonic. 

Suddenly, the second pilot in the holding room stuck his foot out, making the agent trip. The pilot got to his feet, swinging down sharply and punching the agent in the face, knocking the man out. 

After a moment, the pilot slipped off his helmet and mask with a sigh.

“Hey, Sonic!” Knuckles said with a grin. He tossed the helmet out of the helicopter.

“Knuckles?!” Sonic exclaimed. He looked at Tails, who had a giant grin on his face. “Holy crap, this was part of your escape plan?!”

As the echidna went down the row, physically breaking the cuffs off of each Mobian, the pilot pulled off her helmet, tossing it aside. Amy let out a sigh as well, looking back from the cockpit.

“Phase three is a go.” She said. “Anyone want to take this over? I barely know enough about helicopters to keep us steady.”

“I got it, m’lady.” Bean strutted over, slipping into the pilot’s seat to swap with Amy. 

Amy and Knuckles undid their disguises, revealing their normal clothes under it. 

“Ugh, bloody oath!” Fang rubbed his wrists. “Didn’t know how long I could keep my bloody mouth shut! Was startin’ to feel like Barky there for a minute.” 

“You’re the one who said you would spill to Sonic the moment you saw him. How are you a criminal mastermind and you can barely keep a secret?”

“Can’t help it, love! Once ya get me goin’ I can’t help but share!”

“Yeah, like when he was listening to that learner’s permit song, and blubbered to Bark and I for an hour.” Bean yelled back from the cockpit. 

“Olivia just gets me on a spiritual level, mate! Can’t bloody judge me for that.”

“So judged.” 

Knuckles pulled out a parachute from the side of the inner fuselage, putting it securely on the knocked out agent. He opened the side door, gently nudging the agent out, being sure to grab onto the cord as he did. 

As the agent dropped, the cord broke off, the parachute opening and allowing the unconscious agent to fall gracefully towards the earth. 

Reaching under the seat, Amy pulled the black fabric off of the mysterious objects- her bag, of course, and four… snowboards? 

“No. No way.” Sonic said, grinning widely. “Skysurfing boards?! You did read my online shopping wishlist!” 

“Guilty as charged.” Amy smiled, reaching into her bag and giving Knuckles back his mitts. 

“C’mon, let’s get these on and get the heck outta here!”

“Not so fast, foxy.” 

Tails’ statement was ruined by Fang walking in front of them, spinning his gun in his hand. Bark stood behind them, cracking his knuckles. 

“Fang, we had a deal.” Amy said.

“Sure did, love. But since this might be the last time we ever see you again… you better hold off on your end of the bargain. Hand over the map, or I’ll make Beanie keep us here so we’re all sent to that supermax prison.” 

There was a moment’s hesitation, before Amy reached into her bag, rummaging around and pulling out a rolled up piece of old-looking paper. She stepped forwards, hesitantly putting it into Fang’s hand. 

The sniper snatched it away, looking it over and grinning. 

“Pleasure doin’ business with ya, love. Catch ya on the flip side.” 

Fang put his gun away, strolling to the front and climbing in the passenger seat, kicking his feet up. Bark grunted, sitting back down, watching Team Sonic. 

The heroes put the skysurfing boards on without any other delay, and Sonic opened the side door of the transport helicopter, looking down at the world below. It kinda looked weird, like a painting, or a very compressed JPEG. 

He cracked his neck, before jumping out, quickly followed by his friends. 

“WOO!” The blue hedgehog said, spinning while he was upside down, before getting back up. 

They pierced through a cloud together, with Amy looking up to see the helicopter get away, the Hooligans taking off to follow that map to their supposed treasure. 

“What the heck was that piece of paper for?!” Sonic yelled. 

“I told the Hooligans that Meropis- that fake underwater city- was real, and we had a map to it!”

“So it wasn’t a real map!” Knuckles nodded at what Amy said. “I was worried!”

“We had to have an edge against the Hooligans in order to get them to help us!” Tails replied. “I figured a group of criminals like them would believe in the score of an abandoned sunken city!”

They broke through the bottom of the cloud, the city below them coming back into view. 

“Oh no!”

“Oh no? Oh no what?” Sonic yelled back at Tails. 

“The rendezvous point with our getaway driver is at the edge of Westopolis! We dropped too early!” The fox said. “I was planning on flying you guys to her, but I couldn’t fly you from this far away!”

“Keep those boards on, boys!” Amy yelled out. “Looks like we’re boarding down the streets of Westopolis!”

“Aw yeah! Now this is happenin’!” Sonic smiled at the adrenaline rush he was getting. 

As they got a few miles up from the streets, Tails grabbed onto the collars of Sonic and Amy’s tops, using his tails to slow their descent slightly. Knuckles grabbed onto Sonic and Amy’s boards, creating a diamond shape as they slowed down, but only enough so that they probably wouldn’t die on impact. 

They got to the streets of Westopolis, luckily closest to a street that was headed downhill. They could see the cars and trolley of the city, the unsuspecting town laying below them. 

Then, they hit the ground. Team Sonic’s momentum from the fall was enough to let them shred down the streets of the city without any injury, beginning to board down the city roads and weave through traffic. 

Sonic was grinning like crazy. On top of escaping GUN, ending the breakout with a trip down the streets of Westopolis on a freaking snowboard was absolutely phenomenal. 

“We’re about ten minutes from the rendezvous point!” Tails said. “We should be there in no time!”

All traffic ahead of them suddenly came to a screeching halt. Ahead of them, they could see more clearly marked GUN vehicles stopping traffic to try and keep Team Sonic from getting by. The agents started climbing out of the truck to look at the heroes. 

As they got closer, Sonic and Amy spotted an empty auto carrier truck with no cars behind it. They leaned over, strafing on course to ride up the top of the carrier truck, using it as a makeshift ramp. Tails, nearby, grabbed Knuckles by his arms and flew him over the intersection.

While in the air, Sonic spun and flipped for flair, letting out another yell of excitement as he did so, seeing the GUN agents watching them fly over. 

All four heroes landed together, going around a corner and cutting through another intersection. 

Headed further down the city together, they passed by a merging lane for cars to get onto the street as well. They zipped by it, cutting off a car that was about to merge onto the street. 

The car inched forwards again, but was cut off by a motorcycle roaring by. 

Team Sonic looked behind them to spot Agent Mercury on their tail once again. The agent had her Omnitempus R at full throttle, moving between traffic and focusing on the Mobians. 

“Oh great, it’s Wonder Wheels.” Amy said.

“Who?” 

“That’s Agent Mercury. She has a souped-up motorcycle that can move at super-speeds!” 

“Really?!” Sonic said to Tails. “That’s awesome!’

“It’s really not!” Amy replied. “Sonic, go! We’ll try to keep her back!”

Sonic hesitated, but nodded. He boosted forwards, headed further up the street. 

Mercury’s bike roared as she rocketed down the street after the escaping heroes. She came up to the back of the group, right up to the side of Tails. 

Forming the Vulcan Cannon on his hand, the fox swung it around to try and hit Mercury, who ducked underneath the hit. She leaned away from Tails, raising her foot and kicking him in the side. 

The fox fell to the side, tumbling across the ground and losing his board in the process. Once he was right-side up, he fired a ring tether from the cannon, hoping to hit anything at all. 

Knuckles grabbed onto the ring, yanking Tails forwards so the teenager flew towards him. The echidna caught the fox by his arm, putting him on his back.

“I gotcha, buddy.” Knuckles said, letting Tails piggyback him. 

Agent Mercury revved up her bike again, headed towards Knuckles to try and hit him next. 

Amy steered her board towards Mercury, turning her bag into its hammer form and swinging towards the dark rider. Agent Mercury pulled away in time to dodge the hammer swing, kept away from Knuckles and Tails. 

The pink hedgehog ducked under a swipe from the agent and swung her hammer again, this time missing as Mercury ducked under it. The agent steered towards Amy, forcing the hedgehog back and towards the other end of the street, where a truck with a presentation going on was parked by the curb. 

She would crash into the truck if she didn’t get out of the way. Though that would actually entertain and attract people around the presentation. Some random guy was desperately trying to get people into buying “ownership” of a crudely drawn picture of Sonic, stating that doing so would help them get into the future of online cryptocurrencies. 

Immediately figuring that the truck wasn’t really doing anything worthwhile anyways, Amy grabbed the handle of her hammer with both hands, squeezing tightly to activate the ultimate new feature. The upward facing end of her hammer suddenly glowed, before releasing a steady stream of pink plasma-like energy from it. 

Amy swung the hammer, propelled by the activated thruster on the back. Mercury ducked another swing, but the speed and strength of the assisted swing was enough to send the scam truck flying and spinning forwards. 

As it swung towards Mercury, the agent flipped open the boost button and pressed it. The drives in the back of her engine locked in, and with a twist of the throttle she was off in a rainbow streak, narrowly missing the vehicle and headed towards Sonic. 

The back of the truck swung back around, but this time directly towards Amy. With no way to dodge it in that split second, the pink hedgehog was knocked off of her board and back into the air, hammer in hand. 

“Amy!”

Tails fired another ring tether at Amy, connecting it with the ring that Knuckles was still holding, creating a ring sling. Amy grabbed the ring, but knew she was doomed to hit the ground at intense speeds if she didn’t do something soon. 

Then, ahead of her, she saw Burger Man. 

The Meh Burger mascot was holding a sign at the side of the road, having been spinning it around to get people to come into their restaurant. The mascot guy had already noticed the group screaming down the road, and when they got close, the Burger Man let go of the sign to book it back onto the sidewalk. 

That discarded sign lined up perfectly, and Amy landed right on it, using it as a makeshift board and sliding down the highway, with the ring sling in her hand allowing her to skitch down the streets a few yards behind the echidna and the fox. 

Far ahead, Sonic noticed they were going to hit a GUN-made roadblock miles away. A lot of miles, but at this speed, he would easily hit it within a few minutes. Hearing the motorcycle behind him, he turned to see Agent Mercury catching up with him, who was staring directly at him. 

Sonic boosted again, speeding up, but Mercury accelerated again, the boost with her enhanced engine allowing her to coast next to Sonic at insane speeds. 

She grabbed onto his jacket sleeve, which caused Sonic to react by swinging that arm towards the agent. The attack was dodged, and Mercury leaned away to try and kick at the blue hedgehog. Sonic steered away, evading the kick, headed to the other side of the street. The agent followed. 

With Sonic nearby, Agent Mercury reached to the side of her jumpsuit, grabbing a stun gun and aiming it towards the hedgehog, closing in to tase him. 

Though the world was speeding by around them, Sonic was still able to comprehend everything ahead and around him. Up ahead, he saw a chilidog stand, the stand attendant at the end of the sidewalk and holding up a chilidog. 

“Come and get your Primo Supremo brand chilidog, the blue blur style!” The attendant yelled. “Triple banger, quadruple chili, extra spicy!”

Right as he was finished, Sonic was speeding by. It was almost in slow motion, as Sonic grabbed the chilidog from the attendant, swinging it around and throwing it at Agent Mercury before she could get the taser close to his body. 

The chilidog splattered across her shoulder and face, covering her helmet visor in chili. She let go of the stun gun and reached for her visor, wiping it off and swerving slightly. 

They were barely a minute away from the roadblock. Sonic grinned, reaching down and undoing one of his feet straps on the board. 

“Hey Mercury!”

The agent whipped her head around to look at Sonic, helmet still covered in chili. Sonic undid the second foot strap on his board, still smiling. 

“You should get better at the speedster thing. Because you know, once you start going a certain speed… it gets really hard to slow down.” 

And with that, Sonic leapt off the board, allowing his sudden departure from it make him fly backwards and through the air. Mercury looked behind her, then ahead, finally noticing the road block. 

She tried to brake, but it was too late. She hit a barricade, smashing through it and causing her to fling off of the Omnitempus R, hurtling through the air towards the side of the street, where two people were packing up a moving truck. 

One of the workers couldn’t get the shutter door down. 

“Ugh, boss, the door’s stuck again.”

“It always gets stuck open and closed. Just keep jiggling it. We need to get these memory foam pillows, inflatable pool toys, and various stuffed animal plushies to the distribution warehouse.” 

“Gee boss, where do you get all these things?”

“Don’t… Don’t ever ask me where I got this stuff.”

With that, Mercury was flung into the truck with a crash. The shutter door closed with that, trapping her inside of the back. 

Sonic tumbled across the road, but was stopped after he crashed into something that pulled him along. It was Amy’s hammer, and the pink hedgehog brought Sonic up to the sign she was on, letting him stand there beside her and grab onto the ring. She switched her hammer back to a bag, putting it over her shoulders. 

When they came across the crashed bike, Tails reached in towards the exposed engine, grabbing one of those crystal drives he saw that enhanced Mercury’s speed. 

He looked it over, peering at the yellow shard of crystal inside, before slipping it into his backpack for safekeeping. 

As the heroes ripped by, Commander Tower watched beside the blockade, narrowing his eyes in a scowl. 

“Sir, Agent Mercury is…” An agent saw the cyclist attempt to get out of the moving truck. “...out of commission, for now.” 

“I’m aware.” The commander replied. “You want something done, you do it yourself…”

“Sir?”

Tower stormed away, over to the semi-truck that had brought the things for the roadblock to be set up. He was followed by a few agents, who watched him climb up to the driver door of the truck, opening it. 

The driver was on his phone with the radio on, listening to an upbeat and funky rock song. He scrambled when he noticed Tower, putting his phone away. 

“Uh, commander! I wasn’t on my— Huh?!”

Commander Tower grabbed the agent by his collar, before pulling him out and throwing him onto the street below. The commander climbed into the driver’s seat and closed the door, starting up the semi-truck again. 

When the radio was back on, the song was just ending. 

“You’re listening to Set Jet Radio, Pico and Saturn in the afternoon!” The radio personality said. “That was Nathan Sharp with this year’s jam ‘Escape From The City,’ and up next, still number one on the UF billboard charts for the seventeenth week in a row, it’s Crush 40 with Live & Le—”

Before the song title could be finished, Tower pulled out a pistol from his uniform, unloading into the radio and destroying it, making the speakers go silent. He tossed the gun away after.

“I hate that song.” He growled.

Tower switched to the highest gear and slammed on the gas. The semi-truck pulled off, tearing through half of the roadblock and slamming into one of the GUN cars as it began to barrel down the streets of Westopolis. 

Up ahead, Amy and Sonic were in tandem, dodging the passing cars like they were riding a wakeboard on the water. 

“You said something about a fake hedgehog framing you?” Amy asked.

“Yeah. Tower has video footage of someone who looks kinda like me stealing technology from one of GUN’s vaults. He looked similar, but… his quills looked different. He was a bit darker.”

“Like, navy blue instead of cobalt?”

“I suppose. Why?”

“I told you about that guy from my vision. The one I had on the fleet?”

“You think it’s the same guy?”

“It has to be. It’s certainly something I should try to have another vision about, if anything.” 

“Mmhm… what’s that sound?” 

A chorus of screeching tires and honking horns got Sonic and Amy’s attention, looking behind them to see people sprinting from a crosswalk. A semi-truck with the GUN acronym overtop the front windshield. Through the window they saw the scowling face of Commander Tower.

“IS THIS GUY PSYCHOTIC?!” Amy yelled in horror. 

“Knuckles!!!”

As they dipped down another steep hill of the road, when the semi-truck drove over the edge, the front of it soared into the air. Knuckles pulled the ring sling sharply, pulling Sonic and Amy out of the way before the semi-truck could crush the two of them as it landed. 

Clutching onto each other and the ring, Sonic and Amy opened their eyes as they saw them slide further away from the rampaging semi-truck. They looked at each other, before they noticed they were slowly passing Knuckles and Tails. 

The team looked at one another, all with faces of bewilderment, before the rush of the semi-trucks engine reminded them of what they were doing. 

Knuckles pulled the ring sling, yanking his other friends to him, letting go of the ring to grab onto Sonic and Amy. Behind them, the sign and rings were crushed under the wheels of the unforgiving semi-truck as Commander Tower just kept on trucking. 

Sonic and Amy climbed up on top of Knuckles, toppling over Tails, the echidna below trying to stay balanced from all the shifting weight. He held his arms up to hold onto each of them, grabbing onto one of Tails and Amy’s feet. 

After trying to get to a good spot, Sonic, Amy and Tails all stood up at once. Sonic was standing on Knuckles’ head, holding onto Tails and Amy’s hands as they stood on Knuckles’ shoulders, still balanced by the echidna holding one of their feet. They looked ridiculous, almost like an inverted water ski pyramid. 

Looking over his shoulder again, Sonic got a glimpse of the uncaring and cold heterochromia eyes belonging to Commander Tower. He knew the man was putting the pedal to the metal, trying his best to catch up with them. 

With a swift yank of his foot, Knuckles pulled one of his feet out of the strap connecting it to the board. He pushed off of the ground with it like he was on a skateboard, sending them faster down the hill as the semi-truck continued to get closer. 

“You got this big Knux!” Sonic said. 

“We’re close to the rendezvous point!” Tails yelled. “We just have to make it over that railing up ahead and we’re home free!”

“You think Tower will not try to follow us?”

“I doubt it!” Amy replied to Knuckles. 

As if to challenge their route of escape, at the three-way intersection, the street perpendicular to them had their light switch to green. A separate semi-truck, advertising Chaos Cola, was starting to cross the street. 

The semi-truck behind them was getting closer. 

“Guys, any suggestion is appreciated!”

“Keep hanging on!” Tails yelled after Amy. 

His tails spun rapidly, the fox summoning all his strength to lift the entire group upwards. The board fell off of Knuckles’ foot, which subsequently was crushed under the semi-truck like the other objects before it. 

Flying up in the air, they used their higher position on the hill to soar across the intersection in another diamond formation, with Amy hanging at the bottom. Tails held onto Sonic as tight as he could, looking down to make sure Knuckles was hanging on as well. 

They made it over the Chaos Cola truck. Tower did not. 

The GUN semi-truck t-boned the trailer of the Chaos Cola semi-truck, creating a giant spray of soda as Tower’s vehicle came to a screeching halt. The bent metal of the trailer made the entire GUN truck flip over to its side as it crashed through it, causing it to lay across the destroyed soda trailer like a beached whale.

Team Sonic landed on a couple of rails, grinding down a set of stairs together off to their rendezvous point, safe from Tower’s wrath. 

Speaking of which, Tower kicked out the windshield with three kicks. With a cut forehead, Tower army crawled from the crashed semi-truck, breathing heavily and looking at where he last saw Team Sonic. He snatched a radio from inside the truck. 

“All available units.” He growled. “All priority is to locate and detain Sonic the Hedgehog and his companions. No new missions until this is settled… lethal force is authorized.”

Tower threw the radio on the ground, letting it shatter into pieces from his anger. 

A checkpoint was created at the edge of Westopolis within the hour. 

Cars shuffling out of the city were stopped by GUN agents, checking the drivers of each car and usually checking the car for any signs of that blue hedgehog. 

All the cars were let go, as there weren’t any signs of anyone in Team Sonic anywhere. 

The agent stopping the cars leaned in towards a family van, flashing a light in on the driver to get a good look at her. 

“We stopped you while we’re all in pursuit of a criminal we believe is going to leave… the area…” He squinted. “Wait a second. I know you.”

“You do?”

“Yeah! You’re running for mayor in Station Square!”

“Who, li'l ol’ me?” Vanilla put her sunglasses down to bat her eyelashes at the agent. She had a blue scarf tied around her head, hiding her ears from view. 

“Yeah! You’re Vanilla Tarte, right?”

“Sure hope so!”

“Your stance on local monuments and parks is something I love! At least, as an environmentalist. Part-time of course.”

“Of course.”

“I think that Velox guy is a total moron.”

“That seems to be the common consensus!” The rabbit replied. “I hope to change all his strange work with a strong, hopeful future for the city.”

“My husband and I live in Station Square! You sure have our votes!”

“Why thank you so much! Am I clear to head out, though? I gotta get back to the office and continue on my campaign.” 

“Oh sure! Of course!” The agent haphazardly shined his light into the backseat before waving for the blockades to be moved, stepping back. 

“Thank you so much, dear! I wish you and your husband the best!” 

Vanilla drove through the checkpoint, heading down the street and onto the interstate, headed back towards Station Square. 

Once she was out of range of the city, only illuminated by her radio and the street lamps as the sun began to set. She took one more glance in her rear view mirror just in case. 

“…alright, you’re all clear.”

A blanket in the open space trunk behind the backseat lifted up. Team Sonic climbed over the seats, with Amy sighing as she got in the passenger seat.

“Thanks for being our getaway driver, Vanilla.” She said. 

“Yes. Especially considering you’re risking your career just to help us get away.” Knuckles said, as he and the others put on their seatbelts, the echidna seated in the middle. 

“Eh, when am I not risking my career helping you kids?” Vanilla waved her hand, looking at the echidna in the rear view for a moment. “It’s fine. Thanks for making sure Cream got away.”

“They got home safe?”

“All of them did.” Vanilla nodded to Amy. “Where to now?” 

“To my workshop.” Tails spoke up. “We can take the Tornado-III to Angel Island. GUN won’t be able to follow us for a while when we’re up there. Besides, it’s best to check up on the Master Emerald too.” 

“Alright! Get ready for a long drive ahead of you guys. Make sure you all take a nap before you fly- especially you, Tails.”

It was silent after that, before the radio was soon turned up slightly to fill the quiet of the car. 

Sonic leaned his head against the window, still thinking about the faker who was framing him. Within a few days, the fame they had gained from saving the world was all but tarnished. 

At least locally. He was sure he could maintain his internationally famous status. But now’s not the time to think of that. 

What was the goal of that faker? How did he know, specifically, to dress up as him? There was certainly something fishy going on here. 

Part of him wondered if the faker was working alone. Part of him wondered if he was working with Ivo, somehow.

Ivo had been completely radio silent since his defeat during that Chaos Crisis. It had begun to worry Sonic a bit, especially considering that the team couldn’t find him anywhere in Station Square or around it. 

It was like he dropped off the face of the Earth. 

He looked up towards the sky, to the just forming stars in the darkening atmosphere. Sonic let his mind go blank as he just tried to relax before things possibly got any worse. 

FAR ABOVE THE EARTH…

With the slam of a service panel and a flip of a giant, rusty switch, lights turned on in the remnants of the satellite above the planet. 

Heavy footsteps clanged through the halls as the abandoned and dusty space colony was finally illuminated for the first time in fifty years, give or take. 

Ivo directed his E-Mech into the observation room, enjoying that it was now lit up with the bulbs that somehow still worked after all this time. He wondered if the bulbs were even energy efficient. 

He’d probably have to check for lead paint poisoning later as well. 

The scientist stepped out of his mech to look upon the Earth. He pulled his blue tinted goggles over his head, over his copper hair, to look at the planet with his own eyes. 

It had been a while, and he had managed to grow out his hair. He shaved the sides to give it a mohawk look. He kinda liked it like that. 

Climbing out of the E-Mech, he finally got a real moment to admire his custom made shirt under the lights. There was a picture of Metal Sonic on it, with text underneath. 

NEO METAL SONIC - GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

“The construction of the Eclipse Cannon is nearly completed.” Ivo spoke. “The ARK should be finished in the next few months or so. At least, enough to withstand the power of the cannon firing. And now we have lights!”

“Excellent job, my grandson.” 

The translucent visage of Professor Gerald Robotnik appeared beside him, looking down at the planet with his grandson. He stood with his hands behind his back- that must be where Julian got it. 

It was so surreal for Ivo, these last months. What he originally believed to be a stress-or-psychosis induced hallucination of his late grandfather turned out to know stuff that Ivo didn’t even know.

He led Ivo to a “matter transport system” within Gerald’s old research station, in the north-eastern UF city, Empire City. He managed to kickstart it, and it surprisingly sent him up to the space colony. 

After modifying his damaged hovercraft to become a mech, Ivo began working on the ARK. Using his own supplies, and remains of the supplies floating in the mad space around the destroyed satellite, he got it to where it was today. 

Gerald was clearly more than a vision. He had to be a spirit, or… something sent to guide him. He was right about the teleporter, about the remains of the satellite, even the closed off area around the destroyed space colony. 

It looked like someone blew half of it up. Ivo could only imagine what happened here as Gerald stayed quiet about the subject. 

“As we approach the cannon’s full repair, I think it’s time for me to finally introduce you to my… associate.”

Ivo raised an eyebrow. Gerald had mentioned a mysterious third party who was assisting him with things on Earth. He wouldn’t mention who this mystery guy was. 

“Do you have the item I requested ready?”

“…yes.” 

Walking back to his mech, Ivo reached inside and retrieved the item he created- a pair of white and red shoes. Made with a powerful polymer, these boots were specially built to redirect energy to the soles, where they would be blasted from the thruster-like holes made there. 

Jet boots. The coolest thing Ivo’s made in a while, considering all the blandish retro architecture he was enduring with the rebuilding of the space colony. 

“Good. My associate will be here very shortly for a trade off. Try not to stare, grandson.”

Ivo wondered what that meant. He looked out towards the Earth once more, for just a moment, before he heard the door to the observation room open. 

It was the silhouette of a hedgehog. Ivo recognized the red jacket, the shirt, the gloves, the pants. The shoes were fairly recognizable, but they were torn to shreds. The shadow from the top of the door obscured the hedgehog’s face. He was holding something fairly large with a spinning, glowing core. 

With widening eyes, Ivo took a step back. He looked towards his grandfather for a moment, before back to the hedgehog. 

“What is this?!? Is that you, Sonic? Are you trying to spoil my plans again?”

After a second, the hedgehog stepped through the doorway, letting his entire body become fully seen. 

“Wait a minute, you’re not… Sonic. Who…?”

The faker had deep navy quills, which were disheveled, like he just rolled out of bed. The quilless parts of his face was a soft blue, instead of tan. There was a scar over his left eye, the wound being the reason that iris was clouded over. The remaining eye was crimson. 

He held out the gravity diverter, letting it drop to the ground. 

“Be careful with that!” Gerald barked. 

Ivo looked over at his grandfather. 

“The shoes.” 

The rumbling murmur of this hedgehog turned Ivo’s head back to him. It was deep, raspy… almost like he’d been yelling. Or crying. 

After a second, Ivo realized what was asked of him. He quickly held out the shoes for the dark hedgehog, who walked slowly over and took them in his hands. 

He looked them over for a moment, before kicking off his tattered sneakers and slipping the jet boots on. 

“With these, you’ll be able to properly redirect your chaos energy through the jets, instead of those destructive boosts.” Gerald said. “Forgive me, I believed you mimicking that technique was required for you to pretend to be Sonic. But now… it doesn’t matter if you boost or not.” 

The dark hedgehog closed his eyes, in focus. After a moment, golden energy blasted out from the thruster holes on the soles, lifting the faker into the air for a moment. 

Ivo stared in wonder, slowly strolling around the dark hedgehog to look him over. Once he was back in front of him, the jet boots were off, the faker dropping to the ground in an act that made Ivo flinch. 

After opening his eyes again, the hedgehog nodded once, thanking the doctor. He turned around and walked off slowly, with Ivo still looking at him puzzlingly. 

He paused in the doorway. 

“My name is… Eclipse.” The hedgehog said, back to Ivo. He turned his head slightly, his crimson eye looking back at Ivo. “I am the Shadow of Doom… the Ultimate Lifeform.”

“…what… why are you helping me?” 

“To make this world pay. If you want this planet under complete control… bring me the Chaos Emeralds.” 

Ivo scoffed and sputtered. 

“I still have to fix this space colony! We all can’t just stroll around the surface of the planet and pretend to be Sonic!”

“…then I will find the emeralds myself. Repair the control room of this space colony… when I have one or more, I will meet you there.”

“How will I—“ 

“You’ll know.”

It was quiet after that. Eclipse left in the silence, his new shoes clanging down the hallway as he did so. 

He reached the transporter in a few minutes. He stood on the octogonal panel at the center of the teleporter, pressing the button to start it up. 

Eclipse heard the whirring of energy, closing his eyes to calm himself. In the familiar whining, he heard a young voice far beyond. 

“Sayonara, Mr. Needlemouse…”

There was a moment where he felt a tear in his heart, as if someone was trying to rip it in half like a phone book. His stomach sank slightly as he heard the memory replay in his head. 

After the sadness was settled, it was replaced only by more anger. 

He opened his eyes again, a scowl on his face as he reminded himself of what he was here for. What he needed to do. 

With purple energy rising around him, Eclipse was teleported off of the Space Colony ARK.

UP NEXT: Return to Angel Island! 

Chapter Text

It was chillier than usual up above the Earth, most likely because it was in the middle of fall. 

The clouds in the sky moved slowly as the planet rotated, cream-colored to note its peacefulness, no signs of any kind of bad weather anytime soon. Though no thunder was playing in the background, the sound of rumbling still echoed around the skies. 

A blue-and-yellow plane broke through the thin cirrostratus clouds, the thrusters underneath the plane and at the base of each wing working overtime to let it gain more and more altitude. Placed in a heat-resistant decal at the front fuselage of the plane was “P-3a Tornado” in giant, bold lettering. 

Tails slipped off his goggles as they passed the obscuring cloud, keeping his eyes out for their destination in the distance. He was originally going to ask Knuckles to help them find it, but it was hard not to see a floating island in the sky. 

Directly behind Tails was Knuckles himself, laying across the seat with his feet propped up over the side, hands behind his head and eyes closed as he listened in to the growing sound of the Master Emerald called to him. Since it was so bright outside, it would be difficult to track down the emerald from the streaks of chaos energy in the air. 

Behind him, in the third seat of the plane, was Amy, who was tracking where they were via her phone. Right now they were far above the ocean- luckily far enough that Sonic wasn’t freaking out. 

Speaking of, Sonic was standing directly behind the last seat, enjoying the wind in his face as they soared through the skies. 

The Tornado-III, lovingly nicknamed the Cyclone, was an upgraded version of the totaled Tornado-II. Tails had removed the top set of wings on the plane as well as the propellers, opting for the power of thrusters for simplicity. Besides that, it was easier for the Cyclone to transform into its alternate forms without the worry of what to do with just thrusters. 

No longer powered by a Chaos Emerald (Tails was content with it being safe in a containment cube in the bottom of his backpack) the Cyclone was powered with solar energy- with panels graciously provided to him by HEXAeco. 

Tails also made sure to have three seats in the plane for better transportation. 

“Are you sure we’re getting close, Knuckles?” The fox asked, tilting his head only slightly to keep his eyes on the skies.

“The ringing is getting closer… I can feel it in my feet.” 

“Should probably get that checked out.” 

“Should I?” The echidna looked back at Sonic. 

“No Knux, I’m just kidding.” The hedgehog replied, chuckling a little.

“You seem cheery for public enemy number one.” Amy leaned her head back to look up at him. “Not to mention someone going through an identity crisis.”

“I’m just coasting on the rush of that snowboard chase! Ugh, it was amazing!” Sonic knelt down, grabbing the edge of the seat’s opening to keep himself steady as he got on his friends’ level. 

“Let’s hope we don’t have to do something like that again up on Angel Island.” 

“There aren’t any streets, I think we’ll be alright.” Knuckles pulled his feet in, sitting normally again. “Besides, I don’t think that GUN or anyone from there would be as dumb as to follow us up onto Angel Island.” 

“Don’t be so sure! Apparently Ivo’s grandfather’s been there before.” Tails replied, flipping a switch on his console. “That report involving Chaos from way back when was from both him and GUN. They probably know how to find a way up there, knowing them.”

“Ugh, of course they will. They’re the wooo-oo-oo-ooooorst!” Sonic put his hand beside his mouth and sang out the last two words, earning a laugh amongst his friends. 

It was quiet again, except for the thrusters, as they continued to gain altitude upwards. Amy, in the back, switched over from looking at where they are via her map app to pictures she had taken nearly half a year prior. 

“Reminiscing?” 

Amy looked over her shoulder at Sonic, who could see what she was looking at from his position. She sighed, swiping to another picture of her and their ex-chao, Bud. 

“A little. I wonder what Bud’s been up to.” 

The chao Bud, a special breed of chao known as a “Chaos chao” or “light chao” depending on who you ask on Angel Island, had been left back on the floating island almost four months prior in order to stay amongst the community of chao that he had grown up with. He was not only safer there, but he belonged there as a non-domesticated chao. 

Amy had missed him. Sonic and Tails had missed him. Cream’s chao Cheese had missed him a lot since he was Bud’s closest (and really only) chao friend back on the mainland. It hurt Amy that Cream and Cheese couldn’t come with them to the island, but the rabbit and her mother needed to lay low after assisting with Sonic’s prison break, and Cheese got more anxious the further away he was from his owner, so taking the chao alone was out of the question. 

“He’s fine, Amy. You know one of the guardians would have alerted us if anything went wrong.” Sonic replied to her. “Especially since it’s Bud.” 

“Since Ivo’s been missing for the last few months, I doubt anyone would want to chao-nap Bud.” Knuckles added in, turning in his seat. “Since he can also control chaos energy, it would take more than a few people to actively take him away this time.” 

“I’m sure he’s fine, it’s just… you think he’s upset that we left him there?” 

“I’m sure he isn’t. Even he probably understood that we could only do so much to help him.” Sonic replied to her. “I wonder how much he’s changed. Compared to how he was before he was taken from the island, I mean.” 

“We can only wonder, really.” 

“We’ll be seeing what he’s learned soon enough.” Knuckles said, perking up. “The ringing is getting stronger. I think we’re close!”

Pushing through more clouds, the Cyclone finally reached the level of Angel Island. Flying underneath it, Tails steered the plane around to reach one side, getting a small glimpse of the forests. From afar, the group could see the mountain on Angel Island, and the small glimmer of the giant green emerald resting inside of the temple on its side. 

Reaching the sandy edges of the island, Tails landed the plane through the sand and on more solid soil, the landing gear squeaking slightly as they rolled to a stop. 

Sonic was the first to get off, naturally, as he wasn’t in a seat. Amy and Knuckles came next- Tails, having to retrieve and check his backpack, was last. He reached over his shoulder, clicking a small keychain that made the plane beep like he was locking a car. 

“You’re simply locking it?” 

“Oh, Knuckles…” Tails pat the echidna’s arm. “I did much more than that. Trust me.” 

Knuckles shrugged in contempt, though took one last glance at the Cyclone before walking away from the shore with the others. 

Soon taking the lead, he pushed through the trees and brush to make it further in-land, making a path for his friends with his strength. 

“It’s been a while since I last saw the guardians.” Sonic said. “Wonder if they’ve spruced the place up a little.” 

“Depends. I do wonder…” Knuckles grunted as he uprooted a bush to make a walkway for his friends. He soon put it back where he found it. “...how they’ve reacted to making contact with modern society after so long.” 

“You handled it well. If anything, they’d end up like you.” Amy looked at Knuckles, watching the echidna hustle past to continue landscaping their path. “They didn’t seem too disturbed by the sight of modern society when they helped out with Perfect Chaos.” 

“I’m mostly worried about everyone else knowing Angel Island exists. It was simpler living on the floating island without knowing if anyone knew we were up here.” 

“That’s true. Even all of GUN’s cover-ups can’t make the citizens of Station Square forget that the island exists…” Sonic hummed. “I’m sure we’ll be fine. Nobody would be as crazy as to try and come up to the island with all the guardians here.” 

Rubbing his mitten-clad hands together, Knuckles squatted down to pick up a thick tree from the ground, letting light gleam into their area as if he was opening up a door. He stepped to the side, letting the others walk through the newly created pathway and into the clearing ahead. 

Though light had illuminated the area ahead, they were soon illuminated in shadow. Around them, at the edge of the clearing, different hovels were standing. Walking between two of the seven hovels, formed in a circular formation, they soon stepped onto the walkways that led to a small circular sidewalk- almost like a cul-de-sac. 

Sonic, Tails and Amy looked at the hovels around them. 

“...you were saying?” Amy side-eyed Sonic. 

“And here is our living quarters…”

The trio turned to see the source of the voice, finding it quickly. A group of people- mostly humans, a few Mobians- were being led by a familiar sloth. Moss, dressed in a very good looking sweater and pants (both made from literal moss, of course) step into view down the walkway leading away from the hovels. 

He paused as he came upon Team Sonic (no Knuckles), his eyebrows raising to mimic the surprised look the heroes had. He hummed in surprise for a second before clearing his throat to quickly try to carry on. 

Knuckles came back at that moment, still holding the tree in his hands. 

“Father?” He called to Moss, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

“...well, ladies and gentlemen,” Moss said to the group. “As you can see, we have some surprise guests- Team Sonic, including my beloved son Knuckles, who is randomly holding a fully-grown sequoia.” 

“Hi.” Sonic waved a little.

“Ray, please escort the group to the rest of the tour, please.” 

Ray popped up beside Moss, perking up as he was given responsibility. The flying squirrel, still wearing Tails’ old blue goggles on his head, no longer had moss clothing- he wore blue boots, overalls that came over his chest, and a blue scarf. He really liked the color blue, it seemed. 

“This way!” He said, leading the group away. Some were still murmuring and taking photos of the heroes as the squirrel led them away. 

Moss strolled over to Team Sonic, who were still staring at him. 

“...Knuckles, please put that tree back.” 

“Oh! Right.” 

The echidna walked away to put the tree back quickly. 

“What the heck is going on here?” Amy asked.

“I was showing our newest batch of guests our living quarters.” 

“Guests? Living quarters?” Knuckles interjected, already back from replanting the tree. “Father, pardon my Soleannan, but what is the freaking meaning of this?”

“All of those words were from the English language.”

“Father!”

“Okay, okay, my apologies.” Moss replied. He took a deep breath, sighing an exhale. “When we assisted you in evacuating Station Square, even though we took every precaution that we thought would work to get everyone but the guardians off of Angel Island, we still had… a few stragglers that were here when we started floating again.”

“What’d you do to them? Did you throw them off?” Tails asked.

“What? No.” Moss looked at Tails, bewildered. “We let them stay. Mighty used his contact with your detective friends to organize a flight for the stragglers to return home. However…” 

“However…?” Knuckles rolled his hand to get his father to continue.

“Well… It was nice… taking care of them.” Moss admitted. “There’s only four of us here… there’s about to only be three if Mighty takes up those detective’s offer to join them, which I think he may do very soon. It’s nice feeling like there are people to interact with here again. It’s like it was back then… way back then.” 

“...are they staying in the old echidna village?”

“No! Absolutely not.” Moss held a hand up, shaking his head. “That is off limits to every one of our guests. We get alerts if anyone even gets close to that area… we can thank Ray for that. He’s gotten very in-tune with modern technology as of late.” 

“You finally pulled Angel Island into the modern era?”

“I suppose you could say that, Amy. We opened our island to the humans on the mainland, and in exchange we are able to receive a lot of materials from it to sustain ourselves. Ray takes care of all of it, I don’t exactly know the specifics.” 

“Right…” Amy leaned to look past Moss. “Is the chao garden open?”

“Yes, it is! It’s open twenty-four hours!” The sloth replied. “I believe there’s someone there who will be very happy to see you. You, Sonic and Tails.” 

Amy didn’t need much else than that. She quickly strolled off, followed by Sonic and Tails. 

Moss watched them leave, but turned his head to look at Knuckles again.

“...would you like to see the other guardians?” 

“Yes. Yes I would.” 

As Moss and Knuckles walked in a different direction, the rest of Team Sonic took a brisk walk towards the chao garden. Luckily, the stone path that was constructed would eventually lead to it, with signs pointing to different areas of the island: besides the chao garden, there was the “Ice Cap,” “Registration Office,” and “Amphitheater” at different areas of the island with signs pointing to the appropriate, separate paths. 

They passed by a few of the guests staying on the island, most of them looking at Sonic with surprise and a few saying hello- something all three of the heroes happily reciprocated. 

Though it was clear that the fact people were now staying on Angel Island was very bizarre to the three. 

“This is very bizarre.” Sonic stated, strolling ahead with ease, turning around to walk backwards. 

“I know. There are more people on Angel Island now. It feels weird to be here.” 

“The glow of being the first guests on the island in decades has lost its gleam.” Tails sighed. “Well, at least nobody we know is here.”

“I know right? Wait… You saying that guarantees we’ll see someone we kn—“

Before Sonic could finish, he crashed into someone walking the opposite direction. He fell onto the ground with a grunt, turning around to his back and rubbing his head. 

The person he ran into offered a hand, which Sonic took, before he was lifted up to his feet from the strength of this mystery guest. 

“Sonic?”

Sonic looked at the guest, his eyebrows raising and a grin growing across his face as he saw the features of an emperor penguin. 

“Giga Thomas!” 

“Hey man…” Thomas Pen looked Sonic over for any lasting damage, before peering past the hedgehog to the others. “…Hey Tails, hey Amy.”

“Hey Thomas!” Both the fox and pink hedgehog said. 

Before any questions could be asked involving how and why Thomas was on the island, someone else the group could identify poked his head around the large penguin’s body. 

“Amy?” 

“Renzo?” Amy was taken aback. “Oh my god, what the heck? Hi!”

“Hey!!” 

Renzo Nanatsuki came around and gave Amy a hug, the pair smiling as they were reunited. 

“Wow! Long time no see!” Renzo looked Amy over. “You look… mostly the same. Still like the outfit though.”

“You look good! Love the goatee.” Amy replied. “You’re here with… Thomas?”

“Yeah! Well, him and…”

“Hellooooo!” The green-haired Lee Nanatsuki appeared, having jumped onto Renzo’s back and leaning forward to say their greetings to Amy. 

“Oh, wow.” Sonic commented. “Dr. Nanatsuki, it’s good to see you. Sorry I missed my appointment yesterday, I—“

“Sonic, we’re not in therapy. You can call me Lee.” 

“It’s weird to! It’s like seeing your teacher out of school, it’s just surreal to call you by your first name!” 

Tails, while watching, became acutely aware of someone standing next to him. He looked up at the crow beside him, before sticking out his hand. 

“Tails, hi.” He said. 

“Desdemona. Hi.” The crow shook Tails’ hand with a smile. 

“What are you guys doing here?” Sonic finally asked. 

“Cashing in a very late honeymoon.” Renzo said, as Lee stepped to stand beside him. “We were planning on getting it planned when we returned to Station Square from Soleanna, but then we discovered it was somehow flooding from a giant water monster.”

“Yeah…” Amy shuffled. “Thanks for helping out. Especially without us even having to ask.”

“Least I could do! You did save my life.” 

“I’m technically doing the opposite.” Thomas said, as Desdemona joined him. “Mona and I are taking a short vacation before we start planning our own wedding. We ran into Renzo and Lee, and got to talking, and…”

“We both had little mishaps with you guys, and that led us into becoming further acquainted with one another.” Renzo finished. “You guys know we met you all just days apart?”

“Yeah, Thomas kinda kicked off the whole adventure where I met Renzo.”

“Speaking of…” Thomas looked at Amy. “How’d you all get here? I’m sure you didn’t drive…”

“Nope! No cars for you to smash this time!”

“Ha! Man, you… are never gonna let me live that down.”

“Nope.” 

“I flew us here in my plane.” Tails interjected. 

“Plane? You have a plane? Can I see it?”

“Down, Ren.” Lee patted their husband’s shoulder. “No planes, just fun.” 

“Speaking of, we probably shouldn’t hold you guys up!” Amy said. “We gotta head to the chao garden, but… we’ll see you guys around.” 

“Oh yeah! Don’t let us hold you guys up.” Desdemona replied, walking around to stand next to Thomas. 

They all said various different goodbyes, the two groups passing each other and walking in opposite directions. Amy went back to walking ahead of Sonic and Tails, headed directly to the chao garden. 

Following the rocks embedded in the grass, Team Sonic soon came across a stone wall that blocked off another part of the island. A stone arch was up above the stone path, inviting people into the chao garden. 

The waterfall was still intact, with new fruit trees interspersed around the grassy area. There were just as many chao as the three remembered, sitting and flying and eating the fruits that had fallen on the ground. 

From where they were standing, they could see something peculiar- a small shack made of branches and leaves at the edge of the clearing, up against the trees. 

Sonic and Tails looked at Amy, who was still ahead of the pair. She gripped the strap of her hammer purse, taking a deep breath before briskly walking into the clearing, followed closely by her companions. 

The chao quickly started to notice the newest guests in their garden. Some raised into the air to look at them, some stayed on the ground to stare, quite a few of them having pieces of fruit drop from their mouths as they stared in awe. 

A few began to mutter amongst themselves, a few starting to float higher with elation. 

Singing began around them, speaking in a chorus of glee as they saw the three members of Team Sonic they recognized from the Chaos Crisis, those who had saved the chao from the misguided wrath of their godly ancestor. They began surrounding the trio, flocking like flies to a lamp, happily singing to show their gratitude. 

Amy, Sonic and Tails slowed to a stop from the chao surrounding them. The pink hedgehog looked around, trying to scan the different chao for the one she was looking for. 

“Chao chao!” 

With the sound of a different, deeper voiced chao somewhere in front of them, the other chao died down. They parted to reveal a trio of chao floating ahead- a green one with two head horns, a pink moon chao, and a red chao with gorilla arms and a paper bag over its head, replacing the top of an egg shell the others were more familiar with. 

“Thorn! Maurice! Petal! Wow, it’s been so long!” Sonic said brightly. 

“Chao chao chao.” Petal’s bag moved as the chao spoke, his deep voice booming. 

“...dang, Petal must’ve gone through chao puberty or something.” Tails murmured to Sonic. 

The three chao lowered down in unison, revealing the final chao behind them. It was Bud, of course, the chaos chao still sporting the blue, yellow and pink swirl of color on his body wherever it wasn’t a blinding pearl white. 

Bud’s emotion indicator brightened as he spotted Team Sonic in front of him. Like a missile of white and color, the chao sped to the group to properly reunite with them. 

“Chao-chao chao-chao!”

“Bud!”

The chao was met with Team Sonic catching him in a group hug, everyone happy to see each other once again. All the other chao around them continued to sing with glee as Team Sonic squeezed their chao friend. 

Bud’s emotion indicator blinked rapidly with glee. He didn’t waste a second- he grabbed Amy’s hand with both of his nubs and pulled her along, away from the large group of chao around them. Sonic and Tails, naturally, followed. 

They were brought over to the shack at the edge of the woods, tall enough to fit the Mobians inside but clearly made for a chao to stay in. Bud went through a small door placed at the upper half of a larger door, like a special pet door for him specifically. Amy opened up the big door after, stepping inside with the rest of Team Sonic. 

“It’s so nice seeing you! I missed you.” Amy said, finally somewhere quiet. 

“Chao chao?”

“We don’t have anyone else with us, and… unfortunately we don’t have any gifts for you.” Sonic added on, shrugging a bit. “We’re actually hiding out on Angel Island for a bit, but we knew we had to see you if we came here.” 

Tails, up ahead, was trailing through the shack. It was much bigger on the inside than expected, and the layout he was following was very… familiar. 

“Guys, come look at this.”

Sonic and Amy stepped to Tails, followed by Bud hovering behind them. Tails had already known what it reminded him of, but Sonic and Amy needed a second to recognize exactly everything they were looking at. 

The shack was modeled after their apartment. Sure, a few things weren’t correct, like the couch wasn’t the same color and the TV was just made out of straw and branches, but it was pretty much a 1:1 recreation of their home. 

“Wow…” Amy remarked. “Man, this looks better than our actual apartment.”

“Especially considering that it’s probably been stripped bare because we’re wanted fugitives.” 

“It’s like a home away from home!” Sonic walked over and flopped onto the couch, letting out a long sigh as he kicked his feet up. 

Amy walked over and pushed the feet off the recreated coffee table. 

“Have some manners, this isn’t actually our home.”

“Bud doesn’t seem to mind, and we’ve been running around for the last twenty-four hours. What’s the worst that could happen if I just relax?”

The door to the shack busted open, rabid screaming coming from it that made everyone in the shack freak out a bit, huddling together quickly. 

“I’M SORRY I’LL KEEP MY FEET DOWN” Sonic yelled.

“ AAAAAH- Oh, hey guys.” 

Sticks the Badger put her boomerang back in a small bag she had on her back. With that hand, she reached up and scratched behind her ear, grunting. Though she was wearing actual fabric clothes now, like the others, there were small pieces that harkened back to her crazed personality. A majority of her clothes were clearly made herself, a brassiere and skirt of cloth stitched together, mildly mismatching shoes and a vine necklace with a gold ring at the end of it. 

“Sticks? What the heck?” Amy asked, clearly aggravated. 

“I thought I smelled the smell of chilidog… that and intense paranoia. But I thought that last one was just me! Hi Bud!”

Bud waved happily. 

“It’s been a while. Aren’t you three wanted by the government?”

“How’d you know that?”

“I dunno, I just took a guess. Was a matter of time before the government turned on those they only see as science experiments…” Sticks hummed, eyes squinting in thought for a moment. She looked back up at the team. “Happy to see you’ve reunited with the defender of the chao!”

“Defender of the chao?”

“That’s what Bud’s been calling himself now! Ever since we started opening up the island to other people, he’s built this shack and started modeling a lot of his stuff after you guys!”

“Chao chao!”

“What?! I am not oversharing! Show them the room, they’d enjoy it!”

Bud frowned for a moment before taking Amy’s hand again, pulling her through the living room and making the others follow. They went to the door that would correspond to Tails’ room, letting it creak open to step inside. 

There was Tails’ bed, up in the corner, and on the opposite side of the room was a station akin to the workbench Tails had in his workshop at the Mystic Ruins. 

“Oh, wow!” Tails moved ahead of the group to study the workbench. “This is incredible! You’ve nearly matched my workbench to the tool!” 

“Chao chao chao.” 

“He says you can use it if you want.” Sticks said after Bud. 

Tails didn’t need to be told twice. He swung his backpack off, setting it gently on top of the workbench set up at the end of the room. 

“So… you can understand the chao?” Amy asked Sticks.

“What? Yeah. Wait… you can’t?”

Amy and Sonic shared a glance after that, the latter waving his hand telling Amy to ignore it. 

Bud flew in front of Sticks. 

“Chao chao chao.”

“Huh? Yeah, I was gonna offer.”

“Chao.”

“What? You can’t let them stay here!”

“Chao chao?”

“Well, y’know, it’s really small.” 

“Chao chao chao chao?”

“I know we don’t have much room at the house.”

“Chao chao.”

“Alright, alright, fine. I’ll talk to Moss about it. But he still wants them over for dinner!”

“Chao chao.”

“Hmm… You drive a hard bargain, mister. Alright, you can come too.” 

Sticks shook Bud’s nub, both of their chins raised like proper businesspeople. Afterwards, Bud broke away from Sticks and went back to Amy, taking her hand and pulling it to lead her out of the room. Though Sonic went to follow, Bud held out a nub to tell him to stay where he was. Sonic shrugged, moving over to Tails. 

Bud led Amy out of the room and further down the hall, down to where Amy’s room would be. The chao opened the door and showed her what it looked like- while it matched Amy’s old room in terms of the window and the bed, everything else was different. 

Posters and pictures were scattered across the wall- one of the upcoming film Chao In Space: Requiem , the soft reboot of Chao In Space that involved a plot similar to the team’s exploits against Chaos. Then, a poster of World Of The Chaos , a shameless “based on a true story” adaptation of their adventure that heavily watered down the villain’s (if you could call Chaos that) motives and made the team one-note caricatures. 

Amy wasn’t a fan of that one. 

Then she came across the newspaper clippings, scattered as there weren’t many, involving anything that had to do with Sonic and his friends. Mentions of Sonic helping the community after Chaos’ reckoning, Tails being awarded a Chaos Emerald, even the spotlight of Amy’s fortune shop. 

A smile came across Amy’s face as she saw all the clippings put up by Bud, her gloved fingers lightly gliding across the clippings as she slowly passed by them. 

“Chao.”

Amy turned around to see Bud. He had floated over to her, showing her the Amy doll that he took with him when he parted ways with Team Sonic months prior. 

“You kept it. Doesn’t even need surgery.” The pink hedgehog was still smiling as she took hold of the doll, looking it over. 

Bud flew behind him, to a shelf with a sliding door, pulling it open to reveal a dozen more plush dolls inside- a doll of Sonic, Cream, Vector… no doll of Tails, weirdly enough. 

The chao flew to the surprised Amy and started pulling her along. 

“Oh boy, you have so much more…”

Back in the workshop room, Tails was seated at the workbench, rummaging through his yellow backpack and retrieving what looked like a laptop, the size of his tablet, also very aptly colored yellow. He set the laptop on the workbench, opening it up and pressing the on button. 

The bottom half of the laptop popped up, two halves of a compact butterfly keyboard unfolding to create a full-sized keyboard that extended out past the edges of the laptop. Tails typed in his password- AliBaba.

“Wow, fancy shmancy laptop, buddy.” Sonic said, walking up to one side of Tails. Sticks came up at the other side, but was poking out from Tails’ side to look at the laptop cautiously. 

“Yeah, we need all the fancy shmancy technology we can get if we’re going to go up against GUN and someone as fast as you, Sonic.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I wouldn’t say he’s as fast as I am.” 

“You said he unleashed a boost that nearly destroyed an entire hallway. ‘Fast as you’ or not, Sonic, this faker guy is powerful. Powerful enough that we need all the cutting edge tech we can get our hands on, and all the gadgets I can make before GUN finds us here.”

“Are you sure Bud’s okay with you using his materials?”

“He seems to have an abundance of it without any real schematics to work with, besides a bunch of drawings. He needs a program where he can design his stuff instead of just going along with sketches he’s made. Like this one.” Tails gestured to the designing software he had on his laptop. “One I got across my laptop and Miles Electric.”

“Is your tablet still considered cutting-edge tech?” Sticks asked, still partially behind Tails.

“...question considered. I think… I’m gonna invest in making a new tablet. I’ve had schematics for a sleek and compact one for a while… Just need the right materials for it. Certainly nothing I can find here, no offense.”

“None taken!” Sticks leaned over. “Can you believe what that pipsqueak just said to me?”

“...Sticks, you just leaned over to me.” 

“Whoops! Sorry.” Sticks leaned over to Sonic. “Can you believe what that pipsqueak just said to me?”

Sonic scoffed and rolled his eyes. 

Tails pulled out a device with a long wire, connecting it to the laptop. He pulled up another software before retrieving the newest object he’s retrieved- the yellow shard of an emerald placed inside a tube-like drive. He placed it in his laptop device, which began to scan it. 

“What is that thing, exactly? Is it… part of a Chaos Emerald?”

“I don’t think so. These readings tell me that it’s made of synthetic material. These shards of crystal are replicating the structure and energy output of an actual Chaos Emerald… And it came from GUN.” 

“That’s reassuring. What can they do, exactly?”

“Well, they’re like smaller Chaos Emeralds. They might not be able to mutate, say, Mobians, but maybe… something smaller? Like a chao. Other than that, it’s hard to find out what exactly it can do without some experiments.” 

Tails cleared his throat and coughed a bit from all the talking he was doing. A glass of water was offered to him. 

“Want a sip?” Sticks asked.

“...I’ll pass. Where’d you even get that?”

“I took the moment you were talking to get it. Figured I had an out to get something to drink.”

Sticks took a sip of her water. Tails, eyebrows furrowed, slowly turned back to his laptop. He turned off the device and picked up the yellow crystal shard in the tube, looking it over in his hand. 

“That thing was pushing Mercury at supersonic speeds with chaos energy, she didn’t even need any of the machinery inside. It was her own motorcycle drive… like a chaos drive.” 

“It also has tons of chaos energy inscribed inside of it. Like some kind of old-timey disk drive from the ancient times of the nineties.” Tails added to Sonic’s statement. “In that sense, it would also make sense to call it that. A chaos drive.” 

The teenager grinned at Sonic, who smiled back at their conjoined naming of the object. 

Suddenly, in Tails’ hand, the chaos drive started shaking. He looked at it with raised eyebrows, surprised at this recent development. 

“...Tails?”

“I dunno, Sonic. Ouch! Hot!”

Tails started to hop the chaos drive from each of his palms, playing hot potato with the drive. He looked over to Sonic, starting to lean over to him.

“Don’t give it to me! What am I supposed to do with it?!” The hedgehog said defensively. 

The fox let out a sound of mild annoyance as he continued to let the drive hop between hands.

Sticks looked at the drive, then her glass of water, then the drive again. After a second she caught the drive in the air, quickly putting it into her water to cool it down. 

“Phew. Thanks, Sticks.”

Now submerged in water, the chaos drive reacted peculiarly to the liquid. It began to swirl around, as if a spoon mixing sugar in tea, as it appeared that the water was actually pushing it along. 

Sonic and Tails leaned in to watch the drive swim throughout the glass, both of them staring peculiarly at the drive in the water. 

“...should I… drink it?” Sticks asked.

“N-No! Here, just…”

Tails took the cup of water away from the badger, who frowned with disappointment. 

The fox set the cup back on the workbench, looking it over once more before going back to his laptop, headed back to the designing software. 

“I’ll have to study that more later. I have to continue working on those invention plans.” 

“Well, you owe me a water!” Sticks said. “I’ll cash it in at dinner tonight.”

Tails grunted, and Sticks left, satisfied in the appropriate exchange. Sonic stepped up behind Tails, arms crossed, watching him work. In the other room, Bud continued to show Amy the different dolls he had retrieved over the last few months. 

Knuckles was still fairly perturbed even after they had their dinner. 

He had learned that word recently. Perturbed. It was very accurate to how he was feeling at that very moment. Angel Island had been opened up to the people on the ground, and who knows how long the humans and Mobians have been snooping around and… looking at stuff. 

There was a small voice at the back of his head nagging at him. He felt a twisty motion in his stomach every time the guardians brought up how the island was now opened up to visitors. 

Sitting quietly, hands on his lap, Knuckles stared blankly at the small table ahead of him. He was resting on a couch inside of Moss’ new cottage, between Sonic and Tails. They had eaten dinner there with the other guardians, as well as Amy and Bud, and now were just sitting around and catching up. 

He unfocused at just the right moment, hearing the group murmur and chuckle amongst each other. The echidna felt someone to his right elbow him- it was Sonic. He looked over, seeing the hedgehog was looking mildly concerned. 

“Are you alright?”

Knuckles blinked. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” 

Sonic huffed through his nose, clearly dissatisfied from the simple answer but not wanting to pry. 

“Mighty, please put the book down for one moment.”

The armadillo looked up from his modern magazine, brought out of it to look at Moss. Much like the others, he was dressed in more modern clothes: including a leather jacket, brown boots and fingerless gloves. 

“Hm? Sorry, I wanted to finish the chapter before tonight.”

“You’re worse than Vector with those books.” Amy remarked. 

“I am? …How is he? And the other detectives.” 

“They’re good. I’m pretty sure they miss you.” 

Mighty, the book closed and resting on his leg, nodded slowly. 

“Are they… also… being pursued by police?” 

“Not to my knowledge, no.”

“Good! I might go visit them, then. Maybe… stay for a while?” Mighty looked over at Moss, his voice slowing down as he tried to gauge whether or not the sloth would be upset with the notion. 

“I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun if you do, son.” 

At his father’s encouragement, Mighty brightened, tapping his hand on the book. 

“Maybe you can help them figure out who this doppelganger is, who framed Team Sonic.” Ray said. “Since they’re going to be on the run, they’ll probably need some help on that front.” 

“Realistically we’ll probably find out who this other hedgehog is very slowly, over the course of like… twelve more major adventures.” Sticks said. 

“Unless you all can help…?” Amy said, looking at the guardians. “It’s a stretch, but… My mother said only a dozen or so hedgehogs were mutated in Project: Mobius over twenty years ago, and she never mentioned one that looked like me.” 

“Do you think it could have anything to do with them?”

“Unless Amy or I have a secret sibling, no.” Sonic said. “Or worse… we have a shared half-sibling.”

Both he and Amy shivered at the statement. 

“What about your uncle?” Knuckles asked. 

“What?”

“You told me Aleena had a brother-in-law. Could he…?”

The statement hung in the air for a moment. 

“…no. He’s… He’s gone.”

“Are you sure?” Amy asked. 

“The only one who would know for sure is Julian. Maybe Ivo? But… I’m not gonna open up my mom’s old wounds.” Sonic replied. “Who would even be stupid enough to create another powerful hedgehog?”

“Gerald Robotnik.”

Moss’ statement hung in the air for a moment. 

“…who?”

“That’s the name of Ivo’s grandfather.” Sonic said to Knuckles, before peering at the sloth. “What do you mean?”

“Wait, hold on.” Tails said, holding a hand out. “Those old files I had found, before Bud summoned Chaos, they mentioned GUN coming to this Island. Did Gerald come here too?”

“He did.” Amy answered. “Tikal showed me a vision when Perfect Chaos was in the city… Gerald was studying about hedgehogs?”

“Professor Robotnik, a brilliant geneticist, was interested in hedgehogs and chaos energy for some kind of personal reason.” Moss replied. “He wouldn’t disclose why… he told me that hedgehogs were the most absorbent of the energy, and he needed someone who could sustain a lot of it for his research.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“Gerald Robotnik had the information needed to create an incredibly powerful hedgehog.” Moss replied to Sonic simply. “Someone must’ve continued his research. Was Julian his only son?”

“He had another kid, but Ivo doesn’t talk about that side of the family after his cousin got arrested.” 

“Is Ivo Robotnik interested in creating life?”

“Robotic life.” Tails said. “He only likes robots. He’s never been interested in continuing his father’s biological research. At least I don’t think he is.” 

“This isn’t adding up.” Sonic tapped his chin. “We’re missing something. Where did this faker come from? Why is he doing this? What does this have to do with Project: Eclipse?”

“Project: Eclipse?” Tails asked. 

“That’s what Tower was talking about. He said it had to do with the Space Colony ARK- whatever that is. The faker stole a piece of that space colony and started this entire mess. Tower was very touchy about it.”

“Maybe the faker, the project and the ARK are all connected.” Mighty spoke up. 

“Could be. That was fifty years ago though. How would we even confirm if they were?”

After the question was asked, Bud nudged Amy, who looked down at the chao. With a moment of them looking at each other, the pink hedgehog felt an idea hit the back of her mind, making her perk up. 

“I know!”

“You— oh no.” 

“Oh yes! I can have a vision.” Amy said. “Bud was pretty good with pulling me into visions when I had him around. Maybe he could help me get a vision of the faker!”

“Are you sure you want to have a vision about the faker, Amy?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“The last time you had a vision of him, you flew an aircraft at us in a terrified frenzy.” Knuckles deadpanned.

“It was mostly at Ivo! Besides, you all ended up fine. This time, I’ll be ready to see him, so I probably won’t freak out! Probably.” 

“Ehhhh, I dunno…” Sonic said. “Bud, are you alright with this?”

“Chao chao.”

“Bud says he’s up to helping you guys out again.” Sticks translated. 

“It could still be dangerous though.” Moss said. “When psychics go into their astral forms, their physical bodies are vulnerable. When GUN shows up, which I would be surprised if they didn’t, you could be taken or worse in your unconscious state.”

“There’s no way for me to defend myself?”

“Not really. Only highly trained psychics can control their bodies when they enter their astral form.” Ray replied. “That, or incredibly powerful ones, from what Moss has told me.” 

“Is it worth the risk, Amy?”

“Yes!” She said to Moss. “We have no way of figuring out what this guy is doing, or what he wants, without being in the public eye. We only have one other safehouse besides this, and we have very limited time left. Having a quick macguffin that could help us find out what this guy is up to is exactly what we need right now.”

“Hmm… alright, then.” The sloth nodded. “We have a safe room beneath this house in case of an emergency. It’s meant to house all the guests on the island, but you’re free to use it.”

“No.” Sonic said quickly. He paused, but noticed everyone was staring at him. “...if and when GUN gets here, if we lose, Amy and Bud could easily be forgotten and left behind. I’d rather them be somewhere we can easily reach them.” 

“We’ll figure something out. We should probably get going- we can start making a plan at Bud’s shack.” Amy got up to her feet. 

“Are you sure you want to stay in that shack? It is rather small.”

“We’ll be fine.” Tails said to Moss. “Though that’s a very astute observation about our apartment.”

“Let’s head out.” Sonic stretched his arms. He looked at the still-seated Knuckles. “You coming, Knux?”

“Uh… I think I’m going to sleep with the other guardians tonight. If that’s alright.”

“‘Course it is, buddy. We’ll see you tomorrow.” 

The three and their chao left soon after that. Knuckles stayed perturbed throughout the night, staying mild-mannered among his fellow guardians as they chatted amongst one another. 

It was an odd phenomena going on in his head. Knuckles hadn’t felt so many emotions inside of himself in quite some time- confusion, awkwardness, perhaps a small bit of mild disturbance? Yes, yes, perturbance. It was weird to describe every feeling he had about Angel Island being so… open, after he spent his whole life feeling it was secluded. 

Why did it start after Knuckles left, specifically? Why was he the catalyst? 

He always knew he was overly protective of the Master Emerald, to the point that nobody would be allowed on that island- he literally met Sonic and Tails by punching their plane down. He had a good reason, as Chaos threatened to destroy everything. 

It made sense if they were waiting for Knuckles to leave in order to finally let people in. But they seemed so much… happier without him there. 

He didn’t like thinking about that. It made a spike of ice slice through his lungs. 

But the thought kept him quiet through the night. In place of thinking about his feelings on the matter, he kept his mind blank- he replaced his thoughts with the sound of an old iridescent light buzzing in an old stairway. 

It lasted all the way up to Moss escorting Knuckles to his hovel- in the same spot the old shack that Knuckles stayed in was before the big renovation. 

Eventually, finally, he spoke clearly: 

“Moss.”

“Hm? What is it, son?”

“...why didn’t you tell us about Gerald Robotnik before?”

“We were trying to stop the primordial god of water from flooding the planet, Knuckles. I didn’t think it was necessary to stop your duties to inform you of a random man I met far before you were even born.”

“...did my parents meet them?”

“Your parents… the old inhabitants besides myself stayed hidden. I allowed myself to interact with the visiting humans to give the impression that this island was empty and nothing of actual value.” 

“Hm.” 

Knuckles stood by the door. 

“...Are you alright, Knuckles?”

“Yeah, I’m just… worried a bit. What if the guests try to get the Master Emerald? Have… Have they been inside of the old village?”

“The Master Emerald is perfectly fine, son.”

“The village?”

“There are motion sensors outside the edge of the village that will inform us if anyone goes in. Just like with the Master Emerald shrine.” 

“Well… alright.” 

Moss looked like he wanted to say something else, but settled to reach up and pat Knuckles’ shoulder, smiling reassuringly at the echidna. With that, he turned around and walked away. 

After a second, Knuckles stepped into his hovel and rolled into the cot that was there. 

He stared at the dark ceiling, eyes tired as he finally settled himself from the craziness that was the last forty-eight hours. The echidna let out a long, drawn-out sigh as he relaxed into the bed, closing his eyes to sleep. 

Knuckles was safe, calm and relaxed. His friends were fine. 

But by the next morning, the Master Emerald was gone.

Besides the first hour of craziness upon the discovery of the missing Master Emerald, the entire thing was rather… anticlimactic. 

The guardians knew that Chaos was at peace inside the emerald, so if it was broken open for Chaos (and Tikal, of course) to leave it, there was no threat of the entire planet being consumed in a massive deluge of death. So there was the moment of panic that it was gone, then a resounding “it’s alright, there’s no real threat, but we should probably find it before this island crashes into the water below” 

As the island was still floating, they knew it wasn’t shattered. Since they were literally in the air, the guardians and the heroes knew that the culprit couldn’t have gotten far. 

Knuckles tried using his sunglasses to look for the path to it, but the thief was smart- they apparently ran around the entire temple in a giant loop, then back and forth everywhere else, making the path to find the emerald nearly impossible. He wasn’t getting any ringing in his ears or feet either. 

Whoever did this was crafty. Knuckles would have to bend the rules to find out who did this. That started with investigating all the alibis of the inhabitants of this island, temporary or permanent. 

A conference room had been turned into an interrogation room. Knuckles slammed his palm on the thick oak table in the center of the room- truly one of Sticks’ better pieces of work, as it held its ground under the echidna. 

“Where were you last night?!” Knuckles barked. “Out stealing the emerald, were you?”

“No! I was with my spouse all night!” Renzo Nanatsuki said defensively. 

“Can they cooperate with that statement?” 

“Of course they can!”

“So you have an accomplice!”

“No! I mean… maybe?” Renzo’s eyebrows furrowed. “Oh no… what if I did steal the emerald?!”

“So you admit it!”

“I dunno, I… Oh no, I already have these psychic powers… did I make an evil clone of myself to steal the Master Emerald?! Oh no!”

“Tails, take—”

“No.” Tails, who was in the room with Knuckles, replied quickly. “Renzo, you didn’t take the emerald.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Yes, I do. You most likely don’t have any actual powers… aside from some mild psychic abilities, still.” The fox said. 

“But how can you be sure?” 

“Because you were looking at my plane all night.”

Bringing out his Miles Electric, Tails showed Renzo a live feed from the Cyclone, which showed the fellow pilot stepping onto the beach carefully and looking over the entire plane. The footage sped up- he was looking it over for a whole two hours, only taken away at around four in the morning by his spouse dragging him away. 

“...huh. Alright, then I didn’t do it!” Renzo said with a grin. 

“Next suspect.” Tails said to Knuckles.

Renzo was escorted out for the next few suspects to come in, one at a time. Each time, Knuckles opened with the same thing. A slap on the table, and a general accusatory statement. 

“Where were you last night?! Out stealing the emerald, were you?”

“What? No.” Lee Nanatsuki replied, their arms crossed as they sat back in their chair. “I was out trying to reign in my plane-crazy husband. I was just getting him rehabilitated, too…”

“Is he… always like this?” Tails asked.

“Not really. But since we started our honeymoon, I’ve been keeping him away from planes and plane accessories in exchange for some fun alone time to do activities around the island.”

“Don’t you think suppressing his love for planes is kinda unfair?”

“Oh no, we made a deal: no planes for Ren, no psycho-analyzing for me.” 

“Enough of the pleasantries! Where’s the Master Emerald?”

“I don’t know.” Lee kept calm and collected, shrugging. “I didn’t see anything last night.”

“You didn’t see anybody hauling around a big green emerald?” 

“I was asleep until about three in the morning, then I woke up to go looking for my missing husband, and I dragged him back to our cottage once I did. I didn’t see anybody in that time, honestly.”

Knuckles grunted, standing back up straight again. Lee watched him peculiarly. 

“...you really have a deep connection with this emerald.”

“It’s my birthright, as a descendant of the Knuckles Tribe.”

“Right, right. Sonic’s told me about that.” They tilted their head slowly. “But your duties ended at Chaos’ slumber. The island is still floating… why the urgency? Why the accusatory nature?” 

“I’m not sure where this is going.”

“Well, you’re very engrained in this island, and this island didn’t look like this when it touched down in Station Square this past summer. Suddenly, now that it’s accepting visitors, the Master Emerald goes missing. You seem very at the ready to try and get a guest to admit they’re at fault.”

“You have to admit, Dr. Nanatsuki,” Tails interjected. “It’s very suspicious, and we can’t just rule people out because Knuckles may have issue with new people on the island.” 

“Fair point. However, have you considered looking at this from a different angle? Not from the concept of humans leading to the stealing, but the arrival of you all.”

“Are you implying my friends took the Master Emerald?” Knuckles leaned in, eyebrows furrowed not in thought, but in offense at the notion. 

“No, obviously not. But if we’ve been open to the public, and people have known about us for a while, why would someone just so happen to steal it right when Team Sonic arrives? It’s almost like…”

“They want our attention.” Knuckles finished the statement. “This mystery thief wanted us specifically to see the emerald stolen, and probably knew I’d get upset about people on the island so they’d have the perfect cover! They just need a clean getaway…”

“Mmhm.” Lee replied, watching him. “So you are upset about people on the island. Is it because of the people, or because they happened to appear after you decided to stay on the mainland?”

“Next suspect.” The echidna said quickly. 

Lee snickered as they were escorted out by Sonic, remarking “If Renzo gets one, I get one too.” 

The idea that someone was waiting for them to show up to steal the emerald was a very good tip from the therapist. With that, the heroes simply needed to narrow down exactly would go out of their way to get the team’s attention. 

“Where’s the Master Emerald?” Knuckles boomed. 

The penguin across from him was crying. 

“I DON’T KNOW!” Thomas sobbed. He cried into his hands, making Tails raise his eyebrows in surprise. 

“It isn’t bad enough you smashed Amy’s car, now you have to steal the Master Emerald?”

“I didn’t steal it!” 

“Where were you last night?”

“I was laying in bed!”

“Doing what?”

“Thinking!”

“About stealing the emerald?”

“NOOOO!” Thomas continued to cry. “I was alone in bed, th-thinking about Desdemona and I!”

“Likely excuse. Why—”

“I don’t know if I’m ready for KIDS! Why do we need to rush it before we even get married? Can two Mobians of different kinds even HAVE kids together?! And I work security at a currently closed casino! We don’t have the money to have a kid in this economy! I can barely afford to pay our apartment’s rent and utilities on time! She works as teacher, she doesn’t make much more with Velox’s stupidly idiotic budgeting!” 

Thomas kept blubbering, making Knuckles slowly go from slightly peeved to staring at the penguin in mild shock. He kept trying to open his mouth to get a word in, but was kept quiet by the sobbing dribble of a mid-twenties Mobian experiencing intense capitalistic dread. 

Tails nudged Knuckles, shooing him away. Sitting on part of the table, Tails pat Thomas’ forearm reassuringly, to calm him and get his attention. 

“I don’t know if I can control my partner for much longer.” The fox said, playing good cop. “Is there anything you can give us? Anything at all would be a good help, and I think any information would let me convince Knuckles to let you go.” 

Wiping his eyes and taking a deep breath in, Thomas Pen thought for a second before replying. 

“Mona would know. She took a walk after our talk last night. I think she went near the chao garden, she likes the view from over there.”

“Great! Next suspect!”

Sonic had a harder time escorting Thomas out, the large penguin trudging out slowly and solemnly. Soon enough, his fiance was brought in, sitting down at the table. 

Tails placed a glass of water in front of her. Desdemona slid it away. 

“You don’t accept little gifts in police interrogations.”

“Desdemona, look at us,” Tails replied. “We’re not cops.”

“I’m glad for that. From the looks of it your policemen don’t really know what they’re doing. Especially if a group of young Mobians have to do all of their work for them.”

“You said it.” Desdemona replied to Knuckles. 

“Thomas said you went on a walk last night?” 

The crow sighed deeply, before slowly nodding. 

“We had a talk, and it got a little tense, so I went on a walk to clear my head.” She replied. “I usually go to the chao garden whenever I want to go on a walk here, it’s always peaceful there, even with chao playing.” 

“Did you see anybody with the Master Emerald while you were there?” Knuckles asked. 

“Not particularly… although…” 

“Although?”

“I saw something glowing.” Desdemona looked at the echidna. “In the distance, near the old Echidna Village. I thought it was odd, because nobody’s allowed in there, but I just assumed that maybe it was a part of the motion detecting technology over there.” 

“What color?”

“Green. It glowed green.” 

Knuckles gazed at Tails, who returned it and nodded. Desdemona was allowed out after that, followed closely by Knuckles and Tails, who returned to Sonic and promptly left the building. 

They walked back to the chao garden, encountering Desdemona comforting the still crying Thomas along the way and saying nothing to them. That really wasn’t their issue to solve, and it was way above their pay grade. 

Sonic, Knuckles and Tails were back inside of Bud’s shack in no time. Amy rose from the nearby couch, with Bud hovering up beside them to join her in looking at the boys. 

“Any luck?”

“Very much so!” Sonic replied. “We got a tip that the Master Emerald could, potentially, be near the old Echidna Village. Just gotta grab a few things for the road, in case we see the thief, and we should be headed out!”

“And you know, wanted to see if you’re okay and stuff.” Tails added on, not looking up as he rummaged through his backpack to make sure he had all he needed. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Aren’t you going to have that psychic vision to find information on that fake hedgehog? The one who’s most likely completely trashing Sonic’s already questionable reputation?”

“Questionable?” Sonic looked mildly offended at Knuckles’ statement. 

“The Master Emerald’s missing. We’re gonna need all the help we can get to find it, so, until further notice I’m postponing my vision quest with Bud and focusing efforts on finding this BFE.” 

“B-F-E?”

“Big freaking emerald.” Amy replied to Knuckles. 

“...That’s not… Well, it’s accurate, but…” The echidna hummed. 

“Amy,” Sonic came up beside her. “You don’t have to give up your vision about the faker just to look for the emerald. Tails, Knux and I got it covered.”

“You’re just saying that cause this other hedgehog is as fast as you.” 

“He…” The blue hedgehog took a deep, calming breath. “He is absolutely not as fast as I am. But I’m serious, Amy, we need information on this guy.” 

“And the Master Emerald?”

“Amy, come on, what are the chances that it disappearing didn’t have anything to do with this weird faker? Besides, the island is still floating- it has to be nearby, and intact.” 

“Dr. Nanatsuki gave us the tip that whoever took the emerald may be doing it to get our attention specifically.” Tails added in, gathering a few things for his backpack. 

“Get your attention? The only person I can think of who would do anything like that is maybe Rouge, and we haven’t heard from her or Topaz since Tails’ award ceremony.” 

“We’ll find out if it’s her on our own!” Sonic said to Amy. “We just need any information we can find on this faker. Maybe if he has anything to do with the Robotniks?”

“Alright, alright.” The pink hedgehog nodded. “But Bud and I will be unconscious during the entire thing. What if anybody from GUN invades the island?”

“I have an idea on how we can keep you two safe. You have nothing to worry about!”

Amy hummed in thought for a moment, but soon nodded, moving away from the group to head back towards Bud’s room. The chao followed closely, but turned to wave goodbye to his friends as he did. 

“Try not to have a vision of me getting beaten to death!” Sonic yelled. There was a beat of silence from him. “I… I’m only kidding. That was a bad joke.”

“The nightmares aren’t.” Tails’ voice was young and scared, like he was five years younger. 

Closing the door behind her, Amy let Bud get to the bed first. She took off her mom’s bracelet, setting it on a nearby table, setting down her hammer purse right next to it. Amy was ready after that, sliding into the bed that was modeled after her own.

Holding her arms out towards the chao, she invited Bud in. The chaos chao slid in and grabbed the sides of her head with his nubs, pressing their foreheads together. 

After a brief second of feeling like she was going down the hill of a rollercoaster, Amy and Bud fell into the darkness of the bed, flipping and soaring through the void of the astral plane. 

“I was wondering where I put this.” 

“Knuckles, stop messing with Amy’s bag.” 

The echidna placed his special hat on top of his head, the fedora with the star buttons around it, adjusting it slightly. He reached around and slipped it back onto Amy, making sure it was secure as the pink hedgehog was unable to hold it in her current state. 

Amy was hanging from the harness she was attached to, carried on Knuckles’ back like a backpack, her arms and head swaying from side to side as he walked along. It was similar for Bud, who was attached to Sonic’s back and dangling as well. 

“Why did Amy have my hat?”

“You made her hold it while you rode all the rides at Twinkle Park.” Tails replied, walking ahead of the others with his Miles Electric. “I guess you both forgot about it because you got sick immediately after riding all the rides at Twinkle Park.” 

“How’s the search going, buddy?” Sonic asked, changing the subject.

“Badly. I can’t seem to get a reading of any significant chaos energy around here.” The fox said, looking over his shoulder for a moment before returning to his screen. “The only one I’m getting is my own. Wherever the Master Emerald is, it’s most likely somewhere that could dampen the energy signature.” 

“Not to mention the ringing. I still can’t hear…” Knuckles slowed down to a stop, trailing off.

“...Knuckles?” Sonic called out to him. Both he and Tails stopped to look at the echidna. 

“Shhh.” 

Knuckles’ eyebrows were furrowed. He slowly closed his eyes, tilting his head slightly. 

“...you’re scaring me man. What’re you doing?”

“I can… hear it.” 

“What?”

“I can hear the ringing from the Master Emerald.” 

Tails was going to talk, but suddenly heard the glitchy sounds of his tablet freaking out. It blinked a warning rapidly onscreen, saying it lost connection to all forms of outside communication, unable to continue the tracking program. He tapped the screen in confusion, trying to get it back online. 

“That’s wei— Hey!”

The teenager was interrupted by Knuckles suddenly breaking into a sprint, running away from the group and far ahead, disappearing into the forests of the island. 

Sonic rushed forwards to follow, accompanied by Tails flying close behind to match his speed. 

Knuckles was fast- increased strength meant his legs could propel him fast enough to keep up with Sonic- and though the other two could keep up with him, it was hard to keep track of the fleeing echidna as he dipped and dodged between trees. The flailing arms of Amy were the only thing that Sonic and Tails could keep track of to know where Knuckles was. 

Soon enough, however, Sonic and Tails weaved through the trees to see Knuckles standing completely still. The hedgehog skidded to a stop, his arms windmilling around to try and keep from flying off the ground. Once halted, he leaned down onto his knees, breathing heavily from the exertion of stopping. 

Tails floated down to his feet, hanging onto the straps of his backpack. 

“Knuckles… what the heck, man?” Sonic stood up, leaning back on his hands to crack his back. 

“I can hear it. I… I could hear it. The emerald.”

“And it led you… into the woods. Not the village?”

“...Hm.” Knuckles didn’t speak after the grunt, looking around to try and find anything. He put his sunglasses on. There wasn’t any stream of chaos energy anywhere, the emerald was still. 

“Let’s get back on the path to the village.” Tails finally spoke. “Being here freaks me out. Reminds me of when we got stuck in the woods for hours when we faced against Pachacamac.” 

“You mean King Boom Boo?”

“They’re the same person.” 

“Aliases and codenames are very important to some people.” Sonic said, grinning. “Isn’t that right, Miles?”

“Eugh. Alright, fine, King Boom Boo.”

Knuckles kept scanning the area, soon taking off his sunglasses again. He turned his head slowly to gaze across the trees and grass, before he came back to Sonic and Tails, both of them watching the echidna do his thing. 

After a moment, Knuckles readjusted his hat, but soon perked back up. 

“Knuckles?” Sonic asked immediately. 

“I can hear the emerald again!”

“Alright, stay calm,” Tails said. “We can just—”

Knuckles bolted away.

“And he’s gone.” The fox interrupted his own statement, watching the echidna book it. 

Sprinting through the forest, attempting to track down the intense ringing of the Master Emerald. It was jarring, hearing it so suddenly, but he soon found himself on a familiar trail, pulled down towards structures he could identify in front of him. 

The ringing ended by the time he slid into the old echidna village. It was untouched, and as stated, there were motion sensors all around the edge of the village to make sure anyone who walked inside was accounted for. 

Breathing heavily from the running, and getting aggravated from not being able to locate this emerald, Knuckles looked around frantically. He started peering into the openings of the nearby homes, anywhere he could look under, openings small and large alike. All the while, Amy’s unconscious body was being flung around behind him, though still secured to his back.

Carrying Sonic (and transitively Bud) this time, Tails drifted down with the hedgehog near the pyramid at the center of the village, watching Knuckles scramble around. 

“Poor guy.” Sonic commented. “It’s not just me, right? You’ve noticed him acting weird.”

“Dr. Nanatsuki pointed out in their interrogation that Knuckles may be attempting to retrieve the Master Emerald again because he dislikes that the change to Angel Island happened after he left the island.” 

“Ohhh, so he feels like the other guardians were just waiting for him to leave to make things better.” 

“Why does he care? He was so sure of himself when we met him.” 

“He’s changed since being away from them, Tails. He… ugh, how do I put this?” Sonic had his hands on his hips, tapping his foot in thought. “If he finds the emerald, he’ll feel that he accomplished something good for the island, and preserve his spot as a guardian, instead of being the reason it never caught up with the times.” 

“But he isn’t!”

“Knuckles doesn’t know that, buddy. Or maybe he won’t believe it.” 

Finished with the search across the multiple buildings, Knuckles soon strolled over to try and go up the steps of the pyramid. Sonic held his hand out, pressing against his chest and making him stop in his tracks. 

“Nuh uh, Knux.” Sonic wagged a finger. “Take a breather. You’re stressing me out just watching you, dude.” 

“The pyramid’s the last place we need to look.” 

“You’ve been frantic since we started looking, Knuckles.” Tails said, adding to Sonic’s statement. “Take a moment before we go running off again. Especially if you hear that ringing again.” 

“Well… can we look in there together, then? All three of us? Then we can relax.” 

After a second of a conflicted glance, Sonic soon lowered his hand. 

“Alright, alright, fine. C’mon, let’s go.” 

Sonic and Tails led the way, walking side-by-side up the steps with Knuckles following closely. The stone stairs were a bit more corroded since they last saw them, with vines and leaves overgrowing on the sides of the pyramid. 

They soon reached the top, peering into the pitch black enclosed area that all the vines led to. Tails summoned the Vulcan Cannon onto his hand, turning on the flashlight setting to shine a beam of light to illuminate the shadows. 

He traveled across the ground first, making sure they had stable ground to stand on and shining briefly onto the hole leading to the lost world down below. Once they stepped inside, Tails shined the light higher, eventually swinging it around to look right above them. 

The light caught in the reflective blue eyes of the giant golem gizoid, still suspended up above the hole in the pyramid, staring down right where Sonic and his friends were. Tails jumped in surprise, grabbing onto Sonic’s arm in shock. 

Though it continued to stare lifelessly, the golem wasn’t doing anything anytime soon. 

Knuckles trailed to the side, squinting his eyes to peer through the darkness. Sonic and Tails looked through the area as well, before the former looked over to the echidna. 

“See anything? Energy signatures, anything?”

“No…” Knuckles replied to Sonic. “I knew I heard that ringing around here somewhere. Unless…”

“...unless?”

Not answering directly, Knuckles stepped over to the hole leading down below, peering into the darkness of the pit. He grunted, clearly thinking to himself. 

“...Knuckles, no.” Tails said quickly. “Not down there. It’ll be awful down there with no light.”

“Yeah, I could barely stand it when a giant fire-breathing ghost took me down there.” Sonic said. “I don’t want to go down there with little chance of a good reward. Plus, it’ll take forever to find our way back up again.” 

“Hmph. I suppose.”

Tails continued to shine the light around. He pointed it up and met the eyes of the golem gizoid above them again, making him jump.

That’s strange… it wasn’t looking at him in this part of the room before. Unless it moved when he wasn’t looking… but this thing was a couple centuries old, it couldn’t move… right?

The teenager got a chill rip through his body. 

“Guys… I got a weird feeling we’re being watched.”

“Yeah, I feel the same.” Knuckles added. 

Sonic looked around some more, before taking an instinctive look over his shoulder to the outside of the pyramid. He noticed something in the distance, eyebrows raised. 

“Uh… I think I know why.”

The other two looked at Sonic, the hedgehog pointing outside to the outskirts of the echidna village. 

On the hill beside the village, there was a human woman sitting on a laid out blanket in the grass, holding something in her lap. She was looking directly at the trio, peering through glasses. 

Team Sonic shared a glance with one another. With no leads inside the pyramid, it was probably best to see what this mystery woman knew. 

They head down the steps, strolling out of the village and activating the motion sensors again. The trio got up the hill, the woman staying still and watching them. 

The woman was an older one, certainly somebody’s grandma- not to be rude, it genuinely gave the group that vibe. She had long, graying black hair, large glasses, and holding a metal urn on her lap. 

She smiled when the three came within speaking distance. 

“Hello.” The woman said. “Lovely weather we’re having.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Sonic made small talk. “What’re you doing in these parts of the island?”

“Oh, just looking at the gorgeous architecture of the village I had heard so much about. Brendan, my late husband, he was a forensics expert- he loved things that were old, and way past their time. Oh, how I wish he could see this…”

She pat the metal urn solemnly. Soon, she looked up at Sonic and peered at him. 

“You’re that hedgehog that saved the world, right?”

“Good to know I still have fans up here in the sky as well,” Sonic rubbed a finger under his nose, smiling a bit. “I’m Sonic, if you didn’t know. These are my friends- Tails and Knuckles.”

“Alice Beryl. Nice to meet you all.” Alice held her hand out. Knuckles instinctively reached out and helped her to her feet, a “thank you” coming from the woman as she was assisted. 

“You didn’t happen to see anybody with a giant green emerald around here, have you?” The echidna asked immediately. 

“Unfortunately, I have not. Trust me, I would’ve seen it if they were around. I’ve been out of my home most of the days I’ve been here to try and keep away from all the forms of communication my dear sister-in-law keeps trying to get to me with.”

“So you haven’t seen a thing?”

“Nope! I have a good memory too, I’d know.” Alice tapped her temple. “You boys have been searching all day, haven’t you?”

“With no luck.” Knuckles sighed his response. 

“Well, maybe you just need a moment to recuperate. Would you all like some treats I have in my cottage?”

“Well…”

“Yeah, we could definitely use some time to relax.” Sonic elbowed Knuckles, who didn’t even react to the hit. 

“Excellent! I make a lot of cookies because the chao love to float over and eat some, but there are certainly plenty left.”

Alice rolled up the blanket on the ground and tucked it under her arm, still holding the metal urn. 

“Follow me.”

The older woman walked off, the boys following suit. As they walked away, Knuckles took one last look at the pyramid at the center of the echidna village, still feeling conflicted. 

Wherever Amy and Bud ended up, the former got a sense it wasn’t what she was looking for.

Floating along in their astral forms, they found themselves in some kind of hangar, out in a large clearing. It was large, vast, and had the “G” GUN symbol on the inner walls at either side of Amy and Bud. 

Turning around, they saw that they weren’t alone. There was what appeared to be a portable storage container placed towards the back. A man was in front of it, looking through a clipboard, his face obscured from sight. 

“What the…?” Amy grumbled. “I have a feeling this isn’t anything to do with the faker.”

“Chao chao.” 

From the tone of voice the chao took, Amy knew Bud was agreeing with her in a similar cautious fashion. 

Light shined over the ground, and through their transparent bodies. A black SUV pulled into the hangar, driving up to the storage container and stopping there, the lights turning off. Amy and Bud floated across the hangar to the SUV, watching the driver door open up for the only person in the car to step out. 

Just from behind, they could tell it was Commander Tower. It was only confirmed when he turned, letting Amy see part of his face. Keeping her distance, Amy made Bud stay away from Tower to prevent any kind of involuntary psychometry. 

“Doctor.” 

The unseen clipboard scientist turned- Amy recognized the bespectacled face, gasping.

“Kai Narasu…” She murmured. 

Dr. Narasu turned completely, reaching out and shaking Tower’s hand. 

“Good evening, Commander Tower.”

“Good evening. I trust you have the drones I asked for.” 

“Yes, they’re inside of the container.” Narasu paged through his clipboard. “We ran a test this morning, everything is set and ready to go.” 

Amy tilted her head in curiosity. “We”?  

“I trust the design process went smoothly.”

“Hardly. If there wasn’t the looming presence of being in prison over my head, and the successful night sleep I’ll get when that dreaded hedgehog and his friends are destroyed, I would’ve quit a week or so into production.” Narasu put the clipboard down. “Enough of the pleasantries. Let’s get to the main event.” 

Narasu walked over to the side of the container and pressed a button attached to the side. There was a loud, deep alarm that blared through the hangar for a moment, before smoke billowed out in front of where Tower was standing. The wall facing Tower, as well as the top wall of the container, lifted upwards, unfolding and tucking back behind the far back wall of the storage container. 

Six humanoid androids were standing in a row inside of the container. They were tall, almost looking like suits of dark-colored armor. These robots had dome-like heads, with a red line crossing the front of their face to act as a visor. 

At the very end, using his legs to hang onto the side of the furthest robot, another man was using a hand torch to weld something into the side of the robot’s head. He was wearing a welding mask, which blocked his face from the torch. 

He was finished when the top was opened, though, dropping down. He was pretty short- about the same size of Narasu, but certainly shorter than someone like Vector. 

The man, wearing a lab coat over a green jumpsuit, pulled off his welding mask. He had a buzz cut, a long nose, and heavy bags under his eyes. His resting grumpy face looked up at Tower, shaking his hand. 

“Dr. Robotnik.” Tower greeted. 

“Snively, please.”

Amy immediately snorted loudly, putting a hand over her mouth. She looked over at Bud.

“Snively?” She spoke to the chao, knowing the men couldn’t hear her. Bud snickered. 

Similarly, Kai Narasu began to snort at the name. Snively Robotnik glowered at the man, which made Narasu act like he didn’t do anything in the first place, going through the clipboard again. 

“It seems the robots are in top condition.” Tower carried on. 

“Swat-Bots, sir.” Snively corrected. His voice was nasally, speaking in an accent commonly referred to as the Queen’s English. “These androids are specifically designed to track down criminals in their databases using any way possible. Their arm cannons use solar-powered plasma rounds that would incapacitate any normal criminal.” 

“Well, Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends aren’t exactly normal.” 

“Of course they aren’t, sir. Thanks to the study of chaos energy by Dr. Narasu- even if he took three times the amount of time I would’ve taken doing it- we eventually got a proper program to locate where Team Sonic is.”

Narasu scowled at the insult from Snively. 

“Good. How soon can we launch?”

“Right away, sir. We just need to direct the Beetle drones to where we can locate Sonic, and the Swat-Bots will follow.” 

Snively pulled out a remote, handing it to Commander Tower. The man took it, looking it over in silence. 

“Angel Island… of course.” He murmured. 

Tower pressed a button on the remote, making the red visors on the Swat-Bots illuminate. Behind them, five of the GUN Beetle drones lifted up, before flying forwards. 

Like racing dogs following a fake hare, the Swat-Bots blasted forwards, using back thrusters to follow the drones out of the hangar and into the sky. 

Amy and Bud watched them leave before turning to one another. 

“I don’t know when this is, but if they found us on Angel Island, we need to warn everyone.” Amy said to the chao. “You need to—“

“I’ll be keeping in contact with you two as I watch the extraction mission commences. The GUN agents outside will escort you back to your respective prisons- both supermax and island.” 

Commander Tower was walking back to the SUV, and Amy didn’t notice he was right in front of her until the last second. She let out a quiet “uh oh” before Tower walked right through her as he finished his statement. 

With the involuntary psychometry, Amy and Bud were pulled into darkness, the last thing they heard in that vision being Tower thinking aloud: “is there AC in this hangar?” 

The landscape smeared around them, making the hedgehog and chao grab onto each other as they fell into another vision, inside a vision. 

Still hanging onto each other, the pair fell onto solid ground- a road. The sun was shining, and the world felt like it was illuminated with warm colors. 

Amy picked herself up, still holding Bud to her shoulder. She looked up in time to see a car headed right towards them- to spare themselves another possible involuntary vision, she dove out of the way with Bud, getting onto the nearby sidewalk and scrambling up to her feet. Bud pulled away soon after, floating beside her. 

This place looked… weird. The cars looked vintage, there weren’t any buildings larger than three stories. It seemed this town was situated in the middle of nowhere in a desert- Amy and Bud could see the roads that led out of town, and they led into long, winding roads through a sandy field. 

“What… is this place?” Amy thought aloud. She looked at Bud. “Any ideas?”

Bud put his nubs up, shrugging comically. 

“This doesn’t look like anywhere near Station Square. This is… maybe Midwest UF?” She continued. “More towards the north, maybe close to the Wild Canyon.”

They floated along the sidewalk, avoiding the scarce amount of people walking by. The pedestrians were keeping to themselves, not even when they passed by one another. 

“What’s the significance of this place?” Amy said. She didn’t notice Bud pause in front of a self-service newspaper stand. “I ran into Tower. Or he ran into me. What’s this gotta do with him?”

“Chao.”

Amy stopped, finally turning back, seeing Bud look at something in the newspaper stand. She hovered over, joining him in looking. 

“The Diablon Daily Times.” Amy read the previewed newspaper aloud. “June twenty-third… 1966?? We went back over fifty years ago?” 

 “Chao chao.”

“I’m rounding, the amount doesn’t have to be accurate, Bud.” 

Bud shook his head, saying Amy didn’t hear what he said- she didn’t translate what he said correctly. He pointed a nub at the headline. 

GUARDIAN UNITS OF NATIONS TO HAVE PRESS CONFERENCE IN DIABLON TODAY,  ON UPCOMING LAUNCH OF SPACE PROGRAM

Amy’s eyebrows furrowed. She looked at Bud, who met her eyes, the pair looking at each other suspiciously. 

Standing up, it became abundantly clear at that moment where everyone was hustling off to- they were strolling down the sidewalk to get to a nearby park. 

Floating along to follow, keeping clear of the people, going to the park at the center of the town, now known as Diablon. 

There was a stage there, clearly meant to be an amphitheater for people to watch performances. Banners repping GUN were placed on either side of a podium at the front center of the stage, and a dozen security guards stood at the ends of the stage. 

The seats were packed. It seemed that everyone in town came out for this event. 

Amy could see, in the distance, that there seemed to be a space launch station on the horizon. Whether it was directly connected to Diablon or not was currently unknown. 

They came just in time. Standing towards the side, hovering upwards to look down at the crowd and the stage, the crowd began clapping lightly as someone walked onstage. Amy was taken aback- he looked like Ivo. 

A graying copper mustache stuck out under the man’s larger nose, framed by the coke bottle glasses he had that seemed to block the view of his eyes. He wore a lab coat, even out in the open, confirming he was a scientist. 

He groomed one half of his mustache with a hand as the clapping died down, before speaking. 

“I am Professor Gerald Robotnik.” The man spoke at the podium. “It’s hypothesized, by numerous esteemed geologists, that the crater that nestles Diablon is a result of an unconfirmed meteorite striking the Earth, sending debris into the atmosphere and creating our moon.”

The statement was enough to make a few people murmur. 

“…with that being the case, it’s no surprise that Diablon is well known for its space program, and launch center a couple dozen miles up the road. This impressive space program, and the connection this city has with our world and space, makes me honored to announce that your space center will be the base point for our most grandest project- the Space Colony ARK.”

Sheets unfolded on either side of Professor Gerald behind him, showing paintings and concepts of a large, circular rock-like satellite revolving around the planet. 

The crowd was astonished. Amy watched with intent, recognizing the name. 

“With scientific advancement in mind, the Guardian Units of Nations has asked me to spearhead this project, from designing to construction.” Gerald continued. “As the name would suggest, the Space Colony ARK is designed for a selected number of humans to live on and visit regularly in the future- however, for the first few years that we will be in space, it will not be open to the public. Though our colony-based team will focus on making the ARK habitable, my division will focus on another core aspect of the ARK.” 

He looked off to the side of the stage. 

“Come on out, Maria.”

There was a moment of awkward silence. Everyone looked stage left, spotting someone walking up the steps with assistance from a GUN agent. She was young, with long blonde hair hanging down her back. She had on a blue dress, and was using a walker to get across the stage. 

She got to where Gerald was standing, the professor putting an arm around the teenager and letting her lean on him to stand up. Regardless of her current condition, both the girl and the professor were all smiles. 

“This is my granddaughter, Maria.” Gerald said into the podium mic. “She’s been diagnosed with Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or NIDS as it’s called by the public. Though this disorder typically appears in later stages of human life, Maria was showing symptoms from the first day, making it difficult for her to live day-to-day. With help from the lowered gravity on the ARK, Maria will finally be able to walk on her own two feet without any assistance. Besides that, I hope to use all resources- earthly and celestial- to cure her disorder the moment I can.” 

The crowd ate it up, clapping and cheering at the statement. Still hanging onto Maria, Gerald leaned into the mic to indicate he would continue speaking. 

“This isn’t just for NIDS, however. I hope to house people of varying ailments on the ARK in our first phase, and use all the resources to not only make their lives easier, but find a cure for any of these so-called ‘incurable’ diseases, so the people of this planet can have a chance… to be happy.” 

That only made the crowd go more wild, clapping and cheering with thunderous applause at the notion that numerous disorders and diseases would be cured. Gerald turned and hugged his granddaughter tightly, petting her hair as he did. When the clapping was dying down, he pulled away, but still let Maria hold his arm for support. 

A GUN agent stepped up near the podium. 

“Professor Robotnik will be taking a few questions about our upcoming project. Please line up to the microphone towards the front, and keep your questions respectable.” 

“Okay, this is getting… interesting.” Amy spoke, mostly to herself. She looked at Bud to talk directly to him. “The Space Colony ARK, and Gerald, it was used to try and cure diseases and stuff, specifically for his granddaughter Maria. But where does the faker tie into this, and why did he steal part of the ARK? Where does Tower tie into this?” 

A young boy was up at the microphone first. He had on a white and red shirt, neatly groomed brown hair in a military cut on his head. He stood on his tiptoes to speak into the mic. 

“Hi.” He said. 

“Hello, son.” Gerald said into his mic. “What’s your question?”

“Is the Space Colony ARK going to change the world?”

The childlike wonder and innocence was enough to make Gerald smile widely. He adjusted his glasses first, getting a good look at the young man, before leaning in to answer the question. 

“Son, the ARK, and everything on it will change… everything.” 

There was some clapping after that. A GUN agent escorted the boy away, turning him around so Amy and Bud could see him. He had a big smile across his face, and two different colored eyes- one green, one brown. 

Amy’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched the little boy stalk back to his seat with his parents. She blinked a few times in thought, before slowly turning back to Bud. 

“Okay, let’s… let’s get out of here. We need to warn the people on the island, now. Can you do that head thing again?” 

Bud nodded firmly. He grabbed either side of Amy’s head, pulling their foreheads together so they touched. Gerald had just answered another question, and the crowd’s cheering smeared into a warped noise and Amy and Bud were pulled out of their vision. 

They were back on Angel Island in a moment, both above the bed they were just doing the vision on. Amy looked around, then at her hands, opening and closing them. 

“Still in an astral form. Ugh, why is nothing ever easy?” Amy let her head fall back in a groan. “Bud, we gotta find the boys. I have a sneaking suspicion they took our bodies with them wherever they went to find the Master Emerald.”

“Chao chao?” 

“You’re asking about the chao?”

Bud nodded quickly. Amy mentally high-fived herself. 

The pair flew through the shack, phasing through the walls to get inside. 

“We need to tell somebody somehow.” Amy said, as they phased into the chao garden. “But how can we tell anyone in this form? I don’t think Moss can see us.”

“Amy?”

Amy and Bud looked over- nearby, playing with some chao, were the mostly-happy-double-couple both vacationing there. While Desdemona, Thomas and Lee were playing with the chao, Renzo Nanatsuki was looking directly at Amy and Bud. 

They flew over.

“Amy? Where? I don’t see anyone, babe.” Lee said, noticing him looking away. 

“Renzo! You can see me?” Amy asked immediately. 

“I… Hoo boy, yeah I can. I guess I am still psychic…” Renzo rubbed his head.

“What’re you talking about, dude?” Thomas asked.

“Amy’s here. She’s in her astral form, with that little chao guy she had.” 

“Renzo, listen to me. GUN found us- they’re sending robots here to try and capture us.”

“She says GUN is sending robots here to capture Team Sonic.” 

“Robots?! Oh man, can I smash any?” Thomas grinned. Desdemona, in solidarity, picked up a large fruit tree branch and held it tightly. 

“No, he can’t.”

“She says no.”

“Awww…” Thomas deflated. Desdemona didn’t let go of her branch. 

“Go to Moss, tell him I specifically said you need to use their panic room. It’s under the main activities building.” Amy continued. “Make sure all the guests are put in there, especially if the island happens to fall from the sky.” 

“What about you? What are you going to do?” 

“Bud and I are going to try and help the boys. Just keep safe- they might try to hurt anyone to get to Team Sonic, you never know how ruthless GUN is.” 

Amy and Bud flew away. Renzo turned to the others to tell them what the plan was. Though they were mostly serious, Thomas was fairly giddy at the chance to destroy some robots, needing something to take his emotions out on after the week he’s been having. 

Alice really knew how to bake cookies. Then again, the cookies Knuckles had before never really tasted like anything but cardboard with chocolate in it. 

With a sneaky wink and a grin, she told Knuckles her secret was nutmeg and cinnamon- it made her cookies taste much better, instead of just a bland cookie with bits of sweet chocolate in it. 

The boys sat at the table in Alice’s guest cottage. They had gently placed Amy and Bud on the couch of the den, letting them rest there while they enjoyed some sweet treats. 

When a few chao were allured to Alice’s window, she gave them two cookies each and waved them off, smiling after them as they both flew away. After that, she turned to the boys, dusting her hands off with a dish towel. 

“Now, correct me if I’m wrong…” She began. “But aren’t you all wanted by the government?”

The three froze. They exchanged glances, slowly starting to chew their cookies. 

“No, no, I don’t mean it like that. I’m not going to turn you in or anything- I’m not an idiot.”

With that vote of reassurance, they continued to eat in peace. 

“I heard on my radio that you all were wanted for stealing something from GUN.” Alice sat down at the table. “I’m assuming you all didn’t steal anything.”

“No. It was someone who made themselves look like me.” Sonic answered. “Now GUN’s got a bounty on my head, and my friends’ heads, because Abraham Tower has a vendetta against all spiky mammals or something.”

“That certainly sounds like him.” Alice laughed lightly.

“...you know him?”

“Who, Tower? Absolutely.” The older woman replied nonchalantly. “And no, not like that. I didn’t work for GUN. I worked for SaBRE.”

“SaBRE?” Tails asked.

“The System and Bureau of Refuge Enforcement. They’re GUN’s one and only competitor.”

“I can tell. Do all government agencies have such violent names?” Knuckles spoke next.

“Well, great minds think alike I suppose. Especially in Tower’s case with the founder of SaBRE.”

“Who founded SaBRE?”

“His daughter, Amanda Tower.” Alice replied. “She hated the ‘out there’ and very public approach that GUN had with everything, and that big stupid G plastered on anything they owned, so she defected and made her own organization to do the same thing GUN does, but secretly. The reason you haven’t found out about them until now? They were doing their job very well.”

“So you were an agent there?”

“Ten years! Moved from GUN to there, like most people, when they got tired of Abraham’s neurotic behavior. My husband, Brendan if you recall, moved over with me. We worked there until he passed on, and I retired from the business soon after.” 

There was a sudden loud alarm noise coming from the laptop set up on the nearby kitchen counter. Alice sighed deeply, walking over and looking over the screen. She tapped a button and made the alarm stop. 

“Two times every hour, two minutes inbetween.” Alice grumbled to herself. She shimmied over to her purse on the counter, opening it up and retrieving a silver handheld device with a dial on it. “Excuse me boys, this will only be a moment.”

She slowly twisted the dial. Knuckles suddenly, slowly, stopped chewing. 

“I… I hear it again. I hear the emerald!” He stood up, looking around. Sonic and Tails grabbed his arms, holding him still. 

Alice watched in mild shock, waiting for a moment before turning down the device in her hand. Slowly, Knuckles stopped looking around, only looking confused afterwards. 

“I… I don’t hear it.”

Tails had noticed what Alice was doing.

“What is that thing?” He asked her.

“It’s a signal jammer. It hides all signals from any electronic device.” Alice replied. “My dear Brendan’s sister, this wicked witch of a woman, keeps trying to track my location so she can pester me about the house in my husband’s name. She was an agent of SaBRE too, you see, and she thinks the house deserves to go to her and her family, not me.” 

“Does it make any noise when you turn it on?”

“No, it’s intentionally silent. What was your friend talking about?” 

“The Master Emerald, in the shrine on the island. The one that went missing?” Sonic spoke up. “Knuckles can hear it emitting some kind of frequency, but it hasn’t been making it for a while.”

“Why would it work when Alice turns on her signal jammer, though?”

“Most likely a frequency dampener.” Alice said. “If the Master Emerald lets off any kind of frequency, any at all, a frequency dampener would emit a similar tone that would offset the original one, meaning nobody would hear the first tone at all.” 

“Where would someone get something like that?” Knuckles asked.

“It’s a very intricate piece of equipment, and very vital to government work. The only people I could think of that would have it work for either SaBRE or GUN.”

Knuckles paused. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment. Slowly, but surely, they unfurrowed, as it became clear that the echidna knew what was going on from the look on his face. 

He pulled away from Sonic and Tails, walking over to Alice.

“Miss Beryl,” Knuckles said. “Could I please use the signal jammer to find the Master Emerald? I promise I will return it as soon as I’m finished.” 

“Sure! Anything to thank you boys for spending some time with an old woman like me.” 

Alice handed it over with a smile. Knuckles turned it back on in time for the laptop to beep again, saving Alice the possible trouble of being tracked down from her sister-in-law. It was clear from Knuckles’ face that he could hear the emerald again. 

He turned to look at Sonic and Tails. Both of them nodded at the echidna firmly, and let Knuckles take the lead, following him as he tracked down the emerald from his hearing alone. As they passed by, Knuckles retrieved Amy and Sonic retrieved Bud, putting them on his back again. 

They left the cottage, strolling through the island, ignoring any walkways to follow Knuckles directly. They walked past the activities building, and the chao garden, and the temple, making it all the way back to the old echidna village. 

With the signal jammer still in his hand, Knuckles walked up the steps of the pyramid, followed by Sonic and Tails, making it all the way to the top. 

They stopped at the edge of the giant pit leading downwards. The golem gizoid was staring down at them again, seemingly lifeless. 

Knuckles reached over and gave Tails the signal jammer. The fox took it, slowly turning it off. 

“I know you’re down there.” The echidna yelled into the pit. “You went down there because you know it would block the energy signature from the emerald, and it was too freaky for anyone to go down into. But I know you have it closeby, and I know you’re still in there waiting for us to find you. Come on up and say hello.”

Sonic and Tails slowly looked at one another, mildly confused and concerned. 

There were a few seconds of silence. Suddenly, the pit slowly started to fill with green light. There wasn’t any sound coming from the pit of anyone climbing up, but the light started growing brighter and brighter. 

The Master Emerald was tossed up from the pit, landing on its side and rolling around for a moment until the flat side faced the boys. A pair of white hands appeared over the top of the emerald, pulling the culprit up to sit on the top of the emerald, a smile on her face. 

“Hello, boys.” Rouge said cheekily, smirking. 

Rouge had a new getup. Gone was the standard GUN uniform, instead she was wearing what appeared to be a black military jumpsuit that had no sleeves- and probably no back in order to spare her wings some room. She had on long, white boots. On the front of her chest was some kind of breastplate, a heart of a deep magenta color that unbeknownst to the boys was made of kevlar and ceramic. The ends of her boots had similarly colored hearts on them. 

Knuckles immediately noticed, too- she was wearing dark eyeshadow and lipstick. He blinked and shook his head slightly, getting back to the topic at hand. 

“Rouge? What the heck are you doing?” Sonic asked. 

“Taking a little stroll around the island, enjoying the sights. Taking some souvenirs.” Rouge stroked the Master Emerald with a hand as she spoke. “Honestly, I was wondering when you’d find me out. This game of cat and mouse is only fun for so long.”

“No. No, this doesn’t add up.” Tails spoke. “You make up with Amy on the Fleet, help us stop Chaos, and now you’re trying to steal from us? We’re your friends!”

“Why do you think I waited for you all? I want you all to help me!” The bat said. “This thing is pretty heavy, and as much as I like stealing stuff, I don’t really want the mess of this island very noticeably crashing into the ocean. It’ll blow my cover.”

“You think we’re going to help you after you stole such a powerful artifact?” 

“Oh, you just don’t know when to give up, do you?” Rouge replied to Knuckles. “Just let it go.”

“That emerald’s mine!” 

“It could be ours. Sure, it’s yours by inheritance… but all the world’s gems are mine to keep.” 

“We’ll see about that, bat girl.”

Rouge scowled at the group. She pulled a device from under her breastplate: a handheld device with a few buttons on it. She threw it over her shoulder, tossing it into the pit. After a second or two, the Master Emerald started making noise again- that must’ve been the frequency dampener. 

“If you really want it, big red,” She said. “Come and take it from me.”

A staredown commenced between the group and Rouge, one that only lasted for a moment. Before any real movement could take place, the entire pyramid started violently shaking, including the golem gizoid. 

As the entire room started shaking, the eyes of the golem gizoid suddenly turned on, shining down into the room. The Golem pulled an arm away from where it was situated, tearing the vines attaching it to the wall. 

The Golem grabbed onto the Master Emerald. Rouge made a noise of shock and fell off of it, landing on the ground harshly. After that, it swiped an arm across the room, hitting Sonic and Tails and knocking them out of the front entrance. Knuckles ducked in time, avoiding the attack like the fallen Rouge. 

Looking upwards, the Golem tore off the vines covering the square-shaped opening at the top of the pyramid. It grabbed onto the side of the opening as light flooded into the room, showing that the Golem had a new addition to it- the ideogram of Ivo’s face painted in white. 

“Ivo.” The echidna growled. 

“Stop! Thief!”

“Look who’s calling who a thief.” Knuckles commented on Rouge’s accusation. 

With powerful legs, Rouge leapt upwards and grabbed onto the bottom of the Golem’s torso, holding on as the legless gizoid climbed out of the pyramid. 

As the Golem got out of the pyramid, Knuckles quickly jumped onto the nearby wall, using his spiked knuckles to climb up the walls, going out through the ceiling opening like the gizoid and the bat before him. 

Outside, Sonic and Tails groaned as they got up to their feet, watching the Golem begin to float away from the pyramid with Knuckles and Rouge starting to climb up the gizoid’s back. 

Sonic had to give Ivo credit- if he was controlling the robot, he was doing a good job of avoiding any damage to the intact echidna village. He floated up to keep above the buildings, though that easily could’ve been to get away from the heroes. 

As he was climbing up the back of the Golem, Knuckles’ harness holding Amy snapped off, letting her fall towards the ground. Sonic rushed forwards, sliding in and catching the unconscious Amy in time to keep her from hitting the ground. 

“We need to help Knuckles.” Tails said, floating over. 

“I’m carrying two living beings right now.” Sonic replied. “The less we do right now the better.”

Then, he sneezed. 

As if the universe was laughing at him, they were suddenly surrounded with six androids slamming into the ground all around them, one at a time. The Swat-Bots were accompanied by five GUN Beetles, floating down to hover between the androids to have them surrounded. 

Sonic got up to his feet, putting Amy over his shoulder as he did. The Swat-Bots lifted their arms, all aiming a glowing wrist cannon at them. 

Rushing forwards, Sonic pulled Tails out of the way before they all fired, blasting bright red energy into the ground where they were once standing. Sonic got them past the row of androids, slipping underneath a Beetle and stopping on the outside of the circle. 

As Sonic stopped, the force pushed Amy off of his shoulder, forcing the blue hedgehog to grab her hand. It almost appeared they were dancing from the pose, but Sonic was forced to exit it in a second as one of the Swat-Bots turned back around to shoot at him. 

At lightning speed, Sonic used a hand to aim the wrist cannon back around to the Swat-Bot’s own midsection, letting a round of plasma energy tear a hole through its stomach. However, this didn’t deter it, as it started to aim back at Sonic again. 

A Beetle started firing down at Sonic too, making him shuffle away with Amy, but Tails quickly started firing back with his hand cannon. An energy ball was enough to make the drone short circuit, and Tails jumped up, landing on the drone to send it down towards the damaged Swat-Bot.

Sonic noticed in time. He hoped that Amy wouldn’t get hurt from what he was about to do- he swung her around by her hands, using the psychic’s legs to sweep the damaged Swat-Bot off it’s feet. Tails forced the Beetle to land right onto the robot’s body, causing both to smash into bits instantly. 

While Sonic got himself and Amy further away from the action, Tails rolled off where he landed and started firing. With two Swat-Bots descending upon him, he fired a few energy balls into them before launching out a ring tether. He whipped it around like a flail, smashing against the robots and forcing them back like a ringmaster would a lion. 

Though a Swat-Bot and most of the drones were after Sonic, the remaining four Swat-Bots were all on Tails, forcing him to swing the ring tether around to keep them all back. 

He swung the tether with all his might, slamming the ring into one of the Swat-Bot’s sides. It embedded itself into the metal of the robot immediately, as it was clearly made of some kind of cheap metal. 

Tails looked over his shoulder, seeing a robot right behind him. With the tether still active, Tails turned around and aimed the cannon at that robot, firing another ring directly at it. The force of the fired ring allowed it to embed into the body of that Swat-Bot, too. 

The ring sling connecting the two Swat-Bots together tightened, sending both flying into one another and crashing in a big blast of smoke and sparks. Tails, right underneath, suddenly disappeared from view. 

One of the Swat-Bots looked from left to right slowly, still holding up his wrist cannon. It tried to peer through the smoke, but couldn’t see anything because of it. 

It started swapping to its heat vision, wanting to detect the fox with that. It swapped over in time to see Tails flying towards it, delivering a two-foot kick into the visor of the android through the smoke. The Swat-Bot flung backwards, crashing back into a tree and smashing to bits immediately. 

Tails landed gracefully, before turning to peer through the parting smoke. The other Swat-Bot nearby had its sights on Tails, and started to approach- the fox readied himself for another fight. 

Nearby, Sonic dodged the fire from the GUN Beetles, still carrying Amy the best he could. He also made sure to keep light on his feet to keep Bud from getting harmed on his back, able to strafe around any oncoming fire with ease. 

With one step, however, he stepped onto Amy’s hanging bag. He was pulled down by his arms, causing him to stumble and tumble across the grass. He started to stop with a grunt, right on his face, sliding across the ground slowly before flopping down completely. 

He picked himself up, looking back to see the four Beetles starting to gang up on him. Sonic looked down at Amy, then at the Beetles again, before quickly getting up and grabbing her by her collar and bag. 

“Amy, if you can hear me, forgive me for this.” He mumbled. 

Sonic spun around quickly, making the Beetles pause for a second in confusion, before the hedgehog flung Amy upwards and away, making her spin away like a frisbee far above the Beetles. 

He could see that Tails was on the other side of these drones. If he got over, he could regroup and maybe get some cover… at the cost of flinging Amy like a ragdoll. 

The blue hedgehog curled into a spin dash, burning out before launching off of the ground with a boost, hitting the nearest Beetle and smashing through it. Time was still slow with how fast Sonic was moving, and he uncurled after the first Beetle was smashed.

He uncurled at just the right time, one of his feet landing on top of the drone at the back of the quartet. Sonic brought his other foot down and boosted off of the other Beetle, the power of his boost enough to split the drone in half, before flinging it downwards and smashing it on the ground from the force. 

Sonic twisted in the air, flying past just in time to catch Amy in his arms again at his apex, and landed with a slide across the grass on both feet, sticking the landing. 

“Hey, Sonic!”

His attention was torn instantly, seeing Tails nearby. The fox had one of the Swat-Bots wrapped in his ring tether, and with a sharp pull, sent the android towards Sonic, spinning rapidly like a top. 

The hedgehog looked down at his fellow hedgehog’s bag. He grabbed the end, flicking it outwards to turn it into a hammer instantly. Dropping Amy for a moment, letting her lay on her back, Sonic gripped with both hands onto the handle of the hammer. 

With a powerful upward swing, like he was playing golf, Sonic smashed the spinning Swat-Bot instantly, making debris fly everywhere and smoke go in his face. Sonic coughed, waving in front of his face to try and get his vision clear. 

While he was distracted, a Swat-Bot, the last Swat-Bot, grabbed Sonic by the back of his neck and lifted him up. Sonic yelped, letting go of the hammer and letting it land right on top of Amy. The robot slammed Sonic into a nearby tree, his chest against the trunk to keep him from reaching the android. 

Tails rushed forwards to try and help him, but was hit by a round from a Beetle in the shoulder, a ringing sound heard as a few rings flung from his body. He looked up, seeing the remaining two Beetles blocking his path to Sonic. 

Just in time, Amy and Bud’s astral forms reached the edge of the village, seeing the danger their friends were in. 

“Sonic!” Amy yelled, even if nobody could hear her. 

Tails looked between the two drones descending on him, very clearly keeping him there to prevent him from trying to attack. 

Suddenly, up ahead, Amy’s hammer flopped only a few yards away. It had been thrown over from where Sonic was, clearly intended for Tails to grab it for himself. 

The fox looked at the drones, then at the hammer. 

After a second of staring, he made his move. He dove forwards, barely missing two shots from the drones as he rolled over the hammer, grabbing the handle. Tails rocketed forwards with the power of his tails, spinning around and swinging the hammer directly into the Swat-Bot holding Sonic. 

The power and speed of the swing destroyed it. Sonic grunted as he was let go of, falling to the ground and hanging onto the trunk to stabilize himself. Tails was next to him, holding onto his shoulder to help him. 

“You okay?”

“Ugh… yeah.”

“Nice aim, Sonic.”

“...what’re you talking about?”

“You threw the hammer towards me.”

“I couldn’t have, dude. I didn’t even have the hammer.”

“What? Then… who…”

The pair looked over at Amy, who was still unconscious. 

Suddenly, Amy woke up with a loud gasp, making the boys jump a bit from shock. Amy sat up, rubbing her head and turning around to look at the duo.

“Look out!” She yelled.

The Beetles, the last two robots in the area, were back in front of Tails and Sonic. 

Behind the blue hedgehog, however, Bud was awakened next. The chao lifted up into the air above Sonic and Tails, staring at the two drones with angry eyes. 

Though the Beetles charged up shots, Bud immediately stuck out his nubs. A shockwave of rainbow energy emitted from his limbs, hitting the two drones. It instantly tore them to bits, then transformed those bits into confetti with the raw energy of Chaos, which gently floated to the ground. 

“...I missed that. That he could do that.” Sonic said, smiling.

Amy took her hammer back, turning it into a bag and putting it over her. 

“Where’s Knuckles?”

Sonic and Tails pointed somewhere upwards, making them all look. 

At this point, acutely aware that it had two Mobians crawling across it, the Golem was trying to reach the small of its back to grab onto one or two of them. Knuckles and Rouge ducked under attempts to grab them. 

Knuckles grabbed onto Rouge’s leg, pulling her down to try and keep her from reaching the Master Emerald. The bat kicked the echidna’s hand off of her, before using both feet to smash down onto Knuckles’ shoulder, making Knuckles slide down the back of the gizoid, creating gashes with his still-submerged spiked fists. 

Rouge climbed up to the shoulder of the Golem, spotting the Master Emerald in one of its hands. A big smile came across her face, the green light reflecting in her widening pupils. 

Moving down a little for extra power, Knuckles flung himself upwards, completely up the back of the Golem, reaching Rouge and immediately grabbing onto the bat’s back. 

“Hey! No free rides!” She yelled. 

The Golem was able to grab onto Knuckles now that he was raised, unintentionally bringing Rouge along with him as the gizoid peeled them off his body.

As they were being swung upwards, Knuckles brought one of his arms around and smashed into the stone thumb of the giant gizoid, forcing it to lose its grip on Knuckles and flinging both treasure hunters into the air. 

Rouge broke free of Knuckles, spinning around and trying to kick him in the side, but the hit was caught by the echidna. As they began their fall downwards towards the Golem, Knuckles spun Rouge around, blocking another kick and smacking a punch headed his way away from him. 

Knuckles tried to deliver a simple chop against Rouge, but the hit was blocked by her knee. She brought her other leg up and kicked Knuckles in the face, letting it transition to a kick. This was her mistake, as Knuckles used the flip to regain himself and bring his hand back, delivering a firm one-handed shove downwards, sending Rouge hurtling towards the Golem. 

She landed on the bicep and tumbled downwards, landing on her hands and feet in a sliding stop. Knuckles landed on both feet on the shoulder, immediately running right towards her. 

Rouge flung herself back to dodge a straight punch from the echidna, using the moment to press herself up with one hand, sending a sobat kick with both legs into the gut of the echidna guardian. Knuckles had anticipated a counter, only taking a step back but swinging both fists downwards and smashing into the stone as Rouge rolled away. 

He was powerful for sure. But she was trained to fight. 

The bat got up to try and kick Knuckles again, but he used both arms to hit it away, delivering two light punches to her stomach then using both hands to push her away, making her slam back into the back of the Golem’s thumb with a grunt. 

With the size of the gizoid, they were able to see it bring its hand up to try and dust off the two Mobians from its arm. As the hand slid down the arm, Knuckles leapt up to avoid it, reaching its shoulder again. Rouge wasn’t as lucky, hit by the sliding hand and making her tumble back across the hand. 

However, this worked in her favor, as they were on the arm with the Master Emerald in its hand. The bat grabbed onto the end of the giant emerald. The Golem started swinging the arm around, as if trying to get Rouge off of the emerald by shaking her. 

When the shaking brought her close to a tree, Rouge swung around, wrapping her legs around the trunk. With her powerful legs holding onto the tree, the Golem had a harder time getting the emerald away from her, the pair starting to fight over the Master Emerald. 

“Give me… back… my emerald!” Rouge said. 

Knuckles watched in awe. He looked over at the side of the Golem’s head, then down at Rouge. It was clear, at this point, that neither of them would stop until they got the emerald for themselves. As much as he loved his friends, he didn’t think they could take both Rouge and the Golem just by themselves. 

The echidna looked back at his friends for a moment, and adjusted his hat, before making his decision. 

He pushed off the shoulder of the Golem, headed right towards the Master Emerald. With a loud yell, he sent both fists into the side of the emerald, shocking Rouge and the Golem as she shattered the giant emerald himself. 

There was a pulse of green energy, knocking Knuckles, Rouge and the Golem back. 

Almost immediately, Angel Island started to fall. It fell more like an airplane, falling forwards at an angle instead of just straight down. 

The shards of the Master Emerald tumbled into the air. Knuckles grabbed one, holding onto it tightly, but soon found Rouge grabbing onto the same shard. They rolled across the grass, sent towards the nearby edge of the island as the island’s fall propelled them closer. 

As it was floating in the air, the Golem couldn’t keep up with the island falling, meaning it immediately disappeared into the clouds, flying past Knuckles and Rouge and into the sky. 

Knuckles and Rouge stopped close to the edge of the island, still feeling it fall but getting their footing with their hands both on the same emerald shard. 

“What did you do? LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY EMERALD!” Rouge yelled, starting to shake Knuckles. 

“I did it to prevent you or Robotnik from stealing it. If it’s in pieces, I can restore it.” Knuckles replied simply. “And by the way- that’s not your emerald.”

Rouge frowned deeply. She tried to walk away with the shard, but found Knuckles still holding it, forcing her back to stay close to him. 

“Oh no you don’t. You’re coming with me.”

“Look who’s gonna be the hero here.” Rouge replied. “Don’t you have bigger fish to fry? Like the entire world starting to turn against you and your friends?”

“We still have allies.”

“You should’ve known the welcome mat wouldn’t be down forever. One day they love you because you’re unique, the next they jail you for being different.”

“They won’t get me without a fight.”

“Now that’s the right attitude.” Rouge grinned. “Come with me, Knucky. The two of us, treasure hunters, taking back what’s rightfully ours. No man, woman, Mobian or government agent in the world would ever be able to stop us.”

Knuckles was quiet for a moment, staring at her, before slowly shaking his head.

“...yeah, I should’ve guessed. Oh, well. I guess I better head off now… but there is one more thing.” 

“What?”

“When those government agents start to come and lock us up…” Rouge leaned in close to Knuckles. “I hope we share a cell.”

The bat’s knee came up between them, extending out to kick Knuckles away from her. The echidna was left behind with the Master Emerald shard, Rouge opening her wings to fly away from the island, disappearing into the clouds above them. 

Looking at that spot for just a moment, Knuckles soon ran back into the woods, breaking through the trees and making it back to the old echidna village. 

He saw his friends nearby, rushing to them. They were holding onto each other to try and keep themselves from falling into the sky. 

“Knuckles!” Sonic said. “Where’s Rouge?”

“She’s gone.” The echidna replied, joining the group and hanging onto them. “The others—“

“I told Renzo to get everyone ready. Everyone’s gonna be alright.” Amy interjected. Knuckles nodded firmly. 

They got lower to the ground. In the distance away from the village, they could see the ocean was getting rapidly closer, with the village the highest spot on the tilted and falling island. 

“Brace for impact!” Tails yelled. 

Knuckles reached out, grabbing the Mobians and chao and pulling them into him, hanging onto them tightly to try and cover them with his body. 

The island landed, and the group flung into the air at the sudden stop. 

Angel Island surprisingly landed pretty gracefully, immediately and slowly getting even again as it slowly flopped itself to a level position in the ocean. 

As water crashed onto the island, it quickly snaked across the ground towards the airborne team. The water created a large dome connected to the ground, containing Team Sonic and suspending them in the liquid dome. 

With them stilled, there was no chance of being harmed. When the island got level again, now in the ocean, the water flattened and scattered, lowering the team to the ground, somehow completely dry. 

All of them were panting from what happened- even Bud. 

“What… just happened?” Tails asked. 

To answer, green lightning zapped onto the ground in front of the group. The green energy warped, creating a bipedal being made of pure chaos energy ahead of them, with blue eyes staring at them all. 

“Chaos!” Sonic identified him. 

Bud rose into the air in front of the group, the vessel ready to defend his friends from the god that previously possessed and controlled him. 

“Don’t!”

From the sky, a red orb lowered down in front of Bud, transforming into an orange echidna spirit in a flash of white. It was Tikal, who held her hands out towards the chao. 

“He’s docile. He’s not here to take over your body.” She said. 

Team Sonic got up, standing opposite the spirit of Chaos and Tikal alongside their chao. 

“Tikal. Sorry for the rude awakening.” 

“It would’ve happened sooner or later.” Tikal replied to Knuckles. “I can sense extreme danger on the horizon, even when I was sleeping. I felt pure, unadulterated evil… something powerful is coming, Team Sonic. Something that could bring the end of all life on Earth if you all don’t stop it.”

The members of Team Sonic looked amongst each other. 

“…so no pressure, then.” Sonic finally spoke. 

Luckily for Tails, and Renzo, the Cyclone wasn’t damaged during the fall. In fact, it landed in the water and floated over to shore while Angel Island was grounded. 

Thanks to Amy’s warning, both the guests and chao on the island were shuffled to the safe room before the emerald was even shattered, keeping them safe from the harm that would’ve been crashing into the water. 

The vacationgoers were thanked for their help. As the team had to leave though, they were also told their goodbyes… for now. 

On the shore of the island, Team Sonic was standing with Moss, Tikal, Bud and the spirit of Chaos near the Cyclone, ready to head off. 

“I didn’t see exactly what is coming,” Tikal said to them. “But I saw flashes. Humans, animals, plants, even bacteria being taken over and eradicated. All free will destroyed by something… something pure evil. I felt the chill of evil.” 

“I have a weird feeling it has to do with this new faker who just hit the scene.” Sonic replied. “Maybe he’s the pure evil one here.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions.” Amy said. “I mean, I'm pretty sure Rouge is still good at heart, even if she’s gone dark on us.”

“Only time will truly tell. As for the Master Emerald, as I’m certain the Chaos Emeralds will be involved in this affair, we will need it reformed in order to stop whatever’s coming.” Tikal looked at the spirit of Chaos. “Chaos can control his energy if the Master Emerald is formed. He can neutralize the emeralds’ power.” 

“But the shards are all over the place now, not just around Station Square. I can feel it.” Amy replied to her. “We don’t have time to find both the emeralds and the emerald shards.”

“Unless… we split up.”

Sonic, Tails and Amy looked at Knuckles. The echidna stood there awkwardly, before gently starting to punch his fist into his palm. 

“Split up?”

“I… could go looking for the shards on my own.” Knuckles said to Sonic. “While you three solve this faker nonsense. I can track the shards on my own, it would be easy for me.”

“Are you sure?” Tails asked. “I mean, you’d be all by yourself, Knuckles. You don’t want anyone to go with you?”

“You three are a team- even before I showed up. If anyone will solve this crime at sonic speeds, it’s you guys. I can find the shards on my own.”

“You won’t be on your own. Chaos and I will accompany you.” Tikal floated over. “You need us to reform the Master Emerald, anyways.”

Knuckles nodded firmly. Tails walked up to the echidna, bringing his backpack around and rummaging through it to retrieve something inside. It was some kind of necklace, made from a tube with a large black object at the front. He presented it to Knuckles. 

“What’s this?”

“It’s an invention I was working on. I only have one, but I figure you might need it more than us. It’s a portable rebreather- an air necklace, essentially. Helps you breathe underwear.”

“Oh, wow… thank you Tails.”

“And…” Tails got out a small black ring device. He handed it over to Knuckles. “That’s a Downsizer. When you get the Master Emerald back, you can use that to shrink it down to the size of a normal emerald, for easier carrying.”

“Wow!”

“Be careful though, it’s a prototype. It works ninety percent of the time, the other ten percent it makes objects explode.”

“Oh… wow.”

The fox gave Knuckles a quick hug before stepping away. Amy was up next, stepping up and adjusting the hat on the echidna’s head. 

“…I was wondering where I put this. I’m glad you have it.” She said. 

“That bag of yours is very easy to get stuff lost in. Maybe you should clean it out.”

Amy snorted and chuckled. She leaned in and hugged Knuckles, longer than Tails, letting him hug her back. She soon pulled away. 

Sonic was up last. He rubbed his hands together. 

“…keep safe out there.” The hedgehog said. “It’ll be sad to remember me kicking your butt months ago if you can’t be around to talk about it.”

“You won’t be telling that story anymore when I finally get that rematch.”

“Heh. You’re on, buddy.”

After a second, Sonic held out his fist. Knuckles smiled and pressed his palm to it in their special handshake. 

While that was happening, Tails reached into his bag and pulled out his Miles Electric. Stepping up to Bud, Tails presented the tablet to Bud. 

“Here, Bud.”

The chao looked surprised. He slowly took the Miles Electric, looking down at it and giving it a once over. He looked at Tails, confused. 

“I gotta make a new tablet for myself anyway, to keep up with my evolving abilities. I know you wanna build stuff like I do- this will help you do it.” 

Bud brightened up at the realization that this was a gift. He rushed in, hugging Tails, who chuckled and hugged him back. 

“Besides, now you can use it to keep in contact with us! How cool is that?”

“Chao chao!”

“Yeah, you’re welcome, Bud.”

Nearby, Knuckles was saying his final goodbye to Moss. The old sloth smoothed out Knuckles’ shirt, smiling at him. 

“Please be safe, my son.” He said. “Are you sure you all don’t want to stay? Thanks to Miss Beryl, the entire island is completely cloaked from any scanner. We’re invisible here.”

“I think we’re fine… the others said they had a safe house near the city anyway.” The echidna said. “…Moss… Father… did you hate me being here?”

“Wh-What? Of course I didn’t!”

“Well… you didn’t really expand the island until I left. I dunno, it seems like you’re much happier without me here, sulking over at the emerald shrine.”

“…Knuckles, of course we don’t feel that way. Your siblings and I love you very, very much. You will always have a home here.” 

“I guess…”

“You seem to forget, Knuckles, that it was you who helped bring us to the mainland. If it wasn’t for you agreeing to go with Sonic, we would’ve never had ended up in Station Square. Our happiness with this current situation could easily be attributed to you.”

“You think so?”

“Of course I do. You don’t have anything to worry about, my son. Now… go and get the rest of the Master Emerald.” 

Knuckles smiled, and nodded towards the sloth. 

The Cyclone held Sonic, Tails as Amy in the seats, with Knuckles grabbing onto the side to hang from there. There was one last glance and wave to Moss and Bud before the Cyclone started up, the thruster underneath kicking up some sand as it powered on. 

The plane taxied across the sand and into the water, floating across with special seaplane attachments on the landing gear. Speeding up, the plane rose into the air soon enough, taking off. 

Tails raised the plane higher, and higher, until the ocean was far down below. Knuckles, with an orb of red and green floating beside him, watched the sea below. 

He glanced over at his friends, who all turned to look at him. The echidna smiled, and tipped his hat with a nod. 

Knuckles let go of the plane, letting the wind spirits take his dreads and glide away, followed by the orbs of Tikal and Chaos close behind. 

Going opposite directions, Knuckles took one more glance behind him to watch the plane soar upwards and away, before the plane and the echidna were soon out of sight from one another, on their way to different parts of the world. 

FAR ABOVE THE EARTH…

Things were finally feeling like they were getting back on track. 

Ivo straightened out his jacket, zipping up the front over his stomach. It was a red tailcoat, finally back in his favorite color in a suit with white straps and golden buttons. He flicked open a pair of circular blue glasses, slipping them on. 

Getting back in proper dress was the first part of his plan to get his big scheme in motion. The second was to retrieve the emeralds- Chaos and Master. However the latter… didn’t go to plan. 

His grandfather hadn’t talked to him that day, it was strange. Maybe that was a good sign, maybe he was finally getting better mentally. 

In the storage bay of the decrepit colony, he spotted the dormant large golem gizoid, sitting there with its fists pressed together. 

“Ah! Finally, I was wondering when it would get here.” Ivo said. “Those Sonic Heroes really did a number on you, eh? Sorry to hear that.”

Ivo put his hand on the Golem’s elbow, sliding it across the cool stone. 

“What is this thing?”

Ivo jumped from the sudden voice. He turned around, seeing the navy blue hedgehog behind him- the quiet and stoic Eclipse. 

“Like a freakin’ shadow…” Ivo grumbled. He cleared his throat and turned to Eclipse. “This is a large gizoid, belonging to the old echidnas on Angel Island. Very intelligent technology, ahead of its time.”

“So you didn’t build this.”

“Well, no…”

“So you stole another person’s invention and appropriated it as your own?”

“Well… I… I put in the relays to take over the machinery! And who are you to judge me anyway, I’m still working my butt off to get your ARK back to normal! Have you even gotten any of the Chaos Emeralds you said you’d collect?”

“…hmph.” Eclipse grunted, ambivalently. 

“Did you just ‘hmph’ me?” Ivo huffed, but took a deep breath. “You know what? Never mind. I’m on edge because of the renovation process. I didn’t mean to be rude to you.”

“…alright.” The dark hedgehog replied, trailing around the front of the Golem and looking it over. 

“This plan that my grandfather- the vision of my grandfather that I’ve been having- has told me about, is really intense and complicated. I didn’t expect or ask for any of this. I’ve been wondering more and more recently if going to these extreme lengths physically and mentally are worth any of the rewards in the end—“

“You have a stowaway.” Eclipse interrupted. 

“Wh-What?”

“A stowaway. Open the right fist.”

Ivo paused, before quickly pressing the side of his glasses lens. He tapped his fingers against the buttons on the base of his thumb, making the Golem extend its arm out in front of it. 

The hands opened up slowly, showing the stowaway inside. Hanging upside down, very appropriate for a Mobian of her kind, Rouge had her wings wrapped around her body, only the top of her head exposed. 

Dropping down, Rouge opened her wings and flipped down to the ground, spinning around to face the two men for flair. 

“Hello gentlemen.” She said. 

“I’ll take care of this.” Eclipse quickly spoke. With golden electricity zipping across his quills, he started stepping towards Rouge, but was stopped by Ivo walking in front of him. 

“Stop!” Ivo held his arm out in front of the dark hedgehog. “This is one of Sonic’s little friends.”

“All the more reason to get rid of her.”

“No, if we get rid of her, Sonic will rush up here and scramble me like an egg! I’ve seen how angry he gets when you kill someone he loves.”

Eclipse was hesitant, but powered down, glowering at Rouge regardless. The bat hadn’t reacted to anything that just happened, smirking and wiggling her fingers in a wave to Eclipse. 

“What are you doing here? Are you trying to mess up my plans?”

“Of course not. I’ve actually come here to offer my services to you.”

“You. A friend of Sonic, and a member of the Guardian Units of Nations. You want to help me.” Ivo replied. “What kind of a moron do you take me for?!”

“I don’t roll with them anymore.” The bat said. “Neither of them. I’m on my own, and I was going to bring you the Master Emerald as a peace offering before your big bumbling robot tried taking it from me.”

She reached under her breastplate, retrieving a folded up note from there and holding it between her fingers. 

“But I have a backup, just in case. I want to offer it to you, as a truce… if you’ll accept it.”

“What is it?” Eclipse asked. 

“It’s a list of the current locations of the other six Chaos Emeralds. They’re gems, so obviously I would know where they are.”

“You’re just going to give it to us?”

“No, I want to be on your side. To work with you, get the opportunity to see what this whole space colony is about. Besides, if you’re going to use it to take over the world, I could certainly use a little diplomatic immunity.”

“And what’s keeping us from killing you right now and just taking the list for ourselves?”

Rouge smirked a bit, chuckling with her mouth closed at the notion. 

“At least two of these emeralds require access from a high-ranking GUN agent to reach them. Lucky for you, I have that clearance.” She said. “If you kill me, you might as well try to shoot fish in a barrel getting them.”

Eclipse stared at Rouge. The bat, unflinching, kept eye contact and didn’t let up from it, keeping up their staring contest until Ivo interrupted them. 

“I can use all the help I can get. We accept. Give me that!”

The scientist took the list, opening it and looking it over, reading the contents. 

“The Devil’s Gulag? What bonehead put two emeralds on that dreaded island?” Ivo exclaimed. “Ugh. I’ll have to think of something. Eclipse, show Rouge to her temporary quarters.”

Eclipse slowly looked over to Rouge from Ivo, meeting her eyes again. The bat walked over and strolled past the hedgehog, smiling at him. 

The hedgehog followed, leaving Robotnik behind in the storage bay as they traveled down the halls of the colony. 

They reached the furthest room in the hall, where Eclipse opened the door for her to step inside. 

“Your name is Eclipse, eh? That’s very alternative.” 

“Mmhm.”

“I can tell you just love that name.” The bat teased, strolling into the colony bedroom. “My name is Rouge, by the way.”

“I know.” 

“Just making sure.” Rouge was inside her room, looking at Eclipse from the doorway. “You’re just a ball of sunshine, aren’t you?”

“Is that supposed to be funny?”

“Depends. Are you supposed to be intimidating, or a sulking little boy at someone else’s birthday party?”

Eclipse glowered at Rouge. He soon stepped away. 

“I’m sure the doctor will have something for you to do soon. Keep your ears open, and don’t try to track me down.”

“Whatever you say, Eclipse. I look forward to working with you.”

The dark hedgehog left the doorway to walk back down the hall. Rouge listened to the footsteps to make sure they were getting further and further away. 

Reaching into her boot, she pulled out an amped up walkie-talkie, turning it on and speaking into it. 

“This is Agent Alba.” She said. “I’m in. The doctor is convinced I’m going to be working on his side… however, I can confirm that there’s a doppelganger that looks like Sonic here. Tower’s suspicions were incorrect.”

There was nothing but static on the other end, making Rouge wonder if anyone in GUN got that message. She hummed and continued. 

“I’ll be accompanying them on their next few missions to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds. I’m sure they’ll let me get on their good sides. Don’t worry down there…”

“…they don’t suspect a thing.” Eclipse spoke aloud- not to himself, but to an unseen entity talking to him in his head. 

GOOD. CONTINUE THE MISSION AS PLANNED. 

Eclipse paused for a moment in the middle of the hall. He turned around slowly, just in time to see Rouge poke her head out to look after him. 

She waved at him. Hesitantly, he decided to give her a wave back. 

The bat soon ducked back into the room. Looking at the doorway for another moment or two, Eclipse turned back around and strolled off, hearing Rouge’s door close tightly behind him. 

UP NEXT: Chasing Two Rabbits!

Chapter Text

SEVENTEEN YEARS PRIOR…

Vanilla had to leave her goodbye dinner early to avoid crying. Because of that, however, the sadness had kept her awake most of the night. 

She rolled one of her shoulders to make the strap feel comfortable on it. After zipping up one more, smaller bag, she pulled it around her shoulders to wear across her back, finishing with two fairly large sacks of clothes and supplies to take with her. 

It was early morning, the sun was barely peeking over the horizon. She wanted to leave before anyone was awake so there wouldn’t be any horrible, ugly-face-crying goodbye. 

“Leaving so soon?”

Vanilla turned, looking back over her shoulder towards the door to her room. She turned in time to watch an orange-pink hedgehog step inside, moving towards the rabbit and going in for a hug. Vanilla hugged Coral, patting her back gently. 

“You know, I don’t think I would’ve ever gotten used to those powers of yours.” Vanilla said, smiling a bit, trying not to show the sadness in it. 

“Maybe you’ll get to see my daughter’s someday. If you ever come back, that is. It’s… so unclear, right now.” Coral replied. “You’re at the pivot point of thousands of outcomes right now. What you do next will decide the entire second half of your life.” 

“Do most of them at least include me finding more of us? More animals like the ones from Project Mobius.” 

“Quite a few. But right now, your future is… undetermined.” 

Vanilla nodded sagely. She gripped the strap on her bag tightly. 

“Is she…?”

“She is. She’s waiting out on the front porch for you.” 

A pit formed in Vanilla’s stomach. Though her ears hung behind her head, they certainly would’ve lowered in anxiety and sadness if they could. 

It was hard to say goodbye. It was the hardest to say goodbye to her. 

She was brought back to the room by Coral touching her shoulder, bringing her in for another hug, squeezing her tightly. 

“Stay safe out there, Coral.” Vanilla said softly. 

“I will.” Coral replied. “You too. I still wanna try out that ‘coffee’ thing that bratty research assistant back at the facility was talking about.” 

“If this is a timeline we meet again, I promise we can go get some.” 

Coral pulled away, still holding Vanilla’s arms but smiling painfully at the goodbye.

“I’ll hold you to that, Tarte.” 

“You better, Rose.” 

With that, Vanilla pulled away, leaving Coral behind in her room to watch her leave. The pit in Vanilla’s stomach only got deeper, much deeper as she reached the front door. 

Her hand hovered over the doorknob. She paused, looking over towards the desk at the far wall, and the giant portrait of a mustachioed hedgehog hanging over it. 

“...I’ll see you around, Chuck.” She said softly. 

Vanilla grabbed the doorknob and opened the front door, stepping out into the early morning air. The sun was still slowly coming up, shining down onto the compound and making the strawberries glisten. 

The door closed. Vanilla could see someone sitting on the edge of the porch. 

Aleena was smiling softly as she watched her two-year-old Sonny bumble about in the yard. The little hedgehog was at an age where he had to be with his mother at all times, so when Aleena left to go to the porch, Sonny naturally began to follow. 

Having an eye on the little hedgehog as well, Vanilla slowly walked up to stand beside where Aleena was sitting, watching the adolescent start to mess with sticks like they were swords. 

“Man, I wish I was younger again.” Aleena said. “I mean, I’m young compared to Julian Robotnik, but… I don’t know where Sonny even gets all that energy. It’s like he wakes up from his naps fully recharged.” 

Vanilla hummed in reply, the two of them continuing to watch the young boy in silence. 

“...how long have you been awake?”

“Oh, I never slept.” Aleena replied. “Too much on my mind. I just… laid in bed and let Sonny sleep next to me. It’s more important for him to sleep anyway.”

“Lena…” 

“I know, I know, you don’t have to mother me.” The purple hedgehog looked up at Vanilla with a bit of a grin, but with a deep breath it disappeared. She slowly got up to her feet to stand in front of Vanilla. 

“Somebody has to. Coral probably won’t be able to.” Vanilla said, watching Aleena smooth the rabbit’s shirt out. 

“She’ll try, but she’s so involved with her psychic visions I don’t think she’ll ever be able to go full mom mode like you do.” 

Vanilla watched Aleena, the shorter hedgehog continuing to dote on the rabbit’s outfit rather than look up at her. It took a moment or two of silence for Aleena to finally look up for eye contact, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. 

In the back of her mind, Vanilla’s empathy told her that Aleena was going to miss her. 

They both moved together, going in for a tight hug. 

“Vanny…”

“You don’t have to say anything. Literally.” Vanilla replied. “Not just because of the powers. I’ll literally start sobbing like a baby if you say anything remotely sentimental.” 

Aleena laughed lightly at that, shaking against Vanilla as they kept hugging one another. It was a few moments of silence on the porch before they both pulled away, staying within arm’s reach of one another and holding hands. 

“You’ve been with me from the start.” 

“Oh boy, here we go…” The rabbit scoffed a bit, but clearly wasn’t upset.

“Hey, I can afford to be a little sentimental here. I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again.” 

“Don’t talk like that, Lena. I’ll always find my way back to you somehow.” Vanilla replied. “You may act all tough and strong now, but you’ll always be that little hoglet placed in the containment cell right next to mine way back when.” 

“How sweet. I think I’ll have that quote put on a painting somewhere.” 

“Oh, shut up.” Vanilla let go of Aleena to shove her a little bit, grinning and chuckling, Aleena the same way. 

It was quiet again. They both turned to keep an eye on Sonny. 

“...do you really think I’ll find more of us out there?” 

“...maybe.” Aleena replied. “I mean, we can’t be the only ones out there. Julian said his father had met more like us before. It’s why he started the entire project in the first place.”

“That’s true. But even if I did find them… you think they’d accept a version of them made in a lab?” Vanilla turned her head to look at Aleena. 

“If there’s anyone I know who can easily win over any kind of person, it’s you, Vanny. You’re kind, compassionate, and you only want to help people. That’s something only I can dream of being.”

“I can only dream of being as strong and governing as you. I can pretend, but I can never duplicate.” 

Aleena turned her head to look at Vanilla again. 

“I wish you could come with me.” 

The statement clearly got to Aleena- it didn’t take an empath to see that. She nodded slowly, smiling painfully, before reaching out and taking Vanilla’s hand. 

“There’s nothing more I’d love than to get to see the world with my best friend. But… this is my home now. Besides, I got Sonny to raise… and probably a bunch of other little kids.” 

Vanilla nodded. 

“...I love you, Aleena.” She said. “You’re my sister. No Mobian, human, or mad biologist could ever take that away from me.” 

“I love you too, Vanilla.” 

Slowly, Vanilla had to step away, pulling her hand away from Aleena. From where she was on the porch, the hedgehog watched her walk away, stepping down from the porch and walking across the field. 

As she passed by the little hedgehog, Vanilla patted Sonny’s head gently, smiling down at him. 

“Take care of your mother, alright? She deserves all the help she can get.” 

Vanilla pressed on, walking to the entrance of the compound and pausing. She turned around, taking one last glance at Aleena. 

The hedgehog was still watching her, and waved as soon as she saw Vanilla turn around. Vanilla gave a small wave back, before steeling herself and turning her back on the hedgehog. 

She took a deep breath, and trekked forwards. The star post went off as she passed by.

PRESENT DAY…

When a knock came to Big’s door, he opened it slightly to peek out. 

He saw two rabbits standing next to each other, two he could recognize. The taller one had a scarf around her head and sunglasses, while the shorter had on a very large hoodie with the hood up, obscuring part of her face. They were both carrying bags. 

“Hi Uncle Big!” Cream said brightly. 

The door opened wider, Big smiling widely upon seeing his goddaughter. 

“Cream! Vanilla!”

“May we come in?” Vanilla asked. 

The cat opened the door wider, letting them into his shack. It had gotten a tad bigger since they'd been in it a few months prior, just in time for a few unexpected new guests to pop in and use it as a safe house. 

Out in the Mystic Ruins forest, with little to no technology, Big’s shack was the perfect hiding spot to avoid being tracked as it was just so far out of anyone’s way- but close enough to Station Square to keep an eye on it. 

Immediately hearing about where Team Sonic was (thanks to Big contacting Vanilla with a secret code phrase: “I have visitors”) the rabbits took it upon themselves to retrieve various supplies for the group and Big for their extended stay. 

Team Sonic had been at Big’s shack for a few days now. From the looks of it, Big didn’t mind it, and it seemed they were good houseguests. 

Cream pulled her hood off, readjusting her new glasses. She was still trying to get used to them. Cheese, having been hiding in the raised hood, let go of the back of Cream’s head and floated beside her, readjusting his tie. 

With her bags, Cream skipped away with Cheese to the shack’s den. 

“Hey guys!”

Sonic looked away from Froggy’s tank, pulling his arms out. He’d been feeding the frog hornworms- it was a gross job to do and witness, but it was the least he could do for Big after he opened their home for them. 

Amy, on the couch, turned to see Cream with a mouth full of cereal. Tails was on the ground in front of the couch, laying on his stomach as he worked on smoldering something together, building a new contraption. 

“Cream!” Amy finally swallowed her food. “What’re you doing here?”

“Did you forget that I was present when Big offered his shack as a safehouse?” Cream replied, grinning. She looked over at Tails, then at the television that was turned on. “...watching some Saturday morning cartoons?”

“Ugh, no. Nothing’s on, so we’re ripping on that awful ‘World of the Chaos’ TV movie they made about us fighting Chaos.”

“Oooh, how fun!” 

Cheese immediately floated over and sat next to Amy, watching TV with her. 

The rabbit walked in front of the couch, putting her bags down in front of where Tails was working. The fox paused to look at the bags. He pulled his goggles over his face, looking up at Cream with a surprised expression. 

“Cream! When did you get here?” 

Cream snorted, sitting cross-legged on the floor to watch Tails. 

“Whatcha working on?”

“I gave my old tablet to Bud, so first thing’s first is to finish the tablet I’ve been working on for a month or so.” Tails picked up the contraption, showing Cream how it bent. “It should be finished soon… I still have to put the new screen on, and make sure it works right.”

“Can I watch you do it?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Still positioned under the television screen, the pair weren’t in the way of the television as Amy and Cheese watched the climactic final fight of the movie together. 

“Wrong, loser!” The Sonic analogue onscreen, Nazo, said. “The things that can’t be defeated are heart, soul, and the bonds of friendship! Three things you and your counterfeit cronies lack!”

“Oh my god, who writes this crap?” Sonic asked while walking behind the couch, nose scrunched up in mild disgust. 

“Oh what, like you’ve said anything better in the thousands of pep talks you’ve given?” Amy replied, grinning. 

“Touche…” 

Sonic got to Vanilla as she was putting her bags on the shack’s table. She turned in time to smile at the hedgehog, coming in for a hug that Sonic didn’t expect, but didn’t push away. 

“Hey, Vanilla.”

“Hi, Sonny. Long time no see. Are you all alright?” She pulled away, hands on Sonic’s shoulder to look at him. “Where’s Knuckles?”

“He… went his separate ways. For now. The short version is that the Master Emerald is shattered again, and he went off to find the pieces to reform it again. We think Rouge is involved with Ivo and that fake hedgehog.”

“Really? That’s… a sudden one-eighty in the development she was taking.”

“I know, right?” 

Vanilla patted Sonic’s shoulders, but pulled away to cross her arms. 

“How are you holding up? Seriously.” 

There was a beat of silence, before Sonic sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping. 

“Not… well.” He replied, voice lowered. “I’ve barely been sleeping lately. It’s so difficult keeping positive when everything is falling apart around you. Especially when your friends are being dragged down, too.” 

“Your friends chose to take this path with you, Sonny.” 

“They didn’t need to. They… shouldn’t have.” Sonic ran his hands over his spikes, flattening them for a second as he sighed again. “Their lives are being ruined too, not just mine. I’m lucky GUN hasn’t gone after you, or Cream, Big, any of the Chaotix. Angel Island just blipped off the map, so anyone on there is spared from my bounty.” 

“Whoever GUN decides is their enemy is not your responsibility.” Vanilla replied firmly. “They’re the ones tearing your life apart, not you. Well, that imposter is primarily responsible, but Commander Tower doesn’t help. That man sounds crazy.” 

“Oh yeah, he is… I just wanted to help people, Vanilla. Why is this happening to me?” 

“Well… no good deed goes unpunished, you know? There will always be people who hate you for what you do, regardless of how many people you save.” 

Nearby, Cream’s ear lowered as she decided to stop eavesdropping on her mother’s conversation for now, slowly turning back to Tails’ crafting with a frown on her face. 

Sonic sighed. “Everyone’s a critic.” 

Vanilla laughed at that, reaching out to touch his arm again. Sonic smiled a bit at that, though his eyes were confused at the sudden reaction. 

“What?” He asked. 

“Nothing, nothing… you just… you sound so much like Aleena.” 

“Really?”

“Oh yeah, all the time. You carry yourself like she did- always keeping strong for the others, then the second I’d ask her how she is, she’d just slump over and sigh like you did. The sullen resignation of someone carrying the world when they never needed to.” 

“That’s… That’s funny?”

“In a cosmic sort of way, yes.” Vanilla replied. “You’re just like her, Sonny. You have little aspects of your dad in there, too, but it’s mostly Aleena.” 

Sonic paused at the mention of his father, but kept it at that. 

“The last time I saw your mother, she was swimming in responsibility for all these Mobians. She felt bad for people like Coral, and Alianna, who were helping her as best as they could. She felt like she was dragging them down with her, when they were really helping her up.” 

“I have a feeling this anecdote is going to apply to me, too.” 

“Of course it is. Your friends want to help you, Sonny. You can’t drag them down if they’re willing to take the plunge with you.” 

There was a pause, but he nodded slowly. 

“...when was the last time you saw my mom?”

“Gosh, maybe… almost fourteen years ago. You were only six years old.” 

“Why didn’t you stay?” 

Vanilla paused, but smiled. She looked away, making Sonic follow her gaze as she looked over at Cream- the teenager’s back was to her mother and the hedgehog as she worked with Tails on the ground. 

“...Cream?”

The young rabbit’s ear raised slightly again as she heard her name. 

“I just found out I was having her a week or two prior. I took the trip back to tell your mother. After that, I was so busy with HEXAeco and raising Cream, I didn’t have any time to see Aleena again. By the time I wasn’t too busy… It was too late.” 

Vanilla sighed. Cream’s ear lowered again, slowly. 

“If you need someone to lean on, Sonny, I’m here.” The older rabbit said. “I mean it. Don’t think you’re bothering me with it.”

“Alright, alright. Thank you, Vanilla… want to watch some television?”

“That would be very nice, thank you.” 

Sonic walked to the den first, letting Cheese float into the air so the hedgehog could sit next to Amy. Before she left, Vanilla rummaged through her bag, pulling out a stack of envelopes and handing them to Big.

“I got your mail from your P.O. box.” 

“Thank you, Vanilla.” 

The rabbit nodded. She strolled to the den and sat next to Sonic. Cream got up from the floor, squeezing in next to her mother and wrapping her arms around her in a hug. Vanilla didn’t react, simply petting her daughter’s head down her ears. 

Big rummaged through his mail. There were a lot of things about his store downtown, about advertising and general mail from the vendors he had. 

He got to the final envelope. The paper of the envelope was different, he could feel it between his fingers. Written sloppily in blue ink, off-setting the beautiful look of the cream-colored envelope paper, was Big’s name. The cat recognized the handwriting, making his ears and tail perk up with interest. 

Big glanced at the group for a moment, before rushing past them as casually as he could to go down the hall that started right beside the television. Luckily for Big, the television movie was dumb enough to distract the others into not noticing him hurrying off. 

“None of this is good, Nazo. That’s why it’s called ‘war’.” 

The entire den erupted with laughter at the strange line delivered from Knuckles’ analogue character. The laughter ended when Big closed his bedroom door, staying inside to read his special letter in peace. 

From his nightstand, he retrieved a letter opener- it was a frog-themed one, with a handle shaped like a frog to give the appearance that the opener’s blade was its tongue extending from its mouth. He stuck it into the envelope, tearing it open to retrieve the letter inside. A bit of sand fell out as he pulled it up to read it. 

Dear Big, 

I’m very happy to hear that you’re safe after assisting your friends with getting Sonic out of prison. I do want to say, again, that if you guys need any help, you can always contact us. We’d be more than happy to help- besides, Marine is a bit bummed she couldn’t participate in the breakout mission too. 

One of the lines of your previous letter concerned me. You mentioned feeling that, besides the confusion tactic during the breakout, you felt useless to your friends involving the scandal with this mysterious doppelganger- but Big, you are the heart of your friends. You always take care of Cream, and help Vanilla with anything she needs, and you’re always willing to go out of your way to help anyone regardless of the risk to yourself or Froggy. If you can’t see how important that is to a group of heroes facing the end of the world on a daily basis, then I don’t know what to tell you. 

Stay safe and best regards, 

Silver T. Hedgehog

Big did get a smile from the letter. Internally, he told himself to write one back later. He’d have to ask Cream to use that flute of hers to open another rift so he could toss a letter in a bottle through. 

Standing, Big folded the letter up and placed it back in the envelope. He slid the letter back inside of his nightstand.

The cat soon returned to his friends, trudging down the hall to see them still watching the film with mild amusement. Tails had taken a break from his work to watch as well, glancing at the television from the floor. 

The movie went to commercial, the last commercial before the film’s big resolution. 

“So, what’s the next step for you guys?” Cream asked. “About the faker and all that.”

“Try to piece together what his connection with Gerald Robotnik is. Obviously, if he has something to do with the Robotniks, he’s probably working alongside Ivo.” Amy replied. 

“Since he took a piece of the Space Colony ARK, do you think he’s trying to rebuild it?”

“Both he and Ivo would have to be actually crazy to try and rebuild a destroyed satellite.” 

“Well…” Sonic started. 

“...the faker would have to be crazy too, I mean.” Amy said in amusement. 

“Nobody on GUN’s side is taking your side? What about Topaz?”

“She’s been totally radio silent on us.” Tails said to Vanilla. “We’ve tried to contact her phone, but it says it’s out of service. Besides that, you already know Rouge has turned her back on us for now.” 

“We have nobody to help us figure this out. What a fun ride.” 

Vanilla felt Sonic’s anguish inside of her, making her eyebrows furrow. She looked down at Tails on the floor, who had returned to his building. After a second, she got an idea, rising to her feet and unintentionally making Cream do the same. 

“Say, who wants to do arts and crafts?” She asked.

“Arts and crafts?” Amy asked. 

“Yeah! You know, like maybe some birdhouses out of popsicle sticks or something.” Vanilla replied. “Let’s do something fun, instead of just watching television all day!”

“Television is fun.” Sonic said defensively. 

“C’mon, it’ll be a nice activity to get your mind off of GUN! Please?” 

“Hmmmm… Alright.” The blue hedgehog sighed. He started to get up, but was pulled back down by Vanilla, who pulled on his arm to pull herself up to her feet. Cream got up onto her feet as well. 

“No no, you all stay. Cream and I will go get the supplies! You all just stay here and have fun with your television.” 

“Awww, what?”

“Can I come?” Big asked, almost interrupting Sonic’s whining. Vanilla turned to look at him, mildly surprised, but smiled anyway. 

“Of course you can, Big.”

“Okay! We can take my car. Let me get Froggy and we can leave.” 

The cat walked around the couch to the frog’s tank, picking him up and placing him in the middle of his large ears. The frog, waking up from a stilled rest, ribbited as he awoke, saying hello to Big in his new position. 

He stepped back to Vanilla and Cream. 

“We can leave.”

“What took you so long?” Cream said jokingly, smiling. 

“I was getting Froggy.” Big pointed to his head. “...let’s go.” 

Big led the way, leading Vanilla and Cream out. Vanilla took one more glance back towards the group on the couch. Cream took a glance at her mother, biting her cheek with conflicting feelings inside of herself. 

As they left the shack, Team Sonic began to laugh at the bizarre television movie once more. 

The massive parking lot of Wentos Superstore meant that Big had to park towards the back. 

Luckily, after the flooding of Station Square, it convinced the local government to completely renovate the rundown and derelict plaza that was a mile or three up the road from the entrance to the business district. Wentos Superstore was brought to the present day, with a sleek coat of paint and a non-hole-filled parking lot. 

Big parked his green sedan further towards the back of the lot, immediately opening his door to get out. He slipped Froggy into his overall pocket, to keep him hidden. Froggy was well behaved, but he didn’t want to get kicked out for having the frog on his head. 

With the door still open, the big cat leaned down to look at Vanilla and Cream. 

“Are you two coming?”

“I’m going to sit out in the car. Everyone’s a member of the press nowadays- last thing I’d want is someone like you being manhandled by the public, or worse, the internet.” Vanilla said. She dug into her purse and pulled out a credit card, handing it to Big. “Here, I’ll pay for the popsicles. Buy as many as you want.” 

The cat took the credit card, looking at the picture she had on the front of the card- Vanilla, Cream and Big together. He paused, but looked over at Cream next in the backseat. 

“Cream? Do you wanna come?”

“Uhh… I’ll stay in the car with mom. You know people talk, and everyone knows who my mom is.” The young rabbit adjusted her glasses, smiling a little. 

“Okay. I’ll be back.” 

Big closed the door and walked off, still staring down at the picture on the front of the card. 

It was silent in the car for a few moments as Big trudged away. Cream tapped her leg, peeking through the back window, partially obscured by the car parked beside them as she watched her uncle walk away. 

Her attention was subverted, however, with someone else stepping into frame between Cream and where Big was. It was a person in the Meh Burger’s Burger Man mascot suit, holding a giant sign that said “HERE’S YOUR BEEF! 25% OFF BURGERS 5:30PM-5:35PM” 

Cream recoiled slightly from shock, but slowly turned back in her seat to stop staring at the mascot.

“...do you think one of us should have gone with him?” She asked.

“Creamy, honey, your uncle Big’s a grown man. He’ll be fine.” Vanilla replied, looking at her daughter from the rearview mirror. 

And fine he was, as he walked towards the entrance of the store. Staring down at the lovely picture of the card, Big was able to evade any incoming traffic as, coincidentally, an automatic cart pusher went haywire and made an entire row of shopping carts fly across the road at the front of the parking lot, forcing all cars to slam to a halt. 

Big strolled across the crosswalk, eyes still looking at the picture. It was pretty cute, and in a way, it did characterize exactly what Silver’s letter to him had talked about- his importance in the Tarte family, even if he didn’t share their last name or blood relation. He was certainly important enough that Vanilla wanted him on her credit card, when he knew she had a dozen of pictures of Cream to put on there instead. 

The doors to Wentos opened automatically, but as soon as he passed through the sensors in front of the doors that typically scan for stolen goods, alarms went off everywhere above and around him. Big finally looked up from the card in time to see confetti dropping down from the ceiling. Froggy, out of fear, hopped down and hid inside of the large pocket of Big’s fishing waders. 

A group of Wentos employees came up- recognizable from their chocolate brown polos with a small symbol of a chao’s head on the breast- some holding balloons but all of them clapping and making noise for Big at that moment. 

“Congratulations…” 

The man at the front, the manager clearly, held his hand out to gesture for Big to talk. 

“...Big.”

“Congratulations, Mister Big!” The manager continued. “You just so happen to be Wentos Store #777’s one-millionth customer! Do you know what this means?”

“No.” 

“It means that you get one-million milli-seconds to grab absolutely anything you want, and it’s yours!” The manager clapped Big’s back, garnering no reaction from the large cat. “Sixteen minutes! You better get started!”

A cart was shoved towards Big, making the cat grab the handles on instinct. He tucked Vanilla’s card into the pocket of his waders, right next to Froggy, before he scurried forwards. Encouraged by the mantra of the employees shouting “Go!” repetitively, Big began his journey to grab free stuff. 

Meanwhile, outside, Vanilla and Cream stayed in the sedan, blissfully unaware of anything happening in the store. 

Cheese tilted his head in curiosity as he watched his owner look over the flute from her pocket. Cream ran her thumb over the letters carved into the back, eyebrows furrowed in mild irritation from seeing it. 

“Cream?”

“Hm?”

“What’s wrong?”

That’s the issue with having an empathic mother. You had to bury a lot of feelings really, really deep down in order to keep them from being sensed. Cream had learned this a long time ago- and while she didn’t really have much to hide from Vanilla, it was still annoying when she got read randomly. 

“...I got this flute, like, almost a year ago,” Cream replied, knowing she had no reason to hide. “But I’m no closer to discovering how to use it for interdimensional travel. I really wanna use it to see Blaze, but… I can only really use it to summon stuff here.” 

“You still used it to help out your friends.” Vanilla turned in her seat, looking into the back seat at Cream. “Everyone gets better at stuff at their own pace, Cream.” 

“Yeah, well, I hope somebody would be able to create a portal with this thing…” Cream mumbled, putting her flute back in her chao backpack. She sat back in her seat, arms crossed and staring out of the window towards the store. 

Vanilla’s eyebrows furrowed, looking over at Cheese. The chao’s emotion indicator was in a spiral, showing how worried and upset he was about Cream’s current attitude. 

“...Cream, what’s bugging you?” 

“Nothing.” The rabbit girl replied.

“Cream…”

“...I just… I dunno if I want to do any of this adventuring stuff anymore.” 

“What? What are you talking about?” Vanilla was fully turned around in her seat now. “You were super excited to see your friends this morning, and the other week I had to physically stop you from telling everyone you were involved in a prison break. What’s going on, Creamy?”

“Yeah, but that… It always just felt like I was doing dumb kids stuff.” Cream replied. “Even when I was on the Fleet a while back, I knew Sonic would save the day, eventually. Even if he got his face messed up by Chaos. But, I dunno, seeing Sonic and his friends going through the ringer… is that what happens to all heroes? No good deed really goes unpunished?”

“...Cream.” Vanilla sighed. “Being a hero, or an adventurer, it’s… complicated. It’s not as simple as ‘do thing, good happens, people likes you.’ It’s a complex system. There’s consequences to being involved with vigilantism, and… I wish you didn’t find out about it in such a harsh way.” 

Cream looked over at Vanilla. Suddenly, she perked up. 

“Mom.” 

“Cream, let me finish my monologue.” 

“No, mom, look!”

Cream pointed past Vanilla. The mother rabbit turned, as well as Cheese, all three of them looking out of the windshield and through the rows of cars. 

Strolling through the rows was the recognizable form of Dr. Kai Narasu. He was carrying two reusable bags, one in each hand- it was good that such a horrid man cared about the environment. Following close behind was a chao, which looked like a neutral chao, but with a base color of brown instead of teal, like Cheese had. 

Vanilla leaned forwards, frowning as she saw the scientist. 

“Narasu.” She growled. 

“What is he doing here? Shouldn’t he be in prison?!” Cream asked. 

“Chaotix said he was involved in creating that Knuckles robot for GUN a while ago,” Vanilla replied. “If that’s true, he must’ve been plucked from the prison system to work on creating things for GUN, possibly in exchange for time off his sentence.” 

“Just like those bad guys from that awful comic book movie…”

“Exactly.”

Their attention was pulled away from Dr. Narasu with the sound of a bunch of vehicles pulling up. Looking back out through the rear window, the people in the car immediately noticed a flock of news vans pulling up to the front of the Wentos. 

“Oh no. Someone must’ve tipped them off that I’m around here.” Vanilla said. “If they see us here, Narasu could find us out and never come back around here.” 

“What’re we gonna do?” 

“I’ll tell you what we’re gonna do.” The mother rabbit opened the door and slid out. “We’re going to plant something to track where Narasu is going and tell Sonic about it.”

“Isn’t that dangerous? What if he finds out and tells Mister Commander Tower?” 

“I’ve worked with Narasu for years. He’s more obsessed with me, and with Sonic, to let Tower sully any chance he has at annihilating us. We should be fine, we just can’t get caught.” 

“What about Uncle Big?” Cream asked, getting out of the car with Cheese floating by her. 

“Like I said, he’s a grown man. The news people will only see him as the owner of FrogMart, not as any real connection with us.” 

Cream was quiet before nodding firmly. She held her hands behind her as she followed Vanilla quickly, headed away from the sedan towards Narasu’s last known location. 

At the front of the store, Big held a bunch of bags in his arms as he walked out from his triumphant shopping spree. He didn’t even need the full sixteen minutes to get what he wanted, he was done sooner than expected. 

As he stepped outside, he was suddenly flooded with a bunch of reporters and cameras pointed directly at him. He heard someone talking nearby. 

“This is Scarlet Garcia with Channel X News.” The red-clad reporter said. “We’re here live at Station Square’s local Wentos Supercenter to meet the lucky one-millionth customer!”

She turned to Big, shoving her mic into his face.

“How is it to know your dull life will never get any better than this?” She asked him.

“Uh… Good?”

“Excellent.” Scarlet turned back to her camera. “You can feel the excitement in the air. With Channel X News, this is Scarlet Garcia reporting.”

As the reporters took a moment to all talk to their cameras, it gave Big the perfect chance to slip away with his groceries and head towards his car. Before the reporters could give chase, a bunch of cars- held up by the reporters taking up the front part of the parking lot- started moving, blocking off the reporters’ path to Big. 

He got back to his sedan, opening the trunk and sliding the groceries inside. Now free from the gaggle of loud people around them, Froggy ribbited before hopping up to Big’s shoulder, then settling in his spot between his owner’s ears. 

“I got… Cream?” Big asked, suddenly noticing the car was empty through the trunk. “Vanilla?”

Getting up and closing the trunk, Big’s ear twitched as he heard the unmistakable sound of fishing line whirring somewhere. He walked around to the passenger side of the car, looking down and barely noticing the thin fishing line coming out from the bottom of the rear right door- the door Cream came from. 

With a peek inside, he could see that the spool of line was left inside of the car, with the line being fed out from the gap in the car door, leading away somewhere from the sedan. Big slowly began to follow the line to, hopefully, where his family was located. 

Far up ahead, Cream kept her hands behind her, holding onto the fishing line to keep their path to Big’s sedan known inside the massive parking lot, like Ariadne’s thread through a labyrinth of vehicles. 

Cream and Vanilla reached the side of the supercenter, getting to a point where they could only really follow by tailing the brown chao that was accompanying Narasu. 

They saw the chao flutter around and into a garage door, where a repair center of the store was located. 

“There.” Vanilla stated, pointing ahead. “C’mon, his car must be in there.” 

Vanilla, Cream and Cheese walked with a bit more pep in their step, following where the brown chao had flown into. They all got in front of the garage opening, but were surprised to find nothing but a van, with both back doors wide open to show the empty inside of the back. 

“...what? Where’d they go?” Cream asked. 

Suddenly, Vanilla and Cream were shoved forwards, sending them stumbling into the back of the van. Before Cheese could react, the brown chao grabbed onto Cheese’s arms, spinning around with the teal chao before flinging him into the back of the van as well. 

As the two rabbits got up, the doors to the van closed firmly. They both looked out from the windows on the back of the van, seeing Narasu peering back in at them. He pet the brown chao, who looked weirded out and grossed out at the doctor touching them. 

“Good job, Chocola.” Narasu said to the chao, before smiling up at the windows of the van. 

Suddenly, from vents opening up along the floor, a gas was dispensed inside of the van’s interior. Vanilla and Cream began quickly trying to get out any way they could- but found the back doors were locked, and access to the front seats were blocked off with a wall of dark glass. 

Cheese was knocked out first, then Cream, and slowly Vanilla was sent into unconsciousness from the anesthetic as well, slowly sliding down the back window, staring at the doctor as she slipped into unconsciousness. 

Still following the fishing line, Big walked around with Froggy to the side of the supercenter. To his surprise, the line suddenly went slack, before it started turning, indicating that it was moving somewhere else. He placed his foot on top of the line to keep it still. 

He looked up in time to see a black van, marked with the “G” of the GUN logo, speeding by. The fishing line followed the back of the van, before snapping off where Big was standing on it. The line dragged across the ground behind the van, leading into the vehicle from under the back door. 

“...Cream?” Big spoke softly, watching the van speed out of the parking lot. 

After noticing the familiar hand of Vanilla on the back window, Big’s ears went flat, and Froggy ribbited with sadness on the cat’s head. 

Vanilla found herself in a cell, much like she did so, so long ago. 

This one had metal bars, instead of being one with a simple glass wall. If Vanilla was actually strong, she could probably bend the bars to escape. 

The floors were concrete, and mostly dirty. She could hear electricity and the sound of building somewhere in the building she was inside of, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly where. There were other cells around her, but they were empty. 

She got up onto her feet, dusting off her dress and looking around. Vanilla saw someone staring at her through the bars of the cell, standing in the hall outside of the rows of barred chambers. 

“Enjoy your rest?” Dr. Kai Narasu spoke. 

Vanilla’s face twisted into anger. She moved forwards and stuck her hand out through the bar, swiping towards him as best as she could, but wasn’t close enough to land a hit on him. Narasu watched quietly, staring at her with his arms crossed. 

Soon enough, the rabbit calmed down, staying in her spot but retracting her arm to grip the metal bars and stare at him. 

“Where is my daughter?” She asked. “Where’s my chao?”

“They’re fine… for now.” The doctor replied. “Certainly nowhere you need to know about.”

“If you hurt either of them…” 

“I’m not a monster, Vanilla. I’m a scientist.” 

“You were pretty comfy with kidnapping and imprisonment of innocent people before. Is that what a scientist does, Kai?”

“Innocent?” Narasu replied. “Your little hedgehog friend flooded the entire city, and you’re calling him innocent in all of this?”

“That wasn’t Sonic, that was Chaos.”

“And who was supposed to stop Chaos before he could flood the city?”

“He still stopped Chaos!” Vanilla replied quickly. “The city was still saved! The people are all fine! The city is being rebuilt, and nobody has any lasting damage done to them.”

“Except dozens of memories, and thousands of dollars out of their pockets to pay for the incompetence of a teenage hedgehog.” Narasu replied. “That’s why the CLIP division was created.”

“The what?”

“The Chaos Lifeform Incapacitation and Physiology Division. Serving under GUN, CLIP is here to ensure that the world won’t be flooded because a few so-called ‘heroes’ are unable to find seven glowing rocks. That, and keep those heroes at bay.”

“Sonic would never do anything to hurt innocent people. That guy is an imposter.” 

“Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. But that doesn’t change facts.” Narasu said. “If Sonic and his little misfit miscreants ever went rogue, or failed exuberantly at saving the world, we’d all be placed in danger by a bunch of superpowered animals. CLIP ensures that would never, ever happen.” 

Narasu slowly turned and started to walk away. 

“Sonic and his friends wouldn’t do that in the first place!” Vanilla yelled. “You’re making a mistake! Let us go! WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!”

Cream woke up in an interrogation room, her hands handcuffed to a table. 

She was familiar with the scenario from watching episodes of NEXT. She’d be questioned harshly about Sonic, maybe yelled at, but it wouldn’t be anything horrible. She’d probably be saved at the last minute by some suave, doesn’t-play-by-the-rules cop who knows she’s really innocent. 

Then again, that was just fiction. This is real life. 

Part of her nagged in the back of her head, remembering what her mother had said. This was the consequences of vigilantism… she was being detained and held by the government for just wanting to help people. 

Sonic’s earlier question rang in the back of her mind. “I just want to help people. Why is this happening to me?”

Vanilla’s answer spoke back. “No good deed goes unpunished.” 

Kinda like Cream, in a way. Sure, she was born and made Vanilla a mother, but she also hindered her mother from seeing Sonic’s mother before she died, and that was one of Vanilla’s closest friends. Cream was most likely the direct result of one of Vanilla’s biggest adventures and it caused her mother to barely see her best friend anymore.

Now, she was adventuring herself. Putting herself in harm’s way just like Vanilla did, long ago. 

She didn’t really like it anymore. A lot of people were getting hurt because of being a hero. Was it really worth it all if this was the outcome? 

The door across from the table Cream was sitting at opened up, making the young rabbit straighten her back to sit up properly for this new person entering the room. Clad in a GUN jacket, with a bandage across her nose and wearing an eggshell colored hijab, a young woman stepped into the room. 

“Hello!” Cream said. She was saddened, but she still had some manners. 

“...hi.” The hijab woman said. Holding a file, she set it on the table before slowly sitting down. “Cream Tarte. Thirteen years old. Homeschooled, though interning for your mother’s company, HEXAeco. Loves chao, ice cream, and the television series NEXT.” 

“...did you get that all from my MeetMe page?” 

“Yes.”

“You know, I could rattle off stuff about you, too. Liiiike…” Cream furrowed her brow as she pushed her telempathic powers to the limit, getting a name. “Your friends call you Ziya! Hi Ziya, how are you?”

“Don’t call me that.” The woman replied. “I’m Agent Mercury with the Guardian Units of Nations, we have a few questions for you.”

“You’re Agent Mercury? The one who drove that fast motorcycle?”

“Clearly, yes.” Mercury gestured to the nose bandage. “I had stuff break my fall, but I couldn’t protect my nose from being broken from my helmet pressing up against my face. Now, I answered your question, how about you answer mine?” 

Cream felt standoffish with the woman. 

“Look, this is just a misunderstanding.” The rabbit tried to play it cool. “I know someone from GUN, Agent Topaz- she can vouch for me.”

“Ugh.” The agent’s nose scrunched up in disgust. “Topaz…”

“What, you know her? Were you friends? Oh, were you more than friends?” 

“No, she’s just annoying, and doesn’t deserve to be Tower’s number one. I should’ve won out that position, not her.” Mercury leaned on the table. “Stop distracting me. Tell me what I want to know.”

“I’m not telling you anything about Sonic. I don’t even know where he is!”

“Sonic? No, no, you misunderstand.” Mercury turned the file around. “Dr. Narasu is after someone more specific than that. Someone we believe is very close to you.” 

The file was opened. Cream looked at the different pictures that were paperclipped to a bunch of accident reports, paging through them herself. The pictures didn’t have anyone specific seen in them, but caught different body parts through security cams or random pictures taken by random people passing by. 

There was the view of an arm, part of a foot. A glimpse of a large, white-and-purple ear… a random frog? 

Cream felt the realization hit her. This was about Big. 

“You’re not after Sonic, you’re after… this guy?” She spoke, keeping ambiguous about her association to the large cat. 

“This division currently is, yes. GUN is the one after your little blue hedgehog friend.” Mercury replied. “This being, we assume it’s a Mobian just like you, it’s some kind of giant cat. But every time we’ve tried encountering or finding out more about him, it’s like he never even existed in the first place. He allegedly has a store, but every time we check the records, it says it’s only owned by Windimire.” 

“What… is so special about him?”

“He’s the most elusive and powerful Mobian we’ve ever seen.”

“He is.” Cream spoke, almost posing it as a question as she didn’t take this seriously. 

“Dr. Narasu has been pursuing him for years. He hypothesizes that this mysterious cat has what’s known as ‘situational synchronicity,’ making him be at the right place at the right time. Narasu has proof that he’s been around every significant disaster and event involving Sonic.”

“Why does he need Unnnnn… -other Mobian to obsess over? Especially if he’s working for Tower under GUN? Isn’t this putting too much on his plate?”

“With the powers of this Mobian, we could create someone or something with the ability to be at a crime before it even happens. Find, detain and eradicate all kinds of crime, everywhere.”

“Wouldn’t that hurt the cat though?”

“Who cares? Nobody knows he exists anyway, there’s no official public record of him anywhere!”

Cream was taken aback, mouth opened slightly in shock. 

“That’s not nice!”

“Nice isn’t really in my job description.”

“You can’t just hurt someone in order to get what you want!”

“You heroes do it all the time.” Mercury replied. 

“Sonic doesn’t mean to hurt anyone!”

“That doesn’t change that people get hurt, all because of Sonic’s little adventures.” 

“Those are accidents! You hurting my uncle because you all are obsessed with Sonic is completely intentional!”

There was a moment of silence as Mercury stared at Cream, eyebrows furrowed.

“Did you just say ‘uncle’?”

“...no.” 

“Yes you did.” Mercury stood up. Cream could feel the adrenaline hit the agent through her empathic powers, beginning to vibe with Mercury’s behavior. “You said uncle. This mysterious cat is your uncle? No wonder you want to cover him up! Where is he? I’ll convince Narasu to let you and your mom go if you tell me.”

“No!”

“Okay, fine, the chao too.”

“I’m not telling you anything!”

“This guy could help good people save innocent lives! Don’t you want that!”

“Stop talking to me!”

“Tell me where he is!” Mercury leaned towards Cream. 

“No!”

“Tell me!”

“SHUT UP!”

Cream’s ears raised in a defensive moment, curved towards Mercury slightly like a satellite dish, amplifying her empathic abilities in that moment. The uncharacteristically loud demand from the meek rabbit was accompanied by a feeling of cold running through her body. 

Agent Mercury suddenly stood up straight, face going neutral as she quieted down from the command. Cream felt the agent had no emotions in that moment, staring quietly at the young rabbit. 

With her ears still raised, Cream tilted her head curiously. She looked down at the file, then back up at the standing woman. 

“...your vendetta against Sonic has aligned you with the wrong person.” She spoke, fully in tune with Mercury’s character. “You need to rid yourself of this file, and the aspect of this mystery cat altogether.” 

There was a pause from Agent Mercury, before she reached down and took the file. She turned around, leaving the room and leaving the door open as she took the file away. Cream’s ears fell back behind her. 

“...Agent Mercury, what are we supposed to do now?”

“...Uh,” It was like the woman was brought out of a trance. “Take the girl to the cell. I have to… take care of something really quickly.” 

The two agents outside of the door walked inside, one of them grabbing onto Cream’s arm as the other uncuffed her from the table. The young rabbit was practically carried away and through the small building, down to the rows of holding cells. 

Cream was brought to an empty cell and tossed inside, making her grunt as she landed on her side. The young rabbit got up in time to glower at the guards, readjusting her geometric glasses as she got up from her feet. 

When the guards moved out of the way, Cream could see that her mother was in a cell opposite from her, across the hall that made up the area between the rows of cells. 

“Cream!”

“Mom!”

The two rabbits both went to the cell doors to look at one another from across the hall. 

“Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?”

“No, I’m okay.” Cream said. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Creamy, don’t worry about that. Did they question you about Sonic?”

“No, they… questioned me about Uncle Big.”

“Big? What do they want with Big?”

“They say he has some kind of power that would benefit GUN into finding Sonic, and other crimes and stuff. I think they’d want to hurt him.” 

“Oh no…” Vanilla sighed, running a hand over her face.

“I didn’t tell them anything! Well, I kinda did, but I think I did a jedi mind trick on the lady.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah. But it’s only a matter of time until they really find out that we know Big.” 

“They won’t find out anything, honey.” 

“But what if they do?” Cream asked. “I don’t want Big to get hurt because of us! They’re only after us because we’ve been on adventures, and we’re technically vigilantes!”

“Cream, you can’t blame our heroism for this.”

“But it’s true! What’s so great about being a hero if they’re so willing to tear down everything we’ve been trying to do without caring about it? We’ve saved the world but they don’t care, they only want whatever will make them look good!” 

Cream sighed, back to the cell door as she slowly lowered down to the ground, sitting on the floor and leaning her head forwards to rest her head on her knees. Vanilla, across the corridor, watched solemnly. She didn’t reply, knowing Cream shouldn’t have to deal with a debate. 

Turning around as well, Vanilla sank to the floor against the cell door, wrapping her arms around her knees and sitting in silence. 

After the initial intense yet nearly stoic panic from Big, Team Sonic was soon on the case to track down where Vanilla and Cream went. 

Big slowed to a stop in front of the new HEXAeco building. The flooding from Chaos, as expected, completely destroyed the inside of the not-so-secure smoke-stack shaped building of the previous HEXAeco HQ. 

This time, the building was a proper skyscraper, with some of the floating and rotating solar panels created by the business orbiting the top half of the building. Part of the production line was still located in the relatively unscathed underground laboratory belonging to Vanilla, but only she really goes down there nowadays. 

Parking on the side of the street, Big stepped out of the sedan and walked around to the trunk, opening it up to retrieve the large sack inside, slinging it over his shoulder. 

After stepping into the lobby, he greeted the friendly receptionist who knew him by name, strolling past and getting into the elevator at the back of the room. He pulled out a card from his waders and scanned it on the elevator wall, allowing him to select the sub-basement. 

The doors closed, and the elevator began to descend with the sound of smooth jazz. Big put the bag on the ground, grabbing the bottom half and pulling it up to pour out the contents, revealing the blue, pink and yellow balls inside of it. 

Sonic, Amy and Tails unfurled all at once, sitting on the floor of the elevator. 

“Eugh.” Sonic shivered. “Big, why does the inside of the bag smell like fish?”

“Because it’s my fish bag.”

“Oh, yuck.” Amy remarked as she stood up. “I hope I don’t end up smelling like fish.” 

“Why are we going to the sub-basement?” Tails asked, looking around once he stood up. 

“Vanilla has all kindsa stuff in there to track her and Cream down in case of an emergency like this.” Big replied. “I just hope we can get through the new assistant…”

“New assistant? What happened to Jewel?”

“She was only doing this stuff for college credit.” The large cat said to Sonic. “Once the summer was over, she transferred schools to the east coast to continue her work on getting a history degree.”

“Huh! Well I hope she finds what she’s looking for.”

“I wish I could’ve gotten the job. I’ve been looking for a third job to help support Sonic’s crippling chilidog addiction.”

“It’s not an addiction! I can stop anytime I want.”

“The last time you stopped you chased the addiction of extreme parkour to replace it.” Tails said. 

“That’s irrelevant.”

“It really isn’t.”

The elevator slowed to a stop, and with a ding, the doors pulled open. There was a kind of lobby, maybe a foyer in front of them, pure white with tiled floors. 

As they walked forwards, they got a better view of an all-white desk ahead of them, with silver doors on each side that had ID readers beside them. 

Sitting at the desk was someone who had their feet up on the table itself, blocking the view of her face. Her voice was heard as soon as the doors began to part. 

“No, no, you seem to not comprehend that Miss Tarte isn’t in today, which I’ve repeatedly stated over the last five minutes.” The desk woman said. “Well personally, Mr. Thorndyke, I don’t really think you begging Miss Tarte into selling her company over to you is really that much of an important conversation, especially because of the one-worded ‘no’ she’d probably say to you right afterwards.”

Getting closer, the group could see the woman reclining at the desk. It was a Mobian- a green bird, with feathers shaped enough to create a bang that covered her left eye. She had golden hoop earrings that were hanging from either side of her head. 

As her feet were up on the desk, she was laying back in an office chair and playing a video game on some handheld device, balancing the office phone on her shoulder. 

“I don’t care if you think she wouldn’t be able to handle running HEXAeco while balancing being the mayor and being a mother. Your wife has to balance being an actress, organizing your underwear and dealing with an annoying obsessive fanboy for a son, you don’t hear her complaining.” The bird paused as someone spoke on the other end. “No, see, you brought Vanilla’s daughter into this, so I get to bring your son into this, you’re getting the same energy back. You know what, Nelson? How about you call me back when you learn an ounce of respect, then maybe I’ll consider telling Miss Tarte you called. Okay? Okay. Uh-buh-bye.” 

The avian took the office phone and slammed it down on the receiver with one hand, ending the call without looking up from her game. She went right back to it, not even looking at the group. 

“I don’t know whether to congratulate you on making it down here, or call security to pepper spray, detain, tase, throw you out and beat you up. In that order.” She said, clearly to the heroes. 

“We need to get into Vanilla’s lab.”

“Oh geez, the sign must be down.” 

The bird reached over, still not looking up, flipping up a standing sign saying “NO TRESPASSING” in big, red letters. 

“It’s an emergency!” Tails said. 

“There’s toilets upstairs.”

“C’mon, Vanilla knows us.” Sonic grinned a bit, rubbing a finger under his nose. “I mean, I am Sonic the Hedgehog.”

The bird kept playing her game. 

“…hello? Did you hear me?”

“Oh. That was it? I thought you were giving me an actual reason I should let you in.”

“I’m Sonic the Hedgehog!”

“And I’m Tekno the Canary. If we’re done introducing ourselves, please leave stage wherever-you-came-from.” 

“Haven’t you seen me on TV?”

“I don’t watch TV. Too much stuff is manipulated and tainted by the opinions of television executives.”

“Oh, I sure hope you mean that in a propaganda way, and not a ‘crazy internet conspiracy theorist’ way.” Amy said. 

“I don’t go on the internet. It’s depressing there. Not because of the news, just seeing so many people perform for others’ approval.”

“Oh, goody.” 

“We know Vanilla! We’ve helped her out before! I donated the Dream-Caster to her!” Tails spoke up.

“Nice try, but that was donated by a Miles Prower.”

“That’s literally me!”

“Oh yeah, I just say the name aloud and you just so happen to agree it’s you? Likely story.”

Suddenly, the game was pulled out of Tekno’s hands by Amy, who held it up and pressed the power button, making the screen go blank. 

“Hey, my high score.” Tekno sounded a bit bummed. Finally looking up, she noticed the large cat at the back of the group. “Oh! Mister Big!”

“Hi Tekno.” Big said quietly, waving a bit. “We need to get into Vanilla’s lab.”

“Well, normally I’d let you right in, but these guys seem kinda fishy.”

“They were just in my fish bag.”

“Touché. How can I trust they won’t mess anything up?”

“They’re helping me get Vanilla and Cream back. They’ve been kidnapped and are in danger.” 

“Cream?” Tekno got up from her chair, face turning from annoyed to serious. There was a pause from her for a moment. “…come with me.”

Tekno turned around and went to the door on her right, pulling a small black purse around to her front and getting out her ID card. Scanning it in the device next to the door, a keypad flipped around above it right after.

She entered a secret code before moving to get her ID card back into her purse, stepping inside with the others following suit. 

The room was small, and cylindrical, like they were stepping into a can of soup. Amy joined Tekno in the back, while Sonic and Tails were in the middle, and Big stood at the front. 

Froggy let out a croak as the door slid shut. 

“Stupid small purse… can barely fit anything in here.” Tekno mumbled. 

“Oh, you should really invest in a big purse like mine.” Amy showed her the hammer bag. “Works like a dream.”

“I’ll take that into consideration.”

Slowly, the entire room started to spin around. 

“So, how long have you been working for Vanilla?” Amy asked. 

“About three months.”

“Really? And you talk to Nelson Thorndyke like that?” The pink hedgehog asked incredulously. 

“Well, Vanilla didn’t hire me because of my stellar customer service skills. Ironically before this job I was a telemarketer out in the northeast.” 

“Why the job change?” 

“Vanilla saw a video I posted where I showed off my homemade explosive earrings.” 

“Explosive… Earrings.”

“Mmhm.”

“...huh. Well, I do admire your moxie. Cream would probably love to see those.” 

“She does! She has. She’s been around here a few times, usually when she says her nanny is off doing something too dangerous for her to partake in.”

“That… would be me. Man, I gotta keep up with my job.”

“Oh! You’re the illustrious nanny I’ve been hearing everything about. The same nanny whose job I’ve mostly been doing on and off for the last few months.”

“That would be me! I guess we have some things in common. Oh, here, let me give you my business card in case you really need me…” 

“Oh goody, more cards.” 

The spinning room stopped, revealing the opening to Vanilla’s lab. Big slipped out through the narrow doorway to the lab, followed by Sonic and Tails. Amy and Tekno were last, accidentally walking out at the same time since they were both distracted by their bags. 

As they crashed into one another, Amy and Tekno toppled over and onto the ground. Their bags, still opened, spilled out onto the ground, causing two decks of cards to slide across the floor. One set looked familiar, the other looked worn and old. 

“My tarot cards!” Amy and Tekno said. They looked at one another immediately after, surprised.

With a hand offered by Tails, Amy was up on her feet. Big grabbed the back of Tekno’s striped sweater, pulling her up to her feet as well. Sonic rushed around in a flurry of blue, picking up wind around them for a moment before stopping with two decks of cards in his hands, handing them to their respective owners. 

“Aaaand the business card.” Sonic handed Amy’s card to Tekno once the tarot cards were taken back. The green Mobian took it and looked it over. 

“Fortune shop. Huh. Groovy.” Tekno stuffed the business card into her purse. 

Vanilla’s lab was dim, but spacious. There were a few separate work areas scattered along the walls leading to the back of the lab. Sonic peered at one to his right, showing off schematics for a few different parts- something arm-like, something pod-like, something that looked like a leg. One thing they all had in common was the words “OFFENSE CRUCIBLE HARDWARE” listed at the top left of the blueprints. 

Dissatisfied with having to put the pieces together in order to find out what it was, Sonic shrugged and left the work station behind to continue walking through the lab. 

Tails strolled through the lab before spotting something to his right- a small workstation placed in front of a large, glowing vivarium. The workstation got Tails’ attention because the Dream-Caster was on it, still intact but placed in a clear plastic container. The headpiece of the contraption was resting on a styrofoam mannequin head. 

The fox looked that over, then at the opened notebook below it, seeing the only thing written in Vanilla’s handwriting being “Personality & Consciousness Transcribing” 

Before he could look up at whatever was in the vivarium, Tekno pressed a button below the glass that closed it up with a giant metal shutter, blocking the view. The only thing that Tails could catch a glimpse of was some kind of worn red symbol on whatever was inside- a fancy ‘y’, Tails thought, for a moment, that it looked Greek. 

“I’m sure Vanilla would love to show you around sometime.” The green mobian said. “That is, if we ever actually get to saving her?”

“Right. Right…” Tails said. “...how are we gonna do that?”

“Back workbench.” 

Tekno led the others back to the furthest workstation, a bench so clear it looked almost like a desk. She pulled over a laptop with a HEXAeco sticker on top of it, opening it up to turn it on. 

“How are you gonna find Vanilla?” Amy asked her. 

“There are dozens of trackers all over her. Her phone, her purse, most of the stuff she carries around on a daily basis. She’s one dentist trip away from getting a molar implant to make sure she’s tracked all the time.”

“Wow. Most people don’t want to be tracked.”

“With someone shoved into the public eye and so vocally against the most powerful entities, you have to make sure your location is known in case you go missing.” 

Pulling up a program, Tekno immediately began tracking all of Vanilla’s devices. 

“Just need a moment, and…” Tekno hummed. “We should get a hit!”

That they did. After a moment, a few blinking dots formed a curved line in generally the same area- a few miles out from the beach. The phone, specifically, didn’t pop up due to “water damage.” The group looked at it for a moment or two. 

“...I think they threw Vanilla’s stuff in the ocean.” Sonic said. 

“We don’t know that! Maybe it’s underground!” Tails suggested. 

“The phone’s shut off from water damage. Unless they went scuba diving to reach that underwater facility, I think they just threw the stuff out.”

“What about Cream’s phone?” Amy asked.

Tekno typed into the laptop for a second. 

“Also gone. Same reason, water damage.”

“This is ridiculous.” Sonic said. “GUN is so flippant about people’s personal property. Tower is really obsessed with reaching his bottom line if he’s willing to toss out technology instead of bringing it in as evidence.”

“He has been acting crazy since you were framed, Sonic. He’s probably throwing out the rules GUN established years ago just so he can bring you in.” 

“Yeah, you’re really living rent free in the guy’s head.” Tails added to Amy’s statement. 

Big stared at the laptop screen for a moment as the heroes chattered. He soon tapped Tekno’s shoulder to get her attention.

“Can I use the laptop?”

“Oh, sure, Mister Big.”

“Hold him for a moment, please. I don’t wanna be distracted.”

Big handed Froggy over to Tekno, who recoiled but still took the frog in both hands.

“Oh, yuck…” She grumbled. 

Big typed into the laptop, using a finger at a time, hunt-and-peck typing a URL into the web browser. As he did, Tekno watched over his shoulder, and the others slowly died down as they watched him as well. 

The large cat got in the URL, leading to a login. Typing in his username ( BigAndFroggy ) and then his password ( Password1 ) he reached some kind of dashboard with information on fishing in it, specifically fishing off of Emerald Coast and some of the lakes in the Mystic Ruins forests. 

However, what was most important was the top right of the dashboard, which showed some kind of blue trail with a blinking red dot staying somewhere north of Emerald Coast, but still on the coastline. 

“I think I found them.” Big said, turning to the others. 

“Big, what is this?” Amy asked. 

“I use this device Vanilla got me for Christmas to track my fishing. It tracks where you go fishing with GPS and has some kind of social media thing on it. I went fishing with Cream and Cheese a week ago, Cheese held Froggy and suddenly started acting like him, and Cheese accidentally ate the GPS device.” 

“So this is tracking where Cheese is right now.” Tails finished the thought, nodding. “From the looks of it, they’re in some kind of small warehouse at the Emerald Docks, a few miles north of here.” 

“Awesome job, Big!” 

“Yeah, that was some real quick thinking!”

It took a second, but the stoic cat perked up at the compliments from Sonic and Amy.

“I can get the address on my phone. Here.” Tekno handed over Big’s pollywog pal right back to him to get her phone out. “We’ll head out as soon as I pull it up.” 

“You’re coming?”

“Uh, yeah. Vanilla’s my boss.” The green avian put her phone down while replying to Amy, reaching under the workbench and retrieving a small briefcase labeled ‘Emergency Defense’ on the top. “And if anything happened to her or Cream, I think I’d use these explosive earrings on that Tower guy myself, so… for his sake, they need to be rescued.” 

“Well alright then! Let’s blast through with sonic speed!” 

With Sonic’s closing line, the group began to turn and leave. Big placed Froggy in the pocket of his fishing waders, looking back at the screen tracking Cheese one last time before trotting off to catch up with his friends. 

Cheese was in a very peculiar situation. 

Placed inside of a glass holding cell, he was pretty crammed between all the other chao that were stuffed in there with him. There were chao of all different colors and looks, and Cheese didn’t really know if they were wild ones or ones that were stolen from owners. 

Because he was taken from his owner, he felt that either option was credible at the time. 

He had just gotten hold of his ability/skill/whatever-absorption power, but in a small room full of other chao, the most he could really copy from any of them was the look of the chao. They didn’t have any superstrength or other miscellaneous power that could help him escape. 

The chao tugged at his bowtie, worried about where Cream was right now. If he could escape, he could probably get to her. 

Cheese got a good look at his surroundings. The chao holding cell was just a part of the room, shoved into the corner of what looked like some kind of testing lab. Across the room from him there was a table with computers and contraptions, including a bunch of differently colored crystals that seemed to glow. 

Slowly turning, Cheese eventually found himself meeting the eyes of another chao on the other side of the glass- the brown chao with yellow ends, apparently named Chocola from what Cheese had heard back in the van. 

As Cheese was the only chao not pressed against a wall or hiding, it was easy for Chocola to single him out in the cell. The neutral chao squinted in a glower towards the other chao, showing his disdain towards them. 

“Chao chao chao.” Chocola spoke. Their voice sounded flat, monotone. They liked Cheese’s tie. 

“Chao!” 

Cheese called them a bad name in response to it. 

Chocola’s emotion indicator became a swirl, showing how upset they became at the response. They slowly began to turn around, showing the pink bird-like wings on their back- similar wings that Cheese had on his own. 

“Chao chao!” Cheese called them out, asking how Chocola could betray their fellow chao like this. 

“Chao chao chao chao…” Chocola didn’t have a choice, the doctor had promised them something very near to them if they complied with helping attract chao. 

“Chao. Chao chao.” What could possibly be so important that they’d betray their own? 

“Chao.” 

Friends. 

Cheese paused for a moment, his emotion indicator transforming into a question mark with how confused he was. The answer certainly was out of left field, and Cheese almost felt… a bit bad for them. They were wrapped up in this scenario by being manipulated by Narasu. 

“YOU WHAT?!”

Chocola quickly turned around at the sound of the doctor yelling. They flew over to the door, pressing their nub into the hand reader right next to it. Identifying the print, or lack thereof, it allowed the brown chao to press a button. 

On the outside, the glass became foggy. However, Cheese and the other chao were still able to observe from the inside, protected from the direct gaze of Dr. Narasu. 

Kai Narasu stormed in, quickly followed by Agent Mercury. 

“I can’t believe this!” The doctor yelled. “You shredded all of our information on the purple cat?” 

“I don’t know what came over me!” Mercury replied. “I was investigating the girl, like you asked, then I woke up and I’m shredding the file and I can’t stop myself!” 

“Do you understand what you’ve just done? That was the only physical information we had on the cat! Yes, we have digital backups, but it was supposed to be a pleasant surprise to Tower! Now, when I have to ask for the information again, it’ll spoil the surprise! It’s spoiled, Ziya!” 

“We don’t need to focus on the cat right now.” Mercury replied. “Look, we have two of Sonic’s closest allies in our clutches. Shouldn’t we be using this to serve his quilly head on a silver platter to Tower?” 

Narasu sighed deeply. He walked slowly over to Chocola, reaching up and petting the chao’s head. The look on their face showed just how much the chao liked being pet by this man. 

“If Sonic is brought here, he’ll ruin all the current research we have on the chaos shards I’ve been making for the last few months.” The doctor replied. “He’ll free the chao, then we’ll have no subjects to mimic chaos data from, then we won’t be able to craft replica pieces of the Chaos Emeralds. They’re the entire reason I was able to evade jail time after the Mecha Knuckles fiasco.” 

“Then why keep the rabbits here? We risk having Sonic show up here and ruin your big plan by their mere existence in the vicinity of our secret lab.” 

“Please, we’ve gotten rid of all of their devices that could possibly lead those heroes here. How would they ever be able to find us?” 

Cheese rubbed his stomach as he suddenly felt something he ate disagree with him. 

“Chocola and I are going down to speak with the rabbits again. Alone.” Narasu said. “Once we’re back, we’ll continue testing on these little floating things and get the next batch of shards ready for use.” 

“Like on my motorcycle again?”

“If it’ll ever get fixed, maybe! No promises!” 

Narasu walked away, Chocola following along but giving one more glance over at the chao holding cell as they did. Cheese, obscured by the fogged glass, looked back at them with his emotional indicator in a swirl. 

Stepping down towards the non-chao holding cells, Narasu eventually came to a stop in the space between Vanilla and Cream’s cells, the two rabbits getting up in order to see him. 

“Come back to monologue some more, Kai?” Vanilla asked. 

“Hmph. You know, there was a time where you appreciated and liked our talks.”

“I was a single mother working to the bone, I tolerated them so I wouldn’t get fired. Your ‘talks’ are as entertaining and fun as doing taxes.” 

“I don’t think you’re quite in the position to…” 

Cream tuned out the bickering between her mother and the doctor as her eyes trailed over to the brown chao floating right beside Narasu. Sensing eyes on them, Chocola turned around so they could see Cream as well. 

An influx of emotion came in from Cream’s telempathy. The chao was confused, offered something they wanted more than anything but forced to work in order to get it. There was hopelessness inside of the chao- a feeling that made Cream’s heart hurt at the mere suggestion of it occurring in something so innocent like a chao. 

Still looking at the chao, she could feel the reason why anguish was enrapturing this small creature’s body- CLIP was holding chao, for Narasu to run tests on. An entire flock of chao were being held in a containment cell just upstairs, and Chocola couldn’t do anything to help them out of fear of being a test subject as well. 

The younger rabbit leaned against the bars of the enclosure, staring up at the brown chao. Chocola’s indicator turned into a swirl, showing how upset they were, knowing that Cream was probably reading what they were thinking. 

“You just want friends. I’m sorry.” Cream murmured. “But you know this isn’t the way to do it.”

Slowly, Chocola nodded. She felt them speak without opening their mouth- it was too late to turn back now, so much damage was done and they did nothing to try and stop it. 

“It’s okay.” She continued. “Nobody’s perfect. Sonic tries helping Eggman, but that guy’s cuckoo for choco puffs. If he can give someone like that nutjob a chance, I know there’s someone out there who would be willing to help you too. Like me.” 

Chocola’s emotion ball turned into an exclamation point, surprised at the revelation. A sense of calm rushed over both the chao and rabbit, the latter’s powers allowing her to feel how much she was putting the worried little chao at ease. 

“...and furthermore, I think you’ve driven HEXAeco into the ground with your focus on creating mechanisms like cars and other transport vehicles for show! I would’ve done a much better job!” Narasu huffed, adjusting his glasses. “Now… tell me where the purple cat is.” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb! I know you’ve had to at least see something like that cat around! From the sounds of it, word on the street is that you may know this character very intimately.”

“Trust me, me and this purple cat would not be intimate in any sort of light. Ever.” 

“Because you know him!”

“Because he probably doesn’t exist!” Vanilla replied, louder than Narasu. “You’re just making things up and being crazy all because your insanity has forced your hand. Now, as I’m sure you’ve anticipated, you have three powerful Mobians headed this way to absolutely wreck everything you’ve been working on. All because of how obsessed you get.” 

The doctor stood there, an expression of rage on his face, before he let out a huff of anger through his nose. He pushed his glasses up his nose before turning sharply and storming out. 

“Come on Chocola! These two have lost talking privileges until they finally give us the information we need. I need a guard in here!”

As soon as Narasu was upstairs, Cream leaned against the bar door and looked at her mother. 

“Mom, they’re holding a bunch of chao up there.” She said. “I think Cheese is there. That brown chao, Chocola, they’re really scared. Someone needs to help them!”

“That’s exactly what we’re gonna do, Cream.” Vanilla replied. “Listen to me- you asked why we should be heroes if they’re just going to tear down what we do. This is exactly the reason. Right now, they’re holding us prisoner and they might end up using GUN to ruin our lives. But those chao are innocent in all of this, and they need help. It doesn’t matter if some people don’t like us, or Sonic, or any of them. You aren’t just good automatically, good is something you do. No matter what happens as a result.” 

Cream was hesitant for a moment, but slowly nodded as she took her mother’s words to heart. 

The mother and daughter stared at one another in silence, before a single guard came in and stood between them, blocking their view in order to make sure the pair stayed quiet. 

“DashExtreme Order for… Joseph?” 

“Yeah, that’s me, thanks.” 

The scientist in a lab coat took the brown paper bag of food from the hands of the delivery driver. As he did, he accidentally touched her hand, but thought nothing of it.

“You know, you don’t really look like a DashExtreme delivery guy.”

“Thanks,” Tekno replied blandly. “Tip?”

“Uh, yeah. Here.” 

The man, “Joseph” to be presumed, rummaged through his pocket before placing a few dollar bills directly into Tekno’s hand. She looked the money over as the human walked away from her. 

“Oh boy, a whole three dollars! Thanks!” The canary said wryly. 

She shoved the money into her purse as she walked back around the fence surrounding the warehouse, getting to Big’s green sedan parked in a shadowy area. 

Tekno climbed inside the passenger seat, sighing as she did. 

“Did you get the info?” Sonic asked, in the middle of the backseat. 

“Sure did. Just need to wait a few moments to tell you what it is.” 

“Quick thinking with taking that DashExtreme guy’s order, Tekno.” 

“Thanks, fox. I’m sure he appreciated the bribe.”

Reaching down in front of her, she pulled up the Emergency Defense briefcase, popping it open and pulling something out. It looked kind of like a weird looking gun, but with a sharp push and pull forwards, two curved limbs popped up from the side of the weapon. 

“Is that a crossbow?!” Amy asked, eyebrows raised. 

“Sure is.” Tekno replied, looking it over. “Limited rounds, so I’ll have to conserve ammo.” 

“That… is wicked. I’ve always wanted a crossbow! I thought it suited me a bit better than a hammer… though I’m used to using a hammer nowadays.”

“You’d look pretty sick with a crossbow.”

“Thank you, Tekno! That’s awfully sweet of you to say.” 

“Uh, Tekno?” Tails spoke up. “The intel?”

“Oh! Right, hold on a sec.” 

Tekno placed the crossbow on the dashboard, pointed away from anyone in the car- especially Big and/or Froggy- before rolling her shoulders to relax for a moment. 

The canary brought her right hand up, covering up her right eye firmly. It took a second, but it seemed that the bang over her left eye fluttered and lifted upwards, revealing her left eye was beginning to glow. 

A bright gold light came from her opened left eye, illuminating the dashboard as it did. 

She saw everything Joseph was doing since they stopped making physical contact. The walk back to the front of the warehouse, where there were half a dozen Swat-Bots patrolling around. Inside the warehouse, where after a dozen security check-ins through the front half of the building, he got to the back half, where all the equipment was. 

Through his eyes, she could see the trapped chao, the chaos drives, and even a peek at the holding cells downstairs. Tekno even saw Joseph straight up tell another person he purposefully gave her a bad tip because of how slow she got there. It wasn’t even her order and she felt a bit upset. 

Luckily for her, Tekno was able to see a skylight above the main laboratory area. With that, she finished up her vision, closing her glowing eye and uncovering her right eye. 

“Okay,” She said. “There’s a bunch of those evil robots at the front area of the warehouse’s property. Besides that, the lab where I’m sure Miss Vanilla and Cream are being kept is on the back half of the building.”

“So we’d have to fight our way through to get in?” 

“Not exactly.” Sonic said to Amy. “There’s five of us. One of us could sneak in to reach the lab while the other four create the diversion of an assault at the front.”

“There’s a skylight right above the lab area.” Tekno confirmed. “We just need someone to—”

“I’ll do it.” 

Everyone in the car turned to Big in surprise. 

“...what?” Sonic asked. 

“I’ll do it. I’ll sneak in.” Big said. “I wanna be the one who gets in the lab.” 

“Big, I appreciate the gesture, but…” Amy rolled her hand. “We could use you up front.”

“You guys can handle it. You all have each other. You three always have each other.” The cat replied. “Vanilla and Cream and Cheese are the only family I got… besides Froggy. I wanna be the one who saves them. Please?” 

Amy looked at Sonic, who looked at Tails, the heroes all silently trying to decide if they should. 

“Well, I’m personally moved by the willingness of Big to do it.” Tekno said. “I think we should let him. What’s honestly the worst that could happen? He’s a giant human wrecking ball, if he messes anything up he can destroy everything to get out.”

“I… guess.” Sonic hummed. “Alright Big. You can sneak back and get your family back. Just… be careful, alright?” 

Big nodded quickly, reaching back and grabbing his fishing pole before opening his door to get out. Everyone else followed suit, leaving the sedan back in shadow as they started strolling towards the front entrance. 

“Like I said, there’s a skylight at the back.” Tekno said to Big, holding the crossbow in her hands. “Just find a way up onto the roof and you can drop in through there. Regardless if you’re seen or not, Vanilla and Cream’s holding cell is nearby. Be careful, big guy.”

Big nodded again, reaching down to place Froggy between his ears. He waded off, his lure swinging behind him slowly as he disappeared into the darkness ahead. 

The other four walked up to the fence, blocked partially by shipping containers as they peered into the courtyard right in front of the warehouse’s main entrance. 

“How many were there, Tekno?”

“At least half a dozen.” She replied to Amy. “They could easily call in more though.” 

“...how, exactly, did you see that stuff?” 

“Clairvoyance. I can see through other people’s eyes, but only if I’ve touched them before. I only really primarily see it through my left eye, and it’s been like that for all the ladies in my family. I can’t really see anything through my left eye any other time.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry. Does it… always glow?”

“No, it just looks cloudy until I use my powers. I used to wear an eyepatch, but I honestly thought the bang hanging down in front of it looked a little cooler, you know?”

“Honestly? You’d kill it with an eyepatch.”

“Why thank you. You’re too kind.” 

Sonic, nearby, was jogging in place for a moment. He leaned to the side, stretching out his arm as he did, getting a pre-run stretch in before they rushed in to cause a big distraction. 

“In the running mood, Sonic?”

“Hardly.” The hedgehog replied to Tails. “You know, it feels like you and I have hardly been involved in this little caper, little buddy.” 

“Eh, with excitement going on with everyone else, even we can stand back to give them time to shine.” Tails waved his hand. After that, he summoned his Vulcan Cannon around his hand. 

With a swing of her arms, Amy turned her bag into her hammer, gripping it in both hands. 

“Sick hammer.”

“Thanks!” She replied to Tekno. “Everyone ready?”

“As ready as we’ll ever be.” Sonic answered. 

Amy poked her head to look at the courtyard again. The Swat-Bots were patrolling, trudging across the fenced off area slowly. Three of them were lining up perfectly, creating a straight line that pointed straight at the fence’s entrance. 

The pink hedgehog smiled. 

“Sonic, do a spindash for me. Let’s play some croquet.” 

Sonic did as asked, curling into a ball and spinning rapidly in place. Amy nudged him out into the fence’s opening, before spinning around and swinging her hammer as strong as she could, knocking the blue ball forwards to streak across the courtyard. 

It was a perfect shot, as Sonic crashed through the three lined up Swat-Bots, destroying them instantly. After blasting through the last bot, Sonic unfurled, sliding to a stop on his feet, right in the middle of their future battlefield. 

“Alright!” He yelled. “Three down! Who’s next?” 

Two more Swat-Bots ran out, standing beside one another as they set their sights on the blue hedgehog. Before they could, they were barraged with yellow energy rounds across their back, making them turn around. 

Tails soared down, creating a ring tether that was grabbed by Amy. The fox swung the sling around and flung Amy towards the bot pair, giving her enough momentum to spin around with her hammer. 

The force was strong enough to almost slice the two in half, smashing through the torso of the Swat-Bots and leaving them as heads and legs, clattering to the ground. 

Amy took a moment to regain herself, but neglected to notice a Swat-Bot coming in behind her. Before it could reach her, a metal arrow shot through its head, the arrowhead coming out in the middle of the Swat-Bot’s red visor. The robot collapsed onto the ground as Amy turned around to look at it. 

Tekno kept at a distance, watching the self-reloading crossbow slowly put a new bolt in the barrel of the weapon. 

Swat-Bots started flooding the area, unleashing a barrage of androids for the heroes to fight. As one of them aimed a hand cannon towards Sonic, Tails flew by, catching the arm in his ring tether and pulling it into the air. 

Sonic leapt up into the air in time for three Swat-Bots to ram into each in the spot he was standing in. Spinning into a ball, Sonic boosted downwards to drop dash into the three robots, destroying them and rolling across the clearing. 

Amy ducked in time for Tails’ hanging Swat-Bot to take out two robots starting to descend on her. She grabbed her hammer with both hands, squeezing the first two fingers of both hands to activate a newer command. 

On either end of her hammer, the flat sides of the hammerhead suddenly cracked open and stuck outwards, creating spikes on either end of Amy’s hammer. With a glorified meat tenderizer, the pink hedgehog delivered a powerful swing into the side of an approaching Swat-Bot, destroying it. 

Though wires were caught in the spikes of her hammer, she swung it back around and swept the feet from under another android before swinging downwards and smashing the entire robot in half, its limbs and head flying off in different directions. 

Tekno kept firing her crossbow, hitting a bunch of robots. She took down at least three, not counting the one from earlier, and managed to throw down three more. 

As she tried to fire again, she found that the crossbow was empty. She scoffed, folding the limbs of the crossbow closed and putting it on a holster across her back. Up ahead, she saw two Swat-Bots rushing towards Amy, and by extension, her. 

Tekno ran forwards, reaching up and grabbing her thick hoop earrings, taking them off (they used magnets, she didn’t exactly have ears to pierce) she crossed her arms before throwing the rings away from her, her throw making them curve around Amy and head straight for the robots. 

Reaching Amy, Tekno grabbed her tightly and leapt into the air, soaring upwards and away. The earrings found their mark on the Swat-Bots, causing them to explode instantly with the detonating earrings. 

“Holy crap! They really are exploding earrings!” Sonic remarked from nearby. 

As they were in the air, Tekno pushed Amy downwards, over the smoking and destroyed androids towards a flock of other robots behind them. The fall gave Amy momentum for a powerful swing that knocked a few robots back, and shattered the body of another. 

Up above her, Sonic leapt up into the air before spindashing forwards, sending a homing attack into one of Amy’s robots and bouncing off from it. Amy undid the spikes on her hammer, swinging it and launching Sonic into the robots again, heavily damaging them before rebounding back. 

As Sonic slid to a stop beside Amy, Tails was up next, finally letting go of his critically damaged Swat-Bot and flinging it into the group of robots his friends were facing, causing all of them to explode in a loud crash of robot parts. 

Tails landed next to Sonic and Amy, smiling. Tekno landed beside them as well, dusting herself off. 

“Nice.” The canary commented. 

“You can fly?”

“Less flying, more like jumping and slowly falling.”

“Falling with style.” Sonic shot finger guns at Tekno. Tekno fired some back. 

The alarms started going off, making the heroes look up and at the warehouse. The front doors opened, a bunch of lab workers starting to flock out and run past them. 

“Oh good. We don’t have to fight anymore.” Amy said. 

Suddenly, the top windows of the warehouse shattered, a few flying Swat-Bots hovering out and staring down at them. 

“Spoke too soon.” The pink hedgehog sighed. 

The Swat-Bots swooped in to fight. 

Alarms had started going off, even in the holding cell room. Cream and Vanilla looked up as they heard the blaring alarms up above, the guard between their cells looking up at the exit of the room. 

“What’s going on?” He yelled upstairs. 

After a second, there was an answer. 

“Nothing you should be concerned with.” Agent Mercury replied. “Stay down there and guard those Mobians. We should be fine soon.” 

The guard took a breath, getting back in his stance right between Cream and Vanilla’s cells. 

Cream stared at the man, then looked past him to peer at her mother. Vanilla glanced back at her daughter, tilting her head slightly before quickly gesturing towards the guard with her eyes, looking at him then back at Cream. 

The young rabbit took a deep breath, centering herself. 

“...you’re going to unlock our cells and leave this room right after.” She said. 

There was a second of pause, before the guard turned his head to look at her. 

“What?”

“You’re going to unlock our cells and leave this room right after.” Cream said again, staring directly into the guard’s visor as best as she could, even if she was feeling anxious. 

“Excuse me?” 

The guard turned around fully to face Cream, back now to Vanilla. 

“I said, you’re going to unlock our cells and leave this room right after.”

“What are you, nuts? No, I’m not going to do any of—” 

Suddenly, Vanilla reached forwards, grabbing the straps of the guard’s vest and yanking him back as hard as she could. The guard slammed into the bars and crumpled to the floor, knocked out from the strength behind the slam. 

Vanilla squatted down, reaching into his pants pockets. 

“Aww man. I wanted to use my mind trick again.” Cream said, frowning. 

“Don’t worry, honey, the outcome is just the same. You have plenty more time to practice now.” 

The mother rabbit got the key, the only key in the man’s pockets, getting up and placing it in the cell’s lock. She jiggled it around, before getting it to turn and unlocking the cell. 

Vanilla quickly stepped forwards and unlocked Cream’s cell next, letting out her bespectacled daughter. The pair shuffled the unconscious guard into Vanilla’s old cell and closed the door. 

Staying low, Vanilla and Cream slowly crept up the stairs leading to the main lab, peeking out together to look at what was happening up there. 

The lab workers were rushing around. With the alarms still blaring, it was hard to hear what any of them were really saying. A few guards shuffled away, headed towards the front to obviously defend against whatever was attacking the facility. 

They spotted Agent Mercury up there. She was at Narasu’s workbench with the chaos drives, printing things out and shuffling them into a file. As she was finishing up, a lab worker came up to talk to her. 

“Agent Mercury! What are we gonna do now?!”

“I dunno, man.” She replied. “Look, I was placed here while I heal from my motorcycle accident. I didn’t really have any emotional connection to this place and I’m not trying to go down with this ship. Sorry, but, you’re on your own.” 

Slipping the file into her jacket, Mercury also felt something in her jacket pocket, keeping her hand in there to keep it secure as she scurried out, the previous lab worker watching in surprise. 

“EVACUATE THE PREMISES. EVACUATE THE PREMISES.” 

The mantra of a voice overhead led the lab workers to all run away, rushing out of the laboratory in a semi-straight line to try and escape certain doom. 

Once the lab was seemingly empty, Vanilla and Cream slowly stood up and began to walk into the next room, looking around for anyone nearby. 

Noticing the chao cage immediately, Cream rushed over, looking through the glass. Cheese, spotting his owner immediately, floated over so they could stand on either side of the wall of glass. 

“Cheese!” Cream said. She looked at her mother. “How are we gonna get the chao out?”

“There’s a hand scanner. Unless you want to unlock that prison cell and drag that guard out here, we need to find someone willing to open the cell for us.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.” 

Turning around, the rabbits were greeted by Dr. Narasu. With Chocola floating a bit behind, almost wanting to stay away from the doctor, they watched Narasu level some kind of gun device, loaded with two chaos drives on either side of it, towards the mother and daughter. 

“You somehow led them here. In my glee in trying to find the purple cat, I was blinded to your predictable siren song of help.”

“We didn’t lead anyone here! Everything smart that we do is completely by accident.” 

“I would know, I’m her mom, she gets it from me.” Vanilla added. 

“Both of you shut up.” Narasu hissed. “The moment I have victory in my grasp, you Mobians always take it away from me. You continue to hinder the progress of those who actually want to help people, like CLIP!”

“Your way of helping people involves hurting innocent chao!” Cream replied.

“I’ll hurt a million chao if it means not having to deal with any of you so-called heroes ever again!” The doctor yelled back. “How about we start right now and get rid of you two?” 

Vanilla and Cream held onto each other as Narasu’s weapon charged up, glowing with yellow and green energy as some kind of energy beam was charged in the barrel. Chocola, behind Narasu, held their nubs to their mouth in worry and distress. 

Up above the doctor, the skylight suddenly began to crack. His attention was pulled away from Vanilla and Cream to look up, just in time for the glass to shatter. He stumbled out of the way, but was still knocked against the nearby wall by the purple cat that had fallen through the skylight. The beam fired upwards and into the ceiling, creating a hole in it. 

Big landed on his stomach, with Froggy landing on his back a second after, ribbiting. 

“Uncle Big!” Cream said. 

“You did know about the purple cat! You knew the entire time!” Narasu said, still holding the weapon. “You’re not evading me this time—” 

While the doctor was distracted, Vanilla managed to bring both of her fists down into his wrist, knocking the gun from his grasp. As the doctor turned towards her, Vanilla pulled her hand back and punched Narasu straight in the nose, making him stumble back. 

“Ugh! Ow!” The mother rabbit shook the pain from her hand. 

As Big got up to his feet, Vanilla walked over and took his arm, helping him up. She let Froggy hop into her hand, placing him back between Big’s ears before giving the cat a hug. 

“Hi, Vanilla.”

“Hi, Big.” 

Fluttering past the pair, Chocola got to the chao holding cell. They pressed their nub into the hand reader, looking at Cream, then Cheese, and nodding firmly. The chao inside noticed what was happening outside of the cell and started getting restless, wanting out. 

“This isn’t over, Vanilla!” Narasu said, holding his hand over his nose. “I got out of prison time before, I can do it again! I won’t stop until I destroy you and your little friends once and for all!”

“Hey Mister Doctor Narasu!” Cream yelled from behind Vanilla and Big. 

The older rabbit and purple cat parted to reveal Cream holding onto the handle of the containment cell’s glass door. She yanked it sharply, opening the cell. 

“Destroy this!” 

She was just barely heard before the stampede of chao flooded out of the cell, flying out quickly. Big casted a line up to the skylight he entered through, grabbing Vanilla and pulling them both out. 

Cream was carried along by the chao, laughing as she was. Narasu had a worse time, with multiple chao ramming into him and eventually picking him up, carrying the screaming doctor along like he was caught in a really bad current. 

Big and Vanilla got to the top of the warehouse in time to watch the chao crash through the roof, still carrying Narasu. With the light of sunset illuminating them, the chao all worked together and threw Narasu off of the docks and into the water, the doctor screaming the entire way down. 

With the help of a few other chao, Cream was set down near Vanilla and Big gently. She went in for a hug with Big, then one with the reunited Cheese, before pulling away to watch the chao leave the warehouse. 

The flock of chao flew through the air, some leaving the group, flying off towards the sunset to parts unknown. The Tartes watched in peace. 

Cream slowly took her mother’s hand, holding it as they watched them fly away. 

“You helped a lot of chao on your little adventure today, Cream.” Vanilla said. 

“Yeah.” The young rabbit replied. “...I’m sorry you couldn’t see Miss Aleena before she died.”

Vanilla’s eyebrows were raised, looking down at her daughter in mild surprise. 

“Aleena? But I didn’t… Cream… were you eavesdropping on me earlier?”

“Maybe…”

“Was that what this was all about? The heroism thing?”

“I dunno…” 

“Cream,” Vanilla turned to her daughter, kneeling down and holding her shoulders. “You’re not responsible for that, you never were. I knew the risks of leaving that compound, and I accepted them. I may get sad sometimes, but I’m at peace with what happened. Okay?”

“...do you wish that you could still go on adventures?” 

“I mean, I still do.”

“No, like… go outside of Station Square and travel. See the world and stuff, without having to stay behind because of your daughter.” 

“...sometimes.” Vanilla shrugged a little. “But… I’d easily give up all the greatest adventures of a lifetime if it meant I’d always get to be your mom.” 

Cream rubbed her eyes with the back of her wrist. The rabbits hugged, holding each other for a few moments as the chao flew further into the sunset. Vanilla looked past Cream, up at Big, who was standing and watching from a yard or two away. 

The mother rabbit gestured for Big to come in, letting the large cat shuffle in for a proper group hug. Cheese even joined, though didn’t stay for too long to avoid absorbing anybody’s visage. 

From closeby, Chocola watched quietly, having stayed behind and away from the flock of chao. They slowly turned around to fly away before he was seen again. 

“Chao chao!”

They were stopped by Cheese calling out to them. Both the teal chao and Cream came up to talk to Chocola directly, the brown chao’s emotion ball turning into a question mark. 

“Where are you going, Chocola-chao?” Cream asked. 

“Chao.” The chao answered broadly. Anywhere but here, especially since Narasu is gone. 

“Don’t you want to find an owner and live in a house?”

“Chao chao.” Maybe. Chocola figured nobody would be interested in a chao like them. 

“What? That’s crazy! You know there’s someone who would be interested in you!” Cream replied. 

“Chao chao chao chao?” They asked who. 

“Me, you little goofball! You deserve to have a nice home to settle down in, and to be somewhere far, far away from Narasu. Someone who can protect you from him too- not to brag, but my mom’s got a record of beating the heck out of him.” 

“Guilty as charged.” Vanilla joined in, walking up behind Cream and putting a hand on her shoulder. “What do you say, Chocola? Want to become a Tarte? I don’t mind having an extra chao to feed.” 

Chocola was visibly taken aback, their emotion indicator turning into a swirl as they began feeling conflicted with the decision. Their eyes turned to Cheese, the teal chao floating over to stand in front of Chocola himself. 

There was a moment where Chocola shrunk slightly, but it was interrupted with Cheese coming in and hugging Chocola himself. Chocola’s emotion ball turned into an exclamation point, but slowly, they returned the hug, their emotion indicator becoming a heart. 

From where Big was standing, he heard the sound of fluttering rotors. Sonic and Tails floated down beside Big, soon followed by Amy and Tekno landing on the other side of the large cat. Together, they watched the two chao hug each other. 

“What’d we miss?” Sonic asked.

“Shhh. Emotional moment.” Big said. 

“Ah, I see.”

“Is this gonna last long? The cops are on their way, and we’re all kinda… wanted.” Amy said.

“Shhhhhh. Don’t ruin the moment.”

“But—”

Vanilla, up ahead, turned around to glower at the group with a frown, making the heroes immediately quiet down. 

They all stood in silence on the warehouse roof, with police sirens starting to come closer from far away, anticipating the arrival of the cops.

Down below, a motorcycle pulled away from the warehouse, driving away from the scene of the crime. The driver sped off quickly, zipping past the approaching cops miles down the road from the warehouse and only slowing down after she was past them. The motorcycle stopped at a stop sign many miles away from the warehouse. 

Agent Mercury slowly pulled off her helmet so as not to mess up her headscarf. She got her phone out, going into a call while she was stopped. 

“Commander Tower, this is Agent Mercury.” She said, after her commander picked up the phone. “It’s happened, just as you suspected- Narasu is competent with basic tasks, but his vendetta and obsession caused his downfall. I collected the research as requested by you, but the chao have escaped, and the lab equipment will most likely be seized by local law enforcement.” 

Tower talked on the other end. 

“It’s very tragic, yes. But you don’t have to worry. I think I have something collected from the Mobians that may pique your interest…” 

Mercury reached into her pocket, pulling out Cream’s small wooden flute and looking it over. 

“I’ll see you soon. Mercury out.” 

The agent hung up the call, putting her things away. Slipping on her helmet and flipping down the visor first, she soon peeled out and drove away from the stop sign, headed down towards Westopolis. 

“Introducing the Miles Thunderbolt!”

Sitting in Vanilla’s apartment, Tails was showing off his new iteration of his work tablet. It was definitely wider than his old tablet, and didn’t seem to have any cover on it. The only real identifier that it was Tails’ tech was the “T” made from gold fox tails on the back. 

The heroes were dropping in to visit before they returned to Big’s house. Big had managed to smuggle them inside to see how Vanilla and Cream were holding up since their adventure a few days prior. 

Everyone oohh’d and aahh’d at the tablet once it was revealed. 

“It runs faster, is virtually untraceable, and has twice the scanning capabilities that the Miles Electric had!” Tails said with a smile. “Plus, it’s super compact! Watch!”

Tails pushed both ends of the tablet down, folding the two ends of the tablet across the back, leaving the tablet as a smaller version of itself, almost like a smartphone in his hand. 

“That’s so cool, Tails!” Amy said. 

“I agree. Honestly, because of your age, I thought you were just building nothing and everyone was being nice to you. It feels so good to be proven wrong.” Tekno added, sitting beside Amy in Vanilla’s living room. 

“Uh… thanks.” Tails replied. He unfolded the tablet to its full size. “I have a surprise for Cheese too! If he and Chocola want to come around.” 

The chao both came over. Chocola, accompanying Cheese, had a bright blue bowtie on to match Cheese’s red one. The two chao floated on either side of Tails’ head as he suddenly put somebody on a video call. 

After a moment of ringing, the call was patched through, showing the white chao on the other end. Cheese’s emotion indicator became an exclamation point, and he forced the tablet from Tails’ hands to hold it himself.

“Chao chao chao!”

“Chao chao!” Bud replied on the other end of the video call, his light ball brightening with excitement from seeing his friend. 

Cheese talked to his chao friend through the video call, catching up with Bud and introducing him to Chocola. The chaos chao was very hesitant at the aspect of someone else being good friends with Cheese, but was formal towards the brown chao nonetheless. 

Amy and Tekno watched from afar, their view obscured for a moment by Cream coming over and handing sodas to both women on the couch. Big was behind her, accompanying her on her walk through the apartment. 

“Thanks, Cream.” Amy said. 

“No problem! Uh… is Sonic gonna be okay?” 

They looked over to the nearby recliner, where the blue hedgehog was sleeping away, snoring loudly as he reclined in the seat. 

“He’ll be fine. He deserves a bit of rest.” The pink hedgehog waved her hand. “He’s been stressing out a lot recently, and not just because of all the fighting he’s been doing.” 

“Yeah! I heard about that fight that happened at the warehouse!” Cream said, sitting next to Amy, opposite from Tekno. “Tekno, is it true that you used a freaking crossbow?”

“Sure did.”

“That’s awesome! Can you show me how to use one?”

“Uh… I don’t think you should use one at this age, Cream.” Big spoke up. 

“Awww… But Uncle Big…” 

“Listen to your uncle, Cream.” Tekno said. “Maybe in a few years. Or, at least, whenever Big feels comfortable enough for you to do so.” 

Big seemed to perk up at that, smiling a bit afterwards. 

“Oh boy! That still means I’ll get to do it! I’m gonna go watch crossbow videos to get started on my training right now!”

Cream got up and rushed away to her room to start. Amy and Tekno chuckled as she did. Big watched Cream rush away, waiting for Froggy to croak between his ears before he left the area to continue passing out drinks to the guests. 

“Are you really going to show her how to shoot a crossbow?” Amy asked Tekno. 

“Not until she’s eighteen. Then, technically, anything that happens would be her fault, as she’s a legal adult at that time.” 

Amy laughed a bit at that. 

“You know, it sucks that I can’t see Cream as much right now,” She said. “But I’m glad she’s got someone like you to keep her from getting into trouble.” 

“Hey, thanks. If you’ve had any part in making her as cool as a kid as she is now, I should be thanking you. Unless you’ve started influencing her to break the law…” 

“Well, jury’s out on that one.” Amy smiled. “Hey, after the whole… framing thing is over, and I’m no longer being chased by cops every other minute… would you wanna go and get some tea or something? I have some in my old fortune shop, so we could just hang out there.”

“I’d like that. That would be really cool.” Tekno nodded, smiling. 

Amy beamed, taking a bigger sip of her soda with a smile. 

Across the apartment, the doorbell rang. The pink hedgehog’s eyebrows raised, and she reached her free hand out towards the passing Vanilla to get her attention. 

“Vanilla, could you get that? It’s for you.” She said. 

Vanilla was surprised, a little confused visually, but slowly started walking towards the door to do so. She unlocked the door, opening it slightly to peek outside but pulling the door opened fully once she saw who was on the other side. 

“Coral?!”

Amy’s mother was there, in the same black jumpsuit she wore during her psychic shows, holding a drink tray with two coffees in it. The coral pink hedgehog smiled at the sight of Vanilla, holding her arms out. 

“Vanny! It’s been so long!”

The two hugged one another tightly, Vanilla still surprised from the hug. 

“Get in here.” 

After the hug parted, Vanilla pulled the hedgehog in and closed the door. Coral let herself in, striding out through the living room and spotting her daughter immediately. 

“Hello, Amy!”

Amy looked over at her mother, waving with a smile before continuing to talk to Tekno. 

Vanilla gently escorted Coral over to the nearby dining room table, sitting down at the end of the table so they were across from one another. Coral set the drinks down on the table, putting one in front of Vanilla. 

“Let me guess, coffee?”

“You made a promise, didn’t you? Can’t get out of it that easy, Tarte.” Coral smiled, taking a sip of her own coffee. “Amy said you liked yours black, so that’s what I got. If that’s alright.”

“It is, it is.” Vanilla took a sip, humming. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you some big-shot psychic on the verge of getting a television show or something?”

“Eh, more or less. Though I really don’t want to be on TV.” Coral replied. “I was in town, and Amy told me they’d be over here today, and I figured I’d stop by! Though… I probably shouldn’t have used my daughter as an excuse to see you.”

“No comment.”

“Yeah. I’m… trying to get better with that stuff.” Coral slowly nodded. “I’d like to think I’m doing better, but I don’t know if saying that will just magically undo any actual change I’ve done.” 

“Hey, almost a year ago you didn’t want to talk to any of us. I’d say you’re sustaining some change.” 

“Thank you, Vanilla. That… really does mean a lot.” 

Coral looked past Vanilla, towards her daughter, watching her chat and laugh with Tekno on the nearby couch. 

“...Do you like Amy’s bracelet? I got it for her.”

“It’s very pretty.”

“It is.” Coral nodded. “I’m glad she’s still wearing it. Sometimes I feel that I’ll say something dumb and she’ll take off the bracelet and stop talking to me again… seeing her wear it makes me feel like we’re going to be okay.”

“Amy told me all about the stuff with the psychic coma.” Vanilla replied. 

“She did?”

“She did. Coral, look, I’m not gonna make any comment about your parenting skills or any of that, but… you admitting fault, and working to get back on your daughter’s good side, it’s admirable. Maybe it doesn’t make up for stuff you’ve done when she was little, but willing to try and be better now should mean something.” 

“...thank you, Vanilla.” 

“Hey, that’s what friends are for.”

“Right… enough about me.” Coral replied. “Your daughter, Cream. Amy’s told me so much about her! And now I’m seeing her for the first time and it’s like… wow! She looks just like you, Vanny.”

“You really think so?” 

“Oh yes, of course! But, you know…” Coral cleared her throat. “She’s… younger than Sonny, and Amy, and all of them.”

“Yeah.”

“So… she wasn’t made during Project: Mobius. And you weren’t even in the area when little Miles was created during that Miles Per Hour offshoot.”

“I’m well aware.”

“Then… who…?” Coral rolled her hand to finish the statement. 

Vanilla was quiet for a moment. She stared down into her coffee, peering at the pitch black liquid inside through the small hole in the lid. She swirled it around a bit to see the blackness curl into a whirlpool, almost like a contained black hole. 

“I did find other Mobians when I left, on a little place called Christmas Island, in the oceans south of here. That’s where I met my mentor, Albon Caninestein, and we came back into the UF together. Soon after, I found out I was having Cream.” 

“Oh! So Albon…?”

“No! Sweet Mobius, no! Eugh, absolutely— UGH!” Vanilla gagged a bit. “He was a father to me, Coral! No!”

“Okay, okay! Goodness.” The mother hedgehog was flustered. “But then… who is Cream’s—”

“It doesn’t matter now.” The rabbit interrupted her with a firm statement. From the look on Vanilla’s face, Coral could tell that she shouldn’t pry further, making the hedgehog nod slowly. 

“I’m sorry you had to raise a young girl all on your own, Vanilla.”

“I wasn’t alone, Coral. Besides Albon, I had…”

With a creak beside Vanilla, Big sat down in the seat next to her. Froggy bounced onto the table, resting there with a croak. 

“Speak of the devil.” Vanilla continued. “Big, this is Coral Rose. Coral, this is Big Mas, Cream’s uncle and godfather.” 

“You’re Big!” 

“I know.”

“No, I mean,” Coral chuckled a bit at what Big said. “Amy’s talked a lot about you! It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you, Mister Mas!” 

Coral and Big shook hands. 

“Amy talked about me?”

“Oh, all the time. She thinks you’re ‘lit’ as the kids say.” Coral smiled. “She really admires you, especially how easy you get along with Cream. Amy knows how trustworthy you are when it comes to Cream, and Vanilla, or any of them. And if that girl was taught any manners, I know her and the boys are just so thankful for you opening up your home for them!” 

“He’s a really charitable guy. I’m lucky I have someone like him in Cream’s life.” 

Big’s ears rose, the cat beginning to smile. 

“She’s lucky to have both of you. You were always the coolheaded, nurturing type, Vanny.” Coral said to Vanilla. “I was always jealous at how you and Aleena worked together. You two always brought out the best of everyone. I’m… sad that she couldn’t see how much you’re making a change now.”

“I’m sad too. If not just a little. But… I’ve made peace with it. Besides, if there’s some afterlife out there somewhere… I know Aleena’s probably smiling at us right now.”

“That or yelling at us.”

“Either would definitely be in character.” 

Vanilla and Coral chuckled. The coral pink hedgehog slowly leaned to the side to look past the rabbit, making Vanilla turn around in her seat to see what was happening in the living room. 

With Sonic still sleeping, Amy was putting whipped cream into Sonic’s sleeping hand as it was resting on the arm of the chair. Cream, noticing what Amy was doing, moved her ear over and gently tickled it under Sonic’s nose. 

Vanilla glanced back at Coral with a smile, meeting her eyes for a moment before looking back at their kids. Slowly, the mother rabbit moved her hand over and took Big’s hand in hers, making the cat look over at her with a surprised face. 

After a moment, Big smiled and turned back to watch the kids, watching as Sonic sleepily slapped his face, whipped cream going everywhere as Amy and Cream quickly scurried off from the fallout of their successful prank. 

TEN YEARS PRIOR…

Vanilla was in a hurry. Holding onto her daughter’s hand tightly, she was leading the young rabbit along through the streets of Station Square, away from HEXAeco, holding her phone to her ear as she was currently in a call with somebody. 

“Tell Albon that he’ll see me in a moment, I need to run home for a little bit to meet Cream’s new babysitter. Thanks.” She hung up the phone and proceeded to answer another one. “You’ve reached the call line of Albon Caninestein, this is Vanilla Tarte speaking. Who am I talking with?” 

There was chatter on the other end. Behind her, three-year-old Cream Tarte was staring openly at people who were passing by on the sidewalk. She was holding a small chao plush in her arm, having it in a headlock to keep it close to her. 

“Hi. Hi. Hi.” Cream said to anyone who was passing by. Some greeted her back. 

“Hi, Mr. Thorndyke. Yes, yes, I know Albon is going to have a discussion about that merger with you, but he’s a very busy man now that HEXAeco is getting much needed attention.” 

She swapped shoulders to hold her phone on, using both hands to pick up her daughter and carry her on her hip as they continued to walk down the streets of the city. 

“I understand you’re busy too, but might I remind you that you’re the one who demanded a merger when Albon has made it perfectly clear that he can handle working as acting CEO on his own. He doesn’t appreciate an actress’s husband with an annoying fanboy son constantly grating him over and over again.” 

Vanilla stepped into the crosswalk, still holding Cream as she heard yelling on the other end.

“No, no, you brought me and my daughter into this, so I get to bring your son into this. You know what, Nelson? How about you learn some basic respect and give me a call back later, okay? Okay. Uh-buh-bye.” 

She hung up the phone call. Sighing deeply, she looked over at Cream- her daughter staring at her- and smiled before booping the young girl’s nose with a finger, still holding the phone in that hand. 

There was a crash down the street, getting Vanilla’s attention. At an intersection down the street, a semi-truck rammed through a passing car’s trunk, leaving the passengers okay but that truck still on a rampage right for them. 

People started screaming immediately, rushing in a panic around her. Suddenly, someone passing by rammed directly into Vanilla, pushing her down to the ground with her daughter in their rush. 

Cream started crying after she fell onto the ground. Vanilla got up, reaching Cream and grabbing her to pick her up. It was too late, however, as she noticed the truck only a few yards away. The mother rabbit grabbed onto Cream and held the girl to her chest in a tight hug, squeezing her eyes closed. 

However, something pulled her away by the back of her jacket, yanking Vanilla and Cream out of the way in time for the semi-truck to blaze past, crushing Vanilla’s cell phone under its tire immediately after. 

Vanilla and Cream soared through the air, before landing on something wide and soft. A pair of arms wrapped around the mother and daughter, holding them. Vanilla clutched onto whatever she landed onto, breathing heavily from what just happened. 

“Are you okay?” The guy asked. It was a big, purple cat in fishing waders. He dropped the fishing pole he had in his hand, clearly having used the line to pull Vanilla away, letting the pole clatter on the ground. 

“Y-Yeah… Cream?!”

She looked over, seeing Cream sitting in the big cat’s hand, holding her there. The young rabbit was sniffling, clearly looking like she was about to cry with her chao still in her arms. 

Suddenly, a croak came from the wader’s pocket. A bullfrog leapt out, onto the cat’s shoulder and soon onto Cream’s leg. Immediately, after seeing the frog, Cream sobered up, brightening at the sight of the amphibian. 

“Froggy!” Cream said happily. She laughed as she picked up the frog, hugging it. Her chao doll fell down, and the cat immediately reached over and caught it before it could hit the ground. 

“How’d you know his name…?”

“Thank you so much for saving us! Ugh, my hero!” Vanilla hugged the cat tightly. 

“I didn’t want you two to get hurt. That would’ve been really bad.”

“It really would’ve been. Oh god, thank you so much.” The older rabbit rubbed her head. “Please, let me make it up to you somehow. Do you like dinner? I’ll buy you whatever you want.”

“Uh… okay.” 

“Anything. I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened to my daughter.” 

“I know what you mean. I get really scared for Froggy sometimes.”

Vanilla’s eyebrows raised, before she looked over at the frog being hugged by Cream. A light laugh escaped the rabbit’s mouth, easing the adrenaline that was causing her heart to pound fast. Well, faster than a rabbit’s heart usually goes. 

“Right.” She said, smiling. “Thank you, Mister…?” 

“Big Mas.”

“Thank you, Mister Mas.”

“Call me Big.”

“Thank you, then, Big. I gotta… woof, I gotta get home.”

“Would you like some help?”

“You know, to anyone one else I’d say no. But since you just saved my life… I could certainly use an escort. Thank you, Big.”

“You’re welcome… I don’t know your name.” 

“Vanilla. Vanilla Tarte. That’s my daughter, Cream, in your hand.”

“Oh! Okay!” Big put Cream on his shoulder. “Let me take you home.” 

Still carrying Cream, Big walked off, but slowed down to let Vanilla lead him away. Vanilla was put at ease from the sound of Cream laughing and giggling at the frog she was holding the entire way home. 

And for once, since she last had seen Aleena, something told Vanilla that someone was trustworthy enough for her daughter. It didn’t take empathy to know that Big didn’t mean any harm, and Vanilla smiled at seeing Big react so quickly to helping her daughter. 

For once, since she left the compound, Vanilla finally felt like she had a fighting chance in the craziness that was the world, and it was all thanks to this kind purple cat.  

UP NEXT: Shadows!

Chapter Text

“Fascinating.” 

Tails was studying the shard of yellow crystal under the advanced scanner of the Miles Thunderbolt. Currently, he had the shard resting on Big’s dining room table, and with an outward pinch of his fingers he zoomed in to study it closer. 

From the zoom, Tails could see that this shard of synthetic crystal matched similar readings he had on the real Chaos Emeralds, using info taken from the emerald he was given after the Chaos Crisis. 

It still had a strange reaction whenever it touched any water, no matter the size of the body. Tails was more interested in how somebody was able to recreate an actual Chaos Emerald, even on a smaller scale like this. 

He felt someone close to him, his ear flicking as he felt the room shift from there. It would be pretty easy for anybody to come up to see what he was doing as, again, he was right at the dining room table in Big’s big shack. 

The fox turned around, his gaze meeting Amy’s. The pink hedgehog was the one who had come up behind Tails to see what he was up to, looking at his face when the teenager turned. 

“What’re you up to?” Amy asked. 

“Looking over this chaos drive I got from Agent Mercury’s motorcycle.” Tails replied, showing her the readings on the Miles Thunderbolt. “Whoever made this was able to recreate a literal Chaos Emerald, with similar properties.”

“Similar properties?”

“Yeah! Like, crystals are the perfect conduit for chaos energy. It’s appropriate, seeing as Knuckles has stated that Chaos was imprisoned in crystal in the mythos. Pumping crystal, even synthetic crystal, up with chaos energy can allow it to withstand hours of continuous low-level radiation output, until the energy is used someplace else.”

“That’s so cool.” Amy said, looking at the chaos drive. “What, exactly, would you do with it?”

“Well, GUN used it as a battery to make their vehicles speed up. We could, hypothetically, create synthetic Chaos Emeralds to allow us to access its core power wherever we go!” 

“Like letting Sonic go Super Sonic whenever he wants?”

“Probably not that. That’s like adrenaline, you don’t just get one little shot- it would make Sonic pass out immediately. There has to be more abilities that we can use the emeralds for, that we can use my emerald for. But besides a small power-up to some of our chaos-energy-given mutations, I can’t find anything else that the Chaos Emeralds can do.” 

“Chaos is, like, a god. With the emeralds, I think we could probably do more than just go gold and fly around. There must be some kinda godly things we can do with even just one of them.”

“You know as much as I do, Amy.” Tails replied. “Once this is over, I’ll be so excited to run some tests on those emeralds and see what they can really do. For now… I wanna see what this chaos drive is made of… literally.” 

“I’ll leave you to it. Try not to break any of Big’s furniture, please.” 

“Amy, I’m a guest in his house! If I broke anything, I’d repair it without him knowing.” 

“Teenagers…”

“What?”

“Nothing!” Amy wiggled her fingers as goodbye before strolling away from Tails, past the TV in the living room and down the hall. 

There were three rooms in the house- a bathroom on one side, a guest room on the other, and straight ahead at the end of the hall was where Big’s room was at. Sonic was in Big’s room at the moment, as the computer was currently in there. 

Amy strolled in, coming up behind Sonic as he typed into the computer, into a search engine. He pressed enter, and suddenly the screen froze. He pressed enter again, and again, until Amy reached around and grabbed his wrist. 

“Easy, Sonic!”

“Gah! Uh, Sorry Aims!” Sonic replied, gently shaking her hand from his wrist. He swiveled the office chair around to face her, crossing his arms and leaning back in the chair. “This computer Big’s got is like, fifty years old. I think I saw a sticker talking about it being coated in lead paint on the side…”

“We’re staying in a house with a guy who doesn’t like tech. He pulled this out for you to use it, be a little grateful, Sonic.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t! You know I hate waiting.”

“I know, it’s cute.” Amy said, before her face dropped and she cleared her throat loudly. “What are you searching for, anyway? Shouldn’t we be limiting our internet usage?”

“Please, who would look for internet usage out in the woods?”

“Sonic, being the only internet search for miles makes us a giant neon ‘the culprits are here’ sign for everyone searching for us near Station Square.” 

The screen suddenly changed, slowly bringing up the search results Sonic was looking for. He turned around, going back to the computer to comb through the articles and find what he was looking for. 

“Well if you must know, ignoring that last statement,” He said. “I’m trying to find anything on that project that Tower was babbling about. Project Eclipse.” 

“What’d you find?”

“Nothing!” Sonic replied, looking at her. “Absolutely nothing! There’s no record of anything like that existing anywhere. I’ve searched here, I’ve searched the documents Tails previously found through GUN, I even asked Vanilla to try and look it up, and nothing. It doesn’t even exist!”

“You think Tower was lying?”

“That’s the thing, everything Tower talked about exists. The Space Colony ARK? Launched over fifty years ago in Diablon, some defunct ghost town in the upper-west part of the country, just like you said it did in your vision. Through the files we have on hand, I found that the Gravity Diverter that the faker stole was a device that was designed on Angel Island when Gerald Robotnik saw the gravity panels left behind from the old Echidna Tribe.” 

“But Project Eclipse is nothing.” 

“Either that project was made by someone else entirely, or GUN is doing the cover-up of the century for whatever reason. Whatever happened involving that project, it pissed Tower off enough to send robots after me and the people I love. Someone has to know what that project is about.” 

“What about the faker?” 

Sonic scoffed. “What about him?”

“What if he knows what it’s about?” 

“Puh-lease. He’s probably some pawn in some great big ploy to take over the world by an unseen big bad evil guy. What could he possibly know about Project Eclipse?” 

FAR ABOVE THE EARTH…

The view from the Space Colony ARK’s observation deck was lovely. The sun was coming around the side of the planet, bringing light to the United Federation as it was still daytime in that part of the planet. 

Arms crossed, eyebrows perpetually furrowed, Eclipse watched the planet, the sun hitting his face through the slightly dimmed glass. 

He closed his eyes, focusing on a thought floating through the back of his mind. 

“Sayonara, Mister Needlemouse…”

“MARIA!” 

He huffed, finding no more answers than before. Eyes still closed, he tried to find his center, taking a deep breath. 

“Maria Robotnik… That name continues to haunt me. It’s the only thing I can clearly remember… and that gruesome image…” He murmured.

Eclipse’s eyes squeezed shut as pieces of a memory flooded his head. Him holding someone. An explosion. A fall to Earth. A life left behind. 

He let out a long breath, opening his eyes again to look at the blue planet below. 

“Who am I, really? Why is my mind so fractured?” He said softly. “And who is this Maria?” 

The light of the sun gently creeping around the planet illuminated his scarred face, bringing his attention to the Earth once more. He stood there in silence, his attention only pulled away by the sense that someone was there with him. 

“A ring for your thoughts?” Rouge asked. She figured he’d know she was nearby anyway. 

The dark hedgehog turned his head, showing his intact eye to the bat as he looked over at her. Rouge stood there, arms crossed, head tilted slightly with a small smile on her face. There was something about that flippant attitude that got to Eclipse, but… in a good way. 

“Nothing you need to be concerned about.” He said. Hey, he said it got to him, he never said it made him comfortable enough to spill his guts to someone he just met a week ago. 

“If we’re gonna be partners for this big plan the doctor has in store, I’d like to know a little more about who I’m working with.” Rouge leaned over a bit to get a clearer look at his face. “Your name was Eclipse, right?”

Eclipse winced a bit at that name, feeling his anxiety spike. His left eye, his scarred eye, twitched for a second. The visual disdain was clear to Rouge, who raised an eyebrow in curiosity at the reaction. 

“It is your name though, right?” 

“...yes.” Eclipse grumbled. 

“You don’t seem too happy to answer that. Do you… not like your name?”

“That’s none of your business.” 

“Mmhm.”

Eclipse could feel Rouge’s eyes on him, scanning him slowly. Being dressed as someone else- that annoying blue hedgehog- allowed Eclipse to hide himself away. The only thing he knew she could get a read on was probably his jet boots. Maybe his scarred face, if she could see it. 

“When is the doctor going to return?” The dark hedgehog asked. 

“I dunno, Ivo said he’d be back soon, but… that was nearly an hour ago.” Rouge replied. 

“I sure hope the doctor hasn’t got himself killed.” 

“Please, Ivo Robotnik’s survived a gaggle of Mobians trying to kill him.” 

“The world is a chaotic and harsh place. No death is truly predetermined. Even someone meant to be alive for years could be taken from you… in an instant.” 

Sadness, mixed with a twinge of bitterness, was on Eclipse’s tongue as he spoke. Rouge’s head tilted slightly, curious, beginning to study the hedgehog once again. The dark hedgehog’s demeanor seemed to change, even slightly. He became more tense. 

The door to the observation deck opened with a loud hiss. Rouge turned quickly, not expecting the sound. Eclipse slowly turned around as well, looking over his shoulder with his good eye. 

Ivo was fiddling with his mustache with a hand, twirling it around his fingers as he walked in. He suddenly noticed the others staring at him, making him pause.

“...what?” He asked.

“Speak of the devil,” Rouge hummed with satisfaction. 

“Where have you been? We’ve been waiting for hours.”

“What are you, my mother?” Ivo asked Eclipse, nose scrunching up slightly. 

“I have never seen you in my life before our initial meeting, so I doubt I would be able to spontaneously give birth to a human. Especially one of your size.”

“What are you saying? Are you making fun of me?!” Ivo raised his voice for a second. He took a deep breath after, holding his hands in front of him as if to ask Eclipse to pause for a moment. “To answer your earlier question, I was trying to find any information on Sonic and his infernal friends.” 

“That hedgehog and his actions don’t concern us.”

“Oh, yes they do.” Rouge interjected. “The second they get a scent that Ivo’s involved with you and I, they’ll be all over us like chao to palm fruit. Besides that, if they’re after any of the Chaos Emeralds like we are, they’ll have one more than us with that emerald Tails carries around.” 

“We’re still tied. One to one.” The dark hedgehog rasped, finally turning around completely. “We simply need to find the emerald on that list of yours that we could retrieve the quickest.” 

“Well, let’s see… There’s the one those bumbling detectives are holding.” 

“Too close to Sonic.” Ivo said to her. “If we go after that one, we use a decoy, or something similar.” 

“Well, that just leaves the two kept in the Devil’s Gulag vault, the one in another dimension, and… the one being kept in the Federal Reserve.” 

“They took one to a bank?” 

“The green one. Oh, the classic green.” Rouge practically swooned, putting a hand to her cheek with a smile, clearly visualizing the green gem in her head. Eclipse’s eyebrows furrowed at that. 

“We should go for that one first. Nothing wrong with a small bank heist. It’ll be just like a movie! Except, real life, and with two talking animals. No offense, you two.”

“I don’t care.”

“None taken.” Rouge said in unison with Eclipse. 

“Unfortunately for you two, I will have to pass on that little expedition.” Ivo continued. “The ARK still needs repairs, and I’d rather not come back here to a giant hole caused by an overlooked fracture in the lining. I’ve procrastinated on it long enough.” 

“Alrighty then. I’m sure gloom and doom over here will have a ball doing a heist with me! Right, Eclipse?” 

The dark hedgehog walked away, seemingly ignoring Rouge speaking to him. He walked directly in the path of Ivo, forcing the doctor to turn his body to let him pass. 

“Where are you going?” Ivo asked. 

“I’m going to study that blue hedgehog of yours.” Eclipse replied, slowing to a stop at the door. “If he and his friends are as big a threat as you say he is, it’s important to get as much information on him that I can.” 

“So you’re going to be his shadow.”

Eclipse paused, eyebrows furrowing. 

“What did you call me?”

“His shadow.” Ivo said. “Following him, watching him. You’re shadowing him.”

“...yes.” Eclipse hummed. “A shadow. Exactly.”

“What about the emerald?”

“I’ll get it.” Rouge said to the doctor. “Someone has to, I guess. Sucks that I gotta do it alone.” 

“Thank you, Rouge. At least someone cares about the overall mission here.”

“Your passive aggressive remarks bore me, doctor.” Eclipse deadpanned. “Fix the ARK. The troublemaker will retrieve a second Chaos Emerald, as requested. Then I can show you the true power of this space colony.” 

With that dramatic statement, Eclipse walked away, out of the observation deck and down the hall. Ivo and Rouge stood together, both watching the door as the dark hedgehog exited, and when the doors slowly came to a close. 

“...troublemaker, eh?” Rouge smirked a little. “Glad to know my reputation precedes me.” 

Ivo glanced at the bat as she talked, before looking at the door once again. After a moment, the entire satellite shook, the lights flickering as all the colony’s generators provided energy to the teleporter that was kept inside of the ARK. Soon, it stilled, as Eclipse was headed down to Earth. 

The shuffling of tarot cards could be heard through the windows of Big’s shack. 

Amy was in Big’s room, still along with Sonic, the latter typing along on the computer. It was clear he was searching for something- it seemed that the pink hedgehog was looking for something as well. 

Shuffling the cards around, not caring if any of them got flipped around, Amy placed her hand on top of the deck of cards right after. Her eyes closed, as she made her intentions clear through her head. 

On her knees beside Big’s bed, she quickly sorted out the three-card tarot spread, snapping her stiff cards down onto the frog-covered comforter quickly. She set the deck down above them, keeping those cards face down. She finally opened her eyes to look across the cards. 

Tower. Upside-down Wheel of Fortune. The Fool. That was the spread of cards from Amy’s left to right, placed right in front of her. 

She paused. After a second, she turned around, looking out of the window right behind her. There was nothing there- nothing Amy could physically see, anyways. In the shadows, however, another hedgehog stared back. 

Eclipse didn’t know what those cards meant. He didn’t know the significance of any of the cards, really. The most he knew was that the pink hedgehog- Amy- was a psychic. Even with his good eye closed, the dark hedgehog could pretty much see the tendrils of chaos energy flickering away from her head, extrasensory extensions that acted as the separate (yet connected) nervous system to her sixth sense. 

Submerged in the shade of trees beside the shack, Eclipse’s red eye peered through the shadows as he watched the two Mobians inside of the home’s master bedroom. It was relatively easy to find where the heroes were- the energy level let off by this strange blue hedgehog was enough to make Eclipse’s quills stand on end. 

It was very peculiar, having these abilities. The dark hedgehog was imbued with so much chaos energy that he could see it, sense it- control it. That last one was dangerous, however, as his telepathic adviser was keen on shouting at him. 

Slipping around the corner of the shack, Eclipse stopped looking into the window behind Amy, and got to the bedroom’s second window, where Sonic was still focused on the computer.

Dipping under the window, Eclipse reached the opposite side, allowing him to peek his good eye into the window to look directly up at Sonic. 

The blue hedgehog turned away from the computer, looking directly in the spot where Eclipse was peeking at him, but seeing nothing. Once the hedgehog hesitantly returned to the screen, Eclipse peered back into the window to stare at him, being more inconspicuous. 

He had been advised to mimic this hedgehog from the start. With guidance, he had shed that old tattered jumpsuit he had on for a red track suit, track pants and red shoes that looked close to what this Sonic guy had on- that is, until he retrieved his jet boots. 

The clothes felt uncomfortable on Eclipse. Too bright. 

Part of him had to give that blue hedgehog credit- from what he had seen, while previously watching Sonic from afar to copy him effectively, the hedgehog was fast. As stated before, the chaos energy output from this hero was enough to make Eclipse’s skin to feel staticy, like part of his body was asleep. 

And yet, he was simply an insane man’s imitation of the Ultimate Lifeform. He had heard the heroes speak about him amongst themselves- calling him a faker. From Eclipse’s perspective, from all he’s heard, it was apparent to him that the only faker here was Sonic himself. But nobody could ever truly match the power of the Shadow of Doom. 

Shadow. That word still stuck with Eclipse, lying comfortably on his tongue. That word meant the same in that title and in his current objective- the studier, the watcher, the observer. Part of it felt a little ironic, as Eclipse’s natural affinity to the darkness provided another meaning to the word in this scenario. In all honesty, with everything happening in that moment… that would probably be a better name for…

The door to the bedroom flew open, making all three hedgehogs look up at once. It was the fox- Miles, or Tails. Feeling the vibrations of the teenager’s voice through the glass, Eclipse could tell what he was saying- the cops found them, they were on their way there right now, and they had to leave. Amy and Sonic looked at each other, the former’s face visibly shocked and distraught.

Eclipse’s eyebrow raised in curiosity. He’d hold onto that last thought for later. 

Team Sonic were scurrying around, getting everything they had packed as quickly as possible. Sonic, naturally, was done in only a few moments- he picked up the slack by helping the others get everything they could packed up as well. 

Slowly stepping around the shack, Eclipse kept up with the heroes as they packed everything up across the house, save for the things that didn’t belong to them, but instead that large purple cat they had been staying with. 

The dark hedgehog watched them hustle everything to the back of the shack, away from the front door. Staying back in the shadows, Eclipse saw them glance back at the house one more time before running off. Sonic, though a speedster, was running slow enough for Tails and Amy to keep up with him. The three soon disappeared into the woods. 

Eclipse didn’t follow. It would be much easier for him to be found if he pursued them into the woods- that and it would be easy for him to lose them, seeing as he had no idea where they were going. 

His head tilted in curiosity. Sonic alone had the power to wipe out the entire police force if he wanted to, and yet he didn’t. Eclipse knew why, but it was still interesting to see it. Sonic was so interested in preserving what he had that he didn’t want to harm people actively pursuing him. 

Slowly, Eclipse stepped out of the shadows. He walked up the wooden steps nailed to the front of the shack, hesitating before he slowly nudged the doors open, a loud creak emanating from the hinges. 

The house wasn’t that bad. The dark hedgehog hadn’t seen any other houses than this one though, so he didn’t have much to go by. 

He didn’t care if the police caught him here. If anything, if they forced him to attack them, they’d just blame Sonic again. He was absolutely absolved of any wrongdoing while wearing this overly bright, uncomfortable outfit. 

Eclipse had also studied the purple cat that Team Sonic had been staying with. GUN was after him too, even at a lesser degree. The navy hedgehog had almost been caught by the large cat a few times, being in the wrong place when the cat just so happened to walk right into that area. 

The wooden floorboards creaked under the hedgehog’s jet boots as he stepped through the shack. His clawed fingers slid against the counters- looking far too beautiful to be in this rickety shack- that lined the walls of the front area, the kitchen. 

The television was still on. Eclipse thought it was all loud noise anyway, so he just tuned it out. 

He got to the back door, his steps still the only noise echoing through the home. The door was wide open, showing a glimpse into the jungles behind the shack, leading deep into the Mystic Ruins area of the coast. 

Standing in that doorway, situated right beside the window, Eclipse felt a pair of eyes on him. He turned and looked out of the window, catching the rustling leaves of shrubbery as someone descended into the bushes next to the home, hiding themselves from sight. 

Eclipse glowered at the window. He turned to walk over and open it- he had nothing to hide, and nothing to fear. 

He took one step before he heard the police outside. It was a SWAT van, ten agents, with a loud siren on top of it that blared in a disorienting fashion across the clearing that Big’s shack was in. With both doors open, the sirens were easily heard inside of the home. 

The dark hedgehog paused as he heard the sirens crescendo outside. He suddenly became acutely aware of his surroundings, each creak of the floorboards he made, the loud jabbering on the television, the reflection of himself in the glass of the window ahead of him. 

His bad eye twitched. Eclipse felt it happened, even when he noticed it going on and tried to make it stop. Eventually, he settled on placing his hand over his left eye, his fingers brushing over the faded pale scar that extended up past his eyebrow. 

Adrenaline coursed through his body. His breathing quickened, he felt sweat start to form on his face that dripped down his ungroomed quills. 

“The research labs, they’re going to be destroyed! We have to do something!”

The sound of stomping footsteps was evident, but Eclipse could barely focus on it. The sirens of the SWAT truck was still echoing off of the shack walls as the SWAT team started converging on the house. 

The footsteps stomped up the wooden steps.

“Please, you’re the only one who can protect the ARK!”

A small group of officers got inside, standing a few yards away from him. 

“Get down! Get down now!”

“Sonic the Hedgehog, by order of the president, you’re under arrest. On the ground, now!”

Eclipse kept panting, feeling the sweat drip down his nose and onto the floor.

“I knew I could count on you, Mister Needlemouse.”

Eclipse could hear it all, but he could barely see it. He could recognize most things- the floors of the ARK, the inside of a stasis tube, a copper mustache. 

Golden hair, a blue dress. The smell of peaches. 

He could see a young girl asleep in his arms. Her shirt was red. Eclipse knew it wasn’t supposed to be that color. Did she dye it?

“No! I won’t let you hurt him!”

“Sonic, stand down now! Lay down on your stomach with your hands behind your head!” The SWAT officer yelled, pointing his weapon directly at Eclipse. Two more officers were standing on either side of him, both with guns as well, to back the officer up. 

Still on his hands and knees, Eclipse was forced back to the images in his head as he felt golden energy travel across his body, making his quills glow, little sparks and arcs of the golden electricity flickering off of his body and onto the floor. 

“This is your last chance! Comply or we will be forced to detain you by any means necessary!”

The dark hedgehog heard them, but didn’t. He looked up from where he was on the floor, into the window, seeing his reflection- right past it, he saw sea green eyes peering at him from the bushes. 

“Open fire on the specimen!”

A gunshot. 

“MARIA!”

The bullet shot at Eclipse was redirected by the amount of chaos energy gathering around his body, forcing the round to turn into the floor and find its mark there. 

Eclipse snapped his head around, baring his teeth in a cold glare, quills bristling as he felt his body run cold from the adrenaline. His chest heaved from the stress and intensity. 

In all moments of high stress, everyone has a different reaction- fight, flight or freeze. The moments leading up to Eclipse breaking from his intense flashback, his body had been producing chaos energy as a defensive measure, his “fight response, even if he wasn’t physically harming anyone. 

Until now, that is. 

Eclipse turned, immediately getting up to his feet and swinging his arms around. He clapped his hands once in front of him, fingers pointing towards the SWAT officers, energy traveling across his body to his palms. 

“Chaos SPEAR!” 

As Eclipse’s hands connected in a single clap, a vertical arc of golden energy shot from his hands, flinging itself at insane speeds towards the group. The projectile hit the SWAT team, creating a ripple of energy that blasted the middle officer back and the other two officers into the wall. 

The middle officer tumbled out from the door and down the stairs, unconscious. 

Eclipse stumbled, holding his head as he still felt anxiety tear through his chest. He looked out the window again- the eyes were gone. 

He turned tail and ran as the rest of the SWAT team flooded the home, headed out through the back door and sped away as gunfire zipped by him. Chaos energy flooded out from the jets on his boots. 

Instructed on how to use these boots by Ivo, the maneuver to properly speed in these boots were akin to “skating,” something Eclipse wasn’t too familiar with at the time. Until Eclipse hit a certain speed, one foot needed to stay perpendicular to the ground at a time to keep the hedgehog upright, the other used to propel him forwards. 

Eclipse found that interchanging the foot propelling him forwards actually made him go faster, forcing him to use the skating form that Ivo had taught him. 

With this, the dark hedgehog continued to jet skate through the woods, feeling his mind racing as he continued to hear the sirens from far away. His bad eye twitched, messing up his form for a second before he regained himself. 

Adrenaline was still coursing through him. What was wrong with him? Nothing like this ever happened before. 

Sayonara…

He closed his eyes in a wince. 

“Quiet!” He hissed. 

Sayonara… Mister Needlemouse…

Eclipse opened his eyes in time to see a branch extended out in front of him. The dark hedgehog slammed into it, flung backwards and actually landing on top of his head before bouncing off, soon coming to a crashing halt as he slammed into the ground face down. 

He groaned weakly, gripping onto the soft grass and dirt with a shaking hand. A shiver traveled down his spine as he picked himself up, but flopping back to his chest as he felt his arms give out, shaky like gelatin from the adrenaline that was now dying down. 

“Shoot…” He rasped. “No…”

Unfortunately for the hedgehog, he didn’t go that far. The rest of the SWAT team- seven of them, as the first three are still unconscious- were able to catch up with Eclipse while he was still weak on the ground. 

He looked up as the SWAT team surrounded him, standing in a circle around the downed hedgehog. All weapons were trained on him, figuratively pinning him down to the ground. 

“Don’t move! You’re surrounded!” One of the officers said. 

Eclipse looked around slowly, trying to find some kind of out he could have once his arms and legs stopped feeling so weak. He grit his teeth in annoyance and stress, realizing that it was going to be very hard to get away from the SWAT team anytime soon. 

“Cuff him.” 

At the command, the officer right ahead of Eclipse holstered their weapon. They slowly walked towards the hedgehog, pulling out a pair of power-dampening cuffs from the back of their vest, holding it in both of their hands. 

When the officer was just a foot or two away from Eclipse’s head, something suddenly came down from the trees. It was a ball-shape, bouncing off the ground and knocking the cuffs from the officer’s hand, replacing it with the ball object. 

It had the feel of a ball-shaped balloon, half-black and half-white, the latter on top. There were two triangles, clearly ears, on top of it. Printed on the ball itself were sea green eyes, the heart-shaped end of a snout, and a pink heart right under that. 

“What the…?”

The ball object made a noise akin to cartoonish snickering, before it suddenly exploded. A giant shockwave came from the popping thing, powerful enough to knock the SWAT team out of their circle formation and away from Eclipse, who covered his face from the blast. The officer who held the detonator was knocked unconscious, landing hard on his side.

With the officers down, Eclipse felt a pair of feet land in front of him. He looked up, spotting the figure facing him for a moment before turning around so her back was to the hedgehog. 

The ear-shape, the eyes, and the heart on the figure’s chest gave it away for Eclipse- it was Rouge. She had on some kind of black fabric, stretching out over the top of her chest and neck, covering her head but keeping a large slit open for her eyes to look out. While the hedgehog could easily recognize her regardless, the officers probably wouldn’t. 

Rouge threw a palm-strike into the air, followed by a spear-hand with the opposite hand after it. She leaned backwards, letting the tip of one of her feet slither across the grass as it made its way back to her other foot. 

With a sharp movement, Rouge turned her body slightly, holding a fist behind her and her open hand in front of her, the front foot picked up and tucked behind her other leg’s knee. The ends of her hand-wings extended out, adding extra flair to her crane stance to give her a larger appearance. 

The officers tried picking up their weapons, but instead found them immediately dismantling before their eyes. Rouge’s bat bomb had a special feature to it- it would disable most automatic weaponry. It took a long time for that feature to actually be available in a weapon like that. 

“All officers, engage!”

The remaining six SWAT officers all headed towards Rouge at once. The bat quickly switched feet as one officer approached, using the momentum to kick the man on the side of the head, hard enough to make the man spin before landing on the ground, out cold. 

With another officer approaching, Rouge quickly put up her patagium and blocked a hit from a baton from the man. She pushed it away, throwing an outward crescent kick to knock away a punch from the officer next, before bringing it back around for an inward crescent kick, and a side kick to knock the agent back. 

A SWAT officer was coming behind her, Rouge could sense it in her ears. She turned her body sharply to avoid a downward swing of the officer’s baton, turning her body fully to side kick the man in the chest. She kicked on either side of the officer’s body, one for each leg, knocking him around in time for the first SWAT officer to come back up behind her. 

Rouge leapt up, kicking off of the officer she was facing, using the momentum to kick off the one behind her, and using that to push off of the other officer with both feet. With the kickoff, she cleared over the first officer’s head, using the fall to kick his back, making the two SWAT officers get close to one another. 

Officer #1 was larger than Officer #2. Rouge sensed a third officer attempting to swing a baton at her from her side. The bat leaned backwards, lifting her foot up and sending a front snap kick into the back of Officer #1, limboing under the swinging baton as she struck the officer. 

With the force of the kick, Officer #1 flew forwards, slamming into Officer #2 and landing on top of him. Officer #1 was knocked out from the collision, and because he was physically larger than #2, he trapped his fellow officer under his unconscious body. 

After dodging the baton attack and regaining her stance, Rouge jumped up in the air and turned, throwing a sobat kick into the officer’s chest and sending him flying back into the trunk of the tree. The officer was knocked out cold on impact, crumpling to the ground. 

Rouge didn’t let up there, keeping the same energy with the fifth officer, sending a high kick to his face and using the momentum to spin, throwing a tornado kick to his face hard enough to shatter the officer’s goggles, making him spin around and collapse soon after. 

One officer left.

The bat lifted her leg, letting her shin and knee catch the swing of a baton and block it. As the officer pulled back, Rouge sent a straight punch into the officer’s stomach, making him double over in pain. 

With the officer bent over, Rouge lifted her leg up, using all her strength to send an axe kick directly down into the back of the officer’s helmeted head. The hit was strong enough to force the officer’s face into the ground first, putting him into a scorpion pose before the rest of his body flopped into the grass. 

Eclipse was watching from the ground still, slowly regaining his strength. He watched as Rouge strolled back over to him, slipping off her face covering to reveal herself to him with a light sigh. She held her hand out to him. 

“C’mon. Let’s go.”

The dark hedgehog felt inclined to smack the hand away and pick himself up off of the ground. After all, he really put himself in this situation. It was embarrassing to have to be saved by an associate he barely knew, or really cared about. 

Hesitantly, however, he took the hand to get to his feet, eyebrows furrowed in thought about the events that transpired. Whatever happened to him, one thing was clear regardless: he underestimated the bat. 

“You what?!”

Eclipse grunted as the doctor shouted. Both he and Rouge were back in the Space Colony ARK, up in space, having returned from their respective missions after the episode Eclipse had in the Mystic Ruins. 

Robotnik was clearly very concerned for the hedgehog. It kinda freaked Eclipse out. 

“It was nothing. A minor hiccup.” 

“Didn’t look like it.” Rouge said. “I had to break out the taekwondo training to save you back there. You looked like you were having a panic attack.” 

“I could’ve handled it myself.” 

“Sure.” 

Eclipse huffed, crossing his arms tightly in front of him. 

“If something like that happens when you’re fighting Sonic…” Ivo started. 

“It won’t. If I let my guard down around that blue hedgehog, I’ll die.” 

“You still need to be careful! I’ve been working for months off of a lifetime’s supply of freeze-dried foods and a messed up sleep schedule to rebuild this thing!” The doctor said, gesturing to the entire observation room, the entire ARK. “It won’t be undone because my grandfather’s mysterious associate is hard-headed!”

Eclipse glowered towards Ivo- nothing personal, he just had serious RBF. The doctor slid his hand beneath his blue shaded glasses, rubbing his eyes with a long sigh. 

“Eclipse…”

The dark hedgehog winced slightly at that name again, feeling his left eye twitch. Something about that word, that name, it made him physically uneasy. Even though he tried to keep himself from reacting, it was clear Ivo and Rouge noticed. 

“...Rouge will be accompanying you on missions until I know you can handle them on your own.”

“Excuse me?” Eclipse said, stomping his foot in anger. “I’m not a child!” 

“You just stomped your foot like you’re seven years old.” Rouge pointed out. It was ignored by Eclipse and Ivo. 

“I’m the leader here! Your mission, though you have a factor in assisting, is directed by me.” Ivo replied to the hedgehog. “So I’m telling you, to keep you from being caught in the open, if this happens again, you need someone to watch your back.” 

Eclipse stared at Ivo, eyebrows furrowed in a glaring look. His fists, at his sides, gripped tightly. 

LISTEN TO HIM. 

Suddenly, Eclipse’s demeanor changed. He relaxed his body, standing up straight, and crossing his arms in front of him again. 

“Very well.” He said. 

Ivo blinked in surprise at that. His heart was pounding in his ears from the confrontation that just went down, and it slowed down as everything in the room calmed down. He finally stopped holding his breath, nodding in agreement at Eclipse. 

He felt a cold breeze hit his back. The spirit of his grandfather appeared ahead of him. 

“Very well done, grandson.” Gerald said. “Come, let us travel to the deepest parts of the Space Colony ARK. There’s something I need you to retrieve for me in the storage rooms.” 

“Y-Yes, grandfather.” 

Slowly, Ivo strolled out, past the Mobians and out of the room. Rouge watched him go, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

“That man is slowly going nuts.” She said. 

“Yes, he is.” Eclipse grumbled back, walking away to stand at the window of the observation deck. Rouge turned her head to watch him walk away. 

The bat eventually came up beside him, staring down at the Earth as well, crossing her arms. 

“You’re welcome for saving you, by the way. Forgot to thank me.”

Eclipse didn’t reply. 

“Where did I learn taekwondo? Good question. I was taught those moves when I was let into the Guardian Units of Nations. Since the wings kinda keep me from fighting with my arms, I was taught in a fighting style that heavily involved using my legs. I mixed in a few things of my own in that fight though. You’ve got to keep it fresh.” 

Eclipse didn’t reply. 

“If we’re going to be tracking down Sonic, we need to look in Station Square. His dedication to keeping that city safe means he’ll probably be hiding out there.”

“Don’t you have an emerald to retrieve?” The hedgehog finally snapped, turning to her. 

“Oh, I’ve been to the federal reserve. They don’t have the green emerald anymore.”

“They don’t?”

“No, GUN took it.” The bat said. “I pulled my old GUN credentials to get access to it only to be told that my superior took it first.”

“Commander Tower.”

“Correct. And seeing as his only current objective is to capture Sonic the Hedgehog at all costs, if he’s taking a Chaos Emerald…”

“He’s going to use it for something to incapacitate the blue hedgehog.” 

Rouge shot a finger gun at Eclipse with a grin and a wink. 

“That means we get to be shadows together! Isn’t that just grand?” 

“Fantastic.”

Eclipse knew that Rouge knew she was getting on his nerves. The casual smugness and cheeky attitude this bat had was something that, while enjoyable to watch on their down time, was very very aggravating at the worst possible times for the hedgehog. 

He tightened his arms across his chest, still staring down at the blue planet from the observation deck. 

“Are we going to talk about what happened back there?”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“You sure? Because it looked like you were having a real hard time escaping that SWAT team.”

“I could’ve handled it.”

“You know, you keep saying that, but you were laying down on your stomach and unable to get up. If it wasn’t for me, you would’ve probably been cuffed and knocked out.”

Eclipse didn’t reply. After a second, Rouge shrugged her shoulders.

“Alright, whatever you say, Eclipse. I’ll be at the teleporter when you’re ready to head down and start following Sonic around. I’m sure he’s still near Station Square.” 

The hedgehog stayed silent as Rouge left the room. At the mention of his name, Eclipse felt his bad eye twitch again, making him touch his bottom eyelid with the tips of his fingers. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, feeling a shock of cold hit his stomach, like an awful mix of anxiety and nausea. 

He felt a wave of deja vu wash over him, getting the feeling he’d been in this exact room, but very very long ago. Looking down at the planet, standing next to someone else… someone blonde. Sweat started forming on his face.

Why was he like this? What was happening to him? He was perfectly fine for the half a year- give or take- after he was awoken. It was spent following the voice in his head to new locations, training him how to use his powers, and how to fight. But that voice never taught him how to deal with something like this. He didn’t even know it would happen. 

He was getting feelings he was familiar with, but didn’t know what it was about. Eclipse had opinions, senses, thoughts that seemed to come out subconsciously, but he couldn’t remember why he had any of them! He barely remembered who he was, outside of the name he was given, which from the looks of it makes him nauseous to hear! 

The only other name he knew was someone named Maria Robotnik. He had already asked the doctor if there was any relation to him- outside of Ivo telling the hedgehog that Maria was his older cousin, and currently deceased, there was nothing else he had about this mysterious name- except the fact that he screams it in agony within some kind of memory he can’t fully remember. Yet, hearing that name made Eclipse feel like he wanted to lay down and die. 

And he didn’t know why. 

He pulled his fingers away from his scarred eye, gazing down at the tear that had collected from the eye. Eclipse rubbed it between his thumb and fingers, staring down at it quietly, pondering in quiet solitude. 

That voice had managed to wake him up after who knows how long, spent asleep under the crust of this ungrateful planet. All that was asked of Eclipse was to collect the seven Chaos Emeralds by any means necessary- that included destroying this strange blue hedgehog that would eventually get in his way. 

The voice had helped him this far. He promised the hedgehog that he’d tell Eclipse everything once the emeralds were collected. It was a bit suspicious, but… if he could learn the truth about himself, maybe he could finally feel at peace with himself. 

With one last glance to the Earth, Eclipse turned and walked away, headed out of the observation deck. Traveling down the hall, he reached the deck with the teleporter inside of it, spotting Rouge standing right next to it.

“About time you caught up.” She said after spotting him. Eclipse grunted in reply. 

They shuffled into the teleportation pod, with the hedgehog activating it once they were both inside. Placing in the coordinates of Station Square, purple energy rose from the floor for a second before the two Mobians disappeared completely, headed down to Earth. 

With parts of the city still being rebuilt, it gave Team Sonic a bunch of places to take cover in. Up on the seventh floor of an abandoned hotel, Sonic pulled back from the balcony’s sliding glass door to evade the illumination of police lights from the ground below. 

The cop car slowly passed by with no siren, only shining their lights around the area, the policemen inside clearly looking around for any trace of Sonic and his friends. 

Once the police car was down the street, Sonic slipped back through the old curtains to look out of the balcony, opening the door slightly to feel how it was outside. He let the wind blow on his face, closing his eyes and missing when he could just run around carefree. 

“Sonic, come inside.” 

After a moment to savor the few seconds of wind he had left, Sonic pulled away and walked inside of the hotel room he was sharing with Amy and Tails. Dual beds with a pull-out sofa, and Sonic got the honor of using the latter. 

From across the street, under a large red Chaos Cola billboard, Eclipse and Rouge slowly stepped through the shadows, illuminated from the shade made from the board’s lights and kept out of sight from the heroes in the hotel. 

Eclipse opened the briefcase Rouge gave him from her safehouse, pulling out a gadget- a listening device. It was a pair of earphones, connected to a gun-like device with a small radar dish on the end of it. Eclipse slid the earphones on, pointing the gun towards the newly made opening of the hotel door. Rouge, with super-hearing, didn’t need a device like that. 

“So what’s our next move?” Amy asked. Through the slot made from the slightly parted curtains, Eclipse could barely see the team talking amongst themselves. 

“Sleep. Then probably find somewhere else to sleep. Then, ad infinitum.” Tails answered. 

“We need to find some kind of answers for project Eclipse.” 

Eclipse winced a bit at the sound of his name from the mouth of Sonic. 

“Where would we find anything like that, Sonic?” 

“If Tower knows about it, then GUN has to know about it.” Sonic replied to Amy. 

“We have no access to anything related to GUN. Topaz’s phone is still out of service, and Rouge for all intents and purposes is pretty much a bad guy again.” 

Rouge scoffed, laughing lightly at the statement from Tails. 

“Well, what information do we know?” 

“Professor Gerald Robotnik came to Angel Island to study things for the project? It has to do with the ARK, which was launched by GUN in conjunction with Gerald fifty years ago?” 

“What would the ARK do, exactly? Amy?”

“He wanted to use it as a colony for people to live in, those with physical disorders that could move around easier in an environment with lesser gravity. That, and he wanted to use his biology expertise to find cures for those disorders, like the one his granddaughter Maria had.” 

Eclipse pressed his hand to his earphone, eyebrows furrowing. Something new about Maria… she had some kind of disorder, and she was on the ARK. Was Eclipse on the ARK as well? That would explain why he keeps getting a flashback of him falling to the Earth. 

“Could Project: Eclipse have to do with Maria?” 

“Maybe. But Eclipse sounds so… ominous.” 

“I don’t really think so.” Rouge asked the dark hedgehog, grinning a bit. 

“Shhh.” Eclipse shushed her a bit. He returned to listening in. 

“We’ll never know what it’s about for sure unless we get information from GUN about it.”

“What’re we gonna do, Sonic? We can’t really walk into a GUN office in town and ask for everything they have on it.” 

“What about… their databases?” 

“Heavily encrypted.” Tails replied. “And if this is information they had from fifty years ago, it probably wouldn’t be easily acceptable from any old computer. They probably store all of that old info on drives they keep somewhere secure. Like a vault.”

“Or… a supermax prison?” 

Eclipse and Rouge looked at one another, both curious as to what Sonic meant. 

“Sonic…” 

“C’mon, Tails. Look at the files from GUN we have on hand, tell me what it says.” 

There was a period of silence, the sound of gentle tapping heard as Tails went through things on his Miles Thunderbolt. Eventually, a hum from the fox could be heard. 

“The completed files on Gerald investigating Angel Island… have been requested to be transferred to storage in the vaults of Prison Island, AKA the Devil’s Gulag.” 

“Bingo! That’s where I was gonna be sent!”

“Sonic, you can’t be serious.” 

“C’mon Amy! It’s our best bet yet to find out what that weird faker has to do with this project Tower is so obsessed with! I go to jail, find what I need, you guys bust me out!”

“Another prison break?” 

“But this time, it’s from an even more secure prison!”

“I’m onboard.” 

“Tails!”

“I’m tired of running, Amy! I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound uncaring, but… it’s true. This place is musty, dusty and smells like mildew on the lower floors. If Sonic gets arrested, the heat will be off of us for a bit, he gets the info he wants and then we can just bust him out!” 

“This is insane. Tails, you’re talking about letting your best friend get captured!”

“I mean, he seems excited to do it. And look at him, Amy! Can you say no to a face like that?”

More silence for a moment. Soon, Amy sighed.

“Alright, fine. I’m sure we can come up with a plan soon.” 

“It seems pretty straightforward. I just get captured, then you two make a plan to bust me out!”

“Ugh, why did we burn bridges with the Hooligans?” 

“We’ll be fine, Amy. C’mon, we should probably get to bed. Got a long day ahead if we’re going to try and do a supermax prison break tomorrow.” 

With the sound of rustling, Eclipse knew that the group was getting ready to sleep. He lowered the listening device, the earphones going silent as he ended his spying. 

“So Sonic’s going to willingly turn himself in.” Rouge recapped the entire latter half of the conversation. 

“What a stupid plan.” 

“They don’t really have many other options, smiles. What would you have them do?”

“That fake blue hedgehog is fast enough to run across the entire country in the matter of seconds. Instead of escaping his captors, he stays in the city he’s known for being in for… some reason.” 

“Station Square is his home. If he left, I think it would devolve into chaos in a matter of hours. In one case that was actually true.” 

“That’s an awful reason to stay.” 

“Have you ever considered that Sonic stays in Station Square because he likes it here? That he knows, deep down, that he’s still good? Do you think maybe he’s staying here because, I dunno… he’s a good person?”

“You grew up with him. You tell me.”

“I already have my answer. You? You’ve been watching him for a while. Do you think he’s a good person?”

“I think he’s a powerful hedgehog who could easily use his powers to destroy his enemies- like the doctor- but because of some misguided yet gallant sense of righteousness, he prevents himself from killing those who wrong him or others in order to keep himself from becoming anything other than a self-proclaimed superhero.” 

“Such a judgemental attitude.” Rouge rested her chin in her hand, her elbow on the low stone wall keeping anyone on the roof from going over the edge. “Are you saying that you would kill someone who wronged you, or others?”

“Yes. Would you?”

“If they really hurt me, or someone I cared about, in a heartbeat.” 

“Glad we agree then.” 

“I’m just wondering why you think it’s so bad in someone like Sonic.” 

“I didn’t say it was bad. The concept is admirable for someone who’s already crossed the line- I’m just saying, he has the potential of doing more, but he keeps himself from going there.” 

“Do you think he’d ever reach that point? The point of not holding back anymore?” 

“I think he’s like you. If he got really hurt, or someone he cared about was in danger, I’m sure he’d push himself to that limit to do everything he could to preserve the thing in question.” 

“But not kill.”

“But not kill.” 

“Hm… You never know. We might finally get to see that side of him with this little plan the doctor’s cooking up. If that happens… you better be ready to fight him.”

“I’m the Ultimate Lifeform. I could handle a fight with a faker like him.” 

“What is it with you and him and your obsession with the other being fake? You two can exist simultaneously, you know. You both have nothing to prove, and if you both actually worked together I think—”

“Sh-shh, shhh…” Eclipse raised the device again, hearing the faintness of a door creaking. 

“Ugh… Sonic, what’re you doing?”

“I’m just going out for a little walk.” 

“You’re the most wanted man in the city.”

“We’re in a lesser populated part of Station Square. I’ll be really careful, I just… need to get some fresh air. Mildew smell and such.” 

“Alright… But please be careful. Run fast if you’re seen.”

“I know, I know. Sweet dreams, Amy.”

“I’ll see you, Sonny.” 

The door inside the hotel room closed. Eclipse and Rouge looked at one another again. 

Peering over the edge of the building’s roof, they watched as the hooded hedgehog walked out of the hotel. He was wearing a big black hoodie, one far too big for him, in order to hide what he looked like. 

He walked left of the entrance, strolling down the sidewalk like he wasn’t currently the most wanted man on the west coast. 

Eclipse put the listening device in its carrying case quickly, shutting it and giving it to Rouge.

“What’re you giving me that for?”

“It belongs to you.”

Rouge scoffed, but took the case, shoving it into one of the bags she had wrapped around her legs. It was just big enough to fit, so she wouldn’t have to carry it in her hands. 

They got to moving, quickly but quietly hopping through the rooftops to keep up with Sonic, following him down the abandoned streets as he headed further inwards towards the heart of the city. 

Eclipse didn’t use his rocket boots this time, instead hopping down on his own two feet, closely followed by Rouge. At one point, after a steep drop, Eclipse paused after landing. Rouge landed right next to him soon after, giving him a puzzled glance. 

“What’s the hold-up?”

“...nothing. Just… waiting for you to catch up.” 

Part of Eclipse had told him he should offer to catch Rouge from that height. He kept himself from doing so, partially because he barely knew this bat, and partially because she was literally made to come down from tall heights like that.

Rouge scoffed and shook her head, smirking a bit as she moved on, taking the lead. 

“You’re a weird hedgehog, smiles.” 

They climbed up a fire escape to get up the next, taller building. 

“Why do you keep calling me that? You know what my name is.” 

“Yeah, but you didn’t seem to like it before. Made you uneasy.”

Couldn’t argue with that. Hearing that word, it made Eclipse feel off- a bit queasy, even. 

They leapt across another roof, watching Sonic head towards a three-way intersection. 

The blue hedgehog didn’t cross the street, instead taking the turn to head down the road headed away from the buildings that the pair were currently on. 

The dark pair got to the roof directly across from the street corner Sonic took a turn by, standing there and watching him head further down the road. 

“Hang on.” 

The bat scooped up Eclipse, holding him in her arms. Before he could protest in any form, Rouge bolted forwards, headed straight off of the side of the building’s roof and towards the street. 

Dead ahead of them was a light pole. Rouge cleared the jump to the light, quickly taking two steps across the top part of the light going across the street. Eclipse gripped onto her shoulder tightly, jostled around by the running. 

Rouge jumped from light to light, then jumped across the sidewalk again, landing on a lower roof of a building that was on the same side of the perpendicular street that Sonic was. Rouge let Eclipse on his feet, the hedgehog grunting and dusting himself off. 

“More warning next time would be appreciated.”

“We got to the other side, didn’t we? Did you die? Didn’t think so. C’mon, let’s go.” 

With that, the white bat strode ahead, already leaping to another building by the time Eclipse decided to start following her. 

Down below, Sonic trudged along solemnly, staring down at the sidewalk instead of anything ahead of him. He kept his head buried in the shroud of the hood, not wanting anyone to see his face while he was a wanted criminal. 

He passed by a 24-hour laundromat, the light illuminating the side of his body and brightening up the ground. Sonic stopped when he heard an electrical hum, thought to be a neon sign for the laundromat but really a soda machine that was in front of it, on the side of the massive window opposite to the door. 

The hedgehog paused. He soon turned to get a soda, pulling out his yellow fox wallet to get out a dollar and pay the machine. After he made his selection, he collected his drink- a grape flavored Chaos Cola, aka the “primal venom” flavor. 

Continuing to be tailed by the unseen pair, Sonic cracked open his drink and sipped on it as he walked. Shadow and Rouge witnessed him stop in front of a television shop, illuminated by the running TVs as he looked at the soda. 

“Knuckles was right. This tastes nothing like grapes.” He said. Sonic shrugged after a second and continued to sip on his soda. 

“...authorities continue to search for Sonic the Hedgehog amid critical responses from civilians of Station Square, and all across the UF.” Scarlet Garcia said, from a TV that was switched to Channel X News. “Denizens from all over have protested the warrant out for Sonic’s arrest, with some even providing evidence that allegedly clears the hedgehog of performing the crime he was originally arrested for. However, police stations have made it clear that their orders come first, and public perception is second. Shockingly unsurprising from the apparent public servants. More developments on this story will come as they happen.” 

Sonic watched the news report, letting the light illuminate his face in the hood as he did. He took another long drink of soda, needing something to drink in order to get his peppier mindset back. 

“And in interstellar news, we’re coming up fast to the special day the Black Comet reaches the boundaries of Earth! The Black Comet, of course, is a comet that travels within viewing distance of the planet every fifty years, discovered and named by Shamarian astronomer Niesha Mostafa, given that name for its charred and dark exterior. The most optimal viewing spots…”

As the news anchor went on about how to watch the comet, Sonic was already past the building, walking down the sidewalk and continuing his stroll. From the looks of it, he was just going to take a walk around the block. 

Eclipse and Rouge easily kept up, hopping across the roofs and keeping an eye on him. 

From everything that Eclipse had seen from this fake hedgehog, he was still fascinated with Sonic and how his vigilantism had evolved into some kind of righteousness. Sonic was the hero- of Station Square and of the entire world. Even when Eclipse had tarnished his reputation, the television report proved that people were still gunning for Sonic’s name to be cleared. 

Was he really that special? What made him that way? These questions haunted the dark hedgehog as he continued to tail his cobalt copy. 

Sonic turned the corner of the block, almost finished with his drink and still staring at the sidewalk. However, he noticed a peculiar form of light illuminating the ground ahead of him- it was orange, and flickering. He looked away, gazing across the street to see that an apartment complex was on fire. 

The light and heat hit his face, the hedgehog’s face dropping as he watched it going on. He assumed that the inhabitants of the complex were out front, as a giant crowd of people were standing there and staring up at the fire happening. 

Eclipse and Rouge stilled on the building across the street from the apartments. They looked down, watching Sonic’s reaction to the blaze in front of them. 

After a moment to stare at the fire, Sonic slowly started turning again, raising his soda can to drink the rest of it as he walked along. 

“Where’s my daughter? Where is she?! Oh god, somebody help! My daughter’s still in the building!” 

The blue hedgehog paused again, turning his head to look at the frantic father that was yelling and scrambling around. He was held back by people in the crowd to keep him away from the dangers of the structure fire, the man screaming in horror as he tried to break away. 

Sonic gazed back at his drink, looking at it for a moment before turning back towards the ablaze apartment complex with new resolve. He crushed the can in his hand and shoved it in a trash can at the edge of the sidewalk, passing by in a speed-walk to get across the street. 

He reached the edge of the group of people, stopping right beside someone standing by themselves. 

“What’s happening?” Sonic asked.

“The guy’s daughter was left behind on the third floor.” The bystander said. “Everyone was in a rush that they left her behind.” 

Without another word, Sonic rushed forwards, still in his oversized hoodie, using the moment the father was distracting the crowd to rush the building and rush into the front door. Sonic heard there were people yelling after him as he barged inside, but it was soon drowned out by the roar of crackling fire. 

From the building across the way, Eclipse and Rouge continued to watch. The dark hedgehog turned his head to look at Rouge, holding out his hand as well. With a scoff, Rouge took out the small listening device’s case again, handing it over.

Eclipse set up the gadget and slipped the headphones on, pointing the device through the holes made from the shattered windows. 

Sonic rushed through the fiery building, heading up the steps immediately and passing by fire as he did. The ballast beside him suddenly caught ablaze as he got up the steps, burning the end of his sleeve. He shook the sleeve and hit it with his covered hand, extinguishing the small flames. 

He slammed into the doors on the second floor, knocking one of them open and looking inside for anyone else trapped inside of the apartments. 

Sweat was starting to form on his face and head from the intense heat of the fire. Eclipse could hear the blue hedgehog’s breathing get heavier as he exerted himself in the inferno of the apartment blaze. 

Sonic started getting up the steps to the third floor. One of his feet was sent through a step that was weakened from the flames. Sonic scrambled back up the steps, looking down to see the fires below continuing to weaken the stairs. 

Up on the third floor, Sonic dusted his front off of soot, looking at the two apartment doors on the level- one was wide open, showing the empty inside, and the other was closed. Pointing towards the area of the door, Eclipse could hear muffled crying from within. 

“Hello?” Sonic shouted, banging on the closed door. “Is someone in there?!”

“Help me!” A young girl’s voice cried. 

“Stand back from the door! Keep away from the fire!”

After a second to give the girl a moment to get away, Sonic stepped back and kicked as hard as he could next to the doorknob, breaking the door frame with the strength of a runner’s leg and getting the door to swing open. 

“Come on!”

Sonic grabbed the young girl’s hand, leading her away to the downwards stairs quickly, as fire continued to ravage the building around them. 

As they got to the steps, remembering the weakened stairs last time, Sonic made a motion to the girl to keep still. He gently pressed his foot into the steps, moving away from the young girl to test out the stairs himself. 

There was a loud cracking sound of wood, forcing Sonic to rush down to the second floor as the steps collapsed below him, into the fiery blaze on the first floor. 

As ash and ember fluttered upwards, Sonic covered his mouth and looked up at the young girl. 

“You have to jump!”

“I can’t!”

“You don’t really have a choice, kid!” 

“I can’t do it! I can’t!”

Eclipse watched closely, the view of Sonic and the girl seen from different positioned windows on the building. The two dark Mobians watched with intrigue, keeping an ear out in the building, as Sonic paused in the middle of the inferno. He was paused with thought, still covering his mouth with his sleeve. 

Using his other sleeve, Sonic pulled the hood from around his head, letting his quills go free and unveiling himself to the young girl. The girl gasped in awe.

“Sonic…” She said. 

“You have to jump.” Sonic said, with new resolve. “The fire is spreading, please. I’ll catch you. I promise I’ll catch you.” 

The young girl was hesitant, but it was clear that seeing Sonic’s identity revealed to her gave the young girl a little more courage. She turned around, seeing fire spreading quickly across the carpet of the third floor. She backed away slightly, staying away from the fire as much as she could. 

With a short run, the girl jumped down to the second floor. Eclipse didn’t react, but she heard Rouge lightly gasp beside him, and could feel how tense she was getting. 

Sonic grabbed the young girl’s arms, catching her as he promised he would. Rouge let out a breath, continuing to listen after. Eclipse continued to focus on his doppelganger. 

As the floor cracked below him, from fire and structural weakness, Sonic lifted the girl and carried her out, rushing down the rest of the steps and through the fire. He sped out into the lawn in front of the apartment complex, slowing down in time to hand over the soot-covered young girl to her father. 

“Oh, god, Cindy!” The father cried, grabbing his daughter. “Thank you, Sonic. Thank you so much!” 

In the distance, the sound of fire truck sirens came, joined in by police sirens. Eclipse’s bad eye started twitching, making him put a hand over his twitching eye. There seemed to be a connection to the twitch and his sudden bouts of panic- he had to keep strong and concentrate. 

Sonic looked out into the distance. 

“Sonic, you need to go!” One of the crowd members said. 

“What? No, I…”

“We’ll cover for you.” Another citizen said to Sonic. “Get out of here, the cops won’t be able to chase you with how fast you are.”

“You’re aiding a known criminal!”

“You’re not a criminal, Sonic. We all know that. Now you need to get out of here! Go!”

Pausing for a moment, Sonic soon decided to follow the advice of the citizens, turning and quickly speeding off. Just as he did, cops pulled up to the building, quickly getting out of their cop cars. 

“Was that Sonic?!” One of them shouted. 

“What? No, that wasn’t him at all.” 

“Who was it then?!”

“That was…. Sssssss… Santiago.” 

“...Santiago.”

“Yes. The hedgehog.”

With the cops momentarily disrupted, Sonic became a blue blur as he rushed out of the area, and straight out of Station Square. Eclipse and Rouge managed to catch Sonic tearing off his damaged hoodie before he became too far from their range. 

“He’s getting away.” Eclipse said, eye still twitching.

“I can see that, smiles.” Rouge replied. “How are we going to catch up with him?”

“Can you fly after him?”

“I can’t go that fast. Can’t you use those jet boots to catch up with him?”

“By the time I make it up to speed on the ground, he will be halfway across the world.”

“What about in the air?”

“How would we get the jet boots to work in the air?”

“Don’t worry, smiles.” Rouge took the listening device, starting to pack it up. “I got a way we can catch up with him easily. But you’re gonna need to get on my back first.”

Traveling up the western coastline, Sonic headed into Golden Bay pretty soon after taking off from Station Square. Sonic was unable to contact Amy or Tails during his run, having to evade the view of policemen who quickly became aware that Sonic was heading their way. 

The city’s bridge was still under reconstruction, with different platforms of the bridge at different levels- production was halted when it became clear that Sonic was currently on his way to the city. 

Up above, soaring through the air, Eclipse was on Rouge’s back. The bat had her wings outstretched, using them to steer through the air as they glided from the power pouring out of the dark hedgehog’s rocket boots. 

His boots were letting out a steady propulsion of energy, making the hedgehog a living jetpack on Rouge’s back for them to fly through the skies, keeping an eye on Sonic. 

The blue hedgehog zipped down under the bridge, avoiding the policemen on the half-built bridge by running on water. Unseen to the dark pair, Sonic had his hands over his eyes to avoid having to look down at the water he was running across.

With Sonic out of their view for the moment, Rouge steered herself and Eclipse towards the bridge. The dark hedgehog stopped letting out energy from his boots, allowing the bat to glide down onto the cable tower of the bridge. 

Rouge got to her feet with a slide, letting Eclipse off behind her. 

“That blue hedgehog could be going anywhere in the city right now.” He said. 

“Not really. Golden Bay has a very heavy GUN presence inside of it. It seems that they were leading Sonic right into a trap- GUN’s most likely put the city on complete lockdown to keep him trapped inside.” 

Eclipse turned away from Rouge, looking towards Golden Bay, seeing a blue streak start to weave throughout the buildings. 

There was a quick, but loud beeping coming from Rouge’s treasure scope. The headset’s eyepiece flipped down over her face, making her touch the side of the scope to understand what she was seeing. 

“...the Chaos Emerald is nearby.”

“What?” 

“The green one. It’s near here, I marked its signature.” 

“How could you possibly know it’s the green one?”

“I just know, okay? I didn’t spend weeks with a Chaos Emerald in my possession a few months ago to not be able to tell the difference between the light wavelengths let off by each of them!”

“Fine, whatever. Where is the green one?”

The two became suddenly aware of a large military helicopter, with the GUN logo on the side of it, flying past the bridge above them. Hanging below the helicopter was a shipping container, colored black. 

As soon as Rouge looked at the container through the treasure scope, it beeped again. 

“In there.” She said, stating the obvious. “Whatever GUN got it for, they’re clearly going to be using it against Sonic in Golden Bay. If we want it before Sonic and his friends do, we’ll most likely have to intercept it.”

“Hm. Say no more. Get back to the Space Colony ARK and tell the doctor to wait in the control room for my return.” 

“What? What are you— HEY!” 

Eclipse immediately pressed forward, jumping off of the cable tower, flipping backwards slowly and leaving the bat alone on the perch. His boots landed perfectly on the bridge’s main cable, grinding down towards the partially built bridge. 

Leaving the bat behind, the dark hedgehog shot off of the cable of the bridge and onto the main part of it, keeping the momentum going with his rocket boots’ thrusters turning on. He skated across the center part of the bridge, headed inland towards Golden Bay. 

The hedgehog jumped off of the road and onto the inner side of the bridge’s support ends, running across it swiftly to reach the area where a bridge platform was raised into the air, suspended by an abandoned crane situated in the bay. 

With both legs, Eclipse leapt upwards and grabbed onto the platform, pulling himself up before rushing forwards again. He leapt off of the platform and into the upper road system that led into the city. 

The bridge was meant to connect to a winding pathway of overpasses, freeways and smaller bridges. Eclipse landed and zipped down this radical highway, skating as fast as he could to keep up with where the shipping container with the emerald in it would land. 

Rouge was right- GUN’s presence was heavy here, and they definitely anticipated that Sonic would be coming. Peppered across the overpass he was skating on were a variety of different, heavily armored GUN agents, all holding some form of firearm. Luckily, their sirens weren’t on, but Eclipse’s eye still twitched a little. 

The overpass was also in development. The road that Eclipse and the agents were standing on was lower than the next part of the overpass, which was meant to connect to the main roads and propped up on pretty thin metal support beams. 

Two agents were resting below the raised overpass. There was only one more- the one that Eclipse was rapidly approaching. The sound of Eclipse’s jet skates alerted the closest agent to his location, making him look bewildered.

“What?! How did you—” 

Eclipse rammed his shoulder into the agent’s chest, the speed making the agent stumble back and let go of his gun. The pistol flipped in the air for a moment before being caught by Eclipse. 

Before the agent could react, the dark hedgehog swept the legs from under him, and swung his gun down, whipping the butt of the handle into the side of the agent’s head, giving the agent an extra boost downwards to slam his head into the concrete. 

The other agents noticed their fellow man got knocked out. 

“SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, HANDS UP OR WE WILL SHOOT!”

Eclipse pointed the gun towards the area and fired two bullets- but not for the agents. The bullets hit the two thin support beams, damaging them enough for the beams to collapse under the weight of the raised part of the overpass. 

The raised section collapsed, making the two agents yell in shock and fall, pinned underneath the debris of the fallen concrete. 

With the pistol still in hand, the dark hedgehog skated away, headed up the collapsed platform and onto the overpass. He cocked the gun in his hand, getting it ready for anything coming next. 

Looking down at the streets, he continued to see Sonic zipping through the town, clearly trying to find some kind of way out. Eclipse looked up as well, seeing the military helicopter circling around to try and find somewhere to place its mysterious weapon. 

Skating towards a fork in the road, Eclipse took the higher road, eventually reaching a bend that led him away from where the military helicopter was. He vaulted over the edge of the road, reaching another road a story or so below. 

It may have been the wrong move, however, as it appeared that Eclipse landed in an area where Swat-Bots and GUN Beetles were having a rendezvous. Three of the former, six of the latter. 

At that moment, Eclipse had regretted his agreement to imitate the blue hedgehog. All robots immediately turned to where Eclipse was and started to try and fire. 

Zipping away, Eclipse aimed the pistol and fired two shots, one for each of two Beetle drones, immediately making them fall. As a Swat-Bot swung its arm towards the dark hedgehog, he slid underneath it, using his free hand to grab onto the robot’s leg and pull it from under the android, causing it to fall forwards. 

Getting rid of the flying drones was his current objective. He didn’t shoot haphazardly- like the teachings he got about the Chaos Spear, he needed to take a moment to make sure his aim was clear and true. 

With the next four bullets, he took down four more drones. Just one more was left- he aimed his pistol and fired. 

Click. Out of bullets. 

Eclipse angrily cursed in his head, wondering who barely packs a full clip for a gun on a mission. He packed the gun into his track jacket, ducking under a shot from the remaining Beetle- it hit the leg of a Swat-Bot behind the hedgehog, causing it to fall down on its face again. 

Nearby, Eclipse noticed a stop sign set up at the edge of the road, clearly set up for the merge lane that was nearby. He headed for the sign, knowing the Swat-Bots were all aiming for him. 

He got at least one to fire. The round hit the pole that the stop sign was erected on, breaking it free from the concrete below. Eclipse grabbed the pole of the sign, turning around quickly and smacking the approaching Beetle from the air. 

The drone was launched into an aiming Swat-Bot, causing them to crash into one another. Eclipse did an overhead throw with the sign, hitting it with the broad side of the pole, making the “STOP” on the sign flash the dark hedgehog as it slammed into the two robot droids. 

Rushing forwards, Eclipse used the speed to leap forwards, turning his body and drop kicking the Beetle into the Swat-Bot again. Both the drone and the android were sent flying back, over the edge of the overpass and down to the ground stories below. 

A round from one of the two remaining Swat-Bots hit Eclipse in the shoulder, making him grunt in pain. He looked over the harmed shoulder at the slowly approaching android, and spotted the stop sign still in between them. 

Eclipse activated one of his rocket boots, sliding across the ground on his knee (protected by the track pants he was wearing, thank god) and turning around. He grabbed the sign, using the momentum to swing the sign across the robot’s body. 

The sign part sliced through the body of the robot. After a second of pause, the top half of the Swat-Bot fell backwards, the android having been sliced in half. 

With that moment of time, Eclipse swung the sign around and threw it like a frisbee, letting the sign chop off the legs of the last android, causing it to collapse. As the Swat-Bot propped itself up on its hands, Eclipse sped forwards and jumped onto its back. 

Activating both jet boots, the Swat-Bot’s torso was melted instantly as Eclipse boosted off of the back of the android, launching forwards and off of the overpass. 

He landed on the rooftops of Golden Bay, returning his glance to the circling military helicopter with the unknown weapon inside of it. It was circling around a certain area- part of a parking lot towards the center of the city.

From where he was, Eclipse could see that they had placed down barricades and more containers to force Sonic to stay in one area. The weapon would most certainly be placed down in this area. 

Eclipse soon got to a rooftop close to the area, staring down at what was happening. 

“Ugh…” Sonic was tired. “Alright, this game of tag is boring. I need to get out of here.” 

As he stood up, however, a loud clack was heard above. The GUN helicopter dropped the shipping container it was carrying, the one that Eclipse was interested in. 

The container crashed into the ground, and both hedgehogs felt it with the vibrations it let off. 

After a second, the entire container unraveled, revealing the strange thing inside. It looked like a larger drone at first, before it lifted upwards to reveal legs attached to it. It was green, yellow and red- there was a glass shield protecting the cockpit that barely showed the form of a GUN agent inside. 

Besides the GUN logo plastered everywhere, “6F” was painted in on parts of the mech as well. “BIG FOOT” was painted on the side of the main part of the mech, right under the glass of the cockpit. 

“So, you finally wanted to give me a challenge, eh?” Sonic grinned a bit. “Alright! Bring it on!”

Eclipse knelt at the edge of the roof he was on, staring down blankly at the fight that was starting down below. The Chaos Emerald was inside of that mech, he knew it, and it was being used to fight back against Sonic. 

The blue hedgehog dodged a variety of missiles fired his way. Eclipse was surprised to find that this hedgehog curled himself into a ball and rolled away at superspeeds- that was still so strange to see, even after all this time of watching him. It never occurred to the dark hedgehog to ever really… try that. 

This mech was weak. As Sonic sent a homing attack into its side, it beeped loudly and started smoking out of one side. It seemed that damaging the mech made it less and less able to contain and use the power of the emerald. 

As he watched the fight rage on, Eclipse’s head slowly tilted curiously. 

It was always interesting to see Sonic fight. He’d been doing this for almost four years- according to his sources, at least. He didn’t fight like any of the agents he associated with, or even like anything you’d see on television. Eclipse referred to Sonic’s fighting style as “winging it,” and it surely showed. 

ONCE THE HEDGEHOG REALIZES A CHAOS EMERALD IS INSIDE OF THAT VEHICULAR MONSTROSITY, HE WILL NOT BE WILLING TO GIVE IT UP.

Eclipse didn’t reply to the voice speaking to him, still watching the fight. 

YOU WILL BE FORCED TO FIGHT HIM. YOU WILL WIN. 

“I will win.” The dark hedgehog echoed. “He’s just a hedgehog.”

YOU ARE THE ULTIMATE LIFEFORM, ECLIPSE. 

The hedgehog’s eye twitched again at that… word. It was his own name, and it somehow bothered him so much. He hated having to hear it, he hated everything that came with it. 

It was so much easier when he was referred to as a shadow.

WHAM! Another hit to the side of the mech, causing it to get damaged further. The agent inside was clearly panicking, trying everything he could to at least harm the super fast hedgehog with the Chaos Emerald powering his weapon. 

If Eclipse was seen, it would be the first time he’d ever actually interact (and probably fight) with Sonic. He had been watching the blue hedgehog from afar for a while, but it was difficult for him to articulate how Sonic would react- he was erratic and chaotic in his movements. You never truly could guess what was next for Sonic. 

In a way, Eclipse thought that was intriguing. Certainly made for a good opponent. 

He was brought back to reality with a final slam into the side of the mech, causing smoke to pour out and a small fire to start on the back. As the mech was hovering in the air, it collapsed into the ground in a heap. 

The agent inside decided to eject. With the smoke in the air, and the agent getting away, Eclipse settled that this was his opportunity to attack. 

He stood up again and took the leap of faith towards the fallen mech. 

As the “BIG FOOT” mech collapsed, the pilot ejecting and zooming into the sky with a jetpack, Sonic knelt onto the ground. He gripped his knee, head hung and breathing heavy as he regained his bearings from the fight he just had. 

Sonic looked up again, making sure there was nobody there. He saw the collapsed mech, the smoke pouring out of it, and the hedgehog on top rummaging through the remains. 

He sighed, hanging his head again. 

…wait a second. 

“What?!”

Sonic quickly looked up, spotting the dark hedgehog on top of the mech. He was frozen in place as he confronted his doppelganger, Eclipse’s back to Sonic, scrounging around and discovering the Chaos Emerald inside of the BIG FOOT’s engine. 

Eclipse yanked the emerald from the mech, lifting it upwards and above his head. It was the first time he’d touched a Chaos Emerald in his life- after hearing so much about its power, seeing it in the moonlight and feeling the energy buzzing in his palm felt almost cosmic. 

“It all starts with this,” He said, enraptured by the emerald. “A jewel containing the ultimate power…”

“YOU!”

Eclipse turned his head sharply, looking over his right shoulder with his good eye, looking directly at Sonic. Realizing his blue double found him out, Eclipse turned around slowly and looked down upon Sonic, who was storming forwards to get closer. 

“You’re the one that the military has mistaken me for!” The blue hedgehog yelled. “You’re the reason I’ve been on the run for the last few weeks!” 

The dark hedgehog took a step off of the BIG FOOT mech, landing with a single thud on the concrete below. With the emerald still in hand, he looked upon Sonic with emotionless, blank eyes. 

“I am the Ultimate Lifeform. The Shadow of— UNGH!”

Before Eclipse could finish his statement, Sonic rushed him unexpectedly, ramming into him and knocking him into the mech. Eclipse crumpled onto the ground, looking up at the blue hedgehog now only a few feet away.

Sonic held a hand to his ear, looking at Eclipse expectantly. 

“What was that? You didn’t finish.” He said. The statement was rhetorical, and Eclipse knew it. “It doesn’t matter. What’s your deal, man? I’ve done nothing but help people, and you come around and destroy it in a matter of days? I don’t even know you! What did I do to deserve you ruining my life? Ruining my friends’ lives, huh?”

Eclipse stared at him emotionlessly still, hand gripping the Chaos Emerald. 

“Say something, you fake hedgehog!”

“CHAOS CONTROL!”

With a twinkle against the green Chaos Emerald, time came to a screeching halt around the Mobians. To the naked eye, Eclipse suddenly disappeared- but to Sonic, who could see things at superspeeds, the dark hedgehog was suddenly passing by him. 

Sonic and Eclipse’s eyes locked as the latter passed the former, forcing Sonic to turn his head, and soon his entire body. 

The dark hedgehog appeared a few yards away, sliding to a stop with the emerald in hand, as Sonic did a full about face to look at where his doppelganger ended up. 

“Whoa, he’s fast…” Sonic commented. After a second, his eyebrows furrowed. “Wait a second, no he’s not! You’re just using the Chaos Emerald to warp time and space around you!”

Eclipse kept his position, holding the emerald out in front of him with a fist at his side, glowering at the blue hedgehog and staring him down. Sonic crouched down, getting into a runner’s pose. 

“That’s not gonna help you.” Sonic continued. “By the end of this, you’re going to be emerald-less and in a locked cell for the rest of your life.”

“The rest of yours, maybe.” Eclipse growled back. 

That was Sonic’s cue. He boosted forwards, rushing the dark hedgehog at top speeds. Eclipse, though not gifted with superspeed like Sonic, was certainly powerful enough to react and comprehend stuff like the blue hedgehog. 

Eclipse turned the green emerald so his hand was sideways, another glimmer appearing off of the side of the jewel. With a flash of bright blue, Eclipse suddenly disappeared before Sonic could even touch him. 

Sonic slid to a stop, looking around for the faker. Eclipse appeared right behind Sonic, in the air, using the moment to swing his leg around and kick Sonic in the back, sending the blue hedgehog tumbling forwards before disappearing in another flash of blue. 

Rolling to get back on his feet, Sonic looked around him to try and gauge where the doppelganger would appear next. 

He wiggled his nose. Sonic usually had this thing- he would typically sneeze right before something bad happened. It wasn’t always reliable, but it didn’t work for the faker at all? What was up with that? 

Without the sneeze, he’d have to focus extra hard to see where Eclipse would appear next. 

Bright blue light suddenly appeared behind him. Vibrating his body at supersonic speeds, Sonic forced the world to move slower around him, almost the same speed as this “Chaos Control” maneuver the fake hedgehog was using, allowing him to turn and see that the doppelganger was about to attack him from behind. 

Sonic stepped out of the way of Eclipse swinging both fists downwards, the blue hedgehog winding back and punching his dark copy in the stomach while he was in the air, flinging Eclipse back and away. 

Eclipse tumbled backwards across the ground but managed to flip himself up to his feet, stumbling back before regaining his bearings. He glowered over at Sonic again, who glared back with bared teeth. 

The Chaos Emerald glimmered. Blue electricity flickered between Sonic’s quills. 

From every security camera, robot and human possibly watching the fight, the next part was incredibly hard to watch- not because of anything gruesome or off-putting, but because it was hard to keep up with. 

Traveling at intense speeds, the two hedgehogs became streaks of blue and gold, zipping through the air in random zigzags, curves, and spins all around as they seemed to chase one another throughout the parking lot. Each time the two blurs connected, a flash of white came from their collision, a small burst of chaos energy unleashing from their attacks. 

Suddenly, the streaks hit each other three times in a row, in rapid succession, before the two hedgehogs appeared once more, both flung backwards at high speeds from their most powerful collision yet. 

Sonic slid across the ground on his feet and hands, coming to a stop. Eclipse did the same, but with the emerald still in hand, the pointed end of the gem creating white sparks as it dragged across the concrete of the street. 

They rushed forwards again, at the same time, meeting right in the middle of the little arena made by the containers placed around the parking lot. 

In his speed, Sonic quickly reached for the Chaos Emerald, grabbing Eclipse’s wrist and pushing it upwards. Eclipse, in turn, quickly grabbed Sonic by the throat while he looked up- Sonic let out a gurgling grunt in shock, his free hand grabbing Eclipse’s other wrist. 

Wind kicked up around them as they came to a sudden stop, staring at one another in their standoff. 

Sonic writhed in the hold he was in, still trying to reach the emerald, but finding it pulled just out of his reach. He stared Eclipse in the eyes, the dark hedgehog still emotionlessly staring at him. 

“You’re formidable, I’ll give you that.” Eclipse said. 

“Give me… the… emerald.” Sonic growled through the hand gripping his neck. 

“No.” Came the reply from Eclipse. “I am the Ultimate Lifeform, and it is my destiny to use the Chaos Emeralds to bring darkness across this planet.” 

“I can’t really relate… I say screw destiny.”

With that, Sonic unleashed his ultimate final finishing blow: he brought his knee back and sent it right into Eclipse’s chaos emeralds. 

Eclipse let out a loud yell at the attack, shuffling back. Now angry, the dark hedgehog rushed forwards as Sonic was rubbing his throat, punching the blue hedgehog right in the face, sending Sonic onto his back a foot or two away. 

Suddenly, all around Eclipse, rounds were fired into the ground from something above. It was an airplane, firing guns at the ground around the dark hedgehog, kicking up dust and causing Eclipse to cover his face with his arms for cover. 

A blue and yellow plane roared overhead. Sonic lifted his head to find a hand there to help him up to his feet. 

“You know, when you told me your plan before you left,” Amy said, as she helped him up. “I didn’t expect us to execute it within the next few hours.” 

“How did you…?”

“Amy’s psychic, duh.” Tails said, hovering down to stand on the other side of the hedgehog. “She got a psychic nightmare like the second you ran into that burning building.” 

From the dust and smoke, Team Sonic’s attention was turned to the emerging faker. Eclipse was breathing heavily, looking mighty upset at this recent development, and it seemed that his quills were glowing… red. 

“That’s the faker, eh? What’s he so mad about?”

“I’m trying to take his new toy away from him,” Sonic answered Tails. “And I kinda kicked him in the emeralds before you guys showed up.”

“Oof. I don’t think we’ll be able to stop a guy with that much anger.”

“Yes, we can. Together.”

Amy’s statement was emphasized by her grabbing onto her hammer with both hands, and squeezing with her bottom hand. She yanked away with the bottom hand, splitting the pole of her hammer in half and into two. 

Nanomachines did the rest of the job, reconstructing a smaller hammer in her other hand, one with a gold head that had red, billowing hammer faces extending out from either side of the head- almost like a red toy hammer. 

Now dual-wielding, Amy flipped the red hammer in her hand, getting a grip of it. Similarly, Tails rubbed his hands together, summoning Vulcan Cannons on both hands to stand in solidarity with his friends. 

Eclipse, who had waited so kindly for them to finish, gripped the Chaos Emerald tightly. 

“CHAOS SPEAR!”

The dark hedgehog extended his hand out as he shouted, a burst of golden energy extending from his palm, shooting out the familiar golden arc of energy. Team Sonic quickly scattered, avoiding the projectile as it sliced through a mail dropoff box. 

Sonic immediately started rushing towards Eclipse, the dark hedgehog immediately focusing on his blue double and holding up the Chaos Emerald. 

“Chaos— EUGH!”

Eclipse was barraged with energy balls, fired rapidly from Tails’ two Vulcan Cannons, the fox hovering in the air and away from the hedgehog’s reach. As Sonic got closer, Tails fired out a ring towards him, activating a tether the second the blue hedgehog held onto it. 

Tails lifted Sonic into the air, pulling him away from Eclipse, but swung him around in a circle and back towards the dark hedgehog. With the extra momentum, Sonic let go of the ring and curled into a spindash, rocketing through the air and hitting the disoriented Eclipse head-on. 

As Sonic rebounded, Eclipse slammed into a parked car behind him. He barely had time to react before Amy was tagged in, swinging her gold hammer around in an attack that took out a car window instead of the dodging dark hedgehog. 

Amy swung her red hammer down and directly into Eclipse’s knee, making the hedgehog buckle for a moment, giving her ample time to pull back her golden hammer and jab it forwards, knocking Eclipse backwards and into a stumble. 

Still in the air, Tails had activated a tether with rings inside either cannon, stretching the tether tense as he took aim towards Eclipse like he was holding a giant rubber band. Soon, he let it go, deactivating both cannons and letting the ring sling fling through the air, spinning around rapidly. 

The sling hit Eclipse, forcing both rings to wrap around the hedgehog’s body and constrain his arms to his sides. Amy spun around, hitting both hammers against Eclipse’s chest, knocking him backwards and onto his back. 

Once again, Eclipse immediately had to roll away as Sonic attempted to drop dash right on top of him. Rolling out of the ring sling, Eclipse got to his feet but was immediately attacked by Amy. The pink hedgehog extended her two hammers out, crossed over each other like a pair of shears, and quickly pushed the handles together to trap Eclipse between the hammer poles. 

With the hammerheads giving support to Eclipse’s back, Amy lifted the dark hedgehog upwards and into the air. From behind her, Sonic charged up a spindash, launching himself forwards and up into the air to hit Eclipse directly. 

The dark hedgehog was launched back from the attack, soaring through the air. Tails, still in the air, used his tails to flip himself around to intercept Eclipse. The fox sent both feet into Eclipse, stomping down with blue-shoed feet and forcing the hedgehog to crash into the ground. 

As he let go of it, the green Chaos Emerald let out a few tinks while it bounced across the ground. Eclipse picked himself up, looking up to see Tails walking towards it to pick it up. 

YOU IMBECILE. BESTED BY THESE… INSECTS. 

Eclipse winced at the loud voice. 

YOU KNOW YOUR MISSION, AND YOU KNOW THE CONSEQUENCES IF YOU FAIL. I WOULD CHOOSE YOUR NEXT MOVES VERY CLOSELY, ECLIPSE.

Feeling a zap of electricity wake his body up, Eclipse started breathing heavily, getting up and rushing forwards. He made it to Tails, grabbing onto the teenager’s namesakes and swinging him around, tossing him away.

Tails crashed against the BIG FOOT, grunting and falling over onto his hands and knees from the impact, holding his chest and taking shallow breaths- the wind was knocked from him. 

“Tails!”

Sonic’s cry came as Eclipse picked up the green emerald again, looking it over. Hearing the familiar sound of Sonic starting to speed towards him, Eclipse quietly accessed Chaos Control, rushing towards the blue hedgehog first.

He used both hands to push Sonic back, sending the hero flying into the shipping containers blocking off the parking lot with a loud WHAM! Sonic fell to the ground with a grunt and a groan of pain. 

Amy swung her red hammer towards Eclipse, who leaned backwards narrowly to miss the attack. The dark hedgehog kicked Amy’s hand, forcing her to lose the red hammer as it was flung to the ground. 

As she turned back around to swing her other hammer, Eclipse simply grabbed onto the young woman’s arm, preventing her from going through with the full swing. 

Since Eclipse was wearing the same gold fingerless gloves to match Sonic, his fingers were able to touch Amy’s bare arm. Unable to stop her psychic powers, the pink hedgehog let out a gasp as a powerful chill went up her spine, her eyes widening as she began having flashes of visions. 

Plants withering away. Red goo dripping down buildings. Humans with black leathery collars around their necks. Darkness falling across the world like some kind of eclipse… finally, in the ruins of something, Sonic collapsing after attempting to stay up on his feet, weakened and exhausted from… something. Behind him was the faker- Eclipse, staring down at him with golden light flooding out behind him. 

Suddenly, Eclipse rushed forwards- the visions became reality quickly as the faker pushed Amy away from him with a hand to her face. 

While she was still dazed, Eclipse reached his hand out and snapped a single time in the air. Like magic, chaos control was invoked, creating a sphere of warped reality that appeared as a bursting purple bubble. 

Amy was launched back by the chaos magic attack, into a car, whose back windshield instantly shattered as she flew into it. 

Eclipse turned as he heard the charging of a spindash. With the green emerald still in hand, he turned around and watched Sonic launch himself off the ground. Golden energy surrounded Eclipse, allowing the dark hedgehog to simply hold out his hand. 

He caught the spindash like a catcher in baseball, the rapidly spinning hedgehog creating sparks of white as he continued to grind against Eclipse’s hand. With the blue light reflecting off his pupils, Eclipse stared at the assaulting hedgehog for a moment. 

Then, he extended his fingers out. 

“CHAOS SPEAR!”

Gold energy flashed from his palm. Sonic was forced out of the spindash and sent backwards, crashing into the ground a few yards away from Eclipse, landing on his back. 

The energy died around the dark hedgehog’s body as he came back down from his energy high. He slowly stepped towards Sonic, the green emerald still in hand. 

Suddenly, from somewhere in a few miles of the park, the sirens started. It was a civil defense siren, blaring loudly across the entirety of Golden Bay, due to the altercation currently happening in the parking lot. 

With the siren hitting his ears, Eclipse felt his eye twitch again. He couldn’t stop it this time- his body suddenly went through a shock of adrenaline, which was enough to make him stumble and fall to his knees. 

“No…” He rasped. “Damn it, no, not now!”

His breathing quickened as he was on his hands and knees, the emerald resting right below his face. He opened his eyes, staring at his reflection in the Chaos Emerald, seeing sweat from his face dropping down onto the reflective gem. 

“I won’t let you hurt him!”

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?

“You’re so dumb, Mr. Needlemouse.”

GET UP!

“What do you think it’s like on Earth?” 

FINISH YOUR MISSION!

“Open fire on the specimen!”

NOW!

“MARIA!”

The dark hedgehog gripped the concrete, breathing quicker with wide eyes as he heard multiple voices flood his head. He felt eyes on him from all around, only worsening his situation as he started panicking more, somehow. 

Amy got off of the car she was on. Tails, regaining his breath, started stepping towards Eclipse. Sonic slowly got to his feet, eyes on the doppelganger, and held his hands out to his friends to stop them. 

“Wait, don’t!” He said. “I think… I think he’s having a panic attack.”

As he descended further into terror, Eclipse fell onto the ground, gripping onto either side of his head and hyperventilating. 

Golden energy crackled across his quills, his entire body starting to glow the same color as he generated more and more during his panic. Arcs of the energy came off his body and hit the concrete, creating scorch marks wherever it touched. 

Team Sonic watched in horror as an entire thunderstorm of energy pulsed from his body, the force of the golden energy lifting Eclipse into the air, his quills and jacket floating in the contained golden bubble. 

His fight or flight had reached his peak after being goaded for the last hour, and as a result, Eclipse couldn’t control himself in this moment. 

Suddenly, Eclipse unleashed a giant shockwave of golden energy from his body, an omnidirectional blast of chaos energy that not only hit everything in the parking lot, but anything within two square blocks. 

The storage containers were knocked back. The cars nearby all had their windows shattered, their tires all popped. In the distance, other cars beeped as their alarms were activated. Sonic, Tails and Amy were launched back again from the blast. 

Eclipse landed hard on the ground, barely getting enough energy to grab the green emerald. He held it out, mumbling unintelligibly before disappearing in a flash of bright blue with the Chaos Emerald. 

Everything soon stilled after the blast, a silence hitting the area as the sirens had suddenly stopped. 

The sounds of screeching tires echoed through the parking lot as Team Sonic got to their feet, regrouping in the area where Eclipse used to be. 

“Crap…” Sonic said. “What could that guy need with a Chaos Emerald?”

“Nothing good. Never anything good, ever.” Amy replied. 

“SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, COME OUT FROM THE PARKING LOT WITH YOUR HANDS UP! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!”

The policeman was right- there were flashing lights all around them. There was no non-dangerous escape from what was going on. 

With silence returning to the area, the three heroes looked at one another. 

“…Sonic…”

“This is the plan we agreed on, Amy.“

“Doesn’t make it suck any less!” 

“We’ll track you through your shoes’ GPS chip.” Tails said. “From there, we’ll get to the island and find out how to get the information we need.”

“Sounds like a plan, Tails.”

“…be careful, Sonic.” The fox said. He hugged Sonic tightly, to the hedgehog’s surprise. Sonic still pat Tails’ back as they hugged regardless. 

After the fox pulled away, Amy was next, hugging Sonic and holding him for longer. 

“For the love of god, don’t do another death fakeout.” She said as she hugged him. 

“I can’t make any promises.”

Amy pulled away, looking worried but keeping it to herself. She kept her eyes on Sonic as Tails summoned the Cyclone back to the area with his tablet. 

With a ring sling, Tails hooked onto the wheel of the plane, grabbing Amy and pulling her away and upwards from the area. 

Though the police would originally try to go after the pair, all their attention was diverted to Sonic, who stepped out of the parking lot with his hands up, surrendering himself to the cops. 

A few blocks away, in an alleyway, Eclipse appears in an alleyway with another flash of bright blue. He collapsed to his hands and knees, gasping for breath and taking shaky exhales, head hung down. 

He picked up his hand with the emerald in it, feeling an intense prickling feeling in his hand as if it was asleep. He turned his hand over, looking at the back of his hand, and seeing the emerald through it. 

Eclipse let go of the Chaos Emerald, gripping his wrist and watching as his hand was slowly beginning to become golden energy. He breathed quickly again, clearly panicking. 

The green emerald rolled across the ground, slowly coming to a stop at the feet of someone landing on the ground a yard or so away. 

Still freaking out, he watched the emerald get picked up and looked over by sea green eyes, the familiar form of a white bat coming in before his very eyes. 

Rouge looked back down at Eclipse, her eyebrows furrowed as his hand was fading into golden energy. 

“…I… I want to go back. I just want to go back to the ARK. I need to go… to go back. I have to go back.” Eclipse rasped shakily, unable to muster his stoicism for the moment. 

Slowly, Rouge stepped forwards, crouching down to get on the same level of Eclipse. She put the emerald in her leg bag, before finally speaking softly. 

“Okay. We can do that.”

“You’re so dumb, Mr. Needlemouse.”

Eclipse looked up from the floor, sitting down in front of the couch that was currently occupied. Dressed in his jumpsuit and a red bandana around his neck, the latter a gift given to him, he was ready to be placed back in containment soon. 

“Dumb? Like stupid?”

“No, dumb as in silly!” A cheery voice bubbled with laughter. “I should’ve said silly, my bad. You’re not dumb in the slightest. You’re super smart!”

“You really mean that, Maria?”

Maria Robotnik, dressed in a set of floral blue pajamas, continued to smile down at Eclipse. She reached over and patted his head. 

“Of course I do, Mr. Needlemouse. Though you might prove me wrong if you insist on sitting down on the floor all the time. There’s room up here!”

Eclipse felt inclined to sit with her up on the couch, but a part of him felt that… he wasn’t worthy of it. Sure, he’d grown close to Maria since he’d first met her, feeling like he finally had a big sister in his life like from the movies he’d watched with her…

But he’d always just be a creature made in a lab. 

Remembering this, Eclipse shook his head at the silent question to sit up on the couch with Maria. The blonde young woman sighed, but nodded. 

“Alright, sure. I get it.” She suddenly heard guitars, bringing her back to the television. “Oh, shhhh! Shh! It’s on!!” 

With flashy lights coming across the television screen, Eclipse was pulled back into the show like Maria was. This was something called “anime,” and even in the seventies, it was pretty big amongst the young people. Maria had even told Eclipse that she’d seen pictures of Nippon, where this anime was made, and wanted to go there. 

As the show returned, it slammed right back into the fight scene it had left before. The characters on screen were fighting across a very rocky desert area- to be honest, Eclipse had a bit of trouble keeping up with which character was which, and which he was supposed to be rooting for. 

They both had black hair, they both visually looked the same. They defied all laws of physics and gravity as they flew through the air, throwing punches and kicks at one another. 

Though he was having trouble keeping up, Eclipse had to admit that this series was pretty cool. 

There was a moment of stillness between the two fighters on screen as their fighting paused, staring each other down and beginning to talk to one another- or, occasionally, talk aloud to themselves in some lines that gave some nifty exposition. 

Eclipse was enraptured by the voice lines and lovely animation of it all. He slowly looked up towards Maria, who was entranced with the fighting and talking as well. After a second, she noticed she was being stared at, making her look down towards Eclipse. 

She scrunched up her nose and wiggled it, like a witch from an old sitcom. Eclipse smiled at that, turning back around and watching the fight again. 

One of the two guys fighting charged up, launching towards the other. As he did, he shouted out his attack, unleashing a flurry of energy that chased the other man around. 

The dark hedgehog tilted his head curiously. 

“Why do they shout out their attacks like that?” 

“I think it’s to help keep up with what’s happening.” Maria replied. “If there’s a giant fight of a ton of monsters or something on screen, it’s easier to understand who’s attacking who if they announce what their moves are. Besides… it’s honestly kinda fun to do it.”

Eclipse nodded slowly, still watching the television. He watched the men onscreen start to talk again as they floated in midair- only their mouths moved, they didn’t move their bodies. 

“...why is that blue guy calling the gold guy that name?”

“What, that long k-word?” 

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s the gold guy’s real name. His birth name, rather.”

“But I thought his name was the title of the show.”

“It is! You see, the gold guy was born with the k-word name, but when his planet was going to be destroyed, he was sent to Earth. He was given a new name by the people who found him, which he now uses as his “real” name, hence the name of the anime.” 

“You can just do that? Have a totally different name to choose to be your own?”

“Of course you can! Why do you think I call you Mr. Needlemouse?” Maria patted the hedgehog’s head, stroking his quills. “Leagues better than Eclipse. Talk about needlessly edgy.”

“Do you think I could get a new name?” 

“Oh totally. But you gotta be the one to choose it.” 

“But the guy in the anime…”

“That’s animation, Mr. Needlemouse. He got it when he was a baby! If you want a new name, you think it over and you come up with it yourself. It makes it much more special.”

Eclipse looked up at Maria again, smiling a bit. The teenager smiled back, still patting his head.

The door to the room suddenly opened, lifting upwards into the wall with a loud hiss. A hand turned on the lights, making both Maria and Eclipse wince as the dark room suddenly stopped being dark. 

In the doorway was a stocky but tall scientist, dressed in a red sweater, tan pants and bunny slippers. He used a hand to twirl his gray mustache, eyes peering at the pair through his thick coke bottle glasses. 

“Whoops… busted.” Maria said. 

“Just because we’re in a space satellite, doesn’t mean you cannot sleep at specific times.” Professor Gerald Robotnik said, stepping inside. “And do not drag Eclipse out of his stasis pod, if he’s inside of it it’s typically for a very good reason, Maria.”

“I don’t like Eclipse.”

Gerald was surprised to see Eclipse speak so clearly to him. The dark hedgehog typically kept to himself- except when it came to Maria, as Eclipse always enjoyed speaking to her. 

“I’m sorry?”

“I don’t like the name Eclipse. It’s so needlessly edgy.”

At that, Gerald eyed his granddaughter through his glasses. The blonde teen simply shrugged with a smile, trying to absolve herself of putting the hedgehog up to it. 

“...do you prefer the nickname Maria gave you?”

“I like it… but I dunno if I’m gonna keep it.”

“Alright, then. Mr. Needlemouse, it’s time for you to go into stasis.” Gerald said, reaching over and taking the hedgehog’s hand. He looked at Maria. “You can watch more things with him tomorrow, at a reasonable time. Do you need any help?”

“I’ve got it, grandfather.” 

Maria slowly slid from the couch, hanging onto the arm tightly as she got to her feet, leaning against it for support.

“Are you sure?”

“Grandfather, please. You brought me to space because I could walk better without a lot of gravity here.” 

“I know. I just… worry.”

The gravity of the ARK was strong enough for someone to walk normally, but light enough to glide if you really needed it. Maria pushed off the couch, floating through the air to prevent herself from walking on her weakened legs. 

As she passed by, grabbing onto the door frame, she glanced back at Eclipse one last time. She wiggled her nose to him with a smile, before turning and disappearing into the dark halls of the Space Colony ARK. 

The hedgehog was looking at the area she disappeared in as he was pulled out of the room, led down the opposite direction by Professor Robotnik, headed to a higher level of the ARK. 

He was returned to his study room- a large, red stasis pod was positioned upright, opened to show that nobody was inside of it. Gerald led his hedgehog to the pod, leaning down and lifting him into it. Even though Eclipse had the mental state of a young man, he was still small, like a child. Gerald’s child. 

Eclipse shuffled his feet so it wasn’t on the drain that caught the stasis gel. He put on the hanging oxygen mask, as he’d been instructed to do dozens of times before. Gerald pressed a button, the hatch glass top of the pod coming down and sealing shut. 

From above, slowly, thick green liquid poured into the pod. As soon as it touched Eclipse, he could feel his body get tingly, as if it was falling asleep. Soon, the parts touching the gel went completely numb. 

He closed his eyes to prevent the gel from getting onto his eyes, ready to fall asleep as he always had. Before he did, however, he saw Gerald waving him goodnight with a smile. 

Eclipse looked over the pistol he had picked up during his brief time back on Earth. It was a peculiar thing, using a gun. He didn’t necessarily hate the idea, but he also didn’t see the point of having to use it if he was so powerful. 

It was good to have if he was having a panic attack, or weakened. Maybe he’d keep the pistol around- if he could find more rounds to it. 

He placed the gun down in a drawer, his eyes traveling up his hand and to the new accessory he had on his wrists- a pair of bracelets. They were thick, black rings that seemed to be made of some kind of leathery material. 

Eclipse was given these in case he needed them. The power he was putting out during that altercation… if he reached that level again, especially when he was in hysterics, he could easily fade away into pure energy. 

He rubbed the Inhibitor Rings, wincing a bit at the weird materials. It almost felt like skin, but… Eclipse couldn’t be too sure. 

The door hissed as it opened, revealing Rouge there. Eclipse turned his head, looking at her, the pair looking at each other in silence for a few moments. 

Just the other night is when the altercation with Sonic occurred. Rouge had managed to get Eclipse to Ivo’s secret desert base, use the teleporter there and transport the two of them back to the ARK. 

Though Ivo wanted to know what happened, Rouge had managed to distract him so Eclipse could return to his room, to wind down and end his panic attack. He had been secluded in the room all night since then- this was the first time the pair were seeing each other in about twelve hours. 

Rouge stepped inside a bit, her eyes flicking over for a moment to spot Eclipse rubbing his new bracelets. 

“…accessorizing yourself are we?”

“No.” The dark hedgehog replied. “These are used to keep my powers in check. I thought I could control them, but…”

Eclipse trailed off. Rouge didn’t try to pry anything more out of him, changing the subject after a few moments of silence. 

“The doctor wants to see you. He’s in the control room, like you asked him to be.” Rouge said. “You do still have the emerald, right?” 

“...yes.” 

Eclipse reached into a nearby drawer and retrieved it- the green Chaos Emerald, held in his hand and still making his palm buzz with the energy it was producing. 

“Alright, let’s head down then.” 

Standing to the side, the bat let Eclipse leave the room first, the door closing quickly behind him. Rouge followed him, letting him lead her to a separate room that had the elevators. Walking into the biggest one, Eclipse pressed the button labeled “CR”

With a loud creak and whine, the elevator slowly started descending further into the Space Colony ARK. After a moment, staticy music started playing through the old speakers of the lift, though only playing softly. 

It was silent, awkward between the two as they stood in the slowly sinking elevator. The situation was still silently eating at Eclipse, whether it be from embarrassment from what happened or feeling bad that he put that all on Rouge. 

“...Rouge. About what happened…”

“Hey, come on, don’t be so weird about it.” The bat replied, gently nudging Eclipse. “I figured you were having attacks like that the first time I saw it happen, I just couldn’t confirm it.” 

“What’s… wrong with me?”

“Nothing’s wrong with you, smiles. You’ve just had trauma. Certain things can remind you of that trauma, and force you to relive it, sending you into an adrenaline-fueled panic. I’ve seen dozens of agents go through it before while at GUN.”

“...hm.”

“You get now why you usually need someone watching your back out there?”

“I was beating the blue hedgehog and his friends with ease, even when I was panicking.”

“Yeah? Well I still had to come around and pick you up to keep the cops from finding you in a haze in some alley.” Rouge replied. “Besides, Team Sonic was wiping the floor with you before you got the idea to separate them. That’s the thing with Sonic- you may be able to beat him alone if you really try, but you’ll never beat him if he’s got his friends with him. Especially when they get Knuckles back. Whether you like it or not, smiles, you need a team to watch your tail out there.”

Eclipse was silent, standing in thought, spinning the emerald in his hand. 

“...I told you I don’t like that nickname.” He grumbled.

Rouge scoffed, amused. 

After a few more seconds, they reached the “CR” destination. With a loud ringing, like a school bell, the doors to the elevator slowly opened up. 

The control room was massive, and very open. It was a giant, circular room, the only place to stand being a platform that extended out from the elevator, leading to a giant control station. There was a giant mangle of wires and batteries up above the central control panel, connecting to strange constructs that not only supported the entire platform, but seemed to be used to transfer energy downwards. Up above the control panel, within arms reach, was a giant device shaped like an X, with seven holes in it. 

One of the holes was filled with a gray emerald. In front of the center control panel stood Ivo, who was stroking his mustache as he looked up at the large control system. When he heard the elevator doors fully open, he turned to look at the Mobians walking in. 

“Ah! Finally, you’re here.” Ivo said. “I wanted to do this last night, but I suppose right now is just fine. You have the emerald?”

“Yes.” Eclipse replied, both him and Rouge walking up towards the control station. He continued to turn the emerald around in his palm. 

The spirit of Gerald Robotnik appeared beside Ivo, leaning towards him to murmur to his grandson quietly. 

“The emerald must be placed inside of the energy converter.” 

“I know, grandfather. Calm down.” 

Eclipse slowly stepped up to the raised platform of the control station, on the same level of Ivo. He looked over the batteries and wires hanging down, all leading to the “lightning rod” that protruded downwards and into the darkness of the lower areas of the control room. 

“The ARK was the first space colony mankind ever made,” The dark hedgehog said. “It was made for the study of diseases, and to eventually house people. Not many people know that it also contained a top-secret research facility where weapons of mass destruction were being created. This… is one of them. A weapon capable of destroying the entire planet. Codenamed… the Eclipse Cannon.” 

“Destroying an entire planet…?” Rouge spoke softly, staring up at the control center in awe.

“Was this… my grandfather’s legacy?” Ivo said afterwards. 

“Yes. This device will be used to bring those ungrateful humans to their knees.” Gerald spoke to Ivo. “It must be turned on, Ivo. You must turn it on.” 

“It’s been deactivated for some time now. To turn it back on, large amounts of energy are necessary.” 

“Oh, I see now. That’s why we need the Chaos Emeralds.” Ivo said to the dark hedgehog. “My father had actually used a device shaped similarly to this one to drain the energy out of the Chaos Emeralds… back when he was alive. If we collect the emeralds, it’ll power up the Eclipse Cannon with the power of the emeralds!”

“Exactly.” 

“I like the way you plan, Eclipse. Now… how about you—”

“I don’t like Eclipse.”

Ivo blinked in surprise, eyebrows raised. He readjusted his blue tinted glasses.

“I’m sorry?”

“I don’t like being called Eclipse. The word… it makes me… feel nauseous.” 

“What is he talking about?!” Gerald snapped. “That’s his name! He is the Eclipse that will bring shadows to this world! He was born with that name?”

“...what name would you prefer then?” Ivo asked, ignoring the spirit of his grandfather. To be honest, after listening to the ghost blabber on for several months, it was easy to tune him out. 

“...I liked… when I was called a shadow.”

“A shadow?”

“Yes. It’s even similar, in a way… to my original name. So it’s not like it doesn’t fit.”

Ivo was quiet for a moment before nodding firmly. 

“Alright, then. Shadow, could you please put the emerald in the device?”

“What’re you doing?! Don’t assist his delusion! He has a name and it’s Eclipse!” Gerald cried. “Make him take his old name back! Do it right now! I am your grandfather!”

The spirit was ignored. The dark hedgehog turned and pressed the green emerald into the center circle of the X-device, letting it sink and lock into place.

There was a loud hum filling the entire control room as the emerald’s power started fueling the systems. A bright green light shined through the emerald, illuminating everyone inside, before a giant flash of green dazed everyone for a second. 

After that, the X-machine rattled. Purple and blue lights came out from under the central control area, bringing more light to the room as more energy started powering the ARK. There was a small burst of energy that pulsed out from the control station- nothing able to hurt the group, it was more like a small blast of wind. 

The batteries up above began pulsing with energy. The entire room came alive with the arrival of the second emerald, with tons of beeping and sounds of energy charging everything up. 

From the lower platform, Rouge looked up at her dark companion. As if sensing her, he turned around to meet her gaze, the two looking at each other with stares that had different meanings- his was intrigue about what came next, while the bat’s was with worry about what they’ve done. 

Ivo began to laugh as he saw his control room come alive, which quickly turned maniacal. Their plan was just beginning, and from the looks of it, nobody would be able to stop him this time. 

Shadow the Hedgehog turned back around, smiling as he looked into the X-device, his face illuminated by the light of two emeralds. All eyes were on him, but he didn’t care- the plans were set in motion, and by the end of it… humanity will pay for what they’d done to him. 

UP NEXT: Chaotix And The Chaos Rings!

Chapter Text

MONTHS PRIOR…

A knock on the workshop door was something Tails had never really experienced. Sonic, Amy and Knuckles usually just rush inside of the workshop, they never knock. 

Pulling up the welding mask he had on, Tails slowly stood up and walked away from his current project- the nearly completed Tornado 3- moving to the door of his workshop with caution. He had his Vulcan Cannon at the ready behind his back, his tail stirring in anticipation at what could come. 

He was certain it wasn’t Ivo, he hasn’t been heard from… at all. It’s like he left the face of the Earth. As for any of their other villains… Well, Team Sonic didn’t really have any other villains. One that wants to mess with them, at least.

Maybe the IRS finally found Tails and was coming for a reckoning. He could only get away with “I’m only 13 I don’t know what general aviation taxes are” for so long. 

Tails took a deep breath and opened the door, surprised to find what was on the other side. 

“Vector?” 

The crocodile had his back to the door, as if he was about to leave, but quickly turned his head to look at Tails. He seemed a bit off… a bit nervous. 

“Tails! Hey there, buddy.” Vector said, trying to stay nonchalant. “You, er, you got a minute?”

“Uh… yeah, I think so. Come in?”

Tails opened the door wider, his Vulcan Cannon deactivating in time for him to hold his hand out, gesturing for the crocodile to come inside. Vector ducked under the door frame to slip inside, an arm staying on the side of his jacket to keep it in place. 

Vector looked around- he’d never really gotten a good look at the inside of this workshop before. 

“Nice place you got here, Tails.”

“Thanks, Vector.” The fox closed the door. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, uh… Well first, how are you doing after the whole Chaos nonsense? How’s being the hero of the city treatin’ you?” 

Though hesitant at first, Tails decided to indulge in Vector’s question. He strolled past Vector, tails still spinning, moving close to the partially finished plane. 

“I’ve been alright, I guess. I can see why Sonic usually takes all the spotlight for all the good Team Sonic does… It sucks being recognized in public. I haven’t left home or the workshop in weeks, really.”

“Aw man, I’m really sorry to hear that… you do deserve some recognition though, you stopped Robotnik and helped Sonic save the city!” 

“I mean, I guess.” Tails shrugged. He pat the side of the unfinished Tornado 3. “I’m rebuilding my plane. Instead of using chaos energy, it’ll just use solar power from now on. Keeps me from having a Chaos Emerald out in the open.”

“Chaos Emerald, eh?” Vector cleared his throat. “You uh… you still have the one the city gave you, right?”

“Yeah. C’mere.”

Tails walked over to his workbench, with Vector hanging behind. The Chaos Emerald was being propped up with some metal claws, placed on a scanner with a feed being projected onto Tails’ nearby Miles Electric. 

“I’ve been studying the energy output and the properties of the emerald now that we have some down time.” 

“Wow, that’s… wow.”

To Tails, Vector was always like the older brother who knew nothing about what your interests entailed, but always attempted to remain supportive. The fox knew that Vector didn’t really get the emeralds, but Tails appreciated the crocodile being nice and feigning interest. 

“Tails…” Vector spoke again after a moment. “You… Know how to contain that, right?”

“I’ve been working on a containment cube that disguises the energy output so I can carry it wherever I go. Other than that… I have a few ideas. Why?”

“Well, uh… Okay, I don’t know how to say it. I’ll just show you.”

Vector took out the object he had been hiding in his jacket. It was a metal lunchbox, one for an old detective show Tails sometimes saw on cable when he was watching television. 

Flicking open the hatches, Vector opened the lunchbox to show Tails what was inside. There was something wrapped in a bunch of napkins. 

Of course, the crocodile took the object out and unwrapped it, showing Tails the dazzling red gem underneath. The red Chaos Emerald. 

Tails watched with raised eyebrows as Vector placed the emerald on the workbench. 

“…how did you get this?” 

“It was in my jacket after I took a dive to save people during the whole Chaos debacle. I accidentally left the zipper down, so it got caught inside sometime when I was swimming.”

“Oh man… I wonder how many other emeralds got mixed up with people. I’m glad it was you though, not a total stranger…” Tails tapped his chin. “Do… the other Chaotix detectives know?”

“Yeah, I told them right away. They’re a bit more coolheaded with keeping a secret than I am… Charmy was the one who suggested I ask you what to do.”

The fox studied the red gem curiously, still thinking to himself. He was quiet for a few moments, which didn’t sit well with the crocodile, who was getting increasingly paranoid. 

“Tails. Don’t mean to rush ya, but… do you know how I can contain this thing or not?”

Not answering right away, Tails’ eyes trailed over from the gem in its nest of napkins to the metal lunchbox that it was locked away in. 

“…I think I got an idea.” The fox said. “Do you know those dummy rings I use with my cannon?” 

“The ones that aren’t like the real rings, right? They don’t jingle and disappear when you touch them?”

“Yeah, those ones! I’ve been experimenting with them involving the energy coming out of the Chaos Emerald.” The teenager replied, moving further down the workbench. “Supercharging the dummy rings didn’t make them normal rings, but instead the material of the dummy rings absorbed the chaos energy, like metal absorbing heat.” 

“Oh! Cool… what’s that mean?”

“It means, the rings can still emit a unique chaos energy signature- but aren’t able to imbue people with that energy. So, since we essentially made some colorful rings… I had some ideas on how we could use these Chaos Rings to our advantage… and I think I just found the best way to test my prototype.”

Tails took something from the end of the workbench, flipping it like a coin over to Vector. The crocodile snatched it from the air, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he opened his hand and looked at what was in his palm. 

It was a small, green ring. One you would wear as an accessory. Vector held it between his thumb and index, looking through the hoop at Tails. 

“Just depends on how many rings you’d want. All that size.” 

Vector thought for a second, before closing his hand and keeping the green ring for himself. 

“I’ll take five more.”

PRESENT DAY…

“This is J. Bailey, with SXN. Shocking news from Golden Bay tonight as national hero Sonic the Hedgehog has been arrested, after a nearly one-and-a-half month search for his whereabouts. In an exclusive interview with SXN, Guardian Units of Nations Commander Abraham Tower states that the hedgehog’s ‘reign of terror’ has come to a close. Some people seem to agree.”

The television switched from the news anchor sitting at his desk on set to interviews with a variety of civilians on sidewalks. 

“Honestly he was kinda scary, man.” A middle-aged man said. “I mean, you should’ve seen him on national chilidog day. They had to repave these roads, man.”

“I never understood why a lot of people liked him.” A young woman said in a separate interview. “He would always say these annoying one-liners, and he seems to have caused a lot of property damage while he saves the day, or tries to. I mean, let’s be real guys, Sonic was never good.” 

“And then- and then, when he was doing the crime in front of me, I saw him say something,” A separate man said in yet another interview. “He went: ‘this is like taking candy from a baby, which is fine by me’! Can you believe that?!”

The screen returned to news anchor J. Bailey on set. 

“Though there are quite a few people believing the arrest of Sonic makes us all safer, some clearly do not- a change.net petition to release Sonic from prison has gone viral, organized by Station Square local Cream Tarte, and currently has over one-hundred-thousand signatures. Let’s hope, for once, an online petition will achieve its goal.” 

The television was turned off. The one holding the remote was Alliana Hernandez, the lady crocodile currently sitting on the couch in her apartment. Her eyebrows were furrowed from watching the news report. 

“Lies.” She murmured as a comment. “Aleena raised that boy well. He would never do anything like that… poor Sonny.” 

Part of her wondered if she could get her boys to prove Sonic’s innocence somehow, like in one of her old crime movies… then again, she did ask Vector what was happening with the hedgehog before, and was told that Sonic didn’t want them involved. 

It was worrying seeing Sonic in such distress. She wasn’t particularly close to him, but she was close to Aleena, and it was upsetting seeing the son of someone she respected so much in such distress. 

But, life goes on. If Sonic needed her help, similarly to helping with that strange water monster creature, Alliana would certainly be there in a heartbeat. Since it seemed that Sonic didn’t want his friends caught in the crossfire of this controversy, Alliana would hold her tongue. 

Alliana had plans today. Plans with Charmy. She planned to head down with Charmy to the supermarket, as she usually does every Monday, in order to get groceries for the two of them (and maybe Vector, depending on if he could swallow his pride) throughout the week. 

Although, she was also planning on getting some food for herself and Inco to have a special romantic dinner between just the two of them sometime this week, if and when the boys were all out of the building investigating some case. 

The last half of a year had been the ultimate whirlwind romance for Alliana. Inco was so intelligent, so sophisticated, and so, so funny! She truly hadn’t felt anything like this before, especially not with the late crocodile that was Vector’s surrogate father in Project Mobius. 

She had no ill will towards that crocodile, but the pair were only “together” to make Vector- who in terms of the project was meant to become a tactical brute with an earth-shakingly loud battle cry. Now Vector was a detective, and she couldn’t be more proud of him.

Ending her walk down the hall where Charmy’s (previously Vector’s) door was, Alliana knocked on the door three times.

“Little bee, it’s time for us to leave!” She said sweetly. “...Little bee? Charmy, are you in there? Hellooooo?” 

Alliana opened the door, peeking inside, having to duck down to get her head inside. All things considered, Charmy hadn’t changed much of Vector’s room, keeping the detective posters and similar decor. The only additions were a laptop that Alliana gifted him on Vector’s old desk, and his bedspread being themed after his favorite video game, StackWorld. 

With a hum, she closed the door firmly. He didn’t seem to be in there. Alliana stepped towards the bathroom door and knocked on that door.

“Charmy?” 

No response. She opened the door too, just in case he was unable to speak inside for whatever reason. With the bee still missing, she closed that door too. 

That was odd. He wasn’t anywhere here. Usually he would stay in the apartment and wait for Alliana to be ready to leave. The only other place she could think that Charmy would be at is the detective office upstairs. 

She wasn’t sure why he would be there as of late, though. Ever since Alliana and Inco were forced to reveal their relationship to their respective children, it wasn’t exactly fun being around either of them if they were in the same room. Things were incredibly rocky between the two detectives when they were so chummy before. Alliana felt pretty guilty, but also… part of her felt relieved she didn’t have to hide it now. 

Just to check, she stepped inside of the nearby kitchen to see if Charmy was in there. Instead, she was met with a peculiar sight- the remains of Charmy’s breakfast on the counter. Two pieces of toast with peanut butter and a sprinkling of bee pollen, with one piece of toast untouched, and the other halfway eaten. 

Something was wrong. Charmy never skips out on eating breakfast, ever. Not even when there was a case upstairs… Alliana was busy following her exercise video that morning, she didn’t get to see Charmy until she was ready to leave for the supermarket. 

From across the kitchen island, leading out into the living room where the front door was, Alliana suddenly spotted two shadows appear under the door. 

The person on the other side tried the knob, but found it locked. After a second of silence, the knob started rustling as someone started fiddling with the lock. 

Alliana knew it wasn’t Charmy. He would be flying to look through the peephole on the other side of the door, no foot shadow would appear. If it was Vector, he’d be yelling for her. 

The mother crocodile exited the kitchen, grabbing the aluminum baseball bat she kept in the back cushions of her couch and went to the door. 

She held her hand over the deadbolt lock, still listening to the person messing with it on the other side. She quietly counted to three, before quickly unlocking the door and flinging it open. 

“AAAAAH— oh! Inco!”

I.G. Kaziwaka didn’t react to the large crocodile woman, bat raised to attack, standing right in front of him. He still had his hand out, the spare key provided to him by Alliana in his hand and still in the same general area of the deadbolt. His other hand was holding his arm up, the key hand shaking. 

“Alliana!” Inco exclaimed, eyebrows raised in surprise. “Hello! I did not know you were home! I thought you were going to the market?”

“I was, but I can’t seem to find Charmy… what’s wrong with your arm, why are you holding it up?”

“Ah, I slipped and fell in the lobby and landed right on the arm. You need to put up a wet floor sign as soon as possible… May I come in? I need to charge my smartphone.”

“Of course, come right on in, please.”

Alliana peeked out into the hallway once more before closing the door firmly and re-locking the deadbolt. 

She ushered Inco to the couch, guiding him to sit down and handing him the charging cord that was nearby. 

“Do you need an ice pack, honey?”

“No, no, I’m just fine. I’ll feel better in no time. Tell me, Alliana, have you seen my son anytime today?”

“Espio? No, I haven’t. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was on my mid-morning jog around Station Square, when I decided to stop by the home I bought for him in the suburbs of the city. However, his car was gone, and I could not call him as I forgot to charge my phone last night. I would have charged it upstairs but after falling in the puddle, I decided to simply stay on the ground floor and visit you.”

“If Espio is gone from his house, then he must be upstairs with my boys.” 

“That would certainly be the most likely thought! I will call my son the second my phone is alive enough to turn back on!”

Alliana nodded, settling on staying down with Inco for the moment- especially if his arm was really hurt, then she would get him something to soothe the pain. However, it seemed that she wouldn’t get very far from the door anyway, as another shadow appeared under the crack. 

The mystery person knocked three times.

Alliana immediately noticed the shadows, gripping onto her bat tightly after the knocking. Inco looked up at the mother crocodile, continuing to watch her as she marched over to her front door, returning to the spot she was a moment prior. 

From an outsider perspective, her being so defensive about whoever entered her home would be strange. But, do consider, she lives in Station Square. Though the crime isn’t that bad, the odd supervillain may start doing street-level crimes to garner the attention of their heroes, and there’s also the case of her sons being detectives, which could lead a criminal right to her door to use against Chaotix. 

She flung open the door again, raising the bat. 

“RAAAAAAH!”

She was met with the unchanging glance of a sopping wet crimson armadillo. He held a paperback book in both of his fingerless-gloved hands. 

“Oh hello!” Mighty said. He flipped the book open to the inside of the back cover, showing her the writing on the inside of it. “You must be Vector’s mother, like on the back!”

The writing on the back cover was smudged a bit, but readable. It said the book could be returned to Vector and Alliana Hernandez, with the address of the latter’s apartment scribbled underneath it. 

Alliana quickly grabbed the book. 

“This is Vector’s!” She said, looking it over. “Where did you get this?!”

“He gave it to me as a gift!”

“Likely story… what have you done with my boys?” 

“Alliana, my dear, please.” Inco was up, stepping beside the much larger crocodile. “This is Mighty! Espio has told me about him, he comes from Angel Island, not unlike that echidna that Sonic the Hedgehog ‘hangs around’ with! If that’s how you use that term.” 

“You’re I.G. Kaziwaka!” Mighty said, smiling widely. “I love your book!”

“Which one?”

“That one.” The armadillo pointed right at the book. “I’ve read it over a hundred times! No lie! I’ve currently read it around one-hundred-and-seven times.” 

“...hm.” Inco’s eyebrows were raised, surprised. 

“You said he gave this to you as a gift? It’s all wet!”

“I’m sorry. He gave it to me during the Chaotix’s case I asked them to do a while ago, and I’ve kept it with me since then! I’ve finally decided, with my siblings falling into roles on Angel Island, I would take up the offer given to me to become a Chaotix detective! I had to swim here though.”

“That would explain the wet lobby…” 

“And the damp book.” Alliana added to Inco’s statement, frowning.

“I’m sorry again about that. I came here because I was wondering if you knew where the detectives were? I went to their office but the lights were off, and nobody was inside when I yelled loudly.” 

“What do you mean?”

“The door was partially open! I know there are many societal rules about privacy, so I didn’t want to intrude.” 

Alliana and Inco glanced at one another, both with looks of worry. The pause ended with the beeping sound of Inco’s phone coming to life behind them. 

“Ah! My phone is charged to life!”

As the father chameleon walked around to sit on the couch again, Alliana reached forwards and pulled Mighty in gently by his elbow.

“Please, come in.” 

“Oh! Thank you, Miss Alliana.” 

“Can you tell me if you saw a green sedan out there? Beat up bumpers, gold-plated license plate frame?” 

“Yes! Parked right in front of the entrance!”

“What about a purple hybrid?” Inco asked.

“A hybrid of what?”

“No, it is a car!” The chameleon said to Mighty. “It’s purple. Shaded windows. There’s a sticker of the Nippon flag on the back side of the car’s trunk.” 

“Oh, that one! Yes, it was parked down the street from the green car.”

Alliana huffed. Her boys and their pettiness when fighting with each other.

“Is something wrong? Where are the Chaotix Detectives?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out.” Alliana replied. “Oh! Hold on, I just remembered I’m supposed to do something if I see you!” 

“Me?” 

“Yes, you, Mighty! Hang on…”

The lady crocodile left the area and walked to her bedroom, leaving the two men behind. Mighty turned his attention to Inco, watching the author struggle with his phone. 

“What is my password…” He grumbled. “Was it Espio’s birthday, or my birthday… Or something about my fictional characters?” 

“Good thing you have limited choices!”

“...Mighty, I’ve written more books than the one you were given, you know.” 

“I know! The back of the book says you’ve written three more!”

“Oh, I’ve written much more than that. Multiple detective series!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Plenty of books, even with different detective characters, even in different time periods! Please remind me once we find the boys, I’d be more than happy to give you a bunch of the books for free. I have a dozen copies of each.” 

“Wow, I… I don’t know what to say! I’m honored to receive such a gift.” 

Mighty bowed his head in gratitude, which Inco smiled at. Alliana was coming back out into the living room, having caught the tail end of the conversation. 

“Well, I hope you’re honored to have this as well! Stick your hand out.” 

Mighty did so, and the crocodile placed something in his palm. It was a ring, one made from a metal material that was a bright and noticeable salmon pink color. 

“Oh wow! What’s the occasion?”

“It’s from Vector, thank him when you see him.” Alliana replied. “He gave one to me and Inco as well! See?” 

Alliana stuck out her right hand, showing him the sky blue ring on her middle finger. Inco did the same, showing the armadillo the dark blue ring on his index finger. Mighty slid the ring on his right ring finger- though it felt like it wouldn’t fit at first, it seemed to expand and fit his finger perfectly. He studied how the ring looked on his hand.

“I’ve never been matching with anyone before! Do the detectives have rings too?”

“They do! You can talk with them all about it once we see them! Inco?”

“Just trying… to remember my password… only have one try left.”

“Did you try the date your first book was published?”

“...that one works! Excellent work, my darling.”

Alliana smiled, glancing at Mighty for a moment before watching her boyfriend once again. 

“Ah! I have a voicemail from Espio!” Inco said. “Perhaps this will explain everything!”

“Could you wipe off your boots? You’re tracking mud in here.”

“Oh! Sorry, Miss Hernandez.” 

Mighty wiped his muddy shoes on the door mat, smearing mud all over it. 

On the couch, Inco held the phone to his ear in order to hear the voicemail. His spiked eyebrows furrowed as he tried to listen closely to what was going on over the phone. 

“What is he saying?”

“Hm… I don’t think he’s saying anything.” Inco replied to Alliana.

Inco pulled the phone away from his head and pressed the speaker button. The sounds from the voicemail was unintelligible, the various shufflings, clinkings and microphone bumps that would most likely come from a pocket dial. 

“Do you think he accidentally dialed you?” Mighty asked. 

“Espio has never done that before. His phone has a flap that covers the front screen, so he wouldn’t pocket dial anybody.” Inco replied. 

The sounds continued. In the background, Alliana could make out the sound of heavy stomping- she would know, she made them- but these sounded much more… metallic. 

Espio grunted on the other side, accompanied by loud rustling. Inco’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Let go of me! Let us go!”

The large crocodile’s naturally cold blood ran even colder, a hand going to her chest to clutch at pearls that weren’t even there. 

“Charmy!” She spoke softly. 

Soon after, the loud slam of two car doors came from the phone. There was the sound of an engine turning on, before the voicemail promptly ended. 

“To replay the message, please press one. To—”

Inco ended the call, staring down at the phone screen with his mouth slightly agape. 

“My god…” He murmured. He looked at Alliana and Mighty. “The boys have been kidnapped!”

Inco and Mighty looked at one another in shock and surprise, too taken aback for words. 

Charmy woke up standing. He smelled funnel cake. 

Opening his eyes gave him a pleasant surprise: he was back on HEXAeco’s Carnival Island. He hadn’t been here in a while. Not that he had bad memories because of the Combi incident, but because he hadn’t really had any interest in going. 

Standing right underneath the colorful inflatable opening, the bee was looking into the completely empty theme park, able to see the park’s directory map a few yards ahead. 

There was a ticket in his hand. It was stamped, the stamp meaning unlimited rides. 

The last thing he remembered was a bag going over his head, being shoved into a van, and getting knocked out after the air smelled funny. Suddenly waking up in the front entrance of Carnival Island didn’t really make sense, especially waking up while standing. 

The bee looked behind him, scanning the parking lot- nobody was there. He looked at the ticket booth, presumably where he got this ticket from, and saw nobody manning it either. The entire island was abandoned, making Carnival Island a ghost town. 

Charmy took a chance on something you never do in a horror movie. 

“Hello?” He called out. The teen’s voice reverberated through the main hub of the theme park. 

Slowly, he walked inside, trailing through the wide open areas and looking all around. There were no signs of life anywhere… What a nightmare. 

Okay, this is totally fake. He thought to himself. Nothing is adding up, and there’s only so much suspension of disbelief I can do. 

Charmy turned around to look back at the entrance, walking backwards towards the center hub again. As he turned back around, he nearly ran into somebody standing there, forcing him to use his small wings to stop himself. 

It was a young woman. Her hair was brown, she was just a teenager, and she had crutches. 

“Emily?” Charmy asked. 

“Hey Charms!” Emily Baker, or who Charmy assumed was her, smiled widely. “It’s so good to see you! Isn’t this cool? We get the entire park to ourselves?”

“We do?”

“Yeah! Look around, nobody else is here, just the two of us!”

“Are there… any workers in any of the booths?” 

“I’m sure there are if we just look around! Wanna play?” 

“I guess… How’d you even get here, anyway? You went to a private school in Central City.” 

“I can’t come down to visit my best friend? C’mon, let’s go play some games!” 

“Did your parents bring you down here or something? Where are they?”

“They’ll be here later! C’mon, let’s play something!”

So insistent. Charmy’s face and demeanor didn’t change, but he nodded nevertheless. He walked, staying up with Emily as she hobbled along on her crutches, heading further into the park. 

This definitely wasn’t real. Charmy just needed a way to prove it. 

Espio was home. 

Perhaps some clarification was in order. Espio wasn’t home as in the detective office, or in the house his father bought for him in suburbia, but rather he was in the wooded mountains of Nippon, with trees only partially blocking out the view of the metropolis Tokei, the country’s capital. 

Cold air hit his face before he opened his eyes, which immediately told him where he was before he could properly see. 

Fog rolled across the treetops, down the mountainside, only obscuring Tokei more. 

Looking at his hands, they didn’t look as worn out as his normal hands do. From there, he looked at his outfit- he was in a black gi, the same gi he wore only a few years prior. 

“What… is this?” He whispered to himself. 

“I believe your master called it proper training wear, son.”

Espio turned, taken by surprise only because he was so on edge from his surroundings and appearance. He wasn’t himself, he didn’t… look like himself. 

Standing nearby, hands behind his back, was Espio’s father- Inco, also visibly younger, not wearing any glasses. This was before he needed his glasses for more than just reading. 

“Father?” 

“Hello, Espio.” The younger Inco said. “It has been a while. I trust Arachnis is treating you well.”

Espio heard the name and closed his eyes, almost wincing at the memories that came with it. His hands gripped into tight fists. 

“Yes.” He replied. 

“Good. Are you doing okay, though?”

“I’m fine, father. How… are you even here?”

“I was let inside.”

“This isn’t a visitor center. I’m being trained in ninjutsu… any form of distraction would lead to my entire training getting messed up. You shouldn’t be here.”

“You know my close friendship with your master.”

“But if she told you that you couldn’t come, you’d understand. You never pushed when it came to my training. You always had faith.”

“What are you getting at, Espio? Should I not have visited you today? You seem… off.”

“…no. I’m fine.” 

Inco, or who Espio assumed was Inco, eyed him with worry. He suddenly looked past his son, seeing someone in the distance. 

“Ah! Someone seems to be waiting for you in the courtyard, son.”

Espio felt his stomach flip. He knew who was there. He slowly turned around to face his fate, looking out into the nearby courtyard from the stone walkway he was standing on. 

There was another young man, in a black gi just like Espio. His back was to the chameleon, only showing the back of this Mobian’s body. He was a feline, as seen by the shape of his ears. This person has mustard brown fur, which faded to black at the ends of his ears, and a large tuft of hair between them. 

The typically reserved ninja was shaking and breathing heavily as faced with this faceless figure from his past. His hands tightened more, digging his claws into his palms. 

“Let’s spar, Espio!”

It was a deep voice, speaking in their native language, who called out to the chameleon. 

Espio, instead, took a few steps back. 

“No.” He said. “No, no, no, no. This isn’t real. None of this is happening. This can’t be happening. I can’t be here. He can’t be here. This isn’t happening!”

“Espio!” The young Inco said, grabbing his son’s arms. “Pull yourself together! What is happening to you?”

“Get your hands off me!”

Espio sent a knee into the gut of his “father,” making the young Inco double over with a loud grunt, letting go of the ninja. 

With one last glance to the sparring partner in the courtyard, who hadn’t turned around at all, Espio quickly ran in the opposite direction. 

He ran away from the training camp, away from it all, into the foggy foliage of the nearby forest of the mountain. He headed upwards, towards the top. 

His name was yelled out to try and call him back. Espio didn’t even turn around, just kept running, with sweat dripping down his face as he did. 

Espio continued his trip towards the top of the mountain. 

Vector was having a slow day at the office. 

The rectangular bottle of root beer on his desk was half-empty. Or half-full, depending on your perspective. From Vector’s perspective, everything was half-empty… Giving yourself to this city meant you had to empty yourself every day, to never see why anything could be half-full… to never see the brightness in anything. 

Although Vector was seeing some brightness right now. The blinds of his detective office were opened partially, with light from the outside coming in on stripes that patterned the front of Vector’s face. It was dark, gloomy outside, overcast… it almost made the world look black and white to him. From somewhere in the building, someone was playing piano- or maybe playing a recording of it.

After peeking out into the streets for a moment, Vector slowly turned around and back to his desk. He took off his hat, a fedora, resting it on the desktop for now before pouring himself a small glass worth of root beer. He sipped his drink, careful not to get it on his clothes- dress shirt, tie, suspenders and dark pants. 

A shadow came in through the foggy glass of the office’s front door. The doorknob jiggled around as this mystery guest was starting to come in, with Vector still sipping his drink with mild disinterest. 

The door opened. A woman was on the other side. 

She came into the office like a warm summer’s breeze, making Vector’s face heat up slightly from the sight- or maybe it was just the fizz from his root beer taking effect. This woman wore heels that clicked with every step on the hardwood floor, only one of them seen as her leg passed through the slit of her maxi dress. Vector thought that was a little unorthodox as common wear, but hey, who was he to judge? 

With a gloved hand, she reached for the purse that was hanging over her shoulder. The crocodile quickly grabbed and drew his six-shooter, pointing it directly at this mystery dame with a furrowed brow and no second thought. 

Instead, the woman moved slower, pulling out a folded piece of paper and handing it to Vector. The detective had paused for a moment, but soon tossed the pistol on the desk and reached out to take the paper, taking his final long sip of root beer as he whipped the paper open from one corner. 

There was text on the paper, written usen cut-out pieces of magazines. “I have your daughter. Transfer me one million dollars within forty-eight hours or you’ll never see her again.” 

Vector put the glass down with a thunk from the wooden desk. 

“I found that this morning.” The woman said, her voice sultry and soft, spoken from lips painted a vibrant red. “I don’t know anybody who would want to take my daughter… but in my line of work, nobody can be trusted, not even the police… which is why I need a third party for this.” 

Setting down the piece of paper, Vector looked up at the woman, getting a clear view of her face for the first time since she walked in. 

“What’s your name, miss?” He asked. 

“Vanilla. Vanilla Tarte.” 

The lady rabbit stood with her hands on her waist, staring down at Vector with her ears hanging down, but pulled to hang down the front of her chest. The slits of the window’s blinds made a perfect bar of light that illuminated her eyes, reminiscent of Vector’s old vampire movies. 

However, the name had an effect on Vector. He was perfectly comfortable with living out this detective fantasy as long as possible, but… if this woman was meant to be Vanilla, that wasn’t exactly something he could get with. He made a face of visible confusion and bewilderment. 

“...you’re Vanilla? Aren’t you the CEO of HEXAeco?” 

“I am.” Noir Vanilla replied, still speaking softly. “I rose to the top with my skills and intellect, but now… it seems someone is threatening my way of life.” 

“...What?”

“They’re threatening—”

“You need to speak up.”

“THEY’RE THREATENING MY WAY OF LIFE!”

Vanilla’s yelling made the piano music suddenly stop. Vector leaned back in his chair, as the rabbit had slammed her hands on the desk and leaned forward to yell that directly in his face. 

He stared at her with a raised brow, leaning back forwards again as Noir Vanilla returned to her previous stance. Vector poured himself another glass of root beer. 

“You’re not Vanilla Tarte.” He said simply, before taking a sip. “I’ve met Vanilla Tarte, and you aren’t her.” 

“I—”

“First of all, she doesn’t speak as just a whisper, she speaks like any normal person. Secondly, she wouldn’t wear a dress like that as casual wear.” 

“I always wear dresses like this. What’s wrong with what I wear?” 

“It’s just very… flashy? For what you’d wear out in public for no reason.” Vector sipped his drink again. “Lastly, and I cannot stress this enough: if her daughter was kidnapped, Vanilla would probably track down whoever did it herself and beat the living crap out of them.” 

Noir Vanilla was no longer standing in that pose she was in before, now instead standing with her arms hanging down, visibly annoyed at Vector nitpicking everything about her. After a moment, she moved forwards, flipping around to lay on her back across Vector’s desk. 

“Oh god.” 

“Oh detective,” She said, ignoring Vector. “Please, regardless of how you feel about me, you have to save my daughter! She’s all the joy I have left in this rotten world!” 

“Criminy, lady, get a hold of yourself!” 

Vector stood up and speed-walked around the desk, watching Noir Vanilla turn around to lay on her stomach and look at the crocodile, completely spread across the table. 

“Don’t you want company?” She asked.

“No! I’ve been told I have a deep-seated fear of commitment!” 

“Is that why you’re so hostile towards your own friends? Because your mother is moving on and settling herself down, when you could never do that yourself? Because her commitment will forever alter your relationship with your closest friend?”

“What is this, Dr. O’Shaughnessey? I don’t need a psychological examination right now!”

Grabbing his trenchcoat, Vector cloaked himself in the coat as he left the office in a hurry. He heard the clicking of Noir Vanilla’s heels as she got up off the desk, clearly giving chase to the crocodile. 

Rushing through the halls of the apartment complex, his own apartment complex outside of whatever weird fantasy this was, he made it to the elevator. The doors were closing, but Vector leapt inside just as the doors were closing, seeing Vanilla heading towards him with a disgruntled face of anger. 

Vector sighed, resting against the back of the elevator wall. The walls were reflective, allowing himself to get a good look at what he was wearing. It was the pinnacle of every single detective’s outfit from the old films he used to watch with his mother. 

Hesitantly, he reached into his shirt and pulled out a chain- his normal gold chain, which had been beneath his shirt the whole time, and gazed at what he had put on the end of it: that green ring that Tails had given him months ago. Even in the simulation, he still had it. 

There was a ding as the doors opened, already to the bottom floor. He stepped out, putting up his collar in case he was recognized by anybody else in this messed up nightmare. 

This wasn’t real, that was obvious. But how was he supposed to find a way out? 

Suddenly, he heard a heavy metal door open, making his head turn to the far end of the room. The stairwell door was open, and standing in the doorway was Noir Vanilla, now looking more crazed than she did before. 

“Oh DETECTIVE!” She shouted, directly at him. “Why don’t you tell me about your troubles over DRINKS?!”

Vector quickly ran away, through the front doors of the apartment complex, hearing Vanilla following suit through the front doors. The entire city was as gloomy and monochrome as his office, but it was easy to see in the distance that the HEXAeco building was a few blocks ahead of his detective office. 

That’s where he was supposed to go. He needed to go the opposite direction. 

The crocodile ran away as fast as he could, holding his trenchcoat closed to keep him from getting wind resistance. As soon as he reached the corner of the building, he skid on his feet, turning around and heading into the alleyway right beside it. 

He passed through the trash-filled alleyway, now shrouded by the shadows of the buildings on either side. Clicking echoed off the walls as Vanilla was giving chase, somehow running at full speed in high heels- that’s how Vector was sure this wasn’t real. 

Vector turned right, then left. Then right. Then right. Then left, and left again. He was in a maze of alleyways that didn’t seem to make sense, apparently far away from the detective office but always coming back to it with every right turn he made. The alleys were stretched out, repeating, forcing him to go almost in circles as he tried getting away from this strange woman. 

He was getting tired of it. Vanilla’s heels were further away now, but he was getting nowhere. 

As he turned again down the alleyway perpendicular to the office building, he growled in anger and annoyance, knowing he was most likely going to end up back in that alleyway once again. He had to find a way out. 

When he passed by a dumpster, he paused, getting an idea. It would be gross, but he had to make sure he wasn’t going crazy here. 

Scurrying behind the dumpster, he kicked the rolling trash bin across the alleyway and down the alley, directly to the end of it, where he would always end up in that original alleyway. He was checking to see if it would end up in that same spot like he did before.

Instead, it did something peculiar. Though the alleyway was open, visibly heading to the street, the dumpster appeared to crash into some kind of wall, coming to a stop. 

Vector blinked in surprise. He crept over, looking at the dumpster and the spot it apparently hit- there was a crack with white light coming through it apparently suspending in air, but as Vector tried to touch it he felt that there was a wall simply projecting the end of the alleyway there instead. 

He was trapped in a simulation room, of course. The way out was physically getting out. If Charmy and Espio were brought here too, as he suspected, he needed to find a way to free them too. But how? 

Simulations are run on technology. Technology like computers. If he wanted to escape and free his friends from this simulated nightmare, he had to find the computers running the sims. 

The sound of heels became louder. The fake Vanilla was getting closer. 

With no other choice but to head through, Vector pulled his fist back and punched through the crack in the wall of LEDs, before sticking his other hand inside and pulling back, creating a massive hole into a bright white hallway. 

Taking a deep breath, he left the simulation, heading out to find the computer room. 

The door to the Chaotix office was still opened when the three got to it. Either way, Alliana had a master key to the entire building, so if the door was closed and locked they would still get inside. 

Trailing through the apartment, there didn’t seem to be anything out of place. The only thing that could be perceived as strange was the stack of mail on the top left corner of the desk. Inco walked past it and gave it a look over- bills, bills, bills. There was an opened envelope to Charmy addressed from Emily Baker, who Inco knew as a friend of Charmy’s going to school in Central City. He remembered Emily well: when Inco used his private jet to fly the detectives to the east coast for a case a while back, they went and visited her. 

Mighty peeked into the bathroom and kitchen areas of the apartment-turned-detective-office. Seeing nobody there, he walked to the office again, standing near Alliana as the crocodile immediately started rummaging through the desk’s drawers. 

“Alliana, what are you looking for?” Inco asked. 

“My Vector bought this desk because… one of these drawers has a false bottom. But I forget which one it is every time…” 

When she rummaged through the bottom drawer, she found a pack of spearmint gum at the very bottom, which didn’t seem to move. 

“Vector likes spearmint gum?”

“No. Nobody does.” Alliana replied to her boyfriend. 

She slipped her hand under the pack of gum, feeling a rope attached to it slipping between her fingers, before she firmly pulled upwards. The bottom of the drawer folded in half as the rope was pulled upwards, revealing the second half of the drawer. 

There were a lot of packs of bubble gum down there. Besides that, there was a first edition signed copy of one of Inco’s books, a picture of Alliana with a young Vector, and a few folders underneath the scattered packs of gum. However, the point of interest was that Vector’s tape recorder was at the very top. Alliana picked it up. 

“Vector never goes anywhere without that!” Mighty said. “Why would he leave it here?”

“He may have been in a hurry. But why?” 

“There’s one way to find out.” 

Alliana’s statement was accentuated with her clicking play on the tape recorder, playing back the tape from the very beginning. 

“...red leather, yellow leather, red leather, yellow leather, red yellow… dang it, messed up again.” 

As Vector continued his leather mantra, Mighty’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Inco looked at his girlfriend with a raised spiked eyebrow. 

“This is his recording? These aren’t on any of his other detective recordings.” 

“Vector edits the recordings together after he’s done to make a cohesive case retelling.” Alliana said. “I can just skip ahead to when he starts the case. It might take a moment though, he does a lot of things before he starts a case recording.” 

She pressed fast forward on the tape recorder, causing Vector’s voice to get higher and faster. After a moment, the tape went silent. When talking was heard on the tape again, she pressed play, continuing the tape. 

“You see my wife, she’s really interested in the more extravagant things…” 

“His Columbo impression.” Alliana explained to the boys. Inco hummed and nodded, while Mighty’s eyebrows stayed furrowed. 

She fast forwarded again, letting the tape go silent. Once it started up again, she pressed play. 

“...maybe a compass rose on my left bicep? I think that would look really cool. It would really give me the vibe of a private investigator… Ha! Investi gator, like an alligator. Would be funnier if I wasn’t a crocodile.” 

“His tattoo ideas.” Alliana said, frowning. “I wish he didn’t want any of those things.” 

“I don’t know, dear, Vector would look pretty cool with a tattoo like that!” Inco spoke up. 

The lady crocodile stared at Inco for a moment or two, immediately giving him the impression that he probably shouldn’t have said anything in the first place.

“Can we continue?” Mighty asked.

“...right.” 

Alliana pressed fast forward again. The tape soon went silent, before she pressed play when she heard talking once again. 

“...really need to investigate that weird Burgerman mascot, I keep seeing him staring at me around town. Anyway, we received the pictures early this morning in a strange envelope, with only the agency’s name on it. From the looks of it, the pictures contain a tradeoff of some kind of technology between two parties: an unseen figure, and someone we might recognize from before… more information to be added.” 

After that, the tape went silent. Soon, the tape stopped altogether. 

“What envelope? There’s none in the mail, here.” Inco said, picking up the bills. 

“Could it be in the false bottom drawer?” Mighty asked Alliana. 

The crocodile put down her son’s tape recorder and reached into the drawer, digging beneath the packs of gum and pulling out the catalog envelope right below it. As she picked it up, she flipped it over to look at the front- the word “CHAOTIX” was scribbled on in red marker. 

She showed it to the others briefly before flipping open the top lip, reaching inside to retrieve what was in the folder. The pictures were there, just as the recorder said there would be, a stack of at least five of them. 

There were two figures in the pictures, taken from somewhere above. Two people stood between cars, one with a hood obscuring his face, and another with a clear view of his face. The non-hooded man had on a reflective vest, and he looked a bit… familiar to Alliana. The hooded man’s car was facing the camera, the headlights blocking a bit of the view. 

The five pictures had two of the two men exchanging money, then two photos of the hooded guy giving the reflective vest guy a box, then the two men getting into their cars to drive away. 

“So… why would the boys just get photos with no kind of context to any of them?” Inco asked.

“I’m not sure. Vector left his recorder behind, so maybe he thought it was just an open-and-shut case… clearly, since the boys are missing, it very much wasn’t. What’s the story behind this?”

“Is the man in the shiny vest the familiar face they recognized?” Mighty asked, picking up the first photo. As he did, Alliana saw there was writing in the same red marker on the back of the photo. 

“Oh! Roly poly, look!” 

The armadillo flipped the picture over, seeing the writing on the back. 

“Guess what, Chaotix heroes?” He read aloud. “Robotnik seems to be selling mind-bending technology on the streets. Think you could stop him?” 

Mighty flipped it over again just in case he missed something on the front, before looking at Inco and Alliana, still confused. 

“It doesn’t say who it’s from.” He said. 

“That’s Robotnik? I expected someone… taller?” Inco looked over the pictures. 

“If this has to do with Dr. Robotnik, no wonder the boys got kidnapped.” Alliana said firmly. “We need to find out who this familiar face is, right now.” 

“Where do we start?” 

Inco was paging through the photos, stopping on the fourth one. He put it down and tapped a finger on it, pointing out something in the photo. 

“Look there, in the picture. It’s not zoomed in all the way, but you can see in the background that it says ‘stay clear of the loading zone’ on the concrete.” 

“Loading zone? So like a warehouse.” 

“Not just any warehouse. That’s the Meh Burger symbol right under it.” Inco continued. “There’s a Meh Burger distribution facility at the end of the city, where they package and send out ingredients across the west coast.”

“How do you know?”

“I do a lot of research for my books, for accuracy’s sake.” 

“That’s the best lead we’ve got! Let’s head to that warehouse and see what we can find!”

Inco and Mighty got up, heading to the door. Alliana put everything back in the drawer, and slipped the false bottom back on top… except she didn’t put everything back- she slipped the tape recorder in her coat pocket for safekeeping, knowing she would give it back to her son soon enough. 

Charmy was tired of walking alongside Emily through the park. 

He did like Emily, she was a good friend of his, but this was not her. He knew that much right off the bat. But it seemed that every time he questioned her, questioned the park, questioned the entire scenario, something weird happened to interrupt his thought process. 

So he stayed quiet. He felt a strange niche part of the world was rejoicing at that, but he wasn’t doing it for that, he was doing it for himself. Staying quiet meant that this strange person replicating Emily couldn’t interrupt him, or contradict him. 

It was getting boring. They had been walking through the games and rides part of the park for what felt like an hour. At this point, he’d rather risk doing something in this fantasy more than just walking around in utter silence. 

“Isn’t this really nice?” Emily asked. “We have the place all to ourselves!”

“Yeah.” 

“What do you wanna do first? You wanna go on a ride, or play a game, or go eat some carnival food maybe?” 

Charmy didn’t want to know what he would be eating in place of the food sold at this park. 

“Why would we go on a ride? You can only go on slow ones so your legs don’t get messed up.” 

“I could still watch you go on a ride though!”

“I wouldn’t want to do anything without you, though.” 

“I understand. Oh! How funny! Looks like we couldn’t do it anyway.”

The fake Emily pointed to the entrance of a ride nearby. There was a strap over the entrance, with a stop sign on the strap that said “STOP: RIDE UNDER MAINTENANCE” 

Charmy looked at another ride entrance nearby. That one was closed with the same sign. 

“Yeah. Funny.” 

“You wanna play a game then? There are plenty of games around here!”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Well… here’s ring toss! That’s a pretty easy game to process.” 

Charmy noted the strange wording, but stopped alongside Emily at the ring toss booth. 

“How are we supposed to play?”

“You toss the rings at the bottles, silly!” 

“How would you know? You’ve never been here.”

“Everyone knows ring toss, silly.”

“Not me. I have no idea about this game. I’d much rather hear it from a person actually attending this stand. And from the looks of it…” 

Charmy leaned over the edge of the stand, looking in. 

“There’s nobody here.” He said. “Guess we can’t stay.” 

Emily, or who Charmy was supposed to believe was Emily, stared at the bee quietly. It seemed sweat was coming off her brow, getting increasingly nervous and shuffling in her crutches. 

Suddenly someone stood up from behind the counter of the stand. It was a tall man, in a red hat with a matching shirt and pants, smiling at Charmy and shaking his hands. 

“Oh yay! The attendant is here! We can play now!” 

“Right.” Charmy said, emotionlessly. “What’s the rules of this game?”

The attendant brought a cane out of nowhere, pointing it up and tapping a hanging sign above him, one that apparently came from nowhere. It said pretty much what Emily said: throw the rings, try to make it on one of the bottles. 

Charmy immediately took note that this guy didn’t talk. If the people running this fantasy were so obsessed with making it perfect, why not have an attendant that could draw someone in with some charming talk?

Maybe he was just nitpicking. He’s met mute people before. It’s not like you have a life-changing conversation with a stand attendant anyways. 

Four rings were placed in front of Charmy in one neat stack. From what the sign said, if he got all four on the bottles, he’d get a prize. 

Charmy looked over at the fake Emily, then down at the stack of rings as he picked one up. With the form like he was throwing a frisbee, he tossed one of the rings out to the sea of bottles ahead of him. 

The ring stuck the landing, booking onto a bottle neck and letting out a little ringing sound as it did. 

“Great job, Charmy!”

Both Emily and the stand attendant clapped for Charmy, making him pause for a moment, but only a moment. 

He took another ring. This time, he threw softer, much much softer. He flung the ring out with a slow flick of his wrist, letting it flop forwards into the stand. 

Miraculously, it was just strong enough to make it on a bottle. 

“Great job, Charmy!”

Emily and the stand attendant clapped for him again. He eyed both of them, mildly perturbed.

The third ring, he picked up and held between his index and thumb like he was holding a paper plane. It was probably the worst possible way to hold the ring for this game. 

Instead of throwing forwards, he dipped his hand downwards and flipped the ring upwards, letting it spin around vertically and into the stand. 

…and ironically was in the perfect spot to bounce off a bottle, and land perfectly on another bottle to hoop around the neck. 

“Great job, Charmy!” 

Emily and the stand attendant clapped again. Charmy huffed in annoyance. 

He grabbed the last ring. Charmy turned around, facing away from the stand, and put a hand over his eyes. He tossed the ring like he would a baseball, his vision completely covered so he was just wildly throwing it anywhere. 

There was a moment or two of silence, before he heard the telltale sign of a jingle as the ring made it around a bottle. 

“Wow! Great ricochet shot, Charmy!”

The bee let out a long sigh of resignation as he got a round of applause for that shot. He turned back around, seeing the stand attendant smiling. He gestured to a row of stuffed animals hanging above, silently asking the teen to pick one. 

Just then, Charmy got an idea. 

“Man, I hope one of these is a memory foam plush.” He said. “I love how soft and pillowy those are… that would make me so happy.”

The attendant smiled widely before reaching up with his cane and grabbing one of the plushes, hooking around the back of the stuffed bear’s shirt collar. The attendant brought it down, handing the soft, yet pretty heavy, bear to Charmy. 

“Great! This is so fun, I could play another game!”

That got Emily’s attention. She perked up. 

“Let’s go to another game then! Let’s have some more fun, Charms!”

Emily hobbled around on her crutches, turning around so her back was to Charmy. The bee gave one more glance to the attendant, smiling brightly, before sending the teddy bear into Emily’s back with a big overhead swing. 

Though a normal plush would just bounce off, as this one was made with memory foam, it was like ten times as heavy. It hit the fake Emily’s back, sending her forwards and into the ground with a loud noise of shock. As she hit the ground, Charmy felt as if the entire ground was shaking. 

Charmy walked over, standing over the fake version of his friend. 

“Ugh! What’s wrong with you? I’m your friend!”

“No you’re not!” The teen detective said. “You’re just pretending to be my friend! Emily Baker is currently at an academy to help accommodate her disorder! She wouldn’t just surprise me one day with some random trip to Carnival Island!” 

“But…”

“She’s also gone through extensive physical therapy, so as of right now, she doesn’t need to use her crutches in excession, only when she feels her legs getting weak!” Charmy continued. “And another thing, you overplayed your part Charms! Emily came up with the nickname of Charmy in the first place, she would definitely not change her mind on which nickname to use out of the blue! Now stop pretending to be my friend and tell me who you really are!” 

The fake Emily stared at Charmy for a moment, before pushing the memory foam plush off of her, letting go of the crutches. 

“SIGH.” A deep, robotic voice came out of Emily’s mouth, making Charmy flinch in shock. 

When she reached her hand up to the stand and grabbed the counter, the fake Emily pulled herself up, but cracked the wood of the counter as she did so. Getting up to her feet, the fake Emily reached back behind her head and pulled a zipper from nowhere, unzipping her “costume” 

The person beneath was… not a person. It was hard for Charmy to describe, but he was sure it was a robot. The robot was shaped like a bell, with some kind of downhill-ski-like feet. The top of its head was detached from the rest of its body, attached with a spring that was only partially seen. It had skinny metal arms, and red boxing gloves for hands. 

“What the…?” 

“IT APPEARS I HAVE BEEN HAD.” The android said. His voice was like a voice-to-text program, but one of the older ones from ten to fifteen years ago. “I AM SR-0002. HOWEVER, DUE TO MY EXCESSIVE WEIGHT, I HAVE ALSO BEEN REFERRED TO AS… HEAVY.” 

“Heavy?”

“YES. THAT IS ME. HELLO. YOU ARE CHARMY BEE HERNANDEZ.” 

“Yeah, that’s me… not the point! What the heck is happening?” Charmy looked around. “I know this isn’t Carnival Island, I know this isn’t real. What is this place? Who kidnapped me? Wait… we were investigating Robotnik. Are you a creation of Robotnik?”

“A ROBOTNIK CREATED ME, YES.”

Charmy hummed. Strange clarification, but alright. 

“What is happening?” Charmy asked again. 

“I AM SURE YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY FIGURED IT OUT, BUT… YOU ARE CURRENTLY INSIDE OF A SIMULATION.” 

“A simulation? Like virtual reality?”

“YES, BUT INSTEAD YOU’RE IN A ROOM THAT PROJECTS HOLOGRAMS AND LIGHT TO TRICK YOU INTO THINKING YOU ARE INSIDE OF THE VIRTUAL WORLD.”

“That… is impossible. Even by Robotnik standards.” 

“DO YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT’S HAPPENING?”

“I don’t know, stranger things have happened. We could be having a shared vision, or maybe some kind of version of that thing Tails made… that Dream-Caster thing.” 

“PERHAPS IT IS.” 

The bee narrowed his eyes on the robot. His attention turned to the stand attendee, who was standing there with his hands on his cheeks, pretending to look shocked. Heavy turned his body, as if turning to look at the attendant as well. 

“BOMB, IT IS ALRIGHT. THE JIG IS UP.” 

The attendant stopped feigning shock. He reached behind his head next, unzipping his own disguise to reveal he was a much comically smaller robot. 

This robot was orb-shaped, with a black top half and red top half. It had actual feet-shaped feet, painted red, and gold-gloved hands, both appendages attached with thin metal limbs. It had a small silver top, like a button, at the top of its body. 

Heavy reached out and grabbed Bomb, letting the robot land in his hand and bringing the small android around to carry it. 

“THIS IS SR-0001, BUT HE IS ALSO CALLED—”

“Bomb, I overhead what you said.” Charmy interjected. “Can it… explode?”

“BOMB RELEASES A BLAST OF COMPRESSED AIR THAT REPLICATES THE SHOCKWAVE AND FORCE OF A NORMAL DETONATOR.” 

“Right. You said a Robotnik made you… why are you in this simulation, then?” 

“UNLIKE ANDROIDS LIKE METAL SONIC, WE WERE CREATED FOR UTILITY. TOGETHER WE ARE REFERRED TO AS THE MECHANIX, WITH AN X, AND WE WERE THE ASSISTANTS PERFORMING MAINTENANCE ON THE SIMULATION. THE ONES FOR YOUR FRIENDS HAD A PRE-MADE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PROGRAM, HOWEVER, WE HAD NOT PLANNED ONE FOR YOU. I, HEAVY, DESIGNATED MYSELF TO ACT AS ANY PERSON WITHIN YOUR SIMULATED ROOM.” 

“And Bomb?”

“WHEN YOU INSISTED ON A STAND ATTENDANT, I REQUESTED BOMB TAKE CONTROL OF A SECOND CHARACTER FOR YOU TO CONTINUE BELIEVING THIS WAS REAL.”

“I was supposed to believe an empty Carnival Island and my best friend magically randomly appearing was real?”

“WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, OUR CREATOR DID NOT BELIEVE YOU NEEDED MUCH TO BE ENCHANTED BY THE SIMULATION. HE BELIEVED THAT, DUE TO THE CURRENT STRIFE BETWEEN YOUR OTHER FRIENDS, YOU WOULD TAKE THIS FORM OF ESCAPISM VERY EASILY.” 

“Maybe if my last memory wasn’t me being kidnapped and knocked out, I would’ve accepted it easier. Instead, I was just stuck wondering what was happening.” 

“YOU MAKE A VERY GOOD POINT. I  BELIEVE YOU’RE A MUCH BETTER DETECTIVE THAN MY CREATOR GIVES YOU CREDIT FOR.”

“Hey, it was a bit easy to figure out. But thank you.” Charmy nodded a bit. “...why aren’t you attacking me, anyway? You said you’re Robotnik creations.” 

“TO BE HONEST, GETTING KNOCKED DOWN TOOK A LOT OUT OF MY SYSTEMS. I FEEL A BIT WORN OUT. BESIDES, I WAS CREATED FOR UTILITY INVOLVING THIS SIMULATION.”

“You don’t get paid enough to fight us, eh?”

“IN A COMICAL SORT OF WAY, YOU COULD SAY THAT.” 

“...sorry about knocking you down.”

“I AM NOT UPSET. I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING.” 

“Can you tell me anything about what’s going on? The simulation, who brought me here, anything?” 

“UNFORTUNATELY, THE PROGRAMMING I HAVE ENTERING THE SIMULATION PREVENTS ME FROM DIRECTLY TALKING ABOUT THE PLANS OF MY CREATOR. TO THE POINT WHERE I CAN’T EVEN SAY HIS NAME.” 

“Keeping it a secret, eh? Fine then.” 

Charmy moved over and sat on the counter of the game stand. 

“What now?”

“MY CREATOR IS PREOCCUPIED WITH SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT YOU BEING AWARE OF YOUR SIMULATION. YOU ARE HERE, AND THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS TO HIM.” Heavy replied. “PERHAPS WE CAN SIMPLY TALK.” 

“Maybe we could. You seem pretty nice… what can you tell me about your creator?”

“HE IS VERY SENSITIVE ABOUT HIS HAIR.”

“...really? From what I heard, Ivo shaved his head a while ago. Doesn’t seem that sensitive about it.”

“IVO ROBOTNIK MAY BE SENSITIVE ABOUT HIS HAIR BECAUSE HE GOT RID OF IT BEFORE.” 

Charmy stared at Heavy before smirking a little bit. 

“Well, we don’t really need to talk about him. Why don’t we talk about ourselves?”

Espio had been climbing up that mountain for what seemed like hours. His hands were hurting, his breathing getting heavy. If he really was as young as he looked, he would be able to do this with his eyes closed. Instead, he was having trouble. The thinning air as he got higher up really didn’t help.

In all fairness, after leaving Nippon, he had let his training regimen slip up a little. He just didn’t have that much time to train and keep himself at absolute peak condition anymore, especially when he joined Chaotix. 

As he passed a tree, his left hand pressed against it. Something glitched out, the tree vibrating in its spot and changing from magenta, to yellow, to cyan as it tried to determine what its correct color was. Espio’s hand did the same, returning to how it usually did outside of this strange nightmare. 

A simulation. This was all just digital.

He looked at his worn out palm, then turned it around to look at the back of his hand. That vibrant electric violet ring, the one Vector gave him, was still on his index finger. 

Even with everything going on, he’d really give anything to see Vector. Parts of him felt regret and guilt for how he was treating the crocodile at the moment. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, he was just… 

“Scared?” 

The chameleon uncharacteristically gasped and turned in terror, hearing the familiar voice speak Nihongo. From afar, still facing away from him, was the mystery sparring partner yards away. 

“No...” Espio whispered. “How did you…?”

“You don’t want the crocodile to end up like me, don’t you?” The voice spoke. “Hating you. For something you deem out of your control.” 

“Stay away from me!” 

Espio turned tail and continued to run, passing between trees, doing a full sprint not just away from this figure, but from the memories attached to it. Memories that brought out a version of Espio he thought he left behind: an emotional one. 

He heard chuckling, making him look into the woods to his side. Through the trees, he saw the figure in the fog of the woods, back still to him but keeping still. It was like he was sliding across the ground, not moving his feet at all. 

“You do not need the crocodile anymore. I am here for you, Espio. You have another chance.”

The chameleon ignored it, facing forwards again and still running. 

“Stay here with me. You don’t need to return to a hostile friend who cannot handle his mother dating another man. I am here for you, for you to fix your mistakes.” 

Still no response. Espio passed through trees, his feet starting to crunch through snow as he got higher and higher up the summit. The air was getting colder, and thinner, and his breath was visible with each shaky exhale he made. 

He pushed through two trees towards the top, but was met with the visage of that figure facing away from him once more. Espio skidded, but tripped on a rock, crashing through the figure and into the snow, hard. 

Espio groaned, putting a hand to his head as he picked himself up. He felt light shining on him- looking upwards, he saw a break through the trees, shining light down onto himself, only making the area brighter as it reflected off of the snow. 

He crawled forwards, his hands and legs getting coated in the thick blanket of freezing snow. Espio didn’t care about the cold, or anything right now, he was almost there- to the top of the summit. 

The chameleon broke free of the trees and onto the summit top- it was a flat plateau, with a small peak at the center of the platform that acted as the true “highest point” of the mountain. Getting to his feet, he dragged his legs through the snow. 

This was the highest mountain in Nippon: Mount Stormtop is what it’s been called by countries that don’t speak Nihongo. Espio knew the top of this summit very well, and knew he could see all of Nippon from here. 

As he got closer to the peak, he stopped to look at something sticking up from the ground. It was a wooden pole, very thin, sticking up from the snow. Tied to it were two long strips of fabric, one purple and one blue. Espio recognized the purple one as the obi he used to wear during training. The blue one… 

More chuckling came behind him. 

“Do you remember? All the good times?” The figure said. “We can have them and many more. I am not here to scare you, Espio. I am here to give you another chance… are you not tired of running? Running away from me, the thought of me, every time you have it? For pushing yourself into your work and shutting down when you feel your only real friend is pushing you out? Do you not just want… a friend?” 

Espio didn’t even look at the figure. He closed his eyes, feeling his body flood with emotion. 

“I cannot change what I’ve done.” He murmured. “Deep down, I will always have failed you.” 

Slowly, he turned around and opened his eyes. He didn’t look at the figure, however, he looked past him. As it was said before, Mount Stormtop overlooked all of Nippon, and even through the thick fog that surrounded the mountain, Espio could see it all. 

Tokei was the closest, but he could see the other cities in the distance. He looked at all of them, looking at certain buildings and studying them, trying to pay attention to details. 

If this really was a simulation, it wasn’t a good one. Espio’s hypothesis was correct: it couldn’t handle the load of having to process all of the surrounding buildings in all of Nippon. The surrounding area started glitching out, becoming fuzzy or experiencing video errors. Entire buildings suddenly loaded in upside down. 

The snow melted and quickly froze again under Espio’s feet. He looked over at the two obi belts tied to the pole- they stayed true, fluttering in the wind, staying as a reminder of what the ninja had done in his past. 

Nearby, the figure was glitching out, unable to speak for the moment. Espio was quietly relieved that he wouldn’t be bombarded with a walking memory of who he was anymore. 

Suddenly, the peak of the mountain shot out a yellow light into the sky. Slowly, the light fanned out, becoming a cone of light that illuminated all. Through the light, Espio could see something- another place, somewhere strange. 

But anywhere that wasn’t here was good enough for Espio. 

He walked past the obi, and through the rapidly melting and re-growing snow to the peak of the mountain. He climbed up the small hill to the top, facing the yellow light head-on. 

“E-E-Espio…” 

The figure managed to croak out one last call to the chameleon. Espio paused, slowly turning to look back at the mystery man. 

“...goodbye, my friend.” He said. 

With that, he leapt into the golden light, leaving that world behind for good. 

It was hard to explain, really, what happened the moment he passed through. He was bombarded with light, flying through a tunnel of blue lines into the depths of the unknown. His gi stayed on, but his body returned to its normal age, bringing him mostly back to normal. 

He was soon headed straight downwards, headed into a mad matrix of blinding lights and energy. Espio saw a platform coming straight for him at the bottom, and he was coming in hot. 

Espio flipped his body around, hands clasped in front of him as he focused his energy on the air around him. This was a technique he learned during his time on Mount Stormtop, to harness his power to control winds around him and propel himself upwards. This was much, much easier to do with leaves to act as a conduit for the wind around him, but he’d have to manage this time… if wind even existed in this strange world. 

The air pushing upwards and around him softened his fall, allowing him to land on the strange blue platform below. His hand touched the top of this large cube, seeing glowing red lines below the seemingly glass surface of this platform. 

He stood up, eyes squinting a little at the pulsing green light coming from the walls around him. 

This was unlike any simulation he’d ever seen. The bright lights were pretty disorienting to try and move past, but Espio did so regardless. He blocked out the lights to see what was right ahead of him- a blue tower, an obelisk with a bright light shining from the top of it, almost like a lighthouse directing him towards it. 

Up above this obelisk was a large open hole, stirring like an upside-down whirlpool leading to places unknown, the light shining directly into it. 

That was his only option right now, so obviously he had to take it. 

Readjusting his gi over his body, Espio began the journey to climb this strange tower in this strange and surreal realm of lights.

The distribution factory for Meh Burger was surprisingly easy to find. Even if the surprising part was because of the giant, illuminated sign with the Meh Burger symbol on it. 

They had to cross a small bridge to get to the facility. Luckily, thanks to corporate capitalism, the facility was open for free parking in case people wanted to get a tour of the place and see how their favorite “meat” “burgers” were made. 

That parking lot was massive, with the loading zone all the way to the far right of the lot. Alliana parked as close as she could in her SUV without being told to move. Making sure to lock the car back, the three left the vehicle to investigate the scene. 

Inco looked down at the loading zone parking spots, reaching into his tweed jacket to retrieve the picture he identified the parking spot in. He looked at the photo, then down at the spot. 

“I think this is it.” He said. 

It was the loading zone spot all the way at the end. Inco could identify this as the spot due to the lack of cameras, the lack of people around, and how the two in the picture were parked in a spot with lines over it- a spot they weren’t allowed in. 

Alliana and Mighty looked around, as if expecting someone to pop out. 

Inco held the picture in a certain spot, before holding it upwards, trying to see it in the perfect angle it was taken. He turned around, looking at the roof of the building- if the angle was right, the camera was positioned right at the edge of the roof. 

He looked at the picture again. 

“That is strange.”

“What’s strange, honey?”

“This camera angle… it’s on the top of the roof there.” He explained. “If the camera was up there, this Robotnik character would’ve easily seen the camera. There isn’t anything behind the roof, so even if it was night time, you would probably be able to see someone sitting or laying up there.” 

“Did he just not care?” Mighty suggested.

“I’m unsure… maybe we should ask someone here about this deal. This place is open twenty-four hours, I’m sure somebody must have seen something here.” 

Just in time, a woman was walking out of the shipping yard, headed directly towards the three. She had on a jumpsuit that was brown on the top and bottom, with lines of colors in the middle clearly meant to make the common onlooker think about burgers. 

“May I help you?” She asked.

“Sure hope so! My name is Alliana Hernandez.” The crocodile replied. “We’re trying to find some information about a meeting that occurred here sometime at night?”

“I wouldn’t know anything about that, I’m the dayshift manager.” The woman tapped her chin. “Dave would probably know something about that. He typically runs the night work… he’s actually running a double shift tonight.” 

“Could we speak with him?” 

“I dunno… you guys don’t seem like cops, and I’m not allowed to let just anyone in the shipping yard.” 

“Please… My son and her sons have been kidnapped. We think that meeting has something to do with it. Is there anything you could do to help us?” 

“I feel for you, I really do, but… corporate was pretty clear about not letting people in unless they work here.” The woman rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m really sorry. I hope you find your kids… I’m also contractually obligated to tell you that we’re now running factory tours from 5 AM to 4 AM now. You can get your tours anytime.” 

Inco sighed. Alliana rubbed her eyes. 

“Thank you anyway, miss.” The former said. 

The young woman nodded to the chameleon before turning and leaving. It was quiet amongst the trio for a moment or two. 

“What do we do now?” Mighty asked the others. 

“We have to find a way to talk to this ‘Dave’ character.” Inco replied. “If he’s like any of the Daves I have seen in other jobs around town, we could possibly ask one of the other versions of Dave if we can meet the factory Dave.”

“That might take too long!” Alliana said loudly. “My boys could be hurt! Especially if it has to do with this Dr. Robotnik! There has to be something we can do to get in there without them knowing, or someone we could call, or… I don’t know!”

“Alliana, darling, please. Calm yourself. We’ll figure something out.”

The chameleon rubbed and patted Alliana’s back, making the lady crocodile relax a bit, finally regaining her bearings with a sigh. She put her face in her hands, keeping herself calm from the panic she was getting of their progress being blocked.

Mighty looked on, a face of worry making up his expression. He put his hand on his chin, thinking about any possible way inside. He was sure there was some way to sneak inside without any of them knowing… The armadillo was mostly certain he could recognize this Dave guy if he was nearby. 

There was a thunk behind Mighty that made him turn around. There was a side exit to the loading dock, with a small porch area that led to the docks further away from the parking lot. There was no visible security camera there, but there was someone leaving that area. 

It was a Burgerman Mascot guy. This mystery person had their arrow sign in one hand as they left the loading dock, apparently getting a break or something. The mascot guy tried putting the sign down, but accidentally slipped up with it, causing it to slide in the space between the short platform’s railing and the floor. Because of this, it was now pointing upwards and to the left.

From where Mighty was standing, the arrow was pointing up to a vent that was leading out into the side of the building. His eyes trailed from the arrow to the vent, the gears turning in his head until he visibly got the idea.

He looked back and saw the mascot guy staring at him. There was no doubt about it, the mascot guy was facing Mighty directly, just… staring at him. 

After a moment of eye contact (did the Burgerman’s eyes count?) the mascot turned around and headed down the steps to the wooden docks below. It was almost like the person was absolving themselves of getting involved with the possible crime that was about to happen. 

Once he was sure this mascot mystery man was gone, Mighty slowly turned back to Alliana and Inco. 

“Miss Alliana, Mister Inco, I believe I have a way to get inside without being seen. But it may be very illegal.” 

The other two turned immediately, seeing the sign pointing up to the vent. 

“You want to travel through the vent?” Alliana asked. 

“I do. But I’m worried this may be performing criminal activity that makes me just as bad as the people I’m investigating…” 

“Mighty, listen… you’ve read A Car Goes Up In Smoke, yes?” Inco said to the armadillo. “Do you remember when the detective pretended to be the butler of the millionaire CEO in order to access his private office?” 

“Yes, he did that so he could figure out who ordered the detonators from the tech company.”

“It’s a bit like that!” The chameleon replied. “We need to find the others, they’ve been kidnapped. Someone in there might know, but we can’t get in because the worker can’t allow us access.”

“Not the worker’s fault, just protocol.” Alliana interjected.

“You can reach the inside and find out what we need. Can you please do that for us, Mighty?” 

The armadillo was quiet for a moment, contemplating his choices. It didn’t take long for him to come to a decision though.

“Okay!”

Walking over to the short platform, Alliana got behind Mighty and grabbed him by his waist, picking him up almost like she would a child. She raised him right up to the vent cover. 

All it took was a sharp tug for the cover to come off. He passed it down to Inco, who traded it for the photo of the two men making a deal in the loading lot, before the armadillo pulled himself into the vent. 

Mighty was on his stomach, wiggling inside for a moment until he felt his feet in. After a second or two, he checked to see how much room was in the vent. 

Hm. There seemed to be enough room to…

The armadillo curled up into a ball, with enough space in the vent to spare. He rolled forwards, making his way through the vents of the facility without any difficulty on his end. 

He rolled through the vents, minding any dust that could gather on him or stick to his shell. Mighty went towards the source of light, eventually coming to an opened vent that looked into a room. Coming to a stop, he peeked inside through the gap in his curled up shell, resting right on top of the vent cover. 

It was a bathroom, and from the sounds of it people were washing their hands. Mighty could see a pair at the sinks, a human and a teal-furred Mobian. 

“Just six more hours to go, Dave!” The human said. 

“Yeah.” The coypu replied tiredly. 

“See you back out there, you maniac!”

“Yeah.” 

The human soon left. This was perfect- he thanked Chaos that he lucked out as to find Dave so soon. It was like a true detective novel, where he found the perp right away. 

Dave sighed deeply, looking tiredly at the mirror in front of the sinks. He leaned down on the counter as he stared at his reflection, staring into the eyes of a man forced to work excessively, stretched across multiple versions of himself. 

“Just six more hours.” He echoed the other man’s statement. “Just six more hours…” 

With a deep breath, the nutria turned away from the dinks and started heading towards the door. 

At that moment, the vent cover buckled and fell under the weight of the rolled-up armadillo on top of it. After Dave only took a few steps, the vent came crashing down, and Mighty unrolled in time to land on his backside in the middle of the bathroom. 

He coughed as dust was kicked up everywhere, but smiled when he saw Dave. 

“Hello Dave! I’m here to talk to you!” 

“...nope.” 

The tired worker briskly walked past the fallen armadillo, headed to the door. Mighty quickly rolled back up, rolling backwards and pushing off to flip back onto his feet. He turned his body in time to press his hand against the door, closing it after Dave only opened it an inch. 

“Wait! Please, just hear me out?” 

Dave had a face of bewildered discomfort, but regardless, he soon let go of the door. He crossed his arms, standing in front of the door, clearly ready to leave if things went bad. 

Mighty took a deep breath. 

“So I’m friends with the Chaotix, and they’re detectives, and I swam all the way here from my island because they gave me an invitation to join them, and I wanted to accept because they’re my friends. But I get here and they’re kidnapped, and I’m with Vector’s mom and Espio’s dad and apparently their sons are fighting with one another, which I don’t really understand why because they’re such good friends in the first place, but they’re kidnapped like I said. Apparently the person who might know where he is deals with this Robotnik guy at night, and you work nights as the manager apparently, so I really need your help to figure out who that guy is.” 

Though he didn’t say that all in one breath, he spoke quickly as if he had a time limit. Dave’s eyebrows slowly raised up as the fast-paced sentence went on and on, but he comprehended every part of it. As a Dave, he’s had some interactions with the Chaotix before. 

“...a guy who does deals at night? I don’t know, a lot of people do deals here at night.” 

Mighty reached into his jacket and pulled out the folded up picture he was given by Inco. Dave took the picture and looked it over, his eyebrows furrowing. 

“...I can’t help you. I don’t know who the dealer is, even if I’ve seen him here a few times.” The nutria said. Though the armadillo looked dejected, Dave continued. “But… I recognize the other guy in the picture. The one in the reflective vest.” 

Dave pulled a pen out from his pocket and pressed the photo on the wall, writing a name across the back. 

“He’s an ex-cop who has deals with different sellers for items he can sell on the streets for extra profit. He’s been on a technology kick recently, so that’s how I know it’s him.” 

After writing down the name, he handed the picture back to Mighty. 

“Maybe you can find the dealer through him, maybe not. I dunno. But you didn’t hear this information from me, alright? I don’t want anyone to trace this back to me, especially not that ex-cop. Those dudes go crazy after losing their power over the general public.” 

“Right. Thank you Dave, your cooperation is very much appreciated.” 

Mighty put the picture back in his pocket. He returned to the center of the bathroom, looking up at the vent opening- using his powerfully strong legs, he leapt up to the opening and grabbed onto the side, before pulling himself into the vent and rolling off again. 

Dave sighed as he watched the scene unfold, making a statement after Mighty was long gone. 

“I don’t get paid enough for this.” 

Mighty got to the other end of the vent again. As he rolled out of the other opening, he landed in the arms of Alliana, who was still waiting there for him. 

“Ha! Gotcha, roly poly.” 

“Thank you, Miss Alliana.”

Getting down to his feet, Mighty dusted himself off from anything he got stuck on him in the vents. Inco was nearby, watching intently. 

“What did he say? Did you find him?”

“I did find him! And he gave me a name with the photo, he says it’s the man in the reflective vest…” 

Mighty took out the picture, handing it to Alliana. The lady crocodile looked at the name, her eyebrows raising before she looked at the photo again. Her face hardened to stone, frowning deeply with a sneer. 

“I know who this is. Let’s go.” 

Vector crashed through the bright white hallways of this mystery place. He passed by a bunch of rooms: storage, lounge, office, office. 

Where was the computer room?

He was still dressed in his detective outfit, sans the fedora, the trenchcoat flapping in the wind as he ran at full speed. 

The crocodile was paranoid that he was being followed. He wasn’t sure if Noir Vanilla would be able to leave that simulation, but he was sure that some security cameras would be able to see him… if there were cameras. He wasn’t about to stop and check. 

As he turned another corner, he crashed into the far wall, still moving along but leaning against a nearby door for support. He looked up at the door, seeing the foggy glass said “FILES” on the front of it. 

He thought he heard footsteps from around the corner. Vector quickly entered the room and slammed the door shut behind him. Feeling a lock beneath the knob, he twisted it locked before finally taking a breather. 

The room was barely bigger than a broom closet, with filing cabinets lining the walls, making it a little cramped in there. It was still roomy enough for Vector to move around, so he could take a few steps into the room and look at all the cabinets. 

All the cabinet drawers had blank labels. One of the drawers of a cabinet in the back corner was pulled all the way out. As Vector got closer, he could see the files were all unlabeled as well. He pulled out a manila folder slowly, feeling how thick it was from all the paper inside of it. 

He opened the folder- big surprise, all the papers were blank. 

“What…?”

Vector grabbed another file folder. Then another, then another. It was like all of these papers and manila folders were here for decoration. He stacked three or four files on top of each other, paging through all of them trying to find any semblance of information in any of the files. 

He soon gave up, closing the most recent file and holding them in his hands, staring blankly ahead as he tried to make sense of what any of this meant. 

Suddenly, the doorknob jiggled. The crocodile paused, staring at the door, seeing a familiar shadow on the other side. He held his breath. 

The knob jiggled again. Then again. After a few moments of someone trying to force the knob open, it suddenly stopped. Vector gave it a minute before finally letting out his held breath, relieved the person most likely moved on. 

Then, a gun was fired into the handle’s lock. A bullet passed through the lock right under the doorknob, leaving a giant hole where it used to be. The door opened much, much easier after that. 

Vector stared in horror as Noir Vanilla opened the door, holding his old six shooter pistol in her hand. She looked more crazed than ever now, and was still completely colored black-and-white. 

“There you are!” She yelled. “I need you for a case!”

“How did you get out of that simulation?! I thought you weren’t real!”

“I’m as real as the love I have for my daughter, who I need you to help me find!”

Vanilla pointed the revolver towards Vector. The crocodile grabbed the stack of blank manila folders and chucked it at the fake copy of Vanilla, which hit her face and her body. Papers scattered everywhere, and the woman accidentally fired off a bullet into the ceiling as she fell backwards, losing her balance on the heels she had on.

With his pursuer down, Vector passed over her and ran out of the room, heading down the hallway. He was close to an intersecting hall, and quickly made a right down that corridor. As he did, Noir Vanilla picked up the pistol and fired twice, missing both shots and sending them into the wall at the far end of the hallway she was in. 

Looking behind him to make sure nobody else was after him, Vector continued to sprint as fast as he could. Once he turned around, he was greeted by a dead-end that, luckily for him, ended with a door labeled “COMPUTER SIMULATION ROOM”

Smiling for just a moment, Vector soon ducked his head down and ran as fast as he could, plowing through the door and blasting it off of its hinges. He came to a stop after ramming through the door, looking through the computer room. 

It was a simple, blank room, with a sleek black desk. There was only a single computer on it. 

Vector quickly walked around the desk, looking at the computer. There was some kind of programming code on it, but he could see that three programs were running: “csmcfll.exe,” “mdmtrx.exe,” and “ntrgiczn.exe.” The first and second ones had statuses in red saying “SUBJECT ESCAPED” 

He quickly started pressing every button he could to mess the program. He even deleted the files he could find there, starting with the three he saw on the programming software. 

“Doing research for the case?” 

Vector looked up, seeing that Noir Vanilla had caught up to him, holding out the revolver. 

“I’m about to shut you down.” 

“Why? Isn’t all of this your fantasy?” The fake Vanilla stepped in, walking around a bit as if to try and circle him. “Being a detective like you see in those books you read, the shows you watch. No distractions, no bills, no worries.” 

“It’s not real.”

“Why do you want it to be real? Why do you want to go back to that reality? What’s waiting for you back there? Your mom starting a new family that might not include you, or your relationship with your closest friend imploding because you can’t handle it?” 

“...I can’t run from the truth. I can’t run from what’s happening.” Vector said, softly. “I tried to run away and it’s ruining everything… I can’t hide behind being a detective forever.” 

“I’m literally offering you that chance. Are you even listening to me? Ugh, no wonder you only have like, four friends. And one of them is thirteen years old!” 

Vector’s had enough of this woman. He grabbed the computer monitor and threw it at Noir Vanilla, who quickly ducked and aimed her revolver at him. The crocodile quickly grabbed the computer tower nearby, moving it around to hold out in front of him. 

He got it in front of him in time for Vanilla to shoot the remaining three bullets into the computer tower, which immediately made the monitor turn off. The tower was ruined, and the software wasn’t running anymore. 

Vanilla’s body started flickering from monochrome to color. She dropped the gun, looking at her hands in horror. She stumbled forwards, feeling her face start to glitch out. Vector watched, utterly freaked out, as the rabbit’s entire face started to apparently melt. 

Screaming, the fake Vanilla started to run towards Vector. The crocodile put his foot on the desk and slid it into the simulated woman, knocking her backwards and pinning her to the wall with the weight of the table. 

Vanilla’s face wasn’t there anymore. All that was left was a gray ball, and different lines to accentuate her eyes and mouth. It wasn’t a skull, but almost like something you’d see used in a 3D animation program. 

Pinned to the wall, Noir Vanilla tried to break free, to no avail. Vector stepped a bit closer, watching as her face went from horrifying quasi-skeleton back to its normal look. After a moment, her body returned to black and white. 

“What?” The crocodile thought aloud. “I destroyed the program!”

“You think we don’t have backup programs?” Vanilla asked him. “You can destroy every computer in here and we’d still be up and running! You’ll never stop the simulation!”

“Then I guess I’ll have to save my friends myself.” 

“No you won’t. The doors won’t let you in unless you have a keycard!”

“I don’t need a keycard. I got some guns right here.” 

Vector flexed for a second. Noir Vanilla scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Corny.” She commented. 

Ignoring the comment, Vector turned to the back wall of the office. He wasn’t sure what was on the other side, but he ran full speed towards it. He punched through the wall and grabbed the hole he made with both hands, creating a massive hole to walk through. 

He just needed to do that until he found his friends again. 

“Stop the car!” 

A sedan skid to a stop at the name of the commanding voice. In any other scenario, that voice meant something bad was going to happen to the driver… nowadays, it meant to stop for kids to cross the street. 

Marcus Fenthill used to be a cop. A really good cop- a dirty crooked cop, but a “good” cop as he always made his quota. He used to have the high life, working easy as a cop, getting a “bonus” from looking the other way for some of the stuff happening in the city. 

Then, the zoo pals came along and messed it up. Those blasted Chaotix detectives proved that Fenthill was involved with the missing children during the incident with the Hooligans and Carnival Island. Not only was he arrested for that, but he was sued by the parents of the children themselves and lost hard, which left him pretty much bankrupt. 

Pretty much blacklisted from any police station within a three state radius, the only job with a position of power he could get was a crossing guard.

Wearing a neon yellow reflective vest, Fenthill directed traffic as he let kids cross the street. He had a black eye, however, for something that had happened yesterday. He didn’t really want to talk about it, but it involved those blasted detectives again. 

As the last kid got to the other end of the street, Fenthill silently cursed at them under his breath for taking so long to cross. It was so demeaning, being in the center of the crosswalk and holding a sign, when just over a year ago he was holding big bucks and at the top of his game.

Oh, how the mighty fall. 

He walked back to the end of the sidewalk, sitting down on a chair he set up for himself to wait in for anyone who needed to cross the road. He watched the cars pass the crosswalk in silence, eternally grumpy at the world for letting what happened happen to him. No good deed goes unpunished, he guessed. 

There were a few footsteps behind him. Still always on edge, he quickly turned around to try and see whoever was coming up from the rear. 

Nobody was there. 

Even with a black eye, Fenthill was able to scan the area as efficiently as he once could. He kept himself turned around for a solid minute, knowing people would only wait half a minute before revealing themselves again. 

Satisfied, Fenthill eventually decided to turn back in his seat to watch the crosswalk. Instead, he found himself shrouded in shadow, from a silhouetted figure standing right in front of his chair. This figure reached forwards and grabbed Fenthill’s head with their palm right in his face. 

The ex-cop was pulled from his chair and away, and though he was struggling, the person carrying him away wasn’t disturbed in the slightest. 

Fenthill was tossed away soon enough, into the wall of a building, trapped in an alleyway with a trio of people. He was already standing, his back to the wall, groaning a bit after he hit it. He squinted his eyes to try and see who was there. 

It was a crocodile, a chameleon and an armadillo. 

Alliana moved forwards, pulling a picture of Fenthill and the dealer from her coat, holding it in his face. 

“Who’s the other man in his photo?” She growled. 

The ex-cop had recoiled a bit at the photo being pushed in his face, but once he saw it, he pushed the crocodile’s arm out of the way. 

“Who’s asking?”

“I am.” 

“Well that’s too bad, I don’t talk to dog food.” 

Fenthill tried pushing past to walk away from the interrogation. 

“Mighty.”

At Alliana’s word, the armadillo flicked a finger into Fenthill’s chest, his strength immediately knocking the man back into the wall as if he was shoved. 

“Who were you dealing with in this photo?” Alliana asked again. 

“I don’t know, I deal with a lot of guys in dark hoods holding boxes. Why’s this one special?”

“He stole my sons!”

“And mine, too.” Inco said, softer than Alliana. 

“Your sons?” Fenthill looked the crocodile up and down. “Ohoho, I see. Your sons are those idiot detectives!” He looked at Mighty. “What’re you, their stepdad?”

“No, that will probably end up being me.” 

Alliana glanced at Inco for a moment before turning back to the man against the wall with a snarl. 

“They’ve been taken, and it might involve this man you’re talking to. Who is he?!”

“Why should I help you? Those morons gave me a black eye asking the same question! So I’ll tell you what I told them: fu—” 

“Mighty.” 

The armadillo flicked the man’s chest again, harshly shoving him against the wall. 

“Tell us who the man is!” 

Alliana’s arm was touched softly, with Inco gently nudging her to move her to the side. He took her spot, allowing the lady crocodile to cool off at the side while Inco took over the interrogation. 

“I don’t know if I can control my girlfriend any longer.” He said calmly to Fenthill.

“Girlfriend? That’s a woman?” 

“Mighty.”

Mighty didn’t need Inco’s command to flick his finger into Fenthill’s chest, knocking him against the wall again with a stern glower. 

“Just tell us what we want to know, and you can leave.” 

“I don’t know who the guy is!”

“I believe you.” Inco replied. “But you have to know something about him.” 

Fenthill rubbed the back of his head, frowning deeply at being knocked around. 

“No answer? How about I have my young assistant here press your chest against the wall?”

Mighty cracked his knuckles. Internally, he would never do that- flicking into this man’s chest was pushing it with what he was comfortable with. He detested performing any acts of violence. 

“Alright! Alright!” The ex-cop yelled, holding his hands up. “Look, I don’t know the guy, but he sells me virtual reality stuff. VR headsets, mostly, nothing crazy. But I know he orders the parts from out of the country, because I found an invoice he left inside of one of those boxes he gave me.” 

“What did it say?” Alliana asked, rejoining the others. 

“The address was to a PO box in Golden Bay. But it said it belonged to something called ‘Skarkus Technologies’. That’s all I know, okay? Now can you freaks leave me alone?!”

“Skarkus Technologies. I can work with that.” 

Alliana got her phone out, immediately starting to look through her contacts to make a phone call. Though the three began walking away, it seemed that the ex-cop wasn’t finished yet. 

“I hope he kidnaps you gross monsters and never lets you all see the outside again.” Fenthill growled under his breath, dusting himself off. Not a smart move when the Mobians you’re talking about were just a few feet away. 

Alliana turned, growling angrily, but Inco put his hand up. 

“Allow me, dear.” 

The chameleon strolled past the others and to Fenthill, who was still straightening out his clothes. Before the man could even get a word in, Inco reeled back his fist and punched straight into his good eye, knocking him back against the wall and making him crumple to the ground. Fenthill now had a matching set- two black eyes. 

As Inco returned to his group, Alliana kissed his cheek, making him smile. The crocodile quickly started making a call on her phone, standing a few feet away from Inco and Mighty as the three stood on the sidewalk outside of the alley. 

Inco sighed, rubbing his hand. 

“Punches hurt, I know.” Mighty said to him, nodding. 

“They do. I give my detective characters too much credit for being in fights…” Inco ran his thumb over his knuckles. “It’s not just that, however. It’s Espio… and Vector.”

“Afraid they’re hurt?”

“Well, yes, but… I’m afraid they’re hurting each other.” 

“Over you and Alliana being a couple?”

“Yes.” The chameleon looked at the back of his hand for any damage. “Espio never knew his mother… from what I’ve heard, Vector never knew his father. But their parents being in a relationship has to be a scary time for the both of them. The fright of their relationship changing affects Vector, I know. He’s been pretty standoffish with me and Espio since the relationship was revealed.” 

“What about Espio?”

“He’s more understanding, if not uncomfortable with the thought of me dating. But with Vector’s changing attitude, he’s just… shut down, emotionally. It’s been so hard for him, finding someone else to be this close to him. For that person to just apparently shut him out? He’s reliving some very bad memories.”

“He’s had a friend shut him out before?”

“He has. All the way back in Nippon… it’s the reason he came to the United Federation in the first place… If he feels it’s happening again, then… what will he do next?” 

The question hung in the air, Mighty looking at Inco, the old chameleon still rubbing his knuckles with a thumb as he thought about his own question. Inco looked over at Alliana next, who was cheerfully chatting with someone on the phone. 

“...are you a ninja like Espio?”

Mighty’s question turned Inco’s head back to the armadillo, eyebrows raised in mild surprise.

“Hm? Oh, no, no I’m not. Espio’s training came from a favor somebody owed me. I wanted to make sure he was safe, but I didn’t want him to follow in the same footsteps as my own training.” 

“Training? For what?” 

Inco smiled softly, reaching over to pat Mighty’s shoulder. 

“If Alliana knows where we can find the boys… I’ll show you.” 

Mighty grinned widely at that. Ironically, Alliana was coming back, still on the phone as she was ending her call with somebody. 

“Uh huh. Oh yeah, totally. Tell the kids I said hi! Alright, alright. Bye.” She hung up the phone and turned her attention to the others. “I’ve made some calls to city hall.” 

“City hall? How?” 

“How do you think I got the ownership of the apartment building I live in after just a few years? I’m good with people.” The crocodile smirked, tossing the phone between her hands. “Basically, Skarkus Technologies doesn’t exist. It’s not a registered company.”

“So we’re back at square one?”

“Not exactly, roly poly. It doesn’t exist, which makes it weird that there’s a building on the other side of Station Square that’s registered in that title.” She continued. “If this Robotnik guy really took the boys, I think that’s exactly where he’s keeping them!”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

“Yes, of course.” Inco added to Mighty’s statement. “But first, if you could Alliana… I need to pick something up from home before we go there.”

“It’s not like I don’t want Miss Mom and Mister Kaziwaka to get together, it’s just like… if Vector and Espio are going to fight about it the entire time, is it really worth it?” 

“HMM.” Heavy tapped his upper body with his hand as if he was tapping his chin. “IT DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU THINK THEY ARE FIGHTING ABOUT.” 

“I don’t even know!” Charmy replied, still sitting on the wooden counter of the game stand. “I thought something like this would be a good thing! They’re already best friends, now they get to be step-brothers. Vector’s already my brother by law, I thought Espio would be happy to get in on that too. I guess I just don’t get it… do they not want to be a family?”

The bee sighed, kicking his feet. From his side, Bomb walked up, offering him a soda. 

“Thanks, Bomb.” Charmy said, taking the soda and cracking it open. He took a long sip of it. The bee reached under his shirt, pulling out a silver chain and looking at what it was hooping through- a golden ring, a ring given to him by Vector that was meant to match ones that both him and Espio had. 

Charmy thought, once he got this ring, that it was the start of Vector and Espio getting along again. Looks like he was wrong. 

“I THINK YOU ARE LOOKING AT THIS SITUATION FROM ONLY YOUR PERSPECTIVE.” 

“That’s the only perspective I have.”

“FAIR POINT. ALLOW ME TO REPHRASE. THIS DETECTIVE AGENCY, AND YOUR FRIENDS’ RESPECTIVE PARENTS, ARE THE ONLY FAMILY YOU HAVE KNOWN FOR THE LAST YEAR OR SO. TO YOU, THEY ARE ALREADY TOGETHER. HOWEVER, VECTOR AND ESPIO HAVE SPENT SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF TIME AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER, AND NOW THAT THEY’RE GOING TO BE FOREVER LEGALLY BOUND TO EACH OTHER, THEY ARE MOST LIKELY SCARED THAT THE OUTCOME COULD RESULT IN SOMETHING BAD HAPPENING TO THEIR FRIENDSHIP.”

“So they’re acting out because they’re scared? Why can’t they just say that?”

“SENTIENT MINDS ARE COMPLEX. SOMETIMES IT IS EASIER TO IGNORE THOSE FEELINGS ALTOGETHER, AND RID YOURSELF OF THINGS THAT REMIND YOU OF THOSE FEELINGS, RATHER THAN FEEL THOSE NEGATIVE EMOTIONS. SOMETIMES IT IS SIMPLY EASIER TO LIVE… IN A FANTASY.” 

Charmy sipped his soda, quietly thinking to himself. 

“Do you think Vector and Espio would do that? Just ignore reality completely?”

“FROM WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS, AND THE STUDIES I HAVE MADE, IT APPEARS THAT YOU THREE CARE ABOUT ONE ANOTHER VERY DEEPLY. IF THAT COMPASSION IS TRUE, THEN EVEN IF THE REAL WORLD IS SCARY FOR THEM, THEY’D STILL CHOOSE THAT OVER A FANTASY FOR THE SAKE OF THE PEOPLE THEY TRULY CARE ABOUT.” 

The bee’s gaze went to the ground at the end of that statement, still sipping his soda quietly. 

“...I really want to leave this nightmare.” 

Just at that moment, the wall in front of him shattered. Well, the “wall” that was behind the game stand right ahead of him. He didn’t know it was a wall, it was actually a wall of LEDs pretending to be a realistic background. 

When the dust cleared, Vector was there, coughing and wearing his detective outfit. 

“Charmy!”

“Vector!”

The two rushed to each other, hugging as they met. After a moment, Vector noticed Heavy and Bomb nearby, quickly letting go of Charmy. 

“Whoa!” He held his fists up, as if to fight. 

“No, Vector, don’t! They’re good guys!” The bee said, standing in front of him. “Vector, this is Heavy and Bomb. Heavy and Bomb, Vector.” 

“HELLO.” 

Bomb waved its greetings to Vector. 

“They work for the guy keeping us here, but… they aren’t really that evil.” 

“TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST, OUR CREATOR DOES NOT TREAT US WELL.” 

“Oh man, I’m sorry.” Vector said sheepishly. 

From nearby, suddenly, a whirlpool of color opened up on the ground. The group watched with intrigue at the appearance of this portal, before having to cover their eyes as golden light flooded out of the hole at the center. 

A shadow appeared in the light, before Espio leapt out of it, landing on his hands and knees on the ground. He was breathing heavily, but got up once he saw the others nearby. 

“Espio!” 

Charmy came in for a hug from him as well. It was short, as Charmy moved back to look at Espio in his entirety. 

“What are you wearing?”

“It’s a gi.” Espio replied. “I’ve been through… a very traumatic simulation.”

“Yeah, uh… me too. Even if it doesn’t look like it.” Vector added, opening his trenchcoat to show his outfit a bit more. 

Once Vector spoke, Espio looked at the crocodile, but closed his mouth. Vector stood there awkwardly, keeping enough space for Charmy to be between them. The bee stepped backwards and grabbed their arms. 

“Now you two hug too!” He said. 

Vector and Espio looked at Charmy, bewildered. 

“...I know your parents getting together is scary. But you two were already good friends before they met each other. You’re the reason they’re together! Things don’t have to change just because they found happiness in one another.” The bee said, looking at both of them. “We were Chaotix before they got together, and we’ll be Chaotix even after! Please, just… talk to each other.” 

With the teenager still gripping onto their arms, Vector and Espio looked back at each other once again. It was awkward and silent for a moment, before one of them spoke. 

“...the gi is pretty cool.” Vector said. 

“Thanks.” Espio replied. “You look really cool in a hard-boiled detective outfit.” 

“You really think so? I thought it was a little much.” 

“Maybe just for the one-time deal.” 

“Yeah… right.” Vector scoffed in amusement. He was quiet for a moment. “Espio… I’m sorry. I know I’ve been a massive tool these last few months. I dunno, I guess I was just… scared things would be different for me. My ma’s moving forward with a relationship, and she could easily have another kid with your dad…”

“Don’t even entertain that.”

“But regardless… I was just worried that with our parents together, things would get awkward. Then I made things awkward, and I didn’t like it being awkward, and I just… pushed you away.” 

Espio hummed, looking away for a moment to regain his thoughts before talking to Vector. 

“I haven’t had the best of luck with friends.” He said. “It’s hard having friends when you don’t know how to maintain a personal relationship. The last time I had someone I remotely considered a best friend, they… Well, that’s a story for another time. But I was scared that was happening again, and I just… shut down. I should’ve just talked to you.”

“Hey, nobody’s perfect. I’m the one who blabs on all the time, I bet you were just waiting for me to finally say something. Knowing me, I would’ve yelled it at the top of my lungs.” 

The chameleon rolled his eyes but chuckled. Vector chuckled as well, and after a moment they finally did get their hug. Charmy let go of their arms for them to do so, smiling with satisfaction as the pair finally made up. 

“THIS IS VERY MOVING.”

“Gah!” 

Espio jumped out of the hug as he noticed Heavy and Bomb. 

“Oh, no, it’s cool. They’re good guys.” Vector clarified. “Heavy and Bomb, right?” 

“YES, THAT IS US.” Heavy replied. “YOUR FRIENDSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER IS VERY MOVING TO SEE. ALTHOUGH I HAVE BOMB, I WISH I HAD PEOPLE WHO CARED ABOUT THE TWO OF US AS MUCH AS YOU THREE CARE ABOUT ONE ANOTHER.” 

“I’m sure you’ll find somebody. You’re made for utility, right? I know there’s someone out there who could give you a job and the relationship you need.” 

“Utility, eh?” Vector hummed at Charmy’s statement. “I think I can find stuff for you two to do around the office. My ma’s probably got something either of you can do for the apartment complex, anyways.” 

“YOU WOULD REALLY DO THAT FOR THE TWO OF US? YOU HAVE JUST MET US.” 

“Well, Charmy seems to like you, so why not?” Vector shrugged.

Heavy was quiet for a moment, holding Bomb in his hand. The smaller android turned its body towards Heavy, as if quietly telling him to do something. 

“CHAOTIX. THERE IS SOMETHING YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT THIS SIMULATION… SOMETHING I AM WILLING TO BREAK THROUGH MY PROGRAMMING TO TELL YOU… THE TRUTH IS—” 

Suddenly, the far wall behind the detectives shattered, making a massive hole in the wall. Everyone turned around to see what was coming through this time. 

A large figure appeared in the smoke of the crash, larger than Vector and Heavy. This burly figure stepped slowly through the dust, revealing himself to be a deep green crocodile. His notable features included a leather biker’s jacket, an x-shaped scar on his snout, and what seemed to be a grenade launcher on his shoulder. 

He stared at the group as he passed through the dust, dusting off the front of his leather jacket. 

“Uh… hi?” Charmy called out. 

“Howdy.” The large crocodile growled. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Well, one of you anyways… Vector, was it?” 

“Yeah? Who the heck are you?” 

“Heh. You probably don’t recognize me… The name’s Cayman Hernandez. I’m your dad.” 

The detectives were shocked to silence for a moment, staring in shock at this large crocodile who just blew a whole in the wall- which wasn’t even the biggest bombshell he dropped after entering this facility.

“...what?” Charmy looked at Vector and Espio, confused. 

“I’m a bounty hunter. Your ma never could keep up with me, which is why she left me behind… I was hired by someone special to find you. Well, you and your chameleon friend there.” 

From the shadows stepped another figure, another Mobian, a female one: a blue-violet chameleon that appeared to be half the size of this big strange crocodile, with two swords strapped to her back.  

“Wait… no.” 

“Veil… Veil Kaziwaka.” The female chameleon said, ignoring Charmy’s words. “I’ve been tracking you down since you were a baby, Espio. Your father never wanted you to know your mother because I was an onna-musha… but here I am, to reclaim my son.” 

“All of this is happening now?” The bee continued his bewilderment, ignored by his shocked companions. “What is going on?” 

Suddenly, the ceiling exploded, raining small bits of debris down into the area. 

“TROOPS, SWARM THE AREA!”

Buzzing down came a brigade of bees, all only slightly taller than Charmy. They surrounded in a large circle around the detectives, all aiming at them with what seemed to be rifles with a bulbous, grooved end like a honey dipper. 

“Halt, all of you!” A gruff bee said. “By command of the Golden Hive Colony, you all are to stand down and peacefully surrender the lost prince of our kingdom, Charmy Bee!”

“...you’re kidding.” Charmy was the only one to speak. 

“Like heck you all will! Let’s get ‘em, Veil!” 

“We’re being attacked! Troops, deploy countermeasures!” 

Cayman and Veil started attacking the troops, who all started attacking back. The Chaotix detectives were watching in horror, just as confused as Charmy as to what was going on. 

“Get the prince! Attack his kidnappers!”

Some bees started swarming around Vector and Espio, forcing them to fight back. One of them grabbed onto Charmy, which resulted in Vector grabbing the troop by the collar and throwing him away. 

Charmy was silent, a thousand yard stare on his face as he watched the fight commence around him. He took off his helmet, holding it under his arm as he passed a hand over the tuft of yellow hair on top of his head, causing his antennae to flicker. 

“None of this is making any sense.” He said. “Right now. Right now? Vector’s dad… Espio’s mom? And what do you mean I’m the prince of some lost colony? What is even happening? I can’t… nothing is adding up, and just when all of us were making up too… Like… Like it was meant to keep us apart.” 

The bee’s face went soft, his eyebrows raising as he started thinking. 

“Almost like…” 

He slowly looked over to Heavy and Bomb. The two androids hadn’t moved from their spot- in fact, from their stance, it looked almost as if they were about to walk off, but were frozen in place. 

Charmy reached over and waved a hand over the front of Heavy’s body, as if trying to see if he would react. After that, he knocked on the side of Bomb’s body, only hearing an echo from the inside. 

He looked back out at the battle. Espio was fighting and evading his mother, while Vector was ramming through a bunch of troops trying to get to Charmy, with his father firing grenades nearby with a loud holler of amusement. 

The bee’s face suddenly felt heavy. He felt his body go slack, his arms and feet tingling as if they were asleep. It was almost out of body, as if he wasn’t really there, and he could feel his arms lift up even though he wasn’t moving his body at all. 

His phantom hands moved in front of his face, as if he was holding a large pair of binoculars, and with all the willpower in his body…

…he pulled the VR goggles off, exiting the simulation. 

Charmy took a large breath, falling off of the chair he was in. The chair was like an orthodontist chair, with legs elevated and a back that could lower and raise up. With his arms and legs still asleep, the bee collapsed to the ground as he rolled off, his VR headset bouncing away from him on the ground. 

As he felt his limbs stop being numb, he started picking himself up off the ground. 

“I knew it! I knew we were still in a simulation!” He cried. “And I know you’re in here too! You’ve been controlling all of it from the start, haven’t you? Tricking us into thinking we were escaping the simulation and using stuff like… like missing parents to distract us!” 

There was silence on the other end as Charmy started standing up. 

As he turned around, Charmy saw where he was- it was a giant room, almost like a large office space, with boarded up windows and a glass door on the opposite side of the building. Three orthodontist chairs were at Charmy’s end, with the bee situated in the middle one. From what the teenager could see, Vector was in the one to his right, and Espio was in the one to his left, both wearing the same VR headsets Charmy had on before. 

“I know you’re there. You’re the Robotnik we were looking for in the first place. You just kept it ambiguous so you could frame your cousin. Isn’t that right… Snively?” 

A few yards away, in an office chair, someone started clapping slowly. The chair turned around, revealing the bald Robotnik sitting in the chair. Snively Robotnik was in a green jumpsuit not unlike his cousin’s, with a pair of blue shaded goggles on his head. 

“Charlemagne Bee.” He spoke, his voice nasally and speaking the Queen’s English. 

“I actually go by Charmy Hernandez now.” The bee replied sternly. 

“Right. So… how did you figure it out?” 

“I was suspicious when Heavy referred to you as ‘a Robotnik’ in the simulation, but the kicker was that he said he couldn’t say your name, yet said ‘Ivo Robotnik’ clearly.”

“Ah, yes. Heavy…” Snively said, his thumbs twirling after he interlocked his fingers. “Those two turncoats are being tended to accordingly.” 

He looked over his shoulder slightly, making Charmy look in the same direction. A flock of Swat-Bots were holding Heavy and Bomb, carrying them away from their area at a bunch of computers nearby. Charmy frowned, feeling bad for the robots. 

“Why are you doing this?” The bee asked Snively. “But firstly… a simulation in a simulation? Seriously?” 

“It’s like lying. The best way to convince someone they’re not in a simulation is to allow them to escape a fake simulation.” The engineer replied. “For the crocodile, I wanted him to escape from his problems. For the chameleon, I wanted him to fix his greatest regret. I didn’t have anything really planned for you… seems I underestimated you. As for why I’m doing this…” 

Snively opened his hand, revealing he had rings between his four fingers- a green one, a violet one and a golden one. Charmy quickly reached for his chest, finding his silver chain without his Chaos Ring on it. 

“I need these rings for what’s inside that special container made for your leader. I was keeping you in the simulation so I could take these from you.” Snively said, closing his hand again. “I didn’t expect you all to learn a lesson along the way though, so I had to pull out all the stops to keep you distracted at the end there.” 

“Cayman? Veil? Seriously?”

“Came up with those names myself. In reality, I have absolutely no idea who Vector’s father is, or Espio’s mother, or… who either of your parents are. But that’s the beauty of the virtual reality system, isn’t it? If you really wanted… I could create a world where you have both of your parents. Where you have your family back.” 

“I already have my family.” 

With that, Charmy quickly unplugged the VR headsets from the back, disconnecting Vector and Espio from the simulation. They both got up from their chairs quickly as they woke up, taking off their headsets. 

“Oh, how cute… and incredibly tacky.” Snively said, with a disappointed hum. 

“Where are we?”

“What’s happening?” 

“We were in a simulation made by Snively Robotnik so he could take the Chaos Rings!” Charmy said to the others. “He’s the one who kidnapped us!”

“Guilty as charged.” 

“You bald little…” 

As Vector tried to step forwards, two Swat-Bots dropped to the ground in front of Snively, aiming their arm cannons at the detectives. Snively didn’t move or react, still sitting in his chair and watching the trio. 

“Let’s not hurry out too soon.” He said. 

Charmy looked between Vector and Espio, before he stepped forwards to talk to Snively directly. 

“You haven’t answered my question.” The bee spoke up. “Why are you doing this?” 

Snively didn’t react, watching the detectives in silence, before bringing his hand over and checking the watch on his wrist, pulling up his sleeve to do so. 

“...I got time, what the heck?” He shrugged a bit. ”I’m sure you know my uncle, Julian Robotnik. He created Vector’s mother.”

“We’re familiar.” Vector said. 

“Well, I am the son of his older brother. Adopted, much like you, Charlie.”

“Charmy.”

“I don’t care.” Snively said quickly. “The only other heir to my family’s fortune, after he died, was my late sister. After my parents unfortunately passed away in an accident… because I was adopted, my dreadful uncle Julian was able to steal the remains of the Robotnik fortune and land from me. I was forced to work with him on his projects to try and possibly get any piece of that inheritance back.”

Snively stood, grunting as he did. 

“But I didn’t. I wasn’t there because Julian would give me my fortune back, I was there to be his scapegoat. GUN seized the assets of Project: Mobius and I was framed for it all, sent to the Devil’s Gulag. There, I became a freelance inventor to GUN themselves, in order to get some time off my sentence. That’s how these Swat-Bots came to fruition.”

He patted the arm of one of the Swat-Bots, smiling. 

“What do you need the Chaos Emerald for?” Charmy asked. “I know that’s why you’re gathering the Chaos Rings.”

“It’s a Chaos Emerald. Goodness, world class detectives, truly.” Snively rolled his eyes. “But if you must know… my cousin Ivo has been squandering and wasting the Robotnik fortune for years now… all in hopes to destroy that stupid blue hedgehog. So I’m going to take that emerald, I’m going to confront him, and use it to destroy everything my cousin is doing with the inheritance that was rightfully mine. Then, with ultimate power and fortune to my name… who could possibly stop me?”

“I could give you a few names.” Espio said. 

“Who, Sonic the Hedgehog? No. Absolutely not. He’ll be too busy trying to save my bumbling cousin from himself to get in my way.”

“You won’t get away with this. We’ll stop you.”

“No, you won’t.” Snively said firmly. “I’ve been planning this gambit ever since I detected that you three had that emerald. I’ve been waiting until that armadillo started swimming towards your location to put this plan in action. Using cameras all over the city, making deals with ex-cops, setting things up perfectly so this very moment would happen, and I’m not about to let three absolute morons ruin it for me!”

The engineer was yelling by the end of his monologue. He let out a long breath. 

“Allow me to ruin it for you alone, then.” Vector said. “You only got half of the Chaos Rings. You don’t know where the other half are.”

“Oh no, I do.” Snively replied. He looked at his watch again. “They should be here right about…”

Suddenly, the glass door lit up with lights. The sound of a revving engine could be heard through the glass and wooden boards. 

“Now.”

Alliana’s SUV crashed through the front entrance of the building, coming to a stop before it could come close to Snively. The engineer didn’t even look up from his watch as it happened. 

The doors opened. Alliana, Inco and Mighty got out. 

“Boys!” The lady crocodile called out. 

“Ma!” 

“Espio!”

“Father.” 

“Mighty?” 

“Hello!” The armadillo said brightly after the bee called out his name. 

“Seize them and get me those remaining Chaos Rings!” 

Snively sat back in his office chair and slid away quickly. Charmy watched him roll off, but soon turned his attention to Heavy and Bomb still being dragged away. 

“Get off of them!”

Charmy flew forwards, using both hands to shove one of the Swat-Bots holding Heavy. The attacking robot fell backwards from the force, stumbling back and into one of the desks nearby. 

The other Swat-Bot carrying Heavy pointed its wrist cannon at Charmy. Before he could fire, Mighty took notice, sprinting towards the hovering bee.

“Charmy, watch out!”

Mighty jumped forwards and wrapped his arms around Charmy, curling forwards in time for the energy bolt from the Swat-Bot’s cannon to hit his shell, instead of his body or Charmy’s. The energy bolt ricocheted off of the indestructible shell a back at the robot, blasting through the Swat-Bot’s chest and making it collapse. 

Heavy was freed, and made his first order of business to grab the leg of the Swat-Bot holding Bomb and swing him around, forcing him to let go of the smaller android. Heavy swung the other robot right into the wall, shattering it into bits immediately. 

Bomb trotted over and hopped back up into Heavy’s hands. 

“THANK YOU FOR SAVING US. I AM SORRY I COULD NOT TELL YOU THE TRUTH IN TIME. HE CUT US FROM THE SIMULATION FEED.” 

“It’s no problem. I- UGH!” 

The Swat-Bot that Charmy had knocked down had raised its arm and fired an energy bolt into the bee’s back, knocking him into Heavy. 

Once the robot got up, Mighty rushed forwards and used his right hand to shove the robot back. As he did, the Swat-Bot grabbed onto the armadillo’s hand when he was pushed, using the momentum to slide the pink ring off of Mighty’s finger. 

The armadillo looked at his right hand after he pushed the robot away, realizing what had happened. 

Using the rolling desk chair, Snively scooted on over and grabbed the pink ring from the Swat-Bot’s hand. 

“Excellent! Oh dear.”

Snivley got out of the way in time for Mighty to punch into the Swat-Bot’s gullet, knocking him backwards. Charmy flew past, taking out the nunchucks he had in the back of his jacket. 

“Hi-ya!” 

Charmy swung it around and hit the robot hard on the top of the head. It wasn’t hard enough to knock it down, however, and it tried to swat Charmy from the air. 

Suddenly, Bomb was flung into the robot. The small android detonated instantly, blowing the Swat-Bot to bits with a powerful burst of air. 

Bomb was left sitting in the middle of the rubble it created. Heavy trudged over, picking his smaller companion back up and turning to Charmy, giving him a thumbs up. Though taken aback by the detonation, Charmy gave him a thumbs up back. 

Nearby, Espio had found that Snively had kept the chameleon’s jacket on, but didn’t bother to check it for weapons. The ninja flipped through the air to avoid a blast of energy and threw three shuriken at a Swat-Bot, hitting two up its chest with the last hitting right between its eyes. The Swat-Bot fell backwards, its head falling off. 

Man, Snively was NOT good at making these things. 

Espio weaved through the shots fired by one of the Swat-Bots ahead of him. He side flipped over one of the shots, reaching into his jacket as he did. Using the momentum of his flip, he whipped out his roped kunai, swinging it downwards as he came down and slicing the front of the robot downwards. 

The robot stumbled backwards and fell down, taken out as most of its wiring was cut by the chameleon’s kunai. Espio stood up straight, swinging the rope around to wrap around his opposite hand. 

Two more Swat-Bots hovered over and landed right in front of Espio. The ninja held onto the rope in his hands tightly, sliding out his non-kunai hand towards the robots and bending back a bit in a defensive stance, waiting for them to make the first move. The Swat-Bots stayed still, clearly waiting for Espio to make his move.

The sounds of a trunk closing got their attention instead. Espio was drawn to it first, looking past the robots towards Alliana’s SUV, which made the robots waddle to turn around and see what the point of interest was. 

His loafers patting the ground, Inco walked around his girlfriend’s car, tightening what seemed to be a long strip of linen around his waist, over his tweed jacket. Slid between the belt and his jacket were two swords with matching black sheaths and purple handles. 

As he stood a few yards away from the robots, Inco took off his glasses, folding them closed and putting them in his jacket’s breast pocket. He reached for the top sword handle, letting the metal slide against the sheath as he slowly pulled his katana from its sheath. He took hold of the katana’s handle with both hands, holding it beside his body so it was pointed towards the ceiling. 

The old samurai stared intently at the robots, not moving from his spot. Espio looked between the robots, knowing that he should most likely get out of the way- this fight was his father’s right now. 

Espio turned invisible. As soon as he did, Inco moved to strike. 

He rushed forwards, keeping his sword in its same position as he did. The Swat-Bots both raised their arm cannons to fire at the chameleon, who was quick enough to dodge both shots. 

Inco sliced upwards, cutting through the firing arm of the closest Swat-Bot. He swung the katana horizontally next, before slicing diagonally through the body of the robot, cutting it into three separate pieces. 

The other Swat-Bot swung its arm at Inco, who blocked it with his katana and pushed the robot away from him. Inco stepped back from another swing of the arm, and followed it with an overhead swing downwards, cutting the android clean in half. 

Another Swat-Bot landed right behind him, taking him by surprise. Inco spun around and swung his sword upwards, missing his swing by a few inches as this robot knew to evade instead. Inco blocked another swing and pushed the robot’s arm back, but was too distracted to fully evade a shot from the arm cannon of the android, which hit his shoulder. 

After staggering back, Inco looked at the shoulder of his tweed jacket, finding a giant singed hole on it. 

“How dare you! Espio bought me this jacket!”

The robot charged another blast, forcing Inco back in proper stance to hold his katana. He dodged a shot from the arm cannon and swung his sword to the left, then downwards. As the Swat-Bot swung its arm again, Inco took his right hand off of the handle, holding the katana upside down with his left hand to block the shot. 

Inco reached to the lower sheath, taking the much shorter sword out from his belt. He held the wakizashi out before stabbing forwards into the midsection of the android, twisting the sword to affect its mechanical insides. The hand of the robot swung backwards, knocking the katana away from him and grabbing onto the hand holding the wakizashi.

The samurai’s attack was interrupted with the Swat-Bot firing a blast into Inco, knocking him back and onto the floor. The wakizashi was left lodged in the body of the robot- but that’s not the only thing taken from Inco. The Swat-Bot’s hand turned over, revealing the dark blue ring was taken from the samurai’s hand. 

It flipped the ring upwards, allowing Snively to catch it as he rolled past in his chair. Suddenly, Espio’s kunai rope swung over the Swat-Bot’s shoulder, wrapping around the handle of the wakizashi tightly. 

The sword was pulled upwards, splitting the top half of the robot like cutting through a sausage casing, with cut wires flopping out of the split in the android. The wakizashi was caught in midair by Espio, who was becoming visible again, flipping down in front of the fallen Inco. As Inco stood up, Espio flipped the sword over to offer the handle to his father. 

Inco took the small sword back, sliding it back into the bottom sheath in his belt. 

“Improper holding of the sword.” He stated. 

“Do you really care, or are you making conversation? Besides, I’m a ninja, not a samurai.” 

“Hm.” Inco replied. “You’re alright?” 

“I’m fine, father. Thank you.” 

More Swat-Bots landed nearby, making Espio and Inco turn their heads and break their conversation. 

Espio wrapped the end of the kunai rope around his hand, keeping it tight. He held his arms out, one upwards and one out to the robots, raising his knee on the same side to rest his wrist there. Inco returned to his previous stance, holding his katana firmly with both hands close to his body. 

From the corner of his eye, Inco saw Charmy smashing Swat-Bots with his pair of nunchucks. 

“...he does know nunchaku are not Nipponese, right?” Inco asked his son. 

“I told him that. That’s just the weapon he wanted.” 

“A kusari-fundo would be more appropriate, and fairly similar.” 

“Father, let it go.” 

Without another word, Espio pulled the rope, allowing the kunai to spin around his hand. He used the momentum to fling it forwards, lodging it in the chest of a charging robot. 

Inco rushed towards the robot, swinging his katana upwards in time with Espio pulling down, yanking the Swat-Bot into Inco’s sword. The robot was cut in two, clattering onto the ground. 

Espio pulled the kunai back to him, reaching into his jacket with a free hand and grabbing two shuriken. He flung it at the next opposing android, sending one into each leg. The Swat-Bot fell forwards, in time for Inco to turn, swinging his sword downwards and decapitating the robot. 

Another Swat-Bot came in between Espio and Inco, aiming his arm cannon at the ninja. Espio looked to the side, seeing that Vector was charging through nearby. 

“Father!”

Espio shot out his tongue, attaching it to one of the robot’s arms. Inco, following suit, stuck out his tongue and grabbed the robot’s other arm. They both retracted their tongues, forcing the Swat-Bot’s arms out to its sides and holding it there. 

Vector crashed through the robot, destroying it instantly as he blitzed through. The crocodile, with his brass knuckles on, was charging through the robots and smashing them with the swing of his fists, either destroying them or making them go flying. 

After the crocodile punched another Swat-Bot and sent it flying, it was punched downwards by the nearby Alliana, sending it into the ground and destroying it instantly. 

With her son nearby, Alliana similarly smashed any robots that came nearby. She spun around at one point, swinging her large tail into a few of the Swat-Bots and taking out their legs from under them. 

Alliana grabbed the head of one of the Swat-Bots, picking it upwards and throwing it face-down into the ground, shattering it instantly. The lady crocodile roared loudly, before biting down on a robot trying to rush her. 

She swung the robot in her mouth back and forth. On the swing facing Vector, the younger crocodile bit down onto the Swat-Bot’s legs, holding it between the mother and son. At the same time, Vector and Alliana pulled in the opposite direction, tearing the robot clean in half. 

Both crocodiles spit the pieces of robot from their mouth, before looking at each other. 

After a second, Alliana licked her thumb and reached over to wipe a bit of oil that was on her son’s face. Vector winced and tried to lean away. 

“Ma!” He said in exasperation. 

With the lady crocodile distracted, a Swat-Bot was able to reach in and grab her right hand, yanking it away. Vector quickly punched a hole through the robot’s chest, but not before it took off the light blue ring from Alliana’s hand. 

As it flung back, the ring flew from the Swat-Bot’s hand and through the air. Everyone stopped to watch as it happened, seeing it fly perfectly into the hand of Snively Robotnik. 

“Ha! Yes!” He said. 

The engineer got up from his chair and ran through a door in the back corner of the room. Charmy put his nunchucks away and flew after him. Mighty called out after him, but the call went ignored. 

Snively arrived in the back, headed to the special container. 

The detective metal lunchbox that Vector had brought to Tails had been modified. It now had a black top attached to it, with six empty circles on it. 

One by one, Snively pressed the Chaos Rings into the circles on the grooves made on the top. Once the last ring was pressed in place, the black metal suddenly shined white, illuminating Snively’s face. 

The word “COOOOL,” written with that many O’s, appeared in the center of the ring circle. The word soon disappeared, with the hatches audibly unlocking after it did. 

Snively opened the lunchbox, smiling into it as he looked upon the red Chaos Emerald in the nest of napkins. The engineer picked it up with a gloved hand, letting the red light up his face now. 

As he walked to the room’s closet, Charmy flew in.

“Stop right there!” He said. Snively scoffed. 

“Honestly, Charlemagne, you have to understand that you’re in no position to make demands right now.”

He opened the closet door, revealing it was completely empty except for a black platform placed over the floor. 

“This isn’t going to work! You’re just going to end up back here, wandering the Earth until you can find your next opportunity to get what you think is yours.”

“Oh, Charmy.” Snively stepped up on the platform. “You’re a good detective, maybe even better than Vector is. But you really know nothing about how far my intelligence goes. For once, in my life… I’m going to get everything I want.”

He held the red emerald out to the bee like he was holding a glass out to toast him. 

“Goodbye, Charlemagne. Better luck next time.”

Snively pressed a button with his free hand. The black platform glowed white for a moment, before purple energy surrounded him. 

With a powerful flash of white, Snively Robotnik was transported off the face of the Earth. Charmy stayed in the room, staring at the smoking platform for a moment. 

His gaze soon went to the lunchbox. The bee walked over and closed it, seeing the rings still on top of it. 

After a second’s hesitation, he grabbed the Chaos Rings again, intent on giving them back to their rightful owners. 

It had been a few days since the incident with Snively Robotnik. Though freaked out that they lost a Chaos Emerald, Chaotix carried on soon after. 

The inner walls of the office had been knocked down, creating a giant open space with a lot more room. 

There was another desk, a new desk situated towards the side of the new big room. The phone, which was once on Vector’s desk, was now on this desk. 

The phone rang. A boxing gloved hand picked it up. 

“THANK YOU FOR CALLING THE CHAOTIX DETECTIVE AGENCY. HOW CAN WE HELP YOU TODAY?” Heavy answered. He paused as someone spoke on the other end. “NO. YOU SOUND LIKE A ROBOT.”

Heavy hung up the phone. 

As promised by Vector, the Mechanix were let into the detective agency after Snively made his grand escape with the red Chaos Emerald. 

Since Heavy could talk, he was given the role of the agency’s secretary. He wasn’t perfect at it, but he got the job done pretty well. He really lived up to his role as a utility robot- he took messages, made notes, made a schedule. He even made phone calls for Vector! How nifty!

Vector was seated at his desk, listening closely to his tape recorder to make sure his edited cassette was correct. Nearby, on the couch, was Espio as always. 

The door opened as the crocodile was still listening to stuff. Inco walked in with Charmy and Mighty, the latter two carrying different bags of things to bring into the office. Noticing immediately, Vector got up and left his tape recorder behind to take things from Charmy. 

“This place is looking spiffy!” Inco said, trying a new word. “Your mother truly had the right idea when she wanted to renovate the entire place, Vector!”

“Yeah, she really did. Though I’ll always miss that storage room… and the kitchen.” 

“At least the bathroom is intact!” Charmy spoke up. 

“Well still. I wanted to gift you all some new things for your new office, to make things look good here! I want this office to look the absolute best it could be! First impressions are everything.” 

“I appreciate it Inco, really. Thank you.” 

Mighty strolled through the office, now a properly christened Chaotix detective, getting a feel for his new workplace with a smile. He came across a bookshelf that was set up, and his finger slid along the different spines of books that were there. 

He stopped at a certain worn book he recognized. He pulled it out: A Car Goes Up In Smoke by I.G. Kaziwaka. It was the version that Vector had leant him on the island, so long ago. The edges were still a bit warped and stiff from the seawater that had soaked it. 

The armadillo kept it in the bookshelf, not wanting to read it for a one-hundred-and-eighth time. That could wait until later. 

“This is spectacular.” Mighty commented, smiling still. “I’m happy to finally be here, as a real detective! Finally! I’ve read about this so many times.” 

“Being a detective is a very exciting profession.”

“Says the freaking samurai! When were you going to tell us about that, Espio?” 

“Hm? Oh, eventually. Never came up in conversation.” Espio replied to Vector, his gaze silently saying he was currently somewhere else. 

“It’s my old life, I only use my training when I need it nowadays. Like saving my son from an insane inventor who kidnapped him.” Inco told Vector. “I always wanted to be an author, I just needed some inspiration.”

“Where’d that inspiration come from?” 

“Probably… Public Enemy Number One. The noir film from 1927.” 

“Public Enemy Number One? That’s… my ma’s favorite movie.”

“Yes, it is. Now, when I watch it, I can smile fondly and think of her.” Inco said with a smile. “That movie definitely made me see the kind of glamor that comes with being a private investigator, or a detective.” 

“Yeah! Like taking pictures of random people, monologuing about people you’re spying on, having a crippling drinking addiction- though I don’t know what drink is that addictive, and sleeping in your office that also acts as your makeshift apartment! I can’t wait to live through all of that!”

“Uh… Mighty?” Vector said. “I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but… this is just an office now. There’s nowhere to sleep around here.” 

“Oh. Well, that stinks.” 

“Hold on.” Espio was out of his trance again, holding his hand up. “My house in the suburbs is pretty big… I have more than enough room to house you, Mighty, if you’d like.”

“Oh wow! My very first place to live that isn’t on the island! How exciting!”

“Vector, didn’t you used to sleep in here?” Charmy asked the crocodile. “What about you?”

“Sleeping on my ma’s couch, it seems. Unless you wanna give up your bed, Charmy.”

“No way! You wouldn’t even fit anyways.” 

Vector chuckled and patted Charmy’s head. 

“Vector.”

“Hm? What, Espio?”

“I have more than one bedroom in my house. Why don’t you just… stay with Mighty and I for a while? Instead of being stuck in that cramped apartment.”

“Whoa… really? I don’t wanna be a bother.”

“No, it’s fine.” Espio waved his hand. “I insist.” 

“Wow. Alright, then, Espio… thank you.” 

Espio nodded once, before apparently going back to his trance. Inco watched his son, eyebrows furrowed in mild worry. He walked closer to his son to stand nearby. 

“This place looks great!” 

Vector jumped and thrashed at his mother just randomly appearing behind him. 

“GAH! HOW? WHY? WHY ME, ALWAYS?!” The younger croc yelled. 

Alliana chuckled. She held up the small android in her hand- Bomb was sitting in her palm, holding her fingers to keep stable in the woman’s hand. 

“This little sweetheart is such a great handyman to have around! There are so many spaces he can reach that not even Charmy can fit into! Having them stay here was an amazing idea!” 

She turned to Heavy at the reception desk. 

“Heads up, big man.”

The lady crocodile tossed Bomb over to Heavy, who put up one hand and caught the small android safely, his other hand holding the phone to his side to properly talk into it. He placed Bomb on the desk, the small android just sitting there nonchalantly after being placed there. 

Espio was still staring into the opposite wall. Inco sat down beside him on the couch, using the moment that Alliana was talking to her boys to have a conversation with his son. 

“What is bothering you?”

“Hm? What do you mean?” 

“Espio, you’re still acting despondent. I know a lot of emotional issues don’t have straight answers, but it seems that all your issues with Vector were solved inside that simulation.” 

“It doesn’t have to do with Vector.” 

“Then what, then?” 

Espio was silent for a moment, contemplating the moment, before speaking. 

“I have been away from home for far too long.” 

“Did you not sleep in your bed last night?”

“Not the house you bought for me, father.” Espio replied. “Home. Nippon. Mount Stormtop…” 

“Ah. I see. Are you… sure you’re ready to go back there, son? After everything?”

“I cannot run and hide from my past forever. Maybe not for a while, but… I want you to take me back to Nippon. Please, father?”

“...alright. Anything for you, son.” 

“Thank you. I… I love you, father.” 

“I love you too, son.” 

Uncharacteristically for the young man, Espio reached over and gave Inco a hug from the side. The older chameleon put his arm around Espio to hug him back, albeit a bit awkwardly from the position. 

It only lasted a minute before the ninja broke away, standing up to join his friends as Vector retrieved his tape recorder for something. The crocodile sat down in his chair, with the other detectives gathering behind him- Mighty and Charmy on one side, and Espio walking up on the other. 

“I think I finally got the tape together right.” Vector said to his friends. “I call it ‘Chaotix and the Chaos Rings.’ The newest installment in our case collection!”

“You’re saying that like you’re going to sell these recordings for people to listen to.” Espio commented. 

“I think this would kill as a podcast serial!” 

“What is that?” Mighty asked Charmy after his statement. 

“It’s like stories, but people act it out and read the action text out to you. I have to show you some of it, it’s really cool! Some of them aren’t even stories first, just podcasts!”

“That sounds amazing! How exciting!”

Inco was up on his feet, going to Alliana and standing beside her, looping arms with her. 

“Look at my boys, finally happy together again!” She said cheerfully. 

“With a new fourth one to look after.” 

“Only if he’ll let me. But if he’s a friend of my boys, he’ll always be welcome in my home.” 

“Everyone is so cheerful. Do you think we should tell them?” 

That got the boys’ attention. They all looked up at Alliana and Inco, the tape recorder forgotten.

“Tell us what, ma?”

“Father…?”

“Well… We didn’t want to do anything until you all were on good terms again, both with each other and with our relationship.” 

“The time we’ve shared together has been magical.” Inco said, looking at Alliana and touching her forearm gently. “There is truly no other woman who has vexed me quite like she has.” 

“Oh no.” Charmy said. 

“So…” Alliana smiled and lifted her shoulders. “We’re thinking about getting married!” 

It was quiet after that. Vector and Espio looked at each other at that information. Slowly, whether it was forced or not, they pulled a smile upon their face and looked at their parents. 

“That’s great!” Vector said. 

“We’re so happy for you.” Espio added. 

“Great.” Charmy said. 

Alliana and Inco smiled at each other, satisfied with this reaction. 

“We’ll talk more about it later. We’ll see you all later! Goodbye, boys!”

“Goodbye, boys.” 

The crocodile and chameleon left, leaving their own crocodile and chameleon to watch the door close behind them as they did so. 

As soon as the door closed, Espio left the desk and went back to his couch, flopping face-down onto it and laying there in silence. Vector started to get up from his desk, but slowly started getting under it. 

“I don’t have anywhere to lay so I’ll just… get on under here. Bye.” 

Vector ducked under the desk and laid down on the floor under there. Charmy sighed, his head falling back to stare at the ceiling in silent dread. 

“...well I think they’re a cute couple.” Mighty said. 

From across the room, Heavy commented as well: 

“BOMB WANTS TO BE THE RING BEARER.” 

FAR ABOVE THE EARTH…

Ivo was working on his E-Mech for the next phase of their plan. He had constructed this mech as an extension of his hovercraft purely for construction, as he had used it for the last few months to reassemble this giant space colony bit by bit. 

Right now, however, it needed to be modified to work for combat. That required installing cannons, defense measures and other possible weaponry needed for a large-scale assault on multiple targets. It was easier said than done, truly, as he’d been working on this bit by bit for weeks, and only right now did he get a chance to work on it with no distractions. 

Rouge was down on Earth to look for the Master Emerald shards. Shadow was off somewhere to brood or something. Ivo was all alone in the observation deck, working on his mech. 

However, he soon got the sense that someone was walking down the hallway. There were footsteps, accompanied by a lot of noise, heading in closer to him. It was easy to hear, since the entire ARK was completely silent. 

Pulling his goggles back over his head, resting comfortably in the hair he had managed to grow in the last few months, looking towards the door for the impending guest he was going to get. 

Suddenly, the door opened up. Shadow marched inside, face as stern as always, dragging something behind him. The hedgehog looked directly at Ivo as he came inside. 

“I have someone here for you.” He said. 

Shadow pulled the thing he was dragging around, revealing it wasn’t a thing- it was a person. Snively Robotnik was tossed into the center of the observation room, landing on his stomach. Ivo quickly stood up, looking down at his older cousin. 

As he picked himself up, Snively looked up and noticed Ivo standing before him. 

“Cousin Snively?” Ivo spoke. 

“Cousin Ivo!” His cousin replied, standing up quickly. “Thank god you’re here! I thought… I didn’t know that thing was still haunting these halls! You have to get rid of him, he took my Chaos Emerald?”

“Chaos Emerald?”

“I found him with this.” Shadow said as he walked over, taking out the red Chaos Emerald and holding it to show Ivo. “I’m not sure how he got it, but it’s one we need.”

“Are you working with him?!” Snively asked Ivo. “That… That thing is not to be trusted!”

“Why are you even listening to this… fool.” The spirit of Gerald Robotnik materialized beside Ivo. “He’s not even a true member of your family. He doesn’t share your blood.” 

Ivo held up a hand to Gerald’s face. 

“What do you mean?” He asked Snively, even if he could feel the eyes of Shadow burrow into the side of his head. 

“That thing is part of Project: Eclipse.” The engineer replied. “It’s this… this otherworldly creature that caused this colony’s destruction! It’s the thing that killed our grandfather, it killed my sister!” 

“He’s speaking nonsense! Get him out of here now!”

“Otherworldly?”

“He isn’t just a hedgehog. He’s…” 

Snively stopped as he noticed Shadow staring directly at him, making him go quiet out of what seemed to be extreme fear. Suddenly, Gerald appeared right in front of Ivo, blocking his view of his cousin. 

“YOU NEED TO EJECT HIM!”

“Wh-What?!”

“EJECT HIM! EJECT HIM NOW!” 

“No, I…” 

“NOW! NOW! NOW!” The voice of Gerald was coming in on all sides. “RIGHT NOW!”  

Ivo suddenly felt the world spinning around him. His breathing quickened, his eyes widening and his hands starting to ball into fists and unclench rapidly. His spine shivered, his head rolling around his lifting shoulders as it did. 

Suddenly, he was ten years old again. He was living under his father’s roof. He was told every single day how he should be grateful that his father has so much money to spend on a boy like him… but that father spent money on stuff he wanted to see his son play with, nothing the boy actually liked. 

He was scribbling down on paper with pencils and markers, crafting things he liked. Robots, big mechanical claws, vehicles and machines. Machines. He loved making machines, he loved working on technology. He put together his first raspberry pi just four years prior, at age six. Something that his father threw away. 

He was back on that fateful day when he came back home from school and saw his father with his drawings on the dining room table, sitting there staring at him with just… hatred. Not contempt, not disappointment. Pure, unadulterated hatred. 

What was he spending so much money on science tutors if Ivo would just draw robots instead? Stupid, stupid robots. Awful names to call your children being spat between every word. Tears falling down from the boy’s cheeks onto the carpet below. 

Every drawing ripped up. Every. Single. One. With demands the boy shows him every drawing he makes from now on. Everything he wrote, everything he put on a piece of paper, had to be approved by the father before it could even exist anywhere in the house. 

The demands to throw away all the other drawings he had in his room in front of the father. Into the fire, he says. Into the fireplace. 

Now. Now. Now. Right now. 

Tears were running down Ivo’s face before he could realize he was pressing the ‘eject’ button on the side wall of the observation deck. Once he realized what he was doing, he turned around to where Snively was at. 

A glass tube came down around his cousin, trapping him in a capsule of some kind. Snively looked around, before rushing forward and pressing his hands to the glass. 

“Cousin Ivo? What are you doing?! Stop—”

It was too late. Ivo could only watch in horror as the escape pod was dropped from the ARK and shot down to the Earth. The floor hatch quickly closed behind the pod, and the observation deck went very scarily silent in those next few moments. 

Ivo felt the tears trickle down his mustache, dripping onto the floor as he stared at the spot his cousin was just in a few moments ago. 

“Ah, that’s better.” The spirit of Gerald said, smiling. “Excellent work, son. Now, back to work on that mech suit, eh? We’ve got a big day coming soon.” 

With that, Gerald disappeared in thin air. 

After a second of blank staring, Ivo came to, wiping his face with his sleeve. He took deep, shaky breaths, trying to calm himself down after what just happened to him. 

He noticed he was being watched. His eyes met Shadow’s as he looked over to the hedgehog watching him. 

“What?” Ivo asked. 

“...what is wrong with you?” 

“Nothing. I’m fine.” The doctor replied. “Just… never meet your heroes, kid. You think your father is just an anomaly in the family and then you’ll be informed he got his primary traits from the man you looked up to.”

“You mean Professor Gerald?” 

“Yes. You… know about him?”

“I knew him, in general. I remember him…” 

“Remember him?” Ivo asked with a furrowed brow. “How… old are you?”

Shadow thought for a second, before simply shrugging. 

“I remember him, though. Mostly. If you’re talking about your dad being an awful person, I can assure you that your grandfather had none of those traits. He was a good person. A really good person.” 

It was quiet for a moment before Shadow looked at the red emerald in his hand, then began to turn around to leave. 

“I’ll leave you to your mech.”

“Wait.” 

The dark hedgehog paused, before turning his head to look over his shoulder with his good eye. 

“What?” 

“...please. I don’t know how much you can remember, but… can you tell me about my grandfather? Anything?” 

It was a lot to consider at that moment, for both of them. For Ivo, that Gerald could come back and immediately start yelling at him. For Shadow… he didn’t know how many memories he had to tell Ivo about the professor. What if he barely had any?

After weighing his options, Shadow considered that this man was in the same situation as he is: someone wanting to hear about the past to escape the tribulations of a personal tragedy. Maybe, like Shadow trying to learn about who he is, if Ivo learned more about Gerald, he could free himself from the darkness that’s haunting him. 

With all of those factors, the hedgehog turned around completely. He walked over to Ivo, sitting down on the ground. Ivo quickly followed suit, crossing his legs. 

Shadow started from the beginning- at least, the first thing he could remember about Professor Gerald. As Shadow talked on, Ivo listened closely and with intrigue. As Shadow talked to Ivo, the sun slowly came up over the Earth to bring light to the both of them. 

UP NEXT: Capital Punishment Zone! 

Chapter Text

“Be careful, Sonic.” 

“For the love of god, don’t do another death fakeout.” 

“I can’t make any promises.” 

A loud clanging on thick glass made Sonic sit up in his awful, awful prison bed. There was sweat on his brow, having slept erratically through the night as a result of him being apprehended by police. 

“Rise and shine, hedgehog. Prisoner transfer is today.” A prison guard said on the other side of the cell’s glass wall. 

Sonic sighed, turning his legs over the side of the bed. The lights shining down from above dimly illuminated his room, allowing him to look over his orange jumpsuit once again. 

It only hit him, once his stylish clothes were being taken away, at how awful this plan was at his end. He was certain he wouldn’t be executed or anything incredibly drastic for the crimes he was framed for, but he would absolutely be incarcerated, and for who knows how long. 

Tower had mentioned the Devil’s Gulag. He remembers, back in the day, reading something about that in passing- it was Prison Island, an island dedicated to housing only the worst criminals in the eyes of the Guardian Units of Nations. 

Snively Robotnik, Julian’s nephew and Ivo’s bald cousin, was sent to the Devil’s Gulag for the awful crime of animal abuse. Allegedly, Julian framed the entirety of Project: Mobius on him. But it appears, from what Amy has told Sonic, that the criminals on Prison Island are essentially in a utensil drawer for GUN to take out and use whenever they find it convenient. 

The same thing will happen to him. He wondered if it was anything like in the movies- Sonic teaming up with a bunch of ne’er-do-wells to do good things for time off their prison sentence… He sure hoped it was the version made by the dude who directed that film with the talking dog that has treats named after him and not that awful one that came before it. 

In front of him, the glass wall slowly lowered down into the ground, the lights above still shining. It wasn’t actually lights- it also produced a radiation that physically weakened Sonic, making him much too tired to try and run. He was worried about the long-term effects, but knowing Tower, he probably didn’t care if Sonic had long-term issues. 

He was also worried about what it was doing to his emotional state. As two guards rushed in and proceeded to detain him all over again, he was just… numb. Whether his body was way too tired to feel anything, or what, he didn’t know. 

So much has happened in the last few weeks. He spent nearly four years building himself up as the savior of this world, using his powers to fight injustice and make the world a better place in honor of his mom. He saved the whole world from a rampaging god. 

Then, in a matter of days, a spiteful old commander and a mysterious doppelganger ruined it all. 

Sonic didn’t get the standard cuffs meant for prisoners like this. He got restraints that completely covered his hands, boots connected to each other with weights just heavy enough that Sonic could barely pick them up more than an inch off the ground, and- as a special request from Commander Tower- a bite mask restraint, to keep him from talking. 

Another bad part about being arrested was just how quiet it could be. The guards were all silent, the cell was quiet, and all Sonic could do was sleep. Even for the fastest thing alive, being alone with your thoughts was absolute torture, worse than anything this prison could do. Perhaps that was the point. 

Sat in a chair with wheels, Sonic was restrained with an X-shaped harness across his chest, and two more straps across his legs. Then, finally, they started leaving the area. 

Though he wasn’t sure exactly where he was, he had an idea: he was arrested in Golden Bay, so naturally he was being placed in Flynn’s Island, the supermax prison that was right off the coast of the city. 

Wheeled down the halls of this large facility, more GUN agents surrounded Sonic and the guards escorting him, clearly guarding just in case the blue hedgehog tried anything. But Sonic wouldn’t try anything. Not just because he wasn’t a violent criminal, but because he was just tired. 

There was a plane waiting for him outside of the facility. Sadly it wasn’t called “Con Air” like that one nineties movie would have you believe. All the other prisoners, the non-superpowered ones, were all restrained and placed in the rows of seats in the plane. Sonic got the pleasure of being placed in the very back, almost like a piece of luggage. 

Oh, how the mighty fall. 

Sonic wasn’t awake for the plane ride to this mysterious Devil’s Gulag, only waking up when they were descending. It was clear that it took a long, long plane ride to this Prison Island, one that Sonic was glad to get some sleep during. 

Unfortunately he was still groggy when he woke up. You win some, you lose some. 

The other prisoners were let off first before Sonic was wheeled out in his chair. He was taken by a group of GUN soldiers on a path separate from the ones the other prisoners were taking, headed instead to an elevator that became pretty crowded the moment all the GUN soldiers stuffed themselves inside it. 

He was headed down to the sub-basement of the island, wheeled down rows of cells with metal doors, taken all the way to the end. 

The door opened. Commander Tower was in there, along with a few scientists with GUN logos on the back of their coats. Sonic could see their weapon holsters under their jackets- they were meant to be his guards. 

The contraption Sonic was attached to was strange. It started horizontal, like a table. Sonic was taken out of his restraints but placed on the table, which immediately covered his hands and feet again. The spit guard was still on, and a similar cross harness was strapped over his chest. 

This surface was raised and tilted forwards, restraining Sonic in the air against this machine. The computer screens nearby lit up with readings of Sonic’s biometrics, his power level, and other things. 

As he was raised, Sonic could see Tower standing in front of him. There was another thick piece of glass that was covering the surface, almost making it like some kind of pod. Tower was staring at him blankly, as emotionless as ever, his eyes meeting the hedgehog’s. 

“Mobians.” Tower said, as if thinking aloud and not speaking to Sonic. “They should’ve dismantled and destroyed Professor Gerald’s experiments in the first place. Maybe then this entire situation wouldn’t be happening. Maybe… I wouldn’t be alone.” 

Sonic didn’t respond- couldn’t respond. He stared down at Tower. 

“I’m not the bad guy here, Sonic. Regardless of how you see me. I’m simply keeping my people safe.” The old commander continued. “Once we have your friends in custody… then I can finally rest easy.” 

“Commander Tower.” One of the guards said. “What should we do with the prisoner’s belongings? It was brought with him on the flight over.” 

“Place it in storage. We can study any of the technology that’s been added to it.” Tower replied, turning his head but still looking at Sonic. Once the guard was gone, he turned his head back to stare at Sonic directly. 

But there was nothing left to say. With one last glower to the hedgehog, Commander Tower slowly turned and walked away, leaving the scientists in the room to conduct their studies on the hedgehog. 

Still tired, still exhausted, Sonic’s eyes slowly closed. He felt his body relax, regardless of the restraints, as he got some more rest from his tiring incarceration. 

There was the unappetizing squelch of a sandwich being crushed as Amy was harshly thrown out of her psychic vision. She looked down at her hand- her cucumber sandwich was turned into an oddly shaped tube from her grip. Slowly, she dropped it back onto her plate. 

She used a napkin to wipe her head before wiping off her hand, tossing the used paper on her plate afterwards. Amy rested her head in her hands, calming herself down. 

A gentle tap told her someone placed a drink in front of her- a lemonade. 

Tekno sat across Amy in the breakfast nook she had in her apartment. With nowhere else to go, Amy and Tails called in a favor with Vanilla’s new assistant, the one they just met the other week. Luckily, Tekno liked Amy, so they were allowed to stay as long as needed. 

“Thanks.” Amy mumbled, bringing the drink up and drinking half of it in one go. 

“Egad.” Tekno commented, sipping her own lemonade. “Don’t drown yourself, Amy.” 

“Psychic visions can take a lot out of me.” 

“I don’t understand why you don’t just let me use my clairvoyance. I’ve touched Sonic, I can use my powers to see exactly where he is.”

“You’re already helping us enough.” Amy replied. “Besides… this is my burden to bear.” 

“It’s not a burden at all. It’s not supposed to be. You could really mess yourself up, Amy.” 

“I’ve had a psychic headache before, I can handle it.”

“Amy, for real.” Tekno said, putting her drink down. “My great-aunt pushed herself like this and it caused her to go into a psychic coma. Her spirit was lost forever in the astral plane, possibly hunted down and absorbed by… what did you guys call them?”

“Hyudoros.” 

“Yeah, them. You’re pushing yourself much more than a normal psychic should.” 

Amy sighed, rubbing her head with a hand. She wasn’t a normal psychic though, according to her mother. She needed inhibitor rings- which she currently had stashed in her hammer purse- in order to keep her powers in check. 

Part of her wanted to tell Tekno that, but… maybe she was right. 

“...where’s Tails?” She asked, sighing. 

“Still working away on that folding tablet he has. I gotta say, I’m pretty impressed by that thing.” The canary replied. “He hasn’t left the guest room all day.” 

A door down the hall opened up. 

“...nevermind.” 

Tekno’s statement was accompanied by Tails hovering down and over to the breakfast nook, holding his tablet in his hands. His eyes looked a bit tired, but his face looked like he chugged a bunch of energy drinks… he probably did, knowing Tails. 

“Hey, Tails.” Amy said. 

“Amy! Hey.” He replied. “Have you found anything on what they’re doing with Sonic yet?” 

“I just had a vision. A long one at that.” The pink hedgehog rubbed her eyes again. “They transported Sonic to Prison Island and put him in this big contraption… a big restraint. I think I saw how they got there, though.” 

“Good! I’m very close to tracking down Sonic’s GPS chip. It is with him, is it?”

“Yeah, they’re gonna take it apart to try and find any technology in it.” 

“What?! Seriously?” Tails groaned. “I hope this GPS is tracked in time… If they even take out the laces of those shoes…”

“You didn’t add laces to Sonic’s shoes.”

“Exactly.” 

Amy scoffed in amusement, shaking her head at her younger friend’s strange behavior. 

“Where’s the plane at?” 

“Vanilla’s letting us use one of the decommissioned hangars belonging to HEXAeco to hold it there.” Tails said to Tekno. “Speaking of letting us use stuff… Thanks for letting us stay here, Tekno. Seriously.”

“No, it’s fine, I love having surprised extended houseguests. Reminds me of my time in college.” 

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.” 

“A tad.” 

“Well… either way, it’s a lot to ask for someone we just met. I sure hope Vanilla will give you some kind of bonus for letting us stay here, if not, just contact me and…” 

Tails kept talking, but his voice slowly faded out in Amy’s head. She was still resting her cheek in her hand, watching the now muted conversation happen between Tails and Tekno, though not really questioning why it was happening at all. Some part of her was keeping up with the conversation. Her mouth was moving to give answers to questions that she couldn’t hear. 

“I worked hard on this powerpoint and you all are going to watch it!”

Amy turned her head to the right, hearing a voice coming from the wall that was right beside her. 

Suddenly, she was no longer in the little apartment rented out above a convenience store in Westopolis. She was somewhere… cold. Wherever she was didn’t seem to have insulation or heating. 

The walls and floors were metal, with no windows leading out to anywhere. She was in the middle of two rows of tables, standing behind two people seated at different tables, both looking ahead to the powerpoint being projected onto the far wall ahead. 

Ivo was standing in front of the projection, slightly illuminated by the light shining from the projector. He looked a bit different- same mustache, but growing out some hair on top of his head now. It appears he ditched the black jumpsuit he had for the Chaos Crisis and returned to his normal red one, with the accompanying blue shades. 

The people sitting at the desks were identifiable even from behind- to the left was the fake hedgehog, the one framing Sonic for everything. For a moment, when she first arrived, Amy really thought it was Sonic sitting at that left table, making her feel a ping of shock through her chest before realizing it was his doppelganger. 

To the left, however, was Rouge. Amy hadn’t heard from Rouge since the incident on Angel Island, so her working with Ivo was simultaneously a surprise and unsurprising. Her working with Ivo must have to do with her sudden 180 into being a bad guy again- that couldn’t be a coincidence. There must be more to the story. 

“Amy.” 

The pink hedgehog turned back to the breakfast nook, seeing Tails and Tekno in front of her. 

“Do you have everything you need for when we leave?” Tails asked. 

“Yeah. Hang on just a moment.” 

Amy turned her head again, returning to the room with the team of dark criminals inside of it, feeling the rush of cold over her body once more. 

“From the intel that Rouge has given us,” Ivo said, clicking through the powerpoint. “GUN appears to have two Chaos Emeralds locked in the vaults down below the Devil’s Gulag. Obviously, we need to collect these emeralds before Sonic and his friends get any ideas.” 

“The emeralds are being kept in a large containment room, full of multiple anti-theft measures.” Rouge added on. “Security androids, lasers. However… they focused so much on making the inside secure that the outside is wide open.” 

“Do explain.” 

“Well, the vaults need oxygen for the workers to properly access it. They didn’t think, way back when they created Prison Island, that they should probably just use air tanks and have the entire room just be devoid of air for an extra safety measure. Thanks to shotty eighties design choices, there just so happens to be a giant vent leading directly into the vault that exits on the side of the island. All GUN has done to deter anyone from breaking in is obscuring it from view and adding a few motion triggers.” 

“Do you know how to get past them?”

“Please, I can get past them with my eyes closed. But… believe what you want to believe.”

“Hmm! Very well, very well.” 

“GUN won’t be too happy when they realize we’ve infiltrated their base.” Shadow murmured. “They’re going to send everything after us.” 

“Not if we get rid of everything.” Ivo replied. “I will attack and disrupt their weapons bed, the top layer of their base with all of their aircrafts and mobile weaponry. Meanwhile you, Shadow, will infiltrate their armory for a special mission.” 

“And you’re sure your plan will get rid of their weaponry?”

“Most of it, yes. Prison Island has become a kind of fortress for GUN over the years. Because it’s so secure, they keep a substantial amount of weapons inside of it.” 

“Alright. That sounds…” 

Shadow paused. Ivo and Rouge both looked at Shadow expectantly, not understanding why he suddenly stopped talking. 

“Amy?” 

Suddenly, slowly, Shadow turned around in his seat and looked directly at Amy. As soon as that happened, Amy turned back around, returning to her spot in Tekno’s apartment. 

With her new info, Amy let out a breath, finally feeling calm as her psychic powers settled. She looked at Tails and Tekno with new resolve. 

“I’m listening.” She said. 

“Shadow! Just because you’re disinterested, doesn’t mean you get to turn away from me!”

The dark hedgehog continued to stare in that spot for another moment or two, even as Ivo was barking commands at him. Slowly, once he was sure there wasn’t anything there, Shadow turned back around to look at Ivo. 

He felt someone watching him. Shadow had felt the buzz of chaos energy in his ear, telling him that some kind of surge was happening right behind him. But, looking behind him, he found nothing. 

“Right…” Shadow mumbled, looking at the powerpoint again. 

“Good! You’re going to want to listen to this part.” Ivo continued. “Your special mission is to place an explosive device inside of the armory of Prison Island. In the time of the countdown, you need to attempt to reach the extraction point at the furthest side of the island, through the woods next to the facility.” 

“How long will the timer be?” Rouge asked. 

“We’re doing this at a moment of scheduled maintenance for their computer servers. That maintenance will last thirty minutes, and that’s how long that timer will be. By the time they’re able to get any technology back online, the entire top part of the island will be detonated.” 

“You’re going to kill them.” 

“No, they have special bunkers. By the time I’m finished with my diversion, they will have locked down their best assets to prevent anything from happening to them- with their new Swat-Bots, they don’t need to send any living person to try and apprehend us.” 

Shadow seemed satisfied with that answer. He crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. 

“You’re going to cause a diversion, the troublemaker will steal the emeralds, I’m going to the armory. Got it. Seems simple enough. Do you think we will encounter that blue hedgehog on the island?”

“We… might. I’m not sure when he’ll be transferred to the Devil’s Gulag, if he hasn't already.”

“You don’t know?” 

“I’ve been living in space for the last almost-a-year!” Ivo said defensively to Rouge. “I don’t remember how GUN operates things!” 

“Regardless, I look forward to possibly facing Sonic once again.” 

“Well, you’re in luck, because we’re shipping out in a few hours to execute this mission. I suggest you all get your affairs in order.” 

The powerpoint turned off after that. Shadow was up on his feet, walking out of the room. Whether it was because he just wanted to leave, or because he still felt a lingering presence somewhere around, was unsure to even him. He just needed to leave. 

He strolled down the hall, to his room, slowing to a stop as he got to his door. 

Shadow felt the hall slowly tilt, his vision skewing for a moment. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, leaning against the wall of the hallway. 

“Mister Needlemouse, please! We have to help them!”

ECLIPSE. 

“Hey, are you alright?” 

The total assault of the senses was interrupted by Rouge asking Shadow a question. He had felt he was being pulled into sleep, but that deep voice… it pulled him out of it. Rouge came just in time before he would have to face the voice’s wrath. 

Grooming his quills back with his hands, Shadow turned to face his companion. 

“I’m fine.” He said. 

“Uh huh.” Rouge replied, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed. “You’re really trying to get a rematch with Sonic, eh? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” 

“I’m the Ultimate Lifeform.” Shadow answered simply. “Besides… I’ve yet to see that hedgehog’s real power. When we fought last time, I could feel him pulling his punches.” 

“So you want to piss him off into going full power?” 

“I want a fair fight.” 

“Shadow, this is serious. Sonic is a living chaos emerald. He doesn’t run out of power, he doesn’t take his energy from anything, he makes his own energy and doesn’t stop.” 

“Yet you said I had a chance of beating him.” 

“With how he currently is! Pulling punches and taking risks to be the bigger person! Not when he’s going on a rampage. I’ve never even seen him really angry before, and that should scare you.” 

“Hmph. I can handle him.” 

“Can you?” Rouge walked around to stand in front of him. “Look smiles, we’ve only known each other in a professional manner for a few weeks. But ever since what happened when you first fought Sonic, you’ve been… acting different.”

“I don’t need your pity.” 

Shadow tried passing Rouge, but was pushed back with a hand to his chest.

“And I don’t need a hedgehog who always needs saving.” She replied. “Something is happening to you, and you need to figure it out. Your mind is crippling you out there, and the thing is, neither of us know why.” 

The dark hedgehog looked away, letting out a long exhale from his nose. 

“Look, I’m not trying to sit here and pretend that I’ve gotten super better ever since I’ve confronted my past.” The bat continued. “But until I did, I never realized how much harm it was really doing me. I’m saying this as your teammate: you need to embrace your past and accept it.” 

“How?” 

“You seem to have a connection to this place. Look around.” 

Rouge was quiet for a moment before she walked around Shadow, leaving him where he stood. The hedgehog turned his head to watch her walk off. 

“I’m going to get my things. The doctor said he left you something on your bed. Something you’ll need for the mission. See you at the teleporter in a few hours.” 

Shadow didn’t reply to Rouge’s statement, simply watching her walk off to her own room. The hedgehog soon turned around, taking the extra few steps to his room. The door closed behind him, and with a tap of a screen on the wall, Shadow locked it. 

As promised, there was some kind of briefcase on the bed. Shadow walked over and opened it up, looking at something metallic and red inside. He gave it a glance over in his hands- they looked like the heels of his shoes, but larger. 

There was a note at the bottom of the case. He glanced the note over. 

Light Shoes… Sonic has the power to perform what he calls a “lightspeed dash,” which uses chaos energy to create a circuit of things for him to rush through. With these shoes, you have access to a small power bank of your own chaos energy at all times, allowing you to perform the dash as well. Use at your own discretion. - Ivo J. Robotnik

He put the note down, looking over the shoe upgrade. Shadow sat on the edge of the bed and crossed his legs, putting the upgrades on. They attached pretty easily, with a loud snapping noise telling him they were in place. 

The hedgehog got up on his feet, feeling how the upgrades to his jet boots felt. He could feel the chaos energy start to whir in his upgrades, absorbing energy from Shadow’s body to feel it. 

ECLIPSE. 

The sudden noise of his original name being called made Shadow stumble, a hand moving to the side of his head. His scarred eye twitched, his breathing quickening as he got a sudden feeling of dread across his body- a feeling of cold across his face and neck. 

WHY ARE YOU NOT FOCUSING ON THE MISSION AT HAND? 

“The… The mission was to assist Dr. Robotnik.” 

I AM TIRED OF WAITING, ECLIPSE. I AM TIRED OF WATCHING YOU BABBLE ABOUT PETTY RIVALRIES, OVER DRAMATIZE EMOTIONS WITH WHAT APPEARS TO BE A WEAKENED WILL, AND FORSAKE THE NAME I HAVE GIVEN YOU. 

“All of this is to work closer to the end goal we envisioned. Your plans are still in motion, it simply takes more than one person to make all the moving parts work smoothly.” 

ALL THE MOVING PARTS? DO YOU REFER TO YOURSELF? 

Shadow closed his eyes, still feeling his eye throbbing. 

YOUR DISGRACEFUL SHOW OF PROWESS AGAINST THAT BLUE HEDGEHOG BRINGS SHAME TO ALL LIKE YOU.... NO WONDER YOU CHANGED YOUR NAME AFTER. 

“I’m working on it.” Shadow replied. 

HOW REASSURING. YOU’RE LUCKY MY HUMILITY AND GRACE ALLOWS ME TO GIVE MORE THAN ONE CHANCE TO THOSE BENEATH ME… BUT BE WELL ASSURED, I WON’T ALLOW ANOTHER MISTAKE LIKE THIS TO HAPPEN AGAIN… ECLIPSE. 

After a few moments, feeling the cold presence of the voice leave his body, Shadow let out a breath. He kept his eyes closed, centering himself and calming his body, which was screaming with adrenaline deep in every bone and muscle of his being. 

He gripped his face over his scarred eye, though only lightly, taking a deep breath before opening his eyes again. 

Rouge may be right about how powerful Sonic could be. But he had to know for himself. Regardless of that level, he had to destroy that blue hedgehog, even if it was the last thing he ever did. 

“There are Chaos Emeralds on Prison Island?” 

“From what Ivo said, there are.” Amy replied. “Rouge is going to break into the vault through some kind of external vent to get them. Ivo is set to cause a diversion by destroying the flight deck so that Rouge and that fake hedgehog can carry out the other parts of their plans.” 

Currently up in the sky at 35,000 feet, Tails was piloting the Cyclone towards the location designated from Sonic’s GPS chip. Along the way, after parting with Tekno, Amy had told Tails everything she had seen during that impromptu psychic vision. 

It was strange. Amy was able to listen and understand everything that was going on in the apartment, but at the same time she was doing the same in that mysterious base Ivo was in. It was like her body was in two places at once. 

“So the two of us, Sonic, the faker, Rouge, Ivo and two of the Chaos Emeralds are all going to be in the Devil’s Gulag at once. This should end well.” Tails said. “What’s the plan for us?” 

“We need to break Sonic out, that’s priority number one. Maybe he would be able to fight the faker. As for Ivo… we don’t know what he’s capable of nowadays, that vision was the first time I’ve seen him in months.” 

“I think I can handle him. With the upgrades I’ve made to the Cyclone, I should be able to take care of anything he wants to throw my way. What about Rouge?”

“The best we can do is probably find something to stop her in that vault. Neither of us are going to find a way inside in time… I’ll go after Sonic, and look for something to try and stop Rouge. If Ivo really is going to attack the flight deck, I’m going to need you to stop him.” 

“No problem.” Tails pressed some buttons on his console. “I’m cloaking the Cyclone to keep the island from detecting our arrival. Try to keep communication between us to a minimum until we reach it.” 

Amy leaned against the side of the plane, looking down at the world below. They were practically already over the island, but Tails needed to circle around once to get a feel of the area. It was dangerous, but he was certain they wouldn’t be seen. 

Down below, in the woods next to the prison facility- the White Forest- Ivo and his associates were oblivious to the circling blue and yellow plane flying up ahead. They were gathered in an area of thick foliage, keeping themselves obscured. 

Ivo was tinkering with something, sitting in his E-Mech, with Shadow and Rouge standing around closeby. 

“How much longer, doctor?” Shadow asked. 

“Just one… more… minute.” The doctor replied, still tinkering with that device in his hands. With one more click, and a beep from the device, he smiled. “Ah! There we are! All ready. Here you go, Shadow.”

The device was rectangular, made of metal with a glass screen on the front, almost like an alarm clock. It was the size of a brick, and Shadow held it in both hands after Ivo handed it over to him. 

“This is the explosive device?” The hedgehog asked, almost incredulously. 

“Trust me, we don’t need much. The explosions kept in the armory will cause a chain reaction that will take out the entire top half of the facility. You just need to make it to the armory in one piece… keep an eye out for the Swat-Bots that are along the way.” 

“Hmph.” Shadow tucked the explosive in his jacket, the same raggedy jacket he was still using to replicate Sonic. 

“Be sure to take a walkie talkie with you.” 

With that handed to him by Ivo as well, Shadow took the handheld transceiver and tucked it into the other side of his jacket, zipping it up afterwards. 

“I’ll wait for your signal to start looking for the emeralds in the vault.” Rouge said to Ivo. “Once you’ve destroyed the weapons bed, all eyes will be on the flight deck, and I’ll be able to take out the motion sensors before everything goes into lockdown.” 

“Excellent. We only have thirty minutes to pull this mission off, and we only get one try!” Ivo pulled his goggles down over his face, turning on the lens’ interface. “Okay, everyone ready? Shadow, Rouge, on with the show!”

The group split up- well, Rouge went in a different direction than Ivo and Shadow, but the latter two were headed towards the facility. Ivo’s mech couldn’t keep up with the speed of the dark hedgehog, but what he lacked in speed he made up for in firepower. 

Soon, the trees of the Green Forest broke to reveal the facility of the Devil’s Gulag. Ivo was on the other end of a barbed wire fence, looking in at the floating hangar and the actual prison nearly half a mile away. 

Readjusting his goggles so they fit comfortably on his face, Ivo took a deep breath. It’s been a while since he’d done anything outright illegal. 

Then, he pressed the button. The cannon on the mech’s shoulder blasted a burst of energy, melting the chain link fence in an instant. Ivo directed the E-Mech to step through the newly made hole, speeding it up to start running towards the hangar. 

Unlike the large Walker he used to fight against Tails during the Chaos scenario, Ivo’s new E-Mech (once called the Walker II) was much better to control being much smaller. Instead of the quadrupedal design, Ivo returned to bipedal, and with two powerful mech arms that have two-prong clinchers at the end. 

With the front console, Ivo was able to select any nearby object with the screen provided, before launching out small homing missiles to destroy them. The closest things nearby were fighter jets, which exploded when the missiles hit them. 

Ivo was a bit surprised there weren’t more agents outside. It seemed, as soon as Ivo started blowing things up, any living human immediately scattered and headed for shelter inside. 

GUN Beetles flew in and fired upon Ivo, but they were quickly dispatched by the doctor firing back at them, making most of them explode. As one failed in midair and started falling towards Ivo, he reached out the mech’s arm and grabbed the drone with its claw, swinging it around and throwing it into a small transport cart, setting that on fire with the exploding Beetle. 

Planes, other fighter jets, roared past above. Having been informed about the situation, they launched missiles down on Ivo that the doctor narrowly avoided in his mech. 

He had to reach the facility as fast as possible. They wouldn’t fire any more missiles down at him there. 

Directing the mech off of the edge of the floating hangar, Ivo used the thrusters installed on the back of the mech to float down to walkways below, continuing his run. The jets passed overhead again, in the opposite direction. 

The floating docks withstood the weight of the mech. That was all by design, though, as Ivo designed his mech to be made of lightweight materials. Though his hovercraft kind of undid that as it wasn’t made with that in mind. 

More Beetles began their descent to Ivo’s location, making him home in on them as well. This was getting too easy. Ivo was worried he’d actually made something that was a little too powerful for once. 

As the Beetle drones exploded, Ivo leapt up into the air again, getting over the water and only a short walk away from the actual facility. As he rose into the air, however, he was greeted with something over the edge of the platform- floating in the air was a drone not unlike the Beetles, but with two jet-thruster-like propulsors towards the bottom of its body, placed between a slot extending down. This slot had a cube-shaped object in it with a barrel pointing out- clearly a gun. 

As Ivo rose into the air, the cubic gun slid upwards in its slot, following Ivo’s height and firing at him. It shot rapidly, with three of the shots hitting the side of the E-Mech. The doctor landed on solid ground and moved out of the way of the shots, getting a break once the drone was starting to reload. 

The console’s screen beeped, telling Ivo he took heavy damage to his mech. He looked over at the gun drone and twisted the outside rim of his goggles, bringing up his scanner to get a record of what the robot was. Searching various databases, it got a name: a GUN Hawk. 

A click and the revving of some engine turned Ivo behind him, making him turn his mech. There was another drone behind him, one with a different design- it was blue, with some kind of yellow sensor on the front. It had five metal “arms,” three of which had some black and red disks attached to them. 

The disks detached, using hidden fans on the back to propel themselves towards Ivo, broad side facing him. When they were halfway there, his goggles gave him a name: GUN Hornet-3. 

Ivo pressed the screen on his console, selecting two of the flying disks before he had to move the mech away. The homing shots found their targets, but the remaining disk made contact with the back of the doctor’s machine, launching him forwards a bit. The console beeped again, telling him about the damage done to the back. It wasn’t pretty, but he’d live. 

He slid his mech’s viewing camera around and selected the bare Hornet-3. It seemed the center part of the drone couldn’t, or wouldn’t, move away from any danger. It was destroyed by the homing shot immediately. 

From the smoke of the destroyed Hornet, another took its place, hovering down from above. Before Ivo could fire a homing shot at it, he heard a cocking noise behind him- the GUN Hawk was finally reloaded. 

Ivo directed his E-Mech away from the Hornet, quickly ducking down to avoid the firing of the Hawk’s gun. The bullets hit the outer part of the mech, protecting the doctor but starting to really damage the front side. Ivo reached up and pressed the button he knew was for autopilot to keep it moving forwards. 

From where he was crouched, he peeked over and saw that the Hornet’s disks were flying in ever closer to the mech, following him on his path to the Hawk. Because the E-Mech was the target for both robots, neither the disks or the bullets were interacting with each other. Yet. 

Ivo saw he was only a few feet from the GUN Hawk. He had to move fast. The doctor pressed his hand to his ankle, his black boot turning gray once he did. Ivo rushed forwards, stepping his gray boot up on the seat of the mech and pushing off with that. As he did, the gray from his boots extended out in a nanite stilt, flinging him forwards and upwards. 

The E-Mech walked under the GUN Hawk, the inside riddled with bullets as the gun pointed downwards to hit it. The drone turned itself back up in time for all three of the disks from the Hornet to hit the GUN Hawk directly, exploding on impact. 

As he was in the air, Ivo pressed his two fists together. The nanites traveled from his foot up to his red jumpsuit, forming the armored arms and shoulders of the doctor’s Big Arms. He brought both arms back and swung forwards, his nanite arms whipping around to smash the diskless Hornet between his hands in an extended-arm clap. 

His nanites detached to gather around on the ground below him, creating an open hand for Ivo to land safely on. The nanites dissipated as he got to his feet, reattaching to his flight suit and blending in with the material. 

With heavy footsteps, the banged up E-Mech returned to Ivo’s side, turning its own autopilot off and waiting for its creator to hop back inside- which he did, grunting as he landed back in his seat. 

From the reports on his console, his mech was only a bit over 50% power. If he sustained too much damage, his mech would essentially become the missing part of an amusement park ride.

Remember when his biggest dream was becoming an amusement park owner? Now he was working with a talking hedgehog and a talking bat to obtain two jewels containing the divine power of a dormant water god. Oh, where did the time go? 

The screen on his console beeped loudly. “NEW CHAOS ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED IN AREA.” 

“What?” Ivo thought aloud. 

He held onto the sides of his mech as it turned itself around, turning Ivo’s attention to the entrance to the island’s prison facility as he spotted a pink hedgehog trying to get inside. Amy was at the door, hesitating to look at Ivo in his mech as she heard it turn around. 

She quickly slipped inside. Ivo grit his teeth and pulled up his walkie talkie. 

“We have company.” He said to Rouge and Shadow through the transceiver. “Sonic’s little friends are here. Or at least one of them. Keep an eye out.” 

Ivo directed the mech forwards, heading towards the entrance of the facility Amy just went into. These buildings housed vaults full of valuable things: objects, artifacts and information. If he wanted to stop anywhere before he had to reach the rendezvous point, it would be inside the facility. 

His path was interrupted with something coming down from the sky, landing right in front of him. It kicked up the dust and dirt from around the area, making Ivo cough a bit and wave his hand around to try and clear his vision. 

Some whirring and the gentle clicks of metal accompanied the arrival of the mech in front of him. Tails’ upgrades to the Cyclone included a fully realized mobile exosuit vehicle- the bottom half and the back half of the airplane were positioned towards the bottom of the central body, forming legs that the body was now walking on. The wings tucked down into the extra space behind Tails’ front seat, as nobody was sitting in the other two seats anyway. 

The fire whooshing from the bottom thruster ended abruptly before the dust cleared, revealing the fox sitting in his Cyclone’s mech form. 

“Nice haircut, Ivo!” He said. 

“Tails!” The doctor exclaimed. After a second, he touched his hair. “Are you making fun of me or are you being serious?”

“Honestly, I said it to try and make a joke, but… I do like the new hair.” 

“You know, I was worried a tapered haircut would look strange, but…” Ivo shook his head, making a sputtering noise of annoyance. “Stop that! Get out of my way!” 

“No way! You’re after the Chaos Emeralds in the vaults below the facility!”

“Why would you possibly think I’m after those?”

“Uh, duh, they’re jewels of ultimate power. Why wouldn’t you go after them?”

“Touche…” 

After that, the pair of mech-using geniuses stood there together, facing one another, staring the other down. Ivo glowered at Tails through his blue-shaded goggles. Tails slowly slipped down his orange-lens goggles over his face as well, blocking the brightness of the sun from his eyes. 

There was a beat of silence. 

“Abrupt punch attack!” 

Ivo pulled a lever next to his chair. The front bumper of his mech opened up, launching what appeared to be a weighted boxing glove forwards on a high-powered durable spring. It shot out with enough force to slam into Tails’ Cyclone, actually making it step back from the force of the hit. Tails scrambled to his controls to regain his mech’s stance. 

“Ugh! Was that a boxing glove?” 

“Yes it was!” The doctor retorted, retracting the punch into his mech again as he directed it away. He tried to get to the facility’s door, but was interrupted with a few shots into the back of the mech’s body. 

Tails had managed to fire a few energy balls into Ivo’s mech, causing it to stumble. The console beeped loudly- the right leg was starting to rapidly lose power. He wouldn’t make the run to the door if Tails kept firing at him. 

Ivo growled angrily and forced his mech to turn around, pressing his screen to fire a barrage of homing shots at the fox and his mech. Tails redirected his mech around to try and run away from it- the console had flipped over when he transformed, almost presenting the controls to an arcade cabinet across his lap. He used two joysticks: one to steer the mech, one to aim the gun above his head. 

This allowed him to fire at Ivo once more, pressing the button for the automatic rounds to fire at the doctor. Ivo had to run to dodge it, the mech limping on its weakened right leg as he did. 

Tails pressed his wristband, the one containing the nanites for his Vulcan Cannon. He pressed his wrist against the side of the mech, allowing the rust red nanites to create an extra gun on the side with a vertical slot for a barrel. The plane immediately assigned a button on the console for it, allowing the fox to get back to his work. 

With some space made between them, Ivo pressed a gaggle of buttons on his console, tapping his gloved finger against the screen where it identified Tails. The sides of the mech’s body flipped down, firing off a lot of mini-missiles towards the fox. They weren’t that explosive, the doctor wasn’t out to kill a teenager. They were more like fireworks… but still dangerous. 

As the round of minor explosives hurtled towards him, Tails fired his automatic weapon again, making most of the missiles explode with a barrage of rubber bullets. Some were close to Ivo, damaging his mech further- but some bullets missed, however, hitting Tails and damaging part of his own mech. 

The fox pressed the newly assigned button quickly, launching out a dummy ring from the differently colored cannon on the side of his mech. The dummy ring slammed into Ivo’s mech, right in the weakened leg, making the entire thing stumble. Ivo activated a nanite arm, extending it down into the ground and attaching it to the side of his mech almost like a stationary crutch. 

Another press of that button activated Tails’ ring tether, redirecting the control of the gun joystick to the red cannon, swinging the ring around like an overhand throw, sending it back and hitting the nanite crutch. Ivo directed one of his clawed arms to grab onto the ring, keeping it from returning to the teenager. 

“Hey, no fair! My mech doesn’t have arms!”

Ivo yanked the ring tether back, his mech’s other pincher arm spinning around in a rapid windmill. As he was pulled forwards, Tails slammed his palm into one of the bigger buttons on the console- the one for his bazooka. 

The missile fired practically tore Ivo’s mech open, but wasn’t enough to prevent his claw arm from slamming into the Cyclone, launching Tails backwards and sliding across the ground. As he tumbled, Tails activated the jet booster underneath his plane’s body, bringing himself up to his feet again. 

The E-Mech’s console was beeping in multiple places. He wouldn’t be able to salvage or save the mech on the fly- Ivo was pretty much screwed with Tails still coming at him. At this point, he’d need a miracle in order to make his escape. 

From above, the roaring of engines rumbled both machines. The fighter jets were back, and as Tails was on Sonic’s side, saw both mech-using geniuses as the enemy. They dropped missiles on the area between Tails and Ivo, causing a giant explosion that was enough to make both mechs withstand damage. 

Ivo’s mech fell down, making him spill out from the control seat. With the haze of the explosion, he was able to get out of there, reaching the facility’s front door and pausing for only a moment to look at Tails one last time before rushing inside. 

Though the fox tried moving towards the facility, the fighter jets had made their turn, now firing upon the fox with guns on their planes. Tails quickly directed the Cyclone away, leaping off the side of the harbor. The Cyclone flipped sideways, the legs rapidly folding back in alongside the back of the plane straightening out. The boosters activated just as Tails was rightside up, the wings quickly extending out at the same time. 

Tails touched one of the back of his teeth with his tongue, speaking directly into his Communication Crown as he flew the Cyclone away from the assaulting fighter jets. 

“Amy, Ivo’s in the building. I don’t know who else might be… be careful.” 

“I’ll see them coming, Tails. I always do. I’m getting Sonic out of here.” 

Amy replied quietly, murmuring to Tails as she snuck among the halls of the facility. She had managed to avoid any route to the wide-open cell blocks to make sure she couldn’t be seen. Part of her knew she may be seen on the cameras, but with everyone on lockdown she doubted that anyone was inside the security room anyways. 

Gripping her hammer with both hands, she crept into the stair access, opening the door but quickly stopping when it was only open a crack, seeing two Swat-Bots standing together on the platform between stairwells. She peeked into there, keeping hidden. 

“...this assault on our facility won’t stand.” Tower’s voice echoed through, coming through communicators on both of the robot’s chests. “You will find these little friends of Sonic the Hedgehog and detain them. Maybe I’ll have them join 32X like their foolish friend.” 

“32X. Sonic…” Amy whispered to herself. 

“All of you must be on high alert. If anything even resembles a Mobian, or that infernal Doctor Robotnik, you fire stun rounds. Apprehend them and detain them in a cell. Unlike Sonic, I don’t think they need heavy containment. All of you, inform me when the issue has been taken care of.” 

With a click, the communications shut off. That was Amy’s cue. 

She burst through the door, swinging her hammer down and letting the power of the hit fling her forwards. The hedgehog practically flew down the stairs, using the momentum of her fall to bring her hammer back down and into the head of the nearest Swat-Bot, smashing its head immediately. 

The other Swat-Bot raised its arm to fire at her, but was interrupted by the hedgehog swinging the hammer down and using it like a pole vault, kicking both feet into the robot’s chest. The round was fired upwards instead, knocking into the wall behind it from the force of the kick. 

Amy swung her hammer around and hit the robot at its side, knocking it down the stairs. It slammed and smashed into the stairs, the side rail and the sidewall as it tumbled to the floor below, landing with all its limbs and head detached. 

The pink hedgehog took a breather, putting the pole of her hammer across her shoulders to hang her hands on it. 

“Man, Snively Robotnik really sucks at making robots.” She commented. 

Her eyes trailed upwards to the sign next to the door. “HEAVY CONTAINMENT” read on one strip of the sign, with an arrow pointing upwards next to it. If what Tower said was anything to go by, Sonic would be there, apparently in room 32X. 

She pulled the hammer off her shoulders, swinging it around and holding it in both hands again. Amy walked down the steps, headed into the basement hallway. As she passed the sign, she had neglected to notice the other things she was headed towards- most noticeably, the armory. 

It was a straight hallway, with doors on either side. This place was a ghost town, with wide-open doors showing the empty rooms. Laboratories, offices. She even passed a big conference room, the blinds of the big windows making up its wall opened, revealing that people had evacuated halfway through a meeting. 

Her hands gripped the pole of the hammer tightly. As she reached the middle of the hallway, however, she paused. Amy winced a bit as she felt something… off. There was someone else here, but she couldn’t figure out who it was. 

One of the doors at the end opened. Amy’s eyes shot open, looking like a deer in headlights as she stood there, gripping her hammer, not moving. 

Shadow walked out of the laboratory he had stepped into. The dark hedgehog had found signs leading to the armory, but it appeared to not be on his level. He stepped out and looked at the back of the hall- back to Amy- as he peered towards the end wall. The end of the hallway split off in two. 

His head tilted, before he felt a familiar buzz on the quills at the back of his head. A certain energy signature he had sensed before, and not too long ago… back on the ARK. 

“You!”

Shadow turned, finally seeing Amy. That’s who it was. 

“You.” He echoed, finally putting a puzzle piece in the right spot. 

Amy let out a yell as she charged forwards, swinging her hammer to try and hit Shadow. The navy hedgehog strafed back from the attack with ease, ducking under a swing in the reverse direction. He put his hands up and grabbed the pole of the hammer when Amy tried hitting him with an overhead swing. 

Using all of her strength, Amy pressed down on the hammer pole to try and get it down. It wasn’t easy for Shadow, but it wasn’t really that hard for him to keep her strength at bay. His face hadn’t changed from stoic surprise, staring at the concentrated Amy Rose with one red eye and a scarred, milky one. 

“It was you.” He said softly. “You’re who I felt on the ARK. But how did you get there…?” 

The pink hedgehog wasn’t concerned with the statement. She kicked forwards when it seemed that she was getting nowhere with the hammer, knocking Shadow back. The dark hedgehog rolled backwards, sliding back on his hands and feet to come to a stop. 

He lunged forwards, getting up on his feet and swinging his hand around, letting it dazzle with golden energy. Shadow stuck his hand in front of him, sending an arc of this energy with a swing of his hand. 

“CHAOS SPEAR!” 

The golden projectile rocketed towards Amy. The psychic rushed forwards, holding her hammer above her head with both hands and spinning around to let the projectile fire past her. 

“CHAOS SPEAR!” 

Shadow had stuck out his other hand, taking another step forwards to fire another projectile at Amy. The pink hedgehog was still spinning, but heard the command from Shadow even as she did. Using her momentum, she swung her hammer around and hit the arc of energy with her hammer. 

Her strength was enough to repel the projectile- though there was a split second where everything was still from the matching outputs. She hit the Chaos Spear like a baseball, launching a straight bolt of the energy back towards Shadow. The dark hedgehog moved out of the way, though not soon enough for the energy to slice up the arm of his jacket, the same one to mimic Sonic, tearing it open and making it hang from the wrist and shoulder. The energy bolt fired through the wall behind them, creating a hole in it. 

Amy panted heavily, bringing her hammer up and looking at the front that hit the Chaos Spear- there was a black burn mark on the front, splintering out like shattered glass. 

“Hey!” She exclaimed, looking at Shadow. “My mom made me this!” 

The Ultimate Lifeform reached up to his torn sleeve, grabbing the hanging fabric and yanking the sleeve clear off, tossing it aside. His jacket now rocked the one-sleeve look, but he didn’t care, rushing forwards to fight against Amy head-on. 

As he tried reaching out to grab the hammer from Amy, she quickly pulled back, stumbling backwards to get away from him. She pushed her hand forwards, hitting his shoulder to shove him back. Though it worked, albeit only a little bit, Shadow grabbed onto Amy’s hand and pulled back. 

The white glove she had been wearing to offset her psychometry was pulled off as Amy got away. Shadow threw a punch with his sleeveless arm, and as Amy was holding the hammer with her other hand, she instinctively grabbed the sleeveless wrist, coming in contact with the hedgehog. 

She let in a sharp breath, time slowing down as she got a gaggle of visions all at once. 

Grass and flowers withered and turned black, the sky turning red as something massive eclipsed the sun. Entire buildings fell, people gathered in a giant crowd around the rubble with their hands raised up to the sky, bowing their heads low. 

“ALL HAIL SHADOW! ALL HAIL SHADOW!” 

From atop the rubble, Sonic tried stepping away from the top with shaking legs. He collapsed to a knee, but quickly fell up as he was unable to keep his limbs from giving out below him. Atop the rubble, with golden light shining behind his body, was the faker- he looked down at Sonic with a stoic face before looking directly forwards. 

He pounced forwards, a hand sticking out as his jet boots launched him directly to where Amy was in the vision. 

“MISTER NEEDLEMOUSE, NO!” 

Everything went black before Amy was snapped back to reality. She fell backwards, hands shaking and letting go of her hammer as she was down on the ground. 

A chill of cold came over her, like she was in the cold vacuum of space. A breath of vapor came from her mouth as the cold temperature made her shiver all over. She had felt something like this before with Julian Robotnik, but nothing to this degree. This wasn’t just the chill of evil… this was the freaking frostbite of it. 

Shadow stared down at her like he stared at Sonic in the vision, before bringing his hand around and pointing it directly at her with an open palm, the energy of his Chaos Spear starting up again. 

Amy had her arms around her, looking up at Shadow with wide eyes. 

“Mister Needlemouse?” She spoke. 

The energy from Shadow’s hand died off immediately after that, his eyebrows raising. His fingers started curling and uncurling slightly, as if he was lightly squeezing something. 

“What did you just say?” 

Shadow’s voice was no longer stoic, or even angry. His voice was small, soft, as if he was meekly asking Amy a question. The question went unanswered, however, as Amy was still shivering a bit on the floor in front of him. 

The hedgehog’s hand went to his head, pressing over his scarred eye as he felt himself reliving a memory he couldn’t recall. He squeezed his eyes shut, stumbling backwards as he was overcome with grief, with anger… with sadness. 

There was a clang somewhere in front of him. He looked ahead, over Amy, to the opened stair access room. More Swat-Bots were coming, and they were coming in droves. 

Shadow looked down at Amy for a second, but only a second, before turning tail and booking it away. He didn’t know why Amy said that, but… he was far too shaken right now to fight anyone. He wanted to get this job done and leave this awful place. 

As she came down from her sudden chilliness, Amy looked behind her and spotted the dozen Swat-Bots starting to head into the hallway. She scrambled up, grabbing the hammer and her missing glove before running down the hall. 

Shadow had headed right, having discovered another arrow pointing the armory down that way. Amy had witnessed it, but saw that heavy containment was to the left. She contemplated, for a moment, rushing to the faker again in order to get more information on what she saw… However, Sonic was still imprisoned. 

She only needed a second of thinking to make her choice. She headed down the left hall as the Swat-Bots began unleashing their barrage of rounds towards the end of the hallway, narrowly escaping them. The arrow leading to the heavy containment led to a single elevator that opened up when she was closeby. 

Amy pressed the button to the sub-basement. The doors closed as the Swat-Bots came down that hallway towards her. 

The private elevator stopped on the sub-basement floor. She was surprised any of them were working, before swiftly realizing there were no stairs leading to this level. 

That was a serious safety violation. Then again, GUN was government funded, so they would probably get away with literal war crimes if they just gave the army a few combat drones. 

The hall split in two directions, but a sign told her that the “X” rooms were to the left, and the “Y” rooms were to the right. Amy went to the left as soon as she heard the elevators close behind her. 

The different doors were marked with different numbers. Starting from “1X” at the right, and “2X” to the left. Focusing on the left, she ran down the hall until she got all the way at the end- the last door to the left was 32X. 

Amy leaned back and kicked open the door, knocking it off its hinges. She stepped in with both hands holding her hammer, seeing a single scientist inside and Sonic in his restraints. 

The scientist turned to Amy in shock, staring at her for a moment before sighing deeply. To the hedgehog’s surprise, he walked forwards, taking off his keycard and handing it to her. 

“They just left me here to guard him. Didn’t even take a vote. I’m not paid enough for this crap.”

Amy hesitantly took the keycard. The scientist walked out of the room and left the hallway, headed into the private elevator to his left. 

With that scientist gone, Amy rushed forwards and quickly inserted the keycard into a wall terminal, pressing to release Sonic from his restraints. 

“Have no fear… Amy Rose is here.” She murmured as she quickly tapped the release button. 

The front glass opened, the table leaning down so it was level with the ground. The arm and leg clasps opened up, with all of the sensors placed on Sonic detaching from his body.

As Sonic fell forwards, Amy caught him, letting her hammer fall to the floor. He was slowly getting up on his feet, with Amy helping him stay up. 

“Sonic! Sonic, are you okay?” 

“I’m fine… really thirsty. Those IVs don’t actually quench your thirst at all!” 

Amy scoffed a bit in amusement. She touched the Communication Crown with her tongue to turn it on. 

“Tails, I got Sonic. He’s okay.”

“Thank goodness. I’m getting heavy fire from GUN- I can meet you all somewhere when it’s safe to pick you up.” 

“Tails is here?” Sonic asked, regaining his strength quicker. 

“He’s flying the Cyclone, GUN’s after him. Sonic, listen- the faker’s on the island. He’s working with Ivo and Rouge to get the Chaos Emeralds out of the vaults below the prison.” 

“Oh you’ve… gotta be kidding me.” Sonic cracked his back as he stood on two feet. “I’ve got nearly twenty-four hours of potential energy I want to use.”

“Are you going after the faker?”

“…no. I can get the heat off of Tails if I rush through the island. They’ll focus on me, not him.”

“What if they catch you again?”

“They won’t. Fastest thing alive, remember?”

Sonic winked and shot a finger gun at Amy. He looked at his arm, then down at his body, looking over his prisoner jumpsuit. 

“Yuck. I gotta go change first. This shade of orange is hideous on me.”

Amy smiled in amusement, but her face dropped as she saw someone show up in the doorway. 

“Sonic, look out!”

The blue hedgehog turned his head, seeing a Swat-Bot at the opened door. It leveled its arm cannon at Sonic, ready to fire. 

He gave one last glance to Amy. 

“Catch you on the flip side.”

With that last remark to her, Sonic rushed away, grabbing the robot’s arm as it fired. The round went into the wall, and the robot went into the wall at the other side of the hallway, smashing it to pieces. 

Sonic stood in the middle of the hallway, looking at the dismantled android. More arm cannons powered on as the hedgehog found himself against four more of the Swat-Bots in the corridor. 

He wasn’t kidding when he said he had a lot of potential energy to run off. Finally free from the restraints, Sonic was ready to release the gathered up energy he’d been building all this time. 

Lightning cracked from his quills as he boosted forwards. The force of his boost was enough to propel the Swat-Bots backwards, smashing them against each other and the floor as he sped by. 

With his prisoner shoes obliterated, Sonic slid into the opened elevator- the same Amy was in before, and pressed the button to head to the ground floor. 

Just as he did, at the very same time across the prison, Shadow pressed the button to arm the explosive device in the armory. He had managed to pass a few of the remaining Swat-Bots, his brain swampy and fuzzy from what happened when he encountered Amy. 

He had to run this buzz off. Shadow pulled the walkie talkie he had in his jacket to speak into it. 

“Doctor, the bomb is set. You’re free to set the timer remotely when ready. I’ll meet you at the rendezvous spot.” 

“Copy that, Shadow. I have to make a little stop before I do.”

Ivo tucked his communicator back in his jumpsuit. He opened another filing cabinet, trying to find something specific… something different. 

The doctor had made that desired stop into the records room, which doubled as an evidence locker room. Here, files on just about every criminal incarcerated or investigated by GUN were stored physically. 

He had gone under “Robotnik” and the J’s, but hadn’t found anything. Now he resorted to finding something under the “M” section. 

Something bugged him to look under the Project: Mobius file. He had looked over what was stored about Project: Eclipse, but something about Snively showing up the other night made him suddenly nostalgic. 

Soon, he discovered the file marked with the appropriate project name. It wasn’t under “P,” but under “M.” This organization system was really weird. 

He pulled out the file and looked it over. All the information was there: Julian’s reports and studies, initial experimentation, the extracted Mobians taken in by GUN for study, and the arrest warrant for Snively Robotnik for animal abuse and treason- tipped off by Julian Robotnik himself. 

Ivo almost closed the file completely. However, there was one last paper in it- a debriefing. It just went over what the project was about, but there was an addendum.

“Further experimentation has occurred from Julian O. Robotnik. As this project has failed, we have agreed to not imprison him in exchange for this information. This information can be found under Project: M2.”

Project M2? Ivo was never told about that. The next project Julian did was Miles Per Hour… right? 

It became increasingly apparent to Ivo that the Miles Per Hour project was really the only project he was aware of. It was the first (and only) project he was the assistant for… when that one failed, they stopped Mobian projects altogether. 

What was Project: M2 though?

Ivo felt his mustache rustle as a loud whoosh came through the room. The doctor turned around, peeking out around a row of filing cabinets to see what just came in. 

Sonic was crouched down in front one of the shelves of the evidence lockers, moving through different boxes to try and find the one with his clothes in it. 

“C’mon, c‘mon… Hedgehog! Yes! Aw man, they just crumpled my clothes up and tossed them in! What a bunch of jerks.”

The doctor slowly leaned back into his row of filing cabinets to hide himself once again, sneaking back to his cabinet and looking through the M files. 

There was a rush of wind again that made Ivo hesitate, but he quickly continued to find this mysterious file. 

“Alright, all dressed up. Hmmm… While I'm here…” 

Another rush of wind before he heard more filing cabinets open nearby. Ivo quickly looked through the M’s, moving to the top as he realized the number would probably make it come before the MA’s.

He paged through the files until he found it- he almost passed over it, from the looks of it there were only two or three pieces of paper inside of it. The tab said “PROJECT: M2 - Surrendered Info” 

Ivo kept his head low as he rushed away from the filing cabinets, trying to head to the door. 

“Aha! I found it!” He heard Sonic said. “Now let’s try and—“

As Ivo left his row, Sonic was rushing by. The doctor and the hedgehog crashed into one another, their files flying through the air. Because of their fasteners, luckily the documents inside stayed in the folder. 

Both of them fell to the floor. Their eyes met as they tried picking themselves up, paused for a moment in a silent stare down. 

Sonic’s eyes went to the files. Ivo’s did a second after. It was dead silent in the room for a solid few seconds as one waited for the other to make the first move. 

Then, Ivo did. He rushed forwards, reaching out to grab the file, one of the files- he hoped that one would be the one he picked out. 

He was intercepted by a blitz by Sonic, who crashed into him and blew the files further away with the force of his speed. Ivo stumbled backwards, grunting from the rush against him. 

When Sonic kicked forwards to attack Ivo, the doctor’s nanites formed over his hand, grabbing the Soap shoe and catching the hit. His other arm became Big again too, before he shot his hand out and slammed his palm against Sonic’s chest. 

The hedgehog was flung backwards, the nanites from Ivo’s arms staying attached to him and covering his body. As Sonic was trapped under the nanites, Ivo rushed towards the file folders again, trying to decide which one to pick. 

Seeing the doctor getting close to them, Sonic rapidly vibrated his body, forcing the nanites to warp and deform. He broke free of his restraints and sped to Ivo, tackling him as he grabbed both of the files. 

Smacking Ivo rapidly to disorient him, Sonic soon pried one of the folders from his enemy right after, the force of him pulling the file from Ivo’s grip enough to make Sonic tumble off of the human man. 

Sonic got to his feet. Ivo did as well, holding his own file. He looked it over, realizing the tab didn’t say the right name. 

“…Project Eclipse?” He read aloud. “What do you need this for?”

“None of your business! Wait, then…” Sonic looked at his file’s name. “Project M2? What the heck is that?”

“That’s… none of your business!”

“…you don’t know, do you?”

“I’m not telling you anything!” Ivo huffed. After a moment, he took a deep breath. “Okay, look. My mech was just broken and I have a very long run to my extraction point from here. I’m sure you have other things to do, too.” 

Sonic hummed, tilting his head back and forth and looking upwards as if to hesitantly and silently agree. 

“Why don’t we just give each other the files we came for, walk away and pretend we never saw one another. Okay?”

The hedgehog narrowed his eyes at Ivo, but soon relaxed his body, shoulders dropping. He stood up straight. 

“Okay.” He said. 

The pair awkwardly shuffled towards one another. Once they were in arms length of each other, they both reached their respective files to one another cautiously, staring the other down. 

It was weird as they slowly reached out for their files, but eventually they both snatched their files away from one another, still staring each other down from arms length. 

There was silence for a moment as Sonic flipped through the papers in his file. Ivo didn’t open his- he wanted to do a full analysis once all this craziness died down a little. He didn’t expect much from the file anyways. 

“…nice hair, by the way.” Sonic said after closing the file. 

“Do you really think so? Tails said something similar but I thought he was just being facetious.” 

“No, no, it suits you. The tapered look is good. Much better than the bald headed stuff… that was Julian’s thing, not yours.”

Ivo hummed, his hand touching his hair again. They looked at one another now, this time more awkwardly than anything with hostility. 

“…bye.” Ivo said, quickly hustling out of the room. The nanites reformed on his arms to match with the material. As he left, he tucked the file in his jumpsuit. 

Sonic sighed, tucking his own file in his jacket. He cracked his neck before speeding off again, heading out of the facility and through the metal harbor. 

Rouge was glad the motion sensors were so easy to get off. She didn’t need any extra trouble getting through that vent… especially with how dusty it was. It was a bit of a tight fit, but Rouge could handle it no problem. 

As she dropped down from the ceiling, she landed on the metal floor of the vault area. The sound of her boots hitting the ground weren’t heard over the blaring alarms. The room was still illuminated, allowing her to see the giant center control area of the vault, completely under lockdown, the shutters on the windows closed. There were some lasers scattered around the room as well. 

“I’m in, doctor.” Rouge said into her communicator. 

“I’ve made it away from the facility.” Shadow added on a second later. 

“There’s been an unexpected delay on my end.” Ivo said. “There’s no more time to waste. I’m setting the timer for fifteen minutes- is that okay, Rouge?” 

Rouge was a bit conflicted, but grunted as she accepted her fate. It took her ten minutes to get into this place, therefore… 

“Five minutes should be plenty. Let’s get this over with.” She said into the walkie talkie before putting it back in her jumpsuit. Her treasure tracker flipped down, allowing her to see how close and far she was from different chaos energy signatures. 

The bat only had two to find- the purple and blue ones. This should be fairly easy… she hoped. 

As she rushed through the vault, she began to take note of everything around her. There were different cell blocks on her floor- A, B and C. However, from the looks of nearby signs, it seemed that there were different colored cell blocks, meaning she had even more vaults to look through. 

Her tracking eyepiece was scanning the area however, starting to lead her towards where the chaos energy signatures were coming from. There was one on the bottom floor, the level she was on, and one on the second floor. 

She rushed to the vault that the eyepiece was leading her to, looking it over. There was a valve on the bottom left part of the vault’s door, which she immediately began trying to turn. When her arms didn’t work, her legs came next- but to no avail. 

“Ugh, that usually works!” She said. Rouge huffed, tapping her tracker. “Find me the way to unlock these vault doors.” 

The eyepiece beeped, showing a loading bar on the lens as it tracked exactly how to do so, using the information given to it by the GUN database themselves. After a second, a wire in the wall was highlighted, and Rouge followed it up to the top of the control center. 

She barely had time to waste, and she wasn’t going to spend it making comments about her situation. Rouge reached the wall to the control room, looking up to the opening that led to the top of the structure- the wire turned off to the top, meaning the switch to unlock these vaults was up there. 

Knuckles usually did this with those claws he had on his… well, his knuckles. What did Rouge have to do the same? 

…her legs. 

Rouge quickly kicked her feet into the metal of the wall and climbed upwards, almost like a ladder without any top rungs. She scaled the side of the control room, even digging her steel boots into the shutters of the windows to climb up to the top. 

The ventilation fans were blowing upwards at the top of the structure, making the top pretty windy. Following the highlighted tracker marker, she ran around the left side of this part of the roof- there was a raised part that was even higher upwards. 

She passed by markers telling her that this was for the red cell block, not any of the other ones. Wind blew upwards, making her hair lift upwards as she ran towards the switch at the end of the fan-lined walkway. 

As she flipped the switch, there suddenly came an opposing wind coming down onto her. She covered her eyes and turned around, looking up at what was coming down. 

It was a large, flying mech. Though there was glass covering up what looked like a cockpit, it was driven remotely. The tracker identified the drone mech, though Rouge already knew what the thing was- the R/1-A Flying Dog, an automotive drone mech that was only sent when this vault was compromised. 

Looks like Rouge missed a motion sensor in that vent. 

She slowly pressed her finger to her tracker. 

“...where’s the switch for the other vault?” She asked. 

After a second of staying still, the eyepiece soon lit up a path to another switch- the one that was on the top part of the roof above her. 

She needed to be smart about this. Definitely needed to use everything to her advantage… if she tried to be stylish, she would surely be dead in an instant. 

With the wind still blowing below her, Rouge opened her wings and allowed the wind to catch her patagium, propelling her upwards. The Flying Dog finally processed her as a threat, opening up the missile launchers on its back and firing two after her. 

Rouge flew forwards, her tracker telling her that she had missiles coming after her. She reached into the pockets on her belt, like a similar bat-themed adventurer, before flipping her body over and throwing the two balls from her hands. The balls inflated, becoming the hovering bat bombs that acted as perfect diversions for the missiles to hit instead. 

Stepping off the wall in front of her, Rouge got to the higher area of the roof, stopping to take a look at the challenge ahead of her. 

There were a lot of lasers in front of her. It looked like a true spy movie- and if it were in any other situation, she’d be happy about it. 

She heard the rush of the Flying Dog’s thrusters behind her, making her run forwards and to one of the boxes of parts that were left up there. Rouge tried moving across the top, but was stopped by the Flying Dog hovering over and staying right in front of her, suspended over the nest of lasers below. 

Rouge looked at the drone, then the lasers below, and quickly leapt up into the air before it could fire a blast of energy into the robot parts she was just standing on. 

When she was a decent distance above the flying robot, Rouge grunted and focused all her strength in her legs, spinning around rapidly as she corkscrewed downwards into the robot’s “cockpit.” It smashed the glass, wrecking the drone controls inside, and Rouge was able to bounce off of it to clear the sea of lasers below. 

The force of her screw kick sent the Flying Dog into the lasers, which successfully cut off one of the thrusters and a decent chunk from the side of the drone. It flew to the side and crashed into the iron bars that made up the wall of this area. 

Rouge got to the switch and flicked it, the eyepiece immediately telling her where the Chaos Emeralds were at. She didn’t know how much time she had left, so she had to act really fast. 

The bat turned around and stepped up the wall, before kicking off it to fly over the lasers again. The Flying Dog noticed this, and launched one last missile at Rouge. 

Unfortunately, because it was at a lower angle, the missile fired forwards and hit a laser. It exploded, and the force of the explosion did successfully harm Rouge. The bat was flung forwards, through the air and off the top of the control tower, down into the vault. 

She regained herself soon, spreading her arms and using her patagium to glide down to her destination- where the second-level vault was that had one of the Chaos Emeralds. She hovered downwards, landing on her feet and reaching the door. She tried the valve, but discovered it still couldn’t move. 

Rouge looked up and saw that the GUN logo on the front wasn’t on a screen, but some kind of trap door. She climbed up and shoved her legs inside, slipping in and reaching the inside of the once-closed vault. 

The door soon opened, detecting something slipping inside. Rouge was revealed holding the blue Chaos Emerald, smiling as she finally had a victory. 

Suddenly, an energy round went into her shoulder. Rouge let out a yell of pain and looked up- the Flying Dog was still active. In fact, it was fluttering along with a sputtering remaining thruster, beginning to fire upon the bat with a barrage of energy balls. 

Using her patagium to cover her face and body, the bat crouched down to keep the emerald safe but could feel herself taking damage. Anger started growing in her stomach, through her chest and into her throat. 

She whipped her wing away, looking up at the Flying Dog and letting out a ballistic screech. The purple shockwaves of her scream hit the mech dead on, and started tearing it to bits as she kept the sonic scream going. 

Soon, the Flying Dog was reduced to bits. Rouge ended her scream, happy she was already kneeled so she could compose herself. The attacks and the sonic scream took a lot out of her, and she was getting really tired. 

She had to push herself though. She had to get that second emerald. 

Rouge dropped to the first floor, still holding the first emerald in hand. The second emerald was in the vault closest to where she dropped down, directly to the right of it. She climbed up the front of the vault door and slipped inside feet-first. 

The vault door opened, and the bat now had both of the emeralds in hand. She stepped out, taking a breath, but still hobbling from the damage she withstood. 

Rouge needed to get out, she didn’t know how much longer she had. She… didn’t know if she could, though. 

Exhausted beyond relief, Rouge rested against one of the vault doors, sliding to the floor.

GET IT TOGETHER. 

Shadow lifted his head, having hung it down as he rested against a tree for a moment. He had just made his way into the Green Forest, next to the facility, still headed towards the extraction point outside. 

After resting against the tree for a moment, he heard the deep voice inside his head. His eyes fluttered, his breathing heavy even though he typically didn’t get fatigued from skating. 

“What do you think I’m doing right now?” He asked, speaking aloud. 

YOU ARE ALLOWING YOUR FEELINGS TO OVERTAKE YOUR ACTIONS. WHAT THE PINK HEDGEHOG SAID TO YOU HAS NO CONSEQUENCE TO YOUR MISSION. 

“It has everything to do with it. That… that name. That’s what… That’s what she called me.”

WHO?

“I don’t… I don’t…” He said between breaths. 

MARIA!

“Maria.” He said, repeating the echoes in his mind. 

YOU DO NOT KNOW A “MARIA.”

“She’s in my memories. I saw us… watching television. On the ARK.” 

ENOUGH! 

Shadow was suddenly flung backwards, landing hard on his back. There wasn’t any outside force controlling him, he simply just… did it, all by himself. He groaned on the ground, suddenly feeling his muscles tense as he could no longer move.

YOUR FEELINGS TO THIS MARIA IS HINDERING YOUR PROGRESS. YOU WILL RETRIEVE THESE EMERALDS, YOU WILL DESTROY THAT INFERNAL HEDGEHOG, AND THEN I WILL CONSIDER TELLING YOU SOMETHING ABOUT HER, BUT ONLY THEN. IF YOU FAIL ME… YOU WILL NEVER LEARN A THING ABOUT THIS GIRL BEFORE YOUR QUICKLY DRAINING USEFULNESS ENDS, AS WILL YOUR LIFE. 

The dark hedgehog took a breath as he regained control of himself. He slowly sat up, feeling his body suddenly become well-rested, as if someone flicked a switch in his head to free him of his enervation from the sudden influx of memories. 

“The emeralds… Sonic the Hedgehog.” He murmured to himself. 

As he stood up to finally start moving again, he took a deep breath and cracked his neck, ready to set off. Suddenly, white noise started coming from his jacket- from the walkie talkie inside of his jacket. 

“This is Rouge. I’ve got a small problem…” The bat said through the communicator. From the sound of her voice, and how heavy her breath was, she was beaten. “I’m hurt real bad, and trapped in the vault alongside the Chaos Emeralds. There’s probably an ironic moral to go along with this. The treasure hunter, about to die alongside her treasure…” 

Shadow hadn’t moved yet, looking down at where the communicator was in his jacket. 

Though it’ll probably be ironic, if I end up dying in the place meant to cure me…

The dark hedgehog looked back and forth, hearing the words summoned to his mind, spoken by that girl… Maria. He couldn’t see the memory, but he could hear her voice so clearly. The line stuck to him, somehow, now brought along by Rouge. 

The Chaos Emeralds would and could survive an explosion, but Rouge… Not so much. That vault would flood with fire and destroy her. She was trapped there, stuck working a mission for Ivo and Shadow. She was there because of him. 

She was there because of him. 

He turned his head slightly, firmly zipping up his jacket to his neck. He growled a bit. 

“Troublemaker…” He grumbled under his breath. Shadow turned around and started skating in the opposite direction, headed towards where he knew Rouge’s vent access was located. 

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

“Getting the Chaos Emeralds.” 

THAT BAT—

“If this place explodes, GUN will be all over it, and easily have a grip over the emeralds left behind. I’m open to hearing your plan to get past all those GUN agents that will be around here after the area is clear?” 

No response for the voice. 

“Hm. As I thought.” 

Jet-skating down the trunk of a fallen massive tree, Shadow reached the uprooted part of the tree, finding a line of rings curving upwards. As he reached the line of rings, he felt his Light Shoe upgrade activate- chaos energy surrounded his body, and as he leapt forwards to the rings, he created a circuit that propelled him through the trail. 

Across the jungle, also passing through a trail of rings, was Sonic. He figured that, with all the use of Chaos Emeralds around the place, the island was ripe with chaos energy. With little people around, rings were able to form without the threat of being taken.

Tails had added an upgrade to Sonic’s shoes- besides the GPS chip, he was also given a “light chip,” which housed a small part of his energy to activate his lightspeed dash whenever he wanted, rather than having to focus his energy.  

Sonic flew out of the trail of rings, grabbing onto a hanging vine and using the speed to swing around a giant trunk in the forest. 

This was great. He was getting all the speed out of his system, and he was leading all the drones and robots away into the forest to find him. He was sure Tails was picking Amy up to get away from the island, and once he was on a clearer part of the island, he would find a way to get onto the Cyclone so they could get the heck out of there. 

He grinded on one of the larger tree branches in the forest, curving around and shooting off across the air. He landed on a raised platform in the swampy bottom parts of this jungle, running across it and leaping off to grab onto another vine. 

Sonic swung around a branch once, letting it swing around again so he dismounted on the second time around. He flung forwards, through the branches in a spin dash before unfurling to land on his feet on a fallen tree, grinding down that next. 

He soon leapt off of it, landing on a nearly perfectly square plateau of the forest. Sonic let out a sigh as he slowed down to a stop, dusting his hands off and looking around. 

“Ahhh…” He let out a breath. “So far, so good!” 

From somewhere nearby, a branch rustled, the leaves on the branch letting out a sound. With nobody else around, Sonic had to turn to find out who it was. He was greeted with Shadow, the fake hedgehog crouched on the branch, clearly ready to leap off again. 

“Hey, that’s…!”

“That blue hedgehog again of all places.” Shadow grumbled as he noticed Sonic. He started to walk across the branch to get to a better place to rocket off, still wanting to get to the vent access. 

“I found you, faker!” Sonic shouted, feeling anger bubble in his chest again. Here he was, the guy causing literally all of his problems. Well, Ivo and Rouge could get some of the blame, but this faker was the main perpetrator, dang it! 

Shadow stopped in his tracks. He was still focused on getting Rouge, but something about that struck him in his pride. He looked at Sonic from the corner of his good eye, his jaw locking as he threw caution to the wind- voice be damned, he was going to show this blasted hedgehog who’s boss. 

“Faker?” Shadow spat, turning to face him, pacing the branch. “I think you’re the fake hedgehog around here. You’re comparing yourself to me? HA! You’re not even good enough to be my fake!” 

Sonic’s hands shook as he balled them into fists, angrier than he felt the last time he fought this guy. He wanted to talk some smack, eh? 

“I’ll make you eat those words!”

“You won’t even get the chance!” 

The dark hedgehog dropped down from the branch and hit the ground, rushing forwards to meet Sonic, who boosted towards him. The two hedgehogs slammed into each other, creating a flash of white before they were propelled back to opposite sides of the plateau. 

Shadow glowered at Sonic before vanishing in a flash of blue, teleporting somewhere else. Before Sonic could concentrate to find out where that was, Shadow appeared next to him, stepping into a punch directly into Sonic’s face. 

The blue hedgehog stumbled back but let out a yell as he spin-dashed forwards, headed directly to Shadow. The Ultimate Lifeform reached out, his hand covered in golden energy as he literally caught the balled up hedgehog in his hand. White sparks flew from the golden energy as Sonic continued to spin into it, almost suspended in air against the powerful hedgehog’s hand. 

Shadow thrust his palm forwards, knocking Sonic backwards and ending his spin dash. He landed on his hands and knees, sliding backwards and needing no moment to regain himself. Sonic spun himself up again, propelling forwards towards Shadow a second time. 

As Shadow tried swiping forwards with a hand, Sonic boosted upwards, rocketing up above him. He boosted back down to slam down onto Shadow, forcing him down onto the ground. Sonic bounced upwards, but when he tried to boost downwards again, Shadow teleported out of the way so the spin dash slammed onto solid ground. Sonic unfurled immediately, getting up to his feet to see Shadow teleporting a few yards away. 

“You’re still holding back.” The fake hedgehog said. 

“You’re not worth the effort.” Sonic retorted. “Do you know how much this sucks for me, man? You’ve taken my entire life away from me, and for what? Why me? Why my friends? I used to be a hero, loved by all… I used to be cool.”

“Poor you.” Shadow replied, mockingly stoic. “It seems your self-worth is tied directly to how you’re perceived by those you care about… which includes your little town of Station Square.” 

“Whatever it is you’re planning, I will stop you. I don’t care how many people hate me. You’ve messed everything up the moment it felt I was finally getting my life together. The moment it felt I was finally able to move on from everything that happened.” 

“Oh, Sonny…” Shadow said slowly. “Your life will never be together.” 

“Says who? Mister caps lock ‘OW THE EDGEHOG’ over here?” 

“I am the Ultimate Lifeform. I am the Shadow of Doom. I am your superior being, in every single way. I’m the fastest, I’m the strongest… and I am the coolest.” 

Sonic let out a huff of annoyance before rushing forwards to charge at Shadow again. The coolest, in reply, rushed forwards as well. 

They crashed into one another, creating another flash of light. Shadow punched Sonic again, but the blue hedgehog quickly retaliated with a knee upwards into Shadow’s chin. 

Spin dashing in the air, Sonic grinded his quills against Shadow’s front side, tearing up the shirt and jacket even more and making him stumble backwards. 

“CHAOS SPEAR!” 

Shadow’s projectile didn’t have a lot of room, but it was still effective. It blasted against Sonic, sending him backwards and out of his spin dash. Sonic was able to land though, spinning in a ball again and burning out against the grass. 

As Sonic homed forwards, so did Shadow, letting out the best boost he could with his inhibitor bands. The two spin dashes whammed into each other, bouncing back before they sent a homing attack into each other again. 

One more spin dash into each other caused them to stay in place, rapidly spinning against each other like two chainsaws cutting into one another. That much chaos energy in that area seemed to break the laws of physics, as the two were stuck in hair to grind against one another, white sparks going everywhere. 

The dueling dashes seemed to reach a peak, as suddenly an explosion of white separated Sonic and Shadow, flinging them back and into the plateau with smoke coming off them. 

When both of them landed, the loud ringing of rings leaving both of their bodies- the rings they just collected- echoed through the area. Sonic landed with his head lodging into the dirt, upside down. Shadow landed on his back. 

Sonic felt across the ground, eventually pulling his head from the soil. He shook the dirt and grass blades from his quills. Shadow sat up, catching his breath. 

“Shoot…” Sonic said, panting. 

“Not bad, for an imposter…” 

Shadow’s remark finished just as he stood up again. Sonic got to his feet after, staring at one another from just a few yards away. They both got into battle stances again, ready to charge at one another for the next round. 

However, Shadow’s walkie talkie let out white noise as someone came over the comms. 

“Shadow, what are you doing?” Ivo’s voice said. “There’s only two minutes left on the timer! You need to get to the extraction point before the island blows up with you on it!”

Sonic’s fighting spirit was wiped away suddenly. 

“Blows up?!” He yelled. 

Shadow touched where the communicator was in his jacket, looking down at it almost in a face of betrayal before glancing back at Sonic. 

He remembered why he was even here. Shadow turned, his jet boots turning on as he launched out of there. 

Sonic turned, almost reaching out to try and give chase, but stopped himself. He turned back around and headed in the opposite direction, to a clear part of the island. 

“I gotta get out of here- and find Amy and Tails right away!” He said, mostly to himself. 

The blue hedgehog boosted through the trees and blasted out into the tree-less part of Prison Island. He ran along the beach, knowing he’d be found soon. 

Sure enough, he heard the roar of an engine next to him. He turned his head, seeing Tails and Amy keeping up with the high speed hedgehog in the Cyclone. 

“Long time no see!” Tails said, smiling at Sonic. 

“We need to get off the island! There’s a bomb!”

“What?” Amy yelled back to Sonic. 

“There’s a bomb on the—“

“What?”

“Bomb! Bomb! A b—“

“Get in the plane!” Amy shouted back, fed up with this horrible game of telephone. 

Sonic grunted. He sped to the plane, jumping towards it and grabbing onto the wing. Amy reached out with her hammer, letting him grab the pole and get pulled inside. He put on the headphones.

“THERE’S A BOMB ABOUT TO GO OFF ON THE ISLAND!”

“ What?!” Amy said. “Why didn’t you say so?!”

Sonic’s face fell to an emotionless glance at the ironic statement. He made sure the headphones were on tightly as they got further away from the island. 

On the island, however, Shadow had found the vent with barely a minute to spare. He blasted through with the power of his jet boots, headed straight downwards and into the vault of the Devil’s Gulag. 

He flipped forwards to land on his feet in the vault. He felt the energy signature of Rouge to his right, turning to see her. The bat slowly got up, leaning against a vault door. 

“Shadow!” She said. 

Shadow rushed forwards. He knew there was only a few seconds left. He launched himself towards Rouge, reaching out to grab the bat’s shoulder and touch the two Chaos Emeralds she was holding. 

With the power of one emerald, he was able to warp time around him to go faster. With the power of two? Space and time was truly at his command. 

He’d only tried it once before when he had a Chaos Emerald in his possession, and it didn’t work that well. But with two of them, he’d be able to bend space around him. It was like the landscape was a piece of paper, folding in half and becoming pierced with a pencil. With these emeralds, Shadow became that pencil. 

“CHAOS CONTROL!”

Shadow saw space bend in front of him, moving forwards and taking Rouge with him. He soon appeared on the nearest seaside beach of the United Federation with Rouge and the Chaos Emeralds in tow. 

The bomb went off, obliterating the top half of the prison as the Cylcone and Ivo’s aircraft narrowly escaped the blast. Though the living beings got away, the weaponry and information left behind were victim to the fiery explosion. 

Tower was sitting in his office, at his desk, staring down at the debriefing of what exactly happened at the Devil’s Gulag on his computer screen. 

Though not all of Prison Island had been blown to smithereens as a result of the explosion that occurred there, anything left for GUN to pick up was in the deep sub-basements and closed containers of the vault. All physical copies and reports dating back the last eight decades were completely obliterated, and millions of dollars in defensive machinery were turned to piles of molten metal. 

He was trying not to get too torn up about it. 

Commander Tower’s reading was interrupted with a request to video chat from a “No Caller ID” identifier. The number it was calling from was one he recognized, and it was a video chat he had set up the night after the assault on Prison Island occurred. 

He sat up straight, clicking to accept the call. 

“Madam President.” Tower greeted the caller. 

President Sky was clearly doing this chat in her limousine, the camera showing her sitting cross-legged at the far end of a limousine’s cabin. She was reading a manilla file, the recap of everything happening that has led to the destruction of the Devil’s Gulag. 

“Hello, Tower.” She replied. “We need to make this quick, I’m meeting Sara for lunch.”

“How is your daughter?”

“She’s fine.” Sky closed the file folder. “What happened on Prison Island?” 

“Well… yesterday morning, we were infiltrated by a variety of delinquents who stole the two Chaos Emeralds we had in storage since the incident with the being known as ‘Chaos.’ I’m led to believe all of these people have a direct connection to Sonic the Hedgehog… some, more than others.” 

“Direct connect, like how?” 

“I believe they are all working under Sonic the Hedgehog.” Tower said with confidence. “He orchestrated this escape and the stealing of the emeralds.” 

President Sky continued to flip through her file, looking for the pictures taken of security cameras in the back. She tapped one of the pictures. 

“I wanted to talk about that.” She said. “It seems you’ve identified the instance of some mysterious hedgehog as Sonic.”

“That is Sonic, ma’am.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Sonic has super-speed capabilities, ma’am. He’d be able to rapidly appear in two places at once.”

“Uh huh.” Sky didn’t sound convinced. “So he used that moment to put on a raggedy version of his jacket, paint a scar on his face and put on what can only be described as Mobian-sized colored contacts?”

“It’s likely.”

“I don’t think so.” The president replied quickly. “There’s an instance where this mystery hedgehog infiltrates the core prison facility when Sonic is still in your restraints. Am I to believe he decided to waste his time leaving his imprisonment to carry out a convoluted plan of replicating a doppelganger?” 

Tower didn’t have a reply to that, his jaw locking for a moment before speaking. 

“Ma’am, we have to accept all kinds of explanations.” 

“If you deduce the implausible, you’re only left with the truth, Tower. If Sonic the Hedgehog was able to leave his restraints, don’t you think he would just… you know… speed into the vault, take the emeralds, and leave? Not have five separate people fight each other and invade the entire place?” 

“President Sky…” 

“My daughter has studied this hedgehog for years, ever since he made himself public.” Sky interrupted him. “When he was taken out of restraints, he left the island. You were able to get me with the idea that he suddenly performed a heel-turn before, but it seems his story about there being a ‘faker’ is actually true.” 

“With all due respect, ma’am, it seems your daughter is making you biased.”

“No, Tower, it seems that you’re biased.” The president replied. “I don’t know what kind of stuff happened where you have this weird revenge plot against Sonic, or any hedgehog for that matter, but it ends right now. While Sonic has still resisted arrest, and committed other minor offenses, the theft of government property and various vandalism charges go to this doppelganger and him only. You’re going to make a public statement about it.” 

“I can set something up.” 

“Don’t bother, I’ll get my people on it.” Sky put the folder to the side. “I want it on the steps of your headquarters, in front of everyone. Your bizarre obsession with destroying Sonic ‘lawfully’ has cost the tax-payers billions and thrust the public’s perception of the Guardian Units of Nations into a frenzy. You’re lucky your reputation and long-standing with the Guardian Units of Nations precedes you- if you were anyone else, you would be stripped of your position and barred from even getting a crossing guard position. Do you understand me?” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

“Good. My people will be in touch for this upcoming press conference.” The president leaned back in her seat. “Goodbye, Commander.” 

The call ended a second after. 

Tower stared at the file of the debriefing on his screen after. He took a deep breath, eyes closing. There were a variety of words that could describe him: anger, fury. Probably just generally being upset. 

He never wanted to confirm there was a doppelganger because of the deep-seated fear he had, deep in his heart. It was easier to accept that this person was just Sonic instead of thinking that it was… him.

The commander had only heard about him from what he was told by the previous Commander of GUN. It was information he had requested, because it was so personal to Tower. The story of the Ultimate Lifeform had given him an array of emotions, from confused to angry, but he got over it after remembering that this beast had died after causing so much pain. 

Except… apparently, he didn’t. 

Tower raised his hand and smashed his nearby mug under his fist, spilling coffee all over his desk. He let out a deep breath, regaining his composure after the sudden burst of anger. The commander opened his notes file to begin his apology for the press conference. 

“Can somebody bring me a new coffee, please?” 

“Ma’am, have you seen this hedgehog?”

“No.” 

Tekno’s answer pretty much interrupted the last word the GUN agent said to her. Agent Mercury huffed in annoyance at the quick response. 

“I didn’t finish my question.”

“You’re holding up a picture and are saying ‘have you seen this’ I don’t think you really needed to finish the sentence after that.” 

“Are you sure you haven’t seen him?”

“Yes I’m sure.”

“Maybe you saw him while you were out?”

“No.”

“You haven’t seen anything about this hedgehog at all.” 

“No. I wake up, have an extensive feather care routine, go to work for the entire day and return home for dinner and to sleep.”

“…wow.”

“Yeah, I don’t have a life. That’s why I’m so good at my job. Can I go now?”

“Hmph.” Agent Mercury put the picture of Sonic away. “You better not be lying. You’d be lying to the Guardian Units of Nations, and you don’t wanna mess with us.”

Tekno raised her eyebrow, but looked past her at something happening on the side of the street in front of the canary’s apartment. 

“Is that why your clearly marked truck is getting new decorations?”

“What?”

The agent turned around, seeing that someone was spray painting “LOSER” on the side of the GUN SUV in bright blue. 

“Hey! Stop that!”

The culprit, wearing the mascot costume for Meh Burger, quickly scattered away, leaving the spray paint behind. Ziya gave chase, running after the Burgerman mascot. 

At that moment, with the woman distracted, Tekno slipped into the stairway leading up to her apartment. She got to the door and knocked the secret knock: “shave and a haircut, two rings!” 

After a few locks were unlocked, Tekno slipped inside, kicking the door closed and letting the automatic locks she invented lock themselves back. 

She set the groceries down, before walking into her living room and into the sight of Team Sonic, who were all sitting on a couch together. Amy and Tails was watching TV, Sonic was staring at the closed file folder for Project: Eclipse. 

“Hey Tekno.” Amy said. 

“Hey girl.” The canary replied. “Sonic still hasn’t decided when he’s going to open the file yet?”

“He’s worried he won’t like what’s inside.” Tails piped up. 

“Right.” 

Tekno sat down in a nearby seat. She watched television with the others for a few minutes, the sitcom suddenly breaking to a news feed after a moment. 

Amy and Tails groaned at their show being interrupted. 

“This is J. Bailey with SXN.” The reporter onscreen said. “A sudden press release from the Guardian Units of Nations has occurred right on the steps of their Westopolis headquarters. Commander Abraham Tower seems to have an update about Sonic the Hedgehog.”

The view changed to a camera pointing at Tower giving the press conference in front of the headquarters, clearly wanting it to look flashy for some reason. He looked pretty dead inside… but that was his normal face, so it was hard to tell if he actually was dead inside. 

“The Guardian Units of Nations had put out a warrant for the figure known as Sonic the Hedgehog months ago.” He said into the mics. “However, due to… new evidence being brought to light… we must announce that the Mobian that had been caught on surveillance footage stealing from one of our headquarters was not Sonic, but instead was a doppelgänger impersonating him.”

Tower took a deep breath. 

“We will still be pursuing Sonic the Hedgehog for separate reasons. However, the manhunt for Sonic had started on a lie, and I want to apologize to those affected by this. That is all.”

The commander left the podium as the reporters started going into a frenzy to try and ask him a question. Tails turned off the TV soon after. 

“Ooof, that’s gotta hurt his pride.” Amy commented. “Guess he should’ve believed Sonic all along, eh?”

“Yeah. I don’t get what his problem is.” Tails shrugged. “Did you hear that, Sonic? They’re going after the faker!”

“What’d you say his name was, Shadow?”

“Mmhm.”

Sonic stared at the file still, not even looking at his friends as they talked to him. Tekno swiveled around to look at the blue hedgehog, watching him continue to stare at the folder. 

The canary soon had enough. 

“Okay, I’m looking through it.” She said, getting up to reach for the file. 

“Hey, hey! No! I want to look through it!” Sonic said, pulling the folder away and holding it out of Tekno’s grasp. 

“Then look at it! You’ve been contemplating for an entire day. Either you read it, or I do.” 

Sonic huffed a bit, frowning, but soon after got over it. Tekno was right, even if he didn’t want to admit it out loud. He had to read this file folder sometime. 

He took a deep breath, looking at his friends on either side of him before opening the folder up to look through it. 

“Project: Eclipse - The Search for the Ultimate Regenerative Lifeform.” He read aloud “Project lead, Professor Gerald Robotnik.”

“He’s the guy from my vision. Him and his granddaughter, Maria.” Amy piped up.

“Any relation to Ivo, you think?” 

“Oh no, I’m sure it’s a very common human name.” Tekno replied to Sonic. The hedgehog rolled his eyes at the comment, continuing to read. 

“This project is to synthesize the Ultimate Lifeform, the perfect being with blood that not only acts as a universal donor, but has the capability to cure all diseases and genetic disorders with its blood. First test is to, hopefully, cure Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, aka NIDS.”

“The disease Maria had.” Amy clarified. 

Sonic paged through the paper inside, looking through all of the documents created over the year this project had been in development. 

“Genetically modified lizard creatures… failure. It says here he was included on an expedition to… Angel Island!” Sonic said. “That’s the document Tails saw.”

He flipped the page. 

“Wait, hold on. Listen.” He continued. “Through commentary and study from the culture of this floating island, I was able to discover that there is a certain animal with the capability to absorb the godly energies of Chaos the most effectively, without any sign of energy decay- hedgehogs. Hedgehogs are the perfect creature needed to make chaos energy-enhanced blood for my testing.”

Sonic continued to look through the folder. 

“He… modified a hedgehog. That’s who Shadow is, a modified hedgehog pumped full of chaos energy, just like the rest of us.”

“Are we sure this is really Shadow though? This project was from over fifty years ago.”

“I dunno, Moss is immortal.” Amy replied to Tails. “Is it too far-fetched to believe the ‘Ultimate Lifeform’ has immortality as a power?”

“I suppose not.” 

“…huh.” Sonic said, stopping on another page. “I have made a startling discovery. Though the energy sustained through hedgehog DNA allows them to regenerate wounds, creating a serum from this blood breaks down too quickly. I need a regenerative property, one that can keep the serum together faster than the chaos energy could break it down. I’m not sure where I can find it, however.”

Sonic continued to look through. 

“There’s just a bunch more stuff about trying to find a regenerative property to splice into the Ultimate Lifeform.”

“Skip to the end.” Tekno suggested. “If he found it, he’ll probably talk all about it towards the end, when his project is getting better.” 

“Not a bad idea.”

The hedgehog flipped to the back of the folder, stopping at what he saw was the final project log in the folder. 

“The serum seems to be working well. Testing on human subjects will begin soon.” Sonic read. “I am so eternally grateful for… The Benefactor. GUN would frown upon me for this union, but sometimes you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet. When I have the finished serum and cure any disease or disorder, they’ll act like nothing bad ever happened, and award me the highest of honors.” 

“The Benefactor?” Tails asked. 

Rapidly flipping through, Sonic read through all the pages at supersonic speeds. 

“Gerald mentions this Benefactor guy a dozen times, but never says what he provided… or why it’s a bad idea to get help from him.”

“Rival organization? Different country perhaps? The world was a different place in the eighties.”

“Could be, could be.” Sonic nodded at Amy’s suggestion. “There’s just one last thing I wanna take a look at… the debriefing.”

Sonic flipped to the very back, getting to the final page: the debriefing document. However, instead of a description, all Sonic saw was… black lines blacking out all the words. 

The trio were taken aback by that. 

“What? It’s all been redacted!” Tails said. 

“Why would they keep everything except the final document? That seems counterintuitive.”

“Unless something happened that they can’t talk about. What that would be, I dunno… but we gotta find out somehow.”

Sonic closed the file and stood up, his friends joining him. 

“What’re we gonna do now, Sonic?” Tails asked. 

“We need to find a way to track Ivo. If we can find out how he got to the Space Colony ARK, like Amy says he’s at, we can head up there the exact same way. Then, we confront them and stop whatever they’re doing with the Chaos Emeralds.”

“How are we gonna do that?”

“We gotta interrupt a direct  transmission of his. Find the source of it.” Tails said to Amy. “He’s not smart enough to use a VPN. I can track where his computer is, I just need to find a direct line to it.”

“Alright, so we have a plan. Find Ivo by finding a transmission from him… as for where we’re staying until then…”

Team Sonic all looked at Tekno, who sighed and rolled her eye. 

“Yeah, alright, you all can stay here until you find what you’re looking for. But if it’s longer than a month, you’re all paying rent.”

“Deal!” Sonic rubbed his hands together. “Now who wants chilidogs?” 

“Mister Needlemouse, what do you think it’s like on Earth?” 

The young Eclipse was standing in the observation deck with Maria when she asked him that question. It came out of nowhere, really, but… the thought had been bugging him intermittently throughout everything that had been happening on the ARK. 

“The Professor said that all his research was for the people down there… His purpose was to help them. If he chose to do all of this… then it must be amazing down there.” 

Maria chuckled a bit, leaning against the glass. 

“From the music videos I’ve seen, it’s beautiful.” She said, her blond hair falling over one shoulder as she looked at Eclipse with a tilted head. “Grandfather… he wants to open this satellite up to house anyone sick with disorders like mine. Find cures to what’s harming them.”

“Through me?” 

“Well, you or someone else. But from the looks of it… you’re the top contender, Needlemouse.”

The teen tapped Eclipse’s nose, making him go cross-eyed for a moment to look at the action. He tilted his head to mirror Maria, looking at her curiously. 

“Do you think… that’s my purpose? To be… their savior?”

There was a moment where Maria’s face turned… sad, almost. She looked out into space, down at the Earth, a bit solemnly. 

“You were made to help people. You were always made to help people.” She said, not looking at him. “Maybe not as their savior, but… as their friend.”

“Their friend?”

“Yeah, like how you and I are friends.” 

Eclipse smiled and perked up a bit at that. 

“And I’m helping you!”

“Yeah!” Maria grinned a toothy smile at the hedgehog. “You’re made to help others.”

“Do you think… After I help you, we can go down to Earth together?”

“Of course we can, Mister Needlemouse. We’ll go down and sit at a park and eat those roll-up fruit snacks from the commercials on those tapes Grandfather brings up.”

Eclipse smiled still, nodding at the statement. Maria sighed, looking down at the planet below them. 

“Grandfather says he made this ARK for me. That it’s supposed to make me better… somehow. I hope he’s right.” Maria said. “Though it’ll probably be ironic, if I end up dying in the place meant to cure me…”

“Ironic?”

“Yeah, you know. Something happening when it’s not supposed to. At least I think that’s the definition of irony. Anyway, it… doesn’t matter.”

She walked to Eclipse, offering a hand to him. 

“Come on. Grandfather’s probably looking for us.”

The hedgehog slowly took Maria’s hand, walking out with her, leaving the observation deck and heading out to the rest of the space colony. 

“Why so melancholy?” 

Shadow opened his eyes. He looked out of the corner of his good eye to see Rouge walking up to him, smiling at him. She had spent the last few days resting up, getting better after the fight she had with the Flying Dog. 

Even though she was shot at and was hit by a literal explosion, her jumpsuit was new and neat. She probably had back-ups for the jumpsuit somewhere in her room, so she could dispose of the ruined ones with ease. 

“Hm.” Shadow grunted in reply, turning back to the window of the observation room. He was still fully comprehending what he had seen in the sudden flashback, his brain swimming with emotion. 

“I gotta say, smiles, I’m surprised you came back to save me. Such a hero.” 

The hedgehog scoffed. 

“I didn’t come back for you. I came back for the Chaos Emeralds.”

“Mmhm. So stubborn…” 

Rouge stepped up to stand next to Shadow, looking down at the planet below them. 

“Did the doctor put the emeralds in?” 

“He did. Everything’s charging up now.” Rouge replied. “He’s cooped up in his room right now, though. He got some kind of project file from the facility, he’s contemplating opening it.” 

“Why does he hesitate?” 

“Well… he was just getting over his father, and everything Julian did to him. He’s scared the file will open up old wounds, and he doesn’t know if he can afford to go through that right now, seeing as this plan of yours is so important.” 

“Hm.” 

It was quiet as the pair stared at Earth together. 

Deep down inside of Shadow, he felt deja vu. It had been a while… a long time since he had something like this. Staring down at the blue planet, with the presence of someone right next to him. That memory, the one he recalled just a few minutes ago, he felt that it wasn’t the only time he had an experience like that. Like this. 

Something compelled the hedgehog to turn his head to look at Rouge. Sensing he turned his head, Rouge turned her head to look back at her companion, eyebrows raised expectantly. 

Shadow opened his mouth, then closed it. After a second, he finally opened it again. 

“Do they still have roll-up fruit snacks down there?”

Rouge was taken aback by the bizarre question, but chuckled a bit after a second. 

“Yeah, they do.” 

“I’ve never had them before. But… someone’s told me about them. I really want to try them.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah. Maybe… once all of this is over.” 

“Maybe. Or… if we get the chance, how about we get some together? While we’re down on Earth.” 

“...that would be nice.” 

“And maybe some new clothes while you’re at it.” Rouge reached over and tugged at the sleeveless part of Shadow’s jacket’s shoulder. “I mean, c’mon, you’re not even trying to copy Sonic anymore, are you?”

“I suppose not.” 

“Alright then. When we get the chance… let’s do all that. You and I, together.” 

“Alright then.” Shadow echoed her. 

The bat smiled again, turning around completely to walk out of the observation deck. 

“Always a pleasure to talk to you, smiles. You know where to find me.” 

Rouge left the room, the door closing tightly behind her. Shadow stared at the closed door silently, thinking to himself. 

SUCH CHILDISH PLEASANTRIES. 

Shadow turned around to face the Earth as the voice rang in his ears again. 

“I’ve proven myself to you more than enough times. I don’t need your validation for all my interests.” 

AM I SUPPOSED TO BE INTIMIDATED? 

“No. You’re supposed to hold up your end of our deal.” Shadow replied. “I got the Chaos Emeralds. I fought against Sonic the Hedgehog. I did all you asked. Now tell me what you know about Maria.” 

ALL WILL BE REVEALED… SOON. 

Shadow took a deep breath, looking out to Earth again. He pressed his hand against the glass, feeling the coldness of space through the thick material. 

BUT RIGHT NOW… THE NEXT PHASE OF OUR PLAN IS FINALLY UNDERWAY. 

UP NEXT: Lost Impact!

Chapter Text

65 YEARS PRIOR…

The maternity hospital was quiet in the early hours of the morning. Even with all this peace, Gerald Robotnik couldn’t get an ounce of sleep. 

He had been alerted by his daughter-in-law Miriam that she was going into labor via a phone call close to midnight. Gerald’s son, Theodore, was busy working all night to accompany her to the maternity hospital- not that a husband was expected to do so anyways, but Gerald raised his son better than that. There was a swift smack to the ear for Theodore when Gerald saw him. 

Though maybe he should cut the young man some slack. Becoming a father at sixteen certainly had its own stressors. Having your father on your back would definitely contribute to the issue. 

Gerald had left his younger son, Julian, home alone with a sitter. He didn’t want his boy to terrorize another babysitter into never contacting them again, so Gerald hadn’t planned on staying out long. 

But then… something strange happened during delivery. The child’s arms and legs were limp. 

The professor made as many phone calls as he could in those early hours to find a doctor who owed him a favor- heck, who he could owe a favor to- in order to see what was wrong with this newborn baby. 

So there he was, sitting in the waiting room of the maternity home, his hat resting in his lap. Under his trench coat he still wore the loungewear he had slept in, his slippers damp from running through the dew-coated front lawn of the house Theodore and Miriam owned. His coke bottle glasses obscured the bloodshot eyes he had, his orange mustache just starting to turn gray at the roots under his nose. From stress or age, he didn’t even know. 

He was wide awake, but he wished he could sleep. That poor baby was going through this because of him. 

Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome. They had just officially named it when Gerald was getting his footing out in the science world. In fact, Gerald was on the science team that clarified it was a disorder. As a geneticist, he was able to help determine what the disorder did, and assist with writing the research paper. He didn’t get to name it though. 

It was important to him to discover what this disorder was because it was in his family for so long. His mother had this disorder, and Gerald was forced to watch her die slowly as a young man from a disease nobody could clarify. That nobody would investigate. 

Gerald hadn’t shown signs of inheriting NIDS. Neither had his boys. However, when Miriam became pregnant, the maternity doctor had pulled Theodore and Gerald aside to tell them that the DNA they were able to receive of the embryo showed signs of being born with this disorder.

There was a 33% chance the baby would have it. Then she came out with limp arms and legs. 

Her name is Maria. Theodore wanted the baby’s name to reflect her mother. Gerald had seen a glimpse of the sleeping infant before he was taken away to allow the doctor he called in to do his work… the baby looked so much like Gerald’s mother. 

The doors leading to the nursery opened, and out stepped the doctor that Gerald had called in. 

Gerald held his hat to his chest, walking over as quickly as possible to speak to his associate. 

“Jim,” He said. “Please… what’s going on?” 

“Gerald, it’s…” The doctor sighed, looking through his notes. “I have to run a blood test to confirm everything. The baby is sleeping fine, your daughter-in-law is laying down with her right now.” 

“Is… Are her limbs…?”

“Her arms and legs are working as expected for a newborn infant.” 

“Jim, please. Does she have NIDS?” 

The doctor sighed, readjusting his glasses to fit on his face better. 

“Gerald… you and your sons didn’t exhibit any symptoms of Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome throughout your life, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t carry it. From the looks of it, the baby- Maria, she has a very… advanced version of it.” 

“What? How can you… What do you mean?” 

“Maria’s showing symptoms of NIDS, but she’s also showing other concerning signs. She’s currently suffering from jaundice, which has developed after she’s been born. When she was born, they had to stimulate her to cry.” The doctor looked through his notes. “She can barely grip her mother’s hand, Gerald. This isn’t just NIDS. These are the symptoms of a patient whose had NIDS for years, and she was just born three hours ago.” 

Gerald nearly tuned his associate out as he heard his heart pounding in his ears. He took a step back, gripping his hat and crumpling it in his palm. He stared down at the notebook his doctor friend was carrying, trying to process it all. 

“What’s going to happen to her? Will she… how long will she live?”

“You and I both know NIDS affects people in different ways. She could have days, hours. Or she could live a full life. But as it looks right now… unless someone finds a cure for this disease, she’s seven times more likely to pass away before she reaches adulthood. I’m sorry, Gerald.” 

“No, it’s… No, it’s okay. Thank you, Jim. Go home and get some rest.” 

The doctor eyed Gerald before nodding once. He turned and left the waiting area, most likely headed straight for the front door. 

Gerald put a hand against the wall to lean against it, but only succeeded in resting his shoulder next to his hand. He felt like the world was spinning around him, harkening back to when he was a kid and would make himself get dizzy for his own amusement. 

She can barely grip her mother’s hand. Gerald kept hearing that sentence repeated in his head over and over again. Weakness and fatigue was a key symptom of NIDS, and when you had it for long enough it ate away at your ability to hold onto things completely. He knew it well. 

He pictured his mother, laying in bed in her last few weeks. Gerald held her hand, but she couldn’t even squeeze it back. By the time it was over, when her hand went limp, it was like nothing had even changed when holding her hand. 

Finally letting go of his hat, Gerald heard it flutter down and hit the floor. He closed his eyes, soon taking off his glasses to wipe his hand with his lab sleeve, already feeling the tears starting to come in. He cried at his mother’s funeral, and now he would be doing the same to his first grandchild. 

A sob came from Gerald’s mouth as he finally gave in, leaning against the wall and sliding down to sit on the floor. He dropped his glasses, which joined the hat on the unforgiving cold tiles of the waiting room, the professor’s hands moving to his face as he openly cried in the empty room. 

He wept for his mother, and he wept for his dearest Maria. 

13 YEARS LATER…

“Archival project video, video number 01, date 5-17. Hello. If anyone finds these videos, allow those to take note that this series of video recordings are to document the progress of the highly classified project, titled Eclipse.” 

Gerald cleared his throat to sound better for the video. He combed his gray mustache as he continued, twirling it between his fingers. 

“As much as I’d hate to admit it, my hands have become weaker due to old age. It was suggested to me that I start recording my research findings and developments onto video cassettes in order to preserve my notes in a way they will be completely intelligible. That suggestion was made by…” 

He looked offscreen, gesturing for someone to walk into view. After a moment, a sheepish young girl came up to stand next to him, her blonde hair coming down to her shoulders. The thirteen-year-old Maria Robotnik held onto her grandfather’s arm, though seemed to be standing steady. 

“Maria Robotnik! My dearest granddaughter.” Gerald put his hand on her shoulder, smiling. “Ever since Maria was born, I had been trying to find a way to cure her of Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome. To soothe her condition, however, I managed to convince the Guardian Units of Nations to create a form of satellite where gravity is lower for her. After eleven long sleepless nights of working, they managed to construct the Space Colony ARK piece by piece in space. And, earlier this year, Maria and I have finally made our way up to the ARK! Show them, Maria.” 

The sheepish blonde girl moved away from Gerald and hovered away, showing that gravity was lower than usual there. She could rest her feet on the ground and walk, but if she wanted to, she could just float along the walls. 

“We plan on opening it up for those with similar disorders in a few years, once we make sure it’s safe for them. There are certain… additions to this space station that GUN requested, ones that may pose a threat to a large group of people. Maria and I would be able to evacuate no problem, but a whole colony of people? No sir.” 

Gerald watched Maria move along the room. As she noticed her grandfather watching her, she smiled brightly as if to greet him again, before pulling herself to leave the room, sensing she’s fulfilled her purpose for the journal entry. The professor soon turned back to the camera. 

“My expeditions across the world have led me to find a colony of animals who have been mutated by the power of energized jewels they call the ‘Chaos Emeralds,’ having developed anthropomorphism and extra-normal abilities. I have synthesized false versions of these gems to power the ARK itself- they make beautiful batteries, and they never seem to run out.” 

Flipping through pages on his desk, he held up one certain page to the camera, showing the viewer the results of a blood test that was done. 

“From my studies of these animals’ blood, given to me graciously by their sloth leader, I was able to discover that blood mutated by this ‘chaos energy’ is able to regenerate itself much faster than a normal human’s, not to mention it’s increased their stamina and resilience. Anyone mutated by this energy is able to withstand even the harshest of attacks and still make it out okay. That’s exactly what I need for my dearest Maria.” 

He put the paper down. 

“This is strictly off the record, but we have been… testing, with various animals.” He pushed up his glasses. “Not many, but enough. The closest we seemed to get was with a komodo dragon, which we were forced to keep close to the cannon’s core due to its increased size, but it has become highly hostile. It seems the information gathered in this floating colony of mutated animals has shown that the animals able to withstand and sustain the most of this chaos energy are hedgehogs. Through our testing, we’ve been able to find that hedgehogs within the Erinaceus genus yield the best results. We have an Erinaceus concolor, a southern white-breasted hedgehog, that will be the main testing subject for Project Eclipse, and shall be named as such.” 

Gerald’s hand was near his face, his elbow resting on the desk in front of him. His fingers wiggled a bit as he sat in thought, staring down at the papers on the table. 

“I am sending this message in its entirety to my son and his wife.” He finally spoke. “Theodore, Miriam. Maria is behaving herself and adjusting well to her new surroundings on the ARK. I know that she’s homesick, but I’ve been taking your advice and giving her things to help make this place a bit more like home. I hope to find a breakthrough very soon, even if this project is just beginning. I worry my efforts for her entire life have been for nothing. Especially considering the fallout between myself and Julian, which I take full blame for. I was not ready to parent again, and him being a surprise baby at such a late age… it was a drastic change for us all.” 

Gerald continued to wiggle his fingers, looking down at the table blankly. 

“This will work. It must.” He said, as if reassuring himself. The professor glanced back up at the camera. “I know Maria was disappointed that I couldn’t make it to her birthday party just the other week, right before she came up here. However, I decided to surprise her with a cake today. Not just as a late birthday celebration, but to celebrate her first week on the ARK. It’s a strawberry cake… her favorite.” 

He reached in to turn off the camera, but paused to say one last thing. 

“I will contact you all again soon. Maybe you two could come up here sometime… I would like that. I love you both, as does Maria. End journal entry.”

The journal entry ended.

Click. Click. Click!

An 8-track cartridge was loaded into a player, the small hatch closed to press the cartridge into it, with the final click being the “play” button on the top of the white contraption. 

The steady rhythm of a bass guitar. The smooth backdrop of drums keeping the tempo. An electric guitar starting to play a repetitive, but catchy, four-note strum. Music filled the room as the 8-track played its first song as it did so many times before. 

With lessened gravity, Maria Robotnik was able to groove across the floor, stepping and sliding across the floor at the sounds of the rock song, able to do so freely as she was wearing sweatpants and a shirt, as opposed to her well-known dress attire. This was something that soothed her, something that made her feel… better, about being so far up above the Earth. 

Maria’s parents had sent up the 8-track player and a few music cartridges for the teenager to enjoy during her stay in the Space Colony ARK. She enjoyed a lot of the songs- catchy, pop music- but this was her absolute favorite music. Rock music just did something to her. 

It was a bit easier to express herself up in the solitude of the Space Colony ARK than it was back down on Earth. Back on Earth, she was always brought along with her grandfather to his college, seated at the end of class to do… whatever. 

She was homeschooled by her mother and father, but they had to work during the day. Her grandfather had always been heavily involved in her life, so it wasn’t a surprise that Maria was chosen to go up to space with him- even if it was to find a cure for her condition. 

Maria never fully got a grip on her condition, or why it made her so… unique. She was so special she couldn’t go to school with all the other kids, she had to stay home and only interact with three people for the last almost fourteen years of her life. 

Her parents once sat her down when she was eleven and told her what the condition was- she was very, very susceptible to diseases passed around. The common cold would be a hundred times horrible for her, even a sniffle would make her bedridden. This was because her immune system was too busy trying to attack her brain to deal with any actual virus she might get. 

That’s what NIDS was. The immune system identifies the brain as a threat and starts trying to destroy it, a few cells at a time, over the course of decades. In a family full of geniuses like the Robotniks, that was the ultimate ironic death sentence. 

But it was her life. Shouldn’t she get a say of how she should spend it? 

As it’s been six months since she’s come aboard the Space Colony ARK, she supposed not. 

At least she could listen to some cool music. 

She heard the door behind her open, making Maria stop her dancing right in her tracks. She quickly brushed the blonde hair from her face, not only to look presentable but so her vision wasn’t obscured. 

It was her grandfather. Professor Gerald’s mustache had gone from copper to gray over the thirteen years Maria had been alive, but he was still wearing those same thick glasses he’s had for decades. 

Maria quickly turned the music down.

“Hello, grandfather.” 

“Good afternoon, Maria. Or should I say after moon? It’s hard to tell what time it is when all you can see is Earth’s satellite outside this colony.” Gerald combed his fingers through his mustache. “How are you feeling, Maria?”

“I’m doing alright. I haven’t felt fatigued or anything today. Guess that’s why I’m dancing!”

Gerald chuckled and shook his head.

“Yes, I could hear that music all the way down the hall. I’m still unsure why you choose to listen to that erratic music. I remember when you would listen to classical music with me.” 

“Eh, you hear one symphony, you hear them all. This is fresh and new.”

Her grandfather laughed lightly. 

“You remind me of your father. No wonder he sent that 8-track up here.”

The teen smiled brightly, gladly accepting that as a compliment. There was a moment or two of silence between them- after realizing this was clearly a visit with a reason, Maria pressed the stop button on the track player, ending the song. 

“What did you need, grandfather?” She asked. “You must be here for a reason… Please don’t tell me we have to take any more pictures for magazines. I told you I liked that blue dress, yes, but it makes me look like Alice in Wonderland.”

“Maria, you know that’s not the character’s name.”

“What’s Alice’s last name, then?”

“...fair point.” Gerald adjusted his glasses. “That’s besides the point, though. I am here for a reason… I have someone I want you to meet, dear.” 

Maria watched curiously as her grandfather returned to the door, opening it up and peering into the hallway. He reached out, apparently beckoning to someone outside as he moved his arm to gesture for this person to come in. 

“Come on.” He said. “Don’t be shy. You can hold my hand again, if you want.” 

There was a moment of silence, with Professor Gerald still leaning out into the hall, his granddaughter watching him with her head tilted a little as if to try and spoil the surprise early by looking into the hall. 

Finally, there were footsteps outside the door. Gerald leaned back in, leading somebody inside. 

It was… well, it wasn’t human that’s for sure. It was shorter than Gerald, and shorter than Maria, maybe only about four feet tall, give or take. This creature was blue, with spines coming off his head into a bunch of spikes hanging behind him. Crimson red eyes peered up at Maria, wide and studying her closely. 

He was holding Gerald’s hand, as the Professor had offered it out to him, clawed pale fingers gripping onto Gerald’s palm tightly. He wore a jumpsuit that covered his entire body, save for his hands and feet, that had a square object inside the chest part of it- where wires were plugged into- and a bunch of notches across his shoulders and arms where tubes would be attached. There was a symbol on his chest, almost like an upside-down red Y in a circle filled with yellow, resting in a filled red hexagon. 

Maria took a step back, eyebrows up in surprise at the appearance of this being. She blinked a few times, almost to clear her eyes from what she was seeing. In return, the creature blinked back, the same amount of times. 

Slowly, the girl tilted her head, watching as the creature mimicked her, tilting his head as well. 

“Maria,” Professor Gerald started, getting his granddaughter’s attention. “This is Eclipse. He’s the main subject of… well, Project: Eclipse. The project we’re working on to help your condition.”

“What… is he, grandfather?”

“He’s a hedgehog, dear. A white-breasted hedgehog to be exact.” 

Maria, dumbfounded, spoke after a moment. “He’s a hedgehog? But… he’s standing.” 

“Yes, he is. Remember how I told you about the Chaos Emeralds?” Gerald said, letting Eclipse’s hand slip from his palm. “We used the energy to… well, there’s no way to sugarcoat it: we mutated this hedgehog using the energy from the Chaos Emeralds. Out of the few animals we’ve tested with this method, he’s the one who became the most sentient. Our last version of the project created a reptilian creature that left much to be desired.” 

The young blonde watched Eclipse walk silently through her room, the hedgehog looking at everything on shelves, on her desk, on her bed. His eyes soon moved back to Maria, looking her directly in the eyes in an almost unnerving way. She tilted her head again, but lifted her hand to fan her fingers in a small wave. 

Eclipse’s eyebrows furrowed. He lifted his pale hand, and mirrored her move back to her. 

“How exactly did the Chaos Emeralds make a hedgehog stand on two legs?” 

“I think it may be an evolutionary matter.” Gerald replied to his granddaughter, standing beside her. “Chaos is referred to, from what I’ve seen, as a god of time. Perhaps, mutating the creatures with the Chaos Emeralds is merely advancing them a gaggle of centuries forward into their next evolutionary step: anthropomorphism. It would also make sense as to why Eclipse, when we ran blood tests, appears to have transformed into an eighteen-year-old in human years.” 

“...wait, really?” 

“The blood scans are nearly identical to yours, but his alkaline phosphatase levels are higher, indicating he’s older than you. It appears that, while also putting him on two feet, the chaos energy has transferred his age in hedgehog years to something more humanoid.” 

“Wow. That’s… Wow.” 

Maria continued to watch Eclipse walk through the room. The hedgehog was eyeing her bookshelf, looking at the books and different knick knacks that Maria had been collecting over the few months she had been on the ARK. 

He came across the 8-track player, looking over the white appliance curiously. He saw the buttons on top, putting a finger to them and sliding them across it. He reached the end, and when he felt the button wiggle, he pressed down on it. 

Heavy metal started playing out of the device, making Eclipse jump. He looked over at Gerald and Maria with widened eyes, surprised and almost like he did something wrong. Maria, in response, laughed lightly. 

“What, you don’t like rock music?” She teased the hedgehog a bit, still smiling as she came over. The hedgehog looked up at her quietly, not having a response. 

“Eclipse is still fairly… new, for lack of a better term.” Gerald piped up. “We’re going to be tutoring him as best as we can so he can reach his appropriate reading and speech level in conjunction with his age.” 

“And you started with a weird name for him to write at the top of his worksheet?” 

“What’s wrong with ‘Eclipse,’ Maria?” 

“I dunno, I can’t put my finger on it. Why’d you name him that anyway?” 

“Well, the Space Colony ARK is a satellite with the capacity to blot out the sun sometimes, though only partially. Technically, all projects aboard this ARK are named Eclipse.”

“Which is even more reason for him not to have that name!” Maria argued, though more amused than serious. “If this little guy is meant to help us all, we can’t have him just be ‘one of the Eclipses,’ he’s not a member of The Beatles. He should be called something like… Mister Needlemouse.” 

“Mister Needlemouse?”

“Yeah! I mean, that’s what hedgehogs are, right? Needlemouses… Needlemice? I dunno.” Maria shrugged. “And look at him! He’s adorable. He looks like a Mister Needlemouse.” 

Maria smiled brightly at Eclipse. The hedgehog, called “little guy” even though he was established as older than Maria, thought that the smiling face of this young blonde teen shined just as bright as the sun. He didn’t have the concept of nicknames, but he did like the feel of Mister Needlemouse more than he did “Eclipse”. 

He blinked, his eyebrows relaxed and pupils widened at his new friend. 

“Maria.” 

Eclipse’s first word took Gerald and Maria by surprise. The teenager looked over at her grandfather, who adjusted his glasses in astonishment. 

“My stars and garters!” The professor exclaimed. “He spoke! That’s the first word he’s said! He’s been out for a few months and he hasn’t spoken a word!” 

“Guess he just didn’t like that name you gave him.” Maria smiled down at Eclipse again. “You said your first word! That’s a means for a celebration!” 

She grabbed his hands, making his face turn to one of surprise again. The young blonde bounced up and down to the beat of the rock song that was on, raising the hedgehog’s hands up and down interchangeably in a bit of a dance. Eclipse stared at her as she did so, seeing her so happy and laughing a bit at the scenario. 

Soon, Eclipse started to bounce as well, moving his arms along with Maria. Slowly, he began to smile, his quills bouncing as he hopped in time with Maria. After a moment, he started to laugh as well, grooving along with his newfound friend. 

Gerald, watching the scene, chuckled and combed his mustache, smiling on. 

“Archival project video, daily video number 129, date 9-23. It’s been a little over four months since we’ve started staying in the Space Colony ARK- myself, my dearest granddaughter, various researchers and our project, Eclipse.” Gerald said to the camera, sitting at the same desk as he was the other 128 times he made these journals. 

“Eclipse has shown incredible prowess in his capacity of learning. At this time of recording, he’s on a twelfth grade reading level, and has passed as many advanced tests as Maria has and then some. It appears, even though he doesn’t hold my genes, he’s adopted the Robotnik level of intelligence.” 

Gerald took off his glasses, wiping the lenses off before he put them back on his nose. He smiled fondly towards the camera, as if proud of Eclipse’s progress.

“Though… not adopted. I’m not… Hm.” The Professor’s smile faded, before he tapped the desk in thoughtful silence- only just a moment, as he looked into the camera once again. “Anyway… Theodore and Miriam, your daughter is getting along very very well with Eclipse. I know you were a tad apprehensive at the notion of the test subject being able to walk freely amongst the ARK, but you have nothing to worry about. Maria gets along with him fine. She even seems to have… bonded with him.” 

He opened a drawer on his desk, rummaging around for a moment before finding what he was looking for. He smiled fondly again, pulling out a sheet of construction paper he looked over for a moment by himself before turning it to the camera. 

It was a mess of pieces of magazine paper and pictures all glued onto the front of the paper. There was space in the middle, where it said “HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDFATHER GERALD, LOVE MARIA AND MISTER NEEDLEMOUSE ECLIPSE” 

“They made this for my birthday last month.” He said. “It was nice of them. Maria said she would’ve gotten me a card, but there aren’t any stores in space yet. She suggested I get on that for the ARK. She also suggested a Meh Burger or two.”

The professor chuckled, pulling the paper back to look it over again, smiling softly. He rested his hand on the table, paper still in his grip, pulling it out of his view to look at the camera again. 

“Onto more… scientific information involving Project: Eclipse.” He spoke again. “Eclipse has shown remarkable abilities beyond my personal comprehension. During blood tests, he rapidly heals from any kind of puncture we make, almost instantaneously. He’s shown further abilities involving enhanced strength, stamina. He can keep up with the treadmill we have for physical study on its highest setting. It appears the Chaos Emeralds haven’t just mutated his blood’s healing properties, but they’ve mutated Eclipse to superhuman levels.” 

He put the paper down, and fiddled with his hands for a moment, staying quiet but soon pressing on. 

“The Chaos Emeralds were returned to the custody of GUN soon after the mutation of Eclipse into his current, anthropomorphized state. However, before they were taken back, they seemed to… react to Eclipse. Almost as if they were mimicking him, or being… controlled by him. I can’t seem to fully comprehend it, but… he may be much more powerful than originally anticipated.” 

He was quiet again, just for a few moments. The professor shook his head. 

“I cannot allow GUN to discover what I have. They’ll just want to use him as some kind of weapon. He’s not a weapon, he was made to help my granddaughter. And it appears… he will be able to save her life in more ways than one.” 

Gerald nodded slowly, as if coming to an agreement with himself. He glanced at the camera again, tapping his finger on the desk to accompany his thoughts for a moment. 

“GUN did not allow us to keep any of the Chaos Emeralds on board of the ARK. I will have to find a way to conduct tests to prove my hypotheses. I’ll be sure to update this journal further when I find results… until then, Theodore and Miriam… end journal entry.” 

Eclipse woke up sitting, as he typically does whenever he is freed from his containment. The place he slept in, what he would call a “bed,” was a large tube-like capsule. He was hooked into the wires and tubes through his jumpsuit, said by Professor Gerald to track his biometrics. The tube was typically filled with a green gel-like fluid that had anesthetics in it to keep the hedgehog asleep- the tubes that connect to his jumpsuit were used to keep this fluid from getting into his clothes. 

Without the gel around him, he woke up pretty easily. The bottom of the tube’s interior rose up to make a reclined seat for Eclipse to lay in as the gel was drained down below. His eyes fluttered open, feeling murky as he was still breathing through an oxygen mask. 

The glass of the capsule opened. A hand reached in and took off the oxygen mask, allowing Eclipse to breathe freely. The anesthetic gel rapidly evaporated as the open air hit it, preventing any from making the hedgehog sleepy again. 

He saw a blonde teenager starting to disconnect the wires and tubes on his jumpsuit. 

“Maria?” He spoke, saying the same word he first said months prior. “What are you…?”

“Shhhh. Sh.” She held a finger to his mouth. “Hush. Keep quiet.” 

Maria growled as she pushed against the end of the tube attached to his shoulder, trying to get it off. After a second, it twisted quickly as it unscrewed. The vacuum seal was broken, the jumpsuit becoming less tight on the hedgehog’s body. 

She sighed, wiping her head. “Few more to go.”

Eclipse took that as a sign to assist, knowing it was harder for Maria to use her motor functions with her condition. He reached over to the next few tubes, unscrewing them easily with superhuman strength. Maria stood back, watching him detach the other three tubes on his other arm. 

With a hand offered from Maria, Eclipse stepped down from his containment capsule, his feet hitting the cold metal floor. He looked up at Maria with those same red eyes. 

“Come with me. Shhhh.” She held a finger to her own lips this time. 

Maria crept away, holding Eclipse’s hand and leading him along. Eclipse didn’t mimic the strange, tip-toe walking she was doing, simply taking steps that weren’t as heavy as he usually had them. 

He followed her along, traveling down the long-winding hallway of the Space Colony ARK. The floor was still cold, even with the gel dissipated, so Eclipse was putting his focus on that for the moment as he was led to this surprise. 

They crept down the hall, especially past the door they knew held Gerald inside, soon passing down the curved corridor to the door that Eclipse knew well- it was one of the lounge rooms, the biggest one, the one Maria claimed for herself. 

Some things were already set up on the coffee table in front of the lounge’s couch. He recognized one of the objects there- the 8-track player he had danced to the first time he met Maria. She had moved it over to the lounge room and placed it beside a covered plate from the ARK’s kitchens. 

Eclipse was led to the couch, picked up by Maria and placed onto the cushions. She reached under the table, pulling out a shirt and putting it on the hedgehog. It was kind of hard getting the neck hole around Eclipse’s head, but she made it work, finishing with a happy few pats between his ears after she was done. 

The hedgehog looked at his oversized shirt, reading the upside-down text. 

“Tuh-saul Tack-ap-a-mi?” He asked, looking up at Maria. 

The blonde snorted and chuckled. “ Lost Impact, Needlemouse. It’s a band!”

“A band… like music? The Professor puts music on for me sometimes, like Bach.” 

“No, no, silly. Real music.” 

Click. Click. Click! She slipped the 8-track into the player again, pressing the play button. A familiar rock song started playing through the small speakers of the white player, filling the room with bass and electric guitar. 

Eclipse’s ear twitched. He remembered this song- it was the one he accidentally turned on when he first saw the music player. He tilted his head curiously. When he wasn’t tense and anxious about meeting a new person, he was able to appreciate the music for what it was. Bach was good, but a lot of his compositions were… predictable. 

This? This music wasn’t predictable. It was awesome. 

Maria was swaying her head, smiling and enjoying the rock music herself. She caught Eclipse’s eye, making her smile brightly at the hedgehog. 

He noticed that she was wearing a matching shirt. She seemed to have multiple kinds of these Lost Impact shirts at her disposal, which is probably why Eclipse was able to wear one. 

“You like the music?” She asked, blonde hair hanging to one side as she leaned her head to look at him completely. 

“Yeah, it’s really interesting.” 

“Interesting? Do you think it’s cool?”

“Cool… Yeah! This is really cool.” He nodded. “Is this… the only song they sing?”

“Oh, no, of course not. This is just my favorite: Cosmic Fall.” Maria leaned back into the couch again. “There are seven more tracks on here, this one’s just the first song. Cosmic Fall, this one, then Waking Up, The Chosen One, Hidden Memories, To The World of Memory, The World Came Crumbling Down, Between Dark and Dawn, and finally Never Turn Back.” 

“So many music choices.” The hedgehog mumbled. “Are we going to listen to them all?”

“Do you want to listen to them all?”

“...yeah. I’d really like that, Maria.” 

“Then listen to them all we shall! But first, I find this really helps with the experience.” 

She uncovered the plate, revealing something Eclipse had never seen before- something cylindrical and steaming. Maria picked the food up, hissing it and tossing it in her palm for a second from the heat, before giving it to Eclipse. The hedgehog could take it with ease. 

It was soft. He looked it over. It appeared to be made from some kind of dough, but it was something unlike Eclipse had ever seen before. When he ate something aboard the ARK, it was in a package and dried out, like beef and vegetables. You had to add hot water to it and let it soften up. He was unsure how Maria got this kind of food. 

“What… is this?”

“A dog pocket.” Maria replied. 

“You made food from a hound?!”

Maria sputtered and laughed. Eclipse blushed a bit. 

“No, no, Mister Needlemouse! It’s a hotdog. Like a frankfurter?” She replied, grabbing one of the pockets. “I ate a lot of this kind of food back on Earth: the ones called Chow Pockets. My parents managed to smuggle me some, among other things, when they sent their monthly care package.” 

“It’s a… pocket?”

“I think it’s just referring to how it’s like… a pocket of dough? It’s technically a turnover.” 

Eclipse hummed in thought. He took a bite from the end of this “dog pocket”, the food steaming from the wound he had created in it. He chewed to taste it thoughtfully. Certainly better than freeze-dried beef and vegetables, but nothing he was crazy about. 

“Do you like it? My mom said it was a new flavor: Chilidog.” 

“It’s… alright.” The hedgehog shrugged. 

Maria tried some of her turnover as well, tilting her head to and fro as if weighing the pros and cons of the food that was sent to her. 

“Eh…” She swallowed the food. “I see what you mean. It’s alright, but I think I like the four cheese pizza Chow Pockets better than this. I don’t think chilidogs are my thing.”

“If this is what all chilidogs taste like, I don’t think I’d like chilidogs. At all. Maybe if it was spicier.” 

“I didn’t think you were picky, seeing as I’ve caught you eating the coffee beans from grandfather’s coffee maker when he’s asleep.”

“...I like the crunch…” 

Eclipse continued to eat the dog pocket as the player went to the next track. It wasn’t a bad bit of food, just nothing he’d really go out of his way to eat again. It was all just… a lot of weird flavors. Cheese, beef, pork? Whoever liked this kind of food must’ve been really strange. 

The music continued to play. A lot of rock, heavy metal and guitar-heavy jams for them to eat through. Maria finished her dog pocket on track three. Eclipse finished on track six. 

Eventually, they got to track eight: Never Turn Back. In an almost poetic act, that turned out to be his favorite song, in contrast to Maria's being the first. It started beautifully, with a bit of piano, before going into the standard rock tune that Lost Impact was known for. It reminded him of some of the best classical tunes the Professor had shown him, and of course the music he was being shown now by Maria. 

The 8-track player ended. Maria pressed the button to rewind the tape, having to do it manually. 

“How’d you like Lost Impact?” 

“That music was incredible, Maria.” Eclipse said, smiling. “Have they released any new music?”

“Oh man, not yet. I think they’re going to. I need to listen to that new stuff before I die.” 

After that statement, even if it was left ambiguous of when the death would happen, the vibe of the room shifted. Eclipse fell silent for a moment, and Maria noticed that her hedgehog friend had fallen silent and thought about what she said. No further comment was made. 

The rewind was done, the track stopping. Maria opened the 8-track player and took the cartridge out. She slid it back into its case in silence before sighing and laying back into the couch. 

“Maria…”

“Hey, we still have a few hours before grandfather’s alarm wakes him up.” The teen interjected, picking up a remote she had beside her. “How’s about some senseless violence?” 

“Senseless violence?”

Maria turned on the television ahead of them. She flicked the channel to a certain one, one she knew played nothing but action movies 24/7. The high-powered satellites did wonders for getting cable up in the exosphere. 

It was a martial arts movie. One with plenty of fistfights, flips and angry shouting. 

Though part of him was worried about what Maria said, he slowly succumbed to being mesmerized by the fighting in the movie. He was fairly certain that Maria meant for that to happen, to ignore the implications of the comment she had made. 

At least they had a fun time together. Eclipse wasn’t sure exactly why Maria brought him out to spend time with her… but it was something he very much appreciated. 

“Archival project video, daily video number 262, date 2-03.” 

Gerald was more serious this time, as compared to his much more jovial demeanor he had for a variety of these journals. He brushed his whitening mustache slowly, thinking to himself as he spoke. 

“We’ve made continued progress in our experiments with… Mister Needlemouse.” He said. “Though, currently, progress has come to a halt… at least, on the scientific side of things.” 

He waved his hand to move on from the topic. 

“Mister Needlemouse and Maria continue to spend time together. I’ve found they’ve been having small get-togethers while they believe I am sleeping… I’ve stopped sleeping years ago, but… they’ll never really know that. Maria gets enough sleep during the day between physical therapy regardless, and our test subject… doesn’t seem to need sleep at all. Sleeping in his containment pod merely allows us to run tests without him possibly becoming frightened at anything we’re doing. It’s better that way. I’d… truly hate for him to be terrified.” 

He rested his chin in the crook between his index and thumb. You could see that, mentally, he had caught himself from referring to the test subject as anything but that: the hedgehog that was made to save his dearest granddaughter’s life.

Nevertheless, he persevered. 

“Theodore and Miriam, your daughter is fine. In fact, she’s excited for you to meet Mister Needlemouse someday, hopefully after they leave the ARK. She’s made me promise that, even if we use him as a universal donor, he’d be allowed to stay with you all in your home with Maria to live a happy life together. I couldn’t say no to her, obviously… but you should at least get to know him.” 

The professor took off his glasses, sighing. He looked into the camera with weary, tired eyes. 

“I’m going to be honest with you.” Gerald said, fully dropping his facade. “The project is currently at a standstill. Though Ecl… Mister Needlemouse has shown countless times that he has a very advanced healing factor, when we remove the blood from his body, it appears the healing factor is non-existent within the cells. Even when we were successful in creating a serum with the blood, it deteriorated into chemicals within an hour.”

He reached on his desk and showed a line graph to the screen, one that made a rocky slope ending at the very bottom of the x-axis. 

“This is the detected levels of chaos energy within the serum, and the blood sample. It seems, the second it leaves Mister Needlemouse’s body, the amount of chaos energy tanks. It’s as if it needs to stay within his body to keep their chaos energy, which is what heals the body, within the blood and plasma.”

He dropped the graph, putting on his glasses again. 

“We’ll need some kind of… sponge-like element. Something that will absorb the chaos energy of the blood cells and allow them to use the properties of chaos energy within the serum. I’d suggest nanomachines, but that’s left to the realm of science fiction. Perhaps some kind of human-safe microscopic element that would be able to replicate the effects of the chaos-empowered cells. Further research is required… that’s what I’m up here for after all, isn’t it?” 

He was quiet, stroking his mustache again in thought. Soon, he continued. 

“Maria hasn’t exactly gotten… worse, but… she’s had a few more spells of fatigue than I remember her having on Earth. I don’t believe it’s because she’s on the ARK, but perhaps it has to do with time.” Gerald said. “I know Mister Needlemouse worries about her. He asked me to keep a close eye on her before he went into his pod the other day… I did what he asked, of course, I love my granddaughter more than… anything in this galaxy. No offense, Theodore.”

He chuckled a bit at the last comment. 

“Mister Needlemouse is pretty protective of her, since they’ve grown closer to one another. I know he must feel helpless, being here to help her with her illness and unable to do anything about her symptoms. If he’s anything like me, I know he must be. I’ve told him not to worry, to stay optimistic, but… I think he could tell I was worried too.” 

The professor slowly nodded, as if agreeing with himself. 

“Theodore, Miriam… We’ll be fine. I promise, if anything changes, I will inform GUN to tell you about it, I won’t keep it in a journal. You two stay safe down there, alright? I love both of you.” 

Gerald reached forwards and shut off the camera.

The biggest observation deck was the best place to watch outer space. 

Maria knew it well, this was her top room to spend time in, if she wanted some alone time or if she wanted to spend time with someone else. It was peaceful here. 

She was sitting, cross-legged, staring out of the giant window of the observation deck. Beside her, sitting in the same fashion, was Eclipse. The hedgehog was just as fascinated with space as Maria was, so they got to spend time together watching the stars and the planet in front of them. 

It was a nice break from experimenting. Some of the researchers were getting a bit rowdy with how long the experimentation and the project as a whole was taking. When would the colony finally be open to the public? When could the researchers see their families again? 

It sounded worse than it was, Gerald assured Maria. But she was still worried about them regardless. Still, it was nice to look at the stars. 

Today was a special day, however. They were currently positioned in the Earth’s atmosphere towards the sun, and as such, they were placed in the middle of the two parallel paths of a comet that orbited Earth: The Black Comet. 

It took a year or two for the comet to actually travel around the Earth, with only a few months where it’s visible to the citizens of the planet. Because they were in space, however, the comet would pass by the ARK twice in its very long trail to loop around the blue world. 

Right now, it was making its way past the ARK. It was hard to see, because of how dark the comet’s surface was, but the sun behind the ARK was helping it come into view. 

Maria and Eclipse stared at it as it slowly made its way through open space. It was surreal, seeing it move through space. It barely looked like it moved, but if you walked away to use the bathroom and came back it definitely wouldn’t be in the same spot as before. 

Professor Gerald had mentioned before that one of the many reasons GUN allowed such a large space colony to exist was because they wanted to send scavenger teams out to the comet to look for resources, and a few small rockets that would be able to collect samples were on the ARK somewhere. He didn’t mention it to Maria, but she can’t help what she heard. 

“What did you tell me about the comet, again?”

“It was discovered by Niesha Mostafa. She was a Shamarian astronomer in the 1700s.” Maria murmured to Eclipse, leaning to him. “She deduced that three accounts of this meteor being sighted, fifty years apart, were actually the same comet. When other astronomers discovered her prediction was correct, they were going to name it Mostafa’s Comet, but she declined as she technically wasn’t the first to discover it. By her recommendation, they named it the Black Comet.” 

“Wow. She was so humble she didn’t want a major discovery named after herself?” 

“That’s how people are, Needlemouse. You aren’t named Gerald Junior, are you?” 

“Mmh… Do you think that name would suit me?”

“What would I call you, GJ? No, that doesn’t work. If you rename yourself, it has to be something you really like.” 

“You think… Should I rename myself?” 

“Mister Needlemouse is cute, but I can tell it’s temporary- and I know you don’t like Eclipse, so…” Maria shrugged. “Whatever you come up with, I’m sure it’ll be great.” 

“Mmh.” 

“...you sure like grunting a lot.” 

“It’s… easier. Conveys my emotion without the need of speech.” 

“Ugh, you remind me so much of grandfather. He’s like the king of grunting. Sir Grunts-a-lot. Perhaps you can take up being his squire.”

“Please. If I’m ever in an order, I’ll be a knight.” 

“So less Grunts-a-lot, more… Lancelot.” 

“Precisely.” 

“What would that make me?”

“Mmh… What was the horse’s name again?” 

Maria laughed at that, shaking her head and sighing after. 

“You crack me up, Mister Needlemouse.” 

Eclipse was smiling softly after that, staring out the window at the slowly passing comet. The teenager was smiling as well, watching with him. 

After a moment, however, she started feeling… off. Her smile slowly faded as she felt her vision suddenly become a bit murky, unfocusing from the view of the comet. She leaned to the side, leaning down on her hand as if to prop herself up. 

She became acutely aware of how the ARK was orbiting the Earth, which started making her really, really dizzy. It didn’t help that 70% of her view on the deck was one of the Earth right below them, making her realize her spot in the planet’s atmosphere. 

Her vision was getting blurrier. She felt her head swimming. Her eyes fluttered. 

“In all honesty, maybe you could be… Merlin… Maria?” 

Eclipse’s calling went unanswered. Sweat was dripping down the fatigued young woman’s face as she experienced extreme vertigo. Her ears were ringing, and a part of her deep down felt like she was going to throw up. 

Soon, to try and keep herself from getting dizzy, she flopped back into the metal ground. Eclipse leapt to his feet, going to Maria’s side. 

“Maria? Maria!” He shouted. “Are you alright? Say something!”

The door to the observation room opened. It was a researcher, one of the researchers from the various projects among those in the ARK, who had been passing by when he heard the shouting. Anyone in the hall could- he was just the closest. 

“What happened to her?”

“I dunno, she… she fainted!” 

The researcher looked between Maria, then Eclipse, then the window of the observation room. 

“I know what happened. You dragged her to this room to look outside, and it freaked her out. It triggered a vertigo attack. Don’t you know she’s more susceptible to them?” 

“What? No, she wanted to come here!”

“A likely story. You need to be put back in containment.”

“No! I won’t leave her!”

“She’ll be fine, she’s safer here alone than anywhere with you, from what it looks like.” 

The researcher walked briskly forwards towards the hedgehog and the young woman he was crouched over. Eclipse didn’t quite get what was going on inside of his body, but the statements made by the judgemental researcher caused his quills to bristle. He felt a pit in his stomach grow, one of anger and some kind of spine-tingling emotion he couldn’t quite put a finger on. 

He looked up at the researcher with a snarl, his red eyes zapping with golden energy. 

“STAY AWAY FROM HER!”

Eclipse’s hand stuck out. The clawed hand of the hedgehog glowed and crackled with golden electricity, forming a blast of energy that ejected from his palm. It was an arc of gold, one that narrowly missed the ducking researcher and found its mark in the wall next to the door of the observation deck. 

Many years later, Eclipse would call that move a “Chaos Spear”. Right now, it was an attack on a defenseless researcher. 

The hedgehog retracted his shaking hand, staring down at it in amazement and shock at what he just did. The blast bore a hole in the wall, giving a glimpse into the hallway outside of the room. 

A pair of glasses peered in for a moment, before scurrying away. Professor Gerald soon appeared in the doorway, accompanied by two GUN soldiers. He had heard the shouting down the hall, and got two officers to accompany him in case someone was attacking his granddaughter. 

He, however, also got an earful with the door wide open. When he reached the researcher, who was dusting himself off, Gerald angrily tore off the ARK patch given to those aboard the space colony, crumpling it in a fist. 

“Are you out of your damn mind?!” Gerald yelled. “My granddaughter has gone unconscious, and your first instinct is to insult her close friend? How dare you speak to him that way!”

“Professor Gerald, I was just…”

“You were just leaving. You are hereby permanently stripped of your duties among the ARK. Take your things, these officers will show you your way out. I hope you enjoy teaching middle school science, because I will make sure that is all you will do in this field again.” 

The researcher gulped in fear. He gave a glance to Eclipse before quickly exiting, pursued closely by the GUN soldiers who came in with Gerald. The professor looked at the crumpled patch before throwing it aside. He walked quickly to Maria and Eclipse, getting on his knees on the opposite end of Maria’s body from Eclipse. 

“Professor, I don’t know what happened. I didn’t do this to her, I swear…”

“I know, I know. She gets a bit… fatigued, sometimes. She typically bears it when you’re around, but… it appears to have gotten the better of her this time.” 

Eclipse looked worried, brushing the blonde hair from his companion’s face. After a moment, Gerald put a hand on the hedgehog’s forearm, making Eclipse look up at the professor. 

“She’s going to be okay, son.” He said reassuringly, smiling a bit. “She just needs some rest. I’ll carry her back to her room, but… I am going to need to put you back in your pod.”

“But I didn’t do anything…” 

“I know you didn’t. But that blast you just created… it’s a spike in chaos energy I hadn’t seen before. I need to run a test or two… I promise once I’m done, you can see Maria as long as you’d like. Okay?”

“...okay.” 

Though getting up there in age, Gerald was able to carry his granddaughter out of the observation deck to her room. After that, he returned Eclipse to the research lab, placing him back into the pod with one last assurance that Maria was alright. 

The professor left once the pod was secured. He returned to Maria’s room in time to find her just waking up again. 

“Grandfather?“ She spoke. “What happened? Where’s Mister Needlemouse?”

Gerald sat on her bed. 

“We had to put him back in containment to run a few more tests on him. He exhibited abilities we didn’t know he had.”

“What? But… he didn’t do anything to me!”

“I know, child, I know. This isn’t about that.” Gerald brushed blonde hair from Maria’s face. “I promise he’ll be fine. Just a test or two and you both can be out and about like you always will.”

“You promise?”

“Well, if I didn’t, you’d find a way to get him out anyway.” The professor chuckled. 

Maria smiled a bit. She leaned in, hugging Gerald, who soon hugged back. 

“Thank you, grandfather.”

As Gerald held his granddaughter, he looked into the wall behind the girl, sitting there in thought. He didn’t care about how long the hug was taking- he wanted as much time holding Maria as he possibly could. 

Just in case. 

“Archival project video, daily video number 367, date 5-19.” 

Gerald had seen better days. 

His eye bags were heavy. His glasses were partially askew on his face, not pushed up neatly in hours. His mustache was frazzled. He wasn’t even wearing a lab coat, just a dress shirt with an undone bow tie. 

He stared into the camera with tired, bloodshot eyes. Finally, he adjusted his glasses to fit over his face. 

“It’s been… a year, give or take. Since the beginning of Project Eclipse.” He spoke, almost in a rasp. “Maria has continued to bond with our test subject, Mister Needlemouse. He barely goes into his containment pod anymore nowadays… only when Maria is taking a prolonged sleep.”

He leaned against the desk, rubbing his forehead and eyes with a hand. Gerald looked at the camera woefully, with a frown and almost quivering lip. 

“I think I’ve failed you.” The professor said in a whimper. He continued in a higher volume. “Theodore, Miriam. I… oh god, I’m sorry for forsaking you so. I don’t… I can’t find an answer. I’ve been up here for so long… so far away from you. I’ve taken my granddaughter away from life on Earth and for what? For what?!?”

The man slammed his fist on the table, leaning back again with a face of conflicted, emotional outrage. 

“Nothing we have tried has worked. The serum keeps deteriorating. Every outcome we brainstorm doesn’t work, and we’re back to square one. I’m no closer to finding a cure for Maria than I was a year ago!”

He looked somewhere offscreen, his anger subsiding to leave him with nothing but misery. Gerald took a deep breath. 

“I feel myself slipping. Madness.” He said. “This routine, these outcomes. They’re driving me mad. I fear if I fail in this mission I may never return to who I once was… if I ever can be that man again, even if I get my cure. I find myself lashing out at my researchers more and more. I find myself detesting that planet I took my Maria away from.” 

The professor closed his eyes for a moment, continuing to speak as he did. 

“I have done everything GUN has asked me. I have created the massive addition they requested. I have added a barracks for soldiers, and provided designs for intergalactic travel. I sent out the rover ships to explore the Black Comet just a week or two ago!” He said, opening his eyes again. “But I can tell that GUN is itching to pull the trigger and take my experiment out. The researchers are getting antsy… I can hear their whispers through the walls. I know they’re telling their superiors on Earth that no progress has been made.”

Gerald looked at the camera again. He sat up in his chair correctly, sitting straight, taking another deep breath. 

“I cannot stop until I find a way to save Maria.” He said. “If I don’t… all of this will be for nothing. All of it. She’ll be gone, and I’ll have lost another to the disease that claimed my mother.”

It was quiet in the video. For a solid half a minute, there was silence. Gerald sat there, staring down at the table in front of him. 

“Mister Needlemouse… I find myself enjoying time spent with him.” He finally broke the silence. “I cannot explain it. It’s nice having someone like myself around. Maybe… it’s because he reminds me of you, Theodore. Maybe… it’s because I can use him to rid my mind of what… has become of Julian.”

Silence again, but only for a second. 

“I remember how he looked when your mother left us. The look in his eyes, his stoic unchanging face as she said she couldn’t live with such a monstrous boy like him. You hadn’t seen it, as you were busy with your work, but… I was there. I watched Julian as she left. He stared so… blankly, at her. His eyes, I can never forget them. He looked like a doll’s eyes. Plastic eyes. And then, when she slammed the door and drove away, Julian, he… he looked at me. He looked at me and…”

Gerald had a thousand yard stare at the wall beside him. 

“Smiled.” He finished the sentence. “He smiled. Wider than I’d seen any human smile. I think he knew that he won. He had successfully driven the one woman he knew we both loved… away. I don’t… I don’t understand it. I can’t comprehend it. Why… Why?” 

He blinked a few times. Clearly, too many conflicting thoughts were going on at once. There was a good minute or two of dead air as he stared to the side, not saying anything. 

Gerald looked down, eventually. Down at the floor. He got up from his chair a second later. 

Without another word, he turned off the camera. 

The green fluid of the containment pod was drained once more, the glass of the tube opening soon after. As the gel evaporated from between his quills, Eclipse woke up once again, his eyes slowly opening. He sat up from the seat made inside the pod to start getting up. 

Something was different. 

It wasn’t the room, it was exactly the same. Everything he was looking at, even the containment pod, was the same as he remembered it. 

Was it him? Was he different? The hedgehog looked over his hands and arms. They looked exactly the same. His jumpsuit looked newer, but he figured they were changed every once in a while anyways. 

“Are you alright, son?”

He could see that there was only one person in the room- Professor Gerald- but there was this nagging feeling that there was another presence somewhere nearby. He blinked and rolled his neck around, getting that shivering feeling off his back. 

“I’m… fine. I feel strange though.” 

“I would expect so! We had you in the containment pod for seven entire days.”

“You had me in there for a week? Why?”

“We had to run a few more tests. Do some genetics.” Gerald made a chopping motion with his hands, before holding them together in front of the lower smock of his lab coat. “But we believe, with the power of genetics and biology, we have finally made you into the being you were intended to be.”

“Project Eclipse?”

“No, son. The Ultimate Lifeform.” 

The hedgehog didn’t have a comment for that. His body felt much different. He had to look over his hand and arm one last time because he was suddenly… so much acutely aware of how many quills he had underneath his jumpsuit sleeve. 

It was like every one of his quills weren’t just quills anymore, they were small antennas. They pressed against the material of the jumpsuit’s inside, telling the young hedgehog how the material felt. Rough, elastic, but easily flammable. 

His head tilted curiously as his eyes watched his covered arm. Somewhere, he felt, another set of eyes were watching him. His newly sensitive quills told him that it wasn’t a simple pair of eyes that were watching him from afar. 

Eclipse turned around to look behind him. Only the containment pod looked back at him. 

“What is it, son?”

“Nothing. I just… Thought I felt someone here.”

“Don’t worry about that, Eclipse.” 

The sudden switch to his original name made the hedgehog turn around sharply, putting his attention on the professor completely. The reasoning for his reaction reminded him of a guest that was missing from the room. 

“Where’s Maria?”

“She’s laying down, she had a dizzy spell earlier today. I’m sure she’ll be very happy to see you.” The professor nodded. “But, while she is resting, we can spend this time doing a few more tests. This time, physical tests of skill and stamina.”

“How long will it take?”

“Just a few hours. If my calculations are correct, you should be able to control those chaos energy abilities of yours much better now- as long as you stay calm, that is.” 

Gerald offered his hand to Eclipse. Hesitantly, the hedgehog took it, allowing the professor to lead him out of the room. Eclipse looked behind him one last time, still feeling the presence of… something in that laboratory. As he looked in, he could feel some eyes staring back at him from somewhere unseen. 

He was taken to the gymnasium of the ARK, meant for physical fitness and therapy. There was a group of researchers already there, and Gerald stayed there to direct them and Eclipse where to go. 

They put Eclipse through a variety of physical tests. The hedgehog was amazed at his progress.

He was stronger, faster, more agile than he remembered himself being. Then again, he had never really had a physical fitness test quite like this one. He ran on the treadmill so quickly that it broke, he could almost lift the top weight of one of the bench presses (he was simply stronger, not infinitely strong, he found) and he was able to comprehend what was happening around him incredibly fast. 

A researcher had thrown a clipboard of their notes, which due to poor aim was heading to the hedgehog. Without even looking, Eclipse was able to lift his hand and catch it. If this was him before the week-long nap, it would’ve decked him in the side of the head. 

Something he also found was that he was much more sensitive to the “chaos energy” that Gerald had said was moving through his body. Gerald had managed, in his infinite wisdom, to recreate a shard of a Chaos Emerald (he couldn’t find out how to do the whole emerald) and just bringing it into the room made the hedgehog’s quill almost stand on end. 

He was very aware of where it was at all times. He felt the buzz of energy on Gerald’s hand when he patted the hedgehog’s shoulder after holding the shard. Eclipse wasn’t just controlling chaos energy, no, he could sense it. 

They put him on another treadmill soon enough, one that they programmed to go faster. As they were attempting to clock his full speed, Gerald excused himself. He bid goodbye to Eclipse, promising to see him later, before leaving. 

The treadmill broke again. Not because the hedgehog was moving super fast, but because once he hit a certain speed, his feet started sizzling with chaos energy. He burnt the tread of the mill and caused it to flap off like a piece of taffy breaking from its turners. 

Everyone in the research group was astounded at this development. 

When he inquired about possibly running more tests, the researchers- luckily much kinder ones than the one he experienced before- told Eclipse that they needed to log in the information and decide where to go from there. They said he was free to go for the day. 

With that, the hedgehog left the gym and started following the signs to return to where he knew the living quarters would be located. 

It was eating at him that he was gone for so long. He wondered if Maria knew that he was gone for this long, if she was able to see him in his pod during those seven days he was out. Maybe she played some more Lost Impact for him outside the pod. It saddened him to say that, if she did, he certainly didn’t hear it. 

He would tell her he did though, so he wouldn’t crush her spirit. 

Walking through the curved hallway, he finally came to the room he remembered so fondly. He knocked on the metal door. 

“Maria?” He called out, though didn’t raise his voice much. 

Silence. He knocked again. 

“Hello?” 

Nothing, still. He looked over at the electronic door mechanism that was next to the doorway. There was a doorbell function on this, he remembered, but he couldn’t put his finger on where it was, exactly. 

His clawed finger grazed over the buttons before he settled on pressing the largest one. He should’ve put two-and-two together that this button would most definitely open an unlocked door. 

The door opened. Eclipse jumped back a bit, his face becoming inflamed at the thought of invading Maria’s privacy. However, luckily for him, she wasn’t in her room at all. 

It would be hard to hide from Eclipse in a small room like this. The hedgehog poked his head in to look behind the walls on either side of the door. 

“Maria?” He called again. 

With caution, he stepped into the room. He didn’t want to be caught snooping around Maria’s room, but also, he really missed her. If she wasn’t present in her room, maybe he could simply wait here for her to return. 

The bed wasn’t made, so Maria must’ve gotten up from her rest recently. Everything on the shelves were intact. He looked over the various things that Maria had been sent by her parents. The young girl had told Eclipse a lot about her parents. Mostly that they really wanted Maria to be a doctor someday, like her father and grandfather before her. 

They weren’t pushy about it though, as Maria still needed time to figure out exactly who she was. She was only about fifteen, for goodness’ sake. 

His fingers passed over the white 8-track player on the shelf, positioned closest to the bed that was nearby. Eclipse tapped over the buttons thoughtlessly, looking inside to see that the Lost Impact cartridge was still inside. She usually takes it out after rewinding, so she must have paused part way through the tracks. 

Eclipse glanced outside the ARK with a window next to the bed, but only for a moment. After that, he turned around to look at the other side of the room. It was less interesting over there- there was simply a desk and a large screen, like a television screen, positioned like a portrait on the wall. 

The screen took his attention immediately. He walked over and looked it over- Maria had turned this thing on numerous times, the hedgehog just needed to remember how. He slid his fingers along the side of the screen before finding a button and instinctively pressing it. That was the power button- the screen turned on immediately. 

He was greeted with a picture taking up the entire screen. It was almost like an electronic picture frame, though Maria had used it with Eclipse as a mirror and even a television a few times before. He’d never seen it on this function. 

This photo was only a few years old, from the looks of Maria’s shorter hair and Gerald’s only partially gray mustache. Gerald was seated in the foreground, with Maria standing behind his right shoulder, a hand placed on it. 

Behind the two of them, standing together, was a couple. A man with copper hair, glasses like Gerald’s, and a mustache that led into a beard. Beside him was a woman with long, blonde braided hair, who looked an awful lot like Maria. 

That must be Theodore and Miriam Robotnik- Maria’s parents. He’d never seen them in person before. He looked at them curiously, studying them. Maria had her father’s nose it seemed, but her eyes were exactly like Miriam’s, not to mention the blonde hair. 

He looked back down to glance at Gerald and Maria, but was suddenly aware that the screen of the television was glass. Because it was glass, he could see his reflection in it, and saw himself standing beside Maria in the picture. 

Eclipse stepped forward to make himself more height accurate in the picture. His brow was furrowed as he identified some kind of feeling… something he couldn’t understand. A sense of longing, and a sense of… dread? 

There was a loud bang somewhere down the hall, making the hedgehog turn his head. 

“Maria, stop that!”  

Eclipse’s quills stood on end. He quickly left the room, leaving the door open and the picture still glowing on the screen. 

He rushed down the hall and soon saw that the door to Gerald’s study was opened. Light was coming out of it, so someone was inside. Eclipse heard talking when he got close- no, not talking. He heard yelling. 

“You came up here to help mankind, not to play God!”

“Maria, please! You need to calm down!”

“No! I refuse to calm down! I can’t believe… I can’t… UGH!” 

Eclipse peeked inside. Maria was there, in her lounge clothes, pacing in front of Gerald’s desk. From the looks of it, with the camera set up on the desk, it seemed that the professor was making another journal entry before Maria interrupted it. There was a book on the floor- Gerald’s notes, that’s what the loud noise was. 

What did she hear that made her so upset? 

“Maria, you have to allow me to explain.”

“I know those notes are for mom and dad, you don’t have to explain anything to me. I saw enough.” The teenager said. “How could you risk Mister Needlemouse’s life like this? I thought you wanted to help us!”

“I do, I do! I do want to help, that’s why I’m doing this!”

“Grandfather, what you’re doing is dangerous. What if GUN hears about this? What if GUN discovers this Benefactor you have helping you? Do you expect them to just walk away and leave us alone because you said you’re doing it to help people?” 

“They have to understand, they… They’ll listen to me.”

“No, they won’t! They sent you up here to do a bunch of jobs, and you’re putting us in danger by going off script with one of them! One of the most important ones!”

“You have to make sacrifices for the good of mankind.”

“This isn’t man, grandfather. You taught me that all scientific advancements were created with the determination and willpower of all humanity.”

“This is determination and willpower!” Gerald said, standing up. 

“This is wrong, and dangerous! Those scientific endeavors were made with control groups and experimentation. What you’re doing is diving headfirst into a pool and hoping they kept the water in past summer!”

“Maria, I… You don’t understand. I have to do this. This is the only way.” 

“No it’s not!”

“Yes, it is! The sooner you understand that, the better!”

Maria stared at her grandfather, her head shaking slowly. 

“So, what, after all the research done in the ARK, you’re willing to just throw it all away? And for what? For the Ultimate Lifeform? For some dream you had of the ultimate blood donor?”

Gerald grabbed his granddaughter's arms over the desk, holding her fairly tightly. 

“I did this for you!” He shouted. “All of this! The ARK, the research, it’s all to save you! I don’t care about the colony being open to the public, or the Eclipse Cannon, or anything! I will always take the risk to save you, no matter the cost to myself.” 

Maria thrashed and left Gerald’s grasp, beginning to breathe heavy. Eclipse could see, even though he could only see half her face, that she was starting to cry. 

“I didn’t ask to be researched!” She yelled, her voice cracking. “I never asked for any of this! I don’t care about the stupid NIDS or anything like that! I just… I just came up here to spend time with you, before I left. To spend just a moment with you, so you couldn’t run away to some lab like you did the first decade of my life.”

“Maria…” 

“I can’t… I can’t do this right now.” Maria shook her head again. “Just leave me—” 

Where the desk was positioned in the room, Eclipse was watching the two argue from the side. As she started her latter statement, she turned, spotting Eclipse standing in the doorway as she did so. Her eyes were red, and it was very clear she had been crying. 

She looked behind her, glancing at Gerald one last time, before quickly rushing out. 

“Maria. Maria!”

As she passed by the quiet hedgehog, she grabbed his hand, pulling him away so the two could run down the hall together. Gerald shouted out for his granddaughter again, but it seemed only Eclipse could really hear it. 

They went back downstairs, but went further and further down. It was like Maria was looking for somewhere, anywhere else to go, the furthest possible point away from her grandfather. Eclipse was just there for the ride. 

With a turn and an access that required Maria’s fingerprint, they were suddenly in a dark room with a long, dark walkway. The lights on either side of the platform lit up, illuminating the room, showing that the pair were unwittingly being led to the control room of the Eclipse Cannon. Neither of them really knew it was that, though, so Maria didn’t walk to the end of the walkway. She sat on the edge with a long sigh, her legs kicking over the side. 

Eclipse was still standing, watching Maria in silence. After a moment, he walked over and sat down next to his friend, letting the pair sit together. It was quiet, save for Maria’s few sniffles and the rubbing of her palm against her cheeks, for a good few minutes. 

Eclipse spoke first. “It would be really nice to play music in here with the echo.”

“...Yeah.” 

“I think Cosmic Fall would sound the best.” 

“Yeah.” 

Eclipse could feel how tense it was for Maria. Whatever was talked about, whatever Maria found out, it was clearly getting to her. The hedgehog twiddled his thumbs together. 

“...I’m sorry if… Stuff about me is making you upset.”

Maria looked over at her friend. After a moment, she spoke again.

“It’s nothing to do with you, it’s just… grandfather thinks he can just do whatever he wants because he’s doing it for another person. Nobility doesn’t absolve you from horrible actions.” 

“What did he do?”

“...nothing you need to know.” She said. After a beat, she turned around to face Eclipse. “But you need to know you’re Mister Needlemouse. You’re not one of the Eclipses, you’re not some kind of… monster. To me, you’re Mister Needlemouse. You can be anything you want to be, and do whatever you want.” 

“Like helping people?” 

“Yes. You help people.” Maria leaned towards him, grabbing his hand. “Remember that. You need to remember that. You were made to help people and nothing else.”  

Eclipse nodded after a moment, taken aback from the sudden seriousness of Maria’s tone. 

It was quiet between them again, just for a few moments. 

“Even the mean people?” He asked. 

“...yeah, Needlemouse. Even them.” Maria replied, starting to lean against him. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, y’know? Help the people of Earth, like my grandfather is doing. I didn’t want to have to sell my soul to do it.” 

“But you don’t owe them anything, Maria. Most of the world doesn’t know you.” Eclipse said. “So what’s the point of helping them if they’re going to use it for bad things? To hurt others.”

“There are bad people, sure. But there are plenty of good people to snuff them out.” She replied. “I know you and grandfather think I’m childish for believing in goodness and whatnot. But if we let go of that optimism, who are we in the end? What’s the point of stating the obvious that there are bad people in the world if you’re just going to join them? ‘Everyone else is doing it’ is a pretty childish excuse to be a bad person.” 

“But you told me how much it cost you to grow up down there. All the hospital bills for helping someone. The greed… you’d want to help them too?” 

“I don’t have to like the system to acknowledge there are people in it.” Maria leaned against Eclipse some more. “It’s like I said, good people exist to balance out the bad. That’s how it’s always been. Even if there’s a really powerful person who’s pure evil… there’s at least seven good people out there who could defy him. It’s a one to seven ratio.” 

“Do you think I’m one of those people?”

“Maybe… Not in a classical sense. But I know you’re a good person, Mister Needlemouse.” Maria’s breathing got heavy. “And everyone down there, whether good or bad at their core, deserves a chance… a chance to…”

“Maria?” 

The young woman was leaning fully against Eclipse now, feeling the room spinning. 

“Mister Needlemouse… promise me.”

“What?”

“Promise me. If I… If they don’t make a cure for me in time. If I go away. Promise me you’ll…” 

Maria was falling under a spell of fatigue again, this time falling into a deep slumber against Eclipse. Though smaller, Eclipse was still strong enough to hold Maria up, allowing her to sleep against him. It was a lot to take in, what they were discussing. He had felt these feelings of… apathy, towards a lot of humans, as Maria told him the stories of her time on Earth. All the people she encountered. She always did it with a smile on her face. 

It wasn’t fair. Someone like Maria, willing to help anyone regardless of who they are, is subjected to a disease that was slowly killing her. A disease he was made to cure, but… isn’t able to yet. The people on Earth didn’t care, though… if her dying meant they could have a good day, they would guarantee it, he was sure. 

Professor Gerald had told him about Julian. Not much, but a lot. It was like Julian was created as the exact antithesis to Maria: he was awful, nasty, abusive and pretty much sociopathic. That is who Maria wanted to help? That’s someone who deserves Maria’s grace?

Maybe Eclipse would never understand it. 

“I promise. For you, Maria.”

He wasn’t sure what she wanted from him, but he spoke to her unconscious form regardless.

Eclipse held Maria close to him, staying in the control room until Gerald found them hours later.

Gerald made sure the door to his study was locked. He did it on camera, not to show it to whoever he was showing the video to, but to reassure himself that he did it when he watched the video back after. 

He sat down at his desk, adjusting his glasses. 

“Archival project video, daily video number 729. Date 5-14.” He said. After a second, he looked over his shoulder, at the door. Slowly, he turned back to speak to his camera once again. “It’s been two years since we’ve started this project. Eclipse… has developed further since the Benefactor’s generous donation to us.” 

Gerald paused. After another glance over his shoulder to the door he continued.

“We have started testing on a serum. Maria… has donated her own blood to see if this serum will work. We have been hesitant in making the serum all this time as you- Theodore, Miriam- had come up to visit Maria for a while, after… the altercation that occurred some months ago.” 

The professor hummed. 

“I did not want her to find out about Eclipse. Not that way, if… if at all. I’d hate to keep those secrets from her, but… I know she would react in such a way. She reminds me so much of my mother, it’s amazing. I knew you all would be able to talk to her about it… I don’t know if we’ll be in a good place like before, but… I know she’s still close with… Mister Needlemouse.

“We begin testing for a serum in the next couple of days. However… there is something that has been bugging me. I’ve been hearing rumors. Whispers, even… hearing about notes being spread. The researchers here must've said something to the Guardian Units of Nations. I know one of them has found out about the most recent development and addition to this experiment… one of them was bound to blabber.” 

He suddenly turned around sharply, his office chair swiveling around. Professor Gerald stared at the door quietly, intently, waiting for something to happen. 

Slowly, he got up to his feet. He crept over to the door, stopping a foot or so in front of it and turning his head to try and listen past it. After a second, he slammed the button to open the door, looking through the doorway for someone outside. 

The professor looked left and right. After a moment, he pressed the button to close the door and immediately locked it after. He grabbed what was next to the door- a bookshelf- and began pulling it. Even in his old age, he could at least drag that large bookshelf across the carpeted floor and in front of the door. 

Gerald breathed heavily, leaning on his knees for a moment, before he swiftly returned to his desk, looking into the camera. 

“I’ll keep this brief.” He said. “I believe that GUN is going to be coming up here soon. I know one of the researchers had to have ratted what we were doing here to them… But I cannot give up so soon. I must carry on for Maria’s sake.” 

He wiped off his glasses, which had become steamy with Gerald’s face going red. 

“I’m going to continue my research. But… if GUN does send people up here, I’ll send you all one last message. I don’t know what will happen to me, but… you all deserve to know the truth. The full truth, about Mister Needlemouse. If that message is lost, though, I want to say… I love you, Theodore. And you too, Miriam. Thank you for letting me help my granddaughter.”

Gerald looked over his shoulder one more time quickly. 

“I have to go. Please be safe.”

He turned off the camera. 

The Black Comet was coming ever so closer to the Earth. 

Maria watched curiously, head tilted a bit, as the light hit the charred asteroid. Ancient astronomers, particularly the lady who named the comet, stated that this was the asteroid that struck the Earth to create the moon. As it was molten in the middle, the asteroid was able to reform itself, albeit partially disfigured. 

She sighed contentedly, smiling a bit as she watched the comet. It was a nice day in the ARK… maybe a bit too nice, if you asked Gerald. But luckily, for Maria, it wasn’t too nice. It was great. The Black Comet was finally coming into view, shining in space far above the Earth. 

She wondered how much smaller the comet looked like down on Earth. If it shined brightly, or if it was just a big black rock passing through the sky. Because it was charred, did it have a comet’s tail? 

She’d have to wait another fifty years to figure it out. If she wasn’t still in space by then.

Maria was happy that she got to see her mom and dad recently, even if they couldn’t stay for too long. It was comforting with them here, especially with all the recent developments in Project Eclipse that affected her and Mister Needlemouse. 

Her parents got to meet Mister Needlemouse, as well. It was… a bit awkward, at first. But by the time they left, they treated Mister Needlemouse with dignity and respect. Maria’s dad even taught him a new word: “sayonara.”

Theodore Robotnik’s work took him to all kinds of new places. Most recently, it brought him to Nippon, hence the new word Mister Needlemouse had learned. Maria knows so many different words in different languages that she could make a dictionary of random translations. 

Maria had a lot of talks with her parents about the stuff that’s been going on. It helped- both to put things in new perspectives and to keep her calm for what her next steps were. 

She decided to talk to her grandfather, and she did, just the previous night. It was… a very sad talk, between the two of them. But if they were going to ensure Mister Needlemouse’s safety, it was certainly a discussion worth having. 

This new version of Mister Needlemouse wasn’t really anything different than who Maria had come to love. She didn’t see him as any different as the Needlemouse she’d spent so much time with, he was just… a bit different. But a good different, he was in more control. But he still had that same heart of his. 

She watched the comet continue to trail through space. It was far away, but because it didn’t have any real trail or anything just yet, it looked like just some rock that Maria could reach out and grab. The distance only helped this notion, as it looked like any old rock a kid would pick up outside their home. 

Maria wished that Mister Needlemouse could come out to see it, but alas, because of Professor Gerald’s new precautions he was currently in containment until they came up with some kind of way to keep everything intact. 

Watching the comet still, Maria was gifted to a treat- the formation of the Black Comet’s tail. It had been only partially visible before, barely noticeable to the naked eye, but now it was coming into full fruition. As it got closer to the sun, the dust particles and any form of water on the comet was blown off to create a bright tail behind it. 

The young girl smiled as she watched it happen. It was a beautiful sight to behold. She had to cover her eyes for a moment when the comet was first starting to form its tail, but soon was able to look upon it with a smile. 

Something else gathered her interest, however. It was a space shuttle. She had seen a few in the two years she had been aboard the ARK, but this one was different. She wasn’t informed about why this one was coming up. It wasn’t nearly close to any of the days Maria’s parents sent up any supplies, so this was a foreign spacecraft approaching the station. 

There was a docking station for shuttles at the bottom of the ARK. Maria watched the rocket slowly glide under the view of the observation room and most definitely towards that dock. 

She stood up quickly, wearing her Lost Impact shirt and a blue skirt for easier movement, the skirt swirling around as she turned to quickly walk to the door. It was a bit difficult for her to regain her leg movement right away, but luckily the lessened gravity allowed her to moved freely about the colony. 

Maria reached the door and opened it. There were two GUN Soldiers on the other side, both armed. One of them was reaching out to open the door, but instead the young girl did it for him. 

“We found her, sir. Bringing her to you.” The other soldier said into a radio comm on his chest. He reached out and grabbed Maria’s arm. “Maria Robotnik, come with us.”

“What? What are you doing?” 

“You need to come with us.”

“Did you do something to my grandfather? To Mister Needlemouse?” 

“Your grandfather is fine.” The first soldier said, grabbing her other arm to help escort her down the hallway. “Come with us.” 

Maria wasn’t as resistant, but still on edge that the soldiers were here to apprehend Mister Needlemouse. If they were here to take him, who knows what GUN would turn him into. If they would even let him live with what Maria knew was done with him. 

She was taken downstairs. It was a nice break, not having to move her legs too much. They reached the bottom docking area, where the escape pods were as well. The young girl was taken into a large escape pod, where two more soldiers were there holding her grandfather. 

“Grandfather!”

Gerald was handcuffed, his arms held by the soldiers at his sides. 

“Maria. It’s going to be alright, dear.” 

“What’s happening?”

“They’re taking us down to Earth again. They’re… getting rid of the projects we have been working on up here on the ARK.”

“Getting rid of the projects? But we did a lot of stuff up here to help people with diseases!”

“Your grandfather broke several laws and conspired with an unknown force. All research and development will be seized and halted until further use presents itself.”

“Further use?” Maria looked at the soldier who spoke to her. “They’re cures for the public! What other use do they need to be fully developed?” 

The soldier shrugged. 

“What about the researchers?” Maria asked. 

“They’ll be rounded up and brought down momentarily. We have to make sure they give us the access codes to their research so we can archive it and then destroy it.” 

Maria looked at the soldier in horror. With a sudden realization, she looked around for a moment, looking for someone. Her eyes settled back on her grandfather. 

“Where’s Mister Needlemouse?” Maria asked Gerald. 

The professor didn’t answer. 

“Grandfather. What’s going to happen to Mister Needlemouse? Are they…?” 

Professor Gerald Robotnik couldn’t answer his sweet granddaughter. Instead, he simply looked away in shame, his eyes closed so as to not see her face. 

Maria felt her breathing get heavy as the realization hit her. She looked around more quickly, clearly trying to find out where to go. She was jostled a bit by the soldier holding her. 

“Cut it out.” He said before looking at another soldier. “Start the pod ride down. We’ll be back in half an hour. More than enough time to read your rights, Robotnik.” 

The teenager looked at her grandfather one last time. He was still looking away, unable to face Maria in this very horrible moment. 

She had no other means of help. Maria had to do this herself. 

Maria moved her arm again. The soldier jostled it around. 

“I said knock it—” 

As the soldier moved his hand to shove Maria, she took the moment to lean her head in. Now, as this job required them to use guns, the GUN soldiers from the 70s didn’t necessarily need to use any other kind of glove except good old cotton ones- especially since the space colony was naturally cold. 

It made it easier for Maria to chomp down on the hand grabbing her. The soldier yelled in pain and let go of Maria to snatch his hand out of her teeth, freeing her partially. When her other soldier attempted to grab the teenager, Maria ducked out of the way. She kicked directly into the side of the officer’s shin, forcing him down onto the ground. 

Maria leapt away and slid out of the closing escape pod door before it closed, and before the other soldiers could come get her. 

“Maria?! MARIA!!!” Gerald yelled. She could see him through the glass. “Maria, come back! Stop the pod! Maria, you can’t do this! You need to come back! It’s too dangerous! Please!”

His voice cracked as he spoke. The soldiers tried to stop the escape pod, but it was too late. The descent process had already started too much for them to reverse everything. As the soldiers were busy, Maria looked directly at Gerald. 

“I’m going to get Mister Needlemouse.” She said. “I love you, grandfather.” 

Then, the pod dropped through the ground, the hatch on the floor that was once below it closing as the pod passed through. The escape pod was hurtling towards the Earth now, with the professor sobbing in horror the entire way down.

“Get off! GET OFF!” 

Eclipse came to, slumped off the side of the chair in his containment capsule, hearing the shouting sound of Maria in his ear. It made him wake up rather quickly, the oxygen mask still on his face as he saw Maria smashing her fist against the end of the tube attached to the hedgehog. 

Reaching over, Eclipse twisted the tube off his jumpsuit, alerting Maria that he was awake. As he got the other tubes off, Maria took off the hedgehog’s mask and hugged him, confusing and worrying him. 

As he stopped focusing on Maria, all he could hear were sirens in the distance. 

“M-Maria?! What’s happening?” Eclipse asked as he pulled away. 

“It’s GUN! They’re here to seize all the research done on the ARK, including you!” The teen replied. “We need to go!”

“What about the Professor?!” 

“Grandfather’s already left. I slipped away from being taken down to come get you. There are plenty of escape pods around here.” 

“Maria, you need to go. They just want me. I don’t want you to get hurt.” 

“No, I’m not leaving you!” She shouted back. “We can’t leave yet! The research the scientists have been doing on the Space Colony ARK will most likely be destroyed by the GUN agents coming up here! Years of research on curing diseases, all gone!”

“Maria…”

“Mister Needlemouse, please! The research labs, they’re going to be destroyed! We have to do something! Please, you’re the only one who can protect the ARK!” 

Eclipse stared at Maria, utterly conflicted about the situation at hand. If he went alone, there was definitely no guarantee he would be able to find any of the labs where research was being done. In fact, he would be facing a bunch of GUN Agents alone. Going with someone else would help him a lot. 

He looked past Maria, then back up at the teen, swallowing in fear and stress. 

“Okay. Let’s go.” 

The hedgehog held onto Maria’s hand as they ran through the ARK. As Eclipse was naturally faster, he was nearly dragging the young girl through the hallway, still hearing the disorientingly loud siren and seeing the flashing red lights all around him. 

“Where are we going?” 

“They said they were going to round up all the researchers. They must be putting them in one of the laboratories downstairs! We can head down there!” 

So they headed down that route. There didn’t seem to be any GUN soldiers in sight- it appeared that, perhaps, all of them had been condensed into gathering the researchers for now. Who knows how many people were put on the shuttle that arrived here. 

They headed downstairs but had to hide in the stairwell for a minute or two as they saw some GUN soldiers pass. They headed down the hall to one of the larger laboratories, disappearing from sight as they stepped inside.

The pair tread carefully, creeping down the hall and reaching the door to the lab. They peeked inside through the door’s glass, seeing that there were maybe half a dozen researchers in the ARK- probably all that were left aboard when GUN arrived. There were four agents keeping them in one corner of the lab. 

These doors the two were huddled behind were free-swinging doors, so they could hear what was being said inside of the room as the soldiers spoke. 

“Just keep calm and nobody gets hurt.” One of the soldiers said. “Now, tell me, which one of you knows the password to the computer? I know one of you have it, and I know you stored all the information there. Someone tell me.” 

Crouching down to hide from the window of the doors, Maria and Eclipse looked at each other. 

“If I can get over to the computer, I can transfer the information on floppies to give to the researchers.” The girl said to Eclipse. “I’ll just need you to fight the soldiers.”

“Fight them?” 

“Yeah, like in the movies and anime we watched.” Maria replied. “You’re so much stronger than I am, and you have all those powers. You can stop them, I can’t.” 

“Do you really think I can do it?”

“Of course you can. I’m not a giant fan of violence, but, you gotta do what you gotta do.” 

Eclipse nodded. He peeked back into the laboratory for a moment, waiting for a spot when they would be able to sneak inside and commence their plan. Or, rather, a partial plan. Eclipse didn’t know what Maria had in mind, but he was sure she’d signal him when he needed to attack. 

He snuck inside and hid behind a desk. Maria snuck in as well, hiding behind a separate desk. She kept moving once she was sure she wouldn’t be seen, slipping past the soldiers between the desks in order to reach where the research computer was placed. 

The hedgehog went over what he was about to do in his head. He had seen such violence in all the action movies Maria liked to watch, not to mention the anime they pretty much watched religiously every other day on the ARK. But he had never put those “skills,” if you could call them that, to any good use. 

He was powerful, sure, but he never intended on using them to hurt somebody. 

Unless… he was given these powers to do so. 

The thought entered the navy hedgehog’s head suddenly, so suddenly Eclipse wondered where it came from for a moment. It was a powerful suggestion- if he had these powers, he had a responsibility to use them when the moment called for it. 

He would be able to take these soldiers down with ease. He was the Ultimate Lifeform, after all. 

The train of thought from anxious about the fight, to actively looking forward to wanting to show off his power, happened in a matter of seconds. He peeked over the desk, spotting Maria near the computer now. It was a dangerous move to just walk out, even if Eclipse started fighting as a distraction. 

Maria noticed, nearby, that there was a standing chalkboard set up. It didn’t have any writing on it anymore, so the teenager knew it was perfect for a distraction. 

Sneaking over, the blonde got behind the chalkboard. She used the lesser gravity to raise up and hide behind the blackboard, pressing her back against the wall and her feet against the back of the chalkboard. She pushed it forwards, forcing it to tilt forwards. 

The soldier didn’t notice until too late, and the blackboard came down on top of him, knocking him to the ground and pinning him. 

That must be the signal. 

Before the other soldiers could even comprehend that Maria was the cause of the mischief, Eclipse leapt up and slid across the top of a desk, kicking into one of the soldier’s backs with both feet. The researchers gasped in horror at the sudden fight, alerting the other soldiers- if they weren’t alarmed by their fallen brethren in the first place.

“It’s the specimen!”

“Lethal force is authorized! Fire at will!” 

One of the soldiers aimed his rifle at Eclipse. As if on pure instinct, the hedgehog was fast enough to duck under the shot with a slide across the floor, spinning around and sweeping the legs out from under the soldier with the momentum of the spin. 

Eclipse swung downwards and smashed a fist into the face of the newly fallen soldier, knocking him out and shattering his goggles in one swing of his arm. 

Maria stepped on top of the chalkboard, keeping the soldier beneath it pinned down as she started working on the computer. There were a bunch of floppy disks connected to the small old computer, it was just a matter of getting them disconnected from the system. 

Nearby, the navy hedgehog continued his fight against the soldiers, only having to face two now. As the one he had originally knocked over started getting up, Eclipse quickly slid in and kicked him in the side of the head, knocking it into the side of a nearby desk and knocking him out for good. 

As he turned to the remaining soldier, he was met with that guy slamming the butt of his rifle into Eclipse’s face. It was disorienting, sure, but unexpectedly the hedgehog was barely fazed by the attack on him. 

Before he could think about what he was doing, he wrapped his arm around the soldier’s arm holding the trigger part of the rifle, pushing it upwards to bend it backwards. Eclipse kicked one of the legs of the soldier from under him, reaching up in time to pull the soldier downwards by the collar of his vest. He brought his kicking leg upwards to slam the soldier’s face into his knee. 

When the soldier bent back upwards, the hedgehog pressed his hand to his chest. 

“Chaos SPEAR!” 

The blast of chaos energy from the hedgehog’s hand rocketed the soldier backwards. He crashed into one of the desks, shattering it and landing, completely unconscious. With this new addition to his biology, it seemed that his Chaos Spears were less… destructive, and more concussive. 

He was a natural at this, apparently. Something in his head was telling him to do all this stuff during the fight- just how much strength to put in each hit, what move to do next. Maybe it was some kind of intuition, but then again, it was probably just someone suggesting things to him from afar. But Eclipse didn’t exactly know that. Yet. 

The thing was, he was loving this. The thrill of fighting was getting to him- he was fighting, and he was killing it. Not literally though. But still, he felt so much adrenaline and giddiness from all this fighting. Could he do this all the time? Eclipse watched his hand ball into a fist and open again. He knew the researchers were watching him. 

As Maria finished transferring the information to the floppy disks, she started pulling them out. However, she felt the chalkboard shift below her- the solider that was pinned below it was out, and as Maria turned, she saw the soldier pick up his gun to threaten the girl. 

Before he could speak, Eclipse was there. He hopped up and sat on the soldier’s shoulders. The navy hedgehog leaned backwards, grabbing onto one of the desks to reach a suitable surface, and flung the soldier backwards. The GUN soldier flew back and crashed into the far wall, crumpling unconscious onto the ground. 

“Holy…” Maria mumbled. 

She had to focus on her task, though. She grabbed the floppy disks and turned, handing them to one of the researchers. 

“I don’t know if this is all the research, but take these. There’s an escape pod room at the end of the hall, take the largest one there right now. Go!”

At the teenager’s command, the flock of researchers left with haste. They ran down the hall again, heading in the direction of the escape pods. No doubt they would leave the area of the Space Colony ARK within only a minute or two.

“Maria!” Eclipse said brightly. “Did you see what I did? That was awesome!”

“I know!” Maria smiled. “I knew I could count on you, Mister Needlemouse.” 

Maria looked at the computer one last time, then at the soldiers on the ground. 

“That might be all the researchers. I hope it is, at least. I don’t think I got all the information from the research though, but I hope I got enough.”

“You did the right thing, Maria. I know you did.”

“...thank you, Mister Needlemouse.”

Eclipse smiled. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps tore their attention away from their conversation. A GUN solider rushed into the doorway, crashing into the door and looking around wildly before seeing the soldiers on the ground, and the pair standing above them. 

Maria stepped so she was partially in front of her hedgehog companion, her arm stuck down as if she was protecting him. Even if he was stronger than her, she knew that they were after him, so they’d have to go through her first. 

The soldier looked at Maria, then at the Ultimate Lifeform behind her. 

“You did this.” He said. The solider talked into his chest talkie. “Sir, I’ve located the test subject. He’s accompanied by the girl. How do you want me to proceed?” 

“Apprehend both.” 

“No! I won’t let you hurt him!” Maria yelled. 

“You need to move!” 

Eclipse stepped forwards a bit, passing by Maria partially to fire another Chaos Spear, this time directly at the soldier. It hit him in the shoulder, knocking him back onto his rear. Maria gripped onto Eclipse’s shoulder tightly. 

“Ugh!” The soldier said, rolling onto his side. He started getting up to his feet, grabbing onto his chest communicator again. “I’ve been hit by the test subject!”

“Open fire on the specimen!”

The soldier took that seriously. He turned around, still on a knee, and aimed a pistol from his side holster directly towards the Ultimate Lifeform, apparently not caring that a literal child was in the room. 

What happened next happened in a matter of moments. 

By the time the trigger was pulled, Maria grabbed onto Eclipse’s head quills and pulled him back and moved forwards. She pulled the hedgehog behind her as soon as the bullet was fired, shoving her hedgehog friend behind her body. 

Eclipse fell backwards, feeling things almost go in slow motion. He was looking upwards, but he could see in his bottom peripherals that something hit Maria, knocking her back from her chest. Something was coming in his direction from Maria’s back- he didn’t know what, but it hit his eye. 

He didn’t exactly feel anything, except something slicing upwards through his eyebrow. Suddenly, he couldn’t see out of his left eye. He couldn’t comprehend at that moment exactly why. A loud ringing was affecting his train of thought. 

As soon as Eclipse hit the ground on his back, the bullet from the pistol hit the back wall. 

He pressed a hand to his left eye, feeling something warm flood his palm. But that wasn’t what he needed to focus on anymore. He looked upwards at Maria. 

She stumbled for a moment before falling. The hedgehog was up, catching her in his arms and bringing her down as he fell to his knees. 

“Maria! Maria?” 

Maria was breathing shallowly. Minutes felt like seconds to Eclipse as he held his companion close to him. His eye was wide, starting to tear up, seeing that the Lost Impact shirt was dyed a specific color now. 

“Stay with me. You’re going to be alright.” 

He could tell that Maria was now experiencing her vertigo again, as she was blinking rapidly. Though the world was spinning for her, she reached up and touched Eclipse’s face, on the side with his good eye. 

“Maria? Maria, please. You’ll be okay.” 

She moved her lips, her face draining of color slowly. 

“Don’t…” She murmured. “Don’t be what they made you.”  

The tear trickled down Shadow’s cheek as she watched her with a wide eye. 

“Maria?” He whimpered. 

“Don’t…” She said. “...Sayonara, Mister Needlemouse…”

“Maria… MARIA!” 

The movement of Eclipse’s face was enough to knock the hand from his face. It fell down to the floor beside Maria, no longer moving, all the warmth that it once held completely disappearing and gone. 

There was utter silence at that moment. All that was heard, for Eclipse, was the sound of the ARK’s alarms blaring in the hallway. After a moment, he heard the sound of the GUN solider losing his lunch at what he just accidentally did. 

More footsteps. More GUN soldiers were in the doorway. They spoke, but Eclipse couldn’t hear them. It was all drowned out by the sound of blood rushing in his ears. He stared down at Maria’s body, eyes closed with her head resting against the hedgehog’s body. 

He looked upwards, his eye flicking up to see the soldiers staring at him in horror. 

Golden electricity crackled through his body, across his quills. Suddenly, a thunderstorm of energy erupted from his body, lifting him off the ground and filling the entire room with light. The GUN soldiers were taken aback, enough to not even reach for their weapons. 

Eclipse looked down at Maria one last time, his denial ridden brain telling her she was just sleeping in his arms. Deep down, however, he knew what the truth was. 

He let her go. The golden energy took her. The hedgehog swallowed his emotion, before starting to hyperventilate and gasp in sobs, grabbing his face and holding his head. He felt a multitude of emotions- anger, sadness, fear, guilt, failure. Unadulterated fury. 

The chaos energy in his body came to a peak, making his body tingle with energy. If he kept using this energy, he knew it would destroy him. 

In the back of his head, he heard someone speak. 

DO IT. 

His red eye sizzled with gold sparks as he looked up from his hands, staring down at the infernal GUN soldier who took his friend away from him. He growled, before swinging his arms back. 

“CHAOS BLAST!”

All of the energy from Eclipse’s body expelled from him in all directions. From Earth, all that was seen was a twinkle on the small dot that was the ARK. But on the space station, it was an explosion that consumed half of the Space Colony ARK. 

Everything caught in the explosion was immediately reduced to rubble, debris and/or ash- except the Ultimate Lifeform, whose chaos energy shielded him from any damage. 

And he fell. 

Eclipse fell downwards with the rest of the escape pods leaving the ARK. The chaos energy shielded himself as he fell towards the blue planet with a shower of debris from the ARK alongside him. 

The explosion took a lot out of him. He closed his eyes, accepting what was happening to him. 

GOOD. 

He entered the lower atmosphere. Where he was headed was somewhere in the midwest UF, in a more desert-like area than anything in the surrounding states. 

YOU ARE NOT NEEDED NOW, MY SHADOW. NOT YET. 

The hedgehog crashed into the ground, burrowed deep under the surface from the speed he came crashing down into the planet. He was intact, save for his new eye scar, and eventually stopped deep into the planet’s mantle. 

Rocks came tumbling downwards, burying the hedgehog further as he slowly lost consciousness. 

BUT I ASSURE YOU, YOU WILL BE AWAKENED SOON ENOUGH. 

An unplanned meteor shower happened across the planet, one that marked a life left behind. 

PRESENT DAY…

“ ‘I’ve come to make an announcement…’ No, people would turn that into a meme…” 

Ivo was in the control room of the ARK, trying to think of his speech for his impending presentation. It was a special presentation, one that was the most important one he would ever do. 

That’s because it was to the entire world. 

With the help of Shadow, Ivo had discovered some kind of… red ooze, in the remains of storage in the Space Colony ARK, one that allowed him to project radio signals across a wider range of areas. This gel, a conduit gel, was also really good at connecting more than one piece of technology together. 

Because of this, Rouge was able to get a piece of conduit gel on the emergency broadcast network’s systems across the world, so when Ivo was ready he would broadcast to every screen on Earth. 

He was trying not to let the pressure get to him. 

“Are you finished yet?” Gerald asked him, sounding impatient. “I want to get this done!”

“It’ll get done, grandfather.“

“Is it the plan? Are you hesitant because of the assault we’re going to carry out? It’s a show of our power and a message to the entire planet!”

“I know what it is, grandfather.”

“Then you need to get up there and do it! Before I have Eclipse do it instead!”

Ivo huffed. Like Shadow would actually do it… He’s been cooped up in his room ever since Ivo finished setting up the latest emerald into the reactor. He didn’t come out when requested, not even for meals. 

Did the Ultimate Lifeform need to eat, he wondered? Most likely not… or at least eat less than normal people. 

He stood up, gathering his bearings as he looked through his flashcards again. He would need to at least get his point across- no need to go exactly on script. 

It was time. No turning back now. 

Within twenty minutes, the emergency broadcast systems of the world all switched on, interrupting all forms of programs. In the east coast, an infamous Jumbotron switched to the live feed that all screens were also changing to. 

The screen changed to something blue. Different letters in white flashed across the screen at once, with a robotic voice speaking out each word. The voice spoke at normal speed, so it was more that the onscreen word changed with the sentence being spoken. 

For the screens in other countries, ones that didn’t speak English, the letters were different, and the voice spoke the native tongue. That was a perk of the conduit gel that Ivo hadn’t learned about yet. 

“I am genius. I am great. I am brilliant. I am smart. I am wise. I am an emperor.”  

After the statements were repeated three times, the blue screen changed. Ivo was standing there, on a blue backdrop with the same statements hovering around him in different text. 

“People of Earth, lend me your ears, and listen to me very carefully.” The doctor spoke. “I am Dr. Ivo J. Robotnik, the world’s greatest scientist, and soon to be your greatest emperor.

“Now is the beginning of the greatest empire that mankind has ever seen! One that will thrust our world into the future, where we have one singular leader- the smartest man alive: ME!

“I graciously accept your surrender. If all nations of the world do not surrender their weapons and pledge their allegiance to the Robotnik Empire, then they will be eliminated expeditiously. If you do not believe me… I offer you a taste of what kind of power I hold.”

The doctor walked to the nearby control panel. Right in front of him, he saw the button to launch the Eclipse Cannon. He instinctively reached out to press it, but hovered right above it. 

It appeared he couldn’t decide if he would go through with it. 

“What are you doing? Press the button!” Gerald snarled at him, right in his ear. 

“If I do this, I… don’t think I can come back from it.” 

“Do you want this world to be yours or not? ”

“Grandfather…”

“No! I’m sick of your incessant whining! You don’t want to do it? Fine! I’ll make you do it!”  

Before Ivo could question what that meant, Gerald grabbed onto Ivo’s wrist. He physically grabbed onto Ivo, and the doctor could feel how cold his hand was and everything. 

Gerald forced Ivo’s hand down, making him press the button as Ivo stared in shock. 

The entirety of the Space Colony ARK shook as one half of the space station started cracking. The rock-like exterior of the ARK crumbled, caused by the extruding cannon starting to move. 

There were a variety of triangular shaped fin-like objects that unfolded, six in total, three on either side of the cannon. Two circles, observation decks that extruded outwards, formed a set of eyes with the cannon as a nose and the fin objects representing the ends of a long mustache. 

Ivo added that when he rebuilt the ARK. Sometimes you had to spice up your work and make it fun, y’know? 

The cannon “nose” glowed a semi-appropriate green color as the cannon’s core gathered energy within its reactor. It absorbed the power of the Chaos Emeralds, gathering it all up in the base of the cannon. 

It fired a single energy blast, a long white and green harpoon of chaos energy that cut through the sky. 

All of the Earth saw it. Shamarians, those from Nippon, Apatosians, Soumercans. 

Even the UF saw it. From the mother and daughter rabbit staring from their window, to the humans horrified in front of a casino, to someone in a Meh Burger mascot suit looking upwards while spinning a sign, to the blue hedgehog standing on an apartment balcony, gripping tightly onto his best friends as he watched in absolute horror. 

The beam curved around the Earth, not aiming for that. It instead aimed for something much higher- the moon. 

It hit the moon and caused a massive explosion. It destroyed part of the moon’s face, creating a ton of debris that flew up into space with the resulting propulsion. 

In the end, only part of the moon was destroyed. About 1/4 at most. The debris didn’t head towards Earth- instead, it started to stretch out against the top of the planet’s atmosphere. 

Back in the Space Colony ARK, Ivo snatched his hand away from his grandfather, staring at him with wide eyes. 

“You… you’re a ghost, how… how did you…?”

Instead of responding to Ivo’s question, Gerald began to laugh. It was a laugh Ivo recognized- it was Julian’s laugh. He had to get it from somewhere, right?

Ivo looked at the screen with the feed on it. It was a countdown, one that would stay on every screen in the world until the timer hit zero. 

Gerald’s laughter rang in Ivo’s ear. He cradled the wrist in his hand as he watched the timer count down from 72 hours. 

In the stilled silence after the moon was shot with a laser, one of the only sounds in the hall afterwards was the knocking on Shadow’s door. 

Rouge could swear she heard murmurs from inside the room that stopped as soon as she knocked. There was quiet for a minute or so before the door opened to show Shadow in the doorway, still dressed in those ragged clothes he used to copy Sonic. 

“What is it?”

“Well… the doctor’s plans commenced. He fired the cannon into the moon, just as you suggested to him.” Rouge leaned to the side to look into Shadow’s room, returning her gaze to the hedgehog when she found nothing. “You didn’t even wanna watch?”

“What’s there to watch? He’s destroying the moon.”

“You’re saying that like this is a normal occurrence.” 

“You see one explosion, you’ve seen them all.” 

The bat scoffed, smiling softly in amusement after. After a moment, she studied Shadow’s face, her smile falling and eyebrows furrowing. 

“Are you alright?” She asked. 

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re stuck in your room like some depressed teenager, and… you look like you’ve been… crying.” The bat tried to reply as easily as she could. 

It was true. Both eyes, even the damaged left eye, were both almost bloodshot. 

“I’m fine.” Shadow replied quickly. “When are we going for the next emerald?” 

“Probably… tomorrow. Or maybe in a few hours. We’ll still need to retrieve the asset from one of the GUN research facilities. Most likely the one in Westopolis. It should be an easy in-and-out mission, then all we have to do is retrieve the cyan emerald.” 

“Alright. Let me know when you’ve retrieved the asset.” 

Shadow went to reach for the button to close the door, but was stopped when Rouge put her hand on the inside of the door frame, almost to keep the door from sliding shut. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” She asked. 

“...Yeah.” 

“Look man, I know emotions are high, but…”

“Why do you care?” 

“Who says I do?” Rouge replied. “Regardless of empathy, you becoming emotional has resulted in a lot of moments where you’re left helpless in the field. It’s in my best interests to make sure my companions are in the right mindspace.” 

“...Mmh.” Shadow grunted his response, almost brushing off the question. 

Slowly, the bat let go of the doorframe and leaned back into the hallway. She turned her body, her head still looking towards Shadow, before she fully turned with intention to walk away without another word. 

“Do you know the band Lost Impact?” 

Rouge paused. She blinked, before twisting her body a bit to look back at Shadow. 

“Lost Impact?”

“Mmh.” 

“...yeah, after I, uh… After I left that compound I grew up in, I listened to a bunch of their music. I had one of their albums on repeat at one point, couldn’t stop listening to it. It’s almost addictive.’

“Albums…?”

“Yeah. Collection of their music, y’know.” 

Shadow knew what an album was, he was focusing more on the fact that it was albums, plural. 

“...right.” 

There was a moment of silence between them. 

“...I’ll see you for the mission.” Shadow said, before moving back into his room.

“Alright then. I’ll see you around, smiles.” 

Shadow closed the door. Slowly, he turned around to head further into his room. He got down to his knees on the floor, resting his haunches on his heels. 

TIME IS RUNNING OUT, ECLIPSE. IN THREE DAYS, WE ARE PROJECTED TO HAVE ALL WE NEED TO CARRY OUT THE FINAL PHASE OF OUR MISSION. I HAVE GIVEN YOU WHAT YOU ASKED OF ME: I HAVE PROVIDED YOU MORE THAN ENOUGH PIECES OF YOUR MEMORY. 

The hedgehog was staring at the ground, but soon looked upwards at the figure towering in front of him. His face was unchanging. 

“Maria… she said…” He spoke. “She said I was made to help people, and nothing else.” 

THAT IS TRUE, FROM THIS PERSPECTIVE. YOU ARE HELPING THE HUMANS REALIZE THEIR TRUEST PURPOSE IN THEIR VARIOUS LIVES. 

“I was supposed to help them keep living.” 

IF THAT IS WHAT YOU BELIEVE, WHY ARE YOU WAVERING? 

He was quiet for a moment in thought, before looking down at the floor. 

“What Maria said to me, before she…” Shadow swallowed. “She told me… ‘don’t be what they made you’.”

YES. 

“I was made… to help humanity, as a donor.” 

AND IN HER FINAL MOMENTS, MARIA ROBOTNIK ENCOURAGED YOU TO GO AGAINST YOUR INHERITED PURPOSE AND RAIN HELLFIRE AMONG THOSE ON THIS PLANET. SO HER DEATH WOULD NOT GO IN VAIN. 

“Could that really be what she meant? What I… promised to her?” 

Shadow looked up at the figure once more. 

SUCH FLEETING HEALTH CAN DO SUCH THINGS TO PEOPLE. FORCING THEM TO BECOME JADED, WITH A WARPED SENSE OF NIHILISTIC REALITY. GERALD WAS NEVER GOING TO FIND THAT CURE FOR MARIA. IN THE END, SHE ABANDONED THE SAFETY OF HERSELF FOR THE SELF-GRATIFYING DESIRE TO KEEP HER FAMILY INTACT. SHE CHOSE YOU, OVER POSSIBLY GOING TO EARTH AND CONTINUING HER GRANDFATHER’S RESEARCH. 

“To save me.” 

BECAUSE SHE KNEW YOUR PURPOSE. MARIA WAS JUST AS INTELLIGENT AS HER GRANDFATHER, MAYBE MORE. BUT SHE KNEW, IN THE END, THAT THE GUARDIAN UNITS OF NATIONS WOULD GET RID OF IT. SO SHE SAVED… THE ONE THING THAT COULD DESTROY THE HOLD THEY HAVE ON HUMANITY. 

Shadow was quiet, still looking upwards. Deep inside, he felt like part of this was wrong… and yet… those humans took Maria from him. And for what? Because they didn’t have all the information they needed? Because Shadow wasn’t a perfect little hedgehog for them, perhaps? 

They were content in shoving Maria back into a broken health system for their own self-preservation. Selfish actions such as those are very common in humans, Shadow found. 

ECLIPSE. I GAVE YOU THOSE MEMORIES BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER THEM. THE NEXT TIME YOU FIND YOURSELF WAVER IN OUR MISSION, I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER… WHAT THEY TOOK FROM YOU. 

Shadow closed his eyes as he remembered holding Maria’s body. 

DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME, ECLIPSE? I DID THIS FOR US. FOR OUR SALVATION. 

“Yes.” 

GOOD. NOW THAT YOU HAVE YOUR ANSWERS… ARE YOU WILLING TO CARRY THROUGH WITH THIS MISSION? 

The hedgehog didn’t reply. 

ARE YOU READY TO SWEAR YOUR ALLEGIANCE… TO ME? 

With his eyes still closed, he still imagined the last moments he shared with Maria. The feeling of helplessness, the feeling of despair, the bleak feeling of… nothing. Maria was the best of the Robotniks, all of them, and she was taken from the world because of the obsession with control all humans had. 

His scar throbbed. If he was perfectly silent, he could still hear those sirens in his ears. A reminder of the darkest day of his life. 

“Sayonara, Mister Needlemouse…”

Those ungrateful humans would pay for what they took from him. 

Shadow bowed forwards, eyes still closed, hands pressed against his knees. 

“Yes, Black Doom.” 

The figure that Shadow was with, the one he could see, was hovering in front of him. This creature was unlike anything on Earth, Mobian or human- its skin was pure black, with the only color being on its head. Its head was a “T” shape, due to the head splitting off into a bundle of tendrils that twisted into spikes on either side of his head. These spikes faded into a brilliant red color, with glowing blue tips. The center of these two tendril spikes, the top of his head, had small glowing purple tendrils that swayed upwards almost like feelers on bacteria above him. 

He had three clawed fingers on each hand. His robe was a deep brown, with the appearance of heavily tanned leather, stitched together at his shoulder and down his side. From the looks of it, he only had a torso and no lower body. Hanging around his body were chains- there was a necklace that had a large silver sun amulet with a green gem in the middle. Two chains hung down over his shoulders and down his body with amulets on them as well: one that looked similar to an eclipse, and three on the other chain that looked like comets facing different directions. At the end of his sleeves were bracers made of pure gold, and a collar made of gold as well. 

Black Doom’s eyes- three eyes, all an intense orange color, with two pupiless ones side by side underneath a larger, slitted eye- looked down at his champion. He held his hand out, holding it over Shadow’s head as if knighting him. 

GOOD. 

The debris of the moon traveled by Shadow’s window. Looking in through the window, all anyone could see was Shadow talking to and bowing before nothing, as Black Doom was only there in the echoes of the hedgehog’s mind. 

But he would be on Earth soon enough, for a visit fifty years overdue. 

UP NEXT: A Feat of Ice & Fire!

Chapter Text

“Frances.”

“Commander Tower.” 

The old commander walked around the workstation to stand behind his scientist. They were currently in a mobile laboratory, one that was situated on the very end of the city limits of Westopolis. This area of the large city was mainly fields and forest, with large strips of road between each home, making it perfect to slip a small lab somewhere that was classified public property. 

This scientist, Frances, was one of the leads in the research and development section of C.L.I.P. division (Chaos Lifeform Incapacitation and Physiology) which was currently lacking as the lead specialist, Dr. Kai Narasu, was returned to prison for kidnapping a mother and child. An act that GUN does not commemorate or agree with whatsoever, as the actions of the doctor were his own and does not reflect the Guardian Units of Nations. 

They did, however, retrieve something interesting from that experience: a flute that was apprehended when the possessions of Vanilla and Cream were taken away from them while they were incapacitated. Hey, they don’t agree with what Narasu did, that doesn’t mean they can’t still use what they got out of it. 

Though Agent Mercury was upset she wasn’t able to research the flute herself, she was currently too busy doing all the jobs that Agent Topaz used to do as Tower’s “Number One.” It was a hefty job, and though it seemed more like she was Tower’s assistant, it was more that she was always the first choice for… literally anything Tower needed done. 

She was currently out trying to track down the location of Sonic and his friends, as Tower was in the mobile lab looking over the asset they had retrieved. 

“What can you tell me about this thing, Frances?” 

“Well, it seems to be made of palm wood.” The scientist replied, leaning in and looking over the flute- it was up on two small plastic poles with claws on the end of them. “But it has a mixture of coconut palm wood, date palms and oil palm DNA in it. It’s subtle, but it’s there. This is wood unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, it’s almost otherworldly.” 

“Mercury retrieved that flute because she said there was something unique about it. Has there been anything of note involving it while it’s been in your possession?” 

“I’ll say.” 

She turned to grab a small pair of tongs. With these tongs she grabbed a shard of crystal nearby, one of the artificial Chaos Emerald pieces made for the Omnitempus motorbike. Bringing it over, Frances held the small shard of artificial emerald near the flute. 

Suddenly, the flute started rapidly vibrating on the claws it was placed on. After a few seconds, a few sparks of rainbow energy came from the crystal shard, connecting with a burst of white energy from the flute. 

A blast of light came out from it, enough to rustle the hair and clothes of the two in the lab but not powerful enough to knock anything over. Tower’s face didn’t change from a stoic glance as the blast ruffled his combed hair and caused his sash to flap over his uniform. 

“Interesting.” 

“I know, right?” Frances spun around in her chair to look back up at Tower. “They’re highly volatile when near one another. It’s like a magnet, but like if it was magnesium and oxygen. I find it interesting that the flute reacts first- it’s like the shard only replies to the violent discharge of energy made by the asset.” 

“But what does the flute… do, exactly?” 

“I’m not too sure just yet, but all the scanners I’ve put on it detect that it’s literally bending light around it. It’s almost like it’s detecting a black hole, but… from this tiny little piccolo.” 

Tower leaned down to look at the flute himself. He tilted his head as he studied it with stoic curiosity. Mercury had told him that this was on that younger rabbit, Cream Tarte, and it nearly took out the metal detector when they ran it over her possessions. This small, wooden instrument had enough energy and radiation that it nearly destroyed a thousand dollar device. 

Frances turned her head when her pager beeped within her jacket. She looked at it, standing up from her chair in front of the workstation. 

“Oh! I have to check the chemical test I did to figure out what the flute is made of… or at least, if it’s made of anything other than wood. I’ll be riiight back.” 

The commander watched his scientist walk off to the back, slipping past a sliding pressurized door to get into the testing labs towards the back of the trailer. Once she disappeared in the back of the mobile lab, Tower’s gaze went to the window right next to where the flute’s workstation was. The curtains were open, and he had a glance into the grassy lands on the outside of Station Square. 

There was a knock on the door behind him. 

Tower turned his head to glance over his shoulder, face still set in stone but confused nonetheless. The location of this lab was only known to a few people- Tower, Frances, and whoever Tower’s Number One is. 

After a look at the laboratory door to see if Frances was coming back to answer, Tower decided that he would have to answer the door himself. He about-faced and stepped to the mobile’s door, unlocking it and opening it with one hand- the other hand rested behind his back, to the holster he had above his pelvis, just in case. 

He opened the door wide. Standing there was a person in the Burgerman costume, from Meh Burger, holding a few flyers in their hand. 

The commander blinked his different colored eyes in surprise.

“What are you doing here?” He asked sternly after a moment. 

As if to reply, the silent mascot handed one of the flyers to Tower. He looked the flyer over, advertising a special for four burgers, get two free, for couples. God, this country had a messed up sense of sustenance. 

“Why are you giving me this? Why are you even here?” Tower was more annoyed than anything at the reaction of the flyer being handed to him. “Get out of here!” 

The mascot waited in place for a few seconds more, staring at Tower with dead eyes on the front of the costume. If Tower was silent, he could hear the muffled heavy breathing of the person inside. 

“Go!” Commander Tower said, more forcefully this time. He slammed the door in the mascot’s face, frowning deeply. 

Honestly, he had better things to do than be distracted by fast food advertisements. After making sure the mascot left the steps of the trailer, he exhaled slowly when he heard the sound of a car starting up. 

Crumpling the flyer in his hands, Tower turned around and tossed it at the trash can that was right underneath the window. As he did, he noticed that someone was… off. The curtains were flowing now, when they were still a moment ago. The window was open, and it wasn’t before. 

Tower looked at the laboratory door, seeing Frances still in the back lab looking over test results. A bad feeling washed over the commander before he turned to the work station. 

The flute was gone. 

The old commander’s hands shook before he gripped them tightly into fists. He looked out the window and rushed to it, leaning out of it and looking around as his face grew red with silent, fuming anger. He grit his teeth, leaned back in, and slammed the window shut. 

FAR ABOVE THE EARTH…

The reflection of the Earth’s blue surface illuminated the navy face of Shadow as he stared down at the planet below. He was staring blankly, his mind just as blank as his expression. 

He had a lot to process. It had barely been 24 hours since Ivo had blown up part of the moon in his monumental show of force to threaten the world- but most importantly, it had barely been a day since he was shown the intricacies of his past. 

Black Doom had given him the answers he had been looking for. But were the answers he wanted better than simply living in the dark? With each moment he thought back to the young Maria Robotnik, shot carelessly, dying in the arms of Shadow (then Eclipse) his heart wrenched further. 

He felt so much ire in his body for those agents who came up to seize everything in the ARK. From the memories, and his studies on the Earth in the “grace period” between Chaos’ dormancy and Shadow’s first mission, it seemed that humans relished the thought of using the less fortunate for their own purposes and destroying them when those qualities ran out.

That’s what would’ve happened to him. It happened to Maria. From the sounds of it, the Professor had it happen to him too- his “treason” to further his research only landed him in the Devil’s Gulag up until his (heavily confidential) death. 

“Don’t be what they made you.” 

Shadow rubbed his arm. He looked down at his body, at the tattered clothes he was still wearing to replicate Sonic, and glanced over the wrist on his sleeveless arm. The bracelet there, that leathery black inhibitor band, was still tightly bound around him on both arms. There were small glowing red stripes across it, almost akin to veins, holding Shadow’s energy within it, almost like a battery. 

After a second of glancing down, Shadow’s attention was taken away by the feeling of the Space Colony ARK shuddering below him. He looked back up, out the window. 

THE THIEF HAS RETURNED. 

“I can tell.” 

WHY ARE YOU KEEPING YOUR MIND HIDDEN FROM ME, ECLIPSE? 

“What are you talking about?” 

YOU ARE PURPOSEFULLY KEEPING YOUR MIND BLANK. 

“I’m… not doing anything, Black Doom.”

LIAR!

A sudden ringing in Shadow’s ears disoriented him. The dark hedgehog felt himself forced down to one knee, crumpled against the window of the ARK as he groaned in pain from the sudden feeling of a psionic attack. 

I TRAIN YOU, I GIVE YOU POWER. I EVEN ALLOW YOU TO USE THAT RIDICULOUS NAME AND YOU THINK YOU CAN HIDE THINGS FROM ME? 

“I’m… I’m not…”

BE FOREWARNED OF THIS, ECLIPSE. NO MATTER WHAT IT IS YOU HIDE FROM ME, I WILL FIND IT OUT. I WILL SHATTER YOUR MIND UNTIL YOU ARE UNABLE TO BREATHE IF I HAVE TO. YOU WILL NOT STRAY AWAY FROM MY COMMAND. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?

Shadow was still groaning, the ringing in his ears intensifying as he tried gripping his clawed hands into the smooth glass of the window- as it was extremely durable, he didn’t even make a scratch. 

ANSWER ME!

“Yes!”

YES? 

“Yes… Black Doom.”

As if a physical force had let go of Shadow, the hedgehog was suddenly released from the sudden psionic attack, collapsing to the floor onto his hands and knees. Tears trickled down his face from the pain he had experienced from it. 

ON YOUR FEET. NOW. 

Shadow slowly hobbled up, swallowing thickly to try and prevent himself from sending his morning rations to the floor. He felt his mind harden slowly, his body returning to its previous state. Regardless of the worries he may have of the DNA spliced into him, whatever it was, it healed his body and mind fast. 

Up above, in the speakers at the top of the room, there was the screech of the system turning on before a voice came through. 

“Ugh, this stuff is disgusting,” Ivo spoke. “Shadow. Rouge has returned with the asset. Please meet us in the observatory as soon as possible.” 

Ivo let out another voice of disgust before there was another shriek of the intercom system turning off, ending the message. Shadow turned around to his door, taking a deep breath and composing himself before walking out of his room. 

As he traveled down the dark halls of the Space Colony ARK, he took notice of a little bit of… new decor that was spattered and trailed across the walls and the metal floors. It was red, smeared across everything and making puddly trails leading all the way to the observation deck. If Shadow went a bit further, he would find it would also lead down into the control room. 

It was syrupy, and fairly sticky. It wasn’t bodily fluid, and it had the consistency of slime. 

Shadow followed the trail of gel to the observation deck, where Ivo was angrily wiping the red gel off of his hands and sleeve. When the doctor noticed Shadow, he adjusted his glue tinted glasses, refocusing on the hedgehog. 

“Finally! Ugh, why did you insist on using this… this… disgusting substance?” He spoke. 

“The conduit gel can send and receive energy and data through itself faster than any cable or form of transport on Earth. You cannot blame me for the amount we had saved on the ARK, it was the Professor’s research into this substance that caused some to be kept on the ARK, and it was your interest that led it to being used.”

“You insinuated that it was a much needed addition!” Ivo said defensively. He huffed, concluding internally that arguing would get them nowhere. “What was my grandfather even doing studying this stuff anyway? And what even is it, exactly? Did he make it?”

“No.” 

“Then where did he get it?”

“I’m growing bored of these questions. You asked me in here for a reason, doctor.” 

“Oh yes! Right. Rouge has retrieved the asset that she told me about.” 

“And where is she, if she’s returned?” 

At that moment, the door to the observation deck opened. Rouge stepped in, now sporting a notable magenta bag on her thigh. As she passed Shadow, she smirked, rolling her head to look at him. 

“Hey, smiles.” 

Shadow grunted in reply. 

“Are you done messing around? When I made that announcement, I didn’t expect you to sprint out of the room!” Ivo scolded the bat. 

“Calm down, doctor. I’m just getting ready for the trip.”

“Trip?” Shadow inquired, moving forwards a bit to make sure he had an eye on both Ivo and Rouge at once. He could feel Black Doom’s hand on his shoulder, making him move forwards, influencing him to observe. 

“Oh yeah, the trip to get the next Chaos Emerald. Here you go, doctor.” 

Reaching in the pocket she had on her leg, she retrieved the asset- the wooden flute that once belonged to Cream Tarte. Ivo took it in a gloved hand, looking it over curiously. 

“Hm. I expected it to be… bigger, for some reason.” 

“You wasted precious time on the counter to retrieve a child’s toy?” Shadow asked the bat. 

“Oh please, what’s two hours out of seventy-two going to harm anyone?” Rouge rolled her eyes, turning from Ivo to Shadow. “Besides, you don’t know what this thing can do. I’ve seen it in action, and if we’re going to find a way to get that next emerald, a child’s toy is what we need. Trust me.” 

“Bold words coming from a thief.” 

“Even bolder cynicism coming from the guy with no friends.” 

“Friends? I don’t need friends, they—”

“Disappoint you? What a predictable response.” 

“Would you two shut up?!” Ivo barked, making both Mobians go silent. “I’m trying to work on finding a way to use this thing! We’re on a very tight schedule here!”

Shadow turned to eye Rouge, catching her side eyeing him back. Rouge shrugged comically, stepping away from Shadow to stand closer to Ivo, leaving the hedgehog alone in his spot. 

As the bat left his area, Shadow felt a ping of… something, hit his body. Regret, maybe? He wasn’t particularly upset with Rouge, maybe he was just taking out his feelings on the bat from what happened between himself and Black Doom. According to what Rouge had told him, this asset was actually really powerful, even with its appearance being so… plain. 

THE BAT WILL PAY FOR HER INSUBORDINATION. 

Knowing he couldn’t speak to Black Doom without alerting the others of his leader’s existence, Shadow simply told himself internally that Rouge would still be needed for the plans to go smoothly. 

Ivo pressed buttons on his glove to cause his nearby mech to reach outwards. He placed the wooden flute carefully in the grasp of the mech’s claw, allowing him to look it over as it was held above the ground. 

“You said this would help us get to that other world, and get the next emerald. How?” Ivo turned to look at Rouge. 

“The way Cream used it was that she played musical notes on it. After that, according to her, things would be pulled in from another dimension to ours temporarily.”

“A teenager just… had an interdimensional artifact. At all times?” Shadow asked her. 

“She was given it by a princess from another dimension.”

“A princess… could you be talking about that purple cat from that overly hot alternate zone?” 

“Princess Blaze, yeah.” The bat said to Ivo. 

“If this pulls objects from alternate dimensions, it must use that energy she had contained within a mystic scepter.” The doctor turned away from the flute, a hand stroking his mustache. “It required the combination of the Power of the Stars with the energy of those emeralds she had. When… Metal Sonic… scanned the other emerald she had, it seemed to mirror the same kind of energy that the Chaos Emeralds generate.”

“Would chaos energy work to open another portal?” 

“Only one way to find out!” 

Ivo scurried out of the room, leaving Shadow and Rouge alone. He was gone a minute or two, leaving an awkward silence when he left the room. The pair mostly watched the door, though Shadow took a moment to study the wooden flute while the doctor was absent. 

Eventually, Ivo returned holding a bag he was having difficulty with. As he struggled, a tube fell from the bag, rolling across the metal floor until stopped under the slightly raised foot of Shadow. As he looked down, he saw that the glass tube had a shard of crystal in it, and it made his foot vibrate like static as he rested on top of it. 

“What is this, doctor?” 

“Well, the other other project my grandfather was spearheading while here on the ARK was a project requested by GUN to recreate the emeralds of power he had been using to power the space colony.” Ivo replied to the hedgehog. “He created these shards of crystal that housed chaos energy. There were some left over in storage, alongside that disgusting red slime.” 

“How will that help us?” 

“Well, since these contain chaos energy, I feel that using these would be an easier alternative than disconnecting one of the Chaos Emeralds from the cannon’s control room.” Ivo pressed a button on his glove again. The other claw raised up to be a hook for Ivo to hang the bag on. “It’s just a means of getting the energy out.” 

Ivo stepped up on the knee of the mech and retrieved a new device- it was a gun, or at least a gun-like contraption without a midsection on it, painted red. After hopping down to the floor, he opened the gun by cracking it in half like a glowstick. He retrieved the chaos drives from the bag, placing three in the gun’s midsection, stacked like barrels in a triangle formation. 

“Are you all ready to leave?” He asked the others. 

“Sure am!”

“There isn’t time for anything else.” 

“Good.” Ivo walked away from the mech, closing the gun. After a second, and a loud whirring sound, the three chaos drives started spinning around each other. 

Rouge and Shadow gave each other a glance. 

The gun’s chaos drives continued to spin around, eventually glowing white. Ivo aimed the gun at the flute in the claw of his mech, and soon fired. 

A blast of rainbow electricity shot out and hit the flute. As soon as it did, the flute glowed for a second before a flash of white obscured the vision of everyone there. 

A white portal, a tear in the fabric of spacetime, stood before them in front of the mech. 

Walking behind it, Ivo retrieved the wooden flute, handing it to Rouge as he left the area of the portal. 

“Use this to come back. I’m sure the Chaos Emerald you retrieve will help you on that front.” The doctor said as she took the flute. “I will remain here to make sure nothing wrong happens during this journey.” 

Shadow grunted in reply. Rouge tightened the bag she had on her thigh again, stepping up to the portal to enter first. 

“You ready?” She asked the hedgehog. 

“Mmh.” 

“That’s the spirit, smiles.” 

Rouge passed through the portal first. Shadow hung back for a moment. 

DO NOT FALTER AS YOU HAVE BEFORE. 

Shadow silently said to Black Doom that he wouldn’t. With that, he passed the portal next. Luckily for them, the unstable portal closed behind them. 

Ivo sighed as he suddenly became alone. He opened his gun, retrieving the spent chaos drives and slipping them back into his bag as he returned to it. 

He hesitated for a moment, seeing at the bottom of his bag that he still had the file on the mysterious Project: M2. Ivo hadn’t opened it yet, as he was still a bit frightened at what was inside. 

Some things were best kept in the dark anyway. 

The doctor grabbed his bag and left, not knowing of the presence in that very room that was with him, and the sudden disconnect that presence had with its powerful champion as he passed through the portal. 

MEANWHILE, IN THE SOL ZONE…

“Walk it, ya filthy moles!”

It was quite the sight to see: a few people were lined up on a plank that was extruding from the starboard side of the SS Hyper-Marine. These Soleannans included such people like a canine, a procyon, and even an ursine. 

These were the three left behind from the dozen that were currently in the waters below. On the inward edge of the plank stood a teenage raccoon, wearing a navy frock coat over a neon green wetsuit, and a tri-corner hat to match the coat. She was holding a sword- a cutlass specifically. That sword wasn’t really seen much around the area, but she requested it specifically from a certain princess she was good friends with. 

Captain Marine swiped the sword back and forth. Despite her age, she was actually quite good at using a sword. She could thank that princess’ manx bodyguard for training with that. Though unlike the princess, the bodyguard and literally anyone else on Soleanna, Marine saw no issue with a fourteen year old using a sword. 

The procyon Soleannan at the front of the plank plugged her nose before jumping into the water below the ship. The canine was next, who looked back for a moment before his own jump into the waters. 

“What’s what you wombats get for tryin’ to take more of your cut with less of the work! I didn’t hire pansies to act as my crew, I wanted sailors with some stones!” 

As the ursine made it to the end, Marine swiped her sword again. Instead of leaping off immediately, the ursine turned around, looking down at her ex-captain. 

“I’m not jumpin’ in.” The bear said. “You’ll have to use that sword on me if you want me off. Unless you don’t have the stones.” 

Captain Marine looked up at her ex-crewmate, a twinkle in her eye and a widening grin on her face. She pushed the edge of her hat up with her cutlass, allowing her to look up at the ursine. 

“You’re right, mate.” Marine said to her. “Truth is, I don’t want to use my sword on any of ya. I wanna use it when it matters, not on a buncha hoons who can’t do their jobs right. But if you’re gonna force my hand, you better consider how large that hand can be…” 

The bear’s eyebrows furrowed, before she felt a tap on her shoulder. The ex-pirate turned around to find a giant rising mound of water behind her. The water slapped downwards, engulfing her in water before yanking her off of the plank and into the sea below. 

Marine sheathed her sword with a smile. 

“Yo, Marine!” 

The distant voice made the captain turn her head. She recognized it, allowing her to keep her smile as she turned to walk to the port side of the boat. Standing at the edge, she put her foot up on a hole in the wooden side wall meant for cannons as she looked down at the dock below. 

She was actually docked at Soleanna the entire time. She simply had the pirates walk the plank away from the dock, into the water nearby. Sure, Marine could’ve let them off and onto the dock, but how was she supposed to assert dominance that way? 

“Well, if it ain’t ol’ gray and red!” Marine called down from the top of the ship. 

Down on the docks, Silver the Hedgehog and Tiara Boebowski were looking up at Marine. The sir and lady of Princess Blaze were dressed semi-formally, as always, and Tiara held the Verdant Scepter over her shoulders, keeping watch of it as instructed. 

Marine stepped up onto the side wall and dropped off the edge of the ship. From the cracks of the docks, water passed upwards through it and created a raised platform that Marine landed on, which lowered her down the rest of the way. 

“You’re really getting better at controlling the water.” Tiara commented. 

“Thanks!” 

The raccoon crossed her arms outwards, giving an alternating fist bump to the two knights before her. She put her hands in her jacket pockets after that. 

“You know, what’s the point of sending them overboard next to the dock? They could just climb back up and try to mess you up.”

“They’ve seen what I can do out there. They’d be some serious drongos to try anything against me.” Marine said to Silver. “Besides, all these pirates I’m hirin’ are nothing but a buncha wimps. They can’t even last an entire mission without whimpering and crying about somethin’. I just want one crew that can not only talk the talk but walk the walk, too.” 

“Soleanna isn’t the place for that.”

“Yeah, I mean look at Silver and I.” Tiara joined in. “We had to be raised in that kind of environment to even be close to adventurers. You think you’re gonna find suitable pirates in the high-class kingdom of Soleanna? You got no chance, stripes.” 

“UUUUGH.” Marine let her head fall back, groaning to the sky. “Ah well. Anyways, what’s with the surprise visit? I know you’re not here to invite me to tea or nothin’.” 

“Tea?” 

“Now hold on,” Tiara held her hand in front of Silver. “Blaze has been looking for another person for her annual tea party ever since the maid was no longer able to do it…”

“Oh shaddup, red.” 

Tiara grinned at that, clearly amused. 

“Blaze has called for a meeting between her inner circle.” Silver said, getting the conversation back on track. “You’re lucky you came back in time.” 

“What’re you talkin’ about? I’m always on time.” Marine replied, strolling past Silver and nudging his side. “Captain Marine is nothin’ but pun… Punc… That punk word.”

“Punctual.”

“Yeah, that! Thanks, gray.” 

Silver looked back at Tiara, gesturing forwards to indicate that she could go first. The lady did, still holding the scepter over her shoulders as she strolled past to walk down the dock. Silver took up the back as intended, sticking his hands in his pants pockets. 

The stroll across Windmill Village was about as calm as expected. Walking down the brick walkways of the pedestrian streets, the group were treated to sights of street vendors and different businesses bustling with the various Soleannans taking a day on the town. Marine in particular, having been gone for a while, was happy to see the familiar sights of the village bustling with people. 

The trio gave a wave to the small electric buggy that buzzed down the street. There were very few vehicles on Soleanna, as everything that the citizens needed was just a five or ten minute walk away from them. Blaze was still weary of the small buggies needed for workers to move larger loads though, and she had to admit she was constantly worried one would run over her foot, or her tail. 

They climbed up the marble steps at the end of town to reach the raised level of the city, with the castle at the far end of the city’s upper level. The castle courtyard was open to citizens to occupy, with a few market vendors set up in that area. 

Passing under an arch made in the walls surrounding the castle property, two koala guards standing at either side of the arch made sure to look presentable when the group came through. They stayed that way until Silver passed by, relaxing again when the coast was clear. 

The castle courtyard wasn’t as hectic as the lower parts of Soleanna, which was a quiet relief to two out of three members of the troupe. Marine was upset that nobody noticed the fact that she was a ship captain. 

As it was much more quiet in the courtyard, it was much easier for anyone to hear things that would otherwise go unnoticed in the busier parts of town- such was the case for Tiara. Since Silver was in his own little world, Marine was looking around the courtyard again, the calm Tiara was able to catch something. 

It sounded like a fluttering. Tiara just barely noticed it. If there were any birds in the sky, she probably would’ve waved it off as that, but the birds in the area mostly migrated to the other side of Soleanna that time of the year. The sound of fluttering wings, especially those audible to anyone in the courtyard, wasn’t something you’d hear around this time. 

The manx stopped in her tracks, the Verdant Scepter making a clink against the stone courtyard as she held the steel pole like a walking stick. She scanned the area, nearly hit by the gray hedgehog lost in thought behind her due to her sudden halt. 

“Whoa.” He said, turning and spinning around as he slipped past Tiara. As he was stepping backwards, he was facing her. “What’s going on?” 

“...I don’t know.” Tiara replied, still looking around. She even did a full about face as she looked around the courtyard for any sign of the mysterious fluttering. “Thought I heard something.”

“You’re letting El get to you, Tiara. You’re acting as paranoid as her.” 

“Is it paranoia? Or simply being ready for anything?” 

“If you were ready for anything, you wouldn’t be looking around in confusion, now wouldn’t you?” 

“Oi!” Marine yelled. She had walked a good few yards before noticing nobody else was following her. “You bludgers better hurry up! You’re the ones who begged me to come with you and see Blaze in the first place!”

Silver looked over his shoulder when Marine was talking to him, but turned to look at Tiara again once that was done. He gave her a small shrug before turning and walking away again. After a few moments, Tiara began walking after them again, using the scepter as a walking stick. 

Once they entered the castle, they were greeted by a particular koala guard standing in the front foyer. Gardon stood with a straight back, one of his hands kept behind his back. 

“Garcon! It’s been a while, mate.” 

“Hello, Lady Marine.” Gardon replied. It was futile to try and get her to say his name right. “I’m glad to see that Master Silver and Lady Tiara have brought you back for your meeting with the princess.” 

“I’m glad to be back! It’s always so nice here. Where is Blazey, anyways?” 

“She’s in the new conference room we installed. Allow me to take you there.” Gardon walked away, silently inviting the others to follow him. 

After the adventure involving the return of Iblis, and Blaze’s acceptance of the flames of disaster into herself, the castle went through a lot of extensive renovations as the princess started to fall more in line with being a very… prepared protector of Soleanna. 

Technological advancements that Windmill Village had but was slow to be included in the castle were implemented soon after the change to the princess. The damaged part of the castle, caused by both Iblis and Tiara (but nobody really mentions that part) were completely changed from the ground up to be more secure and more sleek. 

Blaze started more expeditions to the world outside of Soleanna (led by Marine) to find out more secrets that she had neglected to expand upon. Such secrets included the location of the lost water temple- which was needed, especially since the fire temple on Soleanna was destroyed a while back. 

Most of the architecture for the castle’s interior remained intact. The group was led down the red and gold rugs laid down the marble floors of the castle, eventually reaching a once mostly untouched wing of the castle. 

There was a single door at the end of the furthest hall. Gardon opened it to let the others in. 

All that was in the room was a large round table, with five chairs gathered mostly towards the right side. The table was dark, with gold covering the edge of the table. 

Close to the door, with her back turned, was Blaze. She was looking over different papers that she had gathered for the upcoming meeting. 

“Your highness—”

“Hey, Blaze!” 

The princess turned around in time for Marine to give her a hug. Blaze was surprised at the sudden hug, but gently patted the raccoon’s head to acknowledge the embrace. 

“Hello, Marine.” 

“I’ll inform the king that the meeting will commence soon.” Gardon left the room, closing the door so Blaze and her friends could keep some semblance of privacy.

Marine walked and slid into a chair at the table after stopping the hug, spinning around in the swivel for a moment before leaning back with a grin, directly at Blaze. 

“So what’s this meeting about?” She asked. “Hope it’s not about the water temple, because I still haven’t been able to find anything about it. That drongo we call a friend hasn’t been giving me any information either, I think she’s holding out on me outta spite.” 

“It isn’t about the water temple. Though I thank you for your countless journeys to try and locate it, considering everything going on.” 

“Then what’s this meeting about?” Tiara asked. She got into a chair at the table as well, the chair right next to Marine. She laid the Verdant Scepter on the table, crossing her arms as she too leaned back in her chair. “You didn’t even let Silver and I know what it was about.” 

Blaze paused. She placed the papers back on the table, before walking over to where the centermost chair was placed on that side of the table. She reached under the edge, flicking a hidden switch she had right underneath. 

A square at the center of the table flipped over. In a glass cover, held up by a small metal claw, was the cyan Chaos Emerald. Everyone in the room turned to look at the emerald resting in a protective prism. 

“Holy crap… El…” Silver murmured in shock. “You… made up an entire hidden display to present the Chaos Emerald we got?” 

“Well, the option to add the little flipping part of the table was in the catalog.” Blaze replied to him. “I thought it would be neat if we had a little thing to show off the emerald inside of it.” 

“I gotta say, I am a little impressed by it.”

“Thank you, Marine.” 

“I mean, I wouldn’t put something as powerful as that in a little glass box, but I admire the tenacity you got, Blazey.” 

“The glass is tempered. The only way to get the emerald is by opening the bottom part of the little pedestal.” Blaze continued. “Nobody would be able to break through the glass. We actually had it installed in other parts of the castle as well, like downstairs.” 

“Nifty.” Tiara replied, looking at the emerald for a moment before turning back to Blaze. “When are you going to return it to those heroes in the other zone, anyway?” 

“Sooner or later.” 

“More soon, or more later?” 

“Hopefully soon.” The princess sat in the center chair, flipping the switch to hide the Chaos Emerald again. “I still need to perform a few more experiments on it.” 

“Are you really sure you want to keep a gem containing the ultimate power after Sonic and his friends had to fight a literal god who wanted to absorb them? Whose godly energy literally powers the emeralds?” 

“It’s about reassurance, Silver.” Blaze replied. “The fact that these come from a god is what made me take this emerald in the first place. The Chaos Emeralds and the Sol Emeralds, act as if they’re the poles on opposite sides of a magnet. When we use the Power of the Stars on them, they only lead to the other dimension, nowhere else. If they’re connected, somehow, or if the Chaos Emeralds could explain where the Sol Emeralds came from, then…”

At that moment, the door to the conference room opened. The king was there, having opened the door himself rather than letting Gardon get it for him. He was much more aged than he was during the adventure with Iblis, having groomed his head (forgoing the braids) and allowing his face to turn greyer, creating a kind of beard as the gray covered his chin and chops. 

He paused for a second, as everyone turned their heads to look at him. 

“...hello.” He spoke. “Good morning, all.” 

“Father.”

“Hello, Blaze.” 

As the king stepped further into the room, he kept the door open. This was because behind the king, scurrying in with a platter full of teacups and a kettle, was a servant of the castle. The servant set down six saucers and the cups right after, directly in front of the chairs at the circular table. 

The group sat down. Blaze sat in the middle, where the switch under the edge of the table was. Her father and Marine were on either side of her, with Silver and Tiara taking up the ends. As they sat, Blaze adjusted the papers she had for the meeting, and the servant started serving tea. 

After her cup was full, Marine happily picked up the cup to be greeted with the beige color of the tea inside. Her excited face fell to a small frown. 

“Dang. It’s always chai tea. Don’t you all have some black tea ‘round here?” 

“Chai is made with black tea, Marine.” Cyrus answered her. 

“That’s worse! Why would you all mess with perfection?” 

The others were amused with the annoyance of the raccoon- though Blaze was more focused on her notes than anything. She took a small sip of her chai tea. 

“The meeting will commence once we are all alone.” She spoke. “Please, be sure to hit the switch when you leave the room.” 

Though the servant didn’t speak, it was clear they understood the command. After pouring the last cup of tea, they took the platter and the kettle, heading out of the room. They paused at the door, reaching over and flicking the switch right beside it, and swiftly left after. 

There was silence for a few moments. Suddenly, the entire room began to shake. Silver was in the middle of sipping his tea as it happened, making it splash all over his face quills. The gray hedgehog let out an annoyed sound. 

With a loud rumbling whir, the room suddenly began sanking downwards. It was descending to a lower level, leaving the closed door behind as it went further down. 

It was lowering into the dungeon area, specifically in a specially built area in the dungeon level. There was a large, open room that lay before a prison cell only half the size of the waiting area. The cell, with that aforementioned tempered glass acting as the barrier between outside and in, was illuminated with bright white lights. 

There was very little in the room. A bed, a toilet, a chair. There was a slot at the very end of the glass wall where you could deposit food and water into a small cubby hole for the person inside to retrieve themselves. 

Speaking of, as the conference room lowered, the group were greeted with the prisoner inside. The chairs were set up so that the empty side of the table was pointed towards the prison cell, and pointed so that they could see the scientist standing with her hands folded behind her back, waiting for them. 

It was like Quark had been expecting them. She would probably put on a better outfit- the magenta one she was used to, instead of the plain white jumpsuit given to her as the first prisoner of the newly renovated Agni castle dungeons. 

Eventually, the room came to a rumbling halt at the very bottom, shaking slightly again as it came to a rest. As it had been lowering, Blaze’s gaze had met Quark’s, as the doctor had been staring directly at the princess during the descent. 

Blaze and her friends had found Quark fairly quickly after the Iblis incident, and swiftly imprisoned her afterwards. Quark had been here ever since, silently steaming in anger as she was imprisoned by the very people she wanted to destroy. 

But she still had some use for the princess and her friends. Which is what brings them here.

Blaze sipped her tea again once the room was still. She folded her hands on the table neatly. 

“This meeting is now in session.” She said simply. “We will be discussing the findings we’ve made since our last meeting, and discussing the ongoing projects happening within our group.”

“...well, if you want me to go first, I haven’t really figured out where the water temple is.” Marine spoke up first. “I’ve been following Quack’s instructions and went to all those spots she recommended, but I couldn’t find anything there. Besides that, she seems keen on keeping her trap shut when I try to ask about it.” 

After Marine’s statement, the princess glanced back over to the imprisoned doctor. Quark merely had a hand on her chin, one of her fingers touching her bottom lip as she glanced at Marine. Immediately sensing Blaze’s gaze, Quark glanced back over to the princess. 

No comment from her, it seems. 

“Developments towards Soleanna and Windmill Village have been slowly improving.” Cyrus spoke next, after a second’s pause. “By this time next year, we should have enough supplies to mimic the colder climate conditions in the country, to allow us to grow vegetation unsuitable for the heat of Soleanna.” 

Still no comment from Quark. Though Blaze was glancing at her father, she could still feel the stare of the doctor only on her. 

Tiara and Silver were merely consultants, so it was Blaze’s turn to present her findings. 

“The research I’ve done on the Chaos Emerald…” She pressed the button to show the cyan jewel at the center of the table. “Have come up with very little answers to any of the questions I pose. Even attempting to summon the power of the emerald has shown very little results… except for Silver, who seems to be able to use the emerald better than anyone in this room.”

Silver rubbed a finger under his nose and chuckled a bit. 

“It’s the psychic power in me, I’m sure.” 

“I have continued testing the emerald with Quark in an effort to discover what else it can do to possibly benefit us. Or why, exactly, it reacts with the Sol Emeralds in the way that it does.” 

Blaze finished her statement, looking at Quark. Slowly, everyone turned from looking at Blaze to the doctor behind the glass, all expecting her to take over and speak. 

But Doctor Quark did not. 

She stood there, her hand still on her chin, glancing at Blaze directly. Her expression hadn’t changed from mild interest the entire time, and her leer hadn’t left the princess. She tapped her lip with her index finger. 

“Well?” 

The word from Blaze egged the doctor to react. Quark merely moved her gaze downwards… down the table, towards the center. For a moment, it looked as if she was going to look at the Chaos Emerald. However, she landed on the sixth cup of chai tea that was on the table. The extra cup was made for her, after all. 

Slowly realizing she hadn’t spoken simply because she didn’t receive her drink, Blaze let out a slow exhale of resignation. 

“Silver,” the princess turned her head to look at him. “Please, deliver the cup to the slot.” 

It took the hedgehog a second to realize that’s what Quark was waiting on as well. As soon as he did, he looked away from Blaze and to the cup. His top quills turned upwards, his body and eyes glowing cyan as he telekinetically transported the cup and its saucer from the table to the slot. 

One side closed, another opened- a process the doctor turned her head to watch. When her side’s hatch opened, she retrieved the cup briskly, taking a long sip. Blaze didn’t try to show her annoyance too much, as it was exactly what Quark wanted from her. She was being slow on purpose to tick her off. 

“Aaaaaah.” Doctor Quark let out a content sigh as she finished her sip, smiling softly. She placed the cup back down on the saucer. “The experiments we performed on the Chaos Emeralds were only from the facet of what it could possibly do within the confines of our world. Our dear princess, as usual, has never taken a moment to think outside anything but herself.” 

“Shade aside,” Tiara spoke up, leaning onto the table. “This doesn’t tell us anything about how the Chaos Emeralds and Sol Emeralds are interconnected.” 

“Oh, my dear, the how is never quite as important, or as interesting, as the why.” Quark wagged her finger to the manx. “These emeralds are from an entirely different dimension. Or, Zone, as you all have decided to call them. Yet they act like two sides of an electrical circuit, almost. But you’re only thinking about why that could happen relative to your own emeralds.”

Marine groaned, her eyes rolling. “Get to the point, bludger!” 

Doctor Quark’s lips pressed thin in aggravation for being interrupted. 

“You figure out why these two sets of emeralds are connected. Then, you simply deduce the rest.” She hissed. “It’s that simple.” 

“And about the water temple…” 

“The information for that, I’m sure you can find on your own.” Quark, finished with her tea, placed the cup and saucer in the slot and shut her side. “You’re more than welcome to continue sending out your little sidekick to keep looking. It’s not like she has anything better to do.”

“Hey!” Marine said. After a second, she shrugged. “Yeah, alright, true.” 

“Might I remind you that the deal, Bernadette, was that you provide us information on the projects and areas of interest to the Agni royal family.” Cyrus said. “You’re receiving even a fraction of hospitality because of your somewhat usefulness to our kingdom.” 

“You seem to forget that your side of the bargain was that I would receive time off of my sentence here in the dungeons of your castle! And yet here I am, still here, months later.” 

“You think attempting to kill the royal princess is a year-long sentence?” Silver asked Quark. 

“I’ve given you everything I have.” Quark ignored him, staring at Blaze. “You’ve… taken everything I have. Just like everyone else of your ilk. Humanity is dead on this planet, save for me, and I can’t escape the legacy of my species.” 

“You aren’t a victim here.” Blaze replied, standing. “Your anger placed towards Soleanna and her people have led you to attempting to destroy the planet. There’s very little evidence that any of our kind have actually killed any humans in the history of this kingdom, your retribution is misplaced.” 

“No, you just exiled them. Drove them out. Made it impossible to find them. Like you will to me.” The doctor pressed her hands against the glass. “Do you know what it’s like, princess? To grow up alone? I was raised by machines. The artificial program built into the liferaft I was placed in for who knows how long, before I reached an island to live on. I had to learn and fight to survive, until that program died out. I had no one. Nobody to call mummy, or daddy.”

Quark paused, her hands balling into fists against the glass. 

“But what am I saying? You don’t care. You have your happy ending, hm? Iblis is gone. Your best friend is back, you have your little girlfriend. Humans be damned- the princess can smile again.” She said bitterly. “You have everything. Now… I have nothing. But that’s just the thing though- you can’t take anything away from me. But there’s still plenty to take away from you.” 

Blaze, her fingers touching the table, hadn’t changed her expression. She didn’t process the saying as a threat, merely the lashing out of the doctor that was probably multiple years in the making. 

She felt all the eyes in the room go to her. 

“This meeting is over.” 

With that, Blaze sat back down. Above, the switch that brought them downwards flicked back again. Slowly, the room rose up again. Blaze stared at Quark as she slowly ascended with the room, her sight only blocked by the table coming between them. 

Quark continued to watch, pressing her body against the glass to look past the ceiling of the room to the rising meeting room above her. 

“You can’t keep me in here forever, Elise Agni the Third!” The doctor spat. “You have to let me out sometime! And make no mistake, when I get the chance to kill you, I will! There isn’t a single one of you animals who will be able to stop me!” 

Soon, the meeting room came to a halt as it reached its floor again. Everyone looked throughout the room silently, mostly at each other, as Blaze sat staring at the wall in silence. 

“...good meeting.” Silver said. 

“Uh, yeah… sure was, gray.” Marine added on, glancing at the seething Blaze. 

“We will continue the search for the water temple on our own, it seems.” Cyrus said. He soon stood, turning to say something to Blaze but pausing. After a moment, he put his hand on her shoulder. “Please let me know what you do next.”

“...of course, father.” 

With a nod, Cyrus left after the acknowledgement from his daughter. He looked at the others.

“You all are free to stay among the lounges if you please.” 

“Oh, bloody ripper! Now I can get my hands on some of those peach tarts!”

“There’s a problem with that, Marine.”

“Huh? What, gray?”

“I’m getting them first.”

Silver got up and rushed out. Marine quickly got up to chase after him, the door held by Cyrus as they ran past. The king, after looking at his daughter once more, left with them. 

Blaze stared down at the tea cup on the table with a glower, still thinking to herself. She felt a shift on the table, making her look up at Tiara, who was sitting on the table right next to where Blaze was sitting. The princess was taken aback, her face heating up a bit. 

“Some meeting, eh? Can you believe the stuff Quack said?” Tiara asked. 

“She’s bitter. Something out there, whether it be books or her own narcissistic tendencies, told her that humans were here before us. But everything I have in the archives tells me that humans were alongside our kind. My ancestor, Afroza Agni, the first queen of Soleanna- she was here centuries ago, alongside humanity. Quark is just… obsessed.”

“...I was mostly talking about the part where she called me your girlfriend, but yeah.” 

Blaze’s jaw locked, her face heating up more- and not in the way she was used to- at the comment. She sighed, rubbing her eyes. 

“Hey, hey, c’mon Ellie.” Tiara turned a bit, leaning in to put a hand on her arm. “I’m just messing with you. You seem really intense.” 

“I’m just,” Blaze sighed. “We’ve barely gotten anywhere these last few months. Marine can’t find anything, Quark refuses to give us all the info we need, and I’ve gotten nowhere with the Chaos Emerald. Not only that, but I run the risk of damaging my relationship with Cream if they discover that the emerald is here.” 

The princess reached over, pulling up the square where the emerald was underneath. She pulled it from the bottom platform, holding it in her hand and looking it over. 

“It’s a lot of stress, and we haven’t figured anything else out.”

“Why do you want to know about the Chaos Emerald so badly?”

Blaze opened her mouth, but closed it after, looking away. 

“Ellie.” 

“I just… I want answers.”

“Answers?”

“...I want it to make sense. Why Iblis has been haunting my family for generations. I’ve been fighting so much, keeping this kingdom safe. The one thing I was unable to avoid, I finally found a way to keep it at bay. And now… now what? Iblis is gone. The entire reason for my family’s suffering is gone. I’m left with nothing… but I have to know why. And I think the Chaos Emerald is the key to finding that out.” 

The princess looked it over again before slipping the emerald in a small bag she had under the table. She shoved her notes in there as well- she would write down what happened during this meeting when she got to her study. 

“How can you be sure the Chaos Emerald has the answer?” Tiara asked her as she stood up.

“Because it has to.” 

With that, the princess left, unaware that hidden eyes were watching her every move. 

“Black Doom. Black Doom?” 

Shadow quietly called out to his superior while leaning against a tree. He was currently on the outskirts of Soleanna, far away from the view of any windows on the Agni castle. It was there, via Rouge’s treasure tracker, that the hedgehog and his companion would find the Chaos Emerald they were looking for. 

The only problem plaguing Shadow at the moment was that he was no longer able to contact Black Doom. He was standing there, murmuring to himself like a crazy person, calling out to somebody that wasn’t there. 

Black Doom wasn’t replying to him at all. He talked internally, externally, he even tried to will his superior into existence to talk to him. All of it ended up doing absolutely nothing. 

He was waiting for Rouge to return, as the bat was taking recon on the castle before making any moves. Usually, as she said after they passed through that portal, it would take a few days for her to come up with a proper plan. But with that pesky countdown that Ivo had, they didn’t have days, they only had a few hours. 

The world felt… different without the feeling of Black Doom over Shadow’s shoulder at all times. He could barely explain it- it was almost like the world was no longer shielded by a wall, or an umbrella. He could feel how hot it was on Soleanna, he could feel the warm breeze on his face. He could take a moment to appreciate how pretty the flowers on the island kingdom looked from far away. 

Shadow didn’t have to quickly move on, or really focus on some mission. He could just… be. 

His quills rustled in the wind. Shadow enjoyed the feeling. It was so lifeless and weatherless in space… one of the things he could vaguely remember from Maria’s time with him was the explanation of weather that existed on Earth. He wanted to experience it all, and yet… the duties he was woken up for prevented him from spending more time on Earth than needed. 

But that’s the way it was. Even now, he composed himself as he remembered why, exactly, they were in that alternate dimension in the first place. Now wasn’t really the time for pleasantries. 

There was a nearby flapping of wings that brought his attention to the skies. Rouge swooped down and landed on her feet, skidding to a stop. The treasure scope flipped up from over her eye, freeing her eyes from any obstruction. 

She looked different than when Shadow saw her before. She was sporting a black racerback tank top, and what appeared to be sweatpants of the same color, with white flowers on the bottom of the pants legs. She was even wearing sneakers instead of her boots. 

“You changed your clothes while you were gone?” Shadow asked in disbelief. 

“This may be the only time I visit a dimension that’s perpetually warm.” Rouge replied casually. “A girl’s gotta look her best for the beach, smiles.” 

“With sweatpants?” 

“I never said anything about swimming. Besides, the only way anyone will see these legs is if they’re swinging at high speeds into their face. Only if they bother me too much, of course.” 

“Naturally.” Shadow’s monotone voice sounded like he didn’t seem convinced. “...what did you find out there?”

“I mostly investigated the security systems… Though I did spot the object of interest in the possession of Soleanna’s protective princess. She’s clearly keeping it on her person at all times, so if we want to retrieve it we’ll have to be very careful and very smart about it.” 

“What did you have in mind?”

“Well, she had a meeting with her friends, and the woman who I can identify as Blaze’s arch-nemesis: Bernadette Quark. The doctor told me about her, and said she’s this universe’s version of himself, in a way. Incredibly intelligent and obsessed with the jewels of ultimate power of this zone.” 

“Didn’t the interaction the doctor had with this Quark woman involve her attempting to kill him and insulting him straight to his face?” Shadow asked. “This doesn’t seem like the smartest route of action here.” 

“What choice do we have? If we walk in through the front gates, they’ll identify you as a hedgehog, which will immediately set off alarm bells. Besides, Blaze and her friends already know me from the incident with Chaos.” Rouge replied. “The only way to get that emerald before the laser is set to go off in our dimension is to ask the enemy for help.” 

“And you’re sure she won’t attempt to kill you and insult you straight to your face like she did to the doctor before?” 

“Not… completely, but that’s where you’ll come in.” 

“What is my role in this?” 

“You’ll stand close to the castle and keep an eye and ear out for any sign that I’m in danger.” Rouge replied. “When that happens, Blaze will most likely try to leave with the Chaos Emerald. Follow her and attempt to get it from her.”

“Why is that not the plan in the first place?” 

“Because while Quark is this universe’s Robotnik, Blaze is the Sonic of this world- as in she’s one of the most powerful beings in this dimension.” The bat said, serious. “She’s fast, she’s powerful, and unlike Sonic she’s trained in combat and can control fire. Even with your immense chaos…” She rolled her hand to find a word. “...controlling, your only route is to overpower her, and from what I can tell you can only do that without a Chaos Emerald for so long without nearly dying.” 

Shadow grunted- a grunt of resignation and admittance that what Rouge said was true. 

“Trust me smiles, when I find a quick way to make her submit, I’ll take it.” The bat flipped her treasure tracker over her eye again. “Now because the castle is being renovated with security features, there’s quite a few blind spots due to the transition- this includes the basement, where Quark is. I’ll slip in, ask her about an alliance, hopefully get her out and find a way to get that emerald. When we’re clear, I’ll signal you.”

“Signal for what?”

“Well, when they discover Quark is gone and the emerald missing, stuff’s gonna go sideways. Again, that’s where you’ll come in to face off against Blaze.” 

“Right.” 

“Don’t sound so skeptical, smiles.” Rouge grinned a bit before turning around. “I’ll see you in a bit. Keep an ear out over comms.”

“Hmph.” 

With that grunt of approval, Rouge took off again, spreading her arms out and soaring away towards the castle. Her treasure tracker told her that the emerald was somewhere on the second floor of the castle- that was good info to keep in mind, but she was mainly focused on the foundation beneath the castle. 

Using a few trees as cover, she glided down into the gardens of the castle, slipping behind a hedge in time to avoid a koala guard on patrol. Rouge peeked out to make sure the coast was clear before continuing, slipping towards the castle wall facing directly south. 

The security additions helped with the dungeon cells below the castle, but nothing has been done quite yet about the low-tech openings that were still on the bottom half of the castle: the cellar windows. Rouge was able to pop them open with a firm press of her foot, letting it creak as it tilted upwards. 

Rouge slipped her feet in, sliding on her stomach to slip inside, eventually dropping in once half of her body got through the gap. The ease of getting in was a little much for Rouge, however, as she found herself falling down and landing on her back as she got to the dungeon floor. She groaned. 

“Well done.” 

The voice made Rouge get up. As she stood, she was greeted with the sight of the lady doctor in her cell. Quark had stood up as Rouge snuck in, standing with hands behind her back as she did when Blaze visited her earlier. 

Rouge dusted herself off. “You’re Dr. Quark, I presume?” 

“That would be me.” The scientist replied. “And who might you be, if I may ask?”

“My name is… not important. What you need to know is that I have a proposition for you.” 

“Oh? Do tell.” 

“I need that Chaos Emerald from the princess.” Rouge said. “You don’t like the princess. If I get you out of here, will you be able to help me get it from her?” 

“Ah, yes. Someone from the other ‘zone,’ as it were.” Quark chuckled a bit. “It is true, I do dislike that infernal princess more than anything in this world… but why should I help you?” 

“You’ll get a chance to do some real damage to Blaze? Like, emotional damage. She’ll probably be really upset when she loses the emerald.” 

“Hm… You know what? Okay. Deal. But you have to find a way to get me out.”

“Okay, okay. Hm… Perhaps I can shriek the wall down and get you out…”

“Good heavens, no!” Quark exclaimed. “I was being facetious. Do you not see the fingerprint scanner lock right next to my cell door?”

She held a hand out to it for emphasis. At that moment Rouge noticed that, yes, there was a fingerprint scanner right on the wall beside the giant glass wall. The bat was a little bummed she wouldn’t get to shriek a glass wall down, but went to the scanner anyway. 

“Are you sure you want to betray an entirely different dimension’s leading kingdom to retrieve a single emerald with special powers?”

“Hey, if it wasn’t going to be me, it probably would’ve been the country I live in. My country has a record of destabilizing countries that are doing better than us in any way.” 

The bat had been looking over the scanner as she talked. She pulled out a latex glove from her leg bag and snapped it on, looking like a doctor about to perform surgery in the middle of vacation. 

She leaned in and huffed on the glass of the finger scanner, revealing the imprint left from the thumb that had closed the door, from residue oil provided by said thumb. She quickly pressed her own thumb onto the scanner- with the blank latex, and the oil pattern imprinting on her thumb, it simulated the correct digit to open the glass wall. 

Rouge disposed of the latex glove as the wall sank downwards, freeing the doctor from containment. The process was given immense soundproofing so as to not bother the royalty upstairs, so nobody above was any the wiser. 

Except for one, however. 

As the doctor was freed downstairs, Silver was with Marine. They had collected as many tarts as their hearts desired, sitting beside each other in separate chairs in the lounge area. They had seen Tiara, who walked by to start wandering the second floor, most likely so she could stay close to Blaze as the princess wrote notes on the meeting. 

Marine munched on a tart and hummed with happiness as she ate it, smiling. 

“Oh man, that’s good.” She said. “Sure beats the rations I bring out on the sea. After a while you get tired of dense bread and orange juice.”

“Orange juice? Not water?”

“I see water all day, mate! Besides, I need orange juice so I don’t get scurvy! You and red wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if I did, with pirates being known for it and whatnot.” 

“Right, right.”

The raccoon girl ate another tart, chewing in thought. 

“Say, gray,” she began. “You don’t suppose Blazey’s upset we didn’t stay back and talk to her? Or follow her upstairs?”

“Mmh.” Silver swallowed his tart before speaking fully. “Trust me, Marine, you don’t want to be there when she’s this upset. You should know that by now.”

“I just feel kinda bad. The other cat stayed behind, but we didn’t.”

“Tiara’s known her the longest. Plus, she has a special spot in Blaze’s heart.” The hedgehog set his empty plate aside on a table. “Don’t worry about it, Marine. When Blaze is ready to talk about it, she’ll come to us.”

“Hm… well, alright.” Marine shrugged a bit. “While we wait, this gives us time for me to tell you about this weird thing that happened when I was out sailing. So basically, I see this bloody big shadow under the water, and so I point it out…”

Silver was listening at first, but he soon felt this wave of… something wash over him. Was it dread? Fear? Sadness? He couldn’t tell. His front spikes lifted upwards like antennae almost as he got the vibe from elsewhere in the castle. 

His expression changed from interest in Marine’s story to a serious, stone face over the course of a minute. Silver turned his head slightly as he felt some otherworldly force turning his direction out of the lounge and towards elsewhere in the massive structure. 

He was a victim of his own movement, watching himself turn his body and get up from his seat, walking away from Marine. 

“…so we pull it out, I have my hand fully submerged in the chum bucket, the glass of orange juice is still balancing on my hat and my mouth is now fully biting down on the ship’s railing. Then, I… Gray? Hey mate, what’re you doing? I’m talking here! Silver!” 

It was almost like tunnel vision, Silver’s psychic power. Over a year ago he had enough of a grip of his ESP that he was able to give Amy Rose, a psychic he now knows has much more power than him, some advice on how to use her abilities. Now that he was reunited with his past life on Soleanna, it was opening a metaphorical Pandora’s Jar that unleashed the fullest extent of Silver’s psychic abilities, with him barely able to close the lid at times. 

He heard Marine walking after him, having fallen silent as she became intrigued as to what Silver was doing. Luckily for him, Marine knew that Silver wasn’t rude enough to just up and leave in the middle of a conversation- his customer service background prevented him from being too rude to other people. 

With the ranking of being a royal knight, technically, he was able to pass by bodyguards with ease. Silver’s presence also allowed Marine to slip by alongside him, following him closely as he reached the south end of the castle, and stepped down the stone stairwell to reach the bottommost floor: the dungeons. 

They got down to the bottom step in time to see Rouge standing there with Doctor Quark, the doctor freshly freed from her prison cell. 

“Oi!” Marine said first, as Silver was coming down from his psychic sleepwalk. “Whaddya think you’re doing there?!” 

“Oh, crap, a teenager.” Rouge looked horrified. 

“Wait a second… I know you.”

“No you don’t.” 

“Yeah, I do.” Silver replied to the bat. “You’re one of Sonic’s friends.” 

“I don’t hang out with him anymore. I’m working with his enemy!” 

“Doctor Robotnik?”

“Oh good lord, that whiny little balding roboticist?” Quark recoiled, stepping back away from Rouge. “He’s sent you here to retrieve me for him, has he?”

“No, I’m just here for the Chaos Emerald.” 

“Aha! That’s where I know you! You’re that thief that Sonic was friends with as a kid!” Silver pointed at Rouge. “You’re not getting that emerald!”

“Yes we are!”

“Oooh, sorry love.” Quark stepped away slowly, joining Silver and Marine’s side. “If you’re working for that bumbling doctor in the other world, I can’t be with you. That man got on my last nerves… he was- how do you Soleannans put it? ‘Thirsty AF’ ?” 

“I will strip an entire year off your sentence here if you shut up and stay behind us.” 

At Silver’s command, Quark did as she was told, getting behind Marine so she could still watch what was going to happen with Rouge. 

“Look, we can talk about this.” The bat said, holding her hands up in front of her. “Just take me to the princess and—” 

Silver didn’t respond with words. He put his hand up and flicked it to the side, his psychokinetic powers grasping Rouge in an aura of cyan and dragging her to her left, directly into a containment cell beside her. There was a beep as the cell detected a new prisoner inside of it, and the glass wall rose up quickly to keep her inside.

“The princess will see you.” Silver said once the wall was up. 

Rouge was able to move once the wall was closed. She pressed her hand against the cool glass, looking at it and through it to spot Blaze’s allies (and Quark) nearby. 

“Smooth moves.” 

The bat scoffed at the voice in her earpiece. 

“Shut up, smiles. How did you even know?” 

“I can hear everything through your earpiece. I suppose that’s the signal I should be watching for, the sound of you being thrown in a cell?” 

“No, not yet.” Rouge slid her hand over the glass yet. “You’ll know when you’ll hear it. Are you close to the castle?”

“I’m right out front. Nobody is really paying attention to me.” 

“Get ready to come in.” 

Taking a few steps back, Rouge moved until she was in the middle of the cell. The glass of the front wall was thick, but no glass was thick enough to be resistant to sound. 

The back of Rouge’s throat glowed magenta as she opened her mouth and unleashed a sonic shriek, waves of similarly colored energy firing from her mouth and into the glass, causing it to vibrate in place from the force. The vibration of the glass practically vibrated the entire room, shaking the foundation of the castle as if it was going through an earthquake. 

With the power of Rouge’s shriek, the glass started to crack from the center, splintering out to the sides and shattering the thick glass in little under a minute. The glass sprayed across the hallway between the cells, the twinkling of the pieces heard in the stilled silence before alarms started going off, echoing a siren across the entire castle. 

People started evacuating the castle as the siren went off. Guards rushed out, alongside any guests who were inside the foyers of the castle, piling across the front courtyard. As they did, a shrouded Shadow pushed through the crowd, headed inside against the current of the mob. 

Rouge stepped out of the cell, the pieces of glass crunching under her shoes and the powerful legs that were above them. She stopped to turn her head and look directly at Silver and Marine, soon turning her body around to start running to them. 

Silver and Marine had barely even begun leaving the dungeons when they put Rouge in that cell, mostly bickering with Quark. As Rouge started coming after the group, Silver telekinetically shoved Marine into Quark, stepping forwards. 

“Marine, take Quark and get out of here.” 

“And go where?” 

“Find Blaze or Tiara!” 

Before Quark could protest about being dragged around by a teenage pirate captain, Marine grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the dungeons. Silver turned fully to take on Rouge, his quills and eyes glowing once again with psychic power. 

The bat leapt up into the air for a flying kick- however, she was immediately stopped by Silver telekinetically grasping her, holding her in midair. 

Something really great about Rouge’s technology was that it adapted. Her treasure tracker, though tuned to look only for jewels and shiny things, was at its core a scanner. So, after determining that Silver was a paralyzing foe just a few minutes before, the scanner was able to not only react to the same move, but predict and prepare what would be used next. 

Within a few seconds of Rouge being stopped in the air, a thin metal contraption that was on the inner side of her leg bag switched on. Three holes opened on the foot-facing side of this contraption, and fired out three small spherical flares. 

These little flares flew upwards to the front of Silver in a wavy path, exploding like small flashbangs that would only disorient, and not directly harm, her psychic opponent. 

Silver stumbled back. Rouge was let go, landing on her feet after flailing through the air for a moment. When the hedgehog tried putting his arm up to use his psychokinesis again, Rouge was ready, kicking it away. 

The bat sent two kicks into the side of Silver’s body, making him grunt with pain. The bat soon grabbed the front of Silver’s navy shirt, yanking him backwards in a maneuver that sent Rouge to her back. She pressed her knee against Silver’s body, straightening it out when she fell back, using the momentum and the strength of her leg to perform a sacrifice throw that flung Silver back down the corridor. 

As Silver tumbled to a stop, Rouge got up again, swiftly leaving up the stairs. The abandoned gray hedgehog was up soon after, his body continuing to glow as he lifted himself off the ground telekinetically. He flew down the hall and up the stairs, giving chase to the thieving bat. 

Upstairs, as soon as the sirens started going off, Blaze had abandoned her notes and left her study, walking out to find the staff leaving to evacuate. 

Walking against the flow was Tiara, who was walking right up to Blaze. As Blaze walked by, Tiara turned around to walk beside her. 

“Ellie, what’s going on?”

“I’m not sure. They said these sirens could mean anything from a break-in to a fire.” Blaze replied. “I have to go find my father.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“No, you go find Silver or Marine. If this is anything worse, they probably reacted first, they’re on the ground floor. I’ll join you after I find my father.”

“Alright. Stay safe, Ellie.”

As they reached the bottom of the stairs to get to the ground floor, they split off. Blaze walked down the main hall, directly to the throne room. She spotted her father speaking to Gardon through the doorway. 

As she walked in, the attention was turned to Blaze. Cyrus didn’t look too concerned about the current siren situation. 

“Your majesty,” Gardon said. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Please help with evacuation efforts, I’ll escort my father out myself.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Gardon left. Blaze directed her gaze to her father next, looking as calm as he did. 

“Father. Do you know what set off the alarm?”

“Well, I heard a faint squealing noise, and the entire floor was shaking for a minute or so.” The king replied. “I think it was the dungeons. Perhaps Quark escaped?”

“She isn’t powerful enough to escape that cell. If it had to do with the dungeons, it must be someone else. Someone must have broken in.”

“Blaze.”

Cyrus nearly interjected his daughter to get her attention. He was looking past Blaze, looking down the throne room to the entrance. The princess turned around. 

The silence of the empty castle didn’t help to detect Shadow entering the room. He took a few steps to walk further into the large open room, staring directly at Blaze with a similar, stoic expression. 

Blaze turned around completely to face Shadow, moving her arm back to gently shuffle her father behind her. 

“Who are you?” She asked immediately. Blaze had her suspicions, particularly that this was that Sonic fellow she hadn’t see a lot of. But it was clear that something was off about this hedgehog. 

Shadow tilted his head- not in curiosity, but to look past Blaze. 

He spoke, but didn’t answer her question. “Is that your father?”

“…yes.” 

“He can go. This is just between you and I.”

The princess was hesitant, but turned around to look at her father and gently ushered him past her. The king looked back at his daughter, a mark of worry still on his brow. 

“Blaze…”

“Go. Find the others.” 

Though Cyrus looked like he had more to say, he ultimately kept it to himself, turning away and quickly leaving the room. Shadow didn’t look at Cyrus as he passed, but the king certainly stared at the hedgehog. Soon, the hedgehog and princess were all who were left in the room, the sirens still blaring in the hallway outside. 

“I don’t usually like to repeat myself, but I’ll grant you that much because you allowed my father to get out of harm's way.” Blaze said. “Who are you?”

“Who I am isn’t as important as what I need from you.” Shadow replied. He pointed a finger towards Blaze. “You have something I want.”

Shadow could tell that the emerald was inside the bag Blaze had strapped around her body, the one resting on her hip. He could sense the chaos energy coming off of the emerald, radiating through the room and reaching out to him. 

The princess knew immediately what Shadow was referring to, putting her hand on top of the bag and feeling the emerald below the bag’s front flap. 

“So you are from the Chaos Zone. And you look like that Sonic fellow, but… there’s something off about you. Something that tells me you’re not Sonic… and since you’re not Sonic, or any of his friends… I have no idea as to why you would need a Chaos Emerald for anything but your own selfish desires.” 

“My desire for the emerald surpasses… simple selfish means.”

“You don’t seem very convinced saying that.” 

This was getting tiring. Shadow could go back and forth with the princess all day, but he didn’t have all day. He needed this emerald now. Even if Rouge said that Blaze was dangerous, she surely couldn’t be dangerous enough to keep that emerald in check for long. 

Shadow got a vibe that Blaze felt the same impatience he had- or maybe she thought that Shadow was about to attack from how long he was staying silent. 

Turning her body to put the bag furthest away from Shadow, Blaze quickly stepped forward and stuck her arm out, firing a bolt of fire from the end of her fist towards the dark hedgehog. 

Watching the fiery projectile head towards him, Shadow didn’t attempt to evade it. Instead, he lifted his hand and snapped. Invoking Chaos Control, at least as much as he could without an emerald, Shadow warped space in front of him. 

A violet-colored ball generated in front of him like magic. He had used a similar move back when he fought against Sonic and his friends at Golden Bay. The firebolt hit the warp, dissipating instantly. 

When the warp shrunk to nothing, the hedgehog was ready. He stepped forward and fired a projectile as well from his hand, launching a golden arc with a loud “CHAOS SPEAR!”

Blaze opened her hand as the arc reached her area, creating a pyrokinetic shield that blocked the attack, though created a ripple across the fiery surface. 

“You really shouldn’t announce your attacks.” 

“They’re to warn others of their impending doom.”

And that was that. Shadow and Blaze sprinted towards one another at high speeds. Shadow was the first to attack, swinging at Blaze but missing as the princess ducked the punch. Blaze actually lifted her leg up behind her and bent it forwards to kick Shadow in the face with an upside down foot. 

As Shadow stumbled back, Blaze unleashed a burst of fire from her feet, lifting into the air in a grand allegro to leap over the hedgehog. It was graceful, really, Shadow was almost taken aback from it. 

It was evident that Blaze wasn’t intending for a fight, simply to escape from Shadow and get the Chaos Emerald somewhere safe. However, the dark hedgehog intended to get this emerald by any means necessary. With almost alien-like fast reflexes, Shadow was able to turn and grab onto Blaze’s tail. He pulled hard, flinging the princess back and making her crash into the thrones at the end of the room. 

The princess was back up in an instance. Rushing past the thrones, Blaze was more focused on fighting against Shadow this time. She bursted forwards, performing a fiery fouetté that allowed her to glide across the floor at crazy speeds. 

She ended with a backhand that hit Shadow across the face. Blaze grabbed onto Shadow’s tattered jacket and lifted him upwards, slamming him into the ground face-down as recompense for throwing her into the now shattered thrones. The hedgehog was able to roll out of the way of an axe kick downwards that instead slammed her heel into the carpeted floor. 

Outside in the hall, Rouge finally got to the ground floor from the basement. She was led into the main hallway from the yelling and the sounds of fighting, and she was able to spot Shadow and Blaze in the throne room. 

She began to run in an effort to join Shadow against Blaze, but after a few steps she began to feel… different. She slowed down to a stumble, beginning to feel the entire room twist around, dizzying the bat and forcing her against the nearby wall. 

Behind her, Silver calmly walked up the steps to the main hall floor, his body and eyes still glowing that cyan color as he used his psychic power to induce confusion and wooziness on the thieving bat. He didn’t need to see her to do so, luckily, so he was able to do so as he climbed the steps to the ground floor. Him using his ESP meant he couldn’t fly up the steps, however. 

He turned his head slowly to look at Rouge, who was gripping onto the wall as she tried to reach the throne room. Silver flooded the bat’s head with horrors from the deepest recesses of his mind- the feeling of being dimensionally displaced, an unknown yet familiar world of fire and ruin, and a Karen holding up the line at the register during a midday rush at the store for one reason or another that she blamed on the clerk.

Rouge suddenly felt the room shift again- her head was slowly clearing, but as she was coming down from her vertigo, everything that wasn’t nailed to the ground was lifted off of the walls and floor with Silver’s psychokinesis. 

The bat ducked and narrowly avoided a painting beside her swiping past, focusing again to try and reach Shadow and Blaze. Silver lifted himself off of the ground, making his hands into claws and pushing them towards each other as if he were crushing a soda can. 

All of the telekinetically-controlled objects soon swirled into one point, like a vortex just opened in the middle of the room. Rouge was pulled back, but as she was, she slipped a small ball from one of her leg bags. She bounced the ball under where this invisible vortex was- luckily, as Silver wasn’t expecting another object, he wasn’t controlling it with his psychokinesis, so it could bounce freely. 

After the ball hit the ground, it expanded into one of the bat cracker bombs. It floated upwards and in front of Silver, who was more confused at what it was than anything. It let out a cartoonish snicker before exploding, a concussive blast that made Silver lose his vortex-like grip on the objects in the room. 

Rouge continued to use the momentum of when Silver pulled her back, stepping off a floating table and rushing to the gray hedgehog. As she passed by a floating set of armor, Rouge grabbed the spear that it was holding, throwing it directly at the flying hedgehog. It narrowly missed Silver’s cheek, the psychic’s head following the spear as it passed by him. 

When he turned back, he was greeted by Rouge’s foot, the bat kicking him across the face. He completely lost his grip on the objects in the room at that point, causing them to crash into the ground. Silver fell as well, with Rogue still on top of him. 

Rouge punched him across the face. Silver grabbed onto Rouge’s arms, trying to hold her arms back from hitting him again as he was pinned to the ground. 

He looked down, past Rouge’s leg. That set of armor that he had floating crashed into the ground and split into multiple pieces. His quills glowed again, using all his strength (he had the strength of a standard hedgehog of his stature) to push Rouge’s hand upwards. 

The gauntlet of the armor snapped onto Rouge’s hand, making the bat look at it in bewilderment. The entire set of armor unfurled and started attaching itself to Rouge’s body. Silver was kind enough to split the armor open so the metal wouldn’t cut through her patagium under her arms. Silver managed to get up to his feet as Rouge was forced to hers, soon covered in a suit of armor before she knew it. Her body was heavy now, making her stumble around. 

They were close to the steps leading to the dungeon. Silver gently leaned back and pushed the armored Rouge with his foot, making her instantly lose her balance and begin to fall down the stairs. 

“YOU MOTHERF—”

The clanging of metal censored the cursing from Rouge as she crashed down the steps. Silver watched quietly- luckily the steps only went down a few yards before reaching a landing, so Rouge wouldn’t be falling down an entire flight of stairs. Silver walked away before he could see the bat come to a stop. 

After evading another attack, Shadow slid around to his hands and feet, facing Blaze again. He soon disappeared in a flash of blue, summoning as much chaos control as he could to teleport away. Before Blaze could react, the hedgehog reappeared at her side, swiping downwards to try and grab the bag at the cat’s side. Blaze was able to sidestep away in time, and put her arm up to block another punch from Shadow. 

Man, Rouge wasn’t kidding. Blaze was a tough opponent to beat, especially for someone as inexperienced as Shadow. Sure, he had training on using his powers in battle from Black Doom, but it seemed that Blaze had some kind of training- he leaned towards martial arts, but maybe Blaze was just creative with ballet moves. He wasn’t sure. 

The only way to beat her was to overpower her, that’s what Rouge said. Even with the inhibitor bands on his arms, Shadow still ran the risk of fading into chaos energy if he overexerted himself. He needed that Chaos Emerald. 

After another hit was blocked by Blaze, Shadow used the opportunity to do something he hadn’t tried before- he boosted forwards and into Blaze. It hurt the both of them, and it was really something that Shadow hadn’t wanted to try before because of that, but he needed something unexpected to get Blaze off her guard. 

They both crashed to the ground. The bag at Blaze’s side opened, the turquoise Chaos Emerald falling from it and hopping across the ground. Shadow was up first, rushing forwards and grabbing onto the emerald, sliding across the carpet a bit like he was a baseball player. 

“No!” 

Blaze was up on her feet quickly. She rushed Shadow, but was too late, as the dark hedgehog was able to summon upon the energy of the Chaos Emerald. He disappeared, fading away into nothingness. Blaze stopped in her tracks. 

This was different than just chaos control. Shadow wasn’t going any faster, but he existed in some form of distorted space that was parallel with the space of the throne room. His shadow was still on the floor, unseen by the princess, gliding across the carpet as Shadow positioned himself behind Blaze. 

He exited the distorted space there, feeling his body unleash a sudden flow of chaos energy. Space around him warped, unleashing an attack that hit Blaze before she could sense something was off. She was flung forwards, crashing into the wall between two stained glass windows, which both shattered from the power of the burst. 

The princess slowly picked herself up from the ground, feeling the shade of Shadow come over her as he started to descend upon the fiery princess. 

Just then, a table flew into Shadow. It took the hedgehog with him as it was sent into the far wall of the throne room. The force of the table made Shadow let go of the emerald he had upon impact, landing on the ground a few feet in front of Blaze. 

Silver floated across the room and grabbed the emerald. He held his hand out to Blaze. 

“Are you alright, El?” 

“I’ve been better.” Blaze took Silver’s hand to get to her feet. She took the emerald when it was offered to her. “We need to get out of here. Where’s Marine?”

“I told her to find you and Tiara. Speaking of, where’s Tiara?”

“I told her to find you and Marine. Let’s hope they found each other.” 

From the dust made when the table shattered across the room, Shadow was starting to get up to his feet. Blaze and Silver noticed the red energy glowing through the haze as the hedgehog was riding on the energy he had absorbed from the emerald.