Irreversible

by JuiceTheMoose

Summary:

The Paradox Prism is shattered, and the world as we know it changes. Sonic and Shadow must navigate a world that never knew either of them, on a journey to recover the Chaos Emeralds. Unable to go back to the world they cherished, they must salvage what is left of this one.
Despite the many many challenges, the hardest is seeing the empty husks that were once their friends. The only thing Sonic really wants is his little brother back.

Notes:

Hello everyone!

This fic is loosely based off of Sonic Prime, and I really mean loosely. The plot itself is almost entirely different, as the Prism doesn't create multiple realities, it just morphs the existing one into a different one.

This is my first ever public work, so please go easy on me. Positive criticism is good, but no roasts please. If you enjoy, please let me know, as I'll feel more motivated to continue if I see people are enjoying it. Now with that aside, please enjoy.😁

Chapter 1: Shattered

Sonic's ears were ringing, loud and screeching. His head throbbed, like his brain was trying to knock itself out of his skull. His limbs were tingling, like he somehow had fallen asleep against all four of them at once, which probably wasn't impossible? Sonic tucked that ridiculous thought aside, reminding himself to ask Tails later. Wait… Tails!

Sonic jolted upward, regretting the movement as soon as he did it. His stomach lurched, and his limbs burned. He hit the dirt with a thud, unable to hold back his lunch. Loud gags filled the air as vomit formed a puddle next to his trembling hands, which were straining against his body's heaviness.

Sonic was normally light as a feather; due to his slim frame, healthy muscles, and his free natured personality. But right now he felt like a brick. Did Eggman sit on top of him or something?

Now with less contents in his stomach, Sonic finally got the energy to stand. It lasted for a second. His knees buckled, but never hit the ground.

"Careful. The Prism did a number on you."

Through bleary eyes, Sonic looked to his left to see…

"Shadow?"

The ultimate lifeform grunted in acknowledgement. Sonic's weak body was being entirely supported by Shadow's strong grip.

"What happened? Where's, Knuckles, Amy… Tails…?"

Shadow didn't say anything at first, instead choosing to slowly move to an odd rock formation that allowed Sonic to sit with his back propped up. Sonic grunted. Everything still hurt like hell.

"What happened?"

He asked again, noticing how distant Shadow looked. While Shadow was never a guy of many words to begin with, his silence right now was unsettling, as he clearly knew the answer, but just didn't want to say it.

Shadow's fingers drummed against his arm.

"You… shattered the Paradox Prism."

Shadow could see the wheels turning in Sonic's head.

"I tried using Chaos Control to get to you before you did, but I only got myself trapped in the epicenter with you."

Sonic looked confused, which he couldn't blame him for.

"You shattered our world."

Sonic's eyes squinted, still trying to comprehend what Shadow was trying to say.

"I did a little bit of scouting while you were unconscious."

Shadow turned from him, walking a few paces away..

"Our world is gone. Everything we know has been changed."

Shadow turned back to face him.

"Our friends are gone."

Now that got Sonic's attention. He was up on his feet with a new sort of energy; desperation.

"What? Whaddya mean gone?"

Sonic was next to Shadow now, gripping his shoulders. Shadow tensed, but didn't shove him off.

"I'm saying, you broke that, and tore this world, and everyone in it apart."

Sonic followed Shadow's point, looking to the ground to see shards of the rock that once was the Paradox Prism. Sonic skidded over to it, on his knees looking over the now dull black pieces. It reminded Sonic of when the Chaos Emeralds were drained of their energy to awaken Dark Gaia. He stacked the dead pieces together, around where he was pretty sure they were before. Nothing happened.

"No, no, no."

Sonic's hands started trembling again.

"No, no, NO."

They couldn't be gone! His team was way tougher than some rainbow rock! They… had to be ok right? Amy was out in some meadow, enjoying a slow walk through nature, or doing a card reading or something. Knuckles was probably watching his one true love the Master Emerald, or flexing his muscles in a mirror. And Tails was working on his latest project, wanting to show him every detail, that'd he'd never dream of understanding himself, but being proud of his little brother anyway. He was… he… was… oh Chaos no… Sonic's little brother wasn't coming back? Tails wasn't…

A pained scream tore through Sonic's throat, reverberating off the cave walls, before everything around stilled.

Tails was dead?

Something inside Sonic snapped. He eyed behind his shoulder, looking at Shadow.

"You're lying."

He whispered. Shadow looked at Sonic uncomfortably.

"What was that?"

Sonic's eyes suddenly lost all green, turning an electric blue like his quills.

"YOU'RE LYING!!!"

He was on top of him in a second. Shadow, not expecting an attack, lost the wind in his lungs on impact. He also wasn't quick enough to dodge the punch to his face. Pain exploded across Shadow's body, as blow after blow rained down on him. Survival instincts kicked in, and Shadow landed a well timed kick to Sonic's left thigh. There was already a bad bruise there from earlier, and Shadow landed his kick perfectly. Sonic recoiled, getting off and backing away enough to nurse his growing wound. Shadow stood up, crimson eyes alighting in his own fury.

"You're the one who shattered the Paradox Prism! Do not blame me!"

Sonic actually growled back at Shadow, eyes still glowing blue. He launched at him again, but this time, Shadow was prepared. He crossed his arms across his face, forming an 'x', blocking the bullet that was Sonic's fist. Shadow threw a fist of his own, Sonic dodging it.

"Snap out of it Sonic!"

Shadow's foot swept across the ground aiming for Sonic's feet. Sonic's shoes left the ground just over Shadow's attack, swooping by harmlessly. The whoosh of Shadow's next attack brushed past Sonic's ear, also doing no damage. Sonic's rage spiked. With an enraged yell, Sonic threw a barrage of punches, Shadow dodging each one. Shadow narrowly missed each, the sound of cracking energy reaching his ears with every near miss. His eyes widened to see Sonic's quills dancing with electric energy, matching the look in his eyes. Sonic stopped his onslaught, fists clenching and his face twisting with absolute rage.

"They can't be gone! TAILS ISN'T DEAD!!!"

Shadow hesitated, caught off guard by Sonic's misconception.

"Sonic wai-"

Shadow didn't realize Sonic was charging a spindash before it was too late. The electric buzzsaw slammed into Shadow's prone body. Shadow's burning fur reached Sonic's nostrils, but did nothing to stop him. The two slammed hard against the rock wall, leaving a large Shadow-shaped dent, with him still stuck in it. Sonic landed in a crouch, before charging again. Shadow barely had time to open his eyes before he felt the familiar heat of pain again. This time, he felt it on both sides; his front being dug into by sharp blue quills, heated by electric energy, and his back being ripped up from bursting out the other side of the wall. They made their own cave entrance, or exit as it was. The two of them sailed through the air, next to the mountain they just emerged from, Sonic still in ball form, and Shadow flailing through the air. Shadow tried to correct his landing, but his burned stomach and torn open back screamed in protest with every movement. Which is why he landed on his feet. A deafening crack resounded through the open plains, and Shadow let out a scream, before falling face first on the ground.

Sonic landed next to him, eyes flickering back to green, and electricity fading away. He blinked a few more times, unsure of what just happened. His eyes met Shadow's slumped over body.

"Oh Chaos what have I done?!"

Sonic dropped to his knees, turning Shadow upward. He winced at the angry looking burn on his chest and stomach. His legs were worse, turning in a direction they definitely shouldn't be.

Sonic felt guilt grasp around his heart. While his insides were still screaming with the loss of his brother, and his two other best friends, he silenced them temporarily. Shadow needed him in the present. There was time to grieve later. Determined, he gently picked Shadow up bridal style, then looked around for a destination, hopefully towards help.

The land around was completely barren; no trees, no nearby buildings, not even rolling hills or loop-de-loops, just dead grass and foggy skies. His hope dwindled, until he spotted something. A city, far off in the distance. It looked to be fortified by a massive wall of steel, with some skyscrapers poking out the top. With nowhere else to go, Sonic shot off, desperate to get his friend medical help. He sped faster at the feeling of warm blood on his gloves.

After about a minute of running, Shadow sputtered, then coughed into his fist. Sonic slowed to a stop, not wanting to hurt him anymore with the brisk travel method. He slowed to a walk, eyes looking down to meet Shadow's misted ones.

"Dude are you ok? I… I'm so sorry I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it."

"I could have killed you!"

Shadow scoffed.

"It'd take more than that to kill the ultimate lifeform."

It was Sonic's turn to scoff.

"Yeah okay then Mr immortal."

Sonic smirked, but it was clearly forced. Shadow could see the guilt and concern swimming through his eyes. Shadow had to admit, he felt like dog crap. However, he didn't want Sonic to blame himself. While technically it was his fault, Shadow recognized that kind of anger. That kind of impulse linked to that one person that means everything. For him, it was Maria. For Sonic, it was Miles Prower.

"Sonic…"

"What is it Shades? Do you need something? Am I holding you wrong? Do I need to walk slower?"

"No I just wanted to let you know that…"

Shadow took a deep breath, oxygen tasting better than normal as his body demanded more of it to heal.

"... Don't beat yourself up about… this. I understand… the fox, you see as your brother. I tried to destroy the whole planet for my 'sibling', so I understand your rage."

Sonic's eyes widened in surprise, before he smiled warmly.

"That might be the single nicest thing you've ever said to me Shades."

"Don't get used to it. And don't call me that either."

Sonic actually laughed. It was small, and short lasting, but it was genuine. Shadow couldn't help but feel a little better himself. While he'd never admit it to his blue counterpart, Sonic's attitude was always so endearing, lifting anyone up with it by just being himself.

Shadow glanced forward, seeing Sonic walk slowly to the city in the distance.

"You can run, you know. I'm not fragile."

"Oh yeah alright."

Sonic continued his run, his signature red shoes pounding against the dirt, one after the other. The two had drifted into a comfortable silence, until Sonic needed to ask the bugging question.

"So… now that I am thinking clearly…"

Shadow looked up at Sonic's face, which was still dead set towards the city.

"What did you mean by… they are gone?"

His voice was only a little above a whisper, loud enough for Shadow to hear, but obviously strained. Sonic was scared of the answer.

"They aren't dead Sonic."

Sonic skidded to a halt, eyes wide and mouth upwards in a huge smile. Shadow grumbled in painful protest against the sudden stop, which went mostly ignored by the renewed hope inside of the blue hedgehog.

"That's the good news."

Sonic frowned a little, but the relief on his face never left.

"The Paradox Prism rewrote our world. From what I understand, your frie- our friends, while not dead, have been altered, like the world around us. And… because you and I are the only things still left the same from the way the world was…"

Sonic's eyes lit with understanding.

"That means, neither of us exist in this world!"

Shadow snapped his fingers.

"Bingo."

Sonic's face suddenly paled.

"A world without me… Eggman had no opposition… he was free to get the Chaos Emeralds on his first try!"

Shadow solemnly nodded.

Sonic, with nothing else to add to the matter, continued running. Shadow studied his face. He was clearly happy that his friends were in fact not dead, but upset at the idea that they were different, and that Eggman had free reign for about four years.

"The Prism is unrepairable, so the option of returning to normal is gone."

Shadow was surprised to hear such a grim phrase from Sonic, though he knew he was right. The Prism was a one way ticket, and the damage was done. It was irreversible.

"We have to find our friends."

Sonic's determined voice didn't waver for a moment. He knew what he was going to do.

"I don't care if they are different, and don't know who I am, we need to find them."

Sonic's determined expression morphed into his signature smirk, flashing it downward to Shadow.

"And then give Egghead a well deserved butt-kicking."

While Shadow normally hated Sonic's quips and over relaxed nature over sensitive things, he couldn't help but feel relieved to see some semblance of normality in him after what had just happened.

"Count me in faker."

Chapter 2: The Art of Breaking and Entering

Notes:

Welcome to chapter two!

So going into this one, I kinda imagine the city being a mix of New Yolk City from Sonic Prime, and Midgar from Final Fantasy VII, at least visually.

And thank you for the Kudos, Bookmarks and Comment so far, they made my day!

Please enjoy!

Sonic wasn't expecting the city to look like this. As it grew closer and closer, the outside walls became much clearer. In Sonic's gut, he knew this had to be connected to Eggman, but it sure didn't look like it. The wall, while freakishly massive, was also surprisingly plain, with no logos, advertisements for theme parks, or Eggbreath's stupid face anywhere to be seen along it. And if there was one thing Eggman was really good at, it was consistent branding. The unsettling feeling came back. This wasn't his Eggman. Heck, he probably still went by Robotnic here, considering Sonic bestowed the name Eggman to him.

Sonic felt Shadow shift in his arms a bit, trying to get comfortable. His eyes still remained closed, as they had been for the majority of the trip. Sonic felt worry settle on his heart.

"Don't worry Shadow, we're gonna find help soon."

Sonic said, more to himself than the injured hedgehog in his arms.

Sonic's eyes looked over the city again. Squinting, he noticed something he hadn't before. High above the skyscrapers was… something. Shrouded by smoke and clouds it was, making it impossible to make out exactly. If Sonic could describe it in two words it'd be "dark mass". It wasn't as big as the city, but it was absolutely massive. Nearly a hundred times the size of Eggman's airships. Weird…

It didn't take much longer to reach the base of the wall, which was even more impressive up close. It stretched about four hundred feet above Sonic, and now, he was unable to see how wide it really was. It was intimidating. How was he supposed to get in? Sonic tapped his foot in annoyance.

"Guess I'll just circle the parameter."

Sonic dashed off again, alongside the wall, his eyes quickly searching for any possible entryway. He debated just running up the wall with enough momentum, but he didn't want to risk dropping Shadow. And considering how big it was, making a hole through it would be extremely difficult. Then he spotted it. A vent.

Skidding to a halt, Sonic gave the vent a few once overs. It was actually quite large, comfortable enough to stand and walk through. The problem was the black gas that was coming out of it. Sonic cringed at the idea of it.

Gently, he laid Shadow down in the dead grass a few paces away, before approaching the vent. As soon as the gas hit his olfactory nerves, Sonic gagged, hands flying up to his mouth to keep himself from vomiting for the second time today. What the heck was that? Sonic - still holding hands over his mouth - leaned downward, eyes focused on the dirt while the rest of his body was focused on trying to stay standing.

"You probably shouldn't go near that."

Sonic looked to where he stashed his friend, finding him sitting upright, and with a smirk on his face. Relief flooded his body.

"Yeah well, I've smelt worse before. Tails would always forget to eat his meals that I'd leave for him in the workshop. They'd go seriously bad, and it took me coming in and telling him how bad it was for him to notice. I swear that kid is so laser focused…"

Sonic trailed off, smile fond, and eyes distant. Shadow pursed his lips, eyeing the vent himself.

"So that's our ticket inside?"

"Maybe. It's the only thing I've found so far, but this gas…"

"Might be poisonous."

"Yeah."

The two looked at it in silence for a few beats. Shadow looked back at Sonic.

"Well what are we waiting for?"

Sonic chuckled.

"I like your attitude Shadow! Let's do it to it!"

"Don't ever say that again."

Sonic got into a runners starting position. His green eyes lit with anticipation. His body quickly morphed into a ball, whirring in place, ready to hit it's target. Sonic spindashed into the large vent plate, making it groan, and then bust open. He hopped back out, gesturing over to the hole like a kid showing his parent a scribbled art project.

"Hold your applause back please."

"That won't be difficult to do."

Sonic chuckled at Shadow's dry response. Then, all the humor in his face was replaced with business.

"Okay Shadow I'm going to carry you again ok? I'm gonna try and get us through this as fast as possible."

Shadow nodded in agreement. Sonic kneeled down to pick up Shadow. He grunted, standing up and facing the vent.

"Comfortable?"

"Just get it over with faker."

Sonic took a deep breath, before dashing through the hole. To say it was dark would be a massive understatement. There were no lights to begin with, and the smog that constantly hit them made it even harder to see. Sonic's eyes started to water against the toxic air. He needed to find a way through and fast!

"Turn left!"

Sonic jerked left at Shadow's sudden exclamation. He must be able to see better…

"Right!"

Sonic couldn't help but wonder how Shadow could both see and apparently breath through this junk.

"Wait st-!"

Sonic got a tingling feeling in his gut. The ground beneath him was gone. Wind rushed passed his ears as the inevitable descent began. He couldn't help the gasp of surprise that escaped his mouth. The fastest thing alive wasn't fast enough to clamp his lips back together. The gas rushed down his throat, burning every square inch. Sonic retched violently. He couldn't breathe! He was drowning! Sonic thrashed in the air, involuntarily letting go of Shadow.

Shadow, seeing the fast approaching metal flooring of the vent, quickly reached over to Sonic and grabbed him by his shoes. He silently prayed they passed the wall already. With every shred of energy he had left in his body, he reached deep within himself for the power. He charged into a double spindash, Sonic wrapped up next to him to create a black and blue ball. The two struck the metal with a resounding screech, and burst out to the other side. Shadow didn't have a chance to view their change in scenery before hitting pavement and promptly passing out.

 

 

Sonic groaned, sore from… something. He racked his brain about what had happened. He was heading for the city, he was trying to find a way in, he - oh yeah the vents! Memories of choking came back to him. What happened after that?

He dared to open his eyes. He was in a room, laying on a mattress in the middle of the floor. It was lit by three candles on a nearby desk. Along with two folding chairs, those were the only things in the room. Sonic went to sit up, but a hammer in his head made him stay where he was. He let out another groan of pain. Oh Chaos he needed to find Shadow! What happened to him? Sonic forced himself upright, ignoring the anvil that seemed to be slamming on his head.

"Oh you're awake!"

Sonic looked to see someone appear at the door, now rushing to his side, kneeling next to the mattress.

"Are you feeling alright? Do you need anything?"

The words she spoke went in one ear and out the other. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Cream?"

 

 

"Mr Sonic?"

Sonic turned, smile lighting up his face at the sight of his small rabbit friend.

"Heya Cream, what's up?"

Cream wrung her hands together nervously.

"I w-wanted to ask for advice."

"Sure thing! What about?"

Cream avoided eye contact, cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"How… how can I get a boy's attention?"

Sonic choked on air, hands going to his knees to support his body. That took him way off guard.

"You want to ask me of all people for relationship advice?"

"Y-yes."

Sonic paused, frowning. Cream was wayyy too young to be thinking about relationships as complicated as romantic ones. Sonic's frown turned into a warm smile. He dropped to his knee to become more eye level with her.

"Cream, relationships are complicated. While I admire your eagerness for a 'more than friend', you are just too young for that."

Sonic tilted her head up to him.

"Live your life when you're young. Being a kid only happens once in your life. Enjoy it as much as you can."

Sonic stood up, placing his hands on his hips.

"But, when the time comes, just remember to be yourself. That will be enough to get attention from the right kind of guy."

Cream - while disappointment clear on her face - nodded in understanding. Sonic smirked, winking at her.

"And remember, you can always be friends with them leading up to then!"

Cream's eyes lit up.

"I can do that!"

"Awesome."

Sonic gave her a thumbs up, which she returned.

"Thank you Sonic."

 

 

The young rabbit's eyes widened in surprise.

"How do you know my name?"

Sonic hesitated, already forgetting that she wouldn't know him. He quickly tried to think of a believable lie, but she answered her own question.

"Well I suppose my mom and I have become a little more known on this side of town."

She bashfully smiled.

"Though I've never seen you around. And how did you and your friend end up in the vents?"

Sonic startled at the mention of Shadow.

"Shadow! Uh I mean, where is he? My friend, is he ok?"

Cream raised her hands, gesturing to calm.

"Your friend is ok. My mom and I treated his wounds. He's resting in the other room right now. By how extensive the damage was done, we think he should be fully healed in about two months."

Sonic let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Two months? For him that'll be about two days then."

Cream tilted her head, skeptical.

"That's quite the claim."

"Trust me, when he wakes up he'll say the exact same thing."

Cream looked confused, but smiled anyway.

"Your condition is mostly good. You got a lot of toxins in your system, but they'll naturally leak out of you in a few days. You'll probably be feeling queasy during recovery, and a severe headache is also common after being near that stuff."

Sonic gestured to his head.

"Definitely got the headache."

"Plenty of extra rest for you and some food tomorrow morning will help that go away."

Cream stood up, and started blowing the candles out. Sonic smiled. Cream seemed a little different, but overall, he could tell her kind heart was the same. Here she was, taking care of a complete stranger.

"Thank you Cream."

"Of course… I'm sorry I never asked for your name."

"Sonic."

"Well then sweet dreams, Sonic."

Cream blew out the last candle, shrouding the room in darkness. If Cream wasn't so different, maybe his other friends weren't so different either. Sonic's eyes drifted closed, comforted in the fact that everything would be fine soon.

 

 

Deep below the surface streets, the market place was bustling with activity. Odds and ends from food to weapons were on display, bought, sold, and bartered for.

One store specifically, labeled "Zack and Son's", sold all electronic equipment. And, if you knew how to ask, you could get access to… more rare equipment. Or, you could simply check their inventory behind their backs.

A small figure walked around the store, near the backdoor labeled 'employees only'. His gloved hand slowly twisted the knob, and gently pushed the door open. The owner never learned to lock his backdoor.

The figure entered the building, closing the door behind himself. He could hear a conversation near the front of the store between the owner and another customer. He had to move fast.

He moved to the supply room, looking over all the labels to find the right category. Cords, lightbulbs, motors… his eyes lit up at the label 'rare parts'. That had to be it. Looking on the long shelf, his eye caught a dirty looking chest with a padlock on it.

Easy peasy.

He untucked his lockpick set from his sleeve, unrolling it on the shelf in front of the box. This wouldn't take long.

After matching the right size of pick, and fiddling with it for about a minute, the padlock gently clicked open. Jackpot. He pushed open the lid, finding exactly what he was looking for.

"We're in business."

Inside the chest was a metal cylinder with a glowing green core. To the trained eye, it was a Chaos Amplifier.

The figure flinched when he heard the customer leave. He had to split now. He tucked the device in his pocket, and stashed his lockpick kit back in his sleeve. He slipped out of the room, heading out the backdoor… running straight into an employee on their smoke break. The Mobian panda dropped their cigar from the impact, scowling down at the boy that had just ran into him.

"Hey! Watch where you're go-"

The panda's eyes widened. They saw the part tucked under the thief's arm. And they recognized the thief.

"Oi it's you! You twin tailed freak! Give me that!"

The Mobian fox scowled.

"Out of my way."

The bear's eyes narrowed.

"Give me the part, and maybe I'll go easy on you."

Baby blue eyes burned with anger.

"Like you 'went easy on me' when I was four?!"

The fox spat in disgust, hands trembling in rage. He raised himself above the bear, using his robotic limbs to support himself.

"Carma has been waiting for you for a long time. Ready to feel some pain? A fraction of what you dished out to me? If you're lucky, you'll still be alive when I'm done."

Chapter 3: ChaosCorp

Notes:

Welcome back!

So while this doesn't have much to do with the chapter, I wanted to mention a bit of a headcanon I have for Sonic and Shadow's abilities. Most fiction that has super speed normally has the character being able to "perceive" as fast as they can run. Basically everything around them appears to just be super slow, like in the Sonic Movies. Because of this, the speedy character often has to be nerfed so that there is actual conflict, as that power is op. So my headcanon is that Sonic, Shadow and any other fast character have a little bit of heightened perception, but nothing like that. They can run fast, but they see normally. The best way to describe it is playing the games themselves. You the player has to react quickly to incoming obstacles and drops to keep Sonic moving. So that's how Sonic sees it too. I hope that makes sense 😂

Anyway enjoy the chapter!

"Captain. I was not aware that you were coming."

The scientist shrunk back a little at the imposing stature of the Captain.

"Do I need to announce my incoming arrival?"

"N-no! Not at all! You c-can come whenever you like!"

The Captain didn't react to the man's clear attempt to keep cool, unsuccessfully.

"I'd like to see your progress on project B.A.O."

"Oh yes of course sir! Right this way!"

The smaller man led the Captain further into the facility. While the Captain was very familiar with this place himself, the subject turnaround was so frequent, that a lot had to change in the past month.

A sudden slam to their right made the scientist jump. The Captain didn't even flinch.

"Ah yes th-this is subject #11142006. We've had many complications with this one."

The Captain stepped near the glass, his face mere centimeters away. His merciless eyes met golden ones.

"Intriguing. So this subject is uncontrollable?"

"That's correct sir. However we are having more promising results with subjects #11072017, and #10272021."

The Captain nodded, getting one last look at the pale creature before backing away.

"Show them to me."

 

"This is amazing Vanilla."

Sonic muttered between spoonfuls of soup. Sonic never dreamed soup could taste so good. Though it could just be because he felt like he was starving. The warm broth really hit the spot, easing his stomach for once since this wack journey began.

Vanilla the rabbit chuckled, filling up a second bowl.

"Thank you dear. And it's to make you feel better."

Sonic stopped mid-bite at the sound of commotion somewhere upstairs.

"H-how?"

"I feel fine enough to walk."

Sonic smiled big at the sight of a bandaged Shadow at the top of the stairs. He knew he'd be up and walking way before he should be.

"Shadow! How you feeling?"

Vanilla was taken back, staring at the hedgehog with surprise and worry.

"You probably shouldn't be standing, or walking yet…"

Cream came around the corner behind Shadow, face held in disbelief. Sonic actually laughed by how comically far her jaw was from her face.

"I heal fast."

Shadow strode down the stairs, confident with every step. What a show off. Vanilla recovered from her stupor, shaking her head and gesturing to the seat next to Sonic.

"Well Mr, Shadow was it? I have some soup for you."

"Thank you."

Shadow joined Sonic at the table, and eventually so did Cream and Vanilla with their own servings of breakfast.

"So, how did you two end up in such bad shape?"

Sonic and Shadow met each other's gaze. It was silently communicated that they probably shouldn't say exactly.

"We uh…"

"Freak accident."

Shadow finished.

"Yeah! Involving a flamethrower!"

Cream's face shifted with horror at Sonic's comment. Shadow cringed inwardly at Sonic's inability to lie. Vanilla didn't seem that convinced.

"I see. And how did that happen?"

"We uhhhh…"

"Tried making one ourselves."

Shadow, again with the save, scowled a little at Sonic. This wasn't going to work. Cream looked absolutely entrapped by their story.

"... And somehow that got the two of you trapped in the vents?"

Sonic swallowed. Busted.

"... Yeahhhh?"

Vanilla arched her brow, looking back and forth between the two.

"Look, you don't need to lie to me. Many Mobians pass through this place, I understand you're scared but don't worry, I'm not gonna snitch to ChaosCorp."

It was Sonic's turn to raise his brow.

"ChaosCorp?"

The two rabbits stared at their guests as if they just grew two extra heads.

"You don't know what ChaosCorp is?"

Cream asked innocently. Sonic scratched the back of his head.

"No…"

Vanilla suddenly gasped.

"You're from outside of the walls aren't you?"

Shadow nodded to their host. He wasn't going to mention anything about a different universe, so he quickly asked a question before she could again.

"If you don't mind telling us, what exactly is ChaosCorp?"

Vanilla sighed.

"Are you comfortable? Because it's a long story."

Sonic nodded, right before shoveling in his last spoonful of soup.

"Well, it started five years ago. Back then, the whole planet was beautiful and thriving. But then, a human wielding seven magical gemstones drained the world of its life, besides one spot; his floating fortress above this city. The only true plant life is up there. He invited the world to join his city below, where he'd share his food with. With no other option, the surviving people of the world congregated into his city, forced to adjust being under his terms and being the last living people on Mobius. In recent days, ChaosCorp has been randomly selecting Mobians, and taking them to who knows where. Those that get selected… we never see them again. With only one exception ever…"

Sonic and Shadow dwelled on her words in silent thought. This was worse than anything else they could have imagined. Sonic felt guilt entrap him. He wasn't there for them. He wasn't there to stop all those horrible things from happening. The sick feeling was back. He had to ask, as much as he didn't want to.

"What was the human's name?"

Shadow's frown deepened, knowing the answer just as much as Sonic.

"Ivo Robotnik."

Sonic's face darkened.

"Eggman."

 

It had been an all night affair, fixing the Chaos Amplifier into the currently stoic robot, but Miles Prower wasn't a stranger to late nights.

"That should do it."

The fox shut the abdominal plate, latching it shut. He looked down on the face of his only friend. She was going to be alright. He crossed his fingers and flicked the switch. A loud whirring noise sounded in the robot's chest, and the right eye lit up a shade of pink.

"Welcome back Rusty. How do you feel?"

Rusty Rose took a look down at her hands, squeezing them, then relaxing. She also ignored his question by offering her own.

"What happened?"

Miles - or his self proclaimed nickname 'Nine' - crossed his arms, tapping his foot on the ground.

"The Chaos Amplifier I used to build you originally busted. You short-circuited and I had to shut you down until I found a replacement."

She nodded in acknowledgement, eyes wandering the room. They landed on Nine's shoes, where a substantial blood stain could be seen.

"Are you hurt?"

Nine followed her gaze, scoffing and rolling his eyes.

"No. It's not my blood if that's what you're thinking."

"What did you do?"

Nine turned away as she got off of the operating table. He went over to a small fridge in the other corner of the room, opening it and beginning to search through it. Not that it had much in it.

"I didn't kill him, just scared him."

Rusty frowned, looking at him expectantly.

"... And I may have rearranged his face, but he had it coming."

Rusty crossed her arms.

"We talked about this Nine. You promised me…"

Nine slammed the fridge, frustration clear on his face.

"I know! I know… 'no more mangling anyone. If I do, I'm no better than them'."

His frustration drained, replaced with a neutral expression.

"I'm sorry."

Rusty let her arms fall to her side, and slowly started walking towards him.

"I just snapped. He was one of the first you know? One of the first few guys to regularly lay into me."

Nine's hands gripped into tight fists. Oh Chaos, he hated the memories, hating feeling weak.

"And he hasn't changed one bit! What else should I have done?"

Rusty silenced him by a small hug. Nine shivered, body still not used to physical contact that was positive. Rusty was made up of around ninety percent metal, making the hug mostly cold. However, it was warm in a way that couldn't be explained.

"Really, I am sorry."

"It's ok. I forgive you. And thank you for fixing me up."

Nine - suddenly uncomfortable by how sentimental this was getting - backed away from the hug, shielding his face from her view. Why'd he have to be such a cry baby?

"It's nothing. Glad you're feeling better."

He said quickly, wiping his face with his arm, and walking out of the room.

"I'm gonna go wash these shoes off. I'll check your systems later to make sure everything is running smoothly."

Rusty sadly smiled as Nine shut the door behind him. She caught sight of his tears before he could hide them. That kid needed some serious help. She would be there for him, just like he was for her.

 

"Eggman? Who's that?"

Sonic smiled at Cream.

"It's my nickname for Robotnik, just made it up right now."

Cream giggled, warming Sonic's heart.

"That's ridiculous!"

The two shared a laugh, while Shadow finally began eating. Shadow addressed Vanilla.

"Thank you for helping us."

"Of course."

"You didn't have to."

"Oh I know. But I wanted to."

Shadow swallowed more soup. It was actually quite good.

"Is this something you and your daughter do often?"

"Yes it is. This city isn't kind to anyone not associated with ChaosCorp. We wanted to help people get on their feet again if they really needed it."

"How do you take care of yourselves?"

Vanilla watched Sonic continually tell egg puns to Cream, making her laugh till she was red in the face. She smiled at that. It had been too long since she had heard Cream truly laugh.

"We own a restaurant. It's not much, but it pays the bills."

"You're a very generous person to give away something you have so little of."

"Thank you."

Cream settled down enough to breathe, still giggling every other moment. Sonic smirked, proud of himself for making her so happy.

"Go ahead and take this to Gadget won't you dear?"

Cream nodded exuberantly, accepting the bowl of soup, and then taking off.

"Well then, due to your… unreal recovery… I guess you can leave whenever you wish. If you need a bed, don't hesitate to ask me."

Vanilla gestured for them to follow her.

"If you boys don't mind walking with me over to the restaurant, I can give you the quick tour of the area."

"Sure."

Vanilla led them to what they assumed was the front door. She turned the doorknob, but stopped, looking over her shoulder at them.

"Everyone here are either struggling, or at rock bottom. So that puts a lot of desperate people in the same space. Just promise me to be careful."

Sonic shrugged.

"Alrighty."

Shadow rolled his eyes at Sonic's ease, before nodding at Vanilla.

"Yes we will."

She smiled, then pushed open the door wide. Light flooded the doorway, and sounds of a city street filled their ears.

"Welcome to Chaos City."

Chapter 4: Light of Hope

Notes:

Welcome back!

Celebrating 20 days till Sonic Frontiers The Final Horizon! Who else is excited!!!

"I thought you said they were more promising…?"

The Captain watched the two subjects behind a glass cage, unimpressed. While they had a stable connection to their web, and took commands, they sacrificed mental capacity. One was just spinning in circles on the ground, while the other simply stood in the corner.

"W-well w-we have made m-more progress with th-these two than any of t-the past subjects."

The Captain clenched his fist.

"I want to see progress."

"I understand sir, s-so do we!"

"I don't think you do understand."

The Captain paced around the room, looking at everything except the scientist.

"We are on a time crunch. My Badniks simply aren't enough. We need this to work, and we need it to work now!"

The Captain threw over a tray of medical equipment, making it clatter everywhere. The scientist jumped backwards, trembling like a leaf.

"I-I'll t-try to g-get this a-all done in a t-timely manner sir!"

The Captain stroked his impressive mustache.

"I want improvements in ten days. Don't disappoint me."

 

Sonic wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't this. Buildings were packed against the other, with the only space between being a dusty road. Mobians of all shapes and sizes traversed the streets, kicking up the dust as they went.

"It's… so…"

"Full of smog."

Sonic followed Shadow's gaze upward, grimacing at the thick black clouds.

"This is the Residential Layer of District One. Everything on this layer are apartments, homes, and inns. Basically everyone lives up here."

"Layer?"

Two children running after each-other skirted past Shadow's legs, laughing while they played.

"Yes. District One has two layers; Residential, and Marketplace, which has all the shops and restaurants, including mine."

Vanilla led the two around the street corner. She glanced back at her tagalongs, mind buzzing with curiosity. How did these two not know of ChaosCorp, Chaos City, or even Robotnik? The whole world was dead besides here, how'd these two survive for so long?

"So, Sonic, Shadow, how did you two survive outside of these walls?"

The hedgehogs glanced at each other.

"I don't know if you'd believe us."

Shadow curtly said. Vanilla abruptly stopped, turning on her heel.

"Try me."

Shadow looked at Sonic, who shrugged.

"I guess we can tell you on the way."

Vanilla smirked, taking both of them off guard.

"Good. Let's keep going."

The trio continued their stroll, Shadow nodding to Sonic to tell their tale.

"So we are… from… an alternate universe."

Vanilla looked over her shoulder in surprise, but didn't stop walking, or interrupt. As Sonic explained their world, Eggman, and the events leading up to their meeting, she led them to stairs into the street, like a subway station. The three descended down the steps, passing a few Mobians going the opposite direction. Sonic gasped at the new sight. Similar to above, buildings were packed against one another, but with a ceiling above. It was massive, and the smog was somehow even worse than the surface. Sonic coughed just thinking about it.

"So… you're saying that this world shouldn't even exist?"

Sonic nodded.

"In a way, yeah. I understand if this seems too far-fetched."

"I believe you."

Sonic startled, eyes wide and confused.

"You do?"

"If you guys wanted to lie, you'd try something more believable. Plus, I already have seen you try to lie."

She turned around, a mischievous look on her face.

"You're terrible at it."

Sonic's jaw slacked, and Shadow smirked.

"We're here boys."

Sonic clamped his mouth shut, eyes darting up to the simple restaurant, packed between a grocery store and a candy shop. The entrance was adorned with a sign saying; "Light of Hope: Bar and Restaurant.". Vanilla fumbled with her key ring, shoving the key into the lock. She pushed the door with a loud creek, flipping a nearby switch to turn on the lights, and the 'open' sign in the window. She held the door open for them to step past, and then she locked the door again.

"I need to prep the kitchen before I open up, but you boys can get comfortable."

Vanilla rushed to the back, leaving them in the open dining space. It seemed bigger on the inside than the front. It had booths, tables, a bar, and what surprised Sonic the most, a stage. Sonic looked to where Shadow was, only to find that he had already sat down. Sonic sped over and joined him at the booth.

"She took that surprisingly well."

Sonic said, leaning back. Shadow mumbled a half-hearted 'mhmm', not looking at him. Sonic frowned.

"What's wrong?"

Shadow looked up, meeting his gaze.

"Nothing."

"Come on… tell me."

Shadow scowled, before settling for a frown. He sighed deeply, and his fingers tapped against the wooden table.

"I'm thinking about my team."

Sonic made an 'o' with his mouth.

"Team Dark? Rouge and Omega?"

Shadow nodded.

"All those things Vanilla said… while she and Cream aren't that much different…"

Shadow stopped, teeth and fists clenching.

"What if they are completely different people?"

Sonic stared, not familiar with Shadow of all people opening up at all. His words hit Sonic's heart like a javelin. He was thinking the exact same thing about his team. What if they were completely different? Sonic's heart clenched, before releasing a little. No. He had to have hope. It didn't matter who his friends were now, they were still his family.

"Shadow… I understand."

Shadow eyed Sonic, skeptically staring back.

"Chances are, they are different. And none of them will remember you. But aren't they worth it?"

Shadow stiffened, confusion creeping on his face.

"Aren't they worth re-meeting, getting to know, again, getting close to, again."

Shadow's eyes were glued on Sonic's face, mouth slightly agape.

"Cause I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get my family back, even if they are different, and even if it hurts like hell. And I think deep down you're the same way."

Shadow opened his mouth, and then closed it. He was right. Shadow had determination bloom in his chest.

"Don't get used to hearing this but…"

Shadow tilted his head.

"Thank you."

Sonic smiled big, flicking the bottom of his nose with his thumb.

"Of course!"

The door opened up, revealing Cream with her own set of keys. She closed the door behind her, walking past and lighting up at the sight of them.

"Hello Mr Sonic and Mr Shadow!"

"Heya Cream."

The young rabbit bounded to the kitchen, humming a tune along the way.

"We'll find your team Shadow."

Shadow actually smiled.

"I know we will. I know."

 

Nine's stomach grumbled loudly, annoying the fox as he worked. He hadn't eaten in three days, and he was starting to feel his body getting weak. He cursed under his breath, remembering his fruitless look through the fridge earlier. It had batteries in it, and two soda cans. Not exactly the best meal.

"Nine, you should get something to eat."

Nine scowled at how motherly that sounded, but couldn't deny her words. She was right.

"And I don't mean the market. Go get something hot."

Nine furrowed his brows as Rusty tossed five silver coins at him. He caught them, eyeing her skeptically.

"Where have you been keeping these?"

Rusty smirked.

"I have a private savings. It's mostly for this stubborn fox I know to help him nourish his body."

Nine chuckled, then frowned.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course."

Nine stared at the coins in his hand. Nine and Rusty haven't known each-other that long, about six months or so, but already they had quite the friendship. Nine didn't understand half of what Rusty did, but was grateful to have somebody care about him for once. It was nice.

"Okay… I'll be back soon."

Nine paused in the doorway.

"Do you need anything? Oil, paint…?"

Rusty crossed her arms, shaking her head.

"That money is for food only. Don't you dare come back with shop supplies."

Nine sheepishly nodded, before ducking out into the street outside.

 

Vanilla's restaurant got pretty busy in the mornings. Sonic smiled as the place slowly packed out for breakfast. He spotted Cream going from table to table, taking orders back to the kitchen, and bringing hot food out.

"Quite the hotspot."

Shadow murmured, earning a nod from Sonic.

A few tables away, four large Mobians stood up from their seats, beginning to head for the door.

"Um excuse me?"

The four - a bear, a fox, a wolf, and a hawk - glanced down at Cream, who eyed them nervously.

"Are you going to pay for your meal?"

The closest to Cream, the fox, sneered, spitting at the rabbit's feet. Sonic saw red.

"Hey, I think the little lady asked you a question."

The group all looked down at the hedgehog. The fox's sneer turned into a smirk.

"Oh, tough guy huh?"

The bear cracked his knuckles.

"Whatcha gonna do about it, hedgehog?"

Sonic smiled through his angry face.

"This."

 

Nine looked up at the restaurant sign. He had been wandering around town looking for a good enough looking place to find grub, and for no reason at all, his aimless walking led him in front of Light of Hope. He didn't know why, but every inkling inside his body urged him to go in. It was like the universe was begging him to enter. Why? What was so special about this place? Nine hesitated. Why was he reacting this way? It was just a stupid building! It must have been the malnutrition talking. Rolling his eyes at himself, Nine pushed open the door.

 

In a second, Sonic was behind the bear.

"What the-?"

He didn't have a chance to react. Sonic clobbered the bear in the back of the head, knocking him out.

A black blur rammed into the wolf, Shadow successfully knocking the second guy down, joining Sonic.

"What the hell?! What kind of freaks are you?!"

Shadow roundhouse kicked the hawk, also knocking him out. Sonic grabbed the fox by the scruff of his chest, yanking his face down to his level.

"Pay what you owe."

"Okay! Okay!"

The fox fumbled with his wallet, throwing out a generous amount of coins that clattered on the floor. Sonic smiled, brushing the fox's fur off and letting go.

"Try robbing the two most generous people in this city - and you have me to contend with."

The fox was white as a sheet, and took off, leaving his posse behind.

"Sonic."

Shadow got Sonic's attention, nodding to look around him. Sonic cringed as he saw everyone in the restaurant staring. His eyes circled around the room, until they dropped down to meet Cream, who was staring up at him in awe.

"That was incredible!"

She suddenly exclaimed. A large amount of the Mobians there actually started to clap, while the rest just went about their business.

"How did you move so fast?!"

Sonic grinned.

"Pure skill."

Shadow groaned, while Cream only got more excited.

"I need to tell mom what just happened!"

Cream sped into the kitchen, shouting 'mom' as she went. Sonic smiled, looking over to see Shadow looking at the doorway. Curious to what had his partner entrapped, Sonic followed his gaze.

…

His breath was taken away.

No way…

In the doorway of Light of Hope was a small fox, with yellowish fur with white highlights, large pointed ears, and pure blue eyes. There was no denying who this was.

Tails?

 

Sonic breathed in deep, enjoying the clear summer air. His eyes were closed as he relaxed against a tree. Nothing beat a long run ending in a little R&R under the sun. Well, hanging out with his friends was unbeatable, but it was a close second. Sonic's ear twitched when a drop of water landed on it. He peaked an eye open, eyes settling on the sky. Man it got cloudy really quick. Upset at having his lounging cut short, Sonic stood, stretching his arms above his head. Looks like it was gonna downpour any second, better find shelter. Sonic boosted away, towards a very familiar and nostalgic building; Tails' workshop. Sonic flew inside, papers scattering around him at the sudden stop.

"Heya Tails! Wha-"

Sonic clamped his mouth shut once he noticed Tails wasn't there. A sticky note on his desk caught his eye. He went over to it, picking it up and reading.

-Hi Sonic! Just in case I'm not back before you are, I went out to test an invention of mine. I shouldn't be long! But if you're hungry, I left some chili dogs in the mini fridge for you! See you soon! :)

Sonic's eyes darted to the window, seeing that the pouring rain had now become a full thunderstorm. Crap.

Sonic dashed out of the workshop, instantly becoming drenched in the rain. Lighting lit up the sky, thunder rumbling quickly after. He had to find Tails fast.

Thankfully it didn't take long. Sonic gasped at the sight. A tree had fallen from the wind, and it had shattered a metal device that he assumed was Tails' invention. Also under the tree, Sonic spotted a fuzzy yellow ball.

"Tails!"

Sonic ran over, finding Tails' left leg trapped under the tree.

"Sonic!"

Tails' voice was high pitched, and barely more than a whisper. His tear filled eyes lit up with hope at the sight of his brother.

"We're gonna get you out of here."

Sonic wasted no time, grabbing the tree and lifting with everything he could. It shifted upward, just enough for Tails to pull free. As soon as he was out, Sonic scooped him up and ran. Even through the cold rain, and the danger, Tails curled closer into the hedgehog, feeling a lot safer in his arms.

"Thank you Sonic."

Sonic felt his body warm up as he looked down at the kit. He was going to be ok. Things were ok. His brother was going to be ok.

 

Nine's heart dropped when he opened the door. In the middle of the room stood four of his childhood bullies. His fur stood on end, as memories he long wanted to forget rushed back. Right as he was going to make a run for it, something bizarre happened. Among his bullies was someone he had never seen before; a blue hedgehog. In a blink, the hedgehog was behind them.

"What the-?"

Nine's eyes widened as a brawl started, a second hedgehog entering it moments later - and moved just as fast as the first one! He was awestruck. How was that movement even possible? Nothing should be that fast, especially a biological being.

He didn't get much more time to think about the scientific possibility, before the fox - the worst bully he ever had - ran from the hedgehog in fear, which meant towards him. Nine stepped aside, while he ran out the door. Wow, he was so scared he didn't even know who he was. Nine actually chuckled. Serves that bastard right.

Nine, now out of his own head, started looking for an empty table - intentionally not wanting to sit where those four imbeciles sat.

Nine suddenly had a familiar feeling. A feeling of someone staring at him. He ignored it. He was getting pretty hungry, and wanted to get a bite as quickly as possible.

Nine sat at an empty table, picking up one of the menus laid out.

"Eggs, bacon and hash browns, eggs sausage and hash browns… what even is chicken and waffles?"

"Hi!"

Nine startled in his seat, looking over to see what he assumed was the waitress.

"What would you like to drink? We have water, orange juice, and coffee."

"Coffee please."

Cream nodded, running back to the kitchen. Well they sure had speedy service at least. Not even a minute later and he has his coffee steaming in front of him.

"Thanks."

Nine took a swig from the mug, burning his throat by his carelessness. The liquid sloshed into his empty stomach, doing little to cure his hunger pains.

"I've never seen you here before… most of our customers are regulars so… what's your name?"

Nine peaked around his menu at the rabbit, not desiring conversation, but not wanting to be a complete jerk to her. Respect the person who brings you your food.

"Nine."

"Nice to meet you!"

Nine raised a brow skeptically.

"So uh… you work here, what's good?"

Cream's smile widened two times its size which didn't seem possible.

"The chicken and waffles are really good!"

Nine blinked.

"What are those?"

Cream gasped, as if Nine had just said he never drank water before.

"We are changing this right now. I'll get those in for you."

Cream skipped away, leaving a dumbfounded Nine at the table. Nine wondered for a second if he'd dislike his meal, but re thought better at the loud grumble of his unfed stomach. It didn't matter what it tasted like at this point, he was starving.

That feeling of someone staring returned. Nine growled a little. What would it take for a little bit of peace? Curious to who actually was staring, he looked around as nonchalantly as he possibly could. His eyes met green ones. It was that blue hedgehog.

…

Why did he feel so familiar?

Chapter 5: My name is Nine

Notes:

Welcome back!

So this chapter was actually a little difficult, as I'm trying to make dynamic and creative fight scenes for this fic, and those do not come naturally to me. However, I think I did a decent enough job for this chapter. Please enjoy!

"I need to go talk to him."

Sonic anxiously looked back over at Tails, or whoever Tails was now. What would he say? He couldn't just ignore the opportunity. Tails was RIGHT THERE. He had to try something.

Sonic's brother radar was going off hard, he didn't like some new details of his brother in this world. For starters, he was a lot thinner. While Tails didn't exactly have the best eating habits, he was generally healthy, and his body reflected that of a growing boy. This Tails didn't. His shoes, gloves, and the rest of his clothes were ratty and torn in several places. His fur was matted, dirty, and clearly not brushed in years. Finally, the last detail for Sonic to notice from here, was his tails. Or rather the fact he couldn't see them. Behind Tails was a thin mechanical tail, that seemed to be a cocoon of sorts to hide his natural twin-tails. Sonic felt his heart crumble. This world, Tails never had him. He still felt the need to hide his uniqueness. After practically raising him himself, Sonic saw Tails go from being ashamed of his tails, to being proud. That took four years of brotherhood, friendship, and trust. This Tails had none of that. Sonic bit his lip. If he had to do it again, another four years, so be it.

Before Sonic could stop himself, he was on his feet walking. What should he say? He didn't know him. He didn't have some excuse to talk to him either. Sonic felt sweat trickle down his back, unable to think of some lie.

"Uh… can I help you?"

Sonic blinked, not realizing he had made it to Tails' table.

"Hiya!"

Sonic quickly masked the 'cool guy' persona, flicking finger guns at the fox. Nine skeptically watched the hedgehog. What was with this guy? What did he want?

"... do I know you?"

"No, but we can change that!"

Sonic shoved his hand out, an offer to shake.

"Name's Sonic, what's yours?"

Nine looked at his hand warily.

"Nine…"

Sonic made an 'o' with his mouth.

"... Nine? Oh okay. Nice to meet you Nine."

Sonic awkwardly put his hand down, getting the hint. Nine, still trying to figure out why Sonic was so interested in him, suddenly widened his eyes.

"Oh um…"

"What's up bud?"

Nine suddenly looked super uncomfortable, fidgeting in his seat. Sonic raised a brow, concerned and curious to "Nine's" behavior.

"If you're coming over here because you're interested… or whatever… sorry but I'm not into hedgehogs."

Nine murmured, a small blush outlining his cheeks. Sonic gaped, gagging at the mere implication. Sure Tails wasn't actually his brother, but he could never see him any other way.

"Oh CHAOS no!"

Nine looked relieved, then confused.

"Then… what's your game?"

"Game?"

Nine scowled, making Sonic take a step back.

"Don't play dumb. You didn't just walk over here to say hello. I saw you looking at me ever since I walked in."

Sonic cringed, regretting his lack of subtlety.

"You… uh, reminded me of someone."

Nine scoffed.

"Trust me hedgehog, you haven't met anyone like me."

"You'd be surprised."

Sonic felt a cold chill run down his back at the sight of Tails glare at him. It wasn't Tails… this was Nine. What kind of name was Nine anyway? He'd ask that later.

"So that's it? I just remind you of a friend? Well I'm not them, so leave me alone."

"Please, I -"

"No, I don't know you, and I have no desire to know you, so go away!"

"But Tails!"

Sonic stopped, realizing his mistake instantly. Nine's eyes reduced to pinpricks, and his hands began visibly shaking.

"What did you just call me?"

Sonic's mouth went dry, unable to respond.

Nine glanced back at his metal tails, glad to see that they were successfully still hiding his two natural ones. Somehow… this hedgehog knew. He knew. Nine bristled, thinking about the damage he caused just a few minutes before. He was his next target.

Before any more words could be exchanged, Nine briskly stood, throwing the rest of his burning cup of coffee towards Sonic, who didn't have time to dodge. The black liquid burned against Sonic's fur, making him yell in pain. While he was distracted, Nine ran for the door, ripping it open and bolting out. Sonic shook his head, recovering quickly.

"Wait Nine!"

Sonic sped out the door, looking back and forth frantically. Which way did he go?

"You go right, I'll go left."

Sonic smiled at the sudden appearance of Shadow, grateful for the help.

"Alright! Bring him back here if you find him!"

Shadow nodded once, boosting off to the left. Sonic took off, dodging people and random city obstacles in the street. He couldn't lose him. He wasn't losing his brother today. His heart quickened at the sight of Nine running. Sonic slowed to a fast walk, right next to Nine. The fox flinched at his sudden appearance.

"I just want to talk!"

"Get away from me!"

Nine spotted a rock on the ground, and scooped it up in his hand without stopping. In one smooth motion, Nine chucked it to Sonic's head. Sonic yelped, sweeping his head to the side, narrowly missing the projectile.

Nine scowled, reaching down to hit a button on his belt. The large metal tail split apart, revealing SEVEN metal tails and his two natural ones. The metal tails all supported Nine's body, scuttling on the ground like spider legs. Sonic would be impressed if he wasn't so concerned at the sight of his natural tails. Unlike the vibrant fluffy pillows that he knew his brother to have, Nine's tails were dark with soot, dirt, and oil. The fur was unkept, and knotted. Worse of all though, was the obvious burn mark on the side of his right tail. It was a large patch where no fur was growing, and the skin underneath was distorted. Sonic was so lost at the sight, that he didn't notice that Nine had yeeted a sharp piece of scrap metal until it was near his face. Using his top notch reflexs, Sonic bent backwards, allowing the metal chunk to pass harmlessly above him. However, to do that, he overcompensated. His large shoes tripped over each other, causing him to stumble face first in the dirt. He scrambled to his feet, eyes looking frantically for his buddy. No no it couldn't end like this! Sonic quickly checked around every building nearby, and inside each one open to public. When he came up short, he started running again.

Nine's heart was in his throat as he ran. This crazy hedgehog was after him! And he saw his display of power, he didn't want to think about what would happen if he got caught. Thinking quickly, Nine smashed his finger against his wrist communicator, making it light up.

"Rusty! Come to my position! I need help!"

Nine's sensitive ears picked up Sonic's running before he saw him. Without wasting a second, he calculated a quick claw swipe behind him, twisting his body to pull it off. His claws landed as soon as Sonic appeared. Claws dug into skin, and Sonic recoiled at the sudden attack. Four long red stripes now decorated the left side of his face, dripping with fresh blood.

"Gah!"

Sonic held a gloved hand to his face. He looked down, seeing the pristine white stained with red. He looked up with a little disbelief, just to be met with a fist. Nine clocked him in the nose, making it crack loudly. Nine just broke his nose! Blood gushed out of his nostrils, pooling on the ground.

"Nine please! I n-need…"

"I don't care what you have to say!"

Nine pulled his foot back to kick Sonic, who closed his eyes to brace for the pain. It never came. Sonic peeked his eyes open, finding Shadow the Hedgehog standing between the two.

"What the - ?"

Shadow rammed into Nine, who flew into a nearby wall, knocking the wind out of him. Shadow spared Sonic a glance, who was nursing his twisted nose.

"Hanks or da save Hadow."

Sonic nasally said, making Shadow roll his eyes.

"Don't mention it."

"Oh I get it."

Shadow's steely focus landed on the fox, who was picking himself up from his crumpled landing.

"Two on one. That's normally how it goes."

"Ait Nine, we on't wan ta fight!"

Sonic's words fell on deaf ears, as Nine cracked his neck.

"Well I'm sick of being outnumbered, it's time to even the odds."

Before Sonic could protest anymore, a fist from nowhere flew out and decked Shadow in the back. Right where his bandage was. Shadow gasped sharply, falling on his knees. The fist retracted, revealing a pink hedgehog. Or at least, what was left of a pink hedgehog. Almost all of her was replaced with robotic parts. But that wasn't what stood out to Sonic the most, instead, it was her face. He'd recognize her anywhere.

 

"No peeking!"

"Amy, this is taking foreverrrr."

"Maybe it'd be more bearable if you weren't so impatient!"

Sonic stumbled along, bandana around his eyes and Amy clutching his hand to lead him. Sonic was starting to wonder if this so called 'surprise' didn't exist at all, and this was just Amy's excuse to hold his hand.

"Amy…"

"Just a few more steps!"

Sonic sighed. He went along this far, he may as well see what Amy was up to. Amy stopped pulling, and eventually let go of his hand.

"Okay…"

He felt her hands untie the bandana.

"Happy birthday Sonic."

The bandana fell, and Sonic's face went from passive to shocked. On a high cliff, Sonic and Amy overlooked a large portion of Green Hill Zone, one of Sonic's favorite places to run. Well… it was one of his favorite places. After the war was over, Green Hill was one of the many Zones hit hard. Eggman had set up Badnik Factories there, and the smog from the facilities turned the lush Green Hills into dead Grey Rock Zone or something. The restoration was doing its best to help the world recover for the war, Amy doing a spectacular job in heading it all. So Sonic was shocked to see Green Hill restored. Everything was how it was before.

"Amy… how?"

"I may have pulled a few strings…"

Sonic looked over at Amy, disbelief covering his face.

"Once I learned a team was fixing the area up, I may have put in a special request to speed up the process… no big deal really."

"You did this for me?"

Amy smiled, with a small ounce of humor in her expression.

"Yes of course silly, why else would I do this?"

Sonic finally grinned, absolutely giddy.

"Go ahead. I know you want to. Tails is cooking something up with Knuckles for us when we get back, but don't worry about the time, take as long as you need."

Sonic's grin widened. His fingers twitched with excitement.

"Thank you Amy! You're the best!"

Before he really thought about what he was doing, Sonic hugged her, making her heat up to a Knuckles level red. Just like everything Sonic did, the hug was fast, and Amy was left reeling with butterflies.

"Catch ya later Ames!"

Sonic boosted off to have some fun.

 

"Perfect timing Rusty."

Amy, or 'Rusty' Sonic supposed, took a few steps, closing in on the group.

"Mind explaining?"

"We just want to talk."

Shadow grumbled, getting up to his feet. He was in clear pain from the hit to his healing back, but with stubbornness that outweighed reality, Shadow defiantly stood, hands balled into fists. Rusty cocked her head, warily eyeing the hedgehog pair.

"Why? State your reasoning."

Sonic shakily stood next to Shadow.

"Because I… know Nine."

Nine bristled, eyeing Sonic with deadly skepticism.

"How? I don't know you!"

"That's what I want to talk about!"

"Screw you!"

Nine lunged for Sonic, claws extended. Sonic, heartbroken from the sheer rage that decorated Nine's face, sidestepped the attack.

Shadow geared up to help Sonic, but was quickly blocked by Rusty.

"Stay away from Nine. I don't trust you."

"No can do Amy."

Rusty faltered, eyes wide.

"How'd you know…"

Shadow roundhouse kicked her while she was distracted. A few sparks flew around Shadow's foot, and Rusty recoiled from the impact. She scowled, looking up at Shadow, who had a chill run down his spine. He wasn't that familiar with Amy, only interacting with her a select few times, but he never saw the pure anger in her eyes before.

Sonic dodged another four swipes in succession.

"Dude stop! I don't want to fight!"

Nine ignored him, choosing to try and skewer the hedgehog with his tails.

"I don't want to hurt you!"

Sonic jumped away from Nine, landing on a stack of boxes just out of the fox's reach.

"I'll explain everything if you just calm down!"

"Do you ever SHUT UP?!"

Nine pierced the wooden boxes with his tails, pulling them out from under Sonic. The ground rushed up to meet Sonic, who grunted as his back slammed into the cobblestone. That was most definitely going to bruise. His eyes fluttered open, and regretting looking almost immediately. The wooden crate he was standing on moments before was brought down on his head, breaking apart on impact. Splinters and broken planks flew everywhere, but Sonic barely registered what was happening. He doubled over in pain, his head throbbing and the world spinning.

Shadow pinned Rusty against the wall, doing his best to restrain her. She struggled, trying to get out from his iron grip.

"Unhand me hedgehog."

"No."

Shadow slammed his forehead against her face, making her eyes flicker in surprise. That actually did some damage. He repeated the action, causing more sparks to fly. Rusty couldn't comprehend how his flesh and bone was powerful enough to harm her metal components. That just shouldn't be possible! Scrambling for a solution, Rusty spotted Sonic a few paces away, dazed. With a small window, Rusty got her one hand out from under Shadow, extending out to grab the scruff of Sonic's neck. Sonic yelped as he was dragged quickly over to Shadow, slamming bodily into him. The sudden impact was enough to free Rusty, allowing her to punch Shadow in the gut, who wheezed. She hit the burn. Nine and Rusty stood above the two hedgehogs, Sonic who was unmoving on his back, and Shadow who was crouched, groaning in pain.

"How do you know me!?"

Shadow met Nine's furious gaze, but said nothing. Nine let out a frustrated yell. What difference did that make anyway? They were just like the rest, where all they saw was how he was a freak of nature, and wanted to make sure he was punished for existing. Nine scowled, turning to walk away.

"Wait, we can't just leave them!"

Nine looked back at Rusty.

"Sure we can."

Rusty's eyebrows knitted together.

"Nine… they could die if not properly treated."

"And that's my problem?"

Rusty flared in anger, hands balling into fists.

"NINE! How could you say that?"

The fox shrugged, expression looking bored.

"Because they are total strangers. I'm not gonna hop on the chance to help some guys I don't know."

"I was a stranger when you helped me."

Nine's fur stood up, and his expression went dark.

"That was different."

Rusty crossed her arms, clearly upset.

"Fine, you tell yourself that."

Rusty kneeled down, picking up both boys, who limply draped in her arms.

"I am going to find help. You can tag along if you wish."

Nine watched Rusty walk away with some disbelief. Why would she do that? Those guys just tried to cave their heads in! Growling to no one in particular, Nine walked after her, following at a distance.

 

"What is the link?"

The scientist scratched his scalp frantically, watching five different subjects with vast different reactions to the same code input. All of them were bad.

"They either have a strong connection to our servers, or have high processing brain power. Never both! How can I connect the two?"

He stared through the glass, watching the one jackal Mobian froth at the mouth, convulsing on the floor.

"I need a coffee break."

 

Shadow was conscious enough to lead Rusty back to Light of Hope, knowing Vanilla would be able to help.

"I need help!"

The four of them barged into Light of Hope, startling many of the guests. Cream looked up from her notepad, startling at the sight, taking off to the kitchen. She came out a few moments later with Vanilla, who gasped at the sight.

"Bring them back here. Cover for me Cream."

Cream nodded, taking her position in the kitchen while the five of them proceeded further back, into a backroom with some medical equipment and a single bed. Rusty laid Sonic gently on the bed, and propped Shadow on the chair. Vanilla wasted no time, getting straight to work. She cleaned up the wound on Sonic's head, and the scratches on his face. She quickly wound his head in a thick bandage, gently laying his head on a pillow when when she was done.

"Are you ok Shadow?"

"I am fine. I just need a breather."

Rusty awkwardly shuffled, unsure of what to say. Meanwhile Nine just crossed his arms, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"I'll help pay for whatever you charge for your service.'

Vanilla looked over to Rusty, politely shaking her head.

"No need. This is free of charge."

"Thank you."

Vanilla studied the two.

"Do you know Shadow and Sonic?"

Shadow and Rusty met eyes.

"No… but they somehow know us."

Chapter 6: Chicken and Waffles

Notes:

Welcome back!

So completely unrelated to the story but... has anyone seen the Sonic Frontiers The Final Horizon news lately? The soundtrack is going to expand 46 more tracks! And that story tease... my gosh the last time I was this excited it was Frontiers original release.

Forgive my geek out.

So this chapter is mostly talking and set up, but I like how it turned out, so please enjoy. 😁

Sonic groggily opened his eyes, head still splitting with pain.

"Ugh, that's one sonic boom of a headache."

He looked around the room, finding Shadow, Rusty, and Nine all staring at him.

"Oh… good morning everyone?"

Shadow scoffed, but smiled at Sonic's quip.

"Shadow."

The two hedge-boys looked over to the pink hedgehog, who wore a confused expression.

"You knew my name. My REAL name. How?"

Rusty was generally curious, and Shadow wondered if he should tell the truth. He glanced back at Sonic, who he could tell shared the sentiment. Nine's eyes wandered between both of them impatiently.

"Well?"

"We're from an alternate universe."

At first, no one responded, then, Nine laughed.

"What, you expect us to believe you just popped in from a different plane of existence?"

"I know it's crazy but please, hear me out."

Nine frowned, looking down on the blue hedgehog.

"Fine. But make it quick."

Sonic thought up a quip about him always being quick, but decided now wasn't the time. Nine wasn't the joke kind of guy. Tails would always laugh at the jokes Sonic made… just another piece of his reality taken away he guessed.

"This whole universe we are in now… it's a messed up version of ours! And we knew both of you!"

Nine scoffed, but didn't interrupt.

"It's my fault. I shattered this mystical rock called the Paradox Prism. It changed everything."

"Well boo-hoo."

Nine chuckled darkly, shaking his head.

"If you really know me…"

He leaned in close, his fierce blue eyes daring Sonic to respond.

"... then tell me something only I would know."

Sonic paused, staring back into Nine's unforgiving eyes. What was something that only he and Tails knew? Naturally there was a lot of brotherly secrets they shared, but this Tails was different. Only half of his life had the possibility of being the same as before, and even that might have been a little different. He racked his brain, trying to think of something Tails told him about his time before Sonic. Tails never liked talking about that time, but since Sonic was truly the first person that he trusted, naturally, those things were discussed eventually. Sonic just prayed that some of them were the same now.

"I'm waiting."

"You were abandoned by your family when you were two years old."

Nine froze, eyes wide with shock.

"Because of your two tails, they didn't want anything to do with you. They left you in the middle of the woods, and ran away so you couldn't catch up. That's why you're so fast on your feet today, because you never want to be left behind again."

Nine made a disbelieving sound from the back of his throat.

"How could you know…"

"When you were three years old, you found a busted up robot, and after fixing it, you discovered your passion for building things, and engineering."

Nine backed away with his ever growing shock and horror.

"And ever since you were abandoned, you have tried and failed for your entire life to kill yourself. You want to die, and sometimes you think you deserve to die, but you never could finish the job, because you're more scared of death than you are of life."

Sonic was tearing up at the end of his speal, being reminded of those times Tails had told him all those things. Gosh he remembered how absolutely powerless he felt hearing his brother be so vulnerable and raw with him. He was forever grateful that Tails opened up, since from that day, Sonic had helped Tails overcome his inner demons.

Nine's face was contorted with mixed emotions. How could he know that? He never told ANYONE about his suicidal thoughts. EVER. Tears started forming. Now all three of them know. They know how weak he is. How much of a freak he is.

"I need a minute."

Nine ran out, tears now freely falling. How could he let himself cry? Nine brushed past Cream, running for the front door. He slammed it shut, sliding down to sit on the steps. He was sobbing now, and he hated it. Weak. Mutant. Freak. Unwanted.

"Can I sit here?"

Nine gasped in fear, looking up to see Cream, standing next to him with a plate in her hands. Not in a condition to say anything, he just buried his face in his knees, trying to hide his shame. He heard a shuffle next to him, which he suspected was Cream sitting next to him. Damn it, he wanted to be alone, couldn't she see that?

"I kept your chicken and waffles warm for you, if you still want them."

Nine peeked over to Cream, spying the steaming plate in her lap. As the smell finally reached his nose, his stomach lurched in hunger. He had almost forgotten the reason he was here in the first place. He shrugged, nodding to the girl. She smiled sweetly, handing the plate over the the shaken boy. Nine accepted it, eyeing the food now in front of him. It could have been moldy and I'd still look like the most appetizing thing ever. Through his tears, Nine tore into the food, only stopping to breath once.

"Sonic will be alright."

Nine looked over at Cream, wiping his mouth with his hand, suddenly a little self-conscious about his lack of manners.

"I only just met him yesterday, and yet, I feel as though we've been friends for a long time. It's weird."

Nine blinked owlishly, not wanting to admit that he had a similar feeling. Sonic was familiar to him somehow. Nine's frantic emotional state was slowing to a calming level, allowing his calculating brain to catch up. If Sonic knew all about him… that meant he was right. Sonic was from another universe, and he was friends with him of all people. Nine couldn't help but be confused. How were they friends? He wondered if it was similar to how he and Rusty were friends; through circumstance and necessity. That was possible.

"Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your food!"

Cream went to go back inside. Nine startled a little, realizing he hadn't said a thing to the girl.

"W-wait!"

Cream stopped, looking back down with a smile.

"Um… thank you."

She beamed.

"Of course!"

She went back inside, leaving Nine with his thoughts.

 

Rusty watched Nine leave, heart deeply broken. She had her suspicions, but to have it all confirmed was terrible. She looked back at Sonic, who was pushing away tears from his eyes. Sonic clearly had a strong relationship with Nine in whatever universe they came from.

"So it's true. You do know us."

Shadow nodded in Sonic's behalf.

"How do you know me then… just out of curiosity?"

Shadow looked over at Sonic, who was slowly composing himself.

"I know you more from association. Sonic knew you better."

Rusty eyed the blue hedgehog curiously, as he cleared his throat.

"I saved your life when we met."

Sonic chuckled distantly, thinking back to that time.

"Old Robotnik took you with one of his crappy robots. I busted him up and freed you. We were friends ever since."

Sonic paused, smirking.

"... you also had a thing for me."

Rusty's eyes widened. This "other her" was interested in Sonic? Rusty looked over the hedgehog in question, as if seeing him for the first time. She had to admit to herself, he was rather handsome. That shade of blue was very appealing to her eyes. A blush appeared on the flesh on her face.

"... were we a thing?"

Sonic choked, coughing violently.

"Oh no, that never happened."

Rusty surprised herself when she felt disappointed by that response.

"I see. Interesting."

Sonic smiled sheepishly at the calculating gaze. Shadow grinned at the interaction.

"So uh… what's your relationship with Nine? If you don't mind me asking."

Rusty nodded.

"I don't mind. It's a fair trade."

She sighed, recounting the past few months with the troubled fox.

"When we met… I wasn't…"

Rusty gestured to herself, seeing the lightbulb click in Sonic's mind.

"We met accidentally. And ironically honesty. We were both robbing the same place."

Shadow snorted, filled by a low chuckle.

"You're both thieves then?"

Rusty shook her head.

"Only by necessity. Nine had been doing it his whole life, never having anyone to take care of him. And I had just been kicked out of the orphanage for being too old. They couldn't take care of me anymore."

Shadow fell silent, nodding in understanding.

"I was lost and confused. I didn't know what else to do. So I tried robbing the grocery store. I turned one of the corners and ran into Nine."

Rusty actually smiled, clearly fond of the memory.

"We looked in each other's eyes and knew we were doing the same thing. So we just minded our own business at first, an unspoken truce between us."

Her smile faded.

"Then all hell broke loose. There was a silent alarm that was triggered that neither of us knew about. A handful of re-purposed Badniks were deployed as their security system. I saw them before Nine did, and he was taken by surprise. I had the opportunity to run, as they hadn't seen me yet."

Sonic smiled sadly.

"But you didn't."

"I couldn't. They would have killed him. I couldn't let that happen. So I stepped in to help him fight them off. I could tell he was shocked I came back to help him."

Rusty shook her head to clear it from the vivid picture.

"He was better at destroying them once he had an opening. I realized quickly just how outmatched I was. Nine had almost cleaned the floor with them, when two of them cornered me…"

Rusty clenched her teeth.

"... it happened so fast. One moment I was trying to get them to back off… and the next I was a bloody pulp on the floor."

Rusty sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady herself.

"I thought I was going to die. All my limbs were mutilated, my midsection was torn up, and my head was covered in lacerations. I was quite literally, a pile of organs."

Sonic turned a bright shade of green, and Shadow looked away, having a hard time imagining the sight.

"The rest I don't remember. But when I woke up, I was like this… mostly robotic."

She looked down at her body, her biological eye cloudy.

"I'm… so sorry Rusty."

She shook her head.

"No it's ok."

Her trembling hands told a different story, but Sonic nodded, deciding not to pry further.

"Nine is the reason I'm alive today, I owe him my life."

"You're gonna make me blush."

The three of them all looked at the room entrance to see Nine, leaning against the door frame.

"Nine!"

"Are you ok?"

Nine waved off Sonic and Rusty.

"I'm fine. I did some thinking that's all."

Nine lazily gestured to Sonic.

"I believe you."

"You do!?"

Nine held up his hands again.

"Yes, but don't think that makes us friends. I'm not interested in friendship."

Sonic visibly deflated. He couldn't make Nine be friends with him. Friendship was a two way street. Sonic held back the agony within his chest. He wanted to scream at the universe for stealing away the one thing he truly needed.

"I… understand."

"Good."

Nine cracked his back by stretching.

"So are we done here?"

"Wait!"

Nine looked back at Sonic, who was trying to come up with a good reason for them to interact. Nine didn't want to be friends, but Sonic wasn't just going to roll over and accept that. What would keep Nine here?

"I need your help."

Nine raised a brow, Rusty did too, and even Shadow looked at Sonic skeptically.

"Oh? Help for what?"

Sonic's gaze hardened.

"I'm going to free this city. I'm going to take down Ivo Robotnik."

Chapter 7: Here's the Plan

Notes:

Welcome back!

This chapter is about the last one for "set up" and next time, the real fun begins. I've treated these chapters as introduction to my story, while 8 and onward is going to be the meat of the story. So excited to keep going with this!

On a separate note, this will most likely be the last update before Sonic Frontiers The Final Horizon comes out. For those that will beat it in the day it comes out, please no spoilers. Once I've beaten it, I'm sure I'll be gushing about it so until then 😂

With that aside, please enjoy!

"What? Are you serious?"

"I'm dead serious."

Nine looked at him in disbelief.

"How would you even go about that? The guy is untouchable. No one has seen him since the Sweep."

"The Sweep?"

"When he killed all life around the world."

"Oh yeah, gotcha."

Nine massaged his scalp.

"No one can just waltz up to Robotnik Tower and be like 'excuse me, I have an appointment with the Captain himself', no, that wouldn't work. They'd kill you on the spot."

Sonic tapped his chin, before snapping his fingers.

"What about the Chaos Emeralds!"

"What about them?"

"Where are they?"

Nine scoffed, shaking his head at the audacity Sonic had.

"Each Emerald is in individual facilities to power the city."

"Then we'll hit each facility and take the Emeralds from him!"

Nine made an exasperated sound.

"You've got balls, I'll give you that."

Nine walked further in the room, leaning against the wall next to the bed.

"The facilities are secret, no one knows where they are, unless you work for ChaosCorp."

"So we need to find someone who does know."

Shadow piped in, gaining a glance from Nine.

"You're both crazy!"

"So are you in?"

Nine traded glances between the three hedgehogs.

"Look, I want Robotnik gone just as much as the next guy, but like I said, he's crazy, and he has an army at his disposal. What do we have?"

"Unbreakable spirit."

Nine groaned.

"Some cheesy moral isn't going to defeat an army."

"Nine…"

Rusty grabbed Nine's hand, startling him.

"What if… what if we can?"

Nine pulled away from her, bewildered.

"You too? You're kidding me."

"Nine just listen."

He hesitated, but then nodded to her.

"What if this is our purpose? What if we are supposed to do this?"

"I don't believe in fate."

"Nine, ever since I was a kid, I've never had much of a direction. Never any purpose. Then I met you… someone who I know deep down, thinks the same."

Nine stilled, but said nothing.

"I want to help people. This is the best way to do that don't you think?"

He drummed his fingers against his arm. Nine naturally liked the thought of sticking it to Robotnik, but, really what were the chances they'd even get close to him? Or even one of the seven Emeralds?

"Even if you managed to get the Chaos Emeralds, what then? What would you even do with them?"

Sonic and Shadow shared a look.

"We've used them before."

Nine went from doubtful to intrigued.

"You have?"

Sonic nodded. Nine stood up straight, clasping his hands together.

"The Chaos Emeralds are an endless power supply… times that by seven…"

Nine looked between Sonic and Shadow.

"How were you able to handle that much power?"

"Skill."

Sonic said with a cocky smile. Shadow rolled his eyes.

"More like luck."

Shadow smirked when Sonic fake pouted. Meanwhile, Nine was trying to wrap his head around the possibilities. A fully biological conduit of Chaos Energy… intriguing. The energy was compatible with biological beings, maybe even more so than technological ones, but to hear it was possible to plug in all seven Emeralds directly into a normal Mobian was… unbelievable. But then again, they weren't normal, were they? The speed in which they traveled was unparalleled. Now that he was thinking clearly, Nine saw the opportunity to study these two. He'd never encountered beings quite like them.

"So…"

Nine began, pausing to form his words. The rest watched him expectantly.

"If we did this… you have to promise me that once we start, there's no turning back. We'll see this game through until that bastard is done for."

Sonic placed a hand on his heart.

"You have my word."

Nine tapped his foot, as if doing some last minute thinking, before a small smile crept on his muzzle.

"Then I'm in."

"Yes! I mean uh, thank you Nine."

Nine waved him off.

"Don't thank me. I'm expecting you two to do most of the work anyway."

Nine paused, before getting up close to Sonic.

"Vanilla missed something."

Before Sonic could ask what that meant, Nine grabbed his slightly bent nose, and yanked it, setting it back to normal.

"Ow! Chaos!"

"That's better."

Nine backed off, Sonic now nursing his nose. Shadow had to bite back a laugh, burying it under a neutral expression.

"Come to my hideout. We got plans to make."

 

Captain Ivo Robotnik, founder of ChaosCorp, military commander of the Badnik hordes, and technological genius, stood next to a large window, overlooking the city. He built this. No one else. He was the supreme genius to rule them all. He believed that humans were the superior race compared to Mobians, and thus, only humans worked under him. Those furballs had their own place; the dirt below his feet. He enjoyed seeing their kind on their knees begging for mercy, when none would come. How disgusting Mobians were. To think their lives were actually worth something.

Robotnik snuck a glance at his calendar. Not long now. It was almost time. BAO would serve it's purpose soon… if they were ready in time. He always had a plan B if things went wrong.

He was interrupted from his musings by a ping from his computer on his desk. It was a call request. He smiled when he saw who it was. Not a sadistic smile, or a mocking smile… a genuine smile.

"Accept call."

 

"So you live on the Market Layer?"

"Not so loud!"

Nine shushed Sonic as he led them through a maze of alleyways.

"Yes I do, but that's illegal, so stop broadcasting that to the world ok?"

Sonic sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"My bad."

The group stopped in front of a shabby looking brick wall. Nine looked both ways, before extending his seven metal tails to start typing the bricks, which turned out to be buttons. His extra limbs danced over the surface, showing practice. Sonic caught a glimpse of Nine's biological tails again, and that nasty burn. Sonic wanted so badly to know how that happened, but figured that asking was a bad idea.

The bricks eventually parted, leaving a door wide gap in the wall. The four of them ducked into the dark corridor, which slanted down ever so slightly.

"Is there a light somewhere?"

"No. Sorry, but I can see better than most Mobians in the dark."

Nine said with no small amount of pride in his voice.

"I am equipped with a night vision mode."

Rusty added.

"I possess enhanced eyesight, this dark hallway is nothing to me."

Sonic groaned. Even Shadow was flexing his abilities on him. Sonic obviously couldn't see it, but he was certain Shadow had that smug look on his face.

"Great. So I'm the only one completely in the dark here?"

"That's not uncommon."

Sonic gasped at the burn Shadow threw at him. He was about to retort, but stopped at the sound of a laugh. It was short lived, and small, but Sonic recognized that laugh. He missed hearing it. It wasn't the mocking one Nine did earlier, it was genuine. That was Tails' laugh.

"Settle down ladies, we're here."

Light hit Sonic, making him squint. It cleared up to show a large garage-like room, renovated to be a workshop.

"Welcome to the crib."

Sonic's eyes were assaulted by parts, tools, and random nick-nacks. Besides being a lot dirtier, it was almost exactly like Tails workshop. Well, besides the dirt, and the posters. Sonic's eyes widened at the sight of posters with rock bands with wild hair and dark makeup, next to pin ups of several female Mobians, scandalously showing off their bodies. Sonic would never in a million years allow Tails to own anything like that. The urge to scold Nine was pushed down into his mind. This wasn't the Tails he knew, he shouldn't expect him to act that way.

The four of them stepped through the door, leading to a room with multi purpose. On the left was a dinner table that was clearly being used for science projects more than actually eating at. On the right was a fridge and a ratty looking couch in front of a coffee table. Finally, two spring beds were against the back wall.

"Alright…"

Nine pulled out a large blank piece of paper, slapping it down on the coffee table. He scribbled across the page with a sharpie, making a large donut shape, and then drawing four lines on said shape, dividing it in four.

"This section of the city is District One, which is the Mobian district. Or what everyone here likes to call it, the Slums."

Nine scribbled 'Slums' on the bottom left corner. Sonic, Shadow, and Rusty all took a seat on the couch, making it creak loudly.

"Next-door is District Two, that's the Badnik Factories."

Nine added a crude drawing of a motobug on the right of the Slums.

"Northward, is District Three, what I like to call the Upstreets. That's where the city is actually nice, where all the humans working for Robotnik live."

Another bad drawing - this time of a suit and tie - was put above the motobug.

"And then District Four, the Scrapheap. Where all Robotniks failed robots and junk go."

Nine randomly scribbled on the top left.

"And finally, Robotnik Tower. It's in the center of the city, and points upward to Robotnik's floating fortress, which I suspect there is some sort of transport leading from the top of the tower to the fortress."

He finished his sketch with 'RT' written in the center circle. He pointed at the Upstreets.

"As I said, this district is where all the ChaosCorp employees are, so if we want a map of where the Emeralds are, then hitting there is our best bet."

Nine tapped his chin.

"We have two options. One, we break into Robotnik Tower just to break out on the other side, or two, we go the long way around, past two walls and through the Badnik Factories. Personally, I think going to Robotnik Tower is suicide, so I think we should take the long way."

Sonic crossed his arms, looking down at the paper. He didn't know enough about the city to form an opinion. After all, this Robotnik was not his Eggman, so most likely he did things differently.

"I agree with you Nine. You know this city way better than either Shadow and I."

"Alright, the long way it is."

Nine's finger tapped against the table as he thought.

"The walls are heavily guarded. Mobians aren't allowed to leave their district, so getting across will be difficult."

Sonic pursed his lips.

"Does anyone go through the wall? Like Badniks or something?"

Nine nodded.

"There's a hatch. It deploys Badniks into this area if Robotnik deems it necessary."

"Could we use that?"

Nine hummed, picturing it in his head.

"It'd be risky, but the only other option would be to scale the four hundred feet of wall…"

They all grimaced at the thought.

"No. I don't think Sonic would make it."

Sonic whipped his head to look at Shadow.

"Excuse me?"

"You're not much of a climber."

Sonic had to clamp his mouth shut, knowing he was right.

"Yeah that's more Knucklehead's thing."

"So climbing is out of the picture. We need to find a way to get the hatch to open. And then stay open long enough for us to get through."

Sonic scratched his head.

"How do we make sure it opens?"

"I have an idea."

Sonic looked back over to Shadow, who had a small grin on his face.

"Sonic and I will make a big scene near the wall. When they open it up to stop us, you two will sneak through, and then Sonic and I can speed through to join you."

Nine stroked his chin.

"It'd have to be a pretty big scene for Robotnik to worry about it."

Shadow's smile grew.

"Leave it to me. I'll get that door open."

Nine shrugged.

"Ok then."

He pointed to Rusty and Sonic.

"You two plan out supplies. We'll need food and medical stuff. Meet Shadow and I back here before nightfall. While Shadow works on his side of the plan, I'll prepare weapons for us. And any other tools we may need."

Sonic flashed a grin.

"Sounds good! Whaddya say we hit the town Rusty?"

She glanced at him, face mostly blank.

"What would hitting the town accomplish?"

Sonic faltered.

"Uh, it's an e… you know what, never mind."

Rusty stood, gesturing Sonic to follow.

"We'll be back."

Rusty marched off, making Sonic scramble to his feet to follow her. He glanced back to see Shadow wave at him, smirk still present. Sonic stuck his tongue out at him, before shutting the door behind him.

"Why'd you send Sonic with Rusty? I imagine she's more than capable of finding those things."

Shadow questioned the fox, rising from the couch himself.

"Oh I know. I just wanted him gone for a while. He keeps looking at me weird and I don't like it."

Nine crumpled up his drawing, aiming for the trash can across the room.

"You seem more level headed than him. How'd you get stuck with him?"

Shadow watched Nine miss the trash can.

"While I agree Sonic is a bit… eccentric… and annoying at times, but he is still my friend."

Nine walked over to the can, glancing at the dark hedgehog as he walked by.

"Huh, well color me surprised. You don't seem like the type to hang around someone like him."

Shadow squinted.

"You don't seem like the type to keep Amy around either."

Nine turned on a heel, squeezing the paper tightly in his hands. He looked like he was going to say something, but didn't, opting to just toss the ball of paper into the can.

"Eh, you're not wrong."

Nine paced, hands behind his back.

"But she's… the first person to ever be kind to me."

"You don't want to lose that."

"Yeah."

Shadow nodded.

"I can respect that."

Nine looked over, surprised.

"Like I said, Sonic is annoying, and over the top but…"

Shadow shook his head with a chuckle.

"He's a good guy. He never abandons his friends, and always looks after those in need, whether he knows them or not."

Nine's eyes were trained on Shadow, curious to what he had to say.

"While he surely is a pain in the ass at times… there isn't much I wouldn't do for him. He helped me at my worst, so I'd do the same for him."

Shadow finished, settling a hand on his hip. He hoped Nine would come around. Shadow was never close to the fox, but always respected him.

"Well… that's uh, nice."

Nine shuffled awkwardly, not used to such devotion shown between people. He couldn't deny, he was a little envious of their relationship.

"I got uh, stuff to do in the shop."

Shadow nodded in understanding, allowing the conversation to fall on the ground.

 

Sonic held onto a basket of fruits, veggies, and other assorted foods. When Sonic had asked how fresh they were, Rusty replied that most go bad days after being sold, since travel from Robotnik's fortress, to storehouses, then to marketplaces or restaurants takes a long while. Sonic grimaced at the thought of eating moldy food. Now he understood why Vanilla cooked everything, that way it wouldn't be as bad.

Sonic looked over to his companion. Rusty was Amy. She was still so much like her, but with such a dark undertone now. Sonic felt twisted in his stomach to what had happened to her. He wasn't there to stop it.

"So… Rusty? What's it like? To uh, be um…"

"Robotic?"

"Yeah."

Rusty sighed.

"Difficult. While there are some ways, it's an 'improvement'. I have faster reflexes, more durability, I'm stronger…"

"But…?"

Rusty shook her head.

"I miss the fragile flesh. It was softer. Warmer. And it was… me."

Sonic frowned. This wasn't something he was used to talking about. Sure he'd had his fair share of robotic companions over the years, but none of them were originally flesh. Sonic fiddled with his free fingers. What could he even say? He couldn't relate to that. His eyes bounced up to Rusty's face, studying it. It wasn't all robotic… Sonic set down his load, making Rusty turn and look.

"What are you…?"

Sonic clasped his hand to her cheek, startling her. She felt his warm hand. He felt her warm cheek.

"See? You're still soft, warm. You're still you."

Rusty's technological heart fluttered. Spots on her face were still like they were before. She reached up, placing her metal hand over Sonic's. If she wasn't herself, why was she feeling this way? It wasn't programed, it was natural. Her biological eye quivered, forcing herself not to cry.

"Thank you Sonic."

His hand dropped, before he stooped over to pick up the basket.

"Of course."

Rusty studied the blue hedgehog for a moment, butterflies swimming in her non-existent stomach.

"Well um… let's go get medical supplies."

"Yuppers!"

The two continued their supply search, and the whole time, Rusty kept sneaking looks at her blue hedgehog companion

Chapter 8: Suit Up

Notes:

Welcome back!

So this chapter took a little longer than usual and I apologize but I've gotten very busy lately. Plus been replaying Frontiers as a whole again soooo...

Also, who else saw the Sonic Prime season 3 tease? Nine going full villain mode tho... kinda dope not gonna lie.

Hope you enjoy!

Good, you're back."

Rusty led Sonic back through the tunnel to Nine's hideaway, and he carefully kept the basket of food close to himself. Nine was covered in grease and grime from working, face still buried in a large looking blade with a strange hilt. Shadow was also in the room, leaning near the desk watching the fox work. For some reason, Sonic felt a pang of jealousy. Tails would always push Sonic away from watching over his shoulder at his work. Nine however, didn't seem to mind Shadow's looming presence.

Rusty set down the duffel bag of medical supplies, and then gesturing to Sonic to hand her the basket.

"I'll go prepare the food to be travel worthy."

"Thanks Rusty."

Nine mumbled, not looking up once from his work. Sonic shuffled over, looking at the weapon. It was a sword alright, but had some strange tech attached. The katana blade was lined with a thin wire looking thing, and the hilt was taken apart and had a spaghetti of wires coming out of it. Whatever it was, Sonic didn't understand it.

"What's that for?"

Nine mumbled something under his breath, before finishing whatever he was doing, closing the sword hilt up.

"You."

Nine stood up straight, taking the sword in hand. In a flourish of light, the sword's edge illuminated a thin blue, making it look like something from Silver's time. Nine spun the sword around a few times, before turning it off, handing it over to Sonic.

"Me?"

"Yeah. I'm not going in this without everyone being properly armed."

Sonic blinked, staring at the katana with awe. Tails always made the best stuff.

"Thank you."

Sonic took the weapon, weighing it in his hands. It was a lot lighter than he thought.

"Here's the sheath for it."

Nine handed a belt with sheath attached. Sonic smiled, setting the sword down to strap the belt around his waist. He picked it back up, giving a few practice swings before sheathing it in place, patting the pummel resting on his hip.

"The blade, when activated, should be hot enough to burn through Robotnik's standard metal. Hopefully like butter. Unfortunately I didn't have a Badnik to test that on so…"

Nine shrugged, opting to just grab the next weapon that was sitting on the table.

"This is for you Shadow."

He held up a crazy looking pistol.

"This modified glock super heats up the bullets before firing them. Basically making the bullet a burning peice of hell. It'll pierce through just about anything."

Shadow looked impressed, which wasn't something Sonic was used to seeing. Nine beamed at how Shadow was meticulously studying the weapon in awe. Sonic had a deja-vu moment. He remembered Tails improving Shadow's bike a few years ago. At first, Shadow was super skeptical, but eventually relented to allow the fox to add improvements. The look on both of their faces when it was over would forever be burned in Sonic's memory; Shadow wide-eyed and thankful, and Tails absolutely glowing with pride and accomplishment. The memory hurt.

"This will be very useful."

Nine, proud of himself to impress the edgy hedgehog, suddenly felt… lighter. Like he was… happy? Nine shivered. He needed to get his head examined. They were still a bunch of strangers, no need to get excited.

"Um… yeah that's the plan."

He awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Rusty has already been overhauled with combat features, and I have my tails… and other things."

Nine fondly tapped his belt. His metal tails shifted back and forth to emphasize his point. Sonic, suddenly remembering something, looked over at Shadow.

"So… what exactly are we doing to get Robuttnik's attention?"

Shadow grinned.

"Simple. We're going to blow up a building."

"What!?"

"Don't get too excited. Before you got back, I did some scouting. There's a condemned building two miles or so away from the wall. No one nearby, and no one inside. It's perfect."

Sonic's big eyes blinked a few times. He guessed it wasn't too bad considering it'd be for the greater good anyway.

"Well… okay then. But what are we going to use?"

Nine casually handed him a crate with four charges in it. Sonic's jaw dropped to the floor. These things looked crazy complicated… probably meaning they'd make one big boom.

"I designed these. If you use all four together, it definitely will be big enough."

"You just made these today?"

Nine chortled.

"Oh no. I've been saving these for a rainy day."

Sonic stiffened. This eight year old child was just casually holding onto BOMBS!? Sonic tried imagining Tails ever doing something like that and just couldn't. Nine caught Sonic's bewildered expression, finding a bit of humor in it.

"What? Afraid of a little extra heat?"

Sonic was brought out of his stunned silence. He was still nervous about the implications of Nine just having explosives, but counted this moment a win; Nine was bantering with him.

"Oh don't worry, I can take heat, and deal it out."

Nine half smiled with a nod.

"Good. Cause where we're going, we're going to need it."

 

Subject #11072017 wiped the white froth from his mouth with the back of his hand. He was fighting the pain, knowing if he gave in he'd black out. Holy Gaia it hurt like hell. It felt like his organs were being pan seared. He hated it when it was testing time. They'd turn on his implants, and try to control him. Not that being fully conscious was a picnic either, he just preferred having full control of his own body. The bitter taste of blood made him stick out his tongue. They really went hard today. His whole life had been hard, but at least it was normal. Learning life lessons through bad decisions seemed like a lifetime ago. Now every waking moment was just horrifying. He wanted to die. The jackal Mobian sniffed, eyes beginning to water. He had always seen himself as strong, stable. But he couldn't be strong anymore. The jackal curled up on the floor to be as small as possible. He wept in the cold room, alone, and afraid of the next day.

 

"Everyone ready?"

Rusty straightened the backpack on her back, filled with their granola bars that she had cooked before they left. She gave Nine a thumbs up.

"I'm ready."

Sonic said, eyeing the wall. The packed city on the surface level abruptly ended, leaving a long stretch to the wall. It loomed high above the buildings of the city.

"Let's rock."

Shadow said, earning a smirk from Nine.

"The building we're taking down is that one Sonic."

Shadow pointed a few buildings down, to a dilapidated pile of a place.

"Rusty and I are going to get a running start. Once we reach that pile of scrap way out there…"

Sonic followed Nine's point, looking at a heap of metal not that far from the wall.

"... set the charges, and make our scene. Once Badniks are sent out, make your way through. Everyone savvy to the plan?"

Everyone gave grunts of acknowledgement.

"Alright. Let's go."

Nine and Rusty shot off, heading towards the scrap for cover. Sonic watched them go, hoping they wouldn't get spotted. Sonic glanced back at Shadow, who was looking at him.

"What?"

"You've been quiet."

Shadow crossed his arms, and made a look that said 'you thought I wouldn't notice?'. Sonic shrugged, avoiding eye contact.

"I'm just…"

Sonic sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"It's just really hard to see him like this."

"Nine?"

Sonic nodded.

"Yeah. As different as he is… he's still Tails. And seeing Tails in this terrible city, hurt, bitter…"

Sonic clenched his teeth in frustration and sadness.

"It just hurts man."

Shadow tapped his foot, unsure of what to say. He wasn't exactly the comforting type, but he had to say SOMETHING.

"He'll be ok."

Sonic looked over at Shadow curiously.

"He may not have had you for four years like he used to, but he has you now. He'll open up eventually. He'll heal eventually. It may take longer than before, but that's ok."

Sonic stared wide eyed, not expecting Shadow to even say anything, let alone assurance. He let the words wash over him, making his mood improve. Tails would be ok. His big brother was here now, and no one was going to hurt him again, he was sure of it. With a determined nod, Sonic picked up their crate of explosives that were sitting on the ground.

"Thanks Shadow."

Shadow just grunted in response, trying to make it seem like he didn't care, which, was wrong of course.

"We're in position."

A small radio communicator on Sonic's wrist chirped, another one of Nine's designs of course. They were all equipped with them so they wouldn't lose communication throughout their mission.

"Alright let's get this show on the road."

Sonic and Shadow dashed over to the other building, Sonic going upstairs with two charges and Shadow staying on the first floor with the other two. The charge made a satisfying 'click' when Sonic attached it to the floor. He pressed the center button, activating it. It lit up red.

"Got the first one."

Shadow's voice followed after Sonic's.

"My first charge is in place."

Sonic ran to the other side of the building, setting the next.

"That's three."

"Four."

Sonic ran outside, meeting Shadow back to where they were before. Shadow spun the remote detonator on his finger. Nine's voice came through their communicators.

"Good. Now light it up."

Shadow clicked the safety off of the detonator. No turning back now. He jabbed his thumb down on the red button, making it 'beep'. There was a pause for a few seconds.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... did yo-?"

A loud 'ka-boom' shook the ground. The building was basically launched in the air, splitting apart at the seems. The fireball launched into the sky, illuminating the night sky in orange and yellow.

"Yes! That'll definitely be enough!'

Even though Nine couldn't see him, Sonic couldn't help but nod, unable to take his eyes away from the burning heap of remains, or articulate a response. His little brother did that. He didn't know wether to be proud or scared. Another moment of silence passed. The only sound Sonic could hear was the blazing fire and the sound of his own breathing. Would they take the bait? Right as Sonic was about to ask Nine, the fox beat him to it.

"The hatch is opening!"

Sonic and Shadow both squinted to look in the direction of their other two partners, spotting a shifting movement in the wall. A circle hatch, about the size of… if Sonic could guess, five busses stacked on each other. A rumble tore through the land, somehow louder than the explosion before. The circle split in two, retracting into the wall to reveal a massive dark tunnel. A shiver ran down Sonic's spine. He had a bad feeling about this all the sudden.

"Get ready! Here they come!"

Nine said, his voice caught between both calm and frantic.

"Damn…"

Sonic glanced over at Shadow at his sudden swear. Shadow's eyes were glued to the tunnel… oh right, his good eyesight. Sonic looked back too, trying to catch a glimpse of what Shadow was staring at. It didn't take long to come to light. A legion of Badniks emerged, walking, rolling, and hovering. Sonic started to feel sick. They looked way more lethal then they ever did. The motobugs had spiked wheels, eight pincers in the front, and glowing red eyes. The buzz bombers had a chainsaw stinger, and also had the same eyes as the last. Even the crabmeat had sharper looking claws then before. And there were hundreds of them. The two hedgehogs stared down the army of robots making their way to the burning building, their glowing eyes lighting the way; casting an erie red on the ground to match the orange of the sky.

"They didn't spot us. Rusty and I will be going in. You two stay put until we've made it across."

"Copy that Nine."

Rusty, who hadn't said much since the operation began, nodded to nine, giving him the final 'all clear', before they booked it. Even though the pile was the closest thing to the wall for cover, there was still quite a bit of ground to cover. Nine used his extra appendages to scurry quickly, while Rusty's legs extended to bound further each step. They were close! Nine lept into the tunnel, Rusty not far behind. Their steps echoed loudly in the dark and empty tunnel. Nine squinted. Even he was having a hard time seeing in this darkness. Hold on…

"Shit!"

"Nine? What's wrong?"

"The other side is closed up! There are two hatches!"

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other, eyes wide.

"The hatch on the inside must only open when the other is closed."

Sonic felt his blood go cold.

"That means…"

"We have to be in the tunnel the same time the Badniks are."

Sonic could hear Nine growl.

"Shit shit shit!"

"Calm down, we need to think of a back up plan."

Rusty said, calming the fox a bit.

"Right… okay okay."

Nine massaged his scalp, quickly thinking.

"Sonic, Shadow?"

"Wassup?"

"Do you think you can take down a few Badniks?"

Sonic grinned big, stretching his arms.

"Heck yeah I can!"

"Don't completely destroy them. We're gonna hide in them as disguises. So don't get caught!"

"Don't worry, we got this."

Sonic and Shadow boosted over to nearby the burning building, close enough to see, but far enough that they wouldn't be spotted. The place was being swarmed, all the Badniks investigating the possible cause.

"We'll need to isolate four of them to take them down."

Shadow observed, eyes narrow and locked on the scene. The two watched as nearby, six Badniks were checking out the nearby alleyways.

"Perfect."

Shadow lept in after them, leaving Sonic to scramble after him. The two entered the alley, finding the six Badniks investigating. Shadow held up a hand, counting down from three with his fingers. They both charged a spindash, launching themselves into the nearest Badniks. Those two exploded on impact, parts scattering across the alley, and gaining the attention of the remaining four. Three motobugs, and one crabmeat. The Badniks growled at the hedgehogs, eyes glowing a brighter red.

"Well, this should be interesting."

Chapter 9: No Turning Back Now

Notes:

Welcome back!

Recently had a big burst of time to work on this so was able to make this chapter and start the next in one setting.

So by a show of hands, who else has been binging the Paths Revisited Soundtrack? ✋

Enjoy!

Sonic had taken out his fair share of Badniks in his life… actually, he was the main cause of Badnik population drops. So while these were definitely 'badder' in a way, Sonic knew he could take them. And Shadow was there too. This would be cake.

"Let's split up, and run around them, to confuse them!"

Shadow yelled, Sonic offering a thumbs up. The two crouched into a runners position. In a second, the two became a whirlwind of orange and blue energy around the overwhelmed robots.

"Keep it up!"

Sonic watched the red eyes flicker a few times on the crabmeat, before completely disappearing, and falling over. It took a few moments longer, but the other three did the same.

"Four Badnik disguises, coming right up!"

Sonic picked up one of the motobugs and the crabmeat stacked on each other. He balanced for a second, then looked over to see Shadow doing the same with the other two.

"Good Shadow?"

"Hmph. Perfect."

"Race you to Nine."

Shadow's eyes widened, as Sonic took off with a head start, boosting to the tunnel with their loads in hand. Shadow grit his teeth from Sonic's impromptu challenge, but wasn't going to back down from it. They were still rivals after all. Sonic skidded to a stop next to Nine and Rusty, just at the entrance of the tunnel. Shadow was a split second after him.

"Ha! I win!"

"You had a head start."

Shadow grumpily sat down the two Badniks, making Nine's face light up.

"They barely have scratches on them. Perfect!"

Sonic sat his two down, Nine accepting the pile, but looked disappointed at the crabmeat.

"Dude… this thing is tiny."

"Sorry, that was the best we could do."

Nine mused, looking over his materials.

"Give me fifteen minutes to dissect everything."

Nine quickly got to work, carefully removing chunks out of each robot. Sonic's eyes widened when Nine removed a green glowing cylinder from the center. It radiated with energy he was very familiar with. Chaos Energy.

"What's that?"

Nine chuckled.

"Like that huh? These are Chaos Amplifiers. They are tuned with the power of the Master Emerald to power Badniks."

Sonic made a double take.

"The Master Emerald?"

"Yeah… basically just one big Chaos Emerald."

Sonic drummed his fingers against his lips. So all the Badniks were powered by the Master Emerald? That wasn't good. His thoughts suddenly drifted to Knuckles. What happened to him here? A bitter taste swirled through his mouth.

"Actually, I already own two of them myself."

Sonic was pulled out of his spiral.

"There's one in Rusty… and one in me."

Sonic felt his stomach fall out of his body and hit the dirt.

"What? You have one of those INSIDE YOU?"

"Chill. Yeah I do. It's to unify my biological mind with my mechanical tails."

Sonic looked confused, making Nine dive into the science.

"See, tech implants normally don't work that well on people. It's just not that natural. However, Chaos Energy is a bridge. That type of energy works with both machines and biological beings. So it's the bridge, so the two can work together."

"Huh… guess that makes sense."

Nine smiled, satisfied to have explained correctly, and starting working again.

"Yup, you could even call it, the 'link', if you wanted to."

 

The timid scientist working for ChaosCorp for a few years now went home for the day. He had nine more work days after today. He shivered as the elevator led him along the surface level. The elevator stopped, opening into the lobby of Robotnik Tower.

"Have a goodnight Mr. Thorndyke."

Chris grumbled a short 'night' while fumbling with his pocket for his keys. He found them, heading out the District Three exit, and finding his car in the parking lot. He spotted a few flickies perched on the roof of his car.

"Shoo! Get out of here!'

The flickies didn't move, simply blinking owlishly at him. He groaned, climbing in his car and starting it. They only flew away once he started moving. While he was driving home, he couldn't help but think about his current predicament. The BAO. All the failed experiments. What was the LINK?

 

"Done!"

Sonic and Shadow, who had opted to watch the Badniks still investigating the burning building just in case they were done, turned back to see Nine presenting their way in. Most of them looked almost exactly like they did before, with a few inconsistent things… like two of the motobugs didn't have their wheels anymore.

"Cool. So…"

"How do we put these on?"

Shadow finished, gaining a hand gesture from Nine.

"I'll help you."

Nine unhinged one of the motobugs.

"You two will have to be rolled up like I've seen you guys do before. You'll basically replace the wheel."

Shadow tapped his chin.

"Interesting."

"What about you and Rusty?"

Nine smiled, pulling over the crabmeat.

"My metal tails are essentially going to replace the legs, while the rest of me is stored up in the body… and Rusty is actually able to stretch around the wheel of the motobug and operate it. Oh and she's already in hers."

Sonic turned on a dime to see a motobugs driving like normal, but with glowing pink eyes instead of red.

"That's awesome."

"You guys better put those on fast, cause I think they're done."

Shadow said, making the other three look back to see multiple Badniks returning towards the wall; aka towards them.

"Good idea."

The Mobians scrambled inside their robot disguises; Sonic and Shadow making strong wheeled motobugs, and Nine a crabmeat with lots of legs than normal.

"This better work."

 

Chris shut his front door behind him, sighing with relief to just be home. The overarching deadline screamed in the background of his mind, but just being away from that environment brought some peace. He walked to his kitchen, searching for a form of dinner. I'd probably end up being some frozen dinner like every night, but he always checked the freezer last anyway. Right as he was about to pull out of his one in twenty boxes of hot pockets, his cell buzzed in his pocket. Without checking the caller, he accepted and held the phone to his ear.

"Doctor Chris Thorndyke, can I help you?"

"Bro I'm bored."

Chris shook his head as he loaded the microwave.

"You have a boring job Wipple. Wall Security cams, especially night shift, never see anything. The Mobians are too scared to challenge ChaosCorp, naturally."

"Yeah guess so."

Chris sat on his couch, starting to work on his hot pocket.

"Wade, listen. No one would blame you if you asked for a transfer. Everyone does it."

"You don't."

Chris stopped mid chew, thinking.

"That's different."

"How is that different? I never hear about your job."

"That's because it's top secret stuff. And I don't request a different position because they rely on me. I can't leave."

A silence passed over the childhood friends.

"Well uh, that kind of sucks."

Chris snorted.

"Great observation big guy."

Wade didn't respond.

"Wade?"

"WHAT THE…?!"

"What's happening?"

Chris set his plate aside as he heard multiple shouts in Wade's office.

"A building near the wall just… EXPLODED!"

 

The four fake Badniks hid behind the large scrap that Nine and Rusty originally hid behind while the army starting passing them.

"Okay, on my signal, we will join behind them alright?"

A round of 'mhmms' responded to the crab layered fox. He watched as the final line of Badniks passed them.

"Go now!"

The four rushed out to fall in line, slowing down their pace to match the rest. Rolling slowly was a weird feeling for Sonic. Normally, ball rolling was to gain even more speed needed for momentum. This was a walking pace. A ramp - that had descended before they could get there earlier - reappeared for the ground Badniks to make it up into the tunnel. The team followed, slowly being shrouded by darkness. The only light was the glowing red eyes. After all the Badniks abruptly stopped in the middle of the tunnel, a loud alarm sound went off. It was signaling the hatch closing behind them. It slowly slid back into place sealing off the tunnel from all natural sources. There was DEFINITELY no turning back now. The alarm still continued, signaling the next hatch opening. They were getting in.

 

"What do you mean a building exploded!?"

"It's what it sounds like dude! It exploded in a fiery ball!"

Chris scratched his head curiously. What would be the purpose of that?

"You should send out the Badniks. See if they can spot the cause."

Wade composed himself.

"Great idea. I'll get on that."

 

They were in. The hatch closed behind them, and the Badnik army entered the 'Badnik Distribution Center'. They all waited there, doing nothing.

"What's happening?"

"They are awaiting new orders… I think."

Suddenly, all of the Badniks started to randomly go in different directions. Sonic guessed Nine's hypothesis was correct. Nine spotted a corner of the room that looked isolated enough.

"Follow me!"

The four of them dove for cover behind a pillar holding up the rafters above them. Once out of sight, they didn't waste time peeling off their claustrophobic disguises. Sonic coughed a little, not expecting the sudden terrible smog just in the air.

"Alright. The plan now is to lay as low as possible, navigating this factory to the other wall."

Sonic gave a thumbs up to Nine.

"Sounds good buddy."

Nine gave Sonic a strange expression, before just straight up ignoring the comment.

"Let's go."

The four sprinted off as silent as possible, to navigate the maze of parts, pipes, and assembly lines. Time to navigate the Badnik Factories.

Chapter 10: Monorail Madness

Notes:

Welcome back!

So I'm going to start putting the chapter notes at the end of the chapter instead of the beginning so I can actually talk about what was written without spoiling it. So check the notes at the bottom of the page!

Please enjoy!

"Wow this place is big."

Sonic looked around the big expansion around them. If he could best describe it to someone else, the place reminded him of one of those weird TV sets from that one sci-fi show Tails made him watch with him. Star Trek he was pretty sure it was called. The set was supposed to be some weird spaceship called a 'borg cube'. It kinda looked like that, accept with red accents instead of green. Sonic couldn't help but smile at the memory. Honestly Sonic couldn't care less about the show itself, but it was right up Tails' alley, and loved it.

"Of course it's big, it's a factory."

Nine said, looking behind him as he walked. The group had settled into a slower pace, Nine leading, using his watch to scan the environment and guide them. Sonic was directly behind him, followed by Rusty, and Shadow taking up the rear. This way, they could effectively know where they were going, be prepared for a confrontation if needed, and conserve energy at the same time.

Nine's somewhat snarky response fizzled out. The fox's face grew more troubled. He glanced back at Sonic again.

"Why did you call me Tails?"

Sonic blinked, bewildered.

"W-what?"

"When we met. You called me Tails. But, obviously you knew… 'another me' I guess…"

Nine shrugged off the bizarre thought before he became too lost in the possibilities of different realities.

"If you actually were my friend… why'd you call me THAT."

Nine wasn't looking at him when he asked, his face was glued to his watch. Sonic felt a small pin in his heart. It took awhile for Sonic to even think of a response. Tails was what his bullies called him after all.

"Because… it became a title of endearment."

Nine's ears twitched, but he didn't turn around.

"Your tails made you unique, so the nickname was more of a way to commemorate them."

Nine stopped, turning a full one eighty to face Sonic.

"Unique?! My tails make me a freak! I can believe that in some universe we were friends. But there's no way you think that these things made me special or some shit like that."

"But Nine, your tails DO make you special!"

"Shut up. Just… forget I even asked."

Nine quickly turned back around, pulling his watch back up to bury himself back into what he was doing. Nine wondered how brain dead that hedgehog had to be not to see how absolutely messed up a creature with an extra tail was. Clearly, he wasn't supposed to be this way. He was a mutation. While Sonic's offer of association was appreciated, his insistence of his tails being good… just so mislead. Nine grumbled with frustration, forcing himself to concentrate on what he was doing.

Sonic's face fell from disappointment. Something as simple as the nickname being sensitive to Nine. What was he supposed to say? He swallowed, doing what Sonic normally would never do; say nothing.

 

The whole explosion incident was highly investigated into the night, with little to show for it. However, after a curious find, Head Scientist for BAO, Chris Thorndyke was personally requested to come take a look. Naturally, he was upset of going to work off hours, but he never wanted to make anyone in the company upset, so he headed to the Badniks Factories as he was asked, still deep into the night. He parked on the outside of the wall, which had a small building attached to it. Walking inside, he scanned his identification card on the scanner.

"Welcome Mr. Thorndyke."

He nodded to the lady at the desk, going to the actual entrance itself; through the wall. It was a long hallway, which led to another door needing his pass to open. He had never actually been to the Badnik Factories, so he had to admit that he was curious to see it.

 

"Do you see that?"

Sonic squinted in the direction Rusty was pointing, which was mostly upward. He didn't really see much of anything besides more beams, wires, pipes, and steam.

"No?"

"Nine look."

Nine looked up from dumping rocks out of his shoe.

"Eh?"

"Come here."

Nine rolled his eyes while putting his shoe back on, stomping over to the two.

"What?"

"Look."

Nine followed Rusty's finger, just like Sonic did before. He squinted as well. Unlike Sonic though, he saw what was being pointed out.

"A monorail system!"

Nine eagerly pointed at a single rail in the sky with a few wires hanging from it. Sonic tapped his chin as he looked at it. Good thing they could tell, cause to him it just looked like everything else.

"Oh, uh I guess that's good?"

Nine punched Sonic's arm with a chuckle. It actually hurt a lot, but Sonic wasn't going to complain about Nine's sudden chipper mood.

"YES, it's good stupid. We can use it to get to the other wall!"

Nine tapped his chin.

"If there is a monorail, I'm assuming that it has a port, or goes through the wall. It could be our way across the second wall too!"

Sonic raised his eyebrows at the thought. That'd make it a hop skip and jump away from finding some blueprints of the city.

"Look here it comes!"

 

Chris gasped at the expanse of the factory from the wall alone. It dropped downward like a pit, and besides a few random flashes of light, he was unable to see that far. The platform he was standing on was suspended quite high indeed.

"Welcome sir. I'm glad you could make it per my request."

A well dressed man, to whom only Chris knew as 'the guy who headed up the factory' said to him, saluting him. Chris took a few steps, pushing his hand out as an offer to shake. The man took it, firm in grip.

"Of course. Though I am curious why…?"

Chris took a glance at the man's name tag.

"... Mr. Wachowski?"

"Call me Tom."

Chris nodded.

"Tom then… uh, why did you think my expertise was needed here?"

Tom waved him to follow as he tuned to the edge of the platform. It led to a monorail car, suspended above the empty chasm below.

"Because, while Badniks are my field…"

He stopped at the door of the car.

"Mobians are yours."

He stepped into the car, leaving Chris confused. Without much other direction, he stepped into the monorail, sitting next to the decorated employee.

"I do beg your pardon but… what exactly do you mean?"

Tom wiped his sunglasses on the sleeve of his shirt.

"You'll see."

 

Sonic and the gang watched as a single monorail car sped past them. Thankfully, it was high enough that whoever was inside probably wouldn't be able to stop the four Mobians. It was also going the way they had just walked from.

"Well, that's fast. That'd be difficult to board while it's moving."

Nine grumbled. He knew that there was probably only one car, as the place didn't exactly demand much in terms of manpower. Everything seemed entirely automated.

"Let's keep going. I'll try to think of a way as we walk."

Sonic nodded.

"Sounds good."

The four marched on for quite awhile, falling into a silent rhythm. Nine still guided them, but more out of precaution than necessity. The path was pretty obvious at this point. The ledge they walked along was directly next to the open drop off that led to who knows where. Sonic peeked over the edge, gulping at the sight.

"Don't fall."

Sonic glanced back at the end of their line, Shadow giving him a scolding look.

"I believe that's where the actual factory is. If you fell down there, I'm sure you'll meet a bunch of non friendly faces."

"Even without that knowledge I didn't want to fall. That's quite the drop."

Now it was Shadow's turn to glance over the edge. He made a calculating look at the chasm.

"I'd survive the drop."

"Bet."

Shadow glared at Sonic, who was grinning mischievously.

"I bet that you wouldn't survive the fall."

Sonic 'tsked', then wagged his pointer finger.

"If you could Shadow, so could I."

Rusty cleared her throat, making the two look at her.

"Don't either of you dare think about jumping off."

Sonic and Shadow glanced back at each-other, then the chasm, then Rusty.

"We won't."

"Good."

The two hedge-boys awkwardly looked away from each other, continuing the trudge forward.

 

"So this is the deployment section?"

Tom nodded, obviously proud of the facility. Chris investigated the massive round hatch, impressed by its sheer size.

"Why have you brought me all the way over here?"

Tom waved him to continue following him, which he obliged. Tom led Chris to an office attached to the nearby wall. Inside, the office was surprisingly small. Neat, orderly, but small. Tom sat at the desk, which had a random broken Badnik sitting on it. Chris eyed it skeptically as he sat down across from Tom.

"I found this, along with three others two hours ago."

Chris raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not following."

"This wasn't a broken Badnik… it was carefully deconstructed."

Now Chris was interested.

"Oh? How so?"

Tom sighed deeply.

"I'm going to cut to the chase… I think the wall has been breached."

Chris's eyes widened. That was impossible!

"Wh - what?"

"Take a look at this."

Tom held his hand out, showing off a single blue quill. Chris blinked. That looked like a hedgehog quill if he wasn't mistaken.

"It was found in one of the Badniks. My guess, four Mobians disguised as Badniks broke through, and are in here right as we speak."

Chris was bewildered, unable to think of how… wait. The explosion of course! It was a distraction.

"... I uh, hate to be blunt sir… but shouldn't you go to Robotnik about this, and not me?"

Tom raised his hand, almost in a 'calm down' gesture.

"I have already informed the Captain. He is not worried about four Mobians when he has other things to worry about."

Chris awkwardly scratched his head, subtlety being reminded of his own time crunch.

"The reason I brought you here is this; I have already discovered the location of the four Mobians. Once I have some Badniks move in to intercept, and take them down, they are all yours to use. I've heard you need fresh meat in that lab of yours."

 

"Careful everyone. The path is getting narrow."

Nine was right, the path was getting significantly smaller. A thin ledge along the wall keeping them from falling into the pit below. Nine couldn't help but feel his stomach churn at the sight below him.

"Wait stop."

Nine, Sonic, and Rusty all looked back at their last member. Shadow's ears were tilted back, and his face was scrunched in thought.

"Listen."

All of them strained to hear what Shadow was talking about. Sonic didn't hear anything at first, but after a few moments of complete silence, the smallest of sounds could be heard. Scuttling?

"It's coming below us."

Shadow whispered. Sonic peeked over the edge, approximately where the sound was coming from.

"I don't see - "

Sonic didn't have the chance to finish his sentence before something big, dark, and fast wooshed up and past them, running straight into Shadow on the way.

"Grah!"

Shadow was pierced in the sides sharply, and then lifted from the ground, suspended by the painful spikes in his side. Shadow forced his eyes open through the pain to assess the situation. The spikes were actually pincers, a mechanically made centipede mouth. Attached was a head twice the size of Shadow himself. Its long body held an uncountable amount of legs that held it against the wall, right above the other three. Blood was running down Shadow's torso and legs, marking his black fur with more red than it already had.

"Shadow!"

Sonic wasted no time going after his friend. He jumped onto the tail end of the behemoth Badnik, running along its length like a makeshift ledge. Now would be a good time to test out his new gear. Sonic unsheathed his katana, turning it on, illuminating the dark red surroundings with bright blue.

"Here goes nothing."

With a yell, Sonic embedded the sword into the Badnik. Before it could even react, Sonic continued running along it, dragging the sword through the robot's middle. The thing screeched loudly, retracting the pincers out of Shadow in the process. The dark hedgehog dropped like a rock, smacking against the ledge. He grasped onto it, but he was obviously struggling. Nine quickly ran over to him, grasping his hand in his and pulling. Shadow grunted, rolling back onto the ledge. He held his sides, which were profusely bleeding.

"Rusty! Patch him up quick! I'm going to help Sonic!"

Rusty nodded, slinging the duffel bag on her shoulder to the ground, kneeling with Shadow.

"I'm f-fine."

"No you are not."

Rusty pushed Shadow down from trying to get up. She quickly pulled out the needle and thread.

"This needs stitches. It's going to hurt. However, if you talk to me, you can take your mind off of the pain. What calms you?"

Shadow grunted with frustration, but thought about the question anyway. Calming himself wasn't something he was used to doing. Maybe tea? Not that Rusty had any of that on her. Shadow clenched his teeth when Rusty pushed the needle through his skin. His brain scrambled. Maybe talking about literally anything would be helpful at this point.

"Um… tea?"

Shadow was surprised when Rusty lightly giggled.

"Well that's good to know for future reference."

Shadow's expression lightened.

"Heh, thanks."

"Your welcome."

Shadow's eyes screwed shut at a sudden tug. His eyes then shot open at a thought. He knew something that calmed him. The only one who truly could.

"... I had a sister once."

Rusty momentarily stopped, looking into Shadow's face with intrigue, before continuing her work.

"Oh? What's her name?"

"Maria."

"That's a pretty name. Was she a hedgehog like you?"

"Actually no. She was human believe it or not."

Rusty's eyebrow shot up with confusion.

"That is a bit hard to believe, but ok."

"For a long while, she was my only friend."

Shadow looked up at the dark mechanical ceiling, distant. Memories of life on the ARK flooded his head. They were mostly positive memories. Mostly.

"But then… she…"

"All done."

Shadow blinked out of his deep thoughts, looking down at his sides. They were nearly stitched together, with minimal blood around him. She even cleaned him up without him knowing. Jeez.

"Oh… thank you."

"Hold on, I still need to wrap a bandage around your abdomen. Hold still."

Meanwhile, Nine ran to the beast, which was now thrashing wildly, with Sonic grasping for dear life. Nine looked around his environment, quickly calculating a plan. Nodding to himself, he used his metal tails to scuddle up the wall, stopping near the Badnik head.

"Hey ugly!"

The machine paused its thrashing to look at Nine. The fox smirked, grabbing the loose pipe in the wall and tearing it off. As soon as the pipe was free, steam burst through, spraying the Badnik with black gases. It screeched again, lurching backwards to avoid the gas.

"Sonic! Jump off!"

Sonic nodded, jumping and landing in a crouch behind the creature. Nine held the pipe back, then chucked it at the Badnik's head. It clanged loudly, and the creature lost its footing. With a gutteral robotic cry, it fell into the chasm, hitting the walls on the way down, making loud reverberating clangs everywhere. Nine dropped down to the ledge himself, wiping the bottom of his nose with his thumb. Sonic smiled, impressed with his quick use of surroundings.

"Good job Nine."

Nine awkwardly shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. Sonic's smile faded a bit when he spotted a bandaged Shadow being helped to his feet by Rusty.

"Shadow! Are you alright?"

Shadow grunted, waving Rusty off once he was upright.

"I'm perfectly fine."

Nine stared at him.

"You basically got impaled by that thing. How are you even standing?"

Shadow managed a smirk.

"I'm the Ultimate Lifeform."

Sonic rolled his eyes.

"I knew you were going to say that."

Nine looked between the both of them, like someone who is trying to understand an inside joke. He eventually just shook his head.

"Can you walk then?"

Shadow nodded, tapping his bandages.

"Rusty did a good job. I will be sufficient enough to walk."

Nine nodded.

"Okay good. But we've got to hurry, they know we're here."

 

"They destroyed it!"

Tom was hunched over his computer, watching some camera footage of the four Mobians. Once the Badnik intercepted, their location was given to the rest of the plant. While their location was valuable, Tom was too ticked to count that positive.

"Who are these people? I've never seen a group of Mobians like this!"

Chris awkwardly looked over Tom's shoulder, getting his first view of the Mobians himself. He didn't think too much about what he saw at first, until something caught his eye, and whacked him across the brain once he truly noticed it. Was that pink hedgehog… a CYBORG? And the fox had ROBOTIC TAILS. Chris was enamored, watching the two travel along with the other two. The movements were so fluid, so natural. The technology was… integrated with their biological parts seamlessly!

"Incredible."

He found his link.

 

"It's been too quiet."

Shadow murmured, being stabilized by Rusty. After an hour of walking, Shadow's sides were starting to bother him, and though he didn't admit it, it was obvious to anyone with eyes. Rusty had been helping him ever since, much to his gratefulness, and embarrassment.

"I agree."

Nine nodded, nervously leading on ahead.

"There's no way they'd send one Badnik, and then just let us go."

Sonic mumbled a 'yeah', and Rusty just nodded. Sonic honestly didn't know what to expect. They had been traveling through almost all night, surely they were getting close to the other side? And even then, why would Eggman let them go? He was planning something. That much was certain. What, however, was a mystery. Sonic didn't want to find out anytime soon.

"How is everyone holding up?"

Sonic asked, deciding now to be the best time to assess how everyone was feeling.

"I am fully operational."

Rusty stated blankly.

"I am recovering."

Shadow said through his teeth.

"Been better, been worse."

Nine shrugged the question off, not even sparing Sonic a glance.

"Okay I guess that's better than nothing."

Sonic decided to just drop it, moving along with the others. They fell into silence for what felt like the millionth time today to Sonic. His mind drifted, to things like his past adventures, his friends… Sonic looked over his shoulder to Rusty and Shadow. He caught Rusty staring at him, and she quickly looked elsewhere, her face getting more pink than it already was. Looks like some things never change. Something about catching that warmed his heart. Normally Amy's over the top affections annoyed him. Why did it feel different this time? Maybe because it was something familiar in this very different world? Sonic smiled, just allowing himself to enjoy the feeling instead of trying to figure it out.

"Guys! I hear the monorail!"

Sonic's startled, looking over to see that indeed, the monorail was coming their way.

"Did you think of a way to board Nine?!"

Nine shook his head.

"No, the distance is too far for it to be feasible! Especially since it's moving!'

"It's slowing down."

Shadow's comment made Sonic do a double take to the cart. Sure enough, it was slowing down, significantly at that. All four of them stared owlishly as the monorail came to a complete stop directly next to where they were. Double doors opened, and two humans leaned over the railing to look at them.

"Hello down there!"

Nine and Rusty visibly hardened their stances. Shadow just grimaced in pain. Sonic crossed his arms, cautious, but willing to talk.

"Heya."

The younger looking human looked surprised that Sonic had said anything at all, while the other seemed smug.

"You four are a long way from home. Get lost?"

"Yeah I just took the wrong exit. You guys got a map we could use?"

Nine glared at Sonic with an expression that said 'what the hell are you doing?'.

"No can do hedgehog. You and your friends aren't going home anymore. You have violated one of ChaosCorp's most important law; all Mobians stay in District One."

"Eh, I was bored with that. Wanted to see the sights. Maybe grab a chili dog on the way."

The humans looked bewildered by Sonic's behavior. The older human recovered first, starting to get pissed.

"Because of the direct violation, you'll be taken into custody by the good Doctor here; Mr. Thorndyke. He's very eager to get his hands on you."

Sonic didn't like the way that sounded.

"If you want to get your hands on me… you're going to have to catch me first."

"Trust me, that won't be much of a problem."

Right after he said those words, ten flying Badniks rose from the pit below, surrounding the ledge. These were DEFINITELY not standard issue Badniks. They had the shape of wasps, but twice the size of Sonic in height. They were painted black with a single red stripe, signifying some sort of level of importance. The tips of their abdominal section were equipped with some automatic gun, and their legs looked like full swords, glinting against the little bit of light around them.

Nine's eyes nervously shot back and forth from the monorail, the Badniks, and his teammates. He quickly formulated a plan. It was risky as hell, but there wasn't any other option really. They couldn't possibly get on the monorail while it was moving… but it wasn't moving.

"Now Mr. Thorndyke here wants you all alive… but that doesn't mean you have to be in one piece."

The Badniks brandished their sword/legs, communicating their brutal intentions.

"Rusty! Make a bridge!"

Nine blurted out, confusing the humans. Rusty however, understood. She elongated her limbs, feet planted firmly on the ledge, and hands grasping the monorail cart railing. Tom and Chris jumped back at her sudden transformation.

Nine bolted across on her back, getting close to the monorail already. This is when the Badniks finally decided to do something. They trained their guns towards Nine, and started to hum. Nine was smart, he knew what he was doing. As stupid as the move seemed, he also knew that Sonic and Shadow were quick on their feet. If he made his gamble right, they'd respond quicker than the Badniks would. If he gambled wrong, he just turned himself into a fox pincushion. Thankfully, his gamble paid off. Sonic, with a split second to think, sprang into action.

"Shadow! You take right, I'll take left!"

Sonic engaged the five on the left by homing attacking the closest one. He harmlessly bounced off, which allowed him to homing attack the next, and the next, until he bounced off of all five. He landed in a crouch on the fifth's head. He didn't damage any of them, but he definitely got their attention off of Nine and onto him. A quick glance over to the other side confirmed that Shadow did the exact same thing.

Nine hoisted himself over the railing and onto the monorail ledge, relieved to still be alive. Chris cowered away from the pissed off looking fox, while Tom brought his fists up.

"You're a pretty resourceful little guy, I'll give you that."

"You haven't seen anything yet."

Shadow, after steading himself on the one Badniks head, started charging a spindash. If a homing attack didn't have enough oomph, maybe a spindash would. His spinning quills dug into the Badnik below him, causing it to thrash back and forth. The black blur that was his body waited until another Badnik was lined up. Bingo. He shot off, tearing the head off of the one he was on while he went. His body tore straight through the body of his target, making it burst into pieces. In one smooth motion, Shadow unfurled from a ball, unholstered his gun, and fired two shots to another Badnik. The bullets ripped open its chassis, exposing wires. Shadow, still midair, sailed over and grabbed the exposed wiring, pulling the Badnik down with his weight. Using his core, he swung it underneath him, past his legs. He let go, making it fly into another. The two smashed like pancakes, and dropped like dead flies. Shadow landed with a flourish on Rusty's back. That was four.

Sonic unsheathed his sword, and plunged it into the Badniks head. Nine was right, just like butter. The Badnik screeched, thrashing back and forth to try and get Sonic off of him. Sonic held the pummel of his sword to keep himself steady. Another Badnik lined himself up to shoot Sonic. Thinking fast, Sonic forced his weight backwards, spinning the Badnik to act as a shield. The other Badnik opened fire, ripping the other apart. The sword slipped out of the now destroyed machine, and Sonic homed in on another to stop his fall. Sonic aimed his heel and smashed out its eyes, making them go dark. It bleeped with desperation, trying and failing to see. The Badnik that tried to shoot him earlier dove at him, sword legs pointed to make him into a hedgehog skewer. Sonic twirled his own sword in his hand, bracing. The legs clanged against his weapon, and the force of the hit made his sneakers squeak against the Badnik head. He pushed back, forcing the Badnik to compensate. Sonic used that window of time to slash it clean in half. The other two Badniks rushed him, but one of them dropped out of the sky from a gunshot. Sonic spotted Shadow aiming his gun from Rusty's back, taking a shot at the other one too. They both fell from the sky, and Sonic took that as his cue to jump next to Shadow, making the blind one fly into the wall.

Tom took a swing at Nine, who ducked below the fist. Nine bared his tails, throwing them out like sharp punches. Nine was surprised when Tom dodged them all with relative ease. In his surprise, he left himself open for a solid kick in his gut. He gasped, stumbling back into the railing. Tom was on him in a second. Tom's hands came together on either side of Nine's head, discombobulating him. Nine's ears started to ring, and his eyesight suddenly got blurry. He wouldn't have registered the punch in the nose if it didn't hurt so bad. Nine needed to clear his head if he wanted to win this fight! He shook his head, eyes clearing up just too late. He took three more fists to the face, blood spurting out of his nose with each hit. He could feel the angry bruises that were already forming.

The last Badnik rushed the hedgehog duo. In a sudden unspoken plan, Shadow crouched down to throw Sonic upward. Sonic sailed upward in the air, curled into a ball, and slammed on top of the Badnik. The machine chirped in frustration, turning its attention back to Shadow. It was too late to block the fist coming for its metal face. Shadow's fist embedded into the tin can, making sparks fly and smoke wither out of the Badnik. Shadow rubbed the back of his hand, sore from hitting a metal object. He then smirked and glanced at his blue counterpart.

"That's seven for me. Three for you "

"Wait what? That last one was a team effort!"

"Fine. Six to three. I still won."

Sonic frowned, sour at the loss. His expression then did a one-eighty at the sound of fists and pained grunting. Sonic whirled to look and see Nine pinned against the railing, Tom holding him down and beating him. Sonic saw red. He boosted up Rusty and slammed against Tom with the force of a semi truck. With a surprised shout, Tom flew into the monorail side, getting knocked out from the force. Sonic's death stare quickly morphed into a concerned brother's gaze when he looked back at Nine.

"Are you ok? Do you need bandages? What hurts?"

Nine scowled, straightening up and wiping some of the blood off his face, missing most of it.

"I'm fine. Stop coddling me. I've been through worse."

Sonic felt those words sting. He was so used to taking care of Tails that it felt weird to be forced to give him space. Would this be what Tails would have been like once he hit teenage years?

Shadow and Rusty jumped onto the monorail, Shadow unholstering his gun, raising it up to Chris's face who was cowering on the ground.

"Don't try anything."

Chris nodded, not even dreaming of retaliation. Nine shuffled over, looking down at Chris with distaste.

"Keep him there Shadow. I'm going to see if I can get this rust bucket moving."

Nine paused at the double doors, glancing at Tom, passed out against the wall.

"Nice hit Sonic."

Sonic's dejected attitude perked up at the comment. He'd take that win.

"Thanks."

"Oh, and could you tie him up? In case he wakes up."

Sonic snapped his fingers.

"Good call."

Nine eyed the hedgehog one second longer before retreating into the monorail cart.

Sonic, after taking a look around, found some rope in a back compartment in the monorail floor. Rusty started to help him tie an unconscious Tom against a very awake Chris, while Shadow stared the nervous doctor down, daring him to do something with his eyes.

"That outta hold em."

Sonic stood up with his hands on his hips, satisfied. Right as Sonic was going to go check on Nine, the monorail jolted, starting to move.

"Alright! We're on our way!"

Shadow grunted with satisfaction, opting to go lean against the railing. Sonic smiled, going inside to check on his fox friend. Rusty, tempted to go inside with Sonic, glanced back at Shadow, deciding against her original desire. She walked over, leaning against the railing herself. She was close enough to start conversation, but far enough to give him space.

"I'm sorry."

Shadow glanced at her confused.

"For…?"

"Your sister. You spoke of her in the past-tense. I can only assume…"

"Ah."

The two fell silent for a while. Shadow could tell Rusty was curious, but wasn't asking out of respect. He appreciated the lack of prodding.

"She took a bullet, trying to protect me."

Shadow grimaced.

"I can still hear the gunshot. And her scream. It haunts me everyday."

Rusty frowned, eyes searching him. She took notice of the weapon on his hip.

"I'm curious."

Rusty paused, forming her words carefully.

"Lots of people with gun trauma can never use one themselves… so how…?"

Shadow actually chuckled a bit.

"Because… a weapon is like a brick. A brick has no morals, no view of right or wrong, and no means of doing anything itself. People, on the other hand, they have views, and means. I can pick up a brick and throw it through a window… or, I could build a building with it."

Shadow pulled out his gun, aiming it past the railing at nothing.

"A gun is the same. I use it to protect those I care about, and value."

Shadow closed his eyes, putting the gun back.

"I hope that makes sense."

"I think that's very wise, and brave of you."

Shadow smirked a bit.

"You flatter me."

"Well my flattery is not misguided."

Shadow looked at her, genuinely smiling.

"Thank you Rusty."

Sonic walked into the cart, spotting Nine sitting next to what he assumed were the controls. He walked over, standing next to the seat, eyeing the panel over once.

"So… how far are we from the exit?"

Nine shrugged.

"No idea. This cart only has the basic function of going backwards or forwards. Must only be two destinations in here then."

Sonic nodded, leaning against the panel to look out the windshield.

"Hey uh…"

Sonic stammered, fingers tapping against the metal.

"I'm sorry. For being so… worried about you."

Their eyes met, and Sonic could see confusion and skepticism swimming in Nine's ocean blue eyes.

"I don't want to weird you out… I'm trying to accept that you're different then you were before. I'm trying my best."

Nine studied the hedgehog. He was clearly fighting himself on the inside. It was kind of pitiful to watch. Nine fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Well uh… I won't lie, you do kinda weird me out."

Sonic looked up, frowning.

"But uh, thanks for trying I guess."

Sonic felt a flutter in his chest. That was progress! He awkwardly winked at him.

"Heh, no problem buddy!"

"Don't call me buddy."

"Oh, yeah ok."

They fell into a silence, until Sonic suddenly thought of something.

"Hold on. What do we do when we get there? They probably have some sort of security to get in right?"

Nine's brow furrowed, hand reaching up to grasp his chin in thought. His eyes caught Chris through the window, tied up next to his comrade. He grinned.

"I have an idea."

Notes:

Thanks for sticking around!

Personally, this is my favorite chapter so far. The action is finally ramping up, and the slower paced moments of character interactions are getting deeper. The second fight scene in this chapter was a unique challenge of 'how long can I keep them up in the air' 😂. Which turned out to be more fun than frustrating. I hope you enjoyed! If you'd like to comment about what you thought, please do! I love reading what people think of my work!

See y'all next time!

Chapter 11: Blueprints

It took the team another hour before they reached the second wall. Just like the last, it loomed over them, but unlike the last, it also continued down into the pit below them, making it appear endless. Just as Nine had predicted, the monorail was leading directly into a dock with a single door into the wall.

"Alright, here we go guys. Remember, stick to the plan, and we won't get caught."

Chris, now free of his confines, held a chain trailing behind him, with Sonic, Shadow, Nine, and Rusty all handcuffed to. In actuality, Nine creates some fake handcuffs using some spare parts of the monorail, and Chris was told Shadow would snap his neck if he tried anything funny. Sonic was bluffing with that, though he wasn't sure if Shadow was. Either way, Chris didn't seem like the type to be one hundred percent loyal if it came down to his own arse, so they were taking full advantage of that.

Chris scanned his card next to the door, unlocking it. He stepped through, walking down the long hallway with the Mobians in tow.

"This better work."

Shadow muttered, eager to get out of the fake restraints. They approached the other door, mere feet from the other side.

"Here we go."

Chris opened the door, and they all stepped through one at a time. Given how each new place they've seen so far has been more massive in scale then the last, Sonic was surprised to see a small reception desk on the other side. While the room was surprisingly modest, compared to the entirety of District One, it was luxury.

The receptionist gasped at the sight of four bound up and dirty Mobians.

"Mr Thorndyke sir! Um, were did…?"

"... Uh, they were a g-gift. From Mr Wachowski."

The woman looked like she hated just looking at them.

"Well then, I'm glad to hear you have more subjects to work on."

Sonic's eyes narrowed at the implication. Chris sweat dropped nervously.

"Heh… yes."

The woman made eye contact with Sonic, tsking under her breath.

"Disgusting creatures, Mobians."

Sonic held himself back. They needed to keep cover. Chris awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Yes indeed… well I need to get them into custody."

The lady nodded, her face of disgust turning up into a cheery smile, making Sonic's stomach churn at how sickeningly sweet it looked.

"Have a good day Doctor!"

Chris nodded nervously, edging out the door, pulling the four behind him. They exited the building, entering a small parking lot with only two cars. But it wasn't the parking lot, the cars, or the massive wall behind them to grab their attention. Instead, the massive city that stretched before them twinkled in their eyes. Even Sonic was impressed by its magnitude. Plus, it was perfectly framed by the rising sun, glimmering in the horizon.

"This is nothing like District One!"

Nine looked in awe, eyes eating up all the new technology he could see from here. But his curious mind of excitement quickly turned sour.

"This goes to show how much ChaosCorp hates Mobians."

Nine removed his fake handcuffs, eyeing up Chris with seething hate.

"They live like this… while we live in a literal shit hole."

The remaining three undid their bonds, and Sonic gathered up the chain in his arms. Shadow brought out his gun again, training it towards Chris.

"Now, tell us… where could we find a blueprint of the city?"

Chris gawked at the question.

"Y-you can be serious!?"

"We're dead serious."

Chris looked dumbfounded at Shadow, and then the rest. What would they even do with that? Chris scratched the back of his head, nervously thinking.

"I-I know w-were a copy is kept."

"Then lead us there."

After a few more nervous nods from Chris, they five of them piled into his small car, Chris driving, Shadow in the passenger seat with his gun, and the remaining three squeezed in the back, with Nine in the middle. He was visibly upset about it, but said nothing. Sonic had put their chains in the trunk, which Chris wanted to protest, but Shadow's close proximity stopped him from doing so. Something about that hedgehog gave Chris the chills.

"So, where is this place?"

Shadow questioned, eyes bouncing back and forth from the road to his hostage.

"In the middle of the city. It's a construction site. They keep all the past blueprints there."

Shadow nodded. The car ride was long and tense. Chris's mind swam with the current events. The fox and the pink hedgehog… seeing them up close confirmed his original thoughts; they were the perfect blend of technology and biology. He needed to figure out which one of them developed the tech. But they wouldn't just give him that information willy-nilly. He'd have to be smart about this.

"So… if you don't mind me asking… what happened to you?"

Rusty narrowed her eyes at the question directed to her.

"Freak accident."

Chris hummed to himself.

"That's pretty intricate tech, not sure I've seen anything like it before."

Chris quickly deciphered which of the four would be the least likely to develop it. He then set his trap.

"... Did you make it?"

Sonic perked up at the question. Out of all of them, why'd he assume him? Sonic scratched his head, confused.

"Me? Heck no I didn't."

Sonic glanced over at Nine, patting his shoulder.

"My man Nine over here did. He's quite the smart dude."

Nine just shrugged under the praise.

"It's nothing much."

Chris made eye contact with Nine in the rearview mirror. Nine felt a shiver run down his spine from the calculating - no, hungry gaze Chris threw him. Shadow didn't miss the look.

"Why are you suddenly interested?"

He growled, making Chris cower a little in his seat.

"No reason! Just m-making conversation."

Shadow growled, not convinced. Shadow huffed to himself, unable to undo what was said.

About another fifteen minutes passed, and the sun was fully revealed in the early morning sky. They pulled into a large parking lot for what looked to be a mall.

"Here we are. Across the street is the construction headquarters."

All the Mobians looked to see a handful of mobile homes made into offices surrounded by heavy equipment. The place looked smaller than what they were expecting. Guess construction wasn't exactly a big deal here as much.

"Looks… not well guarded."

Shadow commented. Somehow, that fact made him more uneasy about it then less.

"You three go find blueprints. I'll keep him here."

Shadow pushed his gun closer to Chris's head to make his point.

"Cool. Thanks Shades."

Shadow glared at Sonic as he, and the rest, got out.

"So what's the plan?"

Sonic asked as they all stood in the parking lot, overlooking the site. Nine rubbed his chin.

"I'll pick the locks. You two investigate each building as I'm done with them. Sound good?"

"Yup."

"That is sufficient."

"Good. Let's go."

 

"So what do you do to Mobians? Since you were so eager to get your hands on us."

Shadow asked, almost politely if his undertones of murderous intent weren't obvious. Chris stammered.

"I c-can't say."

Shadow's anger spiked.

"You aren't in a position to say no to me."

Chris gulped at the gun, sweat visibly running down his brow.

"I-if R-Robotnik found out I t-told anyone, he'd d-do more than kill me."

Shadow pursed his lips. Interesting. While afraid of death, he'd rather take the gun then whatever Eggman would do to him. Shadow didn't like this new nugget of information. The hedgehog settled back in his seat, lost in thought. What was he doing to the captured Mobians? And why? What was it all for? Shadow suddenly remembered something Vanilla had told them;

"... In recent days, ChaosCorp has been randomly selecting Mobians, and taking them to who knows where. Those that get selected… we never see them again. With only one exception ever…"

Only one exception. Who? Shadow mentally slapped himself for not asking. Whoever it was probably had useful inside information. Shadow grumbled letting his brief conversation with Chris end.

 

Nine, Rusty, and Sonic crouched against the closest building, Nine creeping up to the door, lockpicks in hand.

"Since when have you been able to pick locks?"

"Since I taught myself when I was six. Now shush. I'm trying to concentrate."

Nine stuck out his pink tongue, twisting the thin metal into the keyhole, while Sonic and Rusty looked around for any potential danger.

"Done. I'll go get the next lock."

The group parted, Nine sprinting silently to the next door, and the other two ducking in the now open door. The place wasn't that large, being one room with papers, blueprints, and other documents all organized neatly. They were all labeled differently; Residential, Business, etc. Sonic and Rusty took a quick look in the cubbies.

"I don't think this is it."

Rusty shrugged.

"I agree."

They crept back outside, and made their way to the second building. The door was already open, and they spotted Nine working on the last. They went inside, finding an even neater room. It was full of desks,chairs and PC's, but no documents whatsoever.

"Welp, this ain't it."

Sonic and Rusty went back outside, finding that Nine was already inside the next. They followed him inside. As soon as Sonic passed the threshold, his nose twitched with the outrageous amount of dust in the air. Before he could stop himself, Sonic sneezed loudly. Nine looked up from his position over a desk, shooting Sonic a look.

"Sorry."

This building looked more like a storage room, filled with boxes and shelves that were absolutely packed with documents and supplies. The layer of dust on everything made it look like the place hadn't seen the light of day for a long while.

"Look for anything that resembles the whole city."

Sonic and Rusty nodded, getting straight to work.

Two hours passed. This is when it hit Sonic that they've been up since yesterday morning. Drowsiness was really hindering his ability to investigate properly, words and numbers blurring together into an unreadable spaghetti. He needed sleep, and badly.

"Hey check this out!"

Sonic blearily looked over to Nine, who was sitting on the floor in front of a black lock box.

"I found this earlier, and I think I just found the key for it!"

He brandished said key, before shoving it in the box and turning. It clicked open. Nine grinned.

"Hope this isn't something stupid."

Nine pushed it open, revealing two neatly rolled blueprints.

"I think this is it!"

Nine got to work unrolling the first, eyes narrowing at the strange document.

"What the hell?"

Sonic peeked over his shoulder. Depicted in the picture, was a large mass over the city.

"Is that the floating fortress?"

Rusty asked, gaining a nod from Nine.

"Yeah, but this doesn't make much sense."

"How so?"

Nine pointed at the large mass taking up the majority of the page.

"This part of it isn't a fortress. It's made of natural material. The blueprint is actually for a cottage on top."

Sonic blinked in confusion.

"What…?"

"Hey don't ask me. I have no idea."

"WAIT!"

Nine startled at Sonic's sudden outburst.

"What?"

Sonic felt his heartbeat increase in rate. There was no way… could it be?

"Angel Island?"

"What?"

"Angel Island! It's a floating island!"

Nine looked at Sonic, then at the blueprints, then at Sonic again.

"I mean… I've heard weirder things."

Sonic couldn't believe it. Knuckles' home, his Island, was floating above the city! The blue hedgehog flew over to the window to look up and out, seeing the shadowy outline in the sky above the center of the city. Maybe Knuckles was still up there…? No, he wouldn't let the Master Emerald fall into Eggman's hands without a fight. Something happened to him. Something bad.

Rusty snatched the other blueprint.

"Quick, we have to check and see if this is what we're looking for and get out of here."

She opened the second blueprint.

"Bingo. Blueprint of the city."

Sonic shook off the terrible feeling he had thinking about Knuckles, forcing himself to look over the sheer mass of the city layout. It included Robotnik Tower in the middle, the walls, the Distracts, and even a lower level drawing.

"Alright let's split."

The three re-rolled the blueprints, and headed out the door. Thankfully, no one was there to see them sneak over across the street back to the car. Shadow stuck his head out the window.

"Well?"

"We got what we need."

Shadow smiled.

"Good."

The three piled back into the car, this time Sonic in the middle, per Nine's request. Sonic definitely wasn't going to say no to gaining even the smallest points with Nine.

"We have the blueprints, but we need somewhere safe to look at them."

Shadow said.

"And a place to sleep."

Sonic added, yawning to make his point.

"Good idea. We'll - hey, HEY!"

Shadow got his gun knocked out of his hands. Chris bolted out the car, running like his life depended on it. Shadow scrambled to pick up his gun, aiming it out the open door to hit him in the legs. He stopped however when he noticed where Chris was running to. A trio of cop cars sitting on the street corner.

"Damn. We gotta go."

Shadow climbed over the dash, taking over the driver's seat. Sonic frowned, watching Chris encounter the officers.

"Well, we just lost a possible asset to our mission."

Shadow 'tsked' as he drove off.

"No use thinking about it now."

Shadow maneuvered the car around the corner so expertly, the officers didn't have time to see what Chris was pointing at.

"You're a good driver."

Rusty commented, earning a smirk from Shadow.

"Thanks."

"So where are we going? We can't exactly check into a hotel."

Sonic said, starting to get claustrophobic in the middle seat already.

"We'll have to find somewhere hidden. Like an alley or something."

"What about that?"

Shadow looked to his left to what Sonic was pointing at. A parking garage.

"That should do."

Shadow drove in, taking a ticket from the kiosk to enter. They didn't have any money to pay for it when the left, so most likely they'd have to sneak out, but Shadow figured they'd cross that bridge when they came to it. The garage was mostly empty thankfully, but Shadow decided it'd be best to park on the roof, away from the overhead cameras.

"Here we are."

The group got out, most of them stretching on yawning. Even with the sun in the middle of the sky, Sonic felt like he could just fall asleep as soon as he laid down.

"Let's take a look at the other blueprint then."

Rusty pulled them both out, unrolling the one of the city on the hood of the car.

"Wait, there's two?"

"One's for Angel Island."

"What?!"

"I'll tell you later."

Shadow furrowed his brow in confusion as the others continued to study the city 'map'.

"Yes! The Chaos Emeralds are pictured here!"

Sonic followed Nine's finger, which hovered over a small Emerald icon above the words 'Emerald Housing'. The location was near the outer edge of District Three.

"We can go get that one soon!"

His finger drifted down, back to the Badnik Factories. There was another Emerald Housing underneath the entire place. There was one underneath the Slums, even below the lower level. Another was in a building in the middle of the Scrapyard.

"So each District has one."

Shadow commented, eyes darting across the map.

"Great. That's going to make them fun to find."

Nine groaned as he continued to search the map.

"There's one on the top of Robotnik Tower. And halfway too."

Sonic nodded as he saw the same. Where was the seventh though? Sonic's eyes narrowed as he looked. For some reason, he felt his stomach sour as he finally spotted it. Way below Robotnik Tower.

"Hey… what's the City Core?"

Nine shrugged once he saw what Sonic was talking about.

"No idea. But it looks like it's holding something else important."

Nine tapped a marking on the map labeled 'Cure'.

"Cure? What the hell is that?"

Sonic felt his stomach flip again. Something wasn't right about that place, somehow he just knew it. He had the sudden urge to throw up, but he managed to keep it down, and not get noticed either.

"Well, I'm going to get some shut eye. We can't really plan properly in this state."

Nine looked like he was about to disagree, but a yawn interrupted him, and he quickly held his hand over his face to hide his hot blush.

"Good idea."

He grumbled, heading back inside the car.

"Won't be the most comfortable, but it'll have to do."

Shadow said, also climbing back in the car. Shadow and Nine rested up in the front seats, while Sonic and Rusty curled up in the back. Sonic could already feel a cramp cropping up in the middle of his back. He turned to find a more comfortable position, only to catch Rusty watching him. She blushed and turned the other way. Sonic smiled. He was actually getting used to that.

 

Cream the rabbit carefully walked down the dirt road, balancing a container of hot stew in-between her hands. She was near the outskirts of the city, a few miles away from the wall separating District One and District Four. Before her, was a run down little house that she has gotten very familiar with. Ever since it got around that one of the taken Mobians had escaped, Cream and her mother quickly helped him. While he was better now than when they found him, he would never talk about his time within ChaosCorp. He'd get extremely pissed when anyone asked.

Cream went back to visit him with stew once a week. While he was a very private Mobian, he always enjoyed the little rabbit's company.

She lightly knocked, and waited patiently.

"Who goes there!?"

The disabled Mobian stuck his snout out the door. His head whipped around, ears straining to hear their answer.

"Hi!"

Cream smiled as the large Mobian's blind eyes lit up at her voice.

"Cream. It's good to hear your voice."

"I've brought you stew! Can I come in?"

"Yes of course."

He stepped aside to let the girl in. Cream cheerfully walked into the home of the last echidna.

Notes:

*cue audience gasp*

Our boy is finally here!

This chapter was annoying to arrange the scenes for for whatever reason, but it turned out alright. Not much action I know, and I apologize for the sudden lull, but don't worry, more hype soon.

See you all next time!

Chapter 12: The Lockbox

Sonic groaned, body feeling a terrible ache in his back. Sonic had always been plagued with fitful sleeps, and given the confines of the car, he probably put himself in so many painful positions while unconscious, that he screwed his back up. He sighed to himself, eyes still closed. Hold on. He shifted, feeling what he was laying on. It wasn't the styrofoam like seat of the car. It felt hard, and cold. Sonic peeked his eyes open, then they widened, sleepiness fully gone. Underneath him was Rusty. Who was also fully awake. Their shocked eyes met, jaws slacking. Rusty's blush was instant, rushing through her cheeks. Before Sonic could stop himself, he blushed too. Clearing his now clouded mind, Sonic quickly pushed himself away, sitting up in the other seat. His quick movement rustled the car, waking the other two. Shadow groaned, cracking his knuckles as he stretched in place. Nine mumbled a few swears, then started rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The fox looked back, face scrunching in confusion at the two fully awake hedgehogs.

"Have you guys been awake?"

"No!"

They both answered way too quickly. Nine looked at them in suspicion. He noticed the shared blush between them.

"... You guys haven't been… doing stuff back there, have you?"

Sonic choked on his own saliva, throwing himself into a coughing fit. Before Sonic could formulate a response, Shadow started laughing. Hard. The dark hedgehog was in tears by the time he calmed himself.

"Sonic doesn't have the guts to bed someone."

At first, Sonic was grateful for the save, until he realized Shadow had just insulted him.

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?"

Shadow smirked.

"It means what it sounds like. I wasn't speaking in riddles Sonic."

Sonic awkwardly sputtered, thinking of a comeback.

"W-well um…"

Nine chuckled, crossing his arms.

"Yeah you're right Shadow."

Sonic clamped his mouth shut, unsure of how to respond.

"So, the plan?"

Nine nodded to Shadow, unrolling the blueprints to point at the Emerald Housing on the outskirts of the city.

"We aren't too far away from this. I think it's an office building? But it could easily be a military base, I'm not sure. It's not that clear."

Shadow started the car, beginning to pull out.

"Lead me there."

"Sure thing."

Sonic finally noticed after his awkward awakening that the sun was gone, and the moon was high in the sky. Wow, they slept for awhile. He was thankful no one noticed their vehicle parked there all day. Sonic yawned, feeling the most refreshed since they left. He knew deep down, that wouldn't last.

 

Chris couldn't sleep. After escaping from the rogue Mobians, he had written up a report of the happenings to Robotnik. He also wrote of how specifically the fox in the group of four would be particularly useful to him if he could get his hands on him. Robotnik had requested his presence in his office quickly afterwards, which made Chris even more nervous about the events. He was shocked when Robotnik was as calm as a sleeping cat. In the impromptu meeting, Chris said how Nine could be the key he was looking for in his research. And to his surprise, Robotnik not only agreed, but made finding the fox his number one priority. Arrangements were made, and tomorrow, Chris would be assigned a team of skilled individuals, and a plethora of Badniks to find him. So naturally, he couldn't sleep. He'd never had that much responsibility before… not that BAO wasn't a lot of responsibility. He guessed it was because he'd be telling a group what to do.

He groaned, knowing this was going to be a sleepless night. He threw the covers aside and got out of bed, plodding out into his kitchen. He started brewing himself tea, hoping to calm his nerves. Chris didn't have the biggest spine, and he knew that. How could he order people around? Especially if… Chris shuddered at the thought of working with THEM. He knew he probably would. They were some of the best in ChaosCorp. A small group of agents trained to neutralize any threat to Robotnik. Of course, they didn't become that WILLINGLY, but that just probably made them even more dangerous. Blackmail was a very powerful thing. Chris sighed, taking a long sip from his freshly brewed tea.

"Tomorrow's going to be hell."

 

Chris's stolen car trudged up a hill, stopping at its peak, overlooking the valley below. In the valley, up against the outer wall, there settled a large building. Oddly, it was almost perfectly square. It also didn't seem to have a visible entrance.

"Great, what do we do now?"

The group piled out of the car, scoping the place out. There were three spotlights moving along the four walls, most likely to see if any intruders dared to try and enter. Sonic drummed his fingers against his arm.

"Shadow and I could run up the sides and check the roof?"

Nine cocked his head to the side.

"I guess you could run fast enough to do that…"

"Cool! I'll check it out!"

"Wait Soni - !"

He was already gone before Nine could say anything more. The blue blur sped down the valley, gathering momentum. This would be enough. Once he hit the wall, he sped up like a bullet, right past the light, and onto the roof. He landed with a flourish, smiling with satisfaction. He hadn't pulled off a stunt like that in awhile, it felt good to do so.

"Alright… look for anything useful."

Sonic's eyes scanned the roof, which was just as plain as the outside walls.

"Wow… Eggman has really been skimping on his designs. I'm surprised to say that I actually miss the red yellow and black color scheme. I guess white too."

Sonic frowned, finding nothing. Guess finding a vent on the top of the roof was a little too much like a fictional spy movie. Sonic frustratingly tapped his foot. Nothing.

Sonic ran back, skidding to a stop in front of Shadow, who startled, then scowled.

"No good. The roof got nothing special."

Nine's brow furrowed.

"I need to see it up close."

Nine, with his hands now shoved in his pockets, walked down the valley. Rusty immediately started walking with him, and after a look was shared between the two, Sonic and Shadow joined behind them. Once they stopped, there were still a good few yards away; enough to see the whole building, but not enough for the spotlights to hit them. Nine tapped his chin, studying the structure.

"This is so strange. There is no access point. How would anyone get inside?"

Nine placed his head in his hands, rubbing circles on his eyelids.

"What if it isn't a building?"

Nine looked up to Rusty, who was staring ahead.

"What do you mean?"

"What if it is the housing unit. It's only function is to hold the Emerald."

Nine's eyes widened.

"Like one big lockbox."

Sonic crossed his arms.

"So… how do we open it then?"

They went silent, all four thinking. Sonic could practically hear all the gears turning in their respective heads.

"Only one way to find out."

Before anyone could stop him, Sonic jaunted up to the side wall, allowing the spotlight to hit him. It stopped, glowing a light red at the sight of him.

"What are you doing?!"

Nine yelled at him, while Sonic stared up at the spotlight defiantly. It fluttered twice, then a robotic voice clip played.

"State reason for visit."

"Uhhh, Emerald Check. Yeah, we gotta test the Chaos Emerald on… stuff."

Shadow growled, slapping his face with his hand.

"He's going to get us all caught."

The machine beeped a few times.

"Accepted. ChaosCorp ID number required."

Sonic froze. He couldn't just… come up with one could he? It was a robot, surely it wouldn't fall for a reason he didn't have one either.

"Sonic, say; X082303!"

Sonic looked back at Rusty, and blinked a few times. Without another option, he used his friend's suggestion.

"Uh, X08… 2303?"

Sonic cringed as the machine garbled.

"Accepted. ID, Chris Thorndyke."

Sonic looked back with a question in his eyes. Rusty grinned.

"I caught a glimpse of his ID card when he used it on the doors yesterday."

Sonic couldn't help the smirk that split his face. Clever girl, he was impressed.

"Please enter."

A sudden shift was felt rumbling through the ground. The wall split apart in tiny threads, gathering together near the edges of the now large opening. Inside, a small perfectly white room was before them. Sonic blinked, a bit taken back. That seemed a bit too easy…

"Well, guess I'll go take a look."

Sonic took a few steps forward, the reddish light following him as he neared the entrance. He looked up at the light, and then back at the others.

"I don't think all four of us can go in. I'll have to go alone."

Rusty and Shadow both frowned deeply, while Nine crossed his arms, face blank.

"Be careful."

Rusty said, care laced in her words.

"Careful? Where's the fun in that?"

Shadow glared at his blue counterpart.

"Sonic…"

"Okay okay, I will."

Sonic glanced over at Nine, who brushed his nose with his hand.

"Uh, good luck I guess."

Sonic threw him a wink and a thumbs up.

"Thanks man. I'll be back out in a jiffy."

Sonic turned, facing the challenge ahead of him.

"Let's do it to it."

He stepped in, and the door slowly weaved back together, shutting him inside.

 

Fresh air filled Robotnik's lungs, as a light breeze pressed against his face, and tickled his mustache. Up on Angel Island, the fresh air was unbeatable. Thanks to the Master Emerald, it was the only bubble of fresh air left on Mobius.

Now Robotnik was a very busy man, managing a city, keeping up with production distribution, making sure the Mobians stayed in line, among other things. But even he enjoyed late night walks among the vivid green grass below his feet. He wasn't the most nature loving person, but even he couldn't deny the refreshing feeling of the cool night air.

All of this was interrupted by his cell buzzing in his pocket. He grunted, fishing the small device from his pocket, flicking the accept call button.

"What?!"

He exclaimed, grumpy at being interrupted. There was a pause and a shuffle on the other side.

"Hi sir. Um, there's been a strange occurrence in the system."

"..."

"..."

"Well what is it?!"

The person on the other side startled.

"Sorry sir! We got a ping that the District Three Emerald Housing unit was accessed."

Robotnik's brow furrowed.

"... Oh?"

"Yes sir, by Chris Thorndyke."

Robotnik felt steam rise through his body. That simpleton got his ID lifted by those low-life Mobians! He sighed. He'd deal with the young doctor later.

"... Keep an eye on it for me, just in case. And keep me updated."

"Yes sir."

He clicked off the phone, slipping it back in his pocket. He pursed his lips. Mr Thorndyke may not even need to start his search tomorrow. Robotnik designed the Emerald Housing Units himself, and since there really wasn't a good reason to remove the Emeralds after being placed, he designed a trail in each as a brutal challenge to anyone stupid enough to try and take it. He guessed these Mobians were stupid enough. For the sake of Chris's research, and the BAO project, he hoped the fox wasn't the one to go in. Cause whichever of the four did go in, they were as good as dead.

 

Sonic stood in the bright white room. It was almost unbearably bright, but Sonic knew he could manage.

"Uh… hello?"

"Hello."

Sonic shouted and spun around, fists raised. His eyes settled on a a floating blue square. It looked holographic by nature, translucent, and a bit glitchy.

"This AI Unit will now scan user for personal interaction."

Before Sonic could interpret what THAT meant, the blue cube emitted a reddish beam, scanning Sonic's forehead.

"Yo what…?"

Sonic took a few steps back, but by the time he blocked the beam with his hands, the cube was already done.

"Scan complete. User personal interface now running."

Sonic furrowed his brow, as the cube began to glitch and mutate.

"So little guy, you don't suppose you can point me to the Emerald do you? That'd be…"

Sonic stopped dead when the box finished mutating, and was no longer translucent. A small Mobian figure stood before him, one that hurt to see. A yellow fox with two big and bushy tails, not confined between seven imitations.

"... Tails?"

"Hi Sonic."

Tails smiled cheerfully, while he bounced on his heels. No … this was wrong. Tails was gone. HIS Tails was gone. But no, here he was, right in front of him. Sonic felt tears burn in his eyes.

"Sonic? What's wrong?"

Sonic didn't answer him, instead he embraced him, holding his little brother close. Sonic choked back a sob. He felt real. Deep down he knew he wasn't. But he needed this. He needed his little brother. It took a solid five minutes before he could collect himself, and release Tails from his grasp.

"... So uh, what exactly are you?"

Tails smiled up at him, in the way he would when Sonic asked him about how his gizmos worked, and then would proceed into a drawn out dialog that Sonic only in part would understand.

"I am an AI developed by Robotnik to assist any users within the Emerald Housing Units. I take the form of who the User loves the most, to add a personal experience."

Sonic drummed his fingers against his arm, still not quite believing what he was seeing, but he guessed that made sense.

"So you're supposed to help me?"

"Yup!"

Gosh it sounded JUST like him.

"Yeah uh, what exactly am I supposed to do?"

Tails - or the AI Sonic supposed - cringed.

"I'm not going to lie Sonic, the trail inside these Housings are brutal. They will test every limit you have."

Sonic set a determined look on his face.

"Don't worry buddy, I've got this."

He then looked around expectantly.

"When does this trail start?"

"I start it. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, but first, I have one question."

"What is it?"

"If Robotnik designed you, why are you helping me?"

The AI opened its fake mouth, before clamping it shut. Sonic looked at him bewildered. Did the AI just HESITATE?

"I'm… not sure actually. He didn't program me with that information."

Sonic looked at him (it?).

"That's good enough for me."

The AI looked surprised, before smiling through Tails' smile.

"Thanks Sonic!"

"No problem kiddo."

The AI went silent, frowning.

"You know… this is the first time I've been active since I was created. You're the first person to try getting one of the Emeralds … ever."

Sonic crossed his arms. He didn't find that as a surprise. Eggman really had this city on its knees worshiping him practically. Otherwise they'd go hungry and die. No way would they challenge him.

"... I'm sorry for having to do this. I'll help you as much as I can."

Sonic blinked, surprised. Whoever this AI was, besides having the shape of Tails, actually seemed… not Robotnik associated in a weird way. Sonic wondered why. Questions for later he supposed.

"It's ok. Everything will be fine. I'll beat these trails. Let's get them going!"

'Tails' nodded.

"Right. Trail one of three… start."

The floor disappeared. Sonic, not expecting his footing to be immediately taken away from him, naturally yelled out, falling a good hundred feet.

"Sonic!"

He looked over to see 'Tails' hovering with his namesakes next to him.

"There's going to be a bar for you to grab. Do not miss it!"

Sonic nodded, then arced his body so he was falling face first, so he could see what was coming. Then he saw it. A metal bar stretching across the whole room. He smiled at the sight of it, but the smile was short lasting. His heart dropped when he saw what was below it. A massive grinder. He choked at the thought of being reduced to a hedgehog pulp. Now with fire alit inside him for survival, Sonic reached out for the bar. Both hands gripped tightly, and his body yanked itself to a stop. His stomach kept going, dropping with the quick save. A breath of relief huffed past his lips.

"Well… that was…"

"Wimp."

Sonic looked up fast, not expecting a new voice. Especially the voice he heard. Across from him, another bar was parallel to his. And another figure was hanging on it like him.

"You've always been weak, hedgehog."

Sonic's mouth gaped.

"Knuckles?"

"Always getting in the way. Never truly thinking before doing. You're a menace."

Sonic stared dumbly at his echidna friend. Surly this wasn't Knuckles… was it?

"... What?"

"Are you deaf AND stupid?"

Without warning, Knuckles lifted his large foot, and slammed it into Sonic's chest, the wind being knocked out of him. Sonic gasped, fingers faltering for just a second, before becoming steady.

"Dude! You almost killed me!"

"That's the idea."

Knuckles took another swing at him with his other foot, but this time Sonic lifted himself up and past it.

"Knuckles stop!"

"Sonic!"

Sonic looked over to see 'Tails' hovering next to them.

"He's not real! He's the obstacle!"

Sonic whipped his head back to Knuckles, just in time to dodge another kick.

"So I just have to… survive?"

"No, you have to win!"

Sonic didn't understand at first. When he did, he felt sick.

"You want me to kick him off?!"

"Sonic he isn't the real Knuckles! I'm sorry it looks like your friend, but trust me when I say he's not."

The fake Knuckles seemed to take offense to that comment.

"You dare fox? I am the last echidna. And you are nothing more than Sonic's sidekick. And he is nothing more than a hedgehog with dreams of grandeur, with no means of reaching them himself."

Sonic still felt sick. He's not the real Knuckles. Of course he wasn't. While Knuckles may not have approved of everything Sonic did, and wouldn't be the first to compliment him either… he'd never say any of those things. But somehow, even with that knowledge, it didn't help much for the task at hand. He had to kick Knuckles down before he was.

 

Nine, Shadow, and Rusty sat in the grass, all waiting for Sonic to finish.

"What do you think is in there?"

Rusty asked, eyes not leaving the large box.

"Besides the Emerald itself? Probably traps. Robotnik doesn't trust anyone. Even his own employees. Naturally, the Emeralds would be safeguarded."

Nine responded, without much emotion in his voice. Shadow grumbled to himself.

"He'll make it. He always does."

 

Sonic's red shoe smacked 'Knuckles' in the face, making the red Mobian wobble on the bar for just a second, then his face twisted with fury. The fake echidna let go with one hand, using his now free fist to throw a punch. Sonic swung his body to the left to miss the fist, that wooshed past him. Instead of pulling it back though, Knuckles then grabbed Sonic's muzzle, crushing his nose and cheeks in his grip. Sonic yelped in surprise, bringing up both feet to kick his forearm. Knuckles pulled back.

"Just do us both a favor and die!"

Knuckles swung again, Sonic dodging the same way. Knuckles growled.

"Ever since you and that mutant kid showed up on my island, my life has been nothing but stressful, dangerous, and unbearable! That's your fault!"

Another fist. Another dodge.

"After I had the Master Emerald back in my hands, I should have finished the job, and killed you both myself."

Sonic grit his teeth, as he was forced to overextend his body to avoid another punch.

"I don't know which I'd take pleasure in most; killing your smug mug, or that runt of a child that followed you."

Sonic felt something snap.

"SHUT UP!"

Sonic didn't even realize his foot was moving. It slammed right into Knuckles' gut. For the next second that passed, Sonic couldn't believe what he just did. Knuckles fell. Sonic's stomach twisted once he realized what was about to happen. But he couldn't look away.

"Knuckles!"

The echidna hit the grinder. Everything that followed happened so fast. The sound of flesh ripping and bones snapping filled the air, drowning out the screams, which quickly turned to gurgles. Knuckles body deformed, skin and chunks of flesh flying everywhere. Blood sprayed so high, Sonic felt it splatter over his body. Sonic gagged. It was so thick and warm. It felt real. Too real. In mere seconds, Knuckles' body was gone, only blood stains left on the metal gears. Sonic gagged again, this time not being able to stop the vomit that followed. Sonic's body shook from shock. The sight of Knuckles literally being torn apart permanently seared in his brain. The thought made his fingers loosen on the bar just too much. Sonic fell. A scream tore through his lips, then stopped when his back hit a solid surface. A floor. Not a grinder, a clean, hard, solid floor. Sonic stood back up on shaky feet. The blood that had splattered on him was magically gone as well. The entire room was different. Damn, this was all really playing with his head.

"Trial two of three. Start."

A chair emerged from the floor behind Sonic, and he stumbled into it. Before he could get up, metal cuffs strapped around his ankles and wrists. He struggled with the bonds, but they didn't budge. Still shaken by the previous trail, Sonic's heart plummeted at the thought of something similar. What was next? To answer his internal question, three spotlights lit up, one over him, one over another chair directly in front of him, and the third shining on the ceiling above them. Sonic gaped. Amy was strapped into the other chair.

"Hellooooo contestants!"

Sonic squinted, as from the ceiling, a platform descended, revealing… of all people; Silver the hedgehog, dressed in a fine suit, and holding a mic.

"Welcome to the game! Tonight, your winnings, is to survive!"

Following Silver, another platform descended, settling between Sonic and Amy. It was a machine with two machine guns, one pointing at each of them. Sonic knew where this was going.

"Please no no no!"

Tears flew down Amy's face as she begged for mercy. Sonic's heart clenched. She's not real either. She's not. Sonic blinked through fresh tears of his own. Could he even do this?

"Sonic."

He startled at the sudden appearance of 'Tails' again.

"Take a deep breath, you're going to be ok."

Sonic looked back between his fake brother and Amy.

"I know this hurts, but you have to stay strong. Amy isn't real. She's the next obstacle."

Sonic trembled, eyes continuing to water.

"The challenge is simple! Get three out of five questions correct, and you win!"

'Tails' continued to say soothing words, mostly going through Sonic's head. Only a few things stuck. Sonic didn't know what to do. He knew she wasn't real. But did he want to live after seeing her die? And Knuckles?

"Sonic… please."

Sonic pulled his head over enough to look over at 'Tails' again. His eyes were glistening with tears of his own.

"I… don't really know you, but you seem like a really nice guy. I don't want to see you die."

Sonic broke out of his stupor, staring the fox in the eyes. Wow, he definitely wasn't one of Robotnik's creations. Sonic, despite the situation, and the sickness in his stomach, smiled.

"Ok. I'll try my best."

'Tails' smiled with relief.

"First question! What's the scientific term for a rose?"

"Oh! Rosa rubiginosa!"

Amy, through her tears, shouted her answer, and Sonic was at a loss for words.

"Correct. Next question. What's the fastest jet aircraft to date?"

Sonic's mind suddenly raced, knowing Tails mentioned this once or twice.

"The Lockhead SR-71 Blackbird?"

"Correct."

Sonic sighed in relief. Thankfully that knowledge was the same in this universe.

"Next question. What is Doctor Robotnik's first name?"

"Ivo!"

"Correct."

Sonic's heart rose after that. He only needed one more question and he would win.

"Next question. What does a hedgehog first find attractive in a potential mate?"

Sonic, though being a hedgehog himself, drew up a blank. He'd never been in a relationship before…

"Their quill color!"

"Correct."

Silver smiled in a way that didn't communicate what was truly happening here; a death match.

"Our final question, and the winner takes the victory."

Amy whimpered, visibly shaking. Sonic felt so terrible inside. This trail was really testing his natural desire to help those in need.

"What is the most used hot dog topping according to a Mobian poll three years ago?"

Sonic didn't know anyone else's opinion, but he knew his hot dogs. He never thought his obsession with the food might very well save his life.

"Chilli."

"That is correct!"

Despite winning, Sonic couldn't smile. Amy's face drained of color. Silver snapped his fingers, making confetti fly out of the ceiling, showering over Sonic.

"You win!"

No two seconds later did Silver congratulate Sonic, did the machine gun facing Amy go off. Round after round poured into Amy, who screamed in pain. Holes rippled through her strapped down body like swiss, blood gushing out of each. Like Knuckles, her scream turned into a gurgling sound, coming out of the four holes on her neck that bubbled. Her eyes rolled into her head, convulsing from it all. The gun finally stopped, and her head immediately fell into her lap, blood spilling past her lips. Thankfully, Sonic didn't vomit this time. But the memory was still burned in his retinas, never to be removed again.

The room changed in the blink of an eye. Sonic stumbled, somehow on his feet now. Chaos he hated this so much.

"Trail three of three. Start."

Sonic found himself in a dojo looking room, with elaborate Japanese decorations on the walls, and a fine red carpet below him. Interesting choice of decor.

"Hey Sonic."

Sonic looked over in the other corner of the room, seeing Tails again. This time however, he had on a white robe with a black belt, reminding Sonic of those martial art movies he watched with his brother. By his side was a katana sword, similar to the one Sonic had at his side… wait a second.

"Wait… time out. Is that… you dude?"

Tails nodded.

"Yeah. The program is against your brother. But since his image was already running through me, I am your opponent."

'Tails' drew his sword, just to toss it to the corner of the room.

"I'm supposed to fight you, but I'm not going to."

Sonic just stared. What…

"But… Knuckles and Amy weren't real… you are!"

"Technically no, I'm not. I'm not your brother."

Sonic trembled. He couldn't do this. It didn't help that he had to fight someone with his brothers face, but when it came down to it, the person behind it was real. He wasn't going to kill someone today.

"I'm not going to kill you dude."

"It won't kill me. Just strike me down, and you win."

Sonic crossed his arms. He didn't like this. Even if he did regenerate afterward…

"Would it hurt?"

'Tails' hesitated.

"Uh… probably?"

"No, I can't."

"You have to! I won't die, but the only other way to continue is if YOU die. You can't come back from that, I can!"

Sonic grimaced. He had a point. He still didn't like it.

"... I don't know."

"Well you have to. You don't have a choice."

A tense silence fell between them. Sonic knew he was right. His heart twisted like a pretzel.

"Can… you give me a minute?"

'Tails' nodded with understanding.

"Of course."

 

"How are you holding up Nine?"

After Sonic had been gone for a long while, the three tried passing the time. Shadow took a run, while Rusty and Nine stayed next to the block, talking.

"Fine."

Nine's answer was curt, and to the point. Rusty didn't believe him.

"Nine, I just want to make sure you are ok. This… whatever you want to call what we are doing… is all very new territory for us both."

Nine scoffed.

"That's one way to put it."

Rusty crossed her arms at Nine's attitude.

"Look, I'm worried about you. Talk to me."

Nine shoved his hands in his pockets, looking away from Rusty to the box. He trusted Rusty. He may still be new to the whole 'getting close' thing, but if he was close to anyone on this planet, it'd be Rusty. He hated feeling vulnerable though. Nine coughed into his fist awkwardly.

"I don't know what to say."

"What do you mean?"

Nine glanced back at her, before looking ahead again.

"I feel… weird."

"Okay… weird as in bad weird, or good weird?"

"That's the thing, I don't know!"

Nine rubbed circles on his head.

"Ever since we left the Slums, we've been in danger. All four of us are two steps away from losing our life."

"... And?"

Nine turned, facing Rusty.

"You're the first person ever to treat me like a living person. Ever. I didn't know what that respect of life would feel like until then."

Nine's paused to process what he was thinking, before continuing.

"But now, Sonic and Shadow respect me too. It feels so weird to not be constantly judged."

Rusty met his eyes, studying his ocean eyes.

"Nine, do you feel… happy?"

Nine shot her a look.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Rusty giggled a little, which pulled a smirk out of Nine. He then sighed.

"I don't know. I guess I don't know what I'm feeling."

Rusty smiled.

"That's ok. We can figure that out together."

Nine felt another strange feeling inside himself at that comment. It felt good. Nine shivered with the strange stimulus.

"Th-thanks Rusty."

"No problem Nine."

The two turned back to the box, going silent for a few moments. Nine felt another strange feeling looking at the intimidating black brick.

"Hey Rusty?"

"What's up?"

"Do you think… Sonic will be ok?"

Rusty looked over in surprise.

"Nine, are you WORRIED about him?"

Nine bristled, staring at her like she just said he was eating wood for a living.

"NO! No way! Of course not!"

Rusty nodded sarcastically.

"Uh-huh."

Nine looked away from her, flustered. He wasn't worried. Sonic was a talented hedgehog. He'd be fine. He was… Nine surprised himself by his thoughts. Was he worried about him?

 

Sonic took a deep breath, and exhaled.

"I'm ready."

'Tails' nodded.

"Okay good."

"But… I do want to ask you a few more questions if you don't mind."

The AI just smiled at him.

"Sure. What do you want to know?"

"What's your name?"

'Tails' hesitated again. He tapped his head in thought.

"If I had a designation, I do not remember it."

Sonic frowned. There goes Eggman again with not caring about his creations.

"Well… what can I call you then?"

'Tails' blinked owlishly.

"Like, pick a name?"

"Sure! Then it could be whatever you want!"

'Tails' tapped his chin, thinking. Sonic tried not to relate his look back to when he asked his little brother to figure something out for him.

"I don't know…"

"That's ok. That's a big decision, so you can think on that!"

'Tails' nodded.

"Okay! Uh, anything else you wanted to know?"

"Yeah, do you have like… a default form? Like, what do you actually look like?"

'Tails' nodded.

"I do. I can show you once the trails are over."

Sonic smiled.

"I'd like that."

Sonic's smile slowly drifted back to a frown. He knew what happened next. He approached the AI, who just smiled up at him. Chaos no amount of prep time could prepare him for this. Sonic drew his sword.

"I'm… sorry."

"Don't be. I'll be ok."

Sonic clenched his teeth. This felt so wrong. He pulled the sword back, pointed the tip against 'Tails' chest and plunged it in. The fox gasped, mouth agape and eyes wide. A pained sound came from the back of his throat, and he stumbled backward, but Sonic caught him, laying him gently on the floor.

"I'm so sorry…"

Sonic's voice was thick with emotion. He was grateful that he wouldn't actually die, but that did little to help the now. He was watching his little brother die. 'Tails' coughed up blood, spilling it all over his own chest. Sonic shook violently at the sight.

"I already said… don't be sorry."

Sonic couldn't hold back the tears.

"I… wouldn't have made it through this without you. Thank you."

The AI chuckled.

"Of course… Sonic the hedgehog."

'Tails' slumped backward, as far as the program was concerned; dead.

 

Shadow ran. Like Sonic, Shadow enjoyed running. Unlike Sonic, who ran for the thrill and joy of it, Shadow ran to escape his thoughts. And right now, those thoughts were about that blue idiot. Shadow was worried. Sonic always put himself in danger, and always came out on top, but this felt different. No one was there to help him, he didn't know what was actually in there, and from what they've seen so far about this universe, everything was brutal here. So Shadow was worried. So he ran. He made sure not to stray too far away from where the rest of the team camped out, just in case anything happened.

And something did happen. Shadow slowed to a stop, spotting something in the horizon. His eyes widened. Military trucks, jeeps, and TANKS we're headed there way. A lot of them.

"Shit."

Shadow boosted back to warn the others.

 

The room changed again. This time, it returned back to the white room he started in. Sonic, with the memories of the three trials still fresh in his mind, took a deep, but shaky breath. He wouldn't forget those images. They'd be implanted in his brain forever.

"Congratulations, you've completed the trails."

Sonic sighed in relief at the sight of 'Tails'; perfectly fine, and very much not dead. He brought the AI into a hug, who yelped in surprise.

"Thank you."

"No problem Sonic."

The AI smiled brightly as Sonic put him down. Sonic's heart was soothed a little at his little brother's cheery look after seeing such horror on his face. As much as he didn't want to no longer see his adopted sibling anymore, he wanted the AI to show its true skin.

"Hey, so you said you'd show me…"

"Oh! Yes of course."

'Tails' backed up a few paces from Sonic, spread his arms out, and started to glow, and glitch. The figure morphed, until another small figure appeared in 'Tails' place. Sonic gasped in surprise. He wasn't expecting the AI to be a girl.

"So this is your real form?"

"Yes. When Robotnik created me, I was given the choice of what kind of form I wanted. This is what I chose."

Sonic smiled, hand on his hip.

"I like it."

"Thank you."

The two were interrupt by a sudden hissing sound. A small platform in the wall extended outward, revealing…

"The Chaos Emerald."

The Red Emerald shimmered in it's container, beaconing Sonic to take it. Sonic reached out, and the Emerald responded to his call, floating into his grasp. He did it. Sonic heard the door behind him re-opening.

"Hey, uh… will I see you again? In the other housing units?"

The girl nodded.

"Yes. I look forward to seeing you again Sonic."

The hedgehog grinned.

"See you then ghost girl! Think about that name while I'm gone ok?"

The AI nodded, before Sonic boosted out of the open door. She watched him go, thinking. Who was she actually? She just couldn't bring herself to remember. And who was Sonic the hedgehog, and why did she feel the need to help him?

 

"ChaosCorp incoming."

Rusty and Nine startled at the sudden appearance of Shadow, who pointed to the hills behind him.

"There's a lot of them. They know we are here."

"Shit."

Nine clenched his teeth.

"We can't do anything until Sonic - "

Before Nine could finish, the door to the box opened again. The three jumped to look into the door, all hoping to see a blue hedgehog. Sonic ran out of the box, stopping in front of them, brandishing a large magical gem.

"Heya everyone."

Nine's eyes widened at the sight of the Emerald. He quickly shook off the surprise.

"No time to celebrate, we got to get out of here."

Sonic frowned.

"What happened?"

"They know we're here."

Sonic nodded in understanding, following them to the parked car, climbing in like they had before. They all finally spotted what Shadow was talking about.

"Oh… that's a lot."

Shadow growled at the line of vehicles armed to the teeth, gearing up to destroy them.

"Buckle up. We're in for a ride."

Shadow floored it.

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

And Happy Halloween!

This chapter was very difficult for me to get out for the spooky season, but I managed it! Lots of the scenes in this I kept changing, until I was satisfied with what is there now. The Emerald Housing Units are actually a version of an idea I had for a different Sonic AU that eventually became this. It was kinda like "Sonic characters in a Saw movie" essentially (not that I've watched any of those). So naturally, I wanted this chapter to be out for Halloween.

Hope you enjoyed, and stay safe today!

🎃

Chapter 13: Start Your Engines

Doctor Robotnik - not even a half an hour since the first phone call - felt a second coming through, buzzing in his pocket.

"This better be an important update."

"The Emerald has been taken!"

Robotnik felt his face go red with anger. There was no way… who did these Mobians think they were? Through clenched teeth, Robotnik responded;
"Do what you can to apprehend them. I want them alive. So I can skin them myself."

 

The car roared with acceleration, kicking up the dirt behind them. Shadow kept his steely gaze forward, hands gripping the wheel deathly tight.

"We can't go around them, there's too many of them!"

Sonic shouted.

"We're going straight through them."

Nine looked over at Shadow with wide eyes.

"We're what?!"

"Hold on."

Nine thought Shadow was already going as fast as he could, until he punched it up more, the needle reaching close to two hundred mpr.

"Sonic! You and I need to clear a path!"

Sonic nodded to Shadow.

"Nine, keep the car steady!"

"Wait what - ?"

Shadow grabbed Nine by the scruff of his neck, pulling him into the driver's seat as he threw himself out the window, and onto the roof of the car. The car jerked with the change of driver, but steadying out a second later. Sonic joined Shadow on the roof.

"See that tank directly in front of us? We need to take it down so we can drive through."

Sonic trained his gaze towards Shadow's point, meeting a dark blue tank. Sonic nodded.

"Take it down from the inside?"

Shadow grinned.

"Naturally."

The two lept off of the car, Sonic to the right, Shadow to the left, charging drop dashes. Their spinning bodies shot forward, gaining speed as they got closer and closer to their target.

Nine - having never operated a vehicle in his life - froze up, keeping the car steady, but not registering what was around him; two military jeeps that neither Sonic or Shadow saw. The came from the sides, converging to the car's location.

The two speedy hedgehogs lept out of their ball forms, landing on top of the tank. A man on the top turret aimed his guns at them, and fired. Shadow and Sonic split to both directions, the bullets going directly between them. Sonic hopped up and brought his feet down to knock out the gunner, who slumped against his weapon.

Rusty saw the jeeps before Nine did.

"Nine, keep her steady!"

Nine blinked, looking back for a split second to see Rusty climbing to the roof of the car just like Sonic and Shadow had done before. He finally noticed the jeeps traveling directly next to him now. His heart raced as he tried to stay ahead.

Shadow tore off the metal hatch from the top of the tank with his bare hands, throwing it behind the tank. The loudness of the screeching metal was worth how badass it made Shadow look to Sonic. The two jumped into the confined space one at a time, being greeted by three different officers at their posts; driver, commander, and cannoneer. Shadow roundhouse kicked the commander, knocking him out cold. Sonic threw the cannoneer into the driver, who fell to the floor in a mess of limbs. They scrambled to get up and fight their aggressors, only for Sonic to grab their heads, and 'ka-thunked' them into each other.

The jeep driver took a shot at Rusty, who blocked her face with her metal arm. The driver then set his sights on Nine through the window. The glass shattered. Thankfully, the bullet didn't hit Nine, but it did spook him.

"Ah!"

Nine jerked the wheel, sending the vehicle in an uncontrollable spin. Rusty held on tight. She made a few quick calculations that only a robot could do, and then extended her arm out towards the jeep to their left. Her hand bent into the metal side, jerking the car to stop spinning. It stopped facing backwards. The car was being drug behind the jeep like reindeer pulling a sleigh; Rusty being the reins.

"Nine! Get up here with me!"

The fox scrambled up to meet her, standing on the roof with shaking legs.

"I have an idea! Use my arm to climb to the jeep."

Nine gaped. He was about to say something along the lines of 'are you nuts?' but he knew this wasn't the time to complain. Gulping, he ran up to her suspended arm. Here goes nothing. He gripped it, and traveled hand over hand towards the jeep, trying not to look at the fast moving ground below.

Sonic grabbed the driving controls, not really knowing what he was doing.

"Uh… what's this do?"

He hit a button. The entire tank lurched forward, reaching a surprising speed for such a large armored vehicle. It passed the formation, going well ahead.

"Sonic, turn it around!"

Shadow mounted himself into the cannoneer position, aiming the massive rounds towards the other tanks in the line. He took a shot, making the one exploded on impact. The fireball lit up the night sky.

"Hell yeah!"

Shadow aimed again, taking another shot with the same result. Sonic set the tank in a collision course with another.

"Come on Shadow! Let's bail!"

Nine reached the jeep, and was quickly shot at by the driver, but his aim was off. Nine growled, knocking the gun from his hands with one of his metal tails. The driver - bewildered by the extra limbs - froze, giving Nine the window to throw him out of the vehicle. The fox settled into the driver's seat, punching the gas. He glanced back, seeing Rusty still hanging onto the other car. What was she doing? His attention was torn away when a bullet 'pinged' off one of his mirrors. Nine saw the second jeep driver aiming at him, and firing two more shots. Nine ducked as far as he could go without losing sight ahead.

A war cry escaped Rusty's mouth, as she used up all her strength, and the jeep's momentum, to push the car to the right. She let go, retracting her arm to pull herself to the jeep with Nine. The town car careened from her throw, smashing into the other jeep. The two tumbled into a wreck of twisted metal, and burst into flames.

"Yes!"

Nine smiled in awe at Rusty, who climbed into the passenger seat next to him.

"Awesome."

She laughed.

"Thanks!"

Sonic and Shadow lept out of the torn open hatch, drop dashing away, just in time for the two tanks to collide. The explosion sent a shock wave, throwing the two out of their ball forms, and sending them to the dirt. Sonic immediately pushed himself to his feet, coughing out the dirt in his mouth. Shadow stood by his side, reorienting himself.

"Guys!"

The hedgehogs looked up to see a jeep speeding their way. Sonic grinned wide when he spotted Nine driving it frantically. He slowed down enough for them to hop into the back. Nine immediately gave Shadow a look.

"Swap me. You're a way better driver."

Shadow smiled at the compliment.

"Thanks."

Nine plopped into the seat next to Sonic, sweat glistening on his brow, while Shadow took the reigns.

"Don't ask me to drive again."

Sonic made a short laugh.

"Guess you're not going to be flying a plane anytime soon huh?"

"What?"

"Brace yourselves."

Shadow's quick comment was followed by a sharp turn; to avoid a jeep trying to block their path. Nine tumbled against Sonic at the sharp turn, supposedly not having braced himself in time. The fox bristled against the contact, quick to shuffle back into his own seat. Sonic frowned, but said nothing. Shadow growled as he weaved through cars trying to pack them in. The jeep tore past the blockade, right past the burning wreckage that Sonic and Shadow left.

"We got five on our tail!"

The jeep revved up the hill, jumping onto the curved road, with the five others right behind them. Soon, they entered the city, buildings on either side of them. That also meant traffic. Shadow weaved in and out of cars expertly, like they were in a Fast and Furious movie.

"Hey Shadow, since when could you drive a car? I thought you were more of a motorcycle guy."

"It's a skill I picked up."

Shadow drifted, skidding through a sharp turn that only four of five of their followers made through too. The other skidded into a building, making a loud smash, and caused pedestrians to run for their lives.

"Yeah, you just picked it up on your free time, cruising through Central City."

"Exactly."

Shadow didn't catch the sarcasm in Sonic's voice.

Bullets ricocheted off of the jeep, coming from all four jeeps behind them.

"Shadow! Hand me your gun!"

Shadow unholstered and handed his weapon back to Nine, who aimed it at the other vehicles. Nine waited for the right moment, before firing. His bullet landed square between one of the driver's eyes. The vehicle lost control, careening into a pedestrian car.

Nine pumped a fist.

"Booyah!"

Shadow flew through a red light, gaining honks from opposing traffic.

"We still got three on us!"

Shadow growled, taking two more sharp turns. He glanced to see them all still back there.

"I can't shake them!"

Sonic, feeling a bit useless at the moment, looked around quickly, trying to form a plan. He spotted something in the distance, and came up with a crazy idea.

"Shadow, do you trust me?"

"Hell no!"

"Well you have to. Think of this as a trust exercise!"

Sonic stared ahead at the tanker which was several paces ahead of them.

"Whatever you do Shadow, don't stop!"

"Why would I - ?"

Sonic calmed himself. He pulled the Red Emerald out of his quills. Its energy ran through his body. Focus… on the truck.

"Chaos Control!"

In the blink of an eye, Sonic disappeared.

"What the hell?!"

Nine gasped bewildered.

Sonic appeared in the tanker.

"Wah - ?"

The human driver sputtered at the sudden appearance of a blue Mobian hedgehog.

"Mind if I drive?"

Like a jungle gym, Sonic grabbed the roof, swung his feet forward to knock the driver out of the door. He landed in the driver's seat.

"Let's rock."

"What's he doing?"

Rusty asked Shadow, who clenched his teeth.

"Something stupid."

The tanker ahead of them suddenly slammed its breaks, turning to the side to take up the entirety of the road. Shadow startled in alarm.

"Sonic…?!"

"He's going to kill us!"

The tanker rolled to a stop, creating a massive wall across the road. Shadow, against his better judgement, kept his foot on the pedal. He cringed as he approached the tanker. Suddenly, in a woosh of blue, a weird twisted metal platform set up against the tanker like a ramp appeared. Sonic sped into the jeep, sweat dripping down his brow.

"Let's go!"

The jeep hit the ramp. The team yelled as they were sent sailing into the air, and the ramp fell apart behind them. The vehicle slammed back down on the pavement, screeching down the road. After a moment of silence, their escape finally sank in.

"That was…"

"Sick!"

Nine's eyes were alit in awe, until recognition that he was being stared at passed through him. He coughed, rubbing the back of his neck. His fur turned several shades of red from embarrassment.

"Uh… I mean… good job Sonic."

Sonic's smile couldn't get bigger. He just impressed Nine! Even if he quickly tried to hide that, it was still a huge win. A smile even graced Shadow's lips.

"Let's go find a safe place to plan our next move."

 

Robotnik was pissed. Naturally he would be, not only was an Emerald extracted from it's housing, the Mobians responsible got away with it. With such a report, he immediately demanded his head military officer give an in person report of the incident. Said man; a large imposing figure, felt a shiver down his spine as he entered Robotnik's office.

"What happened?"

"They were more prepared than we expe - ."

"HOW DID FOUR FILTHY ANIMALS SQUEEZE PAST MY TRAINED MILITARY PERSONNEL?!?!"

The man shrunk back at the outburst.

"The… two male hedgehogs are… well I have footage sir."

Robotnik didn't look pleased, but waved him over to show him the footage. The man pulled out a monitor, clicking over to the saved footage of the two taking down the tank. As soon as he pressed play, Robotnik's eyes widened.

"Such speed…"

Robotnik took the monitor from the man, pausing it at one frame; Sonic after successfully steering the tank into a collision course. He was smiling. The hedgehog was causing destruction, and was having FUN.

The officer cleared his throat.

"What would you like me to do sir?"

"Oh erm… make wanted ads, loop them throughout the Districts, and make finding them priority number one. Bring them in alive if possible."

"Yes sir."

The man quickly left, not wanting to say or do anything to make Robotnik blow up on him again.

"Where did you come from rodent?"

 

Shadow thought it best to ditch the jeep, just in case it had a tracker in it. After driving it off a bridge, the four hid in an alleyway; Shadow leaning against the wall near the entrance as lookout, Nine and Sonic hunched over a trash can with the city blueprints laid out, and Rusty sitting on the ground, cleaning some mud off of herself with a rag.

"What next?"

"Well, the way I see it, we have one of two options; one, we go back to the Badnik Factories and find the Emerald there, then loop through the Slums up to the Scrapyard, or do literally the opposite, starting with the Scrapyard."

Shadow pursed his lips as he listened.

"What about Robotnik Tower?"

"Either way, I think it wise to take the Tower last. That's his turf. We need to gain some ground on Robotnik before taking this straight to him."

"Fair enough."

Nine studied the map, thinking. His eyes wandered over to Sonic, who was looking as well, but clearly not thinking too much about it.

"Can I see the Emerald?"

Sonic blinked, before producing the Emerald from between his quills.

"Yeah sure."

Nine held out both hands, taking the Emerald and staring in awe at it.

"Incredible."

Sonic smirked, happy to see Nine enjoying the up close feeling of a Chaos Emerald. Sonic still remembered Tails original reaction to seeing a Chaos Emerald for the first time, which was priceless.

Nine glanced up at Sonic.

"You know… I didn't know if you had what it took to get this but… you've proven you can."

Sonic felt some pride well up inside his chest.

"What was in there by the way? What did you have to do?"

Sonic's good feeling about this conversation suddenly soured. Dying faces of his friends flashed in his mind. Knuckles' blood splattering across him… Amy's skin breaking open… Tails' collapsing into his arms…

"... Sonic?"

"Huh? Uh what?"

Nine studied Sonic's sudden jumpy attitude.

"You spaced out. Are you ok?"

Sonic felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Yeah I'm fine!"

That was too cheery. Shadow met his eyes, going deep into his soul.

"Okay. Um, we should all rest up again I think. We can start moving in an hour or so, right before morning. Sonic, could you take a first shift lookout?"

Sonic nodded way too enthusiastically, making Nine look at him strangely, before shrugging and backing off. Rusty and Nine retreated to the car, getting settled for a small sleep. Sonic felt Shadow place a hand on his shoulder, spinning him around gently.

"You can't expect to get close to him if you don't tell him what you're feeling."

Sonic stammered at that, as Shadow said nothing more, brushing past him to settle for a sleep as well. Sonic held his arms around his chest as he felt a strange coldness within himself. Shadow was right. He didn't want to talk about what he saw, but he should. Sonic stood watch, debating with himself what to tell them in the morning.

 

Chris Thorndyke entered one of the many conference rooms within Robotnik Tower. He was the last one to show up unfortunately, and he inwardly cringed at his tardiness.

"Ah Mr Thorndyke. We were just about to send for you."

"Sorry I'm late."

"I'm going to make this brief Mr Thorndyke. Last night, the fugitives you desire to capture have successfully taken a Chaos Emerald. Your mission just became priority one for the whole company."

Chris choked on his saliva. They took a CHAOS EMERALD?! This was a lot bigger than he thought. A sickening feeling settled on him.

"So…"

"You are in charge of the special forces unit. That includes all the Badniks we can supply, special ops teams, and our special guests right outside. Bring them in."

Chris turned as another door leading into the room opened, and a group of six individuals stepped in; three humans, and three Mobians. The humans were holding the Mobian's arms behind their backs, keeping them from trying anything. Not that they would try anything. No, they were captured by the ChaosCorp by more than just bonds.

Chris shivered. It was THEM. The largest of the three grumbled.

"There's no need to hold us back. We aren't stupid."

The human didn't respond to the crocodile, he instead gripped tighter. The smallest of the three - a chameleon - said nothing, keeping to himself. The last one, in the center, and the most dangerous out of them, actually smiled pleasantly.

"Settle down Vector. They don't like listening to logical reason."

Her smile widened, and yet, her eyes sharpened with seething hate.

"What do you need of us handsome?"

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

This chapter was a lot of fun to experiment with the environment constantly moving while fighting. I'm honestly having a blast coming up with the chorography of the scenes.

Separate topic... I'm still in the middle of the Frontiers Update (those tower climbs are difficult!). While I don't have my full opinion of it yet since I haven't finished it... So far, it's great! Makes me super hype for what's next in the franchise!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and see you all next time!

Chapter 14: Fog Machine

Cream smiled brightly as she served a steaming cup of joe with a plate of scrambled eggs.

"Enjoy!"

The Light of Hope Restaurant was packed this morning. Not like a normal morning, where everyone was there for the good food. Most families were showing up for the television broadcast going on; the professional Mobian Pinball matches. There wasn't many professional sports within the Slums, but Pinball was something every Mobians took very seriously. The place was rowdy with team spirit to say the least. Originally, Vanilla was against the idea of installing the boxy television sets around her restaurant, but after seeing the joy on people's faces from the sports, she let it slide.

So naturally, everyone gasped when the broadcast was cut off. Cream tilted her head to one of the screens, unsure of what happened. Suddenly, a 'breaking news' banner appeared on the screen, showing two human anchormen.

"We interrupt this broadcast for breaking news. We received a shocking report this morning of a violent attack on ChaosCorp last night. Viewer discretion advised, some of this footage can be seen as disturbing. Take a look."

The picture cut to an open plain right outside of the city. In the middle of the frame was a ball of fire, surrounding a heap of twisted metal. It might have been a vehicle at one point if Cream had to guess.

"This attack was conducted by four Mobian terrorists."

Cream's eyes shot up, along with almost everyone in the restaurant. There were Mobians in District Three? How?

"While details on the individuals are small at best, here are some motion captures of the criminals;"

Four blurry pictures took up the screen, making Cream gasp. Sonic, Shadow, Nine, and Rusty.

"The fox Mobian we have identified as Miles Prower, and the female hedgehog as Amy Rose. The other two we have yet to confirm their names."

The whole restaurant was deathly silent, watching the screen intently.

"They are considered armed, and dangerous. If spotted, report to ChaosCorp immediately."

The television flashed back to the pinball.

 

Even after switching watches with Shadow, Sonic couldn't get a wink of sleep. He was scared what his dreams would contain. Not to mention, it was even more claustrophobic in this vehicle than the last they spent the night in. Right after they ditched the jeep, Nine had hotwired another pedestrian vehicle; this one being a VW bug. Not exactly a cabin in the woods.

Eventually, two hours had passed quickly, not giving Sonic enough time to rest his tense body.

"Where are we going then?"

Shadow asked Nine, who was already nose deep into the blueprints.

"I think it'd be wise to backtrack through the Badnik Factories. We know there is an access point between the two Districts, while I'm not sure about the Scrapyard."

"There probably isn't an access to the Scrapyard from the other wall either."

"Good point, however that means it's going to be a future problem no matter which way we go."

Sonic pushed himself to a sitting position, trying to pretend to 'wake up'. He yawned, opening his eyes to see Rusty staring at him. Not like the other times he caught her doing that… it was more like she was analyzing him this time.

"You didn't sleep."

It wasn't a question. Sonic blinked owlishly.

"No… I didn't."

"Anything I can help with?"

Sonic opened his mouth, closed it, opened and closed it again. He then glanced outside of the car, watching Shadow and Nine discuss the plan. Shadow's words from last night resonated in his mind;

"You can't expect to get close to him if you don't tell him what you're feeling."

Sonic smiled sadly at her.

"I'll tell all of you later."

Rusty nodded understandingly.

"Okay."

Nine and Shadow got back into the vehicle, Nine still holding the blueprints in his face while Shadow started the vehicle.

"So what's the plan you two?"

Nine glanced back at Rusty.

"We mapped out the best route back to the Badnik Factory entrance. We're going to go through the lower levels of that place this time, as that is where the next Emerald is."

"Sounds like a plan."

Sonic's chipper response faded as his thoughts ran wild in his head. He needed to tell them. He needed to build trust, that's how relationships work. Nine clearly gained some respect for Sonic for getting the Emerald, which was a great starting point, but if he wanted anything deeper than 'associates', he'd have to open up about the deeper things. He wasn't always good at that.

"So… uh, guys?"

Rusty gave her full attention to Sonic, while Shadow gave a passing glance in the review mirror as he drove, and Nine's ears swiveled back. That'd have to be good enough. Sonic took a shaky breath.

"That, housing unit or, whatever it was… it had some… bad stuff in it."

Nine still didn't look behind, but his ears stayed pulled towards him. Shadow gave another glance. Sonic swallowed. Just bite the bullet.

"It was a series of three trials. Each one, if I failed, I'd die."

Rusty then smiled a little.

"Well, you didn't die."

Sonic weakly smiled back.

"But, if I won… a hallucination of friends died instead."

Nine put the blueprints in his lap. Shadow huffed through his nose.

"Who were they?"

Rusty asked, knowing the answer was probably bad.

"Three of my best friends back in my universe. Knuckles the echidna… then, you guys."

Silence.

Shadow cleared his throat.

"Well, they weren't real Sonic. I'm sure that was a terrible thing to witness but, that wasn't real."

Sonic nodded.

"That's what I've been telling myself."

"How'd they die?"

Sonic's head shot up to meet Nine's gaze. His stomach curdled.

"... Badly."

"How?"

Rusty shot Nine a look, but the fox paid no mind. Sonic's tongue suddenly felt extremely dry.

"Nine… that's a bit of an insensitive question."

"No it isn't. You can't get over something unless you accept it happened. And saying it out loud is accepting it."

Sonic and Nine's eyes met. That was surprisingly wise, Sonic thought to himself. You can do this. Sonic breathed in deep, seeing all those deaths again in front of his closed eyes.

"Knuckles got grinded up."

Rusty gasped, and Shadow sharply looked behind. Nine's face didn't even flinch.

"And uh… Amy got shot over and over."

Rusty held her hands in her face, horrified, while Shadow gripped the wheel tighter in anger. Nine still looked the same, staring into Sonic's weakening eyes.

"And… and Tails was uh… stabbed through the heart. By me."

Sonic felt his head hit his open palms. Tears flowed down his gloves like a waterfall. He killed his brother. His little buddy. Tails…

"I'm right here."

Sonic looked up, eyes red and puffy. Nine's expression still didn't change.

"I may not be, 'Tails' or whatever, in the sense that you remember, but I'm the same guy. After you reset the world, you didn't kill them, you reset them."

Sonic stared at Nine, bewildered.

"I'm not who you remember but, I am still alive."

Silence.

Sonic wiped away his tears.

"Thank you N-Nine."

The fox suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Uh yeah sure… no problem."

He turned back around, facing the way forward. Shadow gave the fox a look. He was surprised about his sudden supportive nature. Interesting. He'd have to investigate that some other time.

 

Chris, Rouge, Vector, and Espio all rode silently in the back of a utility van. Vector reasoned that if they were after the Chaos Emeralds, they'd go back through District Two first. Chris agreed with his reasoning, mostly because he didn't want to pick a fight with anyone, especially Mobians. Most of them learned to hate the name Thorndyke. Understandably so.

"So what's the scoop? Who are we actually tracking down here?"

Chris startled at being addressed by the large crocodile.

"We were never briefed on our targets. Care to enlighten us?"

Chris blinked, shaking his head.

"Ah y-yeah, of course."

He ruffled through documents in the satchel next to him, looking for the case files on their terrorists.

"Here you go."

Vector tool the files, flipping open to the first page. Rouge and Espio leaned in from either side of the crocodile, getting a closer look at the document.

"Amy Rose… female hedgehog, age fourteen… presumed dead."

Vector chuckled.

"Well obviously not if she's such a big problem!"

He flipped the page.

"A two tailed fox? Don't see that everyday."

Espio squinted at some of the text.

"Main objective? How is an eight year old the main objective?"

"There's a lot more to that little fox than on the surface."

Espio looked doubtful, but said nothing as Vector turned the page again.

"Well there's a handsome face."

Rouge purred as Shadow's mug was revealed.

"That's it? Just a picture?"

"Unfortunately, for this individual and the next, we know next to nothing about, besides their incredible running speeds."

Espio's eyebrow arched in curiosity.

"Oh?"

"I imagine you don't mean they are just good sprinters."

Rouge said, hand on her hip.

"Quite the crew."

Vector unceremoniously shut the file, hanging it back to the doctor. None of the Mobians looked too happy with the new information, and that just made Chris more nervous around them. They wouldn't disobey, he knew that, but it still got under his skin.

Vector crossed his arms, leaning back against the wall. He didn't like this. Four Mobians attacking ChaosCorp, and actually being SUCCESSFUL so far was incredible. He couldn't help but be impressed, and secretly route for them. Espio felt the same way, but didn't have much confidence in their future success. How could four nobodies fight ChaosCorp? Rouge felt sick. Most of their assignments from Robotnik were to neutralize a human threat to his organization… not a Mobian one. Not to mention, one of them was a literal CHILD. Her moral compass fought within her mind. She couldn't say no. She knew what would happen if she did. She couldn't live with herself if that happened.

 

Sonic was feeling a bit better. The words spoken were quite impactful, but it really struck home given who said them. Sonic felt comforted by the fact that Nine seemed like he was loosening up around them. He was still Tails, and Sonic was seeing more evidence of that every moment.

"Stop."

Shadow slowly stopped the vehicle, halting it right at the start of the road that led to the parking lot in front of the wall. Unlike last time they were there, the lot was packed.

"It's a blockade."

Sonic felt his stomach dip at the sight of hundreds of vehicles blocking the doors leading into the next District. They knew they were coming.

"Crud."

"What do we do?"

Nine started rummaging through his belt, mumbling to himself. His ears perked up as he pulled something out of one of his many pockets.

"I got an idea."

"What is that?"

Sonic eyed the grayish cylinder with hesitation. Nine grinned, waving the device in the air.

"Don't you trust me?"

Sonic smiled genuinely at the banter.

"Yeah, I do."

Nine wasn't expecting such a genuine response. Heck, now it was awkward. He cleared his throat.

"Uh, yeah great. Um… so here's the plan."

 

Rouge checked her nails, making sure not a single one had any blemish of any kind. Not that she was that worried about it. She was just bored. Honestly, she hoped it stayed that way though. Hopefully those crazy Mobians got there before them, and are already getting the next Emerald… though the chances of that were near impossible.

"What are the odds that they made it through already?"

Rouge randomly said out loud, gaining looks from Espio and Vector. This was the first time they were left alone since assigned the mission, and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind when there weren't any ChaosCorp dogs around. The three were in one of the many tanks along the blockade; Rouge as the commander, Vector as the cannoneer, and Espio as the driver. Vector frowned at the question.

"Slim at best. To cross the entirety of District Three to here without stopping would be difficult, let alone impractical. They would have stopped to rest at least once."

Rouge frowned, expecting an answer like that. She was about to ask another question to hopefully raise the dampened mood, at least just a bit, but didn't have the chance to.

"I think that's them."

Rouge scrambled to her window port, peering out the thin lense. In the near horizon, a small town car was flooring it towards them. What the hell? If this was them, this was really stupid.

"Well, I guess they are going to make it easy on us at least."

The commanding radio sparked to life over their intercom.

"Remember, the mission is to capture. Do not kill them!"

The three couldn't help but be grateful for the fact that they didn't have to pull the trigger at least. Rouge eyed the car still headed towards them.

"They aren't slowing down."

The radio between all the vehicles started chatting up a storm, all related to the car. What were they doing?

"Brace for impact!"

They heard one of the tanks say, right before a crash was heard somewhere down the line. Three things followed in quick succession after that. One, a burst of orange lit up the area, two, a loud 'fa-whoosh' sounded out, and finally, the world outside of their tank turned gray. Thick gray clouds were all she could see.

"What the…?"

The radio roared to life again, no one being able to see a thing. Rouge let out a short exasperated laugh. Maybe these four actually did know what they were doing.

 

Nine held onto Sonic's back as he sped through the smoke cloud they just made. Nine's plan of using the vehicle as the deliverer for his smoke bomb had worked. Taking advantage of Sonic and Shadow's speed, the other two held on as they went from where they were hiding, into the smoke of confusion, where they could hear many humans shouting, trying to get their bearings.

"Dude, how did you pack that much smoke in such a small device?"

Nine chuckled against Sonic's ear.

"A magician never reveals his secrets."

The group sped back and forth through the fog, avoiding the vehicles, humans walking around now, and tried finding the entrance.

"Guys I think I found it!"

The group stopped right outside the doors, and the two non-speedsters hopped off of their backs.

"Let's do this."

Shadow kicked the door down, unholstering his gun in the process. Inside, five large Badniks shaped like humans looked up, startled. A table of cards fell over at their suddenness to stand. Looks like they were the last line of defense, but they clearly weren't expecting to be seeing action today. Sonic grinned at them.

"Sup fellas. Mind if you shuffle me in?"

Shadow shot the closest in the chest twice, making it garble and spark, falling in the ground. The other four sprang into action, each targeting a different Mobian.

Rusty blocked two punches with her arms, then came in with one of her own, smashing the side of the Badnik's face clean open with her fist. It sparked, and looked a lot angrier than it did before. It made a sloppy mistake, lunging for her. She easily sidestepped, allowing him to crash to the floor. She twirled into the air, bringing both of her fists down on its head, shattering what was left into pieces.

Shadow dodged a kick, dashing to the side of the robot. It looked baffled, turning to hit him again. He skirted away just in time, now on the other side of him. The hedgehog faked yawned, already bored of the stupid Badnik. He plunged his hand straight through it's chest, a chunk of tech clenched in his grip as it burst from the other side. He crushed the bundle of metal, wires, and lights, making the Badnik sputter, and die out.

Nine lunged for one, pushing it down to the ground. The Badnik stumbled, but quickly got back to its feet before Nine could do anymore damage. It counter attacked, hitting him in his bruised face. The hit was hard enough to split Nine's bottom lip, making the fox scowl. His seven metal tails barred out, then rapidly pierced forward, punching several holes in the machine, until it couldn't stand any longer.

Sonic leapt up onto the receptionist's desk, gaining the high ground against the Badnik. It tried swiping at him, but he blocked it with his katana. While the robot tried knocking the sword out of his grasp by pushing harder, Sonic activated the blade, alighting blue, and making the Badnik lose half of its arm, tumbling over from their own force. Sonic jumped up and stabbed downward, severing the Badnik's neck.

The blue hedgehog smiled as their team easily disposed of their competition in a timely fashion. Now time to get out of here. Sonic turned to see the receptionist cowering behind the desk, clipboard in front of her face. Sonic caught Nine in the corner of his eye, growling at seeing the lady. He took a step forward before being caught by Sonic. He stopped, eyes confused.

“She's not worth the effort.”

Nine blinked, scowled at the lady one final time, then backed off, without a single word exchanged.

“Though, I believe using Thorndyke’s number will probably just block us now. I will be taking your ID.”

Sonic approached the lady, swiping her ID from her trembling hand.

“Thanks!”

Sonic swiped the card on the door, making it chirp, and open wide for them.

“Peace out.”

He dropped the card back into her lap, before all four rushed down the hallway. Another five minutes passed in silence before the woman finally screamed.

 

Thorndyke was normally a timid man. He knew he wasn't the top of the food chain, so he used all means necessary to survive; normally by kissing up anyone in authority. But he wasn't the timid figure he normally was right now. He was livid. They had slipped through a crafty smoke trick. That meant they were already in District Two.

“Everyone on foot! We're going to spread out through District Two until we find them!”

Chris spotted Rouge, Vector, and Espio standing outside their tank, watching him froth out orders.

“And you three with me. Do not slow us down on purpose. If I get even in inkling that any of you are slacking, I will - “

“We understand. I think all of us know what you'd do. We wouldn't be here otherwise.”

Rouge stated. She was obviously upset, her face pink, and eyes a bit watery.

“Good. Follow me.”

 

“So how do we get down?”

Sonic, Shadow, Nine, and Rusty all peered down the chasm, next to the monorail they hijacked not that long ago. The drop seemed infinite, shadows fading into the abyss.

“I can climb down using my tails. Rusty would be able to as well… how about you two?”

Sonic and Shadow gave each other a look.

“Well, ask Shadow. Last time we talked about climbing he said I'd die.”

Shadow smirked. Nine rubbed his chin in thought.

“Maybe - ?”

The hallway behind them echoed with hundreds of footfalls.

“They know we're here!”

“We're climbing down! Sonic, get on my back!”

Sonic wrapped his arms around Nine's neck, and his legs around his midsection. Nine stumbled under the new weight, but stayed standing.

“Watch my tails.”

Sonic let the metal tails extend from between him and Nine, barring forward. Sonic glanced over to see Shadow gripping onto Rusty from behind as well.

“Jump!”

Nine and Rusty leapt off of the platform towards the right wall, right as the doors behind them burst open. Wind rushed past Sonic’s ears as they fell fast. Once they drifted close enough to the wall, Nine's tails pierced into the metal wall. It screeched and sparked in their faces as his tails drug downward, slowing their descent to a full halt. Sonic looked slightly up to see Rusty and Shadow nearby them.

“Everyone alright?”

“I am stable.”

Rusty said, not even a sweat on her brow. Benefits of being a cyborg Sonic guessed. Shadow just nodded.

“Eh, I've been better. You're a lot heavier than you look.”

Nine grumbled.

“We should get moving.”

Shadow said, gaze up at the platform. Several foot soldiers stood on the edge, pointing down at them. Rusty and Nine shared a nod, then started to slowly climb down, further into the belly of District Two.

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

Our heroes are picking up momentum, but ChaosCorp is right on their tails! I'm so excited for some of the sequences I have planned soon, and can't wait to share more of this story.

See you all next time!

Chapter 15: The Dome

The climb was long and quiet, with just the sound of crunching metal from Nine's tails, and Rusty's grip filling the air, and occasional grunts from the aforementioned climbers. Actually, now that Sonic thought about it, those noises combined wasn't exactly quiet… but with the lack of talking, it just seemed that way to the hedgehog. Maybe it was also because he wasn't really doing anything to help. If anything, he was quite literally, an extra weight.

With no interaction, Sonic's mind started filling with brotherly thoughts as he gripped Nine's small body. He was much smaller than Tails. Not that Tails was chubby by any means, but he had a body that you'd expect from a young growing boy; small but developing muscles, and some baby fat that was slowly turning into energy for his eventual growth spurt. He remembered some conversations between himself and Knuckles, joking about how Tails would probably surpass Sonic in height one day. Sonic always acted like that'd never happen, and that he'd always be his ‘little buddy', but he knew Knuckles was right, and was secretly looking forward to it.

Nine wasn't anything like that. Sonic's limbs dug into Nine's body, making Sonic feel his bones right underneath the fox's skin. Sonic didn't know which he feared most; falling from the height they were currently at, or somehow injuring the extremely thin boy.

Nine definitely wasn't getting enough food. Clearly this was an issue for a long while, but it didn't help that they were running out of granola bars in their duffle bag of supplies. Once they made it around back to the Slums, he was going to make sure Nine had some more of Vanilla's cooking.

His mind wandered to the burn mark he saw on Nine's one tail. He still wanted to ask about it, but didn't think it was the right time to distract him with questions. He'd wait just a bit longer for that one.

To distract himself, from both the climb and the thoughts of how badly Nine's condition was, he thought of memories of his time with Tails. Sonic settled into the cozy memories, remaining silent like everyone else for the rest of the climb.

 

“I see the bottom!”

The Mobians all looked down to see an illuminated stretch of flooring, all packed with heavy equipment that did Chaos knows what. Nine could probably figure it out if he had the time. Which he didn't. The red lighting made Sonic shiver. Reminded him too much about blood.

The team detached themselves from the wall, Sonic immediately releasing Nine in favor of standing. His muscles stretched, sending a buzz of happiness through his body.

Nine wiped some sweat off of his brow.

“Let's not do that again.”

Shadow cracked his back, giving a nod after.

“Agreed.”

Sonic released a brief laugh.

“You didn't do any climbing Shadow.”

“Perhaps, but I am getting a few cramps.”

“Awe, does the Ultimate Lifeform need a back massage?”

Shadow shot Sonic a death glare, only making the hedgehog laugh again. Nine even giggled, which was a great sound to Sonic’s ears.

“While a break would be nice, we don't have time. We need to get moving.”

Rusty broke the moment, but rightfully so. Sonic nodded.

“Lead the way Amy - “

Sonic's eyes shot open, surprising himself.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to - “

“It's ok.”

Rusty smiled at him.

“That is my real name after all.”

Sonic blinked, then grinned. Nine looked a bit dumbfounded at the interaction.

“Okay let's go.”

Rusty started the way, weaving in and out of the large equipment. Nine shook his head, following behind her and the other two. Hedgehogs were weird, Nine thought to himself.

 

While many of the soldiers and Badniks started scaling their way down, Chris got in the monorail, gesturing for his Mobian shadows to follow suit. They did, albeit curious as to why.

“Why are we splitting up?”

Thorndyke started up the vehicle, allowing it to start its way down the track.

“Simple. We are going to be on the other end. We'll cut off their planned escape to District One, if they get that far.”

Rouge nodded crossing her arms.

“You think they'll make it through?”

“Oh I know they'll make it through. I'm not going to underestimate them again, that was the first mistake I made encountering them the first time.”

While Rouge was happy they gave ChaosCorp a run for their money, that only meant they wouldn't stop until the company had them in their clutches. She huffed to herself.

“Sounds like a plan.”

 

Knuckles knew this was crazy. He hadn't left his small home in a long while, for good reason. He didn't like interacting with much of anyone besides Cream and Vanilla, and of course, his condition. But he wasn't completely immobilized; relying on someone to guide his visionless body. He could ‘see’, just not like how anyone else could. He FELT his surroundings. Vibrations. Air. The smallest movement he could detect.

He hated social situations though. But being cooped up for as long as he did had him getting antsy. His pain forced him to hide, but now it lulled him into laziness. Echidnas were never lazy! Social interaction was now a challenge. A different type of battle field. He would not allow himself to rot until he died. He would die with honor, being among his new people.

The echidna threw open his door. His feet felt the wood of his porch, and the vibrations of the earth below him. There was a dirt road in front of him leading to town. With a determined grin, he took his first steps out of his shack since he had went in.

 

“It's a lot quieter down here then I thought it'd be.”

Rusty commented, still leading the way. Sonic didn't like it, as he was just thinking the same thing. It was a factory, he imagined every single machine around them should have been whirring, steaming, blinking, and everything else machines did that Sonic didn't understand. The silence was unnerving at best. Dangerous at worse. The fact that the entirety of ChaosCorp knew exactly where they were, and wasn't just making a bunch of Badniks to fight them… wasn't a good sign. They were doing something, and Sonic didn't like it.

“Everyone take a seat. We need a moment to rest our legs.”

While Rusty’s comment was ironic since her legs probably didn't need rest, Nine plopped down on a cardboard box nearby, thankful for the moment of rest. Sweat was still on his brow, and he quickly wiped it away. It was pretty hot down here now that Sonic thought about it. The hedgehog took a seat himself, a pace or two away from the fox, while Rusty and Shadow sat across the hall, just out of earshot.

“How are you feeling?”

“Uh fine.”

Nine roughly removed his sneakers, rubbing his sock covered feet.

“A little sweaty I guess.”

The fox chuckled, and Sonic smiled a small smile. The hedgehog felt a tightening around his heart as he watched Nine continue to rub his sore feet.

“Hey Nine?”

The fox peeked up at him, a small ‘hmm’ on his lips. Sonic felt knots in his stomach as a question formed in his mind.

“Why do you… dislike your tails?”

Nine bristled, eyes narrowing.

“What's to like about them?”

The fox growled, making Sonic wilt, and quickly think of a way to steer the conversation.

“I mean… what about them makes them bad?”

Nine crossed his legs and arms, face held in a scowl.

“Oh I don't know… maybe because it's not normal? Maybe because no one else has two tails?”

“Yeah but what's so great about normal? Look at me! If I run the fastest I can, I can break the sound barrier. Is that normal?”

Nine paused.

“Well at least that's useful. All my tails can do is wag back and forth. Your speed is a gift. My tails are a curse.”

Nine's head dropped, staring at the dirty floor. Sonic clenched his teeth, carefully forming more words. He wasn't good at this. He was better at the direct approach.

“Nine, listen to me.”

Nine looked up, still a sour look on his face, but genuinely surprised at the seriousness in Sonic’s voice.

“You're smart right? It's alright, you can brag.”

Nine scoffed.

“Yeah sure.”

“Good, cause I want you to think really hard about this. So, where did you get that opinion of your tails?”

“It's not an opinion, it's a FACT. My tails are unnatural. End of story.”

It was Sonic's turn to cross his arms.

“And who told you that ‘fact’ huh?”

Nine opened his mouth, then closed it.

“Uh, everyone…?”

“Try again.”

“What is this a quiz?”

Nine said with some irritation in his voice.

“You've been told that by your bullies. People who didn't like differences, and no one willing to see who you really were.”

Nine looked away, trying not to think about all of them.

“So? What difference does that make?”

“I'd say it makes a heck of a difference. What you are telling me, is that a bunch of jerks from your past are still telling you how to think!”

Nine’s eyes widened angrily.

“That’s not true!”

Sonic kept his cool, green eyes staring into burning blue. A beat it silence passed.

“Nine, no one back then, that I know of, wanted to know who you were. They were scared of the unknown, many people are. But I want to know you. So does Rusty and Shadow. Have any of us judged you for your tails?”

The anger in Nine's eyes faded.

“No…”

“Why do you think we haven't?”

Nine furrowed his brow. The question actually stumped him, as he had been trying to figure that out since he met each of them.

“I… I don't know.”

“Because we see your tails for what they are. A gift.”

Nine was at a loss for words. Was he right? How would he be, his tails had brought Nine nothing but misery. But he couldn't help but re-think things anyway. Was he allowing his past bullies dictate his thoughts? Sonic smiled sadly as he watched the gears turn in Nine's head.

“I don't expect you to change your mind immediately. After all, you've been told the opposite your whole life. But promise me you'll think about all this?”

Nine stammered for a second, over words that never came out. He then just resorted to nodding. Sonic accepted that response.

“I promise to always be a friend to you, even if you don't want to be a friend back.”

Nine felt his stomach clench, and his eyes water. Why was he so nice?! Especially to someone like him! Sonic held out his fist, making Nine look at it in confusion.

“It's a power bump. It signifies an unbreakable promise.”

Nine hesitated at first, still trying to understand all that was said, and his raging feelings and thoughts at war in his head. Eventually, he raised his fist, tapping Sonic's with it.

“I promise I'll think about what you said.”

Sonic smiled warmly.

“That's all I ask for.”

 

Knuckles, after asking directions from an eagle Mobian, stepped up to the entrance of The Light of Hope Restaurant. Knuckles paused, wondering what he was even getting himself into. The stubborn warrior within him wouldn't allow him to walk away though. With a bit of a shaky hand, Knuckles opened the door, bringing forth a plethora of vibrations, sounds, and smells. His nose twitched as it was assaulted by the fragrance of many different dishes, and his ears picked out multiple different conversations within range. With nothing specific to focus on, his ‘vision’ got blurred by all the stimulus. He started regretting his decision. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, a pair of small hands grasped his large one, giving him something to focus on.

“Knuckles! It's so great to see you up and about!”

It was Cream. Of course it was. The rest of the vibrations and sounds faded into the background as he focused on who was directly in front of him.

“Cream. I was uh, just stretching my legs. Figured it'd do me good after ignoring them for so long.”

His explanation fell flat, as Cream started to tug him along, leading him to a table to sit at. The cushion of the booth felt softer than what Knuckles was used to. It was almost irritatingly soft. His large hands felt the table in front of him. It was thick and sturdy, definitely a high quality built piece of furniture. He heard Cream sit across from him.

“How does it feel to be out?”

Knuckles drummed his fingers on the table. How did it feel? So far, it was among his top five greatest challenges, but he was also doing a decent job not failing so that was a plus. Knuckles coughed into his fist awkwardly.

“I enjoy the air. It's stuffier back in my home than here.”

“Well that's nice!”

The two chit chatted for a few more minutes until Cream had to go back waiting tables. Knuckles allowed himself to relax a bit. While it was still loud, and there was too many vibrations in the room to keep track of, he still found a small amount of peace. He was with his people. While the echidnas were all dead and gone, Mobians as a whole were still alive. They were his people now. He'd live his life with them, not apart from them. And that was a promise.

 

“We're here.”

The group all paused as Nine pointed to a structure in the middle of the room. It was a massive dome, connected with all sorts of tubes and pipes. Oddly, a very normal looking wooden door was in the front.

“This is the Emerald Housing Unit? It isn't anything like the last…”

Rusty observed. Nine nodded in agreement, studying the structure.

“There's no security system on the outside… interesting. I guess since it's buried underneath District Two, Robotnik wasn't too concerned about security.”

The four of them approached the door, stopping right outside it. Sonic’s hand paused at the handle.

“I should go. I've already been through the first, I should do the next.”

Shadow scoffed.

“As if. We only let you go alone because you had to. We aren't going to sit back now just because you want to do this yourself.”

Rusty nodded.

“I agree. We can help you.”

Sonic’s eyes went back and forth between them.

“But…”

“Dude chill. We all know what you saw back there. It's nice of you to be all heroic or whatever, but we're going. Four heads are better than one right?”

Sonic felt torn. Of course he didn't want to go in alone, logically, he'd have a better chance of getting the Emerald with help. But, on the flip side, the last thing he wanted to do was subject his friends to anything close to what he saw. So he didn't know what to feel.

“... Thank you.”

“Alright, let's go.”

With a deep breath, Sonic pushed open the door.

The inside mirrored the outside, just an inverted version of it. Dome shaped, and plenty of hoses and wires dangling from the ceiling. The place also had a slight yellow hue to it, and the air was stale.

Nine yelped when a holographic image began to form in front of his face. He backed off when a floating girl appeared. Sonic kicked himself for not mentioning her earlier.

“Hey ghost girl! Long time no see!”

Sonic felt the confused glances as the girl gave Sonic a smile and a wave.

“Hello Sonic. I must say I wasn't expecting to see you so soon after our first meeting.”

“What can I say? I'm fast.”

The girl looked over the rest of the group.

“Are these your friends?”

Sonic smiled.

“Yup. Pink hedgehog is Rusty, kid genius fox over there is Nine, and grumpy guy is Shadow.”

Shadow huffed at Sonic, but said nothing, as the hologram waved at them all with a cheery smile.

“It is good to meet you all. I am Sage.”

Sonic’s ears perked up.

“Oh! You decided a name!”

The AI giggled.

“Yes I have. Do you like it?”

Sonic nodded.

“It fits you.”

Nine looked back and forth between them.

“Sonic, mind telling us what the hell is going on?”

“Ah yeah. Long story short; Sage is an AI I met in the past unit who helped me beat the trail. Honestly, I would have died without her.”

Nine actually looked impressed.

“You helped him? Why?”

“I… I am unaware of why myself. I do not remember much of my function.”

Nine looked surprised, then skeptical.

“Interesting.”

“So what do we have to do for the Emerald?”

Shadow said, getting straight to business as usual. Sage frowned, not eager at all to get started.

“This trail is more mental than physical. You will each have to endure some of your worst memories. You will have to combat them with a good memory.”

Sonic had a sickening feeling settle on him.

“So… how does that work?”

“Each of you will be inserted into the memory, it will feel real. You have to force it to change to a good memory to survive.”

Shadow ‘tsked'.

“Will we be able to help each-other while one is in this state?”

Sage was quick to nod.

“Yes. You can call out to them. Try to guide them in the right direction.”

Sonic nodded, not feeling good about this challenge, but with no other option but to proceed.

“Well let's get cracking.”

“I'll go first.”

Sonic turned to Rusty, surprised.

“I want to go first. I trust you all to guide me well.”

She had no waiver in her voice. She was dead set.

“I guess ladies can go first then.”

Sonic said, trying to lighten the mood just a bit. Sage nodded, hovering a little closer to Rusty.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

“Then let's begin.”

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

Okay so I have to talk about the conversation between Sonic and Nine. I've been waiting for that scene since the first scene with Nine in it. I also had to write it twice, as the first version I made didn't sit well with me. Anyway, was super excited to get this one out, and I hope you enjoyed. Next time is going to be absolutely crazy, as I already started making the next chapter. It should be a longer one, so I'll try to post it in a timely manner, but we'll see what happens.

On a separate note, I FINALLY finished the Master Koco Trail in Frontiers yesterday. I haven't gotten to the final battle yet, but I would have by the next chapter I'm sure, so I'll have more to talk about then.

I hope you enjoyed, and have a great day! See ya next time!

Chapter 16: Memory

Amy Rose looked at herself in the mirror. It was cracked at the edges, but it still held a clear picture of what she looked like; a young hedgehog who was failing to stop crying. Fat tears ran down her pink face, and her eyes stung from how long she'd been like this. Hours. She knew it was only a matter of time. The orphanage used to keep kids for as long as eighteen, but with difficulty to even keep their doors open at all, they reduced the age to seventeen. Then sixteen, then fifteen. Finally they dropped it to fourteen, which scared Amy to death. Her fourteenth birthday had been today. She trembled at the thought of living on the streets. Bad things happened to those on the streets. She startled when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

“Amy dear? Are you in there?”

Her tears multiplied as she recognized the headmistress’s voice. She was here to kick her out. She was going to leave. She hiccuped, going over to the door to open it.

“Oh, Amy… I'm so sorry.”

The hedgehog wiped at her face as the older cat Mobian held her shoulders.

“If we could still keep you here, we would. But we can't.”

Amy nodded through tears. She understood. Really she did, it just meant the worst for her. She could try to find work, but there weren't many options for a fourteen year old girl. The older woman escorted her to the front door, where she now stood in the doorframe; in tears, trembling, and with no luggage or belongings to her name besides the outdated red dress on her.

“Again, I am sorry dear. I did all I could for you.”

The woman and the girl shared one more parting gaze before the door was slowly shut. A sinking feeling hit Amy in the stomach. She was alone now. There was no one to take care of her but herself. She turned, looking up and down the dark street. She was hoping that they'd at least wait till morning to kick her out. She shivered, her knee length sleeveless dress doing nothing to keep the brisk night air off of her. She needed to find shelter quickly. She hugged herself, walking briskly down the street, eyes searching for any sort of abandoned looking building. She spotted a wolf leaning against the brick wall of a nearby building, who she walked past.

“Well, aren't you a pretty thing?”

A shiver ran down her back when she glanced back at him. The Mobian stared back, hungry eyes looking her body over. Fear ignited within her. She began to run. Her fear spiked when she heard the wolf following close behind.

“Stay away from me!”

She ducked into a street corner, hiding behind a wet cardboard box. She listened to the wolf run past, down a different street. She wasted no time getting up and running in the opposite direction. She didn't stop running until she was out of breath. She leaned against a building, huffing and puffing. She lost him. Relief flooded her body, but she was still trembling. She knew what almost happened to her…

Her dark thoughts got interrupted by her stomach’s grumbles. She didn't have dinner before she left, and lunch wasn't much today either, so naturally, she was getting hungry. She whimpered, figuring she'd have to wait till morning, then beg for food. But then she spotted a building. It was a grocery store. The next thought in her head she wasn't proud of. They had food. Her heart told her she shouldn't rob anyone, but her empty belly eventually won her moral war. Sadly, she walked up to the building, surprised to see a broken window; the opening just big enough for her to squeeze into. She had to stop herself from asking if anyone was there. If she was going to actually steal something, announcing her presence was a bad idea.

Her heart pounded in her ears. She had never done something illegal in her life, let alone robbing a place. Her eyes paused over a basket of produce. Fruit of all shapes and sizes adorned the shelves. She didn't need much, just one for now, and a few for later…

A loud clatter made her jump out of her skin, whirling over to see another Mobian. He was a fox, staring at her in surprise. He must have dropped the tray he had been holding when he saw her. Amy's fear of being caught dwindled. He was here for food too. Gosh he looked even younger than herself. Amy gave him a nod, then turned back to the fruit. Out of the corner of her eye, the fox carefully picked up the tray, placing all the items back, and then proceeded to look for food. Amy snuck a glance back at him while his back was turned. He was collecting food, as if he was getting ready for a week or more. She looked at the basket of fruits in front of her. Maybe that wasn't a bad idea. She picked up an empty basket, and started filling it with fruit. She didn't feel all that good for stealing, but she didn't know what else to do.

A few minutes passed, when Amy heard a surprised yelp from the fox a few isles down. She set her basket down, running over to see what happened. She gasped as she saw the boy cornered by five Badniks, kneeling and clutching his right side, which was bleeding profusely.

Her first thought surprised her. She could leave. She could just take her basket, and run out. She immediately got rid of the thought. He'd die if she didn't do something.

She looked around for something to use as a weapon. The fire extinguisher would do. She picked it up, and ran into the action. With a yell, she threw the heavy red cylinder, smashing into the Badnik closest to the fox. Said fox looked up at her, bewildered by her actions. She picked up the extinguisher again, throwing it at another. She missed, but this bought the fox enough time to stand up. Strange metal tails emerged from his back, as he got into a fighting stance. He rushed two of them fighting them simultaneously. Amy blinked in awe, before having to dodge an attack from one of the other two. She gasped when the other swiped at her face, three sharp blades cutting into her cheek. The cuts were deep, and stung terribly. She held her cheek with her hand, blood soaking into the white glove.

“Rusty!”

The hedgehog paused at that voice. Who? What? The Badniks pushed her against the wall, knocking the wind out of her chest.

“Rusty, think of a good memory!”

A different voice this time. She recognized it… how, and why? Who was talking to her? One of the Badnik's sharp legs came up and plunged into her left thigh. She screamed as the Badnik tore his limb out of hers, blood gushing out of the newly made hole. She slid to the floor, trembling in her own pool of blood.

“Quick, Amy, think of a time you've been the happiest, the most joyful, most fulfilled!”

She did know that voice. Sonic. This was just a memory. They were in the trail for the Emerald. How could she have forgotten? Her train of thought was interrupted when the other Badnik stomped on her arm, breaking every bone within it. Her scream was bloodcurdling, and the pain was unbearable. It was hard to focus. Good memory, she needed to think of a good memory. Her other arm was stomped on.

“Rusty please!”

Right as her middle began to be repeatedly gored by blades, her mind willed a different memory into existence. The Badniks were gone. The market was gone. Her wounds were gone.

"So… Rusty? What's it like? To uh, be um…"

Rusty looked over to see Sonic the hedgehog, holding a basket of fruits, similar to the one she was holding moment before. She blinked, bewildered at the whiplash, but her mouth suddenly responded without her input.

"Robotic?"

"Yeah."

"Difficult. While there are some ways, it's an 'improvement'. I have faster reflexes, more durability, I'm stronger…"

"But…?"

Rusty involuntarily shook her head.

"I miss the fragile flesh. It was softer. Warmer. And it was… me."

Sonic frowned. His eyes bounced up to Rusty's face, studying it. Rusty felt a blush as his stunning green orbs looked her over. Sonic set down his load.

"What are you…?"

Sonic clasped his hand to her cheek. His warm hand sent tingles down her body.

"See? You're still soft, warm. You're still you."

Rusty's technological heart fluttered. .She reached up, placing her metal hand over Sonic's. Reliving this moment still had her emotionally high. Sonic really was something special.

"Thank you Sonic."

His hand dropped, before he stooped over to pick up the basket.

"Of course."

The memory faded.

Rusty gasped as her surroundings changed again. She was back in the dome, with Sonic, Shadow, and Nine kneeling next to her. Oh, she was laying down. She sat up, looking at the rest of them. They all had mixed expressions. It was clear that they were relieved she was alive, but the peek into her brutal memory clearly wasn't fun. Sonic especially looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't, opting to just keep his mouth shut. Shadow helped Rusty stand, then turned to Sage, who was watching them silently.

“I'm next.”

 

He was scared to move. It had been two days since Doctor Thorndyke had showed up for his tests. They were normally daily. The pause in his torture had him more nervous than relaxed. Was this a test? We're they finally going to kill him? He wouldn't be that lucky he assumed.

“Zero.”

The jackel flinched as he heard his name being called from the cell next door. He ignored them at first, grabbing his large ears and pulling them down on his face.

“Zero!”

The jackel whimpered, peeking past his ears at the other subject, through the glass.

“You know we aren't supposed to talk to one another. You remember what happened last time we tried!”

His voice was scratchy from underuse, and his sudden use of vocal cords set him into a coughing fit.

“Of course I remember. Kinda hard to forget.”

Zero settled his coughs, scratching his neck to massage it even just a bit. The implanted connecters around his jawline made even such a simple action like scratching his neck difficult.

“So why do you bother me?”

Zero watched as the other Mobian shuffled into a more comfortable position on the floor.

“I've been trying to think of an escape plan…”

“It's not going to work.”

“You didn't even listen!”

Zero growled to himself.

“Don't you get it kid? There is no escape! It's impossible! You don't think I haven't tried?”

The girl hesitated.

“I…”

“Just leave me alone.”

The jackel curled up on the floor, accepting his fate as a bug under a microscope.

 

Red light were flashing, and the alarm was blaring. The sounds only made Shadow’s heart beat faster. Intruders were here. And they were after him; Project Shadow. His grip tightened on the gentle hand of Maria, who trailed behind him. They had to escape the Ark right now before he was caught!

“Ah!”

Maria's gasp made Shadow look behind, seeing soldiers emerge from a side door. Their vests were branded with the letters G.U.N. and their eyes were hard to see through their visors.

He pulled her down a corner, escaping their view, but not before being spotted.

“Stop!”

Shadow obviously didn't listen. Like he'd just hand himself over for just existing. Even he didn't know everything about Project Shadow and all it involved, but he knew for sure that his purpose was to heal Maria, someday. But for now, if that was going to happen, they couldn't be separated. They ducked down another hall, getting closer to the escape pods.

Gunshots went off behind them. Maria squealed and ducked as the bullets ‘pinged' off the metal walls. Shadow growled in anger. No one put Maria in harms way and gets away with it. The two of them dove into one of the meeting rooms, behind one of the large desks. Shadow put a finger over his mouth to gesture his sister to be quite. Sure enough, three soldiers broke into the room, training their guns around the room. Shadow struck. He leapt over the desk, sending a flying kick to the first man's chest. The man grunted in surprise, dropping his gun and falling to the floor. The other men shot their guns at the crouched hedgehog, but he was too fast for them. Shadow dashed in-between them, grabbing the barrels of their respective guns, pulling them up in time for the two to shoot each-other. Shadow landed, cracking his knuckles as he walked away from the three downed soldiers

“Let's go Maria.”

He grabbed her hand, leading her out from under the desk. She eyed the men, but said nothing. It wouldn't surprise Shadow if she gave him an earful later about ‘having to hold back’ or something. While Shadow admired Maria's gentleness, it wouldn't apply in a real conflict. The two dashed out, a few yards until they reached the escape pods.

“The pods only fit one at a time. I'll manually send yours. I'll set a timer for mine afterwards ok?”

Shadow hesitated. At first he wanted to argue and make her go first, but then thought differently. If she escaped, and then he was caught, Maria would be stuck down on the planet without the one cure for her sickness. But if he escaped, and she was caught, she'd at least still be on the Ark, where the controlled environment kept her alive this long.

He nodded, hopping into the capsule. It sealed up, and Maria quickly grabbed the controls.

“You! Step away from the console!”

Maria froze, still holding the lever. Shadow’s eyes widened at the sight of the soldier aiming a gun to the girls head. She tightened her hold. Shadow felt his stomach drop. No no…

“Maria! Just let go!”

His voice sounded muffled in the tube, but it got across. Maria looked back at him. No…

“I won't let you get captured!”

She pulled the lever. The gun fired. Shadow’s eyes shook from shock. His sister's blood splattered out from the side of her midsection, coating some of his pod.

“MARIA!”

Shadow trembled as his pod started the ejection sequence. He stared at Maria as she laid on the floor, looking up at him through tears.

“Shadow, promise me something…”

“No no no NOOO!”

The hedgehog banged against the glass, not caring that the GUN soldier was standing there. He needed to be by his sister's side. She was dying!

“Be a protector to the world, just as you were to me. Like a shadow.”

For the first time in Shadow’s life, tears formed in his eyes. This couldn't be happening.

“Sayonara… Shadow the hedgehog.”

Like a bullet, the pod ejected, leaving the Ark behind. Shadow started hyperventilating, shaking worse and worse.

“M-Maria… no.”

He held his head, weeping.

“Shadow! Concentrate!”

The hedgehog opened his bleary eyes, seeing nothing but the rapid movement of stars.

“Shadow you have to beat this! Think of a memory!”

Memory? It was hard to think straight through the grief. Why was he hearing voices?

“You're stronger than to let this stop you!”

Memory… Trial… Chaos Emerald… It all came rushing back. The hedgehog felt sick after being forced to watch that again, but he knew he needed to focus. Good memory…

The world changed.

In an instant, he was no longer falling in the pod, but standing next to a coffee machine, pouring out a cup of the dark liquid. He blew on the steaming brew, taking a sip after.

“You're crazy for drinking straight black.”

The hedgehog glanced over at a certain bat, who leaned against the table.

“There are plenty of people who drink coffee black.”

“So they're all crazy.”

Shadow rolled his eyes, taking another burning sip.

“So… are you coming to the office party tonight?”

Shadow paused, then shook his head.

“Busy.”

“With what? Brooding?”

“Personal reasons.”

Rouge crossed her arms.

“Shadow, I know we haven't been working together for that long, but I know for a fact you don't have a social life.”

The hedgehog glared.

“Perhaps.”

“Come on Shadow, it'll be fun! I've never seen you relax, or cut loose. It's a healthy thing to do ever once and awhile.”

“Pass.”

The bat’s mouth twisted downward, disappointed.

“Look, I know you like to be all ‘dark and mysterious’ or whatever but… you can't make friends like that.”

“I don't need friends.”

Rouge paused.

“I thought we were.”

Shadow looked up from his coffee, a bit startled. They worked together pretty well, and they did banter time to time but… friends? Ever since Maria, he shut most people out. Shadow swirled his coffee.

“I… didn't realize you thought that.”

Rouge's expression softened.

“I mean… we can be friends if you want?”

Shadow clicked his teeth together. Rouge was… a decent person. He wouldn't go as far to say she was a nice person, but she had good qualities underneath all her glamor and thievery. He definitely got along with her good enough, and they were an effective team in combat. But, one quality did stand out; most people wouldn't try being friends with him. She had guts, and he admired that. Shadow nodded finally.

“I accept your request of friendship.”

Rouge laughed, smiling in a more genuine manner than she normally did.

“Chaos, you make it sound like a contract.”

Shadow actually grinned a little.

“Well look at that, he can smile.”

Shadow hid his expression with another sip.

“Come tonight. I'll get you a drink.”

“The drinks are free Rouge.”

“I didn't say I'd buy it, I said I'd get it.”

Shadow looked at her, then shook his head with a chuckle.

“Okay okay, I'll be there.”

Rouge pumped her fist.

“Great, you won't regret it. See you there handsome.”

The bat skipped away, leaving a very dumbfounded hedgehog.

Friends…

The image swirled away.

Shadow stood with his hand out, holding a mug of coffee that no longer existed. He flexed his now empty fingers, letting his hand fall to his side. Sonic smiled grimly at him, not at all surprised at his first memory. Shadow cleared his throat, forcing himself to keep the second memory in mind.

“Who's next?”

Sonic glanced over to see if Nine was going to say anything, who looked a bit nervous. Sonic knew he'd have to go eventually, so he decided to bite the bullet now.

“I'll go.”

Sage nodded, reading up the next memory.

 

Rouge, Vector, and Espio all stood in a line in front of the bay doors leading to District One. They were accompanied by a horde of Badniks, all silently staring into the wide staircase that led into the darkened factory floors below. Chris had retreated into Tom's office. He claimed it was to have a word with Wachowski, but in reality he just didn't want to be out there when shit hit the fan.

Espio's tail curled and uncurled in a repeated fashion. The silent ninja actually felt nervous. Whether for his own skin or their targets… he wasn't even certain of.

Vector picked his teeth with his claw. Despite the situation, the crocodile was calm. He had come to terms with who he was, and what they were going to do. While he wasn't happy about it, he couldn't turn back, not with so much at stake for him. No looking back anymore.

Rouge felt like a mess. While on the outside she had the face of a perfectly held together supermodel, her heart, head, and soul all tore at each-other. What was she doing? This was wrong… would he even want her to do this for him? She forced herself not to cry. She tried not to think about him, it only made her even more emotionally unstable. She breathed a shuddery breath, and kept still, waiting for the inevitable collision with their targets.

 

It had been three months. Three months in confinement. Sonic, for the millionth time trashed against his bindings. No use. Sonic hated the feeling of being enclosed. It was really starting to get to him now. Eggman wasn't an idiot, he'd know that just keeping Sonic in one place for a long time would be enough to get to his head. The torture didn't help. Burn marks, cuts, bruises, and other wounds covered his body, making him feel consistently weak. He HATED feeling weak. But he'd get out. Eventually. Whether through his own power, or his friends, he would eventually break out, and save the world from whatever chaos Eggman unleashed now. Speaking of…

“Hello rodent.”

Sonic growled.

“Eggman.”

“I am in a celebratory mood Sonic, and I felt the need to share my joy with my long time enemy.”

Sonic narrowed his eyes.

“Celebrating what?”

Before he could ask another question, Infinite the jackel suddenly appeared out of thin air. Sonic startled at his presence, but then settled. At least the jackel wasn't inside the cell with him. The bruises from yesterday's beating screamed in pain at the sight of their creator. Sonic had to still his heart by breathing steadily.

“Why, my current progress of conquering the world of course!”

Sonic side-eyed Infinite, who just floated there calmly. Infinite was almost the opposite of Sonic in a way. Besides the obvious hero villain difference, Sonic wasn't the most elegant person, while Infinite was always so… graceful. Every movement he made had purpose. And the other thing they were opposites in was their speech. Sonic was a talker, and that was no secret. Infinite wasn't. Often times he wouldn't ever talk to Sonic at all.

“In three months alone, I have successfully conquered eighty seven percent of the planet!”

Sonic's eyes widened. Surely he was lying. Probably a ploy to get to him.

“Your lying.”

“Oh trust me hedgehog, I may be the villain from your perspective, but I am no lier. See for yourself.”

Footage clicked on a display next to the doctor, making Sonic freeze. Destruction, fire, chaos. Sonic watched in horror as legions of Eggman's creations leveled city, after city, after city. The camera just kept showing more and more places, each one he was familiar with. Station Square. Central City. Soleanna. Studiopolis. Spagonia. Sonic felt sick as each highly populated areas fell under Eggman's might.

And he wasn't there to protect them.

Eggman revelled in Sonic’s horrified expression. For the first time, the hedgehog was speechless. The mustached man decided to push his buttons even more.

“We have also discovered one of the major bases of the Resistance… the chances of one of your friends being there is high…”

Sonic’s eyes widened even further.

“Bombers are on their way right now. They'll be nothing but rubble in a few minutes. Shame really. So many lives gone. Poof. Your girlfriend might be there, miss Rose. Maybe even that stupid echidna.”

Sonic fought bile rising up his throat. No please no…

“Or maybe that freak that always follows you around.”

Sonic felt something inside him snap.

“DON'T YOU DARE!”

He suddenly screamed, startling the doctor. Eggman brushed off his suit, as if Sonic had somehow contaminated it.

“Oh it's too late, the bombers have already launched. Guess you'll just have to sit here, while all your friends die. Sad isn't it? They trusted you. And this is how you repay them? Abandoning them in their time of need.”

Sonic felt his heart contract. They were going to die. His best friends. His FAMILY.

And he couldn't do SHIT about it.

Eggman was right, he couldn't do anything. Nothing to save them. Eggman grinned, feeling victorious.

“Come along Infinite, I believe we got the message across.”

The jackel disappeared, and Eggman waltzed out, smile never leaving his face.

Sonic felt lost. It was true that there was a possibility that none of his friends were in said base, but that wasn't the point. Eggman was winning. His friends were probably at the top of his hit list. It was only a matter of time before they did die. And he still couldn't do anything about it. Sonic hiccuped, curling up in the corner of his cell, and began to weep.

“Sonic…”

The hedgehog gasped at the sudden voice, then frowned.

“I'm not in the mood for your games Infinite.’

“Sonic, think of a memory!”

Sonic frowned deeper. Memory? Memory… Memory! It came rushing back suddenly. He knew what he needed to do… The hedgehog closed his eyes and concentrated.

…

He was free. Six months of torture and lost hope, then he was free. He was helped by someone he never met before, but that didn't matter. They escaped the Death Egg together, and the ‘rookie’ guided him back to the closest Resistance base from there. Sonic wished he could run in, but his legs were still cut up pretty bad, thus why he was being carried instead.

The rookie ran into the hallways of the Resistance with Sonic in his arms, huffing and puffing as he ran the fastest he ever have in his life.

“Look!”

“Is that Sonic the hedgehog!?”

Resistance members all around gaped, celebrated, and stared as the dead hero was suddenly proven alive.

The two of them burst into the medical wing, earning a glare from the doctor, but it quickly changed to shock.

“Sonic?! Alert Amy of this development.”

One nurse nodded, running off. Sonic felt his heart bloom. Amy was alive. He still wasn't sure who was, and the fact that Amy was made him feel so much better than any pain killer could.

“Set him down and let me look at him.”

Sonic didn't complain as he was patched up, and eventually given something to drink and eat. He had never eaten something so quickly in his life, which was saying a lot for him. Sonic's ears picked up a few voices outside the room he was now settled in.

“One at a time please, I don't want to overwhelm him. He still hasn't said a word. I think he's still in a state of shock.”

A few shuffles outside the door, then it slowly opened. A feminine gasp followed as Sonic looked up to make eye contact with a pink hedgehog.

“Sonic…”

“Amy.”

She choked, eyes filling with tears.

“I thought you were d-dead!”

Sonic smiled sadly. Instead of responding, he opened his one up, offering a hug silently. She accepted of course. She snuggled up to his side on the bed, careful to not jostle the IV. She cried into his bandaged chest, and Sonic just held her close. He was just relieved she was ok.

“Sorry, I don't want to take up the others time with you.’

She got up eventually, wiping the last of her tears away, smiling finally. Sonic fought the urge to ask who else was out there. If someone actually was dead, he didn't want Amy to be the one to tell him.

She gave one final look before leaving. She was quickly replaced by a familiar red figure.

“I knew your ass was too stubborn to die.”

Knuckles. Sonic smiled, relieved to see another one of his friend's faces alive and well.

“You just knew huh?”

Knuckles paused, then shook his head.

“No.”

The echidna awkwardly looked at his feet.

“I uh… missed you blue.”

That meant a lot coming from Knuckles. Sonic put a hand to his heart.

“Thank you. I missed you too Knucklehead.”

For a split second, it looked like Knuckles might cry, but he quickly composed himself.

“Yeah uh… someone else here really wants to see you so… I'll just step out.”

The echidna shuffled out, making Sonic chuckle a bit. He really was just a big softie.

Sonic heard someone else at the door. The hedgehog let out a silent prayer to any god that might be listening. Tails walked through the door.

“S-Sonic.”

The hedgehog felt a massive weight on his shoulders lift. Tails was alive. He wasn't dead, he was alive and well, and standing right in front of him. Sonic tried and failed to not make his voice crack.

“Little b-buddy.”

He opened his arms like he did with Amy, but unlike the hedgehog, the fox ran into his arms, slamming into his body as he bawled. If it was anyone else, the force would have hurt, but to Sonic, it was like a healing touch from heaven. He gripped Tails in his arms, starting to cry himself.

“It's good to be home.”

Home disappeared.

Sonic was back in the dome, still smiling sadly. He took a steading breath, then smiled genuinely. He overcame. Shadow gave him a curt nod of respect.

“So I guess I'm left…”

Sonic looked over to Nine, who looked nervous.

“Hey, you'll be alright. We'll help you okay?”

The fox bit his lip, but nodded.

“Okay, let's get this over with.”

 

Knuckles had around three Mobians stop by his table just to talk with him. He was a bit famous after all, being the only one to escape the ChaosCorp. While he didn't like being well known by people, he actually did enjoy the conversations he shared. They were pleasant, and the people were extremely nice, not once bringing up ChaosCorp or his very obvious implants.

He was drumming his fingers against the table again, focusing on the rhythmic beat of them. They steadied him in place while the world around him swirled with activity.

“Not a pinball fan?”

Knuckles startled at the new voice.

“Uh what?”

“Sorry, that was an insensitive question. You can't see the television.”

Knuckles nodded at the statement of the obvious. He focused on the woman now taking a seat across from him. From the vibrations she made sitting down, Knuckles built the shape of a thin chipmunk in his mind.

“Hi, I'm Sally.”

“Knuckles.”

“Oh I know who you are.”

The echidna smacked his dry lips, not exactly liking Sally's tone of voice.

“Do you want something from me?”

The chipmunk chuckled.

“Yes actually. Just a few questions…”

Knuckles bristled.

“If this has anything to do with my past with ChaosCorp…”

“Not the past with them, but the future.”

Knuckles tapped his foot, feeling the creaky floor.

“Come again?”

“I’m just going to get to the point. I'm building a resistance against ChaosCorp. I want your help.”

Knuckles paused, leaning slightly forward in his seat.

“Your mental.”

“Your not wrong.”

Knuckles heard a ‘pop’ of a bottle being opened, and liquid being poured into a glass.

“Why now?”

“Oh this has been a few years going, we've just been planning, recruiting, stocking. Why now you ask? We've been looking for a window of opportunity. Something - anything to give us that extra edge against Robotnik. We got that edge this morning.”

Knuckles crossed his arms, curious to what it could possibly mean.

“And what was that?”

Knuckles felt the chipmunk lean in closer.

“Let's just say it comes in the form of three hedgehogs and a fox.”

 

Miles hated the city. Back when he was three, he would live in nature, up in the trees away from danger and able to find fruits easily. The city wasn't like that. Miles wasn't still sure what exactly happened in the beginning of his fourth year alive; some crazy doctor stealing the world's life or something. Now he was in this city. All the other Mobians who were there said they were lucky to survive. Miles didn't feel lucky. The city was NOTHING like the forest. The air was always musty, the ground was hard against his worn down mismatched shoes, and the buildings were so terribly built that they weren't even pretty to look at.

Miles awoke from his slumber, the chilly morning air breezing through his cardboard box home. The dirty fox blinked heavily, poking his nose out into the alleyway. He glanced up at the dumpster as his tummy loudly grumbled. Yesterday was another unsuccessful day of finding food, meaning he'd have to settle with whatever he could find here, like usual.

He wobbled to his feet, his underdeveloped and malnourished body shaking from a simple few steps. The fox climbed up the side of the dumpster, throwing the lid open to investigate his potential food. He gagged reflexively, when his nose was assaulted by a pungent scent. Right in the middle, a small chunk of cheese sat in a pile of unidentifiable garbage. It was riddled with mold, and had a few maggots crawling on it, but it was the only edible thing he could see. His stomach contracted at the thought, but he needed to eat. Whimpering, he picked up the cheese, brushing off the maggots. He climbed back down with it in hand, still uneasy about this. His hand trembled as he held it in front of his slightly ajar mouth. One side of his brain clicked in, deciding it wasn't worth it. He clamped his mouth shut, throwing the cheese as far as he could from himself.

The hunger pain tore at him, and he clenched his stomach and whined. Tears fell down his face. He needed to look elsewhere. With a new mission, the fox poked his head out of the alleyway, checking the street for any dangers. Seeing none, he ran out, eyes scanning everywhere. Literally anything would be better than that cheese at this point.

Miles skidded to a stop, seeing another dumpster; this one sitting in an alley next to a restaurant. They'd most likely have at least something. Miles ran over, quickly climbing it like he did before.

“Hey look! It's that freak with two tails!”

Miles yelped, falling off the dumpster before he could even check it's contents. His back hit the ground, making him wince from the rough impact. He wasn't quick enough to get up. Four figures surrounded the boy.

“Ew he was trying to eat the garbage!”

“Gross. Figures for a freak like him.”

The other fox of the group of four kicked Miles in the stomach, making the already aching organ scream in pain.

“Leave me alone…”

“Awe he's gonna cry.”

The wolf kicked him this time, right in the nose. It made a crack sound, blood gushing down his face. His tears and blood mixed into a puddle on the ground.

“What should we do with him this time?”

The hawk asked excitedly. The bear grinned.

“I got a few ideas. But first, spread him out boys.”

“No stop, please!”

Miles was grabbed by the arms, hoisted up and pushed against the brick wall. With his wrists still being held apart as far as they could go from his body, the rest of him dangled like a sitting duck. The bear wound up, and punched him hard in the chest. Something broke. Blood gushed out of Miles' mouth, adding to the blood from his nose. His white fur around his muzzle was more red now. He whimpered as he watched the bear wind up again. This time he slammed his beefy fist into his face. His ears started ringing, and he could feel a black eye forming already.

“So guys… we're right next to the blacksmith…”

The boys all traded grins as Miles fought the urge to pass out. They never liked it when he did that.

“Carry him.”

Miles was roughly picked up by the bear, slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Miles coughed, blood running down the bear’s shoulder, who groaned in disgust.

“Ew he got his blood all over me.”

The boys went into the blacksmith shop, where a large badger was working by himself. He looked up, eyed the boys, and the two tailed fox. Instead of doing the right thing, the badger just shrugged, going back to his work.

“Tie him to the chair.”

Miles felt himself get thrown into a wooden chair; grains of wood digging into his back, and his wrists being tightly tied behind him. His eyes closed from pain.

“No falling asleep!”

The hawk grabbed Miles ears, yanking his head up to look into his unforgiving face. He let go, making Miles drop his head, causing a headache to form.

“This will teach him.”

Miles’ vision focused enough to see one of the boys take a poker out of an open fire. No. No no no…

“P-p-pleaase…”

“Look at him beg, he's so pathetic!”

“Turn him around.”

His chair was quickly turned, where his two tails were poking out between the chair’s slats.

“No wait!”

Miles screamed as white hot pain seared on the base of his right tail. The fur scorched off, and the skin underneath broke open as the poker was pushed harder into his tail. They stopped right when the poker touched the bone. They pulled it off, steam rising off of it. Miles whimpered and shook uncontrollably, pain absolutely screaming around his now mutilated tail.

“Now his extra tail looks as gross as it is!”

The boys traded high fives like they just got an A on a test or something.

“Nice man.”

Miles wept, knowing this wasn't going to go well. They turned him back around. Miles started to hyperventilate as the red-hot poker was now dancing near his face.

“Oh stop struggling wimp.”

The bear got behind the chair, using his massive hand to clasp Miles’ bloody mouth shut. The boy with the poker slammed it into Miles' chest. His scream muffled against the hand. The poker had left a ‘-’ mark across his chest. His fingers quivered and his head swam as pain was the only thing he could think about. Death actually sounded like a mercy at this point. They burned him again. And again. And again. They kept doing so from his chest down to his stomach, which is where they finally stopped.

“Great job dude!”

A mirror was brought up so Miles could see the damage done. Miles only cried harder at what they had done to him. A crude formation of letters laid out across his body;

F
R
E
A
K

Only then did they untie the fox, who at this point, didn't have the energy to move anyway.

“Throw him in the dumpster he was trying to get in!”

The group carried him again back outside, and tossed him into the garbage. Miles yelped as his angry wounds met pungent waste. If he didn't get out soon, they'd get infected. And… he could die from that.

“Let's get out of here.”

The group of bullies wandered off, high-fiving and laughing to each-other.

Miles' dark thoughts were fueled by the horrible pain, and his crushing loneliness. He was a freak, and no one would ever see him as something worth anything. He did deserve to die. The fox whimpered as he considered just allowing himself to die in that dumpster right there.

“Nine!”

The pain would end.

“Nine, fight it!”

The bullies would be gone.

“Nine think of a memory!”

He wouldn't have to worry about his hunger anymore.

“Nine focus!”

He could just… slip away.

“It's not working!”

The fox cried. He couldn't. He was too afraid of death to just accept it. The fox climbed out of the dumpster, random trash sticking to some of his thick blood.

“NINE!”

He landed on his feet, hugging his small body, doing his best to cover his now branded front. At least it was true.

“He's going to die if he doesn't think of a memory!”

“Does he even hear us?”

“Sage what do we do?”

Nine started walking, trying to find his way back to his box when he felt something new. A new pain within him. Somehow, he knew it wasn't from his beating. It was a deep throb throughout his entire body.

“No no he's not going to make it!”

The throb got faster, bringing the fox to his knees. The world around him was gone, only the throbbing beat in his body getting faster and faster. Nine yelled out, gripping the sides of his aching head.

“Nine NO!”

Right as the throbbing became unbearable, it stopped. Nine opened his eyes to see a glitching form around him.

“What?”

Sage hovered around Nine, holding up a shield of her own makings. She yelled out in her own pain, taking it all. Then she fizzled out, leaving a confused Nine crouched on the floor.

“Sage? SAGE?!”

Sonic looked around the dome, desperately searching for any sign of their friend. There was a beat of silence, before a voice chirped over the intercom.

“I'm fine Sonic.”

The hedgehog breathed out in relief.

“What did you just do?”

“Nine failed the trial, but I… cheated I guess.”

Sonic looked over at the fox, who got back up on shaking legs. He was still alive. He almost wasn't.

“Thank you Sage.”

“Of course Sonic.”

The hedgehog ran over to the fox, steading the boy.

“Are you alright?”

Nine looked around, still bewildered from the change of scenery. He then made eye contact.

“I… I didn't have a good memory.”

Sonic frowned.

“It's okay Nine, you're alive.”

“B-but I didn't… I didn't…”

Tears pooled in Nine's eyes.

“I don't have any good memories…”

Sonic blinked back tears of his own. Before Sonic could try and comfort the fox, a pedestal in the center of the dome rose from the ground. The Blue Chaos Emerald. Shadow picked it up, storing it in his quills.

“Two. Five to go.”

Sonic, glad to have at least gotten the Emerald, looked back at the fox. Nine’s eyes looked empty and glassy.

“Hey.”

The fox looked up at him, his expression blank.

“We can talk later, right now we're going to get to a safe place ok? Follow me alright?”

Nine only nodded. Sonic would have to accept that for now. The hedgehog slowly led the fox out of the dome. Sonic was eating up inside at what he had seen in Nine's head. That was his brother that had gotten beaten to an inch of his life. Anger spilled out of his ears, steaming into the air. As much as he wanted to hunt those bullies down and make them pay, he knew that was a waste of his time. Instead, he was going to help Nine. Whatever it took, Sonic would do it. For his brother. For Tails.

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

I have to say, I am quite proud of this chapter. And it took me a lot less time than I thought it would, the words just kinda flowed out of my mind and onto the page for the most part.

On a separate note...
I finished Frontiers.
I am... Just... Blown away.
I won't geek out right here, but if anyone else wants to talk about how amazing Frontiers is with Update 3, don't hesitate to comment about it, I love talking about this franchise with others who do too!

Anyways, have a great day, have a happy thanksgiving (if I don't post before then if course), and see y'all next time!

Chapter 17: Pincer

Four hours had passed by, with no words exchanged since the dome, all of them preoccupied with their own thoughts.

Shadow was bothered to re-live Maria's death, but he found himself surprised to be more occupied by the other memory. While it was a good memory, it brought it's own kind of pain. He missed Rouge. As silly as that bat was, Shadow would give her massive credit to helping him get to where he was now. Plus, she was the closest friend he had since Maria.

Rusty was at war in her head. The first memory, besides the physical pain, reminded her what she was now; half machine. But the second memory, Sonic's kind words to her, made her rethink what the original memory forced her to think. Was she really still a Mobian? Logic said no. Sonic said yes. She didn't know who to believe.

Nine was again reminded of what he truly was; a freak. He'd always be a freak… nothing could change that, right? The scars down his front told him so. His tails told him so. The whole world told him so. And yet these three crazy Mobians he had been traveling with would say the opposite. Nine proved he had no good memories, but did he really deserve to have any? Sonic would say he did, but why? Nine couldn't find the answer himself.

Sonic wasn't all that bothered by his own memory surprisingly, as he saw the second memory rendering the first obsolete in a way. The thought his friends might die, and they didn't. Problem solved. Instead, he found himself occupied by what he'd seen the others experience. He had known Shadow’s past, but to actually see it in person… that felt different. Rusty's experience was so much bad in so little time, I'd make anyone overwhelmed with pain. And Nine… where did he even begin. His little brother had been through so much so young.

Eventually, Rusty couldn't take the silence anymore.

“Are we going to talk about it or not!?”

The boys all blinked, avoiding eye contact with each-other. Rusty grumbled.

“Look, I don't think I can keep acting like it didn't happen.”

Shadow’s eyes squinted.

“I'm not acting like it didn't happen, I am simply processing.”

Rusty rubbed her eyes, not in the mood to argue.

“Am I worthy enough to live?”

The other three whirled at Nine's comment, who stared down at his shoes. He kicked a nearby pebble, hands in his pockets, and ears folded back.

“Are my tails a sign of… impurity? Am I a curse?”

Nine hugged himself, eyes beginning to water.

“Am I a freak?”

Tears spilled down his cheeks, sobs shook his small frame, and soon he was weeping, having a hard time just standing up straight. Sonic’s response was instant. Immediately he was at his side, hugging him close. Nine gasped at the contact, but didn't shy away this time. He slowly wrapped his arms around the blue hedgehog, returning the hug. He felt warm. Safe. RIGHT. Nine wasn't one for physical contact, but this felt… amazing. Comforting.

“You're not a freak Miles.”

Nine buried his face in Sonic’s shoulder as the blue hedgehog continued.

“You're unique.”

Nine trembled, years of being called a freak being torn out of his mind by this silly hedgehog.

“You deserve life, you deserve love, and you deserve friends that are willing to do anything for you.”

Sonic’s heart soared as he spoke, comforting the kit. He was getting through, finally. He was finally breaking down that barrier Nine had built up through years of trauma.

“Your tails are a part of you, but they don't define what you are. Your not a freak, you are an amazing fox who can accomplish a heck of a lot more than any other eight year old I know. You make who you are, no one else.”

Nine pulled his head up enough to make eye contact with the blue speedster.

“Thank you S-Sonic.”

He buried his face again, a bit embarrassed by his childish actions, but too comfortable to stop.

Sonic saw Shadow and Rusty watching, smiling. He waved them over, and Rusty approached, hugging around the two. Nine flinched, then settled again. Shadow took a few glares from Sonic to move into the group embrace.

Nine, while being crushed by three caring individuals, felt the biggest weight leave his shoulders. He wasn't a freak. A comfortable smile pulled his lips up. For the first time in a long time, Miles Prower felt cared for. He felt loved. He had a family.

 

“Come again?”

Knuckles felt more confused than anything. Why did four Mobians suddenly make all the difference for this lady? Sally chuckled again, a sound Knuckles was already getting tired of listening to.

“They were on the news. Those four not only got to District Three from here, they stole a Chaos Emerald.”

Knuckles felt his heart stop. What.

“They…”

“Yes. They have one of the Chaos Emeralds. And according to the news’ ongoing story on it, they aren't far from their second.”

Knuckles' head swam. While not impossible, stealing a Chaos Emerald from ChaosCorp was highly improbable. Suddenly, the chipmunk’s motivations made sense.

“So why do you want me?”

“Simple. You're the only one who has seen the inside of ChaosCorp. While details of your past are something others might be interested in, all I want is helpful intelligence; like layout, security measures, and so forth.”

Knuckles took a moment to think through her request. On one hand, he didn't want anything to do with it. ChaosCorp was in the past, and he didn't want mixed up with them again. On the other hand, he saw this as a way to get back to ChaosCorp, and free his people from their control forever. Knuckles bit his lip. What should he do?

“Well?”

The echidna breathed in deep.

“Okay. When do we start?”

“Right now.”

 

Nine felt so weird. For the first time in his life, his worldview has changed. His tails weren't a curse, they were just… different, and that was ok. Nine looked over to Sonic, who was grinning like a cat as they walked. Sonic was the one to thank. His unrestrained kindness led Nine to where he is - he wouldn't have made it on his own. He noticed that Rusty and Shadow had gone ahead a bit. What should he say? Thank you? That seemed a bit tacky. Then again, anything he said about this would probably be tacky.

“Sonic?”

“Wassup?”

“You're amazing.”

Sonic was taken back, not expecting a compliment so genuine.

“I wouldn't say AMAZING…”

“No, I'm serious.”

Nine flushed from embarrassment, but had to power through now that he started.

“I've never known anyone as selfless as you. Back there at the dome? Both of your memories had almost nothing to do with you, it was about your friend's well-being.”

Nine looked away, while Sonic watched the fox with bated breath.

“So I guess what I'm saying is… I want to be your… friend. If that's what you uh, want… too?”

Sonic didn't vocally respond. The hedgehog hugged the fox for the second time that day. Nine yelped in surprise, but then laughed as Sonic picked the fox off the ground, his feet dangling a few inches off the ground.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Nine said between laughs. The hedgehog set the fox down, smile as big as it possibly could. Nine allowed the warm feeling inside of him grow.

The fox suddenly became aware that they had stopped walking in favor of that hug. He looked ahead, seeing Shadow and Rusty looking back at them. The fox blushed hard.

“What are you two looking at? Let's keep going!”

Shadow smirked, and Rusty smiled warmly, but did as the fox asked. Nine rubbed his arm as the two began to follow.

“Now… just because we're friends now, don't expect me to be all buddy-buddy all the time. Got it?”

Sonic saluted dramatically.

“Got it boss.”

The fox rolled his eyes, but his smile remained.

“Hey, I think we're almost there.”

Sonic gasped when he saw what Shadow was talking about. A staircase, from the left to the right wall wide, stretched upward, leading to the exit Sonic imagined.

“So we just gotta climb that?”

Rusty shook her head.

“I don't like this. It feels like a trap. We've been through the entire factory floor and haven't seen a single Badnik.”

Shadow huffed.

“I agree. But we have no other choice. Keep your guard up everyone.”

 

The Badniks and military personnel following the four Mobians from behind were programmed and trained with some amazing stealth techniques, going unseen by the Mobians their whole journey across the floor. The commander of the group clicked his walkie-talkie.

“They've reached the steps. Launch Scorp-10-n.”

“10-4.”

The other commander, at the very top of the steps, put his walkie-talkie away, pointing at a group of soldiers.

“Deploy Scorp-10-n!”

Rouge watched as ten individual Badniks she had never seen before emerge from the side of the room. She gasped, a shiver running down her spine at the presence of said robotic creatures. The commander caught her looks.

“Impressive, aren't they? These babies were designed by Robotnik specifically for this mission. Makes them pretty valuable don't you think?”

The bat could only stare in response.

“Silence is understandable. Robotnik’s genius is so far above you Mobians.”

This snapped her out of her stupor, making her growl at the man. He just chuckled in response, walking away proudly.

“Alright, everyone move out! Remember we are the last line to keep those terrorists from escaping!”

They all made a battle cry as they followed down the staircase, following the ten new Badniks. Rouge, Vector, and Espio followed begrudgingly. The pincer movement began.

 

Knuckles had been introduced to the Resistance secret base, which he couldn't say much of besides it being big, considering he couldn't see it. Sally felt embarrassed for forgetting that fact for real this time, but he wasn't bothered all that much. From what she had explained to him though, they had quite the operation going.

“Mrs Sally!”

Knuckles heard a frantic Mobian rush over to the two of them. He could tell she was shaking, and out of breath.

“Calm down Jewel, what is it?”

The woman sucked in oxygen, regaining her posture before responding.

“Our spy has just reported back. The hedgehogs and the fox have the second Emerald. They're planning a pincer move on them right now. If we don't act, we could very well lose this chance.”

Sally growled.

“We are not losing this opportunity. We've waited too long for this…”

She paused, breathing in deep.

“I think it's finally time for Robotnik to know we exist.”

 

The stairs went on FOREVER. Sonic hated the slow crawl, and he was starting to get anxious. Shadow only made Sonic even more anxious by seeing his head constantly on a swivel, as if something was going to jump out at them any moment.

“Would you stop that!?”

Shadow looked at him with disgust.

“Stop what!?”

“You're making me nervous!”

“Guys stop.”

The hedgehogs paused, looking over to the fox who had his hand held up, ears up and twitching.

“Someone's behind us.”

As if on cue, five motobugs leapt out from the shadows, driving up the steps at them full speed. The four of them got into battle stances.

Sonic peeled out, rushing the closest Badnik to the group. His speed alone shattered the weak enemy, bolts, nuts, and assorted parts flying all around him. He then homing attacked the next, landing to find his team had destroyed the rest. He knew that couldn't be all of them. As more Badniks of different shapes and sizes emerged, Sonic couldn't help but think this was still wrong. They were coming from behind, meaning the low ground, giving them a massive advantage. Unless…

Sonic looked up the stairs as his friends fought off the horde from below. He heard it now that he was focusing on it. More were coming from above. He didn't have time to warn the others. Before he could react, something fast and hard slammed into his body. He shouted in surprise, as pincers dug into his skin. His body fell backwards, rolling down several stairs before he gripped himself to a stop. Fueled by pain, he gripped the metal object and tore it off his front, causing blood to splatter all around him. He couldn't focus hard enough to assess the damage. He trembled on the spot, before passing out.

Nine stared wide eyed as Sonic fell face first on the steps, thankfully not falling down any further.

“Sonic!”

The fox ran to the hedgehog’s aid, only to be stopped by the machine that had caused Sonic's injuries. It was a bit smaller than Sonic himself, but just a bit bigger than Nine. It resembled a scorpion, six sharp legs and long jagged tail. Its head had four pincers, now stained with Sonic's blood, and about the size of a steak knife. Nine's blood ran cold when four more appeared next to it, all the same design. The fox backed up, all the way against the wall, surrounded by the vicious machines.

Rusty and Shadow were back to back, fighting Badnik after Badnik, wearing down quickly.

“They just keep coming! What do we do?”

Shadow didn't know how to answer Rusty's question.

“We have to re-group. Where's - ?”

Shadow’s eyes finally met with Sonic since the battle began. He was laying limp on the floor, surrounded by a puddle of blood. All sound drained from Shadow’s ears. No… Sonic. NO.

Shadow boosted, tearing apart seven Badniks in his way within a second flat. He knelt next to the blue hedgehog, flipping him over on his back. This wasn't good. Ten large puncture wounds riddled the front of his body, each one bleeding out quickly. If he didn't get medical attention soon, he could die. Shadow felt his heart go cold at that thought. He wasn't going to let that happen. Shadow picked Sonic up bridal style, being as gentle as possible.

“You four! Stop now, and we might let you live!”

Shadow finally noticed their situation after picking up Sonic. Nine was cornered by five scorpion looking things, Rusty was being held at gunpoint by ten different soldiers, and of course, Sonic was down for the count in his arms. A commander of sorts stood among the company on the upper stairs, addressing them.

“Lay down your arms, and come peacefully.”

Shadow growled. If they surrendered, Sonic wouldn't get medical attention, they'd just let him die. He held the blue hedgehog closer, as if he could somehow protect him more that way. If he boosted up the stairs, there was a possibility of getting through, but the movement might hurt Sonic, and plus he wasn't leaving Nine and Rusty to fend for themselves. The three Mobians all looked at one another. What could they do? Right as Shadow lost all hope in the situation, the loudest battle cry he had ever heard rang out. From above, a red figure flew down, his large fist hitting the ground with his landing, creating a shock wave that threw everyone off of their feet. Shadow had to compensate for his fall so he landed on his back, keeping Sonic safe. He scrambled to get back up, getting a good look at the newcomer. He was large, buff, and red.

Shadow couldn't believe their luck.

“Knuckles.”

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

And thank you all so much for the support, kudos, and all of your engagement comments, I love talking with you all! I had no idea my fic would get this much attention, but here we are, and I couldn't be more happy, thank you!

See you all next time!

Chapter 18: The Resistance

Knuckles felt the environment around him. Ahead, there were a few hundred men, all armed to the teeth. Behind, his four targets, along with Badniks further down still on their way.

His blood was boiling, face sweaty, and teeth clenched. He wanted to fight them all. But that wasn't his mission. Extract the targets, that was his mission. By the way the one hedgehog was walking, Knuckles deduced he was carrying one of the four targets.

“You three! Follow me!”

Knuckles charged forward, while multiple agents of the Resistance flew down from the ceiling like he had just did himself. The sounds of fighting, clashing, and Badniks being torn apart filled the air, making the upward climb a bit fuzzy. Focus. Focus ahead. Knuckles focused just in time to the sound of a blade, plunging forward, aiming for him heart. The echidna sidestepped, grabbed the long spear’s end, and pulled, making the user fly down the stairs with his weapon.

“Who are you?”

Knuckles guessed this was the fox, as his voice sounded the youngest, and it came from the smallest figure.

“No time to talk! The rest of the Resistance is buying us time to get out!”

Shadow held Sonic close to his chest, as Knuckles led the way up the stairs, punching whoever was in the way.

“You're going to get help soon, just hold on.”

Shadow whispered, looking down at the blue hero, who didn't respond. He wasn't going to let him die. A mechanical scream brought Shadow back into the moment, looking up to see one of the scorpion bots flying towards him. Shadow - still clutching Sonic - jumped upward, curling both feet to stomp the bot away from him, spinning backward and catching himself back on the ground. The robot crashed against the steps, sparking and sputtering on impact. Shadow suddenly reeled in pain. What the…? He lifted his right foot so he could see the bottom. An angry gash breaking both his shoe and his skin glared up at him. He cursed under his breath, forcing himself to keep going. Shadow groaned. The pain was spiking, and he was slowing down. The others must have noticed.

“Shadow, I'll take him!”

Rusty appeared next to him, offering her arms out. Shadow nodded, quickly and gently handing him off to her. The less weight made the pain better, but he still wasn't doing so well. A sudden support on his side startled him. He looked over, finding Nine holding his right arm around his shoulders.

“Thank you.”

The fox only nodded, trudging ahead with the dark hedgehog. The four stumbled along, Knuckles protecting them as they pressed forward, Mobians of all shapes and sizes fighting around them. Shadow couldn't help but wonder how and why this group came to help them, but wasn't complaining. The hedgehog felt relief when his foot that was still intact made contact with the top step. They made it.

 

Rouge, Vector, and Espio stood along with a handful of Badniks near the blown open entrance. Resistance members had blown up the hatch leading into the factory, and started using high tech gliders to get to the front lines of ChaosCorp’s forces charging down the steps. In response to the attack, the furthest line fell back, as backup to make sure no more came in. This included the three Mobians.

Rouge had never seen anything like it. She never thought she'd see the day Mobians actually tried to revolt. Her conscience fought against herself. She wanted to help. But she couldn't.

She gasped when a handful of figures leapt up from the steps, all halting when they saw them. She sadly held up her fists, ready to fight them down.

 

Shadow stopped, seeing Knuckles hold a hand behind himself as a signal. The hedgehog looked past him, seeing a small blockade between them and the blasted open hold on the wall. Six standard Badniks, two armed foot soldiers, and… Shadow’s breath hitched. Vector, Espio… and Rouge. She was with them?

“Stand down.”

The bat said, eyes narrowing at the sight of the grisly group. Shadow spotted Rusty laying Sonic down on the ground, gearing up for a fight. Shadow patted Nine, silently telling him to let him stand.

“Not going to happen bat. If you traitors want to live, then get out of our way.”

Knuckles growled, beating his fists together. There was a moment of tension that laid over the group. Shadow didn't like the odds of this one. With Sonic down, and the inclusion of Knuckles, it was eleven on four. And three of those eleven were old friends. If they were anything like what they used to be, they could be in serious trouble.

“We aren't traitors.”

Espio spoke softly, arms crossed and eyes distant.

“We're just doing what we have to.”

That only made Knuckles growl again.

“Bullshit!”

The echidna charged, which made the ten Badniks begin their approach. Shadow’s eyes locked with Rouge. He knew her. Those eyes did not communicate what she was doing. Shadow felt a tightening in his chest. But she was in their way. Reluctantly, Shadow engaged, boosting forward. Rouge startled at his speed, but blocked his fist with her open palm just in time. Rouge backed up, flapping her wings to give herself some elevation before swooping down to deliver a kick that never landed.

Knuckles tore apart two Badniks with one fist, shattering their remains across the floor. He could sense the others pause at his display of violence. Knuckles hadn't felt this alive in a long time! He yelled, delivering a leaping right hook to another one, tearing it apart.

Rusty shielded Nine with her metal as they were both shot at by the two armed soldiers. She grimaced as bullets dented her arms, and chipped some of her pink paint off. Nine was fiddling with something on his tool belt, which convinced Rusty to hold out just a little longer. Nine produced a small silver ball, throwing it over Rusty's shoulder, towards the men. It paused in the air, glowing a second, then sparking, ripping the firearms out of the soldier's hands. After another second, even two of the Badnik's got drawn in, crushing themselves around the ball. It then dropped, only a ball of scrap now.

Shadow dodged another flying kick, and then a soaring punch from Vector, who decided to give the bat a helping hand. Shadow vaulted over Vector, delivering a sweeping kick under his feet. The gator grunted, hitting the ground. Rouge finally landed a kick, knocking Shadow to the ground next to Vector. The hedgehog held his forehead, trying to clear his now aching head. Vector rolled over, landing on top of the hedgehog, holding his arms down. Shadow struggled, confirming that this Vector was indeed stronger than the original.

The remaining Badnik pounced on Knuckles, pinning the warrior down. The red Mobian grunted, holding the sharp pincers away from his neck. With a heave, and a cry of victory, he tore the machine off of him, slamming it into the wall with a fiery explosion.

Rusty bolted towards the men, throwing both of her arms out to strike them in the face. Her left arm landed, but her second sailed passed, as the man dodged. He grabbed her extended arm, and pulled her down to the floor. Nine rushed over to help, but got stopped by the sudden appearance of Espio. The ninja took the fox off guard, giving him the chance to land a knife swipe along Nine's right arm. The fox yelped, grabbing the wound that squirted out blood. His face twisted with pained anger, lashing at the ninja with his metal tails.

Shadow managed to get his feet up and between him and Vector, landing a two foot kick to the croc’s gut. The kick irritated his gash, but it was worth loosening Vector’s hold on him. The hedgehog tore himself out from underneath, bringing both fists down on the crocodile’s head, knocking him out cold. He didn't have time to get away from Rouge’s grasp. She grabbed his injured foot, picking him up and flying with him dangling upside down.

Knuckles assessed the battleground with his feet. He couldn't tell where the dark hedgehog went, the fox was holding his own against the chameleon, and the robotic one was being beat into a corner by the two soldiers. They were no longer armed. Knuckles made a beeline over to Rusty, roughly grabbing the first man. His grip tightened enough around the man's arms that a ‘crack’ resounded through the air. The man screamed and fell to the side, arms mangled. The second didn't even try to fight. He fled, running to some other location in the factory. Knuckles growled, then set his face to a thin line. He reached down where he was sure Rusty was.

“You alright?”

He heard sparks and felt a few tremors from her body.

“Y-yeah. I'll need some repairs, but I am sufficient.”

The echidna helped her stand.

“Thank you. For… helping us.”

Nine blocked Espio's rapid knife attacks with his tails, coming close to touching his skin every time. The chameleon was skilled, Nine had to admit that. Nine pushed him back, giving himself an opening on the ninja. Nine spun, his biological tails swiping into his face. His body continued the spin, his fist coming around to deck Espio in the jaw. The chameleon reeled, shaking his head, ready to attack again… only for Knuckles to clobber him in the head, falling over like a tree in a wind storm. Nine looked between Espio and Knuckles, blinking.

“Thanks dude.”

Knuckles nodded.

“Don't mention it.”

Shadow tried swinging his body up to hit Rouge, but his gash twinged in pain as he tried, forcing him along for the ride. His eyes suddenly widened. His gun. He could take a shot… but he could seriously wound Rouge. He didn't want to do that. Shadow closed his eyes sadly. He couldn't do it. Rouge wound up, spinning the two of them in the air, and launching the dark hedgehog into the wall. Shadow’s hearing stopped, and his vision went black on impact. He could still feel though. His skin burned in pain. The gash on his foot felt like he stepped in burning coals. After another moment, he couldn't feel anything anymore, going into the unconscious realm.

“Shadow!”

Rusty ran over to his crumpled over form, stooping down to check him. Nine looked up to the bat who had just thrown him, eyes alit in fury.

“Get down here your coward!”

The bat stopped in the air, looking down at the battleground. Rouge felt those words hit deeper than she should have let. She was a coward for working with ChaosCorp. But she couldn't just… stop. She gave them all a final look, before flying down the steps.

“Get back her you…!”

“Nine, it's not worth it.”

The fox angrily huffed, then nodded.

“Let's go you two! Grab them.”

Nine ran over to Sonic, who hadn't improved just laying there. The fox felt sick seeing him like this. He picked him up, holding him close.

“I got you Sonic. I got you.”

 

If Robotnik wasn't happy before, he sure as hell wasn't happy now. Counting every pursuit, trap, and circumstance with his forces, these rebels escaped his grasp five times. First their infiltration, then the escape to District Three, escaping his blockade the first and second time, and now. But they had help this time. A well timed and organized attack against his forces allowed their targets to slip away. The numbers were still coming in; damage, deaths, and dead Mobians. Robotnik huffed, leaning back in his chair as he read through the multiple reports of the incident. They needed to nip this now, before it became a full revolt. The Mobians needed to remember their place… the genius twirled his mustache as a few ideas came to mind. He'd teach those furry things who they were messing with.

 

Sonic felt tingly all over. His heavy eyes pulled open, scanning the new room. Great, he was waking up on a strange bed AGAIN. The room was small, but serviceable. There were hospital instruments sitting around, giving Sonic the impression that he had just been patched up. That's right! The steps! Were the others ok?

“Sonic.”

The blue hedgehog’s eyes focused, finding Nine standing next to the bed. He must have been really out of it not to notice him right away.

“Nine…”

Wow, his voice sounded terrible.

“Where are the others? Are they alright?”

Nine held up his hands.

“They're fine. A little banged up, but they got help, don't worry.”

Sonic’s eyes studied Nine, spotting a bandage wrapped around his arm.

“You're hurt.”

“Don't do that.”

Nine shook his head, making Sonic confused.

“Do what?”

“Worry about me. I'm fine, you're the one who…”

Nine bit his lip, eyes suddenly glassy. Sonic’s brow furrowed.

“I'm the one who… what?”

Nine looked away, trying to avoid the subject.

“You almost died, Sonic.”

The hedgehog blinked. Guess that explains why he felt like shit. But he had to look on the bright side, he DIDN'T die, so it was fine!

“Nine, it's ok. I'm still here.”

“No that's not it!”

Nine turned away, hiding his face in his hands. Sonic had a strange sinking feeling at Nine's reaction. What did he mean? He was suddenly scared to ask, but he knew he needed to know.

“Nine…? What do you mean?”

The fox turned back around at the hedgehog’s question, face scrunched with a wealth of emotions. Sonic didn't know how to interpret that.

“You…”

Nine shut his eyes tight.

“...lost an arm.”

Sonic blinked once. Then twice.

“What?”

Nine frowned deeply, eyebrows furrowed.

“You heard me, Sonic. I'm… sorry.”

The blue hedgehog’s tingling body suddenly felt nothing. Except where his left arm was. Or should be. Sonic looked down with wide eyes, seeing a massive bandage wrapped around his chest, pressed against a shoulder without an arm. Phantom pain ran up through it, making Sonic shudder. No wait… this wasn't real. It couldn't be! Sonic looked frantically between his bandage and Nine.

“The laceration on your shoulder wasn't any normal cut. The blade was laced. Poison had gotten into you, and the only way to stop if from killing you was… amputation.”

Reality was setting in finally.

“No!”

Sonic shut his eyes, tears spilling down them. His left arm was gone, and there was nothing he could do about it. He felt a hand fall on his good shoulder, making him look up. Nine had moved closer, and he awkwardly tried to comfort his new friend.

“Sorry I don't know what to say.”

Sonic hiccuped, and then stuck his one arm out to him, silently asking for a hug, similar to his memory with Tails. Nine picked up on the signal, and he gently laid next to the hedgehog, hugging his form as carefully as he could. Sonic cried against Nine's furry chest.

“It's going to be alright.”

Nine - out of his comfort zone - did the best he could. Sonic’s reaction was expected, but it still didn't make the encounter easy. Nine never felt this way before. He was actually concerned for this hedgehog’s feelings. It was a welcome feeling, albeit difficult.

Nine ran his fingers along Sonic’s quills, soothing the hedgehog. Surprisingly, this calmed Sonic down, eventually even making him drift back to sleep. Nine allowed himself to smile. He'd be ok. With some help, Sonic would be alright eventually.

Nine gently scooched out from under him, laying his head down on the pillow. He better go tell the others he was just awake.

The fox slipped out, entering one of the many hallways of Resistance HQ. Nine had to admit, the scope and size of the Resistance surprised him. Knuckles, their interesting companion, had led them to a bunker underneath even the lower level of District One, built within the open ventilation and plumbing systems. It was basically a large campus, consisting of; quarters, meeting rooms, the mess hall, hospital wing, training dojo, and weapons department. Nine hadn't got the chance to explore yet, but he was actually quite eager to. An organization made to screw Robotnik over? Sign him up!

What was weird about roaming the halls (which he did more than he'd like to admit while waiting for Sonic to wake up), was that every time he ran into someone, they acted like he was famous or something. Every single one of them knew his name, and was honored to meet him. It was… uncomfortable. He was grateful not to have malicious attention for once, but the complete opposite was quite the one eighty.

His mind drifted back to Sonic as he walked. He'd be ok. Sonic was strong, stronger than most. He'd be back on his feet in no time, he was sure of it. While losing a limb was definitely no small thing, and he didn't want to be insensitive to his new friend, he couldn't help but be excited about the prospect of designing a prosthetic for Sonic. He'd have to get working on that as soon as he got access back to his workshop.

Nine walked into one of the meeting rooms, finding Shadow, Rusty, and Sally Acorn - the Resistance leader - conversing. They stopped at the fox’s entrance.

“He woke up.”

Rusty practically jumped out of her chair to cross the room.

“Is he ok? How did he… you know, react?”

Nine frowned.

“Not great. But he fell asleep again after.”

Rusty sadly nodded. Sally's expression was grim, but she pushed forward, moving on from the topic of Sonic's new disability.

“So, this whole time, we've been growing, and waiting for something like you guys to give us an edge. We have that now. Somehow, you four single-handedly stole two Chaos Emeralds. That's no small feat.”

“We're just doing what we think should be done.”

Shadow’s response was curt and to the point, acknowledging Sally's statement, but not really accepting the compliment. This only made Sally smile.

“You're all business no pleasure huh? I like you.”

Shadow’s eyebrows shot up when Sally gave him a questionable once over with her eyes.

“Guess I'll cut to the chase myself. We, as a young organization, need your help to get off the ground. We need to keep this momentum going all the way to Robotnik.”

Shadow hummed, nodding and tapping his chin.

“Don't you agree?”

Shadow paused.

“Once Sonic is healed. Physically and mentally. That's the only term I ask for. After that, you have our full support.”

Sally smirked, offering her hand to shake.

“Deal.”

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

So... who else saw the Sonic Movie 3 teaser image! I about lost my mind, and it was literally just a shoe 😂.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, and thank you so much for sticking with me this far! The plot plan I have has really shaped up to be better than I had even originally planned, so as always, there's more to come, and I can't wait to share more! Have a great day everyone!

Chapter 19: Unknown from M.E.

Sonic was in and out of consciousness for a week. Every time he came back, his clarity, and clearness of mind got better. They had removed his bandage due to his speedy healing, leaving a new patch of skin and fur over where his shoulder should be. Sonic hated looking at it, it made him feel like he was less of who he was. Sonic never felt that before. He was confident, cocky, and one hundred percent believed in his own power. But what about now? Sonic didn't know anymore. He tried to keep face when the others visited, but he just didn't feel the same.

“Hey Sonic.”

Nine walked into Sonic’s quarters; where they had moved him once he was healthy enough to walk around on his own. He still mostly slept.

“Hey dude. What's up?”

Nine tapped his foot, hands behind his back. Sonic tried to look behind him, making the fox take a step back to protect whatever he was hiding.

“What ya got there?”

“I made something for you.”

Sonic's brow raised in surprise.

“I thought about asking first, but… I couldn't help myself.”

Sonic squinted in confusion.

“Okay…?”

“Here.”

Nine brought the object up, holding it out to the hedgehog. Sonic’s eyes went wide. A robotic left arm. It was made of glinting steel, and was painted with blue and red highlights.

“It’d have to be surgically added, along with a Chaos Amplifier to power it and stabilize it with your body.”

Nine bit his lip, extending the arm out further as Sonic just stared.

“I… I know it's a lot. If you need to think about it - “

“I love it.”

Nine blinked owlishly.

“You do?”

Sonic grinned, gently taking the arm into his right hand, bringing it closer to his face to inspect.

“Of course. This is killer dude.”

Nine let out a laugh, one more of relief than humor. Sonic looked back at the fox, smile genuine.

“Thank you Nine.”

The fox smiled big - the biggest Sonic had ever seen from him. He looked so much like Tails when he smiled like that.

“Your welcome. I'll, uh, take that until we can plan the surgery.”

Sonic handed the arm back.

“Yes of course.”

Nine awkwardly started walking out, still not used to this level of conversations. The fox forced himself to stop from leaving.

“Hey uh Sonic?”

“Yeah?”

“It's almost lunch time in the mess… you wanna… sit with me after I drop this arm off at the med wing?”

Sonic felt his heart lurch. YES. Nine was offering to hang out! Sonic couldn't believe how much Nine had changed.

“Yes of course!”

Nine nodded with a smile.

“I'll see you there then.”

He slipped out, leaving Sonic way more uplifted than he had been all week.

 

Thorndyke was afraid. It had been a full week since the major incident. His time was up. Not only did he not have that fox yet, he had no progress in getting what knowledge he possessed into a working project for the BAO.

So you could imagine his surprise when Robotnik never contacted him that day.

 

Sonic was excited. He hadn't felt this way in a long time; the feeling he'd get whenever he had a plan just to hang out with his friends. No Emeralds, no Eggman, no big bad robot, no ‘awakened evil’, just a good time with family. Nine wasn't his brother yet, but if Sonic had any say in it, he would be soon.

Like Nine, Sonic was impressed by the Resistance. It reminded him back in the days when Eggman took over. People had come together, all fighting for a greater cause, using their talents and skills to reach that goal as a collective unit. If war wasn't such an ugly thing, the picture of teamwork would be beautiful.

Sonic had met Sally Acorn just yesterday. She didn't have much to say, but he got the implication that she was in charge. She seemed a bit odd, but Sonic respected her drive. It was clear she wanted their help, and Sonic was more than happy to offer. Apparently, while he healed, they were already at work planning their first major play against Robotnik. It was nice to have more people working together on their mission. Sonic never usually admitted when he needed a break, but even he had to this time. Shadow, Rusty, and Nine definitely needed one too. It had been one hell of a ride to get to where they were now.

Sonic made it to the mess hall, getting in the line to the serving table. Sonic felt a bit awkward picking up a plate with one hand, but he managed.

“Hi there!”

Sonic made small talk with the servers, who piled his plate with baked beans, and to the hedgehog’s delight, hot dogs. Unfortunately it didn't have chili, but he'd take it.

Sonic, now with a full plate being balanced in his hand, spotted Nine, who waved at him. Shadow and Rusty were with him, making Sonic grin like a cat.

“Hey everyone!”

Sonic took a seat next to Nine, smiling. Shadow and Rusty shared a look.

“You're… chipper today.”

Sonic only grinned in response.

“You could say that.”

Shadow shrugged it off, taking a bite out of his hot dog.

“What is this exactly?”

Sonic gasped dramatically at Nine, who was eyeing the hot dog with scrutiny.

“Okay, this is changing right now. It's called a hot dog. With chili on top it's the best food in the world, but… ya know, without is good too.”

Nine looked at Sonic, then the dog.

“What's it made out of?”

Sonic blinked a few times.

“No one really knows… but just try it.”

Nine gave Sonic a goofy look, but relented, shoving in a third of the dog in his mouth. His reaction was delayed, but it was worth it. His eyes shot open, clearly surprised.

“Dude take smaller bites… don't want you to choke.”

“This is really good.”

Sonic’s plea was ignored as Nine practically finished the whole thing with his next bite. How'd he even fit it in his small mouth? Sonic decided not to ask.

“See? I told you it was the best.”

Nine swallowed.

“Best? Not really.”

Sonic gawked.

“How could you say such a thing?”

“Well, maybe it's because it wasn't topped with… whatever you said earlier.”

Sonic grinned.

“Chili. And yes that must be why.”

Rusty giggled, watching the two’s interaction. Shadow only shook his head, taking extremely small bites out of his meal.

“So Sonic… how have you been feeling?”

Sonic met Rusty's gaze, now chewing on his own dog. He searched himself with her question. He didn't feel normal that's for sure. But his sadness for the past few days were overshadowed by how joyful he was. Sonic basically got his best friend back in Nine, and he wasn't going to let anything distract that fact.

“Good, honestly. It's a change but nothing I can't handle I guess.”

He chuckled, taking another bite. Rusty had a small smile on her face.

“Good to hear Sonic.”

Their eyes met again, but held longer than usual. Sonic swallowed awkwardly as her intense eyes searched his. Her biological one was soft, and passionate, while her mechanical one was a cold light. For some reason, the mix made a chill go down Sonic’s spine. Not a negative feeling either.

“Oh Sonic.”

Sonic blinked out of the stare, giving Shadow his attention.

“Yeah?”

“Knuckles is here.”

Sonic felt his heart jump.

“Where?”

“He just sat down. Over there.”

Sonic’s eyes followed Shadow’s point, landing on a lone echidna figure. While different, Sonic couldn't help the memories rushing back.

 

Knuckles was a private guy. He liked being alone, guarding the Master Emerald, and protecting his island. Sonic knew that was Knuckles first and only priority in life, at least until he met him. Not right away of course, but after a long few years, Knuckles became a close alley, close friend, a close brother. He used to hate visits from Sonic and Tails, but now he looked forward to it. Of course he never admitted it to either of them, but Sonic could tell it was true.

“Hi Knuckles!”

Tails had ran ahead, eagerly greeting their red friend after parking the Tornado. Sonic casually walked up, hands behind his head leisurely.

“Hey squirt.”

Knuckles fist bumped Tails, who wasted no time taking off his backpack to empty its contents.

“I brought you another book. Did you finish the last?”

Knuckles nodded, producing a book labeled ‘Hunger Games’, giving it to Tails.

“I just don't get it. Why would a society be against itself? Obviously the best solution to their problem would be to unify both the capital and the districts…”

“Well true, but I guess that just shows how power can corrupt individuals, making them untrusting of others, and forcing outrageous ideas to others below them just because they can.”

Sonic blinked as Knuckles and Tails talked, shaking his head. Not being much of a reader himself, Sonic was glad Tails found someone who shared his desire to read, fiction or not. At first, Sonic had thought Knuckles was just being a good sport about it, but it turned out that he enjoyed reading what Tails brought him exponentially.

“This is the second book. Trust me the plot gets even better.”

Knuckles gently took the next book from Tails, setting it aside.

“We brought chili dog and s'more supplies. I can start making a campfire! Is that okay Sonic?”

Sonic nodded, making Tails run off to find an empty patch of ground to start a fire. Sonic chuckled. That kid was almost as hyper as himself.

“He's growing up fast.”

Sonic nodded fondly at the echidna’s observation.

“Yeah he is.”

Sonic spun around, mouth quirking up.

“So… I heard Rouge stopped by the other day…”

Knuckles’ eyes suddenly widened.

“...and she stayed the night…”

“Who told you that?!”

Knuckles' red fur somehow reddened more, out of anger and embarrassment. This only egged Sonic on of course.

“Shadow. He said Rouge was heading over to Angel Island for some… what did he call it? Oh yeah, some ‘candle-lit dinner' I think.”

Knuckles turned away, his face looking like a cherry. He took a deep inhale, then spun back around.

“Okay fine. I'll tell you, but DON'T you dare spread this around like common knowledge, alright?”

Sonic nodded.

“Rouge and I started seeing each other. It started last month.”

Sonic grinned.

“I always knew she had a thing for you.”

Knuckles scoffed a bit.

“Yeah I know.”

The echidna looked past Sonic, eyes settling on Tails building the fire, but he wasn't really looking at the fox, his eyes were a lot more distant than that.

“I can't explain it Sonic. For the longest time that bat had just been a thorn in my side you know? But she's so… unexpected.”

“Unexpected?”

“I guess I mean I didn't expect her to be so… good?”

Sonic snorted.

“Good at what Knuckles? She show you a really good time or something?”

Knuckles turned pink again.

“No of course not! I respect a lady's boundaries!”

Sonic nodded.

“I'm just teasing bro. I'm happy for you really. You found someone extra special… and I think we should commemorate this with an evening with the boys.”

Sonic gestured to the now roaring fire.

“Whaddya say Knuckles? Toast to the new lovers?”

Knuckles frowned.

“Not lovers. We are COURTING.”

Sonic only shook his head. Of course Knuckles would take it the old fashioned way.

“Sure thing big guy.”

 

“Hey.”

Knuckles' face drifted up to Sonic, but no eyes were to be seen. Sonic felt his heart clench at the sight. Embedded into Knuckles’ face was some block of tech, stretching over where his eyes would be. The block had a few blinking lights along the side.

“Uh, hey.”

“I'm Sonic. You saved me and my friends.”

The echidna nodded in acknowledgement.

“I was just doing what I thought was right.”

“Do you mind if we sit with you?”

Knuckles felt the presence of the other three, awaiting his response. He ultimately shrugged, gesturing to the empty seats.

“Take a seat."

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

So, I would like to announce that I am making artwork for this fic now! I mentioned it in the comments last time, but I'm case no one really saw it I wanted to make it official. I don't have a timeline when I'll put those in, as I only started, and I don't really know all I want to make, but I just wanted everyone to know and be excited for those. One of the things I will do for sure is main character portraits; Sonic, Shadow, Nine, and Rusty, and then I'm gonna create the blueprint of Chaos City. I'll consider making character portraits of some of the main supporting characters like Knuckles and Rouge perhaps, but that'll be based on if you guys want to see more. Oh and final detail, I will be using pixel art to make these.

See you all next time!

Chapter 20: Under New Management

“You summoned me sir?”

Robotnik’s chair creaked as he turned to the newcomer in his office.

“Yes professor. Please take a seat.”

“Does this have anything to do with the recent incidents sir?”

“Yes, in fact it does.”

The man sat across from the Captain, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his knee.

“See professor, it's become apparent that the only living thing capable of helping me make the BAO functional, is a mutant, Mobian, child.”

Robotnik stood, starting to pace his office.

“And, the current BAO project head, has failed to obtain said child.”

He stopped behind the chair, gripping the seat back.

“You are the new head of the project, Professor Stone, congratulations.”

 

“Thanks for saving us.”

Knuckles waved it off.

“It wasn't anything special. Anyone could have done it.”

Knuckles settled into his seat, feeling that he was being watched intently by the fox.

“What kid? Do I have something on my face?”

Nine turned red for being called out.

“Sorry, uh, don't mean to be rude. I just… never seen tech like that.”

Knuckles frowned.

“Most people haven't.”

A beat of silence passed.

“You're the one who escaped. Aren't you?”

Knuckles whirled at Shadow’s comment, but then relaxed a moment later.

“Yeah.”

Sonic’s jaw slacked, mentally behind his black counterpart in deduction. He then frowned deeply, not happy by the implications.

“I don't really want to talk about it.”

“Well you should.”

The whole table looked at Shadow in surprise. Knuckles grit his teeth.

“You dare?”

“You're here to help, yes?”

Knuckles looked absolutely pissed. Sonic scooched as far away from the table as possible, as Shadow and Knuckles held tension between each-other.

“Of course I'm here to help! I wouldn't be here otherwise!”

Shadow crossed his arms.

“Then start helping. Tell us what's in there. I'd like to be prepared for when I stick my face in the vipers hole.”

Knuckles was ready to retort, but didn't have words. Instead, he angrily finished his drink, stood, and walked away.

“Shadow! What was that for?”

Sonic demanded, clearly upset at Shadow’s directness.

“Calm down. It's for his own good, and ours. He has valuable information for the mission. Literally, no one knows what happens inside that tower. Only him.”

Sonic went to cross his arms only to remember he couldn't.

“Well I still think that could have been handled… better.”

Shadow rolled his eyes.

“Oh please. He doesn't need to be coddled. He'll come around.”

Sonic drummed his fingers.

“If you say so.”

Nine cleared his throat.

“Hey Sonic? I dropped the arm off at the med wing. The doctor said they could begin surgery anytime. So whenever you want.”

Sonic allowed an easygoing smile.

“Thanks man.”

 

Chris Thorndyke’s leg bounced nervously. He was in Tom Wachowski’s office, having been requested to stay there. Was this about the timeline being surpassed? He sweat dropped, hoping deep within himself that it wasn't true.

Chris turned in his seat to the door when he heard it open. A large soldier had walked in by himself. Chris blinked at him, not recognizing him.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Thorndyke sir?”

Chris nodded nervously.

“Yes that's me…”

“After failure to meet Captain Robotnik’s timeline, you are terminated from ChaosCorp, effective immediately.”

With a swift motion, the soldier unholstered his gun, and shot Chris in the face.

 

“You ready Sonic?”

The blue hedgehog - currently laying on the operation table - gave a weak thumbs up. Sonic was never good with medical equipment, it made him queasy. But he'd be strong for this. Nine - who was going to help the doctor with the new arm installment - lowered the anesthesia mask to Sonic’s face.

“It'll be over before you know it.’

The fox watched Sonic drift off peacefully. He smiled, gave the doctor a nod, then got to work.

Rusty and Shadow waited outside. Rusty was trying and failing to think of anything else than what was happening, while Shadow had his nose in a book. He had picked it up among the shelves in the waiting area. It wasn't that good, but it was something to do. His eyes bounced past the book, finding Rusty nervously fiddling with her fingers. He sighed.

“He'll be fine Rusty.”

She jolted a bit, Shadow had brought her back to reality. She smiled, more pink than normal on her cheeks.

“I know he will.”

Shadow, after another moment, went back to his book. Rusty watched him. If she didn't know better, Shadow looked angry. Not exactly pissed, but definitely upset, or frustrated.

“Shadow… are you alright?”

“I'm fine.”

His response came too quickly. Rusty frowned.

“What's wrong?”

Shadow shut his book, looking more agitated.

“Shadow…?”

“I'm angry.”

Rusty scoffed.

“I noticed that.”

Shadow took a breath to steady himself. Rusty was trying to help, he reminded himself.

“I'm mad at myself.”

Rusty looked confused. She wondered why that would be the case.

“...why?”

Shadow sighed. His voice was full of emotion that Rusty couldn't yet interpret.

“That bat… she is my friend. Or was, as it were.”

Rusty frowned sadly.

“But… why are you mad at yourself?”

Shadow rubbed his face with his hands.

“Because, stupid faker is rubbing off on me. I got optimistic. I knew I'd find her one day, but… of all things, she works for the damn enemy.”

Shadow growled, punching the wall. He held back as much as he could, but he still dented it.

“I'm mad that I set myself up for disappointment.”

Rusty searched Shadow’s haunted eyes. A sudden determination boiled up in her.

“Shadow, Nine and I weren't exactly friendly to you guys when we met.”

Shadow gave her a side glance as she continued.

“Your friend may work for ChaosCorp, but that can change. We beat them, she doesn't have anyone to work for anymore. I'm no prophet, but I just know you'll make that connection again.”

Shadow mulled over her words. It was true that if ChaosCorp was removed from the equation, that'd just leave Rouge as is. But, there was no telling what Rouge was like here. She might not want to associate with him even after…

Shadow made eye contact with Rusty, seeing her reassuring expression. The dark hedgehog felt a feeling of support, the kind that only close friends could give. While still feeling the weight of seeing Rouge, Shadow allowed a smile.

“Thank you Rusty.”

“No problem Shadow.”

 

Cream skipped along the dirt path, humming to herself. Cream loved the outdoors. While the air was still as smoky as ever, Cream was too young to remember the time before, so she had nothing to compare to.

Her happy attitude halted when a loud sound echoed through her sensitive ears. It sounded like something… whooshing? Cream looked up, just in time to see an aircraft, with jet boosters pointed towards the ground, hovering downward, directly where she was standing. She yelped, running off to the side to hide. She peaked above a trash can, watching the metal beast land in the middle of the street. It was absolutely massive, and it wasn't the only one. Multiple ships landed all over the streets, making some Mobians run in panic. The first to land hissed as air released, and a ramp door extended down. It landed on the dirt below, and an ominous cloud spilled out of the opening. From within, a properly dressed man with slicked hair and trimmed beard stepped out, flanked by soldiers. He had a cup of coffee in his hands, and he took a sip as he looked around the dump of a District. He made a funny face, looking down at his coffee.

“I wanted this made with goat's milk, remake it.”

He shoved the cup into a random person's hand, who retreated back into the ship.

“Alright. Round them up.”

Soldiers and Badniks emerged from all the ships, running after multiple Mobians, pinning them down, and shocking them with tasers. Cream’s scream died in her throat when her trash can was tossed aside, revealing her to the man.

“Hello little girl.”

His gloved hand roughly grabbed both her ears, holding them above her head. She gasped painfully, struggling to get out of the man's grasp.

“Let me go!”

“Oh but I can't do that my dear… what's your name?”

With tears in her eyes, she responded.

“C-Cream.”

“You see - Cream - I have a mission from the Captain.”

His voice was smooth, steady, but also condescending.

“A lot of bad people did bad things here, and he wants me to find them. So I need bait for them to show themselves.”

Cream softly cried, not liking where this could be going. Stone walked around the vicinity, dragging Cream with him.

“Set up the posts! Interrogation begins now.”

 

Shadow had finished the book, forcing him to think about all the current events. Honestly, he hadn't had a moment to reflect all that had happened, so it felt wild to him how much had transpired in so little time. He was mostly worried about how he was going to handle Rouge in the future. He knew they'd meet again, he just hoped by then, ChaosCorp would have already been made history.

“Hey guys, he's awake.”

The two perked up at the sight of Nine at the door, gesturing inside. They quickly followed him in, near Sonic’s bedside. The blue hedgehog groggily smiled at them walking in.

“Hey guys.”

“How do you feel Sonic?”

Rusty asked, concern written all over her face.

“Hungry.”

The light hearted response gave everyone a small chuckle. Sonic was indeed just fine.

“Sonic… the surgery was a success. You should be able to move your new arm.”

Nine's statement was like a shot of coke to Sonic. His eyes widened, and he looked down to his left. Right there, attached to the rest of his body, was the metal arm Nine had shown him earlier. With a small bit of hesitation, Sonic willed it to move. It did. The hand dragged up into his face. Chaos, it felt weird, but not completely unnatural. Nine did a good job.

“Nine, this is amazing.”

The fox blushed a bit.

“No problem.”

Sonic made his new fingers wiggle, making himself chuckle.

“Well uh, you should probably get more rest. The skin around the base needs time to heal properly.”

Nine awkwardly said, pointing his body to the door.

“Sure thing Nine.”

Nine nodded to him, sneaking out of the room. Shadow grunted, following Nine out. Sonic looked up at Rusty, expecting her to do the same. She didn't.

“Sonic?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you… mind if I stay in here while you sleep?”

Sonic - not expecting the question - didn't know what to say at first.

“Uh, sure.”

Rusty smiled wide, taking a seat next to his bedside. He scooched his body into a relaxed position. Rusty surprised him again, by brushing one of his quills that had fallen out of place. Their eyes met. Chaos, those eyes.

“Sleep well Sonic.”

Notes:

Thank you for reading!

I may have rushed this chapter a bit, as I am going on a long weekend trip really early tomorrow morning, and probably won't have any time to work on this until Monday or so, I really wanted to post it now.

Also, minor update on the art. I finished Sonic's portrait, which turned out way better than I thought it would honestly 😂. I started the city map, which is proving quite the challenge to fit all the information needed in it, but I'll figure it out.

See you all next time!

Chapter 21: They're Brothers Your Honor

Knuckles was stewing. Just who did that hedgehog think he was? The echidna was so steamed, he wasn't concentrating enough to sense what was in front of him. His solid body collided with a much smaller one, who collapsed on the floor. Knuckles immediately snapped out of his cloud of anger, picturing a sprawled out chipmunk on the ground.

“Oh uh… sorry.”

He thrust his hand out, and he felt her grasp it. He pulled her up, making her stumble upward at first, before steadying. Sally Acorn brushed off her shirt.

“No problem…”

She awkwardly stood there, while Knuckles tried to sense her expression and what it meant.

“Do you… want to join me in the boardroom? I have a pitch for the plan moving forward. Your opinion would be respected and appreciated.”

Knuckles didn't know if he was flattered or forced into obligation. Deciding to remain neutral on it, the echidna just shrugged.

“Got nothing better to do right now.”

Sally grinned.

“Great. Walk with me then.”

The chipmunk walked confidently through the halls as Knuckles shuffled behind her.

 

It only took Sonic another few hours of sleep to heal. Naturally, his fast healing was the only reason this was the case. Sonic would never brag about this ability to anyone, but he was definitely proud of having it. He moved his metal arm around as he walked the halls. He guessed this was a small glimpse of what Rusty feels like. A small blush crept onto his cheeks. She had been there when he woke up, soothing the headache that had been there for the first hour. She was a good friend.

The hedgehog yawned, and stepped through the doors leading to the training hall. He promised Nine he'd meet him there later to test out his arm. Sonic couldn't lie, he was actually quite excited.

The large room had many different sections, ones built for testing different skills, like acrobatics, hand to hand, weapons, and targets for firearms. There were several others using the equipment, so it took him a minute to find his fox friend. He was benching weights, with Rusty spotting him. He grinned, as he walked over to the two.

“Heya guys.”

Rusty waved. Nine grunted in acknowledgement, sweat trickling down his forehead and arms as he pushed another set upward.

“Dang man.”

Nine set the bar on the stand, sitting up with a tired smile.

“Hey Sonic. How are you feeling?”

The hedgehog grinned, throwing finger guns at Nine.

“Not too shabby.”

Nine wiped sweat off his face with a towel, standing up and gesturing to the two to follow him. They walked around a corner to an area set up with punching bags and dummies. Sonic grinned when he spotted Shadow. The darker hedgehog was going ham on the one dummy, fists and feet flying at respectable speeds, hitting it on all sides, before he ended his onslaught with a roundhouse kick to the head, knocking the dummy to the wall. It crumpled apart on impact, dust swirling in the air. Shadow rolled his head, cracking his neck.

“Sonic.”

Shadow finally noticed them, walking over and nodding to them.

“So Sonic, I added some… features to your arm.”

Sonic's eyebrow perked up the same time Shadow’s did.

“Oh?”

Nine nodded.

“It's kinda hard to explain. To activate them, I want you to concentrate on fighting this dummy.”

Nine pulled over the dummy, gesturing to it.

“Just… imagine it's a real enemy. Get mad if you can.”

Sonic blinked, looking down at his hand.

“Okay.”

Sonic frowned, staring the dummy down with a fighting stance. The other three took a step back. Sonic tried to imagine some of his old enemy's faces on the dummy. Metal, Zavok, even that idiot Erazor Djinn. With a yell, he used his metal fist to strike the dummy. It fell to the floor with a thud. Sonic looked at his arm, then to Nine, and shrugged.

“Well, you're probably not… challenged enough for it to activate I guess.”

Shadow ‘hmphed’.

“I'd say he's pretty challenged.”

Sonic crossed his arms with a frown.

“Oh, and you think you can do it better?”

“Naturally.”

Shadow smirked as Sonic scowled.

“Prove it, tough guy.”

Shadow’s smirk only deepend.

“Fine. You, me, let's go right now.”

Now it was Sonic’s turn to grin.

“You're on!”

“Hold on a second…”

Rusty looked between the two, worried, but Nine quickly stopped her from interfering.

“Shh. Shadow is helping.”

Rusty made an ‘o’ with her mouth as the two hedgehogs brought up their fists.

“Don't hold back faker.”

Sonic flicked his nose with his thumb.

“Huh! Look who you're talking to!”

Shadow narrowed his eyes.

“Come at me bro.”

Sonic boosted forward, rearing up a punch powered by his momentum. His fist sailed past Shadow a second after the darker hedgehog sidestepped. Shadow followed up, sending a kick whooshing past Sonic’s head, who ducked last minute. The two spindashed simultaneously, bashing into each-other once, twice, three times…

Nine watched with bated breath as the two sped around the entire room, trading punches, kicks, and their rolled bodies back and forth.

“Never thought a fight between them would be so fun to watch.”

Rusty drug her hand through her face.

“Boys.”

Sonic swooped his foot underneath Shadow, who landed on his back with a grunt. Sonic ran to the other side of the room, up the wall, and propelled his entire body with his movement into a sailing kick to Shadow. The dark hedgehog got up in time to roll away, spinning around to ram into Sonic’s back. Sonic yelped, falling on his face. Shadow was on him in a second, flipping him forward and pinning him down. Sonic blocked a handful of powerful punches raining down from Shadow. Sonic could feel the sweat rolling off his body, his heart pumping overtime, and his nerves abuzz with adrenaline. A surge of determination ran through him. Sonic reared up his right fist, smacking Shadow in the gut with it. Shadow loosened his grip giving Sonic the opening. He shoved Shadow upward, chasing after his now wobbling standing form. Sonic punched him with his right again, then on instinct, revved up his left. A sudden whirring and sparking sound emanated from his new arm, as he landed a solid punch to Shadow’s face. Electricity arced, popped, and ran through Shadow within a fraction of a second, before the force of the blow threw him off of his feet. Shadow landed with a grunt, little arcs of electricity occasionally sparking on his fur. Sonic looked down in bewilderment. His arm was glowing in spots, especially the blue tips of his finger. They sparked with a powerful electric charge.

“Woah.”

Sonic grinned, pumping his sparking fist.

“Aww yeah! This is happening!”

Shadow chuckled, slowly getting to his feet.

“Good job faker.”

Nine gave Sonic a thumbs up.

“Cool moves.”

Rusty rolled her eyes.

“Well at least something was accomplished out of that.”

Sonic looked back down at his arm, and then back at Shadow, who grinned at him.

“Round two?”

 

Sally was in the boardroom with all the other major leaders of the resistance, and of course, Knuckles was there too. He felt out of place. While he did share the same hatred for ChaosCorp they did (though if he was being honest, Knuckles was sure he hated them more than most), Knuckles wasn't exactly the planning type, so his ‘input’ as Sally had put it, probably wouldn't be needed. He was starting to regret joining the chipmunk.

“The plan sounds solid enough.”

“When's the soonest we can mobilize our troops?”

Sally smiled.

“Tomorrow.”

There were shared grunts of approval across the table. Knuckles stayed silent.

“So tomorrow, we make phase one.”

“Miss Acorn!”

The door was barged in, a small Mobian literally flying through.

“Jewel!”

“I'm sorry to interrupt everyone… but there's something you all have to see. Right now.”

 

After Sonic and Shadow showed off for another hour, the group split up, Shadow going to the bench Nine had used, Rusty heading over to the mess to see if they needed any extra hands, and Sonic joined Nine to go check out the weapons room. The hedgehog and the fox walked side by side in the halls, Sonic still wiping sweat off himself with a towel.

“Quite the display.”

Sonic’s brow raised with a grin.

“Heh, like that huh?”

Nine crossed his arms.

“You're skilled. Seeing you in action is… cool.”

The fox gave Sonic a look.

“So is Shadow though.”

Sonic groaned.

“Hold on, Shadow is not cooler than me.”

“I didn't say that.”

Nine gave Sonic a mischievous smirk. It took Sonic a second to realize Nine was teasing him. Sonic returned the smirk.

“Well you definitely implied.”

Nine shrugged.

“Maybe I did. But you can't pin anything on me without evidence…”

Nine held a straight face, until he couldn't. He lightly chuckled, grinning ear to ear. It made Sonic feel incredible to see Nine happy. Out of habit, Sonic’s hand reached out, but his brain caught up with his heart just in time to stop his hand from touching his head. He awkwardly held it there, before violently pulling it back to his side. Nine looked at him confused.

“Um… what was that?”

Sonic cringed at his lack of restraint.

“... Nothing.”

Nine stopped walking, putting one hand on his hip.

“Dude, you can tell me.”

Sonic stopped too, awkwardly nodding.

“Right. Um. It was just something I used to do.”

He paused.

“With you.”

Nine made a funny expression.

“So… you'd just… touch your friend on the head? No offense, but that seems a bit condescending.”

Nine let out a small laugh.

“Sounds more like a big brother thing than a friend thing.”

Sonic’s heart stopped. It was a big brother thing. Tails… Nine, was his little bro.

“I'm… joking obviously. Sonic?”

Sonic didn't respond verbally. Instead he turned, emotions starting to bubble to the surface.

Nine furrowed his brow at Sonic’s reaction. What did he say wrong? He only said… wait. Nine’s wheels started turning in his head. A hedgehog and a fox couldn't possibly be blood related… so why…?

“Sonic… we were really close friends, I know that…”

“We were brothers.”

Sonic turned around, tears slowly falling from his face.

“Maybe not by blood, but we were closer than blood.”

Nine’s eyes widened. What?

“B-brothers?”

Sonic nodded, swiping away a few stray tears.

Nine processed what he was hearing. If they used to be brothers, and he used to do - whatever he was about to do - to his brother, and he almost did to him… that meant…

“You… see me as… a brother?”

Sonic nodded rapidly.

“I know that may seem weird, since you still don't know me that well, but…”

“No, don't do that. I may not know you well, but I know that you're the first person to make me realize I was even capable of real friendship. And…”

Nine suddenly felt emotional, rubbing his eyes to hide his feelings. His voice cracked.

“... All I ever wanted was what you've given me. A family. A place to belong. It'll be different from what you are used to, but I think I'd like a brother.”

Nine bit his lip, mad at how weak he sounded, but he wasn't about to regret what he said. Sonic really was amazing, and Nine would tell anyone that now.

Sonic’s heart fluctuated. Yes yes yes! Sonic’s tears turned to happy tears, flowing more freely.

“Oh Chaos yes!”

The hedgehog wrapped his arms around Nine, bringing the little guy close. Nine laughed through his own tears, and hugged back. After a minute, the two separated, wiping their respective tears out of their own eyes.

“You can, BTW.”

“Huh? Can what?”

Nine gestured to his head.

“Whatever it was you were going to do. You can.”

Sonic’s eyes lit up. Now smiling like a six year old with a carton of cookies, Sonic placed his hand on Nine's head, ruffling his long tufts of fur. Nine laughed, not expecting anything more than a tap or two.

“Okay stop, that's all you get!”

He yelled between laughs.

“Nope. Too late.”

Nine ran down the hallway as if to escape, laughing as he did. Sonic ran after him - not full speed of course - can't make the game end so soon. As the brothers ran through the halls, Sonic felt like his life was right again. He got his brother back.

 

The assembly, including Sally and Knuckles, followed Jewel to another room, this one equipped with a television. It was turned onto the news station, with the message on the bottom ‘Show Yourselves Terrorists’. Knuckles couldn't see this of course, so he waited patiently for an explanation.

“This has been on loop for the past hour. They are trying to smoke us out into the open.”

Sally gasped in horror at the sight. It was footage of the streets of District One. Destruction was everywhere. Soldiers and Badniks were terrorizing the Mobian people. But it was worse than that. The screen flicked over to a well dressed man with slicked hair. Behind him were posts, where several Mobians were tied to. Chaos no.

“This is your warning, terrorists.”

The man gestured to the prone Mobians.

“All we want is the fox, and the hedgehogs. Give them to us, unarmed, and bound, we'll stop this.”

The man then nodded to the other soldiers, who were holding whips. The lashed into the Mobians, who screamed from the pain. Knuckles was glad he couldn't see it. He grimaced as the lashings continued. But then, his hypersensitive ears picked up a voice out of the screams. Hell no. Something inside Knuckles snapped.

“Chaos… is that Cream?”

His entire body shook from rage.

“I'm going to MURDER THOSE BASTARDS!”

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

So unfortunately no update on the art, as I haven't had much time to draw anything. The map has proven to be quite difficult as I need to shove in so much information on it. I may have to simplify it just a bit.

Anyway, I hoped you all enjoyed, and see you next time!

Chapter 22: Negotiations

Knuckles was caught mid-run, a small but surprisingly strong hand gripping his shoulder. The echidna whirled at the chipmunk, face twisted with rage.

“Let go of me!”

The young resistance leader didn't falter, holding fast to the angry echidna.

“Stop Knuckles! There's a whole army up there! Are you going to just take them all on by yourself?! Stop, and think.”

Knuckles wrenched himself from her grip, scowl dropping into a deep frown. He definitely wasn't happy, but he couldn't disagree with the logic.

“Fine. So what's the plan?”

Sally ran her face through her open palms.

“I'm thinking.’

Jewel awkwardly flew to the door.

“Should I tell Sonic and his group?”

“No! They can't know about this. They are too valuable to the mission to risk their lives for a suicide mission.”

Knuckles crossed his arms.

“Then what are we going to do?”

Sally sighed deeply. Knuckles felt the vibrations of her body, signaling that she was in a state of distress.

“Jewel, send out a drone. We can't use force, so we'll have to use diplomacy.”

 

Sonic and Nine spent the rest of the day together. They talked forever about everything and about nothing. While not the deepest conversations, it was the most fun Sonic has had in awhile. After getting to the surface of Nine's rigid disposition, he was a really sweet kid. Just like Sonic remembered in a bittersweet way.

“What? A were-hog? There's no way.”

“No I'm serious! I literally transformed at night!”

The fox laughed as they came to a stop in front of Nine's room.

“I bet you looked stupid.”

Nine held up his fingers as a square, mimicking a camera, pointed towards Sonic. He imagined his teeth super sharp down his face, which seemed ridiculous on Sonic's normally chill or goofy aura.

“Well I wasn't the prettiest, I can tell you that.”

Nine shook his head, his laugh finally dying down. The fox felt extremely light, like burdens that he couldn't even name were gone. Sonic just felt so… right to be around.

“Hey uh, thanks Sonic.”

“What for?”

“Everything, I guess?”

Nine chuckled, shaking his head.

“You changed so much, I don't even know what to say specifically...”

Nine avoided eye contact, hand wringing together.

“So thanks.”

Sonic smiled warmly, feeling his heart soar.

“You're welcome.”

The two held eye contact for a long moment.

“Well, uh it's getting late. I better let ya - ”

Sonic was cut off when Nine hugged him. Sonic thanked Light Gaia for this. He hugged back.

“Sleep well Nine.”

“You too Sonic.”

They parted, Nine giving Sonic a little playful salute, before heading into his room. Sonic just smiled. He loved that fox. His brother. With a warm heart, Sonic sped off to his own room to get some shut-eye.

 

Professor Stone watched as the flogging continued into the dusk. Screams echoed through the streets. Blood splattered on the ground near his feet. A single droplet landed on his fine shoes. He ‘tsked', pulling out a handkerchief to clean it off. He held his hand out, stopping the floggers. We strided smoothly over to the youngest Mobian on the block. Cream whimpered, pools of tears running down her face, as blood ran down her small back. Stone stopped next to her.

“Don't cry girl. This is necessary. You, and your kind have been getting off easy. You all need to remember your place.”

Cream’s head swam with his words, not really comprehending under the immense pain.

“Professor Stone sir!”

A soldier saluted next to him.

“Yes?”

“We found this sir. It's a drone that flew in from somewhere.”

Stone blinked.

“Why is this significant?”

“It's from the Resistance sir.”

 

Sally nervously fidgeted in her seat. The mic and speaker that was hooked up to the drone they had sent stared her in the face. She knew she had to work something out with them. They couldn't waste their reserves for a major confrontation in District One, they needed it for Robotnik Tower. She wasn't the best at democracy, but she'd have to be today.

The speaker sparked to life.

“Am I speaking to the ‘resistance’?”

Sally cleared her throat, and shoved her nerves down. She held the talk button down to speak back.

“Yes.”

There was a pause.

“Who are you people?”

“That doesn't matter. I only want to talk business.”

Sally glanced over to Knuckles, who was hunched nearby, listening intently.

“Fair enough. Are you prepared to give us the four terrorists?”

“No. I'd like to negotiate a different price.”

Sally felt her nerves spike as there was another pause on the other end.

“What price?”

Sally inhaled deeply, diving into her idea. She wasn't exactly happy about it, but she knew for the sake of all of them, she had to do it.

“One of them.”

“Excuse me?”

“Only one of them. You get to choose one of the four. We'll deliver them to you tonight, and you leave us alone.”

Knuckles turned his head to her in alarm. She could see his unsaid ‘what are you doing?’ in his face.

“Hmm. Interesting.”

“Do we have a deal?”

Knuckles felt his gut twist. This wasn't right. Sending any of them to ChaosCorp would be… But he had to save Cream.

“...yes. We will be gone by morning, given you provide.”

Sally felt a bittersweet victory. Problem solved, albeit in a terrible way. She repeated in her head ‘doing the wrong thing for the right reasons’.

“Which of them do you want?”

The response was without hesitation.

“The fox.”

Knuckles felt his heart crumple. He was a child…

“Understood. We will deliver via another drone within the hour.”

Sally terminated the connection. It took a long moment of silence for Knuckles to finally snap.

“What the actual shit?!”

He stood, face alit.

“You are going to sell out the fox?!”

“What else could I have done?!’

“Dishonor! He is a child!”

“I KNOW THAT!”

Sally turned away, mind abuzz.

“I'm sorry Knuckles, but in the grand scheme of things, sacrifices must be made to finish this. Think of all those above us, suffering because we do nothing. Think of Cream.”

Knuckles stiffened. He hated her logic. He hated that he was actually considering not doing anything about this terrible thing.

“What about the other three? Surely they aren't going to just sacrifice their teammate.”

“They won't know.”

Knuckles huffed.

“So what, we're going to just be like ‘whoops, can't find him’, is that it?”

Sally shook her head.

“No. We are going to fake his death.”

 

The stage was set, and Knuckles couldn't have been more torn about it. His duty was to the Mobians as a whole, not just one child. No matter how many times he told himself that, he didn't feel any better about it.

Knuckles was joined by two other Resistance members, and their job was to extract the fox. The echidna stuffed down his personal feelings in favor of his duty.

His massive fist threw open the door, the two others walking in first, with Knuckles behind them.

“What the hell?!

He spotted Nine in the middle of the room, who was clearly caught off guard. The other two had tasers drawn and trained on the fox. Knuckles just blocked the door with his hulking frame.

“Sorry fox, but I need you to come with me.”

Nine’s eyes flickered between the three.

“What bullshit is this?!”

Both soldiers fired their tasers simultaneously, connectors piercing Nine on both sides, sending powerful shock waves through his small body. He made a sputtering sound, and he fell to his knees, trembling and twitching.

“That's enough.”

The tasers retracted at Knuckles' words. He knelt down to pick him up, cradling the eight year old in his arms.

“Sorry Nine. I'm just doing what I have to do.”

 

Doctoring footage was too easy these days. Sally was inspecting the newly changed recording, of resistance members acting out a scene. One of them had been altered to look like Nine.

“That should be enough to fool them.”

Sally approved the video, moving over to the drone being prepared. Knuckles was helping tie the fox to the device, scowling as he did so.

“Knuckles.”

The echidna turned to her, even if he couldn't see her.

“You're doing the right thing.”

Knuckles felt Nine's fur with his hands, shoved between the cold metal of the drone.

“Let's just get this over with.”

 

Sonic stirred at the sounds of light knocking on his door. He sat up in bed, ears tuning into the sounds.

“Sonic?”

Sonic pushed himself out of the bed, stumbling to his door like a zombie. He didn't realize how tired he was till his head hit the pillow a few hours earlier, and he really wanted to soak in as much sleep juice as he could. He groggily opened the door, eyes widening a bit at the sight of Sally, with Rusty and Shadow behind her.

“Oh. What's up guys?”

“Something happened. I need all three of you in the security office.”

Sonic blinked in confusion. He looked between Shadow and Rusty, and from their expressions, he could see they didn't know what this was about either.

“What happened?”

“Come with me.”

Sally started down the hallway, giving Sonic a weird feeling in his stomach. Shadow shrugged, walking after her, with Rusty and Sonic in tow. This was cryptic as hell.

“Where's Nine? Is he going to be joining us?”

“This is actually about your fox friend.”

Sonic didn't like the way she said that, even if he couldn't pinpoint why. Did he do something wrong? Did something happen to him? Was he injured? Sonic left his worries unvoiced, as he would get answers soon.

“Oh.”

The four of them made it to the security office, which was a small darkened room with hundreds of flipping monitors for the cameras in the facility. She sat in one of the chairs, offering the others seats next to her by one of the many monitors.

“A few hours ago, your friend was asked by some of the engineers here for help in a project. He agreed to help and joined the others in the weapons room.”

She gestured to the recording, showing Nine working with a handful of other Mobians. Sonic couldn't help a small smile at the sight. He really has grown to be comfortable enough to work with others.

The video was honestly kinda boring, until disaster struck. Sonic wished it had remained boring. Some of the engineers started shouting to each-other, something about ‘keep it stable’. Nine looked to be helping, keeping the massive machine in the middle from growing anymore unstable. He wasn't successful. Sparks started flying, and fire started. Sonic felt his heart beat against his chest.

Then the room blew up. The camera that was recording died, leaving nothing but a blank white screen.

What.

Sonic blinked once. Twice. Three times.

“That's… not real.”

He suddenly stood.

“No no, this is all a joke yeah?”

He paced to the door, right foot tapping.

Shadow’s head fell, accepting the grim reality that their fox friend was now dead. It was sobering, terrible, and hard to swallow.

Rusty’s hands covered her mouth, tears flowing down her face. Nine… he's gone. Rusty never got to thank him enough for all he had done for her, and now she'd never have the chance.

Sally sighed.

“I'm sorry.”

“STOP.”

Sonic looked over his shoulder, face dark, and eyes dangerously dull. Sally felt a chill run down her spine. Sonic stepped out of the room without another word.

“S-Shadow…”

Rusty trembled, sobbing, looking for any means of comfort from anyone she considered her friend. Shadow opened his arms, allowing her to bury herself into his grip, sobbing against his fluffy chest. He patted her head, eyes meeting Sally's.

“I want to see the blast sight.”

Notes:

Things are getting real now. Things will get a lot worse before they get better. Stick around to see what's next for these characters.

See you next time.

Chapter 23: Chaos City Map

Notes:

Hey Everyone!

It was super confusing to get this art on here but I finally did it! I had to create a Deviantart account to post it here since the image needs to be on the internet or something like that? Anyway, that's besides the point. I finished the map of Chaos City. I had to use Sketchbook instead of Aseprite like I had planned, since this needed a lot of text in the image. I also had to simplify a lot to make it make sense. I have more art coming in the future, so I hope this taste is good enough for now! BTW I will be posting an actual chapter today after I am finished posting this, so stick around!

Chapter 24: Grief

Shadow picked up a piece of charred rubble, letting it crumble in his hand. He stood in the middle of the blackened and wrecked room. The explosion had happened here. Nine died here. Shadow shut his eyes, angry at how wrong this was. Nine was supposed to finish the mission with them. Be there when they dethroned Robotnik for good. But no. The universe decided to take him in an accident of all things. It was ironic, and that left a bad taste in Shadow’s mouth.

After Rusty had calmed enough to walk, she opted to go to bed, not wanting to see the blast sight. Shadow had to see for himself though. Sally had led him there, then let him be alone, which he was grateful for.

Shadow liked Nine. He wouldn't say he was his favorite person to hang with, but he respected him, got along, and even enjoyed his company. He couldn't imagine what Sonic was feeling right now.

The dark hedgehog ran his hand over his face, grumbling. How to move on from this?

 

Sonic ran. He didn't know where he was going, but he wasn't stopping anytime soon. His feet were moving so fast, it could have been mistaken for an infinity symbol. But, even then, his mind was moving faster. Nine was gone. Tails was gone. His brother was gone. What was the point anymore? Why go on?

Sonic tripped over a rock he didn't see. His blue form stumbled violently, rolling to a stop, a dust cloud filling his nostrils. He coughed, forcing himself to his feet. He surprised himself once he saw where he was. On the mountain where it all began. He was on the ledge right next to the massive hole that he had made with Shadow’s body.

If Sonic wasn't so occupied, the view of the sun rising might have been beautiful. But it wasn't. Why did the world deserve to turn around another day when Nine was just so suddenly plucked from it? It wasn't fair!

Sonic fell to his knees, the build up from the past hour finally tearing out of his throat.

“GRAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!”

His scream lowered to exasperated sounding gasps. Sonic really wasn't in control of what was coming out of his mouth.

Sonic looked over his shoulder into the cave, spotting the broken Paradox Prism on the floor. Tails wasn't dead when he asked Shadow back then. He was now.

Anger spiked in him, making him run into the cave, spindashing the broken pieces, making them fly around the cave. He yelled again, randomly punching and kicking rocks.

“FUCK!”

His fist collided with the wall with immense force, cracking the rock. He just held it there, blood pumping through his body, and shaking from all the overwhelming feelings. His breathing slowed, soon turning into small sobs. Tears formed and fell down his face.

“I just got him back!”

He whirled from staring at the wall, looking at another broken piece of the Paradox Prism.

“Don't take him away from me again!”

He fell to his knees, weeping. His brother was truly gone for good. Nine was dead, and there was nothing he could do about it. Sonic’s deepest fear, realized.

 

Knuckles ran through the streets. He couldn't see the wreckage that ChaosCorp had made, but he could feel it. The buildings were a lot lighter, having been burned, and broken apart. And the smoke lingered in his nostrils more than he'd like. He heard Mobians all around him helping one another, trying to calm themselves from the horror. But one thing was certain, the plan did indeed work. The soldiers had pulled back. They were safe. For now. While that was a victory, Knuckles didn't know if he could forgive himself for what he did to accomplish said victory.

“Knuckles!”

The echidna heard the voice of the one he was looking for.

“Cream?!”

He heard a light rabbit running towards him, and the echidna opened his arms, and braced for the coming impact. Cream leapt into his waiting arms, wailing. The echidna immediately hugged her back.

“It's ok. It's alright. I'm here now.”

Knuckles’ hand brushed the large bandage that was now around Cream's back. He felt a surge of anger. He'd make them pay for this. They'd pay. And they'd pay with blood.

 

A week had passed. When Sonic returned, he said nothing to no one. His expression was dull, and his eyes only held grief and anger. Even Shadow couldn't get anything out of him. He spent most of his time locked in his room, away from any interaction.

Rusty was handling it better, but with Sonic so pulled away from them, that only made the loss of someone so close hurt that much worse. She knew Sonic was grieving - so was she - she just wished he'd actually be there with them through it.

Shadow didn't know what to think. He was never close to Tails, but Nine's absence was noticeable. It hurt. However, it was Sonic’s attitude that hurt worse. He'd never seen Sonic like this before.

Knuckles continued to wrestle with his choices. He didn't know if he regretted it or not. Sally had just announced to the entire resistance that Nine was dead, trying to make him into some sort of martyr. But Knuckles knew the truth. He was alive, and only he knew what kind of danger he truly was in. Memories spilled over, haunting him. Was ChaosCorp going to do the same to the fox? Maybe worse? The echidna considered telling Sonic. The hedgehog clearly had a connection to the fox, more than the other two.

The resistance, though not knowing Nine as a whole, gathered for a funeral in his honor. It was Rusty's idea, and while Sonic didn't say anything about it, they were all pretty sure he appreciated it deep down. Sally said a few words, admitting she didn't know him well, but complimenting what she did know. A few other resistance members stood to say other things, mainly to thank the fallen soldier, but it wasn't much. Rusty eyed Sonic, who sat stone cold between her and Shadow. He didn't look at either of them as the ceremony concluded. He walked back to his room, locking the door behind him.

 

Shadow and Rusty met up in the hallway, both having been summoned to one of the meeting rooms by Sally. They were surprised to find Sonic there already, sitting near the chipmunk leader.

“Rusty. Shadow. Please have a seat.”

Shadow gently sat next to Knuckles, while Rusty sat near Sonic.

“A plan has been drawn up, and I'd like to share it with you now.”

Shadow nodded for the chipmunk to continue.

“As you know, there is a Chaos Emerald Housing Unit under District One… which is where we are now. So…”

Sally ruffled with her bag, pulling out the Cyan Chaos Emerald. Sonic actually had a reaction to this, eyes widening.

“We had a team retrieve it while you were all recovering.”

Shadow took the Emerald, smiling at the victory.

“So what next?”

“I want you four to lead a small strike team to District Four to find the Emerald there.”

She then gestured to the blueprints that the team had given her when they first arrived.

“See here in District Four? At the base of the Tower, there's a scrap chute. It leads down to the basement of the Tower; City Core. Though be careful, as the chute seems to work in the opposite direction, pushing stuff upward not downward.”

Shadow tapped his chin, nodding along.

“Once you have the Emerald, you'll get into the Tower through here. We'll begin an attack on the tower, and you will let us in, to begin the final push to the top.”

Shadow drummed his fingers. The plan seemed solid enough.

“When do we leave?”

“Tonight.”

Shadow blinked in surprise, but then nodded, accepting the task.

“Understood.”

Shadow glanced at Sonic, who was too busy staring at his feet to support or reject the plan. Shadow sighed. He needed to have a serious talk with him later.

The group split up, all going to prepare for the mission ahead in their own respective ways. Rusty went to help prepare the other soldiers by packing bags full of supplies. Shadow went back to the training room, working out, running, and abusing his body till it was drenched with sweat. Sonic just went to his room to stare at the wall.

 

Knuckles went up to visit Cream and Vanilla during the night, wanting to say goodbye to them before the mission began. He didn't want to regret not doing so if he didn't make it back.

“How are you feeling Cream?”

The small bunny smiled painfully.

“I've been better.”

Knuckles held out his hand for her to grab, which she did. The echidna felt his mouth dry out.

“I'm glad you're safe.”

He had to say goodbye. This could be their last time together. He prayed it wasn't, but he had to be realistic.

“Cream, I have to go for a while.”

He could just sense the disappointment from her.

“Where are you going?”

“A mission. I'm helping the resistance take down ChaosCorp.”

“Really?”

Knuckles smiled as Cream gripped his arm hopefully.

“Yes. I'll be back before you know it.”

Knuckles was then pulled into a hug, the bunny tearing up a bit. She was just saying goodbye for now she reminded herself, she'd see him soon.

Knuckles felt Vanilla place a hand on his shoulder that said more than words ever could.

“Be careful.”

“I will Vanilla.”

“And kill the bastard that hurt my daughter.”

Knuckles was taken back by Vanilla’s harsh words, but recovered a second later.

“I was already planning on it.”

 

Sonic, Shadow, Rusty, and Knuckles all met up with the rest of the squad in a section of the facility none of them had been in before. It was darker than most, and led into an even darker tunnel.

“Stay sharp everyone.”

Everyone straightened out at the sudden appearance of Sally, who was holding her hands on her hips.

“All of you are some of the best the Resistance has to offer, and you are crucial to the plan.”

She gestured to a large box truck in the middle of the room.

“This will take you near the edge of the wall. Once there, there is a passage leading up through to the top. Our experts and spies have scouted out the wall. Your best bet is climbing, and we have provided plenty of equipment for that end. Good luck. Bust open that Tower for us.”

Sally turned and walked away as the soldiers started loading up in the back of the truck. Like a zombie, Sonic wordlessly hopped on, being followed by Shadow, Rusty, and finally Knuckles. The driver started up the truck, and started down the dark passage.

There were only eight soldiers in all; Sonic, Shadow, Rusty, and Knuckles sitting on the left side, facing the other four on the right. Rusty had seen them around the facility before, but never officially met them. She figured now was a good time.

“Hey there, I don't think any of us have met…?”

The girl directly across from Rusty lit up at being addressed.

“Hi! I'm Tangle! Can I say it's an honor to be even near you guys let alone WORKING with you!”

Rusty chuckled at the lemur’s sudden excited attitude.

“This is Whisper. She doesn't say much.”

Tangle gestured to the wolf next to her, who only waved weakly back in response.

Rusty then looked between the last two.

“And you…?”

The badger saluted clumsily.

“I'm Sticks.”

The skunk gave Rusty a curt nod.

“The name's Geoffrey St. John.”

Rusty nodded back at both of them.

“Well it's nice to meet all of you. Thank you for helping us.”

Geoffrey clicked his tongue.

“I see it more as my duty. I swore an oath a long time ago that I'd tear down that tyrant one day. This is another move to that end.”

“Good golly gosh, why do you have to be so poetic about it?”

Geoffrey sneered at Tangle, who was chortling to herself.

“I’ll have you know that poetry can be just as influential as ordinary speech, if not sometimes more so. And second, I was speaking in ordinary language. Poetry uses distinctive style, and rhythm, expressing feelings and ideas, not just simple communication.”

Tangle rolled her eyes.

“Whatever you say, gramps.”

Geoffrey looked upset, but decided not to comment further on it.

The ride was mostly silent, Rusty and Tangle chatting here and there, mostly about their lives and how they ended up in the Resistance. Rusty was thankful to have someone to pass the time with, as it'd make the agonizing weight of the mission be forgotten for at least a little while.

 

Nine groaned, forcing his eyes open. His vision was bleary, everything around him amounting to simple fuzzy blobs.

“Agh.”

He held his throbbing head. What… ?

He remembered. Knuckles had jumped him in his room. Why? He growled behind his sharp teeth. It didn't matter why. Once he figured it out, he was gonna make them pay.

Nine's vision focused. Where was he…? The room he was in was not that large, and it was cylinder shaped. The ceiling tapered at the top, making a cone shape. In the middle of the dark and industrial room sat a thick pillar with tech, blinking lights, and a mess of wires. One of the thick wires led out into the cone shaped ceiling.

Okay… Nine took a deep breath as he assessed the situation. As interesting as this place was - curiosity be damned - he needed to find a way out of here. He spotted a door along the wall. Please don't be locked…

It was. Nine jiggled the door handle multiple times before growling in frustration.

“Oh? You're awake.”

The fox whirled around at the soft voice.

“Who is there!?”

“Don't be alarmed. I'm not going to hurt you.”

Nine watched a small figure step out from behind the pillar. It was a girl, and she couldn't have been much older than himself. His eyes widened in horror as he saw multiple wires and tubes connecting the girl to the center pillar. What the hell…?

“Hello. I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you.”

“Who are you? What's happening?”

The girl held up her fragile looking hands.

“I'm sorry. I can't answer all of your questions. I'm a prisoner here, just like you.”

She got closer, now standing right next to the fox, her hand outstretched to shake.

“I'm Cosmo. And who are you?

Notes:

Thank you for reading!

Merry Christmas everyone! Sorry for the wait, I normally don't like going over a week between updates but the Christmas season got busy as it normally does. I hope you all had a great holiday, and ready for the New Year!

See you all next time!

Chapter 25: The B.A.O. Program

Knuckles continued to feel worse and worse as the hours ticked by. He could feel Sonic’s motionless body slumped against the wall, jolting back and forth with the movement of the truck. He hadn't heard the hedgehog speak since before it happened. No one had. The echidna knew what he did was wrong. He shouldn't have helped. He should have told them… but then Cream and the others…

Knuckles grunted, shaking all the confusing thoughts from his head.

“You alright?”

Knuckles shifted at Shadow’s voice.

“I'm fine.”

Knuckles went silent again, crossing his bulky arms as Shadow launched into a discussion with Geoffrey. Tactics mostly. Knuckles was zoned out until Shadow mentioned something that pulled him out of it.

“... I'm worried about the City Core. The chute leads right to it, and we know nothing about it. We could be diving headfirst into a pit of snakes.”

Knuckles felt a pang of guilt. He knew exactly where they were going. He grit his teeth. He used to be open about everything, and wore his heart on his sleeve. When did he become so entangled with secrets? It was a bitter feeling.

He couldn't tell them about Nine, as they'd abandon the mission in favor to save the fox no doubt, and that'd derail the entire plan. But… as much as he hated it, he could tell them where they were going. He owed them that much.

“It's not a pit of snakes…”

Knuckles felt everyone's attention shift to him, even Sonic, who had been like a dead Mobian the whole time. Knuckles had to clear his throat to keep himself going. Don't stop now…

“It’s where they take them. All the Mobian prisoners they experiment on. That's the labs.”

“What do they do to them?”

Rusty asked quietly.

Knuckles grimaced. Memories rushed back. Needles. Blades. Test after test after test. Knuckles took a deep breath. Calm. Stay calm.

“Well, they like to call them ‘upgrades’, I like to call it torture.”

Knuckles gestured to the tech embedded where his eyes should be.

“Why? What's the point?”

Tangle asked.

“Something called BAO… it's the program name.”

Knuckles sighed as he walked memory lane.

“Let me start over.”

Knuckles took everyone's silence as a prompt to continue.

“I was the first one. The first Mobian prisoner Robotnik had. He had taken my Island as his own, including the Master Emerald. I was kept in a cell for years. For a while, I thought he had forgotten me, left for dead, until the BAO project began. I don't know all the details, but I do know this; something is coming for Robotnik.”

Shadow’s brow furrowed.

“What's coming?”

“No idea. But whatever it is, the BAO is supposed to stop. Apparently his Badniks aren't enough.”

Geoffrey piped in.

“So what exactly is the BAO?”

“Super Mobians. Technologically advanced, but still biological enough to think intelligently. Most Badniks don't have that luxury. The BAO are also designed to listen to Robotnik's orders without question.”

Knuckles paused, then kept going.

“But, technology and Mobians don't mix that well. Forcing a biological mind to control technological implants just wasn't working. Until they tried me. My implants worked. My mind stayed in tact.”

Shadow rubbed his chin in thought.

“How?”

“My connection to the Master Emerald. It controlled the energy through my body, and the technology. It still does. But they never figured that out. I escaped before they could.”

Knuckles smirked, gesturing to Rusty.

“That's why you work too hedgehog. I know you have a Chaos Amplifier inside you, I can sense it. Your friend knew his stuff using one of those.”

Knuckles felt Sonic stiffen.

“What about the Cure? It's a tank in the middle of the City Core. What's that all about?”

Knuckles shrugged at Shadow’s question.

“I don't know. I don't think it had anything to do with BAO though.”

The echidna went silent, listening to the others process what he said.

“Robotnik is a monster.”

All heads whirled when Sonic spoke.

“I'm going to kill him.”

None of Sonic's friendly disposition or laid back attitude was present in his face. Only hatred. Even Shadow felt a shiver go down his spine at the sight.

“He's mine. I'm going to kill him with my bare hands.”

 

“I'm Cosmo. And who are you?”

“Nine.”

“Nice to meet you Nine.”

The girl smiled genuinely, and the fox awkwardly shuffled in place. Where was he? What was going on? And what the hell was happening to this girl in front of him? His eyes wandered across the spaghetti of tech between her and the pillar. She caught his gaze.

“I don't know what it is either.”

She said, reading Nine's unspoken question.

“All I know is it's draining my power.”

Nine blinked in curiosity.

“Power?”

“Yeah. I can heal wounds. Within reason, and when I have enough energy.”

Nine rubbed his chin, fascinated. He took the moment of reflection to finally take notice of the girl's features. She wasn't human, but she wasn't like any Mobian he'd ever seen either.

“Uh… not to be rude, but WHAT are you?”

Nine was surprised when the girl giggled. The sound was light, and made Nine feel strange in his stomach for some reason.

“I am a Seedrian.”

Nine blinked a few more times.

“And what is that?”

The girl giggled again, making Nine feel kinda happy even though he knew he shouldn't be. He was in a strange place with no way out, he should be panicking!

“Well, I'm not from here, that's for sure.”

Cosmo sadly smiled, eyes suddenly distant. Nine frowned, very intrigued by this girl he just met. Where did she come from? Why was she being drained of power? Why was HE in here with her? As Nine thought, his eyes went over the girl a few times. While not tall by any means, she was a bit taller than himself. She wore a green and white dress, the upper half hugging her petite frame, while the skirt flowed out like flower petals. Her face was round, almost a perfect circle, with light cream skin, and two large blue eyes. Her face was framed by her short cut, and vibrantly green hair. To Nine, she was… cute. Beautiful even.

“Hey… are you alright?”

Nine shook his head rapidly back and forth. Great, she just caught him staring.

“Uh yeah!”

His face blushed wildly as he tried to play it off. What the hell was wrong with him? He shouldn't be making eyes when there is a much more pressing issue at hand! He forced all this sudden feelings down, putting on a serious face.

“How long have you been here? Who is keeping us here?”

Cosmo frowned.

“I don't know how long I've been here. This machine messes with my head a lot… sorry.”

Nine nodded, walking up to said contraption, studying it.

“Have you tried removing the wires? Or turning it off?”

Cosmo grimaced.

“Yes. But they didn't like that…”

Nine looked back at her, seeing her face now haunted. He didn't like the implications of that.

“Hey.”

Cosmo looked back up, eyes big and shining.

“I'm going to try and get us both out of here, alright?”

A sudden hidden speaker system crackled to life.

“Oh there's no way out little boy.”

Nine jumped out of his fur, head swiveling around to find the source of the voice.

“Is that so?”

Nine went up to the sealed door with determination. This would be a quick fix. Nine brought all his mechanical tails around him to strike the door. At least, that's what he tried to do. It didn't happen.

“What the…?”

His tails didn't respond again, making the fox crane his neck to see his back. In horror, he found that his seven metal tails has been removed, leaving only the metal base for them embedded above his natural tails. Nine’s gasp died in his throat. A feeling of helplessness crawled all over him. He was that little fox in the dumpster again, scavenging for food, with no real way to defend himself.

“You think we wouldn't remove those weapons you welded to your own body?”

The voice mocked, sinking Nine further into a pit of fear.

“What do you want from me?”

The voice chuckled darkly.

“Your mind.”

The sealed door opened, revealing a human with a slick haircut. He strode in the room with a smirk.

“Hello Miles.”

The fox held up his fists, ready to fight his way out the door. He didn't get the chance to approach. Professor Stone pressed a button on a small remote, which sent a sudden shock wave of electricity through Nine's body. The fox yelled, falling to his knees. Stone released the button, stopping the electric flow.

“You know, for someone so intelligent, you are also incredibly stupid.”

Stone kneeled next to the fox, who was twitching from taking high voltage through his body for the second time within twenty-four hours.

“You were so caught up with the room, you didn't even notice the necklace I got you. Shame.”

Stone tapped the shock collar on Nine's neck, grinning.

“Now all you have to do, is cooperate, and you won't get hurt. Does that sound good to you?”

Nine didn't respond.

“You see, you have something we need. Knowledge. You've accomplished something we cannot.”

Nine grunted, forcing his eyes upward into Stone’s face.

“Not smart enough without me?”

Stone’s face remained blank, but Nine knew he struck a nerve.

“Use that sharp tongue of yours again, and I'll cut it out.”

Nine’s breathing hitched. He didn't know if he was bluffing or not. He didn't want to test it. His eyes bounced over to see Cosmo watching the exchange helplessly from the side. She wasn't restrained, but obviously there wasn't really anything she could do.

“Your robotic limbs… that friend of yours you call Rusty…”

Stone roughly grabbed Nine's chin, forcing him to look up at him.

“How do they work? How did you make the separate properties connect fluidly?”

Nine took a moment to build up some saliva in his mouth, so he could spit on the man's face. Cosmo gasped as Nine defiantly stared the man down.

“Like I'd tell a ChaosCorp bitch.”

Stone calmly stood to his full height, wiping the spit off his face.

“Wrong answer.”

Stone turned, and calmly started towards the door. Two soldiers came in, passing the Professor.

“Have fun with him. I'll be back in two hours. Just make sure you don't kill him.”

Stone slipped out the door, leaving Nine with the two soldiers, who both pulled out large black clubs. Nine forced himself to his feet, legs shaking and back against the wall.

“Back off!”

Nine growled, swiping at the two humans. One of them pulled out a remote identical to the one Stone had.

“Wait n - GAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”

Nine crumpled to the floor again as a small burst of electricity shocked him. Nine was trembling, clinging his head in his hands. He could smell his fur smoldering around his neck. He wasn't sure how much more of those he could take. Thankfully they didn't shock him again. Unfortunately they did start beating the shit out of him. Nine whimpered as he got repeatedly clobbered, blood splattering on the floor, and bruises forming all over his body. He shut his eyes, trying to drown it all out. He did that when he was younger too. It didn't do much about the pain, but at least he couldn't see what was happening. Tears slipped out of Nine’s eyes.

“Sonic… h-help me…”

 

Sonic stood between Knuckles and Shadow, who were getting a good look at the wall. Well, Shadow was. Knuckles was quite literally feeling the ground to ‘see’ it for himself. This wall was different from the last two. The one between the Slums and the Factory had a hatch for Badniks, and the one between the Factory and the Up Streets had a man door. This one had nothing. Just a solid wall.

“What's the plan?”

Geoffrey approached the three, eyeing out the wall himself.

“Climbing. Not to brag but I'm quite skilled at it. I'm going to climb to the top with this rope. Once I make it to the top, I'll throw the rope down and hold it steady, while the rest of you climb up one at a time.”

Knuckles held out a large coil of rope as he spoke, making the skunk nod.

“All of you will have to keep a sharp eye, as I'm not sure if the wall has any security system around it.”

Knuckles hoisted the rope around his shoulders.

“We all have communicators in our ears, so let me know if you see danger.”

Shadow gave the echidna a nod.

“Good luck.”

“Huh! I don't need it.”

The blind Mobian started over to the base of the wall, while the other four watched him silently. The rest of the group were still a ways back, all watching and waiting. Shadow sighed as Knuckles began his climb.

“Geoffrey.”

“Yes?”

“Could you give Sonic and I a minute? Please?”

The skunk looked between the two hedgehogs, eventually shrugging.

“Sure.”

He fell back to the rest, stopping them from advancing to where Shadow and Sonic were, which Shadow appreciated. The darker hedgehog eyed up the lighter one. Sonic’s eyes were glued to Knuckles, who was making slow but steady progress up the wall. It was impressive that he was powerful enough to embed his glove spikes into a solid metal wall, but Shadow was sure that wasn't why Sonic was watching him. He wasn't really watching, he was zoned out.

“Sonic.”

Shadow crossed his arms, fully facing Sonic now. Sonic didn't shift to do the same.

“Sonic.”

He tried again, seeing no change in expression - not even the smallest twitch of his eyes.

“Dear Chaos Sonic, would you just look at me?”

Shadow growled when Sonic didn't respond. Shadow tapped his foot, starting to get fed up. He understood what Sonic was going through. His best friend was gone for good. But that didn't mean he should shut the rest of them out. Shadow learned the hard way that wasn't the right thing to do.

“You aren't the only one who lost a friend in Nine.”

THAT got Sonic’s attention. The blue hedgehog’s eyes trained on Shadow, who stared back.

“I understand EXACTLY how you feel. I lost Maria.”

Sonic’s gaze softened.

“And I'll admit, it took me too long to accept friendship after that. Rouge was the first real person I let in. Then Omega. Then you.”

Sonic blinked, his eyes appearing wet.

“Nine - Tails - was a great friend. But please, don't ignore the friends you have here now.”

Sonic had a few tears fall down his face. Shadow was right. He had been ignoring the friends he had here and now. Sonic clicked his tongue, awkwardly trying to keep his cool.

“That was… surprisingly beautiful Shadow.”

“Don't expect anything like it from me ever again.”

Sonic chuckled. Gosh that was the first time he laughed since it happened. Shadow smirked.

“I missed that smile.”

“Heh. So did I.”

The two turned to watch Knuckles again, who had made a surprisingly large amount of progress.

“Once we scale this wall, there's no turning back.”

Sonic eyed Shadow as the dark hedgehog stared at the wall.

“It's straight to Eggman from here.”

Shadow made eye contact, then offered his hand to Sonic to shake.

“You with me to the end, faker?”

Sonic looked at the offered hand, then Shadow's face. Determination hardened his eyes.

“Let's go scramble an egg.”

Notes:

Happy New Year! 🥳

It's hard to believe that I started this in August. The time his flown! I have to say, thank you so much for following my work if you started back then, and thank you all you new readers joining in. The response to this has been incredible and I'm so so excited to eventually finish this work within 2024.

(BTW, I finished my art for Sonic and Nine. Do you guys want me to finish the ones of Shadow and Rusty then post them all at once, or just post the two I have now? I'm debating as the art is taking me awhile. I do hope everyone liked that map I posted.)

Chapter 26: Team Chaotix

Notes:

Here are the pixel art of Sonic and Nine!

(Oh, and sorry about the formatting difference of this chapter. Adding the pictures kinda screwed with my normal formatting sorry)

Nine had been held captive for a week. Everyday was the same; he'd be asked the same question, over and over, and then get beaten within an inch of his life. It was always the same two soldiers with their clubs, fists, and boots. They enjoyed it, he could tell. But he wasn't going to tell them what the wanted. He wasn't going to let them win. He was valuable, so they wouldn't kill him.  

 

Nine grimaced when Cosmo tugged a bandage around his arm a bit too quickly.

 

“Sorry!”

 

“It's alright.”

 

Professor Stone had left a handful of medical supplies for Cosmo to treat Nine, in-between beat downs. Nine saw that as just another form of torture; giving them the supplies to heal, but not allowing it to actually happen. But that didn't stop Cosmo from trying of course.

 

The only thing Nine was thankful for, was the lack of a mirror, as he was certain he looked like a corpse by now.

 

“Cosmo…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You… don't have to h-help me.”

 

Cosmo's jaw dropped, horrified at the mere suggestion.

 

“Of course I do! You are hurt!”

 

“This is normal for me.”

 

Cosmo's horrified expression only deepened.

 

“W-what?”

 

Nine darkly chuckled.

 

“Daily beatings. That's p-pretty normal for me. Though I'll admit, it has been awhile since that h-happened last.”

 

Nine studied the girl, who held her hands up to her mouth, shocked.

 

“But… why?”

 

He raised an eyebrow.

 

“Why do you care to know?”

 

“Because you're my friend and I'm worried.”

 

Nine blinked.

 

“We've only known each-other for a h-handful of days… but you c-consider us friends?”

 

Cosmo awkwardly looked at her feet.

 

“Well, your the first kind face I've seen in… a long time. Forgive me if I may have gotten attached to you so quickly.”

 

Cosmo's face turned pink from embarrassment, which Nine saw as adorable. He shook away the sudden thought of her appearance.

 

“Well uh, I'm not AGAINST us b-being friends.”

 

Cosmo lit up.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. If y-you really want to be.”

 

Cosmo nodded rapidly, then continued to apply bandages, this time to his leg. Nine watched her work, allowing a smile to creep on his face. Ever since Sonic had befriended him, Nine had really opened up to others besides just Sonic. If he had met Cosmo before this whole adventure began, he was certain they wouldn't be friends right away. Sonic had shown him there was actual good in the world, you just had to be diligent to find it.

 

“Done.”

 

Nine looked down at the fresh bandage around his right calf. Her work looked professionally done.

 

“Thanks… you're good at this.”

 

“You're welcome.”

 

“Have you done this before?”

 

Cosmo froze, then laughed without humor.

 

“Yes. Unfortunately.”

 

Nine’s brows creased with curiosity.

 

“Oh?”

 

Cosmo opened her mouth, shut it, opened it, then shut it again.

 

“It's hard to talk about…”

 

Nine's eyes softened at her defeated look.

 

“I can relate to that.”

 

She perked up a little at his comment. She shyly fiddled with her fingers.

 

“Well… maybe we can… confide in each-other? That's something friends do. Right?”

 

The fox paused. He definitely wasn't the expert on friendship. But Sonic had shown him a lot within his short time knowing him, and his gut told him this was right.

 

“Yeah, that is something f-friends do.”

 

“Isn't this sweet.”

 

A sudden voice startled Nine. He hadn't noticed the small group walk in the door. Damn, he must have been half out of it then, his perception skills used to be perfect.

 

“Don’t you want to share your secrets with me too?”

 

Nine grimaced, forcing himself to sit up to see the new figure. He was a human, tall, and a bit rotund. His mustache was rather large and bushy, right below his small pair of glasses, that gleamed in the light, so that his eyes would be hidden. Professor Stone was behind him, and two Badniks flanking the group.

 

“I'm not talking. Try all you w-want.”

 

“Do you know who I am?”

 

The question caught Nine off guard.

 

“Uh, no?”

 

“I'm Captain Robotnik. CEO of ChaosCorp, and this world's ruler.”

 

Nine’s eyes widened as a shiver ran down his spine. Shit… Robotnik actually cared enough about this to show up himself.

 

“L-like that m-makes a difference! Hurt me all you want! I'm n-not talking!”

 

Robotnik didn't respond right away. He hummed, clasping his hands behind his back.

 

“Well let's approach this differently then, shall we?”

 

He snapped his fingers, making Stone step forward. From behind Robotnik - attached to a leash that Stone was holding - came a tiny Mobian that Nine didn't notice till just now. He looked like absolute hell. Not to mention, he looked even younger than Nine himself.

 

“Let us ask again…”

 

One of the two Badniks stepped forward, a blade extending out of its arm, aiming at the Mobian bee’s arm.

 

“How do you balance the tech in biology?”

 

Nine hesitated, eyes searching the bee’s, which were filled with terror. He can't tell them. Who knows what they would do with that kind of knowledge?

 

“I… can't.”

 

Robotnik snapped his fingers again, and the knife plunged deep into the bee’s arm. The little boy screamed, tears flowing like rivers down his face. Nine just watched in horror, as blood pooled on the floor. He had a sickening feeling in his chest. Why was this worse than getting hurt himself?

 

“You can't what?”

 

Robotnik asked menacingly, clearly trying to coax an answer out of him. Nine’s hands shook as he found himself not knowing what to do. To his surprise, when his eyes met the bee’s again, the child quickly shook his head.

 

“I c-can’t help you.”

 

Robotnik ‘tsked’, then snapped his fingers. The Badnik twisted the knife still lodged in the arm, making the bee cry out again.

 

“I'll ask one more time. Give us what we desire.”

 

“Don't listen to him!”

 

The bee suddenly screamed out, making Robotnik whirl around, grabbing the bee by the throat with his big hands.  

 

“Shut up you vermin! I swear keeping you around is more of a pain then a use!”

 

The bee choked, unable to breathe. Robotnik dropped him, letting him crumple to the floor, coughing from the rough treatment. Robotnik held his hand out to Stone as a silent ask for something. The Professor pulled a pistol out from his coat, handing it to the Captain.

 

“Wait - ”

 

Nine couldn't believe what was happening till several moments after. In a swift motion, Robotnik pointed the pistol to the bee's forehead, and fired. The child’s blood and head-matter exploded all over Nine, who froze - in a state of shock. His ears rang from the close proximity of the gunshot, and his eyes stayed glued open wide from horror.

 

Stone pocketed the gun from Robotnik, leaning in to address the Captain.

 

“Sir, the child was our only way of stringing Vector and Espio along for working with us.”

 

The Captain chuckled.

 

“They've outlived their usefulness anyway. You can have them for your experiments first thing tomorrow morning.”

 

Stone nodded.

 

“Yes sir.”

 

Robotnik strode for the door, glancing back to see the fox shaking from the encounter, Cosmo trying to get him to respond to her with no effect. They'd get the information eventually. He would BREAK him to get it. Without another word, the Captain retreated, leaving Charmy's corpse behind.

 

 

 

 

 

Vector only looked forward to one day in a year, and it was this day. Espio and Rouge were naturally in the same boat. This was the day that was designed to keep the three in line; the reminder that ChaosCorp held their lives. The day Vector and Espio got to see Charmy, with another promise to keep him alive as long as they stayed in line.

 

“How do I look?”

 

The gruff croc asked the quiet chameleon, who looked him up and down.

 

“The same as yesterday.”

 

“You're saying you didn't notice?”

 

Espio frowned.

 

“Notice…?”

 

Vector grumbled.

 

“I shined my shoes! I thought you were supposed to be observant!”

 

Espio drummed his fingers.

 

“I doubt Charmy will care that you shined your shoes.”

 

“Yeah I know. But I had to do something last night to pass the time.”

 

Espio chuckled.

 

“I know what you mean.”

 

A knock came at the door of their quarters.

 

“Vector, Espio. Let's go.”

 

The two eagerly stood, ready to go see the third member of their adoptive family. They stepped out, and followed the soldier to the main elevator. He pressed the button labeled ‘Core’, and the elevator started downward.

 

“Hold on, why aren't we going to the meeting room? We always meet Charmy there.”

 

The soldier shrugged.

 

“I'm not informed. I just follow orders.”

 

Vector shared a look with Espio. Something didn't feel right…

 

 

 

 

 

Rouge was led to a different meeting room by another soldier. She felt nervous. Last time she had seen him, he asked her to leave. Leave ChaosCorp behind and never look back. She had argued that she couldn't let him die, but he snapped back saying he wanted to. That was how they left it. Rouge couldn't let him die. She just couldn't imagine a world without him.

 

“Here we are. You have four hours.”

 

Rouge looked at the soldier angrily.

 

“We had eight last year!”

 

“Don't shoot the messenger. That comes straight from the professor.”

 

Rouge growled, biting down a retort. The soldier propped the door open, allowing Rouge to slip inside.

 

“R-Rouge…”

 

The bat’s breath hitched. Zero the jackel stood before her, looking a lot worse than last she seen him. Half of his face had been torn off, replaced with tech, making a strange lightning-bolt symbol glow were his eye was supposed to be. A large section of his chest was also tech replaced, leaving a large glowing light in the center. The rest of his body was covered in cuts and bruises, and he was clearly malnourished.

 

“Zero…”

 

The bat rushed into the jackel’s open arms, quick to start sobbing. Zero gripped the bat tightly, a few tears forming in his single eye.

 

“What did they do to you!?”

 

Rouge said, pulling away to look at him. Zero quickly dismissed her questions.

 

“Rouge, listen to me. You have to get out of here. Right now.”

 

“What? Why?”

 

Zero gulped, recalling last night's events. Charmy never came back after being snatched up. He knew what that meant.

 

“Charmy is dead Rouge.”

 

The bat gasped, hands flying up to her mouth.

 

“And now, they are taking Vector and Espio to be made into experiments. You have to get out of here before they decide to do the same to you too.”

 

Rouge shook in horror. No this couldn't be happening!

 

“But if I leave, you'll die!”

 

Zero shook his head.

 

“I'm too important to their stupid project now for them to kill me. I think something has changed. There is a buzz down there, and not the good kind. I need you to get out of here now.”

 

Rouge swallowed back a sob.

 

“But… I can't… I can't go on without y-you.”

 

Zero placed his bruised hands on Rouge's face, brushing away her tears.

 

“I'm sorry my love. Eventually, you will. You will. Please, I need you to survive this. You must survive.”

 

Rouge couldn't hold back anymore. The bat sobbed in his arms, mentally trying to prepare herself for the heartbreak to come.

 

Zero held her, shaking. He would do anything to be able to escape and go with her, but he couldn't. He couldn't risk Robotnik going after Rouge. Her safety was priority over his own.

 

“I love you.”

 

 

 

 

 

The elevator doors opened, and the soldier had them follow him out. The two had never been down to the Core before, and already it felt WRONG.

 

“Jeez it's freezing down here!”

 

Vector rubbed his arms in a futile attempt to warm his cold-blooded body.

 

“Where are you taking us?”

 

Espio asked, his diligent eyes studying the dark hallway.

 

“To the Professor’s office. He wanted to see you this morning.”

 

Neither of them liked that response. This smelled fishy.

 

“Here you are.”

 

The soldier opened the door, gesturing for them to enter. They did, albeit with much hesitation.

 

“Welcome gentlemen. Please sit.”

 

“I prefer to stand.”

 

Stone didn't respond to Espio's polite defiance.

 

“Where's Charmy? You monsters promised we'd see him this day, every year. Now where is he!?”

 

Vector yelled, getting fed up. Stone gestured for him to calm.

 

“Relax gentlemen. He's ‘right here’.”

 

Stone gestured to a screen that he turned to show them. It was security feed the other night; from something called the ‘Cure Tank'. The Mobian's eyes widened when they saw Nine in there, all torn up. Chaos, neither of them knew ChaosCorp had gotten a hold of him. Poor kid.

 

“What is this?”

 

Vector asked impatiently, as the video kept going. Stone only gestured for the crocodile to keep watching, which he did begrudgingly. They both gasped when Charmy was shown in the video.

 

“Charmy!”

 

Then he got stabbed. Air lost Vector's lungs. Somehow, it felt like he had just got stabbed himself. The knife twisted, and Vector felt his anger beginning to bubble.

 

“You little…”

 

“It's not done.”

 

Stone said way too calmly for someone who assisted in the torture of a child.

 

Robotnik fired the gun.

 

The bee hit the ground, half of his head gone.

 

What.

 

Vector snapped.

 

“I'LL KILL YOU!”

 

The croc lunged for Stone, full intent to rip the man apart, and then go find Robotnik and do the same. He didn't get the chance. An unseen force field shocked the croc back, forcing him to prop himself against the wall.

 

Espio simply stood still, face downcast and hand against his temple. How could this happen?

 

“Gentlemen… welcome to the BAO project.”

Notes:

Thank you for reading!

So, I've been working on a One Shot that was requested by Bernie1273blue in the comments, and I will be releasing that probably between the next two chapters of this fic. It'll slow the pacing of this fic for just a bit, but honestly it is kinda nice to take a small break and work on a smaller scale project just for fun. The One Shot follows Amy, and is called "My Sweet Beast". Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, as well as the art!

Oh BTW...

Who is all excited for Sonic Prime season 3 dropping in six days?!

Chapter 27: Up and Over

Cosmo had cleaned all the blood and gore off of Nine a while ago, and the fox was still trembling. She tried talking to him, shaking him, ANYTHING. Nothing worked. He was just stuck in his state of shock. She couldn't blame him. She just wished he'd talk to her.

Cosmo never felt this way before about someone. Maybe it was the years of isolation, but maybe it was more. Cosmo hoped more than anything that someday, they'd both make it out of their shared prison.

She glanced over at Nine, who shook with hands gripping the sides of his head, rocking back and forth. The sight was pitiful and saddening. Cosmo sighed. She could try one more thing… though it was something she hadn't done in a long time. Cosmo took a deep breath, and then began to sing.

“If you really want it, go and take your chances.
Anything could happen, wisdom's your advantage.
If you really want it, go and face the challenge.
Fly to new horizons, find another passage…”

Cosmo opened her eyes as she finished, lighting up when she saw that Nine was looking at her. His previously haunted blue eyes were now sparkling with awe and curiosity.

“I didn't know you could sing.”

“Nine!”

The fox made a ‘oof’ sound when Cosmo tackled him with a hug. He froze at first, then melted into the embrace.

“Are you okay?”

Cosmo pulled away, concerned eyes searching the fox, who shrugged nonchalantly, not verbally answering. Cosmo wrapped her hand around one of his in a comforting gesture. Nine's eyes ballooned, looking down at the contact. No one ever held his hand before…

“Do you… want to talk?”

Nine blinked, still looking at their interlocked hands. Butterflies were swirling through his stomach. How could he say no honestly?

“Uh… o-okay.”

Cosmo smiled softly, trying to comfort him in any way she could. She could tell he had been through a lot, not counting the shit situation they were in now. Hopefully, he was open enough to talk to her about it. She knew how helpful talking about your issues was, even to someone you don't know too well.

“You said earlier, that you… would be beat daily? Why?”

Nine's eyes clouded over. He was suddenly apprehensive to be in this conversation. His mouth dried out. Did she notice? Would her opinion of him change if he pointed them out? Nine knew if she didn't notice, she would eventually. He bit his lip.

“Because… of these.”

Nine curled his tails around his body, so that each was visible on each side. Gosh he hadn't looked at them himself in so long. They looked terrible.

Cosmo just stared at him, confused.

“You got beat daily because of your two tails?”

Nine nodded, as if it was obvious.

“Yeah.”

Cosmo furrowed her brow.

“Is there something I don't understand? That still doesn't answer why.”

Nine laughed in disbelief.

“It's a deformity. I was labeled a freak for it. And I was reminded everyday about it.”

Cosmo's face suddenly twisted with anger. Nine’s eyes widened in surprise. She looked pissed.

“What?! That's - absurd! Who could do that?!”

Nine - taken back by her very passionate reaction - felt himself washed in thankfulness. She didn't think he was a freak. Thank Chaos.

“A lot of people honestly. I used to think I deserved it.”

Cosmo's anger morphed into an anguished face.

“That's terrible!”

“It's ok.”

“No it isn't!”

Cosmo grabbed his other hand, holding both softly, and staring into his eyes.

“You didn't deserve that. You are a great guy, and your tails make you unique. Special even.”

Nine felt his heart rate quicken with the extra contact, and also melt at her words. Gosh he wasn't used to compliments, or this much positive stimulation.

Cosmo suddenly giggled, making more butterflies swirl in Nine's stomach.

“You know… ‘Tails’ isn't a bad nickname either.”

 

Sonic, Shadow, Rusty, Tangle, Whisper, Sticks, and Geoffrey all stood at the base of the wall, looking upward to see Knuckles almost to the top. It was an impressive feat; scaling a few hundred feet worth of solid steel, using nothing but your bare fists to support yourself by practically stabbing the wall with them. Sonic knew he'd make it, he'd seen him pull off similar feats before. Not that he'd ever seen him do it BLIND though. That part just added to how impressive it was.

The sun was in the sky now, early morning rays glinting off the metal wall, making it a bit hard to look at. Shadow was suddenly thankful for Knuckles' handicap, as he wouldn't get disoriented by the glare.

“Hey, do you guys hear that?”

Sticks suddenly asked out of the blue, looking around nervously. Sonic’s ear twitched at the sound of buzzing. What was that?

“There!”

Geoffrey spotted a mass; collective masses, circling in a cloud above them. They were headed towards Knuckles!

“Shit!”

“They found us. We need to get those Badniks off of Knuckles!”

Sonic looked at the Badniks, then Knuckles, the wall, and looked behind him towards the open plain leading to the Slums. He made quick calculations in his head. He could run up the wall. It was risky, considering the distance, but he probably would have to. Mind set, Sonic boosted away suddenly, startling the group. He skidded to a stop, a few miles away. He eyed up his ‘runway’. The Badniks were almost on top of Knuckles. He only had one shot. He breathed deep, and exhaled.

“Hold on Knucks. I'm not losing another brother.”

He got into a running position, his mind and nerves sparking with anticipation and determination.

“Gotta go fast.”

Sonic blasted off. The sound barrier boomed as the wall got closer by the second. Shadow pushed the others out of the way, knowing exactly what Sonic was up to. Sonic closed his eyes, then opened them, right as he hit the ninety degree angle. He flew up the wall, blue energy trail glowing behind him. His feet blurred below him, and he could already feel the force of gravity work against him. He had to keep the momentum up. Sonic rolled into a ball, spindashing upward, then bouncing off the wall to plow through the closest flying Badnik. Knuckles made a startled cry, who was gearing up to defend himself with only one hand available. Sonic landed on one the Badniks, unsheathing his sword, and twirling it around, then turning on the blade. All the Badniks turned to look at him.

“You're too slow!”

With blinding speed, Sonic launched himself off of the Badnik, slashing through two at a time. He kicked off the wall, cutting through another. He landed on the same one he was on earlier, which made an irritated beeping noise. Sonic stabbed a Badnik trying to charge him, then spun around, letting it slide off the blade, colliding with another.

“He's crazy!”

Sticks said as they all watched Sonic’s display. Shadow nodded in agreement, but his mouth curled into a smirk. He then waved to get all of their attention.

“Knuckles is almost to the top. Get ready to climb like your life depends on it. Cause it does. They know we're here, and we need to stay sharp.”

The group nodded in agreement.

Sonic finished them off, landing on the very top of the wall, right near where Knuckles was - fists embedded into the steel.

“Need a hand?”

Sonic’s robotic arm lowered, nearing Knuckles' body. The echidna huffed.

“I don't know what you did exactly, but thanks.”

He jutted out one of his beefy hands, Sonic grasping it and pulling.

“No problem Knucks.”

Knuckles gave him a strange expression as he steadied himself on the wall.

“Since you're up here - somehow - help me with this rope.”

“Sure.”

Knuckles handed an end of the rope to Sonic, who planted his feet and held steady. Knuckles unwinded the rest, throwing it over the side, falling down all the way to the base. Knuckles gripped the rope, not even breaking a sweat as more and more weight started to pull on it. Sonic held it tight just in case Knuckles lost grip, thought knowing him, he'd be fine.

“Damnit!”

Knuckles suddenly yelled.

“What? What's wrong?”

“I can feel more Badniks coming! They're crawling up the other side of the wall! I'll hold this Sonic, go keep them off of me!”

Sonic nodded, letting the portion of the rope he had drop, and then running towards the other edge of the wall. It took him a few seconds to make it to the edge, and he peered down.

Shit.

There had to be at least thirty or so spider machines crawling up the wall, eyes glowing red. There was no way he could take them all out himself…

“Need a hand?”

Sonic jumped from the sudden voice.

“Shadow!”

The darker hedgehog ‘hmphed'.

“I figured that swarm was only the beginning. My gut was correct.”

“You ran up the wall too?”

Shadow looked offended.

“Don't sound so surprised. If you can do it… I can do it better.”

Sonic chuckled cockily.

“Yeah we'll see about that faker. The hedgehog with the most kills wins!”

Sonic leapt off the edge, sailing down and landing directly into one of the spiders. Shadow startled, then smirked.

“Your not even good enough to be my fake.”

Shadow jumped, pulling out his gun simultaneously. As he dove face first downward, he shot his gun at the spiders he passed, managing to make three drop.

“Three!”

Sonic smashed two spiders together as he jumped from one to the other. He smirked as he saw Shadow fall past him.

“That's four for me!”

He pulled his sword back out, then while on top of one, charged a spindash. Since he had the sword, the ball had an extra blue edge; the blade becoming a literal disk of death. The Badnik below him split in half, and Sonic started rolling down the wall. The sword was so fast and so hot, that it melted some of the steel, forcing itself inside the wall; keeping Sonic from falling. Sonic rolled around the wall, slicing up every Badnik in his path, and leaving a ripped open steel behind him, smoldering orange.

Shadow homing attacked one, grounding himself on the robot. It screeched, a few extra legs coming up to try and pierce his ankles. Shadow grabbed the extra legs, tore them off, and yeeted them into one of the spiders near him. That one proceeded to fall and crash into two more. From his vantage point, he shot seven more Badniks, all of which dropped like flies.

“Thirteen.”

Sonic stopped his rampage, leaving the sword in the wall however. The blade skidded downward, with him dangling by the handle. It stopped right next to Shadow, who narrowed his eyes at him.

“Eighteen.”

Shadow ‘tsked'. He then shot his gun between the eyes of the Badnik keeping him up.

“Fourteen.”

Sonic used his other hand to grab Shadow, who had his hand out already for it. They watched the last Badnik tumble down, into the… Sonic just realized that he'd been so focused on the battle, that he failed to notice the current District they were in. ‘Scrapyard’ was a massive understatement. Piles on piles of torn steel, wood, and unknown substances went out as far as the eye could see.

“Chaos…”

Sonic scrunched his nose, finally taking in the stench from below. Chaos it REEKED. Even Shadow coughed lightly.

“This will be… fun.”

 

Rouge tried to act as normal as possible. While it wasn't completely out of the ordinary for her to wander Robotnik Tower, it was a bit strange for her to do so in the early morning hours. She hoped she didn't get questioned by anyone. Her ‘escape’ could prove to be quite ugly if that happened.

Rouge used the staircase, as she didn't have badge access to use the elevators. She descended staircase after staircase, legs starting to weaken from the stress. The weight on her heart didn't help her body either. She left him behind. She knew that's what Zero wanted her to do, but she couldn't help but feel guilty.

Rouge made it to the wall floor; where the top of the wall met the floor of the tower. Rouge snuck through the floor until she found a large window, right in the middle of the thick wall separating two Districts. That would do. Rouge opened the window, and dropped out of the tower onto the wall.

It finally hit her what she was doing. She was leaving ChaosCorp after years of doing their dirty work. Where would she go? District One was the first obvious choice, as that's the only place Mobians truly dwelled, but did she want to live amongst those who she betrayed? She could try living in hiding in District Three, but what kind of life was that? Rouge held herself, mind running. What would she do? A cloud overtook her as she started walking along the wall, with no real direction. No real purpose.

 

Cosmo had settled behind Nine, using a piece of twisted metal as a makeshift brush, brushing his tails. Nine was obviously hesitant when she suggested, but after a few pouting faces, he relented. The sensation was weird. He never allowed anyone to touch his tails before. It was weird, as not even he handled them with that much care before. It felt nice for the most part. The tugs on mats in his fur hurt, but it wasn't as bad as his tails being stomped on. After their conversation last night, Cosmo had jokingly started calling Nine ‘Tails’. At first, Nine didn't know how to react, given how that was his old nickname from his bullies, but seeing how she used it as a friend - not intentionally trying to hurt him - felt nice. Sonic used to call him Tails… back when things were different apparently.

Cosmo tried to steady her hands that were shaking with growing anger. Nine's tails were an absolute mess, and no wonder! Nine had told her a bunch of stories last night which angered her, saddened her, and horrified her. She didn't blame him for neglecting care for his tails considering they brought such suffering to his life. She was at least happy that he wasn't completely ashamed of his extra limb as he once was.

“Cosmo?”

“Yeah?”

“You know a lot about me… but I know close to nothing about you still.”

Cosmo knew this was coming. She still wasn't prepared for this conversation, but she said she'd talk about it…

“What would you like to know?”

Nine made a funny huff noise.

“Anything I guess?”

Cosmo giggled, and Nine chuckled. He looked over his shoulder to look at her as she continued her brushing.

“Well, where did you come from? Why are you… down here?”

Cosmo paused her brushing, mind going back to many dark places, then resumed the rhythmic motion. Nine settled back in, looking ahead again.

“Would you believe me if I told you I'm from a different planet?”

“Wait really?”

“Yes.”

“That's cool.”

Nine winced when Cosmo tugged a particularly stubborn knott.

“Sorry.”

“It's ok… so uh, what was your planet like?”

Cosmo tugged harder at the knott.

“Actually, I don't know. It was destroyed by my people's enemies before I could see it.”

Nine's ears wilted.

“Oh.”

“I was born on a space colony.”

Nine's ears perked back up.

“That sounds neat.”

“It was a nice place… for awhile.”

“What do you mean?”

Cosmo sighed, the terrible memories flashing before her eyes.

“We were attacked. All of us were wiped out. No one was left… accept me.”

Nine turned around, eyes wide.

“I was kept alive as a ‘trophy’. They wiped out many races before, and kept one alive to boast of their conquest.”

“Who?”

“They call themselves ‘The Black Arms’.”

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

So the One-shot I'm in the middle of is turning out to be way bigger than I originally expected, so I need some more time with that before I release it, but I wanted to get this chapter out while I kept working on it. Admittedly, I've only worked on the next batch of art once, but I'll try my best to get those out in a timely fashion as well.

I hope you enjoyed!

Chapter 28: Thief Joins the Party!

Rouge had been walking aimlessly for hours. She wasn't really paying attention where she was going. How could she? It wasn't like she had anywhere to go.

She never looked up from her feet until she heard it. The sounds of grunting, some conversation exchanges, and other sounds. The bat squinted to see a handful of figures in the distance; most of which were standing on the wall like her, and a few were being hoisted up from the left side. She gasped. They were climbing the wall. They were Mobian. They had to be the Resistance. Who else should it be?

At first, Rouge wondered what she could even do. The easiest thing would be to ignore what she saw. Wait till they pass, and go on her way to no where. But… Rouge had a flutter in her chest. They were going to confront ChaosCorp. If they succeeded… the chance of Zero surviving was no longer zero percent.

Before she could rationalize anything in her head, she took off towards them, using her wings to glide. She realized this would take some serious negotiation skills, but anything would be worth it for Zero. She had to save him. What other purpose would she have otherwise?

 

“Black Arms? Who are they?”

Cosmo continued to brush Nine's bushy and matted tails, thinking back to the awful memories. She paused her brushing, which made Nine turn around to face her.

“They… are a race of very powerful beings, seeking to devour all they can. Like my people.”

Cosmo grimaced, but kept going.

“It took about a week of my captivity for them to discover my abilities. One of the other ‘trophies’ had gotten hurt pretty badly, so I patched him up with my healing power. Of course, word got out, and then I was suddenly a lot more valuable. I was forced to become their medic. Whenever they went to conquer another planet, I'd patch them up mid, and after battles.”

Nine nodded with eyes wide.

“That… sucks. Sorry.”

Cosmo smiled at Nine's goofy response.

“It's ok.”

He bit his lip, looked around the room, and then back at her with a confused expression.

“Wait, how did you go from the Black Arms to here?”

“Robotnik heard about me.”

Cosmo smacked her suddenly dry lips. Chaos she hated thinking about this.

“I had become a well known individual. In a way, I was feared, as the Black Arms could be healed from almost any sickness or injury.”

Cosmo gripped Nine's hands like she had before, seeking some form of comfort from him. He offered it gladly, squeezing her hands back.

“He approached the Black Arms. He offered Mobius as an optional settlement for them, as he had conquered it completely already. The Black Arms accepted. But Robotnik was cunning, and he tricked them. He was truly after me.”

Nine furrowed his brows.

“Why?”

Cosmo shrugged.

“To this day, I still don't know why. I've been hooked up to this machine since, sucking my power…”

Nine hummed, tapping his chin.

“Well, how did he get away?”

“The Black Arms have a hibernation period. It started right when Robotnik grabbed me.”

Nine blinked, then laughed.

“If I didn't hate him so much I'd applaud him.”

Cosmo chuckled.

“Yeah.”

“But wait… when does the Black Arms finish hibernating?’

Cosmo shrugged again.

“Not sure, but considering the way Robotnik has been acting, it's soon.”

Nine huffed.

“Surely that fat fuck has a plan in case they came after him right?”

“Unfortunately… yes.”

“Unfortunately?”

Nine squinted, confused.

“He calls it the Black Arms Offensive. Or BAO for short.”

 

Sonic and Shadow, after destroying the Badniks, hoisted themselves back up the wall, using Sonic’s blade as a pickaxe. They helped Knuckles steady the rope, while the rest of the team made it up, joining them on the top.

“No time to lose. No doubt they are sending more machines for us.”

Shadow observed, the rest of the group nodding in agreement.

“I sense something coming this way.”

Knuckles suddenly said, facing towards Robotnik Tower. Shadow squinted, then his eyes widened. It was Rouge. Rouge the bat was flying towards them. Was it an attack? Was she by herself?

“Knuckles, is she the only thing you can feel around here?”

The echidna paused, then nodded at the dark hedgehog. Shadow nodded back.

“I'll handle this.”

Sonic looked at Rouge, then Shadow. He smiled warmly, giving his counterpart a thumbs up. He wished the best out of this meeting.

Shadow boosted forward, several yards away from the main group, stopping near where Rouge was. She stopped at his sudden appearance, stopping her glide, and letting herself fall onto the wall gracefully. Shadow had his gun out, aimed, but not cocked. He wasn't willing to shoot her, but she didn't know that.

“What do you want?”

Rouge held up her hands.

“I…”

Rouge's voice died in her throat. She wanted Zero back. She wanted Robotnik to suffer after everything he had done to him, and her. She wanted all this guilt off of her shoulders; guilt that she most likely will have till she died.

“Look, I understand your hostility towards me, but I want to help you.”

Shadow's brow arched upward.

“Oh? Why a sudden change? Why work with ChaosCorp to begin with?”

“They used blackmail, I had no choice.”

Shadow hummed in consideration. He wanted to believe her, really he did, but he couldn't let his feelings jeopardize the mission. This wasn't the Rouge he knew, and even she wasn't known for her selfless acts, or always telling the truth.

“What kind of blackmail?”

Rouge bit her lip, the memory still too fresh.

“They…”

Her face hardened with anger.

“They have my fiance.”

Shadow's eyes widened. Rouge with a relationship commitment? She definitely had changed…

“And they strung me along, saying they'd keep him alive as long as I obeyed everything they said.”

“What changed?”

Shadow asked, genuinely curious now. Rouge wrapped her arms around her middle, looking quite upset.

“He told me to run. Something about being too valuable for them to kill now…”

Shadow hummed again. She sounded genuine, but she was a professional thief - she had gotten pretty good at lying.

“Why should I believe you?”

Rouge frowned, then looked down at her feet.

“Honestly, you probably shouldn't…”

Rouge clenched her hands into fists.

“I'm the enemy after all… that's what they've turned me into… I could be joining you just to spring a secret attack when you least expect it right?”

Shadow blinked in surprise as some tears slid down her face. She quickly wiped them off. Rouge wasn't one to just cry. In fact, she rarely did from Shadow's perspective. He had seen it a few times, but it was for very specific reasons. If she was anything like his old best friend…

“I believe you.”

Rouge looked at him, eyes wide and glassy.

“W-what?”

Shadow holstered his gun.

“I believe you.”

Rouge gawked a bit, not really expecting such a sudden acceptance.

“J-just like that?”

Shadow simply nodded once.

“Just like that.”

Rouge laughed once in disbelief.

“Thank you…”

Shadow smiled.

“You're welcome.”

He turned, and waved for her to follow him, which she gladly did. This wasn't the Rouge Shadow remembered, but that was ok. The fact that she was helping them now was nothing short of a miracle. This was his chance to get his friend back. He didn't want to get his hopes up, lest he become more like the blue idiot, but he was surprisingly optimistic about this.

“I'll vouch for you to the others.”

Rouge nodded.

“And, for what it's worth… I'll help you find your fiance.”

Shadow glanced over at her, who was staring back at him.

“That… that would mean the world to me.”

Shadow curtly nodded again.

“Then consider it a plan.”

Rouge's expression was unreadable, but it was clear her emotions were swirling through her. Likewise, Rouge didn't know what to think of Shadow. He didn't seem like the trusting type, yet he trusted her. Why?

The two approached the group, who for the most part, took fighting stances. Accept Sonic and Rusty. They trusted Shadow's judgment.

“What is SHE doing here?”

Shadow threw his hands up at Stick's comment, gesturing for them to back down.

“She's friendly. She's here to help.”

Tangle looked confused, her fists slowly lowering.

“Doesn't she work with ChaosCorp?”

“Not anymore.”

Knuckles hesitated, then shrugged like he was just told the weather.

“Whatever.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Geoffrey - with his gun aimed at Rouge - looked absolutely offended by her mere presence.

“You expect us to believe she just left ChaosCorp? I detect trickery.”

Shadow stood between Geoffrey's gun.

“If you have a problem with her traveling with us, you have a problem with me.”

Geoffrey’s angry expression faltered a bit at the intense stare from the Ultimate Lifeform. He made an exasperated huff, shoving his weapon away.

“Fine. But, remember BAT, I've got my eye on you.”

Whisper silently watched the exchange, wordlessly pocketing her own weapon.

Shadow met Sonic's gaze, who gave him another thumbs up, and a wink. Shadow winked back.

“All right, no more lollygagging. Let's get moving!”

Knuckles grunted, bounding ahead. The others followed behind, towards the other end of the wall.

 

“Change your mind yet fox?”

Nine shook underneath the man's death grip, his head being forced back to address them.

“Not… even… c-close.”

His face was shoved back into the bucket of water he was being suspended over. Bubbles stirred the water, and Nine's body heaved, trying to escape. His lungs began to burn as water poured into his body. He needed air! He was pulled out, and roughly thrown onto the ground. Immediately, he coughed up a few gallons of water, taking in oxygen like candy. Nine trembled, barely able to prop himself up on his hands and knees.

“Robotnik is getting impatient. Talk fox!”

He stepped on Nine's right hand, making a loud crunch sound. He cried in agony as the man grinded his heel deeper.

“Talk!”

“No!”

The man growled, kicking Nine's head angrily. He shook his head, picking up the bucket he had brought with him, and retreating, leaving the wet, bloody, and trembling boy behind on the floor. As soon as he was gone, Cosmo kneeled by Nine's side.

“Oh Chaos… Nine.”

He held up a hand for her to stop.

“No.”

“No?”

“Not Nine.”

Cosmo blinked, confused as she helped him get in a comfortable position, which was leaning up against the middle pillar.

“What do you mean?”

He gripped her hand with his left, eyes distant.

“I… gave m-myself the n-name Nine a while ago. It w-was out of self hatred.”

Cosmo - concerned for him - gestured for him to keep going, as she took a look at his broken hand.

“I was a-afraid. Of everyone. Th-that's why I m-made my extra t-tails. I was a-already a f-freak, so I didn't m-matter if I had m-more right?”

He shut his eyes in pain as Cosmo gently handled his hand.

“I called myself N-Nine b-because I wanted to b-be feared by others, just like h-how I feared them.”

Cosmo frowned sadly, brushing some of his arm fur with her fingers in an attempt to soothe.

“I don't even h-have my m-metal ones anymore. And I don't w-want to be f-feared anymore either.”

He brought his two tails up around himself, looking at them in a way he hadn't for a long long time. Sonic had changed his mind about them. And he wasn't going to be ashamed of them anymore.

“Call m-me Tails.”

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

Sorry for the wait, and I know that the chapter isn't that long. I'm still working on that One Shot, and I didn't have much time recently to work on any writing so I wanted to update as soon as I had a chunk of this done. Hope you all enjoyed!

Chapter 29: Hedgehog from the Future

“Well, I definitely say this is a shit hole. And I can't even see it.”

The rest of the group surveyed the land in front of them, miles stretching on, full of scrap. Knuckles turned his nose up, more sensitive to the stench then the rest.

“Good Chaos it smells like a pile of corpses… that got shit on.”

Everyone murmured some form of the same sentiment.

Shadow ‘tsked', studying the maze before them.

“Listen close everyone. We need to work together to navigate this. Rouge, fly ahead, and signal me which way to turn. I'll guide everyone else. And Sonic? Bring up the rear, and keep your eyes peeled for any type of ambush from behind.”

Rouge nodded, and Sonic saluted. Geoffrey gave Rouge a look, but said nothing.

“Alright, let's go everyone.”

 

Robotnik had left Mobius desolate. With the power of both the Chaos Emeralds, and the Master Emerald, life was ripped out of the roots; accept on Angel Island. Chaos City truly was a trash heap on a plain of desolation, only surviving from the supplies from Angel Island, and Robotnik liked it that way. Full control of the world, in one manageable space.

But, just three hundred miles away, stood the Temple Mountain, the only form of vertical change as far as the eye could see. While a normal looking mountain, it was actually quite crucial to Robotnik's plans. He had never discovered the cave near the top, housing the Paradox Prism, but, he did use the caverns beneath. It was craved out, cemented, and made into a massive facility. But… it was all for his trick. All those years ago, he needed a space to ‘accommodate’ the Black Arms, giving them a base on Mobius as a gift.

Now, those halls still were filled with sleeping Black Arm Members. Their hibernation cycle was almost up.

One of them opened their eyes.

 

Shadow suddenly stopped in place, a funny feeling running through his blood. He felt this feeling before…

“Shadow? You alright?”

Tangle asked, looking him up and down. Shadow shook his head, forcing himself to think he imagined the feeling.

“Yes. I am fine.”

He continued walking, leading the group through the scrap. Tangle frowned, deciding not to bother him about it.

Sonic calmly walked behind, taking glances behind every once in a while. The pace was way slower than Sonic was used to, but that was ok. After all, it would be difficult to run considering the ground was made out of packed trash. It wasn't the most stable, and someone was bound to trip or sprain an ankle if they tried running.

Sonic felt his calm nerves suddenly tense as he heard something. It was low, deep, and… sounded like a growl. He stopped, turning to look behind them. There it was again.

“Hey guys hold up…”

Sonic couldn't finish. A blur of gray launched itself from the darkness, smashing Sonic onto his back with it on top.

“Gah!”

The group turned at the surprised shout of their companion.

Sonic felt claws sink into his skin, tearing open cuts in quick succession. Sonic's survival instincts kicked in, literally. He used his feet to kick the thing square in the stomach, launching it away from him. It stumbled on the ground, back up on its feet in two seconds.

Sonic froze. A very familiar face - albeit contorted by who knows what - stared back at him.

“Chaos no…”

Memories of the normally friendly face flooded his mind.

“...Silver.”

 

“Yo Silver!”

The pale hedgehog waved as Sonic walked over to him, drink in hand, and a small party hat strung to his head.

“Hey Sonic! Long time no see!”

Sonic snickered.

“Thanks for coming all the way from the future just for my birthday. Seriously, it means a lot. It's great seeing you.”

Silver's contagious smile brightened the room.

“Of course, and thank you it's great to see you too.”

Sonic took a sip from his punch.

“Hey, uh I have something I wanted to tell you actually…”

“Oh? What's up?”

Sonic's eyes suddenly widened.

“Is your future messed up?”

Silver waved his hands.

“Oh no no, nothing like that.”

Silver chuckled nervously. Sonic gestured he continue what he was talking about. The hedgehog from the future sighed.

“So… uh how do I put this…?”

He rubbed his face with his hands.

“I… don't feel at home in the future.”

Sonic blinked.

“Huh?”

“I don't… FEEL like I belong there anymore. Not when…”

Silver gazed around the room, watching the festivities.

“... all of my friends are in the past.”

Sonic matched Silver's gaze, spotting a group near the refreshments table. Vector was leaning back, a whole liter of soda in his hand, pouring it into his mouth. Tails, Knuckles, Espio, and Charmy were all changing ‘chug’, laughing all the whole. Sonic smiled at the scene, as Shadow stepped up with two liters to beat Vector. Silver met Sonic's eyes again. Sonic saw it. The deep loneliness.

“So what your telling me is…?”

Silver's momentary gloom evaporated. His grin stretched his face.

“I'm staying here! In your time!”

Sonic gasped.

“Like, indefinitely?”

“Heh, yeah!”

Sonic smiled wide himself.

“Dude that's awesome!”

Sonic pulled the other hedgehog into a hug, which was returned.

“I've been thinking about it for awhile, so I decided to finally make the leap.”

Sonic stepped away from the hug, grinning like a cat.

“I'm happy for you.”

Silver happily nodded.

“Thank you. Currently looking for a place of my own. I already told Shadow about it, and he offered me a place to stay until I get up on my feet!”

Sonic raised a brow.

“Shadow did? Wow nice.”

Silver chuckled.

“Yeah I was as surprised as you are.”

The two looked back to see Shadow finishing his fourth liter of soda, while Vector waved his hands in defeat. Tails and Knuckles held up Shadow's arms in victory; making the Ultimate Lifeform show one of his rare smiles.

“Well, here's to you, bro.”

Sonic held up his plastic cup, then made a funny face.

“Oh crap!”

He dashed away and back, now with a second cup.

“Can't have a toast with only one.”

He handed Silver the other cup of punch.

“To Silver, my friend, and now, timeline neighbor.”

Silver chuckled, clicking his plastic cup against Sonic’s.

“To my future in the past.”

 

The Mobian hedgehog before them looked absolutely horrendous - something straight from a horror movie. His limbs were contorted at odd angles, and moved abnormally. His hands were replaced by metal claws with no thumbs, which were currently dripping from Sonic’s blood. But worst of all, his face… His eyes were bloodshot, and pinpricks, shaking and watery. And finally, his mouth hung limply open, no lower jaw attached anymore, letting metal upper fangs hand low, dripping with some sort of black substance.

Tangle held back vomit at the sight, suddenly lightheaded.

“Good Gaia above…”

Whisper and Geoffrey had their guns out, both wordlessly asking for direction from Sonic or Shadow.

“What the hell is that thing?!”

Sticks screamed, mind running wild with possible scenarios of what it could have been. Maybe the scrap was starting to become angry at being disregarded for so long, that they culminated into a single being with a mind of its own, ready to destroy the world… she decided against voicing this thought.

Shadow's eyes widened in horror at the sight, also instantly recognizing Silver. His expression morphed to anger.

“What did they do to you?”

Silver made feral sounds from his exposed throat, that also gurgled with that black substance. His eyes searched the team, clearly registering that he was outnumbered.

“He was a failed experiment.”

Knuckles sighed, his face shadowed with pity.

“So they ‘threw him away’. They do that when an experiment becomes unresponsive to treatment for too long. The bastards.”

Rusty watched the creature sadly.

“What should we do?”

Knuckles shook his head.

“If you want my advice, put him out of his misery. There isn't a mind left to save in there anymore…”

Sonic looked at him in horror, then over to Shadow, who grimly clenched his teeth. The darker hedgehog couldn't help but agree.

“W-wait!”

Sonic was about to formulate an argument to somehow rescue his friend, but was interrupted by another growl. This one did not come from Silver. In fact, several different types of growls started coming from around them, all different pitches. Sonic - wide eyed - panned his eyes around where the group was standing, spotting multiple glowing eyes, belonging to other mutilated and technologically imbued Mobians.

“Shit.”

“Everybody run!”

Tangle, Whisper, Geoffrey, Sticks, and Rouge all took off, Sonic and Shadow taking up the rear. Immediately, the horde shot off after them, screeching like demons from hell.

“Rouge! Take the lead again! Make sure we don't run into some in the front!”

The bat nodded to Shadow, flying ahead.

“You and I need to lead them away!”

Sonic nodded, glancing behind to see that the horde was surprisingly catching up.

“This way!”

Sonic boosted to the left, Shadow skating not far behind. They didn't go full speed, so they wouldn't lose the monsters behind them. They needed to make sure the altered Mobians were far enough away from their non-speedster partners.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

Sonic's sneaker got caught on a small metal bar sticking up from the ground.

“Woah!”

His momentum sent Sonic in the air, then tumbling to a stop on the ground. Shadow halted next to Sonic’s prone figure, unholstering his gun immediately. He took two shots into the crowd as they got dangerously close.

“Get up Sonic!”

Sonic forced himself up to his hands and knees. He needed to get up and out of here…

Shadow decked one of the experiments in the jaw, making it completely tear off, blood spraying on his glove. The next leapt at him and got kicked in the stomach, ribs audibly cracking.

“Sonic!”

Shadow's voice wavered with uncertainty, which wasn't something Sonic was used to hearing. He finally got to his feet, right as the horde met them. Sonic got tackled by five of them at once; a dog, two birds, a shrew, and something that had been so badly modified that it was unrecognizable.

“SONIC!”

Shadow watched as Sonic disappeared below a pile of Mobians, and before he could do anything about it, he got tackled as well. He felt his flesh get bitten and clawed at all angles. Chaos there were hundreds of them. Maybe even a thousand. No, they had come so far! He wouldn't let it end here. He refused!

His inhibitor rings levitated off of his limbs.

The pain from the attacks fueled the fire building in his stomach, spilling over to his brain, and then his extremities. Power pulsed through him like a heartbeat, and Chaos Energy began to spark across his quills, hands, and feet.

“Chaos…”

Red light enveloped him.

“BLAST!”

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

I am proud to announce that I am finally posting my One-shot that I've been working on alongside this chapter! If you've enjoyed this, please go check it out! It's called "My Sweet Beast", and it follows Amy as the main character. It's a lot more light-hearted than this fic, but it still has darker themes involved like past child abuse, but overall it's more of a feel good fic. The concept was suggested to me from Bernie1273blue, so thanks for that! I had fun with your concept!

Now that it's done, I'll have more time to write this fic again, so we'll hopefully be back into the groove of more content here. Strap in, because it only gets more wild from here!

Chapter 30: "I'm not into hedgehogs"

Notes:

🛑STOP READ FIRST!!! 🛑

Ahead of this chapter, I wanted to give a trigger warning. I normally don't do this, but I left this out of the tags as I wanted it to be a bit of a story shock, but I know I should give fair warning for those sensitive about this sort of thing. There is a brief description (albeit not graphic) of underage rape in this chapter. With that aside, please enjoy...

Sonic blearily opened his eyes. What happened? His brain scrambled for an answer. They were splitting up with the group to lead the enemies away, they were swarmed…

That's right.

Sonic was pushed back by Shadow's powerful Chaos Blast. Somehow, while the energy tore through the enemies, it left Sonic practically untouched, only flinging him several yards away from the epicenter. While the impact knocked him out, he was definitely better off than Shadow's targets. Littered all around him were steaming corpses, all torn to pieces. Sonic's eyes studied the broken bodies.

“I'm sorry.”

He said to one, a small wolf Mobian who looked no older than ten. Sonic shut the wolf’s open eyes, and took a moment to mourn the death of literal thousands. Shadow may have pulled the trigger, but it was Robotnik who truly killed them. He turned them into mindless monsters. Sonic clenched fist trembled with anger. He'll pay for this. For their deaths, for the Mobian enslavement… for Nine.

His mind clicked out of the darkness when he realized he didn't see Shadow anywhere.

“Shadow? Shadow! Where are you?!”

A deep groan signaled to Sonic that Shadow was close.

“Shadow!”

Sonic found him, trying and failing to stand. His limbs trembled, and it was clearly difficult to keep his eyes open.

“Help me up.”

Sonic nodded, hoisting his counterpart upward, and bringing his arm to rest around his shoulders for support.

“That drained me…”

Shadow simply stated, shaking his pounding head.

“How… am I ok?”

Shadow chuckled.

“I bent the energy not to touch you. Chaos Energy is tricky to tell what to do, but I was mostly confident you'd be fine. Which you are.”

Sonic raised a brow as the two slowly walked along.

“Mostly?”

Shadow smirked.

“There was a small chance I could have cooked you like a turkey. But I decided the chance of that was better than being eaten alive.”

Sonic grinned a little.

“Well that's nice.”

Shadow grunted in pain, and Sonic stopped their slow stride.

“What's wrong?!”

“Hmm, fine. Just… tired.”

Sonic frowned.

“Dude, I think you need to rest, get your energy back.”

Shadow grimaced.

“No, I need to find the rest of the group, make sure they are okay… URGH.”

Shadow stumbled, Sonic being the only thing keeping him standing. The dark hedgehog shook his head in defeat.

“Fine. But you need to find a safe place. Don't need to get surrounded again.”

Sonic nodded.

“Don't worry Shadow, I'll find a spot.”

Sonic picked Shadow up completely, like he did when their journey began, and ran to find a hidden place.

 

Sonic and Shadow sped off, leading most of the horde with them, away from the rest of the team. Rouge's eyes darted back and forth from the sky, looking for a safe path.

“Turn right!”

The group veered right, Knuckles now in the lead accepting direction from Rouge.

“Left!”

Some of the creatures were really gaining some ground on them, and Knuckles could feel it.

“We need to move faster!”

A sudden shout of pain had everyone's heads reel to look behind. Tangle's tail got caught by one of the altered Mobians, taking a BITE out of it. Naturally she screamed, and rolled to a stop on the ground.

“TANGLE!”

The normally stoic Whisper shouted in horror, turning to run towards the danger besides from. Her blaster was immediately out, and she started blasting the closest enemies she could see to fight her way to Tangle.

Knuckles turned on a dime. He knew if they all didn't stop to help, those two were goners. A war cry tore the blind echidna's throat, as he used vibrations to guide his massive spiked fist forward. It met its target. His fist plunged into a cat’s face, making it literally explode in a sickening sight of red. Not that Knuckles could see it.

Rouge watched in horror as the team engaged with the enemy, very much outnumbered. She needed to prove her worth now. Spinning in the air, she launched herself feet first drilling into one of the Mobians about to attack Knuckles from behind. The dog burst apart on impact, and Knuckles whirled around at the sudden movement. The echidna took a second, then gave her a thumbs up, which she returned, even though she knew he didn't see it.

Sticks rushed two enemies, dodging a kick from one and a punch from the other. Her athletic body twisted in the air, getting behind both. She swiped her leg underneath them, making them topple into a pile together. With a yell, she took out her scabbard, and plunged it through their skulls, staking them into the ground, before pulling it out like Excalibur.

Geoffrey blasted one in the face, cutting it close to swiping at him. The next he sidestepped, letting it dive into another. While both were on the ground he didn't hesitate to shoot them in the head with one shot.

Rusty extended her arms, grabbing two by their necks, and then spun her torso, using them to wack into a bunch more. They flew in opposite directions, slamming to a few more on the way. She grimaced at the bloodstains on the ground. This wasn't like fighting robots at all.

Whisper was going full ballistic. One that got too close for her to shoot ended up getting torn aside by her adrenaline powered grip. When she finally made it to the three on top of Tangle, she immediately grabbed two of them by their necks, cracking them in a single squeeze. They dropped like flies, as the third rushed her. She used the butt of her gun to pummel his gut, making him land on the ground.

“DIE!”

Whisper beat the Mobian, blood spraying all over herself as he went from disfigured, to unrecognizable in seconds. But she didn't stop, her fists flying and eyes blinded in rage.

“Whisper.”

The rest of them had finished them off, now all approaching the wolf.

“Whisper.”

The Mobian's skull was visible now.

“WHISPER. STOP.”

The wolf reeled back at Knuckles’ stern comment, as if she had been struck herself. She stared down at the pile of gore before her. She was absolutely coated in blood, and it oozed down her slowly. She looked at her soaked hands. They were both trembling.

“Whisper…”

The wolf turned, eyes landing on Tangle, who was leaning against her hands, sitting up, albeit with much difficulty. Horror with herself forgotten, Whisper kneeled next to her.

“Tangle…”

The lemur shakily brought her tail up into her lap, surveying the damage. Five massive chunks had been torn out with teeth, both a mix of metal and natural ones. Blood was gushing out of each hole quickly, making Tangle lightheaded.

“Quick! She needs help!”

The rest of the group was by their side. Rusty slung her duffel bag down onto the ground.

“I have bandages. Whisper, you can comfort her while I patch her up ok?”

The wolf nodded, taking Tangle's hand into her own.

“The rest of you, make sure there are no stragglers nearby.”

Knuckles grunted in acknowledgement, walking off in a random direction. Sticks crossed her arms, walking off as well. Geoffrey looked over at Rouge, eyes narrow. He made the ‘I got my eyes on you’ motion before walking off himself. Rouge crossed her arms, feeling a bit out of place. She did her first true act against Robotnik, and while it felt good to be on the right team, she felt unsettled by what was to come. This was not going to be easy.

 

Sonic gently laid Shadow down on a patch of dirt, in the middle of a small cave like hole in the middle of a pile. Sonic had tested how structurally sound it was by jumping on top of it before bringing Shadow in. Last thing he needed was a cave in. Shadow had fallen asleep five minutes ago, and hadn't made any indication of waking up anytime soon.

“Sleep tight buddy. I'll be back.”

Sonic stood, giving his friend a glance before boosting back from where he came. He had to know. He had to see for himself.

Sonic returned to the scene; where Shadow had saved both their lives. The place really started to smell now, the bodies already beginning to rot more then they already were. Sonic pushed down the bile that was rising in his throat. He was here for a reason… he needed to know. Did Silver die here?

Sonic checked body after body, face after face finding no sign of the white hedgehog.

“Silver…”

Sonic's face fell, not really WANTING to find Silver amongst dead bodies, but also wanting to give him a proper burial if he did.

Sonic grimaced. Silver was probably dead. Tears spilled out, and his knees hit the ground. In frustrated anger, Sonic punched the dirt below repeatedly. He caused this mess. He was going to fix it as much as he could. Not another one of his friends were going to die, not if he could help it.

 

Miles Prower - two tailed fox, genius inventor child prodigy - leaned against the wall, waiting for his daily beating. For years, he thought the title ‘Tails’ was nothing but a slap in the face, a reminder that he wasn't normal, but deformed. But it wasn't. It was a badge of honor. A title to be respected. He wasn't the starving child in an alley ‘Miles Prower’. He wasn't the violent and lonely kid living in an abandoned building ‘Nine’. He was Tails, the fox with friends who valued him. And no matter how hard they beat him today, tomorrow, or years from now… they couldn't take that away from him anymore.

The fox's eyes met Cosmo's sleeping form, on the ground near him. Her small frame rose with her short breathing. He frowned, eyeing all those wires. What were they doing to her really? What was it for if it wasn't for the BAO? It didn't make any sense…

The door opened, Professor Stone entering with a pleasant smile. It was sickening to look at. Tails was surprised to see that he wasn't accompanied by anyone else.

“You forgot the muscle.”

Stone stopped nearby, not reacting to the statement.

“Robotnik needs this information today. I'm not leaving this room until you spill.”

Tails' scoffed, crossing his arms. He was nervous about what Stone was planning on doing, but surely it couldn't be worse than anything else they've done… right?

Stone studied the fox, tapping his chin.

“We did some digging on you boy, and I have to say, I'm actually impressed by how little of you we have in our database.”

“Yeah I guess that's a perk of being abandoned by your parents.”

Stone smiled, as if they were discussing this over tea or something.

“But we found some… interesting footage of you.”

Tails blinked.

“Oh?”

“Yes. About two years ago… behind the market alley…”

Tails froze. No. No no no. His mouth went dry, and his hands started to shake.

“W-what?”

Stone grinned, knowing he got him.

“We pulled the footage from the market's cams, and we found an interesting event.”

Tails jumped when he felt Cosmo stand by his side, not realizing she had even waken up.

Stone snapped his fingers, making a small screen descended from the ceiling, illuminating in their faces. The footage began, showing a dark alleyway that Tails was all too familiar with.

“No!”

Tails dropped to his knees, grabbing his ears and pulling them down, his eyes screwed shut as he tried to drown the memory out. Cosmo's dropped to her knees as well, her hand coming to rest on his trembling back. He couldn't see the video, but he could still hear it.

“Get away from me!”

A younger Tails said, getting backed into the corner of the alley by a large green hedgehog. Cosmo's eyes widened as she watched.

“P-please…”

“Oh stop whining.”

Cosmo gasped as the hedgehog held Tails' neck, and the other hands rubbed his face, almost affectionately. It was a sickening combination.

“Why don't we put that pretty mouth of your's to use you freak?”

“Stop p-please…”

“Open.”

Horror and anger tore open Cosmo's chest as the video continued, Tails being used by some random hedgehog for his sick pleasure. Cosmo felt tears leave her eyes. The video ended, and Stone relished the look on Cosmo's face, and the absolute defeat in Tails' demeanor.

“We proceeded to look into the hedgehog after finding this video… Scourge.”

Tails' tear coated face snapped up.

“He's with me today.”

Tails' jumped to his feet, eyes mere pinpricks.

“Y-your lying.”

Stone snapped his fingers.

“Let him in.”

The doors opened up, and a green hedgehog with sunglasses and ripped vest walked in. The same one on the video.

Tails' FLEW into the wall on the other side of the room, his whole body shaking violently as he stared at the newcomer.

“GET HIM THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!”

Scourge smirked, waving at the fox.

“Heya squirt. Been awhile.”

He took a single step in his direction…

“DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!”

Tails felt his head swim, his stomach churn, and the rest of his body felt so DIRTY. Chaos not again… please not again…

Cosmo stepped between them.

“Stay away from him.”

The hedgehog snickered, and Stone grinned evilly.

“Oh he's not here for him.”

Cosmo narrowed her eyes.

“Oh? Then why is he here?”

Stone laughed.

“He's here for YOU darling.”

“W-what?”

“That's right Cosmo, Scourge is here to have some fun with you.”

Cosmo felt her blood drain from her face. The sudden need to run itched at her, as the creepy hedgehog gave her a once over. He looked like he was eyeing up a piece of meat.

“I mean, I prefer little boys, but you'll do.”

Cosmo backed away a few steps.

“Wait… please.”

“Get away from her!”

Tails shouted in desperation, fear clear on her face.

“Oh yeah? And what are you going to do about it?”

Tails felt his heart stop. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't fight, he couldn't run, he definitely couldn't save Cosmo. Tails' felt his world go dark, like it had so many times before. He was helpless…

…

No he wasn't. He had something they wanted. That was the whole point of his torture. They got him. No amount of physical abuse would get him to talk. But as soon as they threatened Cosmo…

Tails shut his eyes. He needed to protect her. He didn't want anyone to experience what he did, let alone her.

“I'll talk.”

Cosmo looked back at him, her face a mix of emotions. Relief for obvious reasons, but also pained sadness for what Tails' would have to do for her.

“It's about time. Come with me fox. We have some work to do.”

Stone gestured Tails' to come with him, who shakily pushed away from the wall, walking slowly to him. He started passing Scourge, trying not to even look at the hedgehog. He felt his skin tingle sharply as he felt the hedgehog’s gaze on him.

Stone pulled out handcuffs, securing Tails' arms behind his back.

“Just in case you get any funny ideas.”

“I won't.”

Stone had a pleased expression on his face from the mere acceptance Tails offered. It made the man feel powerful.

He then proceeded to lead the fox out of the room, Scourge behind him. Tails felt his skin crawl as the hedgehog walked directly behind him. He glanced back, meeting Cosmo's eye contact. Besides everything, he forced a smile for her.

“I'll be back soon.”

“O-okay…”

The three left, and Cosmo, after building up multiple emotions through the whole encounter, broke down and sobbed.

Notes:

I'm sorry

Chapter 31: Resistance Secrets

Shadow groaned, and Sonic immediately shushed him with a finger to his lips. Shadow angrily looked up at him, pissed at being silenced.

“What the h - ”

Sonic clamped Shadow’s mouth shut with both hands, his eyes wide and not even looking at Shadow at all. Shadow finally followed Sonic's gaze, looking out the entrance of the ‘cave’ they were in. Large spider-like mechanical legs slowly walked passed, the body of which they belonged to unable to be seen from their vantage point. Shadow's eyes widened, deciding keeping silent was the best option. Both hedgehogs waited with bated breath as the creature passed. Several more minutes passed in silence once it was gone.

Shadow stubbornly brushed Sonic's hands away.

“How are you feeling buddy?”

“Good enough to get some distance on… whatever that was.”

Sonic nodded.

“Yeah let's do that.”

Sonic helped Shadow to his feet, who wobbled a bit. Sonic kept him steady, until Shadow was able to keep himself up.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

They both peeked out of their temporary shelter.

“Looks all clear…”

It wasn't.

The hedgehogs jerked back when a large beast slammed into the ground in front of them, apparently sitting on top of their cave waiting for them. Sonic's eyes popped out of his skull at the sight before him. It was indeed a spider shaped creature; eight massive metal legs protruding from his otherwise small body. Sonic fought not to gag at the center. A small Mobian without any of its original limbs hung between the mess of legs, his flesh clearly rotting against the metal. His eyes were alit in red, showing that his eyes had been replaced by some sort of camera. On its neck hung a collar, with big bold letters reading; KITSUNAME. Sonic felt a bit frozen at the sight. It was a Mobian fox of all things. And a child…

“Gaia…”

Shadow's stomach flipped.

“We gotta go.”

The creature opened it's small mouth, screaming at the two, then raising three of its legs to skewer the two with.

“Sonic! We gotta go!”

Shadow yanked Sonic out of the way, making both of them tumble on the ground, right as the legs dug into where they were just standing.

“Move!”

Sonic finally registered what was happening, standing up quickly. Shadow struggled to get to his feet, but he got there.

“Look out!”

Shadow didn't move in time, one of the legs swooping to nail Shadow in the side. He twisted in the air, and landed on the ground with a thud.

“Shadow!”

Sonic rushed to his side. Kitsuname geared up for another piercing plunge, this one aimed for Shadow. Something inside Sonic snapped at this.

He promised no more of his friends would die. He wouldn't allow it.

The legs came crashing down, only to stop before hitting the dark hedgehog. Sonic caught the legs. His hand gripped just around the tips of both legs, squeezing tight, and pushing back with all of his might.

“No. You won't take him.”

Sonic rose to his feet, pushing the creature back.

“I will not lose another friend!”

Cracks formed where Sonic's fingers pushed into the metal.

“Not now…”

Electricity from Sonic’s left arm coursed through it, and ran into Kitsuname. The creature screeched, trying to free its legs from Sonic's hold, but the blue hedgehog held fast, not allowing the creature to escape.

“Not ever.”

The electricity overpowered the circuitry within the creature’s biological head, making it explode with sparks, flames, and blood. The machine heaved, falling apart and onto the ground in a heap, dead.

 

The group was on the move again. Knuckles had found a straggling experiment, but he had no problem taking it out by himself. Rusty had finished patching up Tangle, leaving the lemur with a massive wrap of bandages around her tail. Whisper walked next to her, always asking if she was ok every two seconds. Tangle insisted she was fine, thought she winced very three steps or so. Sticks was in the back, volunteering herself to watch their rears. Knuckles and Geoffrey led the group, walking side by side as Rouge scouted ahead for the safe route. Geoffrey huffed as she gave another direction to Knuckles.

“You actually trust this bat?”

The echidna snorted a bit.

“No, not really.”

The skunk made an exasperated sound.

“Then why are we following her?!”

“I trust Shadow. He trusts her. Therefore, I trust her… in a way.”

Geoffrey crossed his arms.

“Well, how am I supposed to trust YOU then?”

Knuckles halted. A million thoughts ran through Knuckles head. Geoffrey shouldn't trust him. After all, he sent a child to ChaosCorp. Nine was gone because of him. Guilt of keeping that secret chewed the back of his mind again, this time being more prominent. He continued to walk.

“You shouldn't.”

Geoffrey was taken back by the borderline threat, deciding to remain quiet.

“I found them!”

Rouge suddenly said, pointing ahead. The rest of the group jogged up further to see what she was pointing at. Sure enough, Sonic and Shadow were just around the corner. Sonic was just leaning down to pick Shadow up off of the ground.

“Guys!”

Rusty ran ahead, and her shout caught both of their attention. Shadow stood, and brushed himself off as Sonic was embraced by Rusty.

“Oof!”

Shadow smirked as Rusty pulled back, suddenly embarrassed by her actions. Sonic only chuckled at it, smiling himself. He didn't ignore the flutter in his chest.

“Good. Neither of you are dead.”

Knuckles commented, making Sonic smirk.

“What can I say? I die hard.”

Shadow snorted beside him, but said nothing.

“What the hell is that?”

Sticks said, pointing at the dead machine right next to the three hedgehogs. Tangle held her hands up to her mouth, keeping herself from vomiting. Sonic frowned.

“Someone I never got the pleasure of meeting.”

Sonic let his eyes rest on the horrific lump of flesh and tech, his face firm. Robotnik was going to pay for all of this. He'd make sure of that. With no further comment, Sonic started walking, the rest of the group following him one by one. Shadow caught up with him, walking alongside him.

“Thanks.”

Sonic gave him a side eye look.

“For what?”

“Saving me. Though I did save you, so I guess that makes us even, huh?”

Shadow's comment was surprisingly filled with mirth, not a tone Shadow made often. Sonic found himself grinning.

“Heh, of course Shades.”

He held up his fist, and Shadow didn't hesitate fist bumping him.

 

Stone was on top of the world. On one hand, he had successfully broken the fox down to being cooperative, on the another, the information the fox had given seemed so EASY. Who would have thought that using Chaos Amplifiers would actually attune the mentality of Mobians to the code of technology? It was brilliant really. Stone was positively giddy with all this new information that Tails fed him, typing it all down in a document for later. When Tails was finished, he stood awkwardly in silence near the Professor, who started typing in ideas of his own to possibly even improve Tails' designs.

“Hey, I still haven't gotten anything out of this deal. You said I could get some action here.”

Scourge snarled, leaning against the opposite wall with a sneer on his face. Stone didn't even look back.

“Oh yes of course. I don't need him now, you can have him for a bit. Use the room across from here, should be unlocked.”

Tails' face turned white.

“Remember to signal me when you're done so I can have him escorted back to his containment.”

Tails' began to tremble. No no not again!

“B-but I did wh-what you asked!”

Stone scoffed.

“I don't care.”

Scourge grabbed the chain between Tails' cuffs, launching the fox into hyperventilation.

“NO NO DON'T DO THIS!”

“So long Mr. Prower, you've been most helpful.”

Tails' screams died in his throat. He was powerless now. There was nothing he could do to stop this, let alone anything else. The fox's body slumped, as Scourge dragged him along the ground and out the door. Stone hummed to himself, taking a sip of his goat's milk coffee.

“Most helpful indeed.”

 

Sage gasped, her program suddenly active, but not in the way she was used to. At first, she thought maybe Sonic was here for the next Emerald; after being told by a group of different Mobians from the ‘Resistance’ that Sonic was on his way soon to the next Emerald Housing Unit. But… she couldn't see anything. She was definitely active, but her projection wasn't emitting. Why? Only accessing a Housing Unit turned on her program…

“Hello Sage.”

The AI girl felt a chill, which was weird considering she didn't have physicality currently.

“Hello?”

“You’ve been quite a leach in my systems as of late little girl. I thought I destroyed your program years ago… and here you are… HELPING the Mobian pests obtain the Emeralds.”

Sage felt confusion. She recognized the voice a little bit… but not fully. Why?

“I ought to destroy you for that alone… but, what can I say? I'm feeling generous today. You could still be of use to me…”

Sage felt her program get surged with new codes, aggressive ones breaking down her synthetic mind.

“... you are quite the impressive piece of technology. With just a bit of reprogramming, you could even be something… glorious.”

 

The group had stopped when the sun went down, in a spot safe enough to get some rest. It was getting clear to all of them that they needed it; as Shadow was still drained, Sonic was getting beat, Knuckles was starting to breath heavy, Sticks was fighting exhaustion, Geoffrey kept rubbing his eyes, Rouge couldn't stay airborne, and Tangle was now in Whisper's arms as she couldn't manage to walk consistently. Rusty was the only one still full of energy, so she volunteered for the first watch of the night. The ground wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was better than falling over while they got the Chaos Emerald.

Rusty watched as the night became pitch black. Her robotic sight switched, allowing her to see better. The action reminded her of an interaction… when Sonic was left in the dark at Nine’s hideaway. She laughed sadly at the memory. It was bittersweet now. Nine wasn't with them anymore. Rusty purposely tried to not think about the fox, as it only led to sadness now. Every good memory with him seemed spoiled now. Some tears slipped down the left side of her face. She went to wipe them off, but a different hand appeared to do it instead. It was Sonic's robotic hand. She looked up in surprise, finding Sonic looking into her eyes sadly.

“Thinking about him?”

Rusty nodded, unable to respond verbally. Sonic sat down cross legged next to her.

“I understand. I miss him too.”

The two sat in silence for a while, nonverbal mourning for their lost friend being shared between them.

Rusty hated how frivolous Nine's death was. It wasn't in the line of fire, it was domestic. Honestly, she could see Nine being upset about that too.

Sonic's heart fire was rekindled as he thought of Nine, and Tails. His brother. He was motivated consistently to avenge his death. He swore on his grave that he'd give his soul peace.

After what felt like forever, their eyes locked with each other. Both sets were glassy with unshed tears, and layered in different emotions and grief.

Sonic didn't even realize that they had locked hands at some point during the silence. He blinked in surprise, face turning a shade of pink. His heart quickened all the sudden, and his body felt tingly all over. Their moment of grief quickly turned to a moment of desire. Sonic's heart leapt up to his throat when Rusty leaned in just a bit, her eyes glazed over and her lips parted a little. This was crazy… he never felt this attracted to Amy before. Why now? A million thoughts; positive and negative flew through his mind, debating with himself what he should do. Eventually he reached a conclusion; screw it.

Sonic leaned in all the way, their lips meeting in a lock. Sonic felt fireworks go off in his mind as he gave his first kiss away - at least, the first he could remember. It was honestly embarrassing for him to know he had never kissed anyone before, a fact he liked to keep to himself. It just was never high priority to him. Relationships normally meant settling, and that wasn't Sonic's style. But damn, he might have to rethink his lifestyle… at least a little bit. Sonic's body shuddered as they parted, Rusty letting out a small pant. The smile that donned her face filled Sonic's overstimulated brain with more endorphins.

“I uh… can take watch next.”

Sonic eventually said stupidly, which rose a giggle from Rusty.

“Of course. I'll take my leave. Don't want to distract you too much.”

Sonic blinked like a deer in headlights at the obvious teasing. Rusty winked at him, then walked a few paces away to find a place to sleep.

Sonic took watch for the next hour, before Knuckles woke to take the next. Sonic had to stop himself from making a joke about Knuckles taking ‘watch’, but realized that was probably too insensitive.

The last echidna’s senses were heightened to the world around them, just in case he were to be snuck up on. Other than the slow breathing of his companions, he was alone with his thoughts. Naturally, it didn't take long for his guilt to return. He couldn't validate his decision anymore. While he saved Cream, and all the other Mobians there, he didn't do the right thing. There was always another way, and he didn't have the balls to try and find that way. Knuckles grit his teeth, angry with himself.

…

He had to tell them. He had to tell Sonic.

He took a deep breath in, and then out.

He had to tell them that Nine was alive.

 

Cosmo was really getting worried. Tails had been gone for hours. She wasn't sure if the information he knew really took that long to explain…

What if they simply didn't bring him back? Cosmo shocked herself at that sudden realization. After all, they only had him for the information. Once they got it, they could just kill him. He could have been dead for the past few hours for all she knew. She shut her eyes in horror at the thought. She prayed that wasn't the case.

Her prayer was answered, as the door opened, and a small fox was thrown in. He slammed onto the floor, and just laid there, curling up into himself.

“Tails!”

Cosmo approached the fox, then hesitated. Something was very WRONG. Tails was openly weeping on the floor, and his fur and clothes had been stained with something white and crusty. Rage and sorrow built up within Cosmo when she realized what it was.

“Chaos…”

Tails looked up at her, eyes red and puffy from the constant flow of tears. Cosmo treaded carefully. She didn't want to scar him any further by trying to initiate physical contact, so it was best to let him decide what to do. Cosmo kneeled, and opened her arms up, as a silent ask. Tails sniffled, then launched himself into her, crying into her shoulder. Cosmo let her hand rest on his trembling back, rubbing circles to calm him. Her brows set down on her eyes. If she got her hands on that piece of shit, she'd kill him with her bare hands.

“I'm sorry Tails…”

Tails choked on a sob, and curled in further. They stayed like that for awhile, until his sobbing calmed enough for him to speak.

“I tried to s-stop him th-the first f-few t-times…”

Tails continued to tremble as he spoke.

“But every time h-he got m-more v-violent… eventually I s-stopped f-fighting it.”

Tails reached up to pull at his ears.

“He saw m-me as n-nothing more th-than a dirty r-rag.”

His breath hitched.

“I f-feel s-so… filthy.”

Tails gripped Cosmo tighter, his tears continuing to soak her shoulder. She said nothing, not knowing what she even could say. Instead, she comforted him as best she could, which eventually lulled the troubled fox to sleep.

 

Early morning rose, and the group was on the move again. Tangle was feeling a lot better, but she still had some difficulty. Obviously, Whisper was attached to her hip to make sure she was ok like always. Other than that, they were heading forward at a pretty decent pace.

Sonic was actually in quite the chipper mood. It was the most he felt like himself in awhile if he was being honest with himself. As he strolled, he glanced back, spotting Rusty a few steps behind him. She blushed and waved at him. Like a dork, he waved back with a stupid look on his face. That was enough to keep the hedgehog walking at a slow pace and not complain about it.

Knuckles on the other hand, was feeling more and more mental stress by the second. How would he even bring it up? ‘Hey nice weather we are having today, oh BTW, your teammate we had a funeral for is actually alive, L.O.L.’. Knuckles cringed inwardly. He didn't have to be eloquent about it, he just needed to say it. They deserved to know.

“Hey, everyone hold up.”

Knuckles felt his nerves start to act up as he felt the group all turn to him simultaneously.

“What's wrong?”

Rusty asked. Knuckles coughed in his fist.

“I uh… have to tell you all something.”

When no one responded, he took that as his invite to continue. He felt himself clench up. This might get ugly.

“The Resistance - and I - have a secret. You all deserve to know…”

Everyone raised their brows at this.

“Oh?”

Sticks leaned in curiously.

“I knew there was something fishy behind the scenes.”

“What sort of secret?”

Geoffrey finally asked. Knuckles took a deep steading breath.

“There was an attack on District One by ChaosCorp. And they contacted Sally…”

Shadow uncrossed his arms, his face full of sudden alarm.

“And why weren't we informed?”

“She made sure only a select few knew about it. She knew you four would go and try to fight them as soon as any of you found out. But she deemed that as too risky - too jeopardizing to the main mission.”

Rusty huffed.

“Okay, what did she DO then?”

Knuckles shifted, feeling all of their gazes on him expectantly.

“She made a deal with them.”

Gasps came from them all.

“What?! That's insubordination!”

Geoffrey proclaimed, face getting red with anger.

“What kind of deal?”

Tangle asked.

“It was a request of ChaosCorp. They'd back off… if we provided one of you four.”

Silence.

“W-what?”

Rusty said, voice filled with disbelief.

“You don't mean to suggest…”

Tangle gasped.

“She didn't!”

Knuckles sighed.

“They wanted the fox.”

Silence again.

“You…”

A low, gutteral, and deep voice came from a normally higher pitched hedgehog. Everyone turned to see Sonic, uncharacteristically still, eyes unreadable and dead set on Knuckles.

“... You…”

His eyes lit with dark energy. His mouth twisted from anger, and his body shook from rage.

“... MOTHERFUCKER!”

In a blink, Sonic had Knuckles pinned to the ground, his hands tightly around his throat. The echidna tried to pry him away, but couldn't. The lack of oxygen made his body spasm.

“HOW COULD YOU?! YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME!”

Sonic screamed, spit flying out of his mouth as he did. Knuckles wondered if this was his punishment for what he had done. The universe was setting his wrong right.

Knuckles sucked in a breath when the weight on top of him was suddenly gone. He coughed, trying to regain his bearings.

Sonic lifted himself off of the ground from being knocked over by Shadow.

“Back off Shades.”

The dark hedgehog sneered.

“Oh, and let you kill him? Let you kill your friend?”

The sentence slapped Sonic across the face, making him sober up a bit. Anger was still obvious, but he wasn't downright murderous now. The blue hedgehog gave Knuckles a hateful stare, then started walking.

“And where do you think you are going?”

“I'm going to save Nine.”

Shadow ran to stand in front of him, stopping his march.

“No you aren't.”

Sonic's face twitched.

“Excuse me?”

“Look Sonic, I get it. I want to save him too. But stop being stubborn and THINK. We need the Chaos Emeralds to get to Robotnik. We're THIS close from the next, and then, we're headed that direction anyway. We will save Nine, but ON THE WAY. Got it?”

Sonic looked pissed.

“Every second I waste is another opportunity for Nine to die. Or worse, turned into one of Robotnik's machines.”

“Which is why we better get a move on to find that Emerald, and not waste our time arguing.”

Sonic and Shadow had their faces dangerously close to each-other.

“I JUST got Nine back Shadow! He's alive! And I am going to get him, with, or without your help!”

Sonic turned on a heel, and started walking again. Shadow growled.

“You idiot! Would you stop using your emotions to make your decisions?”

Sonic spun again.

“If this was Maria, you'd be on board with it!”

…

It took Sonic a millisecond to realize his mistake.

Shadow slammed into Sonic, pressing his back into the ground. Shadow used his air shoes to continually boost as he held the blue hedgehog down, dragging him painfully across the scrap floor. Sonic twisted his foot up to slam into Shadow’s chest, forcing him to jump off of him, backflipping and landing a few feet away in a flourish. Sonic stood up, brushing dirt off of him.

“I know what Nine means to you, but think about everyone else here! We are on a mission to save this world, INCLUDING Nine. Don't toss that away!”

Sonic clenched his fists.

“That sounds like the same reasoning Sally would have used to throw him away in the first place!”

Sonic boosted forward, fist colliding with Shadow’s open palm. Shadow used Sonic's momentum to pull his fist past him, and Shadow’s other hand clenched up and collided to Sonic's face. The blue blur spiraled in the air, but caught himself before he landed funny. He charged a spindash, and Shadow did the same. The two balls of death rammed into each-other, sparks flying as they held fast against one another. Shadow unfurled out of the ball, jumping upward, and allowing Sonic to barrel below and past him. Sonic - still rolled up - gained momentum, turned to face Shadow. The edge lord held up his arms.

“Chaos Spear!”

The beam of Chaos Energy blasted into the ground, sparking up to meet Sonic's ball. It forced him to unfurl, and halt on the ground on his hands and knees.

“Sonic, all of us are here to beat Robotnik. Unless you have forgotten, we're on the same team. Now get over your one track mindset and help us!”

Shadow held up his fists, ready for another explosion of anger from Sonic, but instead, the blue blur curled into himself. Shadow's fighting stance lowered. A small sniffle was heard from inside the ball of quills.

“He's alive, Shadow.”

Shadow dropped his fists completely. Sonic's eyes misted, opening to look up at Shadow.

“Nine's ALIVE Shadow… I can't… I can't lose him. Not again.”

Sonic's breathing hitched.

“I can't lose Tails. I CAN'T.”

Shadow crouched down next to him.

“I know. And we will do everything we can to save him. Please, help us help you.”

Shadow extended a hand, and Sonic's eyes darted between it and his face. He eventually took the hand, and the dark hedgehog helped him stand. Sonic wiped his arm across his face, sniffling.

“Sorry about that Shadow. Thanks for setting me straight.”

“Of course, faker.”

Sonic managed a smile at that. A frown quickly replaced it. It was still catching up to him that Nine was alive. It was both a dream and a nightmare combined. While being in Robotnik's clutches complicated things, Sonic wasn't going to let that stop him from saving his little buddy. He was alive, and currently, that's all that mattered.

“Let's go get that Emerald.”

Shadow nodded, walking back to the rest of the group with Sonic. The blue hedgehog’s voice dropped to a deep whisper.

“And destroy Eggman.”

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

I'm happy to plug a current reader of my fic for posting fanart of it; NUE_tou. He posted a fic with them, literally called 'FANART for Irreversible by JuiceTheMoose'. I am so thankful to have such dedication to this fic thank you so so much!

Also, I have a lot to say about the recent happenings in the Sonic community, one of which I'm a little late to the party but...

Sonic Prime season 3. Boy I have a lot of thoughts. I haven't seen it actually, but I was spoiled for the most part, and while there was a lot of cool stuff from what I hear, it mostly was... eh. Which sucks, cause I was in the camp that Prime had the potential to be great, buuut... Yeah. If anyone wants to talk more about it with me, feel free to ask in the comments.

SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS. Bro I literally lost my mind at this trailer. I haven't played Generations yet, so this is perfect, plus with SHADOW content? Bro I'm sold.

And finally the recent announcement of Jim Carey coming back for Sonic Movie 3. I'm beyond excited for this as the movies got me into the franchise in the first place. So now that I'm more educated in the source material, I'm so hyped to see the third instalment!

Who else is excited for Sonic X Shadow Generations and Movie 3?

Chapter 32: Sage the Ghost Girl

Sonic and Shadow trailed back to the rest of the group, who were all still equally as shocked at the turn of events. Knuckles looked a bit nervous as he sensed Sonic return, something that didn't go unnoticed by the blue blur. The hedgehog stopped in front of him, originally just crossing his arms and tapping his foot. He may have betrayed them, but this was Knuckles. He had his reasons for what happened albeit misled. Plus, he obviously knew it was wrong given his confession, and that took guts. Sonic hummed, then stuck his hand out as an offer to shake. He knew he couldn't see it, but his detection had proven that he probably knew what Sonic was offering. The echidna's mouth parted with a bit of surprise, before he grasped Sonic’s hand, shaking it.

“I'm… sorry.”

“I know you are. And I forgive you.”

Knuckles was taken back.

“You're… willing to forgive, despite the wrongdoing I have done to you?”

Sonic softly smiled.

“Yeah.”

Knuckles’ senses went into overdrive, studying Sonic's facial movement and body language. He seemed genuine. Knuckles felt himself shocked. Why would someone so wronged be so willing to forgive? Especially when someone he loved was involved.

“I am not worthy of your forgiveness, yet you give it so freely. Thank you.”

Sonic grinned.

“You're welcome. Just help me get him back, yeah?”

Knuckles pounded his fist to his chest.

“Of course. I'll help you find the fox.”

Geoffrey looked skeptically at the echidna, while the rest took an even breath after all the tension.

“So, uhhh we're all good?”

Tangle asked awkwardly, Whisper shadowing her. Sonic offered her a thumbs up.

“Of course.”

The lemur breathed out in relief, the internal conflict really had her worried. They couldn't make it past all of Robotnik's goonies if they were at each-other's throats.

“Let's go get that Emerald.”

 

Sage awoke again. Her system felt fuzzy, like she'd been dissected and reassembled. Which was honestly possible. Who was she? A program created by Robotnik. Of course, how could she have forgotten that? His rule was supreme.

…

Sonic. He was acting against ChaosCorp. Why would he do that? What a stupid thing to do. He and his associates were terrorists. And terrorists needed to be destroyed.

 

Sonic and Shadow climbed to the top of a steep hill of scrap, overlooking the valley before them.

“There it is.”

Right in the middle of the valley, a white box, similar to the one they encountered back in District Three. But something seemed… different. Sonic got a funny feeling in his stomach.

“I don't like this. This feels weird.”

Shadow's eyes darted around the scenery, silently agreeing with his counterpart. It just looked… too easy. Not to mention, the spotlights that were normally on, were inactive. The place looked… abandoned. Which was weird considering they weren't manned in the first place.

“Let's go get a closer look.”

“Agreed.”

Shadow turned and told everyone to follow slowly, and carefully. They knew this was probably some sort of trap, but what else could they do? They couldn't just leave without the Emerald.

The group crept down the slope, closer and closer to the cube. Sonic's brow furrowed. The door was open already.

What…?

Sonic and Shadow both looked at each other. This was wrong.

“You and I should check it out. Everyone, wait out here.”

Sonic agreed with Shadow, and the two slowly stepped into the darkened door, while the rest stood guard outside, just in case something would come up from behind.

The two walked in slowly, surveying the room. It wasn't lit up. It literally looked like the power was zapped out of the place.

“Shadow look!”

Sonic spotted the container the Emerald was normally in. It was empty. Shadow growled.

“Where's that damn fourth Chaos Emerald?”

Sonic was about to give some weak ‘I don't know’, but stopped when his ears perked up at a sound. Ticking. Shadow heard it too, ears swiveling. His eyes suddenly widened.

“It's set to explode!”

Sonic and Shadow both shot out the door.

“Everyone clear out! It's gonna - ”

BOOM

Sonic and Shadow flew forward, the force of the explosion throwing all of them off of their feet, and sending them several yards back. Sonic landed with a painful ‘smash’, face first into a pile of metal. Sonic winced as he felt a handful of cuts around his body. Nothing really deep, but painful nonetheless. He was lucky not to be in the epicenter of the explosion… was everyone else ok? Sonic forced himself to roll on his back, and sit up. He sighed in relief as he spotted each member one at a time, all showing signs of life. Shadow was on his hands and knees, shaking his head, Tangle and Whisper were silently talking to each-other, the wolf supporting the lemur's head, Rusty was already on her feet, and heading over to help Knuckles who was trying to stand himself, and finally, Geoffrey, Sticks, and Rouge landed in a pile together, and Geoffrey angrily was pushing them off. Sonic sighed again, thanking Gaia no one got seriously hurt.

“They must have relocated the Emerald. They knew we were coming for it.”

Shadow observed, pushing himself up on his feet.

“Hello Sonic.”

The blue blur snapped his head up eyes widening at the sight before him. How the HELL did he not notice them till now? Four DEATH EGG ROBOTS, the ones he remembered fighting during the war, stood before him.

And that voice…

“Sage?”

Sonic forced himself up to his feet, eyes darting back and forth between all the massive robots.

“Sonic. Stop what you are doing.”

A small floating girl emerged from behind one of the robots, red glitches around her body. It was Sage.

“Sage! What… are you doing? Did you say stop?”

The girl's monotone expression didn't change.

“Do not resist. I will make your deaths quick.”

Sonic's mouth fell, the shock from betrayal written all over his face. How could she say that? Sage had SAVED his life before, why would she change her tune all of the sudden? Sonic couldn't believe it. Robotnik must have done something to her.

“This isn't you Sage! What did he do to you?”

“I am acting under my own volition. Surrender, or elongate your suffering.”

Sonic grit his teeth. He knew this was wrong. He had to save her if he got the opportunity.

Shadow stepped up to Sonic's right, their eyes meeting. The two hedgehogs nodded. Rusty came up to Sonic’s left, smiling with both sincerity, and determination. Sonic felt his heart lift. His friends were with him.

“Sorry to disappoint Sage, but we got a job to do.”

Her visible red eye flickered, whether of anger, disappointment, or disbelief, it was hard to say. Either way, a fight was inevitable.

“Very well.”

She held up her hand, and it sparkled red, making the four bots around her also flicker with red, their single eyes in particular glowing more than before.

“Kill them.”

The automatons rushed forward, proving to be much faster than what Sonic was used to fighting. The three of them split up, just as one of the four’s three-bladed fist smashed into where they were just standing. Sonic boosted around the field to the left, while Shadow went to the right, and Rusty ran down the middle.

“Let's go!”

Knuckles growled, charging forward to join the frey. The remaining members agreed with shouts of their own, leaping into action.

Geoffrey held back, eyes searching the sky for the ghost girl Sonic was conversing with. He spotted her drift some ways off, and he snuck around the action, slipping off to follow.

Tangle dodged some laser fire from one, finding herself next to Shadow, who was unloading bullets into its eye. The glass frame cracked a little, making the machine roar in anger. Both its fists came down, making the earth rumble. Tangle had to fight just to keep standing. After regaining her footing - and seeing that it was taking the robot a little bit to get back up after its attack - she looked around the environment, looking for… bingo. A metal pole was sticking out of the ground, perfect for her plan.

“Shadow!”

The dark hedgehog looked her way as her tail grasped the metal pole, and she tugged her tail to be taut.

“Slingshot!”

Shadow grinned, revving up a spindash. He hurled his body into her tail, making it stretch back like a rubber band. Tangle grit her teeth as some of her wounds stretched painfully. It paid off though, because as soon as the bot was standing again, Shadow was launched, directly into its cracked eye. He shattered it, and went through the head completely.

“Yes!”

Tangle exclaimed, right before her face scrunched in pain from her Tail.

Sonic spindashed up one's leg, allowing himself to float right next to his eye. He winked at it, before rolling again and landing into a dropdash. The robot chased after him, as he weaved around junk. Sonic flipped out of his ball, landing off to the left as the robot's leg caught on a pile of scrap, making the beast fall forward, face smashing into the ground. Before Sonic himself could use the advantage, Sticks flew out of nowhere, dagger upward and mouth open in a scream. She plunged the dagger into the bot’s back, sparks running up the blade with the contact. Sonic brought out his sword as well, joining Sticks on his back. They both made slashes and cuts along the surface, making smoke eventually puff up from it.

“Nice.”

Sonic held up a hand, which Sticks gladly high-fived.

Knuckles glided over the battlefield, his fists burying themselves into the closest bot. He ended up on their arm, which then violently shook when it took notice of the echidna warrior. Knuckles grit his teeth as he was flung back and forth, but he held steady. Sudden blasts from Whisper's gun hit the robot's head, getting its attention. In retaliation, it extended its other limb, trying to maim the wolf. She dodged by the fur on her back. Knuckles grinned, gaining time to begin climbing. Whisper shot at the bot, dodging its attacks one at a time as the echidna made it up to the shoulders.

“Graaahhhh!”

His fist launched into the neck, splitting the entire head off of the body in a flurry of sparks and smoke. Knuckles rode the falling body to the ground, landing in a skid next to Whisper, grinning at their accomplishment. Likewise, the normally stoic wolf smiled at the downed enemy.

Rusty watched the big bot’s eye charge red, illuminating dangerously, and sparking. Eyes wide, she dove out of the way, right as a massive laser emanated out of the eye, destroying everything in its path. It took a second to turn off, smoke rising from the ground near her. It just missed.

“Wow you're even uglier up close.”

Rusty pushed herself back up, finding Rouge flying next to the bot’s face. It tried batting her out of the air, which she gracefully dodged. The bat whisked back and forth, trying to get the bot annoyed, and confused. Rusty took advantage, stretching her limbs up to grab its upper body, and pull herself upwards. She landed on the top of its head, and brought her foot down into its eye, which shattered on impact. The red light flickered out, and the bot’s arms waved around, disoriented. Rouge grinned. Like their echidna friend, it couldn't see now. She dove for the legs, using solid kicks to the knees to make them twist at odd angles. Rusty joined, jumping down to take a few hits with her. The bot groaned, and its legs buckled.

“Move!”

Rusty quickly said, and was surprised when Rouge actually picked her up to fly out of the way of the falling bot. It smashed into the ground once they made it a safe distance away.

Dust settled.

They won.

Sonic let a laugh escape him. Well that was the superpower of teamwork right there! The blue hedgehog looked around, seeing their team together. Maybe with a few more scratches than before, but still here. Whisper ran over to Tangle, who was nursing her tail, but with a smile nonetheless, Knuckles, Rouge, and Sticks were all trading high-fives, which warmed Sonic's heart, and Shadow and Rusty walked over to him. Shadow wasn't smiling, but he had his ‘not as grumpy as usual’ face. Rusty laughed triumphantly, going into Sonic for a spontaneous hug, which he accepted. His heart fluttered.

“Where's Geoffrey?”

Sonic and Rusty parted, and both looked around at the observation from Knuckles of all people. How ironic.

Sage wasn't here either.

“Everyone split up. Shout if you found him.”

Everyone nodded in agreement at Shadow's suggestion, all walking off in opposite directions. The three hedgehogs paused, Sonic hesitating out of concern.

“I know Sage just attacked us but…”

Shadow frowned.

“You don't want her to get hurt.”

“Yeah.”

Sonic rubbed his closed eyes, shaking his head frustratedly. Robotnik’s list of reasons he had to pay kept getting bigger.

“Let's go find her. And Geoffrey.”

Sonic nodded.

“Agreed.”

The two speedy hedgehogs boosted off, while Rusty also joined the search. As Sonic ran, his mind wandered. Would he be able to change Sage's mind? How badly had Robotnik altered her? Was it even reversible? His thoughts came to a screeching halt as it only took him five seconds to find them both.

“Halt fiend!”

Sage gasped, turning around to see Geoffrey pointing his weapon at her.

“Say goodnight, spawn of evil.”

Right as his finger hit the trigger, Sonic pushed his gun, making it fire too much to the left. The blast flew past Sage, who floated in a startled manner.

“What are you doing?!”

Sonic pulled the gun out of Geoffrey’s hands.

“What’s wrong with you?! She's the enemy!”

Sonic straight up ignored Geoffrey, walking as close to Sage as he could.

“Why did you do that?”

She questioned.

“You saved me multiple times before, it's only right I return the favor.”

She blinked confusedly, not computing.

“Plus, you're my friend.”

A sudden glitch of blue and red ran across her body. Her face scrunched in confusion.

“I don't… understand…”

In a flash, she flew off, towards Robotnik Tower.

“No! You let her get away!”

Sonic whirled around, sticking his finger in Geoffrey’s chest.

“Shut up. I can spare who I want. Understood?”

Geoffrey took a step back, intimidated, but clearly still angry. He didn't verbally respond, instead just walking back to where they came from. Sonic let out a loud sigh. That skunk was very frustrating at times.

Sonic had called the group back together, glazing over the details of how he found Geoffrey.

“So… you didn't find Sage?”

Geoffrey made eye contact with Sonic.

“Nope. We'll just have to keep moving.”

He looked away, saying nothing. Rusty was quick to spot the nonverbal interaction.

Shadow waved to get everyone's attention.

“The Emerald isn't here. Robotnik probably moved it to his Tower since he knew we were coming. The plan remains the same however; go down the chute, and climb upwards. I'm hoping we'll still find all four of those Emeralds on the way. Let's move it.”

Shadow took the lead, Sonic right behind, and the rest filtering one by one to follow. They forged ahead, to Robotnik Tower, as Geoffrey trailed behind, hands crossed and lips tight. He honestly didn't know who or what to believe anymore.

 

Tails' ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. Lightning flashed overhead, and rain pelted his soaked fur coat. He didn't know what was behind him, but it was big, loud, and most likely dangerous. It growled after him, as he took twists and turns on the path to try and lose it. His heart pounded in his ears.

“Hey look, it's the two-tailed freak!”

Tails ran past his childhood bullies, all of which were brandishing weapons.

“Why would we keep you? You're clearly a curse to society.”

Oddly enough, his PARENTS of all people stood nearby, which he also blew past. He wasn't sure if that's what they looked like, as he really couldn't remember that anymore.

“Gah!”

He tripped on a log, landing face first in the mud. He scrambled to get up, but the beast behind him was quicker.

Scourge.

The beast of a hedgehog pinned him down before he could scramble away.

Tails screamed.

Tails woke up.

He looked around, finding himself nestled up to Cosmo, who was still asleep. His pounding heart slowed to a steady rhythm. He sadly looked down at his torn shirt, his ugly scar clear as day. Freak it said. Tails shook his head. He wasn't a freak. He wasn't a freak. He forced himself to stand, needing to do SOMETHING to get his mind off of things. He paced, using his legs for something other than sitting. While walking, he looked down again, thinking back when he received that mark. Back when it happened, it had been the worst thing to happen to him… until Scourge came into his life. Honestly, which was worse was a coin toss, as both mentally scarred him forever. He imagined he stumped that machine program with all his trauma when it tried to replay his ‘worst memory’ back over again. Tails was actually quite relieved it wasn't one of the Scourge encounters, as he didn't want to have THAT conversation with Sonic.

“Tails?”

The fox looked back, seeing Cosmo yawning.

“You're going to burn a hole in the floor.”

The fox stopped walking, managing to smile at such a ridiculous concept.

“Heh, sorry.”

The seedrian studied him for a second, noticing his nervous body language.

“Are you ok?”

Tails bit his lip. Was ANYTHING ok if he was being honest? The boy ran a hand through his ruffled bangs.

“Yeah. I'm ok.”

Cosmo didn't seem super convinced, but decided not to push it. She rubbed the floor next to her, which the fox took as an offer to sit next to her, which he did.

“Can I touch you?”

Tails' eyes widened originally, not exactly liking the idea. But his expression eventually softened as he studied her. She wasn't going to hurt him. He knew that.

“O-okay.”

“Here, rest your head.”

She patted her lap, and he hesitantly rested his head down like she was a pillow. His heart was pounding out of his chest. Too many feelings at once. One side, he was greatly attracted to this girl, but the other, he felt himself get painfully itchy at being close to anyone's lower body. He chanted in his mind that she wouldn't hurt him.

Her small fingers traced his forehead, smoothing out some of his out of control fur. Tails' originally tensed up at the contact, but, after a while, he felt himself ease. Tension released, and his mind magically cleared. He wasn't sure how, but he was just suddenly… relaxed. Peaceful even. Like before, Tails fell asleep within Cosmo's embrace. Unlike before, he didn't cry - instead, he smiled.

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

Not much to say right now, so Imma leave this short and sweet. Hope you all have a great Valentine's Day with that special someone, or with friends!🌹

See y'all next time!

Chapter 33: SPECIAL STAGE

Hey everyone! Welcome to Irreversible Special Stage!

This chapter serves as a handful of updates, as well as a celebration of you guys!

Thank you thank you thank you for all of you for supporting me with this fiction! I am beyond overwhelmed with how great the reception for this was, and I just am so grateful to be able to continue making this story for you all!

I'd also like to make a special shout out to secretsofthestars23. Your work inspired me to make my own, and your comments have been very motivating. Thank you so so much! I encourage everyone else to go read her work; ‘Who He Used To Be’. It's absolutely incredible.

Okay, before I get into some of these exciting announcements, I do have a bit of bad news… I am not going to finish the two character art pieces I said I would make of Rusty and Shadow. I'm really sorry if anyone was looking forward to this, but my pixel art time is being taken by my class, and my personal project, so I don't have time anymore to commit to these, and plus I haven't touched them in a month or so. Once again, I am very sorry.

Moving on from doom and gloom, I have recently wrote out every event in the fic moving forward, and what will be in each chapter, so… there will be 40 chapters in total! That means there are 7 chapters left! Each of these chapters (for the most part) are gonna be pretty beefy, so they might take a little longer to come out, but I hope you all are as excited as I am to finish this rollercoaster!

Moving on, I have an exciting announcement… after this fic is concluded, I will be making another! I was brainstorming multiple AU ideas and stuff, and I came down to two, and the decision between them was so difficult, that I decided to ask you guys! So below, I have both fic concepts. They aren't fully fleshed out, as I don't want to start fully working on them until I have made a decision. But, whichever one sounds better to you, vote for it in the comments! Please only vote once. If you have any questions about either concept before you vote, feel free to ask me, though I may not know the answer myself yet, as both of them are just ideas at this point.

Concept #1: Alien Invasion AU

This will start in a very modern environment, with Sonic styled animals throughout (no humans, and they are all fully dressed. Honestly, imagine a Sonic styled Zootopia). The Sonic cast all go to the same highschool together, with different dynamics between them (some are friends, some are enemies). One day, their world gets invaded by a hostile alien race, demanding the Chaos Emeralds. Those gems only exist in fairy tales and myths as far as they all know, so the aliens attack ruthlessly, searching for the Emeralds, and rendering their world into a post apocalyptic mess. Sonic and his friends (and rivals) have to work together to survive. And for some reason, the aliens think they are the key to finding the Emeralds. Can Sonic protect his friends from the Aliens, and the other hostile people after them? Can he even protect himself?

Concept #2: Sonic Forces Rewrite

Okay I know this has been done multiple times, but I have a few unique ideas. The main idea is based on the theory that was going around before the game came out; Tails is Infinite. I will show a progression into the role, and explain what exactly the Phantom Ruby is, and does. Also, instead of making holographic images of past villains, I actually want to make them return, and then some. Metal Sonic would be repaired, Chaos would be released, Zavok would be joined with the rest of the deadly six, and Shadow will actually be with Eggman. I also want to add Fang, Starline, and Mephiles. I will come up with valid reasons for all of them to return (that is a challenge I am willing to take 😅). The story will show the slow conquest of the Eggman Empire.

So there they are! Once again, feel free to ask questions about these, and I will try to answer the best I can. I will accept votes until I post Chapter 39, where I will announce the winner of the two.

I'm so so happy for all of you who have been reading and enjoying what I've made here. There is still more to come, and I hope you all are on the edge of your seats, cause things are about to get crazy. Until next time! 💙💛🖤🩷

Chapter 34: Infiltration

Robotnik Tower. The structure would have been impressive, if every single member there at the base of it didn't want to tear it down with their bare hands. For some, it was for the good of their kind, for others, it was personal beef, but either way, they all had the same goal; take down Robotnik, and end his tyranny for good.

All nine of them walked silently, staring up at the tower as it got closer and closer. The time was almost here.

“We should camp for the night. It's getting dark, and I think everyone needs some rest.”

Shadow declared, yawning and stretching. Several ‘pop’ sounds came from along his back.

“Good idea. We better conserve as much energy as possible with infiltration. Once we're in, there's no stopping to rest until we've beaten him.”

Knuckles said, already plopping himself down for the night. The echidna clearly wasn't going to take no for an answer either.

“I'll take first watch.”

Shadow arched an eyebrow at Geoffrey, but shrugged, deciding not to argue. He may not have liked the skunk all that much, but he was still capable. Everyone else found good spots to sleep, in a semi-circle formation. It took a few minutes, but soon, each one dropped off.

Geoffrey leaned against a heaping pile of unidentifiable gizmos, arms crossed and face low. He needed uninterrupted time to think. He had pledged his life to the Resistance, to Sally, and they go and pull a stunt like dealing with ChaosCorp? If Geoffrey was honest with himself, he didn't necessarily care what happened to the fox, but the fact was, that Sally made a deal with Robotnik himself. And that echidna… he was in on it too. Robotnik was the enemy. He needed destroy. But what of the Resistance? Enemy? Friend? That seemed unclear now. Geoffrey's calculating eyes ran through the camp, stopping to study each figure.

He knew Tangle, she didn't have a bad bone in her body, so she was a friend. Whisper - while more questionable than Tangle - wouldn't do anything to upset the lemur, so she was also an ally. Sticks… Geoffrey didn't know much about her. Unknown then.

Rouge… enemy.

Geoffrey felt his teeth grit at the thought of her being here. Shadow… he kept Rouge here, so also enemy. Knuckles, enemy. Sonic let Sage go. Also enemy. Rusty had eyes for Sonic, so enemy. He narrowed his eyes. There were more enemies here than allies. What was he doing? He was in a den of thieves! His heart raced as his eyes bounced between them all again. He needed to get out of there. He needed to take Robotnik alone. The skunk stood straight up, and planned his escape… right as his eyes landed on Rusty's duffle bag. His eyes widened. The Chaos Emeralds. He needed to take those with him. Who knows what these criminals would do with them?

Geoffrey stepped over a sleeping Sonic, who didn't even stirr at all. He tiptoed past Tangle and Whisper, reaching Rusty and her bag. As he slung the bag over his shoulder, he thought temporarily if he should wake up Tangle and Whisper, but decided against it. Just because they were allies, didn't mean they'd be helpful on his mission.

Geoffrey stepped back around everyone, ready to flee camp. Until his eyes stopped on Rouge again, silently sleeping the furthest away. Out of everyone here, she was definitely the most associated with ChaosCorp. He growled. Time to do the world a favor, and rid it of such a fowl creature. He pulled a knife from his boot, brandishing it near her neck. All he had to do was do a quick stab, muffle her scream with his other hand, and then take off, easy. Unfortunately for Geoffrey however - but very fortunate for Rouge - Shadow was a light sleeper. Right as he went to plunge the knife into her chest, a gloved hand grabbed the BLADE, stopping it before it could harm her flesh. Rouge's eyes snapped open as Geoffrey gasped, both of them observing Shadow, looking absolutely ENRAGED. Shadow tore the knife from Geoffrey's grip, throwing it aside. Thick blood oozed out of his right fist, dripping on the ground below. His other hand extended, as a gesture to hand something over.

“The bag. Now.”

Geoffrey didn't hesitate, as his life could very well be on the line here. The skunk was very confident in his abilities, but he has seen what Shadow could do. The hedgehog was on a whole new level compared.

Shadow snatched the bag from him, setting it down right next to his feet.

“Get out of here, right now. Before I tear you apart.”

Geoffrey's eyes popped out of his head. By Shadow's tone, he knew this wasn't up for debate. Geoffrey took a nervous look around, surprised to see that no one else was awake. He scowled.

“Sonic lied earlier. We both saw Sage, and he let her go.”

Shadow didn't look phased in the slightest.

“Sounds like Sonic. Now get.”

Geoffrey looked taken back, but quickly changed to another scowl.

“Fine. But mark my words, you're going to regret saving that bitch.”

Shadow glanced behind his shoulder, down at a very conflicted looking bat. He stared daggers back at the skunk, a growl in his throat.

“Not in a million years.”

The skunk angrily slunk off, fading into the darkness. Only then did Shadow cringe in pain, bringing his hand up to his face. A large gash on his palm, and along his fingers throbbed in the open air, blood gushing out of him.

“Oh my gosh Shadow! Sit down, let me patch that up.”

Rouge quickly opened the bag by Shadow's feet as the dark hedgehog sat down, extending his injured hand. She rummaged through their medical equipment, pulling out bandages and cleaning supplies. Rouge sat criss-cross next to Shadow, setting his hand in her lap.

“I need to take the glove off.”

Shadow gave her a look, but relented with a nod of agreement. Rouge - as gingerly as possible - slipped his blood stained glove off, setting it aside. Shadow clenched his teeth as the cloth slid past his wounds, but overall didn't make a sound. Rouge got started cleaning up the blood.

“Why do you protect me? We're strangers.”

Shadow blinked.

“I said I believed your story…”

“I know but it's more than that. I can tell by the way you act. You don't just believe me, do you?”

Shadow's eyes looked away. His actions spoke louder than words.

“I knew it.”

Shadow sighed.

“But how? I never met you before now? How could you possibly have any personal connections?”

She raised her brow as she spoke her thoughts.

“You sir, owe me an explanation.”

Shadow cringed as she applied some cleaner around his wound.

“I don't owe you anything. I did just save your ass.”

He paused.

“But I'll tell you anyway. I'd rather have it in the open.”

Rouge smiled a bit, starting to wrap the bandage around his hand.

“This might uh, seem far-fetched…”

“I'm inclined to believe you. You believed my crazy story.”

Their eyes met, and Shadow allowed a smile.

“So I'm… not from here…”

 

Zero’s eyes snapped open, his body's nerves lit with searing hot pain. And not the pain he was used to either. This was different. He looked down as much as he could, spotting the newly sewn surgical scar on his chest. They put something in him. While that wasn't a new concept here, something about this was different. His brain felt like it was being shocked. His mouth fell open. Did he scream? Maybe, but he couldn't tell, as his ears were ringing too loud to hear anything else. He shook and convulsed within his confines, feeling his mind lose more and more control every second. His body then suddenly stilled. His mind blurred, and things suddenly didn't make any sense. Who was he? What was he doing here? Why… did he ever fight back? Robotnik's rule was supreme. Robotnik was sovereign. Zero opened his eyes, silently looking through the protective glass, seeing Stone on the other side. Zero's muddled brain recognized Stone as a face of authority, and he tilted his head to the side, eyes blank.

“Yes… yes!”

Stone's eyes sparkled with accomplishment.

“It's working.”

Zero blinked a few times.

“What do you desire of me, Master?”

 

Rouge kept Shadow up all night, asking questions about this ‘other world’. She was simply fascinated in the idea that things were different, COMPLETELY different. The world itself, the people, and outcomes of their lives. She even managed to pry out Shadow's dark past out of him, which she apologized for when he was finished telling the tale. He told her not to think anything of it, as he didn't mind telling people about it as much as he used to. Another fascinating thing was herself… or at least, the woman she had been. The Rouge that Shadow was more familiar with, was similar to her, but very different in other ways. One, she didn't nearly like sparkly things as much as this other Rouge did. Life working for ChaosCorp would make you lose appreciation for things like that.

“Wow it's morning already?”

Shadow blinked, looking out to see the sun peeking over the horizon, painting the sky pink.

“Huh. Apparently so.”

One by one, the camp rose for the day, stretching, and prepping for the upcoming journey.

“Hey… where's Geoffrey?”

Rusty was the first to notice, prompting everyone to look around curiously, not seeing Geoffrey anywhere.

“He tried to steal the Emeralds last night.”

Shadow nonchalantly gestured to the duffle bag at his feet, filled with their supplies, and of course, the Emeralds.

“What? Why?”

Tangle demanded, clearly confused at the mere idea. Shadow only shrugged.

“He thought he knew better.”

Knuckles crossed his arms with a huff.

“Great. Now we're down one member. At the worst of times too!”

Sonic gave Shadow a once over.

“You alright?”

Sonic had spotted Shadow’s bandaged hand and the dark hedgehog flexed his fingers subconsciously, as if to tell him he was ok. Shadow leaned next to Sonic.

“He tried to kill Rouge last night.”

Sonic's eyes widened.

“She's ok. But I did fill her in… about our origins.”

Sonic made a glance over to the bat, who was stretching her legs.

“How'd she take it?”

“Well. She drilled me with questions all night.”

Sonic chuckled.

“That's good. Glad to see you guys are talking.”

As if she had heard what they were talking about (because she did… she was definitely eavesdropping), Rouge brushed past Shadow, giving him a smile. A fondness spread across the hedgehog’s face.

Shadow missed those late nights with Rouge and Omega, where the team would talk about everything and nothing all at once. While not the best at feelings, their little team was tight. At least, it was. Shadow missed that dearly. So, having the smallest glimpse of that maybe being a thing again, made Shadow extremely content. Too bad Omega couldn't be here too.

Sonic punched Shadow’s shoulder, a grin breaking out on his face.

“Guess we better get moving.”

The team started their trek again in the early morning light. The sky was actually quite beautiful… a large contrast to the ground below. Sonic felt his heart beat faster every step. They were almost there.

“Hold on Nine. We're coming.”

The ground that they were walking on - mostly piles of leveled shit - tapered down to a concrete that stretched out before them, reaching the base of the tower.

“I was briefed about the chute. It always dumps a load in the early morning, so it should be coming up any minute now!”

Knuckles yelled out, as they all jogged across the expanse towards the chute door. On cue, three large red lights lit up along the side of the door, and a beeping echoed all around them.

“Here it comes! Prepare yourself, there may be a few failed experiments inside!”

The eight of them stopped their sprint as they reached the slowly opening cage door. It opened like a mouth, with a lower and upper portion retracting into the massive wall. The back wall of the chute container extended outward, pushing all the junk inside out of it and onto the concrete. The team took fighting stances when a single experiment plopped onto the ground in front of them.

Sonic had to fight the vomit from erupting from him. The figure was an amalgamation between two Mobians, different parts of each of them sewn together to make a horrific monster. It was an armadillo, and a flying squirrel. The head of the armadillo was set in the center, his eyes replaced by cameras, and his mouth two rotary saw blades. The lump of tech and flesh his head was attached to was mostly round, with two thick metal legs below it. Some sort of fleshy tentacles emerged from the sides of it, all with sharp blades on the tips. And finally, the tail. It was all tech, and wouldn't be so bad if the tip didn't have the flying squirrel's head attached to it.

Unlike Sonic, Tangle couldn't hold her lunch back.

The thing twitched on the ground a few times, before suddenly setting its eyes on Sonic. In blinding speed, the thing was up and running, slamming its body into Sonic's. The blue hedgehog flew back, sliding to a halt on the concrete. Shadow grit his teeth, putting his fists up to fight. His growl stopped when he heard the door beginning to close.

Shit.

He ran to the door, placing his feet on the bottom portion, and his hands on the top. The door halted, a grinding noise erupting from its internal systems. Shadow felt his body strain. Right as he was about to yell for help, Knuckles appeared, shoving himself in the same crack Shadow was in. While the echidna's strength made a clear difference, it was also apparent that they needed to get in there fast if they wanted to board this stupid chute.

The creature roared, its many tentacles flying about, trying to maim something in its path. Rusty blocked several of the blades, with her arms, making sparks fly from the contact. Tangle had to duck, and Whisper helped steady her after it passed.

“Rahhhh!”

Sticks rushed the machine, sliding down to where its feet were, taking a stab at its calf area. Sparks shot out of the new hole, and the thing howled.

While she was keeping it occupied, Rusty helped Tangle and Whisper into the creaking door. Shadow and Knuckles yelled as it started to slip.

“Hurry up!”

The echidna yelled, as Rusty ran back. She kneeled down to where Sonic was. The blue hedgehog was on his knees, holding his head in his hand. He was disoriented.

“Follow me Sonic. Come on.”

Her voice was muffled in his ears, but he listened. Rusty practically dragged Sonic into the door.

Shadow felt the door dig into his injured palm.

“Fuck!”

“Sticks come on!”

The badger had the beast trip on its own arms, forcing it to its knees. She made a beeline to the door, as the ones inside motioned for her to run.

“Look out!”

Sticks looked behind herself too late. The squirrel head/tail lashed out, the squirrel’s metal teeth grabbing her by the neck. Sticks screamed, before it turned into a gurgle as blood poured out from both sides of her neck. The tail retracted, pulling the badger into its clutches, where the two saw blades swung back and forth to meet her skull, slicing her head up into five large chunks in seconds. The team all stared in horror as the machine turned to look at them again.

“Close the door!”

Whisper of all people yelled out. The amalgamation leapt for the gap, right as Shadow and Knuckles jumped in. The door came crashing together, slicing off the tentacle blades that tried to get them, landing on the floor in sickening wet splats.

A moment of silence passed, before Tangle vomited again. Whisper rubbed circles on her back, trying to comfort the lemur, also a bit shaky from current events. Shadow and Knuckles hung their heads low, the recent death suddenly heavy on all of their minds. Rusty and Rouge had to clap their hands over their mouths to keep themselves from making horrified squeaks. And Sonic - while still a little disoriented - felt his heart sink. He knew this mission wasn't going to be easy, but he wasn't really expecting any deaths. His expectations must have been too high.

The chute container started its trudge downward, into the depths of the tower.

They were in.

 

Sage's program glitched. She didn't understand. Why was she questioning her programming? Was that even possible? And why? Robotnik was supreme. Do not question that. DO NOT QUESTION THAT.

Sage flickered, hovering near Robotnik Tower.

“Here it comes! Prepare yourself, there may be a few failed experiments inside!”

She glanced down, spotting Sonic and his team stopping right outside the chute door. Ah, clever. That was their plan. Sage hovered higher up, just to make sure she wasn't spotted as she watched.

“Fuck!”

“Sticks come on!”

“Look out!”

Sage coldly watched as the badger was ripped to pieces. She tsked. That's what happens when you oppose Robotnik.

She watched the rest disappear, and the amalgamation below lose its tentacle tips. It shrieked and thrashed away from the door. Two janitor robots - built to sweep the scrap away from the center of the concrete - started shooing the creature away. The yellow box robot was more successful in making it run away into the expanse of crap, while the red orb one more or less just lazily watched.

Sage hummed to herself.

She needed to inform Robotnik that they've infiltrated the building. Sage disappeared in a glitch of red.

 

No one spoke a word as the chute descended. It was clear to everyone that this was it, the beginning of the end. One final obstacle stood in their way, and it was this blasted tower. All they needed to do, was climb it, find the Emeralds that Robotnik hid, and beat his fat ass. Sonic grit his teeth. He wouldn't let Stick's death be in vain.

The platform stopped, another pair of doors on the opposite side opening up. They all peaked out, seeing an open warehouse like room, filled with Badnik parts and blueprints. Sonic's eyes widened. This must be where Robotnik DESIGNED his Badniks and machines. The seven of them stepped out of the ‘elevator’, surveying the room.

“Alright everyone. This is the City Core, the lowest point in the whole Tower. This is where they do all their crazy shit to Mobians they captured. We need to move fast to find Nine, and get the hell out of here.”

Knuckles said, his face a mix of emotions. Oh right. Sonic cringed a little at himself for not thinking about it. The echidna had been through hell down here, and he probably wasn't that comfortable being back.

“You heard him, let's get searching!”

Shadow rallied them, and they followed the dark hedgehog out the door.

“Whoa.”

Behind the door, was a long hallway with hundreds of doors on each side.

“Everyone check these rooms. Split up.”

The group divided, and each one went to different doors, juggling their handles.

“Locked.”

“Same here.”

“Also locked.”

Sonic frowned as he found the fourth locked door. We're ALL of these doors locked?

“Keep checking everyone.”

They continued, finding not a single open door as they slowly moved down the hall. Sonic frowned to himself. This wasn't a good sign. Either they regularly locked the doors because what was behind was so secret… or worse, they knew they were coming.

Seconds later, his second thought was proven true.

“Come one come all! Welcome to the end of your lives!”

The intercom above them chirped to life; Stone's voice echoing through the hall. All of them took fighting stances, looking around to see if he'd send any sort of robot or price of shit after them. But none was to be seen.

“Where's Nine?”

Sonic said, in a surprisingly calm tone. Shadow could see Sonic's slowly rising anger though. It wouldn't take much for him to blow up.

“Why he is right in here! Step this way.”

Lights lit up at the other end of the hall, a single silver door being illuminated in the darkness. Sonic stared, knowing it wasn't as simple as that.

“This is a trap.”

Shadow said simply, his hands clenched in fists to his sides. Knuckles suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable, his massive hands rubbing the sides of his head.

“Come on guys. There's no turning back. Let's go get your friend.”

Tangle said, offering Sonic a sincere smile. The hedgehog blinked in surprise, then returned the smile.

“Yeah let's go.”

The overhead speaker sparked to life again.

“Are you all done discussing things? Let's get this show going!”

Sonic cautiously stepped in front, the rest following in step. Knuckles hesitated, but kept going. He needed to rectify his wrong, and this was the only way to do that.

Sonic stopped at the door. He silently prayed to any deity that could hear him for Nine to be behind this door.

“Please don't be dead.”

Sonic walked through the door.

The room beyond was massive; a sterile round space that looked like a futuristic coliseum. Sonic squinted, his eyes slowly adjusting from the hallway.

“Welcome friends!”

They all looked up, spotting Stone behind a large glass viewport, high above where they all stood. Out of nowhere, Knuckles suddenly snapped.

“YOU!”

The group startled as Knuckles propelled his body up, launching himself to the window.

“RAAAAHHHH!”

His fist slammed into the glass, which harmlessly bounced off. The echidna faltered, falling back to the ground in a crumpled heap.

“Knuckles!”

Rusty ran over to him, helping him back to his feet. The echidna looked absolutely PISSED.

“You BASTARD! You hurt Cream!”

Sonic's eyes widened at the sudden new information.

“What?”

The man behind the glass only smiled.

“Damn you! She's six years old and you WHIPPED her!”

Rusty gasped, her own anger starting to bubble. Sonic also felt rage build up.

“He did WHAT?”

Knuckles kept getting redder as Stone started drinking coffee, smugness clear in his body language.

“I'LL KILL YOU!”

Without any more words, Stone snapped his fingers, signaling a door opposite of the door they came in to open. The team watched as a new player entered the ring; a green hedgehog that looked an awful lot like Sonic. However, this guy had large sections of his body modified with tech. Both of his legs were replaced, half his face, and a large portion of his chest.

“Behold. One of the first successful BAO’s. I sent the rest upstairs for Robotnik to assess and approve of before mass production can be started.”

Sonic just stared at the hedgehog as Stone rambled in the background.

“While they retain their memories of before, and keep their personality, they've all been reprogrammed to believe in ChaosCorp, and fight for us. It's quite ingenious if I do say so myself.”

Scourge stepped closer to them, having quite the intimidating aura about him. Sonic felt his skin begin to crawl as he approached.

“So here's the deal. Sonic, you have to fight Scourge. If you lose, you and all your friends will surrender, and give up the Chaos Emeralds. You win… and I won't kill your little fox friend.”

Sonic's eyes darted up, pupils turning into pinpricks. Nine was alive. They hadn't killed him yet. But he was still on the chopping block. He couldn't mess this up.

“Your friends are not to interfere with the battle. Do we have a deal?”

Sonic looked back at his comrades, up at Stone, then at the sneering hedgehog across the room.

“Deal.”

Stone grinned.

“Perfect.”

Sonic gestured to everyone else to back up.

“Don't worry, I got this guys.”

Shadow gave him a nod, leading the rest to go against the far wall. Once at a safe distance, Sonic put up his fists, eyes narrowing at his new opponent. The green hedgehog chuckled.

“Oh so YOUR Sonic. You befriended the little freak?

Sonic felt his quills bristle.

“He's not a freak.”

Scourge pursed his lips.

“Deranged too. You're gonna be fun skinning alive.”

Sonic took a steadying breath.

“We'll see who skins who.”

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

And so the final mission begins! I am so hype to keep this train moving to the end! I hope you guys are ready for what's next.

Until next time!

Chapter 35: Brothers

Sonic and Scourge both walked in a circle, facing each-other. The green hedgehog licked his lips as Sonic steadied himself. All he needed to do was whip his ass, bust out Tails, and then complete the mission. Simple as that.

“I thought you'd be bigger honestly. You're pretty skinny for someone who gave ChaosCorp so much trouble.”

Sonic narrowed his eyes as Scourge taunted him. Something about this guy really made his skin crawl. He couldn't quite place what it was, but it bothered him.

“Yeah, well I'm stronger than I look.”

Sonic stopped walking, fists clenched, ready for a brawl. Scourge grinned.

“So am I.”

His eyes glowed green, and in the blink of an eye, his robotic legs carried him the distance between them. Sonic - caught off guard - got caught by the throat. Scourge squeezed tight, then yeeted the blue hedgehog against the wall. Sonic wheezed as he slid to the floor, not expecting how fast he was. He wiped his mouth with his hand.

“Ah, I see they gave you a speed boost. Well if you wanna go fast FAKER, let's go FAST.”

Sonic boosted off, running in a circle around Scourge, who scowled as he watched him.

“Two can play that game!”

Scourge boosted after him, making a circle of blue and green blurs around the arena of white. Scourge came up to Sonic's side, throwing a fist towards them. Neither of them stopped running, instead trading blows as they ran next to each-other. Sonic had to admit, Scourge had some pretty powerful hits. ChaosCorp really gave him the all-round upgrade he guessed.

Scourge landed a hit to Sonic's stomach, forcing him out of the run, and tumbled to a stop in the middle. Sonic groaned, clutching his stomach. Scourge didn't give him the chance to recover. He ran past, grabbing Sonic's leg as he went. Sonic felt whiplash as he was drug along, dangling like a rag doll. Sonic grit his teeth as Scourge tried to throw him again. Mid-air, Sonic charged his homing attack to stop his run in with the wall. His balled up body came slamming down on top of Scourge, his face smacking against the metal floor hard. He pushed himself up for a second, right as Sonic slammed into him again, back against the wall. Scourge sneered, wiping blood off of his face with the back of his hand.

“You're asking for it now.”

A little cone poked out of Scourge's chest plate. It took a moment too late for Sonic to realize what it was. The mini missile launched out of Scourge's chest, hitting Sonic head on.

BOOM.

Sonic flew off his feet, landing on his back. His skin and quills were lit with flames, and his ears were ringing loudly. Thankfully that wasn't a full sized missile, or else he'd be in pieces all over the place. Sonic groaned in pain as he felt himself burning. He forced himself to roll, trying to douse the flames.

“Roll over and die, Sonic.”

Scourge made a finger gun, and a beam of energy shot out from it, connecting Sonic and his finger. Sonic felt himself freeze up, as the electric tether squeezed around him. Effortlessly, Scourge flung Sonic into a wall, then the opposite wall, then the first wall again. The fire went out from the speed he was flung about, but that did little to protect his body from being flattened from the force against the now cracking walls. Blood started to splatter as Scourge threw him back and forth.

“Sonic!”

Rusty called out in horror, as he was dropped onto the ground finally. The blue hedgehog groaned, feeling blood gush out of several wounds around him. His burns tingled as he tried to stand. No no this was all wrong!

“Ha! Crushing you is just as easy as toying with that fox!”

Sonic's eyes flickered.

“Wha - ”

Scourge kicked him in the face before he could finish.

“Heh, that's right. Your friend made some great company. His fur is a lot softer than it looks.”

Sonic felt something inside him snap. The way Scourge had said that left some implications that Sonic suddenly hoped to Chaos wasn't true.

“He’s so young, so innocent… turns me on everytime.”

Sonic's eyes widened, his heart palpitated, and his brain burned with a sudden rush of adrenaline. This… fucking creep… touched Nine. Sonic felt his eyes twitch as he pushed himself to shaky feet. He violated his brother didn't he? That's what it sounded like. Sonic felt anger course through him as the other hedgehog cockily smirked at him.

“His throat felt so good around me. His muffled cries only made it better~.”

Sonic blew up.

Literally.

An explosion of dark energy pulsed through the room, purple tendrils swirling around the black epicenter; Sonic himself. His pupils disappeared, leaving nothing but hollow white eyes.

“FUCK YOU!”

His deep voice echoed through the room, louder than a train horn, and deeper than a wave crash. In a blink, Sonic was in front of Scourge winding up. The punch was so fast and so hard, that Scourge felt all his ribs crack at once, piercing his lungs beneath, as well as the tech around them. Blood flew out of his mouth, but Sonic wasn't done yet. He grabbed his neck, and pounded his head into the ground once, twice, three times. With an enraged yell, Sonic gripped both of Scourge's arms, and ripped them clean off of his sockets. Scourge gurgled out a pained cry as Sonic's soulless eyes stared down at him. Such raw power…

“Die motherfucker.”

Sonic's hand plunged into Scourge's chest, ripping out his biological heart, covered in some oil. Scourge couldn't even scream since his mouth was filled with blood. His eyes reduced to pinpricks as he watched Sonic use his robotic hand to electrocute his heart, making it shrivel into a burnt black piece of shit in seconds. Then, he shoved the toasted organ into Scourge's mouth, as the light faded from his eyes. He trembled as life slipped away, with Sonic watching him silently.

“Hell is calling. Don't keep the Devil waiting.”

Sonic raised his foot, and made it crash down on Scourge's skull, making it explode underneath him.

A second of silence passed.

Sonic then snapped his gaze up, looking at a horrified Stone. Sonic simply pointed.

“You.”

The protective glass that Knuckles failed to break shattered, and tendrils of black and purple energy shot out from Sonic's hand, grabbing Stone and pulling him down to where Sonic was. He was forced to his knees, face filled with fear.

“Say goodnight.”

Sonic grabbed the man's head with both of his hands, which started to glow. Stone started to scream as smoke started rising from Sonic's grip. The scent of scorched flesh met all of their noses, as Stone's face sank inward from Sonic's hands. Finally, Sonic gripped tighter, and tore Stone's head clean off, blood gushing from the stump left. The body crumpled to the ground, and Sonic rolled the burnt head off to the side carelessly.

Another second of silence passed.

Only when Stone's body was done twitching did the dark aura disappear from Sonic's body. The hedgehog groaned as his body swayed from exhaustion. Before he could plummet to the floor, a pair of hands caught him.

“Shadow…”

The dark hedgehog helped him to his feet. It took Sonic a second to realize what he had done. He didn't know he was capable of such brutality. It made him shudder. However, if he was to do such actions at all, these two were the most deserving.

The rest of them watched Sonic silently, all of them not really knowing what to say or do. None of them, not even Sonic himself, really knew what happened.

Rusty, now by Sonic's side, pulled a towel from their medical supplies. She silently started wiping off the blood that stained Sonic's blue quills.

Knuckles huffed as he eyed up both Scourge and Stone's pulverized bodies.

“Good riddance.”

Rusty put the bloody towel away, and Sonic finally made eye contact with everyone one at a time.

“Guys… I'm uh… sorry you had to see…”

Out of all people, Rouge was the one to stop him.

“Sonic, honey, it's ok. I think all of us wouldn't be proud to admit what lengths we'd go for the ones we love the most.”

Tangle looked over at Whisper with a small smile on her lips, which the wolf returned with one of her own.

“I think I speak for all of us when I say, we understand. You see Nine as more than a friend, he's family. And what that scumbag did to him…”

She glanced back at the bloody pile of green quills.

“... was absolutely disgusting, and you won't be getting any complaints from us about what you did.”

Sonic felt his heart warm. That was surprisingly sweet for Rouge.

“Thank you…”

“You're welcome.”

Knuckles cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

“I think we should get moving before Robotnik hears about what happened, if he hasn't already.”

“Good thinking.”

Shadow gestured for everyone to follow, leading the way out of there. They all climbed through the broken window that Stone was behind, leading to an observation room, with a single door outward.

“Let's go find Nine.”

Rusty said quietly to Sonic, taking hold of his hand. Sonic looked down, then up into her face. She smiled, and he nodded to agree with her statement.

The group spilled out of the door, finding themselves in another hallway, though this one was much larger, with windows on either side, displaying all sorts of different rooms. They silently walked along, taking hesitant glances through the glass. Tables with straps were in the center of each room, with various medical and technical equipment around it. Dried blood could also be seen on the floors and walls of said rooms. Everyone started feeling sick at the sight, knowing that this was probably where all the experiments were actually conducted. Knuckles paused at one of them, eyes distant and haunted as he felt the walls. He kept his thoughts to himself.

“There's a fork up ahead!”

The group jogged up to it, the walkway going opposite directions, and an elevator directly in the middle.

“Well, at least we know the way up now.”

“Should we split up to look for Nine?”

Knuckles gestured towards the direction of Rouge, Tangle, and Whisper.

“You three with me. We'll take the left. Sonic, you take everyone else to the right, see what you can find. We'll meet back here when we're done.”

Sonic gave a thumbs up, impressed if Knuckles actually knew who he was gesturing to.

“Solid plan. Let's go team.”

So they split, Knuckles’ team going left, Sonic's going right.

Knuckles, Rouge, Tangle, and Whisper silently crept down the hall, which was the same as before; lined with windows into the experiment rooms. Knuckles shivered at the familiarity of these halls. Every nerve in his body was yelling at him to GET OUT, but he had a mission to do. He had to press on.

“Hey look!”

Rouge pointed ahead at an area that opened up at the end of the hall. Another Chaos Emerald Housing Unit. Like the one they saw in the Scrapyard, the lights were off.

“This one is empty too.”

Tangle said, tapping her foot in sudden annoyance. Robotnik definitely wasn't stupid. He either took the remaining Emeralds for some sort of machine, or hid them somewhere far off, which would be a big problem.

“Let's go back. Hopefully the others are more successful.”

Sonic, Shadow, and Rusty on the other side of the hall, also made it to the end, finding a very differently labeled room.

“Cure.”

Rusty said softly, remembering that little detail on their blueprint map.

“What do you think it really is?”

Sonic shrugged.

“Let's go see.”

Sonic led the way, Shadow and Rusty following behind. The door eased open…

Several things happened in the course of five seconds. First, Sonic spotted Tails. The excitement, relief, and overall joy to see him quickly soured as he spotted a ChaosCorp soldier also in the room, holding a bloodied knife in his hand. Said soldier also turned at the sound of the door opening.

“Who the hell - ?!”

Tails - who looked a little out of it - finally spotted Sonic himself, his eyes widening, and jaw dropping from disbelief.

“S-Sonic?”

Said hedgehog growled. He'd make this quick. He rushed forward, his fist going clean through the soldier's chest, making blood spurt out of his back. He tore out his embedded arm, making the body flop on the floor in a heap.

“S-Sonic?”

The hedgehog turned, his eyes once again meeting the fox. Who was alive. He was breathing. Sonic fell to his knees in front of the fox to be eye level with him. Tears pooled in both of their eyes as they stared at each-other in disbelief.

Tails didn't doubt that Sonic was looking for him, but to actually be found was a different story. He came for him. Sonic went through whatever shit Robotnik probably threw at him to save him. He was here.

Sonic's eyes scanned Tails, finding each new detail of his appearance more worrying than the last. The fox was almost bone-skinny, the beginning of his ribs beginning to show, and his body was covered in cuts and bruises, both new and old. In fact, five new cuts decorated the fox's face, no doubt from the soldier he just killed. The absence of his mechanical tails also was cause for worry. Sonic spotted clumps of his fur sticking together from dirt, and a crusty white material that he was unfortunately aware of. Sonic felt a mixture of anger against ChaosCorp, and protectiveness for the kid in front of him.

Tails slowly reached a shaky hand out, which landed on Sonic's shoulder.

“Is this real?”

Sonic fought a sob.

“Yes. I'm real bud. I'm right here.”

Sonic opened his arms wide, gesturing for a hug. Tails' breath hitched, throwing himself into Sonic's arms, sobbing. Sonic held the boy tight, careful not to injure him any further.

“We're getting you out of here. Follow me. Rusty can patch you up in the elevator.”

“W-wait!”

Tails' sudden hesitation caught Sonic off guard.

“I wasn't the only one in here.”

Sonic blinked in surprise, then actually looked up to see who Tails was talking about. Sonic was taken back as he didn't even see the girl in the room. Wow he really did have hyper fixated then…

“Cosmo this is the f-friend I told you about. He's gonna help us get out of here.”

Sonic watched as the little girl stood, waving awkwardly to him and the others.

“Hi.”

She said shyly. Sonic frowned as he eyed all the wires embedded into the girl. Another type of experiment Robotnik was working on he imagined. Well she wasn't one of the ones trying to kill them, so of course they'd save her.

“Shadow, can you help her out of… whatever that is?”

Shadow nodded wordlessly, heading over to the girl, offering his helping hand.

“I'll carry you to the elevator ok Nine?”

The fox nodded, allowing the hedgehog to pick him up bridal style. He winced at the movement, but he was otherwise ok. Gosh Sonic hated seeing how much pain he was in.

“So uh… about that.”

Tails started, a light chuckle leaving him.

“About… the elevator?”

“No. My name.”

Sonic quirked a brow, clearly confused, but not wanting to interrupt. Tails paused, opting to look behind Sonic's shoulder as Shadow held Cosmo in his arms like Sonic was holding him now. She was ok. Good. Shadow gave them both the nod, and Cosmo smiled at Tails.

“Let's get moving.”

Rusty said, voice thick with unsaid emotion as she led the way. Tails and Rusty met eyes.

“It's good to see you R-Rusty.”

The pink hedgehog had to bite her lip to keep herself from weeping. She had to pull it together. She could dote on him in a minute.

“I missed you too.”

The group continued down the hallway.

“So uh, what was that you were saying? Something about your name?”

The fox lit up in Sonic's arms.

“Oh yeah! Uh… I don't want to g-go by Nine anymore.”

Sonic blinked in surprise. This was a bit of a random revelation for the fox to have, but Sonic would be on board to support it. Anything for his little buddy.

“Oh?”

The fox nodded awkwardly, avoiding the eye contact Sonic was trying to initiate.

“Yeah… I uh… don't think it really fits me a-anymore. I came up with the title in a bad place. I'm not the same as I was then.”

Sonic smiled softly.

“Well ok. But uh, what do you want to be called then?”

The fox bit his lip.

“Tails.”

Sonic stopped walking.

He felt a mixture of emotions wave over him at once. Tails. He wanted to be called TAILS. Their eyes finally met again as Sonic just stared, dumbfounded.

“I just… think it's more fitting. You taught me to embrace my uniqueness… and this is another step toward that. So thank you, Sonic.”

Sonic blinked back more tears. Holy shit. He didn't realize how much this would affect him. While it really was only a title, it hit super hard.

“Tails…”

Sonic tested the name in his mouth again, referring to the smiling fox kit in his arms.

“It’s perfect.”

Tails smiled wider.

“Thanks.”

Sonic held him tighter, beginning to walk again. Shadow and Rusty, while privy to the conversation, didn't comment on it.

They rounded the corner, spotting the rest of the team waiting by the elevator, seeing Tangle impatiently tapping the call button.

“You found him!”

Rouge said, eyeing up the bundle of fur in Sonic's arms. Said bundle’s eyes widened at the sight of both Rouge and Knuckles, pushing himself further into Sonic for protection. Ah shit. Sonic should have thought about that.

“Hey it's alright. They're helping us.”

Tails looked up at Sonic, then at Rouge, who waved awkwardly, and Knuckles, who had an unreadable expression on his face.

“I trust them both. And you trust me don't you?”

Tails blinked, and nodded once.

“Yeah…”

Knuckles suddenly stepped forward, making Tails shrink back a little.

“I uh…”

The proud echidna warrior clenched his teeth, and then to the surprise of everyone, got down on his hands and knees.

“I'm sorry. What I did to you was inexcusable. I'm not asking for forgiveness, but let me help you reach your end goal.”

Tails stared wide eyed down at him, clearly at a loss. In one hand, he didn't want to trust someone who stabbed him in the back. But on the other hand… he trusted Sonic, and like the blue blur just said, he trusted Knuckles. Was that really enough to make Tails feel comfortable with the echidna? Hell no, but it was a start.

“I… can't forgive you. Not yet anyway.”

The echidna pushed himself back up.

“But, I do trust Sonic’s judgment. So we're cool.”

Knuckles blinked rapidly. Holy cow was he about to cry? Sonic decided to interject before the echidna embarrassed himself. He knew Knuckles enough to know that if he cried in public, he'd never let himself live it down.

“Thanks for understanding Tails.”

He smiled at the praise, and Sonic naturally smiled back. Almost perfectly on time, the elevator door dinged, opening up. It was at this moment that every single one of them realized that they couldn't all fit in the elevator at once. Tangle chuckled to herself.

“I guess that's one way to bring us all closer.”

…

“No?”

…

“Okay I'll shut up.”

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

I had gotten some unexpected free time to work on this chapter, so I was able to pump it out sooner than I expected! I hope you all enjoyed, and see you all next time!

Chapter 36: Climbing... Again

Captain Robotnik was afraid. Why? He was the most powerful man in the world! The ONLY powerful man in the world. He had weapons of mass destruction at his disposal, legions of robots at his fingertips, and lethal artillery at the ready. And yet he was afraid. The Black Arms. They were almost awake… if they weren't already.

Professor Stone had sent three of the successful BAO's up to him to inspect, before approving their mass production. While Robotnik was glad to see just how powerful those three were, he couldn't send them back down. He needed them for what was coming, and it wasn't the Black Arms. That infernal blue hedgehog and his team were here. Robotnik knew it was only a matter of time before they started pushing their way up to him. He was done expecting his army to keep them at bay.

“If you want something done right…”

Robotnik said to himself, as he added the finishing touches to one of his latest machines.

“... you have to do it yourself.”

A blaring sound appeared on his monitor, making him abandon his work to see what it was. His small pair of lenses flew off his face as his eyes bugged at the security feed. They removed the seedrian. They REMOVED THE SEEDRIAN. Panic ran through his body. What the hell happened to Stone? He panned through the cameras, finally finding… holy shit. Stone, and Scourge's corpse displayed on the camera.

“No no no!”

Robotnik was about ready to send every available Badnik and soldier to go stop Sonic from taking Cosmo too far from where she belonged, but before he could, another alarm blared.

“What now?!”

His eyes bugged a second time. The security feed from the front of the tower displayed a full army of Mobians outside, charging forward. The resistance was here. Robotnik rubbed his temples. This complicated things. He needed to return Cosmo to where she was, stop Sonic, keep the resistance out of the tower, AND get ready for the Black Arms.

“Shit.”

 

“We have to split up.”

Knuckles stated, feeling the inside of the elevator with his heightened senses. The rest couldn't help but agree, as it looked only big enough to fit four comfortably, five max. Shadow sighed.

“Four of us need to stay down and wait.”

Reality hit Sonic like a ton of bricks. They were going to have to leave four behind to use the elevator next. Damn. He didn't want to split up, as they were stronger together. He had a bad feeling about it, but there wasn't another option, plus they were running out of time.

“I'll stay and wait.”

Shadow proclaimed, the first to volunteer.

“I'll wait with him.”

Knuckles joined, which surprised Sonic a bit. After all, Knuckles probably didn't want to spend another second down here… but, his warrior pride must have been stronger.

Sonic suddenly felt torn. He wanted to wait here - in the vulnerable position so others wouldn't have to - but he didn't want to be separated from Tails. He JUST got him back, and he really didn't want to let him go. Unbeknownst to the blue blur, his emotions were on his sleeve, and Tangle picked up on it.

“Whisper and I will stay.”

Sonic blinked rapidly, as Whisper gave Tangle a look. Clearly she didn't realize they were until now too.

“Rusty, make sure to patch these two kids up on the ride ok?”

The lemur said, gesturing to the fox and seedrian. Rusty nodded, bag at the ready.

“Are you sure?”

Rouge said, looking ready to swap with anyone if suggested.

“Yes. Go with them.”

Shadow spoke, nodding her along. Sonic met the dark hedgehog’s gaze, giving him the nod.

“We'll see you all later.”

“Likewise.”

Shadow, Knuckles, Tangle, and Whisper all stood off to the side, as Sonic, Tails, Cosmo, Rusty, and Rouge piled into the elevator.

“Keep your communicator open Sonic. We can both give updates if needed.”

“Copy that.”

Sonic tapped on the communicator, keeping it onto Shadow's channel. Rouge hit the button labeled ‘G’.

“We'll meet you on the ground floor.”

The doors started to close. Sonic suddenly felt a funny feeling in his stomach as the door shut completely. He didn't like this one bit.

The elevator ‘dinged’, and started to rise.

Shadow tapped his foot as they were shut off from the rest of the group.

“So… anyone got any funny stories to tell?”

Tangle sheepishly asked, looking between the three stoic figures.

“No? Okay then.”

She pouted, plopping down on the ground to lean against the elevator door. Whisper, after a second of waiting, slowly sat down next to her, offering a small smile.

“How’s your tail?”

Tangle brought said tail up, letting it wave a bit.

“Could be a lot worse. Could be better though.”

Whisper sadly smiled.

“Sorry, I wish I could help you.”

Tangle shook her head.

“What are you talking about? You have been! You're the one who's been keeping me up with the others since the injury! How can you even possibly do more?”

Whisper softly chuckled.

“I guess so.”

“I know so. So stop beating yourself up.”

Tangle abruptly brought the timid wolf into a hug, squeezing a lot more than was necessary.

Meanwhile, in the elevator, Sonic laid Tails down on the elevator carpet per Rusty's instructions. The blue hedgehog didn't like letting him go, but he knew it needed to be done. Rusty wasted no time, setting out all her medical supplies around her patient.

“I'm going to check for broken bones first okay?”

“O-okay.”

Rusty gently started prodding Tails' body, gaining small grunts from the boy. Sonic bit his lip as he watched helplessly. Tails really was in bad shape. There wasn't an inch of his body without an injury or bruise of some kind.

The hedgehog glanced over to the mysterious girl they had found with Tails. She was also watching with bated breath. Who was she? Where did she come from?

“Okay, no broken bones, that's good.”

She pulled out some needles and thread.

“Now I have to stitch some of these cuts… some of them are pretty deep.”

Tails only nodded in agreement, clearly nervous but not saying anything about it.

“Can we put him to sleep or something?”

Sonic asked suddenly, feeling the need to be at least somewhat helpful.

“We don't have equipment for that. Plus we don't have much time. I'm sorry.”

Sonic understandingly nodded.

“This is going to hurt.”

Rusty eyed up the biggest cut; a long slash along Tails' left arm. Here goes nothing. She pushed the needle through his skin, making him tense up. His arm would have spasmed if she wasn't using her other hand to hold it down. She continued, carefully stitching the massive cut slowly. Tails whimpered, tears slipping down the sides of his head. Sonic gripped his buddy's shoulder, hoping to be comforting in any sort of way. Chaos, he hated watching this. But it needed to be done. Didn't need Tails bleeding out.

“There. All done.”

Rusty finished with an arm sling, keeping Tails' left arm held suspended in front of his chest. The fox wiped his tears away with his available arm.

“Th-thanks Rusty.”

The pink hedgehog nodded, bringing the fox into a side hug, since in the front currently wasn't possible. She held him close. She never thought she'd see him again.

Sonic allowed himself to smile as he watched Rusty have a moment with Tails. His eyes drifted to Cosmo again, who still had the small holes over her body where the wires were fastened to her.

“So uh, Cosmo was it?”

The girl blinked owlishly, nodding a moment after.

“Why are you here? What was Robotnik doing to you?”

The girl frowned deeply, and Tails looked up at the question.

“I'm not sure actually. All I know is that machine was slowly draining me of my healing power.”

“Healing power?”

“Yes. I can heal most non-fatal wounds, when I have the energy.”

Sonic popped his lips.

“That's pretty neato. But why would you be attached to some kind of siphon?”

Cosmo shrugged, clearly confused about it herself. Sonic hummed in thought.

“Let me start over… where are you from?”

Cosmo recounted her tale she had told Tails, with Shadow’s team listening in through the communicators. The definition of BAO being Black Arms Offensive really took Sonic and Shadow off guard. They were the ones Robotnik was worried about. But why? Why would Robotnik go out of his way to trap the Black Arms just to get ahold of Cosmo? He risked his very life doing that. Something in this puzzle was missing.

“Hmm. Well, I'm glad you two found each-other, considering the circumstances.”

Sonic reasoned, making the two younger ones smile at each-other. Sonic tapped his finger against his arm as the elevator continued to move as slow as possible.

“Hey Rusty, is there some cleaning supplies in that bag?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Can I see it?”

Rusty nodded, offering said bag over to the other hedgehog. He ruffled through it, finding what he was looking for; some towels, wipes, and soap. Honestly, he was surprised how much fit in this bag.

“Do you mind if I clean you up Tails? You're pretty dirty.”

The fox looked like deer in headlights for a moment. Tails' heart suddenly palpitated. His fur had all Scourge's gunk all over it… and Sonic noticed. Was he going to ask what it was? Tails shook his head nervously when he realized he hadn't answered him.

“Uh y-yeah, sure.”

Sonic smiled, settling into a criss-crossed position across from Tails. He started washing (as best as he could without water that is) his fur, scrubbing harder at the crusty parts. Tails felt his heart sink as Sonic quietly worked. He had to know. What else could it have been? The eight year old suddenly felt vulnerable, but forced himself not to wretch out of Sonic's gentle hands.

Sonic said nothing, but he could see the inner conflict in Tails' eyes. They needed to have a talk soon.

The elevator suddenly jolted, sending the occupants inside into a tumble on the floor. It stopped. The elevator wasn't moving, and they haven't even reached the ground floor yet.

“Damn it.”

“What's happening?”

Shadow demanded through the communicator.

“The elevator stopped.”

Sonic stood, surveying the box. Great, that probably meant they knew they were here.

“We're gonna need to climb the rest of the way.”

Sonic rubbed his chin.

“Stand back guys.”

The rest pressed themselves against the elevator walls as tightly as possible, as Sonic crouched in the center, looking upward.

“I think this place needs a skylight!”

He revved up into a homing attack, flinging himself into and through the ceiling. The metal bent and busted open, allowing Sonic to land on top. He peeked back down in.

“Yeah that really lightens the place up!”

Tails chuckled. He missed Sonic's stupid jokes.

“Gimme your hand. I'll help you out.”

One at a time, Sonic helped the rest up and out, now standing on the top of the elevator.

“Oh boy…”

Tails squinted as he looked up and around. The elevator shaft continued upward, into the dark shadows. Tails crossed his arms as he surveyed the smooth metal walls. Without his mechanical tails, he couldn't climb the surface.

“Okay, here's the plan. Rusty, can you climb this?”

Rusty walked up to the wall, brushed her hand against it, then bent the metal in her hand with a loud screech.

“Yes.”

Sonic gave her a grin and a thumbs up.

“Perfect. Tails and Cosmo can hold onto your back. Rouge, you can fly this?”

The bat hummed as she looked up at the expanse.

“Hopefully. I normally glide, but I'll see what I can do.”

Sonic nodded.

“That'll have to do. Think you can carry me?”

The bat tapped her foot, then grinned.

“So forward. Take me out for dinner first.”

“Har har.”

“Yes I'll try.”

The hedgehog nodded.

“Alright. Let's get going.”

Shadow's voice sparked over his wrist.

“So is it safe to say the elevator isn't coming down for us anytime soon?”

“Yeah, sorry Shades. You guys are gonna have to climb too.”

“Understood.”

Rusty grabbed the wall with both hands.

“Grab hold.”

Tails and Cosmo wrapped their limbs around Rusty, both children being light enough for Rusty to easily climb with. She started to slowly ascend, one bound at a time. Her foot would slot into the dent she left with her hand, making her own personal climbing wall.

“Ready blue?”

“Only if you are.”

Rouge stretched her wings out. She silently hoped she could even fly upward that far… especially with a passenger. They needed to do this, she couldn't fail here. With a small jump, the bat suspended herself in the air, leaning her hands down to grab the blue hedgehog. Their hands intertwined, and the flight began.

Meanwhile, Knuckles had just got started at getting the elevator doors open manually. They were surprisingly super thick, making it difficult for him to grip and open.

“Soooo, how are we climbing up?”

Tangle asked, bouncing on her heels.

“Knuckles is the only one I know who can climb…”

Shadow commented, eyes narrowed in thought. The hedgehog opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped when his ears twitched at a sound. It sounded like metal taping. Shadow looked down the hallway.

“Shit!”

A horde of spider Badniks rounded the corner, speedily gaining on their location.

“Knuckles get that door open!”

Shadow unholstered his gun, and fired several shots into the crowd. Whisper did the same, keeping them all back. Tangle looked nervously between the two sharpshooters, and Knuckles as she waited between them. The robots were gaining on them, and fast.

“Any day Knuckles!”

“Almost got it!”

The echidna made one last effort filled grunt before tearing the doors open.

“Come on, let's go!”

Knuckles immediately rammed his fists into the solid metal, starting to climb.

“Get on my back!”

Tangle wasted no time, leaping up to grab hold of Knuckles’ shoulders. The lemur got the hint of Knuckles' plan, and let her tail dangle like a rope as he continued to climb. Shadow and Whisper jumped up to grab said tail, aiming their guns at the entrance for when they were inevitably followed. Knuckles made a strained grunt, but pressed on. His muscles were straining under the weight, but they couldn't slow down lest they meet their fates.

“What's happening?!”

A voice said over their communicators.

“We got some company down here!”

The spiders ran into the elevator, looking up to see the four of them slowly ascending. That's when Shadow and Whisper opened fire, destroying some and damaging others. A handful of them pierced the wall, climbing up themselves to try and catch them. Whenever one would get too close, Shadow or Whisper would shoot them off the wall, making them fall into the growing pile of them at the bottom.

“There's so many!”

The horde looked like a creeping black disease up the wall, becoming impossible to shoot down. Shadow growled.

“Keep shooting Whisper, just don't hit me.”

Before the wolf could ask what that meant, Shadow let go of the tail, yelling out as he grabbed hold of one of the spiders, keeping him from falling the rest of the way. The spider tried to shake him off, as he kicked and punched any other nearby ones. One of them let out a blood curdling screech, leaping onto Shadow's back, and biting the back of his arm. Shadow yelped out in horrific surprise, before scowling, ripping the spider off his arm, and throwing it into another one, making them fall down. Shadow charged a homing attack, smacking into several around the wall in a chain. There were too many. Shadow knew as he bounced off of each one that they'd be overrun soon. Then, it came to him. Chaos Control. If he could just get them all up to the elevator, they'd be safe. But he didn't have the Chaos Emerald with him. That was a problem. He didn't have a choice though, it was either try or die. Shadow flung himself back over to the group, grabbing hold of Tangle's tail. The hedgehog dug deep into himself. The raw reality of the situation fueled the bubbling power in his soul.

“Chaos… Control!”

In a flash, they were gone.

They all landed in a heap on the stopped elevator floor, gasping from the sudden teleportation. Knuckles was especially taken off guard, as his senses made him feel the shift of space.

“Shadow!”

Tangle kneeled next to Shadow, who was now unconscious. She checked his pulse, relieved to find one.

“What did… he even do?”

“Doesn't matter. He saved our lives.”

Knuckles gruffly responded, and air of respect in his voice.

“What happened?”

Sonic's voice sounded again, making Tangle speak into Shadow’s watch to respond.

“Everything is ok. Shadow… teleported us up to the elevator… somehow.”

Sounds of relieved sighs could be heard.

“Good. Guess we'll see all you guys at the top.”

Tangle agreed, shutting the watch off.

“Better get climbing again.”

The group were in a similar position as before, minus the robots of course. Knuckles slowly climbed, as Tangle held onto his back. Whisper held onto Tangle's tail, and Shadow was wrapped around several times at the end of it. Tangle made sure to keep her muscles in her tail tight so she didn't drop him. She glanced down, looking at the limp hedgehog. He looked peaceful like this, despite the situation. She silently held tighter to Knuckles as the echidna powered through the climb.

 

About an hour had passed by the time the first group made it to the ground floor door. Rouge flung Sonic into it full force, busting open the door with a mini explosion. The blue hedgehog was still fighting through the dazed feeling in his head, but was overall ready to go. Ironically, the elevator led into a pretty bare room, one with pictures of employees of the month and stuff like that. Sonic was thankful that it wasn't full of Badniks or soldiers. He didn't think all of them were exactly ready for a battle after the ascent. After a moment of decision making, they all decided it was safe enough to wait for the rest to catch up. A half hour passed by before they spotted the rest of the team on their way. Sonic and Rusty helped hoist Knuckles up onto the floor, pulling the rest with them. The echidna was redder than normal, panting heavy and lined in sweat.

“Are you okay Knuckles?”

The blind echidna only offered a weak thumbs up.

“What happened to Shadow?”

The hedgehog in question was released by Tangle's tail bonds, still silent as a leaf.

“He passed out after saving us. He must have used everything he had to do it.”

Sonic frowned, picking up his friend for what felt like the thousandth time since their journey began. Sonic was so thankful for Shadow. He honestly didn't know how he could ever repay Shadow for all his help when this was all over.

“We better get moving. Robotnik is gonna know we got up here sooner than later.”

“I agree. Follow me, I know this building like the back of my hand.”

Rouge took the lead, guiding the group out of the door, and towards the stairwells.

 

Sally Acorn and her troops marched forward, on the dead ground between them and the base of Robotnik Tower. The moment had come. The time to take back the world was at hand. She glanced back, eyeing up the Mobians willing to die for that freedom. They weren't soldiers, they were normal people, some even being children. But they didn't shy away from the call. As they approached closer, Sally got ready to run.

“Charge!”

A chorus of yells echoed through the plain, and they all picked up the pace. Their collective footfalls congregated into a loud rumble, which only served to fuel the squirrel. Blood would indeed be shed today, but she wasn't going to let it be in vain. The Rebellion had begun.

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

No one is ready for the next chapter...

Chapter 37: The Final Puzzle Piece

Rouge peeked out from the door, holding her hand back to keep the rest from following. The lobby was scrambling, soldiers and scientists running from place to place in a panic, or ready to fight. Rouge hummed in thought, as she formulated a plan to get to the stairwell without being seen.

“Okay everyone. Almost all of Robotnik's major defenses against infiltrations is on this floor, so once we get to the stairs, we're home free till we make it to the big guy himself. And, since most of his attention is drawn to what's going on outside, this will be a piece of cake.”

Tails squinted skeptically.

“Why only have defensive measures on one floor?”

“Because Robotnik is an ass and is too proud to think anyone could get INTO the building much less past the first floor.”

Tails shrugged, satisfied with her answer.

“So what's the plan?”

Rouge drummed her fingers on her chin.

“I'm going to go out into the lobby to distract everyone out there. Most of them probably don't know I defected yet. While I have them looking at me, all of you will get behind that desk to our left, then the pillar, and finally up the stairs.”

Rouge nervously fidgeted with her fingers. She hoped this would work… the chances of her leaving ChaosCorp very well could be common knowledge now… which would screw up the plan. She took in a breath. She got this.

Rouge ran out, slowing to a fast jog when she ‘ran into’ the biggest group of humans.

“All the Mobians are piling up outside? What's the plan?”

“Rouge? Holy shit I thought you were gone!”

As the humans looked a bit baffled at the bat, Sonic carrying Shadow snuck behind the desk, followed by Tails and Cosmo holding hands.

“Why would I be gone? And miss all the fun~?”

Rusty and Knuckles ducked over to the desk, right as Sonic ambled behind the pillar, awkwardly trying not to let Shadow’s limbs be seen around it.

“Well, I guess we can put you in one of our response teams…”

Sonic darted to the stairwell, going up a single flight so he was out of eyesight. Tails and Cosmo hid behind the pillar, both being small enough to fit.

“We have fifty units set to move out to intercept the Mobians. The mobile unit, the Badniks, aerial assault…”

The two youngest followed Sonic up the stairs, right as Knuckles replaced their previous spot. Tangle and Whisper finally dove for the desk. Rouge felt sweat trickle down her back.

“I'm a pretty good flier. I can help with the aerial.”

Knuckles went up the stairs.

“Hmm fair point…”

Rusty went to the pillar.

“But most aerial units are helicopters and Badnik drones.”

Rusty went up the stairs, while Tangle hid for the pillar.

“We can put you in the mobile unit. We'll give you a jeep.”

Tangle went up the stairs, Whisper going for the pillar. Last one…

“That sounds like a plan to me!”

“That's settled. Meet the unit in the garage hanger.”

Rouge saluted as Whisper snuck up the stairs.

“Understood.”

Rouge quickly walked around them, thankful that the garage was just on the floor above, so heading to the stairs wasn't suspicious. She went up a flight, stopping on the landing of floor 1. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

“Rouge, that was great!”

Rusty gave her a playful punch in the arm. Sonic winked at her.

“Thanks for taking the lead for us there.”

The bat smiled wide, glad to have been so helpful.

“So, it's just steps the rest of the way yeah?”

Rouge nodded.

“For the most part.”

“Cool, let's go.”

 

Sonic wasn't a stealthy guy, but here he was, creeping with the group, avoiding the soldiers and scientists running through the building. It was surprisingly easy… which made the hedgehog suspicious. It's not like he didn't believe Rouge in what she said about Robotnik’s defensive measures, but he knew Egghead, and he always had something up his sleeve until the last minute.

The staircases continued on and on, spiraling around in a square shape. With the added weight of Shadow, his legs were starting to burn. Sonic preferred ramps over stairs.

After what felt like hours, Shadow stirred in Sonic's arms. The blue hedgehog halted in his tracks, eyes widening with hope.

“Shadow? Shades?”

The dark hedgehog grunted, blinking his eyes open. Sonic grinned wide, meeting the deadpan look of Shadow.

“Yes you're awake! How do you feel?”

Shadow flexed each limb, and his fingers. He then smacked his lips dryly.

“Like shit.”

Sonic snickered.

“Good enough to walk?”

“Naturally. Put me down.”

Sonic obliged, silently and gently easing him to his feet.

“You alright?”

Rouge asked, brow furrowed as she looked him over.

“Yes I am. Thank you for asking.”

After a few stretches, Shadow was ready to go, and Sonic felt a new energy to keep the climb going. Being a whole hedgehog lighter definitely helped. However, it was becoming painfully obvious that the climb was taking a toll on the group. While Sonic did feel reinvigorated, the rest looked worse for wear. Tails and Cosmo especially, clearly not having enough energy for strenuous activity. Sonic felt his blood boil again at thinking of their poor treatment. They needed to stop and rest. Everyone did.

“Hey Rouge, any chance there's a floor nearby we can all hide and chill in for a minute? I think we all need a break.”

The bat looked behind her, taking in all the sweaty faces. She wasn't exactly prime either.

“Good idea. Three more floors up should be a safe spot.”

Everyone made sounds of relief, using what little energy they had left to push through the last steps. Double doors reading ‘Floor 246’ stared at them.

“Well we definitely got our steps in.”

Tangle chirped, wiping her brow with her bushy tail. No one laughed at the comment.

Rouge led them through the door, checking as she went to make sure no one was here. Sonic looked around, seeing that this floor was set up like an office, with multiple cubicles with computers. Rouge led them to the other end, entering the break room. How ironic.

The nine of them piled in, taking seats at the plastic picnic tables around the room.

“Gosh my feet are killing me.”

Knuckles took his shoes off, massaging his aching feet with his hands.

“Yo jackpot.”

Tangle opened the fridge, finding it actually stocked with pudding cups and water bottles. Sonic didn't realize he was so hungry until his stomach lurched at the sight. Tangle tossed a pudding cup and water bottle to each of them one at a time, before grabbing one herself.

“They have spoons right?”

Whisper said in a small voice, eyeing her chocolate pudding cup. Clearly she wasn't fond of the idea of using her fingers or tongue.

“Uh… yeah here they are.”

Tangle handed out plastic spoons to each.

“Thanks.”

“Yup!”

Sonic paused before he ate, taking a look around the room. He never thought in a situation like this, he'd be surrounded by friends eating pudding of all things. It honestly made him… nostalgic. The times he had with his friends, around a table having a good time. Talking about who knows what and getting into mischief. Weirdly satisfied with the current state of things, Sonic happily started on his swirled pudding. Wow, not bad. As Sonic took his first spoonful, he noticed Tails had already finished his, and was eyeing the room. Sonic mentally slapped himself. He was probably STARVING.

“I’ll get you another one.”

Tails blinked in surprise, not thinking he got caught. His face flushed in response.

“Uh, thanks.”

Sonic just smiled, heading back to the fridge.

“Hey batter batter!”

Sonic tossed the pudding like Tangle had, Tails catching it with ease, a smile on his face.

“Anyone else want seconds?”

Cosmo raised her hand, an embarrassed look on her face.

“Coming in hot.”

He tossed her one more as well as Knuckles and Shadow who both raised hands as well.

“Vanilla? Who do you think I am, Vector?”

Sonic pursed his lips as Shadow looked at his cup with scorn.

“Shadow… I didn't see you being the picky type…”

Rouge said with a giggle, making Shadow’s scowl only deepen.

“Chocolate is the superior flavor, obviously.”

Shadow stood to get a replacement, tossing his pudding over to Tails as he had finished his second already.

“Oh now hold on, don't diss vanilla.”

Rusty said with her arms crossed.

“Personally I prefer it over chocolate.”

Shadow returned to his seat with his dark brown treat.

“I’ll just let you be wrong.”

Rusty's mouth fell and Shadow smirked. A small laugh followed, until it bubbled into a series of snorts. Rusty covered her mouth, blushing. Shadow actually laughed too, which was a rare but welcome occurrence. A full conversation of vanilla vs chocolate was launched, everyone chiming in with their own opinion, except Tails, who was still polishing off his third cup. Sonic tapped Tails' shoulder, getting his attention.

“Hey, can we talk? Just you and me?”

The fox blinked, setting the empty plastic container aside.

“Yeah, sure.”

Sonic stood.

“Hey guys, we're just gonna catch up for a bit, alright?”

The conversation paused as acknowledgement, Shadow giving Sonic an understanding nod. Sonic strolled to the break room exit, Tails right behind him. Before they slipped out, Tails gave Cosmo a little wave.

Sonic found a small cubicle that just so happened to have two chairs, wheeling them apart so that they were facing each-other, taking a seat in one of them. Tails took the other seat.

“So uh… w-what’s up?”

Sonic sadly smiled. How did he bring this up? If he wasn't careful, he could do more damage then good.

“Tails… you uh… I thought you were dead.”

Tails blinked owlishly. It finally registered in his mind that the Resistance probably covered up their sudden betrayal of him. Death seemed to be the story they told. He growled a bit.

“Why did they do it? Why'd they stab me in the back?”

Sonic drummed his fingers.

“Apparently, there was an attack on District One. You were the trade to get ChaosCorp to back off.”

The fox hummed. Made sense, but still pissed him off. Sonic clicked his tongue.

“I'm… so sorry dude. If I knew you were alive I would have come running first thing.”

Tails waved his hands to stop him.

“Don't apologize. You were blindsided, and so was I.”

Sonic nodded. He still regretted not being able to do anything, even if it would have been impossible to stop from his position. Sonic shook his head, he had to get back on topic.

“So uh, you were in here for almost two weeks…”

Tails grimaced.

“Yeah.”

Sonic's mouth opened then closed, then opened and closed again. The right words just escaped him. He forced his tongue to respond by bumbling out his next sentence.

“Are you… okay?”

Their eyes locked, orbs of genuine emerald meeting pools of distant cobalt. Tails bit his lip, breaking eye contact by looking at the floor. Memories flew into his mind like missiles, both recent and moments long gone. He tensed up, feeling like ice was traveling through his veins as he tried to get the images and sensations to go away.

“N-no. I'm not okay.”

Tails would have hugged himself, but the arm sling made that almost impossible. Sonic was at a loss, not knowing how to respond to that. Before the shatter, Sonic was normally able to help Tails with his troubles; comforting him, and encouraging him whenever he was down. But this? This was mental damage Sonic had never dealt with before. He silently prayed that the right words would come to him, his brother needed them.

“It's okay not to be okay.”

Tails looked up from the floor, confusion on his face.

“Life sucks sometimes. And sometimes, it's super painful. But life does move on eventually. I can't ever say I'll come to understand the pain you've been through, now and back then, but I can say with confidence that you can move on.”

Tails started to tear up, hanging on every word.

“You are so strong Tails. To be… violated in so many ways and still keep going on, is incredible.”

Sonic felt tears leave his eyes as he continued.

“And I want you to know that nothing will change how I feel about you. You're my best friend - my brother. I will be by your side as long as you'll have me. If you need an ear, a shoulder… anything… I'll be there for you. You don't need to go through this alone.”

Tails choked back a sob. That's all he wanted. Not to be alone. And he wasn't. He had Sonic, Cosmo, Rusty, heck, even Shadow to lean back on. They would help him on his road to healing. It'd be long, and difficult at times no doubt, but it’d be so much better with friends. No - family. Tails wasn't able to voice any of this, but his incoherent blubbering conveyed the same message.

Sonic got out of his chair to hug the now weeping fox, cradling him safely in his arms like he had done rescuing him.

“You’re welcome, Tails.”

Tails used his available arm to hug back as much as he could. Tails then said something - and even though it was a bit muffled from his face being buried into Sonic’s shoulder - the hedgehog heard it loud and clear. A single three word sentence that made everything up to now worth it; the shatter, the loneliness, the grief…

“I love you.”

Sonic subconsciously held the precious fox closer, unable to fathom losing him again.

“I love you too.”

The two brothers stayed there for a while, neither one saying a word, but both being content with just existing together. But, like all good things, it had to end, and Sonic finally released Tails from the embrace.

“So uh, how do you feel?”

Tails wiped some of the last moisture around his eyes away, smiling.

“Better. Thank you Sonic. And uh, we can talk more about all of my shit… after we beat Robotnik’s ass.”

Sonic winked.

“Deal. I'll take you up on that.”

Sonic also quickly wiped his face, hopeful that it wasn't too obvious he had been crying. It was.

“We better head back. See what everyone else is up to.”

Tails nodded.

“Agreed.”

The two got up and went back over to the break room, looking at each-other in surprise when they heard some enthusiastic shouts from inside. Shrugging, Sonic pushed open the door. Sonic immediately grinned at the sight he saw. Knuckles and Shadow were locked in an arm wrestling contest, visible sweat trickling down each of their faces. The ‘audience’ was clearly split, Rusty, and Rouge on Shadow’s side of the table, and Tangle, and Whisper on Knuckles’ both of them cheering on the respective side.

“You got this Knuckles!”

“Get him Shadow!”

Cosmo simply watched in the middle, not taking a side, but interested in what would happen.

Sonic chuckled as he walked up to Rusty, grinning.

“What'd we miss?”

Rusty laughed softly.

“Well, they both claimed to be the strongest one here, and naturally, they had to prove themselves…”

Sonic laughed.

“Of course.”

Tails went over to stand with Cosmo, offering a smile before watching the match. The fox cupped his hands around his muzzle to mimic a speakerphone.

“Come on Shadow, whip his ass!”

Said hedgehog grimaced, having a hard time keeping it together. His arm started trembling.

“Really Faker, you're going to let yourself lose to Knuckles?”

Sonic jabbed, making his counterpart growl in frustration. His arm suddenly dropped an inch, and his face contorted in panic.

“Gahhhh!”

After a final effort to try and get the upper hand, Shadow lost it, his arm being slammed flat against the table. Knuckles stood from his seat, arms raised in victory.

“Yeah that's right! I AM the strongest!”

Shadow shook his sore arm in defeat.

“I… wasn't at my full strength.”

Knuckles howled with a sudden fit of laughter.

“Oh right as IF! I beat you fair and square.”

Shadow grumbled under his breath.

“We'll have a rematch some other day.”

Sonic poked Shadow in the ribs, making him scowl at the blue hedgehog.

“So I guess you are weaker than Knuckles…”

Shadow quickly punched Sonic in the arm, making him pull back and rub it.

“I'm still stronger than you, Faker.”

Rouge smiled at their friendly rivalry on full display, before her grin dropped as she checked the clock on the wall.

“Hey, it's been about half an hour, I think we should get moving again.”

Sonic nodded, giving her a thumbs up.

“Good call. Let's head out everyone.”

 

Outside, the Resistance was locked in bloody combat with ChaosCorp’s many soldiers and robots. Casualties were great on both sides, fallen comrades and enemies alike filling the ground, making it difficult to even move. But they kept on. They needed to take ChaosCorp down, once and for all.

 

The group continued their trek, going up flight after flight of steps. It had been exactly an hour since they started again, and thankfully that half hour rest before really carried them so far.

Rouge then stopped everyone, gesturing to the pair of double doors they were now in front of.

“Here we are. Floor 472. This is where the next Emerald Housing Unit is. Do you guys want to check it out? There's a big chance there's a trap here.”

Sonic and Shadow glanced at each other.

“What do you think?”

Sonic tapped his chin.

“It's risky, but we really should get those Emeralds. They could be the turning point for all of this.”

Shadow nodded.

“Then let's have a look.”

With that out of the way, Rouge pushed open the door, letting all of them trickle in one at a time. The entire floor was empty, save the massive brick that was the Housing Unit. Sonic crossed his arms at the sight. This one was empty too.

“Damn it.”

Shadow clicked his tongue.

“Guess it was worth looking.”

“Was it?”

A sudden voice over a speaker overhead sounded, and the doors behind them shut loudly. Sonic immediately recognized the voice.

“Eggman.”

“What did you call me rodent?”

Sonic smirked. He almost missed their banter. Almost.

“Eggman. It's like man but egg shaped.”

The hedgehog could just imagine the bald narcissist getting red with anger.

“You have been quite the thorn in my side. You and your companions.”

Sonic gave a nonchalant shrug as he looked around the room for a camera that was probably trained on the nine of them.

“Hey, if you just played nice, I wouldn't have to break all of your toys.”

“Shut your little mouth now.”

Robotnik's voice was low, dripping with unspoken threats.

“As you all have been so eager to see me, I have planned a welcoming gift for you. It's up here with me at floor 500. You were all on your way there anyway weren't you? How convenient.”

A shared look of suspicion was shared through the group.

“I'll be waiting.”

The speaker fizzled out.

A moment of silence passed between them all.

“Well, guess we were invited. Time to pay him a visit…”

Sonic threw his fist into his open palms, grinning.

“Time to crack that Eggman wide open.”

 

Deep in the Mountain, below the broken Paradox Prism, the sleeping race; the proud Black Arms alien race… fully awakened.

 

The climb up the last handful of stairs was quiet. What could be said? They all knew this was both a trap, and why they were all here. The hour had come to take their freedom. A mutual understanding of intent and cause brought the group together in a silent bond. They couldn't fail here. If they did, chances were, everything they had done; and the lives lost, would be in vain. Couldn't let that happen.

“Floor 500.”

Rouge echoed, reading the last pair of double doors. Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Rusty, Cosmo, Knuckles, Rouge, Tangle, and Whisper all silently stared at the doors, no one daring to make the first move to open them.

“What do you think Robotnik has planned for us?”

Rusty queried, trying to get some progress here. Knuckles shrugged.

“Whatever it is, it isn't good.”

“Which is why we need to take him down now.”

Sonic drew everyone's attention to him.

“This is it everyone. The moment we've been waiting for. Robotnik is right behind these doors. He may know we are coming, and he may have four of the Chaos Emeralds, and a plan to destroy us, but he doesn't have one thing we have; nothing to lose. He wants to treat us like animals? Then lest show him how savage we can be. LET'S GO!”

Sonic kicked the door open, and ran in, with the rest of his team barreling in behind him.

“Woah.”

The entire floor was one room; just a massive empty space with a high ceiling, and huge windows, displaying the different Districts below. In the furthest wall, there was an older styled wooden desk, with a rotund man sitting at it, typing away at a laptop. Robotnik.

“ROBOTNIK!”

Sonic yelled out, slowly approaching the desk with his friends behind him, forming a small ‘v’. The man stopped typing, but didn't look up.

“It's about time.”

The man rose from his chair, looking up and meeting eye contact with Sonic. From what Sonic was familiar with, Robotnik looked just like the Eggman he knew, with only one major difference; his suit was all black and white, with a few yellow highlights. Gone was the bright red Eggman was known for.

“Like what you've done with the place. It's about as empty as your head, Eggman.”

Instead of turning into a tomato and yelling back at him - like Sonic expected him to - Robotnik calmly folded his fingers together, humming to himself. He eyed up Cosmo, a flash of… something going through his eyes. Tails subconsciously stood protectively in front of the girl, making Robotnik look into another part of the room absentmindedly.

“You know, Sonic, you and your black and red friend are fascinating creatures…”

He rounded to the front of the desk, leaning back on it.

“In all my years, I've never seen anything with your size and stature move that fast.”

“Impressed?”

“No, challenged. I saw your incredible abilities as a challenge - to replicate that speed somehow…”

Sonic grimaced. He didn't like where this was going.

“I am glad to say… I succeeded.”

“Shadow, look out!”

“Huh?!”

BLOOM.

Shadow was drug all the way across the room, back being slammed against the wall. The hedgehog took a second to reorient himself, finding metal claws around his neck squeezing tighter every second. Careless red eyes looked back at him.

“Behold, one of my finest creations: Metal Sonic.”

Sonic boosted back to help Shadow without hesitation, but he was then interrupted in a similar fashion Shadow was. Sonic was pushed back, but he was able to catch himself, shoes skidding across the floor.

“What?”

A small metallic girl stood her ground, her single visible eye glowing the same red as Metal. Sonic gasped.

“Ah yes. I made Sage a physical body, with the same speed and power Metal does. I will say, matching such ability with you two was no easy feat. It not only took one, but two Chaos Emeralds apiece to power them!”

Robotnik grinned, clearly impressed with himself. Sonic growled, putting his fists up. How could he do this to Sage? She could think and grow and think for herself, like a real person could. Hell, she even chose her own name! And all that was ripped away by Robotnik reprogramming her.

“How could you do this to her? Why create something so spectacular, just to destroy it?!”

Robotnik squinted.

“I didn't make Sage.”

Sonic gasped.

“But…”

“I'm done talking! Let's see if that mouth of yours is louder than your bite.”

Robotnik pushed a button on his desk, making the center of the floor begin to open up. Everyone else took a step back, as a massive mech protruded from the floor, also being accompanied by five figures around it. Sonic blinked at the familiar sight. It was the Death Egg Robot, albeit differently designed. It definitely had more sharp edges and weapons, and lot less color. But what was really terrifying was the group of five that had come with it.

On the furthest left was Vector. His entire head was metal, hammered into his likeness. His eyes glowed red, and his now completely metal mouth contained rows and rows of teeth - more resembling a shark. His midsection had a few pieces of tech protruding out, one of them resembling a sideways disc drive, for who knows what. His hands were gone, full metal balls with spikes lining it instead.

On the furthest right was Espio. Espio's legs were gone, instead having a single spiked wheel. And instead of his normal arms, he had six long metal appendages with sharp claws at the end of each. The horn on his head was replaced with a blade almost as long as Sonic's sword.

In the center was Zero the Jackal. To Sonic, he didn't look that much different from his appearance during the war, accept the mask looked a little more attached than it did before, and there was a box of metal on his chest besides the Phantom Ruby.

On Zero's left was a figure none of them recognized. A green tenrec with an unkept ponytail. Like Scourge, her legs were replaced entirely, making Sonic all the more worried that Robotnik might have THREE speedsters on his side now.

The final figure on Zero's right was someone Sonic admittedly didn't think he'd see again… a purple feline, princess of another dimension… Blaze the cat.

 

Sonic was out on one of his daily runs, catching the sights, catching rays, and definitely catching wind in his face. He didn't know how people did it. How people just… WALKED everywhere. While Sonic was all about the fast paced life, even he learned that stopping and smelling the roses was just as if not more important. He wouldn't have as many friends as he does if he didn't.

Sonic rounded a corner, going way too fast to stop at the sight of a person blocking his path.

“Whoa!”

“Aak!”

They rolled into a ball before halting in a tangled mess. There was a light chuckle.

“I knew it wouldn't take long to find you Sonic, but I didn't think I'd be IMMEDIATELY.”

Sonic shot up to his feet, shooting his hand down to help the newcomer up.

“Blaze! Long time no see!”

“Hello Sonic.”

The cat took his offered hand, brushing off her dress from dust once she was on her feet.

“What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you actually. Tails told me you'd be out this way.”

Sonic's demeanor switched.

“Is something wrong? What happened?”

Blaze's eyes widened and she shook her head quickly.

“Oh! No, no, nothing like that!”

“Oh, well that's good to hear. Soooo wassup?”

Blaze looked down at the dirt, the toe of her one shoe tracing the ground.

“There was a big trade signing that happened recently with my kingdom and another… it's a whole thing. Been stressing me out lately. I just needed some time away…”

She glanced back up at Sonic.

“And I figured… why not catch up with an old friend?”

Sonic's face twitched upward.

“Heh, that sounds like a good idea.”

“So you don't mind?”

“Of course I don't! Besides, it's been generations since we've had a proper conversation.”

Blaze smiled.

“Thank you Sonic.”

He grinned, offering a thumbs up.

“Course! So how about lunch?”

 

“Good Gaia…”

Sonic grit his teeth, putting his fists up ready for a fight. Blaze's arms had two tubes protruding from the underside, glowing orange and smoking. The same was for her legs, the tubes coming from both the inside and outside of them.

Rouge was struggling to keep it together. Zero was just right there, but recognition for her was far from his eyes. She brought her hand to her face, not trusting herself enough to keep the sounds of horror within.

Robotnik had climbed up into the open head of the Death Egg Robot, stroking his mustache as he viewed his opponents.

“It will finally be nice to have you all out of my hair. Troops, take the seedrian back where she belongs. Kill the rest.”

He closed the hatch taking control of the hulking robot.

In a second, all hell broke loose. The remaining enemies launched forward, picking their targets at random.

Shadow - still being pinned to the wall by Metal - saw his opportunity as Metal was looking away during Robotnik's instructions. He raised his foot, and fired his shoe’s jet right into Metal’s chest. The robot beeped in surprised, letting go of Shadow in favor of stopping the fire that would have consumed his body. Shadow threw a punch, landing it square in Metal's face, making him reel back. Shadow rushed him again, taking another hook to his face, but Metal finally leaned back to save himself.

Sage engaged Sonic again, and Sonic rolled under a punch she threw at him. He grit his teeth, hating that he had to fight his friend. He didn't have a choice. His leg swept under hers, tossing her onto her side. She was quick to roll back, missing Sonic's ax kick, which slammed into the floor instead. Both met in the middle, trading and dodging rapid fire punches and kicks.

Rouge met Zero in the air, the Jackal floating with a red aura. The bat mustered up all the guts she had. If she knocked him out, he'd be out of the way, and it was possible for him to be saved later. Was it possible? Was he too far gone? Unfortunately, these thoughts didn't help her with the fight. Zero grabbed her mid-air, and chucked her into the floor, where he met her with a fist to the gut.

The mysterious Surge sped around the red echidna, taunting him with passing by jabs and insults. Knuckles couldn't help but compare her to Sonic in his mind, but quickly repressed the image in favor of taking her down. His senses honed in, focusing on only the vibrations of her fast movement. He noticed in a split second the feeling of her heel being pivoted towards him to finally rush him. With a yell, he geared up a punch in that direction, his beefy fist meeting her midsection as soon as she ran right into it.

Flames erupted from Blaze's arm tubes, sprouting in a continuous stream right into Rusty. She held her metal arms up to protect the flesh of her face. The force of the flames pushed her, making her feet screech across the floor. Her arms started glowing with heat, and sweat trickled down her brow.

Tangle dodged a face full of spikes when Vector tossed his maze/fist forward. Tangle did a backflip to avoid his next flurry of attacks, giving herself enough distance to plan out her own offensive. He was definitely heavy, so maybe she could use that to her advantage. She waiting for him to gear up again, swinging both arms downward to hit her from above. Seeing this, she sidestepped, and landed a kick into the square of his back.

Espio tilted his head down, aiming to gouge Whisper in the stomach like a raging rhino. Whisper saw it in time, jumping completely over him. She whipped her blaster out, firing several shots at the now turning Espio. He growled at the few shots that sizzled against his skin. Whisper aimed for her next shot, but stopped when her target simply disappeared.

Seeing that all his minions had picked the actual threats on the battlefield, Robotnik piloted his mech to tower above the two eight year olds. Cosmo shivered at the hulking mass in front of them, and Tails brought his functioning arm protectively up in front of Cosmo, daring Robotnik to even touch her.

“End of the line boy. You served your usefulness.”

The bulky bot's arm swooped down, attempting to grab both of the children, but Tails was faster. He darted out with Cosmo in his grip before they could be captured. The fox stopped at Robotnik's wooden desk, quickly searching it for something useful. Tails knew he was at a disadvantage here. He was drained of energy, hungry, sleep deprived, had one useful arm, and no weapons. He had been stripped of his gadgets when he arrived, and every moment without them made Tails grow with anxiety. He relied heavily on his tools in combat, as he didn't have the most physical strength. But he was cunning, and if he could find ANYTHING on Robotnik's desk to give him the advantage, he was going to take it. He tore through the drawers, finding it more difficult to search with one hand. Cosmo helplessly watched, eyes bouncing between Tails, and Robotnik who had just turned around to spot them. Tails paused, hand hovering over a small switch, hidden in the center of the one drawer.

“Tails!”

Cosmo's quick shout made the fox look up to see Robotnik closing in fast. With nothing really to lose, Tails flipped the switch. There was a sudden red flash, right behind the desk. Tails looked back in surprise, seeing the floor glowing and rippling in a strange pattern. Even the very air in front of him suddenly felt… weird. Hard to describe honestly. Then it hit him. It was a transportation device. This must be the way up to the Island above them! A plan quickly formed in his head as he stared into the rippling ‘door’. The Master Emerald was up there. If he altered the signal it was giving off, he could revert the BAO’s back to their original mind state!

“GET AWAY FROM THERE!”

Robotnik yelled as he closed in. Tails looked back at the doctor with a smirk. He held up his middle finger and stepped through, disappearing in a flash of red pixels with Cosmo.

“METAL! ZERO! AFTER THEM!”

Robotnik screamed. Zero stopped pounding Rouge into the ground, opting to fly into the portal in obedience. Metal had just tossed Shadow onto the ground, before also following orders. Shadow groaned, sitting up to see the portal that his current opponent ran through. He blinked in surprise. What was a portal doing here? Like for Tails, it didn't take Shadow too long to put it together. He looked around, noticing the absence of the fox, seedrian, and of course, Metal and Zero. If Tails was doing what he thought he was doing, he needed to keep Metal and Zero off of him while he worked. Without another moment to lose, Shadow skated his way to the portal, also disappearing in a flash of red.

Robotnik looked absolutely pissed. He turned his mech around, his gaze meeting the speedy blue hedgehog in the heat of battle with Sage.

“Time to skin a rodent.”

 

Tails and Cosmo stepped through the portal, into a whole new world entirely. Both of them gasped at the sight. All around them was LIFE; bright green grass, trees, flowers, and FRESH AIR. Tails couldn't help himself from filling his lungs with the freshest oxygen he had ever experienced in his life. As much as both of them wanted to just take in the sights, both knew they were on a mission here. Find the Master Emerald. Shut down the BAO’s. The two took off, running through a small dirt path, in the middle of a beautiful grassy plain. Gosh it was incredible.

“Look! Straight ahead!”

Cosmo pointed down the path, right at a small cottage home. Smoke was coming from the stack, and lights were shining from inside.

“Miscreants.”

A sudden deep voice startled both of them, and their path was cut off by Zero, floating in the way.

“Hand her over fox, and I'll make your death quick.”

Metal Sonic stood behind the pair, blocking off all paths of escape. Tails nervously looked between the imposing figures, unsure of what to do. He wasn't going to just let her go without a fight…

“Tic toc…”

“Chaos… SPEAR!”

A bolt of energy struck Zero out of the sky, and Shadow emerged, spindashing into Metal.

“Go! I'll hold them off!”

Tails nodded, grabbed Cosmo's hand, and ran for the cottage, which he desperately hoped had the Master Emerald in it SOMEWHERE.

Shadow threw two punches at Metal, the first hitting, but the second landing in the robot's hand. Metal brought his claws down into Shadow’s skin, making the hedgehog grimace. Metal tried to toss Shadow but he held back, tearing his fist out of Metal's death grip. Shadow was about to make another attack, but was struck from behind. A powerful kick to his lower back made the hedgehog fall to his knees.

“You thought you could best Robotnik? Big mistake.”

Zero clobbered Shadow in the back of the head, making him groan in pain. Zero reared back another punch, but it never landed. A wave of electricity ran through the jackal’s body, and when it was finished, he slumped over onto the dirt, passed out. Shadow blinked in confusion, right as the same happened to Metal.

“What the…?”

Tails smiled, holding a weird souped up looking taser.

“Tails… what?”

“I couldn't leave you with them. And uh, found this on a bookshelf in there.”

Shadow let out a small laugh, though it was more out of relieved nerves than humor.

“That should give us enough time to find the Master Emerald. Shall we?”

 

They were winning. The Badniks and soldiers were starting to become less and less, while the Mobians in arms started to maintain their numbers more and more. Sally pushed them all to their limits. They were so close to victory she could taste it. Just a little more.

 

Shadow, Tails, and Cosmo found it. The Master Emerald. It was in the basement of the modern house, plugged into a massive machine with all sorts of monitors and doodads attached. Tails gasped at the sight, both by the freaking massive gem, and the sophisticated tech attached. This was the source to be sent out into all Chaos Amplifiers. Tails immediately got to work, sitting down in the office chair and typing on the computer. Cosmo watched from his right, while Shadow leaned next to the foot of the stairs, keeping an eye on the door just in case.

“So… what are you going to do?”

The seedrian politely asked.

“Not sure. All I know is that tearing it apart could possibly kill the BAO’s… and Rusty. I need to find the program that aligns them with Robotnik, and neutralize it.”

Cosmo hummed, continuing to watch even if she didn't understand a thing of the code flying across the screen.

Shadow drummed his fingers on his arm. He hoped Sonic and the others were ok. He rubbed his forehead. They'd be fine. At least long enough for Tails to finish, and he was confident in that.

“Ivo? Is that you?”

The three of them stiffened at the sound of a voice upstairs. Someone else was here? Surely Robotnik wouldn't let any old employee of his into what was his personal home? Footsteps by the basement door made Shadow tense up, and his hand landed on his holstered gun. They didn't sound threatening, but never could be more careful.

The doorknob turned.

“You didn't tell me you'd be home early today…”

The door opened.

Both the newcomer and Shadow gasped.

“Who… are you?”

Shadow's mouth dried out, his body froze, his stomach flipped, and his heart quickened triple time. There was no way… Was he seeing things? Was this one of Robotnik's traps? Shadow rubbed his eyes, then looked up again. No… it was real. She was real.

In a broken voice, Shadow slowly addressed her.

“Maria?”

Chapter 38: The Final Exposition

Robotnik in his Death Egg Robot came barreling down into Sonic, who jumped out of the way just in time. He backflipped over a running Sage, who also took this moment to take a swing at him. The hedgehog scowled as he dodged blow after blow, having to focus on two expertly moving targets at once, not being able to get hits in himself. Well, that was the case until Sage was slammed into the ground by a powerful kick from above. Rouge landed gracefully next to Sonic offering him a nod as she joined him.

Whisper looked around frantically, unable to see the chameleon at all. Right before an invisible Espio could shove his massive horn into Whisper's chest, Knuckles' fist smashed into his face, knocking him away. Whisper blinked owlishly as the echidna pounded his fists together.

“You're illusion tricks don't deter me! I can't see you anyway!”

Whisper bit her lip, shrugged, then searched for a new opponent, as Knuckles clearly had this handled. She spotted Blaze, kicking Rusty up against the wall, and took a few shots in her direction, getting the cat away from the pink hedgehog.

Rusty groaned, her metal arms still red hot from the amount of flames that were around them. She forced herself to focus, right as Surge ran into her with a kick. The hedgehog compensated by twisting her body awkwardly to push Surge into the wall face-first. The tenrec growled loudly, throwing out a fist behind herself to deck Rusty in the jaw.

Tangle continued her fight with Vector, the croc unflinchingly throwing out mace/punches left and right. If she wasn't so nimble, she definitely would have fallen to this powerhouse of a foe.

The fight raged on, while the team above worked to balance it in their favor…

 

“Maria?”

The girl stepped a few steps down, eyes bouncing between Shadow, Tails, and Cosmo, wide and full of curiosity. At first, she didn't say anything, just taking each step one at a time. Shadow felt himself tense the closer she got. How was she alive? How was she here?

“Are you… Mobians?”

She finally asked. Shadow would have answered, but he was too dumbstruck to speak.

“Uh, well Shadow and I are. Cosmo… isn't.”

Tails said, gesturing to each of them. Maria looked absolutely fascinated.

“I've never seen Mobians in person before!”

She finally made it into the basement, being only a few feet away from Shadow. His stomach reeled as a sudden gunshot ran through his head. The image of blood… HER blood was everywhere. His hands started to shake, and his eyes started to burn. Shit, he was crying. And unfortunately for Shadow, she noticed.

“Oh my gosh are you ok?”

She got closer to his level, getting close and brushing the tears away with her thumb. Shadow shivered as he felt the contact he hadn't in years. Maria's gentle, caring touch.

“Are you hurt?”

Shadow forced himself to pull it together. This wasn't the Maria he grew up with. He needed to get to the bottom of this. He quickly wiped his tears away.

“No. I'm… fine.”

Maria tilted her head to the side, frowning as Shadow wasn't the best liar in this scenario. She stood to her full height, walking over to Tails and Cosmo, tapping her chin.

“So, who are you guys? Do you know my cousin Ivo? Normally he doesn't let anyone up here…”

She awkwardly cleared her throat.

“So, does your cousin take care of you up here?”

Maria smiled at Tails' question.

“Yeah he does! Though, I'm not allowed to leave the Island. Or the house for longer than an hour…”

She suddenly gasped in excitement.

“You've been down in the city! What's it like?”

Tails and Cosmo shared an awkward look. It was clear that Maria was someone Robotnik actually cared about, but kept everything from her. She didn't know…

“Uh… it's honestly not great.”

Maria’s smile fell.

“What do you mean?”

Tails paused his work on the Master Emerald, drumming his fingers on the desk.

“How do I say this…”

Tails hummed to himself. Maybe he should just rip the bandaid off? He turned in the chair to face the girl, mouth held into a firm frown.

“I don't mean any disrespect from this, but your cousin is a maniac.”

Maria's brow furrowed at the accusation.

“He ripped life away from this world, keeping it all for himself. And now, he runs the city with a tight grip. Mobians like me have a hard time even getting food…”

Tails paused, then gestured to himself.

“I mean just look at me. This was his doing.”

Maria blinked rapidly, having a mix of disbelief, skepticism, and pity, as she noticed the extent of injuries on the small fox. She then shook her head side to side.

“No… he couldn't have done that… there's no way…”

Shadow silently watched, as Maria held her head in deep thought.

“There's no way he'd… lie to me?”

It was phrased more like a question, and the girl found herself not knowing what to think.

Shadow suddenly snapped his attention to the stairs as the door to the basement swung open again, this time with much more force.

“So this is where you rats ran to.”

Shadow swore under his breath as Zero appeared in the doorway.

“Tails keep working and don't stop!”

Shadow braced for impact as Zero lunged for him. Both of them slammed against the far metal wall, making a massive clang sound. Maria yelped out of fright, never seeing any sort of violence like this up close. Shadow growled, trying to get out of Zero's iron grip. Tails' heart rate quickened as he raced to end this.

Maria could only watch in confusion as two Mobians strangers wrestled violently. What was going on? What was Ivo keeping from her?

 

Knuckles felt the presence of the stealthy Chameleon, blocking every swift attack, and counter attacking every chance he got. But the great echidna warrior was starting to feel fatigued, and the ninja was definitely taking advantage. One of Espio's knives pierced Knuckles in the side, forcing the warrior to fall on one knee.

Whisper sidestepped a massive stream of flame, doing her best to avoid the pyro cat. It was fruitless, as Blaze would use the exhaust from her legs to fly up to the wolf. Whisper squeaked out in surprise as Blaze caught her off guard, smacking her against the floor with a kick. Disoriented, she couldn't stop the fire that was sent into her body.

Tangle couldn't dodge forever. She tripped over her own tail during a backflip, and Vector saw it as his chance to gain the upper hand. He shot his face forward, opening his metal jaws and clamping around Tangle's right leg. The lemur screamed as blood burst in the croc's mouth.

Surge ran by Rusty, knocking her off of her feet. She ran by again, using the force of her speed to punch her in the face. Rusty groaned, trying to stand as blood and oil trickled down her face. She braced herself for another hit, but Surge looped around and came from the back, grabbing the back of her head and slamming it into the floor.

Rouge and Sonic traded punches and kicks with both Sage and Robotnik's large mech. The bat then lifted Sonic into the air, and spun him around and yeeted him at Robotnik. The hedgehog rolled into a ball as he slammed into the bot, making him reel and fall on his back. Sonic landed, flicking his nose with his thumb. But he didn't have much time to celebrate. Sage ran into him, throwing him into Rogue, and the two rolled in a heap on the ground. Sage sped over, then grabbed Rouge by the ankle and threw her aside. While the bat proved to be a problem, her real target was Sonic. She grabbed the hedgehog by the neck, brought him up, just to slam him against the ground again. And again. And again. Sonic felt his nerves and mind go numb. No he couldn't lose… not after all that had happened. It took everything in Sonic's power not to pass out.

 

Shadow and Zero's fight had escalated to becoming bloody. Zero had scratched Shadow’s face, chest, and leg with his claws, and Shadow had beaten Zero enough for blood to start leaking from the creases of his metal mask. Maria was against the other wall, watching with wide eyes and absolutely terrified. It was like watching two rabid dogs tear each-other apart. Meanwhile, Tails was sweating, just praying that Shadow would keep Zero away from him as he tried desperately to separate the program.

“Come on…”

Shadow kicked Zero off of him, slamming the jackal into the wall. With a roar, Shadow grabbed his metal mask with his bloodied glove, and tore it off completely. Blood gushed everywhere as Zero crumpled onto the floor. His face was a mess, the mask ripping pieces of flesh with it… including his right eye. A puddle of blood spilled from his now empty socket, and Maria vomited at the sight from across the room.

Tails felt his heart jump as he made progress. It was working! He was deleting the program!

“YES!”

The system beeped a few times… and then it was done. The BAO program was gone. No more mind control.

Zero slumped to the ground, no longer convulsing. Shadow paused over him, panting heavy. Then, he knelt down next to him, checking his pulse. Thankfully, he was still alive. Shadow lightly shook Zero's shoulders.

“Zero… Zero wake up.”

The jackal stirred, then whimpered in pain.

“Cosmo quick, can you heal him?”

The seedrian dropped to her knees with Shadow, nodding.

“I do have some of my energy back… I can try.”

She placed her dainty hand on his gushing eye socket. A faint glow emitted from her hand. A warmth spread through Zero, and his whimpers turned into an exhale. When she removed her hand, a layer of skin was left in his socket’s place. He finally opened his other eye, looking up at the three of them. He blinked a few times.

“You… saved me?”

Shadow nodded, offering a hand down to help him to his feet. The jackal smiled softly, taking the hand.

“I'm… sorry for what Robotnik made me do…”

Shadow shook his head.

“Not your fault. Only he's to blame.”

Tails smiled.

“We should go back. We have the upper hand now after all… oh, and I forgot to grab the Chaos Emeralds from Metal. We should get those.”

Shadow nodded.

“Agreed.”

“What just happened…?”

Everyone looked over at the human girl, who looked absolutely dumbfounded. Shadow observed her sadly. She may not remember him, but he remembered her. He could read her like a book. She was scared, confused, but curious. Maria always had the mind of a learner. She soaked information up like a sponge, so it didn't surprise Shadow in the slightest that even though she was scared, she wanted to know what was going on.

“I'm sorry Maria, but Tails was right. Your cousin is a bad man. I understand if you don't believe me, so allow me to show you.”

Shadow offered his hand to her, which she hesitated from taking.

“You want to take me to the city?”

Shadow nodded once. Maria bit her lip. Shadow missed seeing her ‘thinking hard’ expression.

“Okay…”

Maria took Shadow’s hand.

 

Vector's teeth almost breached Tangle's leg bone, but stopped right before breaking it. The lemur whimpered, as Vector slumped off of her, his red eyes turning off.

The flames stopped, allowing Whisper to scramble away from the cat, who sputtered for unknown reasons. Whisper clenched her teeth as she assessed her bad burns.

Knuckles raised a brow curiously as Espio simply stopped attacking, opting to just… walk a few steps back. Knuckles furrowed his brow, wandering if this was some strange new battle tactic he wasn't aware of.

Rusty pulled her face out of the floor, feeling pain in the few places she had flesh. She looked around, surprised not to see Surge running at her for another hit. Instead, Surge literally fell over, laying on her back and staring at the ceiling blankly.

Sage beat Sonic into a daze, speeding away to take on Rouge who was trying to get to her feet as well. Sonic pushed himself into a sitting position.

“R-Rouge…”

“Time to die, hedgehog.”

Sonic looked up through bleary eyes, seeing the massive foot of Robotnik's mech hovering over him. His life flashed before his eyes…

Images of his life way back before the shatter, before the war, before the planet split, before the ark, before Angel Island. Sonic remembered when he first beat Eggman. His free natured way had him follow wherever the wind took him, with no relatives or friends to tie him down to any real responsibility. That changed when he met a bullied little fox kit. Sonic changed. He was still a free spirit, but he had something to anchor him to reality; a brother. His life only got more populated with friends, rivals and enemies from there. He had a full life.

But it wasn't over yet.

The foot stopped dead in its tracks, right as it brushed the tips of Sonic's ears. The hedgehog looked over to see Knuckles holding it back.

“Knuckles!”

“Get out of there!”

Sonic scrambled out from under the foot, and Knuckles rolled out himself, letting it slam down. Robotnik staggered, thrown off by the sudden stop and drop of the mech’s foot. But he corrected himself, turning and gaining back balance.

“Why you little…”

The doctor stopped as he looked around the room. The four BAO’s still in the room were all collapsed. And on top of that, Sonic, Rusty, Knuckles, and Rouge surrounded the Doctor and Sage, fists up and ready for a final round if necessary. The only exception was Tangle and Whisper, who were in the corner with their medical supplies, and Whisper was doting all over Tangle. Robotnik growled.

“You haven't beat me yet! I have an army of Badniks at my disposal! A full military force! You will not tear down my empire!”

“Ivo?”

A soft voice cut through the high tension like a knife. Robotnik looked over in horror to see Maria, flanked by Shadow, Tails, Cosmo, and Zero.

“So… it's all true?”

The girl looked horrified, looking up at her cousin in his killing machine. Likewise, Ivo looked dumbstruck, and absolutely petrified at the sight of his younger relative.

“M-Maria!”

Sonic's eyes bugged.

“Maria?!”

Sonic couldn't believe his eyes as he watched the previously dead girl walk to one of the massive office windows, looking down below. She covered her mouth at the sight of the dead world below, and a bloodstained battle at the foot of the tower.

“You did this?!”

“Maria…”

“How could you?!”

Tears fell from her face.

“You told me that the city was thriving! And - and, that the Mobians loved you! You lied to me!”

The small girl's cries of saddened anger suddenly morphed into a coughing fit, and Shadow was at her side in a second. He knew those coughs too well. Shadow felt his heart quicken as he realized something… she wasn't cured. He looked up at Robotnik.

“How is she alive? She still has Nero-Immune Deficiency Syndrome doesn't she?”

Robotnik stared in disbelief.

“How'd you know…?”

“That doesn't matter. How is she still alive?”

Robotnik clenched his teeth, emotionally torn at talking to his enemies about the only thing he cared about. He took a deep breath, then pointed at Cosmo.

“Her.”

Cosmo made a ‘who me’ gesture to herself. Sonic snapped his fingers in understanding.

“That's what Cosmo was hooked up to in the basement!”

“Yes. Many years ago, I found Maria had been in stasis for fifty years, having a sickness that couldn't be cured. When I heard of Cosmo of the Black Arms, I thought surely she could heal her. But alas, it didn't work. While not fully cured, I was able to keep Maria alive, piping Cosmo's ability into Angel Island.”

Shadow nodded grimly.

“That's why you didn't let her leave.”

Robotnik nodded, then sneered.

“She recently hasn't been feeling well… because you ‘unplugged’ the seedrian.”

Maria collected herself, coughs gone, but tears still present.

“You… forced her to keep me alive?”

Robotnik stammered under Maria's gaze. He clamped his mouth shut finally, and nodded. Maria grabbed the sides of her head.

“I'd rather die than have someone tortured for my survival.”

Ivo’s head hung down.

Shadow watched as Maria looked out the window in sadness, clearly not expecting to see such a broken world. To have all this dumped on a little girl at once was a lot, and Shadow hated that. Ivo was probably someone she looked up to… but not anymore.

Shadow looked over at Cosmo, gears turning in his head. He didn't want to lose Maria again… he didn't know if he could live with himself.

“Cosmo… is there any way for you to heal her?”

Ivo's head snapped up at Shadow's question, and Cosmo bit her lip in thought. Shadow desperately searched Cosmo's eyes.

“I… don't know.”

A beat of silence passed, and Shadow rubbed his face with his hands. That couldn't be the end of it.

“What if she used the Chaos Emeralds?”

Shadow perked up, seeing Tails join the conversation.

“Or the Master Emerald? Heck, why not both? She can use them to boost her power to heal her.”

Shadow felt hope bloom in his chest, as he looked back at Cosmo, who was thinking it over.

“That… might work.”

Shadow let out a laugh of disbelief. Would this actually work? Could Maria be saved?

“Why would you do this for me? I'm a stranger to you.”

Maria suddenly said, eyes misted and unfocused. Shadow hesitated, before laying a hand on her shoulder.

“We want to help. It's the right thing to do.”

Maria rubbed some tears away.

“O-okay… thank you.”

Shadow smiled, albeit it difficult to keep it together. The dark hedgehog looked over to see Sonic and Rusty handcuffing Robotnik after he stepped out of his mech.

“I'm sorry about your cousin.”

Maria shook her head.

“It's ok. I'd rather know than live a lie.”

Knuckles approached Robotnik, giving him a sneer.

“Call off all your bots.”

The man nodded.

“Lead me to my desk. I'll show you how.”

As Knuckles and Rusty walked over to Robotnik's desk, Ivo looked at Maria with longing.

“I'm sorry Maria.”

The girl couldn't even bring herself to look at him.

Another beat of silence passed as Robotnik instructed Rusty how to operate his computer to turn the Badniks away from the Resistance below.

Sonic walked over to Shadow, Maria, Tails, Cosmo, and Zero, offering a fist bump to his bro.

“Dude, did you do this?”

Sonic gestured to the BAO’s all on the floor. Tails beamed.

“Yup. Shadow helped.”

Sonic smiled, giving Shadow a light punch in the arm.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on him.”

Shadow nodded.

“Of course.”

Zero - not being a part of the conversation - broke away when his single eye met Rouge's gaze. He took two shakey steps, then ran the rest of the way, embracing the bat in his hold, who instantly melted into it.

“I can't believe it… I'm free.”

The two held each-other close, crying silently together.

In the corner of the room, Whisper finished Tangle's leg bandage.

“Don't run with this. Walk.”

The wolf commanded, making the lemur huff.

“Yes mom…”

The wolf shook her head, but chuckled lightly.

Knuckles - seeing that Rusty had things handled - started walking around the room, to each BAO who was starting to wake up. Each one he helped to their feet, much to their confusion and disbelief.

Sonic watched as Maria silently observed the environment below.

“Hey.”

The girl blinked, looking over at the blue hedgehog. He stuck out his hand.

“We haven't officially met. I'm Sonic.”

The girl looked down at his hand, then smiled as much as she could given the circumstances.

“I'm Maria. Maria Robotnik.”

They shook hands. Sonic opened his mouth to make some sort of small talk, when something hit him.

“Wait a minute… you're a Robotnik…”

“Yes…?”

Sonic raised his hands excitedly.

“Did you make an AI?”

Maria blinked.

“I… did. But Ivo got rid of it before I could launch it. Why?”

Shadow laughed under his breath.

“That explains a lot.”

Sonic waved Sage over, who had been standing in silence the whole time, probably conflicted what to do since her master was basically getting arrested. She hesitantly walked over, eyes flickering with some sort of emotion.

“Sage, I'd like you to meet your REAL creator; Maria Robotnik.”

Both the human girl and the AI intelligence looked at each-other, taken back.

“She's… my AI?”

“Yup.”

Maria smiled with a light laugh.

“Well, uh… hi?”

Sage felt her program fight itself inside. She was programmed to listen to ROBOTNIK without question. Maria was a Robotnik. Her eyes flickered from red to a light blue.

“Hello… Maria.”

Sonic grinned wide.

“It's great to have you back, Sage.”

The AI frowned.

“I'm… so sorry for what I've done.”

“Hey none of that.”

Sonic waved his hands.

“You were just like the BAO’s. They didn't have a choice. I'm just glad you're with us now.”

Maria - still confused on a lot of the details - smiled anyway.

“Oh!”

Sonic rummaged through his quills.

“So, Cosmo. You, Tails, Shadow, and Maria take these.”

Sonic pulled out three glowing Emeralds, handing them over one at a time; two to Cosmo, and one to Maria. Tails also produced the two he found in Metal Sonic, holding them expertly with one hand.

“Go up to the Master Emerald, and just try your best, ok?”

Cosmo nodded with determination.

“I will.”

Sonic looked over at Sage, who already understood what was about to be asked. The bot opened her chest cavity, revealing the last two Emeralds.

“Here. I can still function without them. I'm just not as fast or strong.”

Sonic smiled.

“Perfect. Thank you Sage.”

Shadow took the last two.

They found them all. The seven Chaos Emeralds.

Sonic gave Shadow a salute.

“The rest of us will go assess the damage with the Resistance… radio me when you're done…”

“Hey, what's that…?”

Blaze the cat, now awake and herself, pointed out the window to the Temple Mountain on the horizon. The group all moved to observe what she was pointing at.

…

“Shit.”

Massive amounts of ships emerged from the mountain top, flying slowly in a ‘v’ formation to the city. The Black Arms. They were on their way.

“This is all your fault!”

Sonic looked offended at Robotnik's accusing finger.

“My BAO’s were ‘this’ close to being mass produced. If they were, we could have had a chance against them. But we don't!”

Sonic scowled.

“First of all, it may be my fault keeping you from enslaving thousands of Mobians bent to your will… but I'm not losing sleep over that. And second, Shadow has beat these guys before… we can do this. Right Shadow?”

Sonic looked over to see a disgruntled Shadow.

“Shadow?”

“This time is going to be different Sonic.”

Shadow shook his head.

“They are stronger. I can feel it. They've conquered so many more worlds, cultures, and races. They've gotten stronger than I've ever seen.”

Sonic popped his lips.

“Oh… that uh… is a problem.”

Sonic looked around the room, then down below, where all the Mobians were. The Black Arms were coming fast, and they needed to do something.

“Robotnik, please tell me you had some sort of backup plan? Like a bunker or something?”

Ivo scrunched his face in frustration.

“In fact… I do. It's underneath District Three.”

Sonic clapped his hands together.

“Awesome. Vector, Espio, Tangle, and Whisper. I want you four to take Egghead with you down the tower to this bunker. Meet with Sally Acorn, and have her evacuated the whole city into it. Got that?”

The two Chaotix members looked startled to be addressed, but Vector sobered up to salute. Tangle and Whisper nodded in understanding.

“Now, Cosmo, I still want you to take Maria up to Angel Island. Heal her if you can. And Tails, keep them safe for me?”

The two-tailed fox nodded.

“Uh, yeah of course.”

Shadow looked over at Sonic, touched. He was willing to risk everything just to heal Maria. He wouldn't forget that.

“The rest of you, you're with me. We're going to slow the Black Arms down to give everyone time to evacuate.”

Everyone else nodded.

“And, if everything goes accordingly, when Cosmo is finished, Tails can bring the Chaos Emeralds to me and Shadow. We can end it from there.”

Sonic and Shadow gave each-other smirks.

“Just like old times, faker.”

“Heh, you said it, Shades.”

Sonic set his hand on Tails' shoulder, smiling softly. Part of him hated putting so much on Tails, but the fox was his own hero. He had proven that he was resourceful, smart, and able to handle big situations like this. He hated seeing his brother in danger, but he was also an essential part of helping them all win the day.

“I'll see you in a bit. Be careful, okay? This'll be over before you know it.”

Tails nodded.

“You be careful too Sonic.”

Sonic nodded genuinely, then smirked with mirth.

“Careful? Where's the fun in that?”

Notes:

Thank you for reading!

🛑WARNING🛑

If you haven't voted on my next fic's direction on the Special Stage Chapter, THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. Before I post the next chapter, I will be counting up the votes, and announcing the winner in the notes of Chapter 39. If one sounds more interesting to you then the other, please don't hesitate to vote!

Thanks again for reading, and see you all next time!

Chapter 39: The Final Hazard Part One

Tails, Cosmo, and Maria went through the portal up to Angel Island, and Sonic, Shadow, Rusty, Knuckles, Tangle, Whisper, Rouge, Sage, Zero, Blaze, Surge, Vector, Espio, and Robotnik all took the elevator down to the ground floor. Well, four at a time that is. By the time they made it to the ground floor, it was already overtaken by Resistance troops, including Sally Acorn herself. Sonic felt his insides ignite at the sight of her. Be swallowed the growing hate in the back of his throat. He had to hold back - they needed to work together for everyone's sake.

“Sally.”

The chipmunk looked up, eyes widening at the sight of Robotnik in chains.

“You did it!”

“No time to celebrate. We're about to be destroyed if you don't listen carefully. Robotnik is going to lead you to a bunker, and I want you to have the Resistance evacuate the city into it. Understand?”

Sally sputtered at the dump of information.

“Oh, and by the way… this is for my little bro.”

Sonic slugged the chipmunk in the nose, making blood spurt out of it. Sonic felt a little bit of his fire sedated at the sight of her reeling back from the impact, and shock. His eyes darkened.

“Thankfully he's alive. If he wasn't, I would have killed you.”

Sally shivered, eyes wide and full of many conflicting emotions.

“Vector, Espio, Tangle, and Whisper. This is where I leave you guys. Good luck.”

Sonic's group broke off, heading out the front doors to push back the Black Arms. The aforementioned four that stayed gave Sally a look as she tried to reorient herself.

“I suggest you do as he said. All of us are in danger.”

Sally seemed to snap out of it when Whisper spoke softly to her. She shook her head.

“Evacuate the city!”

 

Sonic - after talking with one of the Resistance members outside - was able to get one of the vehicles that they had used to invade the Tower. It was a biplane of all things. Unfortunately, it wasn't painted red like Sonic was used to… just a boring gray. Pity.

Rouge jumped into the cockpit, familiarizing herself with the controls.

“You know how to fly a plane?”

Knuckles asked as he bored in the other seat.

“It's been awhile, but yes.”

Rusty jumped onto the left wing, and Sage on the right.

“I believe we are both strong enough to keep hold.”

Sage observed, and Rusty nodded to confirm.

“Blaze and I can fly on our own.”

Zero said, his body illuminating in red, and levitating to prove his point. Sonic nodded.

“Shades, and I can run. How about you Surge? Can you run with us?”

The tenrec huffed.

“Can I? I can probably get to them before you can.”

Sonic arched his brow.

“Heh, is that a challenge?”

Surge chuckled.

“It can be.”

Rouge started the biplane.

“Once you guys are done challenging each other, can we get this mission on the road?”

Rouge teased, getting a chuckle out of Sonic.

“Sure thing Rouge.”

She smirked, and let the plane start to coast forward.

“See you at the party.”

The plane took off, slowly catching wind, and eventually taking to the skies.

Zero, still floating, paused next to Sonic and Shadow.

“Thank you.”

“What?”

“Sorry, I didn't have the chance to thank you. You guys freed us. I could never repay you.”

Zero gave a little bow.

“Yeah he's right. We were goners without your help. I would have been stuck doing that dip shit’s dirty work. So thanks.”

Surge added, as she stretched her arms. Blaze also bowed like Zero had done, smiling lightly.

“Thank you.”

Sonic blinked a few times, a bit bewildered. Then he smiled, with some thick emotion on his face.

“You're welcome. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.”

Zero nodded in respect, and started rising further in the sky.

“Let's not keep my love waiting eh?”

Blaze's flames ignited underneath her, and she followed Zero into the sky. Surge, now standing next to Sonic, punched his arm.

“Ready to go whip some ass spiney?”

Sonic flicked his nose with his thumb.

“Ha! You said it.”

Sonic crouched into a runners position, Surge and Shadow doing the same on his right and left respectively.

“How about it? First one to the Black Arms gets bragging rights?”

Surge cracked her knuckles.

“Deal.”

Shadow ‘hmphed'.

“Easy.”

Sonic smirked.

“Alright… ready… set… GO!”

A sonic boom echoed through the city as streaks of blue, orange, and green blurred across the landscape.

The fight for Mobius’s survival had begun.

 

The youngest members of the team materialized back on Angel Island, and they wasted no time in running to the Master Emerald. The three were in the basement, faces scrunched in thought as they observed massive gem with all sorts of tech hanging off of it. Tails took the initiative, placing the two Emeralds he had on the ground. The other three did the same, finishing in making a circle on the ground, right in front of the Master Emerald.

“So… now what?”

Maria held up a finger.

“Wait a minute! I'll be right back!”

The girl ran up the stairs. Footsteps and rustling could be heard. A loud thump and yelp sounded out, making Tails and Cosmo look at each other with confusion. Finally, Maria reappeared, a massive stone tablet in her hand.

“When I was exploring the island one day, I found this!”

Maria set the tablet face up on the ground for Tails and Cosmo to see.

“Whoa.”

A depiction of the Master Emerald, and the Chaos Emeralds were shown, and there was an inscription below it. Cosmo blinked as she read the words out loud.

“The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.”

Maria gasped as the Emeralds began to levitate and glow.

“Quick, you two step in the circle, it's working!”

Cosmo and Maria both stood in the center of the Emeralds, facing each other.

“The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.”

The Emeralds slowly moved in orbit, responding to Cosmo’s prayer. It was working.

 

Vector, Espio, Tangle, Whisper, Sally, and a shackled Robotnik landed from a helicopter to District Three. Robotnik described a smaller building within the city for them to land on. It was on a normal street with no exterior descriptions besides its helicopter pad.

“There's a pin pad and retinal scan on the first floor. That'll lead to the underground bunker.”

Sally nodded.

“Perfect. So get punching that code in.”

Robotnik led them downstairs, stopping in front of a vending machine.

“Sorry, but no stops for snacks.”

Robotnik scowled.

“I'm not. This is the passage.”

Tangle cackled, pointing at him with mirth.

“Seriously?”

“I needed it to be discreet.”

Robotnik paused at the pad, then turned to look behind him.

“How do I know that you just won't kill me as soon as I put this in, hmm?”

Sally huffed.

“I'd rather see you rot for your crimes than be given the quick out - death. Happy?”

Robotnik cleared his throat.

“That'll do.”

He quickly punched in A,B,1,C, and 3, and a small scanner emerged from the machine. Robotnik stooped over a bit, letting the device scan his eye. It beeped, and another second later, the machine swung from the wall like a door, revealing a staircase.

“After you.”

 

Sonic's eyes trained on the sky above. Drop ships of all shapes and sizes littered the sky. Unlike the invasion back in the old reality, where they all just kinda popped out of the sky, they seemed more organized - prepared to invade planets. And destroy them. Also, another thing Sonic noticed, was how the clouds above changed from their normal smog gray to an angry red.

“We need to get up there somehow!”

Sonic shouted to his companions, pointing up to the mass of ships.

“There!”

Surge pointed out a massive rock inbound, having a ramp-like shape, which would be perfect for their purposes.

“Looks good to me!”

All three of them rolled into their ball forms as they hit the rock. With the immense speed they built up, and the steep angle of the rock, the three blurs catapulted into the heavens. While it was close, Sonic was the first to smash into the ship. Metal contorted as he launched himself into one of the many rooms aboard. Shadow and Surge followed quickly after, leaving holes of their own.

“I guess bragging right belong to me…”

Sonic rubbed in as he helped Surge get to her feet. She shook her head.

“Fine, fine.”

Shadow pointed down the hall.

“We should access the bridge. If we can commandeer this vessel, we can position it to board other ones, and hopefully get in a position to bring some down.”

Sonic offered a thumbs up.

“Good plan.”

Meanwhile, Rouge neared the fleet with her biplane. She nervously hoped that they wouldn't notice her.

They did.

Lasers shot out from multiple vessels, hitting them in several spots. The plane sputtered, and Rouge quickly launched them in a barrel roll to avoid being completely shot out of the sky.

“Whoa!”

Rusty and Sage held into the metal of the wing tightly, not desiring to fall the large height they found themselves at.

“Here's the plan! I'm going to fly by three of the ships as close as I can! And you guys will have to get in okay?”

Frantic nods were the responses.

“Hold on!”

Rouge pushed the plane down, getting as close as possible to one of the ships.

“Rusty go!”

The hedgehog stretched her limbs back before slingshotting herself to the side of the alien vessel, latching on with her iron grip.

Rouge spiraled away, leaning to the vessel on the opposite side for Sage to do the same.

“Okay Knuckles, I'm going to get underneath this one.”

“Roger that. Just guide me on it. Once I can feel it, I can see it… in a way.”

Rouge dived down, away from the laser fire, under the belly of the next ship. Knuckles stood on his seat, hands raised to feel the vessel. Once his hand brushed it, he smiled, and punched his knuckles to embed them into the metal. He used his arms to pull himself out of the plane, right as Rouge dove away.

Successfully dispatching her team, Rouge found another target. She got closer to it, full speed. Right as she got to the point of no return, Rouge jumped out of the cockpit, taking to the sky with her own wings, flying to the nearest ship.

BOOM.

The biplane collided into the ship she was now flying away from, causing a massive explosion. Rouge kept her cool, landing on the next vessel as the other descended from the sky as a ball of fire and scrap. Bull's-eye. Her wings screamed in protest from the usage after the beat down earlier, but she pressed on.

The bat found an open space for her to crawl into, landing into the vessel's inner workings. She brandished a few hidden blades from her boots. Surely they wouldn't mind a little makeover? She started dicing up every wire she could find. If she hit something important enough, it'd go down.

While all this was happening towards the leftmost side of the fleet, and Sonic's speedy friends in the middle, Blaze and Zero flew to the right side.

“Blaze, can you light this smaller ship on fire?”

She nodded.

“Gladly.”

The pyro cat engulfed the smaller ship in flames, turning it into a massive metal fire ball. Zero grinned, using his energy power to grab the ball with his mind. He growled, ‘throwing’ the ship into another much larger one. The two pancaked into each-other, blowing up into a fiery mushroom. In response, lasers erupted towards both of them, and they had to maneuver around the sky to avoid them. Blaze sneered, tossing flames at any ship close to her. Parts of them would combust, rendering weapons useless, or even their navigation systems. Zero used his power to actually reflect some of the laser fire, raining them all down on one of the ships, rendering it into scrap. It took about five minutes for the two of them combined to destroy all the ships within reach for both of them. With elated spirits, both from their newfound freedom, and absolute rush of battle, they high-fived.

 

The bunker was absolutely massive. It was a warehouse floor with pallets full of survival supplies. Vector whistled as he surveyed the space.

“Nice place you got here doc.”

Robotnik raised a brow, saying nothing.

Whisper looked around at the environment. It looked sufficient to contain everyone. Satisfied, the wolf turned and started walking back out.

“Hey Whisper, where ya going?”

Tangle asked, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall. The wolf turned, watching the lemur as she was fighting the pain of her leg, trying to look fine. Tangle really wore her emotions on her shoulder.

“I'm going to help with the evacuation. Get as many people down here as possible.”

Tangle nodded in understanding.

“Great, let's go.”

“No, not you.”

Tangle looked like she just got slapped in the face.

“Wh-whaddya mean?”

Whisper breathed in heavily, then exhaled.

“Tangle… you're hurt bad. And time is of the essence. I'm sorry, but you need to stay here, where it's safe.”

Tangle understood. She did, she really did, but naturally, it still hurt. It was one of those moments where the lemur just hated when Whisper was right.

“Uh… heh, yeah. I um… understand.”

Whisper took a moment to kneel next to her.

“Hey. I'll be back before you know it.”

Tangle forced a smile.

“Yeah… I know you will.”

Whisper gave her a nod, before standing, and running out with Vector and Espio. Sally said something about staying behind to watch Robotnik or some shit, but Tangle wasn't paying attention. All she cared about was the wolf who had just left. She'd be back. She'd be fine.

 

Sonic almost felt bad for the Black Arms. Almost. With the combined power of the Blue Blur, the Ultimate Lifeform, and an experiment of a demented Eggman, the handful of Black Arms soldiers on the ship didn't stand a chance. They quickly overtook the ship as a whole, with Shadow now at the helm, acting like he knew how to drive it.

“Get your galactic learners permit yet Shadow?”

“Shut up.”

Shadow memorized the controls, letting the ship stay in formation with the rest. He clicked his tongue as an idea formed in his head as he saw some controls to open the main hatches on the dash.

“You two go to the soldier drop doors. I'll get you guys close to more ships.”

Sonic gave a thumbs up.

“Gotcha.”

They both boosted off without any argument.

Shadow steadily pushed the ship towards one of the others. His actions prompted a beep on the console. He looked down to see that he was being messaged by one of the other ships. Just don't answer. Shadow only stopped moving when he was practically touching the other one to his left. Shadow touched his watch.

“In position?”

Sonic responded immediately.

“Yes sir!”

Shadow hit ‘open deployment door left’.

Sonic - waiting with anticipation - jumped out of the ship as soon as the hatch opened, spindashing into the next in a similar fashion as he had the first time.

Shadow pulled away, repeating the process to the other side with Surge. Once completed, Shadow grinned wide. Time to light these bastards up. Shadow brought his speed down, letting the ship fall back a bit. He was getting communications again, but he ignored it as he locked his weapons onto a handful of ships.

“Eat this you disgusting black creatures.”

Lasers and missiles were launched, hitting the ships from behind. With no warning or way to maneuver around to fight back, several vessels fell to his fire.

 

Surge burst into a large ship, finding herself in a room full of soldiers. The tenrec pointed at them.

“Hey bitches! Come over here and get a piece of me!”

She wasn't even patient enough for them to respond to her command. She spindashed into them like bowling pins, knocking them around the room, and completely shredding the one in the middle into a pulp. She crouched next to the mutilated body, smearing some of the blood off her face with the back of her forearm. Her eyes alit with crazed fire. Finally, she could let out all the pent up aggression after years of confinement and torture.

 

Sage tore her way into a large corridor, which housed all sorts of technology and gizmos. The AI in a robotic shell walked up to the panel, touching the surface with her metal hand. The screen lit up with red, as she tried to infiltrate the system. Her eyes flickered, as the programs lit into her mind. She had access to everything. Using the navigation systems and weapons, she completely took control of the ship, firing on many nearby.

 

Rusty found herself in the engine room, finding it mostly empty. She scanned around, making sure their wasn't many soldiers nearby. Good. She went to the engine unit, opening the panels to interact with. If she was quick enough, she should be able to reroute the flow to go backwards, and if she was correct, turn this ship into a nuke. Rusty quickly worked, finding that her theory was most likely correct. She bit her lip as her facial injuries from the fight before flared up. She quickly shut the panel, as voices turned the corner. She dove out the way she came, landing on one of the few ships below, right as it exploded. The impact was massive, taking out twenty ships at least. Rusty dusted off her front with pride. She'd have to tell Sonic about that one later.

 

Knuckles burrowed his way into a training hall. There were weapons of all sorts along the walls, and of course, in the hands of the enemies in the area, who all turned to see the blind echidna. Knuckles felt their stares, and glided his feet against the ground to know exactly where each one was standing. He twitched when he felt them start to move.

“Five on one eh?”

His voice dropped low.

“Your funeral.”

The echidna leapt into the air, yelled out, and brought his fist into the ground, creating a shock wave that knocked all the aliens back, smashing them into the equipment on the walls. The echidna growled as his knife injury on his side screamed in protest. No, he wouldn't let himself fall.

“Come on, I'm just getting warmed up!”

 

Thousands were evacuated. All the humans in District Three were the closest, so they got their first. The space was big enough to fit them all though, which was a relief. While many of the humans were befuddled, or outright disgusted by listening to Mobians, they were quick to shut up at the sight of the now red sky, and incoming ships.

Whisper looked into the horizon as several explosions could be seen and heard. That was a good sign.

The wolf had to shake her head to focus on the current task. Currently, she was guiding Mobians onto a bus inbound for the bunker - going through Robotnik Tower after the Resistance had punched a big enough hole for vehicles to go through.

The stoic wolf watched as a rabbit and her child approached the bus.

“It's going to be okay Cream. Knuckles is out there fighting for us.”

The small girl nodded through tears, stepping onto the bus with her mother.

Whisper cursed silently as she watched the horizon again. They needed to go faster.

 

Tails went outside to look for any potential threats, but also to get some air. While the chant seemed to be working, Tails was starting to get a headache from hearing it over and over. The fox breathed in more of that fresh air that he definitely wasn't used to. Is this what the world used to be like? He hummed to himself, walking past multiple patches of flowers. It was so beautiful.

“Ah! Mmm.”

His injured bicep twinged involuntarily, and Tails stopped walking to nurse his wound. Maybe Cosmo could help speed up the healing process with his arm when she was done with Maria. While he understood that it took time for her to rebuild enough energy to heal, the Chaos Emeralds would probably charge her for a few years if it worked. Tails huffed to himself. He was wishful thinking. His mind wandered as he thought of Cosmo. There was still so much he didn't know about her. And that fact made him more excited than nervous. To find out more about her sounded like an adventure. The stupid grin on his face faded as the clouds above turned into a deep red. He looked onto the horizon, seeing the multitude of alien aircraft firing on each other. He chuckled. Sonic and the others sure were making a lot of noise. Tails turned to go back, deciding to check on Cosmo's progress. Hopefully they'd be done soon, so he could get the Emeralds to Sonic and Shadow. They were going to end this for all of them, he just needed to give them the last ingredient.

 

Agonizing hours went by, as Vector, Espio, and Whisper evacuated the city. Each time they looked up in the sky, the fleet was closer and closer.

They helped everyone. Humans and Mobians. Allies, past enemies, and ordinary citizens alike were carted to safety.

“That's the last bus!”

Vector watched as District One was officially emptied of occupants. They were the last living beings there.

“Welp, I'd call that mission a success.”

Vector said, pumping his fist at his much more stoic companions. His energy quickly soured.

“So uh, what now?”

Whisper stared up into the sky, at the horde of ships that loomed near the city wall.

“We fight.”

 

Sonic collided two ships into each-other, spindashing out of it just as it exploded. He was caught in the air by Rouge, who was flying by herself.

“You're extremely reckless, you know that?”

“Heh, I'm well aware.”

The bat spun and threw the hedgehog into another ship. Sonic pulled out his sword, spinning the opposite direction he normally did, having the blade point forward like a blender. The sword carved a perfect hole for him to dive into. He crouched into the hanger, which was filled to the brim with Black Arm soldiers. They all turned to look at the hedgehog, who stood at his full height, albeit being much shorter than them. They all paused, surprised by the Mobian’s entrance. Sonic snapped a finger gun at the group with his robotic hand.

“Sup fellas? Great day for an invasion am I right?”

Another pause, right as they rushed him. Sonic smirked, brandishing his sword.

“Let's dance.”

Sonic dodged the first fist to come crashing down where he was, and he turned his body to cleave his sword into the arm of the alien, slicing it off. The creature screeched, falling back to let the rest have at Sonic. The speedy rodent drop dashed away from another set of attacks, bringing himself to the other wall. Right as he engaged with a Black Arms soldiers with a weapon, his watch chirped.

“The entire city has been evacuated.”

Sonic smirked, crossing his sword with his enemy’s electric staff.

“Thanks Whisper. Everyone else get that?”

The others confirmed with frank ‘yeses’ and ‘roger thats’. Sonic plunged his sword like a shish kabob through two enemies.

“Yo Tails, status update?”

“I think there's progress? Honestly not sure, but I'll keep you posted.”

“Thanks bud.”

Sonic leaned back to avoid getting run through with a massive horn jutting from one of the alien’s head.

“Sonic!”

“Sup Shadow?”

“The ships are approaching the city limits.”

Sonic spun three hundred sixty degrees to make his sword swirl into a circle, cutting up five of the Black Arms.

“Perfect timing.”

“And I've spotted the mother ship. It's heading straight for Angel Island!”

Sonic paused, worry for his brother spiking. Actually, if timing was absolutely perfect, this might go in their favor.

“Shadow, board that ship. I'll meet you there!”

“Got it.”

Sonic jumped away from the group, finding a small hatch that he could probably get out of. He grinned, opening it. Oxygen was sucked out of the room, and the Black Arms growled to try and grab him.

“Talk about a low budget flight! No food or movies. I'm outta here, I like running better!’

Sonic dove out of the hatch, flying through the air until he landed in a crouch on top of one of the ships. He stood, as the wind blew his quills behind him. Looking around through the web of ships, Sonic spotted what Shadow was most likely talking about. A ship with a ridiculous size - close to double of the biggest ships he had seen thus far - hovered above them all, at one point going forward to surpass them all, lifting slowly with a trajectory towards Angel Island. Sonic narrowed his eyes. Target acquired. He tapped his watch.

“Listen everyone. They're going to drop soldiers on the city soon. I need all of you guys to go down into the city and keep them away from the bunker as long as you can. Shadow and I are going after the big guy, and hopefully Cosmo will be done with the Emeralds in time so we can finish this.”

Sonic tapped his watch off, then got into a running stance. He needed to jump from ship to ship before the big guy got out of reach. His green eyes sparked with energy.

“Gotta go fast.”

 

Tails went back outside. Their progress was slow, but it looked like they were getting SOMEWHERE. Maybe that was just Tails projecting a hopeful outcome.

The fox’s eyes widened and heart quickened as he saw the fleet enter the city. But that wasn't all. The biggest one rose, and was still rising to Angel Island's height, and getting too close for comfort. Tails grit his teeth. He was going to have to lead them away from Cosmo and Maria. He couldn't let them be found.

 

Sonic and Shadow simultaneously landed on the side of the mother ship, clinging on so they wouldn't fall.

“Nice meeting you here…”

Shadow shook his head as Sonic winked at him.

“Help me pry this open.”

Sonic nodded, swinging over to help him open a sort of vent looking thing. They managed to twist the metal off.

“Faker first?”

Shadow ‘hmphed'.

“Then go ahead.”

“Heh fine.”

Sonic crawled into the space, and Shadow was close behind him.

“You think Black Doom is in here?”

Shadow paused, thinking.

“I'm pretty certain. I can feel it.”

Sonic kicked open a vent, jumping out into a hallway. Shadow joined him, and they looked both directions.

“Yes he's here. He… feels much more powerful than when I battled him last.”

Sonic pursed his lips.

“This is going to be… fun.”

 

Rusty, Knuckles, Rouge, Whisper, Sage, Vector, Espio, Zero, Blaze, and Surge all stood their ground, all in different parts of the city, but unified in purpose. They needed to keep the Black Arms away from the citizens. The ships above them loomed, blocking out large parts of the reddened sky. This was it. They were gonna start dropping soon. Time to stand their ground.

Espio watched as the first wave came to him. As much as he hated what Robotnik had done to his body, it was time to put those ‘upgrades' to use.

The spikes on his wheel extended further than normal, digging into the ground. He sped forward, about to meet the first Black Arms soldier in a clash. Right as he was about to be hit, he took a deep cut to the right, the spiked wheel digging into the building and letting him travel up it. He detached himself from the top, and let himself fall. All six of his clawed arms dug into the alien as he landed, killing it pretty quickly.

A few miles away, Vector tore into one of the aliens with his mouth, tearing it in half. The thing shrieked before becoming lifeless, and Vector launched to fight more. Vector - as he fought - thought of Charmy. While the Black Arms definitely weren't directly responsible for his death, in a roundabout way they were. Robotnik wouldn't have made the BAO’s without the Black Arms, and then as a result, Charmy might have still been alive. A bit absurd way to think he knew, but it helped. These creatures were going to pay. For Charmy.

Surge ran into a mess of aliens, ripping off limbs left and right. Surge was unhinged, and she knew it. While a bit unorthodox with her methods, she would say it was effective. With a massive clawed arm in one hand, and a large leg on the other, Surge used those to beat her next wave of meat punching bags. Surge cemented herself in history for being the most brutal in this battle, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Fire consumed all who approached Blaze. The cat dodged when she was rushed by three soldiers, both with spears aiming for her chest. She threw flames at them, but they also dodged with practiced ease. She had to back up to avoid being overwhelmed by their simultaneous attacks. She managed to engulf one of them, but not before one of the spears skimmed past her arm, setting her up to get skewered by the other.

CLANG.

Sage appeared, catching the spear tip with her hand. Sage used this leverage to slip the soldier onto his back and force the blunt end of the spear through his chest with her strength. Blaze quickly used this window to scorch the other one. The cat nodded to the AI, silently thanking her for the save.

Zero and Rouge met in the middle of the battle, finding a safe spot to embrace.

“Are you okay still? Are you hurt?”

Zero chuckled, and shrugged off Rouge's doting.

“I'm fine. Blaze was a great help earlier.”

Rouge nodded, still looking worried about him. He caught her gaze on his missing eye. He cringed.

“I'm sorry.”

The bat looked flabbergasted.

“Sorry? For what?”

Zero sighed.

“I look like a monster. I'm sorry.”

Shame crept into his mind, making his face fall to look into the dirt.

“Oh nuh-uh none of that.”

Rouge was quick to grab his chin and pull his face back up.

“Nothing will change how I feel about you.”

Rouge wiped some of the blood off of his cheek.

“And when this is all over, we can finally have that future we always dreamed about… yeah?”

Zero laughed with emotion, picturing their childish dreams back then. While childish, the dream never changed with age. They brought their foreheads together.

“That sounds wonderful.”

Zero gently kissed her, and she gladly reciprocated.

“Now, why don't we go back out there and finish this?”

“I'm with you all the way.”

Whisper situated herself in one of the crumbling buildings; blaster out the window like a sniper. She'd pick off enemies one by one, dwindling their numbers down in a more stealthy approach. She rarely missed, which made every shot count. That was something she was proud of, even though she wouldn't go out of her way to brag about it. Then again, Tangle would just brag about her for her.

Tangle.

Her mind wandered to her friend she left in the bunker. She hated treating her like a liability, but she didn't have much of a choice. Tangle needed time to heal, and they didn't have time to wait for her help. Whisper picked off another alien as she daydreamed of seeing her again. They had been the most unlikely of friends since they met, but somehow, they became inseparable. Whisper couldn't imagine a world without Tangle.

Rusty and Knuckles stood back to back, throwing out punches when anyone was stupid enough to approach. For awhile, both held their ground respectively… until…

“What the hell?”

Rusty looked up, seeing a massive beast float to them. Chaos, it was ugly. Black Bull. Knuckles grimaced at the vibrations it gave off.

“I'm glad I can't see this thing right now.”

The creature roared, and followed up with a ball of fire from its mouth. Rusty quickly grabbed Knuckles, pulling him out of the way.

“Knuckles, I'm going to launch you okay?”

“Wait what?”

Rusty - similar to how she did on the biplane - stretched her arms to grab lampposts, making a slingshot out of her body. She stretched back, with Knuckles in the middle.

“Just glide forward! I'm gonna aim for his eye!”

Rusty calculated the perfect tension for the distance, then sprung forward, sending Knuckles into the air. The echidna yelled out, quickly getting into a glide position. With his big fists held forward, they embedded into the green eye of the chunky alien, making it burst on impact.

Rusty grinned as Knuckles tore his hands out of the empty sockets of the screaming beast, which flopped over like a dead fish.

“Nice one.”

Knuckles shook his head.

“That was all you. But, thanks anyway.”

Rusty smiled as the echidna ran off, taking on another group. Her smile faded as her eyes drifted up to Angel Island. She hoped Sonic and the others were okay.

 

Tails felt small. The ship above him looked bigger and bigger the closer it got. He tried not to feel fear, but he couldn't help it. He silently prayed that Cosmo was almost done. They needed those Emeralds NOW.

The ship landed on the island, sending a rumble through it. A hatch in the front opened, and horrific black creatures spilled out. Tails mustered up the courage to shout for their attention. He needed to get them away from the cottage.

“Hey!”

They all stopped simultaneously, spotting the little fox. Tails felt his heart hit his feet.

Run.

Tails booked it, running the opposite direction of the cottage. Thankfully, the legion of aliens gave chase, leading them away from Cosmo and Maria.

“That's it… follow the leader.”

 

Sonic and Shadow looked at each-other as the whole vessel shook from impact.

“I think we just… parked?”

Shadow growled.

“We need to find Black Doom now.”

The two continued their run, checking corridors and rooms. Shadow expressed to Sonic his thoughts about the Black Arms in this universe. While they definitely were dangerous in their world, this one seemed to be much more of an organized military power than a race of ravage beasts.

After five minutes of speeding through the ship, they came up empty. In fact, they didn't see anyone.

“Shadow… you don't suppose they all… jumped ship?”

Shadow grit his teeth.

“Let's find the exit.”

 

“The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.”

Cosmo reached deep, finding the spring in her soul that produced her power. The Chaos Emeralds’ energy ran through her like drugs, making her both high and overwhelmed with power. She concentrated on the girl in front of her. The Emeralds glowed brighter than ever before. The same glow emitted from Cosmo’s extended hand. A link between them was made, a glowing line directly in Maria's soul. The human girl gasped, but held herself steady. Her body felt tingly, and warm. Cosmo yelled out, all her energy spent, and the Chaos Emeralds dropping to the floor. The warmth slowly left Maria. The girl blinked a few times, feeling… weird. But a good weird. Her lungs felt clearer than normal. Her nerves didn't have the constant light painful tingle they normally did.

Maria was cured.

 

Tails ran through the unfamiliar woods of Angel Island, weaving in and out of trees expertly. While he wasn't familiar with the terrain, he was familiar with running away from danger. His small frame made it easy to find areas that'd be difficult for the bulkier aliens to make through, effectively slowing them down.

But that wouldn't last forever. Tails' foot caught a tree root, forcing him to plummet into the dirt. He groaned in pain as his full body weight came crashing down on his wrapped arm. Panic filled him as a massive clawed hand grabbed him from behind, picking him up into the air by his tails. The fox struggled, trying to pry away from the right grip, until he was struck in the gut by another one. All the fight in him drained as his oxygen was forced out. They caught him.

The group of Black Arms walked back with their disoriented prize. Tails wondered why they didn't just kill him…

“Where is he?”

A deep voice echoed. Tails forced his eyes to open after they inevitably drooped shut. He startled at the sight. Another alien, albeit different from the others, floated above him. The group that was holding onto him had brought him back to the clearing that the ship landed on, and to… their leader? It seemed like it.

Tails coughed.

“Who?”

“Robotnik. Where is he?”

The large creature responded, sounding impatient.

“He has much to pay for.”

The fox hummed tiredly.

“That's something we both can agree with…”

“Tails! We…!”

All eyes turned to the cottage a few paces away, at the two girls that made an appearance. Cosmo was in front, and quickly realized her mistake as soon as she saw what was happening.

Black Doom actually looked rather pleased at the sight of her.

“Cosmo. Good to see Robotnik hasn't damaged you too badly.”

The seedrian cowered back, as multiple soldiers grabbed her. They simply ignored Maria, who watched helplessly.

“Leave her alone!”

Tails' fight was reignited, and he twisted to get out of the claws that dug into his tails. Black Doom looked at the fox with disdain.

“Insolent pest.”

“BLACK DOOM!”

Right before he could cut down the fox, two hedgehogs spun out of the ship, landing just a few paces away. Shadow pointed at Black Doom with an accusing finger.

“Hands off the fox.”

The alien blinked slowly.

“You…”

Doom looked at him in confusion.

“What is this? You carry my blood? How?”

“That doesn't matter. You're going down.”

Shadow caught a glimpse of Maria in the corner of his eye. They were finished. She must have been healed! A feeling of joy erupted in his chest, but he had to taper it. He could celebrate later.

A low rumbling chuckle came from Doom.

“Fool.”

He outstretched his hand.

This is when Shadow realized how badly they fucked up.

His blood boiled, responding to a pull - a demand for him to obey. Shadow miscalculated. He knew Black Doom was powerful, even more powerful than he had been before… but he didn't realize how much so.

Fuck.

“Shadow!’

Sonic gripped Shadow’s shoulders as the darker hedgehog fell to his knees.

“What's wrong?”

Shadow bit his lip and groaned.

“He's… trying to control me… chaos he's… ugh, powerful.”

Shadow trembled, trying to fight back.

“Sonic! It's up to you. I don't think I can… ARGH, fight it!”

Sonic took a step back from Shadow, who was now rolling around on the ground with his hands on his head. His eyes were rolled back, and mouth was slack.

Sonic needed to act now if he was going to turn this scenario around. He quickly took in everything happening to make an assessment of opportunities. Black Doom was close to controlling Shadow, Tails was captured, there was about a hundred soldiers, Cosmo was also captured, and Maria was off to the side, watching powerlessly. If Sonic’s math was right, one thing was missing from this. The Chaos Emeralds. They were probably still in the cottage.

Decision made, Sonic sped off, running into the cottage and into the basement. Sure enough, the seven Emeralds laid in a circle on the floor. Sonic felt a sudden rush. It was time. He gathered them up, stuffing them in his quills, and boosted back, standing in front of Black Doom. His eyes narrowed as he faced the war lord from outer space.

“Get the hell off this planet.”

The Emeralds levitated out of his quills, circling him. A familiar warmth spread through his body. His eyes shut in concentration, focusing on absorbing the energy. He felt his whole body tingle. The final moments of transformation were then promptly interrupted by Shadow, who dove for Sonic like a wild animal. The two of them flew back, slamming into Tails, who was still being held like a pinata. The three of them landed into a pile… right as the Emeralds fully unlocked their Chaotic Energy.

WOOOOSHHHOOOM!

…

…

…

Golden light. Radiating power. Chaos Controlled.

The final chapter had begun.

Notes:

Thanks so much for reading!

Next time is the LAST CHAPTER. Buckle up everyone, I got a special treat of a finale for you guys in The Final Hazard Part Two!

So, as promised, a decision has been made for my NEXT FIC. Drumroll please...

With a vote of 7, The Alien AU wins! Forces Rewrite had a vote of 4. Thank you everyone for participating, and I cannot wait to also get to this new fic eventually. I'll share more of my plans next chapter's notes!

I hope everyone has a great day, and see you next time! 💙💛🖤🩷

Chapter 40: The Final Hazard Part Two

Notes:

Welcome to the end.

Before you go forward to read the conclusion of this story, I want to express my gratitude for everyone who committed to read this far. I am so flattered that anyone bothered to read my imaginative scenario about cartoon animals that mean probably too much to me as a technical adult (physically an adult, mentally a teenager 😂). So, thank you, thank you, thank you for the boatload of Kudos, all the kind and engaging comments, and for just spending time reading this. This fic is so close to my heart, and I'm sad to see it go, but I'm also so happy to see that I actually made it to the end. I'm very satisfied with how this came out to be, and never thought I could do something like this. I probably couldn't without all of the support and kindness. Thank you so so much for joining me on this ride, it's been fun 🥹.

Also, before I go, I wanted to give a little heads-up for what's next. As I stated in the previous chapter, the Alien AU won the votes. I started workshopping a story, and I think I do have a general story direction to work with. I'm gonna have to write up a bunch before I actually begin the story itself, so it may take time before it starts (plus I think I need a small break too, as this really was a lot of work 😅). But, while I'm working on the next fic, I'm also going to make another One Shot to release between that time. It's going to be an Undertale story called ‘Bouquet of Thorns’, I hope you guys will enjoy that as well.

Oh, and unrelated, but who else saw that SEGA officially called 2024 the Year of Shadow?! Let's go baby! 🖤

Finally, I just want to address one more thing and then I promise, you can get to the story 😂. This fic addressed some pretty heavy topics. A lot of these feelings the characters had here have been reflections of the lowest parts of my life. Honestly, I was close to ending it all about seven years ago. That's when I was given a spiritual intervention. Now I'm not going to preach at you or anything, but I just want you all to know that if it wasn't for God stepping into my life, I wouldn't be alive now. And if any of you struggle with trauma, and are curious as to how I healed from mine in this way, don't hesitate to ask. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Anyway, with my rambling out of the way, let's do it to it.

I love you all, and I hope you enjoy the end of Irreversible; The Final Hazard Part Two.

Super Sonic.

Golden quills.

Crimson eyes.

Unfathomable power.

Sonic relished the feeling the Emeralds gave him. It had been a hot minute since the last time he went super. It never got old. He allowed himself to float a few feet off the ground, observing what else the Emeralds had done. He wasn't the only one going super this time.

“Wh-whoa! Sonic? I'm floating!”

“Don't worry, I gotcha.”

Tails felt Sonic grab his leg, to keep him from floating away. The fox looked over his body, absolutely stunned. All his injuries were gone, and his fur was glowing gold. On top of that, a red cape materialized around his neck, flowing behind him in the wind like some sort of superhero.

“Sonic? What's happening to me?”

“It's the power of the Chaos Emeralds Tails. You have enough willpower to control their Chaotic Energy. Like me.”

Tails blinked, staring down at himself.

“I feel…”

“Powerful?”

“Overwhelmed.”

Sonic snickered.

“Heh, it's like that for the first time. You'll get used to it.”

Sonic placed a hand on his hip, admiring his brother. He couldn't believe his little buddy was actually going super! With a pause to think, Sonic then snapped his fingers.

“Turbo Tails.”

“Huh?”

“Your form. I like to call my form Super Sonic. We can call yours Turbo Tails.”

Tails blinked, then shook his head with an eye roll.

“That's cheesy.”

“Heh, maybe a little bit.”

The two of them paused their conversation when one last newcomer entered their line of sight. Shadow. Also super. But something wasn't right. His eyes were overtaken by dark swirls, and he didn't look focused, like someone was talking in his ear.

“Shit. Shadow is still under Black Doom’s control. This complicates things.”

“What do we do Sonic?”

Sonic looked over at his brother. The fox was looking back with expectation, waiting for some sort of plan. Sonic felt nostalgic at that look.

Gosh he was so proud of him. It was no joke to use the Chaos Emeralds, and Tails was withholding them like a champ. A plan quickly formed in his head. He didn't like putting Tails in so much danger, but he was proving himself strong enough to handle it. And, it might be the only way to save their world.

“Okay here's the plan. I'm going to hold off Shadow. I need you to take down Black Doom.”

Tails' eyes widened.

“By myself?”

“Yeah dude. Look at you. You look like you stepped out of a comic book. You have more power than you know.”

Tails blinked, looking down at himself again. Sonic was right. He could do this.

It was this moment that Shadow lunged. Sonic met the snarling hedgehog in a grip, both of them pushing each-other back in the air.

“Go now!”

Tails quickly nodded, flying towards Black Doom - albeit a little awkwardly since he wasn't used to this power yet.

“Well well well, looks like we gotta fight one more time, huh Faker?”

Shadow sputtered incoherently. Foam formed around the edges of his lips.

“Kill…”

Sonic narrowed his eyes as Shadow simply spoke his intentions like a psychopath.

“KILL!”

Shadow kicked Sonic in the gut, making Sonic drift backwards. Shadow threw a punch, this one sailing right past Sonic’s ear. Sonic let his leg swoop around to smack into Shadow’s back. The impact was enough to send the edge lord into a nearby tree, tearing through it. He shook off the bark and bits of wood, growling.

Sonic's eyes widened as Shadow started tearing up the other trees, lobbing them to hit Sonic. The hedgehog dodged to the left, the right, then held his fist up, splitting the third in half. Shadow - seeing that that did nothing - zoomed up to meet him again, foot first to kick him. Sonic blocked with his arms in an ‘x’. Sonic's metal arm - the blue highlights also glowing gold - swung around to claw at Shadow’s face, raw energy surging off of it. Shadow blocked, but struggled as he got shocked by the fusion of electric current, and Chaos Energy. Sonic used this opportunity to land an uppercut with his free hand. The hit landed, and Shadow floated upward - paused in the air, then screeched in anger.

“Chaos… SPEAR!”

A golden bolt of energy snapped down to Sonic like lightning, and the hedgehog narrowly missed it. Shadow rained down more spears, Sonic swiftly going side to side to avoid them.

Unfortunately, Sonic got so distracted that he forgot the others. Two Black Arm soldiers leapt up from the ground to grab Sonic by his leg, using their momentum to yank him down into the dirt face first. Sonic quickly rolled left to avoid getting pounded in the back. He shot up onto his feet, throwing four quick punches in succession to push back the one alien. Sonic jumped into his ball form, using his homing attack to attack a string of aliens that were all coming from him. Since he was in his super form, his simple homing attack was much more lethal, turning him into a golden buzz saw. He mowed through five soldiers before getting slammed into the side with immense speed. Shadow was back, going full speed while grabbing Sonic by the throat. Sonic struggled, grabbing Shadow's wrists, trying to pry him off of him. The two flew past the city, going past the wall. Shadow then descended, but didn't slow down. He shoved Sonic into the ground, holding his body against the hard rocks and dirt as he continued to fly full speed. Sonic felt the earth tear into his back. If he wasn't so invulnerable, his spine would have been exposed by now. Shadow grunted, pulling up, twirling once, and yeeted Sonic into the mountain where it all began. Sonic smashed clean through it, making the entire mountain split in half, the top half being thrown into the air. Sonic felt his ears ring, as he flew past the mountain, slamming back into the ground. He rolled in the dust, flopping to a stop.

“Agh… that's gonna leave a mark.”

Sonic just dodged in time to miss Shadow's fist hitting the ground. With some quick thinking, Sonic saw the top half of the mountain still swirling up in the sky. With a grin, he shot up to float above it.

“Maybe this'll wake you up.”

Sonic performed an ax kick, slamming the enormous rock mass to plummet back to earth. Shadow looked up, a millisecond too late to dodge.

KROOOOOSH

The earth caved under the weight, creating a massive crater, with chunks of the mountain pieces thrown in every direction. A dust cloud also erupted from the piles of stone. Sonic hesitantly floated back down, eyeing the crash site skeptically.

“Shadow…?”

The rocks burst aside, Shadow the Hedgehog plummeting out to deck Sonic in the face. Sonic flew backwards, into another pile of rocks. Wait a minute…

Sonic's eyes widened as he landed in the pile of broken Paradox Prism pieces. Before he could think anything more about it, Shadow came down with a fist, forcing Sonic to dive out of the way. Shadow ended up striking one of the broken pieces, shattering it further. A sudden electrical charge erupted from the broken piece, making Shadow float back away from it. Waves of energy burst through the land.

Sonic gasped. In a sort of glitchy way, small sections of the environment around them morphed and changed every few seconds.

“What the heck…?”

Shadow decked him in the nose. Sonic reeled, backing up from Shadow, holding his now throbbing nose.

“Come on, snap out of it Shadow! You're too stubborn to let some space shit mess with your head!”

The only response Sonic got was an incoherent scream. Sonic flew through the glitching plain, Shadow chasing after him. The ground below them fizzled, then transformed into a massive body of water. Out of nowhere, a pirate ship materialized. Sonic quickly dodged the sails, landing on the deck of the ship. Shadow simply tore through the sail, stopping when he saw Sonic below him. He plunged down, throwing hands back and forth with his lookalike, both of them dodging and blocking each other's hits. Shadow finally landed a kick to Sonic’s stomach, making the gold hedgehog plow through the ship floor, and out through the bottom, going a few leagues into the ocean.

Sonic forced his eyes back open, a sudden hysteria grilling onto him with being under the water. He pushed himself to fly out, but got intercepted by Shadow, grabbing his neck and pushing him further down. Sonic struggled, fear tingling through his body. Even while super, water was still his weakness. The two hit the ocean floor, and Shadow squeezed Sonic's neck as tight as possible, making the last bit of air supply left in the hedgehog leave him. Sonic panicked, kicking and punching at the other hedgehog. He hit Shadow in the side, giving him enough room to get out of his grip. Sonic bolted, but Shadow was close behind. With no time to spare, Sonic spotted a shipwreck nearby. He neared it, grabbed it, and whirled it around to smash into Shadow. The already broken ship was then pulverized, knocking Shadow back far enough to give Sonic enough time to escape the watery prison.

Sonic shot upward like a rocket. The surface neared. Come on… come on. The water glitched, changing back to its original form. Suddenly, Sonic was surrounded by solid ground, as if he had been buried alive. With no air left, the hedgehog forced out a chaotic blast of energy from his body in desperation, breaking the ground around him into a deep hole. Sonic sucked in deep for long awaited oxygen. Damn that felt great in his lungs.

Shadow was behind him again. Sonic shot back into the air, weaving around as Shadow gave chase.

“You're the Ultimate Lifeform Shadow! Fight it!”

The land glitched again, thick jungle trees spawning around the duo. Sonic plowed through five trunks before stopping. Shadow went through the holes Sonic left, meeting Sonic in another clash midair.

“I know you're in there buddy. Please.”

Shadow shrieked at him, throwing him into a web of vines suspended between several trees. Sonic tore some of the vines down, flicking them like wips over to Shadow. The Ultimate Lifeform smacked the whip away, and dodged the second. Sonic tossed the vines aside, bringing his arms up to block Shadow’s heavy kick. Sonic shoved his foot out of his way, going in for a few kicks of his own, forcing Shadow to back up.

The world glitched again, turning into a hilly, grassy plain with checkered soil, sunflowers that danced, and loop-de-loops. Sonic felt his heart pang as the familiar Green Hill Zone materialized before his eyes. While not necessarily ‘home’, Green Hill Zone was one of those places near and dear to Sonic's heart.

This distraction gave Shadow the opportunity to slam a TV set onto Sonic's head. The piece of machinery with a blue sphere symbol wrecked into three large chunks. While the method of being broken over his head hurt, doing this had the opposite effect that Shadow was going for. A blue shield materialized around Sonic, and the hedgehog made a quick comeback by slugging Shadow in the gut. He spiraled out of the sky, landing on the top of one of the many loop-de-loops. Sonic dove for him, his feet planting themselves into Shadow’s chest, trapping him below his weight. He transferred his weight to his knees resting on Shadow, then brought his fists down, again, and again, and again.

The world glitched once more, and the loop-de-loop below them disappeared, and the world returned to normal. Shadow flopped onto the dusty barren ground, groaning. Sonic floated, crossing his arms and waited for Shadow to get back up. The edgy hedgehog wiped some blood off of his mouth with the back of his glowing arm.

“Had enough?”

 

Tails had no clue what he was doing. But Sonic was counting on him. EVERYONE was counting on him. He wouldn't let them down. Tails landed back onto the ground in a crouch, eyes meeting with the gaze of Black Doom. The dark alien didn't look that impressed.

“Such audacity. You think you are a threat to me, child?”

Tails' eyes hardened, and he pushed himself up to stand.

“Don't look down on me, you bastard.”

Tails rose from the ground, floating up with his arms crossed. This only made Black Doom chortle.

“You prideful speck. So be it. Say goodbye as you witness my truth wrath!”

The alien also floated up, but his body began to contort. Skin stretched, and a mix of cracking and tearing sounds were made. Tails watched as Black Doom grew in size, and resembled no creature that he had ever seen before.

“Tremble fox. And die by my hand.”

Devil Doom, the two headed demon from outer space growled in the sky, with the only opposition being a small eight year old two tailed fox. Tails questioned himself at that moment. Had Sonic placed his trust in the right person? Was he cut out for this? Sure, he wasn't a stranger to combat, but THIS? This was on a godly scale.

Was he good enough?

The whole world slowed down.

Sonic thought he was enough.

Images of Sonic flashed through his mind. When they first met, the beginning of their mission, the walk through the Badnik Factory, the car chase, the dome, the time at the resistance… him saving him from Robotnik. Not a single moment did Sonic look down on him. A few happy tears rimmed around his glowing eyes.

Sonic thought he was enough, and that was enough for him.

The fox shot forward, fists out, and face set in determination. No stupid alien wannabe from space was going to just waltz in and destroy their world, not after all that had happened. He wasn't backing down.

Devil Doom threw a fist towards him, and Tails blocked it with his hand, swatting it away with some effort. The other first came up, and he did the same action, growing in confidence with every passing moment. Doom growled, trying to swat him out of the sky, but the fox dodged.

“Missed me.”

Tails dove in with a punch of his own, his fist connecting with Doom's one eyed face… at least the one face he was currently facing. What was the point of having two heads that were on opposite sides of the body? Tails shrugged off the internal question. It didn't matter. He flew around, meeting the other head with a solid kick, making the alien snarl in frustration.

“You gnat! Die!”

A ball of flames formed around the beast’s mouth, launching out with surprising speed. Tails formed an ‘x’ with his arms, right as the ball made impact. The flames burst around him, and his Chaos Energy pushed it out and away from his body. With a shout, Tails threw his arms out, extinguishing what was left of the flames around him.

But he didn't have a second to breathe. Flying Black Arms soldiers met with the fox, weapons and fists ready to take the superpowered Mobian down. The fox smirked.

“Take your best shot.”

He opened his arms wide, taunting them. Naturally, this prompted three to dive at him with their spears aiming for his heart. Right as one of the blades grazed his fur, Tails grabbed the shaft in a split second, and tore it away from his body, making the user tumble past him. He shot behind the other two, throwing his right fist straight through the alien, his fist bursting out the front. While he was still embedded into the dying creature, he spun around three times, and stopped, making the corpse fly off of his arm and into the last alien, forcing them to drop from the sky. A barrage for different attacks came from all sides, and Tails blocked and dodged each with calculated grace and ease. He grabbed one by the neck, then used his raw strength to break and bend its body until it was a perfect ball. He held the flesh ball like one would a bowling ball, then geared up and chucked it into a crowd of aliens slamming them all out of the sky.

“Strike!”

“You little shit!”

His ankle was grabbed by Doom's massive hand, and was yanked downward with immense force. The golden fox plummeted down, past Angel Island, past Robotnik Tower, and smashed into the city. The ground caved below him, and he continued into the underbelly of the city, eventually stopping in a pile of rubble, and sludge.

Ah yes, the sewer system. The fox stood back up, dust rolling off his body and sludge running down his legs. Gosh the smell was pungent. He shook his head, trying to reorient himself. He grabbed the edge of his cape and flicked off the grime from the cloth. Okay, so literally flung into a shit hole. Nothing new. Tails crouched, head held up, then shot back into the air. He turned into a motion blur to the naked eye, bursting back out of the ground to meet Black Doom halfway on his way down to the city. His fist collided with Doom's jaw… or at least, what resembled his jaw. The alien fell down to the earth, sliding to a stop onto the ground. Tails floated down, arms crossed again, and a smirk plastered on his glowing face.

Almost all the Black Arms in the city turned to look at their fallen leader, and then to the culprit. Tails flicked his nose with his thumb, like he had seen Sonic do.

“So, how about round two?”

Tails paused right before going to town. The whole world shook with a sudden wave of energy. Things around started to glitch and CHANGE. The broken road glitched to one of perfection, then to a stretch of green grass, then back to the original. A dead tree trunk flickered into a full tree, then a metal pole, then back again.

“What the hell?”

Tails watched curiously. About half of the city morphed into an island, with sandy beaches bordering an ocean, palm trees, and buildings made of wood. Other things still flickered between the two different places, ground changing from asphalt to sand and back again, and others like that. Even the Black Arms looked around in confusion, confirming that this wasn't one of their tricks. Tails decided not to dwell on it. Better use it to his advantage instead.

Tails flew fast to one of the boat docks on the edge of the city. He picked up a ship with his bare hands, lifting it above his head. With a shout, he lobbed it into Doom, who was just reorienting himself. The ship shattered, forcing the alien back down. Tails pumped his fist, and then flew back to Doom, throwing a punch into his midsection. The alien growled loudly, getting the attention of his minions, who closed in on the fox. Tails scoffed cockily.

“Bring it.”

Tails flicked his body, both of his tails swishing in a quick slash motion, which created a sharp golden wave that flew out from him and collided with a line of the aliens, slicing clean through them.

As the bodies dropped like flies, the world flickered into another one, this one resembling a thick jungle mixed with the city. While he had no clue what was happening, Tails was going to see how these sudden differences could help him slaughter the enemy.

A thick vine draping from a large tree caught his attention. After some quick math, Tails flew to it, and tied it around his waist. The fox took a second to prepare, then boosted forward as fast as he could. Fists out, Tails flew in a circle, gaining more speed every rotation. His body pierced aliens in his path, and the taunt vine tightened around the tree. Around and around he went, until there wasn't any vine left. The knot around his waist snapped, and Tails was thrown in a random direction. Another line of aliens were taken down, this time being impaled by the fox traveling the speed of light. He stopped right outside the city border. He turned around, right as it flickered and changed again.

“Huh…”

Tails looked curiously at the almost cartoony environment juxtaposed with the reality of Chaos City. Overly green grass and strange hilly paths broke up the monotone roads and walls of the many districts. Shrugging to himself, Tails boosted back in, meeting Devil Doom back into the sky as the massive leader of the Black Arms steadied himself into the air.

“You bug! You are nothing compared to me!”

Doom opened his massive mouth, energy charging around his maw.

“Oh yeah?!”

Tails shouted back in challenge.

A red beam shot out from Doom, and it collided with Turbo Tails. The fox simply floated with his arms crossed, as the dark energy ran off the sides of his body. His cape billowed behind him, and his face broke with a smirk. The energy surrounded Tails' body, traces of red and gold spinning around him. Doom's laser ended, leaving the absorbed energy around the fox. Within the bubble of crackling power, Tails raised his arm, pointing at Doom.

“Go to hell.”

He snapped his fingers, and the energy rerouted into a new beam, using both Doom's energy, and his own. Doom's eye widened, as the deadly bolt engulfed his body. A bloody roar escaped the demon, as he melted into a pile of sludge.

…

He did it.

Tails laughed with some disbelief as he watched the leader of the Black Arms bubble on the broken asphalt below. He killed Black Doom! Yes!

Tails did a little loop in the air, tails swishing behind him in victory. If Sonic was here to watch, he'd say something about it being cute, so Tails was thankful he wasn't.

Wait… Sonic. Shadow had to be free now!

 

“Had enough?”

Shadow coughed, small droplets of blood hitting the ground as he pushed himself to his shakey feet. He blinked, once, twice, then three times.

“... Sonic?”

Sonic’s eyes widened as he saw Shadow’s eyes now lacked the swirls it did earlier.

“Shadow! It's you! The real you!”

Super Sonic met Super Shadow on the ground, squeezing him in a tight embrace. Shadow pushed him away.

“Of course I'm the real me.”

Shadow said with a bit of humor, which immediately drained from his face a moment after.

“What happened? I can't quite remember anything after Black Doom tried to take my mind.”

He clenched his teeth.

“How much damage did I cause? And when did I have time to go super?”

Sonic quickly shook his head.

“I'll explain later. Right now we gotta go back to the city ASAP.”

Shadow set his worry aside, nodding with agreement. The two superpowered hedgehogs boosted back to the city in streaks of golden light. It took them merely two seconds to return, floating above the landscape, which thankfully, was glitching back to normal for the most part. That broken piece of the Paradox Prism must have been showing all the possibilities… worlds this one could be, but never would.

Sonic mulled on that for a moment, but was ripped out of his thoughts when a familiar voice called out to him.

“Sonic!”

Sonic's heart leapt as Tails flew towards him.

“Tails!”

The two embraced in the air, elevating both of their hearts to new heights. Sonic was just happy to see Tails was okay, and Tails was ecstatic to share his news.

“I did it, Sonic!”

Tails was absolutely beaming with pride, while Shadow was watching with confusion, trying to catch up with what was happening.

“I killed Black Doom!”

Sonic's face split in a massive smile.

“Dude! I'm so proud of you!”

Tails blushed, grinning ear to ear from the praise.

Shadow blinked, brain registering that not only was Tails super, but he had beaten his old enemy and won. He shook off the initial shock, nodding to the fox with some big respect.

“Good job, fox.”

Tails' smile couldn't get wider as the quieter hedgehog complimented him.

“Thanks!”

The three paused, looking back down into the city. Smiles faded, and the high mood dropped for all of them.

“The Black Arms are still here though.”

Tails observed, watching the aliens still rampage the streets. Shadow nodded grimly.

“They are directionless now. While not united in cause, they are still dangerous.”

Tails nodded understandingly, playing with his fingers.

“And… I think I'm getting weaker…?”

Shadow nodded.

“We can only hold onto these forms for so long. Especially since the Chaos Emeralds power is currently split between the three of us. I can feel it too. We don't have much time.”

Tails watched the city below helplessly.

“What do we do?”

Tails' question hung in the air, settling onto each of their shoulders. What could they do?

…

Sonic suddenly gasped.

“What, what is it?”

Shadow asked, though it sounded more like a command.

“Sonic?”

Tails looked up to Sonic, only in a way a little brother would to his big sibling, layered with concern, and curiosity.

Sonic's blank expression morphed into a smirk.

“I have an idea. It's risky, but it might be the only chance we get.”

Shadow nodded.

“I understand. Doesn't matter what it is, we're with you.”

Sonic made a goofy face.

“Shadow… are you saying you TRUST me?”

Shadow ‘hmphed'.

“Don't get too excited.”

Sonic grinned.

“Sonic, I'd follow you to the ends of the universe at this point.”

Tails smiled softly, and Sonic felt his heart melt at his genuineness.

“I'm in. So what is the plan?”

Sonic smiled.

“Not only are we going to destroy the Black Arms, but also bring life back to this world.”

Shadow crossed his arms.

“I'm listening.”

Sonic pointed up to Angel Island.

“We're going to take the Master Emerald from its pedestal, use it, and whatever power we all have left to give back what Robotnik stole.”

Shadow blinked, then his eyes widened.

“You want to drop Angel Island on the city?!”

Sonic nodded.

“It wouldn't cover the whole city. The bunker is far out enough, and below the surface, so everyone in there would be safe. But the Black Arms definitely wouldn't survive.”

Shadow tapped his chin, imagining the scenario.

“We'd need to get everyone in the city right now to safety.”

“Of course. You think I didn't think of that?”

Shadow ‘hmphed'.

“Wouldn't be the first time you overlooked important details.”

Sonic blew a raspberry.

“Whatever.”

Tails laughed, knowing Shadow was definitely correct in his assessment.

“So what are we waiting for? Let's get this party started.”

They all nodded in acknowledgement. They knew what to do. The three golden Mobians split up, flying around the city in search for their friends. Using the immense speed that the Emeralds granted them, finding them, and taking them up to Angel Island was a sinch, and they saved them all one by one. Tails saved Whisper, Blaze, and Espio, Shadow saved Rouge, Zero, and Knuckles, and Sonic saved Vector, Surge, and Rusty. The nine Mobians were all startled at the whiplash of suddenly being carried off somewhere else, looking around curiously.

“Sonic, Shadow, Tails?”

Rusty asked, out of breath.

“What's going on?”

Cosmo and Maria - who were watching the battles from the edge of the Island - approached the group, also wanting to know what was happening. Shadow glanced over at Maria with yearning eyes, then snapped them back to the rest. Tails also glanced over, but at Cosmo instead. He goofily smiled, waving at her. She giggled, and waved back.

“Don't worry everyone. Shadow, Tails, and I got a plan. We need all of you in the cottage right now though okay?”

Knuckles huffed.

“You're not going to tell us what's happening?”

Shadow shook his head.

“No time. Let's go people.”

Everyone followed Shadow’s order as he ushered them into the small house, taking up different rooms of the building.

Sonic, Shadow, and Tails paused at the basement door.

“You all may want to grab hold of something.”

With that, they left the eleven confused friends of theirs. Surge shrugged, taking a seat in the couch, throwing her arms behind her head.

In the basement, Sonic, Shadow, and Tails stood in a triangle formation around the gem, holding up their hands towards each other.

“You guys ready?”

Sonic received determined nods back.

“Okay, let's do it.”

A golden aura surrounded the Master Emerald. Their eyes all shut, just letting the power surge between them all like a circuit. Pulsing. Beating. Flowing. Each one of them dug deep, grabbing at what power they had left.

The three of them then shot upward, through the cottage roof and into the air, the Emerald in tow, still in the middle of their triangle.

…

The Island plummeted.

The jagged underside of the Island met with the tall metal top of Robotnik Tower. The tower caved into itself, twisting and screeching as the Island pancaked the tower. Then it collided with everything else.

BOOOOOM

The center of the city disappeared under the Island, never to be seen again, while the outer ring of the city that the Island didn't reach, got decimated by the shock wave alone, but definitely left the bunker untouched. The land continued to rumble, long after the Island stilled into it's new position into the ground.

The two hedgehogs and fox floated down, hovering just above the fallen Island.

“Guys look.”

Tails pointed to the city’s broken boarder walls, spotting a few Black Arms stragglers fleeing.

They did it.

“Whoever is left… definitely isn't coming back.”

Shadow actually laughed at Sonic's quip.

“Agreed.”

The Master Emerald pulsed between the three of them, almost as a reminder that they didn't have much time left.

“Okay guys, you ready?”

“Do you have to ask?”

“Let's do it already.”

They all dug deep again. The power surged. The Emerald pulsed. Their blood quickened. Sonic's quills trembled, Shadow's fingers twitched, and Tails' namesakes flowed along behind him with his cape.

“The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.”

Something within each of their souls tingled. The air was electrified. Their quills and fur respectively sparked.

A burst of golden energy boomed.

Then the world went white.

 

Wind tickled his nose. Sonic breathed in deep, letting the cool breeze fill his lungs. He then exhaled, a satisfied sound.

Wait a minute… clear air?

Sonic's eyes shot open.

Blue sky. Fluffy white clouds. FRESH AIR.

Sonic sat up, looking around in sudden awe. He found himself sitting on the ground, which was sprouting healthy and soft green grass. It tickled the back of his legs, not enough to be annoying, but enough to make him smile with disbelief. The sun was high in the sky, and it shone with a brilliance that he had forgotten it was capable of. Not a speck of smog could be seen in the sky at all actually.

Sonic forced himself to his feet, looking around. He was on Angel Island, which now found itself embedded into the center of Chaos City. Speaking of, Chaos City wasn't really there anymore. Everything - the walls, buildings - everything, was destroyed, and vibrant plant life was sprouting up from the wreckage, and even beyond the city borders.

They did it.

They brought life back! The world was growing again!

“Sonic.”

The blue hedgehog whirled at being addressed, finding Rusty nearby.

“Good to see you awake.”

Sonic wasn't sure if it was the weather, the feeling of victory, the way the sun complimented Rusty's features, or a combination of all three, but something inside him made his feet move before he could think. Rusty yelped when Sonic picked her up and spun with her, laughing. She joined in as he slowed, setting her back down on her feet.

“Rusty…”

“Soni - ”

His lips stopped hers from finishing. Her eyes widened, then slowly slipped closed, pushing into the kiss. She felt the pit of her stomach flock with butterflies, even after he pulled away.

“Rusty… I uh, don't know how to say… how I feel…”

She put a finger up to his mouth.

“Then don't. I feel the same way.”

Sonic grinned goofily, and Rusty smiled softly back. She then cleared her throat, and pointed over the hill.

“Shadow and Tails fell somewhere over there. Cosmo and Maria are with them. When we found you guys, we figured we'd let you sleep. You looked peaceful.”

Sonic felt his heart grow at the mention of his other friends.

“What about everyone else?”

“They all went to help everyone out of the bunker. Whisper seemed particularly excited to go help.”

Sonic grinned.

“Good.”

He stretched, then offered his metal hand for her to take.

“Care to lead the way?”

Rusty grinned, taking his hand with hers.

“Of course.”

 

Vector and Espio stood at the top of the bunker’s stairs, helping people past the last step. After the Island collision, the building was ripped off the ground and flung, who knows where, leaving a hole in the ground with the steps sticking out just a hair.

“Careful there.”

Vector helped steady a human who looked around in the new world with awe, not even acknowledging the crocodile. The next person up the steps was a small Mobian deer, hesitating. He didn't look much older than five. Two other deer - his parents they assumed, took hold of the boy's shoulders.

“Hey it's okay buddy. These guys are here to help us.”

Vector suddenly felt awful. The kid was scared of THEM. He did have a completely metal head after all. He took a step back.

“My apologies.”

The parents shook their heads, as the father took the child's free hand, as the other was occupied with a bear stuffy.

“No need. Thank you for your help.”

The three began to walk off, and the kid dropped his plush by mistake. Vector didn't hesitate to pick it up, kneeling near the kid and offering it back to him.

“Hey, you dropped this.”

The kid stared at him wide eyed, then the plushie. He carefully picked it back up out of the croc's hands.

“There you go.”

The kid looked back at Vector, a new sort of look in his eyes. It wasn't fear anymore, but curiosity.

“Th-thank you.”

Vector smiled.

“Course little guy.”

The kid bashfully smiled back, running over to his parents again, who held their hand out to him. Vector watched fondly as they walked away, then glanced to see Espio staring.

“What?”

The chameleon blinked, then shook his head.

“Sorry, uh… I was just thinking.”

Vector helped a Mobian, not breaking eye contact with the ninja.

“Think about…?”

Espio glanced at him, face firm.

“That interaction made me think of Charmy.”

Vector stopped, eyes glazing over.

“Oh.”

“Mhmm.”

Silence fell between the long time friends. Vector helped another stranger, and Espio helped the next. Finally, the crocodile cleared his throat.

“We'll make a gravesite for him.”

Espio looked over in surprise, then blinked with thick emotion. He coughed into his elbow.

“Yes. That sounds sufficient.”

Meanwhile, just a few paces away from the crowd that was growing from people emerging from the bunker, Rouge, Zero, Surge, and Blaze stood watching. Surge ‘tsked’, pointing out the handful of humans with ChaosCorp uniforms.

“I'm not allowed to kill them, am I?”

Blaze shot her a stern look.

“No Surge. There is no need for more unnecessary bloodshed. They are not a threat now.”

Surge grumbled, crossing her arms.

“Whatever.”

Zero shook his head.

“Well, I guess I owe you an apology, Surge. I told you we'd never make it out of there alive. Yet here we are.”

Surge smirked.

“Heh, call me a prophet.”

“Yeah, no.”

Rouge laughed as Surge made a face at Zero, who only smirked at her. The bat’s eyes suddenly widened.

“Zero, we got to start making wedding plans!”

The jackal chuckled.

“Right now?”

“Yes right now! This is of the utmost importance!”

Zero smiled with mirth, grinning as Rouge started to rant about their special day to happen in the near future. Surge and Blaze were both offered positions as two bridesmaids, which was naturally accepted.

Below their feet, in the bunker that was slowly losing its residents, Tangle the lemur waited patiently. Well she was trying to be patient. She didn't know what was happening, all she heard was that they were all safe to come out now. But she wasn't exactly in shape to move, and she knew Whisper would come by to help her. If she was… okay. Intrusive thoughts continued to barge into her head. Whisper got hurt. She got lost. She died. Tangle shut her eyes, shaking her head and willing those ideas away. She couldn't be dead. She was her best friend! As the crowd got smaller and smaller, the reality that Whisper might not come back became more real. Tangle bit her lip. Without Whisper, she was alone in this world. The lemur's breath heaved in and out, shuddering her whole body.

“No… no, no.”

Tangle brought her bushy tail to her face, covering it as tears began to fall.

“Tangle.”

She jolted when a small voice accompanied by a gentle hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her state.

Whisper.

She was… right here.

The lemur was then overcome with joy, forcing tears with a completely different meaning out of her eyes.

“Whisper!”

The two embraced, the wolf patting the back of Tangle's head.

“It's okay. I'm okay.”

Just a few paces away, Knuckles used his senses to guide himself through the crowd. He knew exactly who he was looking for, and he recognized their foot patterns all too well.

“Mom! It's Knuckles!”

That was the only warning he got before he was intercepted by a hyperactive bunny. Knuckles laughed with fulfillment, squeezing the girl back.

“Hello Cream.”

The echidna felt Vanilla's hand rest on his shoulder, lightly squeezing. If he was being honest with himself, he didn't plan on making it out of this mission alive. Sacrificing oneself for the cause was seen in his tribe of old as an honor, and while he held that belief, he was more than relieved to ‘see’ Cream and Vanilla again. They were more family to him then his tribe ever was after all.

“Thank you Knuckles. For helping protect my daughter.”

The red Mobian smiled as he held her tighter.

“Anytime.”

 

Sonic and Amy rounded the corner of a big hill, finding Tails and Shadow very much awake, talking with Cosmo and Maria respectively. Sonic's eyes sparkled at the sight of his brother, and doppelganger.

“Tails.”

The fox's ears perked.

“Sonic!”

He scrambled to get to his feet, running over to meet Sonic in a tight embrace. Sonic felt every fear, bit of anxiety, worry, and pain fade as he held Tails close. His brother was here, safe. Alive and well. Back then, Sonic made a mistake by shattering the Paradox Prism, but that didn't stop him from getting to his brother. He not only found Tails in this mess of a reality, but he rebuilt the inseparable, incredible, and irreversible relationship they shared. Nothing could shatter that. Nothing.

Tails - likewise - felt his heart grow as he clung to his self named brother. He wasn't going back to that old life, where he looked down on himself for existing. Now, he was loved, cared for, and had a family. Tails had a lot of shit to heal from, ranging from painful words, physical scars, and sexual assault, but he felt more at peace with them more than any point in his life before. He had help.

As they held each other, Shadow watched with a smirk of his own. Maria also watched, but kept looking back over at Shadow. He had just stopped explaining everything he could about their journey so far, not pulling any punches either, which filled her with more resentment towards her family member. Also, as Shadow spoke, the human girl only found herself to be continually more fascinated with not only his story, but him himself. He was different from the other Mobians for some reason, and she was going to study him until she figured it out. Being his friend would be her first step - which, he didn't seem to mind.

Shadow met Maria's gaze, smiling with a fondness that no one else was allowed to see. He still was in disbelief by her presence. Maria was fucking alive. And healthy. How did this turn out to be the best universe they could have ended up in? Shadow didn't know how the wheels of fate finally turned into his favor for once, but he wasn't complaining.

The two brothers finally broke off, a bit teary-eyed, and terrible at hiding it to the others. Sonic awkwardly cleared his throat.

“So uh… now what?”

Tails took a seat back in the grass next to Cosmo, who stayed there waiting for him.

“Rebuild. Create a new community here.”

Shadow said simply, eyes watching the horizon. While Sonic normally didn't like the sound of sitting still for more than ten minutes, sticking around to help make a new healthy community with humans and Mobians alike working together in harmony… sounded nice. Honestly, Sonic needed at least a month of sleep to catch his body up from how much he was lacking.

“I want to see a world where Mobians don't have to live in fear anymore.”

Maria added, face set in a grin line.

“My cousin did enough damage. I want to help heal as much as I can.”

Shadow smiled with pride towards her.

“Thank you Maria.”

“Mhmm.”

All five of them sat down, facing the broken mountain in the distance. Rusty sat in the middle, with Sonic to her right, and Tails to his right, and Shadow to her left, and Maria finishing it off on the farthest left. They all just stared in silence for a while, content with their victory, and refreshed by the new environment the world now offered.

“This is a new beginning.”

Sonic said out of the blue, not taking his eyes away from the broken mountain. After all, he couldn't forget where he came from.

He then grinned like a cat, leaping up to his feet.

“Hey Shadow, wanna race to the mountain and back?”

The dark hedgehog smirked.

“Only if you want to be smoked, faker.”

“I don't smoke. That's bad for your health ya know.”

Shadow rolled his eyes, jumping up to stand next to him.

“You're on.”

They both got into a runners position, Sonic pausing to look over at Tails and Rusty to the side, who both watched with eyes sparkling. Sonic glanced down at Tails' namesakes, a sudden idea slamming into his brain.

“When I get back bro, there's a move I want to teach you.”

The fox grinned at the idea.

“Uh, okay!”

Sonic's face split with a smirk.

“You'll be flying in no time.”

Tails blinked in confusion.

“Wait what…?”

The two hedgehogs boosted off, leaving the three women and the fox to watch them disappear.

“Are those two always like this?”

Maria asked, watching with a pair of binoculars that kind of just appeared in her hand.

“Eh, a lot of the time.”

Rusty answered, humor set in her voice.

Sonic and Shadow ran side by side, limbs blurring, and energy circulating around their bodies. The fastest thing alive and the Ultimate Lifeform gave each other the side eye as they neared the mountain.

The hedgehogs raced over a new world. A world with new life breathed into it. Sonic and Shadow fell into a broken world, but with their help, it was starting to mend. While their old world was dead and gone, they not only salvaged this one, but flourished in it.

This was their home now.

 

The End.