Chapter Text
Area 99
"There, I think I've proved my point."
Commander Tower grimaced as he looked over the cluster of holo-screens he had been presented with.
One screen showed Kat nearly exploding during her Qi deviation before the Sand Blast City incident. Another showed Chris and Keith fending off Einherjar during the attack on the middle school sports festival; both boys barely hanging on. A third showed Hope being held at scythe-point by Clove the Pronghorn from the Warp Topaz retrieval mission (He was still wondering how they managed to get that one). And another depicted Tangle about to be slashed apart by Razorklaw in the Thunder Plains.
These were but a few of the many photographs and news reports he had been going over during this presentation.
"Well, Commander, anything to add?"
Tower looked at the officer sitting across from him, who had walked him through the presentation, and let out an exasperated sigh.
"I will admit," he began. "You make a valid point, Brigadier General."
The General smiled in satisfaction. "Then, will you agree to the terms?"
"Not so fast." …only to pause when Tower interrupted. "I only said you had a valid point. If you want your terms met, you will need to bring it up directly with them."
The General sputtered in disbelief. "S-Sir, with all due respect, they're children!"
"They are," Tower conceded. "But this 'proposal' of yours affects them, not me, and last I checked, only one of them is in the chain of command."
The Brigadier General grunted in annoyance, preparing to protest…
"Very well, then."
Only to pause as a second, shorter figure stepped forward.
"Colonel!"
"He is willing to let us say our piece," he began. "Which is, honestly, much more than I expected we would get. Besides…"
He looked at the holoscreens intently. "I want to see them myself…the Child Soldiers of the Freedom Fighters."
The Brigadier General let out a displeased rumble and strangled the chair's armrest, but didn't raise a fuss.
"Very well…"
The Colonel nodded. "Excellent. I will inform the others right away."
"And I will inform King Maximillian," Tower volunteered. "I'm the one who started our initial partnership, it's only right. You are dismissed, Brigadier General."
"Yes, sir. Colonel."
The Colonel saluted as well before the two walked out the door. Once they'd left, Tower let out a tired sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose.
"Aurora above…" he groaned. "I thought they'd never finish."
He pressed a button on his intercom. "Amanda, call Agent Stewart. The moment we've been dreading has come."
The Great Forest, Just Outside Knothole
"YAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Tangle swung through the treetops, her tail shooting out from branch to branch as she fled from an unseen pursuer.
"Heh! Still got it!" she declared, only to yelp as a small explosion went off behind her.
"Holy…!"
Tangle looked down and saw Chris running along the forest floor in hot pursuit.
"There you are!" he shouted, priming another Nitro Ball.
"Crap!"
Chris threw the ball at Tangle, who narrowly managed to avoid it as she leaned to the side, changing the course of her swing.
"You can't run away forever, Tangle! I'll find you no matter where you go!"
"I'm surprised you found me now!" she replied. "How'd you do it, anyway? Lemur-sensing earbuds? Stripe-detecting contact lens?"
"Ears." He pointed to said body part. "Kinda hard to miss you when you're shouting all over the forest."
Tangle paused. "Ohhhh…doi."
"Yeah…" Chris deadpanned as he prepared another ball. "Doi."
He threw the ball at Tangle, this time, managing to get her in the shoulder, earning a cry of pain.
"Yes, a hit!"
"Don't get cocky, Chris! You have to catch me, remember? And as long as I'm up here in the trees, that's never gonna happen!"
"I remember…" he formed another ball. "And I'll just have to fix that."
Chris spun the Nitro Ball in his hand until it flattened out into a disc.
"Uh oh…" Tangle let out.
"Nitro Slasher!"
Chris threw the disc, which sliced through the branches, causing them to fall to the ground.
"Yipe!"
Tangle hopped onto a larger branch and began booking it as Chris continued throwing Nitro Slashers; cutting away more branches and giving Tangle less cover to hide behind.
"Holy hot fuzz!" Tangle exclaimed. "I thought Kat was supposed to be the only superpowered human here!"
Unfortunately, Tangle was so caught up in keeping an eye on Chris' skills with his weapon, that she completely forgot about said weapon, keeping her from noticing the Nitro Slicer cutting off the edge of the branch she was running on, causing her to walk right off.
"Uh-oh!"
Tangle screamed as she fell. Fortunately, she retained enough wits to stretch her tail onto another branch, allowing her to bungee jump to safety. Unfortunately, she over-extended just a bit; so, while her fall wasn't too bad, she had a rough landing.
"Oof…" she let out as she rubbed her head. "Gotta work on that."
"Yeah."
Tangle slowly turned around to see Chris approaching.
"Well Tangle, it's been fun, but it looks like our little game has come to an end," he said dramatically, raising his hand. "Any last words?"
Tangle grinned. "Yeah, your shoe's untied."
Chris gave Tangle a flat look. "Seriously? Tangle, I may be one of the younger Freedom Fighters, but I'm not a…"
Suddenly, Chris felt something tighten around his ankle. Looking down, he saw that he'd been caught in a rope snare that had been buried in the leaves and branches.…a stripey, gray rope snare.
"Uh-oh…"
Tangle spun around as she shifted her hips, flipping Chris off his feet. He spun in the air for a bit before hitting the ground with a thud.
"Ow…"
"Haha!" Tangle laughed as she ran off. "So long, Chrissy! See ya in…in…" she scrunched her face, struggling to think of a rhyming city. "Eat my shorts!"
Chris watched as Tangle blew a raspberry and bolted off, knowing he'd never be able to catch her in time.
"Well, that was embarrassing," he let out as he got up and pressed a button on his glove. "Keith, she's heading your way, move to intercept."
"Roger. Commencing Plan B."
-X-
"Come on, come on, where is it!?" Tangle said as she looked around, frantically. "It's gotta be here somewhere!"
Then, something caught her eye. She looked ahead and saw a tree with a big sign that read "HOME BASE" with some cute pictures of butterflies, flowers, and a happy sun drawn on it in crayon.
"Yay! There it is!"
She launched her tail and grabbed the tree…
"AAAAAAAAnd…Zipline!"
She hopped into the air, allowing her tail to pull her in at speeds much faster than she was going on foot, laughing in jubilation.
"I did it!" she cheered. "I'm home free! Hoooooomefrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…!"
Only to slam into, then slowly peel off of an invisible wall, landing flat on her back, mere feet from home base.
"Graaaaaaaannnndaaaaad?" she let out in a daze.
"Huh, so that's what it does," Keith said as he walked over, examining his Nitro Glove. "I'll note that down for Mom."
He pulled out a notepad to begin writing, only to pause, pursing his lips as if he were trying to remember something.
"Oh yeah!" He leaned down and tapped Tangle on the forehead. "Tag! You're it."
"Ah man!" Tangle cried out in frustration. "I was soooo cloooooooose!"
"I take it that means we won?" Chris called out as he joined his cousin.
"Yep!" Keith replied, holding up his hand, revealing a pair of Power Rings around his wrist, each with a colored, crystal charm set into them. One, a gray shield and the other a blue-green pinwheel. "Mom's Barrier Power Ring worked like a charm!"
"And the Wind Ring mod?"
"See for yourself."
Keith made a fist and focused for a moment, then opened his hand, revealing a miniature cyclone swirling in his palm.
"Awesome."
"Whoa…" Tangle let out in awe as she got up. "That is seriously cool."
She stuck her head in the cyclone, sagging in relief. "And refreshing…"
"Yeah." Keith dispelled the cyclone, to Tangle's disappointment. "With these, even humans like us can have Mo-Bilities!"
"Speaking of…" Chris cut in. "How's Hope's shield test going?"
Suddenly, the ground shook as an explosion echoed through the woods.
"Sounds like 'pretty dang good', good buddy," Tangle added.
-X-
In a clearing in another part of the forest woods, Hope stood firmly, surrounded by a massive shield. She gritted her teeth as she kept an eye on its percentage on a wristwatch-like device.
"42%," she read off. "Not bad."
She was pulled back to reality by a furious scream and a fiery smash against the shield, perpetrated by Kat's fire-covered bat, reducing the shield's power to 37%.
"Don't think this shield can protect you forever!" she shouted. "I will get what is owed to me!"
Hope flinched as she smashed it even harder, bringing it down to 21%. Thinking quickly, she reached into the pocket of her overalls.
"The only thing I owe you…" she pulled out a Power Ring with a blue, droplet-shaped crystal and slotted it into her Omochao Gun. "Is this!"
She pulled the trigger, unleashing a large stream of water that was headed straight for Kat. The pyrokinetic screamed in Chun-ese, bringing her arms in a defensive position as a fiery phoenix formed a shield around her. The two energies clashed, and the resulting steam exploded violently enough to shatter Hope's shield and send both girls flying in opposite directions. Hope ended up landing in a bush, which broke her fall. Kat plowed through a tree, leaving a human-shaped impression in the wood. Hope coughed loudly, waving her arm to dispel the vapors.
"Oh man…that was dumb…"
"No shit…" Kat groaned as she stood up. "You okay?"
"I should be asking you that."
"I think I did more damage to the tree than it did to me." As if to prove her right, the tree slowly creaked backward, crumbling to the ground. "Seriously? Water Ring?"
"Yeah…I forgot the intense heat would make the water expand…violently."
"Honestly, I think I win the cookies by default for that."
"Fair enough…" Hope coughed again.
"Woof!"
The girls turned to see Sonic and Sally walking over.
"Feels a sauna out here."
"Kat, are you trying to build a hot spring again?" Sally asked.
"You are never gonna let me live that down, are you?" Kat sighed. "For your information, this one's all Hope."
"You just got a violent, impromptu lesson in thermodynamics," Hope explained as she shook her head. "Shoulda used the Ice Ring instead of Water."
"I thought it was humid over here."
The group turned to see Chris, Keith, and Tangle approaching.
"Heya guys!" Tangle waved. "What'd we miss? Did Kat win the sacred cookie?"
"Yep," Kat nodded. "What about you?"
"Well…" Tangle began, chest puffed out confidently. "It wasn't easy, but after a long, hard, arduous, and drawn-out battle, Chris and Keith finally managed to vanquish…!"
"She lost five feet from the base," Keith cut in, deflating Tangle's mood and posture.
"It was…more like…six…."
Chris patted her on the back.
"Hey, it was still better than last time."
Last Time…
"Good luck, boys!" Tangle laughed as she swung through the trees. "But you'll never catch the unstoppable Tang…GAH!"
Tangle slammed into a tree, then slowly peeled off, landing right in front of a surprised Chris and Keith.
"That doesn't…count…" Tangle groused, her voice muffled by the grass.
Now…
Tangle sighed miserably. "I can't believe I got tagged out in the first ten seconds."
Just then, the tinkling chime echoed through the woods. Everyone looked up to find Umbra floating above them, ringing a little bell as he chanted "Dit-diiiit!" (1) repeatedly.
"The lunch bell!" Chris declared, grinning.
"Isn't it Cream's turn?" Keith recalled.
"Sweet! Her sandwiches are the best!" Kat cheered.
"Last one there's a rotten egg!" Hope challenged, running toward Knothole.
There was a chorus of laughter as all the teens took off. Sonic chuckled as he shook his head fondly.
"Y'know, sometimes I forget they're still kids."
"Indeed," Sally concurred. "Though, they are fourteen now. If they were Mobians, they would almost be of age."
"Seriously, it's so weird," Tangle said. "Humans have to wait so long to do…pretty much anything. Sixteen to drive. Eighteen to get a real job. Twenty-one to do everything else. Honestly, I'm surprised their folks are even okay with them fighting with us."
Sonic sagged a little. "Well, only two of them have folks to worry about them."
Tangle winced at that. "Right…damn…"
"Plus, the Thorndykes and the Kents have been incredibly helpful, both as financial backers and research partners."
"Still…" Tangle said, her mind clearly elsewhere.
"Tangle, everything alright?" Sonic asked.
"Hm?" the lemur perked. "Oh yeah, totally! Just hungry. I'm hungry. You guys hungry? I'm hungry. Let's go not be hungry!"
At that, she ran after the others. Sonic and Sally exchanged glances, both of them concerned.
Knothole Cafeteria
Cream carefully cut the crusts off a pair of bread slices. Once she was done, she gingerly laid them out on a plate, which she took over to a small station of assorted meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments Ella and her mother had picked up from the market.
"Alright, just one more," she said as she got to work. "Take one slice of cheese, then one slice of ham - folded over so it doesn't stick out of the bread. Add the tomato, then the lettuce. And then, another piece of cheese to keep the bread from getting soggy."
Grabbed a jar of mustard and a butter knife.
"Add a little dollop of mustard and spread evenly…" she recited as she carefully spread the sauce. "Add finally…"
She placed the piece of bread, then sliced the sandwich in half right down the middle.
"Perfect!" she declared, taking a moment to admire her handiwork. "Now don't you just look tasty?"
She picked up the plate, and set it on a rotating, metal tree used in fancy dinners, along with several other plates of food.
"There, doesn't it look wonderful, Cheese?"
The Chao chirped in agreement, doing a little flip in the air.
"Now then, do you have the sliced vegetables and ranch dip?"
Cheese gestured to the side, where Chronic and Chails were diligently mixing the dip and slicing cucumbers and carrots.
"Good, and the drinks?"
Cheese pointed to another part of the table, where Chuckles and Chocola were lifting assorted bottles of fruit juice into neat lines.
"Very good! This is going to be the best lunch we've ever prepared!"
The little rabbit perked at the sound of the bell, signaling Umbra's return.
"Ooh, here they come now!"
One by one, Chris and the others filed into the mess hall.
"Yes!" Kat cheered. "First place! Victory is mine!"
"You only won cuz of your Chaos stamina…" Chris said, catching his breath. "And Keith and I have been running around all day. It was tainted!"
"Oh come on, can't you let me be a winner without bringing up my Chaos? Why didn't you just use your rings to even the odds?"
"Hello, everyone!" Cream greeted, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Hey there, Cream!" Chris greeted back before noticing the spread. "Whoa, you guys really went out this time."
"Ella's lessons are paying off," Keith added. "This looks just like one of Uncle Nelson's business lunches."
"Thank you!" the rabbit said with a curtsy. "Well, help yourselves! I made sure to make them exactly as you like."
"Did you remember no condiments on mine?" Kat asked.
"Uh-huh, I used soy sauce instead."
Kat grinned. "Cream, you are a saint."
As everyone went to fill their plate and take their seats, a strange noise echoed through the building.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..."
Everyone perked.
"What is that?" Cream asked, just as Tangle charged inside and slid to a stop."
"AAAAAAAAAnd GOOOOOOOOOAL!"
"Hey Tangle, you're just in time," Hope said as she sat down. "Cream just finished making lunch."
"I saw," the lemur said as she walked over to the tree. "Oooooh, fancy! What's the occasion?"
"There isn't." Cream shook her head. "I just wanted to make lunch look extra nice today after you all worked so hard fixing the city."
"Awwww, that's so sweet!" Tangle grabbed one of the sandwiches and took a bite, and immediately started gagging.
"Oh gawd…"
"Miss Tangle!" Cream cried out.
"Whoa!" Keith shouted. "She looks like she's been poisoned!"
"No…" she let out as she looked up at the others with a sickly, pitiful expression. "Mayonaaaaaaissssse…"
"Yeeeah…" Chris said awkwardly. "That one was mine."
He pointed to a little sign in front of the plate bearing his initials, C.T. "Yours are over here."
He gestured to another plate, this one with a sign reading "T.t.L."
"Ohhhh…whoops," Tangle said as she set the sandwich down on his plate. "I'll just…leave this here."
She then grabbed her own plate, using her tail to snag a bottle of strawberry lemonade, and began eating. As she did though, the others couldn't help but notice that she seemed…distracted.
"Miss Tangle, are you okay?" Cream asked, cocking her head in a cute, concerned manner.
"Who me?" Tangle asked through a mouthful of bologna and ketchup, swallowing before she continued. "Sure am! Yepper-doodles, everything's goin' great!"
"Tangle..."
"Yeah, whuzzup Kaaaaaaa…"
Tangle sat still, unable to speak as Kat gave her the most serious look she had ever seen. She could almost see her sus meter rising like a thermostat next to her.
"You should know better to try and hide things when I'm around, Tangle," she continued. "Especially if they're serious."
She took a bite of her sandwich, Cream's rendition of ro jia mo or "meat stuffed bread".
"So, what's going on?" Chris pressed. "You know you can talk to us."
Tangle let out a long groan.
"It's…. It's my dad. I sent him an email about what happened during the whole Artika fiasco, but he still hasn't replied back."
Kat stared at her, practically glaring daggers into the lemur. The thermostat sus meter visibly rose.
"Okay! I wrote the email but never actually sent it! It's in the draft folder."
"There it is." Kat took another bite.
"Tangle, you can't keep blowing off telling your dad about this," Hope told her. "He's gonna find out eventually."
"I know..." Tangle moaned, sliding backward in her chair a bit. "But every time I get ready to tell him, I think about how much he'll freak out and I choke..."
"Is he that bad?" Keith asked.
Tangle sighed. "Well..."
Before she could continue, Hope's phone went off.
"Uh-oh, it's Commander Tower," she said as she put him on speaker. "Hello sir, I put you on speaker. Is that alright?"
"That's perfectly fine, Agent Kintobor," Tower said. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Just a little lunch, sir," Hope replied. "Is there anything we can help you with?"
"Yes, actually, is Princess Sally with you? I must speak with her."
"I'm right here, Commander."
"What's up?"
Everyone turned to see Sally and Sonic entering the room.
"Ah, good day, Your Majesty," Tower greeted. "And Sonic as well. Perfect. I apologize for not calling you sooner. When I tried contacting your father, I ended up going to voicemail."
"He is preparing my brother Elias to take the throne," Sally explained. "Not to mention preparing relief efforts for areas still affected by the blizzard."
"I see..."
"Now, you said you had something to tell me?"
"Yes. I need to speak with you, Sonic, and your highest-ranking allies, as well as Team Thorndyke and Miss Lemur."
Team Thorndyke perked.
"Us?" Chris asked, confused.
"Me?" Tangle asked, nervously.
"That's correct," Tower continued. "How soon can you come to Area 99?"
Sally pulled out a Warp Ring. "We can be there right now."
"Alright," Tower said. "Finish eating and we'll see you in about an hour. I apologize for the inconvenience…and in advance."
Hope raised an eyebrow. "Advance?"
"That's all I can say right now. This is something that can only be discussed in person. We will explain once you arrive."
With that, he hung up.
"Okaaaay...That was...cryptic," Sonic said.
"What was that all about?" Keith asked.
"Not sure," Hope replied. "The Commander's never acted like this before."
"I don't like it…" Kat chimed in worriedly. "It's like when we first met Mr. Teacher-Spy."
"I'm sure it's not too bad," Chris reassured. "I mean, it's Tower . Maybe he just has a mission for us." He paused. "Oh crap! What if it's a new Egg Boss!?"
Sally shook her head. "I don't think so. Tower is normally serious when he's giving missions like this. This time, he sounded...worried."
"Well, the longer we spend agonizing over it. the longer until we know the truth," Sonic cut in. "Let's finish eating, grab the others, and bounce over to Area 99."
"Right."
As the others resumed eating, Tangle just sat in her chair, scared.
"Oh man..." she whispered. "This is bad..."
Later… Outside Area 99
Mr. Stewart stood outside the GUN base, anxious looking at his watch as he waited for the Freedom Fighters to arrive.
"Just standing around out here is driving me crazy!" he whispered in frustration. "What's taking them so long?"
Just then, a Warp Ring portal opened up, depositing his guests. Those in attendance were Sally, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Shard, along with the kids and Tangle.
"Ahh, there you are!" Stewart greeted. "I was starting to think you weren't going to show."
"Mr. Teacher-Spy?" Kat let out in surprise. "Why are you here?"
"I work here, Kathryn. Teacher-Spy," he replied. "Hey there, kids. Sonic. Your Majesty."
"Good day, Agent Stewart," Sally greeted.
"Sorry we're late," Sonic said, giving a two-fingered salute. "Hope we didn't keep you guys too long."
"Not too long, thankfully."
It was then that Stewart noticed Tangle.
"Ahhh, Tangle, it's been a while."
"H-Hey..." she greeted nervously, surprising everyone.
"You know Mr. Stewart?" Hope asked.
"I served alongside her father," he replied. "Her and her mom would stay on the base with the other soldiers' families before they got their own place."
"Whoa, seriously?" Chris said.
Stewart nodded. "Yup. I'd give you the details, but Commander Tower's expecting us, and the guests he has over...aren't known for their patience."
He motioned them to follow. "C'mon, let's go."
-X-
Meanwhile…
Shears and Vellum stood outside Tower's office pressing his ear to the door, a look of frustration on his face.
"C'mon, what the hell are they talking about in there? I can't hear a thing!"
"That's because they aren't saying anything, Rory," Vellum pointed out before taking a sip from his coffee cup.
"Bullshit! Those two bigshot, beetle-butt asshats have Abe whipped like a damn dog! There's no way they're not talking about something!"
Vellum sighed. "Conceding their argument has merit hardly counts as being 'whipped'."
"Yeah…Well… They didn't have to act so high and mighty about it!"
"Rory, calm down and mind your language. The Children will be joining us soon."
"Fugg my language!" he shouted. "I'm pissed off!"
"Agent Shears?" Hope asked.
"Gah!"
Shears spun around to see Stewart had arrived with the others.
"Oh! Hey there, Hopios!" he greeted with a grin. "What brings you here?"
"We're here for the meeting," she replied, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
Stewart sighed. "Rory, are you eavesdropping on the Commander's meetings again?"
Shears scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Pssh! Of course I'm not…I can't hear a thing going on in there."
"Who's this guy?" Kat asked, eyeing the redhead suspiciously.
"He looks kinda…seedy," Knuckles added.
"Rory!" Tangle shouted happily as she sprinted toward Shears, startling him as she hugged him.
"Hey, look who's back!" Shears greeted as he returned the embrace. "Heya Stripes, haven't seen you in forever! You still being a pain in the butt?"
"Does Shamus still shine and wax his dome?" the lemur asked cheekily, causing the two to break out laughing as Vellum turned away in embarrassment.
"I had almost forgotten you were coming, Tangle," the bald agent said, mildly annoyed.
"C'mon Shay, y'know she's messing with you cuz she likes you," Shears reassured. He then noticed the Freedom Fighters.
"Ahh, and here's the rest of Hopium's funny, forest friends. Glad to finally see you in person."
"Uhhhh…Same," Sonic greeted uneasily. "And you are…?"
"Right!" Shears released Tangle before flashing a peace sign. "Special Agent Rory Shears. Knife specialist of Team Roshambo of Chamber-3! What up?"
"Special Agent Shamus Vellum. Hand-to-hand and intelligence. Team Roshambo. Chamber-3," the bald agent greeted dutifully.
"A pleasure to meet you, agents," Sally greeted politely. "Will you be joining us in the meeting?"
"Well…" Shears began.
"No," Vellum interrupted. "We were just leaving.
Vellum grabbed Shears by his shirt before dragging him off.
"H-Hey! Shay!" Shears protested.
"Come on, Rory, we have work to do."
Shears sagged in disappointment. "Sorry, Stripes, we'll talk later!"
And with that, they were gone.
"Good, ol' Rory," Tangle said fondly.
"Was he a friend of yours, Tangle?" Tails asked.
She nodded. "We used to hang out when my mom and I still lived on the base. He'd look after me while my folks were busy with work."
That got Hope's attention. "Wait…Agent Shears was your babysitter!?"
"Ehhh…kinda?" Tangle said warily. "He was more like a 'live-in uncle that gets paid to kill people'. His words, not mine."
Shard sputtered for a moment. "B-But, he's one of the biggest wackos in GUN! Everyone says he's a fugg-muthering devil!"
"Hey! He's not a wacko!" Tangle snapped, only to falter a little bit. "Though…Dad would always tell me to keep away from him…and he liked to perform little tricks with his daggers…like stabbing the spots between his fingers…a lot."
The others gave Tangle a strange look before Sonic clapped his hands.
"Okaaaaay!" Sonic said, trying to get things back on track. "Fun as this is, we should probably get moving."
"Yes." Stewart nodded. "The commander is waiting."
He walked over to the door and knocked.
"Commander tower, the Freedom Fighters have arrived."
"Excellent, send them in."
Stewart opened the door, motioning for everyone to enter. Sally and Team Sonic entered first, followed by Shard and the kids.
"Tangle?" Stewart called to the lemur, who lingered outside, nervously. "Tangle!"
"Ah! C-Coming!"
Tangle ran in, joining the others as they stood across from Commander Tower and several other GUN personnel, including Amanda, Dr. Bennet, and Topaz, all sitting at a large meeting table.
"Greetings, Freedom Fighters," Tower said. "Thank you for agreeing to see us on such short notice."
Sally bowed. "Commander Tower."
"What's all this about?" Knuckles inquired.
"Please, have a seat," Tower instructed, motioning to the empty chairs at the table.
Tower watched as each of them took their seats; Stewart joining his fellow agents and soldiers.
"Now then," Tower began. "I'll spare you the ceremony and get to the point. We've summoned you all here to address a very serious concern."
"What kind of concern?" Hope asked.
"The Einherjar."
Everyone grimaced at the mention of the name.
"Right, them ," Sonic uttered with a grimace.
Amanda nodded. "The invasion of Station Square and the disaster that followed gave us a bit of a reality check. While our current alliance has been beneficial, it isn't going to be enough to take on the Empire's growing influence."
"Especially when they have power like that at their disposal," Dr. Bennet chimed in, massaging her temples. "Seriously...a Ragnium-powered weather machine?"
"The point is, it's made us realize that we need to take a more active role in the fight against the Empire," Tower continued. "Specifically, when it comes to aiding you."
"Yeah, that's why we set up our little partnership after the fight with Kodos," Sonic replied.
"Yes," Tower nodded. "And while that partnership has been beneficial, it's really only surface level. Exchanging information and occasionally teaming up to take on more cataclysmic threats. But now, we believe it's time we make made this partnership into a true alliance."
Sonic perks an eyebrow at that. "Hold up…"
"Commander, are you saying...?" Sally asked, eyes wide.
Tower nodded. "I am. Princess Sally, the Guardians of United Nations request to officially join the Global Freedom Fighters."
The room went silent as everyone on the Knothole side stared at Tower and his gathered subordinates, mouths agape and eyes wide open.
"Holy…" Tangle uttered, her brain lagging as she processed what she had just heard.
"My gosh..." Hope uttered, her face and Sally's faces lighting up with excitement. "This is..."
"Hope?" Shard asked.
"Guys, do you have any idea what this means!?"
"Uhhh… the start of a really bad time for the Eggman?" Kat asked.
"We'll have ready access to more advanced human technology?" Tails inquired.
"That those giant trucks are gonna help us instead of chasing us?" Sonic guessed.
"Sonic," Sally cut in. "GUN is offering to join the Freedom Fighters! The United Federation is offering to directly cooperate with Acorn!"
Sonic blinked. "Yeah, so?"
"So!?" Sally sputtered a few seconds before regaining her wits. "Sonic, think about this! If we accept this alliance, the two sides of the Great War will be working together! It's Dr. Kintobor's dream come true! Our parents' dream come true!"
"Sally's right!" Hope cut in. "This could be the biggest step forward in human-mobian relations since Uncle Julian and Dr. Morgan became citizens of Mobotropolis!"
It was then that everything clicked for Sonic, causing him to let out a fond chuckle. "Whoa…Well, ain't that a kick in the head?"
"Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't just do this in the first place," Knuckles added.
"We've wanted to for a while," Topaz replied. "Unfortunately, several obstacles were keeping us from doing so."
Tower nodded. "The Freedom Fighters are well-trusted and highly-regarded the world over. Your diversity, openness to admit your wrong, and uncompromising commitment to upholding the values of truth, justice, and freedom have led you to become ideal role models and symbols of heroism."
He faltered slightly.
"Whereas GUN, despite its vast resources, technology, and military might, still carries the stigma from the Great War.
"Hey, you guys aren't that bad," Keith pointed out. "It's thanks to you guys we were able to stop Shadow and reveal what really happened on the ARK."
"Yes," Tower conceded. "But while I have taken great strides to clear up much of the detritus left by my predecessors, a few heroic deeds aren't going to magically undo centuries of corruption, military brutality, and conspiracy."
"That's where this alliance comes in," Amanda continued.
"Well, with all that, how could we possibly say no?" Sonic said.
"We would gladly welcome you into our ranks, Commander," Sally added.
"I'm glad to hear you approve, Princess," Tower said. "Unfortunately, there's one major obstacle standing in our way…or rather, two."
"Obstacles?" Chris asked. "Lemme guess, more creeps like Wise and Johnson looking to shut us down?"
"Not quite," Tower replied. "I'll let them explain."
Tower pressed a button on his comm.
"Brigadier General, Colonel, you're up."
"Thank you, sir," a female voice replied. "We will be there shortly."
About a minute later, the door opened again. Everyone turned to see a pair of GUN soldiers walk in, high-ranked from the pins and bars on their uniforms.
The first was a female Mobian doberman. She was tall, well-built, and well-kempt; not a single one of her black and brown fur out of place. Her face was stern and austere, a look only enhanced by her piercing brown-maroon eyes, a look undercut only slightly by her red lipstick and the curly, upturned cowlick on her forehead. From the way she carried herself, she appeared to be the higher-ranked of the two.
Her companion was a Mobian lemur with grey fur and purple eyes, and a blue beret bearing GUN's logo.
The Freedom Fighters regarded these figures in awe, still not used to seeing Mobians in uniform…all but one, who regarded the shorter with a mix of surprise and fear.
"Oh Aurora…" Tangle whispered as she shrunk into her chair.
"Tangle, what's wrong?" Sonic asked.
"That's…That's Scrape the Lemur," she replied, shakily pointing to said lemur. "That's my dad!"
Notes:
(1) The sound the Dark Chao Walker makes when selected in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.
Scrape the Lemur is owned by WindstarOsprey.
GUN joins the Freedom Fighters and Tangle is reunited with her father. What could possibly go wrong?
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Scrape: Liam Neeson
Please R&R. Until next time!
Chapter Text
Area 99
Sonic and the other Freedom Fighters stared in surprise at the lemur Tangle identified as her father. Sure enough, there was a strong family resemblance. Aside from his age and gender, Scrape was practically a mirror image of his daughter. Fur color, eye color, tail patterns. They even had similar “hair” tufts (though Scrape’s were neater). The similarities ended there, however, as Scrape carried himself with an air of serious, stoic dignity, a stark contrast to his daughter's cheerful exuberance.
“H-Hey, Dad…” Tangle greeted nervously, prompting the elder lemur to turn to her sharply, startling her.
“Entanglina…”
“Entanglina?” Sonic repeated, eyebrow raised. “Not what I was expecting.”
The two lemurs ignored the hedgehog, Scrape looking over Tangle with an unreadable expression. Then, much to everyone's surprise, he used his tail to pull her closer, hugging her.
“Thank Aurora, you're safe…” he whispered, voice trembling with relief.
Tangle blinked in surprise as Scrape held her tightly, his breathing uneasy and shuddering, as if on the verge of breaking down in tears.
“Are you alright? Let me look at you.” He cupped her cheek gently as he examined her face.
“D-Dad, please!” Tangle said, gently pulling away her father’s hand. “I’m fine, really!”
“You spent a week in an Artikan, Viking death camp!” Scrape shouted. “There is no conceivable way you are fine!”
“She’s alright, sir,” Sally piped up. “We had her checked out by Acorn's best doctors, along with everyone else who was captured, and she's attending mandatory therapy and counseling.”
Scrape turned to Sally, giving her the same unreadable expression as earlier, causing her to flinch in surprise. He held the expression for several seconds, before nodding approvingly.
“Good. You have my thanks, Princess.”
“Whoa,” Knuckles whispered. “I was half expecting a repeat of when I saw my dad again.”
“I was expecting a rendition of how my Uncle Colin was,” Hope added.
“I was expecting St. John the Sequel: The Stickening,” Sonic chimed in.
“I heard that.”
The whisperers flinched as Scrape turned to them, his expression slightly softer.
“Mr. Hedgehog, I understand that you may have a negative impression of me, no doubt brought about by Tangle always growing anxious whenever my name is mentioned. And while I admit that her mother was always the more emotionally cognizant of the two of us, I do truly love my daughter and want her to be both happy and safe.”
His glare returned full force.
“That being said, if you must talk about somebody, do it when they aren't in the same room as you."
Sonic blinked, thoroughly surprised and chastised.
"Huh...talk about flipping the script.”
The sound of a throat clearing resounded through the room, drawing attention to Scrape’s Doberman companion.
"Scrape, the mission?" she said.
"Right, apologies, Brigadier General."
With that, Scrape released Tangle and returned to his superior.
"Princess Sally, members of the Freedom Fighters, allow us to introduce ourselves properly.” The canine straightened up, lifting her snout as she spoke with authority. "I am Brigadier General Sperry Doberman. Caucasus Troop. Chamber 1."
"Colonel Scrape the Lemur. Beetle Troop. Chamber 5."
"Caucasus Troop!?" Hope shouted.
"No way…” Shard whispered in awe.
“Um…” Kat looked between the various GUN agents in overwhelmed confusion. “Mind elaborating for those who aren't GUN fanatics?”
"Caucasus Troop is one of the strongest troops in the entire army!" Shard explained with fanboyish enthusiasm. "They're the best of the best!"
"They take on missions most soldiers deem impossible! They're on par with the Paladins who protect the President!" Hope added with equal zeal.
Sonic whistled. "Whoa, big time, big shots.”
“It's an honor to meet you, Brigadier General,” Sally rose, extending a hand to Sperry.
"Likewise..." the Doberman replied, accepting the handshake. "I've heard all kinds of stories about you and yours. You all do good work. Obvious, yes, but..."
Sperry cleared her throat.
"But, I'm getting ahead of myself." She snapped her fingers. "Colonel Lemur!"
Scrape snapped to attention. "Ma'am?"
"Get the charts."
Scrape saluted, then pulled out a holo-projector from his pocket. He pressed one of the buttons, releasing a holo-screen showing an emblem that looks like a cross between the Kingdom of Acorn and GUN symbols.
"As Commander Tower has informed you, GUN seeks to officially align themselves with the Freedom Fighters,” Sperry began. "I trust you all understand the massive ramifications?"
“Yeah, we just covered that bombshell,” Knuckles replied.
"Then we'll get to the juicy kibble." Sperry gestured, prompting Scrape to bring up the next screen, this one showing a bullet list
"These are the plans for what we call ‘Phase 1’ of GUN’s contribution to our little comic book crossover…” Scrape explained. “A group of agents who will serve as GUN's 'Freedom Fighter Team'. Codename...F-Troop."
As soon as Scrape mentioned the name, the room went silent.
“F...Troop?" Tails asked.
"Sounds kinda...underwhelming,” Keith added.
"Also, I think it's taken," Chris threw in.
"It's a placeholder,” Scrape replied, looking slightly embarrassed.
Sperry sighed. “Anyway… While GUN already fights against the Empire, F-Troop's soldiers will be specially trained to combat their Eggtech-empowered forces. Along with other special interest targets."
Sally perked. “You mean like Naugus and other entities, like Chaos?”
Sperry nodded. "Knick-knack paddy-whack give the dog a bone."
"So, who all's gonna be in this team? Anyone we know?" Sonic asked.
"We'll deal with the roster later,” Sperry continued. “Right now, we have...bigger issues to discuss…serious issues."
Sperry gave the group a very serious look, her eyes focusing on Team Thorndyke, Tails, and Tangle.
"And it concerns you lot.”
Tangle swallowed nervously. "U-us?"
“Why us?” Chris repeated.
"Scape, you wanna tell them or shall I?"
"I'll do it, ma'am." Scrape turned to address the others. "Princess Sally… while GUN is prepared to offer its full resources and support to the Freedom Fighters, we do have one caveat for agreeing to the alliance. One that is non-negotiable.” His expression darkened. “And one you, to put simply, are not going to like."
The mood shifted and the kids all felt uneasy. Chris took Hope's hand as Keith did the same with Kat. Tangle wrapped her tail around herself as Tails’ circled each other nervously. Finally, Scrape dropped the bombshell.
"We demand that my daughter, Team Thorndyke, and all members under their species' legal age of adulthood be discharged from the organization, effective immediately."
There was a long moment of silence as the Freedom Fighters processed what they’d just heard. The Fighters affected by the ultimatum, understandably, were the most shocked. Tangle and Hope in particular looked betrayed. Tower and the other GUN personnel simply winced or held their heads in either shame or resignation.
The silence seemed to last for hours, until it was broken in the most expected way possible.
“Are you out of your fugging minds?!” Knuckles shouted. “You do realize that half of the FF are under the legal age, right!?”
"Not true,” Scrape pointed out. “Except for Miles Prower and Cream the Rabbit, all Mobian members of the Knothole Freedom Fighters are 15 or older, thus making them adults by Mobian law."
“So, you want me out of the Freedom Fighters!?” Tails demanded.
“Not a chance in hell!” Sonic snapped. “Tails is the backbone of the Brain Trust! We wouldn't have gotten as far as we have without him! And Cream? She has a freaking deity on her side!”
"They're also 12 and 9, respectively,” Sperry pointed out. “Spin it however you want, Mr. Hedgehog, you're sending literal children onto the battlefield."
“I was fourteen when I started this!” the hedgehog pointed out. “No one made a fuss then. So, why raise a stink, now!?”
"The Einherjar." Scrape stepped forward. "When you first began your campaign against Robotnik two years ago, he was nothing more than a lone madman wreaking havoc with a small army of robots. Since then, he's rapidly turned that small army into a global superpower. One that nearly plunged the world into Ragnium winter. With a division of bloodthirsty lunatics that murdered half the population of Artika, and tortured and enslaved countless others, including some of your own."
None of them could refute that.
"And even before that, he's been involved in or indirectly caused numerous other atrocities. Driving the ex-Robians into becoming the Dust Riders and the massacres that followed. The Near-Conflagration of Suzaku. The Efrikan Jungle Raids..."
Keith perked. "Hold on... Efrika? There's an Efrikan Egg Army!?"
Scrape nodded. “The Omni-Gang. Wanted for deforestation, domestic terrorism, and wild, reckless driving."
“Well, I know what we're doing soon…” Kat said.
"Whatever it is, you will not be a part of it, Miss Winters,” Sperry cut in. "The same goes for your friends."
Hope raised her hand. "Brigadier General, permission to speak freely?"
"Permission granted."
Hope gave the Doberman the gravest, most indignant look her rank would allow.
“If you think any of us are leaving the Freedom Fighters, then you really have lost your fugging mind. Do you realize that for me and Kat, the FF is the only reason we're still alive? Why we're not complete emotional wrecks?
"I do."
"So why are you trying to take that away from us? Away from our friends!? Our family!? "
"We never said that,” Scrape cut in. “You will still be permitted to be with your friends, complete with Knothole visitations. We’ll even allow you to continue your research with the Brain Trust out of respect for your contributions to the war effort. But if you want the full support of GUN, you and yours are forbidden from stepping onto the battlefield until you’re of age.”
“Wait a minute, Dad, I’m of age!” Tangle protested.
“You also nearly got yourself and your friends killed due to recklessness and inexperience,” he rebutted, giving her the look. “Twice. In a row. After you made multiple promises that you would be careful and follow orders.”
Tangle winced at her father’s look.
“Now then,” Sperry cut in. “Those are our terms. Princess, do you accept?”
Sally thought for a moment, seriously looking like she was considering accepting. Having GUN as an ally in full would be a tremendous boon to their efforts against the Empire. But Tails and Team Thorndyke had been just as valuable, despite their age. Sperry and Scrape’s reasoning also held water. Regardless of their abilities, they were sending children to fight a war against a murderous madman; one who was growing stronger with each passing day. If they weren’t careful, there was a very real possibility that they would die.
She mulled it over for a good minute, and finally, she had her answer…
“No deal!”
Scrape and Sperry froze as everyone turned toward Sonic, who had gotten up from his seat, a defiant look in his eyes.
“Sonic…” Sally said.
“Mr. Hedgehog, what do you think you’re doing?” Doberman demanded.
“Giving you our answer,” he replied. “And the answer is no Aurora-damned deal. If given the choice between you and our friends, we're gonna pick them every time. Right, Sal?”
“Sonic…” Sally said uncertainly, but one look at Sonic’s devil-may-care grin dispelled those feelings immediately.
“You're right. Tails, Cream, and Team Thorndyke have been with us since the beginning. They have been instrumental to many of our victories, and it would be a disservice to remove them from the team.”
The kids all looked surprised, but grateful nonetheless. Sperry and Scrape, on the other hand, looked as if they’d bitten into a lemon.
“A-Are you serious?” Scrape sputtered.
“We're offering you an alliance with one of the strongest military organizations in Mobius, as well as near-unrestricted access to the resources at their disposal!” Sperry argued. “And you’re willing to turn it all down just to keep the children around!?”
“Those ‘children’ are our friends,” Sonic refuted. “They’ve never given up on me, so I’m not giving up on them. Besides, we got by without GUN before, we can get by without them now.”
“But Tangle…” Scrape began.
“Stays too,” Sonic cut in. “She’s still really rough and she made some big mistakes, but she survived a week in a ‘Viking death camp’, and she’s been getting better every day since.”
Sally looked the two GUN officers in the eye. “Brigadier General, Colonel, I’m sorry, but we will have to decline your alliance.”
Sperry and Scrape stood there, speechless, unable to believe what they’d just heard. Then, Sperry clenched her fists and furrowed her brow as a canine snarl erupted from her lips; something that shocked everyone in the room, especially Scrape.
“Ma’am?” he asked.
“Yoooouuuuu…” she began breathing heavily, foaming at the mouth as her hands twitched frantically. “I expected this kind of bullshit from Ivo, but not you…you…yoooooou…!”
Sally and the others looked on in shock as Sperry slowly advanced toward them. Tower and his allies prepared to reach for their weapons, only for Scrape to suddenly step in and grab her by the hand.
“General! Sperry!” he called out to her. “Sperry, snap out of it! Sperry!”
Scrape’s voice seemed to reach her, as the Doberman immediately snapped out of her apparent trance, which had left everyone looking at her in fright.
Realizing what had happened, Sperry wiped the foam off her lips before clearing her throat.
“Forgive me,” she said, turning away in shame. “That was…uncalled for. Commander, would you excuse me?”
Tower nodded. “You are dismissed, Brigadier General. I think we’ve heard enough.”
Sperry saluted Tower before showing herself out.
“Well, that worked out exactly as I expected it to,” Tower sighed. “Princess, I apologize for wasting your time.”
“Apology accepted, sir.”
Tower then turned to Sonic. “And Sonic, know that I do not share General Doberman’s beliefs and will continue to support the Freedom fighters as we have.”
“That’s…comforting,” Sonic replied. “Thanks.”
“And with that, I do believe this meeting is adjourned. Everyone, return to your posts.”
Scrape watched as his fellow soldiers and the Freedom Fighters rose from their seats and exited the room. Soon, all that was left was him and Tangle, who just sat there, looking down sadly.
“Tangle…” he began.
“I was afraid of this,” the younger lemur interrupted. “I knew you would try to get me out of the Freedom Fighters, Dad. But this? ”
“Tangle, please, you almost died three times.”
“Yeah…” Tangle turned to her father, her eyes beginning to mist a little. “But how many times have you almost died, Dad?”
Scrape paused.
“How many times have I had to come find you in the hospital? How many years was I left alone in that empty house, praying I wouldn’t lose another…?”
Her breath hitched and she hastily wiped her eyes.
“Tangle, honey…” Scrape said as he walked over, putting a hand on Tangle’s shoulder. “Please, understand. I just want you to be safe. You and them."
“Maybe…” Tangle replied. “But is that really what they need?”
“Wh-What are you…?”
“You said so yourself, the world's going to shit. Eggman's bad news and he's getting bigger and badder by the day. If we want to stop him, we need all the help we can get, no matter where it’s from.”
“Entanglina, they’re kids. They don’t belong here. They belong at home with their families and doing kid stuff.”
“Newsflash, Dad. Two of them don't even have families thanks to Eggman.”
“That doesn’t matter. They’re still putting themselves in danger and Sonic and his friends are encouraging them to do so!”
Tangle narrowed her eyes. “Better that than sitting around an empty house wondering if and when they’ll lose someone else.”
Scrape froze at the coldness of his daughter’s voice and gaze.
“Goodbye, Dad…” she said as she made her way to the door. “I’ll see you when you get home.”
With that, she walked out, leaving Scrape to hang his head in shame.
“Dammit…” he cursed under his breath. “Of all the things she picked up from me, why did it have to be that?”
-X-
Outside the office, the Freedom Fighters all gathered in a group, none of them happy with how the meeting turned out.
"Seriously, can you believe those two!?" Knuckles fumed. “Trying to dictate who can join our group and make us get rid of veteran fighters?!”
“It's as if our accomplishments mean nothing because of our age,” Tails groused. “It's frustrating, to say the least.”
“Well, don't worry, little bro,” Sonic said, putting a hand on the fox’s shoulder. “No one’s going anywhere. No alliance is worth getting rid of my friends.”
Sally sighed. “Still…It could have been groundbreaking...Life changing…”
"So much for Uncle Julian's dream..." Hope said, shaking her head.
"I just hope we won't have to deal with the General again,” Chris said worriedly. “Seriously, did you see how she got when you turned her down? She looked halfway ready to tear Sally’s throat out!"
“She wasn't angry,” Kat cut in. “At least, not completely. She was scared.”
Everyone perked at that.
“You saw it too?” Hope asked.
Kat nodded.
“Plus, remember what she said?” Keith added. “She mentioned ‘Ivo’, that this was something he would do.”
“But which one? Eggman isn’t the original Ivo,” Hope pointed out. “That ‘honor’ belongs to…my grandfather.”
“The Red Devil.”
At that, everyone turned to see Shears casually stroll around a corner, hands in his pockets.
“Big Daddy Ivo Kintobor. Warmonger, psychopath, and all-around big, stinky, doo-doo head of the millennium.”
“Agent Shears,” Sally said.
“Please, don’t call him that…” Hope asked.
“Sorry, Hope-A-Dope,” Shears said, shaking his head. “But this time, the evil Kintobor thing is 100% true.”
Hope sighed, unable to refute his claims.
“More importantly…” Shears turned to Tangle, crouching down so they were at eye level.
“Rory…”
“Hey Stripes, I…overheard what happened with your dad and Doberman. Sorry ‘bout that.”
Tangle sniffled for a moment, then ran over to Shears, throwing her arms and tail around him as she buried her face into his shoulder.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay, don’t cry,” Shears soothed as he patted her on the back. “He’s just worried about you, you know that, right?”
Tangled sniffled. “I know, I just… I can’t believe he did that, holding the alliance just to get me and the others kicked off the team.”
“Yeah…” Shears perked. “Hey, you wanna go to my rage room and play with my Colonel ‘Darn-It Dolls’?”
Tangle narrowed her eyes at him. “Rory…”
"Kidding, kidding..." Shears chuckled. “But in all seriousness, ya know you can come to me if you need to vent. If anyone will get it, it's me.”
"Thanks..." Tangle replied, hugging the redheaded agent even tighter.
“Shears…” Shard began. “Are…Are you okay?”
Shears sighed in annoyance. “Shard, there’s a lot you don’t know about me. I know I act like… am a stab-happy wackjob, but I'm still one of Abey's most trusted agents, and he only picks ones who are as good people as they are fighters. But, that’s not important right now.”
He let Tangle go and sat up.
“Listen, you may have laid down the law with those two, but they’ll be back. They've been trying to get you kids off the team ever since you first signed on, and they’re not gonna stop now, ‘specially not B.G. DJ MC B-Yotch.”
After taking a minute to try and translate that mess, Knuckles shook his head before speaking up.
“Why does she have a problem with them?”
“Simple, you’re child soldiers,” Shears replied, raising his hand to preempt any protests. “Hey, spin it however you want, they’re still kids. Geniuses, a super-powered, and a superpowered genius kid, but still kids. And if there’s one thing Sperrier hates more than anything, it’s kids being in danger.”
“Understandable,” Tails replied. “But, from how she reacted, it feels like there’s more to it than just concern. More…personal.”
“Any ideas, Rory?” Tangle asked.
Shears looked around, making sure nobody was around.
“Psst! Robo-Sonic,” he whispered at Shard, motioning him to come forward.
“Yes?” the Needlemouse asked as he stepped closer. Once he was close enough, Shears pulled a datacard out of his pocket and shoved it in his hands.
“Give this to Saraben,” he instructed. “Take Hope with you. Don’t let anyone know you have it.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“Something she needs. All I can say.”
He then turned to Sonic. “Blue, take your girlfriend down to the archives and talk to Shay,” he leaned closer and whispered. “Ask about the ‘Popgun Projects’.”
Sonic nodded. “Popgun Projects, got it.”
“The rest of you, go do whatever and meet me in the yard in about…fifteen minutes. Be sure to bring your ‘toys’.”
“Shears,” Hope said. “Why are you helping us like this?”
“Three reasons,” the redhead began. “First, I haven't met my pissing people off quota for the month, and this is gonna get Dobie and Scrape fuming. Second, while they have a good reason for it, I don't like how they're trying to keep you kids from doing what you love and helping people. And third…”
He smiled.
“I like you.”
Hope thought for a minute, then nodded.
“C’mon Shard, let’s go.”
“Right!”
With that, the two ran off.
“Rory, what are you doing?” Tangle asked in concern.
“Sorry, Stripes,” he said. “That’s for me to know and you to find out. Just know that, if this works, it’ll save this alliance.”
“And…if it doesn’t?”
“That’s my problem,” he said as he turned around. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see a man about a cappuccino.”
The group watched as Shears went back the way he came.
“Rory, wait!” Tangle called out, going after him. But, when she turned around the corner, he was gone.
“What the…where’d he go?”
The others joined her, searching the area, but found no sign of him.
“Weird, it’s like he just…disappeared,” Keith said.
“Tangle, should we be worried?” Sonic asked.
“Rory is one of the craziest agents in GUN, Sonic,” she replied. “So yes, we should be very, very worried.”
-X-
Meanwhile, in the lounge, Agent Stone was in the middle of brewing up one of his signature lattes. He had just finished mixing the milk and sugar, carefully stirring it as if he were working with a chemistry set. After stirring for exactly, thirty seconds, he took a small sip and smiled.
"There... perfect,” he whispered in satisfaction.
Suddenly, the doors slammed open, nearly making him spill his drink.
"Bob!" Shears shouted as he lowered his leg.
"Rory!?" Stone cried out. “What are you…!?”
"Rip roarin’ pissed and not in the mood for shootin’ the breeze, Mistah Baristah!”
“It’s baristo,” Stone corrected.
“Not the point!” he shouted. “Now, do you got any coffee?"
Stone looked around the lounge, which currently had a large pyramid of coffee cans and bags of beans set up next to a line of coffee machines on the shelf, all brewing at the same time.
"Yes. Yes, I do," Stone replied bluntly. "What can I get you?"
"Mean Bean No. 19."
Stone’s eyes widened in horror. Both at the mention of that particular blend and the face of the man who requested it. A face that currently bore a devilish smile and eyes that seemed to glow red with what could only be described as a devilish light. A glow that meant nothing but trouble.
“Okie-dokey,” Stone replied, taking a nervous sip of his latte. “I’ll uhhh…get right on it.”
“Good man,” Shears said as his partner got to work and he took a seat at the table.
“Alright, Stripes the Elder,” Shears whispered as he pulled out one of his knives. “You wanna see what those kids can do? You’re gonna see what they can do.”
He then set his hand down on the table, spread out his fingers, and began stabbing the spaces between them to the beat of a demented song.
“I’ve got all my fingers / The knife goes chop chop chop…”
Notes:
Uh-oh...Shears is up to something.
Sperry Doberman is owned by our friend and fellow Sonic fan, JoeAdok. Used and expanded on with his approval.
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Sperry: Jane Lynch (Sgt. Calhoun from Wreck-It Ralph, Sue Sylvester in Glee, Mother Superior in The Three Stooges 2012)
Please R&R. Until next time!
Chapter 3: GUN Control, Part 3
Notes:
CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains dark subject matter in the form of roofie usage and dubious consent. While only mentioned and not outright shown, reader discretion is advised.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Training Yard
Scrape watched as various GUN cadets went about their daily training. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight. These men and women were the future defenders of Mobius and, more importantly, a symbol of how far they had come since the old days when humans and Mobians were at eachothers’ throats. Now, they were working and fighting together, side-by-side as brothers and sisters in arms. It was a sign that, had it not been for the Robotnik Empire, his daughter could live in a peaceful world.
His smile faltered as he thought of his daughter and the conversation they had after the meeting. The look of disappointment and anger she had when she called him out. He knew that this would happen. He knew it the moment Sperry approached him for help with her plan to convince Tower to kick the children off the Freedom Fighters. But, he had to do it. Tangle was everything to him. If something happened to her…
He cast that thought from his head. Tangle had proved she wasn’t ready to go to war. Besides, he needed to focus. He had work to do.
He returned his attention to said work, a young, twenty-something human woman with short, light hazelnut hair and green eyes. She was clad in the standard black track pants and gray T-shirt all cadets wore in the yard and was in the middle of one of the obstacle courses. She had just got over the wall and was making her way across the rope bridge. Once she’d made it across, she just needed to slide down the rope and make a mad dash for the finish line. He watched as she jumped off the bridge and grabbed the rope, sliding down as fast as she could without burning her hands. She landed on the crash pad below, then rolled off before breaking into a sprint toward a small gate.
"And...time!" Scrape called out as she crossed. "40.395 seconds. Not bad, Alexis."
Alexis smiled tiredly as she tried to catch her breath. "Thank you...Colonel, sir..."
"That said, you probably would have finished it in half that time if you hadn't been slowed down by the wall. You might want to practice on that more.”
“Yes, sir. I'll remember that, sir.”
Scrape put a hand on her shoulder. "Just keep at it, we’ll make a Hollow out of you yet."
“Ohhhhhhhh…”
Scrape paused as the sound of singing greeted his ears. A sound that made him frown in contempt. Not because someone was singing, but the contents of the song and the person singing it…
"I don't give a shit / I don't give a fugg / I don't give a shit / I don't give a fugg..."
“Shears…”
Scrape scowled as a certain redheaded agent strutted by, bopping his head with hands in his pockets as he sang his cheery, profanity-laden tune.
"Is something wrong, Colonel?" Alexis asked.
"Alexis, why don't you head back inside?” He narrowed his eyes on GUN's resident troublemaker. “I need to take care of something."
As Alexis headed back inside, Scrape headed over to Shears.
"Now, if I gave a shit / I might just give a fugg / But, I don't give a shit / So, I don't give a..."
"Shears.”
“Fugg?”
Shears stopped and looked behind him to see Scrape walking toward him.
"Ahhh, if it ain't my second favorite, non-gorilla/chimp/monkey primate!” he greeted with a smile. "Hiya, Colonel-Corn, heard ya got snubbed."
“What are you doing out here, Shears?” the colonel asked sternly. “The training ground is currently reserved.”
"I know, I can see that. I just...well, you heard the song."
There it was, that irreverent smartassery that made him infamous.
“Agent, you are out of line,” Scrape snapped, doing his best to keep his temper in check. “Commander Tower might be willing to put up with your lack of decorum and disregard for authority, but I won’t.”
Shears’ response was to burst out in a fit of manic laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
Shears took a moment to wipe a tear from his eye.
“You are. You’re the last person to be talking to me about decorum and authority, Colonel, let alone being out of line.”
"What are you...?"
“You think you can just waltz up to the Freedom Fighters - who have been doing our job for two fugging years without us - and tell them to ditch half their team? The people who have put their lives on the line for each other. All for what? Some fancy gadgets and a stupid logo?”
He shook his head in disappointment. "Seriously man, you're supposed to be the smart one."
Scrape clenched his fists at Shears’ tone, but otherwise kept his cool.
“My daughter is one of them, Shears. I only have her best interests at heart.”
“Bullshit,” the redhead scoffed. “If you did, maybe you'd have actually been there for her, instead of throwing yourself into your work after--”
“Rory…”
Shears bit his lower lip as Colonel Lemur’s expression went from stern and serious to cold and murderous; his eyes promising nothing good if he dared to finish that sentence.
“Okay, low blow,” Shears said apologetically. “But you know deep down I’m not wrong about her…and them.”
Scrape took a breath, calming down. “Chris and his friends shouldn't be out there risking their lives. They should be going out, having friends, and being like other kids their age at a mall or an arcade. Having normal lives.”
“Yeah, well Kat's hope of doing that ended the day the Eggpire came to Chun-nan, and Hope..." Shears shook his head. “Let's face it, the rest of Mobius won't let her have one. Everyone knows she's the granddaughter of that asshat Ivo. She's gonna bear that stigma until she's dust and bones. Add on what Eggy’s been doing, and any future she has without the Freedom Fighters will likely end with her in a ditch…” His expression turned serious. “Either by someone else's hand or her own.”
"And sending them out to risk their lives fighting killer robots and mad gods is any better?" Scrape asked, smothering the ember of doubt that briefly flared up in his heart.
“It's their choice,” Shears said. “And even then, they aren't normal kids. Three of them are super-brains and one is the first human with Chaos powers in...I don't know when. Plus, they have over twenty super-genius, super-powered, legally adult Mobians to back them up. Without helping Sonic, what are they gonna do? Be average Joes who bag groceries for a living?”
Scrape raised an eyebrow at the thought of kids with their background having menial jobs. A thought Shears seemed to sense.
"You know what I mean,” he cut in. “The point is, Team Thorndyke has what it takes to fight the fight and so does Tangle.”
“Shears…”
“You need to stop smothering her. You can't wrap her in bubble wrap her entire life like she’s a fragile, little snowglobe. You do, she's only gonna end up resentful and disappointed."
Scrape grimaced. He saw the truth in Shears' words. The meeting proved that.
"Better a disappointed daughter now than a dead one later. She's not ready, Rory."
Shears sighed in resigned disappointment.
“Then you need a wake-up call,” he said, making his way to a nearby bench. “All your little cronies do. In fact…”
Shears walked behind the bench and bent down.
"I even brought a little pick-me-up."
Scrape felt his blood run cold as Shears picked up a large thermos. It was about the size of a lemonade pitcher and, more importantly, was made out of material used to retain heat, and covered in caution tape and warning stickers, the most prominent being a large square one that read “MB-19!!!” in big, red letters.
“No…” Scrape whispered. “Rory, you are not going to do what I think you are!”
“Depends,” he said as he unscrewed the oversized cap. “Are you thinking I'm gonna down this special blend of coffee and go on a caffeine-fueled rampage?” He gave the lemur a cocky grin. "Because I am."
Shears pulled back the thermos, chugging down its hot, beany contents.
“Dammit!” Scrape pulled out his comm. “This is Colonel Lemur, we have a Code Red+! Repeat. Code Red+! This is not a drill!”
Shears drank for about a minute, letting the dark, bitter liquid burn his tongue and throat, even as the smooth, creamy texture soothed it just as quickly.
“Ah!” he let out as he finished, panting as he caught his breath. “Tasty! Way better than that crap Bob usually makes.”
“Rory, have you lost your mind!?” Scrape demanded. “Is letting a bunch of kids play hero worth risking your whole career!?”
“Those kids are heroes, Scrape!” Shears shouted. “And all of Area 99 is gonna see it in three…two…one…”
Shears paused, as nothing happened.
“What the…?” he looked over himself, feeling his head, chest, shoulders, and backside, as if he was checking for something.
“What’s going on? Why isn’t it…?”
Before he could finish, Shears suddenly froze, his eyes going wide.
“Shears?” Scrape asked, worriedly.
“Oh shit…”
Suddenly, the redhead doubled over, clutching his heart as he started dry-heaving.
“Rory!”
Scrape ran over to him, along with several cadets who noticed.
“Get back!” Shears cried out. “All of you get the fugg back and get inside! Fugg, I messed up! I messed up big time!”
“Rory, what are you talking about!?”
“Scrape, get those cadets out of here!” He cried out in pain, curling in on himself. “And call a Code Black!!”
Shears’ eyes went wide and his expression blank, his brain seemingly shutting down as he passed out.
“Agent Shears!” one of the cadets cried out as they ran to check on him.
“No!” Scrape ordered. “Get back inside, now!”
“Colonel?”
“Get back inside and inform Commander Tower! That’s an order!”
Without so much as a second of hesitation, the cadets fled back inside. Soon, only Scrape and Shears were left in the yard.
“This is Colonel Lemur! We have an emergency in the training yard! Code Black! Repeat, Code Black! All Hollow Point Agents prepare for…!”
Before Scrape could continue, something flew past him, knocking the comm out of his hand. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that it had been pinned to a nearby post by some kind of throwing knife…a metal post, and a throwing knife made of carved, black bone.
“Oh no…” Scrape whispered.
Scrape didn’t have time to react as a shadow suddenly overtook him, grabbed him by the back of his head, and slammed it into the concrete below.
GUN Archives
Agent Vellum sat at a table, looking over one of several files he had strewn about. He squinted as he read over one of the paragraphs, a finger tracing over the words carefully.
“Agent Vellum?”
Only to be pulled back to reality as Princess Sally entered the room with Sonic in tow.
"Princess, Sonic,” the agent greeted.
"Hey,” Sonic greeted back.
Vellum sighed. "If you're here to yell at me for General Doberman and Colonel Lemur's proposal..."
“No,” Sally cut in. “We actually came here to ask you some questions.”
Sonic nodded. "Ever heard of something called the 'Popgun Projects'?"
Vellum froze, his eyes widening behind his sunglasses as he dropped the file he was reading.
"I’m guessing that’s a yes?"
Vellum adjusted his sunglasses nervously as he looked up at the two Mobians.
"How in the world did you find out about those?" he paused, holding up a hand to silence them. "Never mind, I don't wanna know."
He began gathering up his documents and putting them away.
"Agent Vellum, please,” Sally pleaded. "We need to know."
"No. You don't,” the agent started firmly.
“Clearly, we do,” Sonic replied. “Especially if you're trying to hide it.”
"That's highly classified information." Vellum began returning the files to their proper cabinets. "Extremely sensitive and dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands."
“More of GUN’s dirty secrets?” Sally asked. Vellum said nothing.
“Look,” Sonic began. “We need to get General Doberman and Tangle’s dad off our backs for good and hopefully try and save our alliance with GUN, and…”
Before Sonic could continue, a loud explosion echoed through the base.
“What the…?”
Just then, a communicator went off, prompting Vellum to grab the one at his waist.
“This is Vellum,” he replied.
“Shamus!” Agent Stone cried out. “We need you down in the training yard! It’s a Code Black!”
“Code Black?” Vellum’s eyes widened once more as he realized what that meant. “Dammit, Rory!”
Vellum immediately ran for the door, dropping all the files and leaving the cabinet open.
“Agent Vellum!” Sally called out, but the agent either didn’t hear her or didn’t care, as he ran out the door and down the hall.
“Well, that’s…troubling,” Sally said.
“On the plus side, we’re all alone and Vellum left the file cabinets open,” Sonic said, motioning to said cabinets and files, sprinting over to them and searching through them at high speed.
“Alright…ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO…P! PaPePhPiPnPo…aha!”
Sonic reached into the cabinet and pulled out a hefty file marked “Popgun Projects. Highly Classified.”
“One highly classified, government project file, hold the onions,” he said as he set it down on the table. “Let’s make some popcorn and read it.”
Sally sighed. “You’re lucky we need this information or I would be seriously letting you have it right now, Sonic.”
Taking a seat beside him, she opened up the file and began reading.
“Guardians of the United Nations Research Project: Popgun,” she read. “Project Date…that’s one-hundred-fifty years ago!”
That threw Sonic for a loop. “Hold on, a hundred-fifty!?”
“That’s what it says,” Sally replied. “GUN has been around about as long as the Federation has, so it only makes sense.”
“Still…”
“Let’s keep going.” Sally resumed looking over the file. As she did, her eyes widened. “Oh Aurora… this… this is…”
Sonic raised an eyebrow in concern, preparing to ask what was wrong when Sally held up the file for him to look at. Upon seeing it, his expression matched hers.
“Whoa…” he whispered. “That’s…”
“Yes…” Sally massages her temples. “This…This is…”
“We gotta find the others,” Sonic said. “C’mon!”
With that, the two raced off, taking the file with them.
Hallways
Hope and Shard made their way to Dr. Bennett's lab, talking amongst themselves as they did.
"So, I've been thinking..." Shard began. "How many bytes of data does Nicole's soul file take up? Regular AIs are well within the petabyte range, and she's truly sentient."
Hope tapped her chin in thought. “Honestly… The number is unquantifiable. Her handheld is powered by Power Rings, so that should tell you something.”
“Incredible…” Shard mused. "Sally's handheld has to be made of Megatal or something for it to not overload....but, it wasn't invented until a few years ago.”
“She defies logic and expectations. Though apparently the handheld is based on Ancient technology.”
"Given everything you just said, it'd have to be. Though that just raises further..."
"Dammit Sarah, have you lost your mind!?"
Hope and Shard leaped at the sound of General Doberman's screaming.
"What the!?" Shard exclaimed.
Hope shushed him, then they carefully approached Dr. Bennett's lab. They looked through the door crack, spying the Brigadier General standing over the scientist. The former looked utterly enraged while the latter was somewhat cowed.
"General, please, I know this is...highly unorthodox..."
"Unorthodox!? This isn't unorthodox, this is..." Sperry sputtered indignantly. "Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you!? You said you were building a weapon! Instead, I find you using GUN resources to make... this! "
She gestured to the culture tank in the corner of the room. Unfortunately, neither Shard nor Hope were in a good position to see what was in it.
"Project Blade is a weapon, Brigadier General," Sarah replied. “A bioroid. A-"
"An artificial lifeform made of synthetic organic materials and DNA, I read the magazines. And not the point! You created a living being from scratch to be a weapon of war?! And not only that, you made it a fourteen-year-old girl!?"
“The intent is that upon completion, Blade gets to know the people she fights with and protects. It's her choice.”
"Is it?" Sperry glared at Sarah, who sweated a little. "Because I'm very concerned about how you intend to explain to the military brass that the weapon they invested all that money in may decide she doesn't want to fight."
Sarah steeled herself. “It's her choice. Just as it's Hope and her friends' choice to work with the Knothole Freedom Fighters and GUN.”
“Hasn't enough of Mobian history been fugged up by the Kintobors as is? Why would you encourage Hope to follow her grandfather's path?!”
Hope recoiled at that, fists clenching. But what Sarah said next caught her attention.
“Now you listen to me, Sperry! Hope is nothing like Ivo Kintobor, alright?! Never compare her to that psychopath again!”
"Then why is everybody so intent on letting her end up like him? She shouldn't be here! She's a child! The battlefield is no place for children, something everyone but Scrape and I seem to have forgotten! Hope should be out having fun! Being like other girls her age and having a normal life! The scariest thing she should be dealing with is her college exams!”
“You and I both know that kind of life was never in the cards for her!” There was a moment of silence as Sarah worked to get herself under control. “She already has friends who value and support her, not to mention the fact that she’s helped save the world on countless occasions. This is by far the best life she could ask for.”
“She deserves a normal life,” Sperry argued, sounding like a broken record.
“Normal life? Never mind her intelligence, the stigma of being a Kintobor means not one place on Mobius will let that happen! At least with the Freedom Fighters, she can do something productive with people who love and care for her the way she is!”
"She doesn't need to fight to do that. Doesn't GUN have enough young blood on its hands?"
That grabbed Hope and Shard's attention, especially with how Sarah replied.
“That's low, Sperry.”
“But no less true.”
“Maybe, but Hope is different. All of them are different. Stop lingering on the past.”
Sperry shook her head, not swayed in the slightest.
"You can preach about freedom of choice and individual ability all you want, Sarah, but as long as I'm a Brigadier General, no child is going to spend one second on the battlefield." Sperry grimaced. "I owe it to them."
The doberman took a breath, clearly exhausted physically and mentally.
"I have to go. We'll discuss the future of your...project later."
Sperry made her way to the door, prompting Hope and Shard to hide behind a corner. Thankfully, she passed by, not even noticing them. Once she was gone, the duo peeked into Sarah's lab.
"Dr. Bennett?" Shard called out.
Sarah sighed, rubbing her forehead.
“Hey Shard, come on in. You too, Hope.” They did so. "I take it you overheard my little 'chat' with the Brigadier General?"
"Yeah," Hope confirmed.
"She sounded really upset," Shard remarked.
“That's putting it mildly. She came in for a status update on one of my projects and was...very displeased with what I was making."
“What are you making?” Shard questioned.
"Let me show you." Sarah motioned them toward the culture tank. They walked over and gasped at the sight of what appeared to be a fourteen-year-old girl floating in the fluid. She had long blonde hair with red highlights and was wearing a white tube top and shorts.
"Aurora..." Hope let out in shock.
"Hope, Shard,” Dr. Bennett addressed. “Meet Project Blade. GUN's first fully autonomous Anti-Eggtech weapon."
“Holy…”
Hope perked in realization. “This… this is what you needed the Project Shadow files for, isn’t it?”
Dr. Bennet nodded. “Yes. I had to find a sufficient substitute for Black Arm DNA, but I managed to find one with Chao. Their adaptability is on par with their own, if not better.”
“Where did you get Chao DNA?” Shard questioned.
As if to answer, Umbra came flying into the room, holding out a small hairbrush while chirping expectantly. With a laugh, Sarah reached out and took the Chao in her lap, beginning to brush its spine-like head.
“Quite easily.”
Hope blinked. “You got it from Umbra?”
“Now, now, it was nothing invasive or harmful. I just took a few quills here and there.” She held up the brush, which had a few such quills sticking out of it. “See? No harm at all.”
"Alright, then.” It was then that Hope remembered why they were there. “Oh right, I almost forgot the file.”
Hope reached into the pocket of her overalls and pulled out the data card Shears gave her.
"Here, Agent Shears asked us to give this to you."
"Oh, thank goodness!" Sarah took the data card. “I’ve needed this for a while now, I…oh come on!”
She scowled as she looked over the card, which had a note attached to it that said the following:
"To Saraben, Here's the shit you needed. You owe me big. Love, Rory."
"Dammit, Rory," she muttered under her breath. "He knows I hate that nickname."
“What is it anyhow?” Shard asked.
Remembering who was here, Sarah calmed down.
"The final piece I need to complete Project Blade,” she explained, peeling the note off and tossing it in her wastebasket. "Specifically, her combat and mind data."
"Mind...data?" Shard asked, raising an electronic eyebrow.
"It's a series of psychological profiles and brain scans.” the doctor motioned toward the culture tank’s computers. “The machine feeds her an education and helps her psychological development. Without it, she'd be a blank slate."
“So, why did Agent Shears have it?” Hope asked.
Bennett paused. "Well...I...may have needed him to get it from the Brigadier General's office before she...had it destroyed."
The two Freedom Fighters went bug-eyed at what they’d just heard.
“Wait, what?” Hope asked.
"You had Shears steal them for you!?"
"Shhh! Not so loud!” Sarah whispered. She headed for the door, making sure nobody was around to hear that. Once she was certain, she closed it. “Yes, I asked Shears to swipe the file from Sperry, along with several other cards and files she’d marked for destruction.”
“You're kidding,” Hope let out.
Shard blinked, trying to make sense of what he had just heard. "Doc, why would you do that?"
"As I told you, Brigadier General Doberman was going to destroy them, and I needed this file to complete Project Blade."
"What about the other files?"
"The other files contain valuable data that could help us battle the Empire. Unfortunately, she doesn't see it that way. Says that it needs to be destroyed for 'the good of the organization and the Federation as a whole'."
“What kind of data are you talking about?” Hope asked.
Sarah paused, looking uncertain about whether she should speak. Seeing her hesitance, Shard spoke up.
"Does it have anything to do with the Popgun Projects?"
Sarah froze, the color draining from her face. "H-How do you know...?"
"Agent Shears told us about them,” Hope replied.
Sarah sighed in exasperation. "Of course he did. Dammit, Rory..."
"Doc, what are the Popgun Projects?" Shard asked. "They sound pretty important if they make you this uncomfortable."
Hope's brow furrowed. “Would it... have something to do with... child soldiers?”
Sarah froze again as the little color she had left washed away completely. Realizing she’d been found out, she slumped over in her chair and sighed.
"Listen to me very carefully you two..." she began, her voice completely serious. "What I'm about to tell you is one of GUN's darkest and most disturbing secrets."
“I thought that was Shadow?” Shard asked.
“I thought so too,” Hope added.
"Shadow and the ARK Purge was horrific, yes...But this..." Sarah massaged her temples. "Take a seat, you two. You’re not going to be able to stand up after this.”
Hope and Shard looked at each other worriedly but did as they were told. Once they were seated, Dr. Bennett took a deep breath, steeling her nerves.
"Alright...To start, yes, Hope, you're right. The Popgun Projects were all about child soldiers. It's how they got their name, from little kids playing soldier with popguns."
Sarah's response shocked Hope and Shard.
“Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of,” Hope said.
“Tell us everything,” Shard requested.
Bennett nodded, beginning her tale.
"GUN first began the Projects one-hundred-fifty years ago. Their goal was to create powerful soldiers who were completely and utterly loyal to the United Federation, as well as weapons and countermeasures against the 'Beastmen Hordes'."
Hope grimaced at the reminder.
"Anti-Mobian plans..."
Sarah nodded again.
"The Projects consisted of three divisions..." She held up three fingers to emphasize her point. "The first was Project Wunderkind, a scouting initiative meant to find children who displayed above-average athletic and intellectual abilities and put them to work. The 'Gifted Program' that lets you get out of school to go on missions? That's a remnant of the old Wunderkind system."
“Wait, seriously?” Hope rubbed her face, shocked at the revelation. “I never realized…”
"It's also how your Uncle Colin became a general at the tender age of nineteen and how Julian got his job with Dr. Morgan."
Hope was at a loss for words. “Aurora…”
"What about the other two projects?" Shard cut in.
"The second was Project Sophia,” Sarah continued. “Nearly all the documents, researchers, and test subjects…vanished, so details of it are sketchy. All we know is that it was dedicated to studying the brain and unlocking its full potential. However, what little we have on it suggests it to be somewhat similar to how Nicole was created.” She grimaced in disgust. “Albeit with much.... cruder methods. Perhaps such information is better lost."
"And the third?" Hope asked uneasily.
Sarah sighed loudly, as if simply mustering the answer was a Herculean feat.
"Project Menagerie,” she let out. “The final and easily the most twisted and horrible of them all..."
Shard grimaced. "What could be worse than the first two?"
In Another Part of Area 99…
Tails, Knuckles, Tangle, and the rest of Team Thorndyke looked on in horror as Sonic and Sally showed them the file they found.
"Mo…Mo…Mobian slave soldiers!?" Tails screamed in disbelief and horror.
“I'm gonna be sick…” Kat let out as she covered her mouth.
"This..." Chris paused, barely able to breathe. "This explains everything."
"I-It can’t be…” Tangle let out. “Sally...please tell me you're joking."
Sally shook her head. "I wish, Tangle, but that's what it says, plain as ink. For over a century, GUN had been abducting Mobian children as young as newborns from their families and training them to be living weapons as soon as they were old enough to walk."
“Treated like animals,” Keith whispered. “Trained to hunt their own kind…”
Kat fell to her knees and threw up.
“Just...just like what we do with...Mobini..." she let out.
“Wait…” Knuckles cut in. “If they’d been doing that for over a century, how the hell did nobody notice!? Even with all of GUN’s spy stuff, all those kidnappings would’ve had to get some kind of attention.”
"Not all of them were abducted..." Sonic spoke up. "Every few years, whenever a generation of these soldiers came of age, they would take the strongest, toughest, and most obedient, and..." He gagged a little before continuing. "Breed them."
Everyone in the room looked ready to pass out from pure terror.
Tangle cleared her throat nervously. “When…you say ‘breed’...”
“Exactly as it sounds, Tangle. They’d pair them off with the best partners, shoot them up with drug cocktails, and make’em…” Sonic shuddered in disgust. “Make babies together…”
"And those children would go through the same process their parents did," Sally continued. "And so on, and so on for one-and-a-half centuries. Until after the Great War."
“What happened to those soldiers after the war?” Chris asked, dreading the answer.
"Well, they were given their freedom,” Sally replied. “At least... those that could be found.”
Kat threw up again, doubled over on the floor as she panted and coughed.
"Kat…” Keith asked worriedly. Do you need to...?"
“No.” She just held up her hand, shaking her head. “Keep going."
"Kat, are you sure?” Knuckles asked. “This is..."
“Just… Get it over with.”
The others paused, wondering if they even should keep going. Finally, Sally took a breath and said, "Alright, let’s go."
She turned the page.
"The surviving 'Beast Troopers' as they called them were given their freedom, but it was little consolation. Most of them couldn't function in the outside world, having been isolated and treated like Mobini. And even then, many were regarded with suspicion and mistrust by their fellow Mobians for their actions in the war. Many of them either went wild or...disappeared."
“Call it like it is, Sally,” Keith said, grimacing as he did. “They were killed.”
Sally nodded. "By their old handlers or themselves."
That time, Knuckles managed to get Kat a trash can.
"There is some good news though..." Sonic piped up, smiling weakly. "A few of them chose to stay with GUN and went on to become highly respected soldiers."
“I think I know where this is going,” Tangle cut in. “One of them was Brigadier General Sperry.”
"Good girl, Lemur."
Everyone perked and turned toward the entrance to see Sperry standing in the doorway, looking grim. She approached the group.
“You alright, Winters?” she asked, handing Kat a handkerchief and a bottle of water. “Obvious question, but…”
“No…” the girl replied, taking a moment to wipe her mouth. “Not really…Gaia…”
“Good.” Sperry put a hand on her shoulder. “That means you're still sane."
"General Doberman..."
Sperry turned to Sally, who was giving her a sympathetic look.
"Princess..." Sperry looked down, seeing the file in her hands. "I see you decided to check out a book. How was it?"
"Enlightening..." Sally replied.
"Yeah...I imagine.” Sperry reached for the file. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just be taking that and…”
Sally pulled away, shaking her head.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t let you do that.”
“Princess…”
Sally turned the front of the file toward her, revealing a large stamp marked “DESTROY”.
“You sent Vellum to the archives to gather these files. To destroy them.”
Sperry said nothing, but her scowl spoke volumes.
“I figured.”
“General...how could you?” Tangle asked.
“It has to be done, Lemur,” Sperry said. “I’m doing this for the sake of my fellow Beast Troopers.”
“But why? They deserve to be remembered.”
“As what?” the General demanded. “Slaves? Monsters?”
“Victims,” Sally said.
"Princess… I don't think you understand what you're holding." Sperry glared at the papers in the squirrel’s hands. "That file is an abomination. An account of some of the most horrific actions committed against humanity and Mobiankind. What happened on the ARK is child's play compared to that."
Sperry held out her hand.
"Now, give it to me. This part of GUN's history that needs to be wiped from memory."
“There’s a saying that I think you need to keep in mind,” Chris chimed in. “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.”
Sperry turned to Chris, scowling at him. "So what do you propose we do with this information, Thorndyke? Reveal it? Do you think Commander Tower would've done that sooner if he could?"
“Some things can't be broadcast…” Kat cut in, slowly pulling herself off the floor. “It's why the massacre of my village isn't covered on big news reports or History Channel documentaries. These projects…”
"In the wrong hands, they could easily start a second Great War,” Tails finished.
"All the more reason to erase them!" Sperry shouted. "The Popgun Projects are some of the worst atrocities to ever be committed! They could undo everything we've worked to build! Every last trace of them must be wiped off the face of Mobius! The knowledge, the so-called 'Gifted Program'...!"
“Even you?”
Sperry paused, turning to Keith. While she had been ranting, the boy had walked over to Sally, pulled a few scraps of paper from the file, and began reading them.
“Sperry Doberman. Cadet No. 21924. Ninety-fifth percentile for speed and tracking. Eightieth for strength. Seventy-four confirmed kills. Fifty-three successful missions. Eligible for the Adam Initiative.”
Sperry’s eyes widened. “No…”
He pulled out another page and began reading it. “Gordon Doberman. Cadet No. 89186. Ninety-seventh percentile for speed. Ninety-second for strength. Eighty-fourth for tracking. Eighty-two confirmed kills. Fifty-six successful missions. Eligible for the Adam Initiative.”
“Stop…” Sperry whispered, becoming visibly distraught.
But Keith didn’t. He pulled out a third page and once again read.
“Adam Initiative Log 503. Subjects Sperry and Gordon Doberman have been deemed ideal partners. Both have been administered with serum ER05 and sealed in the breeding chamber.”
“Please…stop…” Sperry begged, her voice sounding less authoritative and more desperate.
“Breeding Attempt: Success,” Keith grimaced, starting to look a little uncomfortable himself. “Subject Sperry has conceived. Estimated litter size…” He swallowed nervously. “Five to seven pups…”
Sperry looked ready to have a heart attack, as did the others. Still, Keith kept going.
“Subject Gordon will be returned to duty, while Subject Sperry will be sent to Dr. Llorona for--”
"Goddamn you, STOP IT!!"
Suddenly, Sperry lashed out, her claws catching Keith across the face, knocking him down and sending his glasses flying. As soon as he hit the ground, she snapped back to reality and saw what she had done.
"Aurora…” she whispered in horror.
Despite his injuries, Keith didn’t even so much as flinch. He simply pulled a Power Ring from his jacket, easily healing the scratches.
“General,” he began. “If everything about this project needs to be erased, does that include your family?”
“I…” Sperry sputtered in horror as she fell to her knees. “I…I...don't..."
“Sperry,” Chris said, walking over to her. “We're not you and we're not like any of the people in this file.”
“Maybe things would have been different if Eggman never showed up,” Kat continued. “But he did, and we have our reasons for wanting to fight. Just like you have yours for staying with GUN.”
Sperry shook her head. "It...It doesn't matter. I was literally born and raised to fight. Just like my parents, and their parents, and their parents before them. Nobody should have to go through what I or any of the other Beast Troopers have been through. Children shouldn't have to fight. That's our job."
“You’re not wrong,” Tangle said. “But if you try to tell us what we can or can't do, how does that make you any different from them?”
She gestured to the files, prompting Sperry to look at them, her eyes turning toward her and Gordon’s pages.
"Even so…” she let out, trying to fight back tears. “I can't… I can't let this happen. I can't let you end up like my babies. Our babies..."
"General..." Tails let out.
"I couldn't save them…” Sperry said, her breath hitching. “I didn't get to see them…didn't even get to hold them. I don't even know if they're alive...they don't even have files."
Kat looked like she might throw up again.
"I couldn't save them, but I can save others. So, please..."
She looked right at the Freedom Fighters, her decorum hanging by a thread and tears in her eyes.
"I am begging you. Leave the Freedom Fighters. Leave GUN. Live whatever normal lives you can. This isn't your war."
Before the argument could continue, there was a loud bang, followed by a violent shaking and the blare of sirens.
"The hell!? What’s going on!?" Sonic shouted.
Just then, the intercom went off.
“ATTENTION! CODE BLACK! ALL HANDS TO THE TRAINING YARD!! REPEAT! CODE BLACK! ALL HANDS TO THE TRAINING YARD!!”
"Code Black?" Knuckles asked.
“Wait, Rory told us to go to the training yard when he laid out his plan!” Tangle said.
"Wait, Shears!? Plan!?" Sperry demanded.
“Oops!” Tangle yelped, covering her mouth.
"What did he tell you!?" she screeched. “Was he the one who put you up to all this?!"
“Whoa, easy there!” Sonic said, holding up his hands defensively.
“Answer me, Hedgehog!”
Sperry spun on Sonic, causing him to nearly fall over.
“W-Well, he sent Hope and Shard to Doc Bennet, then me and Sal to the file room.”
“And he told us to bring all our gear to the training hall,” Chris recalled.
"What else!?" Sperry asked. "Did he say anything else!?"
“Well…” Kat said, trying to remember everything he told them. “He said something about seeing a man about a cappuccino?”
Sperry's eyes widened in horror.
"Fugg!" she shouted as she bolted for the exit.
“General, wait!” Tangle called out, going after her.
“We’d better go too,” Sally said.
“Good idea,” Sonic concurred. “C’mon guys!”
And with that, they ran to join them.
Notes:
Word from WindstarOsprey:
Yeesh...Sperry's backstory is pretty dark. I apologize for any nightmares, dear readers.
Next time, Sonic and the others deal with the Code Black!
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Alexis - Laura Bailey (Lucina in Fire Emblem Awakening, Wonder Woman in Justice League × RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen Part Two, Abby in The Last of Us Part II, Kid Trunks in Dragon Ball Z, Emily / Glitter Lucky in Glitter Force, Tohru Honda in Fruits Basket, Lust in Fullmetal Alchemist, Maka Albarn in Soul Eater, Rayne in the BloodRayne franchise, Kira Carsen in Star Wars: The Old Republic, Kainé in Nier, Jaina Proudmoore in World of Warcraft, Rise Kujikawa in Persona 4, Chun-Li in Street Fighter, Serah Farron in Final Fantasy XIII, Serana in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dawnguard, Oriana Lawson in Mass Effect 3, Abigail "Fetch" Walker in Infamous Second Son, Fiona in Tales from the Borderlands, Nadine Ross in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Kait Diaz in Gears of War, Catwoman in Batman: The Telltale Series, Supergirl in Injustice 2, Mary Jane Watson in Insomniac Games' Spider-Man series)
Please R&R. Until next time!
Chapter Text
Training Grounds
"Dammit!" Sperry cursed as she ran outside. "This is not good! Of all the rotten, lousy...!"
She gasped, stopping dead in her tracks at the sight of the training yard, which now lay in ruins. The obstacle courses had been reduced to rubble. The ropes and walls were sliced and smashed to ribbons and bits. Not even the track was spared, at least half of it being covered in craters.
"Sweet, mother of kibble..." Sperry uttered.
It was then that Tangle and the others finally managed to catch up.
"Holy..." Chris let out. "It looks like a meteor struck!"
They were snapped out of their shock by a soft, muffled groan. Immediately, Tangle turned toward the source and saw her father lying prone, face down on the ground.
“DAD!!”
Tangle immediately rushed to his side, much to Sonic’s horror.
"Tangle, wait!" Sonic shouted.
She didn’t listen, too afraid of what might have happened to her father. Once she reached him, she carefully turned him over. She was horrified at the state he was in, his face looking like it had been slammed repeatedly into the pavement.
"Oh Aurora… Dad, are you alright!?" She shook him desperately. "Say some...!"
The colonel slowly opened his eyes as he turned to face his daughter.
"Tan...gle..."
"Scrape!" Sperry called out as she ran to his side, the others following.
As soon as they arrived, Keith immediately dug out Power Rings, pressing them to Scrape’s chest.
"C'mon, Colonel, stay with us,” he pleaded.
Golden light washed over Scrape's injuries, healing them somewhat and allowing him to regain much of his bearings.
“C’mon, Colonel, don’t you die on me…” Sperry ordered.
"G-General..."
Scrape attempted to sit up, but Keith stopped him.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa...Stay still, sir. The rings are healing you, but you're still in no condition to move."
“Of all the days not to have an Emerald…” Kat groused.
"Guys!"
The others turned toward the exit to see two more familiar faces rushing out.
"Hope! Shard!" Sonic called, waving them over.
“You two okay?” Knuckles asked.
"I was gonna ask you that,” Hope replied.
"We were talking with Dr. Bennett when the alarms started going off,” Shard explained.
It was then that he and Hope noticed Scrape.
Hope gasped. "Colonel Lemur! Is he…?”
“He's out of the danger zone, but he's still in bad shape,” Tails explained.
“What happened to him!?" Shard questioned. "He looks like he got run over by a train!"
"Shears..." Everyone turned to Scrape, Tangle’s eyes widening.
"Rory? Dad, what are you...?" Before she could finish, Scrape grabbed her shirt and looked at her desperately.
"Tangle...run...get out of here! He's gone rabid!"
"Dad, slow down! What are you...?"
“Get down!!” Sonic shouted, tackling Tangle to the ground just in time to avoid a fast-moving object that flew by where her neck was.
<By the Ancients!> Kat shrieked.
"What was that!?" Knuckles exclaimed.
"A knife,” Sonic explained, pointing to said knife, which was now embedded in the ground.
"Whoa..." Chris let out. "What kind of knife is that?"
Indeed, the knife looked strange. It was twisted, warped, and carved from what appeared to be some kind of bone…except it was black and shiny, like polished obsidian.
"Rory..." Tangle gasped. "That's one of Rory's ‘special knives’. But, he said he only brings out those when he..." She swallowed nervously. "Kills people."
Just then, the group was startled by a loud, wheezing noise. They looked to see where it came from and found a figure standing in the yard.
"Rory?" Tangled asked in cautious optimism.
"Agent Shears, what is the meaning of this!? What the hell have you done!?" Sperry demanded.
Shears said nothing. He just stood there, his head bowed down, seemingly ignoring her; something Sperry did not take kindly to.
“Shears, are you listening!? I–”
Kat started moving, realizing what was about to happen. She got between Shears and Sperry, raising her bracers just in time for another ‘special knife’ to hit them. The carvings on the gold were badly nicked, but no blood was shed as the knife clattered to the ground.
“Phew…” Kat let out. “That was a close one.”
"Look!" Chris pointed to Shears, whose hand was extended as if he had just thrown something. It didn’t take much to figure out what.
"The hell!?" Hope shouted. “Shears, what are you doing!?”
Shears said nothing, as he lowered his hand. He just stood there, silently. Five seconds later…
"Coff.."
Hope blinked. “‘What?”
"Coocococococoococoocooocococococo…!”
Shears’ fingers began to twitch frantically, all the while he was babbling nonsensical gibberish.
"Cooofofoffeffoefoefoeofefcococoefoefofoof…!"
Every few seconds, the babbling and twitching grew louder and more erratic, as even more of his body began to spasm and flail about.
“Coooofefefefefeffeefeffefffefefefeee! Coooofefefefefefefefffefe!”
"Roryyyy?" Tangle asked fearfully.
"Coffee...Coffee so...Coffee so...so...sooo.... SOOOOO GOOOOOD BAYBEEEEH!"
Suddenly, Shears and Tangle vanished, then reappeared by the wall behind Sonic and the others. Shears had slammed Tangle against the wall, holding her by the neck.
“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeey Stripeeeeeeey!” he greeted manically. “How's my favorite non-ape/monkey/gorilla primate doin', huuuuuuuuuuh?"
Tangle opened her eyes, allowing her to finally see Shears’ face, an action she immediately regretted.
Shears’ face could only be described as the stuff of nightmares. His eyes were pink and so bloodshot, they looked like they were about to burst open. But the most terrifying part had to be his smile, which could only be described as “homicidal clown” meets “radio demon”. His teeth even looked longer and sharper.
“What…what happened to you?” Tangle asked.
"Whatsamatter?" the redhead asked, holding a knife to his neck. "Don'tcha wanna play with your old Uncle Rory? Huh!? Do ya? Do ya!? DO YA?!"
“Get off of her!”
Shears turned just in time to see Sonic Spin Dashing towards him, only to step to the side just in time to dodge.
“What the…!?” the hedgehog demanded incredulously.
“Uh-uh! Not your turn!”
Shears kicked Sonic into the gut, sending him flying into the opposite wall, leaving a hedgehog-shaped imprint in the stone.
"Sonic!" the others cried out.
"Awwww man…” the hedgehog groaned as he climbed out of the rock. “What just happened?"
Shears was suddenly in his face, having left Tangle behind.
"Heeeeey buddy!” Shears greeted. “You don't get to play today! It's not your turn! You gotta wait your turn! You know what happens to naughty hedgies who don't wait their turn!? Hmmm? Hmmmm!? HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!?"
Sonic’s eyes darted about as he tried to think of a response to give the demented hellspawn standing before him.
"Uhhh....they get a time-out?” he offered.
"Right!" Shears grabbed Sonic by the face, holding his knife millimeters from his cheek. "Now be a good hedgie and gimme your skin! I'm huuuuuuuuuuuuuungry!"
Sonic’s pupils shrank as Shears’ grin stretched out even further and he licked his lips with a tongue that suddenly seemed too long and yellow to belong to a human being.
“Okay, no.”
Sonic lifted his leg, kicking Shears in the face and causing him to lose his grip on him. Shears stumbled backward, clutching his chin in pain as he muttered what could only be a string of expletives.
"You...you kicked my chin!” he let out. “Okay, hedgie… You wanna be like that..."
He shifted his wrists, causing several black knives to slide out of his sleeves and into the spaces between his fingers.
"Let's be like that!"
Shears swung his arms about, flinging the ebony blades right at Sonic.
"Whoa!”
Sonic bolted off, letting the knives get stuck in the wall. Unfortunately, Shears was keeping more knives hidden away in his jacket. Not only that, he was throwing them all over the place! Realizing the severity of the situation, Hope quickly activated her Shield Module, surrounding herself in a protective, green bubble.
“Guys! Over here!” she called out, motioning for the others to hurry over.
Sperry and the others dived for the shield, Tangle dragging her father into it.
"Damn...that was close!" Shard let out, wiping the “sweat” from his brow.
"What the hell's going on!?” Sally demanded. “He's lost his mind!"
"Somebody gave him coffee,” Sperry explained. “Whenever Shears gets it, he becomes completely manic!”
“MANIC?!” Kat gestured wildly with both arms. “That’s not manic! That’s… I can’t even begin to describe it! It’s like he’s not even human!! For crying out loud, he’s keeping up with Sonic!”
“Worse…” Keith let out in horror. “He’s overtaking Sonic!”
"What!?" Tangle exclaimed.
"Edgey hedgey fedgey wedgey ledgey reggie pledgey medgie Neji Tedgie zedgie veggie beeeeeeeeeeeeeeear!"
Shears joyfully sang his demented tune, all while bombarding Sonic with wave after wave of knives.
“Okay, you got serious issues, man!” the hedgehog shouted, ducking in time to avoid getting stabbed in the head.
"Two hundred ninety, one hundred eighty-four, and sixty-nine!” Shears exclaimed. “Not counting spin-offs, reprints, and online fan continuations!"
"What!?"
Before Sonic could figure out what he was talking about, Shears materialized in front of him, grabbing him by the neck and pinning him to the ground.
“Hey!” Shears shouted. “Hey Sonic! Hey Sonic! Hey Sonic, hey! Hey Sonic! Sonic! Hey! Sonic!"
"What!?" Sonic replied loudly, only to freeze when Shears pulled out another…
"Knife!"
Shears brought his knife down, seemingly to stab Sonic…only to shift and slice his bag of Warp Rings from his belt, which he grabbed in one, swift motion.
“What? That’s not what I was aiming for,” he said as he opened up the bag and dumped out its contents. “Oooooh! Shiny!”
He held up the rings, ogling in awe at them. “What’s this thing do?”
Shears casually flicked it, causing a portal to open up.
“Ooh, Bonus Stage!” he cried out eagerly as he lifted Sonic. “Time to get that damned Chaos Emerald! In ya go!”
With that, Shears threw Sonic into the portal.
“NO!” the others cried out.
“Victory for Rory!" Shears cackled. "Now…”
He turned to the others.
“Your turn!”
Shears ran over, knives drawn and ready to slice them all open…
SLAM!
…only to crash right into the shield.
"Dat hurt mah faesch," he let out as he peeled himself off the green force sphere. “Alright, tryin’ again!”
He ran backward, then charged at it again…with the same result. He repeated this process several times; afterward, the group stopped fearing for their lives.
"Okay, what is he doing?" Chris asked.
“Trying to break the shield,” Scrape replied as Shears crashed into said shield again. “One good thing about Rory is when he gets like this, he becomes a complete moron."
He winced as Shears crashed into it again.
“Well, more of a moron,” the colonel added.
“Small problem,” Hope began, holding up her module, which was currently at 52%. “The shield can't hold out forever and he's got the same strength as a pissed-off Kat, so…”
He crashed into it again, reducing it to 43%.
"Then I'll hold him off,” Sperry declared. “The rest of you get inside and get the other agents."
“Uh-uh!!” Shears shouted, then skidded across to the door, crushing the knob. “No cheating!! You wanna stop me? You gotta fight me! Yoooou!"
He started frantically stabbing the air with his knives, wildly hooting and hollering all the while.
“Damn it… What is his deal?!” Knuckles demanded.
"I told you, Rory's the craziest guy in GUN and his brain's hyped up on bean juice,” Tangle reminded them. “Whatever sense he had's taking a lunch break."
"Hey! Quit your bobble-bubble-babblin' and fight me already! I'm booooorrrrrreeed!"
“Oh, you want a fight?” the echidna began. “I'll give you a-”
“Not you!” Shears pointed a knife at Team Thorndyke and Tangle. "Them."
"Like hell you are, you psycho!" Sperry barked.
Scrape nodded. "If you think we're going to let you do this, you're…!"
“Blah blah blah blah! Nag nag nag! Complain! Complain! COMPLAIN!” Shears screamed. “You're wasting your time! You're wasting my time! And you're wasting pages! Now, shut down yer shield, shut down yer mouths, and lemme beat you kids...with my knife!"
Shears dashed over to the shield and began frantically stabbing at it, chipping it away one percent at a time.
“Right, I think it's time to put crazy in his place! Shard!”
“Right!”
Knuckles and Shard charged out of the shield, only to be tripped and sent falling into a new Warp Ring.
“Have a nice trip, see you next fall!!”
"Knuckles! Shard!” Kat cried out.
Suddenly, Shears thrust his knife into the barrier, causing it to crack.
"No more playing!" he shouted as he pulled his weapon out, causing it to fall apart. With nothing protecting them, Shears grabbed Sally and Tails. He threw them down the Warp Ring hole, then smashed it beneath his foot, causing the portal to fizzle out.
"There we go.’ Shears dusted his hands off. “Your heavy hitters are gone, and Scrape and Sperry are too beat up to fight back. What a pity."
"The hell I am!” Sperry snapped back, only for her to end up with several, high-speed knives lodged into her shoulders and legs.
"Whaaaat a pity,” Shears repeated before turning to his desired opponents. “Okay kiddies, you know what to do. Form a nice, neat, single-file line, and hold still while I suck your brains out your ears!"
The kids watched as Shears began air-stabbing again.
“Right...Plan?” Kat asked desperately.
“We need to subdue him,” Chris began. “He's not thinking straight."
“Whatever coffee brew he drank that put him in this state has to have a time limit,” Keith added.
“One we need to stall out,” Hope finished.
"Well, we can't just talk him out,” Tangle said. “He's way too nutty, and we can't even get close, he'll knife us the second he sees..."
Just then, the lemur got an idea.
"I got it! Chris, you still have any of those fancy rings from earlier?"
“Which ones do you need?” he asked.
“I've got a whole assortment of them,” Keith added.
"We'll need all of them, especially the Water Ring."
Tangle motioned for them to come close. As they huddled up, Shears watched them, twitching around like a maniac.
"What are they doing? Brain, what are they doing?"
His eyes unfocused as he began talking in a low, dopey voice. "Duuuuuhhhh… Rabble-flabble...fruits and peas...."
"GAH!” Shears screamed, regaining his regular insanity. “Dammit brain, I can't rely on you for anything!"
Meanwhile, the kids and Tangle had finished going over their plan.
“Tangle, that just might work!” Hope said.
“It better,” Chris said. “It's our only shot.”
“It will,” Tangle assured. “Just gimme a shield for Sperry and my dad. We can't let them get caught in this.”
Hope handed Tangle a Barrier Ring, which she placed on her father.
“Tangle, what are you…?”
“Sorry, Dad.” She activated the ring, trapping the two inside the barrier. “I promise, I’ll be okay this time.”
Scrape and Sperry watched as Tangle and the kids stepped forward, preparing to fight the crazy Shears.
"Tangle? TANGLE!" the colonel cried out.
"Alright guys,” Tangle began. “Sonic and the others aren't here, so it's up to us to save the day and stop Rory."
“I'll keep him occupied,” Kat punched her fists together. “Get him in place.”
Tangled nodded. "Good. The rest of you, get in position and be ready to strike on my signal. Got it?"
“Right!” the others declared.
“You wanted a fight, Rory?” the lemur began. “Then get ready…cuz it’s time to tangle!”
Kat slipped off her bracers as the teens split off.
“Alright crazy pants,” she said. “You wanna dance? Let's dance!”
Kat charged at Shears, who grinned wickedly.
"Finally!"
Shears drew two more knives from his sleeves as he darted at Kat. He swung at her, but she managed to block his knives with her bat. Shockingly, he left small gouges in the metal.
<By the Ancients...> she let out. “What are those things made of?"
Shears grinned. "My knives are made from the blackened bones of a demon from the fourth circle of Hell and sharpened by the unrelenting force of my own indomitable will!"
He cackled maniacally as he continued his onslaught, though it did little to impress, let alone terrify his opponent.
“Okay fine, don’t tell me!”
She shoved him back and the fight continued.
From behind the shield, Sperry and Scrape watched with gaping mouths.
"What in the...is Winters actually holding off Shears!?" the Doberman uttered in disbelief.
"She...She is…” Scrape confirmed.
"C'mon Kitty-Kat!” Shears screamed as he tried to stab at her. “It's gonna take more than a tricked-out ball-bat to roll over Rory!”
Kat kept up the assault, watching her friends from the corner of her eye.
"Kat!” Tangle called out. “You're not getting any ground! Turn up the heat!"
“Right!!”
Her body began to glow, rainbow flames sprouting across her arms, back, and hair.
"Ohhhh...preeetttyyyyy..." Shears let out in awe as massive wings grew from her back and danced along her bat.
“Think you can take the heat, Spears?” Kat asked smugly.
"It's Shears!"
Shears dashed forward, thrusting both his hands at Kat, only to recoil in pain as the flames burned him.
"YEOWCH! That's hot!"
He waved his hands around, dropping his knives, which burned away to ash in a way that was distinctly not like metal.
“Huh,” Kat let out. “Guess they were bone.”
"My hands!"
Shears looked down at his hands, which had been blackened and badly burned.
“Oh buddy, just wait for phase two,” Kat warned.
"Phase 2?"
Suddenly, Kat tackled the agent, getting him into a grapple.
“She’s got him!” Tangle shouted. “Chris, Keith, put her out!"
Kat braced herself as Chris and Keith slammed Water Rings into their gloves, Hope doing the same with her Omochao Gun.
“WATER IN THE HOLE!”
They all fired at Kat, and the resulting steam explosion utterly vaporized everything and knocked Shears back.
“Damn…” he groaned as he got up. “What the hell was…?”
He looked around, only to find the area completely covered in steam.
“H-Hey! What’s goin’ on!? I can’t see!”
Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey,” Keith said coolly as electricity shot through Shears’ body, causing him to twitch and spasm violently.
"Lightning Ring works!" he said as he ran off, holding up a power ring with a purple, lightning bolt-shaped gem.
“Uuugh…” Shears groaned. “What hit me?”
Suddenly, he was hit by a powerful energy blast.
“Blast Ring too!” Chris called out, his own Glove wearing a power ring with an orange starburst-shaped gem. “Hope, try the Bomb Ring!”
“On it!”
Hope placed a power ring with a black, bomb-shaped crystal in her Omochao Gun. She pulled the trigger, sending out several energy spheres bouncing toward Shears. The agent blinked blearily as he watched them bounce and roll closer to him, flashing repeatedly as they did.
“Mother…” Shears whispered, right as the spheres blew up, launching him into the air.
“Ohhh man…that smarts,” he groaned as he reached peak height, then plummeted back to the ground, where Kat was waiting for him, bat out, and wound up to strike.
“Batter up!!”
As soon as his head came into range, she struck with every ounce of strength she had, sending him flying toward the other side of the yard, where Tangle was waiting, her tail wrapped around one of the intact training posts and stretched out into a rope. Shears flew into her tail, stretching out elastic appendage several yards before the recoil launched him back like a slingshot.
“Hope!” Tangle called out.
“On it!”
Hope jumped right into Shears’ flight path, charging up her Omochao Gun.
“Sorry, Shears!”
She pulled the trigger, blasting Shears with a powerful laser, launching him back into Tangle’s tail.
“Keith, our turn!” Chris called out.
“Right!”
The boys charged up their Nitro Gloves, creating a pair of Nitro Balls. But instead of throwing them, they put the two together, forming one, big ball.
“Nitro Ball Ultra!!”
The two geniuses charged forward as Shears was launched a second time, then slammed the large energy sphere right into him, blasting him back the way he came.
“Now, it’s my turn!” Tangle declared.
Once again, Shears was caught by Tangle’s tail, but instead of letting him be slingshot again, she unwound her tail and wrapped it around him, pulling him in close.
“Uuuuuugh…Stripesssss?” Shears moaned blearily.
“Hey Rory,” Tangle said sympathetically, gently patting his bruised and singed cheek. “I’m really sorry about this.”
Before Shears could question, Tangle began slamming him around back and forth into the ground. This continued for about several seconds, until finally, she gently set Shears down on his back, the agent too tired and injured to move.
“Alright,” Tangle said. “We got him. We got him, right?”
“Omochao?” Hope asked.
Omochao reverted to his regular form and flew over to Shears, his eyes glowing as he did a bio-scan.
“Pulse is dropping within acceptable parameters. Breathing is leveling out. Brain activity...still highly active."
"We got him!” Tangle pumped her fist. “Good work, team!”
“Now, how are we going to get the others back?” Kat asked.
Suddenly, the doors burst open, revealing Stone and Vellum.
"Nobody move!" Vellum yelled.
"Where is he!?" Stone demanded.
That's when they take full stock of the area.
"What the...?" Vellum let out, lowering his sunglasses to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
"Hello? Rory?” Stone asked.
"Over here..."
The agents turned to where the kids were to see Shears weakly holding up a hand.
"Awww hell..."
The two ran over, Vellum muttering angrily under his breath the entire time.
"Aurora-dammit, Rory, what the fugg did you do!?" the bald agent demanded.
Shears chuckled. “I proved my point. I haven't lost a fight that bad since... Ever! Not since Abey… Abey… Uuuuugh..."
And with that, passed out.
"Shit! Robert, call a medic!"
Stone nodded. "On it!"
"Call one for my Dad and General Doberman too!" Tangle piped up, pointing to the two.
Vellum couldn’t believe what he was seeing. "What the..."
"Sir? Ma'am? What happened!?" Stone asked.
"We..." Sperry began.
"Were forced to eat out words, Agent," Scrape confessed.
"Scrape!"
"Sperry, you saw that." Scrape gestured to the kids. "They just took on a rampaging Shears and won! And you know Shears doesn't pull punches when he gets like that."
The kids shared small smiles and fist bumps.
"Dad,” Tangle let out. “Does that mean...?"
Scrape sighed. "Yes, Entanglina...You all can stay with the Freedom Fighters. If this is any sign of what you can do now, I can only imagine what you could do with more experience.” He turned to his superior. “Right, Sperry?"
Sperry paused, looking at Shears, then the kids. She bit her lower lip in frustration, then sighed.
"Yes. Good work, you all."
Hope nodded. “Well then, once we figure out where Shears dropped Sonic and co., we'll see if we can't re-discuss the team-up with more negotiable terms.”
“Well…” Keith thought aloud. “Maybe if we focus on the person rather than the destination…”
He picked up a Warp Ring, closed his eyes, and threw it. From it, all five of the missing members came flying out, landing in a massive dogpile.
“We have been falling... for thirty minutes!!!” Knuckles shouted.
"It was only five, Knucklehead," Sonic pointed out.
“Please get off my tails, Sally,” Tails requested.
“Trying…” Sally winced. “Ow…”
“Beeeeeep boo-boo boo bop bop boo boo bop…” Shard let out.
"Holy cow, that worked!" Keith said in genuine shock.
“Nice thinking!” Chris said, giving him a thumbs up.
Sonic shook his head as he finally realized where they were. "Guys? What happened?'
“The adults ate crow while Shears ate pavement,” Kat explained.
"What the...?"
They then turned to see Shears lying on the ground. Sonic was especially surprised.
"Holy! How the heck did you…?”
“The power of teamwork, thermodynamics, and a lot of rings,” Hope replied.
"Alright!" Sonic smirked. "Still think they don't got what it takes now, General?
"Sonic..." Sally sighed.
Sonic winced. "Right, sorry."
Later...
The Freedom Fighters and Tower had once again gathered in the meeting room, where they were signing some important papers.
"Alright..." Tower said as he finished writing his signature. “And with that, it's done!"
Sally nodded as she finished writing her own. “We look forward to a fruitful alliance, Commander.”
"Likewise, Your Highness. And I apologize again on behalf of my subordinates. While I disagree with them, they were only looking out for the children's well-being."
"Hey, we get it," Sonic said. "They had every right to be scared. Especially after finding out about..." The hedgehog shuddered. “A-Anyway, we get it. But we don't abandon each other. If things get too bad, we'll be sure to keep them out of danger… But kicking them out entirely?" He shook his head. "Sorry, no dice."
"Very well,” Tower said. “In that case, we'd best let you go. You’ve had a very busy day and we still need to put together a roster for F-Troop."
“Not to mention a better name,” Chris chimed in.
Tower blushed slightly. "That too."
“By the way,” Tangle cut in. “How's Rory?”
"Agent Shears is doing well. We estimate he'll make a full recovery in a few days, thanks to the Power Rings you supplied."
Tangle sighed in relief. "Thank Aurora..."
"Well, we'd best be on our way,” Hope said. “Thank you again for everything, Commander."
"Let us know if you need help with your new team,” Knuckles added.
And with that, the Freedom Fighters left.
"Well, that was...something,” Sonic commented.
"No kidding,” Knuckles replied.
Kat yawned, stretching her arms. “I am exhausted…”
"Ditto," Chris chimed in.
“Physically, mentally, emotionally....” Keith added.
“All of the above,” Hope remarked.
“Well, at least that’s the last of it,” Shard concluded.
"Ahem!"
“Spoke too soon.”
The group stopped as Sperry and Scrape walked toward them, both looking serious and, surprisingly, fairly chastised.
"Dad? General?" Tangle asked.
"At ease, dear,” Scrape said. "We're not here to make trouble."
"Quite the opposite." Sperry cleared her throat. "Princess Sally, Mr. Hedgehog, on behalf of GUN, Caucasus Troop, and all of Chamber-1, we wish to formally apologize for what transpired today. As well as provide reassurance that we will not be taking any further action against your team or any of its younger members. You have our word."
“We appreciate that,” Sally replied. “However, Sonic and I aren't the ones you should be apologizing to.”
"Yes, of course." Sperry turned to the kids. "Thorndyke, Kent, Winters, Agent Kintobor..." All four of them stepped up. "I'm going to be honest. I'm not happy with this. I can't deny what I've witnessed today, but even so, this feels wrong. But, a deal is a deal. You have shown that you are capable of handling yourselves. And, though I still wish you would reconsider, I respect your decision to fight and apologize for attempting to force the issue."
The kids exchanged looks.
“Y’know, there were a few files in that Project Popgun thing involving young puppies,” Hope held them out. “It's a longshot, but they may be your kids.”
Sperry froze. “My… You..." She looked at the documents. "These files are mostly incomplete..."
“Well luckily, Dr. Bennett saved them from being destroyed,” Hope told her. “So you at least have somewhere to start.”
"Yes… That's...that's better than nothing. Thank you." Sperry sniffled before pulling herself together and clearing her throat. "Now then, if you'll excuse me… I have work to do."
Sperry walked off, leaving Scrape behind.
“C’mon guys,” Sonic said. “I think this one is all Tangle.”
The others headed off, leaving the two lemurs alone.
"Dad..."
"Entanglina..."
Scrape took a breath, fidgeting nervously. "Aurora, dammit...where do I even start?"
"How about by apologizing for using General Doberman's plan to try and get me kicked off the Freedom Fighters?" Tangle suggested heatedly.
Scrape sighed. “Yeah...I'm sorry..."
"And for all those times you hardly ever called or visited because you were too busy working?"
"Yeah, that was a really stupid thing to..."
“Or maybe leaving me on my own in an empty house the day after.... after Mom's funeral.”
Scrape flinched. "Yeah...that was...good goddess...that was awful… I guess I do deserve some of those negative impressions..."
“Ya think?”
"Tangle...I… I'm sorry… For everything… Especially for what happened today. I thought that I was trying to keep you safe. Instead, I just kept pushing you away. But, I want you to know, the way you handled yourself and the kids out there… That was amazing."
Tangle looked at her father, then slowly stepped over and hugged him tightly.
“Thank you…” she said. "I know you wanted to keep me out of this, but…”
Scrape didn’t let her finish, he just hugged her back, gripping her tightly like she was about to float away if he let go. The two hugged it out for a good minute, tails curling around each other, before finally letting go.
"Remember to follow Princess Sally's orders and don't just charge into things like you always do. I mean it, young lady."
“Considering the last time I ignored orders had me doing time in a Viking POW camp, no argument here.”
"Tangle..." Scrape sighed.
"I promise, Dad." She gave her father a serious look. "I mean it."
"Good girl." He gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Now, you'd better get going with your friends. We're both gonna be pretty busy in the next few weeks, and they could use all the help they can get."
"Yes, sir!" Tangle said, saluting energetically before running off to join her friends.
Scrape watched her go, letting out a sigh. Then, from under his uniform, he pulled a small golden locket shaped like a heart.
“She's so much like you, Braid,” he whispered, shedding a single tear. “I wish you could have been here to see her. You would have been so proud.”
-X-
Tangle managed to catch up with the others, who were waiting for her outside of the main entrance.
"Sorry I'm late!" she called out. "Hope you guys weren't waiting too long."
"Not at all,” Sally replied.
It was then that Tangle noticed everyone had gathered around, looking over something on the Miles Electric.
"Whatcha guys lookin’ at?" she asked as she walked over.
"Some data from Shears' medical exam,” Hope replied.
"Right, we banged him up from pretty bad,” Tangle’s face scrunched in confusion. “Or…good? A-Anyway, what's up with Rory's bod?"
"A lot of things,” Tails replied. “For starters, that coffee he drank. It's something called Mean Bean No. 19."
Tangle perked. "Oh yeah, that's one of Bob's special blends."
“Is that like your mixture of Espresso with Blue Cow and 5-Hour Energy?” Keith asked.
"More like that mixed with cocaine, a mill of sugar, and a twenty-ounce bottle of pure adrenaline," Tails piped up, causing everyone to gape in horror and disbelief.
“He…He should be dead,” Chris insisted. “How is he not dead!?”
“Something doesn't feel right…” Kat said. “I can't tell you what, but my sus meter is telling me something’s amiss here.”
"With Shears or the coffee?" Knuckles asked.
“Both? Maybe?”
"Maybe we should ask Commander Tower the next time we're here," Shard suggested.
“I'll make sure to ask,” Hope said. “Honestly, the fact that he even got that brew in the first place is nuts.”
"For now, let's head back home." Sonic decided. "Cream's probably worried sick about us."
He pulled out a Warp Ring and opened a portal. As everyone entered, Tangle took one last look at the base.
"Rory…” she whispered. “Just what are you?"
"Tangle!" Sally called out.
"Coming!"
Up on the roof, Special Agent Rory Shears watched as Tangle followed her friends through the portal back to Knothole before it vanished. He sighed in relief that she didn’t see him, or at least kept quiet if she did. It had been a crazy day, and he wasn’t in the mood to explain how he survived drinking a pitcher of coffee that could give fatal heart attacks to twenty men, suffering third-degree burns on his hands, and getting beaten enough times to break every bone in his body at least seven times over…only to come back completely unscathed after only an hour later, as if it had never happened. Taking a moment to thank Aurora for small mercies, he smiled as he thought back to the spunky, little lemur girl he’d befriended all those years ago and how she’d managed to kick his ass today.
“Good job, Stripes,” he said, looking up at the blue skies. “You too, kids.”
His smile then vanished as he slipped another of his ‘special knives’ out of his sleeve and threw it at the door to the stairwell.
“You come on out now, Mistah Baristah,” he ordered, prompting a nervous Agent Stone to meekly open the door.
"H-Hey there, Rory,” he greeted, pulling the knife out of both the door and his necktie. “You feelin' better?"
"Sure am…” The redheaded agent turned to him, his expression cold as ice. “No thanks to you."
Stone blinked. "Wh-What are you...?"
"Cut the crap, Robert, " Shears spat. "You know damn well I'm talking about that jug of radioactive septic fluid you gave me."
To his credit, Stone maintained a glorious poker face, looking genuinely exasperated as he spoke. "Rory, I warned you, that stuff is crazy!"
"Yeah..." Shears got right in Stone's face, a knife to his neck. "Especially when you spike it!"
“Spike? I gave you the blend you asked for! I mean, I added a little caramel but I hardly think--” Stone was cut off when Shears applied more pressure with the knife.
“I'm a lot of things, Bob. A loose cannon, a wild card, a knife-wielding maniac, but stupid ain’t one of them. I don't know what you did or how you did it, and I can't prove a thing, but I know you put something in that coffee that made me crazy, and Tangle and the kids almost died because of it! They were strong enough to stop me, thank Aurora, but if they hadn't been, or if I hadn't had enough willpower to stick to my plan…”
“Now, now, Rory, let's be reasonable here,” Stone pleaded. “Just put the knife down and we can talk about this like civilized men-”
“Oh Bobby boy,” Shears snarled as his hand suddenly turned blue, tipped with black claws. “You and I both know I ain't no man.” His eyes turned yellow with slitted pupils, while his teeth sharpened. "I'm a fugg-muthering DEVIL! And if you EVER! EVER! Pull something like that again… I suggest you take a gun and use it on yourself before I get my hands on you.” He then placed his claw around his victim’s head, applying the slightest pressure. “Am. I. CLEAR?!”
“Crystal clear! Perfectly clear! Now please calm down!”
A tense moment passed before Shears withdrew the knife and backed off, his features shifting back to normal.
“And don't think this is over. I've got my eye on you now.”
He held two fingers to his eyes, then pointed them straight at Stone. Then, maintaining eye contact, he backed away, vanishing from sight and leaving Stone in shock.
"Ulp..." he let out before activating his comm.
"What is it?" a voice asked on the other end.
"Sir, it's me… The plan failed. Worse, Shears is suspicious."
The voice sighed. “I warned you not to underestimate those brats.”
“It won't happen again, sir. I promise you that.”
“I know you won’t. If anything, I'm more worried about Shears. I thought you said he was a 'stab-happy idiot'."
“He is. But as he so eloquently put it, he's no fool.”
"In that case, we'll need to put our plans for GUN on hold. For now, continue to play the part of the lovably pathetic coffee jockey. I'll give you further orders later."
“Yes, sir.”
"Good. In the meantime, see if you can dig up anything useful on Shears. If he's this sharp, I'll need to prepare the proper contingencies."
"Understood, Doctor. Stone, out," Stone hung up, turning toward the direction Shears disappeared to. "Watch me all you want, Rory. It won't matter. After all...in Roshambo..." He grinned maliciously. "Rock smashes scissors."
Notes:
Uh-oh...something's up with Agent Stone. And what's up with Shears? What is he? Stay tuned...
And that concludes the first story in our little anthology! We hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it!
Don't forget to R&R. Until next time!
Chapter Text
Knothole
As the group sat around Freedom HQ, Sonic stumbled in, looking utterly exhausted as he removed his training weights.
"Ooooooooohhh maaan…” He shambled over to the couch.
"Rough day of training?" Chris asked.
"Uh-huuuuuh..." Sonic plopped on the couch, face-first. "I missed so many days that Longclaw basically had me make them up all at once. I'm dead, Chris. I couldn't take another step if the fate of the world depended on it.”
"Guys!" Hope came running in.
Sonic's eyes went wide, his pupils shrinking. "Oh Aurora, no..."
"I just got an email from Cass!"
Sonic relaxed. "Oh thank goodness..."
"She's hosting a game tournament on her Let's Play channel to help raise money for the blizzard relief, and she wants us to join as celebrity contestants!"
“Sounds fun!” Chris exclaimed.
"When's it start?” Keith asked.
"About two weeks from now." Hope sent everyone the flier for it. "Here. Here's all the games they'll be playing."
"Oooh, nice!" Tangle declared.
“Are there any Tomatopotamus games?” Kat asked, scanning the flier.
"Uhh, Kat..." Hope pointed. Kat looked down at the flier. Tomatopotamus 2 was listed in big, red letters, making it impossible to miss.
"Oh..." She blushed. “Whoops.”
"She's got a pretty solid line-up," Sonic mused.
"Yeah, tell her we'll be there," Tails said.
"Will do!" Hope gave a thumbs-up. "Oh yeah, she said feel free to bring everybody. Even if they're not playing, they still enjoy the show."
"Sounds great!" Tails remarked. "Cosmo will enjoy that when she gets back."
"Wait, gets back?" Sonic blinked. "Cosmo left?"
"Yeah, she said, she wanted to do some traveling, remember?"
Sonic thought for a moment, then perked. “I remember now! She left to travel before the Einherjar hit, wanting to see more of the world.”
Flashback
Several Weeks Ago, Knothole
Cosmo finished packing her backpack. "Alright, that should be everything."
"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you, Cosmo?" Tails asked.
"It's pretty dangerous out there," Amy added. "I know you have your Mover Mode, but..."
"It's alright, Amy," Cosmo assured her. "I'm just going on a trip around South Island. I'll be back before you know it.”
"Still, with all the crazy stuff going on, don't you think it'd be better if some of us came with you?" Tails questioned. "Better safe than sorry, you know?"
Cosmo shook her head. “And that is exactly why I want to go on my own. Everyone is busy with Robotnik. You need to stay focused in the event he tries something. And again, it's only South Island. It's one of the safest places in Mobius. I'll be fine.”
“Well… alright," Tails said after a brief hesitation. "But, if something happens, call us right away, okay?"
"I will. Thank you for being concerned for me, Tails."
Tails turned red. “You're our friend. It's what we do.
Cosmo giggled. "Well, I'd best be off." She pulled out a Warp Ring. "I'll see you all in a week! Take care!"
"Bye Cosmo!" Amy called.
"Be careful!" Tails chimed in.
Cosmo waved as she headed through the portal.
Flashback Over
"With all the stuff going on with the Einherjar, it totally slipped my mind." Sonic suddenly froze. "Wait a minute… Cosmo left before the blizzard hit. And we haven't heard from her since. Have we?”
Tails perked. "No… We haven't… We should check on her.”
Tails dialed Cosmo’s number, but it didn’t even ring.
“We’re sorry, but the number you are trying to reach is not available. Please try again later.”
"Okay, that's not good," Tangle remarked.
“No... it's not…” Sonic stood up. “Okay, let's not panic. Cosmo said she was sticking to South Island, right? She's gotta be in one of the Zones.”
“Right…” Tails nodded. "We'll call the others, split up, and..."
The phone went off. Tails immediately answered it. “Cosmo?”
“Um... not quite,” a girl’s voice responded. "Is this the Freedom Fighters?”
“It is, yes.”
"Oh, thank Aurora! I've been trying to get ahold of you all week! My name's Allie. Allie West, and my friend needs your help. You're on South Island, right? I'm in Sunset City, on the other side of the Bridge Zone. Please, I need you to come quickly! And bring Power Rings!"
“We're on our way.” Tails hung up with a sigh. “Looks like Cosmo's gonna have to wait.”
"Sorry, bud," Sonic told him. "We'll start looking as soon as we're done here."
Sunset City
The group arrived, taking in the sights of a large city located at the coast of a bay. The most noticeable characteristic part of the city was the Red Gate Bridge across the river that connected it to the Bridge Zone.
“Whoa…” Tangle let out. “This is Sunset City? It’s fancy!”
“Sunset City is a major merchant hub,” Sally explained. “A lot of food and the like for Mobotropolis comes from here.”
“I know about it all too well,” Hope remarked. “Rouge never shuts up about its jewel markets.”
"It's also home to K-TBR 199.2 radio, hosted by Nite the Owl," Knuckles chimed in.
Sonic turned to him. "You listen to the radio?"
"No, but Charmy does. It's his favorite station."
“I like their country music weekends,” Kat said.
“Hey! Over here!”
They turned, looking to see a human girl around Team Thorndyke's age with long red hair and green eyes, wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans with green sneakers, waving at them.
“Allie West, I assume?” Sonic asked as they approached.
"That's me," Allie confirmed. "Thank you for coming, Mr. Hedgehog."
“Just call me Sonic. Mr. Hedgehog is my dad. Now, where's this friend of yours?
“Follow me.”
Allie led them to a flower shop on the corner of the street, a sign above it reading “The Garden Path,” then led them to a greenhouse in the back.
"She's right this way,” she explained. “I've tried everything to wake her up, but when the cold hit… she just got weaker and weaker. I've even tried planting her in my best soil.”
“Planting her?” Sonic raised an eyebrow.
“It's easier to show than to tell.”
They entered, jaws dropping to see who the friend was: Cosmo, unconscious and laid out on a bed of flowers under a heat lamp.
"Cosmo!" Tails immediately ran over.
“Oh, you know her?” Allie asked.
“She's one of ours,” Sonic explained. “She left to explore the island before the blizzard.”
“No wonder she was so brave. She was one of you. I owe her so much.”
“How'd this happen?” Tails asked.
"I can explain later. Do you have Power Rings?"
"I have something better." Tails pulled out a device, pressing a button. The device opened up, unfolding into a robot wearing a labcoat, a headlamp built into its head, a medical mask over its face, and Tails' two-tail insignia on its chest. It raised a hand in greeting.
"Hello,” it greeted. “I am T-Med. Your personal healthcare companion."
"Whoa!" Sonic exclaimed. "Tails, isn't that your Medi-Bot?"
“Medi-Bot Mk II,” Tails clarified. “I've been working on upgrades since the Summit. After what happened with Lupe and Knuckles, I thought it'd be good to have a dedicated healer onboard.” He turned to the bot. “T-Med, Cosmo is the patient.”
T-Med approached, scanning her.
"Subject scan complete,” he concluded. “The patient shows no signs of serious injury or illness, but her brain activity and bodily functions are currently functioning at the bare minimum. She appears to be in a state of hibernation."
“Like a bear?” Sonic asked.
"More like a plant," Allie corrected. "When the weather gets cold, some species of plants enter a withered state to conserve energy until the weather gets warmer."
“But the Einherjar's blizzard has been over for weeks,” Tangle pointed out. “Why hasn't she woken up?”
"I'm not sure..." Allie admitted. "I was hoping you would know."
"T-Med, activate Vita-Rays," Tails ordered.
"Roger. Activating Vita-Ray Lamps." T-Med's arms turned into UV lamp-like devices and began shining a gentle, green light onto Cosmo. All was quiet for several moments, before Cosmo's fingers twitched. She moaned and stirred before slowly sitting up, yawning and stretching.
"Oh my..." she managed.
“Cosmo?” Tails asked. “Are you okay?”
"Mmm? Tails?"
"Thank goodness, you're alive!" Allie sighed.
"Allie..." Cosmo opened her eyes, seeing the assembled Freedom Fighters. “You're all here? How long have I been out?”
"For a while..." Allie answered. "At least three weeks."
Cosmo's eyes widened in shock. "Three weeks!?"
“I'm so sorry, Cosmo,” Tails lamented. “I should've checked in on you. But the blizzard hit, and things got so hectic.”
Cosmo shook her head. "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have gone off alone. It was stupid and reckless of me."
“What's done is done,” Sonic cut in. “Hindsight is 20/20. The important thing is you're okay.”
"Although, what exactly have you been doing?" Sally asked.
"That's a story best told over drinks," Allie decided.
-X-
In the living quarters above the shop, everyone sat down as Allie passed out cups of strawberry lemonade.
"I hope you like strawberry lemonade,” she said. “That's all I have right now. I lost most of my harvest to the cold snap.”
They took the glasses, sipping.
“So what happened after you left, Cosmo?” Amy asked.
“I went exploring the island, checking out the different Zones. I'd just arrived in Sunset City when it started to get chilly…”
Flashback
Sunset City, At the beginning of the blizzard
Cosmo walked through the city, shivering as the wind picked up, bringing a chill with it.
"My word… What in the world is going on? The weather was so warm yesterday… But now it feels like the middle of winter." Cosmo looked up, seeing it was snowing. "Snow?"
She shuddered, frantically looking around before seeing a flower shop with a greenhouse nearby. With a nod, she ducked inside. As soon as she entered, she took in the sight of flowers and various plants hanging all over the place. Behind the register was a teenage girl with red hair, who looked up at her entry.
“Um... hello,” she greeted. “I'm sorry to intrude.”
"Oh!" the girl perked. "I-It's perfectly fine! Welcome to the Garden Path. How may I help you?" It was then the girl got a good look at the plant girl. "What the..?"
“Oh…” Cosmo cleared her throat. “Please don't be frightened. I'm a Seedrian. Think of me as a... plant Mobian.”
“Are you a flower fairy?
“I get that a lot, but no. I'm actually an alien. By Mobius' standards, anyway.”
"An alien? No way..."
The girl slowly approached Cosmo, curiously before looking over her.
"Ohhh..." She looks over Cosmo's hair. "Your hair...it's made of leaves… And, are those flower buds?"
"Y-Yes..."
"Hmmm… Judging from the shape… I'd say… red rose. Maybe pink."
Cosmo nodded, impressed. “You know your flowers.”
“I'm a florist. It comes with the territory.” The girl perked. “Oh, am I making you uncomfortable? II tend to do that sometimes..." She smiled awkwardly as she scratched her cheek. “Oh, right! I skipped over the niceties. I'm Allie. Allie West. My mom runs this shop.”
“My name is Cosmo,” Cosmo curtsied. “I apologize for intruding. The weather has turned cold and I was ill-prepared.”
Allie nodded. "I know, it's weird. The news said something happened at Station Square. Something about the Egg Army attacking."
Cosmo perked.
“Oh, no… My friends!” She pulled a phone from a fold in her dress. However, when she went to dial, she saw that she had no service. “Blast it. The line's dead.”
"Crud, something must've killed communications there."
"Oh dear… What am I going to do?" she gasped, perking once more. “Ah! The Warp Rings!" She fumbled for her pouch, pulling one out. "I'll just head to Station Square myself and...!"
“Wait.” Allie caught her arm, stopping her. “If you can't handle the cold out here, could you even survive in the heart of it?”
Cosmo stopped
“No…” she gritted her teeth. “Darn it! My friends are in trouble, and I can't even check on them in this cold! I never should have left home alone! So stupid!"
“Hey, hey,” Allie soothed. “Don't say that. Honestly, it's probably for the best. You leaving likely ensured your survival. Also, there's no way you could have seen this coming. Nobody could. I mean, snow in the middle of June?”
"Still..."
"Hmmm..." Allie perked, getting an idea, "Ooh, I know! Why don't you stay here until this storm blows over?"
“Are you sure? I don't want to impose.”
“It's fine, really! My greenhouse is probably the best place for you. Plus, my mom would have me pushing daisies if I just left you out there to wilt."
“Well, okay,” Cosmo smiled. “Thank you, Allie.”
Flashback Over
“Take it from someone who was in the thick of it, Cosmo,” Sonic told her. “You being here and away from Station Square was the best thing that could've happened to you.”
"Seriously, what happened was..." Tails shook his head. "Insane."
"You don't know the half of it..." Tangle shuddered, recalling Glacia’s boot camp.
At that moment, the door opened.
"Allie! I'm back!" A woman resembling an older Allie entered the room. "Sorry I'm late, honey, I had to check in with the police again and..." She trailed off as she saw the Freedom Fighters gathered around.
"Uhhh...hey!" Sonic waved awkwardly.
"Ohh..." The woman perked. "Oh my! Sonic the Hedgehog!"
“I called him and his friends to see if they could help Cosmo,” Allie replied. “And get this, Mom; Cosmo's a Freedom Fighter too!”
“Is that so? That certainly explains a few things,” Allie’s mother smiled. "Well, I’m Amanda, the owner of the Garden Path. Any friends of Cosmo are welcome here. Especially after what she did."
Cosmo blushed. “I-It was nothing, really..."
Chris blinked. “What she did?”
“We were just getting into that story, actually,” Allie told her mother as she took a seat.
“Okay, so while we were freezing our butts off in Artika and Station Square, what were you up to?” Amy asked.
Cosmo sipped her lemonade. “Allie and Amanda had opened their home to me. I saw it fitting to repay their hospitality by helping them manage their shop. And that’s when I got roped into something big.”
Flashback
A week into the Einherjar’s blizzard found Cosmo tending to some of the flowers in the greenhouse.
"There you are." She watered the plants, gently holding the leaf of one as if it were a hand. "Poor little things… You were ill-prepared for the weather too, were you? Well, don't you worry. I'm sure Sonic, Tails, and the others are working on stopping this blizzard.”
"Cosmo!" Allie called from the main shop. "We need some more bellflowers!"
“I'm on it!”
Cosmo filled up a cart with pots of bellflowers before heading off, making her way to the main part of the store. There, she watched as Amanda finished ringing up a customer.
"Alright, one bouquet of carnations and one of bellflowers… That will be twenty-one Mobiums, please." The customer pulled out some bills, getting some change in return. “Thank you again for walking down the Garden Path, ma'am."
"Thank you , Amanda." The customer smiled. "Your plants appear to be doing much better this week. What's your secret?"
“Just some extra help.” Allie’s mom gave Cosmo a small smile. “And a little bit of love. Same as always."
"Alright then, you have a wonderful day. Try to stay warm now." With that, the customer left.
"She's not wrong, Mom," Allie remarked. "The plants have been doing better since Cosmo started helping."
"That they have," Amanda agreed. “I wonder how she does it?"
Cosmo stepped forward at that. “My species has always had an affinity for plants. We can feel their life essence, and even sense how they feel."
"Whoa, for real?" Allie asked.
Cosmo nodded. "The plants in your care are very grateful, Mrs. West. You and Allie have been doing a wonderful job taking care of them.”
Allie and her mom smiled, though the latter was a bit weaker.
"Thank you, Cosmo… That's nice of you to say."
“You're welcome.” Cosmo then clapped, looking around. “So, is there anything else you need me to do?”
"Not that I can think of. Though, would you mind helping Allie do another check on the greenhouses? The weather is supposed to be picking up, and I want to make sure the plants are safe."
Cosmo nodded. “Leave it to me.”
"Ain't no snow gonna get in there!" Allie declared as the two ran off.
"Alright, that should keep them busy." Amanda picked up the phone, dialing a number. "Hello, I'm here to speak to Madame Poppy..."
-X-
Meanwhile...
Cosmo and Allie entered the greenhouses.
"Alright, let's split up." Allie decided. "I'll take the left side, you take the right, and we meet in the middle. Sound good?"
“Let's do it.”
They split up. As Cosmo ran off, she felt a low thrumming in her head.
"Huh?" She clutched her head as she felt it again. "My head.... What...is that?"
Cosmo turned to see a greenhouse with several warning signs on it, as well as a big sign that reads, "Authorized Personnel Only".
"What...is this?"
"Cosmo!" Allie came running over, placing a hand on Cosmo’s back. "You okay? You look like you have a headache."
"I-I'm fine..." Cosmo looked up. "Allie, what's in this greenhouse?"
Allie turned to the greenhouse, her brow furrowing.
"Oh...that? I'm...not sure, honestly. My mom had it set up a few months ago. She says it's where we keep our 'special plants'.”
"Special....plants?"
"Yeah, really rare flowers and miniature trees."
“I see…” Slowly, the Seedrian tried to right herself. "What sort of rare flowers?"
"I...I don't know..." Allie admitted. "She doesn't let me in there. She insists only she's allowed inside, since the plants require special care."
"Well, when I passed by, I felt a strange pain in my head. I can't explain it, but something about the plants in there feels... off.”
That gave Allie pause. “Maybe they're sick? Like the weather's not doing them any favors.”
"No..." Cosmo shook her head. "The plants in the regular greenhouses are sick. These plants… Something is very wrong with them.”
Cosmo perked, feeling something land on her shoulder.
"What?" She felt her shoulder, finding some kind of shiny dust on her fingers. "Glitter?"
“Glitter?" Allie gathered some of the dust on her finger, giving it a feel. "Oh crud… She's here."
"She?"
Allie ran off. "C'mon! “
"Allie, wait!" Cosmo cried as she followed.
-X-
Allie arrived back inside to find her mother speaking with somebody. She knelt out of sight, eavesdropping.
"I apologize for the delay, Madame," Amanda said. "With the sudden shift in weather, I'm afraid this is all I have."
Allie peeked to see some unusual-looking flowers in fancy baskets. They appeared to be a cross between tulips and dandelions, and their colors were extremely loud and oversaturated; colors that were definitely not natural.
"I know it isn't much, but..."
"It's not much? It's nothing!" The figure knocked the flowers onto the ground. “I gave you a second chance, Amanda, and this is all I get?!”
“What could I do?! This blizzard is making my business hard enough as it is!”
"Atututututututututut..." The figure wagged a finger. "Did I ask for excuses, dear?"
Amanda buttoned her lip, prompting the figure to nod in smug satisfaction.
"Mm-hmm… that's what I thought."
Allie scowled.
"Allie!"
Allie froze as Cosmo ran in, getting the figure’s attention.
"Hmmm?"
"Cosmo, shhhh!" Allie hissed. "She'll hear you!"
"Who?” Cosmo asked worriedly.
"Oooooh! Hello there, Allison!"
Allie cringed. "Crud..."
The figure steps out from behind the counter. “So loverly to see you again, dearie. Have you been a good girl helping Mummy?"
The figure was a tall, peach-colored Mobian butterfly. She wore an orange dress with a fur collar, with a very large, purple hat with a pink band. Her wings were a wild assortment of orange, yellow, red, and white, and was carrying a large bellflower, holding it like a wine glass.
“Allie, what are you doing here?!” Amanda demanded.
"I-I was just..."
“Now, now, Amanda, no need to get cross with the girl," the butterfly cut in. "She's just a child. Children are curious. Speaking of..." She turned to Cosmo. "Whoooooo do we have here? A new employee?"
The butterfly stepped closer.
"She looks positively adorable. I could just eat her up."
As the butterfly loomed over her, Cosmo barely suppressed a shiver. The look on her face was almost predatory, the kind Sonic often had on his face whenever he saw a plate of chili dogs.
“My name is Cosmo,” she said calmly. “Cosmo the Seedrian. And you are.”
"Poppy Leone (1),” the butterfly replied. " Madame Poppy Leone. Socialite, financier… and connoisseur of fine flora."
A long, curling tongue slithered out of her mouth, going into the plant she was going and sucking the nectar out.
"Mmmmm! Heavenly… There's nothing quite like a bit of bellflower on a cold summer's day."
She turned back to Amanda. “Now, Amanda, darling, I'm a reasonable Mobian. I make an order, and I expect it to be filled to the letter. Nature has a certain order: I order the flowers, you plant and grow the flowers, and then I, the customer, buy the flowers. We do that for forty years, and then we die. Sounds like a pretty good deal, no?”
"Y-Yes, Madame."
"Now then, I'll be back next week. Try to have something better than...that by then, would you?" She motioned to the flowers she’d shoved onto the floor.
Amanda perked. "N-Next week!?"
“Did I stutter?”
“How am I supposed to grow that much by next week in this weather?!”
“That's your problem, not mine. Now, please have a better harvest by then, or else.”
“Or... or else what?”
Poppy smiled smugly. “My boys will explain when the time comes. Ta-ta!”
And with that, Poppy was gone. Amanda sighed, rubbing her forehead.
“Ooh, I hate that prissy bug!” Allie shouted.
“These flowers she's demanding... would they be from the restricted greenhouse?” Cosmo asked, Amanda stiffening. “Just what is so special about them?”
Amanda hesitated for several moments, before collapsing in resignation. “Lemon Sundrop Dandelion. Their pollen, nectar, and oils are highly addictive.”
Cosmo and Allie looked on in shock.
"Addictive!?" Cosmo exclaimed.
"Mom, you're growing drugs!?" Allie demanded shrilly.
“I know! It was a mistake! Madame Poppy forced me into it! With your father gone, we've barely been making enough to get by!"
“So you became the supplier for a drug dealer!?"
"I didn't find out until later, I swear! I thought they were just exotic flowers! That's how Poppy got me. By the time I found out, it was too late. Now, even if I go to the police… I'll be charged as an accomplice..."
Amanda slid to the ground, covering her face. “Oh, what am I going to do? There's no way I'll have an LSD harvest big enough to satisfy Poppy by next week! Not with this weather!”
Cosmo looked down at Amanda, her fists clenching. Without a word, she walked over to one of the broken plants.
"Cosmo?" Allie asked.
The Wests watched as Cosmo touched the leaves of the plant. She winced, doubling over.
"Cosmo!" Allie cried.
"Uuuuugh..." Cosmo groaned, clutching her head. "By the grace of Sylvanna..."
"Are you okay?" Allie questioned.
"No...this plant...it's in so much pain. Just like the others...in the greenhouse."
"Pain?" Allie repeated.
Cosmo nodded. "Somebody altered them... twisted them into something horrible… so that they would grow bigger...faster."
"Poppy supplies me with special seeds," Amanda mused. "She has me grow them in the greenhouse. She or one of her henchmen likely did that."
"Another thing to pay her back for." Cosmo rose to her feet, heading for the door.
"Cosmo, wait!” Allie cried. “Where are you going!?"
“To find Poppy."
Allie shook her head. “Cosmo, you can't. Not only is Poppy dangerous, but the weather is still too cold! You could freeze by the time you find her hideout!"
“And even if you didn't, Madame Poppy is a very powerful woman,” Amanda added. “She could have you arrested, or... or killed!”
"I'll be fine, Mrs. West," Cosmo assured them. "Don't worry about me."
With that, she walked out.
"Cosmo..." Allie sighed.
-X-
Outside...
"Alright, where are you?" Cosmo closed her eyes, sensing before she felt that low thrumming sensation.
"There. You're there."
She ran off.
-X-
The Painted Lady's Night Club
The trail led Cosmo to a nightclub on the other side of town, garishly decorated with bright flowers and lights. Above the door was a butterfly decoration, holding a sign reading “The Painted Lady.”
“The feeling is stronger here,” she mused. "This must be Madame Poppy's hideout."
She looked to see a pair of tall, muscular Mobian butterflies - one blue, the other purple - standing guard outside as bouncers.
“Okay, my first step is getting past those guys. But how…?” She shuddered as the window blew harder. "I'd better come up with something quickly."
She heard a throat clearing, yelping to see the butterfly goons looming over her menacingly.
"Are you lost, little girl?" one asked.
"Uhhhhh..." Cosmo tried to think of something. “Something like that.”
The goons looked at each other, then grinned.
“Well, you really shouldn't be out here." one said.
"Yeah, it's freakin' freezing out." the other added. "Why don't you come inside and we'll let you use the phone."
Cosmo thought, realizing this was the opportunity she needed.
"Oh! Th-Thank you very much, sirs!"
"Not a problem."
"Right this way, miss."
The goons escorted Cosmo inside. As they entered, they turned to each other and grinned.
-X-
Inside, Cosmo found the club was a high class lounge, with various Mobian insects, mostly butterflies, bees, and other pollinating species, mingling and drinking nectar from large flowers similar to the one Poppy had at Amanda’s shop. The sight had Cosmo cringe, beginning to feel like a mouse in a snake pit.
"Oh my..."
“Right this way, miss.'
"The phone is in Madame Poppy's office."
"Y-Yes, thank you."
They escorted Cosmo to the elevator. As they did, she took a look at some of the guests. A few of them looked drugged out of their minds. That was all she could see before the elevator closed and began to ascend
-X-
Meanwhile, in Poppy's office, the Madame was on the phone with somebody.
"Look, I told you, we don't have the shipment!" she snapped. "This damned blizzard is crippling our suppliers!" She sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Damn Robotnik and his fugging weather gadget…”
She paused as the one on the other end said something. "Don't you get snippy with me, you long-eared galoot! Remember that I'm over half of your entire economy, and I can easily find someone else to sell to! Someone smart enough not to get caught selling fake Chao Berries! …Yes, as you should."
A knock sounded on the door.
"Madame Poppy?" the bouncers said in unison.
"Hold on a moment..." She turned to the door. "I asked not to be disturbed!"
"We're sorry, Madame, but it's important..." one of the bouncers said.
"Oh for the love of...."
Setting the phone down, Poppy angrily stomped toward the door and slammed it open, causing the two butterfly bouncers to yelp in surprise as she prepared to tear into them…
"What do you idiots waaaaaaaa…”
…only to stop as soon as she saw Cosmo.
“H-Hello, Madame Poppy,” the Seedrian greeted. Poppy just stood there, mouth ajar as she stared at her young guest. A few seconds later, she shut the door and rushed over to the phone.
"I'll call you back."
With that, she hung up, then ran back to the door and opened it.
"Well, helloooo!" Poppy greeted, her mood the complete opposite of what it was earlier. "Aren't you the new employee at Amanda's?"
Cosmo nodded. ”I am.”
"What are you doing all the way out here?” Poppy asked. “Did you walk all this way?"
"Yes, I did.” Cosmo twiddled her fingers nervously. “I was wondering if I could use your phone to call my friends. They’re in Station Square and I want to make sure they’re alright.”
Poppy gasped, putting her hand to her mouth in concern.
“Oh my! They’re stuck in the middle of that horrible blizzard!?” She tilted her head back and raised her arm dramatically. “Oh, how dreadful!”
“Yes…” Cosmo said, giving an aside glance. “So, may I use your phone?”
“Oh…” Poppy winced. “I’m terribly sorry, dear, but I fear the phone isn’t working at the moment.”
Cosmo raised an eyebrow. “But, I just heard you talking to someone."
Poppy stiffened. “Oh, that?” She cleared her throat. “W-Well, the connection dropped right in the middle of the call. Likely due to this awful weather! Ohhh, isn’t technology grand?”
Poppy laughed loudly, earning her strange looks from Cosmo and the bouncers. Sensing their stares, she opened her eyes and glared at her employees, who began laughing as well.
“Anyway…” Poppy said as she settled down. “I’m terribly sorry you came all this way for nothing, dearie.”
She thought for a moment, then clapped her hands in inspiration.
“I’ve got it! How would you like a tour of our private conservatory? I imagine an aspiring, young botanist like yourself would enjoy that, no?”
“Umm…sure!” Cosmo replied. “That sounds lovely.”
“Of course it is!” Poppy turned to her bouncers. “Ragwort, Yarrow, show our young guest to the conservatory, would you?"
The two bouncers paused, looking confused, eliciting an exasperated sigh from their employer.
“The flower room, ” she clarified. “You twits.”
“Ohhh…why didn’t you just say that?” Ragwort (the blue one) replied.
“But Boss,” Yarrow cut in. “I thought we weren’t allowed to let anyone in the flower room?”
“I’m making an exception!” Poppy snapped, before calming down. “Now, run along. Don’t keep our guest waiting.”
“Yes, ma’am!” they declared as they escorted Cosmo away.
As they left, Poppy shut the door, slouching forward in annoyance.
“I’m surrounded by morons…” she groused, making her way toward a potted flower on her desk and sipped some nectar from it. “Ahhh…much better.”
Her nerves calmed, she picked up her phone and made a call.
“It’s me,” she said. “Good news! I believe I’ve found a…suitable replacement for the missing shipment.”
-X-
Meanwhile...Ragwort and Yarrow escorted Cosmo back to the elevator.
"The flower room is on the third floor," Yarrow told her. "It's where Madame Poppy keeps all her...refreshments."
Cosmo nodded. "I see..."
She watched as Yarrow pressed the up button, prompting the doors to open.
“Right this way,” he said, allowing his companions to enter. Once everyone was inside, the doors closed behind them.
Ragwort and Yarrow stood silently, Cosmo standing between them, trying not to disturb them. The two didn’t pay her much mind. She was just a little girl. Little did they realize, Cosmo was taking advantage of their lack of attention to examine them.
“ Okay, these two look to be very strong...what's more, they're both armed. " She eyed the guns they had on their belts. " I might be able to take them out using my Mover Mode… But, I've never encountered Mobian butterflies before. They could have a dangerously powerful Mo-Bility. For now, play it smart. Wait for the right moment. ”
Just then, the elevator dinged, signaling their arrival.
"Here we are!" the duo declared as the doors opened.
"Oh my!"
Cosmo found herself in what looked like a cross between a penthouse garden with a glass roof, and a wine cellar. Large, exotic-looking flowers line the area. All of a variety of unnatural colors and patterns, and giving off strange aromas just like ones Poppy and her customers had been drinking from.
“This is where we keep the good stuff,” Yarrow explained.
"Here, we'll show you around,” Ragwort offered.
The trio exited the elevator, Cosmo trailing behind slightly.
"By the sacred green..." the poor Seedrian uttered. "This is..."
She clutched her head as her mind bore the full brunt of the horrible sensation she got from the greenhouse. Wordless cries of anguish bombarded her psyche as a sickening feeling grew in her stomach and rose up in her throat as another slid down her spine.
"Hey, you alright?"
Cosmo let out a yelp as she snapped out of her trance. Looking up, she saw Ragwort and Yarrow looking at her with seemingly genuine concern.
"Uhh…M-My apologies, gentlemen,” Cosmo said, backing away toward the elevator. “But, I fear I’ve changed my mind. I think I'd better leave now. Thank you again for all your help!"
Before Cosmo could step through the elevator doors, though, they closed, trapping her alone with the two butterfly bouncers.
"Leaving already?" Ragwort asked, a nasty grin creeping over his and Yarrow’s faces.
"We were just about to have snacks." Yarrow grinned as he and his partner reached for their guns. "Fresh-baked lead cakes!"
The two opened fire at Cosmo, who dove to the side, scrambling deeper into the conservatory for cover.
"Get her!" Ragwort called out as he and Yarrow took to the air.
Cosmo ran as fast as she could, weaving to the left and right to avoid aerial gunfire from her winged assailants.
“This is bad,” she whispered. “I need a place to hide!”
It was then that she noticed a small shed marked “Gardening Supplies”.
“Perfect!”
Without a second thought, she opened up the door, hopped into the shed, and slammed it shut.
“She’s in the shed!” Ragwort called out.
“Perfect!” Yarrow declared.
The two butterflies landed near the shed, taking a moment to reload as they made their way to the door.
"No use running, girlie!" Ragwort taunted as Yarrow prepared to open the door.
"You're all alone, outnumbered, outmatched, and a sitting…"
As soon as Yarrow put his hand on the door handle, Cosmo burst out of the shed in Mover Mode, letting out a primeval shriek as she tackled him to the ground.
“What the fugg!?” Yarrow shouted. “Is that…Is that a fugging Velociraptor!?”
“Actually Yarrow, I think that’s a Deinonychus,” Ragwort corrected.
“I think it’s trying to tear my throat out! Shoot it! Shoot it!”
Ragwort fumbled for his gun, aiming it at Cosmo as Yarrow continued to struggle with her.
“C’mon Rag, what are you waiting for!?”
“Yarrow, I can’t get a clear shot without hitting you!”
"Then do something! I can't hold her off forever!"
“Okay, uhhh…”
Ragwort frantically looked around, trying to find something he could use. It was then that he noticed several of the gardening tools had fallen out of the shed and got an idea.
“I got it!”
Thinking quickly, he grabbed a weed-killer pack and gun and put it on.
“Eat this, lizard lips!”
He sprayed the herbicide all over Cosmo, causing her to screech in pain. She hopped off of Yarrow and fled back into the maze of shelves and flowers, allowing the purple bouncer to regain his bearings.
“Whew!” he let out. “Thanks.”
“No prob,” his blue companion replied. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
Ragwort flew into the air and began searching for Cosmo.
“Alright, where’d you go?” he whispered.
Meanwhile, Cosmo was hiding behind one of the shelves, trying to collect herself and deal with the stinging pain of the weed killer.
“Blast it all,” she whispered. “What was I thinking? I never should’ve gone in alone.”
She curled in on herself, feeling small and helpless. “Tails… Amy… Sonic… I wish you were here…I need you.”
She thought about her friends. About how much she wanted to see them again. How they were back in Station Square, fighting the Egg Army in the middle of a blizzard. Trapped and alone…just like she was. She wondered, what would they do in this situation? And as soon as she did, she had her answer.
“They would find a way to win,” she said. “I set out alone because I didn’t want to be a burden on them while they were fighting the Empire. Because I wanted to do something on my own for once. This is my chance to do that!”
She winced as she clutched her face, still sore and burning from the spray.
“But I need to be careful. If I get hit by that weed killer spray again, I…”
Then, inspiration struck.
“Wait… weed-killer…”
Ragwort continued fluttering above the garden, searching for Cosmo while Yarrow searched below.
“Any sign of her, Rag?” Yarrow called on his comm.
“Not yet,” Ragwort replied. “You?”
“Nada. Seriously, she’s just a little girl. How can she be so…”
Just then, a rustling noise caught Ragwort’s ear.
“Hold on…” he said.
He looked around, hands on the weed killer gun and ready to fire as he searched for his target. Just then, a flash of green and white caught his eye. It was Cosmo, looking right at him as she let out a soft roar.
“There!” Ragwort shouted, firing his gun. Unfortunately, his shout alerted Cosmo, who bolted off avoiding the strike, which instead hit one of the flowers, causing it to blacken and wither with a steaming hiss.
“Dammit, where’d she go!?”
Another roar greeted his ears, prompting him to spin around and fire in its general direction, only to watch as Cosmo just barely got away in time, dating back into the flowers.
“Make a fool outta me, will you!?”
Ragwort gave chase, spraying the weed-killer frantically as Cosmo darted and dodged around. Eventually, he had her cornered.
“Nowhere left to hide!”
Cosmo smirked. “Exactly my plan.”
She pointed with a claw. Ragwort turned around, his face paling to see every flower in the conservatory rapidly wilting due to his spraying spree.
“Oh shit…”
“Ragwort, you IDIOT!!” Yarrow shrieked. "Look what you did!"
"I-I… The Mobosaur… It..." Ragwort scowled. "You stupid lizard! Now look what you made me do!"
He threw down the weed killer and drew his gun, firing at her. She darted around the bullet before spinning around, slamming her tail into his face with all her might and launching him into the air and into a shelf of dead plants, knocking it over.
“Rag!” Yarrow shouted before spinning on Cosmo. “That’s it!”
He opened fire at the transformed Seedrian, but Cosmo dodged the bullets just as easily as she did Ragwort’s. Once she was close enough, she lept at him, pinning him to the ground. She let out a feral hiss as she looked the butterfly right in the eyes.
“Go on!” Yarrow yelled. “I hope you choke on me, you ugly mother-!” He was cut off as Cosmo reeled her head back and rammed her forehead into his nose (or whatever passed as his nose), breaking it and knocking him out cold.
Cosmo snarled in satisfaction, then changed back.
"Goodness..." she let out as she clutched her head. "I thought butterflies were supposed to be cute."
Just then, Cosmo heard a buzzing noise from one of the goons' comms.
"Ragwort! Yarrow!" Poppy’s voice shouted. "Ragwort! Yarrow! Respond! Have you secured the flower child?"
Cosmo picked up the com.
“I'm afraid your goons are taking a nice, long nap, Madame,” she greeted politely.
" What!? You!? ”
“If you expected me to be a helpless victim, you're sorely mistaken. I'm a member of the Acorn Kingdom Freedom Fighters…” Her expression turned grave. “And I'm coming for you next.”
She tossed the com to the side before turning back to the elevator, sparing a glance at the dead plants. Her expression softened.
“Your suffering is at an end,” she said solemnly before entering the elevator.
-X-
Poppy’s Office
"What the hell!? Ragwort! Yarrow! Get up! What the hell is going on up there!? Answer me, you two!"
When there was no response, Poppy growled in anger.
"Alright, calm down. She's just one little girl. I have plenty of other henchmen. I'll buzz one of them and soon the little flower fairy will be mine. Ohhhh...the verdant secrets that lie in her body… The possibilities are endless!"
Suddenly, there was a screech outside her office. Poppy hid under her desk.
"What in the world...?"
There was a rattling noise. Poppy looked up from her desk to see the shadowy figure of a Mobosaur prowling about outside her door. Her blood ran cold as the rattling noise returned, and she looked down, her pupils shrinking in terror to see the doorknob jiggling. There was a click, and the door slowly opened with an ominous creak, revealing Cosmo in Mover Mode. The plant Mobosaur slowly stalked in, hissing at her, before opening her mouth.
“Madame Poppy, we need to have a talk.”
Poppy’s eyes widened in shock. “Y-you're the-!”
“I'm talking. You're shutting up and listening,” Cosmo prowled before her like a lion. “I came here on behalf of Amanda West and her daughter. You're going to leave them alone, and never come near the Garden Path again. Got it?”
"Y-You.... Do you have any idea who you're messing with!?"
“Do you? I told you, I'm a member of the Kingdom of Acorn's Freedom Fighter sect. Do you really want to risk ticking off Princess Sally? Or King Max? Or Sonic the Hedgehog?”
Poppy swallowed nervously at that.
“I didn’t think so,” Cosmo replied. “Now, I won't tell you again, Madame . Leave the Wests alone, and get your drug fix somewhere else.” Her eyes glowed ominously. “Unless you want to answer to the House of Acorn… or me .”
"A-Alright!" Poppy stammered. "You win! Amanda and Allison will be left alone! You have my word!"
“Good,” Cosmo suddenly pounced on her. “Because if I found out you came near their shop again…”
She opened her mouth wide, making as if to bite Poppy's head off. As the butterfly screamed, Cosmo withdrew, causing her to faint.
"Goodness..." Cosmo mused as she turned to leave. "Those movie nights with Vector are really paying off."
-X-
The Garden Path
“I'm back!"
Amanda and Allie looked up to see Cosmo enter.
"Cosmo!" Allie cried as they ran over to her.
“It's done,” Cosmo assured. “Poppy and her thugs won't be coming back here any time soon.”
Amanda blinked. “Y-you actually beat them? By yourself?”
“Let's just say I'm a lot stronger than I look.” Cosmo giggled, when she started to feel light-headed. "Oh dear..."
"Cosmo?" Allie asked as the plant girl swayed back and forth on her feet.
“I feel... really sleepy all of a sudden,” Cosmo mumbled. “I think I need to lie down…”
She dropped like a sack of potatoes, out cold before she hit the ground.
"COSMO!" Allie screamed in horror.
Flashback Over
“And that was that,” Allie concluded. “The blizzard ended about a day or two later.”
“Between using the Mover Mode, the weed killer, and the cold, I’d completely burned myself out,” Cosmo recalled. “Good thing I had enough energy to get back to the shop before I went into hibernation.”
"My word..." Sally let out.
Sonic whistled, impressed. "Daaaang Cosmo, you've been busy!"
"Sonic!"
"What? She busted a drug ring on her own! That's awesome!"
"Still!"
“Well, I wanted to help,” Cosmo said. “I didn't want to be a burden on anyone and this was my chance to prove to myself that I could. Allie and Amanda opened their home to me and gave me shelter. It was the least I could do.”
“And it worked perfectly,” Amanda chimed in. “Poppy hasn't come around to the shop since and, hopefully, we should be able to have her business shut down for real and have her arrested."
“You weren't really gonna bite her head off though, were you?” Amy asked nervously.
“Of course not. I just took cues from how Kat keeps bullies off Hope's back at school. The important thing is she thinks I will.”
"Well, while I don't approve of you going off into enemy territory on your own, you did the right thing, Cosmo, and an amazing job at that,” Sally said with a smile.
"Still, next time, call one of us!" Tails cut in. "I-I know we couldn't get in touch, but… Those guys sounded like they were really dangerous, and…”
The fox blushed as he twiddled his thumbs, looking away bashfully.
“A-And I couldn't bear it if something bad happened to you…”
This time it was Cosmo’s turn to blush.
"Waaaait..." Tangle said as she looked at the two. “Are you…? Mmph!”
"So, Mrs. West!" Amy cut in as she clamped a hand over Tangle’s mouth. "Since the blizzard hurt your business, do you have some kind of plan to fall back on?"
"Oh..." Amanda’s expression faltered. “Well… Unfortunately… I really don't… As much as I hated working for Poppy, her drugs were the only thing keeping the lights on. Now that the weather's back to normal, we should be able to grow more flowers again. But, that'll take time..."
Cosmo thought for a moment, then got another idea.
“Well, I'd be more than happy to help with that,” she said, turning to the others. "Chris, how badly was your family's garden hurt by the blizzard?"
She gave the team’s first human members a knowing look.
“Oh! Yeah, it was iced over pretty bad,” Chris replied.
"A lot of Aunt Lindsay's favorite topiaries were ruined,” Keith continued. "Along with the garden we usually have big social gatherings at."
"And our usual groundskeeper's fighting the flu.” Kat elbowed Chris. “I mean, he’s recently retiring. It sure would help if we knew some more florists to help fix it.”
“Who knows? Maybe it could become a more permanent position,” Keith concluded, giving an exaggerated wink.
Getting their intent, Allie smiled.
“Well, looks like it's time for you to walk the Garden Path!”
"A-Allie!"
"Mom, you have a chance to work on the grounds of Thorndyke Manor! Even if it's just for one job, the word of mouth alone…”
She shook her head excitedly as she tried to focus.
“Can you imagine the publicity working on the Thorndykes' garden would rake in? We'd never want for money again!”
“Ma'am,” Kat cut in. “As perhaps the poster child of Thorndyke charity cases, take it. You won't regret it.”
Amanda put a hand to her chin as she thought it over. A few moments later, she had her response.
"Well, after hearing that, how could I say no?"
“Thank you, Mrs. West,” Chris said.
"I should be thanking all of you. I never imagined one simple act of kindness would have such a huge impact..."
“A little kindness goes a long way.” Sally remarked.
“Oh, one last thing!”
Cosmo pulled out a notepad and grabbed a pen off the table. After jotting something down, she handed it to Allie.
“Here's my number, Allie,” she said. “If Poppy or anyone else gives you any more trouble, you know who to call.”
The redhead took the paper, looking it over as she processed just how much had happened, all because she decided to help out a stranger.
"That, I do,” she said with a smile as she pocketed the note. “That I do…”
The Painted Lady
Poppy growled as she looked over her mostly repaired, but still largely empty conservatory.
"Damn that miserable, little weed-wench! Damn her to hell! Hundreds of Mobiums down the drain! I'm ruined!!”
"I-It's not all bad, Madame,” Ragwort piped up.
"We can just set up shop someplace else,” Yarrow offered.
"Oh?” Poppy flew right in their faces. “And how, pray tell, would we go about doing that? Have you forgotten that we're on an island? A moving island? In the middle of the Central Sea!?"
Ragwort and Yarrow flinched at her shouting.
"Y-Yeah, that is a problem,” Ragwort conceded.
Poppy turned, clenching her fists. “If that little plant-bitch thinks I'm gonna take this lying down, she can think again! Nobody messes with Poppy Leone! Nobody!”
“Ma'am, with all due respect, she's a member of the Knothole Freedom Fighters,” Yarrow pointed out. “Under the protection of the Kingdom of Acorn.”
“And Sonic!” Ragwort chimed in. “I don't know about you, but the last thing I wanna do is anything that'll get us on Sonic's radar.”
“Yes, you’re right,” Poppy reluctantly conceded. She then turned to her two goons, looking them over carefully…an insidious glint twinkling in her eye as her mouth curved into an equally sinister grin.
“In that case, we’ll need to make sure we can handle things when we do.”
Poppy pulled out a smartphone and began making a call.
“Madame, who are you calling?” Ragwort asked.
“Oh, someone who can help you two twits fight off the Freedom Fighters.”
“I highly doubt Ebony or any of the others have that kind of power,” Yarrow pointed out.
“Ha! Ebony? Please.” Poppy pressed the call button and waited for an answer, which she got.
“Hello, is this the Robotnik Empire Recruitment Hotline?”
Notes:
(1): Pronounced Lee-OWN.
And now you know where Cosmo was during the Einherjar shit-storm. Allie and Amanda West are my OCs, while Poppy, Ragwort, and Yarrow are creations of WindstarOsprey.
Sunset City is the name for the city from Sonic Forces, which Ian Flynn uses in IDW. I made it part of South Island for Tales since, judging by the beginning of the game, it’s within Sonic-running distance of Green Hill. As for Lemon Sundrop Dandelion, that was featured in Archie.
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Poppy - Susanne Blakeslee (Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, the Evil Queen, and Lady Tremaine in Disney, Wanda and Mrs. Turner in The Fairly OddParents!, Gaia in God of War III)
* Allie - Briana White (Aerith Gainsborough in Final Fantasy VII Remake)
* Amanda - Tasia Valenza (Poison Ivy in Batman: Arkham, Sniper Wolf in Metal Gear Solid)
* Ragwort - Joe Hernandez (Pesci in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5, Boucheron in Fire Emblem Engage)
* Yarrow - David Vincent (Grimmjow in Bleach, Chester Burklight in Tales of Phantasia, Robin in Fire Emblem Awakening)Please R&R. Until next time!
Chapter Text
Knothole
It was a peaceful afternoon at Knothole Village. The sun was shining, Flickies were singing. You could practically hear the William Tell Overture playing in the breeze. All was peaceful...all was well.
"CRAAAAAAAAAP!"
Unless you were Rotor Walrus. In which case, everything was...
"Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!"
Rotor frantically paced about the lab, clutching his head as he panicked.
“Of all the rotten, lousy, no-good luck! Ohhhhh…this is bad, this is really, really bad!”
“What’s really, really bad?”
Rotor jumped and turned toward the entrance.
“Hey Rote,” Sonic greeted, most of the Brain Trust, and Cassia the Pronghorn following him inside. “Everything alright?”
“Signs point to no,” Cass replied with a sympathetic wince.
“No, Cass, everything is not alright,” Rotor began. “I am in the middle of a crisis!”
He threw his hands in the air and began pacing again.
“Hey, hey, easy!” Kat soothed as she grabbed him and led him toward the nearest chair. “Calm down, take a deep breath, and relax.”
Rotor did as he was told, inhaling deeply through his nose before letting out a loud sigh, causing most of the nervous tension in his body to disappear.
“There, feel better?”
Rotor nodded, smiling gratefully. “Very.”
“Good. Now, why don’t you tell us what’s got you running around like a Cucky with its head cut off.”
“Seriously Rotor, you looked like you were about to have an aneurysm,” Porker added.
“I’d honestly prefer that, Porker. Hell, I’d prefer anything to this!”
“This being…?” Chris motioned for him to continue.
Rotor looked at the others pitifully, realizing there was no way out of this.
“I’m having dinner with my parents tonight.”
Silence filled the room as the other Freedom Fighters stared at Rotor in flat confusion…
“And they want me to bring Cobar.”
…before filling with understanding “Ahhh…”s, “Okay”s, “I get it now”s, and “That makes sense”ses.
“So, what’s the big deal?” Chris asked.
“Yeah, I don’t see the problem,” Keith added.
“Don’t see the…?!” Rotor sputtered indignantly before calming down. “Right, you two are still kids. You don’t get what it feels like to introduce your significant other to your parents.”
“Eh!?” Chris let out, mildly offended. “What’s that supposed to mean!?”
“Yeah,” Keith piped up. “I invite Kat over for dinner all the time and everything’s fine!”
“I’m with the boys on this one,” Johnny continued. “I took Porker home to my folks a while back and they loved him.”
Porker blushed at that, causing Rotor to perk.
“Wait, you did?”
The hare nodded. “Yeah, and not just me. Shorty took Tekno home too.”
“Meeting Shorty’s folks was…interesting,” the canary picked up. “They had a lot of questions, but in the end, they approved!”
“Seriously!?” Rotor asked incredulously. “When did all this happen!?”
“Dude, where have you been?” Cass asked a little worriedly. “This all happened, like, months ago.”
Rotor paused awkwardly, realizing he probably needed to get out more. “R-Right…”
“But, seriously,” Sonic cut in. “You’re making a big deal over nothing, Rote.”
“This isn’t nothing, Sonic!” the walrus cut in, getting in the hedgehog’s face. “This is me introducing my boyfriend - the lead scientist of a once technologically advanced civilization - to my parents! Who, need I remind you, are largely techno-illiterate - especially my former Egg Boss dad - and whom I’ve barely spoken to because they’ve been dead for three years! Seriously, I never thought I’d ever have to worry about this! I mean, I’m glad they’re back but I’m just scared something’s gonna go wrong or they won’t like Cobar or Cobar won’t like them, or…”
“Rotor!”
Using his ears, Johnny slapped the walrus upside the head, stopping his panicked ranting.
“Rotor,” he began sternly, looking him straight in the eyes. “You are overthinking things. We met your parents and they don't seem like the kind of people who hate anybody unless they deserve it."
“Johnny's right,” Porker chimed in. “This dinner is gonna go great. They're going to love Cobar, especially your dad. Heck, they'll probably be bugging you to know when the wedding is the moment they see him."
Rotor blushed profusely.
“Y-You really think so?”
“Sure! The guy wears his heart on his sleeve so much, you could give him CPR by arm wrestling,” Shorty pointed out.
“So stop fussing and go get ready,” Tekno urged.
“R-Right…” Rotor got up from his chair. “I’ll do that. Thanks, guys.”
“It’s what we do.” Sonic nodded. “Anyway, hate to drop and ditch, but we gotta go. Cassia’s streaming her big celebrity game night tonight and we promised we’d be there.”
“It’s gonna be awesome!” the pronghorn cheered. “The greatest heroes of Mobius battling for supremacy with the greatest classic games in my collection in a massive, no-holds-barred, virtual slugfest!”
She took a moment to clear her throat and collect herself.
“A-All for charity, of course.”
She smiled awkwardly, eliciting chuckles from the others.
“Well, you guys have fun,” Rotor said as he got up and headed for the door. “Sorry that I can’t join you. Lemme know how it goes.”
“Will do.” Sonic gave a thumbs up.
“Say hi to your folks for us!” Shorty called out.
“Break a leg!” Tekno added.
Waving goodbye, Rotor stepped out of the lab, letting the doors close behind him.
He sighed nervously. “Right…here we go.”
He pulled out his smartphone, going through his contacts until he reached Cobar’s number and called.
“Hello?”
“Cobar, you got a sec?”
“Rotor! Hey there, luv, haven’t heard from you in a while! How’s your family doing? They settling into their new home?”
“Yeah.” Rotor nodded. “In fact, I was just about to head on over there for dinner later tonight and I was wondering…” He took a deep breath, steeling himself. “If you wanted to come along.”
Rotor flinched as soon as he finished the sentence, as though the words had kicked off his tongue as they left his mouth. He stopped to listen for his lover’s reply but was only greeted with silence.
“Cobar?” he asked worriedly. “You there?”
Please be busy with a project Please be busy with a project Pleasepleaseplease Please be busy with a project!
“Y-Yes!” the echidna suddenly replied. “Yes, of course! I would love to!”
“Damn…” Rotor whispered.
“Rotor?”
“Errr…good! Damn good to hear! I’ll let them know you’re coming.”
“Wonderful! I can’t wait to meet them. What time are we leaving?”
“About four-thirty to five. Oh! And try to wear something nice. It’s not black tie or anything, but…”
“Of course. I’ll leave my lab coat at home. I’ll see you then. Bye for now!”
“Seeya.”
And with that, they hung up.
“Well, that takes care of step one.” Rotor scrolled through his contacts again, eventually arriving at “Mom and Dad”. “Now, for step two.”
Mobotropolis - Walrus House - A few hours later
It was a peaceful evening at the Walrus residence. The sun was setting, the Flickies were settling into their nests. All was peaceful...all was well.
"CRAP!"
Unless you were Sherman Walrus. In which case, everything was...
"Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! CRAP!"
Concerned by the sound of her husband’s frantic screams, Georgette Walrus rolled her wheelchair into the living room. The tremors in her arms had vanished completely, and while she was still unable to stand, she no longer needed help to move about.
“Sherman, what’s wrong?” she asked, only to gape at the sight of her husband wearing one of her spare aprons as he frantically darted about the living room with a vacuum cleaner.
“Sherman?” she asked again.
"No time to talk, babe! I gotta finish getting everything ready!" He was vacuuming up the floor like a madman, though not without difficulty. "Come on, you confounded thing!"
As her husband attempted to wrestle the cleaning appliance into cooperation, Georgette wheeled over and noticed it was in the blow position. She flipped it to suck, not realizing Sherman had it close to his face. He spluttered and yelled, trying to yank the hose off his nose.
"Whoops!" Georgette turned it off, the vacuum popping off of Sherman's face. "Sorry, hun."
Sherman gave a weak thumbs up.
“Thanks, Georgie…” He took a breath. “Still getting used to all these new-fangled technobobs.”
"I know, I know. Now, would you mind explaining what's got you flippier than a Pecky (1) being chased by an orca?"
Sherman sighed.
“I was sprucing up the place a bit before Boomer and his boyfriend got here,” he explained. “Still can’t believe he actually found someone.”
“I know!” Georgette replied eagerly. “Isn’t it exciting!?”
“No, it’s not!” Sherman shook his head as he realized what he’d just said. “I-I mean… I'm glad Boomer found somebody. Overjoyed! And I’m glad he’s finally bringing him over.”
His expression went from nervous to terrified. “But then I realized... Boomer’s bringing his boyfriend over.”
“I hardly see the problem.”
"Georgie…” He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her right in the eyes. “I was the Artikan Egg Boss. I wiped out half of Artika. Also, we've kinda sorta been dead. We haven’t been a part of his life for years."
Georgette’s mood sagged for a moment, but only just.
“That’s true…”
“So, we gotta make sure this dinner is absolutely perfect!” Sherman replied. “The house has gotta be clean, the food’s gotta be to die for, and the man who may or not become our new son-in-law doesn’t think we’re weird or lame or evil or…”
Georgette clamped her hand over Sherman’s mouth, shutting him up.
“Sherman…” she said, her voice loving, but firm. “You’re overthinking things.”
Sherman raised an eyebrow as Georgette let go of his lips. “But, you always said I hardly ever think.”
Georgette smiled, shaking her head in fond exasperation. "Not what I meant. I mean, you’re making a big deal out of a little thing.”
“But…”
“No buts!” she cut in. “I highly doubt Boomer’s thinking of marriage at his age and you’re as docile as a fed Rocky (2). Just relax, calm down, and breathe. Everything will be alright.”
Sherman did as his wife instructed, taking a deep, cleansing breath. As soon as he finished exhaling, he felt significantly lighter.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Just then, the doorbell rang.
“Oh! That must be them!” Georgette exclaimed happily.
“Crap!” Sherman exclaimed fearfully, his anxiety returning full force.
Grabbing the vacuum, he ran over to the nearest closet, opened the door, and threw it inside.
“MMMRRRREEEEEEEEEOW!”
“Whoops! Sorry, Loki,” Sherman apologized as a tortoiseshell Mobini cat ran out, stopping only to angrily hiss and scratch at him before running off.
“Gah!” Sherman winced. “Dammit, that cat is mean!”
The doorbell rang again, snapping Sherman back to reality. “Crap! Georgie, get the door! I gotta get ready!”
“Wait, Sherman!” Georgette attempted to call out, but the walrus patriarch had already sprinted up the stairs.
Georgette sighed, once again shaking her head in fond exasperation.
“What am I going to do with that man?”
The doorbell rang once more.
“Coming!”
-X-
Rotor and Cobar were waiting outside the front door. They were both wearing nice, but fairly casual clothing. Rotor rang the doorbell again.
"That's weird,” Rotor pondered. “One of them usually answers after the second ring."
"Perhaps they're having some trouble?” Cobar suggested. “You did say your mother is wheelchair-bound. Also, do you really need to ring the bell? Isn't this technically your house?"
"It's common courtesy, Cobar. Plus, I haven't lived with my parents in three years. Now..." Rotor started adjusting his outfit. "Nice and straight, buttons right… No wrinkles..."
“I feel under-dressed,” the echidna commented, looking over the traditional tribal garb he had on. Garb Rotor immediately began grabbing at.
“R-Rotor! What do you think you’re doing!?”
“Just making sure everything looks nice,” he said as he straightened out his lover’s kilt-like loincloth.
“You could’ve warned me first!” Cobar snapped, tugging it out of the walrus’ grip. “Seriously, what if somebody walked by?”
Rotor winced. “Yeah…sorry, hun. I just wanna make a good first impression. This is my first meal with my folks since I left home and your first meeting with them period. I want it to be perfect."
Cobar sighed. “It doesn't need to be perfect. We're just having dinner with your parents, not trying to secure an alliance between tribes."
"I know, but..."
“Rotor!”
“Ack!”
Rotor spun around, finding his mother had finally answered the door.
“Mom!” he sputtered, regaining his composure.
“Hi, baby!” Georgette greeted, wheeling herself out onto the porch to Rotor’s surprise.
“You…You got your mobility back?”
“Most of it,” Georgette clarified.
“I can see that.” Rotor looked over his mom, seeing that, in addition to her hands no longer trembling, she’d regained a decent amount of weight. “The doctors expected you’d still need to be pushed for at least another few weeks.”
“Little Agatha has been quite helpful. All the better to do this!”
Georgette leaned forward and grabbed Rotor by his arms, pulling him into a surprisingly tight hug. One he returned shortly after.
“Ooooh…my baby boy,” Georgette cooed. “Look at you! All grown up and with your own special somebody!”
“Mom…” Rotor sighed.
"Oh humor me, sweetie, we haven't seen you in years."
Georgette looked over Rotor's shoulder, seeing her son’s ‘special somebody’.
“And here he is!” she cried out as she released him.
“Good evening, Mrs. Walrus,” Cobar greeted with a bow. “I–”
Only to be cut off by Georgette wheeling over and hugging him.
“You must be Cobar! Rotor’s told us all about you. Thank you so much for looking after him.’
Cobar blinked, his brain seeming to lag for a bit.
“The pleasure is all mine, Ma’am,” he replied, hugging her back.
“Oh, don't with the ma'am stuff!" Georgette waved dismissively. “Just call me Georgette. Or Georgie. Or Mom!”
Both Rotor and Cobar stiffened, the lovers stunned at what they’d just heard.
“Mom!” Rotor shouted, his face blushing redder than Cobar’s fur (including the substantial blush the echidna had taken on himself).
"Oh!" Georgette winced, realizing her faux-pas. "I'm sorry, was that too forward?"
Cobar paused, unsure of what to say. Georgette’s comment was…sudden and startling, but she meant well and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
“W-Well…”
“H-Hey Mom,” Rotor cut in, saving him the need. “Where’s Dad?”
“Your father? Oh, he’s upstairs ‘getting ready’. I swear, that man can be so…”
She shook her head in fond exasperation.
“Oh, but where are my manners? Please, come inside!”
Georgette pulled back a little bit, allowing her son and his guest to enter.
“Sorry, if the place looks a little empty,” Georgette began, motioning to the sparsely furnished living room. “We only just moved in not too long ago and we… don't have much in the way of possessions."
"It's alright, Miss Georgette," Cobar assured. “I…”
“Skeeter Bash!”
BONK!
“Ow!” Cobar yelped, rubbing his head as his assailant chuckled and spun his weapon…a foam bat.
“If this were a real bat, you’d be dead.”
“Skeeter!” Rotor shouted.
“What do you think you’re doing!?” Georgette demanded. “What did I tell you about hitting people!?”
“But Mom, I saw this weirdo in a dress follow Boomer inside!” the younger walrus protested, pointing to his victim. “So, I leaped into action!”
Skeeter swung his bat around, making loud, fighting noises with each gesture and pose.
“Give me that!” Rotor said as he snatched the bat from his hands. “First, you promised Guntiver and I that you’d stop bonking everyone the moment you saw them. And second, that ‘weirdo in a dress’ you just bonked is my boyfriend!”
“Cobar the Echidna, Lead Scientist of the Echidnapolis Science Department.” Cobar smiled as he held out his hand. “A pleasure.”
Skeeter blinked as he stared at Cobar’s hand, the echidna waiting for him to shake it. Instead, Skeeter walked around Cobar, sizing him up like a predator.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
Skeeter stopped, pointing right at him.
“Why’s your hair look funny?”
Rotor and Georgette practically fell over.
“You mean my spines?” Cobar asked.
“Skeet…those are dreadlocks,” Rotor pointed out, pinching the bridge of his nose. "All the echidna on Angel Island have them. Remember Knuckles?"
Skeeter shook his head. “Nope.”
“The...The other echidna? Kat's brother? The one who got captured?"
"Nope, sorry."
"Well, regardless, you can't just go around hitting people like that!" Georgette snapped. "Now, say you're sorry."
"But Moooom! I...!"
"Now, Stratford.”
Skeeter winced at Georgette’s tone, as well as the glare she was now sporting.
“Stratford?” Cobar asked Rotor. “I thought his name was Skeeter?”
“Yeah, and Sonic’s is Olgilvie,” Rotor replied.
“Ah.”
“Sorry, Cobar…” Skeeter apologized. “I thought you were a bad guy, so…”
Cobar smiled. "It's alright, Skeeter, I forgive you. You were just looking out for your brother. I would've done the same in your position."
"Heh, you talk funny,” Skeeter chuckled. “But yeah…” His demeanor turned serious as he pointed his bat at him. “If you find out you've been messing with Boomer, I'll bash you on the head for reals!"
"Ohhh boy..." Rotor massaged his temples, dreading the dinner even more.
“He’s as bad as Sherman was.” Georgette perked. “Oh! Skeeter, could you go get your father and tell him to get his butt down here before he spends all night up there?”
Skeeter saluted. “You got it, Mom!”
With that, he ran off, leaving Georgette with the older boys.
"Now, I'm gonna finish up dinner. You two make yourselves comfortable. If you need anything, just holler."
"Of course."
"Thanks, Mom."
Georgette smiled before wheeling off to the kitchen.
"Your family's quite the colorful bunch," Cobar remarked as the two took a seat.
“Yeah…” Rotor couldn’t help but chuckle. “Honestly, I'd forgotten all about that."
"I'm rather envious.”
Rotor perked. "Really?"
Cobar nodded. "I don't remember much about my own family. My parents were killed during the Dingo Regime's attack on the Day of Exodus. And the guardians I ended up with were...distant, at best. My love of technology and science wasn't exactly widely accepted, especially after the attack.”
Rotor winced, recalling his own struggles back home. "Ooh...right..."
Cobar smiled. "But, things have changed, and I'm much more respected now."
"Good to hear. Hopefully, I can do the same with Artika."
Cobar puts a hand on Rotor's shoulder.
"You’ll get there, love. One step at a time.”
Rotor smiled.
"So, we've met your mother and brother, what's your father like?”
"Well..."
"Did someone call my name!?"
Rotor and Cobar perked as they heard footsteps heading downstairs. Loud, heavy footsteps.
"There you are!" Rotor declared. “Dad, where have you… Odin's beard!"
Rotor gaped at the sight of Sherman descending the staircase… wearing a very nice, but very loud three-piece suit.
"My word..." Cobar let out as Rotor sputtered incoherently.
“Dad!?”
"Salutations, offspring!" Sherman greeted bombastically. “Welcome back to our humble abode!"
Rotor turned red in the face, burying his face in his hands. He could practically hear everyone he ever knew laughing… only to realize it was just Skeeter at the top of the stairs and Georgette peeking from the kitchen doorframe.
“Dad, what are you WEARING?!” Rotor demanded.
"What? It's a nice dinner. You're supposed to dress nice for a nice dinner. Especially when you're meeting your son's romantic pair-o-morse. Speaking of which..." Sherman walked over to Cobar. "This must be the aforementioned pair-o-morse himself."
Said ‘pair-o-morse’ smiled and waved awkwardly.
"Uhhhh...y-yes, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Walrus, sir. I'm...."
"Cobar the Echidna!" Sherman yelled, getting right in Cobar’s space and shaking his hand repeatedly.
"Yipe!"
"Boomer's told us all about you! Good to finally meet you in person!"
Georgette giggled behind her hand. “Sherman, sweetie, you're taking this far too seriously.”
"A serious occasion must be taken seriously! And Sherman Walrus takes all serious matters with utmost seriousness!"
Sherman pointed into the air dramatically…causing his sleeve to rip at the seams.
“Dammit!” he muttered under his breath.
“Go put on your normal clothes, dear,” Georgette suggested.
"Good idea. Skeet, help him get this damn monkey suit off,” he said as he walked off. “Knew I should've got this thing refitted…"
Everyone watched as Sherman went back upstairs, Skeeter following.
“Do forgive him, Cobar,” Georgette told him. “He means well, but he's got some frostbite in his mind he still needs to shake off.”
"Some?" Rotor said flatly.
“Okay, a lot,” Georgette replied. “Anyway, dinner will be ready in a few minutes. I hope you like salmon stew with scallops."
"It sounds delicious."
"It is delicious!" Sherman shouted from upstairs.
“Dad, wait!” Skeeter shouted. “Don’t move so fast, you’ll…!”
SHRIIIIIP!
"Dagnabbit!"
"Oh boy..." Rotor sighed.
-X-
Later…
Around the table, Skeeter and Georgette were eating, while Rotor, Sherman, and Cobar stared awkwardly. Cobar lifted a spoonful of stew into his mouth, looking at Sherman out of the corner of his eye.
“Rotor…” Cobar whispered. “What’s wrong with your father?”
“I don’t know,” Rotor whispered back. “I’ve never seen him like this before.”
The older walrus just sat there, with an unreadable expression, his eyes darting around the room, occasionally going back to Cobar.
“Sherman!”
Sherman sharply turned to Georgette, who was giving him a serious look.
“You’re making our guest uncomfortable,” she softly snapped. “Relax.”
“Relax, how!?” Sherman whispered.
“Stop sitting like a statue, for starters,” Rotor said, earning him a light scowl from his mom. “Sorry…”
Georgette thought for a moment, then perked. “I know, strike up some nice dinner conversation. Get to know him better.”
Sherman nodded, that was a good idea Georgette had (as always). He just needed to think of something to talk about.
…
Any second now…
…
Any second…
…
“C’mon, Tank, say something!” Sherman thought, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow. “Get to know your guest better! Start a conversation!
“So, Cobar!” he swallowed. “You’re an echidna?”
What the hell was that!?
“Oh lord…” Georgette whispered.
“Yes, I am,” Cobar nodded, looking a little confused.
“You’re from Angel Island? The island up in the sky? The one that floats?”
“Yes, sir. Born and raised.”
“Dad…” Rotor began.
C’mon, Tank, think of a better conversation!
“H-How’s it do that? Err…float? It got rockets built into the stones or something? Balloons? Buncha little gnomes lift it into the air?"
Rotor cringed at that.
“You're close,” Cobar replied. “The island is kept afloat by Ancient technology powered by the Master Emerald. Legend says that the First Guardians retrofitted the island, making it so it would float, becoming a safe haven. It’s why the landmass doesn't crumble, even if the Master Emerald is removed.”
Surprisingly, that got everyone interested.
"The whole island!?" Skeeter asked. "Wouldn't that have taken...forever?"
Cobar shrugged. “Ancient Technology is beyond all comprehension. We've only begun to scratch the surface, even after thousands of years.”
"Yeah, that makes sense,” Sherman nodded with a chuckle. "I don't why I thought it'd be gnomes. I mean, can you imagine if it was? Billions of tiny, little men with wings hauling a huge hunk of rock high into the air all day long?”
Sherman gestured like he was holding something.
“Haa…haa…I can’t feel my arms!” he let out in a high-pitched voice. “I think my neck just popped! We’re getting paid overtime for this right?”
Sherman laughed at his joke for a moment. Unfortunately, it seemed to have fallen flat, as nobody else was. Rotor in particular wasn’t amused.
“Sherman, your stew is getting cold,” Georgette said flatly.
“Sorry…” Sherman shrunk in his chair as he went back to eating.
"Hey, Cobar!" Skeeter cut in. "Boomer says you're a super-smart science guy like him, right?"
“I'm passionate about science, yes,” Cobar confirmed. “Rotor and I actually met during a meeting on the genetic cleansing of the Mobian Tasmanian Devil population.”
“Uhhh…” Skeeter blinked, his expression blank.
“We're fixing the Devil Dogs,” Rotor clarified. “So more Tasmanian Devils can be born, and keep the species from going extinct.”
"Ooh, neat!" the younger walrus replied. “How’s that been coming along?”
“Incredibly slow,” Cobar replied. “We've been working on it for almost three years now, but we're hopeful.”
Skeeter nodded. "Yeah, Boomer's projects always take forever too. But he makes a lot of cool stuff! He's got this neato battlesuit that he uses to fight Eggman's Badniks! It can fly and shoot lasers and do all sorts of things!
He started shooting finger guns as he made laser and flying noises, culminating in him yelling BOOM!
"Hey, do you have a cool battlesuit too?" Skeeter asked.
“Oh, no, I’m not a warrior.” Cobar grimaced. “Much to the chagrin of my guardians…”
“Awww…” Skeeter sighed in disappointment. “You should make one. Then, you and Boomer can go on dates and fight bad guys! Just like in that one movie with the guy in the battlesuit and his girlfriend. Except it'd be you two and you'd be all BAM POW BZZAP! And Eggman and his goons would be all...AHHHH they're too strong! And then you'd scrap them all BWOOOOOSH! We did it! And then you'd go flying and make kissy faces and other mushy stuff, but it'd be so cool!"
Cobar chuckled. “As fun as that sounds, I'm happy with my role as a mechanist.”
"But bwoooosh!"
"He's got a point, Boomer,” Sherman chimed in. "That does sound pretty epic."
“Sherman…”
Sherman turned to Georgette, who leveled a glare on her husband so cold that his stew frosted over.
He swallowed nervously. "I-I'm just sayin'..."
The glare remained. She didn't even blink. Realizing where this conversation was going, Sherman cleared his throat.
"B-But hey, it's your call,” he said, earning a nod of approval from his wife.
“Impressive…” Cobar said, clearly in awe of the sight.
Rotor nodded. “Yeah, my mom's no pushover. Her father was a blacksmith and her mother was a Valkyrie. So, she can handle herself.”
“Liar,” Skeeter piped up. “Her parents were some hoity-toity rich people. You're thinking of Grandma Floe and Grandpa Fjord, who took her in after they kicked her out.”
"Skeet!"
"I'm sorry, kicked out?" Cobar asked.
“Well, I wasn’t very ladylike,” Georgette began, taking a moment to wipe her mouth off with her napkin. "Unlike the rest of my family, I enjoyed hunting and fishing instead of attending fancy parties and mingling with others in my class. Oh, and I was dating Sherman Walrus. He’s the son of a blacksmith and Valkyrie. After my parents disowned me, they accepted me as family.”
“And we regret absolutely nothing!” Sherman declared loudly, only to shrink down in his chair again at Georgette’s pained wince. “Sorry…”
“I see,” Cobar began. “And what exactly is a Valkyrie?”
“It’s what they call women warriors in Artika,” Rotor explained.
Cobar perked at that. “You allow women to fight?”
“Course!” Sherman replied. “Why, don’t they do that up where you’re from?”
“No, we don’t.” Cobar shook his head. “Up until recently, women were relegated to domestic duties. To my knowledge, Kathryn is the only member of the Guardians who isn’t a man.”
Sherman scoffed. “Wow, and people say Artika’s backward.”
Georgette merely shook her head in pity before taking another spoonful of stew.
“Things have improved though,” Rotor chimed in. “Since the echidnas have started reconnecting with the rest of Mobius, they’ve been slowly opening up to new ideas and addressing some of their more questionable traditions and beliefs.”
Cobar nodded. “It’s been slow, but progress is progress. Within a few years, Angel Island may very well have some ‘Valkyries’ of its own.”
“Well, that’s good,” Georgette replied with a smile.
“Now, if we could just get some of that progress with your bitch sister,” Sherman whispered.
“Sherman!” Georgette chastised.
“Oh come on, Georgie! After what she pulled at Station Square?”
“Still, she kept in touch and took in Skeeter after our deaths.”
“Still doesn’t make up for her trying to take him away and all the grief she gave Boomer.”
“I'm not saying she didn't mess up,” Georgette explained. “And we still need to hash that mess out. But she's family.”
Sherman shrugged. "Eh, fair enough, and aside from that one time, she hasn't given me grief over my time as an Egg Boss."
Sherman clamped his hand over his mouth.
“Dad!” Rotor said.
“Whoops! Forgot we weren’t s’posed to tell your boyfriend about that.”
“Oh, I know about that,” Cobar said, surprising everyone.
“You…You do!?” Rotor said.
Cobar blinked. “Rotor, I was there when the Einherjar attacked the sports festival and helped out during most of the blizzard. I saw and heard everything.”
Rotor blinked, his memories of the event returning.
“O-Oh…” he said, blushing profusely. “Yeah…you were…”
At that, Sherman cleared his throat.
“And uhhh…you’re just okay with that? Knowing your boyfriend’s dad is a former supervillain?”
Cobar shook his head. “You're not Tundra anymore, and I know you're not affiliated with the Egg Army anymore.”
Sherman looked away, unconvinced. "Even still...I..."
“Mr. Walrus…” Cobar cut in. “The echidna aren't without blood on their hands. We've all made mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them and from what I've observed and what Rotor's told me about you, you've clearly done that."
“Cobar…” Rotor whispered.
Sherman smiled. "Heh, you picked a real winner here, Boomer."
“Yeah,” Rotor replied. “Yeah, I did.”
"So, which one of you's gonna wear the dress when you get married?" Skeeter cut in, causing the whole room to freeze.
"SKEETER!" Sherman shouted.
“Stratford Walrus!” Georgette scolded.
"What? I was just asking!"
“Oh boy…” Rotor said, shaking his head and facepalming.
“Would you excuse us for a moment?” Cobar asked. “I think Rotor needs some air.”
“You two go on ahead,” Georgette said.
At that, Rotor and Cobar left for the backyard.
"Well...that just happened,” Cobar said.
"Yeeeeah..." Rotor sat down, massaging his temples.
"Cobar, I am so sorry."
"What for?"
“All of this. I wanted this dinner to be nice. Instead, all you got was a front-row seat to my family’s…crazy.”
Cobar chuckled. “Are you kidding? This was amazing!”
"Eh? Really? You don't think my family's weird or embarrassing or..."
Cobar put a hand on Rotor’s shoulder. “Rotor, your family loves you. and they support you. That's good enough for me. Honestly… the only thing embarrassing is that you had such little faith in them.”
Rotor winced. “Yeah…I guess I was used to the idea of never seeing my folks again, I kinda forgot about what kind of people they really were. Especially after I left home.”
“Hey now, things are different. Better, even.” Cobar smirked. “Though, I’m still a tad miffed that you’d forgotten I was there during the blizzard.”
Rotor choked. “I-I’m sorry! Like I said, it's crazy and hectic and…” he paused. “You’re just messing with me, aren’t you?”
Cobar just smirked. “Now you’re getting it.”
“Still, that was pretty stupid of me,” Rotor said.
Cobar sighed. “Tell you what. Why don’t we just pretend that whole thing never happened.”
“Sounds good.”
“And in return…you can wear the dress on our wedding day.”
Rotor’s face turned beet red and he nearly fell over.
“Wait, what!?”
At that, Cobar burst out laughing.
“Rotor Walrus, you are too easy.” He thought for a moment, then smirked. “Though, I will admit that I think you’d wear it better.”
Rotor paused for a moment, still blushing. “We’ll see…”
“Boomer!” Sherman called out. “You boys okay out there?”
“Yeah! Everything’s good!” he replied before turning to Cobar. “Come on, let’s not keep them waiting.”
Cobar nodded and the two went back inside.
Knothole - The following day
Rotor arrived back in the common room, looking much happier.
"Hey guys, I'm back! How was the...?" He trailed off as he saw everyone sitting about the room, looking a mix of exhausted and a little annoyed.
"Hey Rote…” Sonic replied. “How's it goin'?"
"Whoa, what's up with you guys?"
"Cassia's stream," Chris answered.
"Oooh…” Rotor winced. “I'm guessing it didn't go too well?"
“It did at first,” Tekno answered. “But... then she implemented a penalty system. To make things 'interesting'."
“She tried to make me kiss Shorty,” Johnny informed.
“I had to put on a chicken suit and do the funky chicken,” Tekno added.
“She tried to make me drink this.... gross concoction,” Porker recalled, gagging a little in recollection.
"She doodled on Keith's face. He's still trying to get the marker stains out."
He pointed off to the side, where Kat was helping him scrub his face.
“Seriously,” Keith groused. “What was she using? Shorpies (3)!?”
“At least she didn’t use you as a footstool and force you to address her as guniang (4).”
"And you don't even wanna know what she did to Tails,” Hope uttered with a wince, a look shared by the young Fox and Rotor.
"Sounds like you guys had a rough time,” the walrus said.
Sonic shrugged. "Eh, it wasn't all bad. The games were a blast and we raised over 200,000 Mobiums.” He then smirked. “Oh, and Cass' little stunt bit her in the butt...hard."
“How so?”
“She challenged me to a racing game. She lost."
"And her penalty?"
"Well..."
Just then, the door slammed open, revealing a very miffed and very hairless Cassia. The young pronghorn’s signature swirly pompadour had been shaved off. She stomped through the common room, everyone doing their best to hold back their laughter.
“Hey Cass,” Sonic greeted.
“Hey Sonic,” Cassia replied tersely, not even looking at the hedgehog as she passed by Rotor.
“Hey Cass,” Rotor greeted awkwardly.
“Hi Rotor,” she replied as she stomped by him.
“Wow…” the walrus said.
"Like I said...hard." Sonic stretched his arms a bit. "So, heard you finally introduced Cobar to your folks. How'd it go?"
"Honestly..." Rotor smiled. "Great. Really great.
“See, toldja you were worried for nothing.”
"Yeah, yeah, I get it..." Rotor chuckled. "Anyway, I gotta get going. Cobar's got a project he's working on and I promised I'd help him with it."
"Need a hand?" Porker asked.
"Sorry guys, it's personal.”
"Oooh, I gotcha." Sonic winked and clicked his tongue as he playfully nudged Rotor’s arm with his elbow.
"Sonic..."
"Just kidding, Rote. Have a good one."
He smiled, walking out of the lab.
Angel Island
Back on Angel Island, Cobar had holed himself up in his laboratory to work on his current project. He picked up a test tube of liquid he had off to the side and placed it into a slot in his computer console.
“Alright, genetic sample installed. Beginning analysis…”
He typed in a few commands, then pressed Enter. Immediately, the machine hummed to life; a completion bar appearing on the screen. Above it were the words “SCANNING… ESTIMATED TIME: 4 MONTHS 3 WEEKS 10 DAYS”.
Cobar winced at the time. “I was afraid of that…” He sighed. “Slow going…”
Just then, a loud ringing greeted Cobar’s ears. He reached into the pocket of his lab coat, pulling out a smartphone. The caller ID read “Zachary”.
“Ugh…again?” Cobar cursed before hanging it up. “I thought I blocked his number.”
“Blocked whose number?”
Cobar turned to see Rotor peeking into the lab.
“Hey Cobar!” the walrus greeted.
“Rotor!” Cobar cleared his throat. “You’re here early. I didn’t expect you for another hour.”
Rotor smirked. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Cobar chuckled at that. “Never said it wasn’t.”
Cobar got up and kissed Rotor on the cheek, which he returned shortly after.
“So, what’s on the agenda today?” Rotor asked.
“The Devil Dog project. I just received the latest DNA sample from Thrash. Unfortunately…”
He motioned to the screen and the insanely long scanning time.
“Ooof…” Rotor winced.
“Oof indeed…” Cobar sat down. “Regular DNA tests take long already, but modified DNA tests?”
He massaged his temples.
“Looks like the project’s going to be on hold until the end of summer.”
“So it seems…” Cobar sighed. “So much for our research. Now what?”
Rotor thought for a moment. “Well…”
Walrus House
Back in Mobotropolis, Sherman Walrus was looking through the newspaper. Specifically, he was looking at the job section.
“Any luck, dear?”
Sherman looked from his paper to see Georgette wheeling herself into the room. A tray on her wheelchair holding a pair of drinks in front of her.
“Not yet.” he sighed. “Seriously, you think a kingdom on an island would have all kinds of sailing jobs open.”
“This isn’t like in Artika, Sherman,” Georgette said as she set one of the drinks down. “The waters down here are calmer and South Island is almost entirely self-sufficient. They don’t really need a large fleet of sailors to transport and gather goods.”
“Yeah…”
Just then, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Georgette said.
“No, I got it,” Sherman said, stopping her.
He made his way to the door and opened it.
“Hey Dad!” Rotor greeted, Cobar right behind him.
“Boomer!?” Sherman cried out. “What are you two doing here? Didn’t you have some fancy research project to do?”
“There’s been a little…delay,” Cobar said.
“Mind if we come in?” Rotor asked.
Sherman blinked for a moment before grinning.
“Are you kidding? Of course!” he turned back inside. “Georgie, put the kettle on! The boys are here!”
Rotor and Cobar smiled as they followed Sherman inside, happy to spend time with his…their family.
Notes:
(1): Mobini penguin
(2): Mobini walrus
(3): Mobian Sharpies
(4): Chinese for "young mistress"
Another chapter is completed. Nothing too dramatic or crazy, just something nice and wholesome.
In the meantime, don't forget to R&R. See you next time!
Chapter 7: EXTRA: An Important Announcement
Chapter Text
Greetings, Tales fans (of Sonic), WindstarOsprey of the Nerd Herd here with some big announcements. First, I want to take a moment to thank everyone for all their comments and reviews, good and bad. It’s because of you that we have the motivation to keep on writing these stories and, more importantly, know what it is we’re doing right and wrong. Which brings us to my next announcement: the future of the ongoing Eggman’s Dozen saga.
When I first pitched the idea to my colleagues in the Nerd Herd, they were both skeptical and interested in the idea. The Eggman’s cybernetic mini-boss squad is considered by many – myself included - to be the most popular character group from the Archie comics, both the reboot’s Egg Bosses and the old timeline’s Grandmasters; the former especially. So when I signed on as a co-writer and story planner, I made it my mission to make sure that their debut was a big deal. Unfortunately, I ended up biting off more than I could chew.
While some readers enjoy the saga for its higher stakes, fun character dynamics, and finally featuring these beloved characters, it’s earned a fair share of criticisms. Dark and bleak moments that don’t quite fit the tone of the Sonic franchise. Overuse of original characters. Too many characters to keep track of. And, most of all, it’s really, really long; to the point that readers asking when we’re going to get back to writing storylines based on the games has become a regular occurrence. Part of this was due to my own inexperience as a writer and planner. I was eager to give the Egg Bosses their big, epic debut, but ended up getting caught up in the spectacle, which hurt the structure of the story. It doesn’t help that I have way too many ideas for storylines popping up in my head all at once. As such, I want to take a moment to thank you for your patience and apologize for things getting off the rails. And more importantly, finally give you the answer you’ve been demanding:
The Eggman’s Dozen Saga is ending.
After much discussion and planning, the rest of the Nerd Herd and I have decided to cut the saga short. There will be one more Egg Boss arc and a bit of set-up, but after that, we will be moving on to the grand finale. However, that doesn’t mean the other arcs have been abandoned entirely, far from it. They will be written and released at a later date as part of our biggest announcement for Tales of Sonic yet…our first-ever spin-off series… Tales of Mobius!
While Tales of Sonic focuses on the Blue Blur and his friends, Tales of Mobius will focus more on side characters and other groups, as well as stories that don’t immediately advance to the mainline plot, but still flesh out the world and setting. As a result, Bummer Vacation and Love, War, and Dragon Boats have been moved over to this series with the remaining Eggman’s Dozen arcs, which will be released as part of the Lost Egg Boss Tales sub-series.
Once again, we at the Nerd Herd want to thank all of you for your continued patience and support. We know you’re eager for us to adapt stories such as Unleashed, Colors, and Forces, we are too. All we ask is that you wait a little longer, we promise this ride will be over soon and it will be worth it. In the meantime, see you next time for the next Tales of Sonic and Mobius! Don’t forget to R & R, and have a great day!
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