Chapter 8: The Courtship of Sonic's Father:
The next morning, the trio woke up at a somewhat earlier part of the morning than previously, for the sake of wasting as little time as possible in completing the first chapter of their quest. Currently, they were walking along the outskirts of town to the docks once more.
"So, do you know what you're gonna tell Chuck?" Tyco asked.
"Do I ever!" Junior replied grumpily, "And I'll do whatever the fuck it takes to get the truth out of him, even if it means letting him suffer the same fate as his brother!"
"Look, Junior. I know you don't appreciate being lied to - hell, nobody does - but you need to exercise at least a little restraint. A real hero doesn't just go around killing other people over something like this." Jade warned.
"But this isn't just some small, harmless fib!" Junior replied, "He promised to give me a ton of information on my background, which I myself know little to nothing about - and not even my own father will tell me for some goddamn reason! And he even knew the true story, yet made it all up anyway!"
"I understand what you mean, but here's the thing. I don't agree with this principle whatsoever, and I wish people would stop resorting to it, but... sometimes people lie because the truth about whatever the event is can sometimes be painful. Maybe he was too ashamed of what he did? Maybe he was worried about how you would react if he told you the truth right away?" Jade explained.
"... Or maybe he was just trying to paint himself as some legendary sea captain, and fabricating stories like that just to feed his ego." Junior said grimly.
"Look, whatever his reason might be, the point is that you should at least hear what he has to say before you take action." Jade replied.
"Okay, fine. I'll do it." Junior replied, "But if he doesn't talk, he'll never get the chance to make amends with Grandma!"
Before long, the three heroes arrived at the docks, where Chuck was busy cleaning the windshield on The Ribbon Seal. Jade and Tyco intentionally walked ahead of Junior to avoid starting the confrontation too early.
"Ah! Yer all back! Rearin' to go?!" Chuck asked excitedly.
"You bet!" Tyco replied.
"I've been ready!" Jade added as she followed him onto the ship.
"Ahoy! Look alive, Junior! Ye' got a one-of-a-kind stone tablet to reassemble!" Chuck said as his great nephew slumped past him.
"I'll be fine." Junior replied quietly, following his partners onto the boat.
With that, Chuck took the wheel and sailed the trio out towards the signal from the final tablet fragment, which was emanating from somewhere on West Side Island. The boat ride took a good three hours, and when it was almost over, the hardened old captain looked over towards Junior, who was slouching alone in one of the seats closest to the steering wheel.
"Ey', ol' boy! We'll be hittin' land soon!" He told him.
"Leave me alone." Junior muttered.
"Oy! An' what be the matter with ya'? Ye' look sadder than a dejected razor clam with no shell on." Chuck replied.
"I said, leave me the hell alone." Junior groaned again.
"Seriously, what's gettin' ya'?" Chuck asked.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK 'LEAVE ME ALONE' MEANS, YOU MURDEROUS, LYING BASTARD?!" Junior shouted as he stood up, his voice fading away quickly with nothing to ricochet from.
By this time, Chuck began to back his way over to the side rail of his ship as Junior slowly walked in his direction, looking as though he was about to throw down. As this happened, Tyco and Jade rushed to the back of the boat to view the commotion.
"Now, now, land-lovers! What's all this about?" Chuck asked, slightly intimidated at the sight of the three heroes staring him down.
"Don't play dumb with me, old man! You know what you did!" Junior said sternly.
"An' what did yer great uncle do, eh?" Chuck asked.
"How about lying to your own great nephew about his background?!" Tyco chimed in.
"He came to you specifically to learn about his past, and you intentionally deceived him!" Jade butt in as well, "So why'd you do it, huh?"
"I swear upon me sailor's heart! I told yeh' the truth!" Chuck said.
Junior rolled his eyes before nailing him in the face with a well-placed punch, sending him reeling into the wall of the boat. To follow up, he quickly walked over to his fallen ancestor and gripped him by the neck.
"Now, now, ye' wouldn't really want to hurt yer' own great uncle, now would ya'?" Chuck asked, notes of worry in his voice.
"I adamantly refuse to call a killer like you 'Uncle'!" Junior spat.
"Wh-What?! K-K-Killer?!" Chuck asked incredulously.
"Spare us your lies! Grandma told us everything!" Jade said.
"Don't you dare tell us you've forgotten the story you tried to cover up and use for fame!" Tyco added.
"In fact, how could you forget it?! You killed my grandfather!" Junior said, "So I'll ask you one more time: what really happened that night?! You've got a few seconds to start fessing up, and you'd better be truthful this time! Or else you'll be seeing him soon!"
Finally giving in, Chuck let out a sigh.
"No, Junior..." He started.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE TELL ME NO!" Junior screamed into his face as he raised his free hand and balled it into a fist.
"I... I don't know how else to say this, but... I didn't kill yer grandfather." Chuck began, using one of his non-restrained hands to pick at a piece of skin on his left cheek.
The trio watched as he pulled off what turned out to be a fake shred of skin, revealing a large freckle on his cheek.
"I... am your grandfather." He finished.
"NNNNNOOOOOOOO... Wait, what am I saying? That's great news!" Junior said, releasing his hold on Buck's neck.
"Well! That wasn't the reveal I was expecting!" Tyco said.
"Hold it!" Jade interrupted, "Just because Buck turned out to be alive doesn't mean he's innocent! He still killed your uncle, Junior!"
"It was within reason, I tell ya'!" Buck replied, massaging his throat as he climbed up onto the seat he had been pressed against.
"Yeah? How so?" Junior asked, his tan arms folded.
"Well ya' see..." Buck began, "The only truth within the lie I told ya' were the fact that the incident occurred while we were chasin' a myth out at sea. Ye' know, the albino orca that brings good luck when appealed to on the night of a full moon an' whatnot? Anyway, sometime prior to our expedition, I'd overheard Chuck speakin' to a colleague about that very legend. They came up with a plan to steal the treasure when we found it, usin' it fer fame an' profit, an' to break away from me shadow. An' what's worse, they planned to simply ditch me at sea in the process. Typhoons of infuriation were a-thunderin' away inside me, but I resolved to keep me cool. So, on the night of the treasure hunt, I decided to confront 'im over what I heard, tellin' 'im how he had violated the bro-code an' severed our promise to share the glory of all our accomplishments. However, he never gave in an' continued to fight back, leaving me with absolutely no choice but to end our partnership fer good."
By the time he finished his tirade, all three heroes had calmed down and were now sitting in seats on either side of him.
"Okay, that's all well and good." Junior replied, "But it still doesn't explain why you concealed your identity after you did it."
"I was simply ashamed for killin' me brother. An' I didn't know which would be worse: tellin' Aleena that I killed me brother, or pretendin' to be 'im an' fakin' me own death?" Buck replied, "An' if yer wonderin' how I pulled it off, I simply covered up me freckle. It be the only physical difference between the two of us."
"Alright, well thanks for finally telling the truth, Grandpa." Junior said sincerely, "And now that you gave up your secret, I think you should go talk to her once we're done with the whole tablet thing. I'm sure she missed you a lot. And don't bother with that dramatic 'revealing the freckle' shit. Just outright tell her the truth."
"And freshening up before you do that would be your best bet." Jade added, "No girl likes it when a man tries to rekindle their love while smelling like sodium chloride."
"And finally, don't hide anything. Fess up to her like you did to us. Pretty sure you won't be held in a chokehold a second time." Tyco chuckled.
"Well, what if she doesn't accept me?" Buck asked, "Like the young lass just said, I am still guilty, even if I'm still alive. An' if she does take me back, she'll surely force me into retirement. Me job is probably the hardest thing fer me to give up with age."
"Well there are times in life where you'll have to make sacrifices. And even if she doesn't let you back in, at least you'll have some closure for once. You should at least keep your mind open to the idea." Junior replied, "... But enough about that! We've got a tablet to fix!"
In just a few more minutes, The Ribbon Seal dropped anchor off the coast of West Side Island, which thankfully was much closer to sea-level than South Island, making it easier to reach.
"Thanks again, Grandpa!" Junior called back as he leapt across the water.
"See you around!" Jade called back as she flew across.
"Yeah, what she said!" Tyco called back as he followed his partners.
"I'll be waitin' 'ere as usual! Oh, and I'll definitely be considerin' what ya' said to me!" Chuck replied with a wave.
After a short trek, the trio came across the entrance to a massive cave within a sheer stony cliff.
"Sorry if either of you are afraid of the dark, but I'm afraid we have no choice but to go in there. It's where the signal is coming from." Tyco explained.
"Nah, we're good." Junior replied as he walked ahead into the dark unknown.
Inside the cavern, the group was pleasantly surprised to find that the cave walls were littered with countless lit torches, allowing them to take notice of the sheer number of thick, tangly vines that lined the interior, with some that were dangling precariously towards the stony floor. A wooden plaque had also been nailed to the wall, which read "Mystic Cave Zone".
"Well, uh, forget what I said about the dark. Let's... just keep going." Tyco said, proceeding deeper into the cave.
The trek through the interior of the cliff was rather uneventful, aside from the occasional gap that was easily crossed via a pre-installed wooden bridge, alongside the even rarer vine-wrapped lever that would activate one of said bridges.
"Hey, um, is anyone getting the feeling that something should attack us soon?" Jade asked somewhat nervously, "I mean, aside from those sparse Badniks in Green Hill Zone, and a few traps in Marble Zone, there hasn't been a single threat so far."
"Well according to recent statistics, the majority of this country's population is found back on Christmas Island, so maybe Eggman didn't need to station as many troops elsewhere." Tyco replied, "And if they are there, then they're being awfully quiet. Maybe the people gave up easily during the takeover?"
"Who knows, really?" Junior asked, before the group suddenly stopped walking.
Directly in front of the trio was a seemingly immovable stone wall at the end of the wooden bridge that they had already crossed halfway.
"Really? A dead end?" Junior asked in annoyance, "And there weren't any alternate routes either!"
"Relax, guys. I think I just found the way out." Tyco assured his cohorts as he jumped upwards.
Junior and Jade watched as he proceeded to grab an overhanging green lever that was wrapped in vines. Even after he latched onto it, however, nothing occurred.
"Um, I think it needs a little more weight." Tyco said.
Junior nodded and jumped onto it too, finally weighing it down enough. Rather than removing the stony blockage from the trio's path, the lever ended up splitting the bridge in two, and sending Jade falling into a deep pit below the bridge with silver spikes along the bottom. Though she panicked at first, she retained her wits and used her wings to suspend herself above the spikes.
"Yeesh! That was a close one!" She said, panting.
"Hey, um, since you're the only one who can fly indefinitely, do you mind searching down there for some way to reactivate the bridge?" Tyco asked, "Oh, and the signal is coming from that very pit, so there's that as well."
Jade nodded and continued to hover around until she spotted a hole in the wall, plenty wide enough to fit her arm into, but long enough that she could not reach the fluorescent green button inside.
"Alright, here goes!" She announced, "Chaos... LANCE!"
She fired a large energy projectile from her hands. It was about the same size as the hole, allowing it to fly through it without bumping anything. It hit the button successfully, thereby reactivating the bridge, though it also exploded, resulting in a massive hole in the wall it had been fired into.
"Whoa! There's a hidden room in here!" Jade said as she landed inside it, "And I can see why, too!"
By the time she flew back up onto the bridge, both Junior and Tyco had landed safely back onto it as well. Jade didn't hesitate to show them the final tablet fragment, which had been hidden behind the wall.
"Alright! That's all three of them!" Junior cheered, "Now we just have to find that temple, and Eggman will finally be cornered!"
The heroes did not hesitate to hurry back onto the ship, where they told Buck the good news. As they showed him the tablet fragments, they (much to everyone's shock) magically reassembled themselves into one piece, revealing a glowing lime-green picture that bore a very strong likeness to Sonic's 16-bit sprite. Following this, the group finally set out for Christmas Island and made it back within three hours.
"Alright, we're back!" Junior exclaimed, "Oh, and this time, you're coming with us!"
"Oh?" Buck asked uncertainly, "Why me?"
"Because you're gonna make amends with my grandmother!" Junior replied, "Now c'mon! There's no more time to waste!"
Reluctantly, Buck (after tying up his ship) followed the trio back to Aleena's sky blue cottage, where Tyco immediately hurried over to ring the doorbell.
"Alright, you've got this, Grandpa!" Junior cheered him on, "Just sit here on the front porch until we're done talking to Grandma, then you'll come on out, and we'll leave you alone to have your moment!"
"I... I think I understand." Buck replied nervously.
"You'll do great! I just know it!" Jade replied.
Within the next few minutes, Aleena arrived at the door and greeted the heroes once again. For Buck, the sound of her voice brought back countless memories from several decades ago, and for a moment, he wasn't sure if he would be able to confess to her without reducing himself to an emotional wreck. He took a few quiet yet deep breaths to calm his nerves, before he heard Tyco say:
"We've, uh, found a special someone who you might wanna see. He's been dying to see you again."
"Again?" Aleena asked, "Wait a second! You don't mean... !"
"Oh relax, Grandma!" Junior reassured her, "You need to hear him out on this one! He stopped lying and even gave us some insight on his side of the true story! He's clearly sorry for the things he did, and he misses you a lot! Will you please just let him talk?! For me?! Your long-lost grandson?!"
"Oh, alright. But if he starts telling those aquatic legends again, I swear... !" Aleena warned.
"Don't worry! He won't!" Jade replied, following her partners into the house in order to let the couple have their well-deserved privacy.
Buck took this gesture as his cue to slowly step into the lone porch-light right in front of the door. His aging heart began to beat almost as fast as Sonic could run, partially due to his affection for his long-lost wife, and otherwise due to extreme nervousness.
"Hello, Chuck. Came to tell me another oceanic fairy tale?" Aleena asked coldly.
"Er... no, Aleena. I'm not here fer that." Buck replied, taking a deep breath, "I, uh, wanted to say that I'm... sorry fer killin' me brother an' lyin' to yer grandson. I really should've told 'im the truth from the get-go."
"Oh, really now?! You're picking now to apologize for your actions that were detrimental to everyone in your family?! And not only that, but your only form of apology is a simple 'sorry'?! As if that's going to compensate for the unforgivable things you've done!" Aleena replied, growing furious, "Heh, you're damn lucky Junior had it in him to forgive you! Why, if you hadn't told me the truth before you up and ran off, he'd grow up spouting incomprehensible nonsense about his past to his friends!"
"I understand, milady. I know there be no way to make up for me sins, an' I know that 'sorry' doesn't always cut it, but I at least wanted to let ya' know that I have recognized the wrongs I have done, and 'ave always been thinkin' 'bout ya'." Buck replied calmly, "In fact, it so happens that I have another confession to make."
"Pray tell." Aleena replied sarcastically, her ams folded.
"Your husband Buck... is not dead." Buck began, bringing his left hand up to his left cheek and peeling off some of the skin, once again revealing his iconic freckle, "I... am the man ye' lost."
"That... that freckle." Aleena replied in shock, "I... I'd know that anywhere! You mean you've been alive this whole time?!"
"I told him not to do that shit!" Junior muttered as he peeked at the couple through the living room curtains.
"Indeed, me land-lovin' lass. It was actually Chuck who bit the sea-sand." Buck replied.
The next ten minutes passed by, in which Buck explained to his wife the exact same confession story that he had told the heroes earlier. By the end, Aleena was sniffling and wiping away tears, leaning into his broad chest as he gently stroked her back with his toned arm that was tattooed almost completely with topless mermaids.
"So, me precious sea lily... " Buck proposed, "Will ya' forgive me?"
"Oh Buck, I... !" Aleena began, "Hah! OF COURSE I WILL! I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"
"Really?! Ya' mean what yer sayin'?!" Buck asked excitedly.
"Absolutely! Now let's not dawdle any longer! I've still held onto our old bed after all these decades! And I haven't even washed the sheets since the last time you nailed me into the mattress!" Aleena replied, dragging Buck by the arm into the house.
The happy, elderly hedgehog let go of his hand in order to safely climb the stairs. Buck took the opportunity to glance at his grandson and his two comrades, who were all golf-clapping for him and giving him nods of approbation for his success at winning Aleena back over.
"Looks like this 'ere cap'n be succumbin' to the sirens tonight!" He said excitedly, "Thanks, chums!"
"Our pleasure!" Jade replied, watching him with a smile as he hurried upstairs.
"Speaking of pleasure, I'm sure glad I packed my ear-plugs!" Tyco said with a yawn, before teleporting upstairs.
"If those two get loud, I'm sleeping on the front porch tonight!" Junior groaned.
With that, everyone in the house got ready for bed, preparing for the next step in their quest that would commence tomorrow.
