I DO NOT OWN ANY CONTENT IN RELATION TO SEGA, SATam, OR ARCHIE COMICS, only my OCs, which will be few and far between this chapter.

Typed in First Person Point of View.

Chapter 10: Forgotten and Never Retrieved

{Rotor's POV}

I resent the Freedom Fighters, I really do. A bunch of old fakes is all I see now as I look upon the TV screen and see Sally waving gloriously out to the public. The bitch. She chewed me out whenever I said, "I'm not going to play second fiddle to everyone on the team. All of you treat me like a piece of shit, and if I was Antoine, I'd do the same."

Wham! Bam! Thank ya Ma'am! Kicked off the team! I left in such a glad rush, I wondered if Antoine really took my advice. After all, they treated him like he was a joke. I really liked Antoine, and even though I could never understand him, he served well as a friend. Hey, I even learned a few French phrases to woo my wife when we were younger.

Of course infertility kept us from having kids, but at least we adopted Wealth the Jaguar from the Mysterious Cat Country, located in scenic, cultured Peru. I can't helped but say the name with a semi-ominous accent and giggle, though I can't do that in front of Wealth.

Wealth is as gold as a ring and his eyes are as green as dollars. His spots shine like bronze coins. He likes the color purple, and as of right now, he is fascinated with the Thai culture and speaks the language himself, as well as wears their style of clothing. Makes me proud that he is educated in multiple cultures, though he does struggle with English, as I struggle with Spanish.

Wealth has kind of been a good luck charm for whoever has him in their custody. Take Antoine example, I let him visit Wealth during a riot (I had no idea that there was going to be a riot that day), with Lightning the Lynx who was as frantic as ever, tazing people with his powers, using his ninja prowess to his advantage in taking out the larger prisoners of the area.

Antoine was a cat, sorry, I mean coyote, of a different color. The countless times he's had to escape, I'm surprised that he hasn't, but he does make a good nanny because Lightning's kids were always safe in his custody. But back on topic, when Wealth arrived, everybody just stopped rioting and went back to their cells and fell asleep.

When I and Reeji would be with him, a lot of good things started happening our way. Take finding an abandoned lottery ticket for example, and finding that you just picked up a lucky win of $500,000! Not just that, but Gucci and Prada, owned by thier respective companies, had a huge 75% off sale! How lucky was that? But I love him because he's the light in my life, not because he's lucky, but because he's the light in my life, whether he was a jinx or blessing.

Reeji was an orange bat, who, surprise, surprise, was one of Rouge's busty cousins. She wasn't sass, she was sarcasm, like Sonic, and drowning in it. At least it was funny sarcasm, not taunting and demeaning like it was with Sonic. Whenever Sonic got his mouth busted in it took everything I had not to explode with laughter, as it was his mouth that landed him in fights most of the time.

At least they never forgot him. Most of the people who clung to me like mold to an old shower dissappeared from my life quicker than what I thought they would. Tails, who loved working with me on machines, slowly forgot that I existed, for example. I used to work with Antoine, Bark, Bunnie, Bean, Fiona, Bark, and Silver to help save the future from Good Guys Gone Psycho, checking off uber powerful, or to become uber powerful in the future as they turn crazy- Knuckles, Cream, Big, Vanilla,Vector, Amy- only to die and be reborn again and again.

Sadly, Scourge killed Fiona, Antoine murdered Bunnie, Bean and Bark were Goddess knows where, and Silver went crazy and ruined the future he worked so hard for.

I didn't have a lot of friends, but could you imagine what that's like to have everyone you know slowly dissappear from your life or forget that you even exist? Only Antoine ever acknowledges my existance, even writing about how we'll meet again in the next life, saving the day in whatever time period that may be, every blue moon. And sadly, he's correct. The only new guy on our team was Bark, and he's a special case. Everybody else has been reborn at least 30 times or more, and the people around me, like Sonic and Nack, who really have no real importance, have been reborn maybe 4 times. But rebirth or not, it still hurts that everybody I have known has started to dissappear from my life at a painful pace.

I turned off the TV, resisting the urge to throw the remote at it as Sally smiled and stated, "Sonic is the biggest threat this nation's ever seen. Secretly hiding that he's been conspiring with Eggman, Mogul, Ixis Naugus, Nack, and the Destructix."

How could she? Sonic busted his ass trying to protect everyone. Hell, he lost a lot of battles to the Destructix and Nack, but I overheard that those guys were the new good guys, and actually help Sonic now. Hell, even Eggman changed! He got upon the stand and announced to the world that he was quitting evil for the sake of his daughter, Amelia, a creation made from his genes and the DNA of a monkey he stole from a zoo.

I have never met this Amelia personally, but I will say this, monkey people (apes included) are extremely clever and strong. They're sensitive, but strong. But they do cause mischief and pick bugs off of people's heads, and scratch their backs every so often though. When Monkey Khan was over, he used to ruffle through everyone's heads, looking for bugs, (That was how we found out that Sonic and Tails had lice) and take things that weren't his. At least he didn't fling shit at us.

And I will say this, everyone has animal urges, but with my studies, I have concluded that since we're anthropomorphic, we are a whole lot more human than humans with animal parts attactched to them. As in, because I'm a walrus, I still have urges to plunder into fish tanks and eat the fish and get naked and roll around in the snow, but had I been anymore human, I would be aggressive (I already am), and with insatiable hunger (I stand corrected folks, I make a terrible example).

Poor Amelia will probably screeching like a chimpanzee and climbing all over the place to Eggman's (deserved) horror. She probably speaks like Ichigo from Tokyo Mew Mew (Which I, the author, disclaim any ownership to) going, "Hi, I'm *monkey noises* Amelia *more monkey noises*."

But I ramble, and as such, I glance over at Reeji, who looked as if Sally had personally said, "Reeji was conspiring with all these villains. Get her." "Sonic was such a nice man, and he still is. Hell, he's a pharmacist now." Reeji stated. "Not anymore," I tell her. "Once that news got out, Sonic's life as a pharmacist was over." "So sad." was all that Reeji had returned.

"No it's not," I said. "He forgets everyone and everything. No, he's not bad, but he's not exactly the hero everyone makes him out to be." "What do you mean?" Reeji glared. "Sonic's not the hero of every tale Reeji," I almost shout. "Who liberatted Africa from Eggman? Certainly not Sonic. Who liberatted Japan? Certainly not Sonic and Sally, but for some damn reason everyone says they did. Who liberatted Australia? Once more, not Sonic."

"Sonic is a splendid man who's saved your ass countless times, you should be worshipping him like a god." Reeji stated. And here we go again. I won't kneel at Sonic's feet when he does something good, but I will congratulate him, after all I was on the team too, and I'm not stupid. All Sonic was was ego and attitude, but he did know how to get work done, but why the hell do you think Scourge came about?

When someone is starting to get out of hand and causing problems, an anti is born in that image, and if you're not careful, they'll come after you and try to take your place (And I'm just as guilty, as I have one too) like Scourge did, until Uncle Chuck beat the living hell out of Sonic, only he was too late, and Scourge became obsessed with taking over his life.

And to add to my point that Sonic is not exactly the one man wonder everyone makes him out to be is that Sonic may have saved the day countless times, but he didn't do it alone. He had us, the Freedom Fighters at his beck and call, and Sally's double standard to look foward too (Tails, a 10 year old boy, was too young to join the Freedom Fighters, but 10 year old Sally was ripe for leadership).

Simian liberatted Africa, because I got to shake his hand and watch him win an award, and he was my biggest hero, and Sonic's inspiration, even if he was 6 years older than us. Monkey Khan, N.I.C.O.L.E., and River the Lynx manipulatted their way into destroying the Eggman Empire in Japan and went no further, and Australia was saved by The Kangaroo Raiders, a group of koalas and wallabees who took out Eggman there. I hate fighting over Sonic with my wife. Ya know, sometimes I think that she'd rather be with him than me, which wouldn't be out of place, given how Sonic would steal all of mine and Antoine's loves for sport.

Sadly, that slipped out of my mouth, and Reeji let me have it in a few short sentences. "If you hate Sonic, your savior, so much, you can sleep on the couch. If this continues, I will file for divorce and send Wealth back to Peru. In a box if I have to." And that was every fight we ever had, and I'm tired of it.

"Go on ahead," I challenge. "You file your divorce papers, but Wealth stays with me. Run to Sonic, be with him. I don't care anymore." "But honey," says Reeji sweetly, trying to seduce me back into her arms. "You know I love you." She leans in to kiss me, but I shove her off. "No! I'm tired of the bullshit! I'm tired of you getting mad that I'm not bowing down at the mention of Sonic's name! And Sonic isn't even his name! It's Maurice!"

"Lies!" she screeches, alarming Wealth, who's only 14 mind you, making him run upstairs. I can only assume he's packing his bags. "You're as crazy as Amy," I tell her. "You're my wife, not Sonic's! If you want to be this way, then go on ahead, do it, file for divorce, but I'm filing for custody of Wealth. Wealth! Pack your bags, we're going!"

Reeji starts to strip, going, "We can still make this work." "Put your clothes back on woman, I'll not be needing your body ever again." And I go to our room and pack my bags, placing my toothbrush, deodorant, favorite cologne, a picture of Wealth when we first got him from Peru, and a few changes of clothes in them and Reeji pulls on me, jumps on the bed, her legs wide open, begging me to stay.

And just to let you know, Reeji's side of the room is littered with pictures of Sonic, some even from my scrapbook from when I was a teenager. Even our bedsheets have Sonic's face on them, and by Sonic's face, I mean a closeup of him looking directly into the camera. He's not smiling or anything, it's just a plain picture of Sonic's face I took for some reason. Our sex life sucks because of this bedsheet and pillowcase and comforter. I feel like I have Sonic just watching me go at it, and that...is a little creepy.

It was a fight to get everything packed into my bag because Reeji kept throwing it out and crying and blowing her nose on it. She occassionally leaves the room to go bother Wealth, running around the house naked and pounding wildly on his door, even kicking it at one point, and I slam all my belongings into my bag and run for Wealth's room, pushing Reeji aside and ripping him out of him room with his luggage also in my hand.

Poor Wealth is probably scarred for life now thanks to her. He didn't need to see his mom naked, that's for my eyes only, and she never acted the way a mother should act. She claims to love Wealth with all her heart, but if you love someone, you don't threaten to ship them back to their own country in a box. I couldn't ever imagine telling Antoine "If you don't stop being French, I'll mail you back to France in a box."

He wouldn't have understood me to begin with, but still, Wealth could be doing nothing wrong and something will come on about how Sonic got drunk at a bar, or got married, and then she'd take it out on him or me, depending on who she saw first, and I can't make Wealth stay in America when he grows up, but I'm hoping that if he leaves to return to Peru, he'll go back with a positive outlook on America, not, "I had a crazy American ho for a mom and a submissive man for a dad who fought all the time."

I won't let that happen to him like it did Antoine. Everybody treated him like the plague, doing their best to either exclude him, turn him into a joke, make fun of him, ditch him, telling him that they wanted ketchup, or chili dogs, or that his food didn't taste good (A big insult to the French), taking all of his love interests, (I tried to talk to him, but he just stared at me and said stuff in French I didn't understand) didn't make an effort to comprehend that he was homesick had started to run him off, but then Bunnie cheated on him and broke him, and now he's in Japan with bitter thoughts on America, spending 40 to life for first degree murder.

That was the fate I wanted Wealth to avoid, but Reeji was acting just like the Freedom Fighters did (and I'm just as guilty of ditching Antoine and playing mean pranks on him to stave off boredom), and I feared the worse on what was to come for Wealth's future (For the goddess's sake, he wants to learn Thai, not English, a bad sign). I am determined to make it up to him, but first, we just had to escape this witch first.

We leave the house in a messy fashion, kicking furniture over as she chases us onto our lawn, stark naked, in front of our neighbors and their kids, screaming at us and waving her arms around like a maniac. It took a lot for me to bite my tongue, as it's one thing to call me a fatass, it's another to call my son a racial slur, but I make a note not to say anything back because then I'll look like a prick who was picking on a poor, defensless woman, who I "fucked and left for embarassment in the boudouir."

At the end of our yard is our illegally parked car (Reeji placed it there hoping that Sonic would run into it and get hurt so that way she could nurse him back to health and force him to love her), and a nice one too. I don't know how Reeji was able to afford it based on our income (I work at Walmart and she works at Burger King, all owned by their respective owners, without any outside help from family), but one day, she just drove into our driveway with the car and the next thing I knew the IRS (owned by the Fedral Government) had me arrested for evading taxes, in which Antoine had me bailed out for, and gave me the money to pay the taxes, from prison!

I throw our luggage into the car, and slam myself into the front seat, not even bothering to buckle up and slam onto the gas, and then on the brake because our damn neighborhood is laden with little toddlers running amuck without any parental control, giving Reeji enough time to catch up to us with a knife and a box of matches.

"Oh shit!" I cry. "Padre," Wealth asks with wild eyes. "What shall we do?" "Do not get out of the car." I instruct him. We jerk our heads to the left as Reeji stabs the car window repeatedly, scratching the windows and knocking holes into the doorway. I grab Wealth and pull him towards me, screaming.

I make a move to get out of the back door, but then I see Reeji spitting on a match, lighting it on fire, and then throwing it onto the car, engulfing it in flames. "Fuego! Fuego!" Wealth screams. "Die bitch! Die!" Reeji laughs maniacally.

She moves to the front of my door, laughing and stabbing the car at the same time, and I slam the car door onto her and literally throw Wealth out of the car screaming, "Correr Wealth! Correr Wealth!" "Ayuda! Ayuda!" screams Wealth as he runs down the street and nobody helps him.

While he's doing that, I run back into the house, a brazen action given the pressure I'm under, where I call Vector, a homicide detective, on my crappy ass home phone. "Hello," I speak into the device. "I'd like to report an attempted homicide."And I tell them all that is happening. Then I heave out of the house as Reeji attempts to stab me, screaming and crying, "Sonic will be mine! You should worship him!"

I run out of the house, her chasing me, and my body fat betraying me as I struggle to pound my feet against ground. I'm about ready to fall over when I suddenly hear an explosion and Reeji squal. I turn around the see the bitch laying on the sidewalk, passed out, giving me ample time to make my getaway and recollect myself with my son.

We continue to walk quickly away from the scene, trying to put as much distance between ourselves and Reeji. Now all I need to do now is withdraw all my money from the bank and close it down. I had to have most of my money secretly stashed away in my own personal bank account because bills weren't being paid, and more Sonic collectibles were showing up at my doorstep with Reeji bouncing giddily towards the trash, then complaining about there being no running water two days later when the company calls and shuts it off.

Now here's the kicker, Reeji could blow all our money on items depicting Sonic's face and expensive clothing and jewelry from the mall (she had so much there was no way she could wear it all in one lifetime) and go get a massage and it be a-okay as we starve, but if I take myself and Wealth out to see a movie, it was the most vilest thing I've ever done.

Wow, why did I hang on so long? She was batshit insane, chasing a dream that'll never happen, and I was the willing idiot that tried to keep my marriage held together, and for what? This? I should've saw this coming from a mile away, as I knew the moment I saw her that something was off.

"Where are we going?" my sons asks me, snapping me out of my trance. "Antoine." I tell him. "Isn't he in Japan?" he asks me again. I look at him and go, "Yes." "How are we going to afford it dad?" he says, and I know that he's right. I have enough money in my bank account to rent us both a plane ride to Japan, but not enough to be able to afford to eat or rent a night in a cheap motel, and I hate mooching off of Antoine.

He's rich enough to bail himself out (yet he doesn't), and he's the one who's paid for Wealth's clothes, his food, and paid some of our bills, yet he never writes me, as my soon to be ex-wife blew all our cash in hopes of winning Sonic over when I had nothing, so he does deserve a visit, as that's the least I could do for him, but how am I to pay my way back? Learn Japanese and hope I scrape up enough to leave? And when I get back here, where do I go? I have nobody to lean on.

Either way, I make my way to a payphone that hasn't been used since the 90s, and make an international call. Lightning picks up and likely says, in Japanese, the trademark, "Hello, this is Blank speaking. How may I help you?" Wow he's fluent in Japanese. Wow that's what Tails would have said (He literally said those exact same words about Antoine, who was basically fresh from France, only replace Japanese with French). But here's the bad part, Lightning doesn't really know English either, so he explains to me in terrible English about how he has secured me a room and will cover a ticket back home for me. I take his offer.

When I get to Japan, I'm lost, though Wealth is fascinated with everything. The beautiful gardens, the gigantic bees, the pretty buildings, the pure serenity of the sun kissing the water with it's golden lips, the crisp, clean air. Am I sure I understood Lightning right? I mean, when I think of prison, I think of Devil's Gulag...that the Destructix destroyed... and metal bars with tough looking men bouncing fists against each other's bodies with plenty of protection in case things go wrong.

Anyways, I enter the prison and is slammed down by the security because I had no idea how Japanese security works, and find myself being carted off to a holding cell, my son following me as I fought back.

About three hours later, Lightning steps in with a bow and looks up at my hand in his face (Monkey Khan did this stuff, and I still don't get why) and spoke more Japanese to me before saying, "Free. Follow." I did as told.

"Comprende sus?" Wealth asks me. "Uh, si." I answer him. What did he just ask me? Oh nevermind. I'm led down a boring gray corridor, past all the serial convicts all slamming themselves up against their doors, occasionally frightening me. Lighting and Wealth were unfazed.

Anyways, we wind up near Antoine's holding cell, a glass cell where you can see through all elements of the cell, with Antoine sitting there with his legs crossed, as if waiting on someone. "It's Japan's newest innovation," Lightning said proudly, his hand on the door. "You can see inward, but the convict can only see outward from the top. It's perfect for Antoine! He and I can see each other every day!" I nod slowly at him and go, "Yeah, great." Lightning smiles at me and then opens the door and he and Antoine exchange a few words in Japanese. I step in and greet him with a, "Oh, getting to know Japanese are we?" Antoine blinks at me and says, "Je na pas comprenez-vous." "Hola," Wealth waves. "Como estas usted?" "Bonjour," Antoine returns. "J'ai été bien. Comment allez-vous?"

I let them chat it up for a while, and then I and Antoine start, and while we are having this lovely chat in the conference room, we see Reeji, still naked, glaring at us as she walks by. Lightning has a firm grip on her, so she's no worry to us. Espio, Vector, Charmy, and a yellow pigeon follow behind them, with their guns out, just in case she makes a break for it or tries something dastardly. There is a muzzle over her mouth. I look at Antoine and nod. He smiles back at me and says, "Divorze paperz are een ordair I zupozz?" "Anything to get away from that damn loon. I might even move to Peru with Wealth and live there." I say. "I vill mizz tu madly." he says. "Terribly." I correct him.

We sit in silence for a few moments before I say, "You're a good prisoner, maybe I can convince Lightning to give you parole." "Zat vould be a good offair, but I muzt pay for moi crimez." Antoine replies with certainty. "And Lightning leaves all the doors unlocked?" I ask. "Oui." "And you can walk right out of here with no problems." "I vouldn't zay, "non problemz" mon ami." "Oh right," I say, shaking my head in agreeance, as I was about to say that Lightning was just asking for a prison break, but so far, nobody has yet. "The guards?"

"And mon sabre eez not vith moi." Antoine added. "That rusty thing," I laugh. "You've had that since 1771." "And I 'ave kept eet een prime condeetion." Antoine stated matter of factly. "Uh, how?" I ask. Remember, we're reborn ever so often, that sword should be a rust bucket by now. "Ve are ze Gardianz of Time Rotor, vous zhould know."

I nod at him because I do know. I'm the oldest soul walking. Bark was next, during the end of the ice age, accidently causing catastrophes wherever he went, as he does now, but he's still relatively young. Fiona was next, being an Ancient Greek and all (Those were good days). Then Antoine was born during the colonial revolutionary days, as a French Soldier helping in a war, and Bunnie came shortly after, in the Victorian era. I know that Bean's an alien, but his soul came to us in the 1930s, and Silver is a brand new soul. I just hope that Antoine hasn't told Monkey Khan yet, because that man would flip out. Then I'd be asked questions about my past lives, who did I marry, what did I do, am I of royal blood like Antoine, and other such questions. I have had kids in my past life, but I don't know any of my decendants, and I'm in a new body, so it doesn't matter.

Speaking of that monkey, I ask, "Have you heard from Monkey K any?" "Oh oui! Oui! Oui! Oui! Ve Vrite everyday. Lightning 'alpz moi with moi Kanji, and I 'alp Leiuang vith 'iz French!" Antoine blasts at me ecstatically. At least he isn't forgotten. At least someone remembers his name.

"I'm guessing you and Lightning are the best of friends." I say. "Very. 'E eez zuch a nize man, and 'eez keedz are adorable." Antoine answers. "What about me?" I ask him. "But tu 'ave gotten mon letterz, non?" Antoine asks, cocking his head to the side in confusion. It slowly dawns on me that Reeji must've taken them and hid them from me on purpose.

"Antoine, my-" Boom! Crackle! Crackle! I tackle Antoine to the ground (Wealth was on the other side of the room listening intently), and I know what's happened. That bitch can't be left alone for 5 seconds without something happening. I'm rebeginning to wonder why I married her in the first place.

Oh, wait, I remember! Rouge, in desperation, gave her to me, begging me to "take a problem off of her hands." And stupid, young me couldn't have obliged her more. Seriously, Rouge was so desperate she offered to sleep with me if I'd take her "problem" away. That was red flag #1, as Rouge is not a desperate woman, not even in that sense, and she never called Reeji by her name, or even made mention that they were cousins, red flag #2. Red flag #3 came when I said yes and Rouge, who was married and pregnant at the time, gave me a kiss when usually she doesn't even give me a second, or first, glance.

Reeji had spat fire at the windows, melting the glass, and leaving a gaping hole for her body, now donned in an orange prison uniform, and I would say like Antoine, but Antoine is dressed up in a black kimono, barefoot, and his hair, now long, is placed in a bun, but at least the woman had something on.

I see Lightning and Espio, running side by side, with that pigeon, Charmy, and Vector hot on her heels, as I prepare to fight. Wealth looks at Reeji and shouts something in Spanish, but I blot it out as I sidestep her lunge. She crashes face first into the table. The table falls on it's side with a sickening clang, and immediately, I feel sorry for the table.

Antoine seizes this moment to just body slam himself on top of her, shouting French profanities as the two wrestle on the ground. The short fight was over due to stupidity and obsession.

I watch and laugh, wrapping one arm around Wealth, as the men, including Antoine, tie Reeji's hands and feet together. They remuzzle her good this time, and then they carried her briskly to, what Lightning calls, "The Hell Cell."
To be honest, it didn't have to be this way, but it did. I may have been forgotten, fading slowly into the background of everyone's lives, but you can be certain that I will be there, saving your ass from the shadows like a ninja. You may not ever remember me, but one day, you'll question the truth, and once the cat's out of the bag, there ain't no going back.

End of Chapter 10

I know that this chapter was long, but Rotor is a very unappreciated character, and yes, I made him a Guardian of Time to add depth to his character because all he is portrayed as in the comics is a mechanic. He doesn't do much else, and when he does, they show him shooting off a gun a few times and spewing out a few lines, but other than that, he's just there.

Anyways, thanks for reading, and review if you'd like. Chapter 11 is on it's way and it's sure to please. Once more, thank you, and read again.