Finally, the mystery will be solved! Where did Storm go? Let's see, gang! X3


His room never looked more safe, Storm swore he would be free from whatever ailed his body because of Wave by wrapping himself in its solitude. He hadn't left the sanctuary for the entire day, working out and playing video games to take his mind off of things. He'd gotten bored pretty quickly, but he could handle boredom way better than whatever craziness he felt when he saw her. Or touched her. Or even smelled her, as he found out yesterday.

He felt like a total creep, but he couldn't get her scent out of his nose, she was like a walking lavender bouquet topped with whipped cream. And not the kind from the can, the real, hand- whipped cream. And just like that, thoughts of her galloped through his mind; her sly smirk, her sultry walk, her laughing face. Wave had taken center stage in his brain, once again.

The only thing that brought him out of daydreaming about her was the obnoxious death tune of the video game he was playing. The grey giant shook his head vigorously, trying to regain control and get back to his normal self. But that's when he heard gentle tapping on his door.

"Hey Storm? You awake?" her small voice asked. Wave... her name nearly leapt out of his mouth at the sound of her concerned voice. The massive albatross could already feel the sweat seeping through his thick plumage. His small eyes shot to the metal door and Storm groaned. All the feelings were back again, great. He had to get her away from his room, the seclusion wasn't working anymore now that she was just a few feet from him.

"... 'Am now" Storm mumbled as an exhausted response.

"Still feeling sick?"

"Yeah, real sick" he groaned, already feeling his legs turn to jelly.

"Any better than yesterday?"

"Nah, worse- Look jus'... jus' go on wit ya day. I ain't much good fo' nothin' right now" the tired Storm said, hoping Wave wouldn't press on anymore. This was going to be the second day he missed his lessons and he knew that was making her upset, but until he got a handle on this situation, he really didn't see any better options.

"... oh... okay... then... I'll let you go back to sleep" the heliotrope girl said, barely audible from beyond the door.

"G'night" he responded, trying to sound put together. The robust avian put his head in his massive hands and listened to her steps fade away, imagining each stride like he was looking at her from behind. Her hair bending and trailing behind her like a ballerina's ribbon. Oh, how he wished he didn't feel this way around her, he had just gotten the closest to her he's ever been in his life and they've really been getting along because of it.

Storm finally considered Wave his friend for the first time, before the recent body meltdown, he was thinking about asking her to play video games with him. It could be a racing game, with planes and jets and junk, so they could pretend it was relevant to the Gear lessons. It would have been great. But no, his body just had to let him down before he could ask. He had asked this question several times before, but he found himself asking again: Why is this happening?

The bulky dullard couldn't understand and knew he couldn't ask Jet, he'd get all freaked out whenever Storm brought up illness or anything sick related. And he couldn't ask Wave for obvious reasons, so there went his chances of ever getting help figuring this out. Storm thought about it for a half an hour before giving up on making an idea.

He flopped onto his disheveled bed and sighed loudly. He'd been stuck in his room for nearly 48 hours, it was getting way too boring for him to handle. Storm felt slightly suffocated in his domicile; the stench of young adult male, the messy clutter around his floor, the dim lights, it was all so stale and stuffy.

"I gotta get outta here, I'm goin' crazy jus' sittin' here..." he mumbled to himself as he turned off his flatscreen tv and flung himself off of his bed. Briskly, the heavy Babylonian meandered around his room gathering up his shoes and gloves from their haphazard placement amongst the mess. Storm made his way to his Extreme Gear board, which leaned on his window. Thick fingers trailed against the advanced technology, Storm recognizing the various parts and sections he'd learned about thanks to Wave.

"Alright so, this system is for balancing the rider's body weight and turning. The very, very important part of all Extreme Gear" Wave's voice came crashing through his mind.

"Right, gah, I knew dat!" Storm said, bopping himself on the head with the heel of his palm for emphasis.

"You just ought to by now!" the smaller mechanic threw her arms up in a half hearted attempt at showing her frustration. Which only gave Storm a quick case of the giggles.

"Hahahaha!" she stared up at him, annoyed... before suddenly finding her cheeks inflating... then her beak folded in on itself, trying her best to keep herself from being infected with a laughing bug. However...

"... pfffft! Hahaha! Stop making me laugh!" she chuckled angrily, lightly punching him in his arm, the weak touch amusing him even more.

"Hahahaha!" their laughter rang through the workshop and outside of the walls.

He found himself lost in the memory, such a pleasant moment... Storm figured that's when he decided she was his friend for the first time. But the euphoric softness of the memory reminded him of his present situation. With a determined snort, the gargantuan teenager pushed open his bedroom window, a mighty gust of wind billowing through his room, and he threw himself out of the airship.

For a moment that felt like days, Storm free-fell, wind rushing past his front and lapping at his back. He fell right through a cloud, it's water vapor slightly misting him as he blew through the fluffy grey. Long grey locks of hair whipped and flicked behind him, his large arms outstretched, his heart leaping into his throat, pounding harder than an explosion. His small eyes shot open like dinner plates, taking in the beautiful moonlit ocean slowly coming closer, and the billowing whispers of the rushing wind enveloping his senses.

This was exactly what he needed. His lungs shot out a loud exclamation of adrenaline-filled joy, before he preformed some impressive flips and stomped on his Gear's footprints, firing the jets and turbines on just before he could touch the cresting blue tide beneath him. Storm loved the water, swimming in it, surfing it, splashing it, everything. That was natural of course, he was an albatross after all, but there was something calming and soothing about the ocean. It could quell his turbulent worries and troubles, like a rainstorm in a thirsty desert.

"I really needed dis..." he thought blissfully as he just escaped a medium sized wave, his fingers trailing across the water's surface as he did, etching unconstrained roads of ripples behind him. The towering bird breathed in, inhaling the sweet scent of saltwater and tropical breezes, traveling next to a school of sea bream, pastel colored and shimmering in the moonlight as they hopped out of the sea and dunked back to safety in unison.

Storm felt himself loosen up, only just realizing how tense he'd been feeling. This moment was perfect, the grey giant wanted it to last forever. But lights reflecting off of the water caught his attention and his moment made way for an even better one. Across the water and far in the distance, the robust Storm recognized a city resting along a tropical island, complete with cliff-sides and wide hills and plateaus.

His interest piqued, he pressed his feet harder and accelerated toward the island. It took him only minutes to get there, thanks to his Extreme Gear's speed. He flew right to the base of the cliff and navigated his way along the trail carved across the massive rock's bottom, leading to the top. In the moonlit night, he was like a shadow against a wall, no one was around but Storm was still a world class thief. He wasn't big on being seen unless Jet expressly told him it was okay.

So he peaked over the spiraling trail to the surface of the cliff, a plateau of a hill, and saw no one but tall grass and flowers spread across the wide expanse of nature. And the occasional white windmill turning monotonously. Swiftly, he ascended just above the ground and kept his eyes peeled for any movement, besides the windmill towers. On second thought, he supposed towers wasn't appropriate, considering the windmill structures varied from one story to 6 story buildings. But they were built like columns of soap, with straw and tarp tops. They looked kinda cute, he had to admit.

The massive Babylon Rogue continued to skulk in the shadows, making his way to a circular structure elevated two stories above the ground. It was made of the same soap white stone the windmills were made of, only it was delicately embroidered and upon flying to its rim, paved with tiled stones. This place was where the people were, albeit a mere 10 or 15 individuals. But Storm was in stealth mode for a reason. Stealthily, he moved around the elevated circle, hidden in the tall grass, and made his way to a bridge connected to the white stone circle. He followed the bridge, from beneath so to not draw any attention to himself, and saw the small village that the bridge was for.

There was loud laughter, coastal music, the clinking of forks against plates; the sounds of a peaceful party. As he flew closer, he wondered what they were celebrating, if anything. The warm orange lights of the small community sanctified them from the cool stillness of the rest of the world around them, the large avian could feel the warmth they exuded and he was only 30 feet from the village.

As soon as he poked his head over the stone rim of the village's wall, he could see what he heard from the bridge. Dancing, delicious steaming food, happy faces, a warm sense of belonging. It was breathtaking, how amazing a small collection of people that loved each other could shine together.

After a moment of watching the people, he noticed a few people getting up and leaving farther inland. Curious, Storm followed them, this time from above. From the sky, Storm had a fantastic view of the environment. Where he saw the gathered people was just a small cul-de-sac of sorts; a pocket semi isolated from the greater expanse of the town.

Everywhere he looked there were soap white complexes, stacked on top of each other like stairs made of ice cream cake layers. Windmills and the lush green and rainbow of flowers permeated the town, adding necessary splashes and accents of vibrant color to an otherwise completely white town. Archways and verandas blended into each other elegantly, roofs were adorned with large colorful bunches of flowers like floppy lopsided wigs on a cheery old woman.

Above the paved trails and roads that the townspeople were using to travel, cobalt blue overpasses branched from building to building, accompanied by more archways and smooth stone trails. There were even bells hanging in the tallest arches, some people relaxed under them, hanging their legs over the edge of their perches. Trellises covered stretches of the town with flowers and vines, making the environment so much more personalized than it would without them. Bright reds and blues lined the windows and doors of every building and everything was lit by the sparse orange glow of warm lanterns.

The whole place was utterly stunning, Storm had never seen such a wonderful town in his life. Just as he was wishing he could take a long vacation there, as the townsfolk were crossing a long bridge connecting one island to another, he heard the singing of a few Spanish guitars and the jingling of tambourines. Without hesitation, he sped to the end of the bridge, where a large collection of light and people had gathered. At least triple the group he was following.

The gathering of townspeople was centered around another circular place, secluded from other islands save for a few bridges to and from it. This circular structure was different from the other however because, for one thing it was quite a bit bigger than the previous one, and in the center there was a giant temple of some kind. This temple was rounded at the top, but hexagonal the rest of the way, its base expanded out further than any other part of it and inside it had covered open walkways, with smooth arches.

The ground had designated patches of grass, flowers hidden in the blades, paths lit up by lanterns hiding in tiny pillars, and a few outdoors tables where some people sat. But most everyone was dancing to the glorious music, played by a live band who'd set up their stage along the border of the enclosed space. They were playing their hearts out, the rhythm pouring out of their very beings and permeating the atmosphere.

The grey feathered colossus went by unnoticed as he landed on the rounded top of the temple, holding onto the ring at the center of the dome roof as he leaned down to see the merry people all around him. The music was lively and the dancing was just as boisterous, Storm couldn't help but laugh at a few choice individuals under the thrall of the beat. But it was quite a sight, the ambience radiated with glee and joy, the likes of which Storm had only seen on tv.

It must have been nice to live in such a beautiful place, with beautiful people and beautiful music to dance to. He let out a baritone sigh as he stared at the band and the crowd of people gyrating together; guys with their girlfriends, wives with their husbands, kids with their crushes. It was like nothing worried them, nothing was ailing them, nothing was wrong with any of them.

And the made Storm feel a little down, his problems coming back to him in full force. Why can't I jus' be around her like normal? What's wrong wit me lately? I jus' don't get it... Storm never took his eyes off of the people, but his feelings perturbed him so much he couldn't enjoy himself like he had been.

I jus' wish... I jus' wish I knew how ta get thru dis. Storm managed to sit down and hug his knees to his chest while keeping a firm grip on the temple's ring. After a minute or two of absentminded staring, the melancholy behemoth saw a particularly nervous man. From all the way atop the temple he could see this scrawny guy, twitching, rubbing his head and his hands, shaking and shuddering. The guy looked pathetic as he sat down staring at one of the women dancing among the crowd.

The lady was cute, sure, but not "get-weak-in-the-knees-and-sweat-profusely" cute. And yet, the skinny unimpressive man remained a jittery mess. It went on for a few minutes more, Storm even looked at some other people and returned to the timid man, who was paralyzed apparently, until something happened. Something Storm didn't expect at all. The scrawny, weak, and hesitant ball of fear closed his eyes, took three deep breaths, stood up, and danced over to the girl. All with his eyes closed.

Storm nearly leaped from the temple when he saw the man go forward. Eventually, he opened his eyes and the woman had already taken notice and began dancing with him. And the scrawny guy wasn't shaking anymore (not counting his butt, he was shaking that pretty hard), he wasn't twitching, he wasn't sweating. He didn't even look like the same guy that was glued to his seat just minutes before. Storm's beak dropped to the floor as he watched them both continue dancing and having a good time, like there was never a problem. He couldn't believe it, Storm was at a loss for words.

"How'd he do dat?! How'd dat lil' toothpick get da courage ta go ta dat lady?!" he asked the stars. Storm ran through the scenario in his head a dozen times and found no answers. He went over it another dozen times and finally the gears turned enough for him to figure out what the guy did right. He was nervous, he was sweaty, he was nauseous, he was everything Storm was when he was with Wave. But the guy took a minute to steel himself: closed his eyes and took deep breaths. And then he just... did what he wanted to do. He powered through the feelings.

Storm nearly fell from his perch when he pieced it together. "Ya mean dat shrimp can power through his feelin's n' I can't? I'm Storm, da strongest guy around! If dat lil' geek could do it, I KNOW I CAN!" he bellowed confidently. That was the answer the whole time, power through it. Gods, he felt ridiculous now, he thanked his ancestors that Wave and Jet wasn't there to laugh at his embarrassing moment.

And just when he thought of Wave and Jet, his chest swelled with a fuzzy heat. Wave... now I can talk to her again. We can keep doin' da lessons. Everythin' can go back ta normal. Storm thought blissfully. He zoned out again staring at the people, letting the music take control of his imagination.

Without warning, he saw Wave down there, standing out among the crowd. She wore a beautiful red dress, red like her necklace, and her hair was extravagantly styled. She twirled and swayed with the music, like it was an extension of her body. She moved gracefully, like orchid petals in the wind, and slowly, Storm came into focus.

He was down there with her, standing above the crowd, staring at her move like an angel. He mimicked what the scrawny guy did earlier, walked right up to her, and moved in perfect harmony with the heliotrope beauty. She smiled at him, a gorgeous, gracious smile, and Storm felt like his heart was about to explode out of his chest. She reached her hand out to him and gently he took it between his massive fingers.

He and Wave danced and it seemed like everyone else just watched them in awe. The two Babylonian teens danced exactly like one of the couples in an old movie he'd seen with his mother. He remembered her picking him up and dancing around the room after the scene was over, his mother never wanted the dance to end as soon as it always did. She always said she'd wanted that moment to last just a little longer.

Storm was never one for old movies, or movies that didn't involve violence and adventure. But those old romance and dancing movies weren't too bad either. Storm's imagination ran for a while, the only words he could muster in his head was "I should bring Wave here". Over and over the imaginary Wave took him by the hand and they danced in front of the crowd, it was a looping sequence.

Eventually, the band had to stop playing, they were fried after an entire night of playing for the town. And the people eventually had to stop dancing, they too had gotten tired from dancing and laughing the night away. So the bulky boy snapped out of his trance and opted to go home. It'd been hours since he left and he was really feeling tired now. So he let go of the only lifeline he had atop the soap stone temple and flipped onto his hoverboard, stomping on the gas so he could make it hope sooner rather than later.

As he rushed back to the Babylon Cloud, Storm realized a peculiar thing. His imagination, despite playing over and over again, only featured him and Wave. Jet was nowhere in sight. In fact, he hadn't even thought to take Jet to the wonderful island town. That struck him as a bit odd, Jet would get a kick out of the place, he knew how to appreciate the beauty of things. Sometimes.

Yet even as he flew across the sea and higher into the sky, Storm just didn't feel the desire to tell Jet about that place. Just Wave. Storm couldn't make heads or tails of that, but it didn't matter. He finally knew how to deal with Wave and things were going to go back to normal. No... things would be better than normal from now on.

The mighty albatross couldn't help but smile to himself as he finally saw the Babylon Cloud again. Home sweet home, he thought happily. Within a matter of minutes, he was just outside of his bedroom window. His closed bedroom window. Storm didn't pay attention however, and forced it open from the outside, then slipped back into his bedroom, back first. The song from the scenic party still played in his head, causing him to reflectively hum the tune.

As he pulled his Extreme Gear in with him and closed his window back, he felt a surge of confidence from that random skinny guy. If he can do it, I can do it! Get ready, Wave... the large teenager thought, grinning to himself as he placed his board against the closed window and started to turn around to plop on his comfy bed.

Cuz I promise, things is gonna be-

Storm completed his turn and froze on the spot. For it wasn't his silent, comfortable room he returned to. No, he had come in on an unexpected sight. There, right in front of the foot of his unmade bed, was the mulberry mechanic herself, staring up at him.

And she was pissed...


In case you didn't catch it, Storm visited Apotos this chapter! If you want to know specifically where in Apotos he was, allow me to explain because I watched a ton of playthroughs without boosting to see where I wanted him to go.

Okay, so he first arrives at a cliff with a trail leading to the top right? When you play Windmill Isle Day, the first section where you have to grind on rails to progress, right where the first spikes are in that section, you'll see a tiny cliff island to the left. That's where he goes.

From there, I mixed and matched a couple of other places from the stage and blended them together to make a more cohesive journey for Storm to follow. So after he gets to the top, he's on a wide expanse of tall grass before getting to a circular elevation. That's literally just where the goal ring is for the day stage, just starting from the grassy plain behind the goal ring.

Did I lose ya? I sure hope I didn't, because we're doing some more mixing and matching gang! XDDD Next he goes around that goal ring section and travels under a bridge. I took the final trail leading up to the goal ring, the one with the spikes on land, and made it into a bridge version of that trail. Without the spikes, obviously. XDDD

Next, he goes to a small village-y type place. This is actually based on that small part early on in the stage, the first time in the level where you have to use homing attacks to destroy flying enemies and travel between a gap. At the end of that gap, right before the dash panels, there's this nice round little place with tables and chairs and flowers and there's a couple of people on the roofs of the buildings surrounding it. It's great. C:

And from there, he follows the crowd of people through the town a little. I based that part on basically the whole level, but specifically the section right after the first trick panel and before the double pulley that leads you to the last homing attack to cross section.

Then he hears music and speeds past a bridge to get to a temple with a rounded top. Believe it or not, I saw a random background bridge that connected to the area I wanted to end on, that you can't actually access. To see it, you have to know where the temple is. The temple is that short, almost quicktime event right after you pass the first trick ramp button combination... thingy. XDDD When you press all the right buttons, you go to the top of the temple, run all around it, then take a zip line down, pass a really tiny bridge and hit a checkpoint. So that whole area is where Storm ends his journey. And if you're really paying attention, you'll notice a ring structure atop the dome roof of the temple, which is what Storm gets to hold onto in the story. :

But the bridge he takes to get there isn't the one you run on to hit that checkpoint and keep trucking. It's actually right next to that bridge, if you're paying attention, you can see it to the left of the bridge you do take, as you take the zip line down. You can see it even better during the slowdown for the trick ramp, it's the stretch of rock directly above the button icons you need to press. But it's farther away and I didn't notice it clearly until the zip line part, however you do get to see the island where it connects to better during the slowdown.

The music Storm hears on top of the temple is Apotos Night (Hub World) sped up by 1.25, to give it more of a dance-y feel. There's an extended 30 minute version on Youtube that you can speed up while you read! You can find it under Apotos Night - Sonic Unleashed Music Extended uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X.

I realize this is an absurd amount of detail for a silly little fanfic, but I care way too much so there's your answer to that X'DDDD See ya next time, where Wave rips Storm a new anus. (OvO)_b