Many apologies for the long delay in getting this chapter up. I kind of got submersed in "Chaos Mythologies" for a while and had to work out a few kinks. Rest assured, this story will continue.

Standard disclaimers apply and reviews and concrit are thoroughly appreciated.

Topaz.

"THE OUT OF TOWN DINER"

7:30PM

NO CAMERAS. NO RECORDING EQUIPTMENT. NO CELL PHONES.

That's all the message says.

There's no signature, markings or any other indication of who left it, but I think I can hazard a pretty good guess. After all, my office is just as secure as any other room in this building. The note could only have been left here by someone capable of getting into a secure government facility with three checkpoints, deactivating several security cameras in the process and leaving again completely unnoticed. This kind of feat could only be accomplished by someone with a government pass-card and a key to my office, or else a very accomplished Cat-burglar.

Or should I say, Bat-burglar?

Not to mention that all the "I"'s are dotted with love hearts.

I stand there for a long moment, just staring at the piece of paper lying on my chair. It feels like something out of one of those old movies from before cell phones were invented and Hollywood decided that anonymous phone calls from men with creaky voices were more dramatic than hastily scribbled notes.

I doubt that whoever left it here broke into my office to steal anything, but I check my drawers and filing cabinets anyway. Everything looks to be in order, right down to the old patient files from almost a decade ago. As an afterthought I check my security cameras: they've been turned off, but none of them are broken. Whoever has been in here probably knew that breakages would've left too much evidence.

The out of town diner. Seven thirty pm. Damn it. That place has coffee like bath water and cookies that could rival concrete roads Couldn't they have chosen a better restaurant?

I sit down and try my hardest to continue doing what I've been doing for the days now: thinking. It's been three days since the Galaxy X interviews began and ended. Three days since I got pulled into this mess, with no idea of what I was getting myself into at the time. I've already cleared all of the Galaxy X subjects, and I'm expecting both Knuckles and Christopher Thorndyke back at a later date for a general appointment.

Asides from that I don't see any reason why this should continue. And yet the whispers continue in the corridors and the phone calls continue teasing my phone line as ridiculous hours of the night. I don't see what the Government (or GUN) are looking for. I don't see where my continued interest in this affair (and the Presidents subtle suggestion that I investigate things further) is going to take me.

But then, I've never been the kind of person who can leave a mystery unsolved. I believe Rouge knows that.

...And there is a mystery here, isn't there? A secret something hovering just under the surface, where even the president isn't aware of it. I've even been dreaming about it.

I carefully pick up the note and crumple it in my fist, resolving to burn it during my break. Its times like this I wish I still smoked. I could use a lighter right now (for that matter I could use a damn cigarette).

I open my diary and try to concentrate. I don't have anywhere else to be until at least seven-thirty, and I have twelve patients, three case studies and four cups of coffee to get through before then.

'This is a bad idea.'

Topaz adjusts her earphone and resists the urge to scratch at her collar (the polo neck is itching like crazy: its pastel yellow in colour and it's absolutely not her style, but that's really the idea. Comfort comes second to anonymity this evening, even if that means wearing itchy wool in the middle of summer and sunglasses indoors). She can practically feel Rouge smiling at the other end of the radio. 'Sure it is.'

'You say that,' Topaz mutters. 'But I know you're not taking me seriously, Rouge, so I'll say it again for your benefit: This is a bad idea.'

'Topaz, honey, do I need to remind you that it was your idea in the first place?'

'No it wasn't, my idea was that we should lie low and play it safe,' Topaz muttered. 'And that we should quietly and discreetly try to get information from higher up the political ladder. Breaking into someone's office and leaving messages is not quiet or discreet.'

'Sure it is: I didn't even break her window going in. And we are playing it safe, Topaz. With her on our side we're looking at ever increased security from prying eyes.'

Topaz can't argue with that. She toys with the froth atop her latte (at least it was probably supposed to be latte), wondering whether she should've gone with espresso. It's been a long day; right now she should be at home, curled up on the sofa watching old movies and hoping the phone doesn't ring. 'Well, maybe I'm starting to have second thoughts about that,' she muttered. 'For all we know our superiors already have her right in their pocket.'

'I wouldn't worry too much about that. I don't figure she's in anybody's pocket; not yet, anyway.'

'How can you be sure? I mean the lady has access to the personal information of everyone in the government: from the janitor to the president.'

'Because she's loyal,' Rouge says, in that tone of voice she sometimes uses when identifying priceless gems, or making a point about one of the Eggman's robots: it's a voice that Topaz pays attention to, because it means that Rouge is actually being serious for once. 'Or at least, that's the air I got when she was studying me. She's proud of her job and the respect it commands, but she's not like that Wise-guy who got himself fired for it, whatever other faults she may have. They won't have let her in on this because they can't trust her to keep quiet about it.'

'Then how do we know we can trust here?' Topaz muttered.

'For exactly the reasons I just mentioned of course. Just make sure she doesn't start thinking we're the bad guys. With connections like those, Topaz, whose side would you rather she was on?'

'Since when were you on anyone's side but...' Topaz cuts herself off, clenching a hand around her polo neck.

'But myself? You can say it, Topaz. I've no problems with who I am.'

'Alright then... Since when?'

'Since I started working with you,' Rouge answers simply, and Topaz isn't quite sure what to make of that, or how to respond.

She is saved from having to respond at all when she sees the Diner door opening and a familiar figure entering the room, glimpsing left and right conspicuously as they do so. Topaz straights up. 'Looks like we've got company.'

'Crowley?'

Topaz lowers her sunglasses and watches their target for a moment longer. 'Dark hair, at least partly Asian, green suit... looks like her. Also? She's got her hair in a French Plait and is wearing red heels.'

Rouge sighs down the phone line. 'Urgh, well I think it's safe to say that she's not in on anything. Nobody serious about being undercover would show up to a Luckymeal Diner in such a conspicuous uniform... Not to mention such an obvious fashion disaster.'

It kind of makes sense... in Rouge's language anyway, Topaz winces as the Doctor looks left and right in a way which would instantly alert anyone watching to something being up. The only other people in the diner right now are an arguing young couple and an old man with his grandson, but you can never be too careful. 'Damn... you don't think she'll blow our cover, do you?'

'Too late to back out now either way, Topaz.'

Topaz sighs, sitting upright and willing the doctor to look in their direction. She does, after about half a minute and, to her credit, manage to sidle over to them rather unnoticeably.

'...Hi. Its Miss Stone, isn't it? We both work in the same... office?'

'Doctor Crowley,' Topaz put on her most convincing this-was-totally-not-staged expression. 'Fancy seeing you way out here. Out on a road trip?'

The doctor shuffles. 'Something like that. But I'm not sure if it was worth stopping here, to be honest. It doesn't look especially healthy.'

'Well we can find out for ya,' Topaz pushed her latte cup away. 'You hungry? It's on me.'

'Oh... thank you. Um... Do they do onion rings?' she looks a little embarrassed asking and offers Topaz a shrug. 'I like them. Besides it's about the only thing they I imagine is edible here.'

'Oh I don't know... the coffee is just about chewable,' Topaz smirks. 'And you can call me Topaz, by the way. We're not in the office now.'

A smile twitches across Doctor Crowley's face. 'Ella.'

Topaz Stone is apparently the kind of woman who can command a waitress's attention with a click of her fingers. She's also the kind of person who can down three lattes in one go without stopping, which is pretty impressive, especially considering how damned awful the latte is here. The onion rings aren't much better –it's like chewing on heated rubber– but I eat them anyway.

'You look like you could use a little sleep, doc.'

This feels like idle conversation and I'm not really in the mood, but I guess she needs to hold her cover so I respond. 'Mm. It's these dreams I keep having. I can never remember them afterwards, but they're all still weighing down on me, like I'm suffocating.'

'I used to dream like that when I first started working for Tac,' Topaz shrugs. 'Especially the night before big raids. Kind of funny, really: you'd think we'd have bad dreams afterwards, not before.'

'It's all psychological. Most people aren't as afraid of reality as they are of things they can't see.'

'Somehow I expected a Doctor of Psychology to say something like that,' Topaz smirks; then she speaks again, with a lowered voice. 'I guess you wanna know why you're here.'

'Yes, I think the facade has been built up enough. Not to mention the suspense.' I say. The old man and his kid are getting up to leave, and the teenagers who were bickering just a few minutes ago have gone.

'Yeah, getting a little tedious, isn't it?' Topaz says. Then, after a pause, she goes on. 'I'm here to talk about the G. U. N in case you hadn't already guessed. And about that hedgehog we both happen to know.'

'Sonic. They're interested in him, aren't they?' I say. I I can't keep myself from sounding eager.

'More than interested. It was my superiors who set this whole thing up in the first place: the interviews you've been doing, the studies... the resultant papers... And it's not just you. They've had the physical doctors in on it too. And the field officers. It all comes back to GUN in the end. They're doing everything they can to dig up every possible scrap of information that they can on Sonic the Hedgehog.'

'Why?'

'Beats me,' Topaz shrugs.

'But you said you had information. If GUN are the ones who had me running those interviews in the first place, then... surely you know what's going on here?'

It's not that simple,' Topaz says. 'One thing I do know? Is that GUN splits off into more separate divisions and branches than you can shake a rifle at. There's at least one GUN-connected employee in every area of the Government that deals with important affairs, from the medics to the security branches.'

'You mean you have undercover divisions?'

'Well, yeah. Some undercover, some public. You probably know about all that. You work in the same place, after all.' Topaz sips her coffee. 'There's us, of course: the Tactical Division: we're pretty common knowledge, for government personnel, anyway. And there are the security guards, and the diplomacy teams. And then there are the head GUN officials... Those are the guys who are over even the president's head.'

I remember what the president said to me in his office the other day; about feeling as if he didn't know what was going on in his own government, and In can fully believe what Miss Topaz is telling me. '...Fascinating as this is, Miss Topaz, I don't see what it has to do with Sonic the hedgehog.

'It has everything to do with him,' Topaz smiles vaguely. She reaches up to tap a waitress's wrist as she passes. 'Excuse me but could I get another latte here, please?' The waitress gazes at her, bemused for a moment (probably wondering how one woman can handle such a caffeine intake) but she nods and goes back to the register.

Now satisfied that we're completely alone, Topaz leans closer. 'The fact is, Doctor, despite all the men we have and all the areas we're worked into, GUN doesn't know everything. Hell, look at me: I'm a member of GUN myself and even I had to dig out half of the information I have now surreptitiously. There are a few people here in command of some kind of big operation, I figure; and nobody is wondering about it or asking questions, because it's quite common for the right hand not to know what the left hand is doing.'

I blink. 'Uh... sorry?'

'I mean that Secret Operations are the norm for people in GUN: it's in our job description. We're supposed to be secretive –albeit in a very obvious way. So there aren't many people who are confused here. Nor are there many people who are curious as to exactly why GUN wants so much information about our resident blue hero... I am curious. Especially because two people connected to GUN in the technology and the biological studies section have gone on vacation in the last two weeks without leaving a contact address, and because all of a sudden half the department won't talk to me straight whenever the Other World comes up in conversation: as you can imagine it does often, what with me having a talking bat for a partner. In short: something is going on in my department, Ella, and I don't like it. It doesn't feel safe to me.'

Her description of "missing persons" has caught my attention. All of a sudden this whole thing seems quite intimidating. 'And Rouge? Is she curious, too?'

'Yes. So much ass she's ever curious about anything which doesn't have a carat rating, anyway. Topaz takes a swig of her coffee. 'This is why I wanted to talk to you, Doctor. Because so far you're the only person in the government asides from me and Rouge who has had any extended interaction with Sonic and the others. If they want information about his psychology then they're going to come to you.

'In other words, you want me on your side,' I say, finally working out exactly why I'm here. Topaz has discovered that something is up, and she wants to know that I'm not a part of it. 'Topaz, I can assure you that whatever your superiors are after I'm not anything to do with it.'

'Yeah, Rogue thought you'd say that,' Topaz smiles vaguely. 'But we wanted to be sure.'

I take yet another deep breath, steadying myself with the knowledge that I've probably just gotten involved with something far bigger than my office with its regular coffee breaks and standardized procedures. 'What do you want me to do?'

'Keep your eyes and ears open,' Topaz says, with half a shrug. 'Let us know if any of my superiors come your way and ask about Sonic. See what you can find about these missing people without looking too conspicuous. If you get any information you feel is relevant then you take it to us first. Even before the president. Or you can take it to Professor Thorndyke,' she adds, and I recognize the name as belonging to the grandfather of the boy I had in my office the other day. 'We'll be paying him a visit soon enough and telling him just what we told you.'

'And how do I know I can trust you, Miss Stone?'

Topaz doesn't seem sure how to answer this for a second. It's as if gaining my trust as opposed to the other way around wasn't something she considered. Which actually feels kind of silly... In all this talk about information and who holds the cards; I'd forgotten that I'm her superior in many ways. 'The only thing I can really say to that is that I know Rouge,' Topaz says. 'And I know she can seem a little... well... batty but her species s of no consequence to me. Whatever effects Sonic the hedgehog may by default affect her and I don't want that to affect our... partnership. Call this extending the olive branch. Whatever is going on in my department, I don't want to be lumped in with them.'

That makes sense to me, as much as it can. I nod slowly. '...Anyway there are some other files for you about the missing people and some of the GUN higher operatives we've been suspecting. You'll find them under the planter on your balcony when you get back to your apartment.'

I suspect that Rouge has something to do with that, and the look on Topaz's face confirms it. She pauses for a moment, and I wonder whether this signals the end of our conversation. Then just as I'm preparing to go pay, she speaks again. 'Doctor Crowley, do you remember when Sonic first arrived in this world? All the fuss there was about him and his companions... and the way everyone was talking?

'I remember that he took over three news channels.'

'That too. And some people thought that he had to be a machine, didn't they?' Topaz says. Heck, that sounded logical to me too, at first: to us there seemed to be no way that a living creature could possess the kind of skills he did. He had to be a machine, or a robot or something. That's how powerful he is, Ella,' Topaz looks at me firmly. 'He's a flesh and blood being who is faster, more alert and more developed than any human created machine. He's an alien who's beyond our accomplishment and when he first got here, all we could do was theorise and wonder and stick his friends under big microscopes, just trying to work out what they were. Is it any wonder that GUN would be interested in something like that?'

I think about this as best I can (to be honest, entertaining thoughts about Sonic's capabilities tends to throw me for a loop). '...No, it's not,' I say, and then I take my leave of her, pushing the onion ring tray away from me and digging for my purse. Topaz holds up a hand to stop me.

'Forget it. Like I said, it's on me. Enjoy your road trip, Ella.'

I get the feeling, as soon as I leave the diner and head back to the car park, that I've just gained a lot more questions about this than I have answers.

'Well that went down far better than I'd anticipated.'

'I assume you're referring to the meeting and not the coffee this place dishes out, because that went down like lumpy gravy.'

'And yet you still managed to swallow five containers of the stuff.'

'What? How can you even tell from there? Sheesh... Anyway whatever's going on I think we can be pretty sure she's not involved with it. Or she wasn't until now, anyway.'

'We've probably totally thrown off her schedule.'

'No kidding. But still, you were right: I'd rather have her with us than against us, and she seems harmless enough, considering her occupation. So then?'

'So then what?'

'Don't play coy. Enlighten me to the complex workings of the brain of a jewel obsessed bat burglar, Rouge: What do you think of her?'

'Like I said earlier, Topaz, I think she's trustworthy enough. She always was. I just hope that it's us she decides to end up trusting.'

'Hm.'

'I also think she has really bad taste in shoes.'

'Oh Rouge...'

'Well, you did ask about the complex workings of my brain. Now are we going to pay a visit to the Thorndyke's place sometime before midnight? I have an appointment with that pretty little jewellers store on South Road Street and I don't want to be late.'

'You'd better be joking.'

'Tsk. Of course I am. The store displays on the West side are a lot better.'

'Ha ha.'