"So, you wanna tell me what you're so paranoid of?" Sonic asked crossing his arms. "And maybe why we had to come all the way to a SWATbot factory just to talk about it?"
"There is a ship parked above the Citadel, in case you haven't noticed," Kinos replied with a growl, "and from the readings it's putting out I'd say it's been here about a week. Did you happen to notice that it followed us here to the factory?"
"Yeah and your point is?"
"You know," Kinos said as a hologram of the ship appeared over a small datapad, "you are a real pain in the ass. It's watching us, likely listening too. It's too noisy here to hear anything and with all these different machines it's likely making it difficult to pinpoint us. I'm going to try and catch them off-guard."
"You did notice that the potshots we took at it earlier did nothing, right?" Sonic asked as he watched the hologram. "There's nothing we can do to it, big deal. I say we just leave it alone and it won't bother us."
"And there is no way I'm letting that happen," Kinos replied shutting off the hologram. Without warning they were teleported back to the command center. As Sonic tried to get his balance back Kinos went straight to work.
"Now I know why Dulcy complains when Doc and I do that," Sonic said grabbing the command chair as the room spun around him.
"Talk to yourself later," Kinos said as he pulled up the defense array controls. "Right now I intend to prove to you that they are not here just to watch." Sonic watched on the display as the cannons took aim and let loose a barrage of laser fire. The ship didn't even flinch as the blasts melted harmlessly away against the shield. "That's...not possible."
"Looks pretty possible to me," Sonic said watching the readings, "and it also looks like you were right about them not being here to watch. In fact they're charging their weapons."
"I hate being right," the nanobot muttered as he coordinated the cannon fire. "All batteries, fire at will. Redirecting power to bring weapons to 150%."
"Are you sure that's-"
Before Sonic could finish the wall of the Citadel was torn off as the shuttle flew past them. It then focused its fire on the defense cannons, destroying them with ease with nary a scratch on its hull. No longer under fire it pulled up alongside the Citadel, latching onto the outside. A hatch opened, pouring smoke into the command center. Sonic's hand rested on his father's sword as he and Kinos waited for their mysterious attacker to reveal himself. After several minutes the click of boots against metal sounded from the ship and a tall, voluptuous human woman walked out. Her V-neck top reached down to her waist, revealing a well-toned athletic body. Her platinum-blonde hair was tied neatly into a ponytail and thrown over her shoulder. She had a model's stride and confidence though Sonic couldn't help but notice two small knives tucked into her belt.
"Hello boys," she said, her voice a lilting alto. "You must be Sonic and Kinos. I've heard so much about you from our brother. I do hope that you're willing to accommodate a lady."
"Go to hell," Kinos snarled forming a blaster and firing. The blast was batted away while the woman glanced at her nails. "What the...?" He glanced behind him at the sound of clashing metal to see Sonic locking blades with another human, this one a male wearing a neko mask.
"He's fast," Sonic admitted struggling to hold his ground. "Just barely saw him deflect the blast before coming up behind you."
"The fact that you were able to see me," the human said, his voice muffled by the mask, "confirms my suspicions about you, Sonic Hedgehog." With a flick of his wrist he disarmed Sonic, sliding behind him to place his sword at his throat. "But you have much to learn in the art of swordplay."
"Now now, Gedic," the woman said with a smile, "we were told by brother to play nice."
"He told you to play nice," Gedic said, his steel gray eyes glancing towards her. "He told me to protect you."
"You always were the spoil-sport," she pouted as she walked up to Kinos. Without warning she slammed her fist into his chest. Kinos smirked, not even budging at the attack.
"It seems that your 'brother' didn't tell you that won't work on me," he said triumphantly. The woman seemed unfazed as she pulled a small sphere out of her belt.
"Just confirming what Gedic here suspected," she admitted and threw the sphere at Kinos. Kinos expected it to bounce off harmlessly but was shocked when it instead passed through his flesh and latched onto his central processor. The woman pulled out a small switch and pressed it, sending waves of electricity pouring into Kinos, forcing him to his knees. "How was that, sweetie?"
"You bitch," Kinos sputtered as he tried to compose himself. The woman walked up until she was face-to-face with him, her pleasant expression gone. She grabbed Kinos by the throat and lifted him into the air with ease.
"This 'bitch' has a name, you pathetic rodent," she said, her voice low and threatening. "You would do well to remember the name Venusia."
"No reason to remember the dead," Kinos said with a laugh as blades extended from his wrists. As he raised them to attack a flash of steel cut them off and he stared as they fell to the ground. He turned in time to see Gedic lop off his head. Venusia let his body fall to the ground.
"Was that really necessary, Gedic?" she asked, her voice sweet once more. "It's not as if I was ever in any real danger."
"I have my orders," Gedic replied as he sheathed his sword.
"Oh, well, now isn't this just fantastic?" Kinos' head said as he rolled it around to stare at them. "Thank you so very much. Do you have any idea how long it took me to calibrate this body? It will take me weeks to get used to my body once I put myself back together."
"And that's not at all creepy," Sonic said rubbing his throat where Gedic's blade had been. "A decapitated head telling us about his problems. Now I've seen everything."
"Bite me," Kinos said as one of his arms crawled over, tossing his head back to his body and it quickly reattached. That done, he kicked up his arm, reattaching it as it fell and picking up the remaining limb. "Now, where were we?"
"While slightly disturbing that was actually quite entertaining," Venusia said with a laugh. "But, back to business." She raised the switch again and pressed it, sending Kinos into convulsions. "We are here to observe you until our brother arrives to give us further orders."
"Oh and aren't you just the faithful little soldier?" Kinos mocked painfully. "Does he give you treats when you roll over and beg, too?" Venusia kicked Kinos in the chest with more strength and grace than Sonic would have guessed possible for her. The blow sent the nanobot crashing into the computer monitors and she activated the switch again, the combined electricity from the monitors and the sphere too much for him to handle. He fell to the ground, patches of fur smoking.
"That's the last warning I'll give you," Venusia said. "And don't get too cocky. The next time your head is cut off it may not reattach itself." For once Kinos had no response as he wiped away a trickle of blood from his mouth.
"A word of advice from one hedgehog to another: I'd do what she says," Sonic said as he helped the nanobot up.
"I may actually take your advice this time," Kinos admitted spitting on the ground. "That last jolt really did a number on me."
"You may conduct your business as normal, Kinos," Gedic said crossing his arms. "As we have stated already, we are here to simply observe until we receive further instructions."
"And when do you think you'll get them?" Sonic asked before Kinos could. Gedic and Venusia were both silent. "Well, that's just fantastic."
"Why didn't they say anything?" Kinos asked as Sonic helped him into the back room.
"It means that they either don't know or they're waiting for something to happen," Sonic explained. He looked over at the nanobot who looked like he had seen better days. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Just sore," Kinos answered as Sonic laid him down on the cot. "And really tired." Within moments Kinos was asleep, his snoring filling the room. Sonic walked back into the command center, drawing his sword and pointing the tip at Venusia's throat.
"What did you do to him?" he asked, trying to keep both of them in sight. Venusia smiled and batted her crystal blue eyes at Sonic.
"You mean that tiny little sphere I tossed at him?" she asked as she motioned for Gedic to sheath his own weapon. "You mean you haven't figured it out yet? I'm surprised at you, Sonic Hedgehog."
"Cut the bullshit. What does it do?" Venusia chuckled and batted away the sword.
"You'll see soon enough," she answered. "For now you should just go about doing what you were doing before we came. Our brother wants to see how the two of you run things before getting involved." Sonic grumbled and sheathed his sword.
"This isn't over," he said heading into the back. When he was gone Gedic pulled out a small device from his pocket and flipped it open. The dial tone led to voicemail.
"Brother Arias, we have arrived in Robotropolis with no notable problems," he said. "We await your arrival and will monitor Kinos' condition in the meantime." He hung up and glanced at Venusia. "He must be busy with the Freedom Fighters."
"It has been some time since he was in the field," she commented, pulling out a makeup kit to make some adjustments. "Well, I'm sure we'll find plenty of things to keep ourselves busy here."
"So, you are a traveler," Antoine said handing a mug of coffee to the silver haired human. "You will forgive us for not being friendlier to you. Our experience with humans has been, how do you say, less than pleasant."
"You are referring to Dr. Robotnik, I assume," the human said taking a sip of the coffee. "I heard what he did here and I must admit that your anger is more than understandable."
"Then you'll also understand why we're suspicious of a nameless human who just wanders into our home," Dr. Osaka said crossing his arms. The human finished his coffee with a satisfied sigh.
"Can't blame you for that," he replied as Bunnie refilled the mug. "Long story short, my name is Geliac and I am a traveler from Azosarria."
"I have not heard of that city," Antoine admitted. "Where is it?"
"Far to the west of us," Dr. Osaka said before Geliac could. "Mobotropolis lies between the nations of Xenodome and Azosarria. Before our war with Xenodome we were caught in the crossfire of those two nations."
"As I recall it was King Reginald Acorn that negotiated the cease-fire," Geliac continued. "Your great-great-grandfather if I'm not mistaken, Princess."
"That's...that's right," Sally replied with some surprise. "But why would you..."
"I am a citizen of Azosarria, after all," Geliac said with a smile. "It is our duty to know our history. Besides, war is my specialty, as a historian that is."
"So then y'all're here to get our side of the story?" Bunnie asked setting down the coffee pot and pouring herself some tea. "Ah find that a little hard to believe."
"Finding Knothole was far from an easy task," Geliac admitted. "I have been travelling for several months, gleaning information from other villages."
"And yet none of them reported to us that someone was looking for Knothole," Sally said, equally as suspicious as Bunnie. "Why would that be?"
"I cannot say," Geliac replied. "But since I am here, will you at least tell me the history of this war as you have seen it?" Antoine closed his eyes, contemplating the decision.
"Please give us a moment to discuss this," he said finally as Sally, Bunnie and Dr. Osaka gathered around him. He glanced at Geliac, trying to make something of the human.
While they discussed him, Geliac slowly pulled out a small device from his pocket, clicking the button to check his voicemail. He listened to the singular message, barely containing a smirk. Well, this is interesting, he thought as he closed the device and put it back in his pocket. While Cidana's device did not work quite as planned it seems that it works just enough to make Kinos vulnerable. "Geliac" watched the Freedom Fighters some more as they tried to figure out who he really was. Historian had not been far from the truth but that was more than a few lifetimes ago...
"What do you want to know about the war?" Antoine asked.
"Anything and everything," Geliac said. "From what the other villages say there is a new threat on the horizon. I am more or less familiar with Robotnik but not this new fellow."
"You mean Kinos," Sally said. "He's not some 'fellow', he's a monster. He murdered Robotnik in cold blood and tossed Snively into the Void without so much as a second thought.
Well, that confirms his death at least. "Then I would hear about this 'Kinos'. That is, if you don't mind having Sonic the Hedgehog tell me." The look of surprise and hurt had been what he had expected. "He is here, isn't he?" he asked, intentionally rubbing salt in the wound.
"Sonic is...currently involved in a deep cover mission," Antoine explained, trying desperately to come up with a believable lie. "He will not be back for some time."
"A pity," Geliac said pulling a cigarette out his jacket pocket. As he pulled the lighter out he looked up. "You don't mind, do you? It's been a very long day for me." Antoine shrugged and Geliac lit the end, inhaling briefly then blowing out a stream of smoke. "I've been trying to quit but these things are so damned addictive."
"We all have our vices, I suppose," Dr. Osaka offered and Geliac smiled. "I assume that you will need somewhere to stay."
"I have a hammock that I can setup outside," Geliac said as he took another drag. "I will not be staying long but I do appreciate the offer." With that he began to pull out documents, scrolls, books and the like out of his pack, spreading them across the table. The three Mobians exited the room, still talking amongst themselves as they left Geliac to work alone.
"Somethin' about him Ah don't like," Bunnie said when they were sure they were out of earshot. "It's like...Ah don't know. Ah just can't get a read on him." Antoine nodded in agreement.
"It is as if his words are both truth and lie," he said. "It is a very unique and useful talent."
"I'm surprised that you did not participate more, Sally," Dr. Osaka said as he adjusted his glasses. "Is something bothering you?" His question pulled her out of her daydream, still thinking about what she had seen in the security video.
"It's Sonic," she admitted. "I'm more worried about him than I am some stupid historian."
"That is something we can all agree on," Antoine said with a nod. "We should inform him that we cannot go after the deroboticizer now, not with Geliac here." Just as they were about to go their separate ways Rotor and Tails came running up, obviously out of breath.
"There's...something happening...in the city that you...need to see," Rotor said between gasps.
"Is it an emergency?" Antoine asked already knowing the answer.
"Definitely," Tails replied, grunting as Rotor put his weight on the young fox. "Robotropolis is under attack by someone." They all looked at each other and quickly headed to the security room, leaving Geliac to his documents. The human couldn't help but smile. Everything was moving according to plan. All he had to do now was wait.
A few days passed while Venusia and Gedic watched Sonic and Kinos go about their normal routines. Venusia spent most of her time on the ship while Gedic chose meditation and training, occasionally sparring with Sonic on request. Each time the masked human easily took down the Mobian as though he was fighting against a child. Kinos meanwhile was still trying to process what had happened to him. Venusia had refused to explain and Gedic barely spoke two words to either of the hedgehogs outside of sparring.
"This is ridiculous!" Kinos finally roared as he backhanded a SWATbot, shattering it with ease. "What the hell did you do to me? And I want the truth, not some bull story your just pulling out of your-"
"It won't do any good," Sonic interrupted as he downed a chili dog. "Whatever they did is over and done with. My guess is that there isn't a way to reverse the process."
"And what do you think is going on, O Wise One?" Kinos asked, his lip curled in a snarl.
"Well, for starters," Sonic replied as he stared at the ceiling, "you're doing all the things that I normally do."
"My emotions have nothing to do with this," Kinos said flipping through the security screens, four of them showing captured Freedom Fighters. "Seems like we got another one. Think Knothole has noticed yet?"
"You're avoiding the issue because you know what's happened," Sonic said, grabbing Kinos by the scruff of his neck. Kinos' red eyes remained unchanged except that the sclera had finally turned white. "You're a Mobian now, for the most part."
"Bull," Kinos said as he held his wrist blade at Sonic's throat. "If I'm a Mobian then why can I still do this?" Sonic placed a hard right jab into Kinos' ribs, knocking the wind out of the hedgehog.
"If you were pure machine then tell me why I can do that," he offered as he pulled Kinos up. "All the things you used to do just because you could are now necessary for you to live. Why do you think you can't work through the night now without falling asleep?"
"And they did this to me?" Kinos asked, reluctant to accept it. "What reason do they have to turn me into some kind of hybrid?"
"What reason indeed."
They both turned on the voice to see a human male sitting in the control chair sipping wine from a glass. His silver hair barely brushed the ground while a few stray strands fell over his red leather coat. "Why do you seem so surprised to see me? It's not like this meeting wasn't going to eventually happen."
"Who are you?" Kinos asked taking a step forward until Sonic stopped him.
"You're 'brother', aren't you?" Sonic asked and the man nodded with a smile. "Then, to ask Kinos' next question, what do you want from us?"
"You catch on quick, hedgehog," the human said taking another sip of wine. "Or should I say, Sonic Hedgehog." Sonic remained calm as he stared down the human. "Don't look so surprised. In fact, I now know you better than you think. Spending the last few days talking to your friends really made me want to believe them, especially that fiancé of yours." Sonic's eyes widened in shock and anger, making the human smile. "Glad to see that I have your undivided attention."
"Answer my question," Sonic demanded.
"You will speak with the proper respect to Brother Arias," Gedic said stepping forward. Before he could say anything else Arias raised his hand, stopping him.
"I don't think that they're worried about respect at this point, Gedic," Venusia said as she leaned against the computer.
"I'm not too worried about their lack of respect," Arias said draining the glass and setting it on the arm of the chair. "What I'm more concerned with is their lack of information about the chain of command."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kinos asked pushing down Sonic's arm. "What chain of command are we supposed to be following?"
"I may have misspoken," Arias said standing. Sonic and Kinos took several steps back as Arias towered over them. "I could care less about Sonic. But you are to follow my orders to the letter. Any problems with that, Kinos?"
"Hell yeah," the hedgehog snarled. "What gives you the right to come into my city-"
"Your city?" Arias interrupted. "Robotnik claimed this city in my name. Anything that was under his command is now under mine." Kinos extended his wrist blade, holding it near Arias' chest. Arias stared at him, his expression blank, and neither Venusia nor Gedic moved.
"I took this city from Robotnik," Kinos explained angrily. "My blade pierced his heart and I tossed his lifeless body into the trash where he belonged. Then I threw Snively into Void and left him there to rot. I earned the right to rule this city."
"Then you are simply more resourceful than Ivo," Arias said. "But do not make the mistake of assuming you have the right to anything."
"You may wanna back off, Kinos," Sonic said glancing at the other two humans.
"Give me one reason why."
"Remember how Gedic took you down when you threatened Venusia?" Sonic asked and Kinos looked over at him. "Okay, dumb question. So tell me why he hasn't made a single move towards you now." Kinos looked back at Arias who hadn't moved since he had drawn the blade.
"If I were you," Arias said his tone serious, "I would listen to Sonic." After a moment Kinos lowered his arm, apparently relaxing. As Arias' guard fell Kinos vanished in a flash of light, appearing behind Arias with his blade aimed at the human's neck.
Sonic barely had time to process what happened next. With a flick of a single finger to his forehead, Arias sent Kinos flying across the room to slam into the wall. Sonic drew his father's sword and charged Arias. The human grabbed Sonic's arm and whipped him around, slamming him next to Kinos. Sonic felt the impact shatter several bones and the taste of blood filled his mouth.
"I see your father saw fit to leave his sword behind," Arias admitted walking towards them. "Though why he decided that you should have it is something of a mystery."
"What would you know?" Sonic said through gritted teeth. He pried himself loose and dropped to the ground. He forced himself to stand as he stared at the approaching human. "Besides, why would you care about a sword?"
"You really know nothing about that sword, do you?" Arias said in disgust. "You hold a weapon of unimaginable power and you treat it like a common tool. Mobians really are nothing more than animals."
"Bite me." Arias narrowed his eyes and gripped Sonic's face, tossing the hedgehog behind him. Sonic felt more bones break as he bounced along the floor only to feel Arias' knee dig into his back.
How did he...? he began to think until the pain cleared his mind of any thoughts except to scream in agony. Arias grabbed his head and slammed him into the floor. The human stood back up, admiring the dent he had made with Sonic's body. He wiped away a trickle on his cheek, surprised to see his own blood.
"You're quick," he admitted. "You must have done this just as I hit you. I'll admit it's very impressive. It would take several hands to count the decades since I've seen my own blood." He curled his hands into fists as he stepped on Sonic's chest. "But for that you have to pay. Don't worry, I have no intention of killing you but I don't want you blacking out on me either." The symbol on both his hands began to glow along with Sonic as he slammed his foot down onto Sonic. The pain running through Sonic's nerves was like nothing he had ever experienced. After what felt like hours Arias finally stopped, saying something that Sonic's brain couldn't process as the glowing on his hands vanished. As soon as the glow was gone Sonic slipped into sweet, pain-free unconsciousness.