A/N: Alright gang here's the next chapter. I know I said I was hoping to wrap this up soon but...well...I hate to have to tell ya this, but it looks like I'm going to be tacking on 3 or 4 more chapters after all. I thought I could end it soon, but with my new plot, it's going to take a couple extra chapters before I get to the end. I hope that's ok with everyone! Please leave me a review thanks! :D

chapter 24

"Ah no Scourge stop." Fiona blushed as he held her. He had wrapped his arms around her from behind and was kissing down her neck. "Ah S-Scourge...we're going to be late for the meeting."

He ignored her comment. "You're one of the very few who has scented soap." He nuzzled into her neck and kiss gently down to her collarbone. "You taste like chamomile and honey, a taste suiting to someone as sensitive as you." He bit gently and listened to her gasp softly.

"L-Let me go." She said twisting her head. "You're just teasing me." She said blushing.

"Oh does that mean you want me to do more than tease?" He asked leaning his head over her shoulder.

Her blush intensified and she suddenly spun around kicking him to the ground. "Uh you are such a pervert, keep your tentacles to yourself from now on!" She began to walk away her arms folded.

He smiled as he rubbed his sore side. "One day you're going to realize how much stronger your desires truly are, and you will fall prey to me."

Fiona walked into the briefing room. Though she knew she shouldn't be, she was surprise to see the sectors separated for the first time. She realized that it was because each leader was missing and thus the sectors had divided to await it's leaders words. She approached South Sector and sat down between Wave and Storm. Cosmic was behind her with Ray. Ray looked down. "You look a little flushed Fiona."

Cosmic, being the medic, of course leaned down to look at her. "Are you feeling alright?" He touched her forehead. "A fever perhaps?"

"No, I'm fine." She said pushing his hand away. "I'm just fine."

"It's still very odd." Ray said with a suspecting gaze. "It's cold out and you're flushed."

Scourge was walking up to his sector; he sat down. "So Void, find out anything interesting about your metal friend?"

Void looked up at him. "Her name's Julie." He said looking over at North Sector. "She's different like me."

"Can she not feel like you?" Scourge asked.

"She has some type of sensory perception in her metal parts, but nothing that any human could consider feeling." He said as Julie caught his eyes and stared at him for a moment her face expressionless, before turning back to her own group.

"Not that you would know Scourge, since you spend every waking moment chasing the tail of that South Sector fox." Ash grumbled.

"Don't be jealous." Scourge leaned back in his chair. "I got to her first, she's going to be mine."

"You're an idiot pursing someone that obviously will never return your 'feelings'." He said referring to what he considered to be Scourge's blind lust.

Scourge just looked over at Fiona. "That just goes to show how little you really know about me Ash."

Nack leaned in to whisper to Blaze. "Has something happened between that Imp thing and Julie? She's spent almost every waking second with him the past two days, and every so often I see her looking at him."

Blaze was staring forward as she blinked. "They're both different. I think she finds comfort in the company of someone that shares her suffering."

"Suffering?" Nack scoffed. "She could be dead you know."

"There are some things worse than death Nack." The purple cat said wisely.

"Ah where's Tails?" Honey said impatiently. "I don't see him."

Tikal giggled. "Be patient, you act like a love bird that's been separated for weeks on end from its mate."

"That's just how I feel." Honey said sitting down beside the medic and crossing he arms and legs in a pouting fashion. "I have to stay with him. It's all the time I get," She looked angry. "Every other waking moment he's with that North Sector Tech."

"Honey," Mina sat next to her with a bit of a sly smile. "You're not jealous are you?"

"Me? Jealous?" Honey snorted. "As if, I have no reason to be jealous of that little raccoon."

"What do you think they are talking about?" Charmy asked as he and Vector sat a little ways back from the West Sector girls.

"Who knows, and even if we did, I doubt we would understand it. Girls might as well talk in another language. They're nothing but trouble little buddy."

Amy sat on the left side of Rouge, while Knuckles was on her right. "Where's Tails anyway?" Amy asked as she looked over at Knuckles. She may of been second in command, but Sonic talked more with Knuckles and Tails than with her, when it came to this kind of thing.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think they may have come up with a plan." He motioned to North Sector. "Notice another Tech is missing." He said looking back. "I'd bet anything that those two have been locked away scheming somewhere this entire time. They are bound to of come up with something by now."

"What? Really?" Amy sat up with attention.

"Yes," Rouge agreed as she thought about what Knuckles had just said. "All the best gear in the sectors have either been designed, created, or conjured by those two." She was thinking of all the best gear that had ever been brought about.

"That's right." Amy realized that this was very true. "This means...we might actually have a chance after all."

The groups suddenly became silent as the door opened again and this time the leaders entered the room, in front of them were Tails and Marine. The two techs separated and joined their own sectors.

The leaders stood at the front of the room. Silver was in the lead flanked on his left by Shadow and Jet, on his right were Sonic and Espio. "I think you all have an idea as to why you've been summoned here." He spoke clearly. "We all know that we have come together to fight against these bots, but more importantly we now have plan to implement with our combined strengths." He looked around the room. "Thanks to our techs, we now have a way to beat these things at the source. As we all know it's impossible to take all of these things head on in a battle, but there is away to take them down simultaneously." Silver survey the room once more. "In Eggmans fortress there is a piece of equipment that connects all these things together, our techs will come up with a virus and then we will send a team to the fortress to plant the virus and set off the machine."

All of the sectors were staring with blank eyes almost unable to believe that there may be light at the end of the tunnel after all. Espio stepped forward. "We will each send a member of our own sector to make up the team that will go to Eggman's base."

Sonic nodded and added. "It would be wise for all the techs to start on that virus right away."

Jet stepped forward. "Don't just stand there with your jaws gaping, get moving." He said directly to his sector.

The other leaders nodded to their sectors as well. Silver stood atop the table as they began to depart to train and work. "Hold your heads high, we'll save our planet yet, we've protected it all this time and now we will finally end this nightmare for good."