A/N: Hello, everyone! Welcome back to another chapter of Awakened. As of now, we have over 130 reviews on Awakened I want to thank each and every one of you for getting us this far. By us, I mean me and my awesome co-writer Infinite's Ruby. Even though I've said it many times, this story wouldn't be where it is today without her help. So, I owe her a lot!
Also, I've just released a Team Chaotix one-shot this morning. For those of you who are lovers of Team Chaotix like me, be sure to give that a read and let me know what you think.
Suggested Music:
(1) Chun-Nan (Hub World Day) - Sonic Unleashed OST
(2) Dragon Road (Day) - Sonic Unleashed OST
(3) Empire City (Day) - Sonic Unleashed OST
Without further ado, enjoy the show!
Around the World in Three Days: Part 2
~Synergy's P.O.V. (1)
The next day, Sonic and Knuckles took me to another famous location in Mobian geography; Chun-nan. Much like Mazuri, it was a quiet town; however, what intrigued me the most was that this town was settled on a mountain top. According to Sonic, this town is known for its delicious meat bun recipe that has been passed down from generations.
One thing's for certain, The Nocturnus Clan was never known for making any special recipes. Culinary skills wasn't in their nature. If I remember correctly, the Knuckles Clan was known for making delicious meals, but I wouldn't know that considering I was told they were my enemies.
Speaking of which, it was weird being around Knuckles because he's the only descendant of the Knuckles Clan. It was hard for me to not think of the war between the Knuckles and Nocturnus tribes from a millennia ago. I've fought Knuckles a few days ago in Soleanna, but I found it odd that we were spending time together.
Currently, I sat by a dinner table alongside him and Sonic. The two of them ordered food from a noodle shop across from us and were enjoying their meal.
As I said in Spagonia, I wish I was a Mobian. That way, I could devour all of the food that was on the table. There were dumplings, noodles, chicken, potstickers, rice, and those infamous meat buns that Sonic gushed about.
Speaking of which, I watched him clap his chopsticks together, as he ate a dumpling from the platter.
"Mmm, mmm, mmm!" he smiled, swallowing the dumpling. "Gosh, I love these dumplings. I mean, chili dogs will always be the best food ever! But dumplings are a close second."
"You know, Sonic," Knuckles said. "It's really rude to brag about food when one of us can't even eat it."
"What are you talking about?" Sonic shrugged, as he turned over his shoulder and looked at me. "…Oh. My bad, S."
I couldn't help but chuckle.
"It's fine," I replied. "Just seeing the food and learning about the town's culture is enough for me. Is it true you came here with Light Gaia himself? I've heard legends about him long ago. I didn't think he was real."
"Yep," Sonic grinned. "Light Gaia, or Chip as I called him, and I were good friends back then. We came here during the Shattered World Crisis; a time where Eggman unleashed Dark Gaia and split Mobius into pieces. During our time here, all we did was eat all of the food…" he let out a low sigh. "I miss that guy."
"Sounds like you and him were close," I nodded.
"We were," he mimicked my gesture. "I will admit, he was a fast one. Not as fast as me, but he was quick on his toes. I'll never forget the time he and I fought over the last dumpling."
As he said that, he reached over to get another dumpling; however, another set of chopsticks touched against his.
Sonic and I looked over to see who else wanted the dumpling.
It was Knuckles… (1s)
…and there was only one dumpling in the platter.
The two of us stared at him.
"Knuckles," said Sonic.
"Sonic," said Knuckles.
"Trust me, buddy. You don't wanna do this."
"You've had six of these things. I only had three."
"I don't care, dude. I'm hungry."
"So am I."
"Well, one of us has to have it."
"Yeah, and that someone's gonna be me."
"That's ridiculous. What makes you think you deserve it?"
"I'm the Commander of the Resistance. I've lead the team against Eggman, and I've been working to clean up Mobius."
"Well, I spent six months on the Death Egg. I deserve the dumpling."
"No, I deserve the dumpling."
"Sure you do, Knucklehead."
After the banter, both the hedgehog and the echidna locked eyes with one another. They tightened their grip on their chopsticks and glared down at the lone dumpling. I felt bad for the poor snack that sat on the plate.
"Watch and learn, Synergy," Sonic stretched his hand, clasping the chopsticks and glared at the last dumpling. "This is how you eat a dumpling like a pro."
At that moment, a donnybrook for food began.
Sonic and Knuckles raised their chopsticks in the air and clashed them against one another, pressing them down against the plate, trying to get the dumpling. They grunted and grinned at one another as they continued clashing their wooden weapons together.
Eventually, Knuckles whacked Sonic's hand to the side and grabbed the dumpling, but Sonic countered and grabbed the dumpling for himself.
The two of them fought over it again until both of their chopsticks had it in their grasp.
They tugged over it until a twist happened during the fight…
…the dumpling fell out of their hands.
It rolled across the ground and rolled over the side of a platform. (2)
Sonic screamed at the top of his lungs, as Knuckles and I ran over and watched the dumpling bounce off three rooftops and land in the back of someone's cart.
A cart that was attached to the back of someone's scooter.
The man took off in a heartbeat, unaware of what sat on the back of his vehicle.
Sonic didn't hesitate to leap over the side and slide down a pole. "So long, Knuckles! That dumpling is mine!"
"Not on my watch!" Knuckles retorted. "Come on, Synergy!"
"Okay," I replied, shrugging my shoulders.
Knuckles and I jumped off the platform and flew across the skies. We looked down and watched Sonic jump off an open umbrella and land on the road. He got down on his hands and knees before he took off after the moped. Knuckles and I landed on a rooftop and quickly ran down the side of the wall and leaped off to the ground. We somersaulted forward and ran down the pathway.
It was difficult for us to maneuver through the busy streets because of the crowd of people walking around to their jobs or taking a peaceful stroll down the town.
"Excuse me, pardon me, excuse me, pardon me, Commander of the Resistance coming through!" Knuckles called, as he and I escaped from the crowd of civilians and caught the scooter rider insight. Sonic, on the other hand, was having a hard time building up speed.
"Hey, come back here!" I heard him shout at us. Turning around, I looked and saw him jump over the crowd, grab onto a pole, spin around, and shot himself into the air.
He landed on the road and ran past us.
"Fastest thing alive, coming through!" he saluted to us, as he rushed towards the scooter.
"Dang it!" Knuckles grunted. "How are we gonna catch up to him?"
Suddenly, I glanced to my right and saw a body of water below us. With it, a couple of boats sailed by. This gave me an idea.
"Jump on my back!" I called.
"What?" he asked.
"Trust me!"
I could tell Knuckles was hesitant at first, but he nodded and jumped on my shoulders.
It was at that moment where I leaped over the side and divebombed towards the water. With one quick splash, we swam for a little bit before I grabbed Knuckles and placed him on my shoulders again. Then, I used every ounce of my power to activate my Chaos Emulation.
Jumping out of the water with Knuckles on my left shoulder, I roamed across the ocean at the speed of sound. We did this until we saw ourselves behind Sonic and the scooter rider.
The blue hedgehog was about to grab the dumpling, but he turned around and saw it. His face dropped in disappointment.
"Oh, come on!" Sonic shouted. "Seriously?"
"Give me that dumpling, Sonic!" Knuckles hollered.
"Not a chance, Knucklehead!"
Sonic jumped on top of the scooter and yanked the dumpling from the back. He must've spooked the driver because the next thing I knew, Sonic was smacked across the jaw with a fly swatter and he tumbled backward.
Knuckles and I passed by.
"See ya later, sucker!" Knuckles laughed.
As soon as we approached the edge of the bridge, I leaped upward and transformed back to normal.
Knuckles and I got in front of the driver and put our hands out.
The driver came to a sudden stop.
"Pardon us, sir," I nodded. "You have something on the back of your vehicle. May we take a moment to grab it please?"
"S-sure," the man replied nervously.
Knuckles and I ran to the back and searched the back…
…the dumpling wasn't there.
"W-what the?" Knuckles raised an eyebrow.
"Ha-ha!" We heard Sonic laugh, as we looked at the top of the edge of the bridge and saw him; he was ready to consume the snack.
"No!" Knuckles shouted.
He ran over and, without hesitation, tackled Sonic and the two fell down towards the buildings underneath the bridge.
Out of concern for their safety, I ran over, leaped off, and started flying after them.
They crashed against a few rooftops and bounced off a few window shades.
With my speed, I flew below them and caught them in an instant, but the dumpling fell out of Sonic's hand.
I carried them to the ground and the dumpling miraculously survived the fall by bouncing off a building shade and rolling across the floor.
Sonic and Knuckles leaped out of my arms and went straight for the dumpling. The former jumped on top of the latter and they continued fighting over the dumpling.
"Give up, Sonic!" Knuckles snarled, pinning Sonic to the ground.
"No way, it's mine!" Sonic retorted.
The two fought until a red tongue grabbed the dumpling and dragged it towards its mouth. (2s)
Sonic and Knuckles gasped at the food's disappearance. We looked over and saw who the culprit was.
It was Froggy.
"Ribbit, Ribbit!" he jumped up and down.
Sonic and Knuckles had the same look of shock on their faces.
Big, Tangle, Tails, Emerl, Cream, and Amy entered the scene and the cat grabbed his friend.
"Hey, Froggy," Big greeted. "I was looking for you."
The frog replied with the same sound.
"Hey, guys," Amy greeted. "What's going on?"
Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other and back at Amy. They had nothing to say.
"What happened here?" Amy asked again.
"Judging from the look on Froggy's face, I'd say he got something Sonic and Knuckles wanted," Emerl joked.
"How are you doing, Mr. Synergy?" asked Cream.
"I'm… doing excellent, Cream," I laughed. "Knuckles and I were preventing Sonic from taking the last dumpling and it was fun. We got to see a bit of the town and we swam across the water. It was incredible! It was so much fun!"
Emerl and Cream shared a smile.
"Glad you're having fun, Synergy," Amy winked. "Come on, we wanna show some of the dragon sculptures that are here."
"Dragons?" I inquired. "Count me in!"
We quickly walked away from the scene. Sonic and Knuckles had disappointed looks on their faces.
"Hey, Sonic," said Knuckles.
"Yeah, Knuckles," said Sonic.
"I hate that frog."
~Synergy's P.O.V. (Continued)
Poor Sonic and Knuckles. They should've been fast enough if they wanted that last dumpling, ha-ha.
Anyways, my adventure in Chun-nan sadly came to an end, but luckily, the day wasn't over yet.
Instead of traveling around Mobius, I was actually offered to visit another dimension. A while ago, Blaze informed the Resistance that she has been away from her kingdom for too long and she asked if she can head back to check on everything. Of course, the Resistance said yes, and she used her dimension's Chaos Emeralds called Sol Emeralds to open a portal to her dimension. But before she left, she asked me if I wanted to see what her home was like. I had to admit, I didn't believe there were other worlds out there besides this one, but I was interested in seeing how the Sol Zone was. But I wasn't alone in this journey, for Silver the Hedgehog offered to go with Blaze to keep her safe. She accepted his request and we traveled through the portal.
Upon entering, I was greeted to a whole new world.
For the most part, the Sol Dimension was very similar to Mobius; however, the biggest difference was that Blaze's homeworld was a vast sea with many islands of varying size found across it, I'm wondering if the entire planet is built this way.
Blaze told me that multiple islands around here housed ancient relics and that her arch-nemesis: Dr. Eggman Nega tries to steal them in hopes of ruling the world.
Although, I wanted to know more about this Eggman Nega because Silver told me that he's also his arch-nemesis…
…did I miss something here?
We made our way to Blaze's kingdom and I had to admit, it was the most beautiful landmark I've seen all day. The island we were on was called the Southern Island and the village we were in is called Windmill Village.
The place was mildly small for the most part; there were a few houses, a large watchtower, and a massive dock that sheltered many customed made boats piloted by an orange raccoon named Marine and her team of koalas called the Coconut Crew.
But Blaze, Silver, and I weren't heading over to the docks until later. Instead, we were doing something else.
In the middle of the forest, we doing the one thing I didn't expect to do on this trip…
…planting crops.
I wasn't sure why we were doing this instead of sailing on the boats, but I decided not to question it. I would say that I'm enjoying what I'm doing if only I knew what I was doing.
I sat by the dirt, confused. Looking down at the rich brown soil, I turned my eyes to Silver. The white hedgehog was dark brown and grey gloves and a straw hat with a flower on it. I looked at him, wanting to see how he was doing this better than I was.
He had a pile of seeds in his hands and was humming a tune. He grabbed a shovel beside him and dug a small hole. Placing the seeds inside, he covered them with dirt and sprinkled it with water. He then cracked his fingers and checked on a few tomato plants to his right.
"Maybe we can use these to make tomato soup tonight," Silver smiled. "And we can add parmesan cheese! Oh, and mozzarella! Mmm-mmm, I love mozzarella cheese!"
Glaring down at my own garden, I was embarrassed to tell anyone that Silver had more plants than I did. Scooping up a pile of seeds to my left, I did the same thing Silver did and buried the seeds in the dirt. Showing the soil with dirt, I waited patiently for something to happen.
Nothing happened.
I gazed at Silver's garden again. He had everything from tomato plants, flowers, roses, and nearly every vegetable that existed.
This was starting to annoy me.
"This is starting to annoy me," I snarled angrily, slamming the grass beside me.
"Careful, Synergy!" Silver gasped, holding his shovel. "You're gonna hurt the plants!"
"Is something wrong, Synergy?" Blaze asked from my right. She had the same attire as her friend.
"How come my plants aren't growing!?" I snarled. "Silver's plants have been growing just fine, mine hasn't done squat! It's like they want me to step on them and crush them to pieces!"
Silver gasped in utter horror. "You monster!"
"My shotty garden is the monster here!"
Blaze folded her arms and took a deep breath. "You see, Synergy, not everything is meant to grow super-fast. The reason Silver's plants have been growing so well is that he's been taking care of them for some time now. Synergy, the plants aren't going to grow overnight because you tell them to. I can understand that it's frustrating not seeing the immediate results of your hard work, but with some hard work and patience, you'll see how much care has gone into raising your vegetables."
Looking down at my garden, I felt embarrassed about my outburst.
I rubbed my arm and nodded. "I'm sorry, Blaze. I don't mean to complain… I just don't want to make a crummy garden for you, that's all."
Blaze smiled. "You're not going to make a crummy garden. If you put enough care into it, I'm sure you'll make something great."
Folding my hands together, I agreed with everything she told me and got down on my knees. "Excuse me, Silver. I'm out of seeds. Do you mind if I have some of yours?"
"Sure," Silver replied, as he handed me a pile of sunflower seeds.
Like before, I buried them in the dirt and showered them with water.
One of these days, you guys will grow into something special, I thought. But for now… I'm going to care for you the best I can.
Silver, Blaze, and I continued tending the garden.
~Synergy's P.O.V. (Continued) (3)
My journey in the Sol Dimension came to an end and I was ready to head back to the Mineral Museum, but Tangle the Lemur said otherwise.
"Welcome to Empire City!" She bounced on her tail and waved her arms around. She, Whisper, Mighty, Ray, Emerl, Cream, and Jewel joined in me in one of the prettiest, but also nosiest places on Mobius.
Cars honked their horns at other cars, people were talking on their cell phones, pedestrians walked up and down the streets, there wasn't a single quiet place in this city. How can people live here in peace? As I walked around, I found myself bumping into people accidentally. Sometimes, people would apologize for getting in my way, but others would snarl and tell me to watch where I'm going.
Well, excuse me! I would think to myself. I'm not the one playing on a portable telephone!
Thankfully, I had Mighty and Ray to keep me calm throughout my adventure.
Sightseeing wasn't the only reason I was here; Jewel and I were signed up for an annual fashion contest hosted by the president of Honey Clothing: Honey the Cat. Apparently, this event happens every five years and Jewel has been competing ever since. While she has no interest in fashion as a career, she does like to come here for the fun of it. But she has told me that she's never won the event. She would always lose to a competitor named Tiara.
According to Tangle, Tiara's won every single competition since the tradition started and Jewel's always come down to first and second place. Personality-wise, I don't know much about Tiara, but I'm hoping that Jewel and I take home the gold.
It would be nice to win, just like I did when I helped take down the Knuckles Clan.
Jewel anxiously walked down the street with a bag in her hand; the bag contained the dress we designed together. When I came back from the Sol Dimension, she asked me if I can help her design the dress and I said yes. For the record, I know nothing about fashion, but she told me to be creative and make it as fun as I can. So, that's what I did…
…I'm just hoping our hard work paid off.
She still paced down the road; sweat poured from her forehead and she checked her watch every five seconds.
The competition was starting in twenty minutes.
"J-J-Jewel?" Ray inquired, tugging on her shoulder. "Are you g-g-g-going t-t-to be o-okay?"
"Huh?" Jewel gasped, looking at the yellow squirrel. "Y-yes! I'm fine! I'm just a little nervous, that's all. I know I come here for fun, but I get so anxious whenever this comes up."
"Don't be," Tangle nudged her best friend. "You're going to win this time! I just know it!"
"I'm not one to care about winning," Jewel replied. "But it would be nice to win this year."
"And we will," I assured the beetle. "We've spent hours working on that dress. We have to win."
"Easy there, Synergy," Mighty tapped my shoulder. "Don't get cocky. You may have worked hard on it, but that doesn't you'll win because of it. But if you do win, try not to rub it in anyone's face. That's called bad sportsmanship."
"But shouldn't I let others know that I'm better than them?" I asked.
"Well, if you did do that, you'd be coming off as obnoxious," Mighty replied. "My father once told me that winning isn't everything, having fun is an important part."
"M-M-Mighty's right," Ray smiled. "It's g-good to show g-g-g-good s-sportsmanship."
I wondered about that for a second before we finally stopped at the building: Honey Clothing HQ. I had to admit, it was smaller than I imagined. It was an average-sized building with golden logos of the franchise's name on it. People were entering the building with their own dresses and outfits, praying that they'd win this year's competition.
I felt bad for all of these losers because we were gonna win.
Upon entering the building, we were escorted to the top floor and my gosh, was it packed.
People were gathered around several colored booths that had the names of the competitors printed across the front. We were all amazed by the colorful scenery of the room. The floor was red, and the walls were primarily blue. Yellow banners ran across several walls, reading "Welcome, Competitors!"
Other posters included Honey the Cat herself standing next to a silhouette figure. Below them read, "Think you got what it takes to have you design featured in the next line? Sign up for the Annual Honey Clothing Fashion Contest!"
"Wow, G-merl," Cream gasped. "Look at all of these people. It's so packed in here. I hope we don't get lost."
"Not to worry, Kiddo," her best friend replied. "Just stay close to me and you'll be fine."
It didn't take us long to approach our booth, which was decorated in Jewel's colors, turquoise blue and pink. She sat her dress on the podium and gulped. It was clear she was nervous, and she had no right to be. I knew we were gonna kick butt.
"I've never seen so many people here," Tangle said. "Have you, Whisper?"
The lone wolf said nothing.
"Come on, the least you can do is lighten up," Tangle went to tap Whisper's shoulder, but was met to a Wispon pointed at her stomach.
Everyone else and I backed away from Whisper.
"Boundaries," Whisper nodded.
"Right… boundaries," Tangle said, stepping back. "Boundaries."
As Whisper put away her Wispon, the manager herself: Honey stepped onto a podium and grabbed a microphone.
"Is this thing on?" she spoke loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Hello? Hello?..." she cleared her throat. "Good afternoon, everyone! My name's Honey the Cat and welcome to another Annual Honey Clothing Fashion Design Competition! Gosh, I need to shorten that title."
Everyone laughed.
"Anyway, I'm glad to see that some of you from the previous competitions have returned for another year and I'm glad to see some newcomers. So, before we begin, allow me to explain the rules. To those of you competing, your job is to describe your piece to the audience observing as a way to get their votes. Speaking of which, to every audience member, your job is very simple. Vote for the best-designed outfit! Whoever gets the most votes gets their outfit featured in my next line of Honey Clothing! Got it, everyone? Awesome! All right, competitors! Get into position!"
Jewel and I placed our hands on the sheet covering the dress.
"Three… two…" Honey took out a horn from her pocket. "…one!"
Blowing the horn into the microphone, every competitor revealed their design.
Jewel and I yanked off the sheet and showed off our creation. It was a bright blue colored dress with navy blue and green streaks all over it. Along with ancient Nocturnus Clan symbols that mean "Creative. Imagination. Outside the Box". The beetle and I jumped back and waited for people to cast their votes.
Throughout the day, we did nothing but explain our design from how we created it to the idea behind it. So far, a majority of the people were impressed, and they dropped pieces of paper into a purple box on the front. Emerl and Cream were looking at the other outfits, Mighty and Ray were cheering us on, and Tangle and Whisper were taking pictures of themselves alongside Honey herself.
I believe they're called selfies, but I wouldn't know.
Two hours have gone by and a loud horn echoed through the room. (3s)
Everyone in the office stopped talking to one another and turned to the podium. Honey the Cat took the time to collect every voting box in the room. They were all sitting right in front of her, waiting to be counted.
This was it.
This was our big moment.
The moment where Jewel and I claim victory.
"All right, everyone. It's time to count the votes!" Honey shouted excitingly. "Let's see who this year's winner is. Will it be someone new or will it be last year's champion: Tiara Boobowski!"
To our right, a female Manx with brown fur and red clothing pressed her hands together. I guess this was Tiara Boobowski: Jewel's competitor. Speaking of Jewel, Tiara waved at her and wished her luck. I bet she did that to look nice, when really, she's probably as cold as ice.
Honey quickly counted all of the votes inside each box and tallied them together.
"And the winner of this year's Honey Clothing Fashion Design Contest is…"
Jewel and I shared an agitated glance.
Emerl and Cream mirrored our motion.
Mighty and Ray waited patiently.
Tangle prayed to the Mobian Gods above.
And Whisper folded her arms.
Honey took a deep breath before announcing the winner.
"…Tiara Boobowski!"
She was kidding, right?
The brown Manx to our right cheered with glory, as she ran down the stairs to her booth. She dashed towards Honey, gave her a hug, and claimed her prize; a golden trophy with Honey's face on it. And her line was promised to be featured as the next brand of Honey Clothing.
I was angry.
A few minutes went by and we exited the building. Jewel had a smile on her face, and everyone gathered around her, congratulating her for participating in the contest.
But that didn't change the way I felt.
"Are you kidding me!?" I ranted in pure frustration. "That was ridiculous! We should have won that trophy! We should have gotten our outfit featured in that next line, but nope! Stinkin' Tiara Boobowski, who sounds like a rejected fan character, gets picked as the winner! How is that possible!?"
"Oh, come on, Synergy," Emerl placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't be such a party pooper."
"That's disgusting," I cringed. "Who does that at a party?"
"That's not what I meant, dude."
"Mr. Synergy, please don't be angry," Cream nodded, placing her hands together. "Tiara won and we have to accept that. But what matters most is that you and Miss Jewel did your best."
"Yeah!" Tangle agreed with the rabbit. "As you guys explained your concept, I can tell you had a lot of fun! You shared laughs with some townsfolk, and you made a few jokes during your explanation! That should mean something, right?"
I rubbed my head. "W-well, yeah, but I… It would have been nice to win."
"I told you earlier that winning isn't everything," Mighty reassured me. "Having fun is all that matters. Besides, I don't think Jewel seems to care that she lost, right, Jewel?"
"Yep," Jewel rubbed her arm. "Honestly, the best part of this competition was being with you, Synergy. I may not know much about you, but you seem to be a really good guy. I'd like to more with you again sometime."
I wanted to retort against that, but I couldn't. Something about that statement spoke to me. I've never heard anyone say that they've wanted to hang out with me before. No one in the Nocturnus Clan has done that, that's for sure. Glancing at Jewel, I noticed that she approached me and embraced me with a small hug. Standing there for a few moments, I decided to hug her back.
"Thanks for coming with me, Synergy," Jewel smiled.
"Y-you're… Welcome," I replied. We let each other go and we shared a fist-bump. "I apologize for my outburst. I'm sorry if I sounded like a child. Thank you for reassuring me, guys. I appreciate it. You guys are better friends than the ones I had in the Nocturnus Clan."
"Hey, no problem, my dude," Tangle nudged me. "The day's still young, so let's see what else we can do before we head home for the day."
"Yeah!" everyone and I shouted, as we ventured into Empire City for more fun.
Back at the Mineral Museum, Synergy gathered Amy, Big, G-merl, Cream, the Hooligans, Mighty, Ray, Silver, Blaze, Tangle, Whisper, and Tails together for a quick moment. He wanted to show them the dress that he and Jewel made for the competition. Jewel was inside of her office getting ready for the showcase.
Synergy waited patiently.
"Ready, Jewel?" Synergy knocked on the door.
"One second!" Jewel replied. "Okay! I'm ready!"
Synergy gave a thumbs up before he walked back to the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen. It is with greatest pride and deepest pleasure to introduce to you… Miss Jewel the Beetle!"
Suddenly, Jewel opened the doors and walked out.
Everyone gasped as soon as they saw her.
Jewel was wearing the outfit that lost the Honey Clothing competition and everyone thought she looked amazing. She struck a few poses and waved at everyone nervously, worried about what they think of it.
"Eh, I've seen better," Nack commented before he was punched by Bean.
"Darling, you look fabulous!" Bean gawked over the beautiful bug. "Dare I say you look miraculous!"
"Wow, you look great, Miss Jewel," Cream clapped her hands.
"Not bad," G-merl gave a thumbs up.
"Really cool!" Tangle rooted.
"You look nice," Whisper softly smiled.
"Thanks, everyone," Jewel nodded. "Even you, Nack… I couldn't have done this alone. I want to give a shoutout to my good friend, Synergy, for helping me come up with the design. Even though we lost the competition, it's the fact that we made it together that means a lot to me. So… thank you, Synergy. You're a cool guy."
Synergy nodded and gave Jewel another hug.
Sonic, holding two chili dogs, in his hands watched the moment with a smile. He motioned to Team Chaotix. "Guys, come here."
Espio, Vector, and Charmy approached the Blue Blur.
"Well, Whaddya know," Vector folded his arms, watching Synergy interact with the others.
"Looks like Synergy's starting to change after all," Espio smiled.
"Yeah! He's gonna be a good guy like us!" Charmy squealed.
"If we can keep this up, Big's plan will end up working and we can go back to stopping Eggman," Vector nodded in agreement. He suddenly gazed his eyes upon the chili dogs. "Ooooh, don't mind if I do!"
Sonic moved both hot dogs away from Vector's hands. "Whoa, whoa, slow down there, big guy," he chuckled. "One's for me and one's for Knuckles. Speaking of which, where is he? I haven't seen him all day."
"Last time I checked, he went up to the roof," Espio replied. "He said he needed some space,"
"Yeah, he's upset that his girlfriend isn't coming back," Charmy chuckled.
"Give him a break, Charmy," Espio nudged the bee. "It's not Knuckles' fault that Shade isn't coming back. She must have her own reason for not joining us."
"Whatever it is, it's gotten Knuckles upset," Vector nodded. "Mighty and Ray tried to talk to him earlier, but he wouldn't budge. He's been on the roof for hours."
"I'll talk with him," Sonic smiled.
With that, Sonic walked out of the museum and jumped onto the windowsill. Climbing up to the roof, he saw Knuckles sitting alone on the edge. His eyes were closed, and his hands were on his knees. The blue hedgehog looked at him with a dejected look, as he made a soft smile and walked towards him.
"Hungry, Knux?"
"Huh?" Knuckles startled, looking at his blue friend. "Uh, no thanks. I'm not that hungry."
"Are you sure? You skipped out on dinner," Sonic sat down next to his friend, placing his chili dog next to him.
"Thanks, but… I'm good."
"Okay… suit yourself," Sonic replied with a tender tone, as he unwrapped his chili dog from the paper and took a bite. He moaned in satisfaction before he asked, "So, what exactly happened between you and Shade? Did you guys talk or…"
Knuckles took a deep breath. "Yeah, we talked… to an extent. When I got to the village, I was greeted by the town's owner and he took me to this concert. That's when I found out that Shade's part of a band."
Sonic swallowed another bite. "Get out, really?"
"Yep."
"That's way past cool. I didn't expect Shade to be a music lover."
"Yeah, she's really taken time to find herself in that village, ha-ha… anyways, Shade was playing her song when she saw me in the front-row seat. She stopped the music and ran off the stage. I chased after her until we finally decided to talk things out," Knuckles frowned. "That's when she told me everything."
Sonic stopped chewing. "Everything?"
Knuckles rubbed his hands together, gazing into the starry night. "She thinks that bringing you, me, and the others in the Twilight Cage was a mistake."
Sonic raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"She thinks it would've been better if she'd dealt with Lord Ix on her own instead of relying on us for help. She feels this way because she thinks she's responsible for what happened when we returned. Remember when we came back, Eggman rebuilt his empire in Metropolis? Shade blames herself for that incident, claiming that if she was brave enough to fight Ix on her own, we would have prevented Eggman from building his empire again…
"She felt horrible being ridiculed by all of those people and Eggman herself. Their words started to get to her. I tried to tell her it wasn't her fault, but she kept saying that we were angry at her for letting that happen to our world when really, it wasn't true. We stopped Eggman and Ix in the same day, but Shade… she was more focused on how we felt about her during that incident…
"She doesn't want to come back because she thinks we hate her."
Sonic took a moment to register all of that. He couldn't believe that someone like Shade would feel guilty for something that was beyond her control. Placing his chili dog beside him, he scotched toward Knuckles.
"I can't imagine how she feels right now," Sonic said.
"Yeah," Knuckles nodded. "I think me being there made her feel worse, so I left because I didn't want to upset her any longer… I wanted to tell her that it was my fault because I wasn't careful with Eggman. I should have known he'd betray us eventually."
Sonic playfully punched Knuckles' shoulder. "Dude, we were all fooled by Egghead. So, Shade has no right to blame herself. Besides, I may not know how the conversation went, but I think you being there gave her a chance to think."
"Think?"
"Yeah, she's probably thinking of coming back right now. She knows we still care for her, but her paranoia is telling her otherwise. With you being there, she'll stand up to her paranoia and find out that we're not mad at her and that we miss her. Her return may not happen immediately, but it will… you can trust me on that."
Knuckles briefly looked at Sonic before he turned back to the stars. He stared at them for a few moments before he finally smiled. Looking back at the hedgehog, he held out his hand and fist-bumped his best friend.
"Thanks, Sonic… I needed that. I'm glad I have you by my side."
"Hey, don't sweat it, Knux… what kind of guy would I be if I didn't help my friends in need?"
"Right… we should get inside. Everyone's probably worried about me."
"Yep and it's getting late. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Oh, yeah. Tomorrow's the last day we're changing Synergy, right?"
"Yep."
"Let's make it count."
"Couldn't have said it better myself."
Inside the Final Egg, Dr. Starline spent his time rebuilding Metal Sonic in his normal form. Entering the door, Rough and Tumble observed a conversation between them.
"Your mission is to head out there and find the two Gizoids," Dr. Starline ordered. "Report back to me if you find one or the other. Is that clear?"
Metal Sonic nodded and saluted the doctor. He activated his jet boosters and raced out the door.
"Hey, Boss," Rough cracked his fists. "When do we get another chance at those losers?"
"Yeah, we wanna show Sonic how's boss," Tumble added.
"Please, you two have already lost to the Resistance twice," Dr. Starline retorted. "What makes you think third time's the charm?"
"Because there's no one as strong as us," Rough smiled.
"And certainly not as humble," Tumble grinned.
"Ain't nothing gonna stop Rough and Tumble," the two finished their rhyme.
Dr. Starline rolled his eyes before he suddenly snapped his fingers; he got an idea. "You two want a shot at redemption?"
"More than anything," both skunks replied.
"Well, then," Dr. Starline stroked his chin. He suddenly approached a later that leaned against a sheeted object. Climbing to the top of the latter, he slowly unfolded the sheet and revealed his latest creation. "How would you two like to take this thing to Resistance HQ tomorrow night?"
Rough and Tumble's eyes jumped out of their sockets and their hearts started pumping.
"Oh, that's good," Rough rubbed his hands together.
"Just what we needed," Tumble smirked.
END OF CHAPTER 29
The Resistance's plans to change Synergy are advancing and so are Dr. Starline's plans to raid Resistance HQ. But one question remains, will the Rookies down at Resistance HQ be prepared for the upcoming invasion? I guess we'll have to wait and see. The Resistance is closer to changing Synergy, but only one day remains. Will they be able to get him to join their side against Eggman or will he be the same Synergy as before? Guess all will be told when the Around the World story arc comes to an exciting conclusion in...
"Chapter 30: Around the World in Three Days: Part 3"
POST-A/N:
If you all remember way back in Chapter 4: Into the Great Wide Open: Part 1, you'd remember that Honey the Cat and Tiara Boobowski cameoed in a scene where Knuckles was invited over to check out Resistance themed clothing. Thankfully, the red echidna didn't have to endure any fashion disasters in this chapter. But he did feel awful for Shade. Lukcily, Sonic was there to cheer him up.
Originally, Whisper's backstory was supposed to be revealed during this chapter. However, with Whisper's backstory, this chapter wound up being over 9,000 words long! It's crazy! Luckily, Infinite's Ruby and I were able to cut it down and she suggested I'd do the Empire City scene you all read in this chapter. I haven't written a chapter with 9,000 words since one of my old Sonic Forces stories: "Sonic Heroes: Secret Freedom". That story lasted four chapters before it was cancelled.
The Silver and Blaze scene was inspired by IDW Sonic Annual 2019, where there was a story titled "Victory Garden". In that story, Blaze taught Silver how to care for a garden. I didn't want to copy it, so I made some changes for the sake of this story.
That's pretty much all I have to say for this chapter. We're nearly at 30 chapters of Awakened and I'm more than excited to get through this arc so we can get to the climax. Until then, don't forget to R&R! I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you all next time!
~SD321 (SpiderDom321)