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SONIC CHAOS 2: UNDERGROUND ARC - SONIA
(A/N: Second Up Today.)
Sonic Underground
Eggman, observing the portal to Mobodoon from a spy drone, gaped in outrage when he saw who emerged from it. The Sonic Underground together again! Enraged, he slammed his fists down on his desk. "Damn those ninnies! Sleet and Dingo have failed me for the last time!" he raged. "I'll deal with those bounty hunting morons later. For now, if you want something done right, you do it yourself!" He prepared to activate the spy drone's combat features, as futile as it would probably prove to be, but before he could open fire he was interrupted.
"Pardon me master, but you're getting too far ahead of yourself," a familiar and satisfied voice said from behind. Eggman started and spun quickly to look at his communications. His eyes widened when he saw Sleet appear on the screen, smirking victoriously.
"You imbeciles! I'll see you both eliminated for this!" Eggman snapped.
"Oh don't get your mustache in a twist. We failed to get the triplets perhaps, but take a look at what we did get," Sleet said, moving out of the way with a grin and gesturing towards the Dingo cage, where Aleena lay prone and at their mercy.
Eggman's eyes bulged almost out of his head. For a few seconds he sputtered before finally figuring out how to form words again. "You captured the Queen?!" he exclaimed, flabbergasted.
"Precisely. She will be all the bait you need to lure Sonic, Sonia, and Manic into your web," Sleet said. "Now whatever you were planning, don't do it," he flatly added, looking back at Robotnick. "We aren't trying to destroy them yet, your greatness. We're nowhere near ready for that. First we need the Chaos Emeralds and these so called Sol Emeralds you want so badly. Leave the children be and fall back, Doctor. Remember all the others times you didn't listen to your henchmen, in particular me, and ended up failing?"
"Humph, I never should have let you into those files," Eggman bitterly replied. "Fine. You've made your point. We'll talk. Get back here yesterday."
"Of course your rotundness. Whatever you please," Sleet said, bowing to him. The communication cut off and Eggman scowled. That bow, he noted, had become much less respectful over the years. Before the incident it had been desperate and fearful. Now it seemed only condescending and sarcastic. That, he noted, would have to be monitored most carefully. Sleet was not the sort of man you wanted to have plotting against you under any circumstances, so for now he would play nice with the canine. For now.
SU
The heroes travelled back to headquarters from Mobodoon, Tails, Knuckles, and Espio in the jet, Tikal on her own, Shade, Cream, and Amy on their Extreme gear. Sonia rode her bike, Manic his board, and Sonic, of course, ran. The triplets were quiet. Knuckles, a bit concerned, spoke up. "Hey, it was for the best," he called over to them. "I know that Mobodoon means a lot to you, Sonic, to all of you, but the world can't survive four years without you. Not at the rate Eggman's been moving lately."
"I know," Sonic replied. Sonia and Manic not so much, but he certainly knew.
"So, you gonna introduce me or what?" Sonia asked, looking over at the unknown parties.
"Right. Sorry. Sonia, these are my friends Miles Tails Prower, Shade the Echidna, Tikal the Echidna, Cream the Rabbit, and Amy Rose," Sonic introduced. "Guys, this is my sister Sonia."
"A pleasure," Sonia said, smiling.
"The feeling is mutual," Shade replied, smiling in turn. "I am from the Twilight Cage. That's a long story in and of itself."
"As Sonic has said, I am Tikal. I am of the echidna tribe of Pachacamac, who was my father. Thousands of years ago we guarded the Master Emerald and Chaos Emeralds, but my father wished to use their power for war. I wanted only peace. The emeralds were never meant to be used for bad. I begged him to listen but he would not. At that time I was a priestess of the chao god Chaos, and helped him to protect the chao. It's a story in and of itself as well. The ultimate outcome was that I was inevitably forced to seal myself inside the Emerald along with Chaos in order to save the land, perhaps even the world, from destruction. Knuckles is descended of that tribe, and so I am his ancestress. I'm pleased to meet you, Sonia. Doubtless we all are. The others will be as well."
"The others?" Sonia asked, looking at Sonic.
"Yeah. There are a lot," Sonic said, smirking wryly. "And I can't wait for you to meet them all."
"They're pretty awesome," Manic said. "Least from what I've seen."
"I look forward to it," Sonia said with a smile. She looked ahead again and her smile slowly fell. How could she begin to explain to Sonic that this wasn't the first time they'd been reunited? That they'd literally spoken to and touched one another, fought alongside one another, but just had never put it together? It would require going into the freedom fighter movement around the Infinite Crisis, the pods, Cyrus, what had happened... It was going to be a nightmare to explain, but she had to.
"Sis, something wrong?" Manic asked, picking up on her unease. Sonic, it seemed, had as well, as he was looking curiously at her.
"I just... Maybe it's something we should talk about after I've met the others," Sonia said.
"Okay. If you say so," Manic said, raising an eyebrow. She smiled and nodded. Thankfully, her brothers let it go.
SU
They soon came to a stop in a location unfamiliar to Sonia and Manic. "Where's this?" Manic asked as they all disembarked.
"This is my workshop," Tails replied with a smile. "We'll leave the planes and motorcycle here and go the rest of the way on foot, or by board, but it's kind of late now. The others might already be in bed. It's probably a better idea if we stay the night here then head out tomorrow."
"Tails is one of Sonic's best friends. Knuckles is the other," Manic said to Sonia.
"Really?" Sonia asked, looking at Knuckles in surprise. "Wow. You two grew pretty close since last we saw you."
"Even with both of us assuming the other had forgotten the past, or that it had been wiped from existence," Knuckles confirmed. "Wasn't an easy start though."
"It never was with us," Sonic replied with a wry smirk.
"What are those?" Sonia asked, pointing out some strange looking robots.
"More of Eggman's bots. Not the ones we saw in Mobodoon, but others," Tails said. "They're not all that strong, but they're worth studying anyway, so I keep some scrapped ones to examine. Get a feel for Eggman's technology."
"You must be a genius," Sonia said, sounding impressed.
"Thanks! I am," Tails chirped.
Sonia smiled and looked back at Cyrus. Her smile fell. "So was he," she quietly said. Tails' smile fell, becoming a curious frown, and he looked at the lion. "You two would get along great I think," Sonia soon said.
"Who is he?" Tails asked.
"An old friend of mine named Cyrus," Sonic replied, walking up next to Tails with a grave expression on his face. He looked at Sonia. "And I'd really like to know what happened to him and what made him this way."
"You will soon enough," Sonia assured. She looked at Tails once more. "So, anything else you can tell me about you?"
"Well, sometimes Sonic calls me little brother. I think it's because he missed you and Manic though," Tails said.
"Nah kiddo. I just like you that much," Sonic said, smirking. "You brought out the big brother instinct in me."
"Anyway, we're called the Sonic Heroes. We have a meeting place in the city. A headquarters in a pretty big house. That's where everyone will be tomorrow, most likely," Amy said. "Wow. We really do look alike. I mean, at least the hair color. Quill color for me I guess.
"No kidding," Sonia said, smiling at her.
"Here's a picture of the house," Shade said, bringing it up and showing it to Sonia.
Sonia took a look and started. "Whoa! That's almost a mansion," she said. "Hopefully they have all the luxuries of one too."
"If only," Amy said with a rueful sigh. "But hey, girls nights are a thing. We do all the pampering then."
"Yeah! I love girls' nights," Cream said. "I get to stay up a bit later those times."
"Aww, nice," Sonia said, smiling at the girl. "Hey, think of me next time you have one."
"Oh for sure! You are Sonic's sister, after all. An even bigger part of the family than the rest of us now, I'd bet," Amy said.
"There are some very nice rooms inside headquarters. You should be able to find something to your tastes," Tikal said.
Sonia smiled and looked towards Knuckles, who was speaking with Sonic, Tails, Manic, and Espio. Her smile slowly fell. "His quills are so much longer than before... He's so handsome," she remarked after a moment.
"Who?" Shade asked.
"Knuckles of course. Like I'd say that about my brothers," Sonia replied. She looked towards him again. "It's just... it's been so long."
"They mentioned you two had a thing before," Amy sympathetically said. "You think you'll pick it back up?" Shade shifted a bit at the question.
Sonia shook her head. "I don't know... I'm not sure if I'm ready to face that part of my past again," she confessed. She looked at them. "I'm barely keeping it together facing this much of it," she said, gesturing to her brothers. "About the only thing I'm prepared for are tears."
Amy nodded in understanding. "You should talk to him," she said.
Sonia hesitated. "Go on," Tikal encouraged. Sonia forced a smile, nodding, and approached them.
Shade shifted again, wrapping her arms uncertainly around herself and watching Sonia closely. "Are we sure we can trust her?" she uneasily asked.
"Of course we can! She's Sonic's sister. What worries you about her?" Amy asked, looking at Shade. She started when she noticed Shade's eyes fixed on Knuckles and Sonia. "Oh," she awkwardly said.
"No, it's not like that!" Shade immediately protested. She sighed. "I just... I don't want him to be hurt. Or her." Amy nodded like she believed the excuse, but she knew that it was only part of the reason why. Still, she didn't comment. Just let it go.
SU
"Knuckles?" Sonia said, closing in on the five boys. Knuckles tensed up, feeling his heart beat a little faster at her call, and turned to her. He let out a breath as she neared, still in disbelief. Sonia stopped not far from him, and they stared at each other a long moment. She shook her head. "I can barely believe it's really you. After all this time..." She trailed off, breath hitching in her throat, and shook her head, bowing it low.
He went quickly to her in concern, taking her shoulders. She looked up at him. Quietly he summed her up. "You're real," he soon said. "You're actually here..." Letting out a breath, he pulled her into his arms, holding her near. "You're here, and I don't know what to do anymore."
She smiled at little, leaning against him. "I've missed you, Knucklehead," she teased.
"You sound just like Sonic," he wryly replied, pushing her gently back.
"There's so much I have to tell you. Well, you, Sonic, and Manic," Sonia said.
"There's a whole lot we have to tell you too," Knuckles dryly replied.
"What I have to say is... it's important," Sonia said. "I mean, all of it is, but this? It... it has to do with the Infinite Crisis. And everything that happened in Mobotropolis during it.
"We're all ears sis," Sonic said, approaching.
Sonia was quiet, shifting a bit, then looked at her brother. "Sonic? This... this isn't the first time we've been reunited," she quietly said. Sonic started, stiffening. Manic and Knuckles as well looked surprised, and Sonia winced. Drawing a breath, she told them everything as they listened in shock and horror.
SU
As Sleet and Dingo's scorpion ship docked, Eggman entered the bay and stood with arms crossed, waiting for his bounty hunters to come out. Soon enough, Sleet exited with Dingo, no longer in cage form. "I could have finished off the hedgehogs, Sleet," Eggman said.
"Like we haven't heard that before," Sleet muttered to Dingo.
"What was that?!" Eggman shouted angrily.
Sleet fearfully dove behind Dingo, peering nervously out. "Uh, n-nothing your amazingness!"
"You're lucky you presumably have the queen! I'll forgive your impudence this time," Eggman snapped. He leaned back. "The plan so far has gone well. Give them the chance to get on board the Final Doom and get a look at it. Cause them to let their guards down by lowering their expectations."
"Yes, and the billboards were a stroke of genius sir," Sleet said. "Even though they put Dingo and I in a... compromising position." One he would have liked to be informed of earlier instead of thrust into blindly. For a moment he'd been genuinely fearful Eggman had it out for them.
"Were you serious about us beatin' out the competition, Doctah?" Dingo asked.
"Of course I was. Robots I can build to my liking, but the switch to flesh and blood requires some vetting," Eggman answered. "Your resumes from before were decent, I'd dare say they edged on good given the fact the incident was solely on your heads, but the fallout of that one wasn't so pleasant. Unless, of course, it was your intention to get out from under my thumb."
"Oh no of course not sire!" Sleet quickly said. "Why would we ever want to leave you?"
"I can think of a few rea..." Dingo began. He oomphed as Sleet nudged him hard, giving him a warning scowl, then put on an innocent grin for Eggman, hands behind his back.
"Out of curiosity sir, and I don't doubt your genius, but what was the point of the billboards in the first place, besides luring in Sonic and Manic?" Sleet asked. "Surely there were other means you could have used that weren't so... extreme."
"What do you think my ulterior purpose was?" Eggman asked. Sleet shifted and opened his mouth to speak, but just then...
"If it had been ma idea, I would have put it inta practice ta cause chaos, stir up the criminal scum, and give the girl and her brothers very, very few safe zones ta work with. Basically, make 'em hunted everywhere and get free help in trackin' 'em down or eliminatin' 'em."
Eggman started, looking towards the scorpion ship. Sleet grimaced and frowned back at it. There, standing in the entry smirking, was Fang. Eggman blinked in disbelief. "Um, sir, this is..." Sleet began.
"One of the precious few on this planet who could come up with schemes even half ways as sneaky as yours, Sleet," Eggman bluntly cut off. "Nack the Weasel. Also known as Fang the Sniper. We're acquainted, as I'm sure he informed you at some point. Not that you would have remembered something so petty. Fang, still as good a shot as ever I expect?"
Nack smirked, drew his gun, and fired, skimming the top of Dingo's head without so much as sighting his shot. Dingo yelped in alarm. Sleet blinked then frowned, unimpressed. "You missed," he bluntly said to Nack.
"No I didn't!" Fang protested.
"Next time aim lower," Sleet answered with a cruel smirk. Dingo frowned at his partner in annoyance.
Fang started, then smiled in amusement, eyes twinkling a little. "Yer startin' ta grow on me I think," he said.
Eggman harrumphed and looked at Sleet. "You stumbled across one of the most promising mercenaries around. Nack is a treasure hunter slash bounty hunter slash mercenary. Little wonder he leapt on Sonia's bounty so quickly." He looked at Nack again. "Where, though, are your two little friends I wonder?"
Nack frowned. "Separated in the chaos," he replied bluntly. "Then I ended up in a bad spot. Got beat pretty badly. Sleet 'n' Dingo saved me and took me along for the ride, 'cause there wasn't exactly much time ta stop in the City of Rogues unless you wanted to be shot."
"Oh good. Then you're currently down a team. Sleet and Dingo could use all the help they can get, you know," Eggman said.
"What?!" Sleet exclaimed. "Sir, as useful as he proved to be, I already have one idiot working under me. I don't need another," he said, sounding a little chagrined.
"Really? Who is he Sleet? Do I know him?" Dingo asked.
Fang raised a dubious eyebrow. Sleet glared coldly at Dingo, eyes narrowed. "I rest my case," he bluntly said.
"Oh Sleet, I think you'll find that Nack will be a welcome relief from idiots. He is perfectly competent, sneaky, and talented. He even has a handy aerobike called the 'Marvelous Queen' for flying. He'll be of use to you," Eggman replied.
Sleet glanced warily back at Fang. "You ain't gonna go wrong with me Sleet ma friend. I have a nose fer treasure and the ability ta shoot ma mark. I even got a shot off on Sonic once, a long time ago," Nack said with a smirk.
"I mean, I like him mate," Dingo said to Sleet, shrugging. "He was real helpful to us in gettin' into Mobodoon and capturin' the Queen. Even when we were tussling a bit with the Sonic Underground he kept up. He can shoot and fly... Maybe we could use him."
Sleet looked back at Fang. "Well, you did prove effective, and you did mange to snatch the crown right from the Queen's head... Very well. Welcome to the team, 'Fang'. I think I may grow to like you if you keep proving yourself as useful as you have been."
"Excellent. Then it's settled," Eggman said, clapping his hands together. "From now on you will be known as Team Vile. You will be my most trusted helpers, in charge of all my robotic army from the general throwaways to the prolific elite, such as the E-series. Right up, in fact, to the Metal series and beyond."
"What now?" Dingo asked.
"You didn't read a single file, did you?" Sleet bit. He turned to Eggman with a smile. "Excellent sir. I can hardly wait," he replied, rubbing his hands over each other.
"Well if nothin' else this promises to be fun until I can find Bean 'n' Bark again," Nack remarked as he pointed the gun upwards and spun the barrel, a glint in his eyes.
Sleet grinned evilly at him. "Hmm, maybe having you tag along won't be so bad after all," he said.
"All right mate. We'll show you the ropes," Dingo said placing a hand on Fang's shoulder.
"Ya certainly filled me in well 'n good about Sonic's siblings and mom," Fang dryly replied. "Still haven't quite processed that one."
"We don't mean we'll fill you in on those sorts of ropes. We mean we'll fill you in on how we do business," Sleet said.
"You two are finally making friends. I'm so proud of you," Eggman sarcastically said. Sleet sneered at him, which Eggman ignored. Instead Robotnick looked darkly towards the Scorpion and smiled evilly. "We're coming for you, Underground, and with you out of the picture, I will no longer have anything to fear. The world will fall under my control once and for all." He laughed evilly, hands pumping into the air. "Now bring me the queen!" he commanded, pointing at the ship.
Sleet grinned. "Oh with pleasure your nastiness," he answered, turning and marching towards his ship. He entered it, leaving Dingo and Fang behind with Eggman, and paused. Aleena was awake, he noted, glaring furiously at him with eyes narrowed. He smirked coldly. "Ah, you're awake. Just in time to face your doom," he said, approaching her.
"You will not hold me, Sleet. You never could. Nor can Robotnick," Aleena replied.
"All we need is you for bait. I doubt it matters to Eggman whether you're alive or dead. As long as he makes it sound like you're still living and breathing, your children will come whether you are or aren't," Sleet said, approaching her and taking hold of the cuffs binding her. He pulled her quickly to her feet. She caught her breath at how close they'd ended up with that little stunt. He smirked and moved behind her, prodding her along in front of him. They exited the ship and Eggman's eyes lit up wickedly when he saw her, an evil grin spreading across his lips. Darkly he chuckled, rubbing his hands together. "Queen Aleena," he greeted coldly.
"Dr. Robotnick," she icily replied, looking him warily over. He was in better shape than the last time she'd seen him, she would give the man that at least.
"After all this time... Finally you're in my clutches," Eggman said, clenching a fist.
"Her little brats distracted her just enough," Sleet said, smirking cruelly at her. She scoffed, looking away more out of annoyance than anger or hate.
"Whatever the case, you'll be perfect for luring Sonic and his little friends into the mega death trap that is my fortress," Eggman said, gesturing around. "But that won't be for a little bit longer yet. First things first, the emeralds. We're going to need all the power we can get."
"This plan will fail like all of your others," Aleena said.
"Hah! Keep telling yourself that," Robotnick replied, brushing her off. "I'm afraid, your majesty, that we don't quite have amenities fit for a queen here, but here's hoping the dungeon suits you just fine. Or actually, better yet..." He trailed off and looked at Sleet, who was grinning at Aleena absolutely delighted at her predicament. "Sleet!" Eggman said.
Sleet started and looked quickly at him. "Sir!" the wolf immediately replied, straightening up.
"I promised a reward, didn't I? On those wonderful bulletins you liked so much," Eggman said.
Sleet stared at him blankly. "Sir?" he asked after a moment, wary of where this was going.
"I believe I promised a Queen's ransom," he said.
There was a beat of silence. "For capturing Sonia," Sleet at last replied, tone cold. "Which I didn't do."
"No, you didn't. It seems, though, that you did one better. You captured Aleena herself," Eggman said, looking at the queen. "That's worth a queen's ransom all its own I think."
Sleet was quiet. "Where are you going with this?" he asked, a dark and wary lilt slipping into his voice.
"You're generally not so slow on the uptake," Eggman dryly replied, unimpressed. "To the victor, Sleet, goes the spoils. You're the victor, she's the spoils. Understood? Take her. She's all yours. Do with her whatever you will. She's under your charge now. Just spare me the details."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sleet darkly asked, teeth gritted.
"Whatever your imagination desires," Eggman answered. "Beasts will be beasts, after all."
As Eggman turned his back and began walking away, Sleet used all his willpower to resist drawing his blaster and shooting. "I don't want the queen!" the wolf blurted after him, pointing at Aleena.
"Yet you have her," Eggman called back, waving.
"No!" Sleet snapped, charging ahead and getting quickly in front of Eggman, hackles up and teeth bared. "Execute her for all I care, but you don't get to just leave me with her! She's your prisoner, so take her!"
Eggman looked surprised, then somewhat suspicious. He frowned warily, gears turning in his head. It wasn't like Sleet to become so brash and defiant around superiors. Least of all him. "Why are you so vehemently against this?" he soon asked. "You're free to do what you will with her. Execute her, eat her, imprison her in your room - but not the cells, those are reserved for the Sonic heroes - throw her off the ship, I don't care. The choice is yours."
"It isn't that simple," Sleet said through gritted teeth.
"Then consider being saddled with her your punishment for failing to capture Sonia or her brothers!" Eggman snapped, shoving a finger against Sleet's nose. "Take her and go! Now!" Sleet glared at him darkly, then looked towards Aleena. Growling lowly, he at last relented and marched angrily passed Eggman, fuming. "Good dog," Eggman said.
Sleet froze, ears going back and teeth baring as his hackles rose again, a dark look springing once more into his eyes. For a brief moment, Aleena, Dingo, and Fang were worried he'd whip around and tear out the doctor's throat, but at last Sleet managed to force down the rage and stormed the rest of the way back to Aleena, seizing her arms tightly and glaring down at her. She stared evenly up at him, prepared for whatever might befall her. Bitterly Sleet shook his head before gripping one arm and all but dragging her away, her gasping a bit in surprise.
The others watched after him, Fang confused, Eggman puzzled, and Dingo nervous. Eggman approached the other two. "Anyone care to tell me what that was about?" he asked, mystified.
"Damn. The way he was so dead set against dealin' with her, you'd think he were a jilted lover or somethin'," Fang said. Dingo tensed up. Eggman's eyes widened a bit and quickly he looked at the hybrid. Fang, feeling the doctor's eyes on him, looked curiously over. "What?" he asked.
"A what?" Eggman asked.
Nack shifted, suddenly feeling really uncomfortable. "A jilted lover?" he carefully said.
Eggman frowned deeply and looked at Dingo accusingly. Dingo stiffened, putting up his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Boss, I don't know nothin' about Sleet's past. Honest," he said. It wasn't completely true, but the doctor would probably buy it because Eggman figured he was just that much of an idiot anyway.
"Then I would suggest you figure it out," Eggman replied.
"You'd have better luck at it than me!" Dingo protested.
"Perhaps, but the more eyes on the matter the better. Right Fang?" Eggman said, looking at Nack.
Nack bristled a bit and shifted. "Uh, right," he soon said, glancing away.
"And of course you're quite skilled at gathering information, correct?" Eggman asked. Fang squirmed a bit more but didn't reply. "Bring me something useful and I'll make it worth your while. Fail and well, Sleet did imply he wasn't all that excited about becoming a trio."
"Hey, now just a minute..." Dingo began. A warning glare from Eggman shut him up.
"Yeah. I getcha doc," Nack said, giving the man a dark side-eye.
"Good. Now don't let me down," Eggman said. Fang stayed quiet.
SU
Sonic, Amy, Manic, Tails, and Knuckles listened in shock and disbelief to Sonia's story as she told them who she was and about what had happened in the wake of the Infinite Crisis to Cyrus and all the others. Espio, who had already figured it out, stood close behind her as a silent support network, hands on her shoulders gently. It garnered him a few wary glances from Knuckles, but the echidna didn't comment. Then Sonia told them who the rookie had been, and immediately Sonic was in tears.
"You were the rookie the whole time?!" Tails exclaimed.
"I thought seeing Knuckles and Sonic was part of the illusion bug," she said. "I couldn't bring myself to believe it was really them." She turned to Sonic. "But when I was told Eggman had been keeping you hostage and torturing you for the last six months... Even if it wasn't really you, I have to go."
"What? Tortured?" Manic asked, looking quickly at his brother. "You never told me that!"
Sonic winced a bit and looked at his brother. "Relax," he said, brushing it of. "The only real serious torture I went through up there was having to listen to Buttnick blab on about his unstoppable plan twenty-four seven. Intel was faulty." More or less. There had been a few unpleasant experiences, yeah, but he'd weathered them fine so it wasn't their concern, he determined. They didn't need to know about any of that. It was said and done.
"I can't believe I didn't see it," Knuckles said, angry at himself for not seeing it sooner.
"How could you have? I didn't even see it," Sonic bitterly said, looking angrily down. He looked at Sonia once more. "I knew it. I knew there was something different about you. I knew there was something familiar! I should have put it together."
"And I should have believed my own eyes or thought to ask questions or done anything other than just-just blindly assume I was only seeing things!" Sonia said. "When I saw the younger you, I figured the illusion was confirmed. At that point I just wished he'd been Manic instead..."
"Sis," Manic said in awe. "This is... it's so much to take in. The Freedom Fighters... So many of them dead just like that?"
"And the rest trapped in a coma-like state they might never wake up from, even if Cyrus recovers," she said, wiping at her eyes. "I failed them all."
"No, Sonia, no, you tried," Sonic said quickly, taking her hands and squeezing them. She hung her head low.
"I think we should give you guys some time alone," Tails quietly said to the triplets and Knuckles, who still couldn't look at any of them. His eyes were shut tight and the guardian looked disgusted with himself for not picking up on any of this sooner. Tails looked at his friend in concern. "Knux? If Sonic didn't even know, then there's no way that you could have," he offered in concern.
"I know," Knuckles said with a sigh, opening his eyes. "It's just... hard to take in." He looked at the triplets. "Let them have their moment. I just... need to lie down or something."
"We all do after this," Amy said, hands clasped together in concern as she watched the siblings.
"Sonia, give me the power shard and I'll work on your friend for a little while," Tikal said, reaching out for it. "I'm quite a good healer." Sonia nodded and handed it over to Tikal. Quietly she left with the others. Espio gave Sonia's shoulders one final gentle squeeze before following, leaving the triplets alone to be together.
SU
It was early morning when the group at Tails' workshop woke up to the new day. At least those who had slept. Tikal had stayed up tending to Cyrus. Espio had stayed up playing guardsman. Sonia, Sonic, and Manic hadn't slept either, too focused on one another to even try for that. None of them wanted to miss another moment together. It felt like cloud nine to be in each others' presence again.
"Oh man, I thought you two were long dead," Manic remarked after yet another conversation they'd had. One that had been filled with laughter, breaking from the doom and gloom of a lot of Sonic's stories and some of their own.
"Hey, I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. You don't need to worry about me," Sonic boasted.
"What, you think I couldn't take care of myself or that Manic couldn't?" Sonia asked in a slightly annoyed and angry tone.
"No, it wasn't that. It's just… I looked everywhere for you two. I couldn't find so much as a trace. Eggman never spoke about you again after the incident, neither did Knuckles, and I just figured you'd been literally wiped from existence. I was afraid I was the only one who knew you had ever even been there," he replied. There was silence as they recalled that fateful day, sadness in their eyes.
Amy's voice broke the silence. "Well it doesn't matter now, because you're all together again," she said, coming over and sitting down next to them with a smile. "That counts for everything I'd bet."
Sonic smiled a bit. "Yeah. It does. We need to focus on Eggman now, and the future. Not the past," he said. He stood up. "So let's get back to headquarters and get the meet and greet over with, yeah?"
"Alright," Amy said.
"Totally bro," Manic said, standing.
"I'm looking forward to it," Sonia said, rising also.
"Then let's get moving," Sonic said, pulling Amy to her feet as she grinned, thrilled by the gesture. Sonic looked back at the workshop. "Soon as the other slowpokes catch up!" he called teasingly.
"We're coming, we're coming," Knuckles grumbled, walking out with the rest. "What are we going to do about Cyrus?"
"We can bring him to Angel Island or leave him here with the shard," Tikal said.
"Leave him here with the shard. I might be able to help revive him when I get back," Tails said. Tikal nodded in agreement and the group headed towards Station Square.
SU
The Sonic Heroes stared at Sonia in awe, completely amazed to see her and equally amazed at everything that led up to finding the princess. "I can't believe it. This is your sister, Sonic?" Blaze asked.
"She's so pretty, isn't she?" Cream said.
"Aww, well aren't you sweet?" Sonia said, smiling fondly at the girl.
"I hope so," Cream said.
"She's the sweetest," Tails said, solemnly nodding like it was the most important piece of information he'd ever delivered.
"Hey, how about tomorrow we take Sonia for a tour of the city?" Amy asked.
"I'm not sure," Sonia replied, looking hesitantly at her brothers then back. "What about Eggman?"
"As eager as we all are to bring the fight to him, we can't do anything until he makes another move. We don't know where he is," Blaze said.
"And chances are we won't be able to get onto the Final Doom so easily again either," Silver added. "Plus we still need to find the rest of the Sol Emeralds before he does and divvy them up between the teams."
"Come on mate. They don't wanna think about that right now. Crikey they've just been reunited," Marine suddenly interrupted.
"I agree with Marine. They should allow themselves time to get over the shock of recent events. They've found each other alive after thinking each other dead, their mother is living and watching over them again so they need to find her too, and their enemies Sleet and Dingo have returned with help from Fang and Eggman to unleash an unknown threat," Shade said.
"Well, we were fine until you summed it all up," Manic said looking suddenly overwhelmed. Sonia and Sonic looked just as exhausted.
"Oops," Shade said apologetically.
"Never mind her. It's nothing we haven't handled before. Come on hedgehog, you'll love it! I know your type. We'll hit all the prime locations, like malls and salons," Wave said with a smirk.
"My type?" Sonia asked.
"Girly, maybe a dash of tomboy and punk. It's right up your alley," Wave said before laughing.
"Yeah, come on Sonia. It'll be just us girls. We can get to know each other better and help you feel at ease," Rouge said, though there was a scheming glint in her eyes.
"You're not digging for information on my sister, Rouge," Sonic said, frowning at her.
"Like I'd give anything of importance up anyway," Sonia said with a smile. "You know me better than that, Sonic."
"True. You'd probably be the last person to crack under pressure I'd bet," Sonic wryly said, smiling at her. "Hey, go on sis. Go with the girls tomorrow and have fun. You'll probably be in Station Square a while anyway."
"Well, okay," Sonia finally agreed, thinking of the salons.
"Great, I needed to get out of here anyway," Rouge said.
"I guess it would help to scope this city out for when Eggman returns," Shade said. "Look around for the emeralds too."
"Hey Manic, since the girls are doing their own thing tomorrow, how about we take a ride around the city the fun way?" Jet said, smiling over at Manic mischievously.
"All right, now you're talkin' my language," Manic enthusiastically agreed. "Maybe a little competition to liven things up?"
"You're on," Jet replied.
"Well someone's adjusted fast," Sonia said. "You'd think he was always part of the gang."
"I'm hoping you'll adjust fast too," Sonic replied with a smile. "Probably the only reason I'm agreeing to let you out of my sight at all."
"Touching," Sonia said with a smirk.
Sonic smiled, but soon his smile fell as he looked his siblings over. Sonia seemed to catch on first, and her expression softened, becoming sympathetic. She reached out, placing a hand gently on his shoulder and giving him a reassuring smile. "Hey, this isn't a dream, okay? We're back," she promised. "For real."
"Humph. I for one think sightseeing is a waste of time. We should be preparing for Eggman, not playing tourist," Shadow bitterly said.
"Let them wind down, Shadow," Espio testily. "They've been through a lot."
"Yeah, and so have you, Espio. I think you could use a break too," Silver said.
"I'm fine," Espio assured.
"At least take a nap or something. Please?" Sonia pled. "You have to sleep! You've been going almost nonstop since you found me. Probably even before."
"I'll think about it," Espio said with a sigh.
"Espio doesn't need a break. He's too cool!" Charmy declared. "Like Shadow!" Shadow started then looked somewhat amused.
"I'm flattered by the comparison," Espio said, smirking. As aggravating as Shadow could sometimes be, Espio had nothing but respect for him.
"Subject Shadow is warm blooded. It is not possible for him to be cool," Omega said. Sonic, Manic, and Silver snickered a bit. Shadow gave them all a dirty glare.
"Not that kind of cool Omega," Vector said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head hopelessly. "Look, point is it's break time, so lets all have a little fun how about?"
"Exactly," Sonic agreed, looking at his brother and sister. "Hey sibs, you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Are we going to get vegetables tossed at us?" Sonia asked, smirking.
"Never know until you try," Manic replied with a grin, touching his medallion. Sonia grinned as well and touched her own. Sonic did so also, and the others watched curiously.
"Uh, is this gonna be cheese?" Vector dubiously asked.
Sonic just smirked at him and winked, then turned to his brother and sister. "One, two, a one, two, three, go!"
Instantly they broke into a hard song, opening with the guitar!
"Sonic!" Manic whispered, coming in with the drums. Immediately Sonic began to sing.
"Triplets born, the throne awaits;
a seer warns of a deadly fate!
'Give up your children, separate;
Bide your time, lie in wait!'
Sonic Underground!"
"Sonic," Sonia and Manic whispered.
"Sonic Underground!"
"Sonic," they whispered again.
"They made a vow their mother will be found!"
There was a brief break in the lyrics as they focused on the music. The others gawked in amazement, completely caught off guard by the rawness of the song being sung. Manic began to sing this time.
"The children grow, learn what's right;
leaders of the Freedom Fight!
They seek their mother, she knows they do;
is it time? If she only knew! Will the prophecy come true?!
Sonic Underground!"
"Sonic," Sonia and Sonic whispered.
"Sonic Underground!"
Sonia took the opportunity to spin into the spotlight for the last verse.
"I long for my children but I have to wait. To act too soon could seal their fate!"
As their sister spoke, they could almost hear their mother's voice in their heads...
"They made a vow their mother will be found! Sonic Underground!" the three sang together, closing off the song abruptly to the cheers of their friends. Again, mostly the ones that tended to get enthusiastic. Others either just smirked or, in Shadow's case, brooded, begrudgingly impressed. Silently he turned, leaving. Rouge, spotting him, frowned in a measure of concern but didn't move to follow just yet. Simply turned back to the triplets who were being congratulated by the others.
SU
The day had been spent in one another's company as they all tried to get to know Sonic's siblings better. Shadow had been indifferent, mostly avoiding the conversation. Now it was late evening, and he stood on the balcony, looking out over the large yard and towards a view that encompassed both ocean and mountains. He heard footsteps behind him but didn't turn. They stopped. "So, you're Shadow, right?" a voice said from behind.
He turned and saw Sonic's sister standing nearby. "What of it?" he questioned.
"Well forgive me for trying to make conversation," she replied, a little put off at his attitude.
"I would think, Sonia, that from the stories you've heard about me that you would expect as much. Why you aren't avoiding me altogether, I don't know," Shadow replied.
"I know what a tough life can do to a person," she said, looking down. He harrumphed. "What? You doubt me?" she asked.
"Listen hedgehog, don't try to work your way into my mind. Don't try to be my friend. Friends are weaknesses. I don't need weaknesses," he said, his tone conveying that he was about done talking to her.
"What about Omega and Rouge and Sonic and Silver and the others?" she asked.
"I've tried more than once to kill your brother. I've nearly succeeded almost every time. He is not my friend, and why you'd try to be friends with his would-be-murderer is beyond me. As for the others… Omega and Rouge are my teammates, nothing more. Goodnight Sonia," he answered, dismissing her outright. With that he leapt from the balcony and ran off into the night.
"Well I never," Sonia said, huffing. She heard flapping wings and started, looking up. Above her she saw Rouge taking flight, going after Shadow. She frowned curiously.
"Don't mind him," a voice said from behind.
"Huh?" she asked, turning around. Hanging on the wall behind her was Espio, just exiting his camouflaged state. Seeing him, she relaxed a bit. "Like you said, he's had a tough life," the chameleon continued.
She smiled softly. "Hey," she greeted. "I haven't actually gotten the chance to talk to you one-on-one for a while. I... I wanted to say thank you. For everything."
"You don't need to thank me," Espio replied. "I completed the tasks I was given, nothing more nothing less."
"Was I just a task?" she asked.
He was quiet, a bit surprised by this question. "No," he at last chose to answer. "I came after you of my own initiative and made it my personal mission to bring you home again. Though I suppose in that sense I was still doing my job."
"Not one you were hired for though," she replied with a smile. She looked back out in the direction Shadow had run, and her smile fell. "What's his deal?" she questioned.
She didn't miss Espio's silence. Curious, she turned. She saw him pursing his lips, considering his answer. "Let me put it this way. You only thought your brothers were dead. What if you'd watched them die right in front of you after they made sure that you would escape unharmed? What if you weren't sure if everything you knew, everything you remembered, was fake or real? What if you didn't know whether you were a weapon of mass destruction or destined to save the world?" he soon asked.
"I can imagine the second part better than you know," she quietly said, bowing her head. So could her brothers. She looked after Shadow. "But I can't imagine the rest of it. I'm not sure I even want to try..."
"Yet Shadow lives it every day. You had a chance to reunite with your brothers, and you know now that the things you thought you remembered were real. He will never see Maria again, and he may never get full closure for his memories. Plus there's whole weapon of mass destruction thing," Espio said.
She looked sadly down. Poor guy, she inwardly said to herself. "Why did Rouge follow him?" she asked after a moment, looking back up. "I mean, he made it obvious he didn't want anyone to tail him."
"Rouge… She's a strange one. She appears narcissistic, conceited, cold; but when it comes to Shadow, a whole new side of her opens up. One that cares, worries, longs to help. Shadow worked himself into her heart and she's worked herself into his. So far as any of us can tell, she's the only one that can… Well, he doesn't let anyone in, but she's come close to breaking him more than once. They have a bond that's hard to explain. I won't call it love because Shadow's blocked love from his mind and heart, but they're more than just friends. More than best friends even. She's the first one to get to him since Maria. Her and arguably Amy. Meanwhile, Omega's the only one he's openly called friend. Team Dark is full of strange bonds," Espio replied. Sonia listened carefully, hanging on his every word. The timbre of his voice kind of made it hard to ignore. No sooner had he finished his narrative when they saw Shadow and Rouge walking towards headquarters again, side by side in silence. They weren't even looking at each other and you could have been fooled into believing nothing had happened, but everyone knew different. "We all have sides to us that are hard to explain, Sonia, but you'll get used to them," Espio finished. With that he turned and left. Sonia watched Shadow and Rouge drawing close, shivered in the cold, and followed Espio inside.
SU
Shadow ran into the woods without stopping. All at once, though, he came to a halt at the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. He stood there like a statue, looking out over the view. He heard wings in the sky. Every time… Why did she always follow? She landed next to him. He wouldn't look at her. They stayed there silent for a long time. "You were cold, Shadow. She was only trying to be friendly," Rouge finally said.
"I don't need a lecture Rouge," he replied.
"I know. You're the ultimate life form. You don't need anything," she said.
He looked down angrily, then faced her. "You're starting to bug me," he darkly warned.
"It's what I do," she said with a smile. He looked startled at the ready admission, then harrumphed, looking back over the water. "You're stuck with them now Shadow. Get used to it. They'll get used to you too. Soon enough they'll see you treat everyone like this," she eventually continued
"Like what?" Shadow asked.
"Like you don't care when you really do," Rouge retorted, tone slightly sharp.
"I don't..." he began.
"Stop it! Dammit Shadow, just stop it," she hissed. He said nothing and soon she sighed. "Come on. Let's go home. Eggman could make his move at any time. We need our rest."
He didn't move to follow and she didn't move to leave. "Why don't you just give up on me, Rouge?" Shadow at last asked.
The question mildly surprised her, but she wasn't thrown off for long. "Because you matter to me. You matter to everyone, but to me most of all. Even if you don't think you do." He harrumphed then wordlessly turned, walking back towards the house. She came up alongside him quietly, smiling a bit.
SU
"Sooo, Tikal, what's it like living in an emerald?" Manic asked as he leaned back in an easy chair with his feet up, tossing one of the chaos emeralds up and down. The room was mostly empty except for them and Blaze, who had passed out on the couch.
Tikal watched the emerald worriedly, fearing he would drop the gem yet fascinated at the confidence with which he tossed it. He wasn't worried in the least about missing. "If Knuckles sees you throwing a Chaos Emerald like that…" she nervously began.
"Don't worry about Knux. I'm not. He's busy practicing fighting with Shade anyway," Manic replied. "What's the deal with them? They seem pretty tight. Are they a couple? 'Cause if they are, Sonia should know. Just in case old feelings end up rekindled. I don't want to see my sister hurt."
"It's not like that," Tikal said. "At least... not yet. There's a lot that Knuckles has to work through for himself before he throws himself into something like that. He's popular. Rouge, Sonia, Julie-Su... In a sense even me, because for the longest of times he thought he was the only one. Our species was on the verge of extinction, to him it seemed all hope was lost and that he was the only one left, then suddenly I was there. I think that part of him hoped it meant there was a chance to save our dying people. Nothing ever came of it. I returned to the Master Emerald, neither of us knew if... if anything could even happen in that vein, given what I had become, and the idea fell to the wayside. It didn't help that he knew I was his ancestress and I knew he was my descendent. Then, eventually, others came along. Shade came along. They got along well. Exceedingly so. I feel like his attentions towards her were genuine. Even after there were others, and he knew he wasn't alone anymore, he still found his way to her. I suppose there are those who would argue differently though."
"What are you and him now?" Manic asked.
Tikal shook her head. "I don't know," she answered.
"One of those complicated things, huh?" Manic asked.
"I suppose," she answered. She shifted, watching him starting to toss the emerald higher. Whether subconsciously or on purpose, she wasn't sure. "Manic, Knuckles gets violent when he thinks the Master or Chaos Emeralds are in danger," she fearfully said, changing the subject.
Manic looked at her, amused, and stopped. "Okay, fine," he relented, putting the emerald back on the coffee table and taking his feet off it. "But you haven't answered my first question yet. What's it like living in an emerald?"
"It's hard to explain," she vaguely replied, nervously smoothing her skirt.
"Care to try?" he asked.
She sighed and looked up at him. "I lived four thousand years ago, Manic. It's my spirit that is sealed inside the emerald. A spirit I can materialize, but a spirit nonetheless," she answered.
"So you're dead?" he asked worriedly, suddenly serious. Had she ever actually answered that question last time he'd asked it, he wondered? He'd asked it before, right?
"I'm not sure I would call it that, exactly," she replied.
He was about to press more when Espio and Sonia entered from the balcony. Instead he fell silent and his conversation with Tikal died out. About the same time, Sonic entered with Silver. "Has anyone seen Shadow?" Sonic asked.
"I'll say I have," Sonia said.
"You tried to be nice to him, didn't you?" Silver asked.
"Uh, yeah," Sonia replied sheepishly.
"You'll learn soon enough, sis," Sonic teased.
"What do you mean?" Manic asked.
"You'll learn soon enough too," Sonic replied with a laugh.
"I can hear you," Shadow's voice spoke from behind Sonic and Silver. They gasped and turned.
"Uh, Shads, hey," Sonic said innocently. Shadow rolled his eyes then walked passed them without a word.
Rouge smirked affectionately and looked at the others. "I'm heading to bed now," she said.
"We should all be asleep," Espio said, nodding in agreement.
Silver smiled at the slumbering Blaze and went up to her. Gently he shook her awake. "Blaze? Blaze, bedtime," he said.
"Hmm?" she asked with a groan, eyes fluttering open. She gasped, sitting up quickly in surprise. "Silver! Ooh," she angrily said, blushing. Silver laughed. "Fine! I'm going to bed," she said in annoyance.
"Good. Sleeping Beauty didn't wait for her prince sprawled out over a couch," Rouge teased.
"Save it Rouge," Blaze crossly retorted as she stormed passed.
"Is she usually like that when she wakes up?" Manic asked Silver.
"Depends," Silver replied with a smile. "Come on. Let's turn in." All in agreement, the group split up to go to their rooms...
Meanwhile
Sleet dragged Aleena into his bedroom, roughly spun her around, unlocked her cuffs, and shoved her back onto the bed. She gasped as she fell onto it and looked up at him in disbelief. Scowling, he began to pull off his armor and throw it agitatedly to the side. He reached up, pulling off his cape, and all but threw it at her. She caught it quickly and tossed it to the side in disgust, scowling at him angrily. "So smooth with your words in battle, but in a position like this look what you become," she bit as he sat on a chair to remove the armor around his boots.
"Shut up!" he snapped, shoving the pieces under his chair. He stood once more and glared at her. "I don't care what you do, whether you escape, die trying, or stay. I won't be bothered trying to stop you whichever way you choose to play this. Leave this room and you're fair game to whatever is out there waiting, as far as I'm concerned." Turning, he stormed angrily towards an adjacent room.
"Why will you not just execute me yourself?" she challenged.
"If you're still in this room when I come back, I may do just that," he replied.
"Where are you going?" she demanded.
"To take a shower! Consider it your time limit," he snapped. "Good luck getting out of this one, my illustrious queen." He slammed the door behind him and she winced a bit.
For a moment she sat utterly still, staring at the ensuite until she heard the water starting to run. After a moment more, she stood up and looked towards the bedroom door. She moved quickly to it and jiggled the handle. She didn't expect it to open, so when it easily turned in her hand, she stopped. That he'd left it unlocked meant nothing good. After a moment, she looked back towards the bathroom. She didn't know why she hesitated to leave, but she did. Who knew what traps and enemies were lying in wait in this fortress, after all? Perhaps his leaving the door unlocked was a trick to lead her to her death. Or perhaps he had left the door open because the idea of being trapped here with her was just that sickening to him...
She let out a shaky breath at that thought, closing her eyes and resting her forehead on the door, swallowing. The feeling was mutual she told herself. Some wounds were too severe to be healed, some scars too deep, and no one knew that better than they.
To Be Continued...
COMING UP NEXT:
Sonic Chaos Reboot 3: Underground Arc - Aleena
(A/N: Thank you to all who have read and reviewed. I really appreciate the support. It may be a while before I can post the Queen Aleena portion of the series, there's a lot of revamping I need to do on it and a lot of other series' I still have on the go, and some that I'm rebooting as well, but I'm hoping it won't be too long before I've finished it up. Stay tuned, and thanks again for all the support.
For anyone interested, my ideas are open source. Feel free to use them. Same with the series, as long as I'm credited.)