For the first time in thousands of years a sound reverberated through the chamber as the clay door leading in crumbled, the first light in thousands of years Illuminated a pair of intruders. A young Tenrec woman with bright green fur wearing yellow pants and a black shirt and a fennec fox with Argentine blue fur carrying a yellow backpack.
"Guess that cruddy map was real after all Kit," the Tenrec said almost half disinterested. "This is the right place."
The tenrec moved deeper into the corridor as Kit stretched his hand out. "Be careful Surge! What if the emperor left traps in this place?"
Surge gave a dismissive growl. "Come on, the last time this tomb was opened was when togas and chariots where in style in most mobian nations. Even if there are gizmos in here what are the odds of any of them still…"
The sound of scraping clay echoed from the darkness ahead.
"…work?"
Surge crackled with electricity Illuminating the tunnel. Ahead several terracotta statues of humanoid dragons all armed with spears were marching toward them.
"Like I was saying," Kit continued. "These ancient Dragon Kingdom mechs might be simple but they were built to last."
Surge cracked he knuckles as electricity sparked on them. "Well, they won't last long against me!"
The Tenrec zoomed ahead, busting one terracotta robot after another Kit saw that even more were coming and sighed. Eight additional "tails" of water came out of his backpack as he joined the fray covering Surge's blind spots as she used his water to send her electricity even further. Soon all that was left of the small army was broken clay and bits of old gears.
Soon another sound echoed in the ancient tunnel, the sound of chuckling. "Well done, Surge, Kitsunami! The key to our victory is almost in my grasp!"
Surge groaned. "I didn't see you in the fray with us Hong. Just don't forget your part of the deal, you help us get Dr. Starline out of prison so we can 'thank' him for wiping our pasts from our minds."
A human sized bull mobian with red fur wearing a metallic blue lion cloth smiled as he stepped into the light. "Rest assured, there is a certain 'harlot' I'd like to do the same to. But that will come in time, for now our prize."
The trio followed the corridor to a massive metal door with Hanzi characters on it. Kit put on a head lamp and began looking at a book. "I can translate it, 'only those who show the pure essence of a dragon may enter the final resting place of the thirteenth emperor'. Sounds like a riddle, ok dragons are said to be greedy, but that's not something to deter tomb robbers. Dragons are wise, but I don't see any puzzle mechanism. Let me think perhaps…"
Hong growled then suddenly glowed bright red before catching fire. The door seemed to respond the intense flames, moving on its own as if activated by the heat.
"Kit you really overthink things sometimes," Surge laughed before following the bull deeper in.
Kit and Surge's eyes widened as a vast treasure trove stretched across a room the size a commercial jet hanger. "Look at this haul! Once we beat our old selves out of Starline, we can buy practically anything we want!"
"Meaningless trifles," Hong huffed as his fire went down. "The only real wealth is power, and that means only one thing in this room has real value."
Hong reached a massive jade sarcophagus in the middle of the room and tossed the lid aside with no care for the precious stone. Inside were the bones of a dragon curled up its claws tightly grasping something. Hong pried the hands apart heedless of the damage to the mummy and took what it held.
The jade block inlaid with gold fit right into the palm of his hand, two small statues of a dragon and a phoenix adorned the top. Hong's attention turned from the statues to the bottom which was etched so the raised portions made more Hanzi characters.
"Anointed by the gods, may the reign of The Emperor be long and prosperous," Hong read before starting to laugh. "Finally, after two thousand years it has been found! Behold, The Jade Seal of Heaven!"
Surge looked dumbfounded. "Hold on, you hired the two most advanced cyborgs Doctor Starline ever created, had us spend all of our travel budget on an old parchment in a dump of a shop, dragged us out to the middle of nowhere, dig out the entire side of a hill and have us fight ancient robots all for some glorified paperweight?!"
"Surge," Kit muttered. "I think our new boss might be a little bit loopy."
Hong shrugged the remarks off. "This was the imperial seal created by the first emperor of dragons, once he wrote or approved a law, he would cover the bottom of this stone in ink and use it to place the royal seal on the document making it binding for all his subjects."
"Ok, you hired the two most advanced cyborgs, yadda, yadda, yadda, all for a glorified stamp!"
"This is no mere tool of bureaucracy," said Hong. "It's imbued with a magic…"
Suddenly serval horns blasted from outside.
"Ah, they have arrived, and I am betting HE is with them."
"Ok, I'll bite," said Surge. "Who's he?"
"Once I present the seal to him, your real employer who will have the power to grant your desires."
The three emerged from the tomb onto a vast steppe and found themselves surrounded by dozens of large mobians all armored and on the backs of streaking pashas carrying horns, spears, swords, bows and flags depicting a black sun on a field of red. The army parted to allow a bull even bigger than Hong with yellow fur and blue armor carrying a large club to dismount.
"Jun Kun," said Hong. "At long last, The Iron King has reclaimed his rightful place as…"
"Silence!" Jun Kun then struck Hong with the club knocking him to the ground. "My rightful place is as ruler of the world! A place robbed from me by Monkey Khan and that meddlesome hedgehog!"
Hong rose to a kneeling position. "Only because that overlander witch deceived and abandoned you! Even after you exiled me, I remained loyal! I allowed myself to be legionized, gaining the power of unquenchable fire, so that when you were once again leader of the Vermillion Horde that she made you discard, I would have the power to be worthy of you!"
The Iron King spat at the red bull's hooves. "You think that is enough for me to accept you back Hong?! To have Eggman put his machines into you?! I possess both the Tremor Mace and the Unbreakable Armor of Bu Wang! It will take much more than…!"
Hong then presented the seal up to Jun Kun, the warlord and the gathered horde both gasped in wonder.
"The Jade Seal of Heaven!? The artifact before which even the Fan of Fen Xing is powerless!?"
"I give it to you freely my king! All I ask is that I fight by your side once again!"
"Uh, hi!" said Surge. "Surge and Kitsunami here, all we ask is that this guy get us the scientist who made us out of prison to use as our personal pinata and maybe a lot of money."
"Or to just leave," whimpered Kit.
The Iron King took the seal ignoring the two smaller mobians. "The dragons are returning, now is the perfect time to use this. With the Four Houses in tatters or sworn to the pathetic Free People, not even Monkey Khan and his Freedom Fighter allies can stop me now! I accept this tribute, rise and take your place at my side, Hong Kun."
Hong stood actually crying. "Father, I will prove to be a warrior worthy of your name!"
The horde cheered and blew horns while Surge scoffed. "And I thought WE had daddy issues."
Jun Kun raised his Tremor Mace. "Get my son and his underlings each a pasha, then we ride for camp! At dawn we make for the old capital and the Iron Dominion shall be reborn as The Dragon Kingdom will at long last fall under the might of The Iron King and the Vermillion Horde!"
The horde broke out into roaring cheers and blaring horns as they rose weapons into the sky. Soon the vast number were stampeding across the steppes.
Sonic kicked back into his seat after the plane went into a perpendicular angle and he hit the autopilot button. "Man, it's been forever since we took a Freedom Fighter Special, A quick jaunt into low orbit altitude and from there only thirty minutes to an hour to anywhere on Mobius."
"Yeah, the Sky Patrol might give us more support once we get there but this was the perfect way to get to our diplomatic mission/honeymoon." Sally said as she got a handheld out. "Just enough time to check in on our operations before we get there."
"Urk," Fiona peaked from behind looking green. "I forgot how this plane always made me sick after that steep dive. I'll have to start my studies into local medicines as soon as we land."
"You didn't have to come with us Fiona," said Sonic. "In fact, I kind of preferred if you didn't."
"Hey, I'm still in the middle on my medical school studies. I have as much reason to be here as you do."
"Sorry," said Sally. "It's just the last time the three of us were in Dragon Kingdom together, we weren't on the best of terms."
"I do recall you punching me in the stomach Sugar Queen," Fiona turned even greener. "I shouldn't have said stomach."
"I'll say," came a feminine voice from an empty seat. "You change colors so well you could fit right in at Rainbow Valley."
"Liza," A male voice said from another empty seat. "You were doing so well until now."
Espio and Liza uncloaked in the seats.
"What are you two doing here?" groaned Sonic.
"Forgive us," said Espio. "It was the stealthiest way to see the Bride of Constant Vigil. The abilities of two of The Rectifiers have raised questions we have to speak to her of."
"What kind of abilities?" asked Sally.
"Abilities we are only permitted to speak of to The Bride."
Sonic groaned. "You know, you shinobi would get invited to more parties if you weren't so mysterious all the time."
"I'm sorry for being so cryptic," said Liza. "But after I was de-roboticized the people of Rainbow Valley weren't sure if the original roboticization didn't permanently affect my mind and so they shunned me. The Bride was willing to take me in when I had no other home, the chameleons of the Valley and the two of us have all forgiven each other but I still owe too much The Bride to betray any of the clan's secrets."
"Look you three can go about your business," said Sally. "Sonic and I are just going to be focused on diplomatic small talk, followed by a nice dinner."
Fiona took an airsick bag out from the pocket in front of her. "Why did you have to mention food?"
Everyone heard a retching sound, but Fiona hadn't opened the bag yet.
"Ugh Grace! You almost barfed right onto my hair!" came a muttered voice.
"Keep your voice down sis!" came another. "We're supposed to be hiding!"
Sonic unbuckled. "Keep an eye on the radar Sal."
"Well, it would be easier if Juanita didn't keep jamming her horn into my butt!" said a third voice from a supply locker.
"I will once you stop shoving your tail into my face Salma!" came a fourth.
Sonic opened the locker, and five kids fell onto the floor.
"Oh, hi Dad!" said Manik. "Now you hide while WE count!"
Sonic crossed his arms. "Last I checked 'start training with the rest of the team, we'll be back in a couple of days' didn't mean 'you have full permission to stow away on our trip'."
"But you never took us anywhere other than Angel Island back home!" Sonia said. "We just wanted to go on one of your adventures for once!"
"Hate to break it to you but this is going to be as far from an adventure as it gets. Every dragon on Mobius is going to be there along with three ninja clans…"
"Two ninja clans," said Sally. "Jian reported that because of tensions the Free People felt with them and the redundancy of kingdom army she dissolved the Raiju clan and folded its members into the regular armed forces."
"Ok every dragon on Mobius, TWO ninja clans and the Dragon Kingdom Freedom Fighters, Mr. Perfect would be crazy to start something there now. And don't count on The Rectifiers showing up either, not even a sparkle of a Chaos or Sol emerald has been seen in the whole country."
"Ok, we'll just go exploring," said Manik. "You won't even know we're there!"
"And give you chance to cause trouble, no dice."
"Uh, Juanita and I just wanted to use the Shinobi training facility!" said Salma. "We could both use it! Especially Juanita!"
"Hey, you're the one who was failing math class back home!" said Juanita.
"We're on summer break! Ratios and Percentages aren't going to save my life in combat or let me sneak into an enemy base!"
"If you ask me the thing that you both need the most improvement on is your teamwork!" grumbled Espio. "The next time I hear you two arguing you're both going to be doing so many flips can't tell up from down! Understand?!"
The two girls' arms snaped to their sides as they bowed. "Hai Sensei!"
"Yeah, still not used to you calling me that."
"What about you Grace?" Fiona said her face looking a little clearer. "Why did you come?"
"Uh…no reason! I just didn't want to go through the hassle of training!"
"Really? That's all?"
"Hey, I'm just not a fighter."
"But Brawn said you're almost as strong as him and…"
"Look, no matter what they say about girl power nobody expects one to be on her second smartphone because she accidentally crushed the first one with her bare hands! I know I need the training, it's just I'm not comfortable doing it in front of people."
"Ok, you and Mighty one on one. Nobody else needs to see."
"Thanks, I guess."
"Still doesn't explain what you're doing here instead of playing hooky back in Freedom City."
"Good luck with that."
"Ok, round two…"
A light came on in the cockpit. "Sonic!" Sally shouted. "Get back up here, we're going through turbulence!"
The plane started to shake as both Fiona and Grace started to both look green again. "…is going to have to wait!"
Both vixens made a bee line to the plane's bathroom and seconds later the sound of both future mother and daughter retching into the toilet could be heard.
The plane approached runway near a Stormtop Village. The now growing settlement had a notable new addition that dwarfed even the famed Temple of the Golden Lotus, A grand palace with golden roofs and columns that were even now being painted a vibrant red.
"Whoa," said Sally. "And to think just last year that palace was totally buried. It's so wonderful that the Free People are working to reclaim their heritage.
"Still, it's hard to imagine Dulcy being the one in charge of all this," said Sonic. "From being exiled from her people to leading them into reconciliation with their long-lost cousins. Our not so little dragon has moved up in the world."
"I kind of feel sorry for Ken though, I mean he had a whole prophecy about him being the King of the Free People and it looks like that role is second to the return of the Dragons."
Sonic groaned. "All this prophecy stuff is a bigger headache than it's worth, if it wasn't there, I bet monkey boy would be ok with just cracking bad guy skulls."
"It's ok," said Sonia. "You see the Free People end up…!"
"I don't want to hear it!" said Sally. "I don't care if Gold is going to suppress these memoires, I don't want to know more about the future than I absolutely have to!"
After the plane touched down Sonic, Sally, Espio, Liza and Fiona disembarked insisting the kids stay back until the important greetings were finished.
Ken Khan was waiting for them along with two rabbits, a male with short black hair in a crimson uniform and a female with similar hair wearing purple robes with a white flower pattern on them.
"Sally, Sonic, it's great to see you again," said Ken. "I'm sorry I couldn't make the wedding; we've all been busy uncovering and restoring the Palace of Eternal Blossoms and preparing it for the reunification ceremony."
"It's all right Ken," Sally said as she gave him a big hug. "It seems like fighting a rebuilding is all any of us have done for most of our lives. I'm glad we can still be friends."
"Speaking of let me introduce Liu Fang and his sister Liu Chi Mei," the two rabbits bowed. "Two of my best friends in Stormtop Village."
"Although I think Stormtop Town might be a more fitting name at this point," said Liu Fang. "We'll escort you and your guests to the palace and have your bags brought to your rooms."
"Espio and Liza, right?" Chi Mei asked the chameleons. "The Bride of Eternal Vigil is expecting you; she'll be waiting in the room we've set aside for her visits."
"Thank you, Chi Mei," Espio said with a bow. "We shouldn't keep the bride waiting."
"Just one more thing," said Sally. "We have stowaways on the Freedom Fighter Special, some kids from back home who wanted to go an adventure here. Make sure they're given a room and a place for tonight's banquet," Sally then gave a glare back at the plane. "And that those kids STAY in that room until it's time for us to go home."
Sonia and Manik groaned that she said the last part more for them than Ken.
Soon after the group had entered the palace. Several dragons were chatting away with each other both those like Dulcy with wings on their back, a kangaroo like pouch even the males possessed and a black ring in their noses but there were also several more serpentine like dragons that seemed to fly without wings, and it seemed they all held an orb of some kind in one of their four claws and that even the females had a pair of catfish like whiskers. The thing that got to Sonic most was that the two groups were tentatively talking to each other, but he sensed an air of distrust.
"These eastern dragons remind me too much of Zan," the hedgehog grumbled. "He not only terrorized Station Square, but he was an abusive monster to Dulcy! I'm glad that G.U.N. ended up giving the creep a well-deserved missile to the face."
"Zan was a criminal among the eastern dragons," said Ken. "There was no love lost between them, in fact when they found out what the humans did to Zan they wanted them to give a medal to the guy who pushed the button that launched that missile."
Fiona noticed one eastern dragon flaunting her orb while the western dragon had smoke coming from his nostrils as he grumbled. "Is it just me or are some of the eastern dragons acting a bit snobbish to the western dragons?"
"Well according to the history of the Kingdom the eastern dragons were the nobility of land when they ruled while the western made up the bulk of their army," said Chi Mei. "Eventually the western dragons rose to make their best general the emperor and the resulting civil war devastated the land. Both sides decided to leave the land to the Free People, but the western dragons founded Vesuvio while the eastern dragons and the emperor set up their own colony in the snowy mountains. It seems like despite centuries apart old grudges die hard."
"But Dulcy is the very symbol that proves they can live together," said Liu Fang. "The last emperor's son renounced his inheritance because he fell in love with a western dragon."
"Sabina," said Sally. "Dulcy's mother."
"The prince died before Dulcy even hatched and the emperor died without an heir soon after."
Sally began getting teary-eyed. "And Sabina ended up getting Roboticized and Dulcy had to destroy her and so many other robo-dragons before they could take Vesuvio."
"Dulcy thinks that they'll all be reborn someday," said Ken. "And she personally prays her parents will finally be reunited when they are. But a western dragon with the blood of the emperor has been the best chance for peace between the dragons in centuries, we just have to get past the west's resentment and the east's pride."
The group entered the throne room, Dulcy was being attended by Jian the White Tiger, Cinder the Pheasant and Bunker the Tortoise while several piles of gold littered the floor. Nearby a black ox wearing a fine set of armor watched silently.
"Sally! Sonic!" Dulcy broke away from the other girls. "Thanks for coming, I'm sorry about your honeymoon, I would have helped you out with that hostage thing if I didn't have to come back here for the reunification."
"No sweat," said Sonic, he then turned to the several plies of gold. "Wow, the people here must love you to give you all this treasure."
Dulcy blushed. "That's all going back, the only thing I 'hoard' are the memoires of my friends. I just haven't found a good way to let all those men down gently."
"Men?" asked Sally. "Women haven't been giving you tribute?"
"Uh," Dulcy swallowed. "I already sent the tribute back, the only treasure in this room was given by male dragons, not as tribute but as..." Dulcy seemed to be trying to ignore some unseen phantom. "Dowry payments from potential suitors."
"Think of them as the draconic version of an engagement ring," said Jian. "It's traditional to for a dragon to offer part of their hoard to a potential mate."
"How many of these suitors even know you?!" Sally fumed. "Are they just trying to status that comes with being married to the empress?!"
"Most of them actually seemed genuinely sweet," said Dulcy. "But I'm not ready to be soultouched with anyone, not yet, not after…Zan."
Fiona growled. "They should get to know the real you before even thinking about this stuff, but at the same time I don't want that monster to ruin love you forever either! Dulcy, take whatever time you need think about what makes you happy, but whatever you do don't close yourself off to love forever just because you're afraid he'd turn into another Zan. Zan never deserved you, don't let him control you even after he got what he truly deserved!"
"Fiona?" Sally asked.
"Scourge, hit me sometimes. He wasn't trying to make me afraid of him like Zan did with Dulcy but he could have. I wanted to give it up for good too but Mighty, he's been my rock the past few months. I just wanted Dulcy to know you can heal enough to love again, even if it takes time, sometimes more than you have."
"Let's not think about Zan anymore," said Sonic. "Tonight's supposed to be a party, right?"
Dulcy took a deep breath. "You're right, the dragons, the Free People, the last thing they need is a mopey empress. General Hun."
The ox came towards Dulcy. "Yes Empress."
"Have all these doweries cleared out of here in time for the banquet, I'll be making a few polite letters of refusal."
"I'll see that it is done my empress."
"We better get ready for tonight," said Sally. "I got us some traditional Dragon Kingdom clothing for the occasion, but we had a few kids stow away on the trip."
"This will be a historic moment," said Dulcy. "I'll make sure there's seats at a table for them as well."
"Looks like Espio and Liza already split to talk to the head ninja," said Sonic. "We'll meet back in time for dinner."
As the group left Ken stayed behind giving a suspicious look at General Hun. "Don't think I haven't forgotten how you took everyone in Stormtop Village and handed them over to Robotnik to be roboticized."
Hun sighed as motioned for a pair of guards to begin gathering the gold. "I was roboticized myself back then, I am working to right the wrongs I made to the Free People and restore my honor."
"Then why did you only show yourself AFTER Dulcy became empress? Just where do you come from anyway?"
"Those are good questions, and I will answer them, but not when I have duties to perform."
Ken tightened his grip on his atomic bat. "I'm keeping an eye on you."
Ken left the throne room as General Hun lowered his head in contemplation.
Espio and Liza sat down on a pair of pillows in front of an older chameleon woman in a green kimono with three horns lined up vertically on her forehead and scales the same color as Espio's. She poured herself a cup of green tea and raised it to her lips. "I have heard you have something to report to me, Espio, Liza. Are you certain that whatever information you have is worth my direct attention?"
"I believe so My Bride," said Espio.
The Bride of Constant Vigil took a sip from the cup without raising her eyes once. "You believe? Shinobi do not operate on guesswork."
"What he means is that there is very little doubt as to the evidence we have observed My Bride!" said Liza. "But we have our own questions because…we're not entirely sure what that information means…"
"But the possibility remains the clan might have been compromised," said Espio. "Or will be in the future."
The Bride finished her cup and began to pour another. "So now we're working on what MIGHT be? Perhaps you've both been spending too much time with your heads in the clouds."
"We mean no disrespect!" Espio stammered. "But these are very unusual circumstances and…"
The Bride then began to chuckle as she put the teapot down. "I was just teasing you both. This isn't like your last visit, there are no outsiders among us. It has been so long since the last time it was just you and me alone with clan Espio so we can afford to be informal for once…" the bride looked at Espio with a loving expression. "My son."
Espio blushed as he sighed in relief. "Thank you, Mother."
"So informally, your report."
Espio nodded. "The other day Liza and I engaged in combat with a new threat, an elite force who call themselves Rectifiers. We had since learned that they come from two hundred years in the future."
The Bride began another sip of tea. "Very unusual."
"Two of them in particular concerned us," said Liza. "A pair who called themselves Phi One and Chi One two chameleons who at the very least had Shinobi training."
"You suspected a traitor, but since you now know they come from the future you are unsure WHEN the treason took place."
"There's more," said Espio. "They used a technique I only heard about once as a small boy; I remember it clearly because… it was the last time I ever heard Father speak before he went on that final mission."
The Bride was still for a moment before she picked up her tea again. "What was the technique in question?"
Espio took a deep breath. "What do you know of the Hidden Art called Vanishing Fusion?"
Espio felt a chill down his spine as he noticed his mother lost control of the cup for just a split second. In all his life he had never seen her lose control of her tea.
"The rectifiers in question," the bride said in a much sterner voice. "Describe them."
"We couldn't tell much because their uniforms covered them head to toe," said Liza. "We can't even tell you the shape of their head crests due to the shape of their helmet, all we know is that they were two females each with a single horn. After they used that art they became a human sized chameleon that called herself Phi-Chi."
The Bride placed her tea on the table. "The fact that they used that rarely taught art signals dark times for the Shinobi Clan."
"What do you mean mother?" asked Espio. "Is it forbidden?"
"No, but the requirements to use it are so difficult in the entire history of our clan the number of capable ninja pairs able to do it can be counted on one hand. Vanishing Fusion grants great power and speed but requires total synchronicity between the users, not just in form but thought. One needs to be extremely intimate with one's partner while being of roughly the same body. It requires a familiarity that goes beyond friendship, preferably twins are the best users but it is not required, what is required are siblings who are as close to each other as wind and sky, a bond built and kept since early childhood. When such a pair is produced by our clan they are brought before The Bride when the youngest has reached their sixteenth year. She then bestows the knowledge of the form before they make the attempt, but even with a strong bond of love between them almost all attempts fail. In fact, the last pair able to perform Vanishing Fusion, twin brothers, had passed away of old age during that brief period for both me and your father when we thought the entirety of the world existed within the shells of our eggs."
Espio and Liza both gasped. "So not even you had seen it done?! But for Phi One and Chi One to do it…!"
"Requires years of support from the clan, for this art to be used by ones so ended up so dark is an ill omen. The Yagu and Raiju clans fell to greed or a lust for power, and now they are gone. The Gossamer Clan's Bride of Endless Reach came to me saying their webs had foretold dark times but that the fate of their clan was, while uncertain, intricately tied to ours. But with appearance of these two rectifiers, I fear that our clans will eventually fall into darkness as well and as a result be swept away too."
Espio stood quickly. "There is still hope mother! A device with knowledge of the future, it might be able to prevent this from happening! The Freedom Fighters are still trying to get it to work, but once they do, we can prevent the masters of The Rectifiers from ever seizing power and the Shinobi Clan will be safe!"
The bride allowed herself a smile. "Now I truly see your father in you, my son. As much as the Four Houses professed loyalty to their Brides they were always at their best when the Brides each had a Groom at their sides to provide balance. When the time comes, I will feel at ease stepping down as Liza and you replace me as the Bride and Groom of Constant Vigil."
Liza and Espio bowed. "We can only succeed you My Bride," said Liza.
The Bride smiled but then looked as if trying to see past the younger chameleons. "I get the sensation that there was something else behind these events, something you haven't told me yet."
Espio and Liza's scales turned a deep red as they remembered Salma and Juanita. "Uh, I'm afraid that part's a little personal," said Espio. "Too personal for even you Mother."
"Very well then, I will trust you both to handle that matter then. But first…" The bride went to another room and came back with a scroll. "This scroll details the technique required to perform Hidden Art: Vanishing Fusion. Neither of you will be able to use it but perhaps that information will aid you both in your investigation."
Espio took the scroll and hid it behind his armguard. "We will be sure to study it thoroughly when we get the chance."
"Now I must prepare for the banquet, and I would be honored if you both would sit with me then."
Espio was taken aback. "But the bride is to support no one member of the clan above another, not even her own child!"
"But I'm not supporting you, I'm having dinner with my son and his fiancée. The rules might be rigid, but they aren't THAT rigid. I will make sure you are both given the appropriate attire to borrow for this evening."
Espio allowed himself a rare smile he also saw on Liza. "Thank you, Mother."
That evening the Throne Room had been turned into a vast banquet hall, a selection of the finest local dishes was spread out before the finely dressed guests as they sat in five long tables; four going up and down the room and one that spread left to right in front of a large golden throne shaped like the head of an eastern dragon. Dulcy rose from that throne and raised her arms.
"For the first time in two thousand years, dragons of the east and west stand together in The Palace of Eternal Blossoms. Let this mark an end and a beginning, an end to generations of strife and enmity and the beginning of a new age of prosperity for not only the dragons of east and west but of Free People as well. So, raise your cups high as we all toast. Dragons of the East, Dragons of the West, Free People, Honored Guests, let us toast; to a brighter tomorrow!"
"Here! Here!" the gathered crowd exclaimed.
"And with that, dinner is served!" As she sat back down Dulcy turned to Sally. "Thanks for writing that speech for me at the last minute."
"No problem," Sally said in a bright red Dragon Kingdom dress. "You should see me when I actually have time to prepare."
Down the table a fat boar with brown fur drooled as a cover was lifted of a pile off steaming buns. "Sweet Red Bean Dumplings! My favorite!" He then began using chopsticks to pile the dumplings high on his plate.
"Careful Zhao Khan," said a skinny looking turtle with long black hair but a large bald spot at the top. "You do know what those do to you."
"I don't mind Lang Khan," Zhao said still piling dumplings. "The smell doesn't really bother me."
Ken groaned. "He was more worried about the people around you in a few hours Zhao. This behavior of yours is totally unbecoming of a Khan!"
The boar stopped and turned to the monkey. "Still think because of some prophecy you're the strongest of the three of us? Well five hundred years ago Lang and I were famous until that Witchcart lady turned us into jade statues."
"And Ken was the one who freed us remember?" said Lang.
Zhao popped a bean dumpling into his mouth. "Ha! He's strong only because some mad doctor made him a cyborg. I on the other hand have mastered the seventy-two transformations, allowing me to shapeshift into anything I want!"
Ken smirked. "Anything except a smaller pair of pants."
Over in a small corner table Manik struggled to put food on his plate with the provided chop sticks. "Why can't they just give us forks like Mom and Dad do whenever we got takeout?"
"Manik," Sonia grumbled. "We're at a feast meant to be part of a reunification, take it more seriously."
"I am, I don't want to go up to someone and cause a diplomatic incident by asking for regular cutlery."
"Then learn how to use what you were given properly," said Salma. "Or stick to eating the soup, they give you spoons for that."
"Keep it down, will you?" said Grace as she leaned to the side of her chair. "I'm trying to listen to Mom but we're kind of far from where she's sitting."
"I don't get it," said Juanita. "You only wanted to come with us when you found out Miss Fox was going, and you've been spending every moment trying to spy on her."
Grace leaned back, mostly because Jian was beginning to turn to their direction. "Look ever since we got here my mom of this time has been acting a lot different than the Mom I know."
"So what?" said Sonia. "People change, my mom is a lot more hands on than back home, but that's to be expected."
"They don't change as much mine did. My mom is strict, she has that stupid feud with Dusk's mom but other than that she's as dull as dishwater. Except for that story she told me about Robotnik capturing her as a kid, which I think she only told to ease me after the whole Synaptix thing, I thought her life before I was born was 'met Dad in a prison camp, escaped from said prison camp, did nothing but study to be a doctor, became a doctor, married Dad, had kids, the end'. But now it seems like she was a bit of an adventurer and Freedom Fighter herself, upset both Sonic and Princess Sally, had some creep boyfriend, she even stole something from Knuckles! It feels like my mom and this Fiona are two different people, but they aren't and if my mom was hiding this from me, what else could she had been hiding all this time?"
"Grace, you have to be very careful about this," said Manik. "Feels to me like if you dig too far into this, you're going to find something you're not going to like."
Grace fiddled with something in one of pockets of her top. "I might not like it, but I have to know anyway."
The sounds of explosions came from outside the palace. "Lousy timing," said Sonic. "You don't set off fireworks while people are eating and can't see them."
Dulcy put down the skewer of meat she was eating. "That's just it, the fireworks weren't supposed to begin until everyone went to the gardens."
The explosions now had several horns mixed into them. Just then Liu Fang burst through the door. "Raiders! Stormtop Town and the Palace are under attack!"
"Then these raiders are fools!" bellowed an old eastern dragon. "We shall roast these mongrels before…!"
The old dragon suddenly stopped and grunted as he hunched over.
"What's the matter?!" said young western dragon. "Got more hot air than flame?!" But as soon as he said that the young dragon grunted and stooped.
"Dulcy!" Jian, Bunker and Cinder cried out as she suffered the same effects as the other two, quickly followed by every dragon in sight.
"R-Run!" Dulcy grunted out. "Before I attack you!"
"Attack us?!" said Sally. "But you're our friend!"
Dulcy looked up, her eyes glowing jade green. "Hurry! I can't fight it much longer!"
"My empress!" shouted General Hun. "You must not do this! You must not dishonor yourself like that!"
The glow intensified as the other dragons began snarling at the gathered Free People. Dulcy however stopped. "I hear and obey!"
"Obey?!" shouted Ken as he swung his Atomic Bat at General Hun. "Just what are you up to Hun?! What do you have to do with this?!"
"I have no idea! You must believe me! I cannot…!"
Suddenly Sonic sneezed as the doors to the throne room burst open as dozens of armored warriors on streaking pashas rode in. Some even going as far leaping onto the tables and knocking the food all about.
"Surrender now!" Jun Kun bellowed as he and Hong Kun rode in. "And bow before the Iron King!"
In a flash Sonic took off his formal clothes and stood before the warlord. "It's been a while Jun Kun. Last time I saw you I was using the Fan of Fen Xing to blow you out of New Mobotropolis and halfway back to Dragon Kingdom! I just have to dash over to the treasury to get it and then get ready to get blown hard blowhard!"
Sonic started moving only to be blocked by a crackling green blur. "Sorry, but you'll have to run faster than that to get past me!"
Sonic clenched his fist. "What Moebius has its own "every guy is a girl and vice versa" counterpart zone?"
"Nothing like that, Doc Starline used Scourge as a model for my abilities, but added a few features," The Tenrec snapped her fingers causing a spark. "He called me Surge, but I'll call you an ambulance!"
Sonic dodged an electric punch and countered with a sweeping kick that Surge jumped over.
"Espio, Liza, Fiona!" Sally called. "Make for the treasury!"
As they moved toward that door however the way was blocked by several "tails" of water. "Sorry, but a Kitsunami has cut off access to that road," said the little fennec fox. "That was a good one liner, right Surge?"
Surge shrugged as she and Sonic were racing each other along the walls. "Eh, keep practicing."
Jun Kun got angry as he looked at Dulcy. "Why isn't the Empress attacking these whelps?!"
Monkey Khan turned to the Iron King angrily. "Ask Hun! He seemed to be the only one to calm her!"
The Iron King then started laughing. "Of course, She saw your armor! I bet she studied the history of this land to understand what it meant and so recognized you as one of the Vermillion Horde even though we no longer do." Jun Kun then smirked. "Little Brother!"
"Do not call me that, we are no longer brothers!" bellowed Hun. "After the Bem freed me, I realized that the way of our ancestors, raiding and pillaging from our neighbors, was not an honorable path! It was only when I heard of The Empress that I gained the courage to leave the Forsaken Steppes behind and dedicate my life to atoning those I had harmed, both as a robot slave and a brutish thug of the Vermillion Horde!"
Jun curled the fingers of the hand holding his mace towards himself. "If that's the case try to strike me down and free your empress."
Hun raised a polearm. "As if I needed yet another reason!"
"Hun, wait!" Sally yelled.
The ox charged and drove the polearm into the Iron King's chest only for the spearhead to shatter on impact. Hun then starred awestruck at his destroyed weapon. "No, but how?!"
The Iron King laughed. "Fool, this is The Unbreakable Armor of Bu Wang! As long as I wear it no blade can cut me, nor arrow pierce me! In fact, I am even more invincible than before!" He turned to the tenrec and fennec. "Surge, Kit! Allow the hedgehog to retrieve the fan, I will allow him one shot!"
"Uh, you sure about that boss?" said Kit.
"Your Iron King has given you a command!" roared Wong Kun. "You must obey!"
Surge growled. "Ok, but if he gets his butt kicked then you have to get Starline for us yourself!"
Sonic zipped out then back in with a folding fan in hand. "It's strike three Iron Clod and you are outta here!"
Sonic swung the fan at the Iron King, the bull then held up the Jade Seal and the intense wind suddenly died in front of it.
"All of the other artifacts of the ancient dragons are powerless before this one! The Jade Seal of Heaven!"
Sonic folded the fan as he growled. "So, you got a new toy, big whoop."
"But you haven't seen what the Jade Seal was made to do, the first emperor made sure his law was absolute among his dragons because of this seal. A demonstration, fetch me that scribe!"
"Here father!" Hong lifted a terrified looking mouse with a quill.
"A new decree scribe, 'hence forth Hun Kun is no longer part of the Vermillion Horde and all his commands are to be ignored'."
The mouse quickly scribbled the words down onto paper on a wooden board before she turned it to the Iron King. "Here!"
"Once the ink is pressed into paper by the seal then among dragons these words become absolute law!"
The Iron King stamped the paper with the seal and the ink then glowed a jade green.
"Get away!" yelled Dulcy. "Or I'll…!" Suddenly she roared and tried to torch her friends with her fire breath. "I'm sorry, I can't help but obey the laws of the seal!"
"You forgot one thing Iron King!" said Sally. "That seal isn't going to make the Freedom Fighters give up!"
"Give up?!" laughed the Iron King. "You have already lost! This palace, this town, this land and soon the whole world will belong to the Iron Dominion!" Jun Kun raised his Tremor Mace towards the Freedom Fighters. "Dragons, Vermillion Horde, destroy them!"
The dragons shot fire their way as the horde began to charge.
"We need to get the kids out of here, fast!" shouted Sonic as he continued to wave the fan of Fen Xing to push all the attackers back.
"On it!" said Fiona as she ducked behind the throne and looked at a pillar set into the wall. "The switch should about…here!"
The vixen pushed a hidden button causing a hidden door to open.
"How did you even know that was there?!" asked Grace.
"Something Nic taught me as a treasure hunter, if you want to keep a monarch safe it helps to have the secret escape tunnel next to their throne."
"Enough gabbing!" said Ken. "Everybody out now!"
"But Dulcy!" cried Cinder.
"Go now!" Dulcy growled. "Protect the people, find a way to stop the Iron King!"
The Kids went in first followed by Fiona, the Dragon Kingdom Freedom Fighters, Lang Khan, then Sally. Zhao Khan came next but was too wide to fit.
"You just had to have all those bean dumplings!" shouted Ken as he fought a few horde members off.
Zhao then changed into a mobini pig. "Seventy-two transformations remember?!" the pig said before going into the tunnel followed by Lang.
"This way My Bride!" Liza said as she and Espio escorted the Bride of Eternal Vigil through.
"You two next!" shouted Hun as he knocked one dragon into another.
"No way!" said Sonic. "They'll destroy you!"
"Jun Kun will want me humiliated first, that will give you the time to come up with a counterattack! You are the people's best hope, I believe you Freedom Fighters will quickly find a way to free The Empress and the other dragons! Now go!"
Sonic and Ken looked hurt as they ducked into the tunnel. Monkey Khan then swung this Atomic Bat at the ceiling to collapse part of the tunnel before any pursuers could follow and then went further into the darkness.
Hours later Hong Kun erupted into flame as he turned to a couple of raiders. "How could you let my father's enemies escape WITH The Fan of Fen Xing?!"
"Patience my son," the Iron King said as he sat down on the golden throne and motioned for a dragon to fill a goblet with wine. "We will get another chance; they can't help but come to the aid of weaklings. We just have to make the Free People suffer, when the Freedom Fighters come to save the peasants THAT's when we close the trap on them."
"And when they do come," spat a chained up General Hun. "They will put your new reign to an end! You covet glory while caring nothing for honor and so both will forever be out of your reach! THAT is your greatest weakness!"
Hong slapped Hun across the face. "Don't you dare speak of my father like that traitor!"
Hun gritted his teeth. "And your blind anger is YOUR greatest weakness my nephew. You were so angry at Iron Queen Regina for making the Iron King abandon you and The Horde that you never saw your father for the wicked man he is. If you do not turn from this path now Red Prince, you will face your own ruin along with the Iron King."
Hong Kun growled. "Shall we have Uncle Hun executed now Father?!"
"Not just yet," Jun Kun said after a drink from the goblet. "He still serves us as bait, once we capture the rest of those upstarts, we'll have them all executed publicly, that should put enough fear into those peasants that they will never rise against me again. For now, throw him in the dungeon."
Hun glared at the Iron King as he was dragged away by two Horde members.
After Hun was taken away Hong smirked. "Red Prince, I like the sound of that."
"I can make it your official title Hong," Jun Kun said. "A fitting label for the one to lead the Vermillion Horde after my long and prosperous reign ends."
Hong knelt before the throne. "Thank you, Father."
"Uh not to interrupt this happy family moment," said Surge. "But we were promised one Dark Egg Legion scientist remember?"
The Iron King took another swig of wine. "Ah, yes. It is time to make demands of the other nations in exchange for stalling my eventual invasion of their lands." He then turned to Dulcy. "Where is communication equipment in this palace?!
Dulcy growled. She may be forced to obey Jun Kun but he could never make her LIKE doing it. "There is a console hidden in that wall, it will lower a communication screen, but I don't think the Republic is going to give into you 'your majesty'."
The Iron King growled. "I do not want your opinions, only your obedience!" He went back to Surge. "The doctor's release into our custody will be one of our demands, along with the former Iron Queen."
Surge raised her palms upward. "Hey, you do you pal."
Kit hid behind Surge when Jun Kun growled in frustration.
"Get me in contact with the Council of Acorn and while you're at it contact the Ascendancy's network and demand that Doctor Robotnick speak with me." The Iron King smirked at the Jade Seal of Heaven. "I don't like that his toys are intruding onto MY land."
Dawn the next morning Sonia and Manik watched through binoculars from some bushes as a pair of giant red banners with black suns fell to cover the front walls of The Palace of Eternal Blossoms.
"Great," gripped Manik. "I bet those fiends are alphabetizing Dulcy's playlists as we speak."
"Manik, take this seriously," moaned Sonia.
"Hey when it accidentally happened to you, you screamed into your pillow for a full five minutes."
"Let's just report back to the shrine."
A half minute later the two super-fast preteens had run up several flight of stairs to a small hilltop shrine. "Those Vermillion Horde guys have been making themselves at home," Sonia told Sally. "But I don't think they have any idea this place is even up here."
"Let's hope Jun Kun doesn't get it in his head to ask Dulcy," said Bunker. "She was with us when we used Shinjin Shrine as a base during the Phantom Ruby War."
"That will take some time," said Sally. "The Iron King usually only employs only one tactic, use a headlong charge to destroy the opposition with overwhelming force. The real problem is many of his soldiers are innocent dragons who are being compelled to help him because of a mystic artifact."
"So, we just swipe the thing from him and watch as he runs from the Dragons now on our side," said Zhao Khan.
"The seal doesn't work on them directly but on the laws marked with it," said the Bride of Constant Vigil. "A more viable tactic is to find the law he marked that forces the dragons to obey his army and destroy that. The sudden rebellion will sow confusion among the enemy's ranks allowing us to be able to capture the seal and the palace. My Shinobi and the Gossamer Clan standby to launch a diversionary attack while you can lead a strike team to destroy the law in question."
"Liza and I will help the Shinobi Clan's attack," said Espio.
Jian flashed the cybernetic blade in her tail. "Lang Khan will be coming with me, Bunker, and Cinder to force the Vermillion Horde out of Stormtop Town."
Sally nodded. "Then Sonic, Ken, Fiona and myself will accompany you to get the civilians out of danger before sneaking back into the palace to destroy that law."
"You should take these with you," said Cinder handing Sally five rings. "Bunker and I had been working on them here in the shrine, if one of the really big brutes come at you, they should be able to make the enemy meditate on his or her actions."
"Thanks Cinder."
"Wait then what am I doing?!" asked Zhao Khan.
Ken glared at Zhao. "You are staying here to make sure the children aren't harmed, and I don't want to hear you complain! It's an important job and more importantly the effects of those red bean dumplings on you haven't gone off yet and the last thing we need is for any allies to be near you when they do! So, the kids stay inside, you stay outside got it?!"
Zhao folded his arms. "Spoilsport."
"Ok treasure hunter," Sonic said turning to Fiona. "Got any more tricks to get us back IN to the palace?"
"Funny you should mention tricks," Grace said from a corner. "These past few days have been getting me to realize you've tricking me since we first met!"
Fiona looked up confused. "I don't follow."
Grace gritted her teeth. "I'm not buying the act anymore! You're not who I thought you are, you never were! You've been hiding something from me and you're not going anywhere until I finally get the truth out of you!"
Fiona closed her eyes. "Everyone, Grace and I need a few minutes outside, alone." The two foxes went to a pond on the other side of the small complex. "Alright just what are you talking about?! I never tried to hide anything from you, all you had to do was ask!"
Grace just folded her arms. "Please! You've been lying to me since the day I was born!"
"Hold on, is this about something I haven't even done yet?!"
"My mom is the whitest white bread, good doctor, happy homemaker stereotype around! She won't let me pick my friends, won't let me pick my clothes, heck I still have a seven-thirty bedtime all because she's afraid I'll turn into a juvenile delinquent! Then some goons from the future drag me twenty years into the past and who is my mom then? Apparently, some kind of kick butt, Freedom Fighter, Treasure Hunter, Super Thief who got into fights with the princess! So, either you're lying to everybody else, which given how you found a secret passage without even trying is not possible, or my mother is ashamed of being awesome!"
Fiona felt her own temper flare. "Hey, I am might not be proud of everything I've done, but I swore to myself I wouldn't be ashamed of any of it anymore!"
"Oh, what would the good doctor have to be ashamed of? Took two free samples instead of one, overdue library book? Come on, the truth all of it, everything about my apparently super awesome mom who decided to become Doctor Dishwater!"
"You don't know what you are talking about, my life wasn't just a thrill a minute roller coaster ride that I enjoyed every second of!"
"Oh yeah, then why would ANYONE want to hide even one bit of The Adventures of Super Fiona!"
"BECAUSE I WAS ONE OF THE BAD GUYS ALRIGHT?!" Fiona snapped.
Grace froze in place. "What!?"
"I lived most of my life on the other side of the law when a madman wrote most of it! I lived for myself first, and damn the consequences for anybody else! When somebody I thought of as both a big sister and mother-figure stabbed me in the back I tried to go straight, but when that started to fall apart, I decided it was more fun to be evil. So, I ditched the Freedom Fighters for a guy who was once literally called "Evil Sonic" and to prove it to everyone including myself put an exclamation point on the whole thing by slapping a little fox boy who was in love with me so hard he flew like ten feet! I was an unrepentant villain who didn't care who I hurt so long as I wasn't hurt first! Until that started falling apart too! I hit absolute rock bottom, had some sort of spirit/parasite possessed wizard trick me into becoming an actual witch to help piece my life back together until he brainwashed me! So yeah, I don't know how she got there but I don't blame your mother one bit for becoming a boring suburban housewife just to mix things up!"
Grace's nails dug into her palms. "You hypocrite! Ever since I started school you treated me like a criminal when you actually were one! You never let me do anything after you've done it all!"
Fiona felt a sudden blow to the heart. "Grace, wait a minute! I'm sorry, I got angry, let's talk about it!"
"NO! I'm done listening to you! EITHER OF YOU!"
Grace ran back to the Shrine as Fiona started after her. "Grace, come back!"
Sonic leaned out the door. "Hey Fiona, it looks like the Horde is starting a ruckus in Stormtop Town, if we're going to save Dulcy we have to move now!"
Fiona gave a concerned look at Grace. "We'll continue this discussion once I get back just, just don't do anything rash ok?"
Grace folded her arms again. "Whatever."
As the teams started to move out Salma turned to Grace. "What was going on out there?"
Grace growled. "Me seeing things clearly for the first time in my life."
Jun Kun glared at a pair of screens in the throne room, one had the Council of Acorn glaring angrily at him and the other Viktor Robotnick sat in a chair with steepled fingers.
"Twenty-four hours!" the Iron King bellowed. "That is how long you both have, both for the Acorn Republic to hand over Doctor Starline and Regina Ferrum for interrogation and execution respectively and for the Robotnick Ascendandy to retreat all their forces from my borders!"
"We don't need twenty-four hours!" said King Max. "The Council of Acorn does not recognize the Iron Dominion as the rightful government of the Dragon Kingdom! If our military wasn't focused on skirmishes elsewhere, we'd send in an armed response to restore the Empress to her rightful throne!"
Jun Kun's tail waved around furiously. "This land is mine by right of conquest!"
"A relic of more barbaric times!" Councilor Bernie said. "No government in the world today would tolerate what you have done!"
The Iron King smirked as he turned to Viktor's screen. "Oh, I can think of one who would approve my methods and HE knows to take my threats seriously."
Viktor's eyes were hidden behind his glasses. "Withdraw my robots from the Dragon Kingdom or you'll send flying fire breathing lizards and a bunch of mounted warriors armed with swords and bows to wipe them out?"
"Exactly!"
Viktor was silent, for about five seconds.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You really think such a meat head move would work against the most technology advanced force on the planet lead by a perfect genius?! Hey Lilith!"
"Yes Viktor?" the female Robotnick said as she entered the room.
"This guy seriously thinks he can wipe out our entire military with dragons and medieval weaponry!"
Lilith snorted then erupted into laughter. "Seriously?! The dragons might be annoying but with our resources?! This isn't the Great War where a bunch of woodland critters with an aversion to firearms can outthink a resource depleted modern military! Who does he think he is?! Ivo Robotnick?! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Oh, thanks Jun Kun!" Viktor said catching a breath. "We REALLY needed a good laugh!"
The Iron King clenched his fist. "Fools, all of you! My dragons will burn all your lands to cinders!"
"Y'all can't hope to win against the entire planet!" Councilor Rabbot said. "The Iron Dominion taking over the world is a pipe dream! We're all wasting our time listenin' to you!"
The feed to Freedom City was cut off.
"Those miserable!"
"Father!" the Red Prince said as he burst into the throne room. "The Gossamer and Shinobi clans are attacking the palace! The Freedom Fighters are attacking our forces in Stormtop Town as we speak!"
"Looks like you're going to have your hands full," said Viktor. "But should you manage to survive this feel free to call me anytime, we could use more comedy, Robotnick out!"
Viktor then cut his feed.
The Iron King used his mace to topple a nearby statue. "The Iron Queen made me look like a fool to the rest of the world and even now they mock me to my face! No more! These rebels, the Republic, the Ascendancy, the Federation, there will be no mercy for any of them!"
"And they shall receive none Father!" said Hong Kun. "Just say the word and I will meet them in glorious battle!"
"I will be seen as a tool or a clown no longer! The world shall once again tremble in fear of The Iron Dominion, The Vermillion Horde and the Iron King!"
The Freedom Fighters had nearly finished liberating the town and now Sally's team made their way to one of the palace walls. "You sure there's another way in over here?" asked Ken.
Fiona nodded. "I came here in part to study some of the medical techniques of the court alchemist of the third empress. I uncovered an interesting fact that he requested to move his lab and quarters to along the eastern wall, looking for clues in the village back there I found out the part of the old city around there was called Courtesans Row and the rest was just putting two and two together."
Fiona moved them to the other side of a tree. "If that map was right we should start looking around…"
"Achoo!" Sonic sneezed.
Suddenly the entire group was raised up into the air in a net trap.
"You should see the looks on your faces!" Surge laughed as she and Kit came out of door that slid from the side of the wall. "Ha! The Iron King is such a dummy, he'd never think we'll use the secret passage trick twice!" she said in a mocking voice.
"How'd you even find that door?!" yelled Ken.
"With Surge's speed it didn't take her long at to find it once we knew we had to look," said Kit.
"Course we I only knew I had to look because of a crafty little fox," said Surge.
"Geeze, thanks Surge!"
Surge groaned. "The OTHER crafty little fox."
Kit put his hand behind his head with a blush. "Oh, yeah right."
A young vixen came out of the bushes, Fiona's face began to lose color. "Grace!?"
"This brat dropped the dime on you guys faster than it takes me to run a DEL live fire course!" Surge laughed.
"Grace, listen to me!" pleaded Fiona. "I know you're hurt right now but whatever you think you're going to get out of this isn't going to be worth it! Don't do something you can never take back, please!"
"I told you I'm done listening to you," Grace said coldly.
"You two close?" asked Kit.
"…Not anymore."
"Smart move if you ask me," said Surge. "After the two of us got our pasts and memoires wiped by Doctor Starline nobody came looking for us or asked who we were. The way I see it if you don't have a past then if somebody gets in your way, they don't get a future. Good luck out there, I'm going to get some guards to haul these clowns in."
"Actually, I want to go with you two!" said Grace. "I can be very useful!"
"Oh wow, can we Surge?!" said Kit. "It'd be great to have someone new to talk to!"
"Grace don't!" cried Fiona.
Surge knelt as she tried to shoo a bug away. "Depends kid, what can you do?"
"I'm like crazy strong!" Grace boasted. "I also can play guitar and I'm awesome at distractions!"
"Sounds useful, what kind of distractions?"
Grace had a mischievous smirk on her face. "Distractions like the one you fell for just now."
The bug that flew higher into the air suddenly transformed into Zhao Khan right above Surge and Kit.
"PIG BOTTOM!"
"GAAAAAAGGHHH!"
Zhao landed butt first on top of the two former legionnaires, pinning them to the ground as he sat on them.
Salma and Juanita uncloaked as they began using kunai on the rope holding the net up. "We'll have you down in a second!"
"You're toast kid!" growled Surge as electricity began to crackle around her. "Once I fry this guy like bacon, you're next!"
"Surge, careful!" shouted Kit. "You don't want to zap me too!"
Suddenly Zhao's stomach made a disturbing sound.
"Uh oh, here comes those bean dumplings!"
A very loud and wet sounding fart echoed through the valley.
"GAG! THAT REEKS!"
"UNCLE, UNCLE!"
The two cyborgs were rendered unconscious by the relentless assault on their noses. Everyone else around Zhao pinched their nose closed for dear life.
"When this battle goes down in the history of the Dragon Kingdom," said Ken. "Let's leave this part out."
Zhao turned beat red.
"Grace don't you ever scare me like that again!" Fiona cried as she hugged the little cub.
"I'm sorry Mo-Ma'am, I know it must have really hurt you, but I needed to convince them."
"Well, you did a great job," said Sonia as she and Manik ran up. "You almost convinced me you'd gone dark side and I was the one who came up with this plan in the first place!"
"Seriously though," said Grace. "After the guys decided to go with Sonia's plan I did some thinking. Mom wasn't ashamed of what she did, she was just afraid of me going through a lot of the bad stuff she did and probably thought if I didn't know about it I wouldn't be tempted to follow in her footsteps."
Fiona sighed. "I can see now, your name is Grace, probably because your mother was given so much of it by her friends and she was grateful for a second chance."
"I hate to postpone this moment," said Sally. "But I'm still hung on the fact that you kids came up with a plan to put yourselves in danger?!" Sally then turned back to Zhao. "And you agreed to help them?!"
"The little blue one was very convincing!" said Zhao.
"He means it," said Sonia. "It would have fallen apart before we started without Manik."
A few hours earlier
Grace fumed up in the Shrine. "The sooner we can all go home the better, then I can get by until I turn eighteen then I'm out the door for good!"
"We should be out there!" said Salma. "Helping them fight that tin plated tyrant!"
"Yeah," said Sonia. "I gave it some thought, that seal makes the Iron King almost untouchable, but we might be able to create an opening for one of the adults to take him down!"
"You kidding?" said Juanita. "Those dragons would roast us alive and any one of those Horde goons could crush our heads like an overripe melon!"
"Maybe if you kept up with your training, they wouldn't seem so scary!" said Salma.
"Juanita's right!" said Grace. "Sonia, it takes more to be a leader than being able to come up with a good plan! We know what the enemy can do to us and we won't stand a chance, not with what little we got!"
"Guys, guys, guys!" Manik suddenly shouted. "Yeah, we know what they can do, but more importantly we know what we can do! Sonia you're brilliant, more brilliant than I can ever hope to be. Grace, you have your dad's strength AND like it or not your mom's cunning, that's a sweet combination in my book. Salma, Juanita you both have that mad ninja thing and I have seen you both work together before; when you two get in sync it blows my mind! If we get all this preteen drama to the side for a while and put all that together, if we stay fast and focused, we can pull this off and beat these clowns! Who's with me?!"
Manik suddenly saw a spark of hope in their eyes that wasn't there a moment ago.
"Right to the end bro!" said Sonia.
"Yeah, let's do it!" said Juanita.
"You and me together Sis!" said Salma.
"If my mom can be that awesome, then maybe I can just as awesome too!" said Grace.
"I don't know what you were talking about up in there, but it sounds like you want to rush onto the field of battle without regret!" said Zhao. "That sounds exhilarating! Count me in!"
"Ok then like Sonic used to say, let's do it to it!"
"Yeah," said Manik. "I actually don't know what happened in that shrine but it just felt right to help my friends like that."
"I think I get it," said Sally. "There are many things a leader can be taught to make their comrades do. Hold a line, take an objective, follow a plan… but there's something no leader can be taught, something not every leader can do, something that only comes from within when push comes to shove, make their friends believe. I was able to do it, Sonic has an uncanny ability to do it and it looks like it's something you can do too Manik. All right, you can come with us the rest of the way, Sonia tell me this brilliant plan of yours."
Jun Kun looked out a window towards a raging battle outside the palace between an army of ninja and his dragons and Vermillion Horde. "This will not stand! I shall crush them all! Examples will be made! Heads will roll!"
"Wedgies will be given!" Manik shouted. "Sorry I'm still kind of new to the snappy comebacks!"
The Iron King and Red Prince growled as they turned as saw the Freedom Fighters stand against them. "My patience for you both had run out long ago! You meddlesome needled rat and you tree swinging clown! Empress, turn them to ash!"
Dulcy flew in and roared. "Sorry Empress!" Zhao yelled as he and Fiona tackled held Dulcy. "Just give us a few moments and this will all be over!"
"Forget the dragon!" shouted Hong Kun as he burst into flame. "I will incinerate them myself!"
"Time to see what these can do!" Sally took out the five rings and tossed them towards the Red Prince.
Each ring seem to wrap itself around his wrists, ankles and forehead.
"Ha! You think mere jewelry will…!" The rings then started to glow and pull at Hong's limbs. "What devilry is this?!"
The rings then completely immobilized the Red Prince into siting cross legged, his arms crossed on his chest and his head bowing downward.
Sally smiled. "Well Cinder said these would make the enemy meditate on their actions, and he looks like he's meditating to me!"
"Father!" Hong Kun yelled. "Help me!"
"Useless all of you!" the Iron King roared as he took out a piece of paper marked with the seal. "No matter according to this law all dragons must obey the Vermillion Horde, I will call them all to my aid!"
"Give it up ribeye!" said Sonic. He Spin Dashed into the document shredding it to pieces. "That law isn't worth the paper it's written on!"
The jade glow left Dulcy's eyes and from the sounds of panic outside it did the same to all the other dragons. "Jun Kun!" yelled Dulcy. "This is my ancestral home, and you are not welcome here!"
The dragoness breathed hot flame onto the Iron King but even as he burned, he laughed it off. "I still have the Unbreakable Armor of Bu Wang! You cannot harm me!"
"Good thing we still have this then!" said Sonic as he waved the Fan of Fen Xing at the warlord.
The Iron King pulled out the seal stopping the wind. "No, not this time! I will not be denied, you've played your last card!"
"Wrong! I still have an ace up my sleeve! Actually, I have five aces and nothing beats that!"
Sonia and Manic each grabbed a tapestry from the wall and began wrapping around the Iron King. Grace hopped up on Jun Kun's shoulders and grabbed the rim of his helmet while Salma and Juanita threw shuriken and kunai at the tapestry pinning him in place.
"You think, I can be bested by mere children!?"
Jun Kun then flexed tossing all the Future Freedom Fighters against the wall.
"I am Jun Kun, I am the Iron King! I lead the Vermillion Horde; I cannot be defeated in battle as long as I hold the Tremor Mace and wear the Unbreakable Armor of Bu Wang!"
Grace gave a mischievous smirk as she looked up. "Are you sure, about that last one?" She moved to the side to show the Iron King's helmet.
The next instant Ken Khan leapt high into the air spinning his Atomic Bat in circles over his head. "Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Jun Kun could only stare in terror as Monkey Khan brought the Atomic Bat down on his bare head with a mighty crash ringing it like a gong. The warlord began swaying from side to side.
"Nooooooo…it waaaaaassss alllllllllll…miiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnneeeeee…."
Jun Kun collapsed unconscious to the floor, the Jade Seal of Heaven rolled out of his hand over to Sonic's feet.
"FAAAAAAAAATHEEEEEEEER!" the Red Prince yelled in disbelief.
Ken lifted his staff to this shoulder and looked down on his handiwork with a smile. "Looks like the Iron King finally got crowned."
Sonic picked up the Jade Seal. "All that's left is to smash this thing so the dragons will be free from…!"
Sally snatched the seal from Sonic with a huff. "There is a way to do that without destroying an ancient sacred relic."
Sally moved over to a desk and set a pen to paper. "Henceforth and forevermore, no dragon shall be mystically compelled to obey any other law marked with the Jade Seal of Heaven." Sally then set the seal with ink and turned to Dulcy. "Care to do the honors, Empress Dulcy?"
Dulcy came up and took the seal. "With pleasure, Princess Sally Acorn."
Dulcy used the stamp to mark the paper and the ancient words "Anointed by the gods, may the reign of The Emperor be long and prosperous" glowed jade on the page until fading back into black ink.
"There's that sexy brain of yours," Sonic said with a smile. "And that penmanship is incredible!"
"Thanks, dear. I had a lot of practice ghost writing for the Knothole Gazette's romance advice column."
The Freedom Fighters stood before Dulcy as the throne room was crowded with people. "Thanks to you, Jun Kun and Hong Kun have been stripped of all artifacts and are safely locked away in the palace dungeon." Dulcy said with an official air. "The Vermillion Horde has retreated to the Forsaken Steppes once again, the former legionaries; Surge the Tenrec and Kitsunami the Fennec; are currently en route to Freedom City Prison to begin their rehabilitation and the bonds of family between the dragons of east and west have been fully restored. Once again, the Free People can live up to the name thanks to Sonic the Hedgehog and his heroic allies."
The crowd cheered as the Freedom Fighters bowed to Dulcy.
"This is the Dragons' homeland, but one we gave to the ones we had once harmed the most long ago. While the dragons need an empress or emperor to ensure this will always be a pristine place to return and contemplate our history, that is where the role of the Dragon Empress or Emperor must end. The Free People need a Free King, and I am already certain they have chosen based not only on prophecy but because of the heart and dedication he has shown them.
The crowd then began chanting. "Mon-Key-King! Mon-Key-King! Mon-Key-King!"
"Ken Khan, do you accept this role? This burden? Of being the Free King of the Free People?"
Monkey Khan knelt before Dulcy. "I accept, with humility and respect."
Dulcy took a lotus shaped crown from General Hun and placed it on Ken's head. "Then rise, Monkey King and let your destiny finally be fulfilled."
Ken stood and waved to the crowd who roared out in celebration.
A short time later Sally and Sonic came up the Monkey King. "Congratulations Ken," said Sally. "I know you will be a wonderful king to the Free People."
"Thanks," Ken said with a smile. "You sure you don't regret who you ended up with?"
"Not for a second, but you have a wonderful heart and I'm certain you'll find a fitting Queen to be at your side someday."
Ken gave a sideways glance at Liu Chi Mei as she and her brother laughed. "Maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention before."
"Well, we got to start getting back home," said Sonic. "There's still Mr. Perfect and The Rectifiers out there waiting to cause trouble." Sonic then gave a competitive smirk. "But if you ever need me to pull your monkey butt out of the fire again just call."
Ken gave an equally competitive smirk. "And if you ever need me to save your pointy hide, I'm sure I'll be able to make room on my schedule for it."
The two gave each other a fist bump and a competitive smile.
I get the future me was just trying to protect you," Fiona told Grace. "But you're growing up and that means I should have started to trust you with my past."
"You don't have to worry about me repeating all your old mistakes," said Grace. "I'll probably be way too busy making all new ones on my own."
"I won't be able remember while you were little, but once I do I think you'll find there will be a few changes and mostly for the better. In the meantime, since I am not your mother yet there shouldn't be any harm in letting you do a few things she normally wouldn't let you, within reason of course."
Grace's eyes brightened. "Does that mean I can get black lip gloss and nail polish?!"
"Go nuts."
"I can go to bed at eleven?!"
"Nine, while you're here, at home you and your mom can talk about it."
"Can I get a luminal inlay?!"
"No idea what that is, probably not invented yet."
"It's this circuit you embed in your skin to display images like they're holographic animated tattoos!"
"Absolutely not."
"Uh, a milkshake without having to eat a serving of vegetables first?"
"Only if I can have one too."
Grace then reached into a pocket on her top. "Actually, there's one thing she let me do myself or did for me, but I haven't done either in a while because I was angry with her…" Grace pulled out a little blue ribbon while pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "Could you…tie this into my hair?"
Fiona noticed the resemblance to her own yellow ribbon, the one her mother gave her. "I would love to. Did you know that there's a story behind my ribbon and that it might have to do with why your mother gave you yours?"
Grace turned to let Fiona work the ribbon into her hair. "No, is there also a story behind the black outfit in Mom's closet with the steel toed boots she says she only wears for Dad on special nights?"
Fiona blushed. "Not like that, we won't be getting into that. But I'll have to find a way to remind myself not to throw out my bad girl outfit."
The two foxes then had a good laugh.
"You'll find we packed everything up for you both already!" Salma said to Espio.
"And loaded it onto the Freedom Fighter Special!" said Juanita.
"Good work," said Espio. "You did very well in the battle today."
"I heard that you worked extremely well together too," said Liza.
Salma looked to the side. "Well, Juanita can still be very annoying…"
Juanita looked the other way. "And Salma can be a real stick in the mud sometimes…"
The two then turned to each other and spoke together. "But she is my sister and I love her more than I could ever say."
"Truly a bond that can rival some of the greatest Shinobi," Espio then pointed at both girls. "But that doesn't mean you can afford to slack off! The Rectifiers are still a threat, and your training will continue so if you must face them again you will be ready!"
Both girls snapped their arms to their sides and bowed. "Hai, Sensei!"
Espio allowed himself another rare smile. "Maybe I can get used to this Sensei thing after all."
"I think it fits you," Liza said before planting a kiss on Espio's cheek.
Soon the whole group was aboard the Freedom Fighter Special as it readied for takeoff. "We should be back in an hour daddy," Sally told King Max on the display.
"That's good to hear," Max said back. "I send you both on a quiet diplomatic mission and you end up getting involved in one of the largest battles the Dragon Kingdom has ever seen!"
"Not our fault the Iron King doesn't play well with others," said Sonic. "Hopefully this will be last we see of him, and our next diplomatic mission won't be so eventful."
Max looked down. "Sadly, I have to dash that latter hope."
"What do mean Daddy?" Sally asked.
"Soon after we cut off contact with the Iron King the council received another message from an old friend of yours Sonic, Ceneca-9009."
Sonic bolted upright. "The Bem who invented the De-Roboticizer?! But she's in hiding, why call us now?!"
"Apparently the Bem need our help for once, you have to return quickly and prepare a team for a new diplomatic mission, one Ceneca says will not only have dire consequences for the Republic or even Mobius but the entire Galaxy."