CHAPTER 2: TRUST IS EARNED

Sonic knew he was in a dream as soon as he saw Tails and Knuckles fighting alongside him.

The trio was fighting through a horde of badniks, the easy kind that allowed you to hold conversations as you tore down the army. They felt more like training exercises than actual battles. Sonic heard Tails giggle in delight as he pulled off a rather difficult shot on a buzz bomber with his new laser gun. He could vaguely make out the fact that the fox was looking over at him for approval.

He did not want to engage with this dream, it was like a taunt - reminding him of the life that had been so abruptly taken from him. Sonic stood still as his friends fought, and he noticed how strained his muscles were, how heavy everything felt... and how cold metal seemed to be brushing his skin and fur. Hold on- He looked down and felt a slither of relief. Confusion was quick to replace that feeling however...

Why was he wearing armour?

It wasn't the weirdest sight, and it wasn't his first rodeo. He briefly recalls being summoned by Merlina and the grand castle of Camelot.

"Sonic?"

He turns to face the echidna's concerned expression. "You alright?" He asks further.

The blue one debates whether its worth responding, and before he can reach a conclusion - he witnesses his friend flash blue for a moment, and then promptly vanishing from existence - and reappearing again in less than a second. He was flickering, and he was acting as though nothing was happening.

Frowning, Sonic didn't answer his question and walked away - shaking away the resurfacing of memories by physically shaking his head. Knuckles' angered yells filled his brain, flashes of the moment where he disappeared - and the rest of his friends followed suit.

Some birthday, huh?

"You."

Amy.

Sonic looks ahead and sees her, exactly as he had seen her earlier today - spiked hammer, shorter bob, tired and enraged face. She pointed her hammer at him. "y-yOU wI-il-il pA-a-ay fOR-or-OR yO-OUR-OUR TRE-TEA-TREASON."

She was glitching out, Sonic squirmed uncomfortably. Just let the nightmare end, he thought.

Surprisingly, it did.

When he opens his eyes, he's surprised to find an absence of light in whatever place he was in. The smell of dirt wafting into his nose already makes his face scrunch up slightly, and he wiped it as though hoping this motion would somehow take away the smell from his nose.

Where was he? He allows a moment for his brain and eyes to work in unison. The best way he can describe it was a dirt room.

That was quite frankly it - just a dirt room - walls and flooring made of cracked earth, nothing else besides a wooden door on the oppsite end. It was a small room too, no bigger than a jail cell. Sonic scratches his head, could this possibly mean he was underground?

As bare as it was, it put him at greater ease than the bleak, intoxicated city.

Sonic doesn't attempt to leave out the door or even stand, instead he sits up and leans his back against the dirt wall, a soft groan escaping his lips. There is a distinct throbbing at the back of his head, but he still uses this moment to think.

Surprising the hedgehog the most was himself - he noted the distinct lack of emotions present within him, he didn't feel particularly strongly about anything going on around him - in fact his strongest desire was to just close his eyes and hope he might get another hour of peace in. Maybe he wouldn't dream this time.

Was it a lack of emotions - or exhaustion? Perhaps he was feeling everything at once, so much so that each feeling cancelled each other out.

The day had started out so innocently.

Amy, now an 'Egg Boss', made him worry about his other friends - if Amy, the sweet and bubbly Amy he once knew, had started working under the doctor... then what had become of everyone else?

"Ah, you're awake."

Life seems to spark in the hedgehog's eyes again. It was a familiar voice, one that did not sound hostile. He allowed himself to look up.

It was most certainly Rouge. There was no one else it could be, as no one else looked anything like her. Somehow, through all of the turmoil - her beauty had remained so striking. She was well put together, and perhaps his eyes were deceiving him - but she seemed to be wearing even more makeup than usual. He wondered if he had ever actually seen her without it. Her eyeshadow was purple and her eyelashes were long and fluttery, while her lipstick was a dark purple hue. Her outfit had a distinct lack of hearts present - it was a black and purple spy catsuit, simplistic but stylish, he knew she wouldn't allow herself to be anything less.

What was different however was her hair - it was much longer than he had ever seen it before - up to just above her wings, he was surprised to see it so wavy. The hedgehog also noticed now, upon closer inspection - she was much skinnier.

"No need to stare now." She said, a slight smile upon her lips. "I was expecting you to yell at me when you awoke, perhaps you're still a little dazed. Understandable, I did hit you rather hard."

"I..." Sonic's brain was finally capable of forming words. "Surprisingly, I'm not mad I'm- mainly glad I'm not dead?" Sonic stumbled out, he really had to watch his mouth. As much as he would love to pour everything out to her, he knew revealing the truth wouldn't do him any favours. What was he supposed to say? Oh hey Rouge, turns out I'm from another timeline! In that timeline, everything was so much better because I existed and I need your help to bring that timeline back because we were friends!

If only it could be that easy, but the chance that she'd believe any of that was not a risk he was willing to take.

"Is that so?" The bat sounded intrigued. "I thought you might have had a death wish, throwing yourself at an Egg Boss like that - telling her to her face that you wanted to take down the Empire." She let out a low, soft chuckle. "You're either stupid or brazen, or both."

"I've been called both before." He admitted, and such was true. "But I know I'm not being stupid now." Sonic steeled his gaze and truly took in the presence of Rouge - she was so familiar yet... the differences were distinct between the version he knew, and this one. The Rouge he was familiar with had this laid-back, playful air to her movements and words - but underneath it all lay a calculating woman. This Rouge... while her words were just as relaxed, she seemed to be taking herself a whole lot more seriously. Her posture, poses, and movement had an undeniable elegance and formality. He watched her slowly fold her arms in front of her chest, although she was smiling - that smile didn't reach her eyes. It was as though she was evaluating him.

In some off way, he felt out of his element. Rouge, as he knew her, was so easy to talk to. This one he couldn't say the same for - her eyes were colder than her face, as though she were evaluating him. She seemed to command an aura that demanded respect, one that he definitely wasn't used to her from her. Sonic tried to ignore these observations as best he could, and remind himself he should just be grateful that he has a friend back. He continued on. "But you saved me from the Egg Boss, didn't you? So you're not working for the Empire. In fact I feel comfortable in wagering that you don't like it as much as I." Sonic hoped his assumptions were correct here.

"How observant." She teased, obviously being a little sarcastic. "Yes, well - I'm not a fan of the man that has chosen to oppress our very livelihoods, and I thought what a waste it would be for a handsome guy like you to fall at the hands of one of his subordinates."

Sonic grinned a little. While this Rouge was different in the way she carried herself, he still felt at ease enough to tease her back. "And what an honor it is to be saved by a pretty girl like you - my knight in shining armour." He matched her joking sarcasm.

Rouge seemed to take it well, if her smile was any indication. "You flatter me. But in truth, I have my other reasons." She admitted. "I'll come out with it - I had been watching your fight with that Pinkie, in fact I was watching before you before the fight even broke out - and I'm sure you could have handled that fight on your own without my interference... I just found myself fascinated. I have never seen someone move as fast as you. I've seen speedsters, don't get me wrong - but never on that level."

Fastest thing alive had been his title for many years at this point, and only now were people in this version of the world witnessing what he could do. "I'm the fastest thing alive." He told her. "And I ain't trying to big myself up here - what you saw back there? Nowhere near my limits - not even close, Rouge." He was grateful to find himself grinning, in fact his strength quickly found his way back to his muscles and spirit. Talking with a friend, getting somewhere - it invigorated him, making him feel a whole lot more like himself.

Wait... had he just called her Rouge?

The slight hostile shift in her gaze lasted for a single second, or perhaps it hadn't been there at all. Had she even heard him? She didn't point it out.

Time to change the subject and start asking some good questions while he had the chance. "So tell me what your situation is - what were you doing in Station Square watching me? How come you haven't surrendered to Eggman? Like everyone else seems to have done?" Another question was forming in his mind. Why are you the one seemingly resisting the Empire, and not Amy? But it couldn't leave his lips.

"Eggman...?" She seemed caught off guard. "You mean- Ivo? Robotnik? Hahaha!" It seemed to get a hearty chuckle out of her. "That is very fitting, I'll have to remember that one." History was doomed to repeat itself. In the past timeline, Sonic had called the madman Eggman so often that all his friends, and then everyone else followed suit - so much so the doctor just found it easier to accept the new alias. Sonic was happy that he had made her laugh, and seemingly forget that name drop.

"You don't need to know what I was doing in Station Square, not yet anyway." She shrugged. "Trust and all that. Gotta earn it first, ya know? As for why I'm not some worker in a factory? Heh, well I was a thief before the old doctor came to power - you could say following the whims of authority and law has just- never really been in my blood." She had a prideful tone.

If Sonic's mind hadn't truly awakened yet, it had certainly been jolted awake now. He had totally forgot about Rouge and her thievery. In recent times, back in his own timeline, Rouge had slowed down a little when it came to that, and was more focused on doing the right thing. Could he say the same for this Rouge? Was she really a wise ally to have on an emerald hunt? Could he trust her not to be selfish? Surely... he could, right? The world was a mess, surely could prioritise saving the world over her own greed.

Sonic nodded slowly. "I... guess that's fair." He wanted to ask a question he really needed to know the answer to, but for it to make sense he'd have to come up with some laughable excuses. Sonic never was a strong liar. "Look, in truth - my... memory has been failing me." The hedgehog thought the words over carefully in his head, he hoped he wasn't speaking too slowly or unnaturally. "I might have gotten myself a bad head injury or something because I'm at a loss - I can't remember how Eggman came into power at all."

Rouge pondered this by bringing a finger up to her chin, thinking silently before responding. "Do you remember your name?"

"Yeah..." No point in lying about that. "It's Sonic the Hedgehog - and yours?"

She smiles. "Rouge." So she hadn't heard his slip-up earlier, thank goodness. "But this at least shows you're not a complete amnesiac, it seems like you just have some gaps to fill. I can provide you with that answer although I doubt it will be much help - a few years ago, it was as though the man had appeared out of nowhere, but he had the robotic army you had ever seen - he easily wiped out all the militaries. It all happened too quick..." She sighed as she was recalling the events. "Every continent could only submit if they wanted to live... and so, we've ended up in this mess. If the constant threat of death, harsh labor, or being turned into robots wasn't enough - we're all likely to die of pollution soon if we don't do anything about it." She was clearly trying to be casual, but the pain was given away slightly in her voice.

Rouge wasn't often vulnerable with him, but he remembers one scenario.

Not too long after the fight with Neo Metal, Sonic had encountered Rouge on a treasure hunting excursion. Usually, she was quick to notice someone approaching her - not today.

"Hey, Rouge." He kept a grin on his face as if he hadn't noticed anything unusual, speaking from behind her.

"Oh!" She let out in surprise, immediately turning around to face him. She had a bag slung over her shoulders, undoubtedly filled with colorful and shiny goodies. "Hey, Sonic... what are you doing... here? You hang around cave entrances a lot?"

"I wouldn't call it a hobby of mine exactly, but I was on a run and spotted you. Thought I'd say hello." He said truthfully.

"Well then- hello." Rouge and Sonic were extroverted people, and usually conversation came easily between them. Not today though, Rouge seemed quite eager to lend nothing to the conversation. "Hope you and your friends are well." She said, a little stiffly.

"I am, and they are... well, all except one." When Rouge tilted her head, he continued. "That person is you. I can clearly see something's up - what's wrong?"

Rouge looked at him, wide-eyed. "You... consider me a friend? I wouldn't recommend that, nor is the feeling mutual. Acquaintances works best." Sonic isn't offended by this, he has a habit of calling people he barely knows a friend. Sonic and Rouge's relationship was complicated... they liked each other, but were so often at odds.

"That works, but my concern for you still stands." He wouldn't relent.

Rouge sighed. "I... I think I'm being an asshole here."

Woah, where was this coming from? "What do you mean?" He asked her to elaborate.

"Ever since we defeated Neo... I left Shadow to his own devices. He's walking around out there with no memory..."

"You didn't tell him anything?" Sonic was confused.

"No, that's why I feel like I'm an asshole." Rouge was looking at the ground rather than him.

"Why didn't you then?"

"Because... well, we all lived through it didn't we? Shadow's conquest for revenge in the name of Maria and Gerald... if I tell him all this, won't that just... re-ignite those feelings? We don't want Shadow trying anything again. And even if he doesn't - do I really wanna be responsible for telling a guy all of his trauma? What he went through was horrible... and I don't know - it just doesn't feel right to make him remember that stuff. I think it would be better for everyone if he got a clean slate. I made the mistake of dragging him and Omega along for that adventure... but I think letting Shadow be independent and I dunno - become a gardener or something - would be better for him."

Sonic didn't know how to feel. On one hand, it felt cruel to purposefully withhold a guy's memories. On the other hand, he could see Rouge's heart was in the right place - letting a guy move on from his trauma, and preventing the possibility of another attempted world-destroying revenge conquest... it felt right too. "I trust your judgement, Rouge. And I can tell you've thought about it. You've spoken to him the most out of anyone... you're the most qualified to say what is best."

"I guess... but still, I could have made a wrong call. He was begging me, you know. He figured out I knew more about his past than I was letting on - it felt bad to lie to him... and I don't usually feel bad about lying."

"We'll see how things go." Sonic offered up, he wasn't exactly an expert on such things either, but they could always tell Shadow his memories later... maybe when he was in a better spot, and had adjusted to life on Mobius. "But maybe leaving Shadow to go out on his own wasn't the best."

"Well... once I refused to tell him his memories - he warped away, haven't seen him since." She then frowned. "It's not my job to babysit him either, I'm not going on a big conquest looking for him." She said dryly. "I never even wanted this... hero stuff." Was it just him, or was her voice getting a bit shaky?

"I never really thought about it, you were mostly roped into all of this by GUN..." He admitted. "But if it's any consolation... you might not have wanted this hero stuff... but you're good at it." He smiled softly.

Rouge thought about what the hedgehog said, she didn't smile back at him but her words were genuine. "Thanks... I guess that does make me feel slightly better. At least if I'm good at what I do, GUN has no reason to dump me and throw me in a cell." Huzzah! She joked - back to the Rouge he knew.

"Heh, yeah - you certainly don't have any reason to worry about that."

"We have solutions. We just gotta work towards 'em." He told Rouge. He remembers vaguely of how Knuckles spoke of the healing properties of the emeralds, and how they restored the planet and the people into a healthy and prosperous state. "Can I ask you another question?"

"Sure, just know I might not give you an answer if I don't trust you with it yet." Fair enough.

"Egg Boss Rose... what do you know about her?"

"Her? Well... I think a few months after Eggman came to power and had transformed Station Square to what it is... she was appointed as the Egg Boss. She was a young thing too, but clearly good at fighting. I hadn't heard anything about her life before the Empire or anything. As far as I know she's doing her job just like any other Egg Boss watching over a city. We've fought a few times, I've always won." She smiled. "I'm somewhat of infamous rebel you could say. Don't be surprised if you see a wanted poster with my face on it."

Even in the old timeline, Rouge had been proud of her wanted posters. "I see..." Sonic still desperately wondered what had led Amy to work for Eggman, and yet Rouge was opposing him... if anything, he would have expected the roles to be switched. He didn't want to think negatively of Rouge... but she had been undoubtedly selfish when they had first met.

"What do you know about the Chaos Emeralds?"

"The what?" Her eyes were narrowed in confusion.

How odd. Rouge hadn't mentioned the emerald or mysterious powers or anything along those lines yet. Eggman seemingly hadn't even needed them to successfully take over the world, which should mean they were untouched... wherever they were. But now Rouge was his pair of wings, he could get to Angel Island with her help and get Knuckles on board - and all three of them would work together to search for the emeralds.

Everything was coming together.

"Never mind-"

"Then why did you bring that up?"

"You've gotta earn my trust first." Sonic said, throwing her words right back at her.

She couldn't argue with it, but she did let out a huff.

"Do you know about Angel Island?" Sonic then asked.

Rouge nodded. "The island in the sky, right?"

"Yep!" Sonic couldn't help but be a little cheery, he was actually getting somewhere! "Any chance you could fly me up there?"

Rouge stared at him. "Uhhhh... no thanks." She told him bluntly. "People have already tried going there, but anyone who does never returns. Sorry, but I ain't interested."

Now this confused him - what was Knuckles doing up there? Was he killing people that came to the island? That didn't sound like him. "I'm sure those are just myths." He told her.

"How can you be sure? It's weird that it's even floating in the first place, I don't trust it."

Sonic sighed, running into problems yet again. "Look Rouge, if you're worried about getting killed or something up there - I'll be right there to protect you-"

The bat scoffed. "You think I need protecting? I don't know it just feels like a bit of a suicide mission with the stuff I've heard - why do you want to go up there anyway?"

Time to tell some white lies, he supposed. "I've heard about a powerful gem up there. The Master Emerald... it could help give us an advantage against Eggman." Perhaps... Sonic didn't even need the chaos emeralds, maybe the timeline could be reset with the Master Emerald? Sonic had never attempted to use chaos control via that emerald before... but perhaps it was possible. It was supposed to have more power than the seven of them combined, after all.

"The Master Emerald...?" She was clearly skeptical. "And where did you learn this from?"

Try as he might, he could not think up of a lie for this one. "I... well, that's where my memory falters yet again."

Rouge placed the palm of her hand against her forehead. "Right... as much as I want to believe there's a magical gem that can solve all our problems... it sounds like the ramblings of a crazy person. Your claims need some more credibility..."

"How can I get that credibility then?" Sonic asked, hopefully not coming off as too desperate. He couldn't afford to lose her cooperation.

"Do a couple of favours for me, then I'll give you all the answers you seek - and I'll take you that island. If you do these favours, I'll know your trustworthy." She simply said.

"Easy." Sonic said with a firm nod.

"Well then... these are certainly interesting developments." Rouge remarked, placing a hand on her hip. "The first favour I need of you is to stay in here for the night. I don't want you leaving this room. I don't live alone here, you see. And the others with me won't tolerate you without guarantee of your trustworthiness." She explained.

"You... live here? There are others? Where even are we...?" Sonic couldn't help but ask.

"All will be answered after my favours, as I said." She remained firm.

"Right, right- yeah I can stay here. It's a bit cold but I can just-" Sonic took off the jacket he was wearing, the one that was, funnily enough, gifted to him by the actual Rouge. "- use this as a blanket!" He held it up. "But if I may... you got anything to eat?"

Rouge slowly nodded. "Yeah, I'll get ya something."

The bat had returned shortly after with a small of stew, and she watched the hedgehog already begin to chow it down before she locked the door. The hedgehog didn't look like he was starving, and yet he scarfed it down like an animal.

With the hedgehog locked away, she stormed through the earthy halls and made her way into the office.

It was similar to the size of Sonic's cell but had a single desk and a bookshelf against the wall. Rouge walked over to the desk and pulled out a drawer from underneath, she didn't need to sift through it for long until she found what she was looking for.

'PROJECT SHADOW' She had read the title of the document before a voice called out to her.

"Hey, Rouge!"

She turned around "Tangle? Why are you here?"

The energetic lemur girl was grinning. "Well, we've been waiting to hear about how things went with the hedgehog guy! The curiosity has been burning me up inside! Please tell me we've got an ally this time- he seemed good when you mentioned him!"

"I'm afraid not." The bat sighed, looking back down at the document. "The doctor is trying to play me again."

Tangle's eyes became downcast. "Oh...? And why do you think that?"

"He said my name despite never having introduced myself... and then proceeded to ask for my name later. He knows more about me than he should, and he's trying to hide it." Rouge frowned. "He also has some convenient gaps in his memory, so he claims. 'Selective memory' if you will. He spoke of this all powerful gem on Angel Island, yet can't tell me the reason why he wants to go there... what a terrible liar. He's trying to lure me into something." To think it had started out so promising, the hedgehog showed fighting skill and a rebellious spirit - someone they needed for this fight.

But he was just another one of Robotnik's tricks.

Tangle slowly nodded. "At least we've caught his lies early on... man! Why can't we just have a good ally for once?!" Rouge shared in her frustrations.

"They'll come in time, once we gain more ground." Rouge was reading through.

"You're not wrong there..." Tangle's momentary outburst seemed to have already passed, replaced with her usual optimism. "All we've gotta do is figure out how to take care of him so that he can't harm us!"

"Right you are. Listen Tangle... I've got some stuff to read through, I'll talk to you later - alright?" She finally looked up at the lemur, smiling at her sincerely - she had a fondness for that girl.

"Right! You're doing the strategy stuff, of course! Don't let me disturb you!" She closed the door on her way out.

With full attention on the document, she could process the words on the page.

Diary #72 - Gerald Robotnik

Progress with the experiment is going better than I ever could have hoped for. Project Shadow is responsive to the tests we have been running and is producing excellent results. His speed easily reaches the speed of sound, and possibly beyond. We must push him to his limits in further test runs. Chaos Energy readings remain potent, and his hedgehog body holds up without issue with the aid of-

Even though the rest of the page was no longer there, having been torn away - she had all the information she needed. A super speedy hedgehog, with ties to the Robotnik family.

Ivo Robotnik had finally unleashed this experiment, expecting to fool her by using this hedgehog to infiltrate her home base and find out her secrets... and kill her once and for all. A similar plan had worked well enough once before, and he perhaps thought he could try again.

He had underestimated her, she was wise to it now.

Sonic, or Project Shadow - whatever you wanted to call him, still remained a dangerous threat regardless. She needed to eliminate the hedgehog from the picture soon, before any harm could come to her people. She would need people watching that room carefully tonight, she couldn't let him escape.

What was the best way to kill a genetic superweapon?

Sonic and alternate timeline Rouge have met up! Things should be smooth sailing from here, right?

Ha! Just kidding, she now wants to murder Sonic because she thinks he's Project Shadow mwahhaha - SA2 flashbacks much? At least she doesn't actually have a photo of Project Shadow and is only going off of a description pfft. Also hey! Tangle's here. Some of you might not have read the IDW comics and that's okay! You don't need to have read them to understand the story. Sonic hasn't even met them himself yet in his own timeline, so you get to meet her alongside him. And to catch up with the last trivia pieces - Tangle is 18 years old and her fav food is strawberries.

Also i enjoyed that flashback scene, i always found the fact that no one actually told Shadow about his memories quite interesting and wanted to expand.

TRIVIA OF THE DAY - MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?

Sonic: Morning
Tails: Night
Knuckles: Morning
Amy: Morning
Rouge: Night
Shadow: Night
Omega: N/A
Blaze: Night
Silver: Morning
Vector: Night
Espio: Morning
Charmy: Morning
Tangle: Morning
Cream: Morning
Vanilla: Morning

What song was I listening to this chapter?

Song: Set it Off - Lonely Dance

watch?v=LRsm8JksmKMNo particular reason, just a groove

Ya'll this story has over 400 views! That's so wild to me, thank you to everyone that has been reading the story so far - and thank you for the favs, follows, and reviews. As said im always happy to receive criticism - and please feel free to just let me know your thoughts on the story in a review! Lemme know what ya liked and hey, if you have theories on what might happen - that would be cool to read too! See ya around :)