Authors Note: I'm just gonna skip the fonts reminders, okay? Enjoy.
Wassy96
Story Continues.
...
New Mobotropolis. Hedgehog residence 2:05 PM.
Day 233.
Year 3237.
After having a few chili dogs with Amy, Rotor, and Tails at Uncle Chuck's Diner while contemplating over Antoine's condition, Sonic arrived at the Hedgehog residence.
"Mom! Dad! I'm Home" Sonic announced as he entered the living room. A blue Hedgehog with a blond tuft of hair; wearing a purple dress and purple shoes, emerged from the kitchen. The Hedgehog in question was Sonic's mother, Bernadette.
"Welcome home honey!" Bernadette said as she intended to hug her son, but abruptly stopped when she saw the bandage on her son's leg. "OH MY GOSH, SONIC! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR LEG?!"
Sonic was about to respond, when he heard another voice.
"What's going on Bernie?" A robotic like voice asked. Sonic and his mother turned to see a roboticized blue Hedgehog approach his family members.
"Sonic has been hurt, Jules!" Bernadette told her husband in a worried tone, before she whipped her head towards Sonic with a furious look in her eyes. "Who did this to you?!"
"Relax Mom." Sonic assured, as he adjusted his crutches. "I will be fully recovered by tomorrow."
Sonic's Father, now known as Jules, gave Sonic a stern look. "You didn't answer your Mother's question, son."
"Me and my friend were battling Metal Sonic, when this happened." Sonic explained as he pointed at his injured leg.
"Friend?" Jules asked with interest. "What friend?"
Sonic didn't answer Jules' question He just sighed and fell onto the couch. Jules and Bernadette both had a concerned look on their faces as they sat next to their son.
"What's wrong Sonic?" Bernadette asked as she placed a hand on his shoulder, while Jules did the same.
Sonic looked at his parents. "Me, Tails, Amy, and Rotor spoke with Dr. Quack about Antoine earlier." He explained.
Bernadette eyed her son with a concerned look. "And?"
Sonic eyed his mother. "And he told us that Antoine's got a virus." He sighed. "And it has reversed his recovery."
Bernadette gasped, while Jules eyes widened. "Is Antoine dying?!" Jules asked.
Sonic nodded sadly. "Dr. Quack said that he'll have two weeks at most."
Jules frowned at Sonic's statement, but the formed a confident smirk he wrapped his arm around his son's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find a way to help Antoine, Sonic."
"I agree with your father, Sonic!" Bernadette agreed as she placed her hand on Sonic's shoulder. "You have gotten out of tighter situations than this one."
"And remember that you'll always have your friends to help you." Jules reminded. "And that includes us!"
Sonic only smiled and nodded in agreement. Despite hard times, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters has always pulled through. If they had gotten out of problems before, then what is the reason they wouldn't this time? Sonic decided to break the silence.
"It's like what Lupe told me once: without hope, then all is lost." Sonic remembered.
Jules placed his hands on his metallic laps and eyed Sonic. "By the way sonic, what were you, Tails, and Amy up to with the Wolf Pack yesterday?" He asked curiously.
Like he did to his Uncle Chuck, Sonic began to tell his parents about when he met Sean, their rescue of Leeta and Lyco, their fight against the modified Metal Sonic, and how the robot was responsible for the blue Hedgehog's injury. Jules and Bernadette took a minute to process everything that Sonic just told them.
"An Overlander with a laser-sword..." Jules pondered. "...Interesting."
"technically he's a Human." Sonic corrected.
Bernadette smiled. "Well if he is like you told us, then we shouldn't judge him before we actually meet him."
"You're right, Bernie!" Jules agreed.
Sonic only leaned back into the couch, thinking over how to save Antoine, stop Dr Eggman's Death Egg, and restore Sally back to normal. But for now, all he wanted to do now was to enjoy his parent's company.
With Tails and NICOLE 2:10 PM.
NICOLE was researching the plant known as the Krudzu, while Tails was building an intended de-roboticizer. The whole morning NICOLE spent on it didn't yield any results. And even after Tails had joined up to help her, there were no improvements.
"Anything new on the Krudzu, NICOLE?" Tails asked as he turned away from his work to face her.
The Holo-Lynx shook her head. "So far, no."
The two-tailed Fox sighed, stood up and went over to NICOLE. the Holo-Lynx looked away from her work and turned to Tails.
"How are things proceeding with the de-roboticizer?" She asked.
Tails inspected the de-roboticizer in question. "I still need to make some fine-tuning." He explained. "But otherwise, I still need the Krudzu to see if the machine works."
"That's just the problem." NICOLE began. "The Krudzu won't cooperate in any way. If we can't make it work in our favor, then all of our efforts will be for nothing."
"Don't you think I know that?!" Tails snapped.
NICOLE was taken aback by Tails sudden outburst, but remained calm as she eyed him with worry.
"What's going on Tails?" She asked. "You seem upset about something."
Tails sighed and sat on the floor. "I'm sorry NICOLE. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."
"It's alright." NICOLE assured as she came over and sat next to tails. "Something you wanna talk about?"
Tails shook his head. "There's no time to talk; we gotta keep going if we are to save Sally." He was about to stand up, but NICOLE put a hand on his shoulder, preventing him from doing so.
"Not until we come up with a solution that will produce results." NICOLE stated in a serious tone. "And clearly, there's something you need to get off your chest."
"I'm perfectly fine with my chest-fur." Tails pouted in defiance.
"That's not what I meant." NICOLE giggled.
Tails only crossed his arms. "I know what you meant."
"If it's about Antoine then..." NICOLE started.
Tails had a surprised look. "You know about Antoine?!"
NICOLE nodded sadly. "I was the one who gave the test results to Dr. Quack." she explained.
"And you didn't tell us?" Tails asked in a surprised tone.
NICOLE shook her head. "I'm sorry Tails, but it wasn't in my place to tell you."
Tails sadly smiled and nodded in understanding. "I understand." He said. "It's just that everything is just going against us right now." Tears started to form in his eyes. "We can't find a way to help Sally, or stop Antoine from dying, and Bunnie is still missing and, and-"
Tails couldn't finish as NICOLE wrapped her arms around him.
"I know this is hard for you, Tails. I understand what you are going through." NICOLE assured. "I was with Sally on the Death Egg when she got roboticized. I was told by Dr. Quack not to tell you about Antoine's condition, and I watched Bunnie leave the city." She rested her head on his shoulder as she continued. "You're not the only one who feels powerless to help anyone."
NICOLE still had some difficulties comprehending emotions, but one thing she knew: Tails needed her, and she needed to be there for him right now.
Tails though didn't say a word as he just stayed in NICOLE's embrace, closed his eyes and allowed the tears in his eyes roll out. He thought of all the times he and his friends had saved the day and the world. Tails was now confident that they will save Sally and Antoine, and that Bunnie would one day return home. He then remembered back to the day he met Sean Dontor, and how they infiltrated the D.E.L Base in the Shazamazon. The two-tailed Fox then began to wonder how the Jedi made that legionnaire move aside without a fight so they could enter the base. Tails head suddenly shot up in realization; if Sean could use his powers to manipulate people, then perhaps he could-
"NICOLE!" Tails started; startling the Holo-Lynx, while breaking their embrace. "I think I know how we can save Sally!"
"Really?" NICOLE asked. Tails nodded as she stood up and faced him. "How?"
"Remember when I told you about how Sean manipulated that legionnaire?" Tails asked.
NICOLE nodded and gestured for Tails to continue.
Tails cleared his throat. "You see NICOLE, Sean used something he called the Force to get the legionnaire to move away." He explained. "So I was thinking that if he can use his powers on people-"
"-Then maybe he could use his powers to control the Krudzu!" The Holo-Lynx interrupted, realizing Tails plan.
"Exactly!" Tails said.
A broad smile appeared on NICOLE's face as she suddenly ran over to her friend and hugged him tightly. "Tails, you're a genius!" She squealed.
Tails blushed in deep red and had a hard time breathing, due to NICOLE holding him too tight.
"Um, NICOLE?" Tails struggled to say in the Holo-Lynx' embrace. "Too tight."
Realizing what was happening, NICOLE immediately let go Tails, while he tried to catch his breath.
"I'm sorry." NICOLE apologized in embarrassment.
"I-It's alright..." Tails assured. He then looked at the de-roboticizer, then back at NICOLE. "Think you could get Uncle Chuck and Rotor to come over here?"
NICOLE began to de-materialize, as she carried out Tails' request. "Consider it done."
She was about to disappear, when Tails remembered something and called: "NICOLE?"
NICOLE stopped de-materializing and faced Tails. "Yes, Tails?" She asked.
"Thank you." Tails smiled. "You know, for being there for me."
NICOLE smiled back at her friend, before she completely de-materialized and said: "That's what friends are for, Tails."
With the Holo-Lynx gone, Tails was the only person left alongside the de-roboticizer, he returned to work on the machine that would hopefully restore Sally back to normal. But that also depended on if his new friend would help.
"Don't worry, Sally." Tails thought. "We'll get you back to normal."
Secret Freedom Fighters HQ.
Harvey Who paced inside the meeting room, waiting for Agents King and Joker to return from spying on Naugus. He immediately sent the two agents after the Wizard with instructions to uncover his true intentions with Sean Dontor. The Owl didn't have to wait long, when both Elias and Larry the Lynx entered the room. Harvey turned to face them.
"Did you discover anything?" Harvey asked.
Elias shook his head. "No, nothing. We managed to follow him for a few minutes, but he suddenly vanished in a cloud of dust." He explained with a sigh.
Larry decided to speak up. "We searched the entire castle for his whereabouts, but all we could find was Geoffrey."
"Since spying on Geoffrey didn't fruit any results, we decided to return." Elias continued.
Harvey rubbed his head with his feathered fingers in thought. He sighed as he sat onto a chair near the briefing table.
Elias rose an eyebrow and approached Harvey. "Did something happen while we were gone?" He asked.
"I just spoke with the girls and told them that Naugus knows of Sean." Harvey explained.
Larry approached his boss and stood next to Elias. "He was bound to find out, wasn't he?" He asked nervously.
"But that's not what's worrying you, is it?" Elias questioned as he sat on an adjacent chair and faced Harvey.
Harvey gripped his walking stick firmly, before he faced the two agents with a serious look on his face.
"Sir Charles told me that Naugus' facial expression suddenly changed when he saw Sean on the monitor."
"Changed how?" Elias asked.
"It changed into one of fear." The Owl explained. "That boy has ignited a spark of fear inside Naugus." He then continued. "But fear of what? I cannot say..."
Elias rubbed his chin in thought and said: "Now that you mention it, Naugus did look shaken when we followed him."
Larry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and so did Geoffrey."
"really?!" Harvey asked in surprise. Elias and Larry only nodded. "Then if that's the case... You two should keep a close eye on that Skunk, until Naugus reemerge."
"Seems like a good idea." Elias agreed. But he then remembered something. "But what about that Overlander, Sean? Any news on him?"
Harvey stood up from his chair and approached the monitor. He pressed a button and the screen showed a file picture of Sean Dontor attached to a profile describing him and his abilities.
"After the twins told me all the things that he could do, I made this profile to make it easier to keep track of him." Harvey explained as Elias and Larry came over to the monitor.
"You think we can trust him enough to be part of the team?" Elias asked with slight skepticism.
Harvey eyed the squirrel in disapproval. "Not immediately." He answered. "That I'm certain of."
"What do you mean by that?" Larry asked. "I like to meet new people and Elias-" He stopped himself when he saw the glare that Elias was giving him. Larry gulped as he continued: "-Is a nice guy once you get to know him, while Leeta and Lyco they-"
"-Tried to recruit him earlier today..." Harvey interrupted. "...And failed."
Larry's eyes widened, while Elias had a scowl on his face.
"Why would they try something that foolish?!" The Squirrel suddenly exploded, surprising both Harvey and Larry. "Why would they reveal our teams existence to an Overlander of all people?!"
Harvey marched over to Elias and poked him with his walking stick. "You listen to me, Elias!" He started. "I do not know you as well as I know your father. But one thing I do know about you is that you will not try something rational or idiotic as a response to this! Plus with Silver and Shard unavailable, our team is severely understaffed!"
Elias gave himself a minute to calm down, before he said: "Sorry for my sudden outburst, Harvey. It just seems weird that they would do something like this without convening with the team."
"On that I agree." Harvey smiled, while Larry nodded. "But given the circumstances... I'm not disappointed or surprised."
"What circumstances?" Elias asked with a raised eyebrow.
Harvey glanced at both Larry and Elias. "Sean discovered the existence of the Secret Freedom Fighters." He revealed, shocking both the Squirrel and the Lynx.
"What?!" Elias asked, still in shock. "How did he even-"
"-I believe he managed to intercept my conversations with the twins. And that's when they told him everything."
"But that's impossible!" Elias stated. "NICOLE would have detected that!" He then pondered. "Unless..."
Larry then approached Harvey "Director! Didn't you tell us he was from outer space?" He asked, uneasy.
"According to the twins, yes." Harvey answered.
Elias rubbed his chin in thought. "So there is a possibility that he is equipped with some advanced alien tech-" He concluded.
"-Which would give NICOLE close to zero chance to stop him from intercepting the frequency." Harvey finally said. "I have to admit, he's one crafty boy."
The three Mobians didn't say a word for over a minute, until Elias broke the silence.
"So What do you want us to do, Harvey?" He asked.
Harvey turned off the monitor and headed for the exit, but not before he turned to face Elias and Larry. "Rest up and be ready to move out tomorrow. You are both dismissed for now." He ordered as he finally left the room.
Elias and Larry just stood inside the briefing room for a minute and allowed their conversation with the director sink in. The Lynx decided to leave and headed for their sleeping quarters, leaving the Squirrel to his own thoughts.
"I had to watch his back because he never listened to me!" Harvey's voice said.
"Excuse me, King, but how long have you been a secret agent?" Leeta's voice asked in disapproval.
"And with all due respect, sire, you have had no experience with running a nation." The voice of Tails' father, Amadeus Prower said.
For as long as Elias can remember, he had been picking fights with everyone he disagreed with: Sonic, Geoffrey, his father, Harvey, his team, and the Acorn Council. And now he was trying to undermine Harvey and the twins attempt to recruit this Overlander. But who knows, maybe he would surprise him. After coming to terms with himself, Elias went over to the monitor, booted it up, and once again showed him Sean Dontor's profile. The auburn-haired ex-king sat on a nearby chair and scrolled through the document that Harvey made, with only one thought going through his mind.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Harvey." He thought to himself as he began reading. "For the people's sake."
Authors Note: Can Tails' plan successfully restore Sally back to normal? What is Elias' concern when it comes to Sean? And what will happen to Antoine? All these questions will be answered in the future. Until then, may the Force be with you.
Wassy96.