"Sonic? You okay?" The young fox questioned, examining his face closely.
Huh?
"You're all phased out there!" He added on with an awkward laugh. "Do you need to sit down?"
"Where am I-?"
Worry immediately flashed in Tails' eyes. "Um, the forest? We're going-" He blinked. "- I mean... we're just strolling!" Tails quickly corrected himself.
"Eggman... The Time Eater...?" Sonic slowly panted, needing to lean against a tree.
"The what-?" Tails tilted his head, shifting his gaze nervously as he went to support his friend. "Is everything okay?"
"I... don't know..."
"Hey, maybe we just need to... get you to bed...?" He suggested sympathetically, offering a comforting smile. "I can get you back home-"
"Is it really you, Tails?"
Sonic can see how Tails is taken aback by his desperation.
"O-of course? It's me, Sonic."
Sonic immediately pulled him into a hug. Tails spluttered in confusion for a moment, but would return it - and Sonic had never felt so warm. "I... I love you, Tails." Sonic gasped out. "You'll always be my little brother... do I tell you that enough?"
"Ummm... well, it's definitely not the first time I've heard you say that." Tails offered up, laughing again hesitantly. "It's just kind of weird coming from you now-"
"I really should make showing my affection more commonplace, huh?"
"You show it all the time, Sonic - by just being my friend... are you sure you don't wanna go home and rest?"
"I wanna spend time with you."
At a loss for words, Tails just smiled. "Well... let's continue walking then. Maybe your head will clear up-"
Sonic couldn't believe it. Everything, quite literally overnight, had returned to normality. Could this be true? Had anything of what he had been through even happened in the first place?
It felt real - yet so did this.
Unable to trust himself and his perception of reality, Sonic nodded and followed the fox. "Yeah... should do."
Their brief stroll passed with a necessary silence - allowing Sonic to organize his thoughts. The questions chaotically ravaging his mind immediately paused as he allowed himself to just... soak it all in. The grass beneath his feet was green and bright - not ashen. The trees were tall and proud, with no hint of withering - and the flowers and bushes were blooming - thriving.
It was untainted by that... villain. Nature was truly in control again.
"Sonic?" Tails broke up his train of thought. "I uh... just realized I have something up ahead I left there! I'm gonna... go grab it- You can catch up with me!" Tails ran off quickly, not giving Sonic the option to question him.
It was his birthday again. The day it all began.
It was a very poorly thought out excuse, and Sonic wondered how he hadn't found it suspicious before - he must have not been paying attention. He wouldn't be making that mistake again, moments with his friends... they were precious. He'd never let go.
Sonic found his pace quickening as he continued on ahead, knowing what would await him. His friends, they'd be there. He'd be able to see them again!
There it was - the picnic table. The same cake, same plates...
"SURPRISE!"
Same friends.
"Well Sonic, did we surprise you?" Tails asked eagerly, surrounded by Sonic's closest companions.
Sonic smiled.
"Yeah, you did..." Sonic's voice shook ever so slightly. "This is awesome, guys. Thank you..."
"There's no need to thank us." Amy stepped forward in front of the table, beaming. "If anything - we should be thanking you!"
Knuckles joined at her side, widely grinning. "You've done so much for us, Sonic!"
Tails hopped in, forming a neat line with the other two. "We don't know what we'd do without you!"
"I- Thank you..." The would-be compliments made him apprehensive.
There was no emotion behind their eyes.
They all began to clap.
Not those just three, everyone around the table. Sonic rubbed the back of his head as he witnessed the sudden applause, unsure of what to do with himself. "Guys...?"
His eyes scanned the crowd, and his heart immediately dropped.
"Tangle?"
She was part of the crowd, copying everyone else.
Of course, this was too good to be true.
"Thank you for saving us, Sonic!" Vector called.
"Thank you!" Rouge added.
Faces that had never been at the party cheered too - smiling just the same.
"Thank you so much!" Silver thanked.
"Thank you for all your hard work!" Shadow applauded.
Stupid... stupid nightmares...
Their praise was defeating and seemed to only get louder and louder, harassing his ears
With raggedy breath, the Sonic turned on his heel quickly - almost tripping over in the process. All he knew is that he wanted to get away as fast as possible. He sprinted as fast as his legs could take him.
It was nowhere as fast as he could normally go.
He felt like there was a force trying to pull him back, but Sonic persisted - refusing to look back and forcing his legs to move despite how heavy they were.
The forest was fading away before his eyes, giving way to an empty, dark expanse, and he didn't even care as long as he didn't have to see his friends like that again.
Soon, there was no forest left, and Sonic finally allowed himself to crumple onto his hands and knees.
Nightmares had never, ever haunted him like this. As if it wasn't enough to live through hell when he was awake, he couldn't even escape it when he was asleep. Nothing had ever gotten to him this deeply before, why did he feel like he was being crushed?
And things were only going to get worse.
Sonic hung his head low as a light briefly flashed in front of him, not having enough strength to fight whatever was ahead - this was just a nightmare, he'd accept it... and hopefully things would move on.
"Please... don't wake up again!"
Immediately, the hedgehog lifted up his head.
It was Silver again, just like in the previous nights - trying to push his way through a portal. His face was strained and wrinkled from the effort it was taking him to try and thrust his way through - but this time...
The other hedgehog popped out of it, and face planted into the invisible floor. "Ow..." Silver let out, his voice muffled.
Slowly, Sonic stood himself up - staring at Silver.
Silver lifted up his head but the rest of his body didn't move. "Sonic!" He gasped. "I- I did it! I've found you! I actually got in!" Gleefully, he scrambled to his feet. "I thought I'd never actually get it-!"
The smile slowly faded from his face when he saw Sonic sigh. "Sonic?" He asked with a raised brow.
"I'm just... waiting for this dream to end." Sonic admitted in exhaustion.
"Uh-" Silver blinked. "Sonic, this isn't a dream- Well, I mean- this is technically a dream but like- I'm not a dream. Or am I... because I'm inside a dream-?" He placed a finger against his chin as he contemplated the idea.
The confused ramblings of Silver caught Sonic's attention. He was talking like no one else had ever done in his dreams. "Silver, is it really you? You remember me?"
Silver nodded rapidly. "That's what I'm trying to get across! Admittedly I'm doing a bad job of that so - I'm Silver! The one who knows you! From the old timeline!"
"You know? About the old timeline...?"
"Of course I do! I lived in it! I know time's been messed up, otherwise I wouldn't be like... in your head right now!"
"Silver..." Sonic let go of a breath. "Can I... hug you?" It came out awkwardly, if not pleading.
The urgency fled from Silver's face and tone to give way for a surprised expression. "Oh- Um, I mean, sure-?" The hedgehog stammered out, but was silenced as Sonic slowly brought his arms around him. After a moment, Silver would do the same. Sonic could only describe the feeling as... cozy.
"S-sorry, I'm not used to this- sort of thing- should I be letting go now-?" Silver asked.
"I'm... not used to getting all touchy either..." Sonic admitted as he broke away. "I just needed that-"
"I can kind of tell. You're all shaky... I'm guessing things have gotten pretty bad?"
"Silver, it's awful!" Sonic exclaimed, and the other hedgehog was taken aback. "Eggman used this thing called the Time Eater - erased me out of existence, and now everything has become an Eggman Empire hellscape! He's taken over everything, our friends are... our friends- some are with Eggman, those who aren't still aren't exactly the same-"
"Sonic, breathe." Silver asserted, looking him in the eyes. "I've never seen you like this before, I didn't think you could get so panicked-"
"Tails, Amy-"
"Sonic." Silver said again. "Just take the time to breathe."
Actually heeding his words now, Sonic concentrated on breathing slowly to calm himself down - deeply in through his nose and out slowly out through his mouth. Silver waited patiently with sympathy, but clear worry - until he finally spoke up again. "Simplify it for me, okay? Just explain it as best you can - you say Eggman erased you from time?"
Sonic slowly nodded, thinking about his answer and how to narrow everything down. "It was my birthday party... Eggman showed up with the Time Eater and said he was going to erase me out of existence. I had a chaos emerald on me... and I think it's the only reason I'm even alive now. I showed up in this new timeline, my chaos emerald sort of exploded on me - then I fought Amy, who works for the Empire- met some rebels, Rouge being among them - then we met up with Knuckles later and then there was- then Tails, he was with Eggman..." Sonic omitted a lot of details, but Silver did ask for the short version.
Silver's ears drooped. "Sounds... difficult."
"Eggman knows about the old timeline as well as I do - and he used his knowledge of it so that he could live again and make all the right choices that would lead to the Empire he wanted. That included making my friends his allies-! And furthermore, whenever I try to tell anyone that I'm from another timeline... time resets itself! Going back a few seconds so I can't explain myself! And Eggman just seems to be able to reset time at will!"
A pause. "Well now, this is a lot to take in - give me a moment."
Sonic rubbed one of his arms and waited, wondering why Silver had paused - but the other hedgehog just seemed to be deeply thinking. He watched as Silver's eyes suddenly lit up and he snapped his fingers. "Aha!" Silver declared. "I think I have some sort of idea of what's going on here- Let me just, well it's easier with a visual demonstration-"
Waving his hands, a purple blanket appeared in between them - causing Sonic to rub his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was correct. "How did you-?"
"This is a dream, isn't it?" Silver asked. "You can do anything in dreams."
Huh, fair point.
Using his telekinetic powers, he flattened the blanket out and made it hover in the air between them. "This blanket represents time." Silver said.
Where exactly was he going with this? Sonic folded his arms and decided that just staying silent and listening would probably be his best option.
"Typically, it's all smooth - no tears or creases... but Eggman is instead creating this false timeline with the time eater... this false reality, so things become a little flimsy."
Silver made the blanket form creases.
"The foundation is already unstable, but factor in that you and Eggman still have your memories of a time that technically never existed..." Silver tore two holes in the blanket. "... And now things are even more wrong, and I think the Time Eater recognizes this because..." Silver ripped one of the holes, making it even bigger. "Every time you tell everyone about your predicament, you're making more people aware of knowledge they shouldn't have - further breaking the timeline, so the Time Eater-" Silver then reversed the damage he had caused, making the hole return to its original size "-sews the hole back up, so to speak."
"So time is already vulnerable, and it doesn't wanna break further?" Sonic asked to see if he was understanding correctly.
Silver nodded. "That's right."
"Do the same rules apply to Eggman?"
"That... I'm not so sure of." He admitted. "While the Time Eater is acting sort of passively whenever you try to further break the timeline... it seems to be taking orders from Eggman, if you said he can do it at will. Has he demonstrated this?"
"Yeah, Eggman and I had a conversation - he revealed to me that he knew everything, and then he just reversed everything to before that conversation began."
"Was it a long conversation?"
"No, it was quite brief... does that matter?"
"I'm just thinking- perhaps Eggman doesn't have as much control as he's claiming. Let's say something happens that he doesn't like- a base of his explodes! He finds out ten minutes after the event... I don't think he'd be able to reverse time then. It's too much to reverse, especially when it's just trying to hold up the timeline itself. That's more of a theory though, I'm kind of guessing here."
"It's something that might be worth testing out then, if I'm able to." Sonic said. "How did you figure this all out just now?"
"Heh - well you learn how to time travel without chaos emeralds, and as a result you learn a whole lot more about time." Silver explained, his smile showing slight pride. "Technically our original timeline was unstable since some of us still remember... that."
"Solaris?"
"Mhm." Silver's lips curled. "But it wasn't too much of a problem. In this timeline's case however, everything is being held up by this Time Eater creature, and by the sounds of it - it's not some rightful time deity - it has to be some sort of creation, another Eggman attempt at playing God if I had to guess."
"You think he'd learn his lesson by now." There was something bitter in Sonic's voice. "I'm lost, Silver - if everything I'm going to do is just going to get reversed, what am I supposed to do?"
"Isn't it kind of obvious?" Silver questioned him surprisingly. "The reason you're here now is because you had a chaos emerald, if you can gather all seven - you should be able to find a way to defeat the Time Eater and revert everything to normal."
"Easier said than done, Silver." He was starting to grow a little impatient. "But trying to encourage everyone else that a treasure hunt is the best way to solve their tyrant problem becomes very difficult when I can't explain myself at all!"
"Well, why are they working with you right now?" Silver moved the blanket with his powers, placing it around Sonic's shoulders suddenly. The gesture wasn't unwelcome though.
"Because- we hate Eggman?" Sonic offered. "Rouge wants him dead, Tangle wants to save people, and Knuckles is supporting me because I'm like a chosen one or something-"
"Tangle? Never mind, I mean I can think of a lie already to convince them-" Silver said with a shrug, narrowing his eyes at Sonic - looking at him as though he were a little stupid.
"Huh?"
"You ever read a book?"
"I don't like books, they're boring."
Silver looked momentarily offended. "I know opinions can't technically be wrong but come on, that's definitely a wrong opinion-"
Sonic decided it was best not to talk about the fact he had actually been inside storybooks before.
"- That aside," Silver continued, "Chosen ones often receive prophecies that tell them to do a certain thing - often in their dreams. Retrieving magical items, defeating the big bad... what's stopping you from saying something like that?"
"So you're saying I should tell them that I was told to find the Chaos Emeralds in my dreams through a prophecy?" Sonic was skeptical. "Are they really gonna believe that?"
"Sonic, they're living in a world where a giant egg-shaped man rules with a robot army and magical all-powerful rocks exist... I don't think that a prophecy is going to be the weirdest thing they've heard about. I mean, Knuckles already thinks you're a chosen one - so what reason does he have not to believe you?"
"Parading around and calling myself a chosen one doesn't feel right!" Sonic let out, frustrated. "Just... look at everything that's happened."
"None of it's your fault."
"But I've been a terrible hero." Sonic went on, looking away. "Fighting Eggman.. it's always been little more than a game to me. Now I'm getting hit in the face with the consequences of what happens when he actually wins, and the people I love the most are getting hurt because I roped everyone into my dangerous adventures-"
"Are you hearing yourself right now?"
Sonic looked back at the silver hedgehog.
"I've never heard you talk like that, ever. You're wrong, Sonic - maybe you didn't realize the full extent of what Eggman could do, but you aren't at fault for that. You're a hero, Sonic. You're courageous enough to always be the one to step up in the face of danger! When I first met you, you never gave up - you fought a God and then erased that God from existence and you did it with a smile! And that was after you had just died too! I get it, seeing harm come to those you care about is much harder than anything that could happen to yourself... but you can't let these doubts get to you. Back in the future where everything was ravaged by Iblis, if I had given up - then everything would have been lost. But I held out hope, I knew there was a way to fix everything - even though it seemed impossible! That's what you've gotta do now."
Silver smiled encouragingly. "You can define what a chosen one is - but knowing there is someone destined to help save them, you'll be bringing hope to everyone and encourage them all to take a stand. I don't think there could be a better guy for the job... and I know you could do it all with a smile. The Empire only truly wins if hope is lost, so work on restoring it. Eggman may know of the previous timeline, but so do you - you can use that knowledge to lead you to victory! I know you can! When have you ever lost?"
"Mephiles killed me once."
"I-" Silver was baffled. "I gave you a whole motivational speech and that's what you say to me-?"
"I'm messing with ya, Silver." Sonic grinned. For the first time in what felt like forever, he felt his shoulders relax. "Thank you, I needed to hear that."
"Ooooh- you were joking, heh-" Silver's cheeks tinted a light pink in embarrassment. "Either way, I wanna let you know that I'm here for you, Sonic. I think there's some sort of barrier preventing me from entering this timeline fully, but I'll be here to talk in your dreams. I will be trying to find out new ways to help you, you can count on it."
"You're a massive help, Silver." Sonic said, now relieved he had worked out a plan with the other hedgehog's help.
"No problem. People call me the emotional one but look who's being the sensible one now." Silver pointed out with a hint of smug energy.
"Yeah, yeah." Sonic rolled his eyes playfully. "Whatever you say - by the way... I understand you're a time traveler, but how are you like - inside my head?"
"Good question." Silver responded. "And I don't know."
Quiet descended upon them as none truly knew what to say, until a white light suddenly brewed above them.
"Oh look, you're waking up now." Silver remarked.
"Huh?" Sonic looked alarmed. "Oh- Wait! Ah shoot, uh BYE I MISS YOU!" Sonic called as he faded away.
"You know, if I wasn't here to wake you up, I'm really worried that you'd end just end up sleeping all day." Tangle joked lightly. The hedgehog rolled over in his hammock but looked at her with noticeably brighter and clearer eyes than she had seen from him the day prior.
Sonic yawned and stretched. "What time is it?"
"11am, dummy - almost noon!"
"Heh, not my worst." Sonic grinned. "You know I once went to bed at 9pm... woke up 6pm the next day."
"Woah! You're serious?" Tangle asked, fascinated. "I could never sleep for that long - I have too much energy! Sleeping 8 hours is a stretch let alone 21 hours, Mr Sleepy Head!"
"I consider myself energetic too, I just like my sleep- WOAH-!" Sonic had shifted awkwardly in his hammock, causing it to flip upside and drop the hedgehog down on the ground.
"Oh! Gosh! You alright?" She asked, walking over to help the hedgehog up.
"Yeah, of course." Sonic was grinning. "I just forgot I was in a hammock, is all."
Satisfied that the hedgehog was indeed uninjured, she allowed herself to giggle a little at his expense. "Or you're just clumsy." She teased.
Now that they stood face to face, Tangle noticed how great it was to see that life had returned to him - he was smiling, practically glowing even. It was so much different than yesterday, had he had a midnight epiphany or something? She hoped he wasn't putting on a brave face, so she started probing him a little.
"So I mean... we should talk about how everything went."
"Badly-" He admitted.
"I mean we're going strong in the first half, second half we kinda dropped the ball-" She spoke with a grimace. "But I trust you! You weren't confident in the plan, and I'd rather go with a plan that everyone agrees on than a plan that one of us is unsure on! Besides, I think Knuckles was a little apprehensive too so ya know - uncertainty and all that- I think we made the right decision to back out-"
"About that.. I wanna speak with you, Knux, and Rouge - and explain why I backed out. Properly. I... didn't know how to say it at first."
"Oh..." Tangle blinked. "I mean, yeah sure! That's great! Everyone will be on the same page then and hopefully Rouge'll be a bit less mad!" She offered optimistically.
"Rouge didn't give you any trouble last night, did she?" Sonic asked with concern.
"Hm? Oh psssh, nah-" Tangle waved off.
The two girls laid in separate beds - the lemur occupied the one that was usually taken by Sonic as Rouge had their bed all to herself. Tangle definitely appreciated having the room again, especially for her tail to sprawl out - either it tended to hit Rouge in the face or the bat would tug at it sharply - misinterpreting it as a blanket.
She couldn't enjoy it much though, not when the tension in the air was so thick.
"Rouge?" Tangle's voice spoke out in the darkness.
"Don't talk to me."
A few seconds went by.
"... You okay?"
"No Tangle, no I am not." Rouge finally said, practically hissing through her teeth.
"We'll get it right next time." Tangle tried to comfort her by being optimistic.
"No reason why we shouldn't have got it right this time."
"Sonic said-"
"Sonic's voice means more than mine?"
"What-? No!"
"I thought you were someone I could count on." Rouge sounded hurt. "I thought you wanted to take down the Empire as much as me."
"I do!" Tangle insisted. "I just didn't wanna go ahead with a plan that he was uncomfortable with-"
"I thought we were friends, Tangle."
"I- of course we're friends, Rouge!"
"Are you sure about that? It's always 'Sonic this', and 'Sonic that'-" She mocked. "- You seem to listen to him and value his opinions more than mine."
"That isn't true!" Tangle claimed desperately.
"Yet you've done nothing to prove otherwise." Rouge sighed. "I just- I don't get it, why did you do that to me, Tangle? We've known each other longer and yet... you know what, forget it."
Tangle heard Rouge turn under her sheets, hissing slightly due to her injuries. Rouge truly did sound affected, as though she had been betrayed and yet... Tangle doubted it. Rouge knew how to play people like fiddles, and for that reason, Tangle could never be sure if her emotions were genuine. Especially in more recent times.
However, doubting her in the first place just made her feel more terrible.
The lemur could not shake off a queasy feeling all night, unable to get much sleep at all.
"She's fine." Tangle added for extra reassurance.
"Right." Sonic didn't pry any further. "I take it she's still in bed?"
"She should be." Tangle acknowledged. "But she snuck out again, in the night- Knuckles isn't too impressed considering he told her to stay in bed..."
"Can't say I'm that surprised... kind of worried for her though, she shouldn't be moving about with that wound."
"We'll see if she comes back in a couple of hours, if not... probably the time to worry." Tangle said, and Sonic agreed.
"I'm sure you can find something to snack on but lunch is kind of an in an hour so, not sure if you want a full breakfast." She laughed lightly.
"Eh, I'll figure it out." Sonic brushed off before the two of them heard a rustling in the nearby bushes, and turned their attention towards it.
"Jewel!" Tangle exclaimed happily.
"H-hello-, I'm just wanting to speak with Tangle." She looked towards Sonic. "A-alone, preferably." Despite sounding a little shaky, her voice was firm. She was a pale blue beetle, short in stature, and she had a keen eye for rare minerals. The two of them had been best friends all the way through their childhood.
"Oh, sure." Sonic took the hint, stepping away from the two. "I'm gonna head back to the main camp!" He told Tangle. "We'll talk later!" He added, giving a thumbs up before dashing off.
Once Sonic was gone, Tangle beamed. "Hey, Jewel! What's up?"
"I just... wanted to make sure you were okay. The mission fell apart, so I've heard..." The beetle began. "You all got badly hurt..."
"Am I okay? Yeah! I mean my injuries are fine - just a shock to my system! Sure, things didn't go as planned and I'm kind of bummed about it, but in my eyes - things could have gotten a whole lot worse so - it's not too bad really! It's a learning opportunity!" She assured her.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Jewel's eyes were forlorn.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm... I should have told you all this sooner-" She looked away painfully. "I should have spoken up. I'm just... so often worried about you. Whether you're trailing off after Rouge and following her schemes or joining in assassination plots - you're always thrusting yourself into danger. And I don't- I don't like it."
"Jewel..."
"It's just- I know what you're like, how you can get - you rush into things, you don't always think things through and I worry that- well I worry that one day you'll be hurt... badly hurt. What if you-? You know... I don't want to lose you, Tangle. But at this rate I fear I will!"
"Oh no, oh gosh - I didn't know you felt this way at all." Tangle bent down to be eye level with her friend. Usually the girl would be wearing smarter attire, but like everyone else - she wore a salvaged mash of worn out clothes. This, combined with the fear in her eyes, made her look fragile. "Jewel, I'm always being as careful as I possibly can be. I assure you of that."
"With all due respect, Tangle - I'd... rather have the certainty. There's no need to go on those dangerous missions, there are others that'll take care of it." Her tone was pleading. "I want you by my side, and I want you safe." Her eyes were watering too.
Tangle pulled her close into an embrace. "I love you, Jewel. You're my best friend in this whole wide world - you mean so much to me... but I can't just sit idly by on the sidelines while others are fighting against the Empire-" She tried to explain. "I promise that I try not to be reckless, I always fight with the hope I'll be making it back to you."
Jewel, eventually, hugged her back. "I didn't really expect you to yield... but at least I finally said it." She said with defeat. "Please... try to think about it, though."
How dare she make her friend worry like that? Tangle wanted to kick herself - she should have been spending more time with Jewel than she had done lately, she wasn't being a very good friend to anyone lately - it seemed.
"Of course, Jewel. I'll think about it."
Amy's screams of rage were muffled by the duct tape over her mouth. As for the rest of her body - tied tightly to a tree with rope. That damned masked assassin - how dare she?! She had just left her there, on a tree.
"My, my."
Amy stopped yelling, looking downwards.
"Someone has found themselves in quite the predicament."
This had to be the first time she was ever grateful to see Starline.
"You're quite lucky that I carry a vast amount of tools on my person-" The doctor continued to ramble, opening up a case and producing a rope cutter, with which he began to free the hedgehog.
"Failed to catch the assassin, did we?"
Amy was able to weakly nod.
"Unfortunate. However, the Empire thanks you for your service. If you hadn't stepped in and blocked that shot, our beloved Emperor would have perished. You're a hero, Miss Rose!"
No, the heroic move would have been to let that laser fly and see if it killed him.
Yet she saved him, desperate for approval - desperate to be on the Empire's good side, desperate to avoid her execution. She was such a coward...
Finally free from the rope shackles, she stood up and forced herself to smile at Starline. "Thank you, thank you very much."
"Let us head back to Station Square, yes? Our Emperor would like a word."
"Egg Boss Rose."
His voice sent chills down her spine.
"You saved my life at the festival." Robotnik began. "Allowing my glorious Empire to live on. You have proven yourself worthy among your peers."
She was bowing down in front of the Emperor, Miles standing by the doctor's side. "It is of my understanding you were given until Monday to kill the rebels... I recognize this deadline as... ambitious. Punishment for not meeting such a target would be... dare I say it... unfair for a woman who just saved my life."
She daren't release a breath.
"No such deadline exists anymore, Miss Rose. I am offering you a weeks vacation in the capital - Empire City!" The doctor grinned. "Starline will fill in for you in the meantime. When you return - I will have all my Egg Bosses on watch for those ruffians! It is their responsibility now just as much as it is yours." He said. "Those arrangements work well for you, don't they Miss Rose?"
In some ways, yes.
She no longer had that miserable deadline looming over her head, and was now clearly a favorite in Robotnik's eye. However, the vacation was inconvenient - she had contacts she needed to stay in touch with, she wouldn't be able to in Empire City!
"They do, Emperor. Thank you so much for these wonderful gifts."
"Good." He seemed quite satisfied. "You're dismissed."
As Amy stood up to leave, she caught sight of Miles' glare and Starline's smirk.
Ayo ayo! Not a lot happened in this chapter admittedly - aside from the introduction of Silver, ayeee! And some answers about the damn Time Eater! Hopefully these things have been worth the wait :) - most of this chapter took place in Sonic's head lol, definitely making up for the lack of Sonic POV last chapter lol.
The dream sequence was heavily inspired by an anime, wonder if anyone will guess.
Tangle's got some tension in her friendships - and say hello to Tangle's very concerned friend - Jewel! And we finally get to see what happened to Amy after her chase with Whisper, and now things, perhaps a little suspiciously, are looking up for her.
Next Time - Tension grows and a backstory that you've all been waiting for ;)
As always, let me know what you thought of this one and the small revelations you've been given! Next chapter is a meaty one, you won't wanna miss it mwahahhaa
