"Robotnik, s-sir- Rebel Rouge the Bat was engaged in combat with the Ultimate Lifeform as I was trying to keep her from stealing Power Limiters... but in the middle of the fight - suddenly, Project Shadow was no longer a beast?! He became just a mobian hedgehog! And Rouge managed to run off with him! I was not warned this was even a possibility, sir. I... I apologise for my failures. How did this happen, my Emperor? Did I do something wrong-? Contact me as soon as you are able, sir."

"Did you catch that? Or do I need to play it again?" Robotnik hissed through his teeth.

His fuming red complexion was unmistakable, and it sent Miles into a cold sweat. It took every ounce of will within his body to keep his head lifted and looking toward his father's enraged face. "I-I heard, Emperor... that shouldnt have happened-!" His tone was begging to be listened to.

Robotnik was quick to shut him down. "Excuses don't fix anything!" He snapped. "I'm going to get that blasted platypus on the line and you're going to explain how much of a miserable failure your experiment was!"

The doctor then proceeded to place his communicator device in the holder that was linked up to the main computer. "Call Starline." He grumbled.

It wasn't long before the platypus' face flashed up on the big screen. The usually prestine and dignified man was noticably more disgruntled than his typical demeanour would allow - with hairs that were out of place and missing the mascara that was normally upon his lashes. "Oh thank goodness, Emperor! Thank you for calling back - I'm so, so sorry for my failures - you simply can't fathom how so!" He placed a hand to his chest. "I really don't understand, my Emperor. There was nothing to forewarn me about this! Were there any documents I didn't see? I've been searching and searching but I just can't-!"

"Oh, shut up Starline." His eyes might not have been visible under his glasses, but Miles could practically hear them rolling in their sockets. "Your panicking isn't doing you any favours!"

"O-of course, sir." Starline quickly dipped his head in achknowledgement.

"To answer your question - no, there were no such papers, no prior warnings - and the reason they didn't exist was because this was not supposed to happen!" Fiercely, he grabbed the young fox by the shoulders and pulled him in front of the camera. "If it wasn't for his oversights, there wouldn't have been any problems at all! He is to blame for this!"

Miles gulped. Robotnik's anger threatened to drill into him from behind, and the fox knew he needed to suck up and admit his mistakes now. "I- I didn't plan as much as I- should have. I... I didn't think this was even a possibility! It shouldn't have been-!"

"MILES!" His father yelled.

"I'M SORRY!" Miles spat out towards Starline - more out of fear than of genuine regret. "It won't... I won't make a mistake like this again."

Starline was blinking with dumbfounded eyes, but Miles knew everything about him must be some sort of attempt at deception to garner pity and favour from the Emperor. He knew buried within the outward confusion, his soul dancing with satisfaction and joy at Miles' failings. That platypus always took joy in even the most minor of screw-ups that the fox made.

"As for you, Starline-" Robotnik addressed him with a growl. "Letting that nuisance of a bat escape with Shadow is sloppy performance that I won't let slide! I entrusted you with looking after Station Square in Rose's absence and you're already making a mess of it! Clean up the act before I get impatient!"

"Understood, sir." His voice was firm. Witnessing Starline getting told off was merely a tiny glimmer of enjoyment Miles could experience amidst the sea of fear.

"If you come across Rouge and Shadow in Station Square again, they are to be killed. Immediately. Do you understand me?"

"Of course, sir-"

Robotnik ended the call right then and there, snatching his device from the holder and abruptly cutting off the connection. He leaned over the control panel, keeping his head hung low over the buttons and levers. "Do you understand what's about to happen, Miles?" His voice softened dangerously.

Miles knew best not to answer.

The Emperor continued. "We have a very big problem on our hands. Shadow only has one goal - one that, if he succeeds, will destroy everything!"

The size of Miles' pupils shrank.

"Shadow's plan is to destroy the entire world using the ARK!"

His father always spoke with such confidence and conviction, even when saying the most outlandish things. Miles had to wonder where this idea had stemmed from. "But... how? The Eclipse Cannon isn't that powerful!"

"When the cannon is activated, it will trigger a program that will send the whole space station crashing into Mobius!" The doctor finally whipped around.

"That... can't be right! We've used the cannon before on the Black Comet! No such program was activated!" Miles argued.

"That's because we only had three emeralds." Robotnik explained. "While it made the laser powerful enough to destroy their comet, it wasn't enough power to activate the code that'd send the ARK plummeting!"

"Then..." Miles cut himself off in confusion. "Then surely we've got to override the programming so Shadow can't activate it, right?"

"If I could have done that, I already would have!" Robotnik claimed, trembling with rage and annoyance. "But that programming was created by my grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, possibly the only man that has surpassed my own genius! I already attempted to get rid of that code - but there's so many layers of security to break through that even if you automated the entire process - it would take years to overwrite!"

The revelation that something, perhaps for the first time ever, had outsmarted Robotnik shook the fox to his core. "But- But we can still do something about this! What if we destroyed the ARK?" He asked, desperately and hopefully.

"And how do you propose we do that, hm?" He questioned the fox mockingly. "Stupid fox! The ARK is a huge space station comprising of the strongest metal known to man, with defensive forcefields in place to protect it from attacks! We don't have nearly enough firepower to break through! We'd need to gather even more Chaos Emeralds and build our own super laser capable of handling that kind of power!"

"But-"

"I'M DONE WITH YOU, TAI-!" Miles flinched, not really processing the slip-up as his heart pounded so loud it was beginning to drown out the shouting. "MILES! I'M DONE DEBATING THIS WITH YOU! BECAUSE YOU DON'T GET IT!" Robotnik bent down as far as he could go, so that he was almost level with Miles' face. "I had a plan, Miles - one that I carefully crafted. I did everything I could to keep Shadow under my control, I allowed you this experiment of yours because I believed it was the best way to maintain power over him - and look what's happened. Your incompetence now means Shadow has broken out of our reigns."

He heaved an exaggerated, disappointed sigh. "I forgave your first failed experiments, I expected you to learn - those beasts still ravage my Empire to this day, so I expected you to understand that when you fail - it'll have consequences."

Miles hugged himself in a pathetic attempt of reassurance, he hadn't meant to create those beasts! It was his first time with genetic experimentation, but he'd learned from it! He got everything down eventually...

"I need to figure out our next moves..." Robotnik turned around again towards the computer. "When that bastard shows up again, everything starts tumbling down..." He muttered to himself, with Miles not really understanding what he meant.

"Is there anything I can do to help...?" Miles asked, barely above a whisper.

"I think you've interfered enough." Robotnik told him. "Go to your room."

The fox wasn't about to argue, he made the quickest heel turn and walked as fast as he could out of the room without running - tears of terror brimmed his eyes. How could he have done this? How could he have made such an oversight? How could he have failed his Emperor? His father?

Knowing he was a disgrace, Miles headed to his room with his head dipped in shame - internally contemplating how he was going to make it up to his dad, and earn his love again.

...

Robotnik face palmed and let out a long groan. Everything for him had been going smoothly up until this moment - recruting Tails, the takeover, running his Empire - but as soon as Sonic is in the picture again, things were starting to go wrong. Of course he revelled in seeing Sonic suffer in anguish as he saw the state of the world and his former companions - and secretly the doctor had been wishing for his return for a long time... but now he was starting to remember it all.

Those complicated plans and schemes - intricately researched and designed - yet all foiled by a blue rodent.

He knew Shadow's new-found freedom and Sonic's reappearance were hardly connected, but it certainly raised his eyebrows that both had happened around the same time. Sonic was like a bad luck charm, destroying Robotnik's life by merely existing and causing things to mess up without even influencing them directly.

Knowledge was a gift - and it had been invaluable to him throughout his entire takeover - having knowledge of what would happen, and how to influence events to his liking had not only help him succeed - but also develop a following of people, ones that held onto his every word. Robotnik knew that Shadow was capable of failing - he had seen it with his own eyes.

Yet - the only way he was defeated was through words; well-chosen words. Sheer luck combined with naivety that allowed the heroes to break through to the hedgehog. It was margianally terrifying when he thought about it - how if there hadn't been an attempt to appeal to Shadow's humanity, there was nothing stopping his complete success. Sonic would not have been enough to defeat the Biolizard or warp the ARK.

The thought even made him slightly bitter - that Shadow's plan was basically full-proof while all of his own schemes in his previous lifetime had been foiled. Yet again, he supposed it never really was Shadow's plan - it had always been Gerald's.

One question remained then - could Shadow be reached again? Robotnik couldn't say for sure, and he didn't like not having that certainty.

After debating the ideas in his head, there were only two real opions for him to take - and he wasn't fond of the lack of control he had over either. The first was to ensure Shadow was killed before he'd have the chance to enact his plans... something he knew was much easier said than done... after many failed attempts. The second was to stay out of the way - allow Sonic to be useful for once with the knowledge he possessed, and see if he could get through to Shadow once more.

Robotnik knew he wasn't qualified to do that job.

It made him infurirated to know that if he wanted Shadow to fail - he needed to ensure Sonic was kept alive, for now.

However, he still had some power in this situation for now - and that involved making sure his forces were all on the same page, intent on Shadow the Hedgehog's demise.

The doctor gazed out the window - space looked the same as it always did, as did the planet below.

Night was turning to dawn - the sky now filled with the gold, foggy light that gently shined against the ground below - granting the whole world a gentle glow. If Sonic was ever asked his favourite time of day, he'd always say sunrise. It was the only time where he felt like he wanted to slow down, and truly take in everything around him.

Gazing up at the sky was not only pleasant to look at, but it also provided a decent enough distraction from the ice cold snow he was trudging through. While Sonic was extremely grateful for his leather jacket, it was hardly the type of thing you'd want to wear in the freezing landscapes of Ice Cap Zone.

Shivering to death wasn't how he had intended to spend his morning, but the sight of a bundle of gray fur in the distance had lead him here.

"Hey." Sonic smiled softly. "What's with this, huh? Sitting dramatically in the snow and staring into the distance?"

Surprisingly, the lemur - sat huddled with her knees bunched to her chest, cracked a small smile of her own. "Am I not allowed to have my brooding moment?" She spoke humorously, before the moment of brevity in her emotions had passed - and her face darkened, becoming sullen.

Sonic did his best to ignore how his butt freezed as he sat down next to her with a considerably more relaxed posture. "Well, there's nothing stopping you." Sonic said. "But I can't lie - it upsets me a little seeing you like this. I want us to talk about it."

"There isn't too much to say... not really-" She admitted, before taking in a slow breath. "You know... I was always told that whole 'Never met your heroes' thing, never really understood it until now..."

Sonic remained silent, knowing it would be best to allow her to pour out her feelings.

"Stories of Rouge's feats spread all over the world - she was a rebel, stealing from the Empire and tearing it down! Very few people were standing up to the Empire... and those that were... didn't last long. Rouge was a different tale altogether - her plans always succeeded, and she always managed to evade the Egg Bosses. I guess it's kind of sill but - I looked up to her, like she was a hero in all those books I used to read... a selfless Robin Hood, standing up to authority and fighting for the people! But now... I know the truth, and knowing it... kind of sucks." She admitted with a weak laugh.

Wordlessly, Sonic began to remove his jacket - allowing the cold to bite into his skin. He dismissed the sensation as best as he could, instead focusing on reaching over and gently placing it over the shivering lemur's shoulders, draping it over her back like a cape.

It wasn't much, but it in his eyes - it was better than nothing.

"So, you're beating yourself up because the one you looked up to didn't turn out to be what you expected? What's that supposed to achieve, huh?" He questioned her gently.

"It's not just that... I mean, think about it. By working with Rouge, everyone I've managed to save and bring here with me - I was putting them in danger. I worked with a woman who was willing to sacrifice lives to get what she wanted. Think of... what could have happened-"

"You can think about that for as long as you like, Tangle - but it's not going to change anything. What's important is that in the end, working with Rouge didn't end up resulting in anything like that. And when she did try to abandon people - you stepped right in and made sure they were safe. You did it for me, you did it for that girl... your heart is in the right place - that's what counts." Sonic assured her with conviction.

Tangle took a moment to truly absorb his words, and when she gave him a grateful smile - Sonic made sure to return it. "Well, with Rouge gone now - guess all I can do is move forward, right? Now I know to look after my people... and not make the same mistake."

"I like the way you're thinking." Sonic said cheerfully, placing his hands behind his head. "I can offer you some advice Tangle, you see - I never bother myself with what other people are doing - I try not to have idols, or get myself lost in fantasy stories - instead, I focus on being the hero that I want to see in the world. I think... that's what you've gotta focus on now. Not imitating or following anyone else - just... figuring out what you stand for, and fighting for it with everything you've got... in your own way."

Nodding, the lemur immediately took his advice on board - immediately balling up her fist with determination. "That's what I'll do." She told him. "I promise you that."

"And I'll be right by your side." Sonic promised her as he stood up. "Now, why don't we head back to camp... before we get hypothermia?"

Tangle giggled. "Yeah... good idea."

Knuckles struggled to halt his ragged, quick breaths, begging for a way to make his heartbeat slow. It was nerves - irrational nerves fluttering in his stomach and result in a queasy feeling that he had no idea how to shake off. What was this? He was talking just fine with Sonic and Tangle! ... For the most part! Why was he working himself up over the thought of having to talk to anyone else?

He couldn't afford to become some pitiful, emotional wreck - he had to carry out his duty, and that meant biting his lip - and getting on with before his brain could force him to back out.

The echidna pushed through the bushes until he made it to the clearing - eyes settling upon the hammock with the wolf laying inside. She turned her head towards him when Knuckles showed himself, revealing to him that she was, in fact, awake.

"Whisper." Knuckles addressed her, doing his best to make sure his voice didn't falter. "I need to speak with you."

No words were exhanged in response, but she was looking towards him as though wanting him to go on. At least... he assumed that was what she wanted, it was hard to tell when her eyes were practically closed.

"You have something that belongs to me." He went on to explaining, stepping closer. "Earlier, you were in the presence of the Master Emerald - the gemstone I have been protecting all my life from the forces of evil. It's been my destiny since I was born. The gem you saw has the power to regulate seven other mystical gems called the Chaos Emeralds - I sense you have one such gem on your person as we speak. I urge you hand it over without resistance... for the safety of the planet. By gathering them all, my... allies and I seek to put an end to the tyrant dominating the land below."

Knuckles held his palm out.

For the first seconds, Whisper did nothing - causing Knuckles to hold his breath as he pleaded silently towards the heavens that she wasn't going to try to have a debate with him. If she was going to disagree, he'd honestly much rather have her just attack him.

Fights were much easier than conversations - punches and jabs were a language he could understand.

Suddenly, she managed to clamber out of the hammock - hopping onto the ground and approaching him. She reached into the inside of her cape, before - to his surprise - unveiling a dark blue chaos emerald and placing it in Knuckles' outstretched hand.

His gaze immediately fell upon the gem in undisguised awe and fascination - in his palm he could feel it radiating the exact same warmth that came from the Master Emerald. He had seen the emeralds before depicted on murals and tapestries - now, it was the first time he had ever seen one in person. The realisation stunned him slightly - how had this even ended up being the case? If he was guarding the Master Emerald, surely a part of his responsibility should have been guarding these little guys too.

"Just... like that?" Knuckles let out in disbelief before he could stop himself.

"I have no reason to distrust you." She whispered, true to her name. "You clearly have a connection to the gem if you were able to sense it was with me... if you are its owner, and it is most safe with you, then I have little reason to keep it to myself."

"Huh." Knuckles remarked, blinking. "I was expecting this to be more difficult..."

"I don't wish to make it so." She said. "If I find more of these emeralds on the surface, I'll find a way back here to give them to you."

Was this truly going to be this easy? For whatever reason, a part of himself wasn't going to allow him to believe it. He narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "And why are you so willing to help?" Knuckles asked her. "Why not take off with these emeralds and try to make a fortune or... steal its power... or whatever else you surface dwellers do?"

The slight opening of her mouth indicated she was a little surprised by his questions. "I have little to gain. If this gem contains such power, I have no clue how to access it. Selling it would just cause the emerald to fall into Robotnik's hands... and I already know that him getting his hands on these... would make him invulnerable."

Knuckles had every reason to be pleased that she was cooperating so easily, yet he couldn't bring himself to trust her fully. "I see. Then I guess I'll just make sure you know that if you do choose to try and keep any of the emeralds for yourself... I won't hesitate to smash your face in."

"Understood."

"Hmph." He folded his arms - honestly a little disappointed his threats seemingly had little effect on her, as a Guardian wasn't he supposed to be a bit... intimidating? Maybe he needed to work on that... "Now you know that, I'll get you back to the main camp - get you breakfast, then I'll take you back down to the ground."

"Thank you."

"What do you know about the Space Colony ARK?"

"The Space Colony ARK... that's the place you were created, right? Some sort of space research facility." Rouge replied, folding her arms.

"Do you know of its status?" The hedgehog asked her, already beginning to walk out of the cave and out into the jungle while fiddling with the black and red cuffs on his wrists that were placed beneath two rather large golden rings - one for each arm. Shadow was glancing around at everything in front of him, and him suddenly being on the move forced Rouge to quickly start following behind.

"Can't say for sure..." Rouge told him honestly. "I assume it's still in space, at the very least? Last time it was used was a couple of years ago - destroyed a comet with a bunch of aliens. That's about the only good thing that old man has done for the planet."

Shadow blinked, but continued moving onward at a decently quick pace. "How was it powered?"

"I... don't know?" Rouge was a little confused by the question. "Can't exactly say Egg- ugh, Robotnik is open with information like that."

"I see." Shadow sounded comtemplative, and Rouge tried to observe him closer with narrowed eyes. He carried himself well - back straight with a sturdy posture, creating an aura that exuded confidence and certainty. It was hard to believe that not long ago, the man had been a savage beast - what that almost tore her stomach open in fact. She didn't think that it had quite clicked for her yet that the two beings were the same.

"I need a space shuttle." Shadow's calmly spoken statement quickly broke Rouge's train of thought.

"Uhhhh... as far as I'm aware, according to the records I've read anyway, his space shuttles are kept within a base in a desert... on another continent entirely." Rouge placed a hand on her hip as she walked. "Not exactly the most convenient..."

"Hmmm, unfortunately my knowledge of this world is limited - I cannot warp you to a place I've never seen, we must catch a ride. What would be most convenient?"

"I guess we could travel to Apotos, it has a harbour for cargo ships... one of those has got to head to Shamar." Rouge explained before shaking her head. "But why do you want us to grab space shuttle...why go to space at all? What's so special about the ARK?" She imemdiately drilled him with questions, not willing to be dragged into literal space while not knowing the reason for it.

"Robotnik lives aboard his ship dubbed the 'Death Egg', am I correct?"

"You are... how do you even know that?"

"His underlings had an awful tendency to ramble." Shadow spoke with a slight grimace, and Rouge couldn't blame him - remembering the faces of his closest allies, they were all rather putrid to look at.

"Sounds on brand." Rouge sighed. "But what has the Death Egg got to do with the ARK?"

"The ARK holds the answers we seek... I simply need remind myself of some files, and once I'm able to do so - we should be able to use what's on the ARK to destroy the Death Egg." Shadow's composure remained steady as Rouge's eyes widened in utter disbelief.

"Destroy the Death Egg...?" She repeated quietly. "Is such a thing really possible?"

"As I said, I need to look over some files and figure out how Robotnik utilised it before." Shadow reiterated. "But once that's done, there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to."

"Using that cannon to destroy his Death Egg..." Her lips curled up into a smirk. "That's downright genius, you know that? But Robotnik has to be protecting the ARK in some way, right? If he's using it as his own super weapon."

"That is of no concern." Shadow stated, and the assertive voice he used was able to make Rouge agree with him despite her doubts.

"And well, Robotnik would catch onto what we're doing quickly and escape to Mobius-"

"Of course he will, unless he's truly that senile." Shadow tagged on dryly. "But destroying his main base gets rid of his valauble resources, and makes it so that Robotnik has nowhere to escape to. We force him to stay on Mobius, making him far easier to kill." He explained in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

Rouge couldn't hold back the chuckle in her throat anymore. "Haha! Oh wow, I can imagine it... his face, his fuming anger when he witnesses his base get absolutely obliterated!" She spoke with utter glee. "Christmas has come early, Shadow!"

Shadow seemed to feel some of the same joy as he smirked. "I live to serve - you crave Robotnik's demise, so that is what I shall help you bring forth." He told her.

"Then let's do this." She grinned. Looking into his eyes, she was fascinated by the raw intensity they seemed to hold - something told her that lingering within his heart was a need for revenge that was just as potent as her own.

He had showed up in her life like a knight in shining armour, he almost didn't feel real. He was hypnotising her in a way she had never thought possible before.

"Do you have a vehicle we can use to get to Apotos?" He asked.

"Not personally, but we can make a quick trip to the criminal underground." She informed him. "I'm sure someone will own something that we can... borrow." She gave him a wink. After all, 'borrow' had never been a word in her vocabulary.

"Hello, hi! Hate to interrupt breakfast but while we have everyone gathered - we wanted to talk and fill everyone in about some new changes!" Sonic announced, standing atop a boulder that allowed him to look down upon the camp members that were sitting on logs, munching away on their morning fruit salad bowls.

His words brought forth some confused mumbles in the crowd, but they quickly died down so Sonic could continue. Tangle stepped up on the boulder with him, and decided to address everyone for him. "Some of you might have been wondering where Rouge is... or not, because you know- she disappears a lot-"

Everyone exchanged looks.

"Rouge..." Tangle hesitated briefly. "Rouge isn't with us anymore, disagreements happened... and we all deemed it best that... flying solo was the best course for her." She dipped her head.

No one reacted the way people normally would when being informed that an important figure in their group had made their departure without even a goodbye. They shuffled their sitting positions awkwardly, some merely nodded at the news - and a select few, unless Sonic's eyes were decieving him, seemed to have sighed in relief.

He knew that ultimately, things were better this way. As long as he thought of this Rouge and the Rouge he knew as seperate people - he could bury any feelings of guilt. This Rouge was different, he told himself again - the Rouge he knew was better, and he wouldn't have spoken of her in any negative light. This Rouge was different, he repeated the mantra to fight off the uncomfortable pit in his stomach.

"But... we can offer some good news!" Tangle gave a slightly forced, bright smile. "We have a plan to take down the Empire once and for all! I think you should explain your role in that." Tangle gave Sonic a poke on his shoulder.

"Right-" Sonic nodded a little awkwardly. "So guys I know it's like, gonna sound a little unbelievable... but you guys know now about the Master Emerald, you know about this island - you know that mystical power exists in this world. Knuckles came to find me because he was told to by the emerald..." Sonic searched for Knuckles in the crowd. He was difficult to find as he had distanced himself away towards the back, hiding under the shade of a tree and dipping his head low. "I've been... chosen... to be the one to locate the seven chaos emeralds, and defeat the Empire. You can... think of it like a prophecy, heh-"

It felt wrong to stand up in front of everyone and essentially announce 'Hey, look at me - I'm special!', but how else could he tell them this information. He watched their faces twist with confusion and uncertainty.

"And... how are you planning to find these emeralds?" An old owl spoke up.

"That's a little up in the air - but Knuckles has sensing and warping abilities, I have speed to search areas quickly... we should be able to work out a good system." Sonic assured the man.

"Is there anything we can do... to help?" Sonic was taken aback when he heard the voice - it was Vanilla, he had seen her around the camp with her daughter a few times, but Sonic hadn't had much of an opportunity to speak properly with the pair - something Sonic decided that he must correct soon.

"I think we'd rather you guys kept away from the fighting." Sonic admitted to them honestly. "We can handle the dangerous missions to keep you all safe-"

A cough interrupted him, and Sonic looked around to see who it was. "Perhaps-"

Sonic's ears picked up when he heard Knuckles attempt to speak up, he watched the echidna gulp - struggling to to get his voice and brain to work in unison. "They could learn.. some self- some self-defen-"

"Self defence!" Sonic snapped his fingers and grinned, saving Knuckles from his stuttering by talking to the crowd for him. It was still strange, very strange to see Knuckles so nervous - he had always been on the shy side when it became to socialising, sure, but poor Knuckles in this timeline seemed to be in bordeline anguish when he was speaking to people he was unfamiliar with... which was everyone besides him and Tangle, really. "That's right - we never know if the island might be targeted, or if you might end up in a vulnerable position - so whoever is able, we can get you training up on some basic fighting knowledge so you know how to defend yourselves!"

Surprisingly, the people were nodding their heads in agreement - and even a degree of eagerness. However, one voice sounded out louder than the rest, and much more critical. "Forgive me for my pessimism but why should we trust you? How do we know you're not just gonna abandon us like Rouge, huh?" The red-haired human lady asked.

"You trust me, don't you?" Tangle suddenly asked. "Then you believe me when I say that Sonic is a great guy - selfless, trustworthy, kind - I know he isn't going to turn his back on us!" She beamed with positivity. "Knuckles too - reliable and steadfast! Us three? We'll be taking on the Empire head on for you! With Sonic's speed, Knuckles' brawn, and my... ability to fulfill a gender requirement... there's nothing we can't do!" She giggled at her own joke.

Despite it not being the most well-thought out speech, it seemed like Tangle's vulnerability and charm had won them over - they laughed with her, nodding with brightened up expressions.

"We're with you." A man spoke up.

"Time to get some chaos emeralds!" Another added enthusiastically.

It was all coming together.

"So... what are we doing?"

Perhaps it was already too late to ask.

Tikal stared at Silver. "Restoring time."

"I mean, yeah - we agreed on that. But how are we going about this?" Silver questioned her, after trecking through deep snow and staring at the various sea creatures flying over his head for goodness knows how long now - he was starting to get a little frustrated as their walk seemed to be aimless.

The echidna girl sighed. "I am not certain, all I know is that we should be thoroughly investigating these lands until we find something."

"Something?" Silver repeated. "So... we're looking for literally anything... that isn't snow or flying fish."

"And hoping it will help us, yes." Tikal said regretfully. "I apologise for not posessing more answers."

"No need to apologise for that." He quickly told her. "It means we can at least be clueless together."

"I suppose it is better that we share our strife, instead of carry our burdens alone." She nodded.

"Yep."

Silver didn't know if he could take much more silence.

"So... Tikal, how do you know Sonic?" Yeah, that seemed like a good place to start.

"I communicated with him during the reawakening of Chaos, and showed him the events of the past - allowing him to understand his origin."

Oh right, Silver had heard about Chaos - a water God monster... thing. It had flooded an entire city and Sonic turned super to defeat the creature... but turns out, he was actually once a peaceful guardian of the chao. When Sonic defeated him, Silver believed that Chaos kind of... disappeared after that? He didn't remember the story too well.

"I see..." Silver said slowly, before his brows furrowed. "But how... like, Knuckles is the only echidna so that must mean... you're a ghost?"

"Yes and no."

Silver's cheeks whitened. "I... I'm not dead, am I?"

"You are not. You are well."

Silver's shoulders relaxed as he heaved a sigh. "Phew... I was worried then. I don't know how I didn't catch onto the fact you were kind of a ghost before, I mean - Knuckles is the only echidna alive, right?"

"I sealed myself and Chaos away inside the Master Emerald thousands of years ago. Thus, I never really died - my spirit has lived on through the many generations, perhaps it's the power of the Master Emerald that keeps me from moving on." She didn't sound fully certain herself.

"Sealed inside the Master Emerald... that must have been lonely." Silver said sympathetically.

"Not exactly." Tikal said. "Chaos has been a close companion to me, my spirit is still able to tend to the island's chao, and to a certain degree - I have been able to connect with the Guardian."

"Oh, that's good then!" Silver smiled at her genuinely, glad to know she was content - but her statements only caused further questions to form. "So... if you were sealed inside the Master Emerald... how are you here with me now...?"

"This questions troubles me so, for I dispair not having an answer." She frowned, but sadness lingered within her eyes.

"Oh... well, come on-" Silver put on a determined tone of voice. "I'm sure we'll figure it out-"

Suddenly, a large and fierce gust of wind picked up and blew past the duo - sending their respective dreads and quills flying into dissaray, and almost causing them to stumble over. This, however, was not the shock that made them gasp.

What did leave them speechless, however, was the sight of a blue streak speeding by. Silver's mouth hung agape, while Tikal stared on blankly.

"That... can't be Sonic. can it?" Silver finally spoke up. "That doesn't make sense!"

"It should not be him." Tikal agreed with concern. "And yet..."

"Come on! We've got to get to the bottom of this!" Silver exclaimed. "Sorry Tikal, but if we wanna stand even a chance of catching up with him - I've gotta use my powers-"

She let out a surprised squeak as her body was surrounded by a teal aura and lifted into the air with Silver's mind. Silver, surrounded in his own aura - levitated and blasted after the direction the blue streak had been headed in, Tikal flying right beside him as he held her close with his powers.

Nothing seemed to make sense about this realm.

The afternoon sun beamed down warmly on the meadow, and Knuckles couldn't imagine better weather for a fight. He cracked his knuckles, left with nothing to do but wait for his sparring partner to finally appear - having already completed his stretches. The echidna's gaze darted around the area, searching for signs of the blue hedgehog.

Despite this, his appearance caught him off guard - Sonic was so fast it almost looked like he was warping, and when did show up in front of the echidna, Knuckles almost fell backwards. "Sorry 'bout the wait!" Sonic apologised. "Was talking to Tangle - she felt upset Whisper was gone so soon, she felt responsible for turning her away because of the whole argument with Rouge - tried explaining to her that some people just... like working alone." He recounted with a shrug.

"If she actually stays true to her word, it might not be the last time we encounter her either." Knuckles pointed out. "She already said she'd give any Chaos Emerald she found to us."

"Feels nice to have an ally!" Sonic admitted. "Also I told you she'd give up her emerald." Sonic pointed out.

Knuckles scoffed, looking to the side. He still felt like there was a catch somewhere.

"Either way, something tells me we'll probably be seeing her pretty soon once we start travelling around emerald hunting." Sonic said.

"I just hope she stays cooperative."

"Relax, Knux." He didn't understand how Sonic could keep his voice so relaxed and carefree a lot of the time. "Don't get paranoid. How about we actually get on with fight, eh?"

"What do you think I've been waiting for?" Knuckes grinned, his sharp teeth on display. Sonic gave a smirk, standing back and creating a small distance between the two mobians.

"Hope all that time standing in front of a rock hasn't made your muscles stiff." Sonic mocked lightheartedly.

"Hmph. Talk is cheap." Knuckles countered. "I wanna truly get a feel for how you fight."

Combat - the form of communication he understood, the art form he knew most in-depth. His fighting style was about to reveal a whole new side of the hedgehog that Knuckles was, quite frankly, eager to explore. Knuckles watched Sonic's stretches - Sonic put a lot of care into his leg stretches - everything from calfs to hamstrings were warmed up and ready to go. Sonic didn't put as much care into his upper body stretches.

Already, Knuckles knew Sonic was the kicking type.

"Oh don't worry, I'll show you what I'm made of." Sonic spoke with true confidence. "On the count of three?"

Knuckles gave a nod.

"One, two, three-!"

As soon as the match began, Knuckles felt a knee slamming into his stomach - leaving Knuckles to groan in pain. He knew Sonic was fast, but how was he that fast? Knuckles didn't even have a moment to recover before Sonic's fist made contact with the side of his head - causing Knuckles to stumble. Sonic immediately took advantage of his lack of balance, sweeping his leg and knocking the echidna down on the ground - leaving Knuckles to land on his back.

Sonic was looking down on him, and Knuckles was almost certain that a smugger expression couldn't have existed. The hedgehog rubbed his nose. "Heh, too slow." He remarked cockily.

While obviously a little embarrassed that he got taken down to the ground so quickly, he felt a bubble of laughter inexplicably rise up in his throat - and he let it burst. "HAHAHA!" Joy swelled within him. "That felt great!" He added through his chuckles.

"What? Losing?" Sonic asked, amused.

"Hah! Don't think you've won yet!" Knuckles stood up without any struggles. "I haven't had a proper battle like this in ages! And with someone like you? You're a proper fight!" Knuckles exclaimed eagerly, pounding his fists together. "You're not gonna be a pushover!"

"Of course not, you might though if you don't step up your-!"

Sonic cut himself off when Knuckles abruptly pounded the ground, causing a tremour that almost made Sonic fall over due to its ferocity - but the hedgehog saved himself that embarrassment. He jumped in the air and tucked into a spinning ball before hurling through the air towards him.

Knuckles held out his hand, and caught Sonic in his palm.

No how matter how hard or fast Sonic spun in his blue ball, the echidna's glove was like an impregnable fortress - it would not waver. The echidna was strong and usually blocking an attack would be of little effort - but the amount of force and speed Sonic was creating to put pressure against him caused Knuckles' muscles to tremble just slightly with the effort it required.

With greeted teeth, Knuckles raised his other arm and slammed Sonic down onto the ground.

The force of which he collided with the ground caused a cloud of dirt and grass to get kicked up. With Sonic exposed and vulnerable, Knuckles brought a fist down on the lying hedgehog's stomach - and the hedgehog growled quite loudly in pain. Perhaps that had been too hard...

Despite this, as Knuckles went for another punch - Sonic managed to roll to the side and quickly leap back to his feet. Sonic narrowed his eyes before trying to launch a kick at the echidna's chest - one that the echidna effortlessly blocked with his hand. Sonic tried again and yielded the same result, and Sonic would soon find all his kicks - no matter from what angle, were we being blocked by his opponent.

Perhaps Sonic purposefully created the rythm to lull him into a false sense of security, so that when he changed his tactic - Knuckles would be caught off guard.

Sonic underestimated him.

When Sonic suddenly dashed around and tried sending a kick to the back of his head, Knuckles smirked as his eyes glowed green.

The hedgehog only made contact with a green forcefield. He seemed startled by this, giving Knuckles the perfect opportunity to whip around and throw a right hook at the hedgehog's face.

The force of the blow sent Sonic flying helplessly into the distance before he landed down on the meadow - thankfully on a patch of longer grass, which he hoped managed to cushion the impact at least a little.

Knuckles used his hand to block the sun out of his eyes, and glared into the distance. "You okay?!" Knuckles called loudly.

No response. Damn it, had he been too rough?

Suddenly, a blue streak was beginning to circle around Knuckles at high speeds. What? Since when did Sonic even get up, let alone start running? The echidna tried to follow it, but doing so only caused him to feel dizzy. He grunted, disorientated - holding his fists close to his face in an attempt to prepare for what might come.

He did not expect the incoming storm. Sonic, in his balled up form, rammed into his back - then rammed into his stomach - smashing into just about every body part in Sonic's quick and relentlessly birrage of spinball attacks - Knuckles grunted and gasped, any attempt to swing his arm to hit the hedgehog would always miss.

Finally, Knuckles felt a fierce kick in the back of his head, and Knuckles was knocked down.

The echidna lay there panting as his body was doing its best to recover, from the onslaught while Sonic seemingly hadn't broken a single sweat - the only indication that he had been fighting beign the occassional flinch in pain. "You alright?" Sonic asked.

"You kidding?" Knuckles replied, before chuckling again. "Where was this side of you at the festival, huh?!" He asked, gleefully grinning - his veins still feeling ablaze with adrenaline.

Sonic's laugh was comparably more uneasy as he offered a hand to help the echidna up. He ignored the question entirely, but Knuckles was too excited to care. What a thrill! What a challenge! He'd have to see if Sonic would be up for something more intensive some time soon!

"Great fight, Knux!" Sonic complimented. "Although I was surprised you only used those Master Emerald powers of yours once that whole time."

Knuckles took Sonic's hand and was pulled to his feet promptly. "As I said, chaos energy tactics that are used to harm another person is utilising dark chaos energy, I don't like using it - not only would it be overkill for a spar, but I also don't like how the voices in my head tend to get louder-"

"I'm sorry, the what?" Sonic blinked rapidly and obcious worry.

"I-I'm not insane!" Knuckles quickly reassured him. "I just hear my ancestors when I use those powers! And as I said, when I use harmful energy... they tend to get louder so- and that just ends up being overwhelming, not really convenient for a fight-"

"Ooookay, got it-" Sonic nodded slowly, and Knuckles wasn't sure if Sonic truly believed him. "So like- what do you do with your powers then?"

"Well, you saw I have force fields, you know I can heal - I can also grow plants at will, which I can use combatively - I'll show you later- I can understand chao and animals and- Oh! I can control the weather!"

"... Hold on, hold on - control the weather?" Sonic's voice cracked.

"Yeah! Kinda takes a lot of effort though..." He admitted with a sincere smile. "And only over a certain area - that's something else I can show you!" Knuckles honestly felt like bouncing up and down like an excitable child. He was ecstatic to not only have a new friend, but a challenging fighting partner - he had been craving a good battle for years! It was taking all his effort to restrain himself and remain composed.

"Wow... that's really impressive." Sonic said finally, and Knuckles' heart warmed at the compliment, and he couldn't stop himself from beaming a smile. Sonic's own gaze softened as well - his striking emerald eyes filled with compassion.

"Knux?" Sonic said.

"Yeah?"

"You realise you're still holding my hand, right?" Sonic teased.

Knuckles glanced down, immediately gasping and pulling his hand away - his complexion turning the same shade of red as his fur. "Shit - I-I didn't realise!" Knuckles quickly exclaimed as Sonic burst into laughter.

"Oi! What are you doin', you animal?!"

"Taking this."

"That's my bike!"

Shadow lost his patience, letting go of the bike and forming a blade of what looked like electricity to a more ignorant eye - but Rouge knew better, it was chaos energy - weilded in a new way, unlike how she had seen Knuckles use it before. The hedgehog abrutply slammed the man into the wall, and Shadow held the spear reminsicent shape of light up to the hyena's neck. "I'm giving you one chance to live." Shadow warned, his voice carrying through the air like an icy cold wind. "We're taking the bike. You're going to get out of our way."

The hyena gulped, his entire body was quivering - and yet, foolishly, he took a stand. "You have no right to take my bloody-!"

Leaving no time for the man to finish his yelling declaration, the hedehog sliced through the man's neck with the chaos spear. The hyena coughed violently, scarlet blood periodically bursting from the wound and staining Shadow's fur - yet he didn't even flnch at the sight. He let the hyena drop to the ground, ignoring him as he walked silently to the motorbike.

"It'll do." Shadow remarked.

Rouge wasn't able to take her eyes off of the dying man, seeing the life slowly begin to leave his eyes sent a deep shiver through her spine.

"What's the matter?" The hedgehog asked her.

"Nothing- just-" She couldn't find the words to describe what she was feeling.

"His death is a means to an end, Rouge." Shadow told her sternly. "You say your previous allies were too soft, always finding excuses to spare lives despite it being a hinderance."

"And... I still stand by that. Just because I see the necessity of taking lives, doesn't mean I enjoy it." She explained to him with a shudder. "I was a thief before the takeover, not a serial killer."

"His life, Robotnik's life - what's the difference?" He asked, without expecting an answer. Instead, he turned and walked over to her. "Any job you do not wish to carry through, I will be able to enact." He assured her with a surprisingly soft and comforting tone of voice. "I already told you that your wish is my command."

"Heh, thanks." Rouge found herself somewhat amused despite herself. "Quite the gentleman, aren't you? Doing a lady's dirty work?"

His eyes almost appeared as though they were glowing red, and she couldn't help but taken in the hedgehog's features - she understood why he was the ultimate lifeform - with perfect facial structure, handsome yet pretty features, not a quill out of place. His strong masculine frame was hard to tear her gaze from once she dared peek.

Shadow's gorgeous smirk made her heart flutter.

She had known him for barely a day, yet cupid had struck - determined to intoxicate her with infatuation. She knew it was dumb, knew it was stupid. Yet her heart wouldn't listen to her brain.

"Hop on." Shadow told her as he began getting on the bike. "I'll drive."

A chapter focusing on relationships babyyyyyy.

Robotnik is mad at Miles and Starline - but mostly Miles, how is he going to win back the favour of his dear old dad? Sonic comforts Tangle, Whisper cooperates with the heroes and hands over her chaos emerald! But still insists on being alone :( - wonder how long that will last though. The rebel group are all on the same page. Tikal and Silver encounter what may or may not be Sonic in the In-Between while Sonic and Knuckles engage in a spar as Shadow ropes Rouge further into his plans, but the bat is unexpectedly falling head over heels for the man currently on a revenge spree. She's doing great.

We now know that Miles was involved in the creation of the monsters - but how exactly? Well, the pieces are there to make a stab at a guess before we get the full explanation.

Sidenote: The dancing monkey in my head is going bananas over the Frontiers prologue animation - SO GOOD MAN, IM SO HYPED.

I really enjoyed this chapter! Hope you did too :) - as always, please let me know your thoughts in a review! I love to read them But for now, I'll see you later :)