Hey, folks. So, new chapter. Hope you liked the previous one, and that you'll like this one. I intend to update weekly but I can't make promises. I try to write a little each day, but I won't have a lot of time in the near future. With that said, thanks for reading!

CHAPTER II:

A meeting with Erasmus

Ash took a long sip from his cup of. Black coffee, one sugar cube, just the way he liked it. He could feel the hangover slowly fading as the caffeine started to kick in. Not a minute too soon, he thought. Had his headache persisted any longer, he wouldn't have been able to stand up from the chair.

Ash and Moon were sitting at a table in front of Cullen's, a little café not far from Main Square. It was a quaint and quiet place, and its owner, Cullen the Dog, had proven an invaluable source of information, rumours and news about everything that was going on in town. He was discreet, too, and the siblings had found themselves relying in his knowledge of city's affairs to decide their movements. Unfortunately, Cullen's help hadn't gotten them any closer to their target. Until then, at least.

The café had become a sort of headquarters for the wolf and the raven during their stay. Cullen, on his part, enjoyed their patronage, and liked to share his vast array of gossips with the pair, whom hadn't fail to pay a meal or to thank him for the information. He didn't know nor cared that much about what the two kids were trying to find out, and he knew better than to ask, seeing as the name Eggman had been dropped, which spelled out trouble. Thus, he was not about to start inquiring about their business. Especially to the wolf, Ash, he had heard the raven call him. There was something in those amber eyes that he didn't like, although he couldn't put his finger on it.

That morning he was sweeping behind the bar, unaware that there would be a long time until he saw any of them again.

Ash was comfortably reclined in his chair, the breeze ruffling his fur. He was starting to change into his winter coat. Moon was sitting in front of him, reading from her datapad.

"Well?" asked Ash, after giving the coffee another sip. "Care to share about this mysterious contact of yours?"

Moon didn't answer right away. She took a minute to finish reading, and then put the datapad in her bag. Ash waited patiently.

"His name is Erasmus," she said. "An otter. He's new in town. According to Cullen he was seen trying to get access into the city's archives, two days ago. Not by regular means".

"How did Cullen find that out?" inquired Ash. "He doesn't leave this place, ever!"

Ash knew that the dog had his ways of knowing. But that was a little too concrete.

"He's got friends at City Hall" said Moon. "Anything out of the ordinary there, and an hour later he knows everything about it."

"Ok, but who is this guy, exactly? What does he want from us?" asked Ash.

"I'm not sure," said Moon. "Cullen told me the guy had rented a room at Tinker's Quarter." She then told Ash how she met him, and that they talked for a while about his research and that they had agreed to meet next day. This Erasmus had said that he and his friends had been tracking Eggman for a while, and could use all the help they could get.

"Did he say who this 'friends' were?" asked Ash. 'He may work with GUN. If there's a group interested in finding out where Eggman's been, that's them."

Moon shook her head.

"I don't think so; he really didn't look the part. If he's undercover, then he's the best actor I've ever meet".

Ash didn't reply for a couple of minutes. There was something about the whole deal that didn't add up, at least to him. It was all too convenient, he thought. The exact same day Doctor Eggman chooses to resurface they find out there's this guy in town who says he's been after him. All too convenient. He told Moon as much.

"It is suspicious," said Moon. "I'm not too sure about this myself, to be honest. But we're meeting at a fairly public spot, and this Erasmus really doesn't feel like the type to start trouble." The raven shrugged. "Worst case scenario, he works for Eggman and this is a trap. He throws a couple of robots at us, we destroy them and kick his ass. We've done that before."

Ash couldn't help but chuckle. The fact that his sister could be so naïve, despite everything they had been together, was one of her most refreshing qualities. Moon had been forced to grow up much earlier than normal, given the circumstances, but she was still sixteen.

"I recall those other times not being as easy as you make them sound, sis," said Ash with a smile. "My knee still hurts from last time. But if you say this could be the lead we've been waiting for, then I trust you."

Ash could notice his sister trying not to smile at the comment, but chose not to say anything.

He finished his coffee, and left a couple of coins on the table.

"Alright. You lead the way, sis". They then got up, waved to Cullen, who waved back to them. They started to walk to the place of the appointment.

It took Ash and Moon nearly an hour to reach Ramsett Park on foot. They had enough money for two train tickets to Soleanna, but not a whole lot more, according to their calculations. So, seeing as they could reach their destination without taking the streetcar, they opted for walking instead and enjoy the cool autumn breeze.

Ramsett Park was uphill; in fact, it was located in one of the highest points in Central City, so before long, the nice stroll turned into a difficult climb for Ash, who was a bit out of shape. By the time they reached their destination, Ash was panting and short of breath.

The park looked beautiful in the autumn. The leaves had begun turning yellow and red on the trees, but some of the flowers were still in bloom down on the ground. At their sight, Ash couldn't help but wonder how long would it take for the Paleblight to reach Central City.

Moon had Erasmus had agreed to meet by the pool, right at the centre of the park, but he wasn't there yet.

"Alright, here we are," said Ash. "What now?"

"We're a bit early. Oh, we can take a walk around the park until he arrives!" said Moon enthusiastically. "Come, I want to see the rose garden!"

Moon took off before his brother could say anything. He sighed and walked after her.

It's nice to see Moon enjoying herself, thought Ash, as he reached Moon as she went into the rose garden. In a few days, we probably won't have time for something like this.

Ash remembered the last time they had enjoyed some time together like that. It had been the previous year, as they scouted Green Hill Zone for leads. They had spent the whole day asking the locals and searching the area, but by sunset they found themselves atop one of the loops, looking at the clouds as the setting sun painted them in oranges and pinks. It was a rare moment, though. Moon had been fixed on the mission since they had started five years ago, and in all that time her resolve hadn't fail once. Ash couldn't say the same about himself.

After a while of walking amongst the rows of rosebushes, Ash and Moon headed once again towards the fountain. Then Ash saw him.

It was evident at first sight what Moon had meant when she said that Erasmus didn't look like GUN material, and that he wouldn't be the one to start a fight. The scrawny little otter looked as if a slight breeze could sweep him away. He was a bit shorter than Moon, and looked so thin as to be famished. He was dressed in rich clothing, albeit a bit worn, and was writing down something in a thick notebook. As Moon and Ash walked toward him, he turned his big, blue eyes away from his writing, nervously.

"Oh, hello, that is, hello again, Moon". He said hastily "Oh! And you must be Ash! So nice to meet you! I'm Erasmus, Erasmus the Otter, yes, well, you must have figured that by now," he laughed nervously.

God, he's just a kid! thought Ash. But Moon had said to give him a chance. So he would comply.

"Nice to meet you too," he said, folding his arms. "Well? Can you tell us what is this all about?"

Erasmus looked around before giving an answer. There were not that many people in the park, as the previous night's rain had left most of it muddy and slippery.

"Yes," whispered Erasmus. "Well, some of it, at least. I'm sorry; my associates don't want me to divulge the details, not until you agree to help us, that is, and even then, they'll want to brief you themselves. Let's go for a walk," he added, in a normal tone.

"Okay," said Ash, walking alongside the young otter. "Then, first things first. Who are you guys, exactly?"

"All I can tell you is that we are a group of people that have been fighting Doctor Eggman for a while now" said Erasmus. He still looked nervous and alert. "After he went 'missing' five years ago, and after the government declared the search low priority, some of the people that had fought him in the past decided to take the matter into their own hands."

"You can't possibly have fought Eggman before!", exclaimed Ash, who then tried to clarify his point, not wanting to make the kid feel insulted. "I- I mean; you look to young to have met him before he disappeared."

"Goodness, no, I never met him!" laughed Erasmus. "That was before I joined in. I'm just eleven. One of the newer recruits, in fact", he went on. "Though no, as you implied, I'm not the fighting type."

"So what is it that you do, Erasmus?" asked Moon.

"Research," he said proudly. "I know it doesn't sound that glamourous, but that's how you know what you are heading into."

"And what intel were you trying to access in the archives the other day?" inquired Moon. Ash glanced at her. A bit too direct, sis, he thought. Erasmus stopped in his tracks.

"So you know about that…" he looked indecisive. After a moment, he resumed walking. "I'll assume that's how you found out about me. But you don't need to pay any mind to what I was doing, now."

Ash wasn't convinced just yet. He didn't have enough patient for all the secrecy. It was time, he thought, to try and move the conversation forward.

"So," said Ash, "did you manage to find anything useful, I don't know, for heading into Wave Ocean?

Erasmus looked flabbergasted.

"How- how did you know I was researching that?" he stammered. "How did you find out- oh." Erasmus interrupted himself, at the sight of Ash's open smile. "Because I just told you. Dang it…"

And I thought Moon could be naïve, thought Ash. But his smile went away quickly. The sight of the embarrassed little otter had robbed him of what satisfaction he might have gotten for succeeding with his trick. He couldn't help but feel bad for the poor kid.

"So you and your team knew about Wave Ocean", said Moon. "But they needed you here to find out something more about it".

Erasmus was beet red. He let out a sight.

"I messed up again…" he murmured. He fell silent and rubbed his temples, as if to collect his thoughts. After a moment, he spoked.

"Yes, we knew ," he said. "Part of it, anyway. And yes, the whole point of me being here was to try and find the rest. But listen, if you come with me to Soleanna, I'm sure my friends will let you in on everything. We were very close this time, but the truth is we are too few. We need help." He turned to Moon, looking more determined than he had before. "Listen, we don't know each other, but Moon, you told me you two have been pursuing Doctor Eggman for years, isn't that correct? With your help and Ash's, I'm sure we'll be able to do it next time."

Ash gave her sister an aside glance. She seemed as unsure about the situation as him. It had been a while since the both of them had been part of a bigger team. And not without reason. But who knew, it could be different this time. And the kid sure sounds sincere about it.

Erasmus reached into his pocket and retrieved a small datapad. He consulted it, and put it back in his pocket,

"I'm taking the 10 o'clock train to Soleanna this night," he said. "You can think about my offer and discuss it until then. I hope to meet you there. If not, I wish you luck on the road." He then shook their hands, and walked away.

Ash and Moon stayed in the park for a while longer. They weren't very sure what to think about the meeting.

"Think about it this way," said Moon. "We're going to Soleanna either way. Might as well go with the little guy and find out more about this team of his while we get there."

Ash said nothing.

"Listen," she continued, "I remember last time as well as you do. It didn't work out. But it doesn't have to be like that this time, so if you think-".

"I think you're right, sis," said Ash. Moon seemed surprised by that. "I do. We've gotten nowhere on our own, that's the truth. So maybe it's time to do things differently. Besides, if the kid's leading us into a trap, we can always 'kick his ass', to quote a friend of mine".

Moon couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, enough," she said, trying to keep serious. "Let's go back down to the motel. We have to start packing our things." She walked towards the exit, and Ash went after her. It was time to say goodbye to Central City.

Later that night, Cullen the Dog had begun closing the café. The chairs where piled up neatly over the tables, as he was getting to scrub the floors. But before he could get to it, the doorbell rang, as three men had ignored the "Closed" sign that hanged from the door.

"Sorry, we're closed for the night-", he started, but interrupted himself as he turned to face the men and saw that they were dressed in matching three-piece black suits, and that two of the men had placed themselves firmly in front of the door, while the third looked at the décor unassumingly.

Military, GUN or worse, he thought. Things could get really ugly.

"What's it gonna be, gentlemen?" he asked, leaving his mop against a wall and placing himself behind the bar, under which his sawed-off shotgun was concealed. He hid a smile when one of the men at the door instinctively reached for something under his suit jacket as he had started walking. Thought as much.

"Oh, we only wanted to ask a quick question," said the third man, a tall individual with glasses. He removed his hat, revealing greying short hair. "We are looking for two certain people, a wolf and a raven. We understand they have been your patrons for a few weeks now."

"Yes, I remember those kids," There was no point in playing dumb about that. Dozens of people had seen the pair in the café. "What about them?"

"We were wondering if you may know where could we find them," said the man. "We have been looking for them for a long time, you see, and just now we find out they are back in the city. We would be very grateful if you could point out their direction for us." The man's lips curved up in a smile, but it didn't reach his steel-grey, cold eyes.

"They never said where were they staying," said Cullen. It wasn't a lie, although he had used his connections to find out, once he heard they were interested in Eggman. "I don't think I can help you with that, gentlemen."

The man didn't respond immediately. Without stopping smiling, he reached into his pocket. Cullen's hand firmly but quietly grasped the shotgun under the bar. The man removed his hand from his pocket, revealing a card between his fingers, which he put down on a table.

"If you do find out," he said, "you have my number. Have a nice night." Then, he turned around and went out the door. The two other men followed suit.

Cullen didn't move for a minute. Then, he resumed the scrubbing, not without locking the door first. When he was done, he went to the back of the café and down the stairs into the cellar. He grabbed a crowbar, with which he dislodged one of the floorboards. Behind it there was an old radio set. He turned it on, and took the speaker.

"Ulster here, please respond, Carat, over." He waited, then repeated the message. This went on for almost a minute.

"Carat here, what is it, Ulster, over?" said a voice at the other side.

"We've had a situation here at Site B. Three agents, looking for Mutt and Pallas. They knew they were in town, but I think that's all, given what they were asking, over."

"GUN," said the person named Carat. "They want to keep tabs on them, but that's that. Over."

"They will be on their way to Soleanna soon, if not already," said Cullen. "They'll have to disappear as soon as they get there. Leading them to Erasmus was a mistake. This puts the whole operation in jeopardy, over."

"Don't worry, I'll call out a few favours in here. GUN will keep searching for them in Central, at least for a while longer. Expect more visits, but keep it cool. Use of force hasn't been authorized on lower-priority missions, so they can only threaten, at worst. Good luck. Over and out."

Good luck for all of us, thought Cullen sadly. The kids sure were going to need it.