"My skirt was lovingly crafted by my Fapetto." Tikal said, pinching the end of her skirt as she traversed the snow.
"Oh, I see." Silver smiled, before the expression faltered and gave way to confusion. "What's a... what's a Fapetto?" He asked hesitantly, not wanting to come off as rude.
"Ah! You say... you say grandmother, yes?" Tikal asked to make sure.
"Oh! Yeah, I got you!" Silver confirmed with a nod. Honestly, it was weird enough talking to another echidna that wasn't Knuckles, and the fact Tikal was speaking of a relative only blew his mind further. There was a whole history about these people that he'd only ever heard tidbits of. Maybe Tikal would be able to teach him more about that era of history? He was definitely interested, and maybe it would be a better way to break the ice during their journey rather than brief attempts at small talk.
That would have to wait though, Silver shuddered as a small jolt of what almost felt like electricity sparked in his brain - not painful, just a little shocking. Silver inwardly laughed at his own unintentional pun. It was a signal, one he had already learned not to worry about - as all it did was signify to him that he could make a connection with Sonic once more.
The hedgehog glanced to his other side at the silent Metal Sonic, and pursed his lips. What to do with him? If he saw Sonic again, the robot would likely go on a ramgage again. Silver had to think of something else...
"Metal? How about you scout ahead?" Silver suggested to the robot, pointing into the distance. "Have a run and come back to us to if you find anything, we'll be here. I need to... sleep, yeah - that. Who knows what time it even is anymore? The sky never changes-" He shook his head to wave away his confusion. "Do you need to rest too, Tikal?"
"Slumber has not been a necessity for my body for over a millenium." The echidna replied.
"So that's a no." Silver quickly translated. "That's fine, guess I'll be the only one then."
"I wish you the best on your brief quest, Metal Sonic." Tikal gave the machine a curtsy.
It was, of course, hard to tell if Metal even appreciated the polite words and gesture due to his perpetually blank face. After a few seconds passed, Metal eventually gave a quick nod - suddenly taking off towards the horizon. With his incredible speed, who knew you how far from them he already was?
Silver let go of his breath. "I get that he's working with us and all... but he still gives me the heebie-jeebies." He remarked with a shudder. "In truth, Tikal-" He looked towards her. "I don't need sleep, in fact - sleeping, eating - I haven't needed any of that since I wound up here. I just needed Metal out of the way-"
"Are you that frightened by him?" She questioned with worry.
"It's not like that- Just, give me a second-" He turned his back to the girl, and suddenly extended his arms in front of him. Narrowing his eyes n concentration, and letting out a forceful yell - he spread his arms out, as though opening a set of imaginary doors. Instead though, a spark of blue energy formed. It grew inside, beginning to swirl.
"A portal..." Tikal realised.
"I'm not quite sure why - but it seems when Sonic falls asleep, I get this like- almost electrical charge kind of feeling in my head... like a connection forming between us, that's how I figured out I could open up a portal that took me into Sonic's dreams." Silver explained. "Can't say I'm sure why we have this connection in the first place though..."
"While peculiar, it is a connection to be thankful for." Tikal told him, and Silver agreed.
"I'm glad I still have a way to talk to him, and I'm sure Sonic appreciates it too. Seemed like he really needed my help last time we spoke. But..." He sighed. "I guess you've caught on to why I didn't want Metal here. If he finds out Sonic is in reach, I'm worried he'll go all murderhobo and remember his previous objectives-"
"Your concern is understandable." She nodded. "As it stands, he is an unpredictable soul. However, I do wish to ask of you that we do not keep too many secrets from him. For the three of us to work well together, we need to trust each other."
He understood what she was saying, but he was a little hesitant to back her completely - Tikal, from what he'd witnessed earlier, was unlikely to be able to defend herself in the event of Metal betraying them. He wasn't sure if keeping her and Metal so close truly was the best course of action... yet, what choice was there? If they wanted to get anything done, teamwork was going to be important - all three of them needed to play their part.
"You're right, Tikal. We won't keep any more secrets than we need to." Silver said. "But still... not showing Metal how to get to Sonic is probably the best thing to do."
"Agreed." She said. "You wish to speak with Sonic now?"
"I mean, yeah - that's why I've opened this portal now. I should let Sonic know about what I've been able to do, and Sonic likely has updates of his own." As he stepped forward, Tikal placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I wish to also speak with Sonic." She said. "You also wanted proof I was trustworthy from Sonic, did you not?"
Silver blinked a few times. "Oh yeah, you're right." He gave a look behind him over his shoulder at the silent, snowy expanse. "We... shouldn't be long, we'll be back before Metal even knows we left."
"Then let us depart." She didn't even wait for Silver, stepping into the portal without hesitation - causing Silver to hurry in after her.
...
"Quick to throw me away, weren't you?" She asked him, her voice echoing through the dark cavern.
"Rouge-" Sonic began with difficulty. "It's not- it's not like that, you know that as well as I do. You- she- was being difficult, she didn't want to work with us - I couldn't force her to!"
"You really don't think you could have tried harder to work with me?" Rouge folded her arms. He was staring down the face of the Rouge he was more familiar with instead of the new. Her short hair, lighter makeup, and heart suit - he could handle a glare like that from new Rouge, but not this one - he wanted to flinch and turn away.
"I don't- damnit-" Sonic sighed. "I don't even know why my own psyche is hellbent on making me feel guilty- Just because things aren't working out with a new version of you doesn't mean I don't like you! You two are seperate-!"
Rouge scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Then you believe your existence is so important that your lack of existence in one timeline caused me to be an entirely seperate person." She glared. "How big does your ego have to be?"
"That's not what I'm saying at all-!" Sonic shouted back in exhaustion.
To the hedgehog's surprise, she suddenly faded from his vision - and a pale blue light sparked in her stead. Could it be...? His suspicions were confirmed when he saw it expand and take shape.
"Silver!" He called out with tremendous relief, beginning to run towards the portal - but skidded to a halt when the person coming out of the portal was not the hedgehog he was expecting, but rather a face he had not seen for a long, long time.
"Tikal...?" Sonic breathed out.
She was grunting as she struggled to push herself out onto the other side of the portal, so Sonic came up and grabbed her by the arm. "I got you!" He exclaimed, gripping onto her tighter and pulling back with a sharp tug. It ended up being a bit too forceful, as Sonic stumbled back and the echidna promtply fell on top - knocking the wind out of him.
Not even getting him a moment to recover, someone else landed on top of the pile - and by the little "Oof-!" sound they let out, Sonic knew this time it actually was Silver. The blue hedgehog wheezed under the pressure at the bottom of the body pile - with Silver and Tikal quickly doing their best to get back on their feet.
"Goodness-!" Tikal exclaimed. "Are you alright?"
"Sorry, sorry-!" Silver apologised profusely.
Sonic took in a big gasp of air as soon as he was able. "I'm fine." He told them. "Just- Didn't expect you to fall on top of me like that-"
"We did not foresee such an outcome either." Tikal said as she watched Sonic stand up. "It is not quite how I wished to introduce myself to you again."
"Heh, hardly matters to me. It's been so long!" Sonic smiled at her. "What brings you here? You and Silver seem to be working together?"
"Yes." She confirmed quickly. "We found each other in the old timeline, and have formed an alliance-"
"Woah, woah!" Sonic waved his hands. "Old timeline? How does that even work?" To say he was confused was an understatement.
"Get this, apparrently the place I've been wondering in this whole time is the old timeline! It still exists!" Silver informed him. "But it's... weird, it's not like- properly in tact. The snow isn't cold, there's flying fish and- well yeah, that's about all we've seen so far- but you get my point, right?"
"I understand what you're saying, but like- Eggman created a whole new timeline to make sure I didn't exist, so how can the old one still exist?" Sonic asked.
"We are still trying to gather the pieces to solve this mystery." Tikal went on to explain. "The current theory as it stands, however, is that the Time Eater was used by Eggman to create a... duplicate timeline, one that included his own personal changes. But, because it's a duplicate made by this strange being - it is not, inherently, a 'true' timeline - therefore the old one still exists."
The new information laid upon him was baffling, but also relieving. "So if the old timeline, and everything from it still exists... then-"
"Our friends should be there somewhere." Silver finished for him. "Tikal and I are gonna be working towards finding them, seems like the best thing we can do for now at least. We've already encountered Metal Sonic, funnily enough."
"Metal Sonic?" The blue hedgehog repeated with concern. "You two okay? He didn't hurt you?"
"Yeah, we're fine." Silver assured him. "Funnily enough, since neither you or Eggman exist in that timeline the guy doesn't really know what to do- so we... gave him new objectives. He's going to be helping us."
"You gotta do what ya gotta do..." Sonic said quietly - still trying to process the idea of Metal Sonic actually working alongside him and his friends for a good cause. Even when Metal Sonic had broken free from Eggman's control in the past, the robot had always chosen the path of evil - believing himself to be the real Sonic, still seeking to kill him... and usually aiming for world domination. "Need I even warn you to be careful?"
"I'm already worried enough." Silver sighed. "But I'm hoping for the best."
"So, I get why Silver's still kicking around - but what about you?" Sonic turned his head to Tikal. "How come you're able to roam around with Silver? You were trapped in the emerald, right? Only ever coming out as a spirit... but you're like- fully here." He observed, rubbing the bottom of his chin.
"I believe, that just as fish are flying in the sky, my own position in the old timeline has shifted and become something new. I have been granted independence from the emerald... amidst all the chaos." She replied steadily.
"Right, yeah that's fair - I guess you're just as confused as the rest of us are really." Sonic shrugged. "Speaking of 'chaos' though... is Chaos with you?"
Somberly, she shook her head. "No... but he's likely out there. Free, like me. I'm worried that our reunion has not come to pass yet... but I have no reason to believe he is not well. Chaos is likely looking for ways to aid us through our plight in the ways unique to him." She added on - more hopeful than she had sounded before.
"That's pretty good news all thing's considered." Sonic remarked, hand on his hip.
Silver nodded slowly. "So you two do know each other." Silver said thoughftully.
"Hm?" Sonic tilted his head.
"Sorry, it's just - you know, I wanted to make sure Tikal was who she said she was. But you two, do in fact, seem to have met."
"Yeah, it was a fun adventure. Shame you weren't with us then, Silv. You would have had a blast." Sonic grinned.
"Your idea of a 'fun adventure' usually involves some God trying to terrorirse the entire planet, and that's not quite my ideal adventure. I tend to prefer them when entire worlds aren't hanging in the balance." Silver smiled slightly.
"Eh, not my fault you're boring." Sonic shrugged smugly, and Silver only gave him a look of unamusement.
The three of them then looked at eachother in a prolonged silence, exchanging glances - both Tikal and Silver seemed to be looking at him expectedly for some reason, until Silver eventually broke the awkwardness. "So? Any news on your end?" Silver asked Sonic with a raised brow.
"Oh, uh - not really no." Sonic looked away from them. Those two were already figuring things out, yet he hadn't made any real progress towards his goal of pursuing the emeralds - he'd only lost a friend along the way. Or... half friend. Or whatever you were supposed to call an alternate version of a friend!
Feeling like the gazes of the other two were drilling into him, Sonic brushed off whatever concern they might have with a handwave and cocky smirk. "You guys have no reason to worry. I'll be getting my hands on the emeralds in no time."
They didn't seem all that convinced, so Sonic found something else to talk about. "By the way, Tikal - I hope it's alright with you, but to get people to listen to me I had to make up a bit of a lie - explaining away that I've been kinda recieving... prophecies... and I used you in that excuse-"
"Do as you must to succeed." Tikal replied to Sonic's relief. "But I urge you not to believe your own fabrications. I wanted to come here with Silver to clarify that.. you... are not special."
"Wow... ouch-" Sonic grimaced slightly. That was rather blunt, didn't she think so?
"I told Knuckles you were the one. That he must ensure you succeed in your efforts to save the world - this was not a declaration of destiny or fate, I merely needed to ensure Knuckles would be your side and working with you. It is not written in the stars that you will succeed - what the future holds is a mystery to me. You, however, are undoubtedly the one with the most chance to steer time back on course with the knowledge you possess."
"Well to be honest, kinda gathered." Sonic admitted. "Prophecies aren't really a thing outside of storybooks."
A white light suddenly flashed above them, causing Tikal to let out a surprised squeak.
"It's okay!" Silver told her. "It just means Sonic is about to wake up..."
"In that case..." She spoke up again as she recovered from her moment of shock. "Sonic, I only ask one additional favour of you. Please... look after Knuckles."
The last echidna guardian, the last remaining descendant of the Knuckles clan, of course she wanted his safety. "You don't have to tell me, Tikal. I'll be protecting him." Sonic said firmly, allowing himself to smile. Knuckles wasn't someone he was planning to let go of any time soon - no matter the timeline.
Sonic was lucky that Knuckles was by his side.
"EggNet - play my celebration music."
"Playing: Celebration Playlist"
As the song began, Starline bopped his head slightly in his chair to the beat. The past few days had been hard work, but hoo boy had they payed off.
As the singer moved on through the verse, Starline stood - jigging and tapping his feet, gleefully smiling. Oh, how the days had become bright and sunny, knowing that he had suceeded in causing the Empire to lose faith in the troublesome wart that was Miles.
As the chorus kicked in, he couldn't contain himself - he grabbed hold of the screwdriver and belted the lyrics into it as though it were a microphone. He deserved this, he thought. A moment to just... enjoy his success. Nothing could possibly ruin-
Buzz. Buzz.
Hm. Oh well.
"EggNet, stop the music." Starline sighed, and the music paused. He picked up the phone on his desk and held it up to his ear. "Hello~ Starline speaking."
"STARLIIIIINE! I NEED REPAIRS!" The voice yelled from the other end.
The platypus flinched at the volume, but forced himself to smile and sound pleasant. "Oh dear Thunderbolt, what is the matter?"
"I'd tracked down Shadow on the highway! I had the big mech with me and everything - but he wasn't alone, and they both managed to wreck my mech and escape!" She was yelling frantically.
"Ah, goodness - how unfortunate-"
"THIS MECH MUST BE FAULTY!""
"Perhaps-"
"YOU NEED TO UPDATE YOUR TECH!"
Starline found himself rolling his eyes. "It is very upsetting to hear about this failure, you must be exhausted. I am happy for you to return to Station Square and I'll fix it up for you in a jiffy - what do you say to that?"
"THAT'S WHAT I WAS CALLING FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Thunderbolt screeched. Did her vocal chords ever get tired? Give it a year, and she might lose her voice entirely.
"That's okay, that's okay." He kept his tone sweet. "Do you need help with getting here?"
"I'M PERFECTLY FINE ON MY OWN, DIMWIT!"
"A 'No, but thank you for the offer' would have sufficed." He hissed through a forced grin. Starline liked to think he had a lot of patience, but for people who screamed and raged like her - it seemed to dissipate so very quickly.
"YOU ARE IN NO POSITION TO LECTURE ME! THE ONLY MAN I TAKE ORDERS FROM IS THE ONE, THE ONLY - LEGENDARY ROBOTNIK-!"
"Understood, darling. See you later~" As he hung up, he let out a large groan. Why did so many of the people he worked with have to be so insufferable? Oh, what was he doing - complaining like this when he had been so ecstatic moments ago? Robotnik was finally seeing the light! Finally recognising that he could do without Miles, and instead have something more competent.
Someone like him.
Starline glanced back at the photo of the Emperor on his desk - stood tall and proud draped in a large red cape, fit for a King, getting lost in the memories the image invoked...
...
"Today's the day, Starline. You're going to witness something very special." Robotnik had told him as he was about to board one of his space shuttles. "Stay with Miles if you want good front row seats to the action."
"Is there... are you sure there's no way I can help you, sir?" Starline questioned with disappointment, already suspecting the answer.
"Everything's already in place, there'd be no point." He remarked.
"But-"
"Don't test my patience." The doctor warned briefly before the doors of the shuttle shut behind him, leaving the platypius to stare after him.
...
"I'm quite proud of these, I must admit." Starline wanted nothing more than to punch the smirk off of Miles' face as the fox began to ramble. "It's a shame they're a one-time use only kinda deal, I hope to develop the formula and make that change soon though." The fox gestured to the six, significantly large laser cannons he had set up in the field. Just what purpose were they supposed to hold?
"I see." The platypus looked away, making his disinterest evident.
This only seemed to give Miles a degree of pleasure. "Come now, we both admire Robotnik and his work-" He began "- so if you're ready to quit moping, join me. The show is about to begin~"
Starline narrowed his eyes as Miles pulled out his tablet. As much as he wanted to resist complying with anything Miles wanted, curiosity was easily getting the best of him - and that was why he stood behind the fox to peer over at the screen. It was displaying... space?
What was this supposed to be?
The platypus gasped when suddenly, seemingly out of thin air. a large comet faded into view. "A comet?!" He couldn't help but exclaim. "Comets don't just appear like that! And why is it... is it headed for Mobius-?!"
"No need to panic." Miles said nonchalently.
"Why shouldn't I be panicking?!" Starline shot back. "A comet appearing out of nowhere in space is a very concerning development-!"
"Black Doom."
Starline silenced himself upon hearing Robotnik's voice. With so many questions whirling in his head, he decided it was best to fall quiet - and wait for the answers. He quitely gasped as just as suddenly as the comet had made its appearance, so too did a beast. Its features were demonic with spikes resembling horns on the sides of its head, and it wore torn robes and dangling chains - but most unnerving of all were the red cat-like eyes piercing through whatever it gazed at. The creature turned its head away from the camera.
"I have returned for what your planet owes me." The creature announced, and Starline shuddered.
"I see..." The smug tone of the Emperor was a little concerning to him, surely he couldn't afford to take this lightly!
"I require the seven chaos emeralds, and Project Shadow to be returned to me."
"And... if we refuse?"
Silence. 'Black Doom' did not react, but instead replied calmly.
"Then you have sealed the fate of this planet. We will take over Mobius."
Who was this creature? What 'we' was he referring to? Why was he speaking of the Chaos Emeralds and Project Shadow? So many questions, not enough answers!
"Ah. Hmmm... decisions, decisions then..." Robotnik hummed to himself. Starline could practically hear him grinning. "Good thing I've already made my choice."
The crackling of energy could be heard in the distance, steadily growing louder.
"You see, Black Doom - my grandfather prepared for this day over 50 years ago. With his intelligence and mine combined, I know exactly how to vanquish your entire alien army! So allow me to turn the tables onto you, Black Doom - leave this planet now, or I blow you all to smithereens."
All was quiet, yet again - before the monster spoke.
"You INSOLENT-"
"Sounds like you made the wrong choice."
There would be no chance for retaliation, no chance for negotiation - already, it was too far beyond that point. Starline, stood hundreds of thousand miles away from the action, watching it all from behind a screen - even he could feel the momentous weight this moment carried.
The world came to a standstill as bright blue light flashed, filling the screen. With a start, Starline quickly looked up and his eyes widened as he saw the same blue light flash in the sky. It was small from where he was, but the fact it was even visible from the planet itself revealed the true power and size behind the explosion of light.
When the glow faded, the comet was gone - leaving him with nothing to stare at but the empty expanse and glittering stars.
"Miles, take care of the stragglers."
"That's my cue." The fox grinned at Starline, and before the platypus could grow too irritated - the sky began to bleed red. Starline's mouth hung agape, stepping backwards in his shock as the clouds whirrled angrily and frantically above. A large circle had been formed in the air, a white gaping hole in the centre.
Then the aliens began to fall out of it.
Starline instinctively flinched, covering his face - knowing he had no means of defense. What was he supposed to do now?!
"Don't cower, Starline. I've got it covered." Miles said, before letting out a loud and long cackle. "FIRE!"
Tearing his hands from is face, Starline saw the cannons as they all fired blue beams up at the sky, similar to what he had just witnessed in the footage of space. Starline followed the direction of the beams - and watched as they vaporized the falling aliens to ashes.
Just like that, the sky faded back into its original grey hue - and Starline heaved a sigh of relief. One that was let out too soon.
"Gah-!" Starline let out as he heard a screech, one of the creatures was frantically flapping its wings in pursuit of him and Miles. Calmly, the fox reached into his lab pocket and pulled out a small laser pistol - firing it off at the creature. It let out one last howl of pain before it collapsed onto the ground, right onto Starline's shoes.
"Ew, ew-" Starline stumbled backwards as he got away from the alien corpse. In contrast, Miles walked towards it - and picked it up in his arms, Starline had to force back a gag.
"It is done." Miles announced with a smile, the luminescent, bright green blood dripping down his coat.
"Behold, dear citizens, the might of the Robotnik Empire! MWAHAHAHAHA!"
...
The event had been broadcasted across every screen in the Empire when it happened, and Starline found himself replaying it from time to time. Just as he had thought he couldn't possible cement his loyalty to a man further - he did the impossible.
He conquered an entire planet in less than a year.
He stopped an alien invasion before it even happened.
He was bringing forth a world of perfection.
Starline had vowed, then and there, he would become Robotnik's greatest assistant, earn a throne beside the doctor, and rule the glorious Empire by his side. All he had to do was get rid of the competion.
"Bingo-Bongo." Tangle said as the trio stood behind a wide pillar to conceal themselves, setting sight on their targets - the many planes that were stationed within the hangar.
"This has been far too easy..." Knuckles spoke up quietly, almost sounding disappointed at the lack of obstacles.
"Well, it's about to get more difficult-" Sonic pointed out as Egg Pawns emerged into view.
"I'm surprised we even got this far with my plan to be honest..." Tangle admitted with fascination at the turn of events. "Maybe I'm a better tactician than I thought~" She tagged on pridefully.
Sonic and Knuckles exchanged a look, both recalling the same event of the previous day.
"Squad!" Tangle called out to grab their attention. "Today's the day we start making plans!"
Sonic was sat on one bed, Knuckles on the other - and they both nodded at the lemur, who was standing in the centre of the room with an easel whiteboard next to her. Sonic squinted. "Hang on a sec - have we always had that?" He pointed at the board.
Tangle looked at it, then back to Sonic. "Don't question my methods. Anyway-!"
That question was going to burn in the back of his mind, but he blinked - trying to focus on what the girl was about to say.
"It only just now occured to me that I didn't have a name to call us by... if we're going to be a proper force fighting the Empire - we need a rebel group name!" She pointed at the two of them with her whiteboard pen. "I want both of you to brainstorm names and come back to me with them in the next meeting." She told them sternly.
There was going to be more of these? It was honestly starting to get a little difficult to stifle a laugh at this point. Tangle was trying very hard to be stern with her voice and expression to establish herself as some kind of leader - but her pout looked more goofy than anything. She promply wrote '1. Rebel Names' in scribbly handwriting.
"I also want to, due to... recent events, make our priorities clear and make sure we agree with them. Number one!" She said sharply to make sure the boys were playing attention, wiping off what she had written previously and replacing the words. She wrote down '1. Our priority is to save lives that are in danger and look after those in need', and then underneath it wrote '2. Our priority is to gather all seven chaos emeralds.'
"Do we agree with this?" She asked, and both of them nodded.
"Are we sure? Because last alliance I made, we clearly did not have the same priorities-"
"Tangle." Sonic said firmly. "We're on the same page. No need to worry about it." Clearly, thoughts surrounding Rouge were still getting to her to a degree.
"Right, right-" Tangle breathed out. "Next point then-" She wiped off the board once more. "I was drilling Knuckles with some questions last night, and lo and behold - I found out I have no idea how warping works! Turns out, a guy can't warp to a place he's never seen before, so I tried to figure out how we're going to be travelling from here, and all across the planet to different places - and I thought - Oh, a plane! But, who knows how to drive one of those-?"
"I do." Sonic said, a smirk slowly creeping up on his face.
"You do? Awesome!" She beamed, before her smile dropped and she narrowed her eyes. "Wait, you do?"
"Yup."
"... How old are you?"
"Just turned 18."
"So... how long ago did you learn to.. ride a plane?"
"Eh, 4 years ago - give or take." Sonic shrugged. Most people forgot that Sonic, was in fact, the actual owner of the Tornado - and not Tails, but his little buddy used it so often that he never really thought there was any point to correct people.
"I-" Tangle raised a finger, about to comment - but decided not to question it. "You know what, as long as you have the knowledge - great!" She gave a thumbs up. "So, we grab our hands on a plane for travel - we go to different areas, searching for people that need our help and for our trusty miracle gems-"
Sonic raised his hand. "Permission to speak, ma'am?" He asked jokingly.
"Permission granted." She said.
"Knux-" Sonic looked over to his friend, the echidna seemed a little bewildered as though he was several pages behind on the conversation - but was doing his best to follow along. Knuckles blinked at him in surprise as he was being addressed, folding his arms. "I know you said you'd be accompanying us on our emerald hunts - but even with my speed - we can't search an entire city in just an hour or so - we'll be out there for days at a time. You'll be away from the emerald. Are you... okay with that?"
"Not really, no-" Knuckles admitted frankly with a heavy sigh. "But I have given explicit orders by my ancestors to ensure your success, and have been granted permission to leave this island. It is part of my duty to be following you now, so I shall be with you. Still, I do worry for the emerald's safety in my absence, and the safety of the survivors too... I hope my ancestors are keeping careful watch over the island now..." He said wistfully, looking up at the stone roof.
"Our little group here will be doing their best to protect your home, Knuckles." Tangle smiled at him with determination. "There's a great girl here, Lanolin - you might have seen her. She's stepping up to be the leader of our group while we're off emerald hunting, and I know everyone else will be pitching in to look after one another!"
"And we're sure everyone here is trustworthy?" Knuckles asked bluntly. It wasn't all that surprising that he was doubtful, Sonic knew Knuckles well enough to know that he wouldn't be keen leaving a group of strangers on his island alone without supervision - especially with the Master Emerald being right there for the taking.
"I've... had no reason to doubt anyone before." Tangle offered up, knowing it would be unwise to make too definitive claims.
"Well, if someone tries to take it - I should be able to sense it, no matter where I am. So... I'll have to make do." Unfortunately, all three of them had little choice in the matter - and Knuckles knew this to his dismay, so he resigned himself to letting out a low grunt and looking off to the side in thought.
"We won't let anything happen to your rock, Knux." Sonic dared to tease lightly to bring up the mood.
"It's not just a rock-"
"Oi! Back on track!" Tangle tapped the whiteboard repeatedly with her pen. "So we grab a plan, fly to locations. The only thing is... how do we get a plane? We could, uh..." Tangle rubbed the bottom of her chin, looking to the two boys for help - but both of them were just as clueless. "Um, I think there's an airport in Station Square? I think Rouge told me that? An airport for those small planes that drop bombs, usually driven by Egg Pawns - we could... take one of those? Somehow?"
"I mean, we could give it a shot?" Sonic shrugged. "Got any idea how we gonna do that?"
"No... not really." Tangle said, not exactly inspiring confidence. "Guess we'll just-" Her eyes shone briefly, suddenly smiling widely "- have to... wing it-"
Sonic and Knuckles stared blankly.
"Get- get it? Like a- plane's wing? Planes have wings- I... I thought it was pretty good-"
Sonic forced a chuckle, as he was sure Knuckles didn't even understand the joke. While Sonic never really made plans himself, he sure did miss having someone like Rouge or Tails around to do all the smart thinking.
Oh well, all they could do was try their best.
Knuckles began to crack his namesakes, narrowing his eyes at the robotic enemies. "And I can obliterate these guys no problem?" He asked for clarification.
"Absolutely no degree of sentience in those things." Tangle confirmed. "Some of Eggman's most soulless bots."
The echidna nodded. "They're very weird... I saw some of them at the festival. Like.. walking minerals-"
"That's because they are." Sonic said. "Metals that are melted down, made into different parts, put together - and then embedded with a program that makes them move."
"It's like... Eggman is trying to create life... in a distorted way." Knuckles said slowly, trying to process all the new information being given to him. The world below was filled with so much he had never heard about - he had a lot to learn if he wanted to survive down here - thankfully, both Sonic and Tangle were knowledgeable on the planet's matters.
"Guess ya could say that." Tangle said. "And we should probably like- quit standing here and beat them up before they take off on those planes - yeah?"
"Are they even gonna be taking off?" Sonic questioned. "These planes drop bombs, right? What place would they even be bombing?"
"Not sure." Tangle replied. "Maybe they're just being inspected then..."
"Hm... you're probably right. So, on count of three?" Sonic grinned as Tangle gave a nod.
"1.. 2... 3!"
The tro launched themselves out and towards the 'Egg Pawns' - Sonic dashed ahead in a curled ball before jumping up and ramming his curled up self into one of the robots - causing its limbs to break off and scatter across the floor. It was a powerful attack - Knuckles wondered if Sonic could talk him through such techniques.
Tangle meanwhile batted three Egg Pawns to the side with a swing of her extended tail - what a unique attribute, and honestly quite versatile - Knuckles thought himself lucky to be surrounded by impressive combatants.
Knuckles himself dived towards a robot and sent a clean punch at its chest - and was surprised at how easily it crushed into itself, the lights of its eyes immediately shutting down as it was sent flying off into the wall - all its parts dispersing through the hangar. These robots may look sturdy, but they were nothing compared to his own sheer strength.
He grinned, suddenly grabbing hold of the head of the Egg Pawn that tried to run towards him. The echidna promtply lifted it into the air, and swung its helpless body at another of the robots - taking them both out as they smashed into each other.
"Woah!" Tangle exclaimed as she dashed past with excitement. "Do those things even weigh anything to you?"
"Heh. No more than a feather." Knuckles replied confidently, how could he not feel a sense of pride?
Briefly, he caught a glimpse of the speedy blue warrior bouncing between any of the robots in his sight - with how fast he was tearing through them, there would shortly be no enemies left. Knuckles needed to get into more action while he still could. He yelled, more due to adrenaline than effort, heaving a punch directly at the face of an Egg Pawn. As it shot backwards - it made contact with two others along the way - so that a pile of three would land into a pillar, all left absolutely crushed.
"Three at once, not bad at all Knux." The echidna turned as he heard Sonic's voice behind him. "Still destroyed more than you though." He stated a smirk and a puffed up chest.
Knuckles wondered if Sonic was always this arrogant. He scoffed in response. "This was easy fodder, we'll see how you perform in a proper brawl the next time we encoun-"
"Look out!" Sonic exclaimed, before Knuckles could even move - the hedgehog suddenly had him pinned to the ground and the echidna caught a brief glimpse of a red beam shooting over head - but that wasn't what he was focusing on.
The hedgehog was panting but getting his breath steadily under control, his eyes - wide with worry, were now beginning to soften as the danger had passed. Sonic had Knuckles' arms pinned to the ground, and the echidna knew it would be easy to pull him off - but instead found he didn't want to, momentarily entranced by the clear gaze of his emerald eyes.
Knuckles could feel Sonic's breath like a gentle breeze against his face, and he felt himself shudder - not of fear, but of an emotion he couldn't quite place as butterflies fluttered in his stomach.
He needed to get out of this. The echidna instinctively pried Sonic off of him with a shove. "Don't touch me!" He growled with annoyance, trying to ignore the heat building up in his cheeks.
"Ow-! Hey!" Sonic hufffed indignantly. "That's the thanks I get for saving you?"
"I could have dodged that." Knuckles grunted, dusting himself off.
"Doubt." Sonic countered, making Knuckles frown. "You owe me now~"
"What-?"
"Guys!" Tangle called out, and they both turned and caught up with her. Knuckles realised with a start what had actually fired at him, a much larger - purple machine, that had once been weilding a hammer by the look of it. It had been thoroughly trashed, and the echidna assumed that was the lemur's doing. "I don't actually see anymore bots around. I think we're free to hop on one of these bad boys and get going!"
"Awesome stuff Tangle!" Sonic cheered, immediately running forward and in the blink of an eye - was already sat within one of the planes. "On board to Sonic Airlines!" He called down to them.
The announcement made Tangle laugh before she addressed Knuckles. "You take the seat behind Sonic, I'm standing on the wing - I've always wanted to stand on the wing!" She squealed excitedly. Knuckles didn't really understand what was so gleeful about it, but he was at least glad she was having fun.
The echidna clambered up into the seat behind Sonic, staring in wonder over the hedgehog's shoulder at the funny little nik-naks he assumed were there so that Sonic could control the plane. All this modern technology looked so complicated...
Knuckles looked over at Tangle when he heard her feet make contact with the metal wing. "Aaaaah! This is awesome!" She clapped her hands together.
"So, where we headed?" Sonic asked her, and Tangle hummed.
"Hmmmm - let's start with Central City, shall we? Not too far away - we'll see if an emerald is nearby, and even if not - there might still be some people we can help!" She balled up her fist with determination.
"You got it." Sonic grinned, flipping a switch. "Hey Knux, this is your first ever flight - right?"
Nothing good could be coming out of that mischievous tone. "Yes... why?" Knuckles rose a brow.
"Heh, well - let me warn you, it's about to be a wild ride."
All of a sudden, Knuckles did not feel so confident about leaving his life in the hedgehog's hands while he was stuck in this vehicle... but it was far too late to back out now.
"Egg Boss Rose! Over here!"
Amy quickly shut her eyes to block out the flash.
"How does it feel to be the Empire's hero?" Another chimed in, holding a microphone to her face.
"Did Robotnik thank you personally for your service?" Yet another tried to cut in front.
"Can I have your autograph?!"
There was nowhere to run, despite being overwhelmed. Amy's breathing quickened, trying to back up and push her way back through the surrounding reporters - but the force of them combined would be impossible to break through. Trapped, she couldn't find words to respond to anyone - or evem figure out who to respond to. She just wanted to shrink down... shrink away, away from it all - away from everything.
"Beat it!" A recongisable voice snapped, somehow managing to be louder than the entire crowd. They all began to break away from her, revealing to her the face of the one that had provided her momentarily relief.
Jet, the famous Extreme Gear Racer, and his two teammates stood. The hawk looked irritated, as he often did. "You paparrazi are always in the way!" He claimed, suddenly stepping forward and grabbing hold of Amy's arm - too tightly, in fact - and she found herself wincing.
"Sorry guys, but we need privacy for now!" Wave called out sweetly to everyone, beaming as she waved. "She'll be available for questioning later!"
"Yeah! Later!" Storm chimed in forcefully, emphasizing that point.
Amy found herself being dragged towards a nearby apartment complex by the three birds against her will. Her voice refused to cooperate with her brain, so she allowed herself to be silently pulled away - accepting there was nothing to do but accept their fate.
When Storm closed the door of the building behind them, Jet finally let go of her - allowing Amy to finally have the ability to gather her thoughts. "Wha-? Where are we-?"
"Sh!" Jet held up a finger. "Not a word from you. Not until we get to the apartment."
"But-"
"Shut it."
Wave gave the hedgehog what could only be described as an apologetic glance as they made their way down the hall towards an elevator that would take them up a few floors. Why was she heading with them to their apartment? Had she... done something wrong? It honestly wouldn't surprise her if she had somehow screwed up again...
A very awkward elevator journey passed, with the three of them standing in close proximity in the small box - close enough to smell each other's breath and sweat. You'd think the city of luxury would have a bigger elevator... or maybe the issue was just Storm taking up a load of room. There was nothing she could do but follow them as they lead her through, despite not being in handcuffs - she felt like a prisoner.
...
Jet slammed the living room door behind him. Amy was sat on a recliner, as was Storm - with Wave on the couch, whom Jet would promptly sit himself down next to. He had a deep frown on his face and folded arms - glaring daggers at Amy, making her fur prickle.
"What the fu-?"
"Jet, please-" Wave immediately interrupted before Jet could even begin.
"No, what the fuck were you thinking? We were this close to finally having Robotnik kick the bucket!" Jet shouted.
"I-" Amy began to sweat profusely. "What do you mean-? He's our Emperor, I had to save-"
"Don't give me that crap - I know you're not like them!" Jet immediately cut in. "I thought you were one of the few Egg Bosses that still had a brain, but apparrently not-!"
"JET!" Wave snapped loudly, otherwise she would have not been able to get a word in. "Let's at least explain to her that it's safe to talk here!"
Safe? The first thing they did when get into this apartment was yell! How was this going to be safe?
"Amy-" Wave sighed as Jet shut up for now. "It's okay, talk bad about Robotnik all you like in here. We're... not exactly devout followers. And we can tell you aren't either." She explained, trying to sound calm.
Was this a trap? This had to be.
She shook her head. "I... don't know what you're talking about."
The swallow groaned with exasperation. "Look, I get it - you're used to constant surveillance - but I assure you, we don't like Robotnik - never have done. We're only here because we had no other choice - become celebrity racers for the Empire... or be killed or roboticized - simple as that." She told her. "I'm sure that ultimatum is something you're pretty familiar with as well."
The hedgehog looked down at the green carpet, unable to bring herself to make eye contact. "I... I'm sorry-"
"No! 'Sorry' doesn't change anything!" Jet stood from the couch. "Do you know how damn excited I was when that laser beam was headed towards him? And then the absolute anger that followed after you decided to save his ass! His rule could have ended! Right then and there! But you had to screw it up!"
"I don't know why I saved him! I didn't mean to!" Amy insisted desperately. "I didn't want to! I acted before I could think! All I wanted was for Robotnik to g-get off my back! I was so close to being roboticized in a few days if I didn't-!"
"Would that have mattered if Robotnik died?! No!" Jet pointed out.
"I know! That's why I know it was stupid! I was just... so desperate! So, so desperate-!" Amy's voice began to crack.
"Ugh-" Wave face palmed. "This is pointless. You-" She pointed at Amy. "Shut up. You like you're about to cry - don't - I don't have the paitence for it." She warned her, before turning around and slapping Jet on the back of the head. "You - also shut up! I don't know even know why we're having this conversation! You just wanted an excuse to let out some testosterone!"
Jet rubbed the back of his head and hissed in pain.
"Hey! Don't hit the boss!" Storm told Wave, who decided to flat-out ignore him.
"So, I hope everyone is proud of themselves." She held her head up in the air, looking down at the others with disdain. "Letting your emotions get the better of you like children so that nothing changes! Robotnik is still alive and those that don't like him are still fighting amongst themselves!"
Shame washed over the hedgehog like a tidal wave, ready to drag her down. If only she could disappear, if only-
The hawk huffed, flopping down on the couch again. "Damn it! I just..." He cut himself off, seemingly figuring out what he wanted to say. "I just wanted him gone. I wanted-"
"To get the Babylon Garden key back." Wave finished for him. "I know, Jet - but there's no use in yelling. We just have to figure out what we can do now." Wave said, finally standing up and beginning to walk out of the room. "Since we have a guest I'm making coffee." She told them.
Amy wouldn't dare mention that she doesn't even like coffee.
She was left alone with the grumblng Jet and Storm, who was trying his best to look angry - but kind of faltered as an awkwardness lingered in the room. The albatross instead sought out to fill the silence.
"So... did you happen to get an invitation too?"
"For... the ball?" Amy spoke up quietly, fiddling with her hands. "Yeah... I did."
"Ah." Storm said. "Yikes..."
"You sure you wanna do this, kid?" Vector leaned against the rocky doorway.
"I'm not a damn child." Fang was quick to reply. "And I've already made up my mind. There's no future for mercanaries like us. We either give into the Empire, or die - and now's a better time than any to secure a good position."
"I'm suspicious of it, ya know." Vector went on. "I don't think it's gonna be an easy job."
"Easy for me." The weasel's confidence didn't waver. "I think you need to face the reality of the shit going on too. You're somehow convicing yourself that just because you aren't directly working under the Empire, that somehow gives ya a moral highground."
"It ain't nothing to do with morals." Vector glared. "It's about Charmy's safety-!"
"Safety of the kid, yeah right - because the mercenary life is oh so safe." Fang said sarcastically. "Listen, I shouldn't need to tell you that the people we work for outside of the Empire are all killers and thieves, and our clients that aren't the lowly living in sewers? Empire members themselves outsourcing their own work! Our hands are already bloody. Might as well give in to what we're denying."
"I'm not giving up on the kid. I don't wanna give him a life under the Empire."
"I'd wager life outside the Empire is worse, Vector." Fang commented dryly. "By refusing to cooperate with him and his regime, you're putting the kid at constant risk. If you decide to work with him however - there's a chance that kid could be allowed to survive."
"And be brainwashed into serving Robotnik? No way in hell that I'm letting that happen." Vector stood his ground.
"Huh. No cure for stupidity." Fang twirled his pistol in his hand. "But let me put it this way, I'm givin' you one shot - the Empire has announced they want this 'Shadow' guy dead, in fact - they're desperate for it - his face is being plastered over every screen in every city. If we're the ones to kill him, our job history is gonna be excused. Robotnik will want our loyalty secured, so he'll be treating us like Kings. If you still wanna give that up, I don't know what to tell you."
Vector's own resolve surprised him. "Not coming with you. For Charmy's sake. I wish you luck, though."
"Alright." Fang finally shrugged. "Not like it matters to me. I've got a hedgehog to hunt down, and my team are waiting for me above ground." He picked up his rucksack, and slung it over his shoulder. Vector recieved no good will in return, not even a goodbye - as the weasel turned - heading out the base one last time.
Vector scratched the top of his head, having not slept in what felt like a decade - his head pulsed, and his muscles ached. Everything was exhausting, even just trying to live. The crocodile needed to rest, at least a little, so sat down on one of the crates and tried to relax his muscles.
"So... they're gone, huh?"
"Charmy!" Vector exclaimed in shock, looking back towards the doorway where the bee stood. "Didn't I tell you not to eavesdrop?!"
"You did... didn't stop me though."
At least he was honest.
"Well, I don't wanna catch you doing it again." Vector instead grumbled, but knew best to soften his tone now. "You gonna miss 'em?"
"The hooligans? No." Charmy shrugged. "Bean was funny but kinda crazy with his bomb obsession, Bark never talked, and Fang only spoke about money and guns so - eh."
Vector wondered what it was like to be so carefree like Charmy was. "Kid, come over here."
Charmy looked around momentarily, before flying towards the crocodile, sitting next to him. The crocodile wasted no time in wrapping his arm around the bee, holding him gently - but close to his body. "You know I'm not gonna let any harm come to you, right?"
"Man..." Charmy began with a whine. "Don't get all sappy! I heard what you said back there!"
"And I am trying to make sure that you know that it's true." Vector said, getting just a tad frustrated. As much as he loved the kid, Charmy often had that effect - his boisterous nature and lack of filter was a lot to manage.
"Of course I know it's true." Charmy pouted. "In fact, I think you keep me too safe! I'm always locked up in here while you and Espio are out doing missions! I wanna help you guys out, you know!"
"Charmy, we've had this conversation-"
"And I don't need the lecture!" Charmy cut in - but this wasn't a temper tantrum, just annoyance - a frustration within him that was steadily building, due to not being able to help out the adults - feeling useless. "I just... I wanna help somehow, you know?"
"I know, you're a good kid Charms. Maybe one day." Vector squeezed a little tighter. The boy was so small compared to his own height, only serving to make him appear more fragile.
"That day can't come soon enough." Despite his irritation, the bee leaned his head against Vector's side. The crocodile felt a heavy stone dragging down the weight of his heart, Charmy didn't deserve any of this nonsense - he didn't deserve to grow up in such a cruel world. There was nowhere for them to run - they could continue on their path until they were caught, join the Empire and become brainwashed goons, or join the rebels... but that bridge had long already been burned.
Rouge had her hands behind her head. "Might as well get comfortable. It's a long ride to Apotos."
Shadow was concentrating on the road ahead. so she took the time to glance at his steely, focused face - something she was learning quickly about him was that he didn't voice his thoughts, or show them either - he needed a lot of prompting to express anything at all that wasn't related to their mission.
"Wonder if this car has any snacks..." Rouge spoke, as expected - Shadow didn't respond. "Doesn't look like it... makes sense, these things are usually driven by Egg Pawns after all... although I do wonder..."
She reached over and tapped the screen in the car, scrolling through the options - until smiling as she came across a music note icon. She tapped on it, and thus revealed that there was one album downloaded.
"You like Mina Mongoose songs?"
"I don't know who that is."
"Oh yeah..." Rouge felt stupid. "Well she's like- she did bubblegum pop shit, you know? Some rock too - I like some of her songs but she was never my favourite artist. Sound like your thing?"
"I don't really care." The bat felt a little taken aback by his bluntness. "Play it if you so desire."
Well... he did say she could. "Why thank you." She smirked, pressing play and allowing the cheesy pop track to fill the car's silence, making up for the lack of conversation between the two mobians.
It wouldn't stop Rouge from trying though, she had many questions after all - so many things about Shadow were unanswered. She decided to come right out with a heavy hitter. "So... you were created 50 years ago. But only recently were you experimented on by the Empire and became that monster thing... so tell me, where were you for the past 50 years?"
Shadow's grip on the wheel tightened, Rouge saw his chest rise as he took in a deep breath. "In stasis."
"Locked away, huh?" Rouge tilted her head. "How come?"
The bat wasn't entirely sure if she imagined it, but she could have sworn briefly that yellow energy crackled at the end of his fingertips. "It doesn't matter."
"I- Fair enough, I guess." Suspicious much? That answer made her wary, but she knew drilling him about it wouldn't put them on any better terms - so she held back for now. Getting him to talk about the past might be a problem, it seemed. And yet...
Oh damnit, whenever she tried to think rationally and question the man she was working with and the opportunity she had been granted with - she found herself gazing back at the hedgehog, and noticing something new everytime - his perfectly groomed fur, his toned muscles - every logical thought in her head suddenly being replaced by a deep sense of longing.
He was damn near perfect.
Her heart was beating loud and fast, so much so it made her embarrassed - surely it was loud enough for Shadow to hear. She broke her gaze away and opted to staring out the window, hiding the blush forming on her cheeks.
So stupid, she told herself. Rouge knew better than anyone that letting infatuation get the better of you only lead to disaster - how often had she used men's hearts to advantage, and broken them thereafter? But here she was - falling for him so fast like a tumbling waterfall.
"Shame a handsome guy such as yourself was hidden for so long~" She teased.
She might as well have been flirting with a wall as he didn't even spare her a look. Was he just oblivious? Or was he toying with her, playing hard to get? The worst part was that she couldn't even bring herself to be mad about it... she loved a challenge. She loved the game.
"But you're out and about now, and that's what counts." Rouge went on to say. "You know, it's a shame you had to see Mobius while it's in this state... before Robotnik took over, there were some really pretty spots."
"Hm." Ah, some achknowledgement.
"That man really did ruin everything... I was set to become a G.U.N. agent before he attacked, ya know-"
"A what?" Shadow asked.
"Hm? A G.U.N. agent... you know, the military but like- I was going to be part of the more elite special forces-"
"G.U.N..." Shadow began to breathe rapidly, each breath being ugly, raspy - on the brink of choking.
"Shadow-" Rouge began, extremely worried about Shadow's state - her heartbeat growing faster again, but for an entirely different reason. "Are you okay?" She reached out a hand, but refrained from touching him.
His body was trembling. His eyes weren't focused on anything - but his pupils had shrunk with panic.
"Gah-!" Shadow grunted in between his panting. "No-! Not... not her-!"
He let go of the steering wheel, holding onto his head.
"Sh-Shadow!" Rouge called out to him desperately, not wasting a beat - she reached over from the passanger seat and took hold of the steering wheel. "What's going on!?"
"Don't-!" Shadow cried out in sudden pain, chaos energy charging off of his body in small bolts - some of which hit Rouge, but she bit back her own yelps.
Something was happening - Rouge broke her eyes from the road back to Shadow, and she saw something on the tips of his fingers move underneath his gloves. Suddenly, sharp claws tore through the fabric. The fur on that arm was slowly fading away, and becoming scales.
Was he... turning back?
"Shadow!" She yelled out again. "Please! Just.. just breathe!" Rouge was helpless - she didn't know how to help him, and from her seat - she couldn't even stop the car - the only thing she could do was try to prevent a crash.
Shadow gasped for air, trying to regulate himself - but he was still breathing far too quickly. "Uh- match my pace! Okay? You got this, just-" She stuttered. "Breathe in for five..."
With Rouge's guidance, he gained back some degree of control over himself - following the instruction despite his shaking.
"Hold for five."
He did as told - and, rather surprisingly, she watched as the scales on his arm seemed to dissipate, and were once again replaced with his fur growing back.
"Out for five..."
The claws on Shadow's hands disappeared as well, and while his appearance was back to normal - his distress was still evident. No way was he taking control of the wheel again right now, she continued to go through the exercise with him again, and again.
She wasn't sure how many times they had repeated the process until Shadow finally seemed to be... aware of his own surroundings again. He gazed around, chest rising and falling at a regular pace.
"Shadow...?" Rouge spoke up hesitantly.
"It... appears I-" He began, exhausted. "I'm not fully cured. Starline did... warn me that his cure might not have worked... fully..." He groaned tiredly.
"So that's all that was? Your monster...alien form coming back?" Rouge asked with concern.
Shadow nodded slowly, and as he grabbed the steering wheel - Rouge could finally let go. "I didn't anticipate such a factor as an interference..."
"What triggered it?" Rouge immediately questioned. "If we can find out the cause, we can stop it happening again! But, we were just talking-"
"It seems-" Shadow interrupted her. "It seems as though it will be a... random occurence."
Rouge gazed at the hedgehog with pity - suddenly seeing him going from so composed, to panicking during his transformation - she had never witnessed anything like that before, and she certainly didn't want it to happen again.
"We'll... we'll figure out how to make sure that doesn't happen again." She assured him gently. "I promise."
Late update - but a big one! Over 10K words baby (the biggest yet)! Sorry for the wait :( - but I came back serving some goods mwahhahaha
To recap! Silver, Tikal, and Sonic get on the same page - Starline is a partying man and we find out how the Black Arms were wiped out (Eggman used cheat codes) - Our heroes successfully stole a plane, so it would seem - Amy and the Babylon Rogues had a civil apartment discussion - the Chaotix and Hooligans have parted ways - and Rouge and Shadow... they're doing... yeah they're doing *great*
This got delayed only because I was doing a shit ton of travelling this week around ze London, and it's been very tiring - upload schedule should be back to normal for now - which is very 3-4 days or so, 5 at a stretch.
NEXT TIME! You know... actually, not gonna even hint at next time, you can get a surprise :) - but I shall let you know that the next update will have some answers.
BTW! I absolutely love Frontiers' story, and would love to gush about that game all day - but please, do refrain from any spoilers if you're gonna review, because the game has not been out long enough yet for everyone to play. Thank you!
As always, let me know what you thought in a review! Always great to hear from ya'll - the support for this fic has been amazing and so damn encouraging - ya'll are so sweet and so cool! Sorry for any PMs that I have not been able to respond to, I shall be doing that very soon! Thank you, and I'll see ya'll later :)