A/N: Sorry for the wait everyone! College has been hectic this semester, but I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
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"That's Robotropolis?" Rouge asked, her nose crinkling at the massive metal walls and the smog hovering over the city like its personal storm cloud. It looked nothing like the rolling plains of Green Hills she had always associated as the home of the blue blur.
"Oh, Sonic," Amy whispered, "What happened to it?"
"Buttnik got his greasy fingers on it, that's what," Manic explained seriously, "Forced Mom into hiding and separated the rest of us."
"But now we're back with reinforcements," Sonic added with a quick side glance at Shadow and the rest of the team. The scales were definitely tipped in their favor this time around. "Egghead won't know what hit him."
"I'm pretty sure he knows we're coming," Shadow countered and pointed to the massive searchlights waving along the city's perimeter. "If stealth is what we're looking for, then flying in won't be an option."
"He's got a point, Sonic," Tails affirmed, "But I was able to add an upgrade while repairing the Tornado. Everybody on the wings, hop inside."
Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, and Manic all squeezed inside the aircraft, and Tails closed the glass canopy. A buzz echoed around them, and Sonic looked outside just in time to see the plane's wing disappear.
"Dude! A cloaking device? Sick!" Manic cheered. The prodigy kit laughed bashfully.
"As long as we don't fly directly into a searchlight, I think we'll be okay."
"Way to go, little buddy," Sonic congratulated with an approving smile and a classic thumbs up, "Now Egghead really won't see us coming."
Shadow rolled his eyes. I'm getting real tired of your puns, Sonic.
Eh, you'll love them eventually, he thought back with a wry smirk in his direction. Shadow scoffed but didn't reply as the team of heroes soared over the city's walls undetected.
"This is some pretty impressive tech, kiddo," Rouge mused, "Ever thought of a contract with GUN?"
"It's not worth it," Shadow cut in before Tails could even open his mouth, "They don't pay enough for your talents. Trust me on that one."
"Wow, Shadow cracking out the compliments. The world must be ending," Rouge teased.
"Nah, that'll only happen if he smiles," Sonic added with a grin. His sable brother rolled his eyes, his tolerance thinning.
Shadow then caught Sonic's gaze and smiled.
Sonic shrieked.
"Sonic! Shh! The Tornado isn't sound proof!" Tails reprimanded with a slight giggle, and the others burst into laughter. Sonic slouched in his seat with his arms crossed.
"He smiled right at me, and that means I'll be the first to go. You wait and see."
Shadow scoffed. "And you said I was the dramatic one."
Sonic huffed but said nothing as he stared through the glass at the city below. At his sudden change in mood, the rest of the heroes grew silent.
"It hasn't changed much as far as looks," Cyrus spoke up, "but..."
"The people," Manic continued, hugging himself as hundreds of people feeling the same emotion washed over him, "they're losing hope."
Shadow laid a grounding hand on the youngest triplet's shoulder, and the other siblings edged themselves closer to him. After sharing his secret of being an empath, the three were beginning to realize just how much other people's emotions affected his own.
Shadow made eye contact with Sonic and declared seriously, "Then we bring that hope back."
Sonic nodded. "We remind them that there's something worth fighting for."
"Robotnik can't win forever," Sonia added, "This time we'll win. I'm sure of it."
As long as my dream doesn't come true, we can do anything.
"Yo, Sonic," Knuckles called, "what's that big building over there?"
Sonic glanced up and smiled sadly. "That's the palace, what used to be our home."
Shadow's head shot up, and he stared at the once magnificent castle. He couldn't remember much, but images and feelings flickered across his mind's eye.
A shared nursery.
A gentle voice.
A red cloak.
Leaving his family behind.
"Shads? You okay?" Sonic asked. The agent blinked, realizing by the way his siblings were staring at him, he had projected what little he could remember to them. He looked away.
I...I'm sorry. I should have had more control.
Sonic smiled gently. Don't sweat it. At least you actually remember a little of what it was like there. We were too young to get more than an impression.
And now, you gave us those memories of home, Sonia added.
Tails voice unintentionally cut through the telepathic conversation as he asked, "Uh, does anyone know where your base is? I don't know how long the cloak with last, so we should probably land soon."
Cyrus pointed down to what looked like an abandoned warehouse.
"Down there. We had planned to repurpose that building as an outpost for the resistance, but we didn't have enough people to manage it, so it should be empty."
"If not, then they're in for a big surprise," Knuckles commented.
The passengers grew silent, letting Tails maneuver the plane closer to the ground. Thankfully, the warehouse doors were open, but they all knew it was going to take some serious skill and concentration to fly it in.
"Man, this is gonna be tight," Tails mumbled as he leveled the plane and turned on the hover jets, controlling their descent. Right before they would have landed on the building opposite of the doors, Tails slowly accelerated forward into a short glide.
"Hang on!"
Sparks flew from the tips of the wings as they scraped the open door with a loud whine. The plane jolted, dislodging its passengers, and skidded to an abrupt stop.
Tails rubbed the sweat out of his bangs and laughed nervously.
"Um, we made it."
"Nice flying, lil buddy," Sonic replied with a grin and ruffled the kit's fur.
"Uh, Tails, can you let us out?" Knuckles asked while trying to climb back into his seat.
"Oh, sure thing! Sorry," he added and pulled the latch that opened the glass canopy, and he deactivated the cloaking device.
Shadow's eyes scanned the warehouse carefully. His experience as a GUN agent reminded him that such places were often inhabited by the scum of the criminal underworld. To his right, he caught Rouge and even Sonic surveying the area too. Fortunately, the Ultimate Lifeform couldn't sense anyone outside of the team in the building, but he remained on alert just in case.
Uncle Chuck glanced over the large room as well, but for an entirely different reason. He brushed a gloved hand over his mustache thoughtfully and patted Muttski on the head.
"Hm, yes. It'll do."
"What do you mean, Uncle Chuck," Amy asked. The older hedgehog chuckled at how swiftly she adopted his nickname.
"I think this little spot could work quite nicely for a resistance outpost," he explained, "Just needs a bit of sprucing up."
"How far is this place from the main headquarters?" Rouge asked, directing her question to Sonia.
The fuschia hedgehog brushed a hand through her hair in thought.
"We landed justice south of the castle, and HQ is more to the northeast, so I'd say we've got a bit of walk to get there."
Sonic laughed, "Walk? What is that?"
Manic raised his hand. "I know some shortcuts."
"For the last time, I refuse to take the sewers!" Sonia declared obstinately.
"Seriously, what do you have against them? They're a great way to travel!"
"Uh, it stinks. Germs are everywhere, and you never know what kind of criminals could be hiding out down there."
"Ah, but the people are the best part!" Manic whined, "I got some of my best deals down there. Also, if we are the Underground, shouldn't we travel underground?"
Shadow stepped between the bickering siblings with a stern gaze leveled on both of them, but especially Manic.
"What do you mean you got some of your best deals down there?"
The green hedgehog stuffed his hands in his vest pockets with a shrug.
"Lived on the streets mah whole life, so I did what I had to to survive. Farrell was one of the higher ups in the market, and he taught me everything before Buttnik got to him."
Well, that explained why Manic was so comfortable with the sewers and his kleptomaniac tendencies. Being a thief was all he had known before finding his siblings.
That didn't make it any easier for Shadow to accept though. He had seen some really bad people during his time awake, and an unnatural shiver ran up his spine at the thought of Manic associating with any of them.
"The sewers will only be for emergencies or reconnaissance. For now, we travel above ground," he stated firmly, shooting Manic a glare that left no room for argument. The green hedgehog grumbled under his breath but didn't fight it.
"What should we do now?" Amy asked.
"I say we find HQ, let them know we're alive and fighting, then come back to make this a proper outpost," Sonic stated with his arms crossed, "Having just one base puts us at a major disadvantage."
"It never did work for Eggman," Knuckles added. Sonic smirked, but his echidna friend noticed that the grin didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Exactly."
"Well, I'm not leaving until I know my ba—I mean, the Tornado, is safe," Tails declared, flushing in embarrassment at the slip but remaining adamant.
"Don't worry, lil dude. We'll make sure she's safe before heading out."
"Then we secure the plane and head out," Shadow nodded, "If we hurry, I think we could make it before it gets dark."
Sonic stretched his arms and grinned. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get to work!"
It didn't take long for the team to fortify the warehouse just enough to discourage anyone unwanted from getting in. But Tails turned the cloaking device back on just in case someone found a way in. The last thing he wanted was to come back and find his plane torn apart by scavengers.
Manic furrowed his brow as they all stood outside of the warehouse, his gaze keenly set on the plain metal door when his eyes lit up.
"I've got just the finishing touch," he mumbled as he rummaged through his belt bag.
"Uh, you okay there, bro?" Sonic asked as his younger brother stuck his drum sticks between his teeth to look for something in his bag.
"Here we go!" he announced and pulled out a stencil sheet of Eggman's insignia and a bottle of red spray paint.
The young rogue held the sheet up the center of the door and sprayed the symbol of the Robotnik Empire on the door.
"Now nobody will try to get in," he declared proudly.
"How did you even fit that in there?" Cyrus asked.
"Some secrets are better left that way, my fine friend," he answered casually.
Shadow huffed, "I'm just surprised you've carried that around this long."
"What? You never know when something like this might come in handy," he shrugged and tucked the two items back in his bag.
"Whatever. Let's get going. We need to find the base before nightfall."
"You got it, gramps," Sonic saluted cheekily and ducked behind Uncle Chuck and Muttski as Shadow glared at the young prince.
"You're such a child, Sonic," the dark agent scoffed. The blue blur merely stuck his tongue out in reply.
Sonia huffed and placed her hands on her hips in a reprimanding way.
"Sonic, now really isn't the time."
The unmistakable sound of a laser cut their bickering short, and the heroes instantly fell into battle stances. Rouge and Shadow's ears flicked simultaneously at the faint noise of a uniformed march.
"Swatbots," Shadow whispered, "We need to move."
Then everyone heard a child scream.
...
A/N: Phew! There we go. One chapter down. I'm actually really excited for this book—got a lot of big plans for it.
I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a comment telling me what you think! And I'm always open to constructive feedback. I know it's been a while since I've written any fanfiction. Thanks for reading!!!
And fun fact, check this out:
Sonia Manic = Sonic Mania.