OST: Final Fantasy IX – Frontier Village Dali

Queen Sally Acorn was sitting in an office in her castle, she sent 2 squads of Freedom Fighters to get intel on Black Moon. She was well aware of the fact that Eggman was now nothing more than Cykreeus's pawn, she also knew everything Cykreeus did when he first appeared on Mobius. She knew how dangerous he was so she was doing everything in her power to keep Mobotropolis safe and prepare her people for anything he might throw at them.

She was very sad to hear about the deaths of Vicious and Emily on the night Overlord attacked their kingdom, she was even sadder to find out Tobias was orphaned that night with being only 4 months old. She was relieved to find out he still had his grandparents, uncle and aunt to raise him, she was also regretful she couldn't come to their funeral.

Now, she was married with Sonic and had 2 kids, a son and a daughter. Their son was 16 years old, he was born 2 months after Tobias, their daughter meanwhile was 14. Their names were Nick and Sonia

Nick was a hedgehog just like his father, his fur was cobalt blue just like his father's and his skin was light. There were some differences however, his eyes were blue just like Sally's and he had red quills that resembled the color of his mother's hair. His personality was a mixture of his parents, while being easygoing and carefree like his father he was also head-strong, logical and condescending at times.

Sonia was a chipmunk like her mother, fur and skin were the same color as her mother's with the exception of her eyes being green like her father's and her hair being cobalt blue just like the fur of her father and brother. She was more like her father in terms of personality, she could be confrontial and overbearing like Sally but she was also carefree, calm and easygoing like her father and brother.

As the queen of the Acorn Kingdom she was wearing a purple dress and a tiara-like crown, her red hair was tied in a ponytail and there was a ruby attached on the center of her crown.

Even though Sonic was the king now he would often join his kids in a fight against the Black Moon members, Sally was doing paperwork and planning for the future actions the kingdom would undertake.

It was 16:00 in the afternoon, Sonic would usually be back with them by now. This got her a little worried since she knew how powerful those members could be

"Hey Sal, we're back!"

This immediately caught Sally's attention as the door of her office opened, revealing Sonic and their kids coming through the door.

When Sonic wasn't on a mission he was wearing a red cape that was very similar to the one late Vicious wore, the only exception was the golden crown instead of silver.

Right now he wore a brown scarf, he had a few scars on his face and one on his right eye. It was a cut that was horizontally placed

"Hey mom" this was Nick, he was wearing a white vest and a golden chain around his neck. His lower body was consisted of red pants and brown shoes.

Sonia was wearing a sky blue short-sleeved t-shirt, purple jeans and black shoes, she had the same ring blades on her hands like her mother

"Welcome back you guys! I was really getting worried…" Sally stated

"You don't have to worry about a thing Sal! You know the kids are safe with me!" Sonic said with a smile

"We're not kids anymore mom, we can handle ourselves! You and dad fought Eggman while being much younger than me and Sonia" Nick said

This made Sally remember her childhood when Eggman, her father's former military advisor turned against them. She was the only one who survived the coup along with her brother Elias, Elias was also killed in war when Sally and Sonic were 12 years old. He and his squad were caught in a surprise attack set by Eggman, Elias was strong but there were too many of Eggman's robots. Before Sally and Sonic made it to the scene they were all already killed, Sally and Sonic managed to take out the robots but even though they won

When Sally became the queen she named one of the streets in Mobotropolis after her brother, the Elias Avenue. Even to this very day she missed her brother, unfortunately he wasn't the only one who died in war.

Rotor the Walrus also died when Eggman shot missiles towards the intelligence base, the missiles were fast so Rotor threw Tails out of the window a few seconds before they made contact. Tails was horrified to watch as the building went up in flames, after Sonic and Sally made it to the scene they found many of the scientists dead along with Rotor. Rotor's arm and leg were blown off by the explosion, his right tooth was cracked in half and his face was covered in blood after getting hit by a flying piece of concrete.

There was another close friend they lost but he died much later than Rotor did, his name was Antoine D'cotolette.

Antoine might have seemed like a coward on the outside but he was indeed brave when needed, one of those moments being when his comrades needed him. He became the general of the Freedom Fighters in the year when Tobias was born, he gave his life to save his wife Bunnie and his squad from a Black Moon colonel. Antoine could have defeated him but was worn out because he fought even stronger enemies before him, after she watched the Black Moon colonel kill her husband, she primed a laser blade on her metallic arm and charged him. She was enraged but didn't allow her emotions to get the better of her, she channeled her anger in her skills, making her stronger and faster than usual. In the end, since she was as strong as Antoine she managed to defeat the colonel and behead him with her blade. She didn't do it to avenge her husband, she did it to make sure he wouldn't kill anyone else again.

That's why she was worried, she lost many of her friends on the battlefield. She didn't want the same fate to befall her husband and kids, same went for her friends. Especially now that Cykreeus was the leader of the organization and Eggman was just his pawn, she knew that they were much more dangerous than ever before.

"Yeah, but you know how dangerous Cykreeus is. Thanks to him Eggman's robots and forces are much stronger than before, not to mention Mac and the Trolls. Just make sure you stay safe, okay?" Sally said with a sigh

Sonic sighed, he knew Sally was always the one to overthink everything

"Don't worry Sal, we will. Besides, now we have Cykreasians on our side! They are always helping us in our operations, they are quite powerful. Not to mention a ton of energy they have stored inside of them! Speaking of which I recently met general Mal"

This immediately picked Sally's interest

"Y-You did? How is he? How's Tobias? I haven't seen him in ages!"

The last time she saw Tobias was when she was talking with Vic about their plans, he was still a baby so she didn't know how he looked now that he was 16. She knew Malicious made any topics about Tobias's heritage taboo due to his fear that Tobias would become Black Moon's target. Despite that, whenever Mal went to Mobotropolis on his missions Tobias would come along as long as the mission itself wasn't dangerous. Even then, Mal didn't really have time to visit Sally. The only information Sally got about Tobias was thanks to the Freedom Fighters, she didn't have a chance to see him in person from that day.

"They're doing great! Tobias has really grown strong! He looks a lot like his father, however, I think he is a lot more hot-headed and fierce compared to him."

This made Sally chuckle, she knew Emily very well

"He also sent you his regards, he would like to see you again one day"

This made Sally's heart melt, she would be more than intrigued to see him again. He was the son of her friends after all

"Same here Sonic, however as much as I like listening about him we still need to focus on our mission. Can you please give me your reports?"

"Well, it was nothing out of the ordinary. There were some higher ranks from the Black Moon but we managed to free a good amount of their prisoners, since the main mission wasn't to actually kill the Black Moon members we can say it was a success. We did lose some of our comrades though…" this was Sonia

"I see…the mission was a success, that's the most important fact. I will take care of the funerals, Nick, Sonia, you two go and see if the Freedom Fighters need any more help. Sonic, you stay here since I have something else I need to tell you"

"All right, see you mom!" Sonia waved at her before she and her brother left the office

OST: Final Fantasy IX - Terra

"So, what do you want to tell me Sally?"

"Well, I just wanted to tell you about the intel I just got. It seems Eggman managed to produce a lot of artificial emeralds that were powered either by Cykreeus's or Mac's energy, that's what makes those robots so powerful. It also seems that Eggman managed to craft some weapons that were a lot more advanced than the ones we have, I think Cykreeus and Mac have something to do with that as well. The intel included a way those artificial emeralds were made, I think we will be able to make our own from now on. They may not be as strong as the ones Eggman makes but I don't see many other options right now. That would be the only way not just to power up our technology, but to increase our chances of winning!"

"That's awesome to hear Sal! We're doing good even now, those artificial emeralds will just make hings even easier!"

Sonic approached his wife and hugged her

"Don't worry, whatever happens we will pull through! Just like we always did!" Sonic comforted her

Sally sighed

"I really hope so…since both you and I know what's at stake"

Sonic let go of his wife and looked at her once again

"You look tired Sal, maybe it's for the best you finish earlier today"

"There are some things I need to finish myself, as for the other less important stuff maybe I can ask my deputy to handle it"

"Okay then, if you need anything hit me on the communicator. I will go and check around the kingdom now, see ya!"

Before Sally could say anything else Sonic already sped off, only the blue blur being left behind him

"Okay, this might take another hour. Then I can call my deputy" Sally said before going back to her table and opening her laptop to continue from where she left off

OST: Modern Warfare 2 – Espirit De Corps

Meanwhile, at G.U.N. base of operations, things were much tenser. Freedom Fighters and Cykreasians weren't the only ones on the battlefield, a lot of GUN artillery was destroyed and a lot of personnel were killed in these last battles. They weren't usually fighting Eggman even before Cykreeus appeared again, the fact that Eggman was more powerful than ever just made things even worse for them.

Commander Abraham Tower was observing his soldiers working on their devices until the automatic steel door suddenly opened behind him, even before turning around he immediately knew who was there

"Ah Shadow, Rouge, you made it" Abraham greeted the two veteran GUN agents

"Yes commander, we managed to provide more intel on the Black Moon. Luckily we weren't ambushed by any of the higher ups, plus I managed to get you something that you might find useful" Rouge said with a small smirk

She took out a sack and placed it on a steel table nearby, one of the soldiers opened it and was shocked to see what was inside

Inside of the sack were a lot of the artificial emeralds Eggman crafted, when Shadow and Abraham approached their expressions became the same ones the soilder had

"Wow…this is amazing! Great job agent Rouge!" the old commander praised her

"I knew you were a notorious treasure hunter but I have to admit, you've outdone yourself" Shadow commented with a smirk

"How did you get so many of them anyway?" Shadow asked

"Well, while you were fighting Eggman's robots I managed to sneak in one of the labs where they were manufactured. There were some guards there but I took care of them without breaking a sweat, I also managed to steal a copy of the instructions. I believe this will greatly benefit not only GUN, but also Freedom Fighters and the Cykrease kingdom"

"Oh, absolutely! However I don't want those instructions to go public, lieutenant!"

The lieutenant immediately responded by coming near the commander

Abraham handed over the paper with the instructions

"Make sure you make 100 copies of these instructions, put them in the safe in my office. I will let you know when to spread them to the Freedom Fighters and the Cykrease kingdom"

"Yes sir!" the lieutenant took the paper and went to do what he was told

He then turned towards the 2 veteran agents

"Rouge, Shadow, you did great today! You deserve a break, I will let you know if something comes up, for now you are dismissed!"

"Very well sir, however I do have one more suggestion" Rouge said

"What is it?" the commander asked

"I would like to get a copy of these instructions so I can bring them to Tails, I believe he would be a big help for us all"

Abraham thought for a moment before realizing she was right

"Very well, I will give you one of the copies once they are done, but please be careful. Those instructions must not fall in the wrong hands!"

"Don't worry sir, Tails is a long-running Freedom Fighter, we can trust him. He helped Sonic defeat Eggman time and time again, I'm sure he will be a big help in creating new artificial emeralds" Shadow said

"I sincerely hope so" Abraham said

"Rouge, you can stay if you want and wait for the copies. I believe they are already halfway done, Shadow, you can leave now"

"All right, see you Rouge" Shadow said before turning and beginning to walk away

On the way out he stopped, he remembered something important he needed to ask

"Commander Tower, I have one more question. Have you heard anything from my daughter lately?"

"Ah yes, Maria is doing great! She certainly takes after you when it comes to fighting, you taught her well. She is currently on a mission with her squad but she should be back tomorrow"

Shadow smiled, he was proud of his daughter being so strong

"Very well, let me know when she gets here tomorrow" Shadow said before the automatic doors opened again and closed soon after Shadow left

A year before Vic and his race were brought back, Shadow met a girl hedgehog who worked for GUN as well. Over time they got close, her name was Jessica, she had electric blue eyes, gray fur and 4 gold-colored quills. One night their chemistry reached it's peak and she got pregnant, 9 months later she gave birth to a girl hedgehog whom Shadow named Maria. Jessica however, left only a month after Maria was born, she just disappeared. This broke Shadow's heart as he was now forced to raise his daughter on his own

Shadow named his daughter after his long-deceased human friend, she was the granddaughter of Dr. Gerald Robotnik. She was born and raised onboard the Space Colony ARK.

Some time after the completion of Project Shadow, Maria's peaceful existence was shattered when GUN attacked the Space Colony ARK to eliminate everything and everyone related to the project, as the military had come to believe that Project Shadow was too dangerous. Meeting up with her grandfather during the attack, Maria was entrusted with Shadow by Gerald, who told her to escape the ARK with Shadow in some escape capsules

Eventually, Maria and Shadow got to the ARK's escape pods in the research center. There, Maria saved Shadow by initiating his escape pod's launch with him in it. However, the GUN Soldiers were right behind them, and Maria ended by being mortally wounded by a GUN Soldier's gunshot. With her last strength, before saying goodbye, Maria asked Shadow to protect the world for her sake and give everyone a chance to be happy, just as the black hedgehog was jettisoned from the ARK.

While Maria was growing up Shadow taught her a lot of fighting techniques to ensure she was strong enough to defend herself, especially since he knew how strong Cykreeus, Mac and many higher ups of the Black Moon were. She was already strong enough to put up a good fight against her father, he was also very pleased to hear she was doing great on missions and had a near perfect track record.

She had a rivalry with Sonic's son in a similarly to their fathers, however they were slightly on better terms compared to their parents when they were their age. Since Freedom Fighters were allied with GUN, they managed to spend some time as partners on many missions against the Black Moon.

Maria was a hedgehog who in terms of appearance strongly resembled her father, the only difference was her fur being gray and her eyes being electric blue just like her mother's. Her quills were the same color as her father's though

In terms of personality she was very similar to her father, however she was considerably less arrogant and prideful than her father was. She knew she was the daughter of the "Ultimate Life Form", however she never boasted about it. Instead she referred to herself as a normal person just like everyone else

"Agent Rouge, the copies are ready. You can take one to Tails's workshop now, but as I said before, you must make sure it ends up in the right hands" Abraham said before he gave her one of the copies

"Roger that" Rouge said before leaving the office

OST: Sonic Adventure – Theme of E102 Gamma

In the Death Egg, things were certainly more relaxed compared to GUN and Acorn Kingdom. Eggman was with his tech personnel creating more weapons and artificial emeralds for the Black Moon, Mac was with Trolls and other Black Moon members organizing their next scheme and Cykreeus was near one of the windows watching over planet Mobius.

It was Cykreeus's idea to locate their HQ in Death Egg, mainly because it was in space. That way GUN, Cykreasians and the Freedom Fighters would have harder time to reach them. Since he was the supreme commander he wouldn't really join fights unless it was absolutely necessary, if a situation got dire he would just create a clone and send it towards Mobius. There weren't any strong enough enemies after Vic and Emily died that were enough of a reason for Cykreeus to send his clone, so he spent most of his time in the Death Egg keeping track of the operations or looking in space through one of the windows.

He decided to pay the tech unit a visit, just to check how things are going

After a few minutes of walking he finally reached the laboratory, he knocked on the door a few times before they automatically opened. This immediately caught Eggman's attention as he turned towards the door

"Hello doctor, how are those projects going?" Cykreeus asked calmly

"Oh Cykreeus, everything is going smoothly like always. The artificial emeralds are in constant production and will soon be applied to our robots and weapons, how did the last mission go?"

Cykreeus sighed

"Not so good actually, Freedom Fighters managed to free some of our prisoners. I needed you to experiment on them but now I guess that plan will have to wait until we get the new ones. However they had losses on their side as well, not to mention those weren't even our higher ups" Cykreeus chuckled after he finished

"I'm sure it will be better next time Cykreeus, but I know something that might benefit us even more than these artificial emeralds" Eggman stated

Cykreeus just quirked his eyebrow, Eggman smirked

"The Master Emerald, one of the most powerful relics on earth."

"Ah, I see, with it's energy we will be able to make the artificial emeralds even stronger! Not only that but we can connect it to our capsules in order to power up our robots"

Cykreeus smiled at the doctor

"I like your way of thinking Robotnik, your intelligence never ceases to amaze me"

"Well, thank you" Eggman simply responded

"However Knuckles has gotten a lot stronger since last time, we might need to send our higher ups this time. Not to mention his son whom he trains everyday"

"Ah yes, I saw him once. Knuckles and his son Konan, am I correct?" Cykreeus asked

"Yes, since Rouge is his mother he is able to use both his arms and legs for fighting, not to mention his punches and kicks were almost as strong as Knuckles's"

Cykreeus stopped to think for a best course of action

"I think I might have an idea, we might send our newly rebuilt Axem Rangers to retrieve it. We will also provide our mid-class members as back-up, that way the Echidnas will not only be outmatched in strength but also in numbers" Cykreeus announced

Despite Eggman having an IQ over 300, Cykreeus was also very intelligent, manipulative, cunning, charismatic and charming.

As the Black Moon supreme commander, Cykreeus rules with an iron fist, tolerating no cowardice in his men or even haphazard killings of lowerclass members. At the same time, his charisma elicits great love and respects from many of his followers, which makes his organization even stronger

"Very well, I might even send some of my stronger robots as additional back up. That way we don't have to risk even more lives of our members, plus the robots are powered up with the artificial emeralds"

"Of course, the more units we send the higher chances we have of stealing the Master Emerald. It will take us a few days to prepare our plan for execution but once we do it will be worth it" Cykreeus said as he smirked

"To be honest, the first time I appeared on Mobius all I wanted to do was cause chaos and destruction. Now, I see a greater purpose, why use my power to destroy everything when I can rule everything?"

"The Black Moon will rule not only Mobius but the entire universe, I will make sure of it"

As you can see this chapter mainly focused on things that are happening in the Acorn Kingdom and Death Egg, I simply wanted to give an update on what's happening outside of the Cykrease kingdom while our protagonist is growing.

From now on I will make sure I update both sides in future chapters, just to make sure the story doesn't become too centered on the Cykrease kingdom.

That's all I have to say, bye for now!

FireKnight59