Sonic Evolution
Unity Story
Chapter 8: The Tunnels of Love-Hate
The computer in Tails's lab powered up and an order was made to show a certain news story from a bit of time ago. The date was a famous one, directly after the time the Master Emerald had first been taken by Eggman but Sonic had put a stop to it. It seemed a party was going on and a reporter was in front of the camera.
"I am here live at the scene that has resulted from a series of odd events. A half hour ago, a man who called himself Doctor Ivo Robotnik had seized control of every monitor in the world, be it a television or a computer screen. He trumpeted his own praises and proclaimed that he owned 'The Master Emerald' and planned to take over the world with it. The world was thrown into frenzy until this transmission contained some unintended footage. Apparently, there was resistance to Robotnik's takeover... a golden yellow hedgehog. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, a hedgehog stood up to Robotnik in a battle that took place barely above the atmosphere. This hedgehog pestered the doctor, distracting him from the fact that his own missiles were heading back toward him. The hedgehog moved away in time for the missiles to connect with and destroy the ship that Doctor Robotnik had been in. The hedgehog had been last seen riding a red plane along with two more like him, animals that were bipedal and apparently could talk! ... Wait, is that-? Yes! It's them! They're flying over Station Square airspace right now and seem to be coming in for a landing! This could be a great moment in history! I will go over and talk to them."
The reporter half jogged over to where the Tornado had landed. Sonic and Knuckles hopped off the wings while Tails tended to turning off all the Tornado's systems. The camera was jammed into Sonic's face so close that one could see his iris shrink, then slowly grow back to normal size.
"Are you the hedgehog that had saved the planet?" The reporter asked, shoving the microphone into Sonic's face.
Sonic reeled back a bit from having that object quickly brought so close. "Uhh, yeah. That was me. It wasn't the first time, though..."
"There are more adventures? You must tell!"
"Uhh..." Sonic moaned, looking around at all the attention. Knuckles went "hmph" and turned his back, a look of indignation and lack of appreciate on his face. Tails had only just hopped out of the Tornado.
The current story faded from the screen and a new one began, this time a week or so later.
"I am here live in front of the nation's capital where history is being made. In light of the events that transpired a bit of time ago, it seems that not on Sonic the hedgehog, Tails the fox, and Knuckles the echidna are the only of their kind. In fact, there is a whole race of these half-breed creatures that have been dubbed 'furries.' Almost as soon as Sonic had been recognized for his contributions to peace, the furries emerged in large numbers. So far, it would seem that the humans have nothing to fear, but still opinions are split down the middle."
The camera cut to an interview with a man with a buzz cut and a red handlebar mustache in uniform and the name "Commander Tad Hanson" in subtitles below.
"It's an invasion!" Hanson bellowed, "These creatures have been observing us from beneath our noses and are slowly moving in to take over the planet! It is a subtle takeover, for sure, but a takeover nonetheless! If I had it my way, we'd put these... these things in a highly quarantined rock out in the ocean and be done with them!"
Once again the camera cut to another interview to a man that could be recognized as the current president. This interview had been conducted during the campaign times. In this clip, he was only a candidate.
"I welcome them." The future commander in chief said, completely inversing Hanson's sentiment, "I've spoken with many of them and they have lived on this planet not as long as man has, but most certainly a long enough time! These furries have made their own civilizations and lived and thrived not unlike how man has throughout the ages. This is truly a remarkable development and I think - no, I know that the introduction of the furries into mankind's knowledge is a symbol for good things ahead!"
It was that openly supportive stance on the furries that had actually helped the president win when the election came around. The first view of the reporter returned onscreen.
"These contrasting views are currently being tested, almost with the violence of a fisticuffs encounter! The governing bodies are deadlocked with opinions all over the board in terms of how to respond to the furries and also what to do, or to do anything at all. One bubble that had leaked from these walls was talk of a furry settlement, a patch of land set aside from the rest of the humans so that furries can live secluded and emerge into outside territories if they so wish. The reason for this being that already many intolerable acts have been committed by grandiose extremists who share Commander Hanson's view, calling themselves 'Hanson's Resistance,' though no links have been made between the Commander and this group. This isn't to say that there are most humans against the furries, it is just to say that those who are of that group are taking it upon themselves to make much more of their point than any other stance."
The computer froze the clip, and then closed the video player that had been showing those news clips. The computer then began a shutdown process; it would soon turn itself off in every aspect with no additional inputs required. Per that, Rouge walked away from the computer. When the computer finally shut down, the light that had been emanating faded, bathing Rouge's retreating figure in the darkness of the unlit room until she emerged from it.
-
The entire rest of the day was massively uneventful. That was, until a very welcome beep echoed through the halls of Tails's lab. All three members of Team Unity scrambled from their at-the-time positions to the tracker to see where a Chaos Emerald had emitted a spike of energy.
"It's the pink Chaos Emerald!" Vector proclaimed after a few button presses on the Chaos Emerald tracker.
If anybody were to keep score on which teams had which Chaos Emeralds, than they would find that the makeshift scoreboard held at zero versus two versus two. Team Evolution held the blue and purple Emeralds. Team Chaos held the green and yellow Emeralds, and Team Unity was left with naught but a goose egg. That is, no Emeralds at the current.
On a previous day, this fact was brought up and Sonic gave a grand speech on how the team was just due for some good luck. With his words in mind, the trio of a team set out with increased optimism. The Tornado later landed at the foot of a fence. Past it rested the location of the Chaos Emerald.
"A construction site?" Rouge the bat asked upon walking through, craning her neck to look at the currently unmanned construction equipment. "Is it me, or are these Emeralds purposely hitting every cliché in the location book?"
"I'm not complaining!" Sonic grinned and thumbed his nose toward an incomplete structure, "Clichés are my element!"
There was a bit of a pause until Vector asked, "Just what do you mean by that?"
Sonic seemed to catch up with reality, "Um, well, I meant to say that adventuring is my element. It's one thing to just run around the planet, but to actually go into detail and see what's up where? It's a great feeling, especially if you don't know what to expect."
"Speaking of things that one doesn't expect..." Vector indicated a deep impact into the earth with a drill poised at about ground level. Directly in the center of the impact sat the pink emerald, radiating brilliantly. "It must be reacting with the construction equipment. All the others were in slightly controlled environments, right?"
Sonic made no attempt to understand what his green comrade had just said. He merely called out, "Why not?" and jumped down to the Chaos Emerald.
No sooner had he done so when a similar thud came from the opposite side of the Emerald. Sonic looked over and saw gravel tumbling down like when the presence of another person. The blue hedgehog paused, for he never saw Rouge or Vector circle around. Sonic leaned to the side to see if anybody was over there. He then turned to shout up to his teammates to ask if anybody circled around. Unfortunately, he was blocked by a figure of brown and white, and a dab of yellow.
"Boo." Said Talon the Hawk.
"YOU!" Sonic shouted and leapt back, landing on gravel, and losing his balance for two seconds, then regaining it. "If you're here, then that could only mean…"
"Bingo!" Came the voice of Bandit the raccoon as he descended upon Sonic. Sonic noticed Bandit now wore what appeared to be a parachute, but much smaller and easily ignorable. He didn't know what it was for, but he suspected it wouldn't be good. Caught into a two-way pincer strike, Sonic saw no way out of it… until Rouge swept in front of him to catch Bandit and Vector rushed from the side, taking Talon down for a few seconds.
Sonic breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked to the Chaos Emerald. The pink Emerald just sat there, waiting to be grabbed. The blue hedgehog looked to his side. Rouge and Bandit were locked in a battle of brigand martial arts. He then looked to the other side where Talon seemed to be trying to land crushing blows on Vector, only to land soft thuds on Vector's physique. There was an opening. Sonic moved to grab the Emerald.
Sheena the leopard appeared in front of him. "Sonic, I'm here! Where's the Chaos Emerald?"
Sonic remembered having contacted Sheena so she could come and help. He pointed past Sheena, "Right behind you! Didn't you see it?"
"See what?" the leopard asked, looking behind her. Sonic wore a confused expression and looked at where the pink Emerald lay… or rather used to lie, for the stone pedestal was now empty.
"Where-?" Sonic began but then got cut off.
"NOT SO FAST!" Rouge bellowed, taking into the sky and grabbing at shadows, revealing Bandit who had been clinging onto the tip of the drill, trying to hide himself. Rouge pulled his hand out, revealing it to be holding the Chaos Emerald.
Sheena pointed, "Is that it?"
Sonic decided not to point out how obvious the answer to her question was. He instead thought on how quickly Bandit had taken advantage of that temporary lapse of attention Sonic would experience. It was almost as if that brown thief had been counting on it…
"Whoa!" Bandit shouted. Rouge had kicked the hand he used to hang onto the drill and both he and the bat plummeted to the center of the deep impact. At the very same moment, Vector got the upper hand on Talon and flipped the hawk over his shoulder, tossing him against the pedestal of stone.
Both the pair of Rouge and Bandit and Talon smashed into the ground at roughly the same point. At this point, the structural integrity of the deep impact began to falter.
"It's about to collapse!" Sonic shouted a warning to all in the deep impact.
Talon groaned, then spread his wings and flew out. Vector was close to the edge, so he merely climbed out. Sheena seemed to be looking around in a panic, so Sonic grabbed her wrist and ran out, pulling the leopard with him.
"Where's-?" She started.
"Rouge!" Sonic finished. At least, that's what he thought Sheena was about to say. Sonic ran to the edge of the hole. "Rouge! Are you still down there?"
Rouge was indeed still down there, and so was Bandit. They both grasped the pink Chaos Emerald tightly with their dominant hands and attempted to swat the other away with their choice of limb.
"Just… let it go!" Rouge grunted over the collapsing dirt and soil.
"You let go!" Bandit responded, "We need to settle this before this hole collapses!"
He had a point. The hole was fast filling with rocks and dirt and gravel. That drill poised over didn't exactly look like it was going to stay up their either. "No dice!" the agent responded at last, "You give me this Chaos Emerald right now!"
The crafty raccoon scowled. She was serious. Why was she so determined to keep this Chaos Emerald? Because it was pink? He eyes wandered a bit out of the monotony of the situation and noticed a sparkle near beneath Rouge's head. It was a pristine pink glow that was heart-shaped. Bandit couldn't help but to stare in awe at the beauty of this jewel that Rouge wore around her neck.
The ground sunk a few inches. Both the bat and the raccoon froze in place. They both knew that the ground was now officially as thick as a piece of paper. Any odd move would plunge them into the earth. They remained frozen for a couple of seconds before the ground decided to end the tense moment and just give away.
"ROUGE!" Both Sonic and Vector shouted.
"Oh, no." Talon muttered.
-
The time passed between first falling through the hole and coming to was not clear for Rouge. All she knew was that when she opened her eyes, she couldn't tell the difference. It was very dark where she was. Moaning as she fully comprehended her situation, Rouge stood up and tried to look in a direction that would reveal anything but darkness or earthy wall. Well, she thought, it's time to dust off the seldom-used aspects of being a bat.
Rouge opened her mouth and popped out a minute sound. The sound, though small, still bounced back. Through her internal senses, she got a feel for her surroundings. Tunnel in front, tunnel in back, and a hole directly above. How far the hole in the ceiling reached up, she did not know. She assumed it would be a lost cause to try and find out.
After deciding that, Rouge sensed something else. Something that was faintly noticeable as not being part of the scenery. She shuffled her way towards the something. As soon as she rounded a corner, she found the area getting brighter. Eventually the echolocation ceased, having been very short-lived. Rouge made a little jog toward the source of the light and saw what she had expected but not wanted to see.
Bandit stood facing away from Rouge's approach. He held up a flare that illuminated the hall a few feet in front and behind. He was leaning against one of the earth walls, taking weight off one of his legs.
At this point Rouge noticed what was in his other hand. "Hey!" She shouted, making the raccoon look over his shoulder, "We could be miles under sea level, but that doesn't mean that Chaos Emerald isn't coming back in my possession!"
Bandit fully turned around, still trying to keep weight off of that same leg. There was an unreadable yet still tense silence between the two until Bandit looked off to the side and sighed. "First, we're not miles under where we fell. I'd say tens of feet… which is still pretty far down. Second, I don't think we ought to continue our surface quarrel. If you haven't noticed, the circumstances have changed."
This show of civility took Rouge by surprise. Her rhetoric was struck down by Bandit's cool demeanor. She could see it in his normally malicious eyes… they were now docile.
"So… what are we supposed to do now?" The bat asked, folding her arms to signify she was nowhere near being comfortable with bandit.
"Not that I'd ever want to suggest this again, I say we work together to try and find a way back to the surface." Bandit's grip on the wall seemed to falter, and he gripped the Chaos Emerald tighter, "We can worry about this later." He paused to wait for a response from Rouge. The agent still held her head high and snubbed away from Bandit. He lifted an eyebrow, "No?"
Rouge opened an emerald eye to Bandit, "Not no… but not yes, either. As I see it now, it's conditional."
"Conditional?" Bandit demanded.
"Yes." One of the corners of Rouge's mouth tugged upward, "Conditional. If you haven't noticed, I'm the one who can see in the dark. I'd say that flare you probably nicked from the construction site tool shed can only last you a little while longer, tops. You need me, and I don't need you."
Rouge looked over to Bandit to get her satisfactory look of hopeless bleak despair. The crafty raccoon's face was flushed and for the first time, he looked defeated. He hung his head, "What do I have to do?"
The wheels in Rouge's head turned. Shall she make him do something utterly embarrassing and hold that over his head forever, or perhaps use this opportunity to make him do something practical? She settled on a little bit of both.
"I've got it." Rouge said, and then faced Bandit, "I'll help you out if you… apologize. Not for taking my jewels from me and not even for what you did to that echidna and the fox boy. I want you to apologize for what you did to me. I had never felt so embarrassed in all my life… whimpering like a little dog and forced to run away knowing I had my tail handed to me and there was nothing I could do to change it!"
"Shall I just get along with it or is there more guilt to pile on?" Bandit abruptly snapped.
"That's all." Rouge placed her hands on her hips, "Oh, and I want you to mean it. Nothing through your teeth or with your fingers crossed."
She expected Bandit to scowl at these demands, but he rather looked submissive, as if he really felt he deserved not only to be forced to apologize to her, but the humiliation he was being served by being told just how to apologize. He exhaled and walked over to Rouge. Rouge didn't know what to expect, so she was surprised when Bandit kneeled, and onto the leg he tried to keep his weight off of, for that matter.
"All right… listen up." He looked up at Rouge with those same docile eyes, except now they carried an ulterior message that struck forward with conviction; a message that said what he was going to say next was an absolute truth. "I had a mission to do in that vault. The details of which I think I can never give under the current circumstances. As part of that, I had to 'deal with' anything that came into my way. Unfortunately, you fit under that." Rouge was so caught up in this display that she did not notice when he took her hand in preparation for the moment she waited for, "Rouge, I am truly, deeply sorry for how I treated you in that vault. I was selfish and relished in the act of inflicting pain. If I had known what a truly honor-bound and respectable person you were at the time, I would have taken drastically different measures."
Rouge felt a sense of déjà vu, except that she felt on the wrong side of the moment. Her subconscious helped her with her feeling, as it dug up the memory of days ago when she had been in conversation with Sonic and had kissed him to see his reaction. That blue palooka could only muster a few syllables of mouth noises. Rouge was Sonic now, except she wasn't stuttering like an idiot. She was caught off-guard by the sincerity of the apology plus the fact that it was Bandit being so sincere. It took all her mind's power to snap back into reality.
"Apology accepted!" Rouge declared with a wavering voice. She then moved her hand from Bandit's grasp, albeit weakly. "Barely."
Bandit looked down as if an anticlimax had just occurred. He leaned against the wall and picked himself up with putting as little weight as he could on that one leg. "Okay… will you help me out now? This flare's fuse is no longer than a grain of sand."
"My word's my word." The agent muttered, trying to keep that waver out of her voice. Once her nerves were set, cold as default, she turned back to look at Bandit. "You might as well put it out. Though I'd like to see your burn yourself, I doubt you would."
Another sigh, this one a mix of relief and a little of mortifying humiliation emanated. Rouge saw the light behind her give way to the darkness of the underworld again.
Rouge felt a piece of string brush her gloved hand. "Take it." Bandit's voice came from behind, "That way I'll be able to follow you without having to touch you again."
Back to his old charming self, Rouge thought, and took the string, giving a little tug to make sure Bandit was holding on to the other end. He was. "Okay," She said, "Let's just do this as fast as possible."
-
A rather nondescript process of echolocation and navigating tunnels followed the awkward apology. Rouge moved along, not trying to think about the raccoon on the other end of the string. She just couldn't believe that Bandit was capable of being so sensitive. If that was just an act, it was the best the world has ever known. If it really was sincerity, however, just what would that say about Bandit's true personality, if in the case this current one was the real act? Just what would make a sensitive raccoon like him turn to a life of evil and causing trouble?
Another sense of déjà vu came over Rouge when she saw what was up ahead. Another corner to turn, and another source of light. This one seemed to be stronger, as if it came from a source that was supposed to be there and has been for quite some time. She walked faster, and tugged on the string so Bandit would so do as well. She ceased the echolocation and went into a jog. Eventually, she reached the source of the light. It was being supplied by lamps on both walls. What were lamps doing there?
Bandit, who hadn't noticed Rouge had stopped to look at the lamps, jogged right into the light without being prepared for it and got the full force of the illumination. "Ah!" He yelped and kept running, but with his arms over his eyes. He then demonstrated that they were both on a high platform by running over to and careening off the side of it. The edge crumbled and Bandit gave another yelp as he tumbled down a gentle slope. He hit the ground directly on the top of his head and fell over onto his side.
Rouge followed him down, sliding down the slope rather than play slinky on it as Bandit had. "Are you okay?" She asked on instinct.
The fallen raccoon scowled and slowly turned to a position so he was trying to get up, but could only muster kneeling. He hissed as his singular leg buckled under normally light pressure. He then looked to Rouge, "It must elate you to see me like this…"
He caught himself with his hand, and then worked to the wall. Sure, he was a jerk among jerks, but he also was a great and powerful force who deserved his high standing in Rouge's perspective. "Maybe normally, but I think I'll take the high road for now." Seeing a person of such earned respect wallow around like a dog missing both right legs struck even a chord in her… not to mention her more newfound respect for his personality.
"Right…" Bandit muttered and regained as good a balance as he could. He stood looking at Rouge for any sign that she really did take humor in his situation until his ear twitched. He looked behind.
"What is it?" Rouge asked, knowing he wasn't messing around.
Bandit faced Rouge again and pointed down the tunnel, "That way. I think somebody needs help."
"Who needs more help than us…?" Rouge asked herself silently and followed Bandit to the source of the sound. No echolocation was needed because these lamps were now mounted on the walls so periodically it illuminated the whole tunnel. Eventually, Rouge got her answer.
A large boulder sat in front of them, but the sounds of distress came from under it. Trapped under the boulder was a girl not unlike an echidna. Her muzzle was still exceptionally pointed, and her fur was all brown except for her flesh-colored stomach, limbs, muzzle, and eyelids. Additional fur on her head acting as "hair" was in the fashion of long hair, but not so much past muzzle-level. All description aside, her current situation was one of peril, for the boulder seemed to strike her right on her back. She was on her stomach and crying for help.
"Whoa!" Bandit couldn't help but gasp, "Where did that come from?"
"Above!" The mole girl shouted in response, "There was a rumbling and shortly this boulder broke through the tunnel ceiling and now I need help!"
Rouge and Bandit exchanged guilty looks. They both had a good idea where the rumbling could have come from. "What do we do?" The bat of the two asked.
"You, stand back." Bandit took out the pink Chaos Emerald. "I'm going to use the power of this Emerald to bust that overgrown dirt clod."
Though she was against him using the Emerald, the situation called for it and the cause was actually in somebody else's interest. "Go ahead." Rouge told him.
Bandit stood in a ready position. He then held out the Chaos Emerald toward the boulder. "Chaos Mirage!"
A brown blur raced toward the boulder. Rouge, Bandit, and the girl could all feel the boulder splitting into pieces… at least until Bandit stumbled. His leg acted up, causing him to falter. He shouted in a pain long forgotten and flat-out tripped, flying forward in mid-air. The Chaos Emerald, however, kept its current speed and was redirected by Bandit's falter. It sailed forward, and then seemed to have a spasm of energy after being disconnected from Bandit. It vanished without a trace, probably relocated nearby.
Bandit's misdirection was much humbler. He was hurled forward by his momentum and seemed to dive right forward. His shout of pain became a very long "Whoa…!" as he seemed to hover in slow motion. Eventually gravity caught up to him and he began to descend. Time also caught up to him and caused him to smash the ground on his chin. Physics continued the insult by continuing the momentum, having Bandit skid across the ground until he finally came to a halt, his nose pressed against the mole girl's.
"Ow." The raccoon groaned.
The mole girl couldn't help but to break a sweat at that display, "That was… kind of lame."
Bandit's eyes popped open and he hopped up, standing over the mole girl. "I was trying to help you!" He cried with a little squeak in his voice that accompanied his red face nicely.
"I know, I know!" The mole girl yelped quickly, "But still…"
"Bandit!" Rouge barked from behind, "First off, that was lame. Second, you lost the Chaos Emerald! Now we're trapped down here for no reason!"
It was a lemon wedge right onto the wound for sure. Bandit was sore something fierce. The way he scowled at her, Rouge may just as well have called Bandit useless in every way possible. Did he hate having no good relevance to the world or something?
"Hey…" a voice cut into the silence. Both the bat and the raccoon looked over at the mole girl, "I don't really mean to sound ungrateful, because it really does mean a lot to me that I have your attention, but speaking about being trapped in places…!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Bandit transitioned from his bad mood back to trying to help out. He turned to Rouge, "So… any ideas?"
The tone he put on disturbed Rouge. All the time he looks and sounds so empowered and independent and now it seemed like he hated having to ask for help merely because he absolutely has to. It really revealed a vulnerable side to him. To mask her inner thoughts on this, Rouge looked around as if she were actually trying to think up an idea. By pure accident, her gaze landed upon an idea.
"Is that a steel beam?" She asked of an object on the ground.
Bandit looked over, "I think so… where did that come from?"
"It felt with the boulder!" The mole girl called from underneath.
Rouge looked from the girl who just spoke, to the beam, to the boulder, then back to the beam. "I have an idea."
Her idea was simple: Wedge the steel beam underneath the boulder. Rouge will use her trademarked drill drive to provide a push that will lift the boulder. With that leverage, Bandit will then knock the boulder off its balance and hopefully enough to roll off the mole girl.
"It won't work." Bandit immediately said, "I'm not strong enough to move that thing."
Rouge's eyes popped open, at first with worry, but then her eyes curved with anger. "Okay, just STOP IT!" Bandit reeled back, and just like a boxer follows through after the first punch opens for a chain, Rouge stepped forward and kept talking, "You lose your Emerald, you lose your cohort, your leg is all but busted and suddenly you can't do anything? Come ON! I may not like how you normally act, but I hate this new you even more! Excuse me, but this is way too out-of-character for you!" She stopped for two seconds to catch her breath. Her ears and wings drooped for that period. Bandit began to relax from his tense position, so her ears and wings shot right back up and so did her voice, "NOW!" Bandit tensed up again, "I refuse to believe you are any less strong in your arms because your feet are! You are going to push that boulder, and because I'm helping you out, you will tip that pebble like a beach ball!"
A silence ensued. Everybody kept their positions except for the mole girl, who drummed her fingers on the dirt floor. Obviously, these two had some issues they had to work out, either with each other or with themselves. Despite the fact her spine was probably slowly flattening, she had to be patient, because she felt that a breakthrough had just been reached.
Bandit finally returned to a normal standing stance, "Okay… I'll try."
"Better!" Rouge snapped, and then ran to a wall. She was halfway up when Bandit remembered it was his job to wedge the beam under the boulder. He grabbed the beam and walked slowly over to be easy on his leg.
He jammed the beam under boulder, avoiding jamming it into the mole girl's face. He looked over to her, "So… is there a race of mole furries living underground?"
She seemed to pause at the term "furries," but then recognized the mole part, "Yeah."
"That would explain why there are tunnels here."
"Ready?" Rouge called, on the top of the wall.
"Ready!" Bandit called back.
Without another word, Rouge leapt off her high climb and spread her wings. Using the precision of an agent, she calculated when she was over the beam and dropped her wings. She then shaped her form for her drill drive technique and dove down feet-first while spinning. She landed on the beam head-on and pressed against it with all her might. There was a lot of creaking and groaning coming from the beam and boulder.
"It's lifting!" The mole girl called.
That was the cue for Bandit to move into action. Feeling like a sports car charging a tank, he rushed forward, trying to keep his hurt let from getting too much weight. As he approached the boulder, he caught Rouge's gaze. He could feel an emerald jolt of lighting emanate from Rouge's eyes to his amethyst. Suddenly, he could do this. He was now the tank.
This brief rush made him lose track of his running. His good leg pounded the ground, and then his other leg pounded the ground just as hard. A different jolt rushed to Bandit, but this was of malicious pain. He bore his teeth, grunted heavily, and blinked the tears of pain of his eyes. Tanks don't stop due to hurt legs. He released the leg from the tension and pounded with the other one as if nothing had happened. With that final step, he heaved himself forward. He rammed the boulder with his shoulder.
At first, it felt like nothing happened, but it was a very brief moment. The boulder moved slightly. Bandit could feel victory at hand, so he pushed harder. He jammed his shoulder until he thought it would sink in. It didn't, and the boulder kept on moving. After what felt like hours, the boulder had rolled a full a complete revolution and stopped. All at once, Rouge relaxed, Bandit relaxed, and the mole girl let out a sigh of relief.
"What… do you know…" Bandit muttered between gasping breaths, "I did it…"
Rouge couldn't help but smile at that sentiment, and couldn't help it even more to give a thumbs-up in a purely Sonic-like fashion.
-
Displaying surprising resilience, the mole girl was able to all but just shrug off all that time she had spent under the boulder. In fact, she offered to show the other two where she lived not too long after. She explained as they walked.
"This type of thing happens often when we wander the tunnels," She explained, "It's just very rare that a large boulder would rain down and not just some dirt or rocks. My name is Germaine, by the way."
Bandit nodded in comprehension, "Nice to meet you. I am Bandit and this…"
"Rouge." The bat cut in. Suddenly, he was on top of the world and commanding their little operation? That crazy 'coon needed a lesson in gratitude.
"Bandit and Rouge." Germaine repeated, "Thank you both so much for helping out… the rest of the moles will be surprised to hear about this!"
"About what, the rescue?" Bandit inquired.
As if she had just spoken an inside joke, Germaine made a surprised face, "Well… yeah. Kind of." She paused under scrutinizing looks, then broke, "Okay, okay! My people as a whole are very paranoid. We're descendants of the echidnas of the ancient days. In today's world, there aren't too many echidnas around and now moles are the more numerous of races between the two. Now we hold up the torch of protecting the powers of Chaos from falling into the wrong hands. The fate of our ancestors has left us, as I said, paranoid about our own fate."
Rouge looked at a wall and noticed their surroundings were less primitive and more chiseled. The walls looked at hard as stone and had smooth edges. There were carvings on the wall. She returned to Germaine's exposition and narrowed her eyes, "You're people are going to be surprised that a bunch of surface-dwellers showed compassion and helped you out?"
"I'm sorry to say, but yes." Germaine gave a sigh, "Me, I think the paranoia got old very quick. How can we judge everybody without meeting any of them? I'm really glad I met you two."
Bandit smiled with irony, "That's nice of you to say." Rouge felt that irony. Neither of them could break Germaine's heart and reveal any of their true personalities.
"Guys," Germaine continued abruptly, "I've got to go ahead. The gates to my town are coming up and if they see you with me, they might not take to it kindly."
"No problem." Bandit gestured to illustrate. He would have added how he doesn't deserve to be taken kindly, but decided against it.
Germaine ran off and the other two stopped walking to wait for her return. After a moment of waiting, Rouge took the opportunity to inquire something of Bandit.
"Bandit," She asked softly, "before, when we were helping Germaine out, you asked if she was in a race of mole furries…"
Bandit waited for a point, "Yeah…?"
"You used the term 'furries,'" Rouge got to the point, "a term that never really was popular amongst our kind."
"I can't say that word, now?" Bandit asked, giving a scrutinizing look.
The bat gestured her arms into an X, "No, no! I just never expected somebody to use it so freely!"
"Oh." Bandit scratched the side of his head, "Well, I didn't get that memo. Hey, I think Germaine's coming back."
Bandit walked forward to meet Germaine who was approaching them. She watched him go. Had she grazed upon a topic that affected Bandit personally? After contemplating for a few seconds, Rouge followed apprehensively.
-
The gatekeepers to the town weren't as cold as Germaine had warned. After all, the apathy they displayed could always be attributed to the fact that they were gatekeepers. Past the gates, a large expanse lay in front of them. Germaine watched their reactions to the sprawling settlement in front of them. Needless to say, it was much larger than any of them had expected. It sprawled for a wide radius and boasted traits of both an ancient civilization and a modern town. The mole people appear to be adjusting to the newer generations, but never seemed to forget their roots.
The reception from the townspeople must have been what Germaine had been worried about. Amidst a sea of moles, a bat and a raccoon stood out like two sore thumbs on the same hand. Rouge felt massively uncomfortable, for she had let herself out in the open amongst humans only after they had been accepted. Thus, she never got used to people staring. Bandit didn't seem to mind, however. It appeared he completely didn't care what other people thought. Despite, the both of them followed Germaine stiffly, for she had an intended destination for the start of the tour.
"We're here!" Germaine called out at last. She indicated a rather tall hut-like building. After coming within radius, she immediately sprung forward, cupped her hands over her mouth, and called out, "Father, I'm back! I have company!"
An adult male mole emerged from the hut. He stood tall in comparison to the rest. Unlike the rest of the town, he was completely polarized, looking completely like an old civilization chieftain with florid clothing and face paintings. Unlike the stereotypical chief, he was a man of a strong and full frame, looking like he could hold his own against any opponent, but not too much as to look ridiculous. He stopped outside the passage to the hut, looked surprised, and then relaxed his demeanor.
"It thought as much that it was only a matter of time that you'd bring some surface-dwellers into our town. Wait… did you go all the way to the surface…?"
"They saved me!" Germaine said to answer the question and begin the explanation, "I was trapped under a boulder, much bigger than anything else that caves, in, and these two, Bandit and Rouge, had been down here due to unfortunate circumstances and they were kind enough to help me out!"
"Really?" Germaine's father looked to Rouge and Bandit, "I owe you a debt of gratitude, then. My Germaine means a lot to me. I am Gran, the chief of the tribe of moles that resides in this town. Feel free to make yourselves comfortable here."
Bandit nodded and showed off an unusually diplomatic side, "You're very kind… but we can't stay too long. We have people waiting for us back on the surface. I hope you can understand."
"Of course." Gran mirrored the sentiment, "At least spend some time to recover from whatever thrust you into the earth's belly. Then you can be on your way."
-
The town really was reminiscent of an ancient village. To look at it from a high point would make it seem a little metropolitan, but to actually traverse the streets saw a much more rural setting. Everybody was out and about socializing with each other and even a group of mole children ran past kicking a ball. Everything was nice, but Rouge couldn't help but to just reflect on everything she had seen Bandit do. He looked around content, as if enjoying a break from his mission and constant clashing with Team Unity.
"Bandit…" She finally spoke up, "Ever since we fell through the ground, I have seen a side to you that I never remotely thought could have ever existed. You've genuinely apologized to me, you jumped to the occasion to help somebody in need, and just now you were so civil with Gran. It's like you're not the same raccoon!"
That different raccoon seemed to make to answer immediately, but he stopped himself and hung his head in thought. He eventually settled on a grouping of words and spoke. "It's as I said before… Had we met under different circumstances, I am positive we would have gotten along much better… maybe more than just getting along."
"Even…" Rouge echoed, feeling her face redden at the idea, "… more?"
"Yeah." Another pause transitioned into his next thought, "However… since things are the way they are, our standings on the surface still haven't changed. Once we return, it'll be business as usual, you must understand."
He said it so calmly and matter-of-factly, as if nothing had happened between them. Rouge just couldn't believe it. "'Business as usual?' Has nothing that has happened meant anything to you? Were you just acting this entire time? If nothing down here matters, then why try anything? I don't know about you, o raccoon of the metallic heart, but there's just no more reason to be down here if that's your attitude. Where's Germaine?" The agent stormed off.
Bandit stood in place, stunned. Do all women go from zero to dramatic in three seconds flat? Did Rouge just not know how to live for the moment? Perhaps hanging around with Team Unity has warped her personality too much. All these disgruntled thoughts bunched up in Bandit's head, but then suddenly melted away. Something in his mind, something, just wouldn't let him sit idly by and leave Rouge like that. He followed Rouge's exit.
"Wait up! Maybe we can talk about this!" He called forward. He saw a flash of white enter a cave-like opening. Considering the majority race in the town, that only could have been Rouge. He followed through, entering the opening as well. He jogged in for quite a while and saw Rouge looking ahead, as if in awe. Once he caught up, he found himself staring in the same direction.
"No way!" Rouge gasped. An emerald glow reflected off that of her eyes. Sparkling in radiance like the embodiment of desire itself, the Master Emerald sat on a high altar. "Is this Knuckles's new hiding place for his massive jewel?" Bandit, who one would expect to be elated, instead seemed to behold the Master Emerald like a nemesis arriving at an inopportune time. Rouge continued to talk, "If so… well… nuts. I promised that knucklehead I wouldn't swipe it until he got better." She sighed, "C'est la ve."
"That isn't what I'm looking at." Bandit muttered after redirecting his face. His gaze shifted off to the left a little. Rouge followed the gaze and felt her jaw drop anew.
"I repeat… No way!" There, next to the Master Emerald, was the pink Chaos Emerald, the very reason all that had happened had happened. In seconds both Bandit and Rouge had leapt to it and laid gloved hands on it.
They both looked to each other with shock. So this was going to be how this ends? There wasn't going to be anything more to the story? The Chaos Emerald reappears and suddenly the mood and tone evaporate in the annals of their memory? They both paused, both trying to configure ways to keep this discovery from wrecking what they had built up since their fall.
"Aren't you decked out with enough pink jewels?" Bandit asked weakly.
Rouge's eyes narrowed, "What do you-?" Then they widened, and peered down, "How did you know about… my jewel?"
Bandit's eyes seemed to trail in the same direction, "I got a look on the way down. Normally I wouldn't go out of my way to say something of this nature, but that jewel, that heart-shaped beauty you wear… I haven't seen anything like it. Perhaps if I had seen a glow and shine so pure and benevolent like that earlier in my life, I could have lived more happily with only a memory of it and have gone down a different path." He looked off as if what he just said was a massive understatement, "A much different path."
That line seemed to have a meaning that stayed in context and seemed to spread out much farther than Rouge could have ever imagined. Whatever may have happened in Bandit's past cannot be changed, but he can write his own future, despite what has been pre-ordained by any outside force. "It's not really my place or my style to say so… but Bandit, it's not too late to change. Of course, the same can be said about me, but there's a certain hierarchy of things that are bad, and what you're doing is on a much higher level of bad that makes me look like a typical law-abiding citizen. You really must look into what you're doing and why, and consider just that why."
"Hum…" Bandit muttered without intent of conveying anything verbally. He didn't face away, but still moved his eyes anywhere that didn't behold a symbol of his current situation – The Chaos Emerald, the Master Emerald, Rouge – and seem to be in thought. Despite, he still did not let go of the Emerald nor loosen his grip.
"What are you guys doing?" Came Germaine's voice. Both bat and raccoon looked over and saw the mole standing in the entrance, her face in pure curiosity.
Bandit took advantage of the distraction causing Rouge to lax her grip on the Emerald and wrenched it from her grasp for the umpteenth time, "Germaine, do you remember we had this?"
Germaine looked at the Chaos Emerald, and then nodded, "Yeah, you lost it trying to free me from the boulder."
"Well, we both need it." Rouge quickly said. It was a lie whiter than her fur. In all truth, they both did need it, but for their own purposes. Germaine didn't really need to know that Bandit was involved in shady dealings and that she, Rouge, was a jewel thief.
"I don't know…" Germaine nervously ran a hand through the fur on her head, "My father went on about how it just appeared there earlier, near the Master Emerald. It, the Master Emerald, was entrusted to us by one of the final remnants of the echidna clan. No doubt my father wouldn't allow the Chaos Emerald to be stolen so soon after it arrived."
A reaction that had developed over the years emerged from Rouge, "We're not stealing it! We're taking it back. There's a lot happening on the surface and this Chaos Emerald is an integral part of it."
That seemed to strike a chord in Germaine. All this time, she had only heard about happenings that occurred in the outside world, and always wished she could be a part of them, which was only wishful thinking for a mole, and further the daughter of the chieftain. For the first time those events were almost knocking at her door and she felt an inclination to do something. "All right." She finally said, "I suppose I can feign ignorance. If anything, I can just hypothesize that the Chaos Emerald just disappeared again as suddenly as it had arrived."
"… Thanks." Bandit muttered. "Okay, we'll take this to the surface, and then… deal with it."
"Yeah." Rouge's eyes drooped at the thought of having to deal with Bandit again, "Deal with it." That was a phrase that took many meanings and contexts at the time.
-
Rouge, Bandit, and Germaine, thought trying to act casual, still traversed the settlement as if their limbs were comprised of toothpicks. Germaine only had to courage to try and greet moles as they passed by. The openings that lead into the tunnels that lead to the surface were in sight, dutifully guarded. It was like a dream in which you run towards something, but never seemed to get any closer. The only difference was that they were getting closer, but it just seemed so unreal.
"Attention!" A loud voice that could be recognized at Gran's boomed. Every mole turned toward the center of the settlement and the exit was blocked off.
"Oh, no…" Germain groaned, "Father's using the surface-borne speakers… and he only uses it in the most important of circumstances. All exits are blocked off so all inside are forced to hear the announcement."
Bandit made another scowl at the guards holding their spears over the exit, "This certainly does not bode well."
"I have recently visited the Master Emerald," Gran declared, "for I felt an imbalance in the power of Chaos. When I arrived, I found our newest Emerald, the Pink of Chaos, to be missing!" Rouge's instincts kicked in, causing her to grab Bandit and Germaine and duck into a space between two houses. "Do not fret with mystery, for the Master Emerald has laid witness to what had happened, and it was thievery! Thievery by lifelong thieves in our midst!"
"'Livelong thieves?'" Germaine echoed in whisper, "That can't be right. I mean, overreacting to think it thievery most foul is understandable, but if he's talking about you, he can't be…" She looked over to Rouge and Bandit, who desperately tried to avoid her eyes. The mole gasped, "You… you two are thieves?"
"It's not what you think!" Rouge hissed immediately, "Yes, we have taken things that aren't ours, maybe more often than we're willing to admit, but that has nothing to do with what is happening here! This Chaos Emerald needs to be taken out of here or people who are much worse than us will come in and spare no expense or lives in collecting it!"
Bandit hadn't thought about that. He'd be inclined to tell Talon and Ayla about the location of the Chaos Emerald, had it stayed underground. Then what? No doubt the other two would not try to take the Emerald peacefully. Rouge's bias against Team Evolution had actually supplied a good reason that Germaine could relate to.
Germaine narrowed her eyes, thought, then sighed, "All right, fine. I'll trust you. But I'm holding you guys to it."
"You're a real friend, Germaine." Bandit smiled.
"There!" A mole shouted, pointing directly at the threesome, "They have the chieftain's daughter hostage, too!"
"Hostage?" Germaine demanded, and then realized that things got a whole lot worse. "Guys… run! The south side of town is never guarded or guarded poorly; it's that way, go!"
"Right" Rouge and Bandit chirped, and then dashed off.
"They told you to defend them in exchange for their life, didn't they?" One of the moles in the mob demanded of Germaine, "Scoundrels! Don't worry, Miss Germaine, we'll bring them to justice!"
The mob ran off after Rouge and Bandit. Germaine watched them go and stood still. In all truth, she really did believe Rouge and Bandit, and that the Chaos Emerald was better off in their hands, and if they got caught and righteously punished, she'd feel like it would be her fault. She firmed her stance in determination, "I have to do something." She then ran in a different direction, a seldom-used shortcut.
-
From a birds-eye view, the mole settlement seemed like a nice hamlet. When running for one's life through the corridors, it was an absolute maze.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Rouge called over the sounds of rioting moles.
"Germaine said this way and so far we've been going relatively straight!" Bandit shouted back, and then stalled his speech, "Hey! I see the exit! Just like she said, there's almost nobody there!"
"Perf- agh!" Rouge's celebration was cut short when a line of spear-toting townspeople blocked their route. Thinking fast, both she and Bandit pulled into a house.
Bandit jammed a broom into the doorknob and backed up as the door began pounding. "This won't last us long."
The agent, whose mind was made to think on a dime, eyed some stairs. "No need! I have a plan!"
They ran up the stairs to a roof access and burst from that door. There they stood on the roof of the house looking down at the mob trying to bust the front door down. In the distance, the tunnels that eventually lead to freedom rested, just out of reach.
"I could make it if I flew over the masses. I can't give you a lift for long…"
"No need." The raccoon cut into the monologue. He pushed down on a chest button on the previously ignored device that he now wore on his back. Immediately, a pair of hang-glider wings sprouted from the pack.
"Whoa!" Rouge gasped, "How fun! Where did you get that?"
Bandit seemed not ready to answer that, and just looked at the wings. "Let's just say that the, uh, GUN has been very, say, profitable for me."
Rouge scoffed, "Well, I guess you really are quite the pickpocket!"
"If you insist." Bandit looked down at the door seemed to be hanging by toothpicks. "No time to admire my majesty now, we've got to fly! Literally."
Voices and footfalls were heard coming up to the roof access, so Rouge and Bandit wasted no time in leaping off the roof and beginning their slow descent towards their only means of escape. They took some silly joy in watching the group of moles crane their necks upward and look in awe at the flying bat and raccoon go right over their heads.
As soon as they were a good distance, Rouge unfolded her wings and made a perfect landing on one foot. Bandit, however, had done the exact same thing, but landed on his previously hurt leg. "OW!" He howled and fell forward.
"Oh yeah…" Rouge commented, "Your leg."
"Thought it was all healed up. Slag."
Rouge forced his arm around her shoulder, "Well we're almost out of here! Come-!"
Unfortunately, a disc made of stone rolled seemingly out of the wall, blocking the exit.
"Slag." Bandit repeated.
"Aha!" Came the authority voice from Gran. Rouge swiveled around and Bandit forced himself off her to look stronger in front of the group of mole guards behind their chieftain. "We thought you'd try to take that exit, so we took the liberty to set up that anti-escape plan. Crude and Neanderthal, yes, but still effective enough to fool you. Now, hand over the pink Chaos Emerald and leniency will be shown!"
"No!" Rouge burst back, "Too much rests on the ownership of this Emerald!"
Gran shook his head, "Yes, yes, the same woven tale you tricked my daughter with. Tell it running. Since you don't want to give up the Emerald peacefully… I have no choice."
"Looks like we'll have to fight our way out." Rouge interjected.
Bandit looked to the bat, "We can't...! They may want our heads, but they're still Germaine's people. Besides, even I know we'll have our tails handed to us…"
"STOP!" a shrill voice cried from behind the lines of guards. Uproar was heard from behind, and enough guards were tossed out of the way to see that Germaine was working her way through the guards, knocking them down with expert fighting skill.
Rouge raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know she could do that."
Germaine worked her way past the guards and past her father to turn around, face the army, and hold her arms out. "You have to stop this father! I was not fooled by them! I know that they have bad pasts, but they are doing good now!"
Rouge rolled her eyes at Bandit.
"Stand down, Germiane!" Gran demanded, "This is foolishness!
"I… I have nothing to support this! In fact, I don't even know the details of what they plan to do with the Chaos Emerald! The fact remains is that I get a good feeling… from both of them! Please, Father, you just can't resolve this by the means that make you look the strongest! You could end up causing a lot more pain and suffering! Doesn't who I am mean anything to you?"
The chieftan bore his teeth and narrowed his eyes, "Of course it does! Sometimes I consider you higher in priority than our heritage as keepers of the Chaos from the echidna clan. But because I know I'm right, I'll have not problems in making an exception! If you continue to stand in my way, I'll be forced to have you suffer the same fate as those you are protecting."
Germaine remained silent and with her arms held out. Her face bore a look of worry, but held an undertone of determination, showing fully that she intended to guard Rouge and Bandit to the end.
"So be it…" Gran muttered. He looked to his guards behind him, to the pair that his daughter protected, to his daughter, and imagined the Master Emerald, whose honor he was protecting. Suddenly, all those images came together in a grand revelation. Gran gasped with utter shock and only uttered, "Pahachamac's mistake…"
Germaine looked at her father anew, "What… what did you say?"
"Pahachamac's mistake…" Her father repeated, "This situation… it reminds me of one of the oldest and most infamous tales from the time of the echidnas." All those who were around seemed to relax. Gran sighed, "Pahachamac was the leader of his tribe. One day during great conflict, he wished to use the power of the Chaos Emeralds to assist his forces. His daughter, Tikal, was against this and tried with all her might to prevent her father's error. Pahachamac was fool-hardy enough to order his daughter's demise, and it awoke the power of Chaos in a rage. It caused massive devastation amongst the echidnas and irreversible mistrust between the sentience of the power of Chaos and all of us who populate this planet."
All the moles in the room seemed to make equally startling revelations about their positions.
"Well," Gran muttered, "I won't let history repeat."
"Father?" Germaine whispered.
"Stand down." The chieftain ordered his guards. They had already beaten him to it, though. "Germaine, I have never seen you so adamant about anything in your life. If you believe in those two, I will not repeat Pahachamac's mistake. Your friends are… free to go."
Germaine's eyes welled up and she ran to her father, throwing her arms around him. "Oh, father! I never thought you would ever think me above our heritage!"
"What?" Her father responded, "You have always been the greatest legacy I have known in any generation. If I ever gave you the impression I have ever considered you less than anything else, then I am sorry."
"Isn't that touching?" Rouge cooed.
Bandit nodded, "Guess he really isn't such a duty-bound still after all."
-
"Goodbye!" Germaine called to Rouge and Bandit as they walked up a slop leading to the surface, "… And thank you!"
"Maybe we'll see you again!" Rouge called back. She noticed Bandit had already begun to leave and followed.
It was a short walk, and finally there was a ladder that held a short climb to the surface. As Bandit moved to grab the ladder, Rouge grabbed his shoulder. "Bandit, wait!"
"Yeah?" The raccoon asked, letting go of the ladder.
Rouge exhaled, and then looked into Bandit's eyes, "When we return to the surface, we will lose this. This common ground, these pleasantries. I don't want it to just be a memory, Bandit. I need something to show that this was not just a figment of my imagination, that this is a side of you that exists away from what you're trying to be. Bandit, please…"
It was a lot to ask of him. He also knew that things would never be like this again. He had to do the most charitable thing he could think of. Every fiber of his being screamed against it, but he had to do it. He took the pink Chaos Emerald out of a pocket that his glider pack had. He then tossed the Emerald to Rouge.
"What…?" Rouge couldn't believe her emerald eyes.
"Don't think too much of it." Bandit said quickly, "Talon, Ayla and I will get it back. In the meantime… just enjoy what your current ownership means."
"Bandit…" Rouge whispered, clutching the pink jewel to the one around her neck. As Bandit began to climb the ladder, something else came to mind. "Bandit, wait! If it isn't too much trouble, can you tell me how those you put in comas can be brought back?"
Bandit kept climbing, but his words were clear as crystal. "Simple! Find somebody with a Chaos Ability that heals!"
Rouge relished in finally having the answer, but it was short-lived. "What? Chaos Ability? What's that? … Bandit? Bandit! … … BANDIT!"
It was too late. Bandit was gone in more ways than one.
Rouge somberly climbed the ladder to the surface. The sun hurt her eyes, but she adjusted quickly. She did not stand up, but merely sat on the lip of the hole, reflecting on that whole episode she had encountered. She looked at the Pink Chaos Emerald and clutched it tightly. She knew that this good side to Bandit was prevalent. Whatever mission he was on with Team Evolution was what kept him from showing it. When she and Team Unity put and end to Team Evolution's ambitions, maybe that good Bandit will return.
Some day.
She looked off to see silhouettes blocking the setting sun. "ROUGE!" a combination of two voices called out. Sonic was next to her first.
"Rouge!" Sonic gasped, "We thought we had lost you! You've been gone for a while!"
Vector finally caught up, "Yeah… we… hold on a second… okay, we were running around all day looking to see if you escaped from the underground! Oddly enough, we were following the Emerald tracker!"
"Maybe…" Rouge flashed a smug smile and reached behind, "You found me because you were tracking this!"
The glow of the pink Chaos Emerald shone off of both Sonic's and Vector's faces.
"WHOA!" Vector blurted.
"You got the Emerald!" Sonic declared, placing his hands firmly on Rouge's shoulders, "That's fantastic!"
At that moment, Sonic realized just what he did. He quickly removed his hands from Rouge. The bat emitted a small soft laugh as the three of them began walking off into the sunset, "Yep, got it from the 'coon himself. He practically gave it to me."
"That's showing them!" Vector gestured, "Well Sonic, looks like I owe you a chili dog. Today was our lucky day after all!"
"Don't you know it!" Sonic gave a thumbs-up, "Though I think that chili dog goes to Rouge!"
"Uhh," Rouge gently grazed her face, "I think I'll pass on that. A filet min-yon, well done, however… and you've got yourself a deal."
Sonic laughed, "No prob! You heard her, Vector!"
"WHAT?" Vector yelped, "You think I've got the rings for something so fancy-sounding? I got evicted from my home!"
"So what?" Sonic swept his arm, "Just run through the city a bunch of times! They're all over the place!"
Vector growled, "I'm not built for endeavors like that and you know it!"
Rouge laughed at the juvenile arguing. Having friends was rewarding.
Meanwhile, ominous figures loomed overhead.
"There they are." Shadow smirked, "They have another Emerald."
"Are you sure we should just do this?" Tikal asked meekly, "They seem so happy…"
"That will make it all the easier if they have their guards down! Right Chaos?" The ultimate life form looked to Chaos to see the liquid creature not moving. "Chaos!"
"Eh?" Chaos looked to Shadow, "Hum, I must go with Tikal. For a completely unrelated reason, I feel overjoyed. I would rather avoid conflict for now. Besides, we have no need for such a detour. Our primary objective is what we should pursue. We should continue onward."
Chaos stood up and began walking away. Shadow lifted his nose at both his team mates, then looked down at Team Unity walking off, "Savor this reprieve, Blue Hedgehog." He quickly followed Chaos.
Tikal also took a look at Team Unity, "Thank goodness. I just couldn't bring harm to others without a good reason. But why was Father filled with joy? The only thing that could make him happy would be repentance… or perhaps something very close to it…?" She thought on that, then gently beat her angelic wings to keep in pace with Shadow and Chaos.