Clove was shocked as she entered the prison's control room, which was now half-charred and half-missing from the blast of a grenade, which had also started a fire that set off several more grenades stored haphazardly in the corner of the room.

Robots were working to patch holes and bring the computer systems back completely online, being aided by her own workers that she had brought in from her previous base of operations. "This place is a mess!" she cried, as her sister walked inside and tripped over a rocket launcher laying on the ground. "Why are these things just lying around?! No, why are they even here instead of in the armoury?!"

"You have any idea how far the armoury is from here?!" Thunderbolt roared, sparks flying from her body as she puffed-up her fur. "I've only got these little legs! It takes five whole minutes to get there!"

Cassia examined the computer console, which was on but simply showed the system's debug screen. "Why is the base's password just 'Eggman'?"

Clove shot Thunderbolt a glare, and the chinchilla huffed and responded, "Because he's the greatest and most diabolical person in the whole world!"

"He's also probably the first thing an enemy would guess," Clove told her. "Cassia, change the password to something else. Memorable, but not easy to guess."

"'Kayyyyyy." Cassia began typing.

"Make sure it has numbers. And special characters. And a mix of upper and lower-"

"Sorry, you wanted this memorable?"

"Also, I want robots out patrolling the perimeter. Until we're up-and-running again, we can't allow any enemies to get close to this facility."

"Who do you think you are, giving orders to my soldiers?!" Thunderbolt demanded. "And changing my password?! And moving everything without asking me first?!"

"Eggman's given me authority to act as I see fit," Clove said, crossing her arms. "And he's ordered you to follow my every word."

"Lady Clove, where d'you want these Flickies?" one of her men asked, carrying a cage of captured birds struggling to break out.

"Use the prison cells for now. They're not being used for much."

"Roger!" He looked down at the birds with a frown. "Sorry guys, wish I could let you go but, orders are orders…"

As he left, Thunderbolt huffed. "And why are you keeping wimps like that around? Robots don't feel pity, and they don't let their emotions control them, either."

"Robots have their advantages, yes, but a lack of emotions isn't one of them. A living thing can become more powerful when it's backed into a corner, or when it has something to protect." She grinned, and added, "Of course, it can also be a double-edged sword. Somebody who can't control their emotions is doomed to failure."

Thunderbolt's eye twitched. "Why are you looking at me when you say that?"

"Way I've heard it, your tendency to get angry is what's caused you to blunder again and again."

Thunderbolt's fur puffed more. "Are you looking for a fight?!"

Clove clutched the pole on her back. "Go ahead, but keep in mind that Eggman will side with me when he hears of this."

"OOOOOO-KAY!" Cassia chimed-in, placing herself between the two and nudging Clove back a bit. "C'mon, let's not fight on our first day working together! We should try to be friends, don't ya think?"

"Hmph. What's with you, anyway? You're her sister, but you're a robot or something?"

Clove glared and gripped her weapon, only to ease-up when Cassia shot her a smile and shook her head. Cassia turned back to Thunderbolt and said, "I'm a cyborg. Eggman gave me this body to help cure my illness. That's why we're working with him, actually."

Thunderbolt gasped, her eyes lighting up as she looked the body up-and-down. "Oh, so it's Lord Eggman's work! I see! Heh, you must be pretty thankful to him, huh? Well, he is the greatest, don't you think?!"

"Nope," Cassia said bluntly, taking Thunderbolt aback. "Honestly, we can't stand the guy, and we'd be happy to ditch him as soon as I'm better."

Clove sighed, slamming a hand into her face, whilst Thunderbolt simply looked at the younger sister in shock. "Y-You… How dare you?! Those words are treason to His Egg-iness! I-I'll report you to Lord Eggman, and then he'll give me permission to-"

"Just kidding," Cassia sang, laughing at the chinchilla's surprise. "Of course I'm thankful to him! He saved my life, after all! So, as fellow Lord Eggman supporters, let's all get along. 'Kay?"

Thunderbolt cleared her throat, blushing in the aftermath of her outburst. "W-Well, if you really do love our fearless leader, I guess you can't be too bad…"

"Hey, could you do me a favour?" Clove asked. "Could you find Shadow and ask him to come here? I want to talk to him about the group he fought last night."

"Don't treat me like your personal gopher!"

"If you want your old job back, let's see you-"

"Lord Eggman gave you your current role, right?" Cassia said, cutting off her sister. "Don't think of it as a demotion. If he wants you to be my sister's assistant, it must be because he thinks only you can do it!"

Thunderbolt stared dumbfounded for a few seconds, before suddenly brightening up and laughing. "You're right! Yes, of course! Lord Eggman has high expectations of me! Very well, I'll do what you ask, but only for Lord Eggman's sake!"

"Thanks!" Cassia called as Thunderbolt ran off to perform her task. She then turned to her sister and gave a sly wink. "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, y'know?"

Clove reached an arm around her sister's neck and pulled her in to whisper, "What was all that about?! Don't go telling people our plans to ditch Eggman!"

"It's fine. I needed to vent to somebody, and she bought my cover, didn't she?" Cassia whispered back. "She's easy to read. Not anything like that Infinite guy."

"Infinite… I'm glad we're finally posted away from that creep," Clove said, shuddering as she remembered the mysterious jackal in a mask. "But now we have to deal with Shadow. I don't feel comfortable around him, especially since he seems to go off and do his own things most of the time."

"Maybe he's just putting on a tough-guy act. You should try seducing him," Cassia suggested, only to receive a bonk to the forehead. "Ahh! I was just kidding…"

"If you have time to kid around, you have time to move those weapons to the armoury. And while you're there, do a full inventory check. I get the feeling Thunderbolt's never done one."

"Kayyyyyyy!" Cassia jumped to it, humming a tune as she lifted the box of weapons and carried them out of the room.

Two weeks had passed since the great prison break, and in that time, Sally had been able to stay in contact with Shade the Echidna and the rest of the Downunda branch, and get a good idea of the state of the rest of the world.

She had learned that the Egg Commanders were spread around the world oppressing local Resistance factions, and one of the Commanders, Zavok, was enforcing the blockade that prevented outside help from reaching them.

"Even though we're now connected, we're still too cut-off from the other Resistance groups," Sally sighed as she tinkered with her Energy Blades, which were hooked-up to her handheld. "We need to secure key locations in order to extend our territories, but Eggman's Commanders are too powerful."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help," Nicole said, displaying a sad face on her monitor. "If I try to dig too deep, I'll be noticed, and if Eggman notices me, he'll…"

"Don't worry about it," Sally said. "You've been a great help here. We've never been so organised before, and Uncle Chuck has been really impressed with the troubleshooting you've been doing for him."

"Speaking of which, would you like me to upgrade your weapon from Power Rings to Chaos Drives? It would be less powerful, but more durable, and the extra heat it produces will be especially powerful against robots."

"Thank you, but I'd prefer to stick with Power Rings. The Acorn family has always used them over other sources of energy."

"Then how about a Wispon upgrade? You could use the Cyan Laser Wisps to extend your blades out even further!"

"Hmm, maybe later. For now, I just need to repair the damage they took from our last battle."

"Sally? I've been meaning to ask. Why did you join the Resistance?" A question mark appeared on Nicole's screen. "You're a princess, aren't you? Isn't it strange for you to be on the frontlines?"

"Maybe traditionally. I know Daddy would have a fit if he knew I was putting my life on the line like this." Sally laughed at the thought of her father throwing one of his famous tantrums. "But circumstances haven't left me much choice. My family was taken away by Robotnik, and that jackal in the mask…"

"Infinite?"

Sally nodded. "Rotor and Antoine got me out of there, and all I could do was watch helplessly as everybody I knew and loved was taken away. A few days later, we found out that some had made it out. Uncle Chuck, Doctor Quack, Hamlin and the other members of the Royal Council… But we were on our own, and Robotnik wasn't going to stop until he had all of the Acorn royal family. So I took up arms. I wasn't going to let anybody else fall on my account."

"I see… You're far braver than I am. I don't think I would have been able to do the same thing in your shoes."

Sally shook her head. "Don't sell yourself short. You've helped us a tonne on these missions."

"Only because I know you guys are all there. I feel safe around you."

Sally smiled. "Well, I knew that Rotor and Antoine would be there for me, so I guess we're in the same boat. Fighting alone is never easy, but fighting together? Suddenly, it feels like you can do anything."

"Though I don't think Antoine feels the same way," Nicole said, a laughing face appearing on her screen. "Even though he fights alongside you all, he's always quaking in his boots!"

Sally laughed. "Now, now, don't be mean. He's been a great help and we'd not be where we are without him."

"Right. Antoine, Rotor, Bunnie, Fiona and Mina! You're all so strong!"

Sally paused. Fiona and Mina had officially joined them upon their return. Over the past two weeks, the group had tried to lay low, only going out on small supply runs and scouting missions. Fiona, however, went above-and-beyond every time, showing her cunning and her abilities by being able to scout further ahead than they had planned without tripping any alerts, and bringing back extra supplies for all the refugees. She had been a great help, and yet, she never really talked about herself much, and Sally couldn't help but feel that she was distancing herself form the rest of them…

"Sally?" Nicole asked, and Sally snapped out of her thoughts.

"Oh, yes, they are all strong. Mina has been especially impressive. She knows how to pick the right fights, and her speed is such a big help. It's just like…"

"Like Sonic's?" Nicole teased, chuckling as she noticed the red tinge across Sally's face.

"Quiet you," Sally laughed, "Or I'll mute ya."

Nicole's screen displayed a panicked face, though her laughter betrayed it. "Oh nooooo!"

The two laughed just as Uncle Chuck entered the room. "I take it things are going well in here?"

"Yep! I'll be ready to go back out into the field at any time!" Sally replied.

"By the way, have you seen Mina?"

"She's out on a run at the moment."

Chuck sighed. "Is that right? I have another mission that would be perfect for her, but I've got so much to do in my workshop…"

"Leave it to me. I'll pass the details along to her."

Chuck nodded. "Thank you. I feel a little guilty, but she really is the best fit for this one."

"Don't worry. Mina's got plenty of energy. I'm sure she can handle it."

Ash paced about nervously, watching and waiting for signs of Mina's group returning through the forest's trees. It had been nearly three hours now, and while he was told that they would be gone for about that long, it didn't make him feel any less uncomfortable. Just as he was about to check his watch again, he saw movement ahead. He breathed a huge sigh as Mina emerged from the trees, followed by the other members of the Resistance she had departed with. Everybody was accounted for.

"Ash?" Mina asked, running up to her boyfriend. "What's up? You weren't just waiting out here for us, were you?"

"For you, yeah," Ash replied.

"Awww, you didn't have to do that! I bet you were bored out your skull just standing around here."

Ash adjusted his glasses, glancing at the rest of the group as they passed by, some waving, some chuckling. "Mina, can we find somewhere to talk?"

Mina tilted her head. "Uh, okay? What about?"

Ash didn't answer. Instead, he simply returned inside of the base, leading Mina through its winding hallways until they found a training room that was currently unoccupied. "Mina, you didn't tell me you were heading out this morning," he said finally. "All you did was leave me a note, and I had to ask around to find out where you'd gone!"

Mina laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, Ashy," she said, clapping her hands together and bowing her head. "It just sorta happened all of a sudden. They needed someone who could distract the local badniks."

"You just got back from another mission last night, and the night before that they had you patrol the entire forest. Aren't they pushing you just a bit?"

Mina shook her head. "Nope. It's nothing I can't handle! Sure it might be a little tiring, but I wanna do all I can for everyone!"

"What about yourself?" Ash asked. "Think about your own well-being for a second. Your own limits."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, you're a singer, not a soldier. You keep going on all these missions, putting your life on the line and for what? Complete strangers that asked you to fight their fights for them?"

"Ash, this is about the whole world."

"I know that, but there are already plenty of people out there fighting, and there are other ways you can help. That Chuck guy maintains everyone's gear, and Doctor Quack treats everyone's injuries-"

"But I'm not a mechanic, and I'm sure no doctor!"

"All I'm saying is, you don't have to keep going out there looking for trouble! What if you don't come back one day? What if you get captured again?"

Mina's face softened. "Thanks for worrying, Ash, but those are risks I have to take."

Ash narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"Because-"

"And don't just say 'because it's the right thing'!"

"But it is the right thing! If I get hurt to keep others safe then it'll be worth it!"

"Not to me! I care about you! I don't want to see anything happen to you!"

"If you cared, you wouldn't be so on my case about it!"

"I wouldn't have to be, if you'd at least talked to me before deciding you were joining the Resistance!"

Mina groaned. "So that's what this is all about! You said you were fine with me joining them!"

"Only 'cause I didn't think you would be going out there fighting robots every day! Besides, I was tired then and wasn't in any mood to argue!"

"Well sor-ry, Ash, but I can't just turn my back when there are people in need! It's not in my nature!"

"Just like Sonic, right?" Ash asked, his hands clenched into fists.

"What about it?" Mina asked, folding her arms.

"Sonic was a hero, and look what happened to him."

Mina's scowl turned to a glare. "Don't-"

"Oh no, I'm going there! If you keep doing what Sonic did, you'll wind up just like him, and I don't want to see that! How am I supposed to face your mother and tell her that I let you go out there and get yourself killed?!"

A tense silence fell over the two. Seconds seemed to last forever as the two stared daggers into each other's eyes. Eventually, Mina let out an exasperated sigh, and walked towards the door. "Mina, don't walk away! We're not finished here!"

Mina opened the door. "I don't want to talk to you right now. Go cool off that head of yours, and when you're ready to talk about this calmly, come find me." She slammed the door behind herself, leaving Ash alone in the room.

Ash simply stared at the door, biting his lower lip and his fists trembling. With a groan, he punched a nearby training dummy, breathing heavily as let his temper drop. "Damnit..."

Mina screamed into her pillow. She had managed to keep her anger in-check until she had reached her room, but the second she entered, she could not contain it any longer. She hated when Ash got like this. She knew he cared about her, but he could be so stubborn, and the way he kept treating her like she was some damsel that needed protecting was just...

"Why can't he just get a clue?!" Mina turned and threw the pillow. However, instead of hitting the door, it hit the royal visage of Princess Sally, who was now standing there wide-eyed, blinking at Mina's outrage. "Sally?! Omigosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't hear you come in!"

"Well, I'm not surprised," Sally laughed, picking up the pillow and placing it neatly back onto Mina's bed. "You uh... You doing alright in here?"

Mina sighed. "No, I'm not... I just had a big fight with Ash."

"Ah, boy troubles," Sally said. "I know a thing or two about those. Would you like to talk about it?"

"I don't know... It's kinda personal."

"I understand. In that case, how about we just go for a stroll. I know a place that's great for clearing the mind."

Mina smiled. "Sure, that sounds nice."

Ash grumbled as he angrily dug through the spare parts in Chuck's lab, looking for the two components he needed. He found them, and then took them over to the workbench, still grumbling as he tried to repair the damaged communicator, only to use a bit too much force and drop his screwdriver.

Chuck and Rotor watched with concern as Ash leaned-down to pick up his tool, and then as he tried to stand, he banged his head on the table, inhaling sharply. Ash's grumbling grew louder, and also more incoherent as he seemed to now be fighting with the table. He tried again to repair the communicator, only to drive the screwdriver into his own hand, hurting himself.

Rotor walked over with a first aid kit for him. "Somethin' on your mind there, Ash?"

"It's nothing," Ash spat, putting down the screwdriver and holding out his hand so that Rotor could disinfect the wound. "Thanks..."

Rotor wrapped a bandage around Ash's hand. "You sure about that? That's an awful lot of groaning over nothing."

"Really, it's nothing. I'll be fine."

Rotor shrugged. "Well, okay then." He took the first aid kit and walked back over to Chuck's side, the two returning to their own work and allowing Ash to focus on his.

"... It's just that I had this fight with Mina." The two turned back around, listening patiently as Ash told his story. "I mean, I get it, she wants to help people and that's cool and all, but how does she think I feel whenever she goes out there risking her life, and I'm just stuck here doing... doing... this?!" He noticed Chuck staring at him and his face turned red. "Uh, no offence."

"None taken," Chuck laughed. "I understand where you're coming from. The thought of all these youngsters out there fighting, while I'm back here in this workshop, has bothered me for a long time."

"Especially Sally," Rotor said, he and Chuck nodding to each other in agreement. "When she tried to form the Knothole Resistance, Antoine and I were practically begging to reconsider. She wasn't just a princess, but our friend, and we didn't want to see anything happen to her."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Then why didn't you stop her? You still let her form this Resistance, even though you hated the idea of her fighting?"

"Put simply, it was never our choice."

Sally and Mina arrived at the Lake of Rings, a large lake deep in the forest of Knothole, that creates the Power Rings used by the Acorn family to power and protect their kingdom... Or at least, they were used for that. But even with the fall of Mobotropolis, the Lake of Rings has continued to protect the princess and her people. Its magic warped the forest, guiding Knothole's allies and driving away its enemies.

Many others had come to the lake, setting out picnics or simply sitting by the lakeside, bathing in the tranquillity as they escaped their problems, even if it was just for one afternoon. "We've come at a good time," Sally said. "A Ring is just about to be made."

Mina followed where Sally was pointing, and noticed the centre of the lake was bubbling. Moments later, a powerful geyser shot into the air, spraying water all around. Children laughed as they got sprayed, and a beautiful rainbow formed over the lake. The geysery retreated, leaving in its wake a floating Power Ring, shining a brilliant gold.

'Ooh's and 'aah's erupted from the crowd. Many took photographs, and wandered closer to get a better look. Members of the Acorn Royal Guard stopped any from getting too close, however, as they ventured out into the lake to retrieve the Ring.

"Wow," Mina whispered, her breath taken away. "So that's how Power Rings are made."

"This is just one of the ways," Sally explained. "There are lakes like this all over the world, and some are forged in volcanos or by world trees."

"The Rings produced here have a special property," Nicole said, startling Mina as the holo-lynx appeared rather suddenly at her side. "The purity of the lake produces Power Rings that are far more potent than those produced anywhere else."

"Y-You scared me," Mina said, and Nicole laughed.

"Sorry about that. I detected strong readings in the lake and came out to look."

"This lake has been under the protection of my family for centuries," Sally said, sitting down in the grass. Mina and Nicole joined her. "Even Robotnik hasn't been able to taint this place with his pollution. When Mobotropolis fell, I knew immediately to come here. The magic of Knothole has kept us safe while we fight back, and when things get tough, I always come out here to think things through."

Mina nodded. "Even a princess has troubles, huh?" The three sat silently for a few moments, watching as the Royal Guard returned to land, escorting the Power Ring back to Freedom HQ. "... Ash and I had a fight. He doesn't want me going out and risking my neck, but I told him I have to. People are depending on me, and I have the power to help them."

"It's hard to just sit by and do nothing when you know you can help."

"It's not just hard. It's impossible. I'd never be able to live with myself."

Sally smiled. "I feel the exact same way. When I formed the Knothole Resistance, Rotor and Antoine were sternly against it. They kept telling me, 'You'll get yourself killed! We promised the King we'd protect you!', stuff like that." She laughed. "Looking back on it, it was really sweet, but at the time it was just so suffocating."

Mina was surprised. Considering the way that the three fought together on the battlefield, she couldn't imagine a time when the other two were against it. "How did you convince them?"

Sally shook her head. "I didn't."

"We didn't let her do anything," Rotor said. "We were against the idea, but at the end of the day, it was her choice. We couldn't force her not to fight. And since she was gonna fight no matter what we said, we made the choice to fight alongside her. At the very least, we wouldn't let her go it alone."

"But aren't you worried that something might go horribly wrong? That one day, she'll go out on a mission and never come back?"

"Every day. But Sal... she'll do what her heart tells her. For better and for worse, that's who she is. We wouldn't want her to change that, so we'll do what we can to keep her safe."

"I may be too old to be out there where the action is," Chuck began, "But I feel the same way as Rotor. That's why I'm here, doing all that I can to make sure these kids have the best equipment possible when they set out."

Ash's face fell. "You guys want to protect her... but you also have to respect her decisions. That's..."

"Tough, I know," Rotor said, "But if you really care about her, you'll take her feelings into account, too."

"Her feelings..."

Chuck glanced at the nearby clock. "It's a bit early, but how about you take a break. There's not much left for us today, anyway."

"Are you sure?"

Rotor nodded. "Go. Truth is, we've got another mission lined up. Don't let her leave while you're still on bad terms."

"Right. Thank guys!" Ash put down his tools and got up, running out of the room.

Mina walked through the halls of Freedom HQ, dwelling on what Sally had told her back at the lake.

"I know you can handle yourself. You know you can handle yourself. Maybe even Ash knows you can handle yourself. But try to put yourself in his shoes, and imagine he was going out every day, risking his life for who knows what, and all you can do is wait."

Mina had to admit, the thought of Ash being out there, alone or in a group, scared her. She knew what Eggman's robots were capable of. She had seen what the inside of one of his prison camps looked like. She had only heard tales of what happened to the prisoners that never returned, and could only hope that they were just tales.

Still, she knew that Ash wasn't much of a fighter, and wasn't an adventurer like she was. Her situation was totally different from his... At least, that's what she was trying to tell herself, but maybe from Ash's perspective that wasn't the case.

"If you keep doing what Sonic did, you'll wind up just like him."

Those words made Mina angry when she heard them. She knew that Ash had something of a jealous streak when it came to Sonic, no matter how much she assured him that she was over her crush on the hedgehog. But now that she was thinking about it with a clear head, his words rang true. Sonic was the 'Hero of Mobius', the one who had saved the world a number of times and was thought to be unstoppable. Then he was defeated, in just one battle. If it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone.

But that was exactly why Mina had to fight. To her, Sonic's defeat was a sign that everybody on Mobius had to band together, to give whatever they could to the war effort. Eggman wanted them to run and hide, so that he could walk all over them. Mina wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

As she opened the door to her room, she found Ash sitting on his bed. He looked up at her, and the two just stared at each other awkwardly. He didn't seem angry, at least. Rather, he seemed sad, and perhaps guilty?

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," Mina replied, and then she closed the door behind herself, walking over to her own bed and sitting down. The two continued their staring contest for a few more seconds, before Mina grew tired of the silence. "Ash-"

"I-" Ash cleared his throat. "Sorry, you go."

"Oh. Well, I was just gonna say... Sorry for not telling you about this morning. You were right, going out on a mission is a pretty big deal. I shouldn't have just left a note to tell you."

"Ah. Well, actually, I wasn't really mad about that, I just sorta... used it as an excuse to be mad at you. I've just been upset because, well... I was kinda hoping when we got here, you'd just settle down and let the Resistance handle all the fighting."

"I know. I know you care, and I should have talked to you about it more. I thought I was thinking about what was best for everyone, but I wasn't considering your feelings at all."

Ash scratched the back of his head. "Well, I should have objected right from the start. I didn't want you to get mad at me so I said was okay with it. Kinda gave you mixed signals, huh?"

"I'll say," Mina laughed. "I did feel something was off with you, with how grumpy you've been lately."

"What? That's just my normal mood," Ash said with a grin, making Mina laugh again. He then shrugged and gave an exaggerated sigh. "That's just the result of being your manager."

"H-Hey!" Mina yelled, though she was still laughing. She threw her pillow at Ash, who caught it and threw it right back at her. "That was mean!"

After the laughter between the two began to die down, Mina wiped the tears from her eyes and continued. "Anyway, I figure that we should have a proper discussion about this. But it's hard to really do that if we don't understand each other's points-of-view, right?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I guess so…"

"Well, Sally helped me understand yours a little. I figure I should help you understand mine."

"And how do we do that?"

Mina grinned. "Come with me on my next mission."

"Alright, we'll send help as soon as we can."

Shade nodded. "Thanks, Princess, and if we discover any information about your family, we'll let you know."

With that, the communication ended. "Are you sure we can handle it?" Nicole asked, looking worried.

"It'll be tough, but if we don't respond to the call to help our friends, how can we call ourselves members of the Resistance?"

"That's true. Even if the odds are against us, we still have to try, right?"

"Right!"

Sally hummed as she looked over the details. "We'll need our full team of fighters on this one. Mina's out on a mission right now, so I'll have to give her the details later."

Eggman sighed as he threw down the report. The latest encounter with Vector's group resulted in failure, and the Eggman Empire had lost vital ground. "You just can't get good help these days, can you?"

"To be fair, the 'help' was all built by you," Orbot pointed out, which earned him a glare from the disgruntled doctor. "If I may, sir, why did you not send one of the replicas there?"

"They're all busy elsewhere," Eggman answered. "Zavok is running the blockade in space. The last thing we need is GUN raining down on us from their world. Metal Sonic and Chaos have their hands full with other Resistance groups. And then Shadow is hunting down the Princess… who I have a personal vendetta against."

"Why don't we just make more clones then?" Cubot asked, scratching his head. "Way I figure it, more clones means you can cover more areas at once, right?"

"It's quality over quantity, Cubot," Orbot explained, only drawing further confusion from his companion.

"The replicas are strong," Eggman began, "But not as strong as their originals, and creating more of them will only make them even weaker. Five replicas is about the most the Phantom Ruby can create without sacrificing power from each one."

"Ohhhhh…"

"Furthermore, if I were to make more replicas, it would break the illusion. The point of creating these clones is to make the whole world think that I have some of the most powerful fighters on my side." Eggman grinned. "In Shadow's case in particular, they now believe that one of Sonic's trusted friends betrayed him. That spreads fear. Fear that at any moment, any of their comrades could suddenly turn around and attack the Resistance they've been fighting with this whole time."

"But if any one of them were to be defeated, the proverbial jig would be up," Orbot pointed out. "It would become clear that they are nothing more than clones. You also were never able to confirm the real Shadow's demise."

"I know," Eggman said, irritation in his voice. "That's why I need the seven Chaos Emeralds. The Phantom Ruby can only do so much on its own, but with the Chaos Emeralds, I theorise it can produce an infinite number of clones, without sacrificing any power!"

"We have three currently, after accounting for the one that was stolen recently. It is likely the case that the Resistance has gathered the rest, and are hiding them somewhere."

"No doubt Rouge advised them early to focus on finding them. She already knew that's what I'd be after."

"Uh, Boss?" Cubot said. "We got a report comin' in of our forces being driven out of Music Plant, by a single guy."

"What?! Just one soldier?! Who?! Don't tell me Shadow's actually come out of hiding!"

"Uhhhh, it's some silver guy, and he's got these weird floaty-like powers that let him… float stuff."

"'Telekinesis' is the word you're looking for," Orbot said.

"Silver?" Eggman asked, leaning back in his seat and pondering. "If Silver's come back to this time, then that can only mean… Ohohoh! Iiiiiinteresting! Silver's future must be a bleak, fiery landscape of despair! Now, I wonder who could possibly be the cause of all that?"

"I would hardly call this a cause for celebration, Doctor. After all, if Silver is here, then that means the future can be changed. He's a factor the you of his time never had to account for."

"I know that!" Eggman yelled, slamming Orbot's head into his body. "Don't ruin my good mood! I was just revelling in the fact that, under normal circumstances, I would've won this war! Still, Silver's presence is something of a nuisance… Infinite!" Infinite came out from the shadows behind Eggman. "I've got a new task for you! I want you to track down Silver the Hedgehog… and end him!"

"To be clear," Infinite began, "We're not talking about the way I 'ended' Sonic, is that right?"

"Sonic is being kept alive for my own amusement. I have no use for Silver, so see to it that you really do finish him off."

Infinite laughed beneath his mask, melding back into the shadows as his voice echoed in the room. "What a disturbing fellow," Orbot commented as he righted himself.

"But he gets the job done," Eggman said, bringing up a map of the world on his monitor. "With his power, over ninety percent of this whole world has already fallen into my hands! There are only a few factors standing in my way, but with that accursed blue hedgehog out of the equation, they are nothing more than minor nuisances! BWA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

Orbot sighed as he covered the sides of his head. "I do hate when he gets like this…"

"At least he's happy," Cubot commented. "That means he isn't hitting us."

"Okay, wait here," Mina whispered. Ash was about to say something, but she shook her head. "No objections. This is serious. Wait here, and don't draw any attention to yourself."

Ash's eyes widened. Mina had never look so serious in her life. Not even the night before a big concert. He could only nod, and Mina kissed him on the cheek before slowly creeping out from behind the wall, surveying her surroundings. Ash peeked out, now starting to worry as he noticed just how many badniks there were roaming the area.

Mina, on the other hand, didn't seem worried at all. She licked her lips, and began running on-the-spot, charging her speed. The badniks noticed her and began to move, but Mina was quicker on the draw, racing ahead and crashing through the first two badniks in her path.

The horde began firing on the mongoose, but she was able to deftly weave between their shots, taking out robots as she went. Ash noticed one badnik that had a shield fitted with spikes. Mina would be skewered if she ran right into that! He was about to call out to her, but recalled what Mina had said. But if he didn't say anything, she would be in trouble!

As Ash mulled over what he should do, Mina had already made up her mind, sliding to get under the robot's shield and take it out from below. She then jumped over a torrent of flames that the next badnik was spraying and used her homing attack to take it out.

By now, Mina had gone well past the storage hut, and all of the badniks guarding it were chasing after her. She stopped, turning around to face them head-on and taking out her Microphone Wispon. "You ready, Beat?"

The Magenta Rhythm Wisp inside cheered, and Mina took in a deep breath, singing into her microphone to unleash soundwaves that disabled the incoming badniks. It would only last as long as she could continue singing, but it was plenty of time for Hamlin's group to run into the hut and start loading-up on whatever wasn't nailed down.

After securing the last bag, Hamlin gave Mina the signal that they were all done, and Mina stopped singing. The badniks resumed their attack on the mongoose. "Sorry boys, no encore tonight!" she said with a wink, and then broke-out into another sprint, blasting through the horde and making her way back over to Ash. "C'mon!"

Ash simply nodded, taking Mina's hand as the two ran away from the site. They jumped into the back of Hamlin's truck and watched the badniks grow smaller in the distance. Ash breathed a huge sigh of relief, whilst Mina threw herself back onto a soft bag grain and laughed. "Mission complete!"

"And what exactly was that supposed to prove?" Ash asked, giving his girlfriend a deadpan stare. "Because all I saw was you risking your life, and it nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Mina grinned. "Just wait. When we get back to Knothole, you'll see."

"Do you see it now, Ash?"

Ash watched as Hamlin and Penelope doled out the rations, trying to see what Mina was referring to. "They're just rationing out the supplies we just took."

Mina nodded. "Exactly. Times are rough, especially here in Knothole. We're barely getting by, even with all these supply runs. If we stop doing them, people will go without food and medicine. Many would probably die."

"Okay, so I get that the supply runs are important, but-"

"Why me?" Mina asked. "You saw what those badniks were like. Hamlin and the others could take them, but it would be a long, drawn-out battle and many of them would probably be hurt, or worse, and then more would simply show up later. There are some of us who can take care of the badniks while others steal the supplies. That way, nobody has to die, both on the field and back home."

Ash scratched the back of his head, hanging his head as he finally realized what Mina was getting at. "... If Sonic hadn't protected South Island back when Eggman attacked it, who would've? I guess sometimes a hero's just gotta do what a hero's gotta do."

"We've all got to play our parts, and this is mine. I know you don't like it, and if it was up to me, I would rather stay here, with you. Safe and warm, entertaining the frightened children and preparing warm meals for Sally and the others when they return. But I've got the kind of strength they need out there in the field." Mina pointed to a table across the room, where six children were singing and laughing as Rosie Woodchuck served them their meals. "And if I hadn't gone today, those kids would only have been eating scraps that were leftover from yesterday."

Ash sighed. "... I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I know. And I promise I'll be careful."

Ash clenched his shaking fists. "But I've only been thinking about what I want. You've been thinking about what's best for everyone... That's what's so great about you, and it's infuriating sometimes, but right now... it's exactly what the world needs."

"Ash..."

"And what you need is my support. That's what I should be doing."

Mina smiled. "Then..."

Ash nodded. "I won't object to you going out on missions anymore. Instead, I'll do whatever I can to help."

Mina jumped and hugged her boyfriend, startling him with the sudden display of affection. "Awww, I knew there was a reason I loved you! You're so sweet!"

"M-Mina!" Ash flailed his arms to maintain his balance, and then sighed as she let him go. "You've gotta stop doing that."

"Eheh, no promises! Looks like the rations have been handed out to everyone, so let's go get our fills now, okay?"

Ash nodded, and the two took each other's hands as they walked over towards the kitchen.

Two days later, Sally had called the Knothole Resistance's strongest fighters to the war room. Mina Mongoose entered the room, taking a deep breath to compose herself. Even though she had been out on many missions, this was the first time she had been told she would be going out to the frontlines.

As she entered, she found that everybody else was already there. Antoine D'Coolette, Rotor Walrus, Bunnie Rabbot, Fiona Fox and… "Ash?!"

She was surprised to see Ash in the room, a Laser Wispon on his arm. "Hey," he greeted, laughing as he averted his eyes. "I'm uh... I'm coming along, too."

Sally could barely restrain her laughter at Mina's look of absolute shock and confusion. "Ash came to me two nights ago, asking if I could give him a crash course on Wispons."

Ash's cheeks turned red, and he turned his head to hide his embarrassment. "I said I'd help however I can, right? I can't stop you from going out there, but I can keep you from doing anything stupid if I got out there with you."

"You?" Mina asked, now struggling to contain her laughter herself. "You're gonna fight?"

"What, you got a problem with that?! I wouldn't be much of a boyfriend if I left you to fight all alone, would I?!"

"Ohhhhh, is that so? While I find the macho act very attractive, can you really fight after just one day of training?"

"Normally I would have had him sit this one out, to train him up further," Sally said, "But he did surprisingly well. Still rusty, but so long as he remains in the back providing support, I'm confident he can handle himself."

Rotor gave Ash a hard pat on the back, winding him. "You really took quickly to those Wispons, huh?"

Ash laughed, adjusting his glasses. "Me and technology go well together. I used to be Mina's stagehand before being her manager, after all, and I had to handle all the special effects by myself."

"Still, this mission will be dangerous, so I'm going to need you to follow my orders to the letter, and if you're not able to reach me, Rotor has the final say." Ash nodded, and Sally turned to Nicole. Nicole returned to her handheld, replacing her holographic bode with a map of the world. "Now then, one of our fellow Resistance outposts is under attack, and they're cut-off from the rest of the world. We're the only ones who can reach them and provide backup."

Fiona studied the map for a moment. "Downunda?" she asked, and Sally nodded. "You can't be serious. We're going there?"

"What ees wrong with Downunda?" Antoine asked.

"It's where Metal Sonic is," Fiona answered, and suddenly the coyote turned pale.

"You gonna be okay fightin' him, Sal?" Rotor asked.

"It won't be a problem," Sally said. "I've fought him before."

"That's not what I mean. He… No, never mind. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Right now, there's only one thing I'm focussed on. Saving our allies who need our help."

"And we'll do just that," Mina said, looking over everyone with a strong smile. "We'll do it together! Nothing will be able to stop the Knothole Resistance!"

"Hear, hear!" Rotor cheered.

"Ya darn tootin'!" Bunnie agreed.

"I do not like ze idea of fighting Metal Soneec," Antoine said, "But eet is preferable to fighting Shadow."

"So I get to punch something that looks just like Sonic?" Ash asked. "Count me in."

"And on zat, you 'ave sold me," Antoine said, shaking hands with Ash as the rest of the room laughed, save for Sally and Mina, who simply rolled their eyes.

Fiona relaxed. "Alright, looks like there's nothing to worry about after all. You all seem raring to go."

"We'll leave in one hour," Sally said. "Get ready and then meet at the hanger. We'll be travelling by airship." She placed her hand in the centre of the room, and everybody joined her. "Team, let's do it to it!"

Author's Notes:

Sorry that this chapter took so long to come out. Sadly I cannot say that this marks the OFFICIAL return of this story, or that future chapters will be coming out consistently. I am absolutely going to TRY to balance this with my other current story, The Nocturnus Return, but at the moment that one takes priority for me, and with everything else going on in my personal life it is often difficult for me to even just sit down and write.

But, hey, I finally got this one out at least. Feels kinda like that song from Shadow, 'Never Turn Back' - "I move an inch forward, feels like a year" XD Seriously though, I was having a real hard time writing this one. I was struggling to find the right balance between Ash being a hot-head but also being understandable and not necessarily in the wrong. I've gone through so many rewrites and this is ultimately the version I think hits that nice middle ground? Hopefully? Who knows. Turns out relationship drama is hard to write. Anywho, hope y'all enjoy.