CHAPTER 3: SCHEMES IN THE DARK

Sat at her desk, she took a moment for reflection. She couldn't believe that old man's audacity. Dwelling on these thoughts only served to bubble up irritation within her. The doctor was attempting the mole strategy again by setting up a fight between his Egg Boss Rose and 'Sonic', knowing full-well she'd come to that hedgehog's aid and try to recruit him in her ranks.

She had fallen for it - hook, line, and sinker. Now Robotnik's super weapon was too close for comfort, she hadn't been able to sleep knowing that the hedgehog might break out of the cell and hurt someone. She had posted guards outside the room for the night.

They had told her that Sonic hadn't attempted to escape. She didn't trust that.

He had been so willing to stay in that room with barely a question - she hadn't even given him a bed or anything, just a small portion of food. It was as though he was purposefully keen to earn her trust. After all, if he had reservations about the arrangement - he might end up out of her favour, right? He couldn't have that, he'd ruin whatever plan Robotnik had set him up for.

She drummed her fingers against the desk. She had caught it early, this time. She should at least be able to take comfort in that.

"Rouge-" Tangle's voice could be heard, whining at her. Rouge looked towards the entrance of her office.

"Why are you here? It's early morning-"

"I'm here because you weren't in your bed last night, I thought we could eat breakfast together but the I woke up and saw that you weren't there, your bed was still made up in fact so you hadn't been there at all-"

Tangle had the habit of rambling, and Rouge was zoning out.

"- So then I knew what had happened! You had stayed up in your office all night, which, as I've said before - it's important to get all the sleep you can and you really shouldn't be doing this-"

"Your concern is appreciated, Tangle." Rouge forced herself to give a tired smile. "And it is most certainly noted. But I had some important work to do, work that simply could not wait-"

The lemur was pouting, and she decided to interrupt. "I don't think that's the case... I can tell you're worried."

Good grief. Rouge let out a mild laugh - deciding to tease her a little to ease those concerns. "Worried? I'm never worried, hon. How can I be when I have plans for everything?"

Some semblance of pity formed in Tangle's eyes. "Getting you to admit your feelings is as difficult as... nailing jelly to a tree. Is that how the saying goes? Or was it a wall- the point still stands though! Sonic being here has riled you up, I can feel it. But I wanna let you know, girl - I'm not going to let that hedgehog lay a hand on you or anyone else here!" She assured her - her smile now beaming with confidence. "We're not going to have a repeat of the Espio situation - this time, we'll be ready!"

Rouge closed her eyes, she'd rather shut out those memories. "Thanks, Tangle - but I'm afraid I'm going to have to make sure that everyone else keeps their distance from Sonic. Including you."

"What? Why?" Tangle asked indignantly. "We can help you, you know! If you're going to use the 'it's too dangerous' excuse then I simply must fire it back at you! I'm not gonna let you handle him all on your own-!"

Breathing out from her nose, she placed her elbows on the desk and brought her chin down against the back of her hands. "I must deal with him quickly. I already have the plan to take care of him, in mind."

"But you say this guy is Project Shadow, right? Ultimate speedster and chaos magic wielder, or whatever you call it-"

"Which is why to ensure I am able to catch him off guard - he must have trust in me, and to be frank - you're an awful actress, and liar. You'll ruin this quickly." Hopefully her brutal honesty made enough of a point.

Tangle was wide-eyed. "I- Okay yeah, you're not wrong about that, but-"

"Exactly." The bat couldn't help but be smug. "So run along now and get yourself some breakfast, Sonic and I will be eating ours together - alone." She emphasized, putting on a pretty smile. "Have a nice day~"

Tangle stared at her for a moment, refusing to accept the bat's win in this debate - but then sighing as she realised she was unlikely to get anywhere if she continued on. "Well uh- good morning anyway, I don't remember if I said it already-" She added awkwardly, before turning and making her way to the dining area. Rouge watched her leave and felt bad slightly about her complete dismissal of the girl's offer to help, she was just trying to be useful after all. Rouge had a fondness for the girl and her energy - but unfortunately, it was often a hinderance.

She couldn't afford setbacks.


Sonic was in the midst of stretching his legs when he heard the door click, and he continued on with a grin. He had managed to get a good night sleep - which he was incredibly thankful for. He had food in his stomach, and he now had a friend on his side... well, a friend from another timeline - but they seemed on course to becoming friends in this timeline as well. She would be the pair of wings he needed for his plan to get to Angel Island.

The door finally opened. "Rise and shine, handsome." She said with that suave smirk that was almost permanently etched to her face. "Let's get you fixed up with some breakfast, shall we?"

"Sounds like a plan." Sonic said with a nod, his energy having returned to him as he saw his goal in sight. It's not like he would be in this timeline for too long, right? With some time to rest, he finally had some semblance of clarity. He got his bearings and realised he couldn't afford to mope if he wanted to get out of here. It was just like ending up as a knight in a storybook with his friends playing different characters. Just another world where his friends were a bit different, he'd get back to his original timeline soon. He silenced the small, doubting voice that wondered if he would actually be capable of doing so.

"Follow me to the dining area, then. We've got a few options... which is quite the rarity honestly."

"Wait, you're allowing me out of here - with the others you mentioned, I'm presuming?" Sonic blinked.

Rouge shrugged, looking down at the tips of her gloves. "Yep. I've briefed them all of your arrival, so they shouldn't be scared by you. Still, we'll be sitting by ourselves. You don't need to talk to them."

Sonic was a little struck by how assertive she sounded - spoken like a leader. He often wondered who the leader of Team Dark actually was. He was always told it was Shadow, but Rouge was more often than not making the strategies and getting her teammates to rally behind her. Of course he also couldn't exactly ignore Shadow's abilities - he was tough, strong, and could keep others in line. Sonic was also told Shadow was intimidating, apparently, but he never really had that affect on him.

"That's alright with me." Sonic said, bending down to pick up his jacket off of the floor and wearing it. Turns out it was quite cold below ground.

For whatever reason, this gets a chuckle out of her. "Ya know, I've never met someone so compliant. Especially with strangers they just met."

He didn't really know the correct way to respond to that, but he just smiled. "Well, you saved me from Egg Boss Rose, so it's the least I can do really. I owe you."

The answer seemed to satisfy her. "I see. Let's not waste anymore time, shall we hon?"

The familiarity in that nickname was so very welcome. As she began leading him away, he followed through the hallway - it really didn't take long before they walked through what was basically a cave entrance, not a door in sight - that lead to the dining area. It didn't contain the chairs and tables one would usually expect to find in a place such as this. Instead, long tables were made up by shoving a bunch of wooden crates placed together. The seats consisted of just about anything that sufficed enough at doing the job - such as boxes and even boulders. To light the place up, candle-lit lanterns placed on the end of the tables provided a warm and soft glow to the room that was very pleasant.

There was such a mix of people here. Humans and mobians, young and old - all chatting among themselves amiably. Sonic noticed one of the tables was slightly different. It mostly had older people sat around it - but their chairs were much comfier and made of leather, despite being a bit torn and worn down. It warmed his hear to see the more fragile being looked after.

He continued to follow after the bat to the serving counter on the other end of the room, and did a doubletake when he saw the face there.

Vanilla...? He genuinely couldn't believe how he kept seeing people he knew. He supposed it was a small world after all. He was thankful anyhow, he was happy to see her alive and well- he assumed Cream was well and somewhere here as well.

"Hey, Vanilla." Rouge smiled over at her. "How ya doing this morning? Slept well?"

The rabbit nodded. "Yes, dear. But I have to ask the same to you. You look... tired."

That remark made Sonic look at Rouge's face - he hadn't even noticed the bags under her eyes before. "Ah, well - I could have slept better, yeah. But I'll catch up on what sleep I've missed." The bat replied.

"Of course..." Sonic couldn't read Vanilla's tone. "And you're Sonic, yes?"

For a moment he didn't even realise she was addressing him. He spluttered a little. "Uh- yeah! Sonic the Hedgehog, at your service-"

"Welcome." She told him. While her words were gentle, they lacked the warmth he felt from his version of Vanilla. "What would you two like today?"

The two of them made their food requests which Vanilla would pile onto a plate for them - a combination of eggs, sausages, bacon, and beans were on offer today, as well as a slice of toast per person. It smelled so good, Sonic couldn't wait to sit down and dig in.

He was hungry, admittedly. Last night he had only been given a small portion of stew, he had awoken with a rumbling stomach. "Thank you." Sonic had said when he was handed his place.

Rouge didn't say a word, instead taking her leave to the one empty table, or rather crate, in the room with Sonic in tow. She sat down on a box and Sonic took a seat opposite to her.

"I'm gonna tell you right now, I hope you like beans. They're the food we're most often able to salvage and store, being in cans and all." She pointed out, making a sort of joke out of it as she began eating her food. "Lucky for you though, we were able to get our hands on more food than usual. Don't expect a spread like this all the time, alright? If it's not beans, it's oatmeal for breakfast."

"Heh, I pretty much eat anything!" He told her. "No worries there." Sonic grabbed his wooden knife and fork and began his own meal.

The hairs on the back of his head rose, he felt as though he were being watched by many eyes. He didn't want to make it obvious he was looking at everyone else, he looked out of the corner of his eyes and saw almost everyone else in the room was looking in his direction. Curiosity was only natural, so he tried to not let it bother him too much.

"Good for you then - because I positively hate oatmeal." Rouge said with a shudder, but moved on from the topic. I wonder about these memories of yours..." Rouge brought up, and Sonic internally cringed. Damn, why did she have to bring up his hastily made excuse? "Do you remember where you were born?"

"South Island." Sonic replied slowly.

"Remember your parents?"

Sonic looked down, having to remind himself that his parents, well, wouldn't actually be his parents here since he never existed. "No... I don't remember them, actually." He thought it was better to remain on the safe side.

"Is that so?" Before she could question him further, they were interrupted.

"Hello there!" Turning to face the voice, he was looking at a lemur with bright purple eyes and an infectious smile, she quickly sat down on the seat next to Rouge and placed down her own plate of food. She was skinny like everyone else, but he figured even if the food situation was better - she'd still be pretty lanky. Her fur was made up of different shades of gray and she had active wear attire on with a combination of yellow, orange, and black. She had a pair of yellow goggles on her forehead, the bright colours lending herself to be quite a shining presence in the room.

"Room for one more?" The lemur asked cheekily despite having already sat down.

Rouge looked at her a moment, smirk never leaving her face, almost to the point it was unnerving. "Of course you can, Tangle."

So, her name was Tangle, this was a face that he did not recognise from the old timeline but she did seem nice - he couldn't tell what it was, but something about her just seemed so friendly.

"Great!" She seemed pleased with herself. "Nice to meet you, Sonic! We've heard all about your fight with Rose - and how fast you are! Can you break the sound barrier?"

Sonic looked to Rouge for approval and the bat nodded, allowing him to talk.

"Easily." Sonic hoped his confidence didn't come off as unlikable.

"Wow! That's awesome!" Tangle let out in excitement. "What other mysterious powers you got on ya, then?" She leaned forward a bit with interest.

"Mysterious powers, haha-" Sonic thought about it, he supposed he could use the chaos emerald to some degree... but it seemed unwise to mention with his previously established memory issues. "Not that I know of! I'm just fast."

"Aw man, that's still cool though! Useful too - being able to quickly move from Point A, to Point B - being able to run out of tough spots, being quicker than your opponents - it's great that we have you here, you know!" She admitted. He wondered if she was truly always this cheerful.

"Well, thanks-"

"Would totes be a shame if you were on the enemy's side-"

Sonic caught a glimpse of Rouge biting her lip. "Uuuuh, well I'm here, don't think I would be if I was on Eggman's side anyway-"

"Eggman?!" She gasped. "Oh my gosh that's such a fitting name- I mean he makes everything egg themed anyway-" She couldn't help but giggle. He was glad that two people so far had taken a liking to that nickname. She turned towards Rouge. "I hereby declare that we refer to him only as Eggman from now on!"

The bat finally decided to comment. "Hm, adorable. You do as you please." That smile would just not leave Rouge's face, and yet again it wasn't meeting her eyes.

Tangle was pleased. "I can tell I'm going to enjoy having you around! You know, as long as you don't stab us in the back or something - that'd be rough, wouldn't it?"

"Uuuuuh..." He was speechless.

"Tangle." Rouge spoke up. "I had a task for you, actually - and it's just come to me. Vanilla needed an extra hand washing the dishes this morning, you'd be a great help to her."

The lemur narrowed her eyes slightly, and a silence that made Sonic uncomfortable lingered. She then suddenly proceeded to gobble the entirety of her breakfast down in a few seconds flat - and Sonic couldn't help but let his jaw drop.

"Sure thing, Rouge! I'll be done with that in no time at all." Tangle said, turning and quickly walking off to find Vanilla.

Sonic was now unsure what to make of the girl, she seemed so pleasant and joyful until her last words gave off a threatening vibe, it was quite the conversational whiplash. He heard Rouge let out a sigh.

"Don't worry about her. She's just... excitable." The bat apologised for her friend.

"I guess it's understandable that she'd be a bit worried." Sonic was fair to her. "I am a guy showing up out of nowhere, after all."

"Perhaps." Rouge was eager to move thing along. "That interruption has slowed us down - so let's get right to it with this favour, shall we? There's a factory in Station Square that I want you to accompany me to. I have reason to believe there's a significant store of power limiters there, and I wish to steal them."

"Power limiters?" Sonic questioned, confused as to what it meant. Were they like Shadow's inhibitors?

"As in, what prisoners wear around their wrists. Like bracelets accept they're there not to be pretty, but to instead nullify your abilities. So if you wore them, you wouldn't be able to go fast. You would run at the speed of an average mobian."

Sonic shuddered at the thought. "Yeesh... so why exactly do you need them?"

"Because it would be useful for us to have some. If we were to keep an Empire member prisoner here, or we simply wish to sedate them - then the only way to make them easier to handle is by taking away their powers. That way it becomes much harder to escape."

He supposed that made sense, she was taking away any advantages the enemy might have and preventing further harm. It was further proof she was a strategist. "And you want me to go with you?"

"Yes." Rouge confirmed with a nod. "I trust you will be able to take care of all the robots quickly and clear a path for me, before any of them can alert our dear, sweet Rose that we're causing trouble." She said with a mischievous grin. "It's quite the simple task that we'll be able to do quickly, I'm quite good at stealth you see."

Sonic knew that to be true. He returned her grin. "Count me in!"


What an embarrassment...

Egg Boss Rose, or as she preferred to be within the confines of her own home, Amy Rose, sat alone on her recliner with nothing to do but stare at the floor and reminisce her failings. How could she let that hedgehog slip from her grip? How did she let that bat get away again? If this was going to become too much of a pattern, she knew she'd be losing her title as well as her home - after all, only Egg Bosses owned houses.

Would she be made a factory worker like everyone else? Or did the fate of death await her if she couldn't meet his standards?

There was a knock on the door. Please let it be them... and no one else.

She took in a slow breath in front of the door before opening it, and she let her shoulders relax in relief at the sight. "The Chaotix... yes, please come in." There was a small smile on her face.

The crocodile and chameleon entered the house and shut the door behind them. "What troubles you got this time? Still that rebel?" Vector questioned as he followed the hedgehog into her living room.

"Kind of. But there's something else a bit more pressing- do any of you know of a blue hedgehog?" She was already asking them questions before they even got the chance to sit themselves down.

"I mean... I've met several of them. So that's kinda vague, you got anything more specific?" He asked while flopping down on the couch. Espio resigned to leaning himself against the wall next to it.

"I'm getting to that." She glared. "He was... well he had green eyes, red and white shoes and a biker's jacket... but most notably he was very, very fast." She closed her eyes, trying to remember his words. "He destroyed the robots in one of my factories and was vocal about his disdain of the Empire... he aims to bring it down. He even tried to ask me to join him, if you'd believe it."

"Sounds like a weird fella." Vector remarked. "He can't believe in earnest that he stands a chance, right? He just has a death wish at this point." He brought his palm up to his forehead, shaking his head at the idea of this rebel that was far too over his head.

Amy agreed. "Worst of all, before I could kill him - that bat stepped in, used her smoke bombs and whisked the hedgehog away. She's made an ally now, and this alliance spells bad news for this city. They're both capable fighters, and together I fear what they might be able to do..."

"So let me guess - the reason you're paying so high is because you want them both dead." Vector folded his arms.

"Exactly." Amy nodded with a sigh. "I want to take care of them before Miles gets wind of any of this. He's... he's probably going to have my head-"

"I understand that." Vector admitted. "If the two of them start getting more active because they think they have more strength, then it should be easier to locate them." He then turned to his companion. "Sorry bud... I doubt you really wanna be fighting Rouge again after, you know..."

"No." Espio spoke, monotone. "I think this will be... satisfying, more than anything." He pointed to the eyepatch over his right eye. "An eye for an eye, if you will."

Vector nodded in understanding. "Makes sense. Just tell me if you can't handle the job at any point, I'll take care of it."

"I'll be fine."

Amy hoped that Espio was telling the truth, she needed both of the Chaotix in on this job to increase the odds of success. She doubted Vector's ability to carry out a fight against the two on his own.

"Thank you, I mean it." Amy told them. "Every penny will be yours when you complete this task. But I do feel as though I owe it to you to warn you... Robotnik knows about you. He's angry that you guys are refusing to ally with the Empire. Being for hire means you'll also work with rebels if the pay is high enough... and he doesn't like that at all."

"If Robotnik wants us on his side, all he's gotta do is give us a well-paid job. We're happy to lend our services as long as the money's there." Vector insisted.

"He's more likely to demand you work for him or he'll kill you, you know that right?" Amy said with a raised brow.

"I mean yeah - but it's nice to dream. Right now we're focusing on making our cash, and we'll keep making it until we're forced to stop." He remained adamant. Amy, for one, never quite understood his fascination for obscene amounts of money.

"Right... by the way, how is Charmy?" She always did like that kid.

"Safe and sound at home." Vector told her. "Had a feeling you were asking something big out of us, so I didn't make him come here. Otherwise he'd be insisting on helping us out. I don't want him near the danger."

Amy liked that decision. "Well, I wish you good luck with this assignment. Do whatever you need to track them down and kill them. If you need my help, don't be afraid to ask for it."

"You got it, Rose!" Vector stood up from the couch and gave her a bow, which Espio would also do. "We're going to waste no time! Which is exactly why we're going to leave! Right now...!" Vector was aware of the awkward atmosphere he had just created and beckoned for his chameleon friend to follow behind him. "See ya, Rose!" Vector called back as Espio nodded a goodbye, and they both left the house.

Amy watched the door close. She couldn't afford to have them fail.


Something was wrong.

It lasted only for a moment, but Knuckles noticed it - a pulse in the air around him.

The echidna looked back to the Master Emerald, examining it closely so that he could notice even if there was even a tiny change. There was nothing. Perhaps that feeling had just been nothing...

He couldn't allow himself any relief, he would wait to see if that feeling returned.

Instead he got something else entirely, he let out a grunt as it felt as though sharp needles were being pricked into his skin, and a hot, burning sensation overcame him. He winced, forced to hunch over and hold his stomach that had just begun to cramp.

Just like that, the painful sensation was gone.

Knuckles took in a shaky breath to recover. What... what was that? It was so sudden. With a grimace, he managed to bring himself upright again. He immediately turned around to face the Master Emerald for any sort of sign as to why that had happened. There was nothing, it shone as it always did.

He had read the ancient scriptures left behind by the old echidnas, they mentioned how the emerald would communicate with the guardians through the use of energy pulses - some of which could be painful. He assumed that was what was happening then.

In that case, what was it trying to say?

Shame swept him momentarily - he was the guardian, it was his job to know and yet he was ignorant. Should he be able to talk to the Master Emerald and figure out what it meant? Would the previous guardians have had other clan members to consult? Maybe they'd have some wise insights and lend a helpful hand.

Knuckles had no such luxury. He had no people. No friends - he hadn't even faced an adversary in years.

That should be a good thing, shouldn't it? It meant the emerald was far from danger with no risk of being taken. Perhaps the people down below knew of his strength as a guardian, and wouldn't dare challenge him.

Yet, a small part of him wished they would. He felt selfish for having that desire, of course. It just... it's been so long since he's been able to swing a fist or hell... see another face. How long would it be before his sanity slipped away in this isolation? Or had he already lost it? Did mad people know that they were mad?

He told himself that he preferred being alone, that people would only get in the way of what he needed to do.

He was right, wasn't he?

Focus. He had to tell himself. He couldn't allow his thoughts to get sidetracked like this when there were more important matters at hand. As he had no theories now, he would just have to wait to see if the emerald tried to give him another signal. It would keep bothering him if the issue was severe - at least, that idea made sense to him.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Knuckles whispered under his breath, staring at the almighty gem and feeling small in its presence.


Rouge has a task for Sonic, Tangle is nosy, Amy hires the Chaotix to commit some murder, and Knuckles is a lonely boy who's receiving some sort of signal from the emerald. This was a fun chapter to write as we're now having more character interactions between the cast. I look forward a lot to the dynamic between Tangle and Rouge which will be on full display in later chapters.

The Chaotix are here baby and they're ready to stir up some trouble. What was that 'Espio situation' that Tangle was referring to? And why is Espio wearing an eye patch? Hmmm, there's some history here and I can't wait to dive into it. Did Amy mention someone named Miles? Who knows. Sonic meanwhile is in the full swing of his mojo - recovered from the whiplash of his birthday and he's ready to put an end to this horror timeline and work with his not so new friends.

This is usually where the Trivia would go but... not quite feeling writing it all out today since there's a lot of characters, and more to be added later. I will do Trivia sometimes though! I finished this chapter in the midst of a thunderstorm, and after all the heatwaves in the UK - I wholeheartedly welcome the gloomy weather back. Plus rain noises gets me in the mood to write! A win win situation really.

What song was I listening to while writing this Chapter?

Song: Imagine Dragons - Natural
watch?v=V5M2WZiAy6k

I'd say it acts as a good joint theme for Rouge and Amy, some food for thought :)

Holy shit! Over 800 views now! Can't believe the viewership for this fic has doubled, that's legitimately crazy. Thank you for all who have been reading, and I hope you all are still entertained. As always, reviews are encouraged! Let me know what you did or didn't like! I thank everyone who has shown their love for this fic so far, it's definitely helped fuel my motivation for it. I'm eager to take ya'll on this journey, but until next time - I'll see ya later :)