Location Unknown – Eggman's Hidden Base

"So…the hedgehog is alive after all." Emperor Eggman, sitting with crossed legs in a tall metal throne, tugs at his mustache in contemplation. Though his outfit is similar to what he's always worn, it runs a bit longer, and appears to be made of a more delicate fabric. His mustache has a gloss to it, as if it had been styled and groomed. "Could it be that Blacklight lied to me?" He thinks a while longer. "No… He was absolutely certain he had killed all three of them. But if Sonic is alive, the others could be as well. And he was taking Omega with him… We may have a full-scale Rebellion on our hands. I must accelerate my plans considerably." He suddenly barks, "Gunner!"

Before him, Heavy Gunner gives a frightened salute at the sudden shout.

"I want a thorough investigation of the battlefield in Metropolis! I want to know how that hedgehog got away, and where he might have gone! Security footage, personal testimony, any information you get!"

"10-4, Chief. I'll get started right away." Gunner gives another salute before exiting.

Eggman stares out a window, to a gloomy sky beyond. "This world is already belongs to me. Sonic, dead or alive…is mine."

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 1, Episode 2

The Answers Lie

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

Daily log, February 3rd, 0 A.E. Sonic the Hedgehog reporting.

Today's finally the day. It's been a long time. Too long. It's been a lot of work getting settled out here. But we're finally ready, to do what needs to be done. I wish that all of us could be here, but there are some people we're still looking for. Like Bu–… I mean…Hero. They weren't close or anything, but I heard they got along well. He would've wanted to be here.

Morale has been down ever since I brought this whole thing up. A funeral…or a memorial I guess, since we don't have anything to bury…isn't exactly a good way to get spirits up. But it has to be done. To honor him. And to remind us all what we're fighting for. What Eggman's trying to take away from us.

—–—

Emerald Canyon

Sonic stands in front of a tall, thick tree in the very center of the deep canyon, addressing the rest of the Rebellion. Carved into the bark of the tree is the simple shape of an Emerald. Sonic struggles to speak. "Chaos… Chaos was…" He shakes his head as he trails off again. "I know…not all of you got the chance to know him well. But he was…kind, and…caring, and…he loved every minute he was alive. He loved this world. When I was feeling lost, he…showed me the way. He took me in, taught me things I never thought I could learn. To me, he was like… like a… the closest thing I had…" He never quite finishes the thought. "Shadow…would you like to say anything?"

Shadow, staring down at the ground, shakes his head softly.

Sonic turns slowly, and places his hand on the Emerald carving. He closes his eyes. "Chaos…you won't be forgotten. Your sacrifice won't be in vain. We'll make sure that Eggman gets what he deserves."

Behind him, Tails raises his hand. "Sonic…I'd like to say a few words."

Sonic turns to him with surprise. But he smiles, and indicates for him to step up to the spot where he was standing.

Tails clears his throat as he takes the spotlight. "It…it feels kind of silly, standing up here. I didn't know Chaos, not like Sonic did. But…I think…" He shakes his head. "I didn't really like Chaos that much, when we met. First he was this dangerous creature that I thought I created, but then suddenly, it was like he was Sonic's best friend. Sonic and I had been planning to have this day at the beach together, just to hang out and relax, but then Sonic and Chaos started training instead. He and Sonic were spending all this time together, and I was left alone. I was…jealous. But then Sonic got attacked, and I had to take care of him for a while, and I got to know Chaos a little better. And I realized how much he cared about him. I realized that Chaos would've given his life for Sonic without hesitation. And he did. What I'm trying to say is…Sonic wouldn't be here now, if it weren't for him. And we all owe Sonic a lot. Which means we owe Chaos, too. And…I regret all the mean things I ever thought about him."

Sonic steps up beside him, and places a hand on his shoulder. "Tails…I had no idea you felt that way…"

"It's okay…"

Sonic sighs as he looks back up to the group. "Thank you for coming, everyone. We should head back to camp." Somewhat somberly, the group stands, and starts making their way back along the canyon.

Shadow stops Sonic before he can leave. "Sonic…" He looks back to the carving on the tree. "…what do you think happened to Blacklight?"

Sonic clenches a fist, avoiding eye contact. "You shouldn't talk about him here. It's disrespectful."

"It's been over a month. It's like he just disappeared. It isn't like him."

"He killed Chaos, Shadow. He would've killed us, too. He isn't worth worrying about."

"What if… what if Eggman killed him, too?"

"Then maybe he got what he deserved!" Sonic shows regret as soon as he says it. "I'm…sorry. Shadow…I understand that you know things about him I never did. But he made his choice. And we can all see where that got us."

"…I think we're all on edge right now."

Tails has made it a fair distance away in his slow stroll.

"Hey, Tails."

Tails looks up from his thoughts. "Oh, hi Rouge. Do you need something?"

Rouge matches his stride to walk beside him. "That was a real touching speech back there. Sounds like you're taking things pretty well."

"Well, we're all just…doing what we can. I thought this was important. So…?"

"Oh, so you don't believe that I just wanted to talk to my old friend Tails?" Tails gives her a look. "Yikes, I need to work on my reputation. But you're right. I was looking through one of the caves up in the canyon, and I found something odd."

"Odd? Odd how?"

"Well, I was thinking you might tell me." Rouge takes out an object, a small black box that doesn't appear to have anything significant about it.

Tails stares at it with an odd look for a moment. "It can't be…" Suddenly, he snatches it out of her hand and turns it over. On the bottom, the letters 'TAL' are etched, framed by a familiar two-tailed insignia. "It is!" He glances behind him, and starts to wave excitedly at Sonic. "Hey, Sonic! Come over here!" He looks back to Rouge. "I can't believe you found this, I thought that I–… I thought it was–… Thank you so much for finding this."

"Care to explain what it is?"

Sonic finally catches up. "Hey, what's going on?"

Tails excitedly shows him the etching on the box. "Sonic, look!"

Sonic scratches his head. "Uhh… nice…box?"

"It's not just a box! This is TAL! It's…it's…one of the first computers I ever built."

"TAL? What does TAL stand for?"

Tails hesitates for a moment. "Does it have to stand for something? I just liked the name." He turns it around in his hands for a few moments. "I thought I lost it when I was a kid."

Rouge questions, "Then what's it doing here?"

"Well, I–…" Tails pauses for a moment before finishing the answer. "I…used to live…near here."

Sonic looks around, as if realizing something for the first time. "Oh… It wasn't far from here that we first met, was it?"

Tails nods with a smile. "That's right."

Rouge continues to look at TAL with interest. "If it's a computer, how do you use it?"

Tails turns the device around, pointing to a small port on its side. "I used to have an interface that would plug in here…"

Sonic questions, "Does that mean you can't use it?"

Tails holds up a finger. "Hold that thought." He takes out his Handheld tablet device, and tugs on a small plug that draws out a wire along with it. He plugs it in to the port on TAL. Once the wire is secure, he starts to enter rapid commands into the Handheld. "These operating systems weren't meant to work together, but with a few adjustments, I think I can…" Suddenly, a black window with a blinking cursor pops up on the screen. "Got it!"

Without Tails' input, some text starts to spell itself out across the screen. 'Good evening, Tails. Your last sign-on was 4 years, 4 months, 11 days ago, at 1:32 PM. How was your day?'

"That's a pretty polite computer. What does it do?"

"Well, it's sort of a…problem-solving machine. You put in data, ask it a question, and it calculates the best possible answer. It has an AI built to read and understand the questions and everything."

Rouge twists her head to the side to read the screen better. "And you built this thing when you were, what, six years old?"

Tails appears to be entering in some data. "Five, actually. So you see, right now I'm entering in all of our available supplies, nearby known replenishable resources, and the number of mouths we have to feed, and…" He presses a button, and an image appears on the screen, of a plate full of food, including some roots, berries, and what appear to be military rations. "Take a look."

Sonic stares at the image for a few moments. "All this is doing is making me hungry."

"This is the ideal meal. It simultaneously maximizes nutritional intake with resource management. If we eat like this, we can all be healthy and still have food to eat for a long time to come."

Sonic nods. "Not bad. I'll see about making these adjustments."

"Hold on. Give me another minute, and I can adjust for age and body type, it'll be a lot more–"

Sonic places a hand on Tails' shoulder. "Tails." He looks up at him. "It's great that you found your computer. But it's getting late. Let's get some dinner, and you can keep messing around with it later."

"Oh…okay."

—–—

Sonic sits at a desk in a lantern-lit tent, staring at a few papers arrayed out on the surface in front of him. He holds his head up in one hand, appearing to be on the verge of falling asleep.

Suddenly, Tails bursts through the entrance to the tent. "Sonic!"

Sonic sits up with a start. "Tails! What're you–…" He looks around for a moment. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Yeah, I know, but…this couldn't wait." He turns his Handheld to show Sonic the screen. It shows a map with a red blip on it.

Sonic rubs his eyes to get a better look. "What is this?"

"Sonic…I know where Hero is."

"Hero…you mean, the Rookie? How'd you find him?"

"I've been spending the last few hours putting all the data through TAL, and there's an 82% chance that he's right here, waiting for us at our old Resistance base in Sunset Heights."

"Whoa, whoa. I have several questions. First, you said eighty-two percent. That's pretty far off from one hundred. What about that other eighteen percent?"

"Well, there's only a six percent chance that he's at…any other location."

"That still leaves twelve."

"Yeah…since he's been with GUN…and they went to war…he could be…"

"Oh. Alright. Second, how can you be certain this is even right?"

"TAL's never steered me wrong before."

"Okay. One last thing. We've all been guessing he might be there, but it's way too risky to go anywhere near Sunset Heights, it's a heavily-defended area." Sonic puts a hand on one of the papers on the desk, and flips it around to show Tails. "Look for yourself."

Tails seems to notice the papers for the first time. "What is all this?"

"These are the intelligence reports Vector brought back this afternoon." He leans back in his chair. "If I'd known being leader meant staring at papers for hours on end, I might've refused the job. But this is stuff I need to know. And I can't blame Vector for being thorough." He shakes his head. "Anyways, Sunset Heights." He points at a paragraph on the paper. "Right here."

Tails scans over the paper for a few moments. "Okay, yeah, those are pretty tight defenses. All the more reason we should be getting him out of there as soon as possible!"

"Assuming that he's even there."

"He is there! This isn't just guesswork anymore!" He pats his hand against the screen. "This is science! Science doesn't lie!"

"Technically, there's an eighteen percent chance it's lying, by your own calculations."

Tails groans. "You know what I mean…"

Sonic nods slowly. "I do. And…you make some valid points. So I'll tell you what. Tomorrow…there will be a mission to rescue Hero."

Tails cheers, "Yes!"

Sonic holds up a finger. "But! …I'm not going to plan this mission."

"Well…how're you going to do it without a plan?"

"There will be a plan. Because you are going to come up with it."

"Wha–… Me?"

"That's right. I'm putting you in charge of the whole thing. You're going to come up with a plan, and lead a team in to get the job done."

"Uh…are you sure? I mean, I-I'm not really…"

"Tails, I've seen you do a lot of amazing things over the years. I'm sure you can lead a mission. First, you're going to want to figure out who you're taking."

"Alright, umm…I guess I can run a few figures through TAL, and–"

"No no. No TAL. I want this plan to come straight out of that head of yours, beginning to end."

"But TAL can–"

"TAL is just a computer, Tails. I'm giving you this mission because I want to see what you can do. First thing tomorrow morning, I want to hear everything you have. Got it?"

"Tomorrow…you mean today?"

"Oh, is it that late? I guess asking you to have it done by morning is a little much, isn't it? Let's talk about it over lunch instead."

Tails nods. "Alright." He glances over Sonic's desk for a moment. "You know…I can probably run those intelligence reports through TAL, it could help you–"

"Tails. Either get to work, or get some sleep, I don't care which. That's an order."

Tails smiles. "Sleep first, I think."

—–—

Eggman's Hidden Base

A dull black gem, cut like a Chaos Emerald, sits on an elevated pedestal, surrounded by many lights and pieces of scanning equipment all pointed directly at it. Eggman's mechanical minion, Orbot, works at a computer console hooked up to the equipment, analyzing all of the data as it comes in. "Confirmed, sir. It's…just a rock. Not a very valuable one, at that. No special properties of any kind."

Beside him, his blocky counterpart Cubot comments, "I think it's pretty. It would go great with my collection!" He reaches out to grab it, but Orbot smacks his hand away before quickly resuming his work.

Eggman rises from his throne, and slowly steps over to pick up the gem for himself. He turns it over in his hand a few times. He looks back to Heavy Gunner, who still stands before the throne. "And you say you found this on the battlefield?"

Gunner salutes. "Right in the middle of the crater, Chief."

"And no one has been there since the incident besides you?"

"That's right."

"Hmm…" Eggman tugs at his mustache as he contemplates.

Orbot suggests, "Could it have been planted there, sir? Part of the ploy to make us think they'd been killed?"

"In that moment, all they would've been concerned with is getting out with their lives. Except…" Eggman looks back down to the gem. "…for the new one. He had a foresight that Sonic lacks. This must be the real Moonstone, I'm certain of it."

"Which would mean…that one of them really was killed. But how did the other two escape?"

"I've witnessed this one change his form before. It would have been a simple matter for him to fool Blacklight by appearing to be all three of them, when Sonic and Shadow had already escaped."

"So what does this mean for us?"

"For one thing, it means that we can assume Shadow is very much alive, just like Sonic. For another…it means that we have a tool we may be able to use against them." Eggman drops the dulled Moonstone into Cubot's hands. Cubot stumbles with it for a moment, but manages to catch it before it hits the ground. "Put that in the vault for safekeeping."

"Sure thing, boss." Cubot exits, staring at the gem the whole way.

"Orbot! Get Heavy King on the line!"

"Yes, sir."

Eggman sits back in his throne and leans back as an image appears on the large screen positioned beneath the window, depicting a familiar crowned robot, Heavy King, the leader of the Hard Boiled Heavies. The gold scepter he holds, once topped by an orb of glass, now instead bears a decorative red ruby of a familiar shape. A scar-like weld line still gashes across the crown insignia on his chest plate. "What is your wish, Emperor?"

Eggman contemplates for a moment. "I've confirmed the existence of a Rebellion, led by Sonic the Hedgehog."

"And you wish me to take care of this Rebellion?"
"No… I had something else in mind. These foes are extremely dangerous, and I will not underestimate them again. What we need…is an outside perspective. There's someone I want you to seek out for me. Arrange a personal meeting. I'll send you all the information we have."

"As you wish."

—–—

Sonic sits down with his plate of food beside Knuckles. The large tent they eat in is filled with folding tables and chairs, set up so that everyone can eat together. Near the entrance, Amy and Cream wait in line with empty plates to be served by a hairnet-wearing Charmy, while Vector, Espio, and Rouge are all sitting down at the next table over from Sonic and Knuckles, eating and chatting. Shadow and Omega are nowhere to be seen. The seat across from Sonic appears to be reserved for Tails, who also isn't present. Sonic stares at the empty seat for a while.

Knuckles nudges him in the shoulder. "I'm sure he's putting the finishing touches on it right now. You know how he gets, he just wants to make sure it's all perfect for you."

"Yeah." Sonic takes a berry from his plate, and pops it into his mouth. He looks down at his plate as he chews. There's quite a bit more food there than on the 'ideal meal' plate that Tails showed.

"You sure it's a good idea? Having Tails lead the mission?"

"He's third in command here. I'm sure he'll have to take charge at some point. He needs the leadership experience. Besides, I know he'll want me to be there. I'll make sure nothing goes wrong."

"If he doesn't have enough experience, why'd you make him third instead of me?"

"Aw, don't be jealous, Knuckles." Sonic chomps down on another berry. "No matter who's in charge, I want you there to back them up. That goes double if it's Tails. It wouldn't make sense for me to put him behind you, because that would mean he would only end up in charge if you aren't there. He'd be on his own. I'm sure you two will make a great team, if it ever comes down to it. If anything, your job is more important."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. And you're right, he should get the experience. But as your advisor, I'm telling you now. Keep a close eye on him. Don't let him get into too much trouble."

"Of course."

Tails runs in through the tent entrance excitedly, and sits down in his seat without a plate. "I'm all set!"

Sonic gives a nod. "Alright Tails, let's hear it."

"So for an infiltration mission like this, I was thinking we should definitely keep the team small, no more than three of us."

"We're picking someone up, so three of us on the way in means four of us on the way out. Did you keep that in mind?"

"Yeah…is that alright?"

"This is your mission. If you think it's alright, then it's up to you. So go on."

"Okay. So for the team, I was thinking me, you, and Rouge."

"Rouge? That's an interesting choice."

"Well, not getting caught when we're so outnumbered will be pretty important, so I thought Rouge's experience with stealth and infiltration would be helpful with that."

"What about Espio? He can go full-on invisible. Wouldn't that be better for stealth?"

"I considered that, but I think Rouge's military experience makes her a better choice for this mission. Besides, aren't you sending the Chaotix back out on another recon mission?"

"All good points. So what about me? Why am I coming?"

"A few reasons. For one thing, there's Chaos Control. That would be the fastest, safest way to get in and out as efficiently as possible."

"Good plan, but no. We can't risk our only Emerald by taking it into enemy territory."

"I was thinking you might say that, which is why I said a few reasons. You ran through the city quite a few times, you should know the layout better than most of us."

"Most. Knuckles here was in charge of the base we're heading for, for six months while I was out of commission. He would know the area better than me."

Knuckles nods. "That's right."

Tails continues, "But there is something else, and before you tell me that I'm letting my personal feelings get in the way, I promise it's objective. With this being my first mission and all, if anything goes wrong, I think it's a good idea to have our leader there to help manage things."

"Is that all?"

"Actually, there is one other thing. You were Hero's best friend. I think you should be there for him."

Sonic raises his eyebrows. "An emotional consideration? I don't think TAL would've calculated that. Sounds like you've put a lot of thought into all this."

Tails nods with a smile. "That's right."

"Well then, it sounds like a plan." He looks over to the next table. "Hey, Rouge!"

She looks up from her food. "Mm?"

"Tails here has a mission to brief you on!"

With a shrug, she stands to come over. Sonic and Tails rise as well.

Knuckles gives them a wave. "Good luck out there. Go find the Rookie."

—–—

Sunset Heights

Sonic, Tails, and Rouge are crouched in a shadowy alleyway. Sonic carefully peeks out around the side, and quickly pulls his head back. He whispers quietly, "Two of them. They look pretty trigger-happy." He turns over to Tails. "Your mission. What do we do about them?"

Tails takes a moment to think. "If we go in head-on, we risk getting caught before they're all out." He looks to Rouge. "Think you can take them both out without getting seen?"

Rouge gives a smirk. "Child's play. …No offense." She leaps upwards, flying to the top of the building they stand under. She carefully looks over the side of the building to get a look at the two silver Egg Pawns that stand guard. She takes a leap and glides down with wings outstretched, landing in a silent crouch just behind and between the robots. She carefully creeps behind one of them, and taps it on the back. It turns around to look at the source of the touch, but Rouge stays constantly behind its back. Once it give up and turns back to its original position, she repeats the process with the next robot. Once they're both on alert, she moves back between them, still staying low. She taps both of them on the side at once, and they immediately turn and fire their laser cannons, blasting each other to pieces while she ducks underneath. Rouge stands up and gives Sonic and Tails the thumbs-up. "See? Easy."

They move out from their hiding place. Tails comments, "You didn't really have to make a show out of it."

"Didn't I? Just trying to impress my new leaders is all. I've learned it's usually a pretty good idea."

Tails moves on ahead. "Come on, the base is just through here." Sonic and Rouge follow him through the door the robots seemed to be guarding, into a stairwell leading down into a basement.

At the base of the stairs is a long hallway, leading to a wide metal door. The three approach the door slowly. Sonic looks to Tails. "Here we are. Ready to prove your theory?"

Tails gives a nod. "He's here. I know it."

Sonic indicates the door. "Well then, after you."

Tails takes a deep breath. Then he starts to pull the door open, flooding light into the old abandoned Resistance base. He calls out, "Hero! Hero, are you in there?"

Sonic calls as he move in through the open door, "Buddy, it's us! We're here to get you out!" Rouge and Tails move in behind him, and they all look around. Familiar wooden crates lie stacked against the walls, and one large blank screen still hangs connected to the main computer terminal. But there isn't another soul to be seen.

Tails looks down to the ground with a sigh. "He isn't here."

Sonic places a hand on his back. "Don't lose hope yet. He can't just wait in this room 24 hours a day. Maybe he left for something. We could wait here a while, see if he turns up."

Tails perks up. "I have a better idea. I can check the computer, see if he's tried to access it recently." Somewhat excitedly, Tails runs for the computer.

Sonic reaches a hand out after him. "Hey, wait!"

Tails' foot falls down on a floor panel that sinks into the ground from his weight. Then the ceiling above them explodes.

Sonic takes off as fast as he can go, diving at Tails to push him down to the ground, and they both tumble across the ground away from the source of the explosion. Rubble crashes to the ground, concealing both of them from view.

After a moment of shock, Rouge runs up to the wall of rock and cement. "Sonic, Tails, are you alright!? Can you hear me!?"

On the other side of wall, Sonic stumbles up to his feet. He and Tails are pinned in a small, dark corner of the room, boxed in on all sides. He calls back, "I think we're okay! But…" He looks around the small space. "…it looks like we're trapped!" Suddenly, he winces in pain and clutches at his shoulder.

Tails, back on his own feet, shouts with concern, "Sonic!"

"It's just a bruise…I'll be fine. What about you?"

Tails has to take a moment to think. "Umm…I'm fine, I don't think I got hurt."

Rouge yells, "Let's work on getting some of this rubble moved, we might be able to make a hole big enough for you to get out!" After a moment, the building starts to rumble.

Tails shouts, "No, stop! Move that rubble the wrong way, and the whole rest of the building might collapse in on us!" The shaking stops. "There's not a lot we can do about it right now…"

Sonic commands, "The robots are going to start showing up any minute now, you have to get out of here! Don't worry about us, we'll find our own way out!"

Rouge objects, "I can't just leave the two of you here!"

"They won't find us back here, we'll be fine! Just–" Rouge can be heard gasping loudly. "What is it!?"

"There's someone else here!"

"What do you mean!?" He waits for a response. But he doesn't get one. "Rouge? Rouge, answer me!"

Tails mutters, "They got her, didn't they…?"

Sonic turns to him with concern. "What? No, I'm sure she just had to make a quick exit. She's just following orders."

Tails buries his face in his hands. "This is all my fault…"

"Tails, don't say that…"

"But it is! This whole thing was my stupid idea! Rouge got captured, we're stuck here, and Hero isn't even here!"

"What about those calculations your computer made? What went wrong?"

"It's not TAL's fault, it's mine. I didn't account for the possibility that the base might be boobytrapped. Eggman must've set a bomb knowing we'd come back here. That would've changed the calculations."

"Tails, no one can know everything. If you did, you wouldn't need a computer in the first place. But there is one thing you have, that no computer can ever calculate. That's your intuition. TAL gave you numbers. But that's all they ever were. Numbers. I approved of this mission because you believed that Hero would be here, not because of those numbers."

"But my belief was wrong! And now it might get us all killed!"

"Tails…what I'm trying to say is that this is my fault. I got it in my head that I had to teach you some sort of lesson. I didn't realize…that I was pushing you into this before you were ready. I'm sorry."

"Lesson? What do you mean, lesson? I thought we were here to get Hero."

"We are, but…when you found that computer…immediately, I saw you becoming…obsessed. You were looking at the thing more like a childhood friend than a piece of hardware. Tails, you are the smartest guy I know. Maybe the smartest guy in the world. And I was afraid that if I didn't do anything, you would start trusting every decision you ever make to TAL. What's the point of being smart when a computer does all your thinking for you? I just wanted the chance to show you what you can do, without any technology. And maybe…I was a little…" He mutters something too quietly to hear.

"What?"

"Nevermind, it's nothing. Just forget it."

"What is it?"

"Jealous, okay!? I was jealous! You're my best buddy, Tails. And I was deluded enough to think that…you cared about TAL more than you cared about me."

Tails tries to suppress a chuckle. But he fails, and starts to double over in full-on laughter. After a moment, Sonic can't help but join him, and the two share in a long bout of laughter, trapped together in the small, dark space. Finally, Tails starts to regain some composure. "Is that…really what all this was about?"

"I knew it wasn't true, but…I'm no computer. I let my emotions get the best of me."

"Sonic…" Tails looks down to the ground, and shifts his weight around awkwardly. "…in a way…you weren't wrong. TAL…helped get me through some rough times. It sort of was like a childhood friend. I guess I got so caught up in those memories…I did get a little bit obsessed. But I mean, come on." He takes on a bit of a smirk. "You know how we genius types get. I would've been over it in a week."

"Would you really?"

Tails has to think about that for a moment. "…Probably."

"You know…" Sonic lets out a bit of a chuckle. "…instead of being jealous for each other all the time, maybe we should just spend some more time together?"

Tails gestures around at the piles of rubble that wall them in. "I don't think we have much of a choice right now."

"It's a little cramped in here. I was actually thinking more along the lines of a beach day."

Tails gives him a knowing look. "Really? You want to try that again? Because I'm beginning to think we might be cursed."

"Come on, I know you don't believe in curses. We'll make it work. It's a promise." He opens his arms as wide as he can in the cramped space. "Now come here and give me a hug, little bro."

Tails happily wraps his arms around Sonic's midsection, and the two embrace.

Sonic speaks softly, "I'm sorry, Tails. For everything. I know I haven't been there for you recently. But I'm here now. And I'm not going anywhere. We're going to get through this, together." They finally separate. "But first, we need to get out of here." He steps back and takes a renewed look at the wall that seals them in. "You're the smart one here. Is there anything we can do? Anything at all?"

Tails looks across the rubble very carefully. "Right now…the rubble is the only thing left holding up the rest of the building. If we remove too much of it, the whole building comes down. If we were fast enough…we might be able to make it out before that happens."

"But we risk getting crushed."

"Exactly. There's no telling how long it would take, it could be minutes, or less than a second. But…there is a possibility…a slight one…that there's a small area of the rubble we might be able to remove without compromising the overall integrity of the structure."

"Where would that be?"

Tails hesitantly lifts up a finger, and traces it around whatever patterns he can find in the darkness. "It's…hard to tell… And I can't test any of it without putting us at risk."

"So we only get one shot."

Tails gasps as he realizes something. "I can't be certain…but I know what can!" He pulls out his Handheld device, still attached to a familiar black box.

"You brought TAL? Here? Seriously? After I specifically told you–"

"Hey, I was obsessed, remember? It was just in case. And I was right, because now we need it." He starts to scan the Handheld up and down across the rubble, feeding all of the data into TAL.

Sonic puts a hand on his shoulder. "Wait." Tails looks up to him questioningly. "I want you to put it away. Just for a minute." Slowly, Tails drops the computer setup down to his side. "Good. Now I want you to think…very carefully. And I want you to tell me where you think the spot is."

"But–"

Sonic puts a hand up. "You can ask TAL. But I'm asking you first. Use your intuition."

"What can I do that TAL can't?"

"It's like I've been saying. Intuition."

"But that's the same thing as guessing!"

"But it isn't!" Sonic thinks for a moment on how to explain. "There's a lot of information, up there in a person's head. Even the stuff you aren't really aware of. Think about it. When that bomb first went off, you were there. You saw how the rubble fell, how it all stacked into place behind you. Maybe it all happened in a flash, maybe you don't think you remember any of it, but that's what your intuition does. It tells you how to answer the questions you don't think you know yourself. It's like everyone's own personal TAL. You have that information locked up in your head, but this TAL out here doesn't. Now use that advantage, and show me the spot."

Tails lets out a loud sigh as he takes another look. But finally, he comes to a conclusion. He points to a spot upwards and to their left, a small area with only smaller chunks of rubble. "I think it's here."

Sonic nods. "And TAL?"

Tails looks back to his screen, and enters in a few last bits of data. After a moment, new readouts appear on the screen. Tails doesn't seem to like what he sees. He slowly points down to an area to their right. "TAL says it's there."

Sonic takes a sharp intake of breath. "Alright…what are the odds?"

Tails hesitates for a moment. "Fifty-one percent."

"That's…not great. Could be worse, but…not great. And…what does it say about the spot you picked out?"

"…Forty-two percent."

Sonic gives a slow nod. "Not that much worse."

"There's something else. Moving the rubble one chunk at a time…is much more likely to cause an instability. Odds go down significantly. Our only chance is to remove the whole area at once."

"Alright. So what if I hit it? Real hard?"

Tails shakes his head. "You'd only end up hurting yourself. And maybe destabilizing the structure in the process. What we need…is some sort of contained, directed explosion. I could probably build a device that could do that, but I don't have the–…" He looks down to the machines in his hands, and realizes that isn't true.

"Could you really do it with those?"

"…Probably."

Sonic once again places a hand on his shoulder, this time in comfort. "This is still your mission. If you want to try finding another way–"

"There is no other way." He looks down to his machine in sorrow. Slowly, he starts to enter in one last command. 'GOODNIGHT.'

Text on the screen appears in answer. 'Goodnight, Tails. See you tomorrow.' After a moment, the screen goes black as the program shuts down. Tails can't repress a sniffle.

A voice from the other side of the wall shouts, "Hey guys! Still breathing in there!?"

Sonic and Tails both perk up. "Rouge!"

"Not just me! Stand back, we're gonna blow the wall!"

Tails objects, "Wait, there's a certain spot you'll need to do it!" After a moment, he realizes he still doesn't know which.

Sonic nods him on. "I trust you, Tails. Do you trust yourself?"

Tails looks down at his blank screen. But then he looks resolutely back up at the rubble wall. He moves left, to the spot he first chose, and knocks against the rubble there. "Can you hear that!? Right here!"

Rouge answers, "Loud and clear! Now get back!"

Tails backs up to meet Sonic in the farthest corner of the room. Sonic protectively places a shoulder in front of him. "We're ready!"

Rouge's muffled voice can be heard instructing, "Do it."

"Burst!"

With a loud bang, a section of the rubble wall is blasted in, throwing chunks into the small corner of the room, and letting a shaft of light flood in. Sonic blocks several pieces of rubble from hitting Tails. They both brace for the possibility of the building collapsing. But everything goes still. Sonic gives Tails a smirk. "Good choice."

Three faces peek through the newly-created hole. Rouge is joined by a red-furred wolf with thick black glasses, and his partner, a Red Burst Wisp.

Sonic and Tails shout with glee, "Hero!"

The Wisp lets out a squeak as it soars in through the opening, and moves right up to Tails, nuzzling against the side of his face. Tails can't help but laugh. "Good to see you too, Bruno."

The Wisp, Bruno, moves on to Sonic, and starts to jabber excitedly in its alien language.

Tails turns his Handheld back on. "Hold on, I'm translating… He says… 'We wanted to wait for you guys here, but Baldy Nosehair set a trap. We were worried you'd come looking or us and trigger the trap, so we've been staying nearby.'"

Sonic nods. "So they really were here. Guess that makes you two for two."

Rouge spouts impatiently, "Don't leave us hanging out here, guys! We took care of the first wave of robots out there, but there's more on the way!"

Sonic answers, "I think the four of us can handle a couple of robots, no problem." Bruno lets out an angry squeak. "Sorry, five of us." Suddenly, the room starts to shake. "Uh oh."

Tails shouts, "The building is destabilizing! Let's get out of here!"

Sonic indicates for Tails to lead the way. Tails climbs up to the hole and crawls his way through. Behind him, Sonic has to curl into a ball to fit through the small tunnel. Bruno follows behind them. Together, they all run out through the open metal doors. As they run alongside each other, Sonic and Hero share a fist bump. As they disappear through the door, the ceiling behind them collapses all the way, dumping rubble into all of what little remained of the old Resistance base.

—–—

Sonic holds up a shard of the Master Emerald. "Do you, Hero, and you, Bruno, swear to fight with your lives for the cause of this Rebellion?" They both give a simultaneous nod, as Tails and Rouge watch on. By the look of the shaded grass outside of the cave's entrance, night appears to have fallen. No one else seems to be present. "Do you swear to uphold our values and beliefs, even at war, so that we never become the enemy?" They nod once again. "Do you swear to protect this shard as best as you possibly can, to keep it with you at all times, so that it never falls into the hands of Eggman?" They give one last nod. "Well then…" He places the shard into Hero's hands. "…welcome to the Rebellion."

Tails and Rouge applaud as Hero pulls the shard up close to his chest.

"Now, let's all get something to eat. I think Tails knows the 'ideal meal' to serve." They all move out as a group.

On their way, Tails approaches Sonic closely. "Sonic…there's something I want to talk to you about."

"Really? I was sure we'd covered everything."

"Actually, more like something I want to give you."

"Oh?"

Tails pulls out a familiar black box, now hooked up to a shiny-looking new tablet screen with a matching coat of black paint on the outside. "I want you to have TAL."

"What!? You're kidding!"

Tails wears a big grin. "Nope. It's all yours. I think it'll be a big help managing all those intelligence reports. Watch, I even made it voice activated!" He clears his throat. "TAL, calculate…the fastest route to the Mess Tent." The screen lights up, showing a basic diagram of the Rebellion camp with several labeled tents and and cave entrances. A straight red line is drawn from their current location across to a tent on the opposite side of the canyon. A line of text on the top of the screen also reads, 'Good evening, Sonic.'

Sonic can't keep the smile off of his face. He casts a questioning look to Tails, who nods him on. He cautiously takes the computer from his hands. He turns it around and looks at it for a while, running his fingers along the engraving at the bottom. "You sure about this?"

"Absolutely. And…I have something to admit." He looks around to make sure Rouge and Hero aren't listening. "TAL actually does stand for something. 'Tails' Assistant Logical Interactive Operator'. TALIO, or TAL for short."

Sonic suppresses a chuckle. A look from Tails silences him. He thinks for another moment. "So…now that it's mine, would that make it SAL?"

Tails thinks on that for a moment. "Eh…better stick with TAL."

"Agreed." Sonic takes another moment to look at it. "This…this really means a lot, buddy."

"You can thank me by using it to win this war."

Sonic nods. "Count on it."

—–—

In a darkened room lit only by a single overhead light, Eggman sits on one side of a simple metallic table. Across from him, a pair of piercing blue eyes stares out, belonging to a figure leaning back in his chair, so as to keep in the shadows. His brown and white boots just barely reach into the light.

Eggman opens his arms wide. "Welcome. I'm quite glad you could make it all the way out here. I understand it's…quite the trip for you."

The figure in the darkness moves his head to the side slightly. He speaks with growling, slightly high-pitched voice, "You could say that."

"Well, I'm sure you know why you're here. I have a…business proposition for you."

"Is that so? Do tell."

"There are some people I want to be rid of. That is your line of work, isn't it?"

"On occasion. It depends."

"I can assure you, you will be rewarded quite handsomely. At present, my riches are effectively limitless. So what do you say?"

"What do I say? What if I told you…" The figure tips down his head, moving the brim of a wide brown hat into the light. "…that I anticipated your needs before you even knew you needed them?" He leans back even farther, taking the hat back into the darkness. "I set a trap for your little Rebellion weeks ago, which was set off earlier this evening."

Eggman is flabbergasted. "A trap!? Well did it work!? Did you get any of them!?"

"Oh, it was never intended to 'get' anyone. There was certainly a chance, of course. But I knew they'd find their way out. No, my only intention…was to learn. To gauge how they would respond to the pressure. To analyze their strengths and weaknesses. If you wish to defeat this Rebellion, that is how you'll have to do it."

"Well…consider me impressed. I never expected you to be quite so…thorough."

"It's been a long time since I last encountered the hedgehog. I've been hard at work. I won't be messing up a job again."

"Well then, you're hired. Welcome to the Empire."

The figure gives a toothy smirk that reflects a glint of light for just a moment. "Anything for my favorite Doctor. This troublemaking Rebellion will be crushed soon enough."

The two laugh together, and the sound of it reverberates through the dark room.

To be continued…