39 - The "Talk"

The four hedgehogs walked down the hall of one of the lower floors to HQ, any soldier passing by them stopping and cheering. They were happy that their commander and the Champion of All Realities graced them with their presence, but they were more excited about Zhadow's return. They saluted or bowed immediately, greeting him with nothing but admiration and respect. Saying how much they miss him, how much they appreciated his prowess in the force, or how well off they'd be now thanks to his sudden healthy return. With him being alive, it boosted the hopes of all the officers still working here. He would briefly wave back or nod his head at a salute, but he would always thank someone for their service in the war. Didn't matter who it was who ran up to them as they walked, everyone here did their part and he wanted everyone to know that he was not only grateful, but very proud.

The entire time they walked, Sonic and Shadow were silent. Sonic once again was excellent at wearing that mask, giving fake smiles and waves to other officers who may have greeted him or Shadow. The ultimate life form didn't do much either, only doing the same as Zhadow did and nod back at them with approval. He could tell Sonic still felt very conflicted about his twin, but he didn't want to press the issue right now. Zonic didn't say much, but he did give some of their officers another rare series of small genuine smiles. He also commended them for their continued loyalty and hard work even after the war, telling others not to push themselves too hard for their sake. The two lieutenant generals were both celebrities in this HQ, and their fellow officers were their entourage. They treated this corridor as if it was a red carpet runway, their commander and prisoner chief being their top idols.

As they made it through the end of the corridor, they were now faced with a wide and large elevator. This one was different from one of the main ones besides it's size, it was locked with a number code beside it too. Suddenly, two familiar high ranking officers stepped in front of them to escort them inside. Zector and Zespio, the colonel duo. They saluted the lieutenant generals without hesitation, big smiles on their faces. They then knelt down to Zhadow's front, their heads low to the floor. "First Lieutenant General Zhadow," They greeted simultaneously. "We are of your service forevermore, sir."

Zhadow kept a straight face, but it was obvious he held a strong amount of pride for these two. "Second lieutenant's colonels. What a great pleasure seeing you both again in good health." He eyed them both carefully. "Zonic has very well informed me of all your hard work. You both fought valiantly in the war, and you protected the commander with your very lives. Of course, many soldiers deserve rewards for their courageous efforts, but you two deserve the highest honor." He placed his hands behind his back. "At ease, rise." He commanded, the two doing as he said quickly with straightened postures. "You have my deepest gratitude. Were it not for officers like you, this entire building could have been destroyed along with the rest of the city. Perhaps even worse."

Zespio nodded. "Our loyalty lies with you and our commander, first lieutenant general."

The crocodile agreed confidently. "That's right. We're with you until the very end!"

Zhadow had a ghost of a smile. He glanced over at Zonic with an impressed expression. "You've humbled and disciplined our men well, second lieutenant. You became a just leader in a time of emergency. Hold your head high."

Zonic only bowed in return, as if he wasn't worthy of praise. "Only doing my job, first lieutenant. I am undeserving of your reverence, I could have done a lot more out there." He almost sounded submissive, Sonic and Shadow noticed. They've never seen him act like this towards anyone. They figured he was the top dog amongst everyone, but with Zhadow here, it felt like he was nothing compared to him. Either Zonic had very little respect for himself when it came to him or he truly idolized Zhadow as the end all and be all. Probably both.

His lover scoffed in return. "I see. Now that introductions are out of the way," Zhadow said with an intrigued tone. "Since you both are the first lieutenant's most trusted advisors, allow me to relay some information publicly. In front of all of you." He walked over to Zector and placed his hand onto his shoulder while looking over at Zespio. "Of course, you will keep this minor information classified. Should either of you leak this information to anyone else besides Sonic or Shadow prime," A cruel smirk drew onto his face. "I will not hesitate to hang you both by your tails."

The two flinched and nodded quickly. "O-Of course, sir."

"Good," Zhadow said. "You see," He rose his hand and directed it towards Zonic, who seemed a little put off by this. "Zonic here is my lover."

Everyone in the area besides Zhadow all snapped their heads in his direction while gawking. Though still surprised, Zonic was the least shocked at of all of them. He blushed and instantly looked away, but didn't say a word back at first.

Stammering, Zector blinked several times. "B-Boss? Is that true?"

Clearing his throat nervously while beginning to fan himself with his hand, Zonic kept his eyes adverted. "Y-Yes, it is true." He confessed as he began to sweat a little. "We've been together for years, now. This is obviously why his previous condition put me in a pathetic state of depression." He gulped while still attempting to look like a 'just leader'. "We planned on telling you two later on but," He gave Zhadow a glare. "Apparently the first lieutenant had other plans."

Zhadow shrugged with a simple sneer. "Why not? It's not that big of a deal."

"F-First lieutenant, please watch your tongue." Zonic warned with a sheepish glower. "This is still a private matter-"

The crocodile placed his large fists on his hips. "So he's your boyfriend, huh Boss?" He asked with curiosity.

Immediately, Zonic froze up, his muzzle turning red profusely. "B-Boy...friend..." He repeated in a forbidden whisper. He couldn't stop himself from stuttering. Both his twin and Shadow found this behavior incredibly amusing, and they were both trying their best not to smile at his misfortune. "Yes, t-that is correct." Before Zonic could say anything else, Zhadow suddenly stepped beside him, pulling him close with one arm. "...?"

"Yes," Zhadow added. "We're practically married at this point."

Zonic gaped with alarm. "...!"

Bum bump, bum bump, bum bump...

Zespio suddenly hummed while narrowing his eyes at them together. "Now that I think about it, this isn't too surprising. You two always bickered like a married couple. Like husband and wife, I guess."

The commander of around three thousand men and women, the very person who rushed into war without a second thought, the Grand Overseer of powerful beings named Chaos Born, was speechless and pitifully embarrassed. His cheeks were so red, he resembled a burning tea kettle. "Husband and..." He murmured weakly. H-Husbands? He thought. His blue ears blew out steam, his hands both desperately trying to fan himself to rid off some of his flustered nature.

Zector laughed the mention of them being married. "Heheh. This is kind of cool though, you two are like a power couple!"

And right when he said that, Zonic was paralyzed with mortification. "...!" Before their very eyes, royal blue aura surrounded him with intensity, raising into the air like flames as his body rose greatly in temperature. Both Sonic and Shadow recognized that, that was all chaos energy. His emotions were so stirred up, he could no longer contain it inside of his body. Ironically, Zhadow didn't even seemed phased by this at all.

He just continued to pat Zonic on the back, leering at his reactions. "Well, what can I say?" He said. "He's my commander, and he always will be." Unbeknownst to anyone in the room, he was beginning to pat something lower down his back.

Zonic lost his balance by trying to step away and accidentally fell into Sonic's arms, nearly fainting from all of the embarrassment. "W-Woah..!" The hero just barely caught him, no longer finding this humorous. Zonic was going to pass out if Zhadow kept this up. "Z, get yourself together!" Even Shadow was starting to worry.

H-Husband and...power...couple...? His eyes had hearts in them, it was like he was delusional.

Zespio realized their boss was starting to lose his health from this. "S-Sir?"

Zhadow looked over at his lover with boredom. "Are you alright, my commander?"

His chest pounded so hard, Sonic could feel his heart pulse his veins just by holding him up. Zonic heart fluttered drastically, making sounds of exhaustion as he nearly fainted right then and there. Red began to drip out of his nostrils, his mouth twitching. Y-Your commander... He couldn't handle this.

"Stand up on your own, my love."

Zonic thrashed to the side in Sonic's hold as his heart made another harsh palpitation. Y-Your l-lo...l-lo- Zhadow never called him that before, his skin was on fire right now. His nose leaking more blood as even more pink hearts clouded his green eyes. The more Zhadow talked, the more it felt like someone was shooting a cupid arrow into his chest. A sniper blasting bullets of love into his rib cage over and over.

Before he knew it, Zhadow was directly in front of him. He gently caressed the side of his crimson muzzle, slyly whispering to him. "Zonic..." He trailed off with a suggestive smile.

Sonic could feel his life force draining from his very touch, Zonic was gasping as if he was dying. He needed a pacemaker at this point, his chest was beating too hard again. He was clutching at his uniform top, his heart was going to explode. "I-I...I-"

Sonic swiped Zonic away from him immediately. "S-STOP! You're gonna kill him!"

A heft laughter flowed through the first lieutenant's lips, smiling as Zonic practically melted in Sonic's arms. Smoke rose from his body as his chaos energy cooked him from the inside out from being extremely flustered. His fingers and leg twitched, but he currently couldn't move right now. He was entirely limp. "Normally, I'd never call you that in public or even behind closed doors, but seeing you react this way was definitely worth it." He mocked with another hardy laugh. "Just like old times, huh rookie?"

With shame, Zonic weakly covered his face. "D-Damn you..."

Shadow blinked. "Wait, this is normal? You've done this before?" He asked while turning to his counterpart.

Zhadow chuckled. "Yes. All of you know him as a hard-boiled leader with a fearsome persona, but I personally know him as a stubborn teenager who gets embarrassed way too easily. You just have to push the right buttons." He watched as Sonic carefully helped Zonic back on his own two feet, who was still very winded from releasing so much chaos energy due to the spike in his emotions. Zhadow leaned a little closer to Shadow while lowering his voice. "He's extremely sensitive, flustering him like this is a cakewalk. It's a little game we like to play."

The ultimate life form was still very much stunned. "You both do this to each other on a daily basis?"

Zonic somehow managed to regain his composure, his nose still leaking of blood. Sonic had ran to a nearby bathroom only to return with tissue in merely seconds. "U-Unfortunately," He weakly tried to say while fanning himself again. "This is our way of picking with each other."

Sonic squinted. "By making each other lose copious amounts of blood from sheer embarrassment?"

His twin made a tired expression. "Not specifically, but I suppose that's a good example." He pointed a sharp glare at his lover as he blew his nose of any lingering blood. "As for you, be on your toes. I'll get you back for this humiliation before sunset."

Zhadow gave him an unimpressed stare right back while crossing his arms. "Sure you will, rookie." He gave him a playful wink before turning to a shocked Zespio and Zector. "You may now escort us to the titanium cell block."

They both gave each other a look. "Uhhh," So their bosses were involved with each other romantically, and they were both equally immature and way too playful. The very men that struck fear into any prisoner who walked through the HQ's doors, occasionally teased each other like children on a school playground. Yup, you couldn't make this stuff up. They soon shrugged and stepped in front of the elevator. "Yes, sir..."

Zonic cautiously stood by Zhadow, who whispered some small apologies in his ear while holding him close. At first the commander wouldn't budge, but after a minute or two, he cracked a smile with a smaller blush. To see someone like him get worked up so easily from being teased, it was definitely intriguing to say the least. Zonic loved this guy so much, he nearly passed out from blood loss all because he called him a couple pet names. Not only that, but this was a cat-and-mouse thing for them. This was how they playfully fought with each other, almost like how Shadow and Sonic messed with each other. That was kind of adorable. Sonic almost smiled himself, until he realized what would be coming next the second Zespio and Zector unlocked that elevator. Shadow felt his uneasiness, and joined his side. It was only a matter of time before they all would speak with Scourge.

They were all grateful of the small amount of humor they gained before the madness began.

"Technically, I've no right to ask any questions." Zhadow explained. "I was never present during the entire ordeal, but I will instead observe." He stepped back and stood in front of the entrance to the underground room. Before walking inside, Zector and Zespio gave everyone a control bracelet. The room inside drained any form of power, especially chaos energy so they could keep Scourge down and weakened. They didn't want to risk Sonic nor Shadow growing fatigued, so they gave them control bracelets that helped cancel out the room's ability, including their leader since he also could use chaos. The instant any stepped inside to gaze upon Scourge's cell, both the blue twins gained a dark expression on their faces. Zhadow and Shadow shared a glance between each other, as if they understood the stabbing animosity the two both shared for Scourge.

However, that wasn't the only reason why the twins looked like that. Shadow wasn't sure if Zhadow knew, but something told him the guy wasn't slow. He was a counterpart to himself after all, he had to have known there was some level of tension in the air whenever the two got too close together. Even as Sonic glared at his sleeping anti-double in his crappy cell, he would glare at Zonic from behind. He wouldn't linger and glare for too long, Sonic was too clever for that. He would look away just in case someone caught him. After some time of staring at Scourge sleep against his flat cot, Zonic ordered for his men to unlock his cell and get this over with. There was glass separating his cell and the rest of the interrogation room, with a couple chairs in front of it.

Zespio and Zector unlocked and stepped through Scourge's cell. They stood in front of the bed, ready to awaken the snoring green abomination. Zonic pulled up a seat and sat down while Sonic stood beside it with his arms crossed.

Zespio briefly turned to Zonic. "Permission to speak freely, commander?"

"Permission granted, colonel." The second lieutenant general replied.

"Did you receive the recording last night?" The chameleon asked.

Zonic nodded. "I did. However, I am not sure what any of it means. Now," He quickly switched the subject. "Drag him closer to the glass. There won't be a trial until we question him, so I want to get this over with." Sonic frowned at that. There he went again, blowing off the topic just to get to where he wanted. What recording was he talking about? DId it have important information from Scourge? Why didn't Sonic know about this? This was getting him more annoyed. Shadow was going to stand by Sonic for support, but something told him to just stand back and let the hero handle this on his own. He couldn't keep hugging him and comforting him whenever a stressful situation occurred. Besides, Sonic was no child, he was a grown adult at this point. He's proved to him that he can handle plenty of stressful situations on his own, even Scourge. That meant he could handle Zonic on his own, too.

Shadow stood by against the wall, watching carefully. Zector kicked the green hedgehog in the cot. He yelped and woke up with a start, before falling off of the shabby excuse for a bed right onto the floor, and was soon dragged by Zespio out of the cell. Zector pulled the wooden chair that sat in the cell, and pushed it in front of the interrogation glass. Zespio tossed Scourge onto the chair before stepping out, while the crocodile stayed by the anti-double to make sure he wouldn't pull anything. He then placed something similar to their control bracelets onto his bare wrist, clipping it on like a shackle. Looks like he wouldn't be getting that off any time soon.

Scourge looked tired and irritated, but he brightened up the instant he saw Sonic's face. He slammed his face against the glass with glee. "Bluuuuue!" He cried. "Like oh my gosh, I missed you like, sooooo much!" That's when red spread across his face, his tongue dangling, flicking and smearing onto the surface. "I hope you came to have your way with me in this cell. You can force me if you want, I won't mind!" A disturbing grin drew across his face. "I'm tight enough for you, you can be on top! Whatever you want, I'll happily do it for you without hesitation!" His nails scratched against the glass harshly. "Fuck, you look so hot when you're pissed. Do me now, daddy~!" He made kissy faces. "Mmmn, mmnn~" He was breathing like an uncontrollable dog. "Come're Blue, lemme taste your skin!"

With monotony, Zonic snapped his fingers. "Zector?"

The crocodile nodded. "Yes sir." He then placed something onto Scourge's shoulder.

Before the green hedgehog could turn to look and see what it was, he grunted in pain as bolts of electricity shot throughout his body. "...!" He quivered against the chair with alarm, as he hadn't been electrocuted in years. Sonic winced at this, but didn't turn away. Zector pulled the object away and continued to stand beside the prisoner with a blank expression. It was high voltage taser. Scourge panted heavily, his hand holding his arm that now had a burnt bruise. "Shit," He said breathlessly. "That almost hurt." Sonic considered that as pay back for what Scourge did to his legs back in his castle.

"We'll be having none of that, Ogilvie." Zonic said while folding his hands into his lap. "You know why we're all here. Let's get started, shall we?"

Sonic watched his twin carefully. "Zonic-"

"Starting from the beginning," He cut him off just like that. Sonic had a feeling he'd do that though, so he'd just keep quiet for now. "Approximately one year ago, you caused a riot in my facility along with your ex-girlfriend who helped conspire with you to escape during the ruckus. Then you return home and start your planning of mass destruction. I want you to elaborate every single detail to this plan of yours. Why you kidnapped my Champion, why you destroyed his world, and why you thought it was an ingenious idea to start a war in our world. Leave nothing out, I don't care how long it takes." He ordered coldly. "And don't even think about lying or concealing any information, because you are shackled to a lie detector bracelet. Engineered by the Warden himself. If you lie, a noise will emanate from it. Speak honestly and without hesitation, do you understand?"

Scourge scowled at him with low eyes, shaking his head slowly as he sighed. He wasn't saying no to the question, it was more like he was shaking his head at Zonic specifically. Almost in disappointment. Did he do something wrong? The anti-double just shrugged and leaned back in the chair. "Whatever, sure." He mumbled. "Like you said, I'll start from the beginning-" He coughed and rubbed his throat. "Damn it..." His voice did sound a bit hoarse.

Sonic blinked. "Z, did you give him water at all?"

"He's been fed." Zonic replied nonchalantly without even looking at him.

"That's not what I-"

"Please be quiet, Sonic prime."

...Okay, that was a little rude.

Sonic stuck his tongue in his cheek and tried not to dwell on that. After all, he was right. They shouldn't care about Scourge's well being, they should just focus on him answering. However, Zonic had one more time to cut him off like that. That's what Sonic kept telling himself as he tamed his anger. Scourge paused for a minute, staring at them with a peculiar gaze, before attempting to continue. "I wanted my birthday to pass first, so I could turn nineteen. Physically, I'm older than Blue over here thanks to the mutation thing, but we're still all the same age. When Blue and I turned nineteen, there was some power available to us. In that time of waiting, I used it to make my plans and watch Blue." He saw Sonic's face shrivel in disgust. "Yup, been stalking you for a loooong time." Scourge smirked a bit." Anyway, when our birthdays hit, he went to his home island, Christmas Island, and I went into a secret room in my castle. That's where our new powers were hidden, where our personal shrines were."

Yes, that's when all of this started. At least Sonic could follow his explanation. The others in this room probably didn't understand but Sonic and Zonic did.

"I got three. Regeneration immortality shit, a power boost for my own super form, and the ability to steal other forms." He stared at Sonic again. "Meanwhile, you only got one." The hero stared back silently. "After I got this power and tweaking a few things in my plans, I went on to travel to Mobius prime so I could kidnap you. I had to get rid of your Robotnik first so he wouldn't get in my way, then I went on to visit you. In reality, I never wanted to keep you, Blue." He said, making him raise his brows. "I wasn't in love with you yet, so I never wanted to keep you for myself at first. I just wanted to steal your demonic form to use for myself. The plan was to let you go after I took it, but that's when I got obsessed with you, so I wanted to keep you for just a little while longer." He said with a devious smile. "I gave you back to your friends after that whole Dark Sonic fiasco and went back to my world. I didn't care about losing you at the time, wasn't part of the plan to begin with. I was just toying with your friends." He lightly kicked his feet back and forth. "Then I went home, and I prepared the plan to invade Mobius and travel to No Zone to start the war."

This one really got their attention.

"I stayed a little while before Blue and Stripes showed up just in time for step daddy Zhadow over here." Scourge turned his gaze to the black hedgehog in uniform. "I knew someone from No Zone would come to Moebius to search for me, and I wanted it to be Zonic so I could kill him. Sadly, it was just you, but you did do me a favor. After I put you in a coma, I used your armor to make some schematics and designed armor for my own men to use in the war. Of course it looked like regular clothing to you, but it was actually a lot tougher than you think. I did that to make the war just a little bit more interesting, I didn't care if it was actually useful or not." He said that last part with a chuckle. In other words, he made schematics for armor just for the hell of it, it wasn't to actually gain in advantage in the war. He just wanted to have fun with it. "So after I did that, I went back to Blue's world."

Zonic narrowed his eyes. "The anti-Miles told Sonic prime you were off in our world."

Scourge tilted his head. "Oh did he?" He asked. "Well, that was the plan at first, but I needed to do something important with the new form I stole. I wanted more power to use from it, I didn't have all of it's abilities yet. You see," Scourge began. "As a natural born anti, I have some, complications." He was talking around that. "It's a shit ton of stuff to explain, so I won't bore you with those details. But I will give ya these details," He quickly added with a pointed index finger. "In summation, if someone like me wanted to take full charge of a powerful super form that doesn't belong to me, like the demon or the light one, I needed to make a sacrifice in a contract. That if I plagued Sonic's world with enough misery, I'd get as much power as I needed to go against him. If I failed in doing this, I'd get a penalty. Instant death being the ultimate price, with a slow death by corruption being my punishment if the demon grew impatient. I also had to make that damage to Sonic's world irreversible in order to fulfill my right to use all of it's power to complete the contract. And so," He grinned. "That's why I made my ex girlfriend and some of my men invade Mobius prime. So I could destroy it, and kill everyone in it! That was a big enough sacrifice to gain the demon's trust, so I could use all of his powers as I see fit for as long as I want!"

Sonic's fists tightened. That's why he destroyed his world but then suddenly abandoned it. He never wanted to rule over it or conquer it, he needed it destroyed so he could use those lives as a sacrifice to that demonic form. It fed off of havoc and destruction, something Sonic never satisfied. No wonder it so willingly left for a new host, a new host who wouldn't hesitate in killing millions of people for it's pleasure.

"But," His anti-self continued. "As they were off setting fires to your world, I went back to No Zone like I originally planned to get my new army ready. I still had some of my men from Moebius left over, but I wanted to use some of yours too, step daddy Zonic. Thanks to my mind fucking power, I was able to convince them. And well, some of them I didn't even bother controlling, because they completely believed in me at that point. I showed them the truth through my powers, and they jumped at the opportunity to fight for my sake." He said with a smirk. "We all were hiding amongst your own people, watching and stalking Blue from afar in disguises. Fleetway, and yes I call him that, did me a favor and weakened Stripes' and Blue's super forms so they couldn't whip it out and use them in the war. After all, that's cheating, and no one should be using a super form until we have our final boss battle."

It was his fault that their super forms were drained for so long. Like Scourge practically said, they could have easily ended the war in seconds with power like that on their side. A 'cheat', in his eyes. No wonder he did that.

"During that festival bullshit, we tampered with No Zone militia and stuff. Rigging your planes and ships with bombs. Then the war happened and well, you all know how that went down." He brought his hands to himself as a gesture. "I lost, and you captured. Even though your casualty rates went through the God damn roof, you still won...I guess. Hahahahahaaa..." He laughed under his breath, his body lightly shaking from his low cackling.

The commander however wasn't convinced. "That's not it, you planned ahead of this too." Zonic pointed out with confidence. "Like I said, don't hold back." He said while leaning forward. "What were you planning to do next?"

Scourge smirked. "I was gonna kill you, kidnap Blue and go to my castle. Didn't matter who won or lost that war, I only started it so I could take out the Overseer and his enablers. I didn't give a shit how many people died, the more the merrier."

That was beyond cruel and gruesome. He used his own men like livestock, not caring who lost their life even if they worked for him. But...His enablers? Sonic blinked in confusion. What did he mean by that? "What do you mea-"

The commander cut him off once more. "Why kill me, Ogilvie?" Damn it, Zonic.

"Because you're the foreman of the Chaos Born. I needed you out of the way so nothing could stop me from getting to Blue."

Zonic tapped his fingers against his sleeves gently. "But wasn't Sonic prime the one you wanted to kill all this time?" He asked calmly. "Why the change?"

"Oh I need to kill Sonic too, but I had to get to you first. After all, you're being con-"

The second lieutenant general tightened his pursed lips and scowled. "Next question,"

Sonic, Shadow, and both of his colonels immediately turned to Zonic in shock. Why didn't he let Scourge finish, that could have been crucial information! Shadow cleared his throat and tried to speak. "Commander, Scourge wasn't finished."

"No need." He replied dismissively once more. Sonic clenched his teeth in exasperation, before turning to glance at Zhadow for a little support. He needed to get Zonic under control, this was absolutely outrageous-!

Wait...

...

Sonic's eyes widened.

Zhadow was no longer looking in their direction. Instead, his eyes had a dead glare to them, just like Zonic did right now. As if he didn't give a shit about any of this, only wanting to get this over with. That son of a bitch. Sonic tightened his fists, the darkness in his heart rising increasingly. No, calm down. Not yet, not yet, he told himself. No, he wanted Zonic to finish this bullshit so he could give him a piece of his mind when this was all over. He had an idea, anyway. He closed his eyes and made a large exhale, before crossing his arms and looking back at Scourge. Again, Scourge eyed both Zonic and Sonic carefully.

"Next and final question," Zonic said with a stern tone. Final question? Final question!? He's gotta be fucking kidding, that wasn't right! There were way too many weird things going on that required answers! "Is it true that you were the one who not only murdered King Jules of Moebius during the time of The Great Peace, but the sole perpetrator of causing The Tragedy?"

Scourge narrowed his eyes, his smile falling. "Yup, sure am." He said with less enthusiasm. "Don't feel no remorse, either. Not for anything I've done thus far. They all needed to die." His tone grew incredibly evil, abnormal for his usual playfully malevolent nature. Sonic would have been more pissed at that, if Scourge had been sneering the whole time he answered like in the other questions. But this one, that answer seemed a little personal.

"And your reasoning?"

"Heh," Scourge shook his head. "Why the fuck would I try to explain anything?" He asked while shrugging. "You know just as well as I do that all my intentions for everything that I've been doing up until now, has been for a very special purpose that you refuse to acknowledge." He stared deeply into Zonic's eyes. "You know what my answer is. You know what my answer's related to. All you're gonna do is cut me off 'cause your scared of Sonic-"

Zonic stood up and made a physical gesture for Zector to drag Scourge back in his cell. He was shooing him off. "Interrogation over." He began to turn his back, his colonel just watching agape as their leader just ordered for them to stop the interrogation right then and there.

Zhadow even ordered for everyone to leave, waving over for Sonic and Shadow to follow them through the elevator door just outside of the room. What in hell was going on here?! Not even Zector and Zepsio knew what the hell was going on, and Zector didn't even try to take Scourge back into his cell. They both glanced at each other, questioning themselves. Should they go against their leader and ask to please reconsider? Or should they follow directions and stay blind and ignorant to what in Chaos' name was happening? And the funny thing about all of this?

Scourge was the one who was the angriest out of anyone here.

Scourge was the one who looked beyond pissed at Zonic's sudden decision. He was ten times more infuriated than Sonic was. He looked just as angry as he did when fighting Shadow back out in the war. He was irate. No, for someone who never took anything seriously just to make a face like that, something had to have been seriously wrong. Sonic was done, he couldn't take this shit anymore. They needed to truth and they needed it now! Sonic turned to Zonic's direction, marching over with a determined expression. He was going to reach his hand over and place it on his shoulder to stop him-

Suddenly, Scourge angrily scoffed. "Looks like someone's a little salty that their plans didn't work out, huh Zonic?" He used his real name this time. Everyone including the lieutenant generals paused. "You tried to poison me in that shit you call food last night, and this morning right before you all came in. Guess you wanted to try it twice just for good measure."

Sonic's mouth dropped slowly, while Shadow stepped beside him and gave a glare to the back of Zonic's head. "What is he talking about?" The ultimate life form ordered. "What the fuck is going on with you two!?" He yelled at them both.

The green hedgehog laughed darkly, the crocodile beside him still not daring to place his hands on him. "I may be weak in power and energy right now, but my regeneration ability returned right after you put me in this cell." He was sneering at him, a cross between a growl and a smirk. "You may have stopped it with that nice punch and that stupid ass control gauntlet of yours back out in the war, but you couldn't stop my abilities for long. That poison ain't do shit to me." He stood up from the chair, his hands pressing against the glass again. "You thought you'd come in to a dead body, and just call everything off. You wanted Sonic and Shadow to stay ignorant, you sneaky little bastard!"

Zhadow grunted. "Colonel Zector, restrain him immediately."

Slowly, Zespio turned to his partner, only to see the green fellow reptile gulp with sweat beading down his forehead.

He then dropped the taser and bowed quickly. "Forgive me for my insolence sirs," He began nervously. "But I refuse."

Suddenly, Zonic whipped his head at the crocodile. His awakened green eyes glowering ominously with both disappointment and hidden rage. "Oh? Insubordination...?" He addressed Zhadow without even turning to him. "My apologies first lieutenant, it seems I didn't discipline my men good enough."

The chameleon gaped at him. "Zector, do you have any idea what you're saying!?" He asked breathlessly. "You could lose your job!"

"I don't care!" Zector exclaimed. "Think about it Zespio," He said desperately as he stood up from his bowing position. "We've been working under Zonic for years once he became an elite, and he's always hid stuff from us." In the background, Shadow cocked a brow. Oh really? Looks like Sonic's intuition was absolutely correct. Along with him, the hero watched the two colonels make their cases. Zector continued. "We had been working here way before he came here out of no where, and yet even as just an elite, he was the one who was allowed to visit the psyche ward, participate in interrogations, and watch all the executions with both the Warden and the first lieutenant. Whenever we'd ask him about it, he wouldn't tell us a thing!" He tightened his frown and looked down shamefully. "Ever since that day in the psyche ward, the commander kept acting strange. More, secretive. Keeping things from us. Let's not forget," He rose his head to look Zespio dead in his golden eyes. "We were his best friends once. We weren't just his lackeys. And as his friends," He then turned his attention back to his superior. "He should have just been honest with us about everything. You keep hiding stuff from us, but now you've been caught." His fists shook anxiously. "I wanna know, I...I-I just want to know, sir." He tried being respectful one last time. "Please," He pleaded. "Just tell us what's going on."

A long pause.

With shaky eyes, Zespio watched his friend step away from Scourge completely. Giving him all the space and freedom he needed for now. The entire time, Scourge only listened and watched, and he wasn't smiling either. Zespio stared at his best friend, before turning to Sonic's twin who was now silent. The chameleon bit his lip, his knuckles turning white. He then gritted his teeth and moved to stand in front of the entrance leading to Scourge's cell. With courage building up in his chest, he made a soldier's position. His back straight, his eyes front with his arms at his sides. "My apologies for the lack of respect commander," He tightened his posture with shreds of self-assurance. "But as a true No Zone soldier, I was trained to stay loyal. Not just to my superiors," His eyes sharpened. "But to my comrades as well."

Steadily, Zonic swallowed hard and opened his mouth. "...Understood, colonel Zespio, colonel Zector." He said quietly.

The colonels blinked at that response.

He sighed and lowered his head. "Willing to lose everything you've ever worked for just to do the right thing," He cracked a small smile. "Even if it meant going against your boss, and your dear friend." He shook his head. "If only you two weren't such admirable soldiers, I could have gotten away with all of these lies." He chuckled a little. "It seems as if you were taught a little too well. Ironic. But sadly," He turned around completely, facing everyone's confused, nervous and angry expressions head on. With a sad smile and a lighter expression, he shook his head. "I care about you all too much. I can't let any of this information leak out, I am so sorry." He snapped his fingers.

Zhadow pressed his gloved fingers into his collar. "First Lieutenant General speaking. We've got a 10-98, cell number zero below." Both Sonic and Shadow' eyes widened. No, he wouldn't dare do that to them! "Prisoner Ogilvie Maurice Hedgehog is out of his cell and currently has Colonels Zector and Zespio hostage. His power has manipulated the two soldiers and they are now delirious." The two hedgehogs looked at each other, feeling their wavelengths correlate perfectly. They knew what they had to do. "This is a level five. I repeat, a level five-"

Black and blue streaks struck their visions.

Shadow pinned Zonic against the wall, and Sonic shoved Zhadow down onto the floor with his foot now resting against his back. They both grunted in pain, thrashing and shifting in their holds to try and get away, but they were both too strong for them. Sonic then bent down to Zhadow's waist and ripped off a spare transmitter from his belt. He held up the device up to his mouth and pressed his thumb in the button. He adjusted his vocal cords, clearing his throat as he took a page out of Scourge's book of faking and acting once again. "Second Lieutenant General speaking. False alarm, prisoner Ogilvie Maurice Hedgehog is detained once more. My colonels are safe and sane, please carry on with your normal duties." He then took the device from his lips and swung it into the wall in front of them. It shattered on impact, scattering it's broken wired pieces onto the floor beside them.

The hero of Mobius pressed his foot in a little deeper into Zhadow's spine to keep him still, his quills raising as his cobalt chaos energy proudly revealed itself. Shadow was in the same boat, with his red energy radiating off of his black fur as he continuously pressed Zonic against the wall. His arms were pulled behind his back. The control bracelets they had on their wrists was now backfiring on both the lieutenant generals, since the primes could both use their power even in a chaotic weakening room.

"Now let's try this again..." Sonic trailed off with a cold tone.

Scourge's lips curled into a small grin, a few giggles leaving his body.

The two colonels watched, but didn't move a muscle to stop the primes.

"...Without any interruptions this time."

END - 39

*Once again reads every single review.*

Holy moly, you guys really gave me a lot of love this time. Dang, what can I say? I'm so flattered. (- ^_^ -)

And also OHMYGOD Anonymoux-Sonic senpai reviewed my stooooorrryy! Also, I would totally love to do an RP with you sometime! So sorry I never got around to PMing you about it.

...Ahem.

Regardless, no one should be bullying anyone. I've no problems with defending any fellow author who has nothing but good intentions. We're all unofficial creators here, it's better to spread more love than hate.

Anyways, so Zonic's a big fat liar, blah blah blah. HOWEVER, he is NOT the liar of the story. Well, not the main one I keep hinting at anyway. That still remains to be seen. After all, there's so many levels of deception in this story, it's not even funny. You can't trust anybody it seems, you know?

By the way, be prepared to say goodbye to No Zone, 'cause it won't be long before we move onto the next stage for another grand performance! I wonder what'll happen, who knows? Until next time.

(- ^_— -)/