A bitter, not-so-sweet victory led to a hushed, solemn plane ride back to Freedom H.Q. The team's hopes of any sort of celebration were squashed with the reveal of their greatest enemy's despicable acts. Now, the hum of the Hurricane III's engines was all that occupied the cabin as the raging sea zipped by below.
Sonic glanced around the eerily quiet plane, his hands in two of many holes in his tattered, singed vest. Following seeing the looks of defeat and disappointment on his friends' faces, his eyes fell on his beloved wife. Her head slanked down in front of her slouching body. On it, a look of pain and bitterness unlike any the hedgehog had seen in her before.
"I…" Vector began, breaking the silence, "wonder what's gonna come of Eggman's escape now. We've downed his Faceship and disabled his weapon. Where'll he even retreat to?"
"He got the Chaos Emeralds…" a battered Blaze sneered, suddenly springing to life at the mention of her tormentor's name. "He's probably left to rendezvous with Nega to enact the next stage in his sick, twisted plan." She pushed off her knees with her hands and stood up straight, finishing her spiteful remark. "Which is why it's all-the-more imperative that we return to my dimension at once and capture Nega before that can happen."
Sonic nodded, grunting in agreement. "What Eggman's pulled this time is unforgivable. Once we catch him, and we will catch him, he's going in a box and I'm personally throwing away the key!"
"Woah, now," Vector began in protest, holding up his bandaged hands. "After all you two, everyone, just went through, you wanna go charging right back into an obvious trap? I don't think so! We're in no condition to be staging another offensive now!"
"And do you have a better plan?" Blaze scoffed.
"We go back to Freedom H.Q., we rest up, and we form a plan," asserted the injured crocodile. Upon seeing Blaze's piercing glare, Vector's demeanor shifted. "Look, I understand how you feel-"
"Understand how I feel?" Blaze seethed, steam beginning to seep from her clothing as she continued. "How could you possibly understand how I feel, what we're going through? Have you ever had all three of your children ripped away from you by a murderous psychopath?!" No response came from the taken aback group. Solid metal had nothing on the thickness of the air inside the cabin as Blaze finished. "My kids are in danger, and there's no way I'm going to waste a single second licking my wounds like an injured kitten while they're in the hands of those monsters!"
The group's foxy pilot, silent up until this point, engaged the autopilot and whipped around in his chair. "I'm with Vector on this one. Everyone's exhausted, Sonic has three broken ribs, you have symptoms of heat stroke after how far you pushed your pyrokinesis, and not to mention you and Sonic's mental state!"
"Hmph, 'mental state'? What's that supposed to mean?" Sonic mused, interrupting in protest.
"Don't even try and deny it, Sonic," Miles rebutted with crossed arms. "You two's anger, justified as it may be, is gonna get you killed if you just choose to act on it irrationally! You need time to simmer down, clear your heads a little."
"Hmph! I easily crushed Eggman once, and I'll do it again!" spat the distraught feline. She glanced over to her husband, looking for his support and receiving it in the form of a confident nod.
"I wouldn't call broken ribs and a heat stroke 'easy," Miles fired back, getting out of his chair. "Your brute force approach may have squeezed out a win this time, but knowing Eggman, he and Nega'll more than ready for it the next time around. Not to mention the Chaos Emeralds that, since they disappeared from the Faceship with Eggman's escape, we can assume he has!"
Blaze's steaming intensified. "So what? We just sit here applying bandages to our booboos and going to therapy while those two obese freaks hold our children over our heads?!" she snapped.
"And we speculate on what those two 'obese freaks' might have in store for us, along with coming up with a plan to stop them!"
"I'm not going to wait that long!" snarled the fierce queen.
"You don't exactly have a choice!" Miles argued back, his voice raising against her's. "I'm not gonna let you and my best friend go kill yourselves! Without the Sol Emeralds, my gateway technology is the only way you're going back, and you're not getting to it 'til we're prepared. That's final!"
The room went eerily silent once more. The Hurricane III surged on as Blaze glared daggers at its pilot. It was only after what seemed like forever that a seething growl finally cut through the hum of the engines.
"If you're not going to give me what I need to reach my children, I'll just have to take it," The enraged mother began a prowl towards the two-tailed fox. A flame formed in her right hand as it rose to her side. The engineer responded in-kind, readying his tails and fists and glaring back at his opposition.
"Hey, hold it!" an agitated lemur screamed from across the cabin, bounding over to Miles' side along with her wolfy wife. "Miles is just trying to help, you're not gonna lay a finger on him!"
"An aid of the enemy is the enemy," Blaze spat in reply without a break in her stride.
The bickering continued, with the tension in the room rising to a boil. More avid defenders rushed to Miles' side, giving their two-sense regarding the enraged mother's actions.
"Is a plane going three hundred miles an hour above an ocean really a place we wanna start a fight?!" protested Vector.
"Four hundred and ten," corrected Miles. "And it doesn't look like we have much of a say in the matter, since her royal highness is adamant on enacting her death wish!"
"Oh, you do have a choice. Either give me what I need or..." Blaze's demand was cut short as she felt a firm hand on her shoulder, halting her advance. Instinct demanded that she whip around, ready to roast the hand's owner. However, she stopped in her tracks upon seeing who it was. "Sonic, what do you think you're doing? Can't you see we're being held hostage?!"
"Dear, listen… I," Sonic trailed off, taking his distraught wife's hand in his. "Maybe Tails is right. We're pretty beat up, and no matter how hot you manage to burn, they're gonna be ready for it this time."
Suddenly, all of Blaze's rage shifted from Miles and his defenders onto one person. Her hand whipped away from Sonic's as her rage and confusion poured out. "I can't believe you're okay with waiting to rescue our children!"
Sonic took a deep breath, keeping a tight rein on his strong emotions. "Look, Dear. I hate it as much as you do, trust me. But for once, it's my turn to be the 'plan guy.' If we charge in now, we'll get captured, or worse! What could we do for Dash, Blaura, and Sonash then?"
Blaze's gaze met the floor, her being unable to bear making eye contact with Sonic as immense pain drove her to say the unthinkable. "Well, maybe you just don't love them the way I do."
Instantly, the cabin fell from the brink of meltdown to absolute zero.
"Blaze…" was all Sonic could weakly muster in lieu of the piercing accusation.
Team Freedom watched as Blaze spun around and stumbled towards the hangar, desperately holding back tears and leaving a devastated husband in her wake as the steel door slid shut behind her.
Painfully long seconds ticked by. The monarch stood petrified, asif a cold stone had breached his heart, with the rest of the team not faring much better.
After what felt like an eternity, he felt a gentle hand fall on his shoulder. "It's alright, Sonic. There's no way she meant that," he immediately recognized the voice of his long-time friend and little brother.
Sonic couldn't believe his ears. Even after his wife had essentially threatened to kill the young fox, he was still there for him. He turned to face the brother he never had. "I'm sorry," was all the hedgehog could reply with.
"Hey, it's alright! You two are in a lot of pain, physically and emotionally," Miles assured.
"I'm with Foxy on that. I won't hold it against'cha!" Tangle chimed in.
Sonic felt his spirit lifting ever so slightly as several more words of assurance flew his way. As the realization of fortune hit him, he donned a warm, appreciative smile. "Thanks for being here guys, this means the world to me."
"Hey, don't mention it! I don't wanna speak for anyone else, but I'd reckon that, after all you've done for us over the years, we owe you at least one life threatening rescue mission!" Miles grinned back.
The hedgehog chuckled in response. "Yeah, I guess so. Speaking of being there for people…" he began with a sudden shift in his tone. "There's someone I need to be there for."
XXXX
In the dimly-lit hangar of the Hurricane III, quiet sobbing and the hum of engines joined in a solemn symphony. The source of the former sat on the cold floor in the corner, her lavender head buried in her knees. "Blaura, Dash, Sonash, I'm… sorry," she stammered through her tears.
The mechanical hiss of the door sliding open marked the end of Blaze's lonesome brooding. The feline raised her head to see the visitor as light poured into the otherwise-dark hangar from the open doorway. The silhouette standing in the doorway was one she immediately recognized, and it drove a knife of shame through her heart. Her head retreated back into her knees.
Sonic took an ever-so-gentle approach towards his comfort-needing wife. The hedgehog knew it would take all the emotional strength he had left to provide the comfort she needed. Soon, he was standing next to her. With an exhausted sigh, Sonic twisted around and took a seat to Blaze's left. "Hey, dear."
The gentle, calm greeting was met with no visible response. The guilt of questioning her husband's love for their kids, along with an ensemble of other emotions swirled around her, threatening to pull her under, like a vessel stuck in a whirlpool. A sniffle was her only response. Moments later, Blaze tensed up as she felt a warm appendage rest itself on her unmoving body. The comfort of this simple gesture was greater than she could imagine.
The blue blur sat motionless and patient, not prying or prodding and instead only offering to be the comfort in his wife's time of need. But after what felt like minutes, he opted to cut through the light hum of the engines. "Is there anything you wanna talk about?"
Actions spoke louder than words. In a swift motion, Blaze broke her balled-up position and leapt to her left, nearly tackling her husband to his back had it not been for him catching himself with his hand. He winced in pain as he felt her pushing against his broken ribs, but refused to mention it. The lavender ruler wound her arms tightly around him. As Blaze's broken-toned speech began, Sonic wrapped his arms around her in response.
"I'm… so sorry for what I said earlier!" she stammered into her spouse's chest. "I know you love our children just as much as I do; I know you and the others are right about needing a plan; and I know I was a fool!"
"Hey, hey. You're not a fool!" Sonic assured, stroking the queen's forehead. "It's not like I've never said anything in the heat of the moment that I regret later."
"I'm just… so terrified." Blaze conceded. An admittance very unlike her. "More than I've ever been…"
"I'm scared too," the speedy monarch replied. "Blaura, Dash, Sonash, you. They all mean the world, no, both worlds to me. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you guys, and I'd throw myself through anything if it meant keeping you safe."
A momentary look up and appreciative smile was followed by Blaze's head retreating back into her husband's chest. "Thank you…"
Blaze's gratuitous words drifted off, merging with the ambient sounds around them until they became lost entirely. She slowly felt the weight lifting off her shoulders as Sonic held her, caressing her head and back affectionately.
"Anything I can do to help lift your spirits?" asked the caring husband.
Sonic's gentle, compassionate voice wove its way through Blaze's heart, sending waves of warmth and comfort through her body. After she'd finished falling in love with him all over again, she fell on a simple demand. "Just promise me everything will be alright."
Sonic met Blaze's request with a light, loving chuckle. "I promise, Blaze. We're gonna get them back and lock those deranged doctors up for good. Sonic the Hedgehog stops at nothing 'til his loved ones are safe."
Once again, Blaze was reminded why she fell in love with the tenacious hedgehog in the first place. Longing for more comfort, she nestled further against the fur of her king's chest. An almost unnoticed wince came from the hedgehog.
"Are you alright?" a disappointed, but concerned Blaze asked, prying herself away.
"Y… yeah, sorry," Sonic replied, rubbing his tender midsection. "It's just, y'know, with the broken ribs and everything…"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Blaze replied, guiltily wrapping her arms around herself. "How inconsiderate of me…"
"Hey, hey, it's alright!" the blue monarch insisted, putting on his exhausted smile once again. "If a little pain is what it takes to see you smile, then so be it."
"That would be selfish of me," stated Blaze, refusing to accept Sonic's offer.
The speedy spouse grinned in reply. Seeing little hints of the wife he knew and loved poking through the raging sea of emotion. "I'll tell you what. My ribs are only broken on one side. Why don't you just…"
Not needing any further instruction, Blaze stood herself up and strode to the other side of the grounded hedgehog. In another careful, but eager motion, she lowered herself and leaned in to her right, once again wrapping her arms around Sonic's body and nestling her head in his chest.
"Is this better?" asked the longing feline.
"Yeah…" replied Sonic, returning Blaze's gesture. "Much better."
The response was a relaxed sigh as Blaze felt more of the tension flow out of her body. She practically melted into her caring husband, her breaths syncing up with his rises and falls.
"I love you, Sonic the Hedgehog."
XXXX
A blue-green luminescence frantically danced around the room. The crimson and yellow-lined metal walls, plastered with tools, blueprints, and display screens, reflected the light, sending it back toward its source, a mighty clash of energies.
As the electric shriek of the battle between two differently-colored bolts of lightning simmered down, so-too did the bright light emanating from it. They retreated to their respective pedestals, leaving two evil geniuses to bask at the sources, a green Chaos Emerald and yellow Sol Emerald, each suspended in a glass dome atop the steel cylinders.
"Well, Nega, it appears our theory was correct!" Eggman announced with a grin, examining the results on his accomplice's computer terminal. As the readings flowed in, the blue screen lit up, revealing several graphs, each growing exponentially as their red lines danced across the x-axes.
The voice of Eggman's derivative cut through the tapping of a keyboard. "Indeed it was, my almost-as-bright friend. When the Chaos and Sol emeralds are brought together, their energy output doesn't just stack additively, it multiplies exponentially!"
"Now that our hypothesis has been proven correct, we can move on to my favorite part of the scientific method!" Eggman sneered. "The experimental phase!"
"Indeed so. Only when we find the limits of these powers and how to properly control them can we properly apply them…"
"Apply them to our little pest problem?" the doctor smirked, cutting Nega off.
A few more taps prompted the two gems to recede back into their holding chambers. The screen's display shifted to a solid blue with a red bar in the center, rapidly filling to full before being replaced by a notification.
'Data Transfer Complete'
"But of course! Only when those officious furballs are out of the way can we be free to conquer both worlds!" the derivative replied.
"We should've teamed up to exterminate those vermin years ago!" Eggman cheered.
"Maybe, but only recently have that fiery feline and hateable hedgehog developed such an easily exploitable weakness," reminded Nega, stepping away from his computer and towards the room's jet black metal door with his hands poised behind his back.
Eggman swiveled and strode to catch up to his ally. "Hmm… a good point. Those little brats are our surefire key to victory! And how easy it was to lure away their idiotic autocrat parents to nab them!"
"Like taking catnip from a kitten," Nega sneered diabolically as his other self followed him through the now-opened doorway. "Speaking of which, how are those little monsters doing?"
"Why not see for ourselves?" offered Eggman. Noticing a grunt and nod of agreement from his not-at-all-superior counterpart, he brought his wrist to his face and ringing up his mechanical henchmen on his teched-out wristwatch's display. "Orbot, Cubot, prepare our valued guests and their holding cell for our arrival!"
"You got it, boss!" was a yellow bot's excited reply from the other end, barely being heard over the insufferable cries of infants.
With a growl, Eggman tapped another button on his watch, hanging up the call. As the two villains walked down the hornet-palleted corridor, Eggman inquired as-to whether or not the infants had given Nega any trouble, especially regarding their mother's pyrokinetic traits.
As an elevator door at the end of the hall opened up, inviting its two passengers, Nega quased Eggman's concerns. None of the children had displayed any anomalous temperature readings. Any wrench in their plans involving the furballs' heat abilities was highly unlikely.
After a speedy elevator ride, the doors swung open. Immediately, the interior was invaded by a symphony of cries and wails. Eggman and Nega's hands flew to their ears. "You iron ignoramuses, turn off that racket!"
The redder of the two mechanical minions complied to their creator's order, tapping a panel on the side of the wall. Instantly, the crying seemed to cease.
"Why didn't you two imbeciles enable the noise filter ages ago?" growled Eggman as his associate followed him out of the elevator.
"I dunno, you didn't ask us to," the yellow bot shrugged.
"You didn't program us to perform duties beyond your orders, sir," Orbot added.
"I shouldn't have to…" Eggman cut himself off, bringing his palm down his annoyed face. "Whatever, just keep it on from now on, understand?"
"Yessiree!" replied Cubot with a salute.
The doctors strode up to a cell embedded in the right of the wall and looked inward. "I trust my genius containment units are serving their purpose?"
"Indeed, sir. Everything is functioning within your specified parameters. The bio scanner has detected no anomalies, and your special nutrient-enriched air is keeping the infants alive and healthy." Orbot explained to his master's counterpart.
"And we're on diaper duty!" cheered Cubot.
Eggman laid his eyes on Nega's infant-holding handiwork for the first time. Inside the cold, steel box of a cell were three containment units, all housing one of his hated enemy's beloved children. The obnoxious infants laid on the padded floors, while a glowing green line, presumably his acommplace's bio-scanner, ran over them from the ceiling. All three appeared to be wailing madly, but, thanks to Eggman's volunteered noise cancellation technology, no sound could be heard. All the more pleasing to the sadistic doctor. "Excellent work, Nega! I, of course, don't at all care about the well-being of the runts, but your apparatus will suffice in keeping them alive long enough to serve as suitable hostages."
"Indeed so," Nega motioned for Eggman to follow him as he strode back to the elevator. "Now, enough wasted time on these excuses for children. Come, we have important matters to discuss. The readouts you provided from your encounter with that foolish feline have proven quite useful in perfecting my latest mechanical masterpiece!"
Eggman complied, taking position next to his counterpart and striding into the elevator. "Ah yes, I've seen your schematics and can't wait to get my hands on the prototype! Does it have a name yet?"
"Yes, but it's nothing special. A possible placeholder, of sorts," explained Nega as the door slid shut in front of them with a mechanical hiss, allowing the lift to begin its journey. "I was thinking… the Egg Vanquisher."
XXXX
The hum of medical equipment and whirr of a scanner reverberated throughout the Freedom H.Q. Medlab as its designer and his patient made use of it. The latter had laid on the table as they were told. With the white walls doing little to counteract the already-bright light fixtures of the room, they squinted down at their red and white shoe and the metal arc stretching over them. "Alright doc, give it to me straight. Am I gonna make it?" the figure jested, turning their head to face the team's two-tailed physician.
"It's a pretty simple procedure, Sonic. Just a simple bone repair," chuckled the yellow fox in reply. His fingers danced along a keyboard as he stood to his patient's side, his eyes staring down at the grey table's computer terminal.
"Pff! I'd imagine it would be, considering half the room is patented by a genius fox with 300 I.Q. and five P.H.D.s!" Sonic joked, looking around the lab and reexamining the countless pieces of medical equipment that he couldn't even dream of spelling let alone designing, along with his replaced red and white vest that remained draped atop one of them.
"It's not that big a deal, I'm just like any other inventor, really!" insisted Miles.
Sonic shook his head in disbelief. "Dude, whoever this 'Any Other Inventor' person is, he's gotta be pretty fantastic if he can compare to a guy who was building planes and defusing bombs as a child and getting his first doctorate at age 15. Not to mention you're giving me a procedure that does in one day what getting cut open and moping around in a cast did in months!"
Feeling a light blush creeping onto his cheeks, Miles glanced up from his work. "Heh, I guess I am pretty amazing…" he admitted, scratching the back of his head.
"Y'got that right. Little bro," teased Sonic.
Just as a beep sounded from the terminal, Miles ceased his typing. "Sonic, you know I'm not a little kid anymore, right?" he asked half-jokingly.
The speedy monarch raised and waved his hand dismissively. "Oh relax, Tails. You know I'm only yankin' your chain."
"I know, not like I mind it. Reminds me of the good old days…" Miles reminisced before immediately righting himself and tapping a button, beginning phase one of the procedure. "Hold still for this next part."
A green light focused down from the arc at Sonic's feet. He did what he was told, allowing the arc's luminescent bar to trace along his body. "Yeah, I miss' em too sometimes. Running around without a care in the world; Cracking open Doctor Egghead's latest 'machine of the week'; Things sure were different back then, but…"
"But…?" Miles pressed as the machine completed its scan and retreated back to the foot of the table, feeding the results back to him. With another push of a red button, the second phase began, the bar turning to a bright red and journeying back up the hedgehog's body.
Sonic stared up at the ceiling. "Now I'm buckled down! I've got an awesome wife, three kids, an entire kingdom to look after… It's a lot to handle, but I wouldn't trade it for anything." Following a short pause, the bar stopped at Sonic's chest and continued at a snail-like pace. "Plus, I still find time to loosen up the ol' legs from time to time, especially when discount Eggman attacks. Heh, heh…"
"Sonic, try not to laugh, you'll throw off the machine's calibration."
"Oh, sorry," replied the blue blur, feeling the odd sensation of his bones being moved and welded into place inside him.
Miles watched the screen and the procedure continued. A 3-D-modeled image of Sonic's rib cage filled the screen, with red fractured areas lighting up purple as his machine repaired the damage.
Eventually, the awkward silence broke. "Speaking of your family…"
"Huh?" asked Sonic, looking over.
"Is Blaze… gonna be alright?"
Sonic's smile faltered. "I…" it returned. "Of course she will! You think she'd tolerate being stuck with me for seven years if she didn't know how to deal with the unexpected? Nah."
"This isn't the same and you know it, Sonic," Miles argued. "Please, stop trying to act tough and be honest with me. Is she gonna be okay?"
In an instant, the hedgehog's easy-going demeanor retreated, not to return. With a face devoid of humor or nonchalance, Sonic looked his friend dead in the eye. "Miles, it'll be fine. She'll be pretty shaken up for a while, we all will be." A small, sincere smile returned to Sonic's face. "But Blaze is one resilient mamma. Once we're back together as a family, I have no doubt she'll be back to her old self in no time!"
Just then, the machine beeped, signaling to its operator that the procedure was complete. "Alright Sonic, I believe you," replied Miles, entering a command, prompting the metal arc to zip back down to its resting position at Sonic's feet. "It's finished."
Allowing his usual persona to return, Sonic immediately swiveled and sat up on the table. "Woah, talk about urgent care!" he jested, immediately noticing the difference as he stretched his arms.
Miles watched Sonic hop off the table and grab his jacket as he explained the side effects to him. He'd be tender for a bit, but after a good night's rest he should feel brand new.
"Thanks, doc!" grinned Sonic.
"Anytime," Miles began as the two turned to make their leave. "Big brother."
XXXX
"Outta the ordin'ry?" an orange and brown raccoon on Freedom H.Q.'s main view screen reiterated in her signature Australian accent.
"Yes, Marine. As-in, any signs of where Nega might have headed after his assault?" Blaze questioned, having changed into a fresh pink sweater and white leggings.
"Fraid not, love," replied Marine, adjusting her white Royal Navy uniform. "Ol' Nega made it bloody impossible to pursue'im thanks to the beatin' he gave our ships and mates. I tell ya' sheila, that huge battleship'a his sure packed a wallop! Had ornament like you wouldn't believe and-"
"What's the status of the kingdom at-large, and where's Gardon?" interrupted Sonic, stepping up from the group of gathered Freedom Fighters to join his wife in front of the view screen.
"The castle's a wreck. Nega damn near tore it down tryna' find what he was afta'. The citizen'ry's pretty shaken up. Heard a lil' talk about the king and queen abandoning 'em, some rumors of anotha' attack here and there," Marine's report paused, giving her a moment to remove her captain's hat and glance away. "Far as our mate Gardon goes, he's… crippled, but stable."
"Gardon…" was the sole response from Blaze, mimicking the raccoon captain's tone.
"You shoulda' seen him, love. Found him in the safe room knocked out'n pretty banged up. Steel door was cut clean through. Poor bloke must'a fought with everything'e had…" replied the solemn captain, fiddling with one of her rank pins.
"I'd expect nothing less from my most loyal and trusted guardsman," Blaze replied, crossing her arms.
"Did you manage to get any sort of tracker on the ship?" asked Sonic
"We did, but we lost signal shortly afta'. Must'a been some sorta' jammer on the bloody thing!" a frustrated Marine replied. "Best I can offer ya' is our security footage, 'long with what the tinny's packin'."
"Proceed."
Marine heeded her queen's instructions, tapping a few buttons, presumably on a terminal beneath her.
"They're on their way, mate!" replied Marine.
Moments later, a small beep on the main room's center console signaled to the Freedom Fighters' leader that the files were received. Amy jogged over and confirmed the transfer. "Got it, thanks Marine!" she confirmed.
"Of course, sheila! Anything to help knock those dipsticks in't'next week!" said Marine, finishing with a snarl.
A few taps on the center console's panel prompted a hologram of the ship to shoot out of the center, painted with the same blue as before with its large ensemble of weapons highlighted in red.
"Good luck, mates!" wished Marine, prompting the group to reciprocate and give words of thanks.
"Any orders, your majesties?" the navy captain asked, turning to her king and queen.
"Keep remaining ships on-patrol, but do not engage the enemy, should you see him. Not only would you more than likely be crushed and suffer more casualties, but you may inadvertently harm their hostages." commanded Marine's queen, clenching her fists at the mention of her enemies' leverage.
Marine acknowledged Blaze's commands and gave a salute before the monitor blinked, returning to the terminal's main screen.
"Alright team, listen up!"
The team turned to face the origin of the command. Amy stood next to the center console, beckoning to the projection of the two mad doctors' ship.
Tangle was especially captivated by the incredible size and scope of the bullet-shaped vessel, displayed as being four hundred meters long and one hundred thirty meters wide. "Woah, that thing's even bigger than the Faceship!" she exclaimed.
"This would explain the lack of attacks from Nega…" the Sol Kingdom's blue monarch thought aloud.
"We've got about two hours to come up with a plan to infiltrate this thing and take it down before we rest up for our move in the morning! Any suggestions?" continued Amy.
"Well, the armaments on the thing'll make any direct assault impossible!" began Vector, pointing out the vast array of anti-aircraft and sea-defense cannons. "Aside from all these, we've got no idea what kind of reinforcements could be inside that thing!"
With a lightbulb illuminating in her head, an enthusiastic Tangle chimed in. "Oh, oh! What about an underwater attack? We could avoid the cannons and slip onboard undetected!"
"No," the lemur's wolfy spouse murmured, shaking her head. "S'very advanced and large. Will have sub defense."
"Awww…" Tangle's ears flattened, along with her face.
"Wait, doesn't Miles use some kind of dimensional portal thingy to get between dimensions in the first place?" asked an equally-as-enthusiastic Charmy Bee. "Why don't we just use that to hop right onto the ship?"
"My portal fabrication technology runs on the same principle that my interdimensional communication system does." Miles replied, pointing to the monstrous vessel. "If that thing's got a signal jammer, getting on with a portal won't be a viable option."
"I've got it!" Amy chimed in, holding up an index finger in realization and turning to Miles. "I may not be as techy as you, Miles, but in my years as team leader I've learned a thing or two about communication and signal blocking!"
"Elaborate," prompted the intrigued fox.
"Modern-day signal jammers usually operate by disrupting hundreds of frequencies per second on an almost random pattern. However, there's one frequency that our psychotic doctors can't jam!" Amy explained, having her thought finished by Miles.
"The signal they use for their communications, of course!" Miles thought aloud, grasping his chin.
"Well it should be pretty simple, then. All we've gotta do is find the right frequency, portal in, and boil some eggs!" cheered Tangle.
"It's not quite as simple as that," Amy frowned. "Unless they've got outgoing signals, there's no way we'll be able to trace the frequency without getting in… uncomfortably close."
"Plus, they may be nuts, but this is still Eggman and Nega we're talking about," Miles interjected. "Whatever they've got, it's probably not your average everyday system. I'm sure they've got a modulator set up."
"Meaning that grabbing it for a second won't be enough, it's probably changing constantly…" Amy finished.
The two-tailed genius already had a solution in mind. "So we'd have to send someone in ahead of time to plant a frequency tracker on the ship and feed the results back to us."
Several more exchanges regarding the best course of action ensued, with the group eventually coming to a consensus, approving Miles and Amy's plan.
"Ahem!" came a grunt from the outskirts of the group. The collaborating members turned to face Espio, who finished his statement with crossed arms. "Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves here? We don't even know where the thing is yet!"
If not for the hum and beeps of electronics, one could a pin drop. Team Freedom stood with mouths agape, undoubtedly astounded at the oversight.
Miles' palm flew to his face. "I can't believe we didn't think of that!"
Charmy grabbed his chin, humming in contemplation. "Well, the thing's huge! It's not like it'll be hard to find."
"I wouldn't be so sure," chimed in Blaze. "Marine's fleets have been on the patrol ever since the attack, yet they've come across nothing."
"How could a ship so huge conceal itself so quickly?" asked the team leader, placing their hands on their hips.
"A cloaking system, perhaps?" proposed Espio.
"Because of how ships displace water, it'd likely render any cloaking device impractical. They'd look like a hole in the ocean," countered Miles. "There must be some other reason…"
"Regardless of the reason, there's a solution," the purple chameleon replied. "I'm sufficiently trained in tracking and stealth. I'll be the one to locate the vessel and plant the device."
"You sure, Esp?" the uncertain Chaotix leader asked.
"There's no one more qualified, you know that, and…" trailed Espio, gesturing to the co-rulers of the Sol Kingdom. "These two have performed endless acts of good throughout my time knowing them. The very least I can do in repayment is offering my skills in their time of need."
"Thank you," smiled Blaze, receiving a nod in response from the ninja.
"Not to darken the mood but…" Tangle began, stepping forward. "The ocean's pretty big. No matter how good a tracker Espio is, how in the world are we gonna-"
The ring of the H.Q. 's main monitor cut Tangle short. Her and the rest of the team turned to see Eggman's logo splayed across the screen.
"It's… Eggman?!" growled Blaze, clenching her fists.
Suppressing her nerves, Amy strode over and accepted the transmission. Immediately, the cartoon silhouette of Eggman's face disappeared, replaced with a recording him and his counterpart.
"Hello, Freedom Fools!" a cheerful Nega sneered. "I trust by now that you're all aware of the… valued guests we have in our possession!" With an evil chuckle, the two doctors separated, revealing a steel room, housing three glass-domed pedestals. Though the high-resolution imagery, the entire group could easily see the contents.
"My babies!" shouted Blaze, baring her fangs as she laid eyes on her three children. Their typical baby clothes had been replaced by black and red outfits with Eggman's logo stamped on the chests. They shook about, appearing to be wailing in distress, but emanating no sound.
"Amy, the signal!" Miles exclaimed, prompting a nod and swivel from Team Freedom's leader as she began feverishly trying to trace the signal.
Indifferent to the interjections, the two villains' recorded message continued. "If you two autocratic imbeciles ever want to see your precious little bundles of joy again, you'll listen very carefully…" Eggman began, allowing his accomplice to complete his statement and joining him back at the center of attention.
"You will have twenty four hours to give your unconditional surrender, which will include your detainment, and your signing over of the Sol Kingdom over to me."
An enraged snarl escaped Blaze's clenched teeth as the doctors continued, brandishing their achievements and supposedly superior intellect. "You will not get away with this…"
Eggman stuck up his index finger with a smirk. "And don't try anything silly! We've prepared for every possible contingency this time around, including the little wifey-poo's tantrums!"
"I've got it!" Amy cheered, whipping around and excitedly waving her hand in the air.
"Remember, twenty four hours or else, toodaloo!" Nega grinned.
The recording concluded, with the large screen returning to its default state. Amy prepared to dismiss the team, noticing Blaze's display of distress and agony. "We… should go make final preparations and rest up for the morning. I'll see you all later."
The team members gave their farewells, heading off in several directions, presumably to their rooms, leaving Sonic and his hurting wife alone.
At the edge of the mother's eyes, tears still remained poised to make their move and come flooding out at any moment. As her fists remained clenched, she felt a familiar comforting grip on her shoulder.
"We're gonna get them back, dear. I already promised you, we will," came the consoling voice of the blue hedgehog.
"I'll die before we don't"
XXXX
A pervasive sound resembling that of logs going through a mill echoed throughout one of Freedom H.Q. 's guest bedrooms. A restless lavender cat, having changed into her nightgown, lied in bed with her husband, the blue blur. As-per usual, his snoring was a sight to behold. However, having gotten used to her dear husband's sleeping habits long ago, this was not what kept her awake.
Sighing in defeat, an exhausted Blaze left the king's side and strode over to the open window. Observing the crescent moon as its beams poured through the room. Anxiously, she hugged herself, a whirlpool of uncertainty swirling through her sea of thoughts.
As the seconds ticked by, her lone contemplation was brought to a halt upon the sound of rustling covers. "Go back to sleep, you need your rest," she said, her eyes remaining glued on the night sky.
"Like you're one to talk, you're the one who woke me up," teased the awoken hedgehog, his feet and stomach now without dress. "You need your beauty sleep, too. Emphasis on the 'beauty."
"I'm sorry," was the solemn response.
"Nothing to be sorry about, what's keeping you?" asked the concerned spouse.
"I'm worried to death… What if those two menaces aren't even telling the truth? What if they plan to do away with our children even if we meet their demands? What if they've already…"
"Hey!" Sonic asserted, shooting up from his bedside sitting position. "What do you think you're doing, talking like that? Doom and gloom isn't the Blaze I know, and it certainly isn't the Blaze I fell in love with!"
"I'm sorry!" repeated the lavender queen, gripping herself tighter and stammering. "I can't help it, I've never been more scared in my life!"
"Neither do I…" Sonic began, delicately striding towards Blaze.
The feline felt her husband's loving hands wrap around her midsection as he continued.
"But losing sleep and moping around worrying about last case scenarios isn't gonna help you; isn't gonna help me; and certainly isn't gonna help Blaura, Dash, and Sonash."
"I know," Blaze admitted.
Sonic tickled Blaze's ear with delicate whispers as he put on the most optimistic act he could. "Honey, by the end of tomorrow, those two bozos'll be locked up for good, and we'll be a family again. Just you wait."
Blaze turned around in his arms and gave a halfhearted smile. "Thank you for trying, Sonic, but I'll never cease being wary until your prediction comes to pass."
"Dear, as long as I've got two legs to run on, those eggheads won't have our kids, or anything passed tomorrow," grinned her husband.
"I truly hope so…" was the cat's unsure response.
More seconds crawled by, with Blaze turning back around to feel her husband's hands on her stomach as she continued to observe the night sky. Alas, all moments must come to an end eventually.
"So, has my precious queen at least been consoled enough to come and get some shuteye, so I can get my beauty sleep?" the loving hedgehog teased.
"Hmm… yes," chuckled Blaze.
With a nod, Sonic guided the two back to bed, his arms temporarily leaving her midsection before quickly replacing themselves after the covers had been pulled over them. "See you in the morning, dear. Love you."
A more relaxed sigh trickled from Blaze's lips as she felt the security of her husband's grip. Her hands clasped around his as both pairs rose and fell with her breaths.
"I love you too."