Jet was surprised his extreme gear board still worked despite not landing at the correct building at all. There were a few small dents here and there, but it was still functional and he had still managed to beat Sonic on the race to the airship garage using it. He didn't have time to gloat until Sonic's ears started bleeding this time, though. They had business to do there.

It wasn't much of an "airship garage" at all, really. It was more along the lines of an oversized football stadium with various kinds of vehicles and machines parked in it. There were markings on the ground delimiting how much wiggle room each of those had, and a plaque with the owner's name on the ground for good measure.

The square the blimp was stationed in was more than enough to house it – and there was a decent amount of air space to maneuver in case they needed to leave with it – but Jet said they wouldn't be able to actually pilot it today. He didn't seem too bothered by that, but Sonic was making the biggest pouty face.

"Aww, I really wanted to fly this thing! What if there's like… I don't know, something we have to take back to Wave in a pinch? Our boards wouldn't make it there in time. I mean… I could, but y'know. We're a team now, I can't just leave you behind!"

"We're a what now? As far as I'm concerned, you're just here to do some manual labor for me and then you'll scram." Jet huffed, fetching his keys from his wallet. "It takes forever to get them to open the ceiling for us anyways, Wave would already be dead by the time we even got this thing off the ground. We'd have a better time riding on the fox's plane if we need to get there quickly. Which we probably won't, so don't get your hopes up for that either."

"Tails never taught me how to drive the Tornado, though. And I can't really count on him to take us there, at least not for today. I tried waking him up to see if he wanted to come with us but he bit me! It's still hurting a bit too…" Sonic made a pouty face, rubbing his right hand. The glove had a few fang-sized holes on it, but he couldn't really see Sonic's hand through them.

"It's your fault for not looking where you dropped your board, hedgehog." Jet simply shrugged and took out a remote from his wallet as well. He pressed one of the buttons and the airship started emitting a low hum before lowering a ramp for them to be able to get on board. The gondola door had to be opened using the keys – which Sonic thought was weird since there was more than enough space for an open door button on that remote.

Jet suddenly stopped once he stepped a foot inside the airship. It was as if nothing had changed. It felt as if it was just another day of planning heists and then doing nothing inside his personal office. Sonic then arrived and took him out of that memory, not seeing to notice Jet had been staring at nothing for about thirty seconds.

Whoever Wave had hired to take care of the ship in their absence, they were probably being paid quadruple digits. He had never seen the interior so clean before, not even when the Rogues took a whole week off to do maintenance. The metallic walls sparkled as soon as Jet turned on the interior lights, reflecting both mobians on their glossy red coating. Their steps echoed as they ventured deeper inside, indicating there was more space than Sonic initially imagined.

"Huh! I've always thought this would way more cramped. Why did you guys need this much space anyways? Were the heists that successful?"

"We didn't really need it. This ship has been passed down from generation to generation, and the Babylon Rogues used to be… you know, a proper gang. Not just three people."

"The fact that you still managed to keep this thing working even if you were always understaffed is pretty impressive, I have to say."

"I'm starting to think you do idolize the old Jet." He gave Sonic a smirk.

"Again with that, Flicky? I'm just saying, you Rogues were pretty competent at your job. Even if that job was stealing from the innocent."

That nickname was new. It made a wave of mystery feeling roll through Jet's body. He was lucky his feathers were brightly colored, or else Sonic would be able to make out a faint blush on his face under them.

"So big banks and museums that steal cultural artifacts from other countries to fill their expositions are innocent now? I never thought Sonic the Hedgehog was a bootlicker, but the dirt does suit you very well."

"Hey, that's—!" Sonic crossed his arms and huffed, visibly flustered, "It… doesn't sound as bad when you say it like that. Though I'm pretty sure you didn't originally plan on returning those cultural artifacts anytime soon, did you?"

Jet simply shrugged. "Nobody's perfect."

He led them through a couple hallways and empty rooms until they had reached the kitchen. It was mostly empty except for a small fridge – which was still working, surprisingly! Jet opened it and took out two water bottles, tossing one towards Sonic. There were also a couple of boxes of chocolate milk within their expiration date, but he wasn't going to take those out in front of Sonic. He still wanted to look cool in front of the hedgehog, for whatever reason.

"What are we looking for again? Gold? Gems? Your missing height?" Sonic said after a sip, looking around. He seemed to be pretty entertained by everything so far.

"I'd say the rest of your brain cells, but not even someone as talented as me can find something that doesn't exist." Jet rolled his eyes. Sonic looked the tiniest bit offended. "Anything, really. We're not sure what to do with this thing, since we don't use it anymore, so we're gonna take away anything of value to see if we get any clues."

"It looks like it's going to take quite a while, maybe I should have called Amy or Shadow to help us…"

"We won't be looking inside every room, hedgehog. I'm thinking… the bridge, the engine room and my office might have something. And the storage, of course. We should split up to take care of this faster."

"Roger that, boss!" Sonic teased, getting a huff out of Jet. "I'll go ahead and look into the storage and then your off—"

"No."

"Fine, geez! The storage and the engine room then. I'll meet you at the office when I'm done, Flicky!"

"That's not my name stop calling me that!" Jet growled and stomped his foot at Sonic, who had already run off to explore the blimp. A sigh escaped his beak as he started heading to the bridge.

Ah, the memories! He remembered the very distinct feeling of getting bored and then coming over to ask Wave how long until they arrived at their next destination. He could almost hear Wave shouting at him for being an impatient little brat too. He walked over to the steering wheel and gave it a few spins as if he was piloting. Obviously, nothing happened. The only thing of interest in there was a small toolbox next to one of the displays, which he took with him as he walked back into the hallway.

He could hear Sonic running through the blimp, his shoes making a repetitive tapping noise loud enough for Jet to make a guess on where he was at all times. Judging on how fast he was going, either he hadn't found anything worth taking or he was being careless with Jet's precious belongings. He chose to believe in the former and proceeded to the office without stopping to check on his companion.

In truth, Jet knew there wasn't going to be anything of value inside the room besides the computer system. He still humored the thought for a bit as he looked around, but found nothing as expected. The hawk then sighed and sat on the chair by the desk, resting his head on his hands as like he used to do.

It… didn't feel the same. Maybe because all the noise that came with being inside an active airship wasn't present, or because he just wasn't in the right headspace to let himself indulge in the memories anymore. Oh well, there was one last job to be done.

He just needed to log into the system, execute some commands and then all the leftover files would be sent directly to Wave's database. Since Storm was the one originally tasked with that job, Wave had made a sheet containing colorful diagrams and pictures explaining everything step-by-step. Jet had no problem following those instructions, though the upload was taking a bit longer than expected since the signal inside the "garage" wasn't very good.

Meanwhile, he could feel a pair of eyes burning a hole through his skull as he waited on the upload. He had been aggressively trying not to acknowledge the portrait that hung above the large window ever since he entered the room.

Father.

It was as if the old man was looking at him through the picture. Him and his… stupid pirate costume or whatever that outfit was supposed to be. He looked a lot like Jet, except he was taller, tougher looking and way more successful. A constant reminder that Jet had pretty much failed in everything he was raised to do. He wanted to shatter the glass to pieces and rip that picture apart, if only there wasn't a wave of anxiety coursing through his body.

Jet stood in front of the holographic computer screen for five minutes until he decided to actually do something about it. He finally turned to face the portrait. Jet had gotten just barely tall enough to touch it. He could have easily reached it if he stood on the chair or even on his board, but he was too stubborn to do that.

He opted instead to stretch as much as he could. He had a weak grip on it with two of his fingers, and was struggling to actually flip the picture towards the wall. He briefly considered asking Sonic for help, but quickly shrugged the thought away. That'd only make him look even more pathetic.

Sonic still came, though.

"Jet, you won't believe what I found! I went in the bedrooms – don't get mad at me for that, I was just super curious – and I found some of your old stuff! There's a teddy bear that's super cute, but also super dusty so I tossed it back in the box. What are you up to?"

That made Jet let out a yelp and jumped in surprise, causing the portrait to slip out of his hands and wobble. He was already on his way to yank the box out of Sonic's hands when the sound of shattering glass echoed through the room.

He didn't feel bad at all for that old portrait, and was ready to finish it once in for all. He avoided the sharp shards and reached out to take the picture from the frame, but something else slipped and fell on his hand instead.

"Huh?"

Jet gazed over the piece of paper. It looked old, but the portrait frame had protected it from tears for the most part. The back of the paper was devoid of any writing, only marked by humidity stains. Flipping it over, however…

Surge "Stolen the Fifth" the Hawk's ultimate treasure hunt.

That was his father's name! Some of the places in the list had been crossed out (probably by him), and some of them had already been pillaged by the (now former) Babylon Rogues. But there were still quite a few names he either had never been to or didn't recognize at all. This… this! This was the big clue, the lead he was looking for all along!

Sonic must have noticed Jet's face light up as he read the paper. The hedgehog had sneaked up on him while he was distracted, taking a peek at the paper from behind him. "What's that for?"

"Too close!" Jet squeaked and jumped away from Sonic, feeling a warmth spread across his cheeks. "Looks like my old man was hiding his failures all along. What a loser."

"You didn't need an old shopping list to confirm that. I guess now we know for sure that he's all chirp and no bite, huh?"

Jet ignored just how bad that pun was and continued to prance around the room, a big grin on his face. "This is big! If I can go everywhere in here and get all of the treasures, then I can…"

"…Prove a point to your father?"

That made Jet stop on his tracks and turn to face Sonic. He didn't like being challenged, much less on something so personal as this. At least it sounded like a challenge to him. Sonic had unamusement written all over his face.

"What about it, Sonic the Hedgehog? I know what you're going to say, you don't need to prove a point to anyone, Jet. But I do."

Sonic opened and then closed his mouth. Looks like the hawk had hit the jackpot on that prediction. He crossed his arms over his chest and impatiently tapped his foot on the ground, looking around as if he was waiting for a rebuttal to pop into his mind.

"You don't know what it's like. You never will, everyone already loves you. But not me. And this is my only chance to—"

"Oh, they love me, Jet? Why do you think they love me?"

That caught him by surprise. He paused for a few moments before speaking up again, "Because you're all… blue and fast! And a hero! And you save the world and all that!"

"So they love the fact that they're not dead yet. Doesn't sound like there's much for me in that deal."

"…You… you don't know what it's like still! You don't know what it's like to get put down your whole life as an outcast in his own family!"

"You're right about that one," Sonic uncrossed his arms, his expression softening, "but that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about. Do you think your dad is going to suddenly start liking you if you get all the treasures he couldn't?"

"Yes!"

"Is he really going to start liking you? You specifically? Or the fact that someone from his family got the treasures?"

"I…"

"You don't need to prove to a crooked old man that you're worth living, Jet. I know it's easy for me to say, since… well, I wasn't raised like that! But please, consider it for a moment."

Jet opened his beak to shout Sonic down, but… he was right. Once again. It made him feel furious, and guilty, and pitiful and… thankful? He still couldn't accept the fact that someone was helping him deal with his issues for once – much less Sonic the Hedgehog out of all people.

Chaos, why was he such a dick?

"…I guess you're right. Sorry."

Sonic looked like he had to physically restrain himself to not make a funny remark about how that was the first time Jet had apologized to him. He simply shook his head in the end.

"It's alright, it's not your fault."

"I guess I'm gonna put this in the trash with the frame rest of the portrait, then."

"Woah, hold on!" Sonic held onto Jet's shoulder before he could move. It wasn't like there was a trash can nearby anyways, so why he did that was beyond the hawk. "I didn't say you couldn't go to these places, I just said to not do it to prove a point!"

"Why else would I do this then?"

"For… for fun, of course! Don't tell me you've always done this stuff for the sake of the Babylon Rogues legacy, Jet. I've seen you smiling to yourself while you rode away with the chaos emerald."

Fun…? It… it was pretty fun yeah!

"Sure, but I don't have a crew anymore. Wave is busy being rich and famous and Storm is a dad now."

"Leave that to me! I'm willing to be your second in command if that means cheering you up. Tails can be your mechanic, though it's going to take a while to convince him. Eggman has been on the low anyways, I've been craving a trill lately." Sonic grinned. Jet still had his doubts.

"I can try to see if more people want to join us as well! The more the merrier, right? I can maybe get Rouge to come and drag Shadow if they don't have anything from G.U.N. in their schedule. Amy's probably busy with her… I think she has a pastry shop now? No clue, but—"

"Why?"

"Huh? I mean, Amy is the second strongest person I know besides Knuckles, and I don't think I can make Mr. Stoic leave the master emerald because of a field trip."

"No, I meant. Why are you so hellbent on helping me?"

"That's just what heroes do, right? Help the people in need?" Sonic shrugged, resting his hands behind his head.

"And what exactly do I need now?"

"Friends."

Author's Note: College is starting /for real/ for real now and it looks like I'm gonna struggle this semester so updates are probably going to slow down quite a bit. Also I ordered Rune Factory 4 Special and it arrives on Friday soooooo I'm probably gonna devote my free time to that for a while. If everything goes right I'm gonna post another chapter before that, but it's gonna depend on how this week goes.

Also, thank you so much for supporting this fic! Your comments mean a lot to me and help me stay motivated while writing, so go ahead and leave some whenever you have something to say! Kudos also help if you haven't done that already.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!