"So let me get this straight, you're saying that some magical artifacts from Naru—"
"No! They're from Journey to the West. Not really, since that's fictional and they're real, but that's the earliest depiction of them to date."
They had moved Jet's old desk into the middle of the airship's living room, because Jet could not bear to give an explanation without sitting by it. Sonic, Tails, Cream and Amy stood around it while listening to him spout lore about the mysterious gourd-shaped artifact they had just found in Marble Zone.
Oh man, it had just dawned on Jet that he was not good at talking in public. Well, as "public" as a group of four people could be. A group of three people and Sonic – who could feel like both like a crowd and like he wasn't even there depending on the situation. What would Wave do if she was there? Probably take over his current role and give a much better explanation than he ever could. Not very helpful to his current situation. At least she had left him a small parting gift.
It was a necklace with an orb much like her own, though this one was almost the size of a tennis ball and was a slightly translucent light blue color. It wasn't multifunctional like the hers – its only purpose was to serve as a translation device. It even supported ancient Babylonian translation, although that feature was and would probably always be stuck in beta. Since most of the relevant texts were lost when the outer layer of the Babylon Garden got destroyed by the ark of the cosmos' black hole. Woops! Not something that was helpful to think about either!
"The bashosen is one of them." Jet put his fans on top of the desk. "They're not actually made by the Babylonians, but they were made using their technology. The set we're looking for was made by the civilization that originated Chun-nan. Supposedly guarded by the silver and gold horned devil kings or however the story goes."
"Okay, wait a minute. So technically, they're not yours to take, then?" Sonic took a step in front of Jet, arms crossed over his chest. The feeling of having to look up to make eye contact with the hedgehog was making Jet feel something.
"It's a long story." Jet waved dismissively, but Sonic leaned in so that they were both at eye level with each other.
"It's not like we're short on time, Flicky. We only arrive at Charmy's place late at night, and it'll take another day of travelling to reach our next real destination." Sonic stepped back beside the group, a small smirk on his face. "This is the perfect time for your little story. There's still time to turn this ship around if you're making us do something shady."
"Even more shady than disrupting possible archeological sites?" Jet raised an eyebrow.
"Even more shady." Sonic nodded.
Jet let out a sigh and leaned back on his chair, eyes closed deep in thought as if trying to find something hidden inside his brain. The few surviving written records that existed about the story were archived inside his father's house – so basically out of his reach forever. It's not like he didn't remember how the story went, but some of the details were starting to get a bit fuzzy in his memory. And like previously mentioned, his delivery wouldn't be the best. But it was either that or have the artifacts remain out of his grasp.
"Alright." Jet opened his eyes back up and straightened himself on his seat. "Have any of you ever stopped to think about the contradiction in the Babylonian lore?"
Everyone in the room looked at each other, with varying degrees of confusion on their faces. Tails was the one to finally provide an answer, clearing his throat and momentarily speaking up.
"You mean the fact that they have amazing technology, yet somehow dedicated themselves to thievery? As in, nothing they could steal on Mobius would have a value comparable to that of the things they could make themselves."
"Exactly, fox boy. It makes no sense when you think about it like that, right?" Jet had a vague hint of a smile on his face as he watched the mobians slowly nod. "It's because they weren't always so focused on stealing."
A pause. "In fact, it was pretty much the opposite for quite a while! They would share their great knowledge with other civilizations and give plenty of gifts to their leaders. Nobles would often come and ask for specific tools to make their lives easier. I'm sure you've all heard of the young boy that received angel wings. He didn't really rule the world like the story says, but it was still a valuable gift nonetheless."
"Then… what happened?" Amy asked, raising a hand to her chin. "They wouldn't ruin their reputation out of nowhere like that, right?"
"I don't remember exactly what it was, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with a war. The Babylonians were completely against their technology being used for war, and suspected the other nations were doing it behind their backs. After that got confirmed by this one war, they decided to change their attitude. Most of them abandoned their advanced technology and proceeded to live just like the rest of the world. Some groups felt it was unjust that the Babylonians had to let go of their own culture and knowledge just because other people couldn't use them responsibly."
"And that's the story of how the Babylon Rogues were created. They set out to reclaim their own technology from the hands of other civilizations… and then it devolved into regular stealing once they ran out of Babylonian technology." Jet shrugged. "Something about deserving to be compensated for the loss of millennia of accumulated knowledge even though nothing on Earth would ever be equally as valuable."
The room fell in silence. Not an awkward one, but a pretty long one regardless. Jet could tell by their expressions that they were each thinking about what to make of the story. Sonic's expression showed he was having a particularly hard time with this. Surprisingly, Cream was the first to speak up.
"I suppose what we're doing is fine, then? It's not like we're taking treasure from someone's house. The gourd at least looked like it had been left there on purpose, and no one came back to get it before us."
Amy frowned. "I wouldn't call it fine, but… it's way more morally gray than the things you used to do, Jet."
"Well, that's fine by me." Sonic finally chimed back into the conversation, shrugging. "If I'm okay with Shadow working for the military, then I'm okay with this. Now c'mon, let's put this desk back in the storage."
After that, their day proceeded as usual with no more questioning about the legality of the situation they were in. Jet was feeling a bit proud of himself for managing to tell the story so well! He really felt like bragging, but that's not what a nice person would do. A nice person would be modest and hang out with his friends, and that's what he did. He spent most of the day helping Cream practice her extreme gear skills, but he also spared some time to help Amy and Tails with whatever.
Jet was starting to get slightly upset at how little time he was spending with Sonic – and then upset that he had gotten upset about a stupid minor thing like that. Even after his conversation with Amy back at Marble Zone, there was still something holding him back from fully accepting himself. He tried thinking of everything that might have been affecting him, but nothing came to mind. Oh well, nothing some therapy sessions couldn't fix when he got back home! He got so far as to admit to himself and to others that there is an issue, might as well take care of it too.
But it's not like he didn't get to talk with Sonic at all. In fact, they got a lot of time for themselves when it came time for everyone to go back to their rooms. It was mostly small talk or playing one of Sonic's dozens of board games, but it was still time well spent. They spent the nights laughing and challenging each other, and then laid down to sleep when all the energy had left them.
It was all Jet could ever ask for.
Jet originally wasn't going to stay up to greet Charmy and whoever else was supposed to board the airship in the middle of the night, but he ended up changing his mind. At the very last minute, when he woke up after only a few hours of sleep and noticed Sonic wasn't on his bunk anymore.
His need to see Sonic was enough to get him out of bed, but not enough to completely make up for the lack of sleep. He practically dragged himself out of the room and towards the hall, feet bare and long feathers let loose and covering part of his face. He was already able to hear a conversation before he got there, though making out what they were saying was difficult.
After turning the corner, he had finally come face to face with the group. The ramp was still lowered, and it looked like they were parked in a residential area. Atop a wide but not very tall building, he noted. Sonic and Amy were the closest to him, and Charmy was slowly making his way up the ramp while they chatted. There was also someone else, a black and red colored hedgehog that looked even grumpier than he did.
"…Is that Vanilla's car over there? Okay, that's Vanilla's car, she got in the right car. Come in already you two, there' some… Oh, hey Jet! Did we wake you up?" Sonic shot him a smile and a thumbs up, making everyone else turn to acknowledge his presence. How did he sound so chipper this late in the night?
"'s fine." Jet scanned the group, his tired eyes eventually focusing on Charmy as he raised a hand to wave at him. "Hey."
"Hey Jet! You look like you've passed through a blender before coming here." The bee was already in his pajamas, a smart choice in Jet's opinion. His eyes roamed once again until meeting the unknown hedgehog, who had a perpetually annoyed look on his face. Sonic quickly noticed the eye contact between the two and rushed to his side to wrap a hand around his shoulder.
"Right! Let me finally introduce you guys to each other. Shadow, this is Jet. Jet, this is Shadow."
Shadow, huh?
So he was the one Amy had mentioned. The name seemed to slowly wake him up, partially due to the anxiety that was slowly beginning to fill his body. Shadow's expression changed ever so slightly, now more of a tired yet neutral look than outright annoyance. He quickly glanced at Amy, who gave him a wink and nothing else.
"Nice to meet you. Welcome to my ship and all that." Jet reached a hand to scratch the back of his neck, just now realizing he had come to greet his new crew members completely naked. Not that it was an issue, but it wasn't the best of impressions to make. Gloves and shoes went a long way in mobian culture.
"It's a nice ship." Was all Shadow commented before Charmy led him further inside and towards his room. Amy followed soon after, but not before giving Jet a very hard to ignore wink. Even Sonic caught sight of it.
Both Jet and Sonic shrugged to teach other in response to that and went back to their rooms. Jet wished he could fall back asleep just as easily as he had woken up, but his mind was racing with all sorts of questions. Was that really Shadow? So Sonic was into bad boys then? Or was it the polite and (supposedly) reserved type that attracted him? How was he going to get on the same level as someone so handsome? Were those cool shoes of his extreme gear?
Eventually – after a very short time, actually – Jet got tired of telling his mind to shut up and simply let the anxiety flood him. As he did that, he noticed Sonic wasn't snoring loudly as usual. He rolled on his stomach and peered down at the bottom bunk, where the hedgehog was staring back at him.
"You okay up there? You were kinda… tossing and turning a little. Need another blanket?" Sonic asked, rubbing his tired eyelids.
"Do you think Shadow thinks less of me because I was naked when you introduced me to him?" That wasn't what was bothering him of course, but he had to step into the subject somehow.
Sonic had to snort a little at just how blunt Jet was. "What? No way, man! I've done way worse in front of Shadow, and we're still good friends."
"Weh." Jet rolled onto his back again, starring at the metallic ceiling. "How did you two meet each other?"
"Like how I meet most of my new friends, he kept trying to beat me up for a while but then he calmed down."
"…Did I do that to you?"
"I mean… I guess you're one of the exceptions."
Jet shrugged to himself. He did think of beating Sonic up once or twice in the past, but he was too much of a wimp (and had no reason) to even consider doing that. Even then, that differentiated him for the rest of his friends somehow. He didn't know if that was a nice thing, but he hoped it was.
"Why are you asking?" Sonic's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "Don't tell me you got the hots for Shadow after you saw him for the first time."
"What?! No, of course n— Ow!" Jet forgot the ceiling wasn't as tall as it looked and smacked the top of his head on it as he rushed to sit up.
"No need to be embarrassed by it! I'll admit I also had to take some time to breathe when I first saw him. How can you resist all that?" Sonic got off the bed to see if Jet was okay, quickly laying back down.
"Gross. I mean, I can't deny he's kind of handsome, but I don't really want to know what and who turns you on. Like, ever." Jet groaned. "And I'm not interested in him. I swear he could have cut my beak off with all that edge."
Did he emphasize that by accident? He felt like he emphasized that. It was the closest he ever came to admitting his crush on Sonic – and hopefully the closest he'd ever get to it for a while. The hedgehog fortunately didn't seem to catch onto that, simply letting out a chuckle.
"Awww, really? Bummer, I thought we were having a bit of a moment back there. At least I got to listen to you admitting Shadow was hot. And less than one hour after meeting him too! It took me almost a full month before I even let myself think about it."
Oh? Oh? Finally something he could relate to! Maybe what he was feeling was normal after all! "What? Why? You're usually the type that likes to run your big mouth at the first opportunity you get."
"It's… kind of complicated? I mean, Shadow is descended from a murderous race of aliens first of all, so that's kind of a turn off for most people. And he's technically like… almost in his sixties? Like, he has the physical appearance and mental age of someone in his twenties like me, but he's been alive way longer. Even if most of this time was just spent in cryo-sleep. Y'know what I'm saying."
Oh. Never mind, Sonic was totally unrelatable and he felt like a fool for believing even a single aspect of Sonic's life didn't involve some sort of interesting and cool backstory with lots of heroism and Chaos Emerald shenanigans. Jet's mood quickly turned sour as he got mad at himself for getting so hopeful over something like that.
"I have no idea what you're talking about most of the time. I'm not some sort super genius or a space pretty-boy or any of the kind of lunatics you usually hang out with. I'm just an ordinary guy that got roped into two adventures and then never had anything interesting happen ever again."
Jet obviously couldn't see the expression Sonic was making, but he imagined it was either a glare that could cut through the bed frame or a very exaggerated teary-eyed guilty face. Whatever it was, it was coupled with a rather long pause coming from the hedgehog.
"Do you feel left out, Jet?"
Huh?
"Huh?"
"Of like… I don't know, life in general. Like… feeling like everyone else has their own little friend group that goes on their own little adventures. Without you." Another pause, although a small one this time. "I know this is really abstract and vague, but I can't think of a better way to ex—"
"Yes. Every single day. Even right now, while I'm talking to so many new people. It doesn't feel like they're really here for me, it feels like they're here only because of you. Call me petty and pathetic all you want. Turn the airship around or whatever. I don't care."
"Why would I do any of that? That's exactly how I feel."
Jet's eyes were wide open. Even though he had beaten himself up for thinking he could relate to any of Sonic's crazy life experiences just a few seconds earlier, this time he felt like it was going to be something he could actually relate to. It was almost like Sonic could hear the gears turning inside his head, since he spoke up at the exact time he had finished processing the sentence.
"Well, it's not nearly as bad as your case anymore, but I still do pretty often. I don't… want to make it sound like I'm yelling at you "hey, I'm just like you so stop being sad!" or anything like that. I just want to make clear I'm on the same level as you, no playful taunting or anything this time."
Sonic took a deep breath, sitting up himself. He had to hunch over a bit so his head wouldn't hit the top bunk frame.
"It's always kind of lonely whenever the adventures end, you know? Amy, Shadow, Knuckles… even Tails goes back to a relatively normal life once all the mess gets cleaned up. And I just… stay here. I have to stay alert in case anything or anyone else tries to threaten the world."
…
"Eggman has been off everyone's radar for a whole two years now. What if he just went away, changed his identity and started a new life? I'd still be here, waiting and waiting for him to return so I can be the hero again. Sometimes I wonder if being a hero is all I know how to do anymore. Heck, I don't even remember what my hobbies were before the first time I saw the doctor shoving animals inside robots."
…
"I know you must hate me right now. For trying to imply being loved by basically the whole world is a bad thing. But I'm just…I'm trying my best, you know? I always keep going. I have to keep going. For the world. For Tails. For Charmy and Cream. For you."
"You don't have to keep going for me."
Sonic suddenly fell into silence, not really expecting to hear Jet speak with a tone so genuine, so kind.
"I mean… I live in the world, of course I want it saved. But you don't have to put all that pressure on yourself like that. What if it's something not even you can take on your own? You're gonna be the first one to rush over to the issue, and you're gonna be the first one to die alone."
"I guess when you put it like that…"
"You are the fastest thing in the universe anyways, you can get to wherever the trouble is in a second no matter where you are."
"Since when did you hand me the title, Flicky?"
"Stop that."
Another line that made Sonic's eyes widen. Was he even speaking to the same person anymore?
"Stop pitying me. When we started this… stupid dispute six years ago, it was only because I didn't know any better. Now I know who you are and I know that you're the faster on foot than I'll ever be on extreme gear, and I'm not upset about it."
"You're not?"
"What, do you think I can just paint myself blue and suddenly get on the same level as you? One thing is being stubborn, but this is something else. I know I'm never going to be that fast, and I'm fine with it. I'm fine at being good at my own niche hoverboard sport. You thinking I'd still be upset over something so… childish is what pisses me off."
Another very long pause coming from Sonic. And this time, Jet wasn't worried about making him upset. He didn't know where the words came from, or how he managed to say all that without stuttering or getting flustered or chickening out in any way. But his chest already felt a whole lot lighter than when he first got into that airship. Finally, Sonic let out a sigh.
"I guess I've been pitying you all along, huh? Jeez man, I'm… I didn't even realize I was doing that. I shrugged it off when Shadow told me I was trying to play the therapist, but this… I'm sorry for behaving this way, Jet. I really do."
"I'll believe you, as long as you start treating me as an equal to you from now on. No more isolating yourself in your pedestal just because you were at the right place at the right time and ended up saving the world a couple of times by accident."
"Only if you stop putting yourself under because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time twice and ended up getting caught in my messes."
"It's fair."
Both of them fell in silence. A warm, comforting silence. None of them had anything else to get off their chests – nothing negative, at least. It felt good for Jet to be so open and honest with Sonic for once, and he hoped the hedgehog felt the same way.
"Tomorrow I'll show you around the engine room and all that. It's your ship, you deserve to know what's going on." Sonic's voice was soothing, way more than when he was actually trying to comfort Jet.
"I promise I won't blow anything up and make us fall into the ocean." Jet snickered, closing his heavy eyelids.
"Good luck getting Tails to even come close to the new engine. He was almost hesitant to let Wave near it after the upgrades."
"Maybe you should have one of these conversations with him too, huh? Maybe it'll work for him as well."
Both of them laughed, wiping off tears they didn't know they shed.
Author's Note: I didn't intend for the Babylonians' backstory to be so similar to the Sheikah/Yiga from BotW but that's kinda how it came out, oops. Also this was originally only going to be half of a chapter but their conversation was getting long and I realized they haven't had many solo interactions so I turned it into this instead. Hope y'all like the chapter!