Sonic Adventure: Downfall and Redemption

by ThePhantomHedgehog

6 months after Infinite's defeat, a new adventure begins and a new member joins the team. But as he becomes closer friends with everyone, long-forgotten enemies return, and the team begins to question their new friend's history. Secrets will unravel, relationships will be strained, and trust will become betrayal. Things will never be the same. ARCHIVED; REBOOT & PREQUEL IN PROGRESS

7. Chapter 7: Something's Stirring

Silver: Are you sure this is where this guy lives?

Blaze: That's what Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles claim.

Silver: Let's be honest, Blaze… you kinda forced it out of them.

Blaze: Oh, be quiet and help me find this guy.

Me: (Whispering) Sssshhhh… readers, don't tell them I'm here. Apparently, those two found out a lot sooner than I expected. I'm gonna try and get through this chapter as fast as… *Phew*… they're gone… for now… I'm gonna get through this chapter as fast as possible. Hopefully this won't be the last, in case I die. Anyways… story, disclaimer, yadda yadda yadda, let's get to it.

Silver: (Distant) Maybe he's in the pantry?

Me: Please don't find me…

*Sincere A/N*

Wow... managed to get this written in less than two weeks... Cool.

Okay, so… I suck at determining how long each part is. I do. I was hoping to get further story-wise with this chapter than I planned and, oh boy, was I WRONG. So, there will be rivals in this chapter, but not as much as I was planning. On the plus side, you get a longer story. The down side, this chapter is mostly filler. Damn it… Sorry. But don't you worry. I'll make up for the lack of anything exciting happening with an awesome battle next chapter. IT WILL HAPPEN.

Also, got my first review! WHOO! I wanna shout out to Rowan Jacobs for the review; I'm very grateful and pleased that you love the story so far. And don't worry, there will be fluff and angst (isn't that an oxymoron? *shrugs*)… and perhaps more. Hint hint, wink wink. But nothing too graphic. Can't afford to have this be rate M at this point, now, can I?

*Deadpan* Don't answer that.

…

*Pulls out nuclear bazooka* *Demonic voice* I MEAN IT…

*Puts weapon away… for now…*

Also, just so we are clear, there will be no bashing in this story… besides Fang's skull, but that's another topic itself; there's no bashing of any kind… well, at least real bashing. And this isn't an Archie crossover either.

Anyways, on to the main event!

…

…

…

Why are you still here? Go read the chapter.

…

What?

…

You want to know what the "crossover" game is? Now?

…

Too bad! I'm not gonna reveal that spoiler until… well, let's just say the chapter I reveal it in will be very… very… very… very dark. Like borderline M rating dark. But that won't be for a LONG time.

*Update 1/15/19* - Minor changes.

*Update 1/26/19* - Minor changes again.

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Chapter 7: Something's Stirring…

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

*** October 19, 2020 ***

Tails' Workshop

"Wow," said Sonic and Amy.

"I told you Siris wasn't kidding when he said Omega would need a lot more than some TLC," said Tails as he continued inspecting the damaged robot.

[ Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4) – Oscorp Research Station Mission Theme 1 ] (Uploaded by xXSilentAgent47Xx) (0:00)

It was around 6:30 AM in the Mystic Ruins and it was just moments ago that Shadow teleported Omega and himself to Tails' workshop to get him repaired. While Siris was able to repair nearly all of Omega's circuits and software components, he gave up on trying to patch up Omega's armor and other mechanical issues due to the lack of time to focus on it, and meet with his patients, and take care of Sylvie; which was probably the most important; and get some sleep; when his nightmares decide to give him a break. Shadow arrived, said a couple of words, and then teleported away. Business as usual with him.

"I'm still on call you know," Siris yawned from Tails' communicator.

Tails shook his head.

"Uh, right! Sorry, just a little surprised by… this," the kitsune explained, "I've never seen Omega like this before."

"Join G.U.N. and you won't be surprised for long," said Siris.

"He got damaged that often?" asked Sonic.

"Not to this extent, no, but there have been times where Omega would need some extra repairs. Guess it comes with his 'destroy all Eggman robots' purpose he made for himself, or something. I dunno."

Sonic whistled.

"No wonder Shadow is always in a cheery mood," he joked.

"Sonic… come on. That's a bit low, don't you think?"

"… yeah, you're right. I take that ba- wait, how do you know about Maria?"

"Who?"

"Maria Robotnik?"

"There's another Robotnik!?"

"I guess you don't know…"

"*Pfft* I'm messing with ya; yeah, I do know about Maria. And again, used to work for G.U.N.; comes in handy when looking up information."

The trio opened their mouths.

"Don't ask."

They sighed.

"You worked all day yesterday doing these repairs?" Tails asked Siris, changing the subject.

"Well, not all day. I had to take a nap yesterday. And I had some overactive patient claiming to have an emergency that I had to deal with."

"Your clinic's open on Sundays?" asked Tails.

"Only for emergency cases, yes. Other than that, it's my only day off during the week. That being said, I'm not usually extremely busy during the week."

"How come it took you so long to do these repairs?" Sonic asked.

"Physically repairing Omega is fast. Repairing the damaged components take a bit of time; you can't force the laws of physics to bow to your every whim… I think. Mobian abilities seem to defy some of those laws. Anyways, yeah, repairing damaged parts take time and ordering replacement parts take… well, literally an eternity."

"I know that feeling," Tails muttered.

"In any case, what's your guys' next move?"

"Well, Tails will be staying here to fix Omega. Sonic and I will be looking for the Emeralds… somewhere…" Amy explained before trailing off.

"Does this 'somewhere' have a specific destination?"

"Eeeeeuuuuuuhhhhh- no," Sonic admitted.

"We haven't really thought of where we should search next," Amy explained.

"Do you want the list chronologically or alphabetically? Green Hills, Marble Zone, Chemical Plant Zone, the Forbi-"

Siris stopped himself midsentence, but Sonic's eyes had already widened.

"Wait, you know about L-"

"Sonic, shush! Remember what I told everyone the other night? Someone might be listening!"

Anyone who gets that reference gets a chocolate chip cookie.

Sonic, Tails, and Amy gave each other confused looks.

"By that logic, Siris, shouldn't we not be talking about our next place to search?" Amy asked.

"… good point. *sigh* This would be so much easier if we could hear Tails' idea… IN PERSON, mind you."

"Well, he told us his idea," said Sonic.

"Define 'us'."

"Me and Amy."

"Is it a good plan?"

"Very."

"Are saying that because your biased?"

"Nope."

"Good enough for me then. Tails, have you gotten a chance to look at that robot I demolished back at the clinic?"

"There was nothing I could find. Anything that could have helped were either smashed by you or too damaged by an explosive failsafe for recovery."

"And here I was hoping to avoid a grand adventure…"

"…-ster?"

The trio heard someone in the background of the call followed by what sounded like Siris wincing with annoyance.

"Oh! I'm sorry… I… I'll just…"

"No, it's okay, Sylvie. I was just talking to Sonic and Tails and Amy."

"Hi, Sylvie!" Amy called out cheerfully into Tails' communicator.

Siris groaned.

"Amy… please, not so loud. I don't want another headache to flare up."

"Oops, sorry."

Siris said something to Sylvie, but the others couldn't make it out.

"Eh… h-hello, Amy," Sylvie said nervously.

"Hi, Sylvie. How are you doing?" Amy asked.

"Uh… I'm fine…" Sylvie replied timidly.

"I've been wondering… where did you get that adorable dress?"

"Eh…"

"I mean, someone has some great taste. I was thinking about getting something for myself, because-"

"Amy?"

"- I've been wearing this red dress for years now, occasionally wearing something else for special occasions-"

"AMY!"

"What?"

"You're making Sylvie anxious again," Siris explained politely.

"Oh… sorry, Sylvie."

"I'm… okay."

"How about the next time you're in town, I take you to the place, Amy?" Siris suggested.

Amy beamed.

"Really!?"

"As long as you don't make my ears bleed, or my head split open, yes."

"Awesome!" she whispered loudly to herself, "You've got a deal, Siris. You're awesome!"

"Don't. Just… don't. You're just setting yourself and everyone else up for disappointment."

"Disappointment?" asked Sonic, "About the shop?"

"About me; whenever we get around to the big ol' Q&A you guys are getting ready for me. Remember?"

"Oh, come on, Siris. I'm sure you had your reasons for doing… whatever it was that you did," said Tails.

"… Let's talk about something else. Actually, scratch that; I have to see a patient in a minute."

"Are you serious?" asked Sonic.

"No, I'm lying just so we can end this conversation… Yes, I'm serious!"

"Geez, sor-ry!"

"I'll talk to you guys later."

Tails ended the call and continued to work on Omega.

"He sure sounded annoyed," said Tails.

"Maybe he's just tired," said Amy, "He did say he needed a nap yesterday."

"Maybe," said Tails as he reached for a wrench lying next to his foot.

"We should get going as well, Sonic," said Amy.

He nodded and turned to Tails.

"You sure you'll be fine all alone here, buddy?"

Tails looked over nodded.

"I'll be fine, Sonic. Besides, I've managed well enough these past few months alone, didn't I?"

"True… but that was before some world dominating wannabe put his plans into motion," said Sonic.

"Good point."

"Are you sure-"

"Sonic, I'm not a kid anymore. I can handle myself. Besides…"

Tails tilted his head over to the Cyclone, or informally known as the Tornado 3.

"… if trouble does show up, I'll be ready."

"Alright… you be careful Tails."

"You too, Sonic."

Sonic turned to Amy and smirked.

"Shall we?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied.

Sonic snatched her up in his arms, carrying her bridal style, causing her to shriek a little in joy. Amy turned her head towards Tails.

"Bye, Tails. See you soOO-"

Before she could finish her farewell, Sonic dashed out the door and was out of sight. Tails shook his head as a sonic boom crashed in the air.

"Always the impatient one," he sighed.

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Siris' Clinic

[ Free Mood Music | Soundscape Background Music – 'Into Uncertainty' ] (Uploaded by OurMusicBox) (0:00) (Loop)

Siris sighed sarcastically as he printed out some lab results of a patient's drug test. She came in yesterday complaining about spotting (look up this medical terminology if you want), which turned out to be a result of a miscarriage of a pregnancy she conceived a couple of weeks ago. However, she claimed to have had no sex in over year, ever since she divorced her husband. She also had a strange colored spot on the side of her neck, which she assumed could have been a sign of leukemia. Oh, the internet is such a wonderful tool. *Rolls eyes* However, as a medical professional who actually went to medical school and graduated, Siris had only one prognosis: hickey. Again, the patient denied ever having sex. So, to be sure, Siris had a hair sample sent… well, not really sent, he actually ran over to Spagonia, which was only half an hour away by foot, for a speedster, and had a hospital there do a drug test.

And now, here she was… in patient room number three, the second door on the left down the hall… awaiting the results. Siris wrote some notes down in the patient file and slipped the pen into his coat pocket before entering the room.

"You have restored my faith in the human race, Felicia," he told the young woman with short blonde hair who was sitting in one of the chairs.

Felicia was wearing an aquamarine colored tank top and a business jacket and business pants along with black heels. She smiled; certain that she had been right.

"You're lying," said Siris.

Felicia's smile instantly dropped

"No! I'm not lying!" she insisted.

Siris opened the patient file and laid it on the counter.

"I just got your results back," he explained as he double checked the results, "There's no signs of drugs; no GHB, no alcohol, nothing."

He looked up and saw her shocked face.

"It means you're having sex and you're lying about it."

"No!" Felicia exclaimed as she stood up, "And I have a new symptom."

She scoffed.

"I have a rash… on my butt. Hmph."

She sighed as Siris gave her a look.

"Do you wanna…?" she asked, gesturing to her rear.

Siris gave her a soft nod. Felicia sighed as she turned around, unbuttoned her pants and lowered them enough for Siris to see the rash.

"What is it!?" she demanded.

"It's a carpet burn," Siris answered.

Felicia turned her head.

"No! It can't be!" she exclaimed as she pulled her pants back up and turned around, "Doctor… I love sex! I miss it! I haven't had any in over a year."

Siris stared at her for a moment, thinking of all the possible explanations.

"Well," he sighed, "you managed to keep this appointment, so there's no short-term memory problem. Multiple personalities?"

Felicia shook her head with confusion.

"Do you find yourself losing chunks of time? Do you wake up and not remember falling asleep?"

"N-no… I just wake up… really exhausted."

"Something upsetting you?"

"… No," she replied with hesitation before giving Siris an unconvincing smile.

Siris gave her another look and slightly tilted his head. Felicia sighed.

"My ex… lives in the apartment downstairs," she explained, "He's always calling me. Always wanting to get back together; complaining about 'mixed signals'. 'Get out of my life!', how much clearer can you get!?"

Siris just stared as a small smile crept over his face. He cleared his throat and blinked a couple of times.

"Okay… I might have an idea of what the problem is," he explained.

Felicia raised her eyebrows and listened.

"Do you or anyone in your family have any history of sleepwalking?"

Felicia was a bit surprised.

"Uh... y-yes, actually. I started to sleepwalk about a year ago and my regular doctor has been giving me a prescription since then for it," she explained.

"Can you tell me exactly what it is that he prescribes you?"

"I… don't know the name, he told me it's just sleeping pills."

"… sleeping pills?"

"He thinks I'm sleepwalking because I wasn't getting enough sleep, which sounds funny to me."

Siris nodded and licked his lips.

"I think it's safe to assume that you've been sleepwalking," he said.

"But… but how can that be?" Felicia asked, "I thought-"

"There are three types of sleeping pills; one that helps you fall asleep, one that helps you stay asleep, and one that does both," Siris explained, "Do you know which type you've been taking."

Felicia thought for a moment.

"I'm not sure… I know it's to help me stay asleep, but I don't know if it helps me fall asleep though."

Siris bit the side of his lower lip and nodded.

"Yeah, I was starting to think that was the case," he told her, "While it's a misconception that sleeping pills cause people to sleepwalk, which is rarely the case, the more common causes are sleep deprivation and stress; and since you've already been treated for the sleep deprivation, there's only one remaining cause."

Felicia sighed.

"So… I have been sleepwalking? Because my ex has been stressing me out?"

"That appears to be the case, yes."

"That would explain why I've been feeling so tired when I wake up," she concluded.

"Yes," said Siris, "And also why you were pregnant."

Felicia looked at Siris, completely confused.

"And the hickey…" said Siris, "and the carpet burn."

Felicia's eyes widened.

"I had sex… in my sleep!?" she exclaimed.

"Sexsomnia is a documented disorder," said Siris.

Felicia looked around in disbelief.

"You said your ex-husband lives downstairs-"

"I'll kill him!" she said sternly.

Siris stared and nodded.

"Okay… but he probably didn't know you were asleep," he explained, "People who sleepwalk can act pretty normal when they are sleepwalking. I'm gonna write you a prescription for a low dose antidepressant."

Siris pulled out his prescription pad and pen and began writing.

"It'll help you sleep better at night, and hopefully lessen, if not stop, the frequency of you sleepwalking. If you want to save yourself the 10-ring copay, you can have sex while you're awake," he quipped as he handed Felicia the prescription.

She was at a loss for words.

"He's my ex… I-"

"You live in the same building, you haven't had sex with anyone else for a year; you sleepwalk right into his arms."

Felicia gave Siris a look.

"Call me crazy," he said, raising a brow, "but I'm suspecting unresolved issues."

Siris got up and left the room. Felicia looked down at the prescription in her hand and back at the door. She embarrassingly smirked to herself as she began to think about how she was going to deal with her ex.

I don't own House M.D. and, yes, sexsomnia is a thing. Look it up.

Siris walked over to his desk and began writing in the patient file again. Moments later, he heard a door open and saw Felicia walking towards the tiny lobby.

"Thank you, doctor."

"Just doing my job," he replied, "And please don't kill you ex. I'm sure he'll do that himself once you tell him what has been happening."

Felicia smirked and shook her head before she walked out of the clinic with the door closing behind her. Siris sighed.

"Humans and Mobians are strange creatures," he muttered to himself.

(Music fades)

Siris arched his back and stretched out his arms, letting out a small groan. He relaxed back into his chair and checked the time.

"11:30, and there are no other appointments until 1:30… I guess I could spend some time training out back."

Siris got up and headed out the clinic door. He reached over and grabbed a sign that read 'Out back' and hung it on the handle outside. A moment later he was behind the house, setting up some more bottles and cans on the bench. He looked over to where the dummy was only a couple of days before.

"Hmm… maybe using the blue color power was a bad idea..." he moaned, staring at the splintered remains, "Oh, well. Live and learn."

He then hummed a bit of the tune. You know which tune.

"Alright… now which color should I practice with today…?"

…

"Eh, let's mix things up. I'll just practice with just the grapples."

Standing a couple dozen feet away, Siris pulled out his goggles and slipped them over his eyes. The smile that was on his face turned into a small frown.

"Of course the thing needs to be charged," he muttered, "*sigh* Screw it, I'll charge it later."

He put his goggles back into his inventory and got himself into position. When he decided which container would be the first sacrifice, Siris flicked out his right arm toward the target and shot out his grapple. The wire went straight toward one of the aluminum cans and pierced the metal surface. Siris grabbed the wire with his right hand and yanked the can towards him. The can flew across the air before Siris yanked the wire again, dislodging the wire from the can, and backflipped above the ground, kicking the can straight up into the air. Siris landed on his feet and threw wire back up into the air, straight towards the can. Once again, the wire embedded itself into the can. Siris gripped the wire once more and yanked the can straight down, slamming it into the ground. The wire retracted, leaving the can stuck in the ground.

"Not too bad… could have reacted a bit faster after the landing though…"

Siris sighed and got ready for another offering to the gods-eerrrr, practice shot at one of the containers. Time went by and the number of targets left was slowly diminishing. But about three or four practice strikes into the training, Siris couldn't help but think back to the fight Knuckles, Rouge, and the Chaotix told him and the others about, with the pilot of the machine back in Adabat.

[ (3) Pure Snows – AIR Piano Arrange Album Re-Feel ] (Uploaded by Uzlad) (0:00) (Loop)

"As I tore away at the machine's, my Scope scanned something inside the robot. It turned out to be a huge colony of captured red Wisps," Rouge's voice echoed in his mind.

Siris' left wire whipped across the air, shattering three bottles in milliseconds.

"The container was made of some kind of super hard material; almost like diamond!" Knuckles' voice echoed.

Siris punched a can with his right fist after using his right wire to pull the object towards him.

"They managed to free the Wisps. However, some of us were knocked unconscious when the pilot of the machine used Chaos Blast," said Espio.

"It grabbed one of the Wisps that knocked it to the ground."

"We managed to free it..."

"We watched as another Wisp flew down and saved Knuckles."

"There were human remains inside the pilot's armor."

"The red Wisp that helped Knuckles win the fight…"

"The pilot had an explosive device within his body. He was about to send us all to the afterlife… when…"

Siris felt a tear fall down his cheek as the voices repeated over and over in his head, overlapping, until it all stopped, and one last voice spoke in his mind.

"… The Wisp left Knuckles' body and entered the pilot's. It gave its life to save ours."

In a small fit of anger and sadness, Siris attempted to launch both grapples at two targets at once. When his grapples didn't make contact with anything, he turned and noticed that he had already gone through all the bottles and cans he set up. After staring dumbly at the bench for a couple of moments, Siris shook his head and retracted his wires.

"Oh, Flames…" he sighed, wiping his eyes, "Why did it have to be like this?"

He took a step back to prevent himself from falling over. Taking a deep breath, Siris looked down at his hands and formed them into fists.

"No more…" he muttered, "I can't wallow in self-hate and pity."

Siris lowered his hands.

"I promise… you will be avenged."

Siris looked out into the forest and admired the view.

"Someday…"

A small movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Siris whipped his head to the right and saw some curtains quickly closing from within his home.

"Hmph," he muttered with a smiled, "Guess Sylvie got curious… again."

It had been a little more than a week since Fang (aka Asshole McGee) had brought Sylvie to Siris as a 'gift' for saving him. And within that short period, Siris had felt his heart fall into his nut sack one too many times; although she hadn't been very detailed in her experiences at the Hemberg Estate, the short discussions were enough for Siris to get a good idea of what had happened to her. And yesterday was a bombshell; bittersweet, in retrospect.

*** Yesterday ***

Siris and Sylvie were talking while having lunch in the kitchen. He had just finished explaining how it was that he managed to finish school, college, and medical school in such a short period of time.

"Master must be very intelligent to be able to do that," said Sylvie before she took another bite of her muffin that Siris bought for her from the café.

"Well… yes, I guess you could say that," said Siris, slightly blushing.

He wasn't one for boasting about his intelligence, but it wasn't like he wanted to be one of the smartest people in the room. Of course, he was curious to see what he could learn from Tails, and he from him, if they did become friends.

"Yeah… friends…" he thought sadly as he looked down at his empty plate.

"Master?"

Siris looked up.

"Hm?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Uh… I was just wondering…"

"Eh…?"

"Shoot, what should I ask her?"

"Master?"

Siris slightly panicked.

"Were you ever sexually abused?"

…

…

…

What… the Hell… was that!? Jeez, 'slightly panicked'? My ass. God, what was- forget it, let's just get this over with.

…

"I'm officially going to Hell," thought Siris, "… in about 30 seconds."

Sylvie stared at Siris with wide, terrified eyes.

"Wh… why are you asking?" she asked, visibly shaking.

Siris mentally strangled himself.

"I… Sorry, I… I didn't mean to ask that…" he said sadly, lowering his head in shame.

He could still see Sylvie's hands on the table, shaking.

"Are you… going to use me for… pleasure, Master?"

"Shit… now I've done it…"

Siris looked up.

"No, Sylvie, that's not what I-"

He noticed Sylvie's head was hanging low.

"If… that is your wish… then…"

"Sylvie… stop. I never meant..."

Siris' stopped talking when he saw the tears the fell from Sylvie's face.

"I understand…" she said softly.

"Huh?"

Sylvie looked up and Siris wanted to blow his brains out; the expression on Sylvie's face was the most heartbreaking thing he had ever seen in his life. And he's gone through a lot in his life. Sylvie got up and walked over to Siris. She knelt beside him and began crying harder.

"You… only gave me… false hope… just so-"

"Stop!"

Siris slid from his chair, shoving it away, and got down on one knee in front of Sylvie. Before she could react, Siris had his left hand on her right shoulder and his right hand was gently patting her on the head.

"Sylvie… no. Absolutely not!"

Sylvie stared at Siris with shock, tears still falling.

"M… Master?"

"I'm sorry I asked that question. I don't… I have no intentions of doing anything like that to you."

…

"I made you promise… and I intend to keep it. Sylvie… I will never, ever harm you. So, please… please don't… think like that… Please?"

Sylvie closed her eyes.

"I'll… try."

She opened her eyes and gave Siris a tiny smile.

"Okay," he sighed as he pulled his hands away.

He got up and picked up his plate before taking it to the sink.

"No."

Siris turned back to Sylvie.

"What was that, Sylvie?"

She was still sitting on the floor when she said something Siris couldn't hear because it was so soft.

"Sylvie?"

Siris walked over and knelt back down beside her.

"No. I... wasn't sexually abused…" she said shyly.

Siris stared at her for a few moments before sighing in relief.

"Thank… God," he exhaled.

Sylvie looked up, slightly puzzled.

"Master?"

Siris got up and offered out his right hand.

"I'm just glad you weren't… you know… taken advantage of in some lewd way, Sylvie," he explained as he helped the poor girl up to her feet, "And… again, sorry for making you anxious like that. It wasn't my intent to ask that question; it just came out because I've been wondering that for the past week."

Sylvie nodded.

"I understand now… thank you… for helping me understand."

Siris ruffled the fur on her head.

"You're welcome. Why don't you finish your lunch; I have to get see a patient in the clinic in a minute. Okay?"

Sylvie nodded.

"Okay," she replied.

Siris turned back to the sink to quickly wash his plate.

"Well… at least she was spared THAT trauma. *sigh* I'll talk to her a little more about this tonight; wouldn't want her to think I have those kinds of… thoughts."

(Music fades)

*** Present ***

Pulled back to reality, Siris took another glance over to the window and noticed Sylvie looking away and letting the curtain fall back into position. Siris smiled and shook his head. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

"You know… although that blue dress looks great on her… I should probably buy her another dress, as well as a couple of nightgowns. Winter is fast approaching, and the house doesn't have much in terms of a heater, save for the fireplace… I guess now would be the best time to take her shopping."

Siris checked the time on his communicator.

"Hmmm… I think another 15 minutes of practice wouldn't hurt before I take her shopping again."

Siris frowned.

"Especially since Mephiles is back," he muttered, "… somehow."

17 Minutes Later…

Sylvie was just finishing the last load of laundry when Siris entered the house. She exited the laundry room, or closet, technically speaking, and walked up to Siris.

"Were you… training outside?" she asked innocently.

Siris smiled.

"Well… I think we both know the answer to that, Sylvie; you were watching me through the window."

She had a faint blush on her face as she lowered her face.

"Sorry, Master. I was just…"

Siris patted her on the head.

"There's nothing wrong with you watching me practice."

He kept patting her on the head for a few seconds. Sylvie looked up, not sure how to react.

"… You like strange things, don't you?" she asked.

Siris shrugged.

"Who says you're strange?" he asked.

Sylvie lowered her head again. Siris was a bit surprised when he heard a soft sigh come from her mouth. Worried that he may have hit a nerve, Siris pulled his hand away. They awkwardly stood there for a moment.

"Master… could I ask you something?"

"Sure, Sylvie. Ask me anything."

She slowly lifted her head until she was looking at his face.

"Will I have another opportunity to accompany you when you go shopping?"

Siris smiled.

"Funny you should ask that; I was about to take us over to Aurelia's store," he said.

"Eh…? Why? Is this dress…?"

Siris shook his head, still smiling.

"No, Sylvie," he chuckled, "I was thinking about buying you another dress for you to have. And a couple of nightgowns for you to sleep in… which I probably should have gotten you the first time we were there."

"Oh…"

"Sooo… wanna come along?"

Sylvie stared questionably at Siris before nodding.

"Lead the way," she said softly.

[ Clannad Soundtrack: Track 12 : Country Lane ] (Uploaded by talesfan132) (0:00) (Loop)

Siris held the door open for Sylvie as they left the house. Once everything was locked up, they began their trek towards town. Siris kept a pace slow enough so that Sylvie would remain by his side; after the little workout earlier, he had a bit of energy left in him. He kept himself in check, so he wouldn't accidentally start leaving Sylvie behind.

About ten minutes later, they had arrived at Aurelia's discrete clothing store. Siris held the door open for Sylvie and followed her in.

"My my, welcome," Aurelia greeted them, "Please feel free to look around."

Aurelia was wearing a white gothic off-shoulder dress with a dark brown corset and long white sleeves attached. Upon her head was the same hat, only it was white and, instead of feathers, had different colored roses attached.

"Hey, Aurelia," said Siris as Sylvie moved to his side and began following him down the aisles of clothing.

"Hmm… I wonder what we'll find here…"

Siris looked over to Sylvie.

"Why don't you choose the dress yourself, Sylvie?" he suggested.

She looked up at him in surprise.

"M-me?"

"Sure. Why not?"

Sylvie blushed.

"Well… I'm sure you would know best, Siris…"

Siris sighed.

"I don't want to buy you something that I like. I want to buy you something you like."

Sylvie looked around nervously before looking back into Siris' eyes.

"I… Thank you…"

"There's no need to thank me, Sylvie. Why don't you look around, while I…"

Siris stopped talking when he noticed that there was someone else in the store besides himself, Sylvie, and Aurelia.

"You've got to be effing… kidding me."

Aurelia was talking to said person, who was directed to Siris when Aurelia nodded in his direction.

"Well, fancy meeting you here, Siris~"

Siris looked back at Sylvie.

"Sylvie, go look around for a dress that you like. I'll be talking to some friends of ours."

Sylvie nodded and began looking along the aisle for a dress; it was as though she was exploring a cave, looking in awe among the hundreds of crystals that had formed along the wall. Siris turned back to the person that called out to him.

"Of all places… how did I run into you here, Nephy?"

The heterochromatic eyed hedgehog practically glided over to him.

"Aw, what's wrong? Worried that I might embarrass you in front of Sylvie?"

"It's not like she and I are dating, Nephy."

"Really?" she teased, "Then why is the slave you saved from that jerkoff, Charles, living with you?"

Siris leaned to the side so he could see past Nephy and face Aurelia.

"You're a bad, bad woman, you know that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Siris," she replied in her usual seductive voice.

"I, uh, I don't think we can be friends anymore."

"You don't mean that," she teased.

"I am officially going to strangle you two if you keep doing this to me."

"Siris~… you do care about Sylvie~!" Nephy teased.

"I will probably kill myself and take you girls out with me."

"Including Sylvie~?" they teased.

Siris sighed.

"You wouldn't do that to her, would you?" asked Aurelia.

Siris made a gun gesture with his right hand, pointed the barrel to his temple, and flexed his thumb, resulting in his brain blown out, in his imagination, of course. He also did the sound effect of the gun himself, just to be over-theatrical. This only amused Nephy and Aurelia, making them giggle.

"What did I do in a previous life to deserve this?" Siris asked out loud, looking up to heaven, "How many puppies and kittens was I horrifically cruel towards to deserve this?"

"You think this is bad?" asked Nephy as she watched Siris look around, hoping Sylvie was not close by to hear.

"Why are you here, Nephy?" he asked as he turned back to her, "Aren't you supposed to be working right now?"

Nephy sighed.

"I was earlier," she explained, "but one of the customers got a little… frisky… and accidentally tore one of the sleeves of my uniform."

It took Siris about half a second to put two and two together.

"Let me guess… Aurelia is the one who made the uniform?"

"Yup~!" Nephy sang.

"That explains where she got the uniform a few months ago," Siris thought to himself.

"Alright, all the quipping aside, why are you still here? You're wearing a spare uniform; shouldn't you be getting back to work?"

"Why?" Nephy asked, putting her hands on her hips, "Can't a girl make time to chitchat?"

"Not when you have a job to do," Siris muttered, rubbing his forehead.

Nephy smirked as he turned on her heels and headed for the door.

"But~… you're right; I should be getting back to the café, before my boss gets all grouchy and impatient," she said as she opened the door, "I'll come pick up the shirt later, Aurelia!"

"I'll be here all day, sweetie."

Nephy turned to Siris.

"Have a nice time with your girlfriend~," she teased.

Siris deadpanned.

"Nephy, if you think me dating someone as young as her is okay, you may have a psychological problem."

Nephy was already gone halfway through his statement and his words became meaningless. Siris shook his head.

"Well…" said Aurelia, "that was quite the entertainment."

Siris shifted his deadpan to her. He just shook his head.

"Excuse me? Siris?"

Siris turned around and saw Sylvie standing behind him.

"Hey. Did you find something?" he asked.

Sylvie nervously fidgeted with her fingers before answering.

"Umm… I… did find a dress that looks nice. But…"

She became a little nervous.

"But what, Sylvie?"

"… I… didn't like the color."

"Oh. That shouldn't-"

"It's fine," said Sylvie, "I'm fine with just this one dress I have. You shouldn't have to buy any more for me."

…

"… like I deserve to be happy," she accidentally added quietly.

Siris was about to reply but Aurelia beat him to it.

"Sylvie, I have plenty of other color options for everything I sell," she said, "Why don't you show me the dress you want, and I'll take you in the back and show you what I have in store."

Siris turned to the saleswoman.

"Really? That would be great," he said to her.

Aurelia noticed Sylvie blushing, making her smile a bit bigger.

"Of course, I wouldn't want my favorite customers to be unsatisfied now, would I?"

She walked over and took one of Sylvie's hands.

"Show me the dress you wish to purchase," she said seductively.

Sylvie hesitated for a moment before nodding and leading Aurelia back to where she found the dress. Siris took the opportunity to glance around the store for a nightgown for Sylvie to sleep in.

"Hmm… now that I think about it… I'm actually a bit surprised by the wares Aurelia is selling… wonder why she isn't selling-"

His train of thought halted when he found the nightgowns.

"Ah, these are perfect!" he exclaimed quietly.

The nightgowns were just simple silk nightgowns; nothing flashy or revealing, as they went down to about knee length, in comparison to Sylvie's height. They were sleeveless, but Siris didn't care. He picked out a uranium blue colored one and a fern colored one.

"Why is it that yellow never looks good on most clothes?" he wondered.

"Ah, find something else to buy?"

Siris turned around and saw Aurelia glancing at the gowns he was holding.

"Yeah, I figured I should- Oh, dear God," he replied as his face warped into a look of horror.

For once, Aurelia's smile softened, and she expressed a bit of confusion.

"Is something wrong, Siris?"

Siris began the blush a deep red.

"Uh… well, I didn't realize this at the time… but… uh…"

"But what? Out with it, Siris."

Siris looked around the store and behind Aurelia, making sure Sylvie wasn't around. Wow, twice in less than 10 minutes. Way to go, chief.

"I, uh… You wouldn't happen to sell… women's… underwear… would you?"

Aurelia gave Siris the most unnerving smile he'd seen in years from her.

"What are-"

"Just tell me if you do, Aurelia."

Aurelia giggled at Siris' embarrassment.

"Have no fear, Siris. I'll go grab a couple of the same kind I gave Sylvie the first time you two purchased the dress here."

Siris sighed as Aurelia walked past him to grab the garments in question.

"Thanks, Aurelia. Glad that- wait, what do you mean same kind you gave Sylvie before?" he asked as he turned back to her.

Aurelia didn't stop walking as she glanced over her shoulder and gave Siris another unnerving smile. Realization hit Siris like a freight train. He could do nothing but shake his head very slowly in wide-eyed disbelief.

"Why should that surprise you?" Aurelia asked as she grabbed some items from a shelf, "Surely you should have known Charles wouldn't care about what the poor girl wore under those rags."

"Aurelia… just... just stop. Let's just leave this topic alone, okay?"

Aurelia walked over to the counter and placed some white bikini panties (Not swimsuit bikinis; those are different) and some white t-shirt bras into a small black bag. Unfortunately, Siris saw both items and the realization freight train just went full speed in reverse and ran over Siris again.

"She's a size AA, so-"

Siris held up his right hand to stop Aurelia's explanation.

"I… don't… need… to know."

Aurelia smirked.

"Why? Did you forget that she's a lady? I know her chest appears flat, but…"

"Aurelia… I will burn this store down if you don't shut up," Siris said as calmly as possible.

"Very well," she sighed.

Siris walked over to her and handed her the nightgowns.

"It's not like there's anything wrong with someone having small breasts," he muttered to himself.

"Pardon?" Aurelia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing," Siris replied, probably a bit too quickly.

"Um… Siris?"

Siris turned around and saw Sylvie holding something in her hands.

"Is… is this alright?" she asked timidly with her face blushing.

The dress in her hands looked similar to her blue apron one; only it had no apron, no sleeves, and it was an irresistible color. The color is really called 'Irresistible', look it up. It had three small ribbons along the midsection going up, and a larger ribbon right below the collar. The bottom two ribbons were a jazzberry jam color while the top two ribbons were a pink sherbet color.

"Is this the dress you want?" Siris asked.

"If… it's alright with you…"

Siris smiled and took the dress from her.

"I think it looks wonderful, Sylvie."

He handed it to Aurelia, along with his item box of rings. What, thought I'd forget about that? Once the purchase was made, Aurelia placed the dress and gowns into a larger black bag and handed them and the item box to Siris.

"Have a nice day, Aurelia," said Siris.

"I shall await your next visit with bated breath," she replied.

Siris rolled his eyes and gestured his head for Sylvie to follow.

"Thank you, Aurelia," she said to the blonde.

"My pleasure, sweetie."

Siris held the door open for Sylvie as they left. Aurelia watched them until they were out of sight. She let out a soft chuckle.

"He seems so much happier now."

Sylvie peeked into the large bag.

"Light and shimmer clothes. There are lots of ribbons, too… cute," she said as she looked up at Siris, "Thank you very much."

Siris looked over and saw a smile on Sylvie's face; making his heart skip a beat.

"You're welcome, Sylvie."

As the two walked home, something came across Siris' mind.

"Did I forget to charge my goggles?"

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

G.U.N. Headquarters Infirmary

[ Mass Effect 3 Soundtrack Mars Ambient ] (Uploaded by JIDE0) (0:00) (Loop)

"Alright, Agent Rouge, you're all set and ready to return to duty."

"Thank you, doctor," said the white bat.

Rouge got up from her seat and left the examination room. Stretching her arms out, Rouge made her way down the hallway towards the room Knuckles was in. She and Knuckles and the Chaotix arrived at G.U.N. Headquarters a few hours after Shadow reestablished contact with everyone. Once he had dropped Omega off at Tails' workshop, he went back to searching for the Emeralds; only this time, alone. He wouldn't disclose his intended destinations due to the possibility that communications were compromised.

Meanwhile, Rouge, Knuckles, and the Chaotix went to the infirmary to get their injuries treated. The Chaotix left hours ago after they were treated for minor injuries and, like Shadow, didn't disclose where they were heading over the communicators. Rouge had a couple of more serious injuries; a couple of contusions on her legs and one of her wings needed to be wrapped in bandages, meaning she couldn't fly for the next few days. As for Knuckles…

"GET THAT SYRINGE AWAY FROM ME BEFORE I TEAR YOUR ARMS OFF!"

… let's just say that the doctors haven't given up on trying to treat his injuries… after… 12 hours… *sigh* Unbelievable…

"NO, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! NOT UNTIL YOU STOP TRYING TO STAB ME IN THE ASS WITH WHATEVER THE HELL THAT STUFF IS!"

"Oh, boy," Rouge sighed, "Here we go…"

*WHAM*

"Better go in there before he hurts someone," she muttered.

Rouge opened the door and was… well, not really surprised; more like she saw exactly what she was expecting. The four doctors in the room were trying, and failing miserably, at holding down Knuckles and keep him still just long enough so they could inject him with a sedative. Shockingly, Knuckles was able to corner the four doctors into a corner before throwing the bed at them. It didn't crush them, not that he was intending to do so, but the posts did get imbedded in the perpendicular walls, trapping the doctors behind the bed.

"You know they're just trying to help you, Knuckles," said Rouge.

The echidna glared over at Rouge.

"How does forcing me to take unnecessary drugs help me exactly!?"

"Well, for starters," she explained, "it would help prevent you from injuring yourself any further than you are… were before."

Knuckles rolled his eyes and pushed pass Rouge as he left the room. She followed close behind him.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"Not back there, that's for sure," Knuckles retorted, throwing his hands in the air angrily.

Rouge caught up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him so they can face each other.

"Knuckles, I listen to me!" Rouge said sternly, "I know you're still beating yourself up over that Wisp's death, but it needs to stop!"

Knuckles glared at her. He opened his mouth to say something but couldn't when Rouge put a finger over his lips.

"No, you don't say one word! I know it hurts! But you need to move on and push through the pain! You think we lived just so we could wallow in self-pity and shame!?"

Knuckles swiped her hand away so he could respond.

"And how would you know what it's like, Rouge!? When's the last time you ever mourned for anyone!?"

*SLAP*

Knuckles was stunned, and slightly hurt, by Rouge's hand flying across his face. As he slowly turned his head to the left to face Rouge, he saw pain in her eyes; pain he had only ever seen her have once before. Knuckles sighed and hung his head.

"Right… The Ark… when Shadow…"

Rouge breathed deeply through her nose, holding back the tears.

"Yes," she replied, "when Shadow almost died stopping the prototype from destroying the world."

They stood in silence for a moment.

"How did you deal with the pain?" Knuckles asked.

Rouge smiled as she gave the echidna a hug. Knuckles wasn't sure how to react; his arms remained by his sides.

"I had a friend by my side," she whispered.

(Music fades)

*** 1 Month After the Ark Incident ***

Rouge silently landed a few feet from the bridge that lead to the Master Emerald shrine. She may be a secret government agent, but she was still a thief at heart; her attraction to jewels and gemstones was just too great a motivator for her to completely give up the life. It was a little past midnight, which was perfect for Rouge; makes things easier for her to steal the Master Emerald compared to a month ago. Only difference was that this time, she wasn't attempting to steal it, she was going to steal it. At least, in theory.

"Hmm…" she hummed as she scanned the shrine with her Treasure Scope, "looks like the red guardian is nowhere to be seen. Guess it's time for me to collect what's mine and be on my way."

Rouge leapt into the air and flew over the gap separating the shrine from the rest of Angel Island. There was still no sign of a certain red echidna, so Rouge landed right before the Master Emerald; bathing a bit in its light.

"Hello, darling~," she said to the Emerald, "Did you miss me?"

"Neither of us did, bat-girl."

"Uh-oh."

Rouge turned around and saw a very tired and annoyed Knuckles standing a couple of feet away from her.

"Well, long time no see… treasure hunter," she teased, "Did you miss me?"

Rouge batted her eyelashes a couple of times. Knuckles just stared at her with annoyance.

"No. Now get off my island before I decide to throw you off myself."

"Aw, come on, Knuckles… why the hostility?"

"Probably because you're here to try and steal the Master Emerald… again."

Rouge gasped.

"Knuckles! After all we went through together? You hurt me, echidna. What makes you think I'm not here just to see you?"

Knuckles raised a brow.

"Really? I'm not that stupid, Rouge; why else would you bring all that rope?" he questioned, pointing to the rope that was wrapped over her shoulder.

"What, this? Can't a girl be prepared…?"

Rouge's voice trailed off when she noticed blood dripping from Knuckles' left shoulder. She didn't notice it sooner because Knuckles' fur was a similar color to his blood. Or, anyone's blood really, in terms of Mobians and humans.

"What happened to your shoulder!?"

Knuckles kept staring at Rouge.

"It's nothing; got into a little skirmish with Eggman's robots an hour ago. Don't try to distract me so you can steal the Master Emerald behind my back!"

Rouge took a step forward.

"Here, let me-"

"Don't touch me!"

Rouge glared at Knuckles.

"Just sit down for one minute, you're bleeding everywhere!"

Knuckles looked down and saw the small puddle of blood he was leaving on the shrine. He sighed and turned back to Rouge.

"Fine…" he growled, "But if you do anything funny…"

"Then you'll throw me off the island; yeah, yeah, I know. Now sit down and shut up, echidna."

Knuckles sat down on the top step of the shrine as Rouge inspected the wound. She reached into her inventory and pulled out a tourniquet. Knuckles gave her a puzzled look.

"Why-"

"Like I said, girl's gotta be prepared. For anything."

Knuckles rolled his eyes as Rouge wrapped his shoulder up in the bandage wrapping. She didn't say anything for a while.

"Stars are looking nice tonight," she said as she finished.

[ 3 Black Noises – Sonic Adventure 2 [OST] ] (Uploaded by DeoxysPrime) (2:50) I hope you guys are actually reading the timestamps.

Knuckles turned to her with a look on his face. It was bizarre for Rouge to be talking to him like this after making an attempt to steal the Emerald and after tending to his injury.

"Uh, I suppose?"

It took a moment for him to notice that her eyes showed signs of emotional pain.

"Wanna talk about it?" he sighed, turning his head and looking off into the distance.

Rouge sat down next to him, her right boot resting on her left knee.

"It's been… rough these past few weeks," she admitted with a sigh.

Knuckles nodded.

"Is it because of Shadow?"

"… Yeah," Rouge replied as she pulled out the Inhibitor Ring Sonic gave her back on the Ark, "it's just… strange. I mean… the professor created the Ultimate Life Form… only to turn him into a weapon. To end to world… all in the name of revenge…"

"I'm… not sure I'm following you, Rouge."

Rouge sighed as she put the Ring away.

"Forget it. It's something I'm not sure anyone could explain," she said, "I better leave, before I get any funny ideas."

Rouge got up and began to walk off.

"Hey," Knuckles called out.

Rouge stopped and turned back.

"If you need a friend…"

"… yes?"

"… I wouldn't mind listening to you," he told her.

Rouge was a bit surprised.

"Really?"

Knuckles shrugged.

"I've got nothing better to do, besides guard the Master Emerald," he explained, "Besides, I have a better chance of preventing you from stealing it if I keep an eye on you rather than just let you fly off."

Rouge gave a soft chuckle and climbed back to the top. She sat back down beside Knuckles.

"You sure you want to hear it?" she asked.

"Company's nice," he replied, "It's nice to actually have a conversation once in a while with someone up here."

"I suppose you do get lonely up here."

"Some days are easier than most."

They remained silent for a few moments. Rouge leaned against Knuckles and rested her head on his shoulder, which he surprisingly didn't mind.

"This might take a while," she told him.

"I'm all ears."

(Music fades)

*** Present ***

[ Mass Effect 3 Soundtrack Mars Ambient ] (Uploaded by JIDE0) (0:00) (Loop)

The memory felt like it happened an eternity ago to the two Mobians. It took Knuckles a few seconds after Rouge began hugging him to hug her back.

"Knuckles?"

"… What?"

"Are you crying?"

"… Just a little."

The pulled away from each other and Rouge saw the tears in his eyes.

"Knuckles…"

He wiped his face and sniffed.

"I'm fine, Rouge… and thanks. I needed that."

"Any time, Knuckles," she replied with a smile.

Knuckles cleared his throat.

"A-anyways, we should get going. I think you said something about having Siris examine the fake communicator before we catch up to the Chaotix?"

"That was the idea I had, yes. Is that a problem?"

"No. Not really. I mean, at this point, hunting the rest of the Emeralds and fragments will take a collective effort. And, like you said, Siris probably has an idea of who the culprit is that's messing with our communications."

From the way Knuckles voice sounded, Rouge didn't believe that it wasn't an issue to him.

"What's wrong? You don't trust Siris?"

Knuckles sighed.

"Honestly… I don't."

Rouge glared at him.

"Look, don't take it the wrong way, Rouge! I don't know the guy, so I shouldn't just put my trust into him when I've only just met him!"

Rouge pondered his reasoning.

"I guess that makes sense."

"Besides, you know my history of putting my trust in others."

Rouge began walking off with a soft chuckle.

"Oh, please, Knuckles. The last time you were fooled was years ago. Have some faith in yourself."

Knuckles caught up and walked beside her.

"Hey, I have faith in myself!"

Rouge giggled.

"Relax, big guy, I'm just teasing."

They reached the elevator and entered it. It was already on their floor, I'm not too lazy to make them wait, I'm just keepin' the ball rollin'.

"By the way, Knuckles…" said Rouge as she pressed the floor button that led the to hanger, "what were you going to tell me?"

Knuckles turned to face her.

"Huh?"

"Before, back in Adabat, when you saved me. You said you were sorry, and you were about to say something else. What was it?"

Knuckles blushed a little and turned away.

"I… have no clue what you're talking about," he answered quickly.

Rouge's eyes narrowed.

"Noooo… you were absolutely going to say something. What was it?"

Knuckles' eyes glanced over to the corner of the elevator.

"Nothing."

"Uh-uh…"

The elevator doors opened on their floor.

"Tell me what you were going to say!"

Knuckles walked off towards the plane… okay, he was rushing it.

"There's nothing to tell, Rouge!"

The bat chased after the echidna.

"Oh, no you don't, Knuckles! You will tell me!"

"I wasn't going to say anything!"

A few G.U.N. agents watched the bickering old couple hop onto the plane and begged to God that it would takeoff now. Unfortunately, God ignored their pleas.

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Lord's Base

[ Deadspace soundtrack 1: Dead Space Theme ] (Uploaded by GoldskinOST) (0:00) (Loop)

The control room was filled with the ambient sounds of machines buzzing and beeping. Upon his thrown, the Lord combed through the data on the floppy drive his subordinate had given him days earlier.

"Ahhh… this drive is a treasure trove of wonderful schematics and data," said the Lord, "Julian was much like his father; so far ahead of his time."

His eyes glanced over a file that caught his attention.

"Hmm… interesting. Computer, access this file execution."

…

"Error: Data corruption detected."

"Execute data recovery."

…

"Error: Data recovery not possible."

The Lord sighed.

"What a shame… data from one of the world's greatest minds,possibly lost forever. No matter. Computer, send file to research division; they have more advanced computers, have them repair the data instead."

…

"File transfer complete. Estimated time of repair… Error: Unknown time estimation."

"Hm... interesting… very interesting."

The Lord continued combing through the remaining data.

"What are you hiding, Julian? What's your secret?"

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Unknown Airship

[ Final Fantasy XIII OST – Snow [HQ] [Extended] ] (Uploaded by Legendary OST) (0:00)

Imagine yourself on a small airship. You have a small crew, consisting of two members. They are both older than you, but they must follow your lead. You are very laid back and carefree about your leadership position, but you have no problems wreaking havoc as a thief. Imagine that after years of carelessness, you finally found a reason to grow up. That was a certain individual a couple of years ago. Here we are now, fast forwarding to the present.

"Hmm… maybe we could… no, that won't work; laser systems would detect us before we even got remotely close to the relic. What if we… no, the glass is reinforced; we'd be better off just sneaking through the vents with security cameras at every corner. Hmph…"

*Knock knock*

"Door's unlocked!"

A heliotrope magenta colored Mobian entered her boss's office.

"I must say, I'm still impressed," she remarked.

Her boss looked up.

"About what?" he asked.

"You," she replied, "being so… so…"

"Prepared?"

"I was going to say 'responsible' and 'reliable', but 'prepared' works too," she smirked as she walked around the desk between them, "You sure have matured these past few years."

"Well… I did have help."

"Oh? And where did you get help from?"

"Not 'where', 'who'."

She gave him a look.

"You," he teased.

"Oh, stop it, Jet."

"Why?" the dark pastel green colored hawk continued, "It's true, ya know, Wave."

Wave looked away, hiding the blush showing on her beak. Wow, so many ships to sink, so much time. Hm? What? Nothing! I'm not sinking… I'm shipping! *Ahem* Anyways…

"So, what are you up to now?" the swallow asked.

Jet stood up from his sofa chair as he pulled out another building schematic and laid it out on his desk.

"I got word that another Babylonian relic is housed at this museum," Jet explained, "I'm just planning our next heist to recover it."

Wave looked over the blueprints.

"Wow… It's been a while since we have planned for something this well protected."

"You're telling me," Jet replied.

"Need help?"

"Sure. Another set of eyes wouldn't hurt after-"

"BOSS!"

*WHAM*

A light slate gray colored albatross barged into the office and ran up to Jet's desk.

"Boss! We've got trouble!" he cried out as he slammed his hands on Jet's desk.

The vibrations traveled across the entire office, causing a baby blue colored cube to fall off a nearby shelf and an old rug that was hanging on the way to fall onto Wave. Jet leapt across the floor and caught the cube as he landed on his stomach.

"Ugh, Storm!" Wave scowled as she pulled the rug off her, "When will you ever learn some manners!?"

"I agree!" Jet said, annoyed, as he got himself back up to his feet, "You almost damaged the Key to Babylon Garden and caused the Magic Carpet to fall onto Wave. Have you no respect for any of the relics of our ancestors!?"

Storm gulped. He remembered what happened a little more than a year ago, during one of the Babylon Rogue's heist. Let's just say that the one artifact they were after became a thousand. And a lot smaller, too.

"Sorry, boss. B-but this is serious! It's awful!" he shouted, slightly cowering in fear.

Jet and Wave looked at each other, puzzled. Storm was not known to be afraid of anything.

"What's going on, Storm?" Jet asked him as he turned towards him.

"Is there trouble?" Wave asked.

Before Storm could explain, a hole was torn into the wall of the office. Wind flew into the room, causing papers to fly everywhere.

"Hey!" Jet shouted, "What's going on here!?"

Storm was the first to see the individual floating through the hole. His eyes widened.

"It's… it's HIM!" he shouted, point to the intruder, "The blue metal guy from the last tournament against Sonic!"

Jet and Wave were finally able to see through the paper storm in the office and finally saw the intruder.

"Metal Sonic!?"

Blue electricity appeared from the intruder's hands.

"Not… exactly," Neo Metal Sonic replied.

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Mobius

[ Misty Lake – Sonic and the Black Knight Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

Mobius. The land where Mobians originated. A place full of endless mystery and intrigue. It also happens to be the birthplace of one Sonic the Hedgehog. And, quite possibly, the biggest pain in the ass when he blasts through in the early mornings.

*BOOM*

Good thing it's the afternoon. Dashing across a field of grass, carrying his girlfriend in his arms, Sonic ran. Amy giggled in his arms as the wind blew through her quills. Ahead, they saw a thick, vast forest. Without losing speed, Sonic slipped between the trees and explored the natural world within. He dodged every obstacle in his way; this tree, that tree, hopped over a bush, took a shortcut through a small cave; how that worked out, we'll never know; bounced off multiple trees and propelled himself over a couple of gorges, and, at one point, Amy was certain he ran across a creek; she wasn't sure, since the were moving at Mach speeds.

"Sonic?" Amy asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah?" he replied without taking his eyes off what was ahead.

"Any idea where we're actually going?"

"Hmm… nope, not really."

Amy sighed.

"Of course."

"Well, I have some ideas of where we could look…"

"Oh, really~?" she asked, teasingly, "Do tell!"

"Well, thing is… all those locations would result in a whole lot of distractions."

"Such as?"

"Well… there's Mobotropolis, which is self-evident, and there's also- WHOA!"

Sudden blurs of fluorescent blue and mallow mauve came rocketing towards Sonic. He managed to sidestep out of the way just in time to avoid a collision. He skidded to a halt and turned around.

"What was that?!" Amy exclaimed.

"I'm not sure," said Sonic, "Let's go find out."

Sonic dashed off in the direction the... whatever those things were had headed. God, that looks so wrong. It's grammatically correct, but damn. It only took a few seconds for Sonic and Amy to recognize some old faces.

"Silver! Blaze!" Amy called out.

The two were doing the same thing Sonic was doing; going back and see what they had passed. Sonic stopped a couple of feet from where Silver had just landed and dropped Amy to her feet.

"Amy! Sonic! It's been quite some time," said Blaze as Amy gave her a hug.

Blaze wasn't much of hugger, so the feeling was awkward for her.

Yeah… the hug is the reason… sure.

"It's been too long, Blaze," Sonic smirked as he gave her a thumbs up.

He turned to Silver.

"Been a few months, huh, Silver?"

Silver shook Sonic's hand.

"Yes, it has."

There was a bit of nervousness in Silver's voice.

"Something wrong, Silver?" asked Amy.

Blaze: THERE YOU ARE!

Me: *screams like a bitch and runs away*

Silver: *watches Blaze book it after me* Wow… Hm? What's this? A fanfiction story? *briefly reads it* This looks pretty good. Huh… Tails mentioned that he was allowed to write some of the story. I guess I could give it a try…

Me: *Very, very, very far away* I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIIIIIIIIIIE!

Silver: *says a prayer* Okay, let's see… what can I do?

"Crap! She knows, doesn't she!?" Silver thought to himself.

"Hm? What? Nothing? Why? Nothing is wrong? Why would you assume that? Blaze, is there something wrong?"

"Always so naïve…" thought Blaze.

Sonic held his hands up and backed a couple of steps away from the freaked out psychokinetic.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, pal! It was just a question," said Sonic.

Amy studied Silver and turned to Blaze.

"Blaze, do you know what's up with Silver?" she asked.

Blaze turned away to hide a blush.

"I'm not sure what's wrong. He was fine a moment ago."

If Amy wasn't curious before she sure was now.

"Well, it's a good thing we ran into you guys," said Sonic.

Silver, who calmed down, and Blaze turned to Sonic.

"What do you mean, Sonic?" asked Silver.

"Did you come across any information about where the Sol Emeralds are?" asked Blaze.

"Jeez, slow down with the questions!" Sonic exclaimed.

He took a deep breath.

"We have a lot of thing to discuss and get you two up to speed."

"Well, why didn't anyone contact us?" Blaze asked.

"We'll discuss that as we travel," said Sonic.

Silver and Blaze were not expecting this.

"Together?" they asked.

"Sure. Safety in numbers," Sonic reasoned, "Besides, how long have you two been searching Mobius?"

"Long enough to know there are no Emerald here," Silver sighed.

"That is an interesting suggestion, Sonic," said Blaze, "I suppose that would be best for us to travel together."

"Yes, it does…" said Amy, who was starting to suspect something was happening or has happened between Silver and Blaze.

Silver noticed Amy's stare upon him.

"I'm doomed…"

"Well, where to?" Sonic asked the duo.

"Huh? Oh, we were on our way towards a region far east of Spagonia," said Silver.

"Really? Where?" Amy asked.

"I'm… not sure," said Silver, "Blaze suggested it."

"Well, lead the way," said Sonic as he dashed behind Amy and picked her back up.

Silver and Blaze nodded and the four dashed off through the forest. As they traveled, Sonic and Amy explained everything they knew; Sonic receiving the message from Orbot and Cubot in Spagonia, his encounter with Metal Sonic, the unbelievable reunion with Siris, Mighty, and Ray, the disturbing battle Knuckles, Rouge, and the Chaotix had with the robot in Adabat (they don't know what it was called), and Shadow and Omega's encounter in the old Eggman Base in the Mystic Ruins. Silver and Blaze then told their adventure in Mobius; helping a lost kid find his mom and recovering a Sol Emerald. Of course, they both left out the part where they accidentally bumped their lips together.

Me: *Runs back in and grabs both Silver and the laptop*

Silver: Hey! What are you-

Me: Shut up! *Runs to some discrete hidden location that Blaze will never search* Okay… I think I'm safe… *looks at what Silver has written* Hey, not bad.

Silver: Really?

Me: Yeah, this is exactly what I wanted. Thanks. Wanna hang around and help me finish this chapter?

Silver: Sure!

Me: Great! Let me make one minor adjustment.

Silver: *sees the adjustment* NO!

… where they accidentally kissed.

Silver: WHY!?

Me: *whispers something in his ear*

Silver: Keep writing.

By the time they were all caught up, it was late in the afternoon.

"Man, talk about never having a dull moment," said Sonic.

"Indeed," Blaze said, "Does Shadow know who the person was that attacked him and Omega?"

"Nah, he said he never seen him before," Sonic replied as he leapt over a fallen log and continued running through the forest.

"That sounds pretty scary," said Silver, "A being capable of possessing machines and making them exponentially more powerful? We better keep our guards up."

Amy looked over Sonic's shoulder and up at Silver, who was flying above them.

"That's quite the vocabulary word you used there, Silver. 'Exponentially'. You sound like Tails," she told him.

"Well… it's not like I don't know a lot of words, Amy," Silver explained, "It just… came to mind and I used it."

"Suuuurrrrre…" said Amy, "You wouldn't happen to be using big intelligent words to impress someone, now, are you~?"

Silver flew ahead of the group, so no one would see him blush. Amy giggled.

"Amy, don't tease Silver like that, please?" Blaze asked politely, hoping her fire aura was hiding her blush.

"Ooohhhh… so something did happen!" Amy teased.

Sonic was a bit lost.

"Uh, Amy? Is there something going on that I'm not aware of?"

Amy turned to Sonic and grinned.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Sonic. Just leave it to me."

"… Alright… if you say so, Amy."

Silver and Blaze glanced over at each other, both expressing nervousness over what was going through Amy's mind.

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Siris' Clinic

"Here's a prescription for some antibiotics. It should help with the bacterial infection in your knee."

Siris handed the lime green Mobian beaver the prescription.

"This medicine will literally knock you on your ass. I'm serious when I'm saying you will want to stay in bed for the next few days."

"Will it hurt more?" the beaver asked.

"Very much. The fluid in your knee is filled with bacteria. Once these antibiotics kick in, your immune system will send everything it has to fight it off. And it will not be a fun experience."

The beaver moaned.

"This is what I get for not coming in sooner, huh?"

Siris shook his head as he led the patient to the front door.

"It wasn't your fault," Siris told him, "You did what anyone else would have done when they trip and fall and have a cut on their knee; you clean it with rubbing alcohol and put a bandage on it. You didn't know cutting your knee on an old tree stump would cause this."

The beaver seemed a bit more relieved.

"Thanks, Doc… er… Doctor Siris."

"Just call me Siris. I know it seems weird that someone my age is a doctor."

"And it makes me feel like I'm another Doctor Robotnik when someone calls me that."

"Right… well, thanks again, Siris."

The two shook hands.

"Oh, it was nothing," said Siris, "Just be sure to come back immediately if the swelling gets worse after three or four days or if anything else changes for the worse."

"I will. Thanks again, doctor. Farewell!"

Siris nodded as the door closed behind the beaver. He yawned at noticed it was starting to get dark outside.

"Man, that late already? What time is it?"

He looked at his communicator.

"It's already 7:15!? Damn, I usually close at six."

Today was a bit busier than usual for Siris, not that he minded. He wasn't one to turn down people in need of medical help, even after hours.

"Well, better close up now, then."

He walked around the clinic, making sure all the doors were locked, including the front door, before heading for the door that led to his house and reaching for the doorknob.

"Hmm…"

His hand was mere millimeters from the handle, but something was… wrong. His right ear twitched. Siris slowly turned around until he was facing down the dark hallway of his clinic. He slightly turned his head as he glared down the hall. Quietly, he walked down the hall; the feeling that something wasn't right grew as he continued down the hall. By the time he was at the end of the hall, Siris began hearing noises.

*clink*

*clink*

*clink clink*

[ Dark Souls II OST – Ruin Sentinel ] (Uploaded by Beyond Final Fantasy) (0:00)

Something… or someone was in the storage room! Siris threw caution to the wind and kicked open the door to the storage room.

*WHAM*

The moment the door flew open, Siris saw someone lurking around inside.

"Hey, what are you doing here!?"

Siris launched his right grapple at the intruder.

"SPIKES!"

The bladed wire flew toward the target, but they spun around and kicked the tip of the wire up towards the ceiling and into a lightbulb, embedding the wire in the lightbulb socket.

"What the?!"

The intruder grabbed a vial from one of the shelf cabinets and chucked it in Siris' general location. Time slowed down around Siris as he watched the trajectory of the vial and saw that it was going straight towards the light switch. With only a second to spare, Siris did the first thing that came to mind.

"Oh, shit, LIGHTNING!" Siris shouted quickly.

The ultra-pink colored spikes disappeared from the wire as the vial flipped the switch. Electrical current traveled down the wire and into Siris' body. Luckily, the Lightning color power was already in effect, so Siris was able to channel the extra charge through his left grapple, which he launched at the intruder. They hopped over a table in the center of the room, dodging the attack and leapt through a small open awning that was about eight feet above the ground, which led directly outside. Siris grunted as he yanked his right wire free of the socket and retracted the two wires. He dashed through the clinic, entered his home, and ran out the front door. He jumped straight up into the air, backflipped midair, and launched a wire at the roof of his property. Siris yanked on the wire and, in combination of the momentum of jumping up, vaulted around the top of the structure. Once he had a clear shot, Siris retracted the wire and launched the other towards the ground behind the house. Yanking on the wire, Siris launched himself to the ground, landing perfectly, and glanced around for signs of the intruder.

(Music fades into the next track)

[ Night Lounge – Easy Listening, Chill Out, Ambient & Relax – NIGHT LOUNGE ] (Uploaded by ) (0:00)

"Damn it… they're gone," he thought to himself as he retracted his wire.

"Shit," he muttered as he walked around the side of the house.

"Well, that was unexpected."

Siris looked up and saw two familiar Mobians standing at the entrance of his clinic.

"Rouge. Knuckles," he said in slight disbelief.

Siris walked over as Rouge waved.

"Hi. Long time no see," she said.

"Yeah, it has been a while," said Siris, "Good to see you too, Knuckles."

He nodded; his lack of verbal responses caused Siris to give Rouge that "what's that all about" look.

"He doesn't trust you," she answered.

"Rouge!" Knuckles shouted, "You weren't supposed to tell him!"

"Knuckles… doesn't trust me?"

Knuckles turned to Siris.

"I… no, I don't."

Siris did a few tiny nods.

"Okay. Fine by me," he replied.

Knuckles and Rouge were both surprised.

"Huh?"

"What, would you trust some random stranger to help you find powerful Emeralds capable of mass destruction?"

"… Good point," said Rouge.

"So… what brings you two here? It's not like anything… actually, scratch that; that would have been a lie, something did just happen."

"Clearly, if you were so focused on vaulting over your clinic like that. Something happen?"

Siris sighed.

"I… had a bit of a break-in a couple of minutes ago."

They weren't expecting that.

"What happened?" Knuckles asked.

Siris gave him a look.

"Are you serious? I just told you!"

Knuckles held his hand up in defense.

"Hey, hey, I was just-"

"Knuckles, he's just joking," Rouge told him.

The defensive echidna turned to Rouge.

"What?"

Knuckles turned back so Siris and saw him smirking.

"Why you-"

"Hey, come on, it was just a joke. Come on; I'll take you both inside and show you what happened."

Siris entered his home and Knuckles and Rouge followed.

"What's this?" Rouge asked.

"Hm? This place?" Siris asked, waving an arm around the room, "This is my home."

Rouge was surprised.

"You live here?" she asked.

"Yeeeeaaah… Is that an issue?" Siris answered as he turned around and stood in front of the door the led to his clinic, arms crossed.

Rouge blinked a couple of times as she stared at Siris.

"Well?"

"Uh, sorry, Siris. It's just… never mind. There's something we wanted to show you."

Knuckles pulled out the fake communicator and held it out to Siris.

"A communicator?" said Siris as he took it.

"A fake communicator," Knuckles corrected, "Someone must have swapped mine with one when I wasn't looking. There's no contact information on it whatsoever."

"Is that so? Well, why bring it to me instead of Tails?"

Knuckles jerked his head towards Rouge. Siris turned to her and raised his brows.

"You were closer-"

"Bullshit, Rouge. I can see the G.U.N. logo on those bandages; those are only found at G.U.N. HQ, which is much closer to Tails' Workshop in the Mystic Ruins than my little clinic here in Blue Moon Village."

"… okay, I had other reasons."

"Let me guess; checking to see how I'm doing? Making sure I haven't killed anyone else in the past two years? Or, even better, maybe to make sure I wasn't-"

"Wait, what!?" Knuckles exclaimed, "What do you mean 'killed anyone else'?"

Siris looked at Knuckles.

"Uuhhh… Oh, crap… Did Sonic or Tails tell you about the thing?"

"No… what 'thing'?"

Siris sighed.

"Ask Sonic or Tails or Amy when you get the chance. They'll tell you."

Knuckles turned to Rouge in disbelief.

"Something I should know about, Rouge?"

Rouge sighed.

"Sorry, Knuckles. I can't tell you."

Knuckles gaped at her.

"Are you serious!?"

"Don't blame her, Knuckles. I'm the one who told her not to tell anyone," said Siris.

"Why?"

"… When the time comes, I'll tell you."

Siris turned his attention to the communicator and began examining it. Knuckles was still befuddled and suspicious.

"Hmm… certainly looks exactly like my communicator; I would have been easily fooled as well," he said before looking up to Knuckles, "Didn't you bother to try and use it?"

"My duty as the Guardian of the Master Emerald kept me focused on trying to restore the Emerald. I wasn't exactly in the mood to call the others."

"Fair enough."

The duo watched as Siris continued to examine the device from every angle. Rouge continued to look around the house. Both her and Knuckles' eyes met upon the blue orb sitting on the short bookcase.

"Don't even think about it, Rouge," said Siris.

"… Siris… isn't that the-"

"No, it's not. And if you even try to steal it, I'll ruin your other wing."

Rouge was a bit peeved by that remark, but when she turned to face Siris, she could see a faint blue glow in his eyes that made her understood.

"Uh…"

"Forget it, Knuckles," said Rouge, "It's nothing."

"Um… hello," said a small voice behind the duo.

The three looked over and saw Sylvie walking down the hallway. She was wearing the new red dress Siris bought for her earlier that day.

"Oh, hey, Sylvie. You look amazing in that dress," said Siris.

"Oh… thank you, Siris," said Sylvie, slightly blushing.

Knuckles and Rouge on the other hand had slightly different reactions.

"Siris, who is this girl!?" Knuckles demanded.

"Huh?"

"Did you do this to her!?" Rouge asked angrily.

Okay, maybe 'slightly' was a bit of an understatement…

"… oh, her scars? No, I didn't-"

"What did you do to her?!" Knuckles asked as he took a step forward with a threatening fist raised.

"Siris, you better have a good explanation!" said Rouge.

Siris shook his head as his arms hung loosely to his sides.

"Seriously? You'd think I'd do something like that, Rouge?"

"Well, you're a doctor, she has chemical burns; you tell me."

"Wait!" Sylvie called out softly.

Siris was a bit surprised; this was the first time he had ever heard her yell, or at least try to yell. Knuckles and Rouge turned towards her.

"Siris didn't do any of this to me…" she explained softly, "I… he took me in and has been very caring. Please… don't be mad at him."

Siris was absolutely dumbfounded.

"Is she… protecting me?"

*thu-thump*

"Ugh… my chest…"

"Oh… is that what's been happening?" Rouge asked Sylvie.

She nodded.

"Well… I, uh… I'm sorry for my outburst then, Siris," said Knuckles.

"Me too," said Rouge.

"Hm?" Siris hummed before shaking his head, "Oh, uh, right. Yeah, no problem. I understand, no worries. Uh… yeah."

…

"Would you two like anything to drink?" Sylvie asked them.

"I'll have a water," said Rouge.

"I'll have one too," said Knuckles.

Siris didn't reply, too fixated on the communicator.

"Siris?" said Sylvie.

"Hm? Oh, I'm good, Sylvie, but thanks for asking."

Sylvie nodded and went to the fridge to grab the bottles of water. She came back and gave one to Knuckles and Rouge.

"So…" said Knuckles as he cleared his throat and opened his bottle, "anything you can tell us about the fake communicator?"

Siris sighed.

"Not a thing. Sorry, but it's just a simple communicator, other than the fact that there's no information on it. Maybe Tails could help."

He was about to toss it back to Rouge, since she hadn't opened her bottle of water yet, but Sylvie got his attention.

"Uh… Siris?"

"Yeah, Sylvie?"

"Who are these people?"

"Oh, this is Rouge and Knuckles. Rouge and Knuckles, Sylvie."

"Nice to meet you," said Rouge, giving Sylvie a smirk.

"Uh, hi," said Knuckles, lifting one hand up.

Sylvie looked at Knuckles with a perplexed expression.

"What happened to your hands?" she asked the echidna.

Knuckles gave her a look.

"What happened to yours?" he inappropriately joked.

*WUMP*

"OW! WHAT THE HELL, SIRIS!?" Knuckles yelled as he rubbed the top of his head.

"Oh, shut up, Knuckles. First of all, that question you asked her is not a subject she would wish to discuss. Second, why would you ever ask someone a question like that so casually? And third, I barely even bopped you on the head with the blue color power."

Knuckles growled but sighed a moment later.

"Yeah… you're right. Sorry, Sylvie, that was insensitive of me."

"… I'm… okay. Thank you, Knuckles."

"… and to answer your question from before, there's nothing wrong with my hands."

"Eh…? Then… do you have the same number of fingers that I do?"

*Beep beep*

"Hm?"

Everyone looked over to Siris, who had walked over to his work desk and put on his goggles; that he charged earlier; and did a quick scan of the device.

"Siris?"

…

"Siris?"

…

"SIRIS!"

Siris shook his head.

"Hm? Sorry, I got distracted again. What?"

Rouge sighed.

"Oh, right," said Siris, "Sorry, still nothing. I don't think I'll be able to tell you anything about this thing. As I said before, Tails might be able to find something instead."

He tossed the device back to Knuckles.

"I'll be sure to let him have a look whenever we cross paths again, he said."

"Good. Now if you excuse me, I have a mess to clean up in my clinic."

Siris slid his goggles down so they would hang around his neck as got up and headed for his clinic. He was a bit confused when he noticed Knuckles and Rouge follow him inside.

"Uh, why are you following me?"

"I thought you were going to show us what happened," Rouge told him.

"When did I ever say that?"

"When you told us to come inside your home," said Knuckles.

"I didn't- oh, wait, I did, didn't I?"

Knuckles and Rouge nodded.

"I must be losing my mind," Siris muttered, "Alright, I'll show you. Hey, Sylvie?"

The silver hedgehog was just leaving the laundry room with one of Siris' doctor's coats when she was called over.

"Yes, Siris?"

"… Never mind, we'll talk later. Once I'm finished cleaning in the clinic, I'll be back and make us dinner. Okay?"

"If that's how it must be."

"Alright. Come on, you two. Time to see… *sigh*… just how bad the mess is in the storage room."

Siris led Knuckles and Rouge through his clinic while Sylvie went to hang up Siris' coat.

"She's pretty cute looking," Rouge teased.

"Oh, my God and Chaos, do you want to fly again?" Siris asked.

"Alright, I'll stop. By the way, where's Omega? And Shadow?" Rouge asked.

"Shadow took Omega over to Tails' workshop." Siris answered, "As for where Shadow is, your guess is as good as mine. I haven't seen or heard from him since he left for the Mystic Ruins."

They were halfway down the when Siris' communicator rang. They stopped as Siris answered the call and a holographic screen with Tails' video feed appeared.

"Mr. Magoo speaking," said Rouge as she leaned into Siris' communicator and blocking his face.

"Oh, real mature, Rouge," Siris told her as he moved his arm away.

"Rouge? I thought I was calling Siris."

"No, this is Siris, Tails. Rouge was just teasing me."

"Oh, good! I was gonna connect her to this conference call as well," said Tails.

"Yeah, Knuckles is here as well. They wanted me to look at the fake communicator that Knuckles had on him for the past few days."

"Why did they go to you instead of me?"

"Reasons. Don't ask; long story. Who else is on call?"

Tails' video window shrank a little as another one appeared next to his.

"Ah, Siris! It is such a pleasure to see you again!"

"Professor Pickle?"

"Of course! I had contacted Tails just moments ago and I insisted that I talk to all of you immediately. It is an urgent matter."

"Well, I'm all ears," said Siris.

"Now, just a moment, Siris," said the professor, "Not everyone is present at the moment. We must also contact all the others."

"Shadow's gone radio silent," said Rouge.

"And the Chaotix have decided to not use their communicators until we have a solution for whoever is causing our communication issues."

"Speaking of which, good thing we're using video call," Siris remarked as he, Knuckles, and Rouge entered the storage room. "Jeez, what a mess."

Some bottles of medicine had been knocked over on their sides or onto the floor; a couple had even been relieved of their contents. On the ground was some clear liquid that made a large puddle on the ground.

"As much as using video for communications being safer, this isn't exactly safe, Tails," said Siris.

"Don't worry, I'm using a new security program right now; it should be safe," he replied.

"On your end, sure, but-"

"No, it should be safe for all of us, as long as I'm connected. Don't worry, I'll give it to you guys soon."

On Siris' communicator, the two video feeds shrank again and a third appeared underneath both and some random blue hedgehog's face appeared onscreen.

"What's up, Ta- oh, Siris! Professor Pickle! How's it hangin'?"

"Not very well, I'm afraid," Pickle told Sonic.

Amy's face appeared next to Sonic's on his screen.

"Hi, Professor!"

"Ah, Amy Rose! It is always a delight whenever you are around!"

"Aw, thanks, Professor Pickle."

Sonic looked at Siris' screen and saw a couple of familiar faces.

"Whoa-ho-hoo… what HAPPENED to you two…? Oh, wait… was that from fighting the big robot you guys talked about before?"

"Yes… yes, it is, Sonic," Knuckles sighed.

"Wonderful. Now we just need to get in touch with Silver and Rouge," said Tails.

"Heh, waaaayyyy ahead of you, buddy," said Sonic as he beckoned Silver and Blaze over to the camera.

"Silver, Blaze! We've been trying to contact you FOREVER!" Tails exclaimed, "Where have you been?!"

"Mobius," they answered simultaneously.

After a brief blush and glance at each other, Blaze continued.

"Sonic told us what has been happening. Any update on the person who attacked Shadow and Omega?"

Siris became slightly nervous from this topic. He looked away from the camera as he continued to pick up vials and pills off the ground.

"No, not yet," said Tails, "But we're certain they work for the Lord."

"You mean God?" Siris quipped, earning him a couple of laughs from the others, "I'm certain if that's the case, we shouldn't be getting in the way of His plans."

After a moment, everyone had regained their composure.

"Let's get back on track," said Amy, "What's the point of this call?"

"Well, since everyone available is now here, I suppose now is the proper time to explain," said Professor Pickle.

"Explain what, Professor?" asked Siris.

"I am embarrassed to admit to this unfortunate circumstance, but someone has made off with some of my research."

"What!?" everyone exclaimed.

"You mean all your research on the Gaia Manuscripts!?" Tails asked.

"Indeed, Tails. Just one hour earlier, I received news from my assistant that someone had broken into my office and made off with copies of my research involving not only the Gaia Manuscripts, but also all the information I have collected on Dark Gaia and Light Gaia over the past few years."

Upon hearing Chip's moniker, Sonic sadly glanced over to his bracelet. Amy gave him a comforting hug on his arm. He looked in her eyes and smiled. She smiled back.

"Was anything stolen?"Rouge asked.

The professor shook his head.

"Nothing was actually removed from my office; someone had hacked into my computer and copied all the data stored on the machine."

"How do you know someone made- Aw, FUCK!" Siris shouted, "God… DAMN IT!"

Everyone went silent and looked at Siris in shock. A couple of chuckles were heard.

"Goodness, Siris, language!" Professor Pickle remarked.

"Amazing…" Sonic said softly as he held in a chuckle.

Siris sighed and groaned at the same time.

"Siris? Is something wrong?" Amy asked, smirking at his allegedly inappropriate behavior.

"Yeah, Amy, there is. RRRRRRGGGGHHH! *sigh* While we're on the topic of break-ins, believe it or not, my clinic just had a break-in minutes ago."

"Oh, you just realize this?" Knuckles asked sarcastically, pointing towards the partially cleaned up mess.

"Very funny, Knuckles," Siris remarked.

"You were robbed as well?" asked Tails.

"No, nothing's missing. However, when I discovered someone snooping around my clinic, they made a mess as they escaped."

"How did they escape?" Knuckles asked.

Siris pointed over his thumb towards the awning.

"How did they fit through that!?" asked Rouge.

"I dunno, but what I do know is that my entire supply of morphine is ruined," Siris sighed, "I assumed it was just a ruptured saline bag, but clearly that wasn't the case."

Everyone went silent again.

"For my patients, guys! Believe it or not, I have a couple of patients who are need of a shot of morphine once in a while and I also need it for other medical purposes."

The silence from the others continued. Siris sighed.

"Have you ever been in the same room as a woman in labor?" he asked.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Okay, I rest my case," said Siris.

"Well, that's one mystery solved," said Rouge, "But why are you so… upset by this?"

Siris took a deep breath.

"Two reasons. One, I'm completely out of the supply, as you can see. Two, it'll take me over a month just to get a new supply in…"

Rouge gave him suspicious look, as though there was more to that second, and also pathetic, reason.

"... if I order online and have it shipped."

Rouge shook her head, adding confusion to her expression. Siris sighed again.

"Or I could just fly over to the pharmaceutical company located in Central City and be back her within two days," he finished.

"Ooohhhh…" said Rouge.

Everyone else, minus Rouge and the professor, were lost.

"Um, is there a reason why going to Central City is a problem?" asked Amy.

Siris turned to his communicator.

"Let's just say… G.U.N. and I don't exactly have a good relationship at the moment. Present company's team and the Commander are excluded," Siris said cryptically, "And let's just leave it at that for now."

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge all nodded their heads.

"Uh, Sonic?" Silver whispered, "Is this the guy you told us about? The one who has dangerous secrets?"

"Silver, I'm right here. I can hear you whispering," Siris said flatly.

"Urk! Sorry!"

Siris sighed.

"No, it's fine. But since you mentioned it, yes, I am that guy. So get your questions ready for Halloween."

That last statement was more directed to the whole group.

"*Ahem* Back to what I was gonna ask, how do you know someone made off with copies of your research, Professor?" Siris asked.

"Ah, yes. We have our friend, Tails, here to thank for that. He installed multiple safety measures on my desktop some time ago. One of those measures is a program that keeps track of any and all data recorded and copied."

"Smart," said Siris, "Any specific data regarding Dark and Light Gaia?"

"They took copies of everything," Pickle stated, "I'm worried that someone might try and recreate what Eggman executed nearly three years ago."

An eerie silence fell upon the group.

"That's… that's not good," said Tails.

"Indeed," Professor Pickle replied.

"Hmm… I'm not so sure," said Siris, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't Dark Gaia need a few million years to recover before it can be awakened?"

"That is technically true, Siris," said Tails, "but if the Lord, which is what we'll refer to this guy as for now, has this research data, in combination of what we've seen so far…"

"My God…" Siris said in horror.

"Wait," said Sonic, "if what you say is true, Professor, does this mean my bracelet has a connection with the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Hmm… I never considered that once I learned my research was stolen," said Professor Pickle, "That is a possibility, yes."

Sonic sighed.

"What's wrong, Sonic?" Blaze asked him.

"What are you thinking?" Amy asked.

"Well… let's see what happens when I do this," he replied.

Sonic rubbed his bracelet. A feint glow from the gemstone was seen, followed by a tremor.

"Whooaaa! Here we go again!" Sonic shouted.

"H-H-Huu-uu-uh!? I feel an earthquake, too!" Tails exclaimed.

"Also here!" said Knuckles.

"There's an earthquake here as well!" the professor stated.

A few moments later, the tremor, or tremors, ceased. Everyone was confused and at a loss for words.

"That's… new," said Siris.

"How did that happen?!" Sonic exclaimed, "How could everyone have felt that tremor, but not be in the same place!? And how come no one felt them before!?"

"Sonic, we felt that one at the clinic when you were here, remember?" said Knuckles.

Sonic shook his head.

"No, I mean the one before that. Siris, Mighty, and Ray were at Blue Moon Village when that one happened, but they didn't feel anything."

"Hmm… now that you mention it…" said Siris.

"What is it?" Rouge asked.

"… Gimme a sec, I'll be right back."

Siris put the call on hold as he dashed out of his clinic and came back a few seconds later.

"Okay, so no one in town felt anything. I also asked Sylvie, and she felt nothing either. She didn't even feel the one Sonic caused at the clinic days ago."

"What does that mean?" asked Silver.

"Well… if I had to guess, it probably means that whenever Sonic does that thing with his bracelet, anyone within his vicinity and anyone, at least visually, in contact with him all feel the tremor, or has a tremor occur where they are as well."

…

"Or it's just a gigantic coincidence and we're all just imagining the earthquakes, I don't know."

"Well, it would seem that your little friend is trying to help you, Sonic," said Professor Pickle.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sonic asked him.

"Well, you were the one who told me that you had a strange urge to wear that farewell gift before your search for Eggman began. Perhaps it was Light Gaia's doing."

"… You mean…?"

"It is quite possible that Light Gaia knew you would need the Chaos Emeralds in order to defeat a growing threat. He knew this would be the only way for you to retrieve them again."

"… Heh... should've known Chip would still have my back."

"You should be extra careful with that bracelet, Sonic," said Rouge.

"I agree," said Blaze, "If our enemy gets ahold of it, they could prevent us from collecting the remaining Chaos Emeralds. We must take extreme caution and keep it safe."

"I'm not so certain," said Siris, "While I agree it should be kept away from the enemy, I doubt any of them would be able to use it. I see it more as our only means of collecting the Chaos Emeralds. I should point out that at least one Chaos Emerald has made a reappearance after every earthquake, based on Sonic's story."

"I hate to disagree, but Rouge and Blaze are right," said Tails, "Even Gerald Robotnik was capable of creating a machine of mass destruction that harnesses the power of the Chaos Emeralds. And that's the earliest known machine created capable of doing so, as far as I know. And if Eggman was able to power his badniks with animals, who's to say someone else wouldn't find a way with that bracelet?"

Amy nudged Sonic.

"What do you think, Sonic?" she asked.

"Hmm… I think I'll keep it on my wrist, where I know it will be safe," he replied.

"Well… if that's the case, stay alert," Siris warned him, "Tails may have made this communication safe, as he told me earlier, but you can never be to careful; assume the worst."

"Gotcha," said Sonic.

"Now, as much as I love talking to all of you, I have to catch a flight soon and I have to a couple of detours before then. Soooo…"

"Do not worry, Siris," said the professor, "I think we have covered everything necessary for discussion."

Everyone else agreed.

"Well, alright then. See ya around," said Siris.

"Later, Siris," said Sonic.

"Well be in touch," said Tails.

Siris hung up and sighed.

"Does it always get this hectic during your adventures?" he asked Knuckles and Rouge.

"It gets worse each time," said Knuckles.

"Right…"

Siris finished wiping up the last of the morphine off the ground and disposed all the garbage into the hazard bin.

"Rouge, mind doing me a favor and get me a travel pass for Central City?" he asked.

Knuckles gave Siris a quizzical look.

"Don't you mean a passport?" he asked.

"No, I have that. This is so G.U.N. doesn't go guns blazing the moment I step foot in Central City."

He raised a hand before Knuckles could say something.

"Again, don't ask. Long story."

Knuckles sighed.

"How soon do you need the pass, Siris?" Rouge asked.

"Hopefully I can have it by the time we get to Central City," he told her, "You guys get here by plane?"

"Yeah," they answered.

"Is it still here?"

"Yeah, it's currently refueling at the small airfield south of town," said Rouge.

"I know the place," said Siris, "I'll meet you two there in about two hours. I have a couple of things to do before we leave."

Knuckles and Rouge looked at each other, puzzled, and then back to Siris.

"Us?" they asked.

"Yeah. Us. You know, the word that means a collective group of people, including the person using said word? Come on, pay attention to the language we've agreed on using," said Siris.

The duo shook their heads.

"What makes you think we are taking you to Central City?" Rouge asked.

"Because you have a jet that travels over 1,000 miles per hour… wait…"

Siris pondered for a moment before laughing.

"What?" Knuckles asked.

"Miles per hour. Miles Prower. Oh my God and Chaos, how did I not figure that out sooner?"

Knuckles and Rouge rolled their eyes.

"Very funny, Siris. Don't make that joke around Tails, alright?" said Knuckles.

"I won't. I'm not that cruel," Siris replied, "As I was saying, you have a jet capable of speeds over 1,000 miles per hour, which save me a lot of time."

"Okay, but why the time constraint?" Rouge asked.

"I just… like to be fully stocked, that's all. And the sooner I come back with the medicine, the less likely a patient who needs it will have to suffer waiting at my doorstep."

Rouge stared at Siris for a moment.

"Or… you just don't want to be away from her," said Rouge.

Siris' eyes widened.

"What? Who, Sylvie!? *Pffft* Pleeease… I'm sure she can handle being away from me for a couple of days," he said nervously.

Rouge smirked. When Siris noticed, he gulped.

"Crap, she got me!"

"Ha! I got him!"

"Alright, Siris, I guess it won't hurt to waste a couple of extra hours to get you to Central City," she said.

Siris sighed in relief.

"Thanks, Rouge. I owe you."

Knuckles glared back and forth between the two.

"Why don't you two head for the plane and wait for me. I'll be there soon enough," said Siris.

"Where are you going?" Knuckles asked as Siris walked pass him and Rouge.

"To see a couple of… friends."

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Coast of Mobius

[ Angel Island (Act 1) – Sonic Mania Adventures Remix ] (Uploaded by Bouncy Glow's Music Room) (0:00) (Oh, hey! They did make another Sonic Mania Adventures episode. And it has Amy.)

"Alright, take care, Tails," said Sonic.

"Don't worry, Sonic. I'll be fine. Watch your back," Tails replied as he hung up.

Sonic turned to face his friends.

"Well, where to now?" he asked.

It was now dusk, and no one really had a plan of what to do now. Silver and Blaze yawned and stretched.

"Tired?" Amy asked them.

They nodded.

"Well, we could rest here for the night. We all spent all day searching, so it only seems right to recharge now," said Amy.

Silver turned to Blaze.

"I could use some rest. What about you, Blaze?" he asked her.

She sighed.

"I suppose some rest would help. But where would we sleep?"

The four looked around. The only things they could see were forest, sand, and ocean.

"Why don't we sleep under that?" Sonic asked, pointing towards a tree that was slightly larger than the rest, "Looks big enough for all of use to sleep under."

"I think that's a good idea, Sonic," said Amy.

She turned to the others.

"What do you guys think?"

Silver and Blaze had a faint blush on their faces.

"Uh… well…" said Silver.

"I think it's… satisfactory…" said Blaze, "But for safety, maybe we should take turns taking watch?"

"Uh, yeah! That's sounds good! I'll take the first shift!" Silver exclaimed.

Blaze turned to Silver.

"No, I'll take the first shift, Silver. You get some rest," she told him.

"Blaze, you've been tired all day, you should rest."

Sonic and Amy watched the drama before them.

"They are totally in love," Amy whispered to Sonic.

"Ugh… if only they'd get a room," he joked quietly as the should be couple continued to argue.

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Blue Moon Village

"Are you sure it will be okay for me to stay here?" Sylvie asked Siris.

It was only a few minutes ago that Siris told Sylvie he had to go out of town for a day and felt that it would be safer for her to stay at a friend's place rather than be left alone, especially with the break-in only an hour ago. They had just arrived at a small apartment complex and were waiting for someone to answer the door.

"To be honest, it's not up to me if you can stay here for a while, it's up to her," Siris replied, "And trust me, I get the feeling she'll say 'yes' in a heartbeat."

Siris knocked on the door again.

"Come on, she's obviously home," he muttered.

He and Sylvie heard faint footsteps coming, followed by the door opening.

"Siris!?"

"Evening, Nephy," said Siris.

[ Undertale OST – sans. Extended ] (Uploaded by Etu Tran) (0:00)

"Why is she still wearing her uniform? Oh, never mind."

"What brings you and Sylvie here?" she asked, "No, wait! Did you two finally reveal your fe-"

"Maybe coming here was a mistake…"

"I'm just kidding, Siris. Really, why are you here?"

Siris sighed.

"Well, I had a little incident happen in the clinic. Long story short, I'm out of certain supplies and I must go out of town for about a day or two. I didn't feel comfortable about leaving Sylvie alone in the house for so long, so I was wondering if she could stay here until I get back."

Nephy beamed.

"Of course she can! Please come inside."

"Hold on, Nephy, I'm actually on a bit of a schedule. I have to leave now, but I just want to go over a couple of things first."

"Okay, shoot."

"One, I'll be back hopefully by tomorrow afternoon, which seems unlikely. Whether you decide to take Sylvie to the café or stay home and watch her is up to you, just don't leave her alone."

"No problem so far."

"Two, and this is really important, but please don't bombard her with questions involving… you know, her past. Or me."

Nephy grinned.

"I'll try~…"

"Oh, God, why? *ahem* And three, do not, I repeat, do not give her any ideas."

"What sort of ideas."

"Nephy…" Siris growled.

She giggled.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I promise, I won't do anything."

"Good."

Siris turned to Sylvie. She seemed a little down.

"You okay, Sylvie?"

She looked up.

"I'm… sorry."

"For what?" he asked.

"I have become a burden, haven't I?"

Siris smiled and patted her on the head.

"Sylvie, come on… you know that's not true. I'm just doing this because I'm worried about you."

He immediately turned to Nephy and gave her a look.

"Not one word from you, hedgehog," he warned her.

He turned back to Sylvie.

"Look, I won't be gone for long. Just think of this as… a slumber party."

Sylvie looked confused.

"What's a 'slumber party'?"

"Uh… Nephy, not a word. Okay, just think of this as spending the night at a friend's house."

"I have… a friend?"

That sentence stabbed Siris' heart. His ears slightly lowered.

"Oh… I guess… she doesn't see me as a friend…"

"Siris?" Sylvie asked.

"Hm? Oh, sorry. Of course you have friends; Nephy, Aurelia."

He turned away.

"… me," he said quietly.

"Eh?"

Siris shook his head.

"Don't mind him, Sylvie," said Nephy, "He's just worried that someone will hurt you. But have no fear, because my home is always open for you~."

Sylvie was a bit surprised.

"Eh…? Umm… th-thank you, Nephy."

"Please, come in. I have a guest room you can sleep in."

Sylvie looked over to Siris, who gave her a smile and a nod. She took a deep breath and entered Nephy's home. Siris couldn't help but feel a bit… depressed.

"She'll be fine, Siris," Nephy told him.

"Yeah, I know… just… yeah."

…

"Anyways, I'll be going now."

"Alright. Be safe."

Siris nodded as he turned around.

"Have a safe trip, Siris," he heard Sylvie say softly.

He turned gave her a reassuring smile before dashing away.

"Please… come back soon."

"Well, now that he's gone…" Nephy said mischievously as she closed the door, "What kind of fun can I have with you~?"

Sylvie looked at Nephy with confusion.

"Eh…? Fun…?"

Nephy took Sylvie's hands and led her to her couch.

"I have so many questions for you~!" said the brown and blue hedgehog.

Oh, please be gentle with those questions, Nephy…

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Hemberg Estate

[ Pondering Eternity – Ambient Music ] (Uploaded by Robert Otto) (0:00) (Loop)

James 'Snickers' Hemberg. Kinda weird when it's said out loud, huh? That's exactly what Siris thought when he first heard James was the new lord of the estate. The estate was located a few miles from Blue Moon Village, but not far enough so it couldn't be seen from Siris' clinic. It was completely dark now as Siris leapt over the wall that surrounded the property.

"Okay… nothing will happen," he thought to himself, "I'm just gonna talk to James for a few minutes, ask him some questions… and try not to kill him. And then, I leave. Nothing bad will happen."

Siris walked up to the front door and slammed his fist against it.

*WHAM WHAM WHAM*

After waiting for a few seconds, Siris knocked again. No change.

"I know you're in there!" he shouted, "I can hear you coming up with excuses for yourself!"

Still nothing.

"Screw it," Siris muttered.

He backed away from the door and launched his grapple up toward the roof. After it went taut, he pulled himself up and onto the roof.

"Okay, let's find Waldo," he said to himself as he put his goggles on over his eyes.

Looking around for a couple of seconds, he determined where his old friend was.

"There's Waldo."

Siris slid his goggles back down and made his way over to the conveniently opened window that led to the room James was in. Siris took a running start, jumped into the air, twirled his body around, and launched a wire through the open window. As he landed inside, he somersaulted a couple of times before stopping on one knee.

"Quite an entrance," said James, who was sitting at a desk, facing away from Siris.

A fire was burning in the fireplace a few feet from the desk.

"Well, your doorbell was broken. I would have just kicked down the door, but then I would have done the 'breaking' in 'breaking and entering'," Siris said flatly.

James took a sip of whiskey from his glass.

"You haven't come to see me in a long time, Wisps."

Siris got up and walked over to James.

"Don't call me that; we're not friends anymore, remember?"

James chuckled.

"Still blaming me for that, huh?"

Siris was now standing before James, on the other side of the desk. He noticed the mouse was still wearing the same suit from the other day.

"I'll take your silence as a 'yes'."

Siris glared at the purple Mobian.

"So, to what pleasure do I give for this unexpected visit?"

Siris pulled out a bag from his inventory and tossed onto the desk. James raised a brow as he picked it up and examined the content inside.

"A piece of string?" he asked.

"Fur. Purple fur… your fur," said Siris.

"Oh. Hm… where did you get this?"

"Oh, no place special. Just in the storage room of my clinic that you broke into earlier."

James put the bag down and sighed.

"What gave it away, the fur?" he asked.

"Actually, it was the tiny awning you escaped through. Of everyone I know, you are the only one who knows how to infiltrate through objects that small."

James nodded.

"And the fact that you are the only person to ever successfully deflect my wire, besides Shadow. And he doens't need a window to escape."

"Guilty as charged," James admitted.

Siris shook his head.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I would have guessed that you are still working for G.U.N. and that your uncle's death was the perfect opportunity for them to put you closer to me so they can keep an eye on me through your nosey snooping."

Siris leaned over the desk with his hands supporting him.

"How am I doing?" he smirked.

James sighed.

"Very well. Yes, it's all true what you said. However, Charles Hemberg was truly my uncle-"

"From you mother's brother-in-law's second wife's side, yeah, yeah, I know."

"Heh… guess you did catch all that."

Siris rolled his eyes.

"You know, you cost me a whole supply of morphine and trouble pulling that stunt of yours."

"Says the guy keeping a slave in his house."

Siris' eyes flashed a hint of red.

"Watch it, James," he growled, "Unlike you uncle, I-"

"Oh, relax, Siris, I know what you've been doing."

"Shocking. Mind telling me why all of a sudden you've become so obsessed with sneaking into my clinic?"

"… So you know-"

"That you snuck in the night Sonic was admitted to my clinic, yeah. Next time, might wanna lock the door on your way out."

James scoffed.

"Still a smartass, I see."

"Call it a blessing or a curse; whichever you prefer," Siris remarked, "Mind telling me what is really going on?"

The room went silent for a moment; only the crackle and pops from the fire in the fireplace could be heard.

"Well, since you won't take no for an answer, I guess I'll tell you," said James, "To put it simply, G.U.N. doesn't want you anywhere near Sonic and his friends."

Siris made a dramatic gesture.

"Really? What a surprise, since that was my initial plan beforehand."

"Well, G.U.N. doesn't trust you."

"And whose fault is that, I wonder."

…

"So, you heard about my little talk with Amy, huh?"

"Yeah, thanks for that. Just what I need; more people to hate me."

"Well, they're giving you a chance to tell your story, aren't they?"

"God, aren't you the nosey sack of shit? I bet it was you who gave Tails that floppy disk as well?"

James expressed confusion.

"Floppy disk? What are you talking about?"

Siris stared at James.

"That wasn't you?"

"Siris, I have no clue what you're talking about. What was on the floppy disk?"

"Nothing that you don't already know; photos of what happened two years ago."

"Really? Incriminating photos?"

"To the uninformed, yes."

"And you plan to explain yourself?"

"Regardless of the outcome, it'll make my life easier."

"Hm…"

"Funny how once we're in this place, all you want to talk about is me and not Sonic and his team."

"Still annoyed about that second visit?"

"A little."

…

"Now that I think about it… you don't know about the message, do you?"

"… no."

"Well, you'll be happy to know that, allegedly, Eggman thinks that I'm a necessity to help the other three hedgehogs save the world."

"… He must be either going insane like Julian did, or…"

"Or…?"

"I need a change of plans."

"What, you have one already at mind?"

"Yes."

…

…

…

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Are you gonna make me beat it out of you? What's the plan?"

James stared at Siris for a moment.

"Why should I tell you?" the mouse asked.

"Because I doubt you have any good plans to prevent me from leaving."

"I thought you said you didn't want to join Sonic on this adventure?"

"No, I said I agreed with G.U.N. that I should probably be kept away from him and his friends. I never said I would let the world fall into chaos."

James sighed.

"Well, then I have no idea what to do."

…

"I might have an idea…" said Siris.

James looked at Siris with a bit of surprise.

"You have a plan to tell me?"

"Oh, do I," Siris said as he grabbed James by the collar of his suit, "Now, listen up."

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Coast of Mobius

[ Sleep Music with Ocean Sounds at Night – Relaxing Video for Sleeping, Waves and Female Vocals ] (Uploaded by LoungeV Films – Relaxing Music and Nature Sounds) (0:00)

After an amusing ten minutes of watching Silver and Blaze bicker like an old couple, Sonic and Amy had managed to convince them that they should both rest and that Sonic would take the first watch, since he wasn't tired. Amy asked Silver to help her collect some large leaves and branches that they could sleep on, instead of the hard ground underneath the tree the team planned to sleep under. They've been walking along the coast for about half an hour now.

"How's this one, Amy?" Silver asked, levitating a large palm tree leaf he found nearby. (I'm not talking about those crappy real-life palm tree leaves, I'm talkin' leaves from Sonic Mania Adventures that Knuckles tried to hide the Master Emerald under.)

"Looks perfect, Silver," Amy told him as she dragged a couple of leaves behind her.

"Okay, Silver… let's see how long I can push your buttons," Amy thought to herself with a smirk.

"So, how are you doing?" she asked.

"Huh?"

Silver looked over to Amy.

"I'm… fine, I guess."

Amy rolled her eyes.

"Silver, the last time I saw you, you literally poured your feelings towards Blaze out to me and Cream because you thought Blaze was never gonna come back. Days later, voila, she's here."

"Well… yeah, I guess it was an enormous coincidence."

Amy facepalmed.

"Oh, come on, Silver!"

"What!?"

Amy dropped her cargo and held her hands out in an exasperated manner.

"What do you mean 'what'!? You like Blaze. Blaze is here. Helloooooo~?!" said Amy.

Silver began to blush as a drop of sweat appeared on his temple.

"Uh, Amy, can we not talk about this right now?"

"Are you seriously going to tell me that Blaze's reappearance over two years after Sonic's birthday party is nothing more than a coincidence?!"

"Umm… yes?"

Amy fell over anime style and quickly recovered.

"Silver, don't act so oblivious; this is a miracle! A match made in heaven!"

"Amy, not so loud!" Silver shouted quietly, "I don't want Blaze to hear us!"

Amy's mouth dropped.

"Wait, you didn't even tell her!?"

"No! And why would I!? It's not like she shares my feelings!"

Amy glared into Silver's eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh my God and Chaos… something did happen before Sonic and I ran into you guys, didn't it?"

Silver's blush was now crimson, and the drop of sweat was (unexplainably) huge and was still clinging to his fur.

"Ooohhh… I knew it! I knew it!"

"Amy, sssshhhhh!"

"Silver, you will tell me what happened, I want all the-"

Before Amy could finish, Silver levitated off the ground and took off in a flash back to camp, with his leaf in tow.

"Hee hee hee," Amy giggled, "Cream and Rouge will have a field day when I find out and tell them."

Amy picked her leaves back up and began running along the coast.

"Silver's gonna be really sorry for making me run all the way back."

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Blue Moon Village Airstrip

Knuckles and Rouge were standing outside the jet they arrived in, waiting for Siris to show up. It had only been a little more than an hour since they Siris told them he'd meet them. Knuckles had, reasonably, been pondering over what Siris had said and what was going on.

"You know Chun-nan is the opposite direction of Chun-nan, right, Rouge?"

Rouge turned to Knuckles.

"I'm well aware, Knuckles, yes."

"Then, why give him a lift and waste more of our time to get him to Central City?"

Rouge sighed.

"Let's just say… when it comes to Siris, never jump to conclusions."

Knuckles nodded and looked up at the starry night.

"Rouge, I have to ask," he said to her, "why is G.U.N. on bad terms with Siris?"

Rouge glanced over to her echidna friend and sighed.

"That's not something Siris would want me to tell you."

"But you're G.U.N.!" Knuckles exclaimed, "If he's killed people, then G.U.N. should have no problem arresting him if they had evidence against him!"

Rouge bit her lower lip and looked away. Knuckles glared at her.

"There's no evidence, is there?" he asked.

Rouge sighed again and looked at Knuckles.

"All I can say is that… what happened to Siris…"

…

"Yeah?"

"What happened was personal"

"To him?"

"Yes."

"… Okay, but why-"

"In due time, Knuckles," said a voice from above.

Knuckles and Rouge turned around and saw Siris laying on top of the jet.

"When did you get here?" Rouge asked.

"About a minute ago," Siris replied, not moving.

"Exactly how shocked should I prepare myself to be whenever you tell us your story?" Knuckles asked.

"You'll most likely kill me… after slowly torturing me with whatever you can think of."

…

"I'm not kidding."

Rouge shook her head.

"Siris, come on, I'm sure they'll understand-"

"Rouge, you don't even know the half of it," Siris remarked as he sat up, "You should be prepared as well."

Siris hopped down and approached the duo.

"So, we leavin' now?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Rouge, "let's get on the plane."

Siris deadpanned at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"What?"

Siris flipped her off.

"I'm getting in the plane, thank you very much!"

Knuckles and Rouge chuckled.

"I'm not Evel Knievel; I'm not getting on the plane. Jeez, when will people learn?"

Siris smirked and put his bird away.

"You'll never stop watching George Carlin's specials, will you?" Rouge asked.

"Nope. Now let's get in the plane and take off. I've got an order of morphine with my name on it."

The three Mobians entered the plane and prepared for takeoff.

"Hey, did you get me the pass?" Siris asked Rouge.

Rouge pulled out some paperwork from her inventory and handed it to Siris.

"Okay, let's see here… oh, sweet! I don't need an escort this time!?"

"Nope. Consider this as a reward for your 'good behavior'."

Siris deadpanned again.

"You knew James was sent to spy on me, weren't you?" he whispered into Rouge's ear.

"I cannot confirm nor deny."

"What are you two talking about?" Knuckles asked.

"Nothing you need to know, Knuckles," Rouge replied as she took her seat, "What's wrong? Jealous?"

Knuckles looked away as he took a seat on the opposite side of the plane. Siris smirked and shook his head.

"Don't get any ideas, Mr. Magoo," Rouge told Siris, "He and I are just-"

"Lovers?"

Siris ran to the back of the jet before Rouge could get a chance to kill him.

"His end may come sooner than he thought," Rouge said to herself.

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

*** October 20, 2020 ***

Unknown Kingdom, Midnight

*Kshhhhkshkshsh* (Closest I'll ever get to glass breaking)

"There they are!"

"After them!"

"Don't let them escape!"

"Send a patrol after them!"

They wouldn't be called the Babylon Rogues if they weren't getting themselves into mischief. Shame that the guards at this particular museum had to guard a Babylonian relic from the Rogues' past. And now, the Rogues are escaping on their Extreme Gears with said relic.

[ Sonic Speed Riders – Sonic Riders Music ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Wave, you got the relic?" Storm called out.

The swallow briefly faced her partner and nodded.

"Enough chatter and stay focused!" Jet shouted over his shoulder.

Although he had matured over the years, he still hated it when there was unnecessary chatter or banter around him. Especially during a heist.

"Watch out for the oncoming traffic!" Jet warned his team as he led them onto the highway.

Unlike other cities they've commonly heisted in the past, this place was still traveling by ground instead of the hi-tech hover vehicles commonly used in places like Grand Metropolis. Should be a cakewalk for them… right? Well, yes, any other time, it would be. But Jet was a bit distracted at the moment.

"That metal freakshow… ugh! Some nerve to show up and give us some lame-ass offer to 'save us'. Ha! Save us? From what!?"

Wave noticed Jet was really pushing his luck of how close he was getting to the oncoming vehicles before moving out of their way.

"And what's this talk about Sonic going bonkers? What, did that tin can really think I'm that gullible. Pfffft. Puh-lease. I've learned from my mistakes. I won't be fooled again!"

Storm rode close to Wave.

"Hey," he said quiet enough for Jet to not hear, not that he was paying any attention to them at the moment, "Is the boss okay? He seems a little… angry."

"I think buckethead just got a little into his head. He'll be fine."

"And then a bribe. A bribe! We're thieves, not poor and homeless! Idiot… But… when he threatened to-"

"JET!"

The hawk shook his head.

"Huh? Wha-?"

*HOOONK HOONK*

Jet didn't pay attention to the oncoming traffic and was now a deer in the head lights to an oncoming semitruck. It was only thanks to Wave being propelled by Storm and pushing him and herself out of the truck's path that he didn't become roadkill.

"Jet! What the hell was that!?" Wave screamed as they regained control of their boards.

Jet shook his head and looked back to the road. He boosted off without answering Wave's question.

"Hey, Jet! You have explaining to do, mister!"

Wave and Storm boosted after Jet as they continued to lose the authorities.

(Wait for song to end)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Lord's Base

"Contact Neo Metal Sonic."

…

"My Lord."

"There has been a change in plans…"

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

A few thousand feet above Central City

Siris was sitting comfortable in his seat as the plane flew over Central City. Rouge got up from her seat and walked over to him.

"Siris, we're about to-"

She stopped talking when she saw that Siris was sleeping. Or, she assumed he was; his legs were elevated and crossed, and his hands were resting on his chest. She wasn't sure because his goggles were on; the lens was so dark, she couldn't even see if his eyes were open or not. Yeah, I should have mentioned it before, Siris' goggles look like black ski goggles. Not that it really mattered thus far. But now you know.

"Hmm…" Rouge smirked as she reached over to pinch Siris' nose.

"You ever wanna fly again?" Siris warned her.

"Killjoy," she muttered, "We're flying over the city now."

"Really?" Siris asked as he got up from his seat.

He looked at his communicator.

"Wow, 3:00 AM!? How did we get here so fast!?"

"The communicator automatically changes between time zones," Rouge explained.

"Ah."

Siris followed Rouge as they approached the cockpit.

"I see Knuckles is resting peacefully," said Siris.

"Not a word from you," Rouge warned.

"Hey, I already made a joke about the two of you, I don't need to make another… yet."

Rouge rolled her eyes.

"So, when are we landing?"

"In about half an hour," Rouge replied.

Siris deadpanned.

"Really? That's your answer?"

Rouge shrugged.

"Well, unless you plan on… wait."

Too late, Siris was already opening the hatch.

"Siris, wait, G.U.N. wants to-"

"GERONIMOOOOOOoooooo…."

Knuckles woke up and yawned.

"Oh, did he jump out?" he asked Rouge.

She shook her head in disappointment.

"He sure did."

"Huh. Well, close the door, will ya? Trying to sleep here."

Rouge closed the door.

"What happened!?" the copilot asked as he poked his head from the door to the cockpit.

"Our extra passenger just went for a ride," Rouge told him.

"Of course. Are we still going in to land?"

Before Rouge could answer, her communicator beeped. She noticed she got a message from… Siris? She read the message.

Sorry, I had to do that. Been too long. Also, I just saved you about an hour of time that could have been wasted on landing, refueling, and taking off. Stay safe.

Sincerely, Mr. Magoo

P.S. Don't let the name go to your head!

P.S.S. Wow, the ground sure is getting closer… later!

Rouge sighed.

"Agent?"

She glanced over to the copilot.

"No need to land. Take us directly to Chun-nan."

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

"GERONIMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Siris shouted as he leapt out of the plane.

After a boring flight, Siris needed a little pick-me-up. And what better than to jump out of a plane without a parachute…

"Hmm… I did not plan this through… oh, well," Siris sighed as he dove towards the ground, "While I have time, I should probably send Rouge a message. Got about… another 8,000 feet or so."

[ Speed Highway – Modern (Goin' Down) (OST Version) – Sonic Generations Music ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

After a few seconds of typing the message and sending it, Siris looked around for something theatrical to do.

"Hmm… well, there's no tall buildings nearby, so wall running is out of the question. Don't have a sheet of metal, so no snowboarding down the street. Hmmm… hm? What's that? Ah! Perfect!"

Siris tucked himself into a ball and began spin dashing through the air. Now, let's get something straight, Siris is not Sonic. Sonic can bounce while spin dashing. Siris cannot. So, unless he has a plan, we're about to have quite the mess in the skatepark.

Wait, skatepark?

Siris rolled along one of the halfpipes and flew back into the air.

"WHOOOO!" he yelled as he uncurled midair.

Along the street laid a guardrail; perfect for Siris to land on and grind.

"Man, I've missed doing this."

At the end of the ride, Siris hopped off and dashed through the streets towards his destination.

(Wait until music stops)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Far to the east of Spagonia…

[ Deep Woods – Sonic and the Black Knight Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Wow," Amy sighed as she walked out of a forest and into a vast clearing.

"It sure is peaceful here," said Blaze as she stood beside Amy.

Sonic and Silver appeared from the forest as well and stood beside the girls. They traveled for many hours after leaving Mobius. Per Amy's request, they decided to head over to Spagonia and check on Professor Pickle. They were glad to see that he was fine and that insisted that they didn't need to do so, but was pleased, nonetheless. The Professor told them of a kingdom far east of Spagonia and suggested that they search there next. He couldn't remember the name, and worse, they had no clue where they were at the moment. But the view was nice, at least.

"Well, the kingdom sure isn't going to come to us," said Sonic as he scooped Amy off her feet, "Let's get going!"

Everyone agreed, and they dashed off into the valley.

"So, Blaze," said Amy, "how are things back in your dimension?"

The pyrokinetic looked over to the hammer-welding hedgehog.

"Uh, the Sol Emeralds are missing, my home has been damaged, and I have people counting on me. Why?"

Amy sighed.

"No, Blaze, I meant how are things going, besides that."

"… Oh. Well, all things considered, my dimension is going well. Aside from this and Eggman Nega's schemes, things have been very…"

"Boring?"

"Uneventful," said Blaze.

"Well, no shortage of trouble here," said Amy, "Do you hang out with anyone?"

"Not really. I mean, there is Marine, but other than her, I don't often have time to mingle with others."

"Well… how about a boyfriend?"

Blaze almost tripped over herself from being caught off-guard with that blunt question.

"Uh, what!? No!" she exclaimed, "Why would you ask such a thing?"

Amy smirked.

"What? You don't have a boyfriend? Someone as royal and amazing as you should have all the boys drooling!"

Blaze blushed.

"I… have no relationships with anyone in that way."

"Why not?"

"Amy… can we not talk about this right now?"

"Why not? I'm bored and I want to make girl talk with you."

"That's fine, I suppose, but let's keep my relationships out of this conversation."

Amy glanced at Blaze.

"Why? Do you like someone?"

"What!? Why- Enough! I'm not talking about this anymore!"

Sonic, who was unfortunately, and practically, forced into listening in, leaned over to Amy's ear.

"Amy, I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, but I don't think upsetting Blaze is the wisest of moves," he whispered.

"Hmph. You're no fun, Sonic," she pouted playfully.

Sonic rolled his eyes and focused on the hills.

"Hey!" Silver called out from above, "Look over there!"

Everyone looked over to where Silver was pointing.

"What is that thing?" Blaze asked.

"Trouble," Amy answered.

"Oh, it's more than just trouble, Amy," Sonic smirked, "Come on; let's go check it out."

The blue blur boosted towards the flying object. Silver and Blaze gave each other a quick glance and shrugged before chasing after Sonic and Amy.

"Sonic, wait!" Amy cried out, "Now isn't' the time for games! We should be focused on finding the Emeralds!"

"Aw, come on, Amy, lighten up!" her boyfriend teased.

Within seconds, Sonic had arrived underneath the floating behemoth; Silver and Blaze arrived shortly after.

"Huh, guess no one's home," said Sonic as he put Amy down.

"Good," Amy remarked, "Now, let's get going, before they show up."

Sonic laughed.

"Uh… can someone explain to me what's going on?" Blaze asked.

Silver shrugged.

"That giant mechanical bird looking this is an airship," Amy explained, "It belongs to-"

"It belongs to the Babylon Rogues!" a voice shouted from nearby.

The team turned in the direction it came from and saw three Mobian birds walking over to them.

"Hmph, well if isn't Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Hey, long time no see, Jet."

The two rivals glared at each other. Blaze was still lost.

"Sonic, who are these people?" she asked, "Are they friends of yours?"

Just because Blaze is playable in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and Sonic Free Riders, that doesn't mean she knows the Rogues. She wasn't even in the campaigns.

The three EX riders exploded into a fit of laughter, causing Blaze to feel embarrassed and upset. Sonic and Amy cringed.

"What?" Blaze asked, "W-what's so funny?"

The Rogues calmed down and looked at her.

"Sorry, 'friends'?" Jet asked, "Ha! Like I'd be friends with slowpokes like him."

"Yeah. The boss always wins against that blue punk!" said Storm, "How is it that you don't know who we are? Do you live under a rock or something?"

Silver walked over to Blaze when he noticed hints of smoke rising from her fists.

"These guys are known as the Babylon Rogues. They are known world-wide as a band of thieves, famous for their Extreme Gear skills," he explained.

"They also happen to be descendants of alien-like genies," Sonic added, "… or was it genie-like aliens?"

"Really?" Blaze asked with interest.

"Hmm…" Storm muttered as he stared at the mulberry colored gem on Blaze's forehead.

"Excuse me, why are you staring at me?!" Blaze exclaimed when she caught him red-handed.

"Why do you have that stupid thing on your forehead?" Storm asked.

*Record scratch* (Pause music)

Jet and Wave gave their partner an annoyed look while Blaze's friends turned to Storm with looks of shock and disbelief.

"Ex-cuse me!?" Blaze shouted, "What did you just say!?"

Silver tried to calm her down.

"Blaze, hold on! They-they don't know that you're-"

"Silence, Silver! I will handle this!" she told him.

"Uh oh," Sonic and Amy muttered as Silver backed away in fear.

Jet and Wave were too busy with Storm to notice the incoming inferno, since they were now looking the other way.

"Storm, we're not here to pick fights with people!" Wave remarked.

"But if she's friends with the blue rodent-"

"Who cares!?" Jet shouted, "We don't insult people with words! We use our boards! Violence is not something the Babylon Rogues want to be labeled with, Strom!"

"Sorry, boss," Storm moped, "But that gem on her face sure looks pricey."

"Rrrrggghhh! Don't you ever think about anything other than money!?" Wave remarked.

"We're thieves!" Storm exclaimed, "We're supposed to be thinking about money! Oh-ho-ho, I can't wait to steal that gem."

Jet sighed.

"This is pointless, let's just- wait… *sniff sniff* Do I smell something burning?" he asked.

"Yeah, I smell it too," said Wave, "Where's it coming from."

"Hey… guys?" said Sonic.

Jet and Wave turned around.

"What do you… oh, crap," Jet muttered.

"S-Storm… you better apologize," said Wave.

Storm gave them a puzzled look.

"Huh? Why?"

The two smaller birds pointed behind him. Storm turned around and saw a very pissed of pyrokinetic.

"Crud…" Storm squeaked.

[ One Minute, Thirty Seven Seconds Later… | SpongeBob Time Card #40 ] (Uploaded by SpongeBob Time Cards) (You don't need a timestamp, dumbass) (Why did I bother adding this? They can do a French accent… right?)

(Continue Deep Woods)

"Apologies, Blaze," said Jet, "It was not our intentions to disrespect you. We didn't know you were from another world and come from royalty."

"I accept your apology," said Blaze, "But he won't be so easily forgiven just yet."

"Uuuggghhh…" moaned an ass-kicked Storm who was laying on the ground.

"Shut up, Storm," said Wave, "You had it coming."

"So, Jet," Sonic butted in, "what brings you to these parts?"

Jet smirked.

"Heh. Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Well, I could think of at least one reason: Babylonian relics?"

"… Lucky guess," Jet muttered, "Why are you here, hedgehog?"

"Eh, you know; new evil, old faces, world domination, saving the day; the usual."

"Really? And you wanted to come and bother us instead of doing that?" Jet smirked.

"Well, you're still here," Sonic remarked, "Something troubling you?"

"*Irk* N-nothing!" Jet exclaimed.

"Suuurrre."

"Well, not unless you call getting ready for the EX World Grand Prix as being troubled," Jet smirked.

Sonic's ears perked up.

"The EX World Grand Prix, huh? I wasn't aware there was one coming up," he joked.

"Sooner than you think," said Jet.

"Sonic," Amy urged him, "We have more important things to do than race against thieves."

Sonic leaned over to her.

"I got this, Amy," he whispered, "Leave it to me."

"What's wrong? Need your girlfriend's permission to race me?" Jet sneered.

"Oh, I don't need her permission, Jet. And as tempting as that challenge is, I've got a world to save."

Jet was a bit surprised that Sonic didn't take the bait.

"Come on, guys!" he called out to Silver and Blaze, "Let's get going. We'll deal with these guys next time."

Silver and Blaze nodded and followed him as he and Amy began walking off. Jet hoped onto his board and glided over in their way.

"Whoa, now! What's the rush?"

Sonic sighed.

"Jet, as much as I love this little rivalry we have, we don't have time to waste," he said, "Sooo… if you'll excuse us…"

Jet got in Sonic's way again.

"What if I told you that you could win something that would save the world?" Jet asked.

Sonic looked at him suspiciously.

"What are you saying?"

"What if I told you the winner of this upcoming EX World Grand Prix wins a Chaos Emerald?"

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Unknown Facility

[ Dark Ambient Hour Mix: Abandoned Genetic Research Facility ] (Uploaded by Iron Cthulhu Apocalypse) (Probably the most calm and dark ambient mix ever)

"I'm a bit surprised that this facility still exists. Perhaps I can find some answers here."

*Tap*

*Tap*

*Tap*

*Tap*

"Maybe that terminal will have some useful information."

…

"Nothing relevant."

…

"Hm? What's that?"

*Tap*

*Tap*

*Tap*

*Tap*

"This shouldn't even be here… something's… WRONG…"

…

"Maybe it WILL help me this time. It might be-"

…

"Someone's coming. Better hide and follow them."

…

…

"Researchers? I thought this place was abandoned."

…

"Where are you going?"

…

"Hmm… They're gone."

…

"Better leave now. Cameras are everywhere. I'll come back later."

…

"Hey! Who are you!?"

"Damn…"

"What do you think you're- URGH!"

*Thud*

"Hmm… so much for covert infiltration. Better get moving."

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Beneath the Babylonian Airship

"A Chaos Emerald?" Sonic asked with surprise.

"Yup," Jet answered.

"Here?" asked Amy.

"No, but close by," Wave answered.

"Are you lying to us?" Blaze asked.

"Nope," said Storm, who had recovered from the physical trauma; but not the mental one.

Sonic looked to his comrades.

"Thoughts?" he asked them.

"If there's an Emerald here, then we should definitely do it," said Silver.

"I'm not sure if I trust them," said Blaze, "But… if there is a Chaos Emerald prize, then it would be foolish of us not to compete."

"Alright!" Sonic exclaimed, "What about you, Amy?"

She sighed.

"Well, only one way to find out," said Amy.

Sonic nodded and turned back to the Babylon Rogues.

[ Menu – Sonic Adventure 2 Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Alright, Jet," Sonic smirked, "consider your challenge accepted!"

Jet let out a soft chuckle.

"Excellent! Because I can't wait to show you what I've got in store."

"Well, you know what they say," said Sonic, "the third time's a charm."

"Ha! You may have one the last two Grand Prixes you competed in, but you won't win this time!"

"Oh, I don't need to win," Sonic explained.

The Rogues were confused.

"Huh?"

"Like you said, the winner gets a Chaos Emerald," Sonic continued, "As long as me or my friends win, the Chaos Emerald is in our hands!"

"Hmph. Is that really the only reason?" Jet asked.

"Well, of course not! You'd think I'd go easy on you?" Sonic taunted.

"Now that's what I like the hear!" Jet exclaimed.

"Just tell us where and when the Grand Prix will be and we'll be there," said Sonic.

"Couldn't be easier," said Jet as he hopped off his board.

He jerked his head over his shoulder; Sonic, Amy, Silver, and Blaze looked to where he was indicating and saw a large castle in the distance.

"The race begins in three days," Jet explained, "The Grand Prix will take place over a course of three days across various terrains. First day's races are the qualifiers; the second consists of three races that will result in the final eight contenders; and the final day will be the finals."

Sonic crossed his arms and smirked.

"Sounds like a lot more time consuming than the last Grand Prix," he said, "So what's that place over there with the castle?"

"Soleanna."

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Chun-nan Village

[ Chun-nan Night – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

The cool evening breeze blew through the small village of Chun-nan as the village elder casually strolled around. He enjoyed nights like these; calm, quiet, and peaceful. But best of all, his back pain had ceased for the moment, giving him some time to enjoy himself. As he walked across the bridge leading away from Wang's Emporium, Zonshen inhaled some of the nightly air.

"Ahhh…" he sighed, "Another beautiful night."

Some movement caught is eyes to the left. He turned and saw a group of Mobians heading his way.

"Ah, you've returned," said the elder.

"Indeed, elder," Espio answered politely.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Zonshen asked them.

The Chaotix shook their heads.

"Nothin'," said Vector.

"No Chaos Emeralds, no Sol Emeralds, not even a fragment of the Master Emerald," Ray sighed.

Mighty gave his friend a pat on the back.

"Don't look so down," he replied, "Besides, as least we know where the Emeralds aren't."

"Yeah, but why couldn't they be all in one place?" Charmy complained.

The Chaotix arrived in Chun-nan before sunrise. At the time, only Zonshen was out and about, which was good for them, since he is the village elder. After brief introductions and explanations, Zonshen told the team that he had no knowledge of any of the objects they were searching for. He gave them some suggested locations around Chun-nan to search, but after a whole day of searching, nothing.

"You five look tired," the elder stated, "Why don't you five spend the night at my place. There's plenty of extra space for visitors such as yourselves."

Vector nodded.

"That would be great, elder, thank you," he said, "But first, I think we'll grab some grub before resting. I haven't eaten anything at all today."

*Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

He's not the only one; everyone's stomach was growling.

"Hee hee," Zonshen giggled, "Well, boys, you're in luck! Wang's Emporium is still open for the next few minutes. Why don't you get yourselves some food there?"

"Sounds great!" Charmy shouted.

Vector grabbed the bee by his vest and pulled him close.

"Charmy, shaddup! People are sleepin'!"

Espio, Mighty, and Ray sighed.

"Come on, boss," said the chameleon, "Let's eat and get some rest. I get the feeling we are going to need it."

The Chaotix took their leave and headed over to the emporium. They bought a few orders of Lin's meat buns using the rings they collected during their search. What, did you really think rings grew on trees? No, wait… they just respawn after some time and just float in the air… Hmm… didn't think this through… Anyways they walked over to the edge of the sidewalk and sat along the pond as they ate their dinner.

"Mm-mmm! Wow, Sonic wasn't kidding when he said these meat buns were amazing," said Vector.

"You can say that again," said Charmy.

Mighty and Ray looked over to the two.

"Wait, Sonic's been here before?" they asked.

"Yup!" Charmy exclaimed, "It was a couple of years ago when Sonic had to restore the planet after Eggman broke the world into pieces."

"This was one of the locations Sonic had to travel to and restore a Chaos Emerald," Espio explained.

"Whoa… I didn't know that," said Ray.

"Me either," said Mighty, "Why didn't you guys tell us?"

Vector, Espio, and Charmy looked at one another.

"I guess we forgot," Vector admitted nervously.

"Sorry," said Charmy.

"We'll tell you about it when the time is more appropriate," said Espio.

Mighty and Ray nodded and the Chaotix went back to eating.

…

…

…

"Hm?" Espio muttered as his head spun to his right.

His eyes darted around, looking for… something; he wasn't sure himself. As he turned back to his food, his head darted back to the right.

"Think we should contact Sonic or Knuckles?" Mighty asked, "Maybe we should let one of them know what's been going on."

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Charmy with his mouth full of meat bu-… You sick bastards… full of food, "Didn't you guys hear Siris? If someone were to listen in on our conversations, the bad guys-"

"Alright, alright, I get it!" said Mighty.

Vector glanced over to the cautious chameleon.

"What's up, Espio?" Vector asked the ninja.

"Hmm… I'm not sure… but I feel like we are not alone."

Charmy, who just finished his meal, belched and moved the food container away before flying over to the area Espio was looking.

"There's no one here, Espio," he said as he flew back to the group.

"Maybe it was just a bird?" Mighty suggested.

"Or the wind," said Ray.

"What do you think, Vector?" Charmy asked.

Vector looked from where Espio was looking towards the ninja's eyes.

"Hmm…"

…

"I think we need some sleep," said Vector.

"See?! Nothing at all, Espio!"

"Charmy, SSSHHH!" Vector shushed him, "Now come on, it's getting late. We've got a long search ahead of us."

Espio wasn't so convinced that it was nothing.

"Espio, come on," said Vector, "I'm sure your just being paranoid."

Espio shot Vector a look.

"Fine," he sighed and followed the team as they headed for Zonshen's home.

"I'm telling you, Espio, there's nothing to worry about," said Vector.

The group was unaware of the pair of red eyes trailing them.

A few minutes later…

"And here's a blanket for you, Charmy," said Zonshen as he handed the fabric to the tired insect.

"Thanks," he yawned as he began to lay it out on the ground.

"Are you sure it's okay for us to rest here?" Ray asked, "I don't mean to sound rude, but it seems like we are being a burden."

"Nonsense!" Zonshen exclaimed, "Any friend of Sonic's is a friend of mine! Now, please, rest up."

"Alright. Thank you."

"Sleep well, fellas," said the elder as he left the room.

(Music fades)

[ Dark Suspenseful Music – And in the End ] (Uploaded by Secession Studios) (0:00)

The Chaotix laid down and began to fall asleep. Except for Vector and Espio, who were quickly planning their next move. But outside the building, trouble was looming. A large robot landed on the roof of the now closed emporium and scanned the area. A couple of SWAT-bots hovered down beside the robot.

"Orders?" they asked in a robotic voice.

The leader held a hand up, indicating he was busy, before lowering it. The SWAT-bots waited patiently. Moments later, the leader raised a fist and directed it towards the building housing the Chaotix.

"Affirmative," the SWAT-bots stated as they raised their arms and prepared their weapons.

Once locked-on, the two SWAT-bots released a barrage of missiles at the structure.

*BOOOOMMM*

The resulting explosion instantly weakened the foundation of the building, causing it the completely crumble to the ground. Nearby villagers were instantly startled awake, followed by screams and panic. Once the dust had settled, the two SWAT-bots landed on the rubble and began sifting through the wreckage. Their leader landed dead center of the disaster.

*Beep*

The leader answered the incoming call.

"Mecha Sonic, have you begun your mission yet?"

The blue robot responded with beeps.

"Excellent. And the Chaotix have been eliminated?"

Mecha Sonic looked over to the SWAT-bots, who shook their heads, before responding with a single short beep.

"Wonderful! You have done well, Mecha! You may proceed with the second phase of the mission."

Mecha Sonic ended the transmission as dozens of more SWAT-bots began landing around the village. The villagers hid in their homes, unable to defend themselves. Mecha Sonic stood amongst the burning wood and crumbled stone and watched as the platoon went straight to work. Looking around at the wreckage gave Mecha Sonic a disgustingly proud feeling. With the Chaotix now out of the picture, his Lord's plans can now finally go on the offensive. His red eyes burned of pure evil as the villagers watched in terror; Chun-nan was lost. The Lord has won his first battle without even a challenge.

(Music fades)

"*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"

Me: Well, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for making it mostly a filler. And not as long as most chapters.

Silver: I liked it…

Me: Good.

Silver: Except for killing off the Chaotix…

Me: Yeah…

*CRASH*

Blaze: You…

Me: Goodbye, world…

Blaze: *Grabs me by the neck* Let's have a little chat…

Me: Silver, help?

Silver: Uh…

To be continued…

*Sincere A/N*

Would you believe me if I told you I was forced to kill them off because of a bet? Yeah, I didn't think so…

So, I have some… not really bad news, but it's not good; college. Yeah, this spring semester is going to kill me. I'm gonna take about five classes total, so I'm absolutely swamped. That being said, I probably won't be able to post a new chapter every month, but I will try every two months at the very most. However, I have no plans on abandoning this story. And I'm sure as hell won't have someone adopt it (no offense). So, if I don't update as often, now you know.

HOWEVER, I will try and upload one more chapter before February comes around, but I make no promises.

Also, Sylvie in the red dress with bows… too damn cute.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Remember to leave a review!

~ThePhantomHedgehog