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

8. Chapter 8: Getting Into Extreme Gear

Me: *Yawn* Well… that was eventful.

Silver: At least you lived.

Me: For now. Hopefully Blaze isn't mad anymore…

Sonic: So, we're having another chapter?

Me: Yup. Let's get to it…. and as usual, I only own my characters.

*Sincere A/N*

I'm baaaaaack. Told ya I would try to get this out before February, but college is really keeping me busy. That being said, updates will be extremely slow until summer. Sorry. But I do have some goodish news at the end of this chapter. And some not so goodish news.

Also, I wanted to say thank you to Zoggerific for the review and here's what I have to say. F*** you. No, I'm kidding, I'm not pissed at you. I actually am glad you pointed some things out.

First; yes, the Prologue A/N is an abomination, as was a bunch of other ones. I tried really hard to condense as much "backstory" about the timeline as I could. And, boy, did I FAIL. I did it just so I could give everyone a grasp of how long Sonic and Eggman have been fighting. However, I did manage to condense all the other A/Ns in the other chapters thus far. In my defense, the first chapter's A/N should be long for certain reasons, but probably not that long. I've tried to shorten it, but it's just not gonna happen as of now.

Second; I did not introduce Sonic right off the bat in the chapter. Story-wise, yes, but 'Wisps' is not Sonic. I'm sure you figured that out, but Sonic's appearance in the prologue was just there mainly for show.

Third; those questions will all be answered as the story progresses. Which will be roughly 20,000 years until I reach the end. *cries in corner* In all seriousness, this story is going to be long. So, be prepared… well, probably for a totally crappy story, I dunno.

But, please, everyone, give me reviews! I want more! MOAR!

*Ahem*

On the topic of reviews, not one person, and by that, I mean the only two people who have actually reviewed this crap so far *Eye roll*, have said anything about the music I've included in the story. Is it good? Is it bad? Does it bring more mood to the events in the story? Is it a waste of space? Am I wasting your time!? TELL ME!

*Eye twitch*

Now, for the main event! Pizza. *Nom nom nom* *Buuurrrp* And now for the real main event! Enjoy! MMMmmm… pizza….

Also, this chapter is unintentionally heavier on Silver and Blaze than I wanted. Sorry. As the story progresses, the pairings will be more sporadic and spread out.

~ThePhantomHedgehog

*Update 2/17/19* - Additional note at end of chapter.

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

Chapter 8: Getting Into Extreme Gear

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

Chun-nan Village

[ Dark Black Core – The old factory – part two [Full Album] Dark Ambient ] (Uploaded by Dark Black Core) (I'm sick of doing these timestamps, assume it's 0:00 unless stated otherwise)

"Come with us, humans!" a SWAT-bot ordered.

The two villagers held their hands above their heads as they were led through the destroyed door of their home and herded towards the other captured villagers. It was only a couple of minutes ago that Mecha Sonic commanded the attack that buried the Chaotix and the village elder under tons of rubble. Now, with no one to aid the villagers, the robots were able to pen them up in a large metal cage as if they were animals getting ready for slaughter. Many of the homes in the village had already been searched for prisoners. Mecha Sonic walked by the cage as he approached some high-ranking SWAT-bots.

"Hey, you blue scrap heap!" shouted one of the prisoners, "Can I get something to eat!?"

Mecha Sonic dashed towards the cage, scaring the bejeezus out of all the prisoners as his fist slammed against the cage with a loud bang. After getting his point across, Mecha Sonic resumed his approach towards the SWAT-bot.

"Orders, sir?" it asked.

Mecha Sonic made a few beeping noises.

"All villagers have been contained, sir, except for the one known as Zonshen," the SWAT-bot stated.

Mecha Sonic nodded and flew a few feet into the air. HE scanned the area to see how progress was going. His eyes caught sight of two SWAT-bots that appeared to be lounging around in chairs, doing nothing. Mecha Sonic flew over and landed beside them. Annoyed that they didn't pay attention to his loud approach, Mecha asked them what they were doing.

…

He asked again.

…

Already having enough of the insubordination, Mecha grabbed the two SWAT-bots by their necks and raised them up. But something was wrong; only their heads came up. Alarmed, Mecha quickly examined their bodies and found that they had been completely demolished.

(Music fades)

"Get 'em, boys!" a voice shouted from behind.

Mecha Sonic turned around and saw a green crocodile rushing towards him.

*WHAM*

Vector punched Mecha's face and sent the robot flying a few feet into the air. Mecha recovered and began hovering in the air. He looked around and saw the impossible: the Chaotix… fighting his squads. Now, you might be wondering "how on Earth did they survive an explosion?" and the answer is rather simple… probably.

What? You thought I would kill them off? Pffft. Pleeeeease. I'm not even a quarter of the way through the story yet… I think.

*** A Few Minutes Earlier… ***

[ Deus Ex – 044 – The Synapse – Ambient ] (Uploaded by Ragitsu) (Loop if necessary)

"Sleep well, fellas," said the elder as he left the room.

"'Night, Zonshen," the Chaotix replied.

Charmy instantly fell asleep, soon followed by Mighty and Ray. Vector glanced over to Espio and gestured him to the window.

"What's up, boss?" Espio asked quietly.

"I'm not a fool, Espio; you definitely saw something. I didn't see it, and they didn't see it, but you are a master of ninjutsu. For that, I trust your instincts."

Espio nodded.

"What are you thinking?" Vector asked him.

"If I had to guess, we've been followed by the enemy. And they know we're here."

"… Think they know we're here in this building?"

"No doubt about it."

"… Wake the others."

"Boss?"

"If we're being followed, then sleeping is not an option. Wake these three, I'll grab Zonshen. We're getting out of here."

Espio nodded in acknowledgement and silently walked over to his sleeping comrades while Vector left the room to grab Zonshen. He found him walking down the hall.

"Ah, Vector. Having trouble sleeping?"

"A little," Vector replied.

He leaned over to the elder.

"I think something bad has been watching us," Vector whispered.

"My word…" Zonshen whispered, "Are you sure?"

"… No, but I trust my friend's instincts."

"I see…"

"Is there another way out of the building?"

"Hmm… yes, as a matter of fact, there is."

Espio, Charmy, Mighty, and Ray appeared from the room and approached them.

"What's going on, Vector?" Mighty asked quietly.

"Trouble," he replied, "Zonshen is going to show us a way out of the building that's not the front door."

"Alright, lead the way," said Espio.

Zonshen led the team downstairs and into a small room that looked like a panty.

"Here," he said, pointing to the rug on the ground.

Ray lifted it up and revealed a hidden trapdoor that led outside. Wasting no time, Espio opened it and peaked inside.

"This will do," he announced, "Let me check and see if anything is out there."

Espio vanished. A few seconds later, he returned. His eyes screamed of urgency.

"We need to leave, now," he said quickly.

"Huh? What's going on, Espio?" the elder asked.

Espio grabbed Zonshen and carried him into the tunnel. The Chaotix all entered the tunnel just as missiles flew into the building.

(Music fades)

*** Present ***

*CLANG*

The electronic lock that was caging the villagers fell to the ground. Mighty ripped the door off its hinges and threw it into a group of SWAT-bots, knocking them all the to ground. It was getting a little chaotic in the village, now that Mecha Sonic and the SWAT-bots knew the Chaotix were still alive and kicking… their metal asses.

"My, you are quite strong," Zonshen noted.

Mighty nodded.

"You better get the villagers out of here, elder," he said, "Find some place safe. We'll come get you guys once this place isn't crawling with robots."

"… alright. You and your friends be careful!"

Mighty watched as the elder and villagers headed off in the direction of where the Temple of Gaia used to be. He slammed his fist over his shoulder and knocked a sneaking SWAT-bot on its ass. Mighty turned around and slammed his fist on top of the robot's head, shoving it into its head, before kicking it back into the group of SWAT-bots that just got back up after being knocked over by the cage door.

[ Vs. Team Chaotix – Sonic Heroes Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

With a kunai in each hand, Espio dashed through the enemy lines and slashed away at their bodies. Seconds later, the SWAT-bots began shaking violently and exploded. Espio slid under another robot as he camouflaged into his surroundings. The robot turned around but couldn't find him anywhere. Shame it couldn't see the incoming bee charging towards its back.

*WHAM*

Too late; Charmy had rammed into the SWAT-bot and shoved it into the pond. Although shallow, there was enough damage to the robot's armor to allow water to seep through and short out its circuits. As Charmy looked upon the defeated foe, he caught a glimpse of a couple of more SWAT-bots charging towards him.

"Uh oh…"

"Charmy!" Ray shouted from above, "Gimme a boost!"

Charmy looked up and nodded.

"On it!"

Ray dove towards Charmy as he flew up a couple feet. He reached out and grabbed Ray's held out hand and launched him towards the charging SWAT-bots. Ray curled up and began spin dashing before barging through the group and sending bits and pieces of metal flying every. Using momentum, Ray uncurled and glided back into the air.

Mecha Sonic was not please one bit as he watched the fight take place before him from the air. A scoff from Vector brought his attention back to his attacker.

"So, you wanna pick a fight, do ya?" Vector taunted as he cracked his knuckles.

Mecha glared at the Chaotix leader before flying towards him. Vector held up his arms as the robot collided into him. Mecha kneed Vector in the stomach.

"UUgghh!"

The foe grabbed Vector's arms and threw him over his shoulder. Vector crashed into wall and slumped to the ground.

"Ow…" he muttered as he got back up, "that really hurt…"

He glanced over at Mecha Sonic as he went for another dash at Vector. Suddenly, Mighty came in like a bat out of Hell and slammed his right shoulder into the mech; Mecha Sonic crashed into one of the now empty houses and was momentarily stunned.

"Thanks for watchin' my back, Mighty," Vector told the armadillo.

Mighty gave Vector a thumbs up and went back to smashing some SWAT-bots. Vector smirked as he turned his attention back to Mecha Sonic.

"Time for some payback for that cheap shot," he muttered as he marched over to the recovering robot.

Up above, Charmy and Ray were working together fighting off some SWAT-bots that had hover units attacked to their backs. Easier said than done, since the robots had fully automatic weapons on their wrists.

"This is not my idea of a vacation!" Charmy exclaimed as he ducked under another bullet.

"Less talking, more fighting!" Ray retorted as he clung onto the back of the robot that shot at his friend.

The SWAT-bot tried to reach behind itself and grab the flying squirrel but couldn't reach. Charmy took the opportunity to charge the robot and impale his stinger into its head. The force of the blow ripped the mech's head clean off. As the body fell, Ray hopped off and glided back into the air.

"Good aim," Ray commented.

Charmy nodded and the two carried on with the other SWAT-bots. Down on the ground, Espio was still tormenting the SWAT-bots with his invisibility.

"Not good," the ninja thought to himself, "At this rate, I'll be completely out of kunai."

While he's taken out a number of SWAT-bots by throwing knives at them, the blades themselves don't grow on trees. When he could, Espio would try to recover any that were still intact after destroying a robot. As he kicked another SWAT-bot into the pond, while pulling his kunai out of its back, he noticed a group of SWAT-bots arriving by air that were different compared to the others. They were a dark green, rather than the dark cobalt color the ones the Chaotix had been fighting and had no visible indications that they had weapons on them.

"Things might have just gotten a bit harder."

Meanwhile, Vector and Mecha Sonic were at blows with each other. It had been quite a brawl; Vector now had a forming black eye on his left eye and had a couple of scratches on his arms, while Mecha Sonic had a compromised right elbow joint that caused limited motion and cracked eye lenses. Vector charged the robot for another scuffle, but Mecha Sonic just flew off into the air.

"Huh? Hey! Come back an' fight, ya coward!"

Mecha paid the crocodile no heed as he met with the five new arrivals.

"Orders?" the SWAT-bots asked.

Mecha Sonic replied with a couple of beeps and hand gestures.

"Understood."

The squad dispersed and each made their way to a different member of the Chaotix.

"Great," Vector mumbled, "more trouble."

(Music fades)

Not far from the village, as the last of the villagers entered the grounds of their former site of the Temple of Gaia, Zonshen watched as the Chaotix continued their struggle against the invaders and their new arrivals.

"Our beautiful home…"

"Hmm…" the elder hummed, rubbing his chin.

He felt his sleeve being tugged; when he looked down, he noticed it was his granddaughter.

"Will everything be okay, grandfather?" Yilin asked.

Zonshen sighed.

"I do not know, child," he replied solemnly, "But… I think I know who can tip the scale in their favor…"

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

Central City, The White House

"Mr. President, what should we do?"

"Mr. President, I recommend that we wait and see what the Commander has to say."

"No! We can't just sit around and wait! We need to act now, before-"

"Enough!" the President ordered.

The meeting room went silent. The President stood up and adjusted his tie.

"I have listened to this debate long enough," he explained calmly, "As my advisors, you have done more arguing than explaining since we started this meeting. *sigh* I will be in my office, deciding what course of action the United Federation will take in the light of these recent attacks."

"But Mr. President-"

The country leader held out his hand, silencing the advisor.

"As I said, I will be going to my office now. I need time to decide. Give me one hour."

The advisors nodded in agreement. The President thanked them and made his way to his office. It had been a stressful morning for him; a couple hours ago, he was awoken from his slumber to have an emergency meeting with his advisors and secretaries over the recent attack in Adabat and the potential threat against the world as reported from G.U.N. and Agent Rouge. As he entered his office, he closed the double doors behind him.

[ Dark Ambient Music (Full) ] (Uploaded by Sand Guzmán)

"When will this nightmare end?" he sighed.

He walked over to a shelf that had a bottle of whiskey and a few glasses laying on top. He poured himself a glass and carried it over towards his desk. He stood in front of the side window and stared out into the horizon as he took a sip of his drink. As the beverage went down his throat, the President sighed.

"The first threat was the possibility of Julian Robotnik spreading his empire beyond Mobius," he explained out loud, "Then his nephew, Ivo Robotnik, now Dr. Eggman, made attempts at world domination multiple times. Then there was Chaos, the late Gerald Robotnik's plot for revenge, which we all realized was our fault for heinous accusations once the Black Arms invaded."

Silence.

"Dark Gaia and Time Eater later appeared, followed by the worst yet, Infinite; the only person who had ever been successful at defeating Sonic."

The President took another sip as he turned around and sat down at his desk.

"Now, we have an actual army that threatens the world worse than anything we could have feared before."

He glanced over at the photo of Sonic and Shadow taken just weeks prior to the Black Arms invasion.

"You know… I can't just do nothing," the President explained, "If I do nothing, people might suspect something is wrong. If I do something…"

The President shook his head and sighed.

"You may have me under close watch," he muttered, "but know this: Sonic and his team will find you. They will defeat you. And you will pay."

The President glanced up to the center of the room as a SWAT-bot decloaked and stood menacingly in the center of the room.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, the emergency shutters to the doors and windows slammed closed. The lights went out and the emergency lights dimly lit the room up. It was then that the President realized that the robot had been deactivated.

"Wha… what's going on here!?"

…

"Who's there!?"

A dark figure appeared from behind the SWAT-bot, but the room was so badly lit, the President couldn't see any features.

"Tell me, Mr. President…" said a voice.

The President held his breath.

"… what is it that you want so badly?"

(Music fades)

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

Central City

"Uuuuuggghhh…" Siris moaned, "How long will I have to wait?"

The shipping manager shrugged.

"I'm sorry, doctor," he replied, "it could take up to a whole day before the supply comes in."

Siris slammed his forehead into the counter.

"Sir?"

Siris began tapping his head against said counter.

"Sir?"

Siris looked back up.

"When's the soonest it will come in?" he asked.

"The soonest?"

Siris nodded.

"Uh… probably four, maybe five hours, if you're lucky."

Siris sighed again.

"Alright… would it be okay if I waited in the lobby?" he asked.

"By all means."

"Thank you."

Siris was not having a great start to his resupply run. He managed to get all the medication he needed except for the morphine. He was told that the transport had a mechanical break down and would be delayed. Siris slumped into one of the nice comfy sofa couches in the lobby of the distributing company. The sun rose from the horizon, shooting the bright morning light into the lobby.

"Great," he muttered, "more time wasted. *sigh* Well… I might as well continue making calls and see if anyone would be alright with taking in my patients for a short period of time."

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

Chun-nan Village

"Well… we're screwed," Mighty grumbled.

The other four members nodded. The new SWAT-bots that arrived were much more powerful than their dark blue counterparts. Not only did they defeat and capture the five Chaotix members, they did it without getting a single scratch on their armor. Now, each of the Chaotix members were on their knees; apprehended by one of the new arrivals; except for Vector and Mighty; Vector had his arms held by two normal SWAT-bots instead, while Mighty had one green and one blue.

"Anyone got a plan?" Charmy asked in vain,

"I'm afraid this may be the end for us," Espio replied.

Mecha Sonic rallied all the remaining SWAT-bots to surround the prisoners, preventing all chances of escape. One of the newer SWAT-bots, the one that took down Vector, had a brief word with it superior before it came over and stood before the Chaotix leader.

"Where are the Chaos Emeralds?" it demanded.

"Bite me," Vector replied.

*WUMP*

A hard blow to the stomach took the breath out of the crocodile.

"I'll ask again; where are the Chaos Emeralds?"

Vector groaned as he looked back up and glared at the interrogator.

"I don't know!"

The SWAT-bot shook its head before walking over to Espio.

"Perhaps you will be of use."

Espio glared.

"I'll never give you anything."

"Who says you would be the one talking?"

Before anyone could react, the interrogator grabbed Espio's neck and sent a burst of electricity into his body.

"AAAAAAAAAUUUUGGGHHAAAAUUUGGHHAAAAAUHHHHH!"

The scream was so loud, even the villagers from miles away could hear it clearly. It sent a cold shiver down their spines.

"STOP!" Vector pleaded, "LEAVE MY FRIENDS OUT OF THIS!"

The SWAT-bot ceased the assault. Espio fell forward, held up by his captor, and took many deep breathes, coughing a couple of times.

"Will you speak now?" the SWAT-bot asked.

"Vector…" Espio told him, "don't."

The SWAT-bot grabbed Espio's neck again and shocked him.

"Silence fool!"

Espio screamed in pain again.

"Stop it!" Charmy shouted, "I'll tell, I'll tell!"

The SWAT-bot released Espio, who began gasping for air. He marched over to the bee and leaned forward.

"Tell me… where are they?"

Charmy began to sweat profusely.

"I… uh… I don't know where exactly…"

The SWAT-bot made a move towards Espio again.

"Wait! Wait! I know who might have them!"

"Charmy, don't!" Mighty and Ray cried out.

A strong jerk from their captors almost caused their shoulders to dislocate. Taking the message, the two silenced themselves.

"Tell me, child," the interrogator said darkly, "who has the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Come closer and I'll tell you."

The SWAT-bot leaned forward and Charmy whispered something into its microphones (why must robots be built to replicate humans?) that only it could here. The SWAT-bot stood back up.

"Thank you, prisoner."

"Sir? Did he tell you?" one of the SWAT-bots asked.

"Indeed. We must fine Mike Rotch."

*Record Scratch* (Pause the music)

Dead silence fell upon the village as Charmy held in a huge fit of giggles. Although they knew it meant death, the other Chaotix couldn't help but try and hold in their laughter as well.

"Uh… sir? Could you repeat that?" the lower ranked SWAT-bot asked.

"Yes, we must find Mike Rotch."

Immediately the Chaotix exploded into laughter; even Espio was laughing, if you can believe it.

"What? What's so funny!?" the leading SWAT-bot asked.

The Chaotix were laughing so hard, they couldn't even answer. In fact, some of the SWAT-bots even began to laugh. Within seconds, the village was filled with Mobian and robotic laughter.

"Silence. I order you all the be silent!"

The laughter continued.

"Silence!"

No change.

"SILENCE!"

In a fit of rage, the SWAT-bot interrogator released a six-inch blade from its wrist and swiped it at the nearest prisoner.

"AAAUUGGGHH!"

The laughter stopped in a heartbeat as the four other Chaotix turned to their assaulted friend. He turned towards them and revealed his wound.

"Espio…?" they all asked in horror.

(Continue the music)

The chameleon's left eye was bleeding non-stop; he couldn't even open it. His brothers-in-arms glared at the SWAT-bot with rage-filled eyes.

"You bastard!" Vector shouted, "You'll pay for that!"

The SWAT-bot retracted its blade and scoffed as it marched towards Vector.

"You're a dead mech! You're a dead mech."

The robot laughed at Vector's threats.

"Amusing, throwing empty promises like those in vain."

The Chaotix glared at the heartless mech before their eyes softened.

"What's wrong?" the SWAT-bot taunted, "All out of hope?"

"Uh… sir?" one of the inferior robots asked.

"Where's that fighting spirit I've heard so much about from the Chaotix?"

"Sir?"

"Are you going to crawl up and cry for your mommies?"

"Sir!"

"WHAT IS IT!?"

*CRASH*

Something very large had landed behind the interrogator. The SWAT-bot turned around to see who or what dared to interrupt it. It was a bit nervous when it realized it was looking at a pair of very large talons. Everyone looked up and saw what appeared to be a very large and brightly colored avian. It spread its wings and screeched into the night.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!"

(Music fades)

*** 5 Minutes Earlier ***

"Look, grandfather! There it is!" Yilin exclaimed, pointing to the large nest that was perched on the top of some very tall boulders.

"Goodness, me! Those foul machinations had tied the poor protector down!" Zonshen exclaimed.

The villagers all turned and saw that the Dark Gaia Phoenix was sprawled out in its nest and held down in place by a very strong steel metal net. The Phoenix must have been tied down for quite some time because it was too exhausted to even try and free itself.

"How will we be able to free it?" one of the villagers asked.

"There's no way we'll be able to break through that net," another noted.

Zonshen chuckled.

"Have no fear, good people," he said to them, "I may be well-known for my herbal medicine concoctions; but even I have come across other substances during my years of experimentation."

The villagers looked at one another with confusion.

"What do you mean, grandpa?" Zonshen's grandson, Chun, asked.

The elder gave him a toothy smile as he pulled out some herbal mixes he had on him.

"Watch and learn, young'un."

*** Present ***

[ Boss – Dark Gaia's Spawn – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

So, in case you ever want to take over Chun-nan, let's get one thing straight: you better make sure you have securely trapped the Dark Gaia Phoenix. Otherwise…

"All forces… ATTACK!"

The SWAT-bots all aimed their weapons at the Phoenix and fired upon it. The protector defended itself by covering its body with its wings. The attacks did nothing.

"What is this!? Squads! Continue the-"

*WHAM*

Before the SWAT-bot leader could give the order, the Dark Gaia Phoenix slashed its wings out and unleashed a whirlwind blowing into the robots. With the leader and the Chaotix captors as the exceptions, all the SWAT-bots were blown across the ground; some landing in the pond, others crashing into walls and debris.

… you'll be up shit's creek when this pissed off bad boy is freed and comes for you.

The SWAT-bot leader flew up in the air and attempted to stab the creature's eyes. However, the Phoenix was not having it. Before the robot could attack, the Phoenix grabbed it with its beak and with a single bite…

*SCRUNTCH*

… the SWAT-bot was cut in two.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!"

The Chaotix were staring in awe of the mighty Phoenix, with Espio using only one eye. Vector noticed that the SWAT-bots holding him down were too distracted to keep a strong grip on his arms. Using all his strength, Vector slipped out of the restraining hands and swung his fist around, clobbering both SWAT-bots. The robots crashed into a wall and blew up. The other Chaotix members and their captors turned towards him.

"Payback time, boys," he smirked.

Mighty grinned as he broke free from his captor, picked the robot up and slammed it into Charmy and Ray's captors. The four Mobians turned towards the remaining captor that was holding down their wounded friend.

"Uh…"

The four Chaotix members cracked their knuckles.

"…shit."

10 Seconds Later…

After smashing the robot into Skyrim- sorry, oblivion, (been playing Skyrim again) Mighty and Ray helped Espio up to his feet.

"Espio? Are you alright?" Vector asked with concern.

"I… I'm not sure…" Espio replied, holding his hand over his bleeding eye, "I can't see out of my eye…"

The Chaotix felt a lump in their throats.

"You… you'll be fine, Espio!" said Vector, "Charmy, take Espio and get him someplace safe!"

"On it, boss!"

Espio held up his free hand.

"No, I'm not leaving," he stated, "I can still fight!"

"The Hell you are, Espio!" Vector remarked, "You need to see a doctor, and fast!"

"But-"

"No 'buts'!"

"… fine," the chameleon sighed.

Vector nodded and motioned Charmy to get a move on. He, Mighty, and Ray watched as Charmy held on to Espio's hand and flew off to where the villagers were heading. The two younger Mobians looked up to their leader.

"What's the plan, Vector?" Ray asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked as he looked over to the battle occurring, "We go in and kick some robot ass."

*CRASH*

The three turned and saw that one of the enhanced SWAT-bots had been thrown into the ground next to them, thanks to a certain angry bird.

"Hey… what's that?" Mighty asked when he noticed something inside the mangled mess of metal, "There's something in its chest."

The trio walked up to the SWAT-bot carcass and examined it. Vector reached in and pulled out a green piece glass.

"Hey, isn't that a fragment of the Master Emerald?" Ray asked.

Vector examined the fragment closer.

"I dunno, Ray," he replied, "It looks a little different than I remember."

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!"

The trio turned their attention back to the Phoenix, which was shooting feathers at the assaulting SWAT-bots.

"We'll worry about this later," said Vector, "It's time to rock!"

Mighty and Ray nodded and made their way into the fray. Vector was about to follow them when he saw something in the corner of his eye.

'Hm?"

He saw Mecha Sonic hovering in the distance, watching the entire event from a safe distance. When it noticed Vector's store, it turned around and blasted off into the distance.

"Where's that coward off to?"

"Vector!" Mighty called out, getting the crocodile's attention, "Look!"

Vector followed where Mighty was pointing towards in the sky.

"ESPIO!?"

The ninja was diving towards the ground, kunai in each hand and ready to fight. Vector saw Charmy and gave him an exasperated expression.

"I tried!" was all Charmy would reason with a shrug.

"Oh, fine, then!" Vector exclaimed, "But if he gets hurt again, it's on you, pal!"

Charmy gave Vector a playful salute before charging into battle.

"I need a vacation," Vector muttered before following Charmy's lead.

(Music fades)

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

Central City

And now, a brief update on Siris' attempt to get his supply of morphine to distract you from all the pure rage and brutality that has been set upon the dumbass SWAT-bots…

Siris was snoozing away in his seat as the sun continued to rise in the horizon. The shipping manager walked over to him.

"Uh, excuse me, sir?"

Siris continued to snore lightly.

"Sir?" the manager asked again, this time shaking Siris.

"Hmm? Wha?" Siris moaned as he stretched in his seat, "Oh, it's you. What's up?"

The manager smiled.

"I have some good news. The shipment of morphine is back on track and will be here in a couple of hours."

Siris raised a brow.

"And you woke me up… just to tell me this?"

The manager began to feel nervous.

"Uh… I-I'm sorry!" he said, "I thought it would be rude of me if I didn't tell you-"

"Dude…" Siris said flatly, "I'm just messing with you. Calm down."

"Oh… well, uh…"

"Seriously, relax. Okay? And thank you for telling me."

"Of course."

Siris nodded and dozed back to sleep as the manager left him alone in the lobby.

This has been the brief update on Siris' attempt to get his supply of morphine. This update is sponsored by no one because I don't make money off this piece of crap story. We now return to your regularly scheduled story of robots getting pulverized.

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

Chun-nan Village

[ Chun-nan Night – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

"Boss," Espio called out, "Charmy found another one!"

Vector turned around and walked over to his partners. Charmy handed Vector what appeared to be another Master Emerald fragment, which was also housed in one of the enhanced SWAT-bots.

"That's a total of five shards now!" Vector exclaimed.

*WHAM*

Another generic SWAT-bot was rushing behind the group, but a quick swipe from the Dark Gaia Phoenix sent the robot flying into a wall. How many walls are even left standing!? In the last five minutes, the Dark Gaia Phoenix and the Chaotix have successfully destroyed ever single SWAT-bot, both regular and enhanced, in the entire village. The Phoenix was now busy roosting in the center of the village as the villagers began returning to their home. Mighty and Ray were pulling Zonshen along towards the group.

"Vector, we've got the elder!" Ray exclaimed.

Vector, Espio, and Charmy looked over to see that they had brought Zonshen.

"Good work, you two," said Vector, "Zonshen, I understand that you are no doctor, but we could use your help."

"Yes… yes… *pant* Just *wheeze* give me a… moment," the elder panted.

One moment later…

"Alright, Espio, let's see the extent of your injury," said Zonshen.

Espio, who hadn't opened his eye since the incident, nodded and sat down in front of the elder. Vector, Charmy, Mighty, and Ray waited impatiently and anxiously as the elder carefully opened Espio's left eye. The two quietly conversed with each other for a few seconds.

"Well?" they asked.

Zonshen turned to the Chaotix with sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, boys…"

The team hung their heads.

"But there's nothing wrong with his eye."

They shot their heads up.

"WHAT!?" they screamed.

Zonshen gave them a chuckle.

"Calm down, boys. Espio's eye is fine; he's just got some blood covering his eye, which was why he couldn't see."

The Chaotix turned to look at Espio, who was smirking with both eyes open and intact.

"Oh, thank God and Chaos," Vector sighed as he fell to the ground on his butt.

"He'll need stitches for sure, however," Zonshen continued, "He's lucky that gash was the only thing he received. One inch closer to the right and would have lost his eye for sure."

A shiver went down all the Chaotix member's backs.

"Well, I'm glad you're still in one piece," said Charmy.

"Me, too," Mighty and Ray said at the same time.

"I'm fine," said Espio.

He looked around the village with a sad look on his face.

"… this village, on the other hand…"

The others looked around and saw the complete disaster the robots had caused. Many buildings had holes in the walls, open to exposure. Some homes were completely destroyed, like Zonshen's. The Chaotix sighed with heavy hearts.

"Now, you boys stop that this instant!" the elder ordered them, "Our home can and will be repaired! You should be proud of yourselves; all the villagers are here and are all unharmed."

The guys took another look around and noticed that the villagers had been showing some form of gratitude for their efforts, making them feel much better.

"Zonshen, may I ask you something?" Mighty asked.

The elder looked over from Espio's wound that he was treating with an herbal remedy.

"Of course, what would you like to know?"

Mighty pointed to the roosting Dark Gaia Phoenix behind him.

"What the heck is that thing?" he asked.

The Phoenix looked over and appeared to have an "excuse me!?" expression on its face. The elder chuckled.

"This, my friends, is the village protector: the great Dark Gaia Phoenix."

"Dark Gaia… Phoenix?" Espio asked, holding a towel over his wound.

"Yes," Zonshen continued, "For thousands, or perhaps even millions of years, this majestic creature has guarded the Temple of Gaia that was once located here and our village."

"That's right," said Espio, "Sonic told me, Vector, and Charmy about that. When the planet was shattered and the Chaos Emeralds lost their power, the creature succumbed to the darkness in its heart and attack any and all who dared approach the village. You included."

Zonshen nodded.

"Indeed. But it was not the creature's fault," he said as he walked over and patted the beast's feathered belly, "Unlike other guardians, this creature was not a spawn of Dark Gaia. His intentions were to only protect these sacred lands."

"But why didn't it come help us sooner?" Vector asked, "If he's a protector, why didn't it prevent this whole attack from happening?"

Zonshen sighed as the creature lowered its head.

"When I took the villagers to a safer location, I asked that they help me search for the Phoenix. I was unusual for it to not come an protect us. My fears were confirmed when we discovered the creature trapped under a strong metal net."

"Hmm…" Vector hummed as he began to think.

"Luckily, I happened to have some strong acidic solution with me," said the elder.

"*Pffft* Awfully convenient," Charmy remarked.

"Indeed," Zonshen agreed.

Espio got up and walked over to the large beast.

"I must thank you for saving our lives, O Great One," he said, bowing his head.

"As do I," said Vector, snapping out of his thoughts.

The other three agreed as well.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!"

The Chaotix took an uneasy step back. Zonshen chuckled again.

"Fear not," he said, "he means no ill; it's just his way of accepting your gratitude."

The Chaotix looked at one another before they joined in on the elder's chuckles. Within seconds the villagers had joined in and were all laughing. Mighty opened his eyes and instantly stopped laughing.

"Uh… guys?" he said nervously.

Everyone stopped laughing and turned to Mighty.

"What's up?" Ray asked.

Mighty pointed towards the village entrance.

"Uh oh…" Ray muttered.

"Crap," Vector moaned.

Knuckles and Rouge entered the village; looking around in slight disbelief of the destruction they were seeing. Once they were standing before the Chaotix, they looked at them with questioning expressions.

"What… happened?" they asked.

The Chaotix began to sweat nervously.

"Look…" Charmy began, "we can explain…"

(Music fades)

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

Blue Moon Village

It had been a whole day since Siris left Sylvie to stay with Nephy, and Sylvie was beginning to feel anxious. This was the first time she had been separated from Siris because he had to travel, and she was already… missing him? Sylvie shook her head as she remained seated on the couch in Nephy's living room. Like Siris' house, Nephy's apartment was large enough for two or three people live in; but had a larger kitchen. The guest room was smaller than her own room, but Sylvie was still grateful for having a bed to sleep in.

For the first few nights she lived with Siris, Sylvie slept on the floor of her room, unbeknownst to him. It wasn't until Siris started opening up to her that she did as well. When she told him about her sleeping on the floor, even now she couldn't understand why he slammed his head on the dinner table. But after that conversation, she finally did as she was asked and slept in her bed. For the first time since she could remember, she was able to sleep on something comfortable. But the comfort never erased the nightmares she's been suffering over the years. She still hasn't told Siris about those. Although she had opened up a little bit of herself to her new master, she was still very untrusting of Siris. Since the day in the café, she wasn't sure whether to hold on to hope or just give up and do what any slave should do and service their master in any way that would please them.

"Why the long face?" asked a voice, startling Sylvie.

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

She looked over and saw Nephy walking toward her. She was wearing some grey sweatpants and a crimson red t-shirt. She plopped down on the sofa and leaned back.

Nephy took the day off from work today to keep an eye on Sylvie. Normally Nephy hated taking unnecessary days off from work, mostly because she hates missing out on teasing Siris. Truth be told, she kinda had a crush on Siris. Had, as in past tense; once she got to know Siris a bit more, Nephy restrained herself from asking Siris out on a date. Now, she sees him as a friend… sorta. Okay, so she might still have a teeny tiny crush on him, and Siris knows it. But she's content with teasing him until the end of time. May God and Chaos have mercy on his soul.

Nephy tried to get some answers out of Sylvie the day before about what she had been doing during the time she had lived with Siris so far. But Sylvie was too nervous, and a bit scared, to say anything. So with no answers, Nephy gave up and showed Sylvie where she could stay as they both went to bed. All day today, Sylvie had done nothing but sit on the couch and look around the living room. Nephy tried asking her some questions occasionally, but Sylvie just gave either vague answers or refused to answer.

"Sorry for the scare, Sylvie," she apologized, "So tell me, why the long face?"

Sylvie looked confused.

"Eh? I have a long face?"

Nephy giggled.

"No, silly; it's a figure of speech. I was asking why you look so down," she explained.

"Oh…"

Sylvie looked down to the floor as she fidgeted with her blue nightgown.

"I'm fine, Nephy."

Nephy gave her a look.

"No, you're not. Come on, tell me!" Nephy said excitedly.

"Well… it's just that… I don't have anything to do here," Sylvie replied timidly.

"Nothing to do?!" Nephy exclaimed before laughing.

"Eh?"

"Oh, Sylvie, you are so shy~."

"Mmm…"

Nephy decided to try and poke the hornet's nest again, before the hornet… king returns… I guess?

"You miss Siris?"

Sylvie glanced over to the smirking hedgehog.

"Well… I don't like being away from him," she admitted.

Nephy's smirk grew.

"Ooohhh~… Is that so?"

"Yes."

Nephy giggled.

"Why don't you like being away from Siris?"

Sylvie's knees locked together as she continued to fidget with her hands.

"Well… I feel… better when he's nearby."

Nephy now had her head propped on her right hand as her right arm supported both against the armrest.

"Wooooo~," she teased, "Someone's got the hots for someone."

Sylvie looked at Nephy with confusion, again.

"Eh?"

Nephy just made a bigger smirk as she shook her head.

"Sylvie, can I ask you a personal question?"

Sylvie's ears lowered; she wasn't sure if Siris would be okay if she told Nephy about their "relationship".

"I guess I can try to answer the best I can," Sylvie replied softly.

Nephy leaned in close to Sylvie, making her feel a little uncomfortable.

"Do you like Siris?"

Sylvie's eyes widened as she began to blush and look away from Nephy.

"Huh? Eh… what?"

"Do. You. Like. Siris?"

Sylvie's mind was so overwhelmed with nervousness and embarrassment that she just said the first thing that came to her head.

"I-It would be wrong for a slave like me to harbor such feelings for their master."

…

…

…

Sylvie realized what she had just said and instantly put her hands over her mouth. She slowly turned her head until her gaze was connected with Nephy's eyes. But instead of disgust in Nephy's face, which she was expecting, Sylvie just saw the same smirking expression as before.

"That didn't answer my question, Sylvie~," she told the flummoxed hedgehog.

Sylvie didn't respond.

"Sylvie? Hello?"

Nephy finally noticed the fear in Sylvie's eyes.

"Oh, are you worried about the whole 'master and slave' thing being kept a secret?"

Sylvie nodded her head.

"Aw, don't worry about it. Aurelia and I already know."

Sylvie was about to have a panic attack.

"Sylvie, calm down; Aurelia and I know Siris isn't treating you like dirt. And he also knows that we know. No one else knows. In fact, we're glad that he was the one to take you in!"

The panicked hedgehog seemed to have calmed a bit when she heard that.

"Eh? Glad?"

Nephy nodded.

"Mm-hm! He's had it rough these past two years," Nephy explained, "Before you even came into the picture, I rarely ever saw him smile, let alone crack a joke!"

"Eh?"

Nephy glared at Sylvie.

"Did… did Siris not tell you?"

"No…" Sylvie replied as she shook her head, "I don't think so…"

"Did he tell you about what happened two years ago?"

Sylvie shook her head again.

"Oh… oops. Uh, listen Sylvie… don't… don't tell Siris I mentioned that to you, okay?"

"Eh? Why?"

"Just… don't. It's something that he is very, very sensitive about. And it would be best if he tells you when he's ready. So… don't ask him about it, okay?"

Sylvie was not sure why Nephy was acting nervously, but she agreed, nonetheless. Nephy sighed.

"Thanks, Sylvie," she said as she gave the smaller hedgehog a quick soft hug, "You are a good friend."

"Friend?" Sylvie thought, giving her a warm feeling inside even though the hug felt awkward.

"I'm… a friend?" she asked timidly.

Nephy laughed.

"Of course, silly! I mean… you're not a very talkative one, sure, but you are still a friend."

Sylvie smiled a little when she heard Nephy call her a friend. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Is Siris back from his trip?" Sylvie thought with a little hope.

"Ooh, she's here~!" Nephy sang.

"Eh?"

Sylvie was a little disappointed when she heard 'she' instead of 'he', but she was curious of who it was. Nephy pranced over to the front door and flew it open.

"Come on in~!"

Nephy instantly recognized who the visitor was that walked in and strolled over to her.

"Evening, sweetie," said Aurelia.

"Hello, Aurelia," Sylvie replied timidly.

Aurelia gave her a large grin. Sylvie noticed she was wearing the same outfit when she first met her. Yes, I'm too lazy to describe the whole outfit from Chapter 4. What, got a problem? Bite me. Aurelia's bycoket almost tapped Sylvie on top of her head when she bent down to hug her. The hug made Sylvie feel awkward again.

"So, what have you two been up to?" Aurelia asked as she pulled away from Sylvie.

"Not much," Nephy replied as she sat back down next to Sylvie, "I did have to tell Sylvie that we knew about her and Siris' relationship of him being her 'master'."

Aurelia glared at Nephy.

"Hey, don't blame me," she remarked, "I asked Sylvie if she liked Siris and she accidentally let it slip that she was a 'slave'."

Aurelia turned back to Sylvie.

"Is this true?" she asked the silver colored hedgehog.

Sylvie nodded her head.

"Well…" said Aurelia, "I suppose that clears that up. As long as no one else gets the wrong idea, I'm sure it will all come together in no time."

Nephy smirked while Sylvie just looked at the blonde with confusion.

"Eh?"

"Oh, don't you worry, Sylvie," Aurelia smirked, "There's nothing you need to worry about."

"Now that I think about it," Nephy remarked, "you never did answer my question, Sylvie."

Sylvie turned to Nephy.

"Eh?"

"Do you like Siris?" she asked for the third time.

Sylvie looked from Nephy to Aurelia and back, nerved by the way they were smirking at her.

"I…"

Nephy and Aurelia leaned in a bit closer.

"I don't think it matters how I feel…" Sylvie replied softly, "I do feel… comfortable when I'm around him… but I'm nothing but a slave. No one would ever want to be with a slave."

Sylvie's ears lowered.

"No one would ever want to be with me," she whispered so Nephy and Aurelia couldn't hear.

(Music fades)

Suddenly, Sylvie's communicator went off, startling the poor girl for the second time that evening. Recollecting herself, Sylvie answered the call. A static video image appeared.

"H-hello?"

"Hey, Sylvie, it's Siris."

[ Cheerful and Upbeat Music – Happy Background Music – Uplifting and Fun Instrumental Music ] (Uploaded by Live Better Media)

Siris' image came into view on the video feed. Sylvie felt something course through her body that felt… good?

"Oh, Siris, hello," Sylvie replied, "Are you coming home soon?"

"I'm on my way back now. Finally got all my supplies after a delay with the shipping. I'm getting on a plane heading for Spagonia and I should be back home by morning."

"Siris is coming home soon?" Sylvie thought happily.

"Awesome~!" Nephy exclaimed as she scooted beside Sylvie, "Another sleepover night~!"

"Thank you for the ringing in my ears, Nephy…" Siris muttered.

Aurelia giggled.

"Wait… is there someone else there?" Siris asked.

Aurelia moved beside Sylvie and waved to the camera. Siris deadpanned.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Hello, Siris," Aurelia teased.

"Hey, Aurelia," said Siris, "Since you're all in the same room, I assume things are going well?"

Nephy and Aurelia turned and grinned at each other.

"You could say that…" Nephy said cryptically causing Siris to sigh.

"I should have known you two would be up to something," he said flatly.

Siris noticed Sylvie was staring at him. Was she… smiling a little?

"Sylvie?"

She shook her head a little.

"Huh? Uh… yes, Siris?"

"Are you okay? You look…"

Sylvie felt like she was just caught doing something she shouldn't have done.

"… distracted. Are you okay?"

"I'm… fine, Ma- Siris."

Siris stared at Sylvie for a moment.

"Oh… right, I forgot to tell you, Sylvie-"

"We told her we already knew, Siris," Nephy interrupted.

"Is that so? Hm… well, okay. *Ahem* I was just calling to check on things and let you know that I'll be home by morning to pick you up."

"Okay," Sylvie replied.

"Good. Glad everything's going well. I'll see you tomorrow, Sylvie. Have a good night."

"Wait," said Sylvie.

Siris looked back into the camera, a bit surprised.

"Something wrong, Sylvie?"

"Ummm… well…"

…

"I just wanted to tell you to have a safe trip home," she said timidly.

"Oh. Well, thank you, Sylvie. I will. Well, I'll see ya tomorrow. Bye."

"Goodbye."

Sylvie ended to call and sighed.

(Music fades)

Nephy and Aurelia giggled.

"What?" Sylvie asked them.

"Sylvie," said Aurelia, "your face is so red."

Sylvie shyly looked away from them.

"Oh, relax, Sylvie," Nephy teased, "Your secret is safe with us."

Sylvie looked at Nephy with confusion.

"My… secret?"

Nephy gave a hefty sigh as Aurelia shook her head.

"Never mind," said Nephy, "How about we have some dinner. I make a mean roast beef panini."

"Eh? Pa-nee-nee?"

Nephy grinned.

"Oh, how much you have missed out on in life, my friend…"

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

Tails' Workshop

"Really?" Tails asked into his communicator, "That would be great!"

"…"

"No, that's alright, just send me all that you have in stock, I'll make do with it."

"…"

"Okay, thank you. Goodbye."

Tails hung up and sighed in relief as he turned to the deactivated Omega.

"Don't worry, Omega; the shipment of materials is on the way here!"

…

"Heh… look at me, talking to a deactivated robot… again. I must be crazy."

Tails rubbed his chin as he went through his memories.

"Well… I suppose Sonic did talk to that destroyed robot back on Planet Wisp after he fought it," Tails said with a smirk.

Tails checked the time and saw that it was half past noon.

"Man, time sure moves slowly when making these shipping orders."

Tails went over and resumed the minor repairs he was working on Omega before he was called back by the manufacturing company. While he worked, his mind occasionally would go back to Siris.

"I can't explain it… but I'm sure I've met Siris somewhere before. I must have! I never met him the day he and Sonic… well, mostly Sonic, when they defeated Robotnik all those years ago. Sonic did mention to me that he was briefly at the celebration, but I never saw him. So… where did I-"

*BOOM*

"Huh?"

Tails ran outside after hearing what sounded like a sonic boom. Looking around he noticed what appeared to be a blue streak moving in the distance.

"Sonic?"

*WHOOSH*

Tails was a bit surprised to see the blue blur himself standing in front of him.

"Hey, Tails."

Before the kitsune could respond, Sonic dashed into the workshop and came back seconds later with his Blue Star Extreme Gear and was wearing all his EX attire; sunglasses, white gloves with black cuffs, and his EX pair of shoes.

Quick note: unless stated, assume everyone's gear is Free Riders version.

"Uh… what's with-" Tails began speaking.

"Long story short, EX World Grand Prix is in three days, winner gets a Chaos Emerald. Bye, Tails!" Sonic quickly explained before dashing off.

*BOOM*

"Uh… okay?" Tails said, befuddled.

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

South Island, Sunset Heights

[ Upbeat Instrumental Work Music | Background Happy Energetic Relaxing Music for Working Fast & Focus ] (Uploaded by Live Better Media)

"Thanks for the lift, Silver," said Amy as the psychokinetic hedgehog gently lowered her, himself, and Blaze to the ground.

"No problem, Amy," he replied, "Besides, it was the fastest way for all of us to get our gear while Sonic grabs his from Tails' workshop."

"Yeah, I know," Amy slightly pouted.

She didn't want to be away from Sonic after him being gone for so long. Guess some things never change.

"So, Blaze," said Amy, "are you sure you want to register for the Grand Prix?"

Blaze nodded.

"Are you sure?" Silver asked, "I mean, the EX World Grand Prix is quite competitive; have you ever ridden an Extreme Gear before?"

"No," Blaze replied, "But how hard could be it be?"

"Well…" Silver began but couldn't think of an answer.

"It's not that hard, Blaze," Amy answered, "Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and I all did well in the first EX World Grand Prix, and none of us had prior experience!"

Silver bobbed his head in agreement.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Silver admitted, albeit reluctantly.

"Amy!" a voice called out.

The trio turned and saw a familiar rabbit and her mother and little Chao friend.

"Cream!" Amy exclaimed as she embraced her best friend, "It's so good to see you again!"

Cream looked over to the others.

"Blaze!" Cream cried out.

Blaze walked over and gave her a hug.

"It's good to see you again too, Cream."

"Hey, Vanilla," Amy said to the older rabbit.

"Welcome home, Amy," she replied, giving her a hug.

"Chao chao!"

Amy giggled,

"Yes, it's good to see you again as well, Cheese."

Vanilla turned and noticed Silver was slightly distanced away from the group.

"It's good to see you doing well, Silver," she said to him.

He gave her a small smirk and nodded.

"So," Vanilla said, "will you three be staying long?"

"I'm afraid not, Vanilla," Amy replied, "We were just dropping by to grab some gear and head back off to Soleanna."

"Chao?"

"Soleanna?" Cream asked, "Why?"

"The EX World Grand Prix is happening in three days there," Blaze explained, "Sonic, Amy, Silver, and I are going to compete to win a Chaos Emerald."

"Ohhhhh…" said Cream, "So you've found another one already?"

Amy had been keeping close contact with her; updating her on what's been going on and hearing from Cream how reconstruction was doing.

"Well… maybe," said Silver, "We don't actually know if it's a Chaos Emerald or not, but we weren't going to let the possible pass us by."

Vanilla nudged her daughter slightly and whispered something into her ear.

"Huh? Oh, okay!" Cream said to her, "Amy, Blaze, why don't we go inside and talk?"

"Sure, Cream! There's a lot to talk about!" Amy grinned, "Come on inside. Let me just get the door open."

Amy unlocked the front door to her house, and everyone began entering.

"Excuse me, Silver? A word?" Vanilla asked before Silver could enter to building.

"Huh?"

"It will only take a couple of minutes," Vanilla promised.

"Uh, sure."

(Music fades)

[ Soft Calm Music: Meditation Music, Peaceful Music, Stress Relief Music (Light of Hope) ] (No, not the Sonic Forces song.) (Uploaded by Jason Stephenson – Sleep Meditation Music) (0:24)

Silver closed the door and walked back to Vanilla.

"What's up?" he asked.

Vanilla smiled.

"Let's take a short walk around the block," she told him.

Silver complied. After a few seconds of walking in the midafternoon breeze, Vanilla asked him something.

"How are things going?"

"… Things are going well. We've managed to collect three Chaos Emeralds and-"

Vanilla shook her head.

"Not your mission, Silver," she chuckled, "I mean how are things going with Blaze?"

Silver slightly blushed and looked away.

"Things are… complicated," he admitted with reluctance, "Why do you ask?"

"Cream mentioned that you have feelings for Blaze."

"I knew I couldn't trust her!"

"Is this true?"

Silver sighed.

"Yeah."

"Hmm…" Vanilla smiled.

Silver turned and noticed.

"What?" he asked.

"Did anything interesting happen recently with Blaze?"

Silver was starting to get suspicious.

"Uh, yeah… we helped a kid find his mother back on the mainland of Mobius and saved him from a bunch of robots."

"Anything else?"

Silver had a small drop of sweat appear on his temple (yeah, this is gonna be a thing).

"N-no…" he lied, "Nothing worth mentioning."

Vanilla continued to smile as she shook her head.

"Silver…" she said in a tone that practically screamed 'I know you're lying'.

"I'm not lying! Honest!" he exclaimed as the drop of sweat grew bigger.

"… Okay, then. Come on, let's head back to Amy's."

Silver and Vanilla made their way back to Amy's place.

"Silver, I know you care for Blaze very much," Vanilla told him, "and, truth be told, it's not as big a secret as you may think."

Silver turned his head and gave Vanilla a look.

"Huh?"

They were now standing in front of Amy's place when Vanilla handed Silver a newspaper.

"Why are you giving me this?" he asked nervously.

"Read the front page," she told him.

Silver unfolded the newspaper and read the front lines.

"Boy Reunited With Mother; Silver and Blaze Defend Mobotropolis!"

Silver looked up at Vanilla with a raised brow.

"Look at the photos," she said with a smile.

Silver shook his head with annoyance as he looked at the three pictures printed on the front page. The first was one of him and Blaze fighting off the SWAT-bots. The second showed a picture of Jackson being carried away in his mother's arms. The third-

…

…

…

"No… way…" he said in horror as he flooded the street with his drop of sweat.

Vanilla giggled.

"Vanilla, no… wait! This-this isn't what it looks like!"

"Are you so sure?"

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-"

Silver_the_ has temporarily stopped responding. (No creepypasta here.)

"Silver, it's alright. You don't have to hide your feelings or relationship anymore," Vanilla explained.

Silver's right hand managed to create a mind of its own and slapped Silver back into his senses. The big red blush on his face remained.

"Vanilla, listen… that kiss… it was just an accident," he explained as calmly as possible, "I was helping Blaze up to her feet and… she slipped and bumped into me. That's all that happened."

Vanilla's gaze softened.

"Oh. So Blaze doesn't know about your feelings for her?"

Silver hung his head.

"No."

"I see…"

Silver looked up.

"Vanilla, please, don't tell Blaze. I can't… I don't want our friendship to be ruined. Please?"

Vanilla smiled and nodded.

"Very well, Silver. I promise not to tell her, or anyone else for that matter."

"Phew. Thanks, Vanilla."

(Music fades)

"However… I can't exactly say the same about my daughter."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well…" Vanilla guiltily smiled, "she was the one who showed me the article."

*WHAM*

"OH MY GOD, I WAS RIGHT!" Amy shouted as she slammed open her front door and accusingly pointed a finger at Silver.

Unfortunately, Silver never heard or saw her because he had already fainted and was now sprawled out on the ground. A giggling Cream walked through the remains of the door, followed by an incredibly embarrassed and red-faced Blaze, who had her face in her hands buried in her hands.

Me: Don't worry, Silver and Blaze gave me permission for this, as long as I… do something about it later… *cough cough* Maybe… *sigh* I am so dead…

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

Babylon Rogues' Airship

[ Ominous Suspense Music – Silent Shadows ] (Uploaded by Halloween Music World)

Jet was sitting alone in his office, examining the upgrades Wave had made to his Type-J Extreme Gear. For Jet, there was no one better at modifying and upgrading Extreme Gear than her, though he has respected Tails' work as well. Wave and Storm were currently in their own quarters getting some rest after a long day of training. The hawk yawned as he adjusted himself in his seat to get more comfortable.

"Hm?"

Jet looked behind when he felt an ominous presence in his office.

"Oh, it's you," he growled, "What do you want!?"

Neo Metal Sonic remained in place.

"Has the hedgehog joined the race?" he asked.

"Yeah, he did," Jet announced, "Got him hooked when I told him a Chaos Emerald was at stake."

"Good," said Neo Metal Sonic, "Have you made your decision yet?"

Jet glared at the robot.

"No, I haven't," he replied, "And you said I had three days to decide."

"Plans have changed," the robot remarked, "You will join us… and you will give us the Chaos Emerald."

Neo Metal Sonic dashed forward and instantly appeared over Jet, looking down upon him.

"Make no mistake, Rogue," the robot threatened, "we will get our hands on that Emerald one way or another…"

"But-"

"with… or without you."

"Rrrggghhh…"

…

"Fine," Jet muttered.

"Very good," said the robot, "Now, there is… one detail you should know."

Neo Metal Sonic leaned in at an uncomfortable distance.

"I have ways of keeping subordinates in check," he said darkly, "We wouldn't want anyone getting hurt, would we?"

Jet moaned in anger.

"Keep your team in check as well, hawk," the robot remarked as he walked away behind Jet, "Would hate to see the Babylon Rogues' numbers diminish so soon."

Jet spun around in a heartbeat.

"What the heck are you-"

Neo Metal Sonic was already gone.

"Darn…"

(Music fades)

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

Sunset Heights

It was late in the afternoon on South Island. People were either busy picking up their children from school, continuing construction, or still grumbling over their desk jobs. But it was just another peaceful day, excluding the ear-piercing shout from Amy a couple of hours earlier.

*BOOM*

And if you exclude that certain sonic boom that hadn't been heard in months on South Island. The moment he boomed through, everyone stopped dead in their tracks. Their hero and savior had returned.

[ It Doesn't Matter (Sonic's Theme) (Short No Vocals) – Sonic Adventure Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

The moment his feet hit the sandy beach, Sonic tossed his Extreme Gear in front of him and hopped on. With the air tank at full capacity, Sonic boosted up the ramp leading to towards the streets.

"Looks like the city repairs have been going well," he said as he glanced around.

As he continued his ride toward Amy's place, people on the streets would stop and stare at the blue blur as he drifted by.

"Was that…?"

"He's back?"

"Where's he been?"

"Has he really returned?"

Everyone was looking at each other, muttering comments or questioning what they saw. And Sonic knew this. Smirking to himself, he grinded along a guardrail as he turned a corner. As he boosted along the street, he noticed a sign that indicated road work ahead of him. Sure enough, there was; an area of the road was quarantined for construction workers to store all the supplies and materials they needed to rebuild the nearby structures. The bad news? Sonic wasn't going to slow down. The good news? There were some steel beams lying against a concrete tube, which Sonic can use as a makeshift ramp. How convenient… Before any of the workers even saw him coming, Sonic launched himself off the ramp and pulled off a couple of blue sky tricks in the air. (Blue sky is the name of one of the air tricks in Sonic Riders. See where this is going?) Bystanders watched in awe as the hedgehog sailed up and over the construction site…

*Instantly holds SS Ranking card above head* Nailed it! *Puts card away*

…before topping it off with twister and landing flawlessly.

*Slowly raises X Ranking card to chest height before putting it away*

Smirking to the nearby people, Sonic dashed away and disappeared around a corner.

(Music fades)

Meanwhile, back at the drama center (Amy's House)…

[ Accumula Town - Pokémon Black & White Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

Amy was having fun. Not only did she just learn that something did happen between Silver and Blaze 15 minutes ago, the something turned out to be a complete make out session… in public!

"Amy, you-you've got it all wrong!" Silver exclaimed.

… at least, that's was she was still presuming had happened. Since Silver's mental breakdown, he and Amy both changed into their Extreme Gear attire. Now, Silver and Blaze were trying to convince her otherwise, with little to no effect; Amy just kept on smirking as she propped herself on her couch.

"We didn't intentionally mean for that to happen," Blaze explained calmly, but still blushing.

Amy just kept playfully glaring at the two.

"Look, I was helping Blaze up to her feet…" said Silver.

"…and my heel got caught on something, causing me to fall," Blaze continued.

"So, I caught her and…"

"Well…"

Silver and Blaze turned away from each other.

"You two kissed," Amy teased.

"NO!" they exclaimed together.

"Double negative~," Amy teased, "That means 'yes~'."

Vanilla, Cream, and Cheese were busy making sandwiches for everyone. Since it took Silver a few hours to fly from Soleanna all the way to South Island (and in record time, for someone who wasn't Sonic), the trio had to miss lunch. After Silver had partially recovered from the trauma, Vanilla and Cream asked if anyone was hungry. And from there… weeeeelllll… yeah.

*Knock knock knock*

"It's open!" Amy called out.

The front door opened and, yup, you guessed it, Shadow the Hedgehog- Oops, sorry, wrong hedgehog… Sonic the Hedgehog entered, carrying the Blue Star under his arm.

"Hey, guys! Miss me?" he smirked.

Amy, Silver, and Blaze looked at one another in confusion.

"Sonic! Welcome back!" Cream shrieked as she rushed over and gave Sonic a hug.

"Heh, hey, Cream. Boy, you sure grew fast these past few months," Sonic remarked, making Cream giggle.

"Chao chao!"

"Good to see you too, Cheese," Sonic laughed.

"Hello, Sonic."

"Hey, Vanilla."

Sonic turned to the others.

"What's with those looks on your faces?" Sonic asked, "Do I have something on my face?"

The trio blinked a few times.

"Uh, Sonic?"

"Yeah, Amy?"

"Why… are you here?"

Sonic gave Amy a look.

"Uh, so we stay together?" he answered in question form.

"What!? We aren't breaking up! I meant-"

"Wait…" Blaze interrupted, "You and Sonic… are dating?"

The couple turned to her and nodded.

"When did this happen?" Blaze asked, "Last time I was here, he was holding you back from even hugging him."

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck with slight embarrassment.

"Uh, heh heh, yeah… funny story…" he said, "I… kinda sorta maybe had an epiphany a few months ago?"

Blaze raised a brow.

"Uh… we'll talk about it later," he chuckled.

Amy giggled.

"Alright, enough of that. But really, Sonic, why are you here and not off to Soleanna already?" she asked.

"Well, I was gonna, but then I remembered that we don't have the upgrades for our communicators yet from Tails. I figured that it would be best if I came here to make sure we all stuck together. You know, hacked comms…? Hmmm… probably should have had mine upgraded while I was there…"

"Huh… I didn't think about that," said Amy.

"So, did you guys grab your gear?" Sonic asked.

Amy jerked her thumb over towards the other side of the room; leaning against the wall were the Pink Rose and Psychic Wave Extreme Gears.

"Uh, what about Blaze?" Sonic asked them.

"I don't have any equipment," Blaze answered, "Silver suggested that I purchase them at Soleanna since plenty of Extreme Gear sellers will set up shop there for the EX World Grand Prix."

Amy glanced over at Silver and smirked.

"Oooohhh~, did he now?" she teased.

Silver looked away from everyone in embarrassment. Sonic was confused.

"Uh… did I miss something?" he asked.

Cream held up the article in front of Sonic's face. The silent, slack-jawed amazement was the perfect description of the hedgehog's expression. Silver and Blaze buried their faces in their hands.

"Woooow…" Sonic chuckled.

"Shut up," Silver muttered.

"Not one word, Sonic," Blaze warned.

Sonic shrugged and sat down next to Amy.

"Alright, fine," he said nonchalantly, "So this will be your first time using Extreme Gear then, Blaze?"

Blaze looked over at Sonic and nodded.

"Yes," she replied, slightly irritated.

"Are you sure you want to compete?" Sonic asked, "I mean, no offense, but-"

"Sonic," Amy whispered, "you should probably just keep your mouth shut before you really get her mad."

…

"Yeah, that sounds good," Sonic replied.

At that moment, Vanilla and Cream walked into the living room with a couple of trays of sandwiches.

"Sweet!" Sonic exclaimed as he grabbed a roast beef one, "I'm starving!"

Amy grabbed a ham sandwich and took a bite.

"Mmm," she moaned, "This is delicious! Thanks for making these for us, Vanilla!"

"And you too, Cream," Blaze added as she grabbed a tuna sandwich.

Silver didn't respond. Blaze nudged him in the arm.

"Silver!" she whispered sternly.

The gray hedgehog shot his head up.

"Huh!? What? I didn't do it!"

Blaze gave him a look while everyone else just laughed.

"Silver," said Blaze, "Vanilla and Cream made us sandwiches."

"Huh? Oh, right!"

He turned to the rabbits.

"Thanks for the meal," Silver said to them as he grabbed a roast beef sandwich.

"Oh, it was nothing," Vanilla replied.

"So…" said Cream.

Amy looked over to her best friend.

"What's up, Cream?"

"When are you guys leaving?"

Amy bit her lower lip and gave Cream a sympathetic smile. As much as she wanted to stay and hang out and help with the rebuilding, she

"We were planning to leave any minute, actually," she explained, "We just needed to wait for someone to recover."

Everyone glanced over at Silver, who was too focused on his thoughts to notice.

"So naïve," Blaze muttered to herself.

Amy turned back to Cream.

"I know we just came back and that it sucks that we need to leave just as soon, but you could always join us," she told her rabbit friend.

Cream didn't seem so enthusiastic about the idea.

"I'm not that good at Extreme Gear riding," she admitted, "You remember the last time we raced, right?"

"Aw, don't be like that, Cream," said Amy, "We'd love for you to join us and give us a moral boost!"

"Well…" Sonic said, "I wouldn't say 'love'."

Amy gave him a playful glare.

"But I have nothing against you joining us," he added quickly.

Everyone laughed at Sonic's dilemma.

"I appreciate the offer, Amy," said Cream, "but I think it would be best if I remained here. After all, someone needs to keep an eye on the reconstruction."

"No problem, Cream," said Amy, "Now that we've got that out of the way, how is the rebuilding going?"

As the two girls discussed the repairs to their home, the gang finished their lunches. Sonic wasn't paying much attention to the talking, more curious as to why Silver and Blaze were still acting so awkward around each other. Although he had known both for quite a few years, there was something that he just couldn't explain. He knew and saw that Silver and Blaze had met at Sweet Mountain back on Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park and had gotten a little closer during his 19th birthday party; yet he couldn't help but get the sense that they had more history than they had shared.

"Well, we should get going," said Amy, "It's almost 1:00, and the sooner we get back to Soleanna, the sooner we can hone our skills."

Sonic shook his head.

"Wow, time sure does fly when you're not paying attention," he thought to himself.

"Thanks again for the food, Vanilla," said Amy.

"It was no trouble at all," Vanilla replied, "Just keep Cream safe and sound."

"Will do," said Silver.

"Alright, then," said Sonic as he got up from the couch, "let's hit the road!"

Blaze noticed something potentially troublesome.

"Uh, Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"How are we going to get past all them?"

Everyone looked to where Blaze was holding out her hand and noticed a large number of "former" Resistance members all staring through the window. Silver and Amy glared at Sonic.

"Uh… heh heh…" Sonic chuckled nervously, "I might have given some folks a show on my way here?"

Amy, Silver, and Blaze just facepalmed and shook their heads.

(Music fades)

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

*** October 21, 2020 ***

Chun-nan

The morning light poured into the village as the sun began rising in the distance. Rouge was blissfully sleeping until the light shined onto her face.

"Mmm…" she moaned with annoyance.

She turned her head in the opposite direction, so the light was no longer a bother. She wanted to continue resting on the warm, fuzzy, moving bed.

"Wait… the bed's moving!?"

Rouge's eyes shot open. She glanced down and noticed that she had slept on top of Knuckles.

…

…

…

[ Chun-Nan Day – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

Blushing, Rouge quickly and silently got up and backed away, embarrassed.

"Oh, my God… I can't believe I slept on top of him!"

Oh, can't you?

Last night, after a long trip, and an even more exhausting explanation from the Chaotix (and Rouge stitching up Espio's wound), Knuckles and Rouge were too tired to help the villagers and their friends clear the debris and help begin repairs. Zonshen was very understanding and allowed the two to sleep in one of the least damaged buildings. At first, they slept a couple of feet away from each other. How in the actual Hell she managed to get from point A to point B, we'll never know.

A sudden snicker from nearby caught Rouge's attention. While she and the echidna appeared to be… uh… embracing each other in their sleep… no lemons here, folks… Charmy and Ray thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get some blackmail on Rouge. Why? I dunno, Dumb and Dumber are up to something, you ask 'em.

"Boys…" Vector said sternly, "I'm telling you… it's a bad idea."

Charmy looked over to him, Espio, and Mighty, who were all sitting at a table and eating breakfast, and smirked.

"Aw, come on! It's not like she's ever gonna find out!" he reasoned.

Ray looked over as well.

"Besides, we've had this camera forever; now's the perfect time to use it too!" Ray remarked.

Espio lightly scratched the bandage next to his eye and sighed.

"It is one thing poke a bull," he stated, "but it's an entirely different thing when you grab the bull by the horns."

What, thought I was gonna say 'balls'? Come on, let's not be cruel here.

"You guys are no fun!" Charmy exclaimed before turning to Ray, "Now… which one should we keep?"

"How about… NONE OF THEM," said a voice behind the two Mobians.

The jokers gulped and slowly turned around to see a very irritated white bat.

"Uh… hey, good morning, Rouge," Charmy said nervously, "Wha… what's up?"

The death glare Rouge gave them was a clear enough message.

"We weren't actually gonna keep the photos," Ray said as he took the camera and deleted the photos, "See? No photos."

Rouge swiped the camera away as she made sure herself that the photos were deleted. Now, let's be honest here; Rouge is a government agent and a thief, she's not stupid. So when she noticed that the memory card was missing…

"Where's the memory card?" she asked in a threatening tone.

But when she looked up, Charmy and Ray were already flying away in fear.

15 seconds later…

Knuckles woke up from the sound of terrified screams nearby.

"Ugghhh…" he sighed, "Only Charmy could possibly make Rouge this mad in the morning."

The echidna got up and stretched.

"Well, time to help clean some of this mess."

Knuckles walked outside and noticed Rouge flying after Charmy and Ray; she had a vendetta as he made his way towards the others.

"Uh," he muttered, pointing in the sky, "do I wanna-"

"Nope," they replied at the same time.

Knuckles nodded and sat down with them.

"So, Vector," Knuckles began, "you said you had some fragments for me?"

Vector finished chewing the food in his mouth before handing said fragments to the guardian.

"They look like Master Emerald fragments," said Espio, "but some look different than the others."

"Hmm…"

Knuckles examined each fragment carefully. The one that was more green than blue like the others caught his attention the most.

"That one was from the, uh… what did you call them? 'SWAT-bots'?" Vector asked.

Knuckles nodded.

"Yeah, well, the green robots had the fragments inside 'em, but that fragment your looking at now was found inside the leader of the bunch," Vector explained, "What are you thinking, Knuckles?"

The echidna put the fragment he was currently looking at in his inventory, leaving the other four on the table.

"These are fake," he muttered in frustration.

The other three sighed.

"I thought they looked bizarre," said Mighty.

"How many fragments have you collected so far, Knuckles?" Espio asked him.

"Seven."

"Wow," Vector remarked, "this is going much slower than before."

"Thanks for reminding me," Knuckles replied, rolling his eyes.

*Beep beep*

Knuckles answered his communicator.

"Knuckles," he answered.

"Knuckles, it's me and Tails."

Sonic and Tails' faces appeared on the video feed.

"Hey, Sonic."

"We've got word that another Chaos Emerald's been found!" Sonic exclaimed.

Knuckles was not as ecstatic.

"Uh, okay? What does this have to do with the Master Emerald?" he asked.

Sonic deadpanned.

"Uh, Knuckles? Aren't you a bit concerned about the safety of the world?" Tails asked.

Knuckles sighed.

"Have you forgotten that the Master Emerald can control the power of the Chaos Emeralds?" he asked, "If I can restore the Master Emerald, then even if the enemy has all the Chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald can neutralize the Emeralds and prevent the enemy from using them for world domination."

Now Tails was deadpanning.

"Knuckles, you do realize we have three of the seven Chaos Emeralds already, right?" Tails pointed out, "What if we need to use the Chaos Emeralds to save the world?"

"Better find them all first, I guess," Knuckles shrugged.

"Oh, like we weren't trying to do THAT already," Sonic remarked sarcastically.

"NO, MY MEMORY CARD!"

Knuckles, Vector, Espio, and Mighty over and saw Rouge's boot heel twisting against something metallic on the ground, turning it into dust.

"Aw…" Charmy and Ray moped.

"Don't even think about trying to pull something like that again," Rouge threatened them as she walked over to the others.

"We warned 'em," Vector told her.

Rouge rolled her eyes as she took a seat next to Knuckles.

"Morning, Sonic. Tails," Rouge told them when she saw the video feed.

"Evening, Rouge," said Tails.

"Mornin'," said Sonic.

Knuckles and Rouge both raised a brow when they looked at Sonic.

"Sonic, where are you?" Knuckles asked, "It looks pitch black where you are."

"And why do you have the Blue Star with you?" Rouge asked.

Knuckles suddenly noticed this too.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" he shouted, "I THOUGHT YOU WERE SEARCHING FOR EMERALDS, NOT FOOL AROUND!"

Sonic laughed.

"That's what I was gonna tell you, Knucklehead! There's a Chaos Emerald up for grabs in the upcoming EX World Grand Prix."

"The Grand Prix?" Rouge asked in surprise, "I thought it wasn't until this coming spring, isn't it?"

Sonic shook his head.

"This one was just announced days ago. Me, Amy, Silver, and Blaze were traveling, and we happened to come across the Babylon Rogues."

Knuckles groaned.

"Those thieving birds?"

"Yeah, Knuckles, those guys. Told me that an Emerald was the grand prize, so we decided to join."

"What if it's just a waste of time?" Knuckles asked.

Rouge glanced over at the Chaotix, including Charmy and Ray, and noticed that they were unusually quiet.

"Eh," Sonic shrugged, "At least it'll be a blast."

Rouge turned back to the conversation with Sonic.

"You know, we could also join the Grand Prix and help, Sonic," she suggested.

Knuckles turned to the bat.

"What do you mean 'we'?" he asked.

"As in you and me, Knucklehead," she teased, causing Knuckles to slightly blush and get irritated.

"What!? Race in another EX World Grand Prix!? With the world at stake!?"

"Why not?"

"But-"

"Hey, that sounds like a great idea, Rouge!" Tails interrupted, "I'm stuck here in my workshop for a while until Omega is completely repaired, so I can't join. But you and Knuckles can! You both did well the last Grand Prix."

*Insert the horrors of playing Sonic Free Riders here*

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Sonic, "The more of us in the race, the better our odds are of getting that Emerald in our hands."

Sonic frowned.

"Besides, I doubt the Lord will just kick back and watch us gain another Emerald. Every time an Emerald has popped up, there's been trouble."

Knuckles sighed.

"Also," Rouge added, "it might make you feel a lot better beating up some robots along the way."

Knuckles gave her a look.

"Come on, Knuckles," Sonic playfully teased, "What would Storm say to the cameras if you don't show up?"

"Where is it taking place?" Knuckles asked immediately.

"So easy," Sonic, Tails, and Rouge thought to themselves.

"Soleanna," Sonic answered.

Suddenly, by some unexplainable cosmic phenomena, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge all felt a sudden sense of déjà vu.

"Soleanna…" Rouge said with a pondering tone, "Isn't that some kingdom in the lands far east of Spagonia?"

"Yeah, which also explains why it's dark here. It's only about three in the morning."

"… Why are you up?" Knuckles asked.

"I was just getting ready. Gotta sharpen my skills, y'know? Everyone else is sleeping."

"Wait, when's the Grand Prix?" Knuckles asked.

"Two days."

Knuckles fell out of his seat before scrabbling back.

"T-two days!?"

"I know! Isn't it great!"

"Sonic, I don't have my gear! How am I-"

"Way ahead of you, Knuckles."

"What are you talking abou-"

Sonic facepalmed.

"Just get to Soleanna. Trust me, we've got everything ready."

"You had no problem leaving the Master Emerald unattended the last couple of Grand Prixes," Rouge noted.

Knuckles sighed again. He knew it was pointless to argue anymore.

"Okay… fine. We'll be there in a few hours."

"Alright! This party is-"

"But if turns out to be a huge waste of my time, Sonic…" Knuckles said threateningly as he moved closer to the camera, "I'm gonna give you a reason to run."

Sonic just laughed at his friend's threat.

"You worry too much, Knucklehead!" he said before ending the call.

"Well, looks like you guys have things under control," said Tails, "Good luck out there!"

Tails and Knuckles ended the call. Rouge turned her attention to the silent Chaotix members.

"Something up?" she asked.

Vector sighed and nodded.

"There's something we wanted to discuss with you."

(Music fades)

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

Blue Moon Village

[ Gothic Music – Ravenville ] (Uploaded by Derek and Brandon Flechter) (Loop)

Siris took a deep breath of fresh morning air.

"Home," he sighed, looking at the village that was only a mile down the road.

Holding the large box of medicine firmly in his hands, Siris dashed for Blue Moon Village.

"I wonder if Sylvie's had breakfast yet," Siris wondered out loud.

Like in his younger days, Siris was still not as fast as Sonic or Shadow… at least, without help. But his speed was still incredible, as he was able to reach Nephy's front door in about 30 seconds.

*Knock knock*

"Who's there~?!" Nephy called out playfully.

"It's me, Nephy," Siris replied, rolling his eyes.

The door opened, showing Nephy standing behind it.

"Hey, Siris~."

"Hey."

Siris noticed Sylvie was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Sylvie?"

Nephy smirked.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Very funny, Nephy. Sylvie!?" Siris called out.

Down the hall, Sylvie exited the guest room, wearing her blue dress. She rushed over to the door the moment she saw Siris.

"Welcome back, Siris," she said.

"Thanks, Sylvie."

"Is she actually happy to see me?"

Sylvie looked at the box in Siris' hands.

"What's in the box?" she asked.

"Oh, this?" Siris asked before clearing his throat, "Just some medical supplies for the clinic."

Sylvie had a hint of interest in her eyes.

"Anyways," Siris continued, "are you ready to head back home?"

Sylvie looked back at Siris and nodded.

"Excellent… wait, I thought you had your red dress on when I dropped you off here…"

Sylvie blushed as Siris turned to Nephy.

"Have something to tell me?" he asked the smirking hedgehog.

Nephy was the only person, besides Siris, who had a key to his house. About two months ago, Nephy's apartment building had a minor fire in one of her neighbor's place. Knowing Siris was too kind to refuse, he allowed her to stay at his place for a couple of days while the damage was rectified. Siris allowed her to keep the spare key, as a show of their friendship. Now he was starting to regret it a little.

"Well…" Nephy began, "Sylvie felt a little uncomfortable wearing the sleeveless dress, since it was showing some of her scars."

"Wait, 'some'?" Siris thought.

"So, I figured I would take her back home and let her grab her other dress."

Siris raised a brow.

"Is that all?" he asked.

Nephy smirked.

"Well… we did bathe toge-"

"Nope!" Siris said loudly, "Uh-uh! Shut up! Don't wanna hear it!"

Sylvie looked at Nephy with confusion.

"What? We didn't bathe together," Sylvie remarked.

Nephy turned and gave Sylvie a dramatic look of betrayal.

"Sylvie~," Nephy playfully whined, "you weren't supposed to tell him~."

Siris shook his head and chuckled.

"Alright, that's enough, Nephy," he told her.

Siris turned back to Sylvie.

"You ready to go home now?" he asked.

Sylvie nodded.

"Alright. Where's your other dress?" he asked.

"I… left it at home."

"Okay… And your nightgown?"

"… Oh. Um… one moment, please."

Sylvie went back into the guest room and returned a moment later with her folded nightgown in hand. As she returned, Siris noticed that Sylvie was now back to her expressionless self.

"Hmm… maybe she's hungry?" he thought to himself.

"Did you eat breakfast yet?"

"No…"

Siris patted her on the head.

"That's alright, Sylvie."

"Eh?"

"Why don't we head over to the café with Nephy and I'll buy you a chocolate chip muffin and you can eat it when we get home," he suggested.

Sylvie blinked a couple of times.

"If… that is your wish, Siris," she replied timidly.

Siris looked at her with soft hinted sadness in his eyes.

"Sylvie?" he asked.

"I'm okay, Master," Sylvie muttered with no emotion.

Siris felt his heart beginning to sink. Before he could say another word, Nephy pushed pass the two and pulled Sylvie outside.

"Come on, you two," she smirked, "If we're gonna get to the café, we might as well not make me late, huh?"

Nephy looked the door behind her and grabbed Siris' and Sylvie's hand, dragging them with her.

A couple of minutes later, after Siris and Sylvie had freed their hands and convinced Nephy to walk at their pace, Siris finally asked the question he was dreading to hear the answer for.

"How much did you and Aurelia tease Sylvie since I left her with you?"

Nephy turned to Siris and smirked.

"Wouldn't you like to know~?"

Siris sighed as he unconsciously patted Sylvie on the head again.

"Why is Master always so kind to me?" she wondered, "Is he really hiding a dark secret from me?"

Sylvie began to feel anxious; the world was tuned out.

"After everything he's told me so far… Is there something worse than what he has said to me?"

"Anyways, Nephy," said Siris, "besides teasing my friend, what's been going on?"

Nephy thought for a second.

"Well, word is there's an EX World Grand Prix happening in a couple of days."

Siris looked at her with a puzzled look.

"A couple of days? I thought it was happening spring of next year, isn't it?"

Nephy shrugged.

"Apparently some duke from… hmm… what was the place again?"

She looked over to Siris.

"What's the kingdom far east of Spagonia?" she asked.

Siris was now slightly alarmed.

"Uh, Soleanna?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah! That's the one!"

(Music fades)

"Crap."

[ Suspense – Slow Instrumental Background Music ] (Uploaded by Audio4rt Maker) (1:00)

(Music fades in)

"Yeah, word is the Duke of Soleanna was given a wonderous gift from one of his people; a Chaos Emerald."

"This is not good."

"He said that he was flattered but felt that something so powerful could attract unnecessary danger to his people. So he decided to hold a tournament to see who would be worthy of possessing the jewel," Nephy explained dramatically.

Siris stopped patting Sylvie's head.

"When was this announced?" he asked.

"About three or four days ago."

"He came up with having a Grand Prix?"

Sylvie tapped her chin.

"I'm not sure. Maybe one of his advisors suggested it?" she shrugged, "But I did hear that Sonic and some of his friends are competing in it. And the Babylon Rogues too!"

"Please, God… Chaos… please tell me no one else has memories of Solaris."

"That… sounds awesome," Siris replied with feigned excitement.

"I know, right~?" Nephy asked, "I can't wait to watch the races!"

Siris shook his head to clear his mind and turned to Nephy.

(Music fades)

"Yeah, right, Nephy. You just want all those extra tips from all the customers who will pile into the café to watch the event on the screens."

She gave Siris a playful smile.

"Hey, I'm damn good at my job and you know it!" she exclaimed.

Siris rolled his eyes as he opened and held the door open to the café.

"Oh, wow, I didn't even realize we made it," Nephy remarked as she entered.

Siris rolled his eyes and waited for Sylvie to enter before closing the door behind them. They walked up to the counter and Siris looked over to Sylvie; she was still distracted by her thoughts.

"Sylvie?"

The silver hedgehog shook her head and looked over to Siris. His hand was no longer patting her.

"Would you like a muffin for breakfast?" Siris asked her.

"Eh?"

Sylvie looked around and realized that they were inside the café.

"Eh… I guess."

Siris gave her a concerned look before turning to Nephy, who was now behind the counter.

"We'll take a muffin to go."

"Alright, gimme a sec," Nephy told him as she went over to grab a muffin.

She placed the muffin in a small paper bag and handed it to Siris as he paid for the treat.

"Thank you very much for your purchase!" Nephy chimed as Siris and Sylvie left the café.

As soon as they were outside and on their way home, Siris called Tails.

[ Instrumental Music For Studying, Concentration And Focus Memory – Thinking Music Inspire Creativity ] (Uploaded by Meditation and Relaxing Music)

"Tails, speaking."

"Hey, it's Siris. Is it safe to talk?"

"Normally the question would be 'Is this a good time to talk?'" Tails pointed out.

Siris sighed.

"Tails…"

"I'm just messin' with ya. Yeah, it's safe. What's up?"

"What's this I hear about a Chaos Emerald in Soleanna and a recently announced EX World Grand Prix?"

"Oh, you heard!? Yeah, Sonic-"

"Yeah, yeah, he and some of the others are competing, I heard."

Tails moaned at Siris' rudeness.

"Okay, jeez. Sorry for confirming what you heard."

"… Sorry, Tails. Didn't mean to be so harsh. Mind connecting me to Sonic?"

"Sure. I'll call him now."

…

"Hey, Tails. Something else you wanted to say?" Sonic answered.

"Siris wants to talk to you."

"Oh, hey, Siris. What's up?"

"Is it true? Is there another Emerald in Soleanna?"

"Yup," Sonic replied, "Pretty sweet deal; an Extreme Gear tournament AND a Chaos Emerald."

Siris nervously chuckled.

"Listen, Sonic… you haven't heard anything suspicious about the Grand Prix, have you?"

"Mmm… nope. Why? Is something wrong?"

"I hope not," Siris thought to himself.

"No, just… seems strange to me, that's all."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure," said Siris, "It just seems… off."

Neither Sonic or Tails replied.

"I mean, think about it for a second; the Grand Prix isn't supposed to happen until next year, a Chaos Emerald appears after you rubbed your bracelet; again, mind you; and just a couple of days ago the Duke of Soleanna wants to hold a race to see who wins said Chaos Emerald? Sounds a bit… strange and too convenient if you ask me."

"Welcome to our adventures, Siris," Sonic quipped.

Siris wasn't sure how to respond to that remark.

"Tails, is he serious?"

"Yup."

"Un-friggin'-believable."

"Siris… are you alright?" Sonic asked, "You sound a bit nervous."

"I'm fine. I guess I'm just a bit jumpy about everyone's safety is all."

"Alright, if you say so," said Sonic.

"Yeah, heh heh… Anyways, uh, good luck in the Grand Prix, Sonic. Tell the others good luck as well. I'll be watching and cheering you guys on."

"Thanks, Siris. And hey, don't worry; we've gone through worse," said Tails.

Siris deadpanned, even though it was only voice communication.

"Thanks for jinxing it, Tails."

By this point, Siris and Sylvie have made it back home. Siris unlocked the front door and entered; Sylvie followed close behind. He held the bag out to her as he turned away from his communicator.

"Here, Sylvie. You can eat first before you get ready," he said quietly.

Sylvie gave a small smile before taking the bag.

"Thank you very much," she said.

Siris nodded and turned back to his communicator.

"Anyways, good luck with the races, Sonic."

"Hey, no worries!" he exclaimed, "I'm the fastest thing alive, remember?"

Siris rolled his eyes as Sonic hung up.

"Since I have you on call, Tails, how's Omega doing?"

"It's a work in progress. He's still in standby mode and some of the materials I need won't be in for another couple of days."

"Wonderful," Siris muttered, "Well, you know what to do. Hopefully you'll finisher sooner than we hoped."

"Yeah. *Ring* Gotta go; that might be the suppliers."

"Okay. See ya, Tails."

Siris hung up and sighed. He walked over to the table where Sylvie was eating the muffin.

"Careful not to eat the paper, Sylvie," Siris teased as he sat down across from her.

Sylvie looked away in embarrassment.

"Hey, I'm just messin' with ya," he said as he reached over and ruffled her fur, "How's the muffin?"

"It's so sweet," Sylvie replied.

Siris smiled.

"I'm glad you like it."

He brought his communicator back up and called Shadow.

…

No reply; Siris was worried.

Sylvie looked into Siris' eyes.

"Master…"

"I hate that damn title."

"… are you worried about them remembering about Solaris?" Sylvie asked with worry in her eyes.

Siris sighed and nodded.

"More than you know, Sylvie," he replied, "More than you know."

(Music fades)

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

Outskirts of Soleanna, Forest

[ 1 Hour of Forest Music & Fantasy Music ] (Uploaded by Derek & Brandon Flechter) (4:03)

Late morning, within the forest near Soleanna, two Mobians were practicing their racing skills against each other. They hopped off their boards and began to talk, when two of their friends appeared.

"Well, good morning, love-"

Blaze's death glare shut Amy up instantly.

"Uh, I mean, good morning, guys?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah, thanks, Amy," Silver muttered as he carried the Psychic Wave under his arm.

Blaze said nothing as she and Silver walked over to Sonic and Amy, who were discussing Amy's recent performance on her Extreme Gear. Sonic looked over his shoulder to see the approaching Mobians.

"Hey, guys," he said, "You two sure took a long nap."

Silver and Blaze groaned.

"Hey, don't take it out on me!" Sonic exclaimed, "It's past 10!"

"Yeah, fine, whatever," Silver remarked as he and Blaze walked past them.

By now, you'd probably have guessed why these two are in a bad mood. In all fairness, Sonic didn't say a word about the incident since he found out about it.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Amy asked.

The pair stopped walking and looked back.

"Silver's taking me to the castle town of Soleanna so I can get my equipment," Blaze explained.

Amy was about to make a remark when Blaze glared at her.

"It's not a date, Amy," she said, irritated; even though she and Silver both wished it was going to be one.

Me: *Shakes head*

Amy just smirked as she held her hands up in defense.

"What's not a date?" said a feminine voice.

The four Mobians turned and saw Knuckles and Rouge emerging from the thicket.

"Knuckles! Rouge!" Amy exclaimed, "You both made it!"

Knuckles rolled his eyes.

"Good to see you too, Knuckles," Sonic smirked.

Silver and Blaze were surprised.

"Hey, Knuckles," said Silver, "Long time, huh?"

The echidna turned to the hedgehog and smirked.

"Yup. Nice to see you," he said before turning to Blaze, "You too, Blaze."

"A pleasure to see you again, Knuckles," she replied.

Silver's ears perked up.

"Oh, Knuckles, here! We brought these with us!" he exclaimed as he levitated off the ground and flew over to where he and Blaze were sleeping.

A moment later, he returned with a red board and some EX gear.

"My stuff," Knuckles said in awe before turning to Sonic, "You planned this all along, didn't you?"

Sonic shrugged.

"Hey, Amy was the one who keeps all our Extreme Gears."

Amy cleared her throat.

"Uh, besides mine," Sonic quickly added nervously when he saw her glare.

Silver relinquished control of the echidna's equipment and gently placed them in front of him. Knuckles picked up the Red Rock and examined it.

"It's not damaged, Knucklehead!" Sonic joked.

"Yeah, whatever! I'm just making sure!" Knuckles replied back as he swapped his shoes and gloves.

Gotta admit, the Sonic Riders gloves are so damn good looking with all that detail.

"What about you, Rouge?" Amy asked, "Did you bring your stuff?"

Rouge glanced over to Amy and smirked as she pointed up towards the sky. Everyone looked up and saw a jet fly by.

"Uh… do you need to go to the airport or something?" Sonic asked.

"Just wait for it," Rouge said cryptically.

Everyone looked back up. A moment later, something appeared in the sky; it looked like some kind of metal box. And it was falling fast. Suddenly, a parachute was deployed, and the box slowly descended to the ground.

*Gong*

Knuckles turned to Rouge and raised a brow as he put his goggles around his neck.

"You had G.U.N. send you your Extreme Gear, didn't you?" he asked.

Everyone's eyes followed Rouge as she walked over to the metal crate and opened it.

"Does this answer your question?" she asked Knuckles as she pulled out the Temptation.

(Music fades into next one)

[ Shut Up Faker! [Sonic vs. Shadow] – Sonic Adventure 2 Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

A sarcastic laugh echoed throughout the vicinity.

"Ugghh," Sonic groaned, "Jet."

The whooshing of the wind behind the group turned their attention to the hawk hovering on his Extreme Gear.

"Well, isn't this a nice surprise?" Jet asked sarcastically, "Knuckles and Rouge have decided to join the fun."

Behind him, Wave and Storm appeared, on their boards as well.

"Storm," Knuckles growled, holding up a fist.

The albatross turned his attention to his archrival.

"Looks like I'll enjoying this race after all," Storm remarked, "How's your precious rock, guardian?"

Knuckles made a move.

"Why you…"

"Easy, big guy," said Rouge as she grabbed his shoulder.

Wave looked around with curiosity.

"Where's that little fox boy?" she asked, mockingly, "Is he too afraid to show himself and see my superior tinkering skills?"

Sonic and Amy glared at her.

"Hey, that's my best friend you're talking about!" Sonic remarked.

"Yeah! And Tails is a much better mechanic than you!" Amy added, "Not to mention much cooler."

Wave laughed at their remarks. Storm turned to Blaze.

"Ha!" he laughed.

"What's so funny!?" Silver asked with a hint of anger.

"Her!" Storm answered, pointing a finger at Blaze, "Is she serious right now?"

Silver and Blaze gave Storm a confused look.

"What is he talking about, Silver?" Blaze asked.

He just shrugged.

"Your clothes," Storm clarified, "You can't race with those on."

"Huh?"

"I mean, you could, but it's not as aero… aero… aero…?"

Wave sighed.

"The word is 'aerodynamic', Storm."

"Uh, right! What she said!"

Silver and Blaze rolled their eyes.

"Come on, Blaze," said Silver, "Let's get out of here and get your equipment and Extreme Gear."

The moment Silver said that, he instantly regretted it; Storm laughed.

"Wait, you're telling me she doesn't even have an Extreme Gear!? Does she even know how to ride one!"

Blaze felt a wave of anger flow through her. Silver put a hand on her shoulder, making her a bit calmer.

"Just ignore him," Silver whispered.

Blaze nodded.

"Storm…" Jet warned him, "Remember what happened yesterday?"

Storm gulped.

"S-sorry, boss!"

"Why is nothing ever so simple and easy," Jet sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Why are you guys even here?" Sonic asked.

Jet turned his attention back to his rival.

"Oh, we were just passing through, hedgehog," said Jet, "We were expecting to run into you and your friends, obviously training very hard. At this rate, we'll have that Chaos Emerald in no time."

That remark earned him a glare from all the heroes.

"Well, I think we've wasted enough of our time with these slowpokes. Good luck trying to get that Emerald. Or even getting past the qualifiers!" Jet mocked as he and his fellow Rogues rode off.

No one said a word until they were gone.

(Music fades)

"Well, that was rather pleasant," Rouge remarked.

"Indeed," said Blaze.

"Who do those guys think they are?" asked Knuckles.

"Yeah," said Amy, "And why the sudden hostility? They were acting somewhat decent before."

"Ah, forget it," said Sonic, "I'm sure this is just their way of getting under our skin; get us off our game so the race will be in their favor, like they always do."

Everyone agreed. Silver turned back to Blaze.

"Ready to get your Extreme Gear?"

"Of course, Silver."

She looked up at the sky.

"We best make haste before it gets too late," said Blaze.

Silver gave her a look.

"Uh, okay?" he said with uncertainty, "Why are you talking like that?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry, Silver. Force of habit."

Amy mischievously smirked at the two.

"What's with that look?" Rouge asked her as she approached.

The pink hedgehog turned to Rouge and pulled out a certain newspaper clipping involving Silver and Blaze. Within a second, Rouge had a smirk on her face as well.

"Looks like I won the bet," she said.

Suddenly, the clipping caught on fire and Amy had to drop it to the ground.

"AMY!" Blaze screamed.

To prevent Armageddon from happening (again), Silver levitated Blaze from the ground with his psychokinesis and took her with him to get her gear. Knuckles walked over to Amy and Rouge.

"What was that all about?"

Rouge, who used her sleight of hand to palm her Treasure Scope from her inventory, discretely, and take a photo of the article before it was disintegrated, activated her communicator and showed Knuckles the photo. His jaw dropped.

"Seriously!? I lost the bet!?"

"Glad to see I wasn't the only one to lose a bet recently," Sonic smirked.

For some bizarre reason, a few large rocks fell from the sky and landed around the group. Was this a sign from the powers beyond?

…

Well, sorta, if you call Silver's abilities as a sign.

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

Soleanna Castle Town

[ Soleanna Castle Town – Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (At least Sonic games are consistent with good OSTs… now about those unreleased tracks…)

"Wow," Silver sighed, "There sure are a lot of people here."

Blaze just smiled and shook her head.

"So naïve," she murmured.

Silver snapped his head towards her.

"What?"

"Nothing," she replied.

Silver: Uh, Phantom?

Me: *Deadpan* What?

Silver: Uh, could I write this part?

Me: … Why?

Silver: Just… reasons.

Me: *rolls eyes* Fine.

The town was filled with Extreme Gear riders, fans, shops, and show casings; there were even some people having impromptu races for fun. Silver wasn't used to large crowds like these. Sure, he's seen plenty like them on TV, but to actually be surrounded in one was a whole other world to him.

Since his decision to stay in the present; or the past, to his reference; even being in smaller crowded places, like cafes, restaurants, and grocery stores, made him feel a little overwhelmed; seeing so many people in one place. Yet… he seemed pretty calm back in Mobotropolis. Wonder why that was.

"So, Silver," said Blaze, "any idea where we should go to acquire the necessary equipment?"

"Uh…"

Silver chuckled nervously.

"Not gonna lie, I'm not entirely sure."

Blaze raised a brow.

"Did you really bring me here without a well thought out plan?" she asked.

"… Maybe?" Silver admitted with a guilty smile.

"So naïve," Blaze sighed.

"Jeez, how stupid can I possibly get!?" Silver thought to himself.

"It's sweet that he's trying to help me, but must he always not have a plan?" Blaze wondered.

"Give me a minute, Blaze," Silver told her.

She watched as Silver flew into the air and looked around the area. Her eyes remained on him as he flew around to a few nearby stores; he remained high enough so she could see him. After watching him buzz around the place for a minute, Silver returned to her side.

"I think I've found a place. Follow me."

Blaze gave Silver an "are you sure?" look.

"I'm positive, Blaze."

"… Very well, Silver," she sighed, "Lead on."

Silver led Blaze through the crowd, towards one of the shop setups nearby.

"Why is she speaking so formal now? She hadn't done that in a long time."

The two stopped in front of the store. Blaze peaked through a window, but there were some people blocking her view.

"Let's check it out," said Silver.

Blaze turned to him and nodded. Silver opened the entrance door and held it open for Blaze. He followed her in, making sure he didn't bump the Psychic Wave against the doorframe, and looked around.

"Cool," he said.

The store was filled with rows of different attires for Extreme Gear riders; the walls displayed Extreme Gears of different varieties, including boards, skates, and yacht types. Silver and Blaze were quick to notice that there was nothing that supported or sponsored any individual or team, unlike all the other venders they noticed in town. Their browsing was rudely interrupted when a customer began yelling.

"8,000 RINGS!? FOR THIS PIECE OF CRAP!?"

Silver and Blaze turned around and saw a tall, blond, athletically-built white man wearing a red and black plaid shirt and jeans yelling at a poor dark purple colored wolf wearing a black apron dress. She was taken aback by the sudden outburst. No, it's not the businessman from Sonic Unleashed; that guy is caring.

(Music fades)

"I'm… I'm sorry, sir, but that is the price. And it's not junk, it's one of the latest-"

[ Deus Ex – 004 – Liberty Island - Ambient ] (Uploaded by Ragitsu) (Loop)

"'LASTEST'!? Ha! Like Hell it is! More like something a kid 40 years ago could build blindfolded!"

Silver and Blaze gave each other a brief glance, wondering what was going on.

"Sir, please, you are making a scene…"

"Oh, I'll make a scene, alright! I'll tell everyone that you like to sell cheap knockoffs of Extreme Gears just so you can make a quick profit!"

The wolf was nearly in tears.

"What!? I-I would never…"

"Save it! You Mobians are all the same! All you do is come, unwanted, from whatever Hellhole you all come from and cause nothing but problems!"

The poor girl was practically shaking now.

"Wha… What are you talking about?" she asked, petrified, "I never did anything wrong!"

"Oh, suuuure. Every time a problem shows up, it's always had Mobians involved! That Chaos thing in Station Square, that black hedgehog trying to destroy the world? How about every time Eggman tries to dominate the world, it always involves that Sonic guy? Ever think that maybe, just maybe, he's in on it?"

Me: Holy crap, Silver, did you just put a racist version of J. Jonah Jameson in my story? Also, I don't own Marvel.

Sonic: Why does this story sound familiar?

Silver: … Can I continue?

Me and Sonic: Yes.

Silver turned back to Blaze.

"Is this guy for real!?" he asked her.

Blaze shook her head in disgust as she glared at the man.

"That… Those things were all misunderstandings!" the wolf tried to explain, "And Sonic is a hero! He's saved our lives more times than we can count!"

"Right, and we should just let him do whatever he wants? Without any permission from the authorities? And what about that two-tailed freak? Or that echidna? Or that hedgehog with psychic powers!? Or that weird cat with the fire powers? That one scares me the most."

Silver's eyes widened as he turned to Blaze; instead of anger, he saw shock on her face.

"She has the ability to throw fireballs; but why don't people see that she's a freakin' fire hazard? She's literally a walking, living flamethrower; she could easily set the whole world on fire!"

Silver watched as tears began to form in Blaze's eyes. He hadn't told anyone, especially Blaze, but he remembered the time when she confided to him that she used to be picked on by bullies for her pyrokinetic abilities. Before Solaris was defeated, of course; but he had made a promise to himself that he would always have her back and to never have anyone insult her abilities again. Silver was just about to give the racist a piece of his mind when someone else beat him to it.

"My, my," said a feminine voice, "What seems to be the problem?"

Everyone in the store turned to the pumpkin color eyed blonde, who was wearing dark colored clothes and a huge bycoket, approaching the man and wolf.

"Oh, Aurelia," the wolf said nervously, "Sorry, I was just-"

Aurelia held up a hand to silence the girl.

"Calm down, Star," she told the wolf, "I will handle this."

"Uh, are you sure?"

Aurelia gave her a large grin. Star nodded and let Aurelia handle the man. The blonde turned her attention to the rude individual in front of her.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked again.

"Problem? I'll tell you what the problem is!" he said loudly before pointing at Star, "This freak tried to sell me a dangerous and faulty Extreme Gear just so she could steal my rings!"

Aurelia glanced over at the board in question and at Star.

"I don't see anything wrong with the gear," Aurelia said calmly, "What makes you say that it is faulty?"

"Well, take a closer look!" he exclaimed, "The fins are completely uneven on the sides; one is larger and thicker than the other one; the front of the board bends down towards to ground, and the air tank is cracked."

Aurelia took a closer look at the board for a brief moment before turning back to the man.

"I don't know where you come up with such blatant lies," Aurelia said calmly, "but if you don't find the items on sale here satisfactory, I'm sure there are other stores that would be more of your taste."

She gave the man an eerie smirk.

"Perhaps a compost site is more to your liking?" she suggested with no hint of pleasure.

Everyone in the store, except the man, was impressed with how the woman was handling the situation. Some snickering could be heard from a few. The man was not so impressed.

"You dare accuse me of lying!?" he spat out.

Aurelia just gave a small shrug and sighed.

"Well, if you think you are right," she said, "prove it."

The man was confused.

"What?"

"Prove it," Aurelia said again, "Prove to us that this board is faulty, and we will give you three boards of your choosing for free."

The man pondered the deal for a moment.

"Well, I would prove it… but I'm not gonna risk my life over it!"

"Well, leave then," said Aurelia.

"Oh, I don't think so," said the man, "In fact, how about the wolf tests out the Extreme Gear for me instead?"

Star became very nervous.

"Wha-what!? I-I don't know how to ride an Extreme Gear!" she exclaimed, "I only know how to design and build them!"

The man stared at her, dumbfounded, for a moment before laughing.

"Oh, that's just priceless!" he laughed, "You can't even test out your own creations!?"

Star's ears lowered in shame.

"How can you even allow someone to sell gear that they themselves can't even test!?" he asked Aurelia.

At this point, Aurelia was no longer smiling and was glaring at the man with daggers.

"I'll test it!"

Everyone in the store turned and looked at Blaze. Silver was shocked to hear her say that.

"You!?" the man yelled, "The freak with the fire powers!?"

Silver leaned over to Blaze.

"Blaze, what are you doing!?" he whispered.

"I got this, Silver. Don't try and stop me," she whispered back.

Blaze walked over to Aurelia and the man.

"Of course you would be here," the man grumbled, "I bet that blue rat is also here as well."

"Hedgehog," Silver corrected him before muttering to himself, "Jackass."

"Whatever."

The man turned back to Blaze.

"So, you'll take this hunk of junk from a stupid girl?" he asked sarcastically.

"No," Blaze replied, "I'm doing this for my own reasons."

"Pfft, whatever, it's your funeral!"

"If you are finished," Aurelia said with a bit of anger, "then I suggest you leave. Now."

"… Well, I wouldn't want to miss a show like this," said the man.

Blaze scoffed as she walked past the jerk and up to the counter. The board in question was a French violet color with two lines of blue bell color on the sides.

"This board sure has a lot of similarities to me," Blaze thought to herself as she picked it up.

"The Flame Lance."

Blaze shook her head and looked up at Star.

"Huh?"

"That's what I named it," Star explained, "The 'Flame Lance'."

Blaze looked down at the board.

"Flame Lance…." she said, "Hmm… I like it."

Star was a bit surprised before feeling a little proud. Blaze picked up the Extreme Gear and turned towards Silver.

"I think I'll use this in the Grand Prix, Silver," she told him.

The man was shocked.

"Are you serious!?" he asked.

Blaze gave him a deathly glare.

"Holy crap… you're actually serious, aren't you?" the man asked.

"More serious than your pathetic accusations," Blaze countered.

She turned back to Star.

"How much does this Gear cost?" she asked.

"Uh… are you sure this is the one you want?" Star asked nervously, "After what the man just-"

"I'm certain."

"… Okay. It costs 8,000 rings."

"Shouldn't be a problem."

"Of course not!" the man remarked, "A princess like yourself can buy anything! Must be shameful to buy such low-quality items. Sure shows in your dress."

Before Blaze could respond, Silver snapped.

"Oh, shut… UP!" he shouted as he used his psychokinesis to levitate the man off the ground.

"Huh? What!? What are you doing!?"

Silver didn't respond as he opened the door and carried the man outside.

"Where are we going!? Put me down this instant! Do you even know who I am!?"

Silver remained silent as he levitated himself off the ground and glided over one of the canals.

"Are listening to me, freak!? I said put me down! NOW!"

Silver stopped moving and turned to face the man.

"You want down?" he asked, "Okay, wish granted."

As soon as his sentence was finished, Silver released the man and watched him fall…

"AAAAAAAA-"

*SPLASH*

… right into the canal below. Satisfied, Silver dashed back to the store to pick up where he and Blaze left off. As he entered, he noticed everyone was staring at him.

(Music fades)

"What?" he asked.

The customers looked away and coughed.

"So naïve," Blaze sighed as she shook her head.

[ Soleanna Castle Town – Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

Silver joined Blaze, Aurelia, and Star at the counter.

"Did I overdo it?" he asked.

"Not at all," Aurelia replied with a small, yet creepy smile.

Sonic: She does have a creepy smile.

Me: Yeah, tell me about it.

Silver: How does she do it?

Silver turned to Blaze.

"You alright, Blaze?"

She looked away.

"I'm… fine, Silver. You didn't have to do that," she replied, "But, I appreciate it."

Silver blushed and looked away.

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure… no problem, Blaze."

Aurelia smirked as she analyzed the two Mobian's expressions and reactions.

"A-anyways, Blaze," Silver continued, "do you want to get your clothes here as well, since we're getting the board here already?"

Blaze nodded.

"That sounds like a wise decision," said Aurelia, "So, you must be Princess Blaze of the Sol Kingdom and Silver the Hedgehog, correct?"

The hedgehog and cat turned to Aurelia; Blaze a bit surprised since it's not commonly known that she's a princess and from another dimension.

"Yes, that is correct," she replied, "But, please, just call me 'Blaze'."

"Interesting," Aurelia said cryptically, "Siris has made quite an interesting group of friends."

"You know Siris?" Silver asked.

Aurelia nodded.

"I do, indeed. But that's not important right now," she said as she turned to Blaze, "I think I have the perfect outfit for you. Would you please follow me?"

"Uh, sure."

Silver watched as Aurelia took Blaze to another section of the small store. The other customers had already gone back to their business. Silver just stood there, waiting for a couple of minutes.

"You like her, don't you?" Star asked, breaking the silence.

Silver whipped his head around.

"Huh?"

"Blaze," Star clarified, "You like her a lot, don't you?"

Silver tilted his head back and moaned.

"Why does everyone care so much about my feelings for her?"

Star raised a brow.

"So you do like her."

Silver turned his still hanging head towards her.

"Yes," he said pathetically.

Star just smiled and shook her head.

"Maybe I should tell her," Silver thought to himself, "It may have been a mistake kissing her… wait, what am I saying!?"

"…"

"… was it a mistake? I mean… she didn't say she HATED it…"

"Silver?"

The hedgehog turned around; his eyes widened. Blaze was no longer wearing her usual lavender colored coat with the fuchsia rose hemline or her Pantone magenta high-heeled boots; instead, she was now wearing a Rebecca purple colored racer suit; which was slightly unzipped under her neck (eyes up, perverts) and had yellow strips on her elbows, knees, and chest; and a pair of deep cerise colored boots. She also replaced her gloves with a pair that looked exactly the same but had black cuffs around the wrists.

"How does this look?" Blaze asked shyly.

"You look amazing," Silver said absentmindedly, causing Blaze to blush.

Star glanced over to Aurelia, who mouthed 'clueless' to her; she rolled her eyes in agreement.

"Uh, th-thanks, Silver," Blaze said in embarrassment, "That… that means a lot to me."

Silver scratched the back of his head.

"Crap, why did I say that!?" the clueless Mobians thought.

Star slapped her hand against her forehead.

"So, uh…" said Silver, "Should we purchase these things now or…?"

"Yes, I'll, uh… I'll pay for them now."

While Blaze walked over to the counter to pay for the gear, Aurelia handed Silver a bag with some items in it. Silver raised a brow.

"Her other clothes," she answered.

"Ah, gotcha."

Blaze walked back over to Silver.

"Ready to leave, Blaze?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I think I'm ready to get back to the others."

Silver nodded and turned to Aurelia and Star.

"Uh… thanks for the stuff. And sorry about-"

"Oh, don't worry about him," said Aurelia, "What's done is done. Besides… I was worried I might have had to do something about him myself."

"Well, I'm glad he's out of the way," said Blaze, "I'm shocked there are people like him in this world."

Aurelia gave them a hefty, solemn sigh.

"Just one is too many."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well, thank you for the help," said Blaze.

Aurelia gave her a kind smile.

"Oh, think nothing of it, Blaze. And good luck in the Grand Prix, you two."

"Thanks," said Silver.

He turned to Blaze.

"Come on, let's get back to the others. The sooner we teach you the basics, the sooner you'll be ready."

Blaze nodded and they left the shop.

"Hmm."

Star turned to Aurelia.

"What's going through your mind?" she asked.

Aurelia chuckled.

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering how a close friend of mine got himself all these… interesting new friends."

(Music fades)

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

Siris' Home

[ Resident Evil Remake Save Room (Safe Haven) 1 Hour ] (Uploaded by OshiDood)

Siris was sitting at his desk in his home, working on his little side project while listening to some relaxing music (Yes, this one). Sylvie had completed her housework already and was sitting on the ground beside Siris, watching him work. It was 11 AM; usually Siris would be in the clinic, but his 10:00 appointment never showed up, which, surprisingly, was a first for Siris, as he never had an appointment not show up on time without prior notification that they would be running late. After half an hour of waiting, Siris' patience was running thin, so he went inside and continued on his device.

"I wonder if I should tell her," Siris thought to himself, "I'm not sure how she would react though…"

"Master?"

Siris looked over to Sylvie and slid his goggles down.

"Something on your mind, Sylvie?"

"What's the EX World Grand Prix?"

Siris smiled.

"It's a racing tournament that involves Extreme Gears," he explained as he looked back to his device, "Extreme Gears are specially designed boards, skates, and bikes that hover in the air. Some people like to use them just for means of transportation. Others, like Sonic and the Babylon Rogues, use them to race and compete in Grand Prixes."

"… Is it dangerous?"

"It can be dangerous. People have gotten injured in the races over the years, but I have yet to hear of any casualties. Most contestants tend to be Mobians."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why only Mobians?"

"I said 'tend to be Mobians', sometimes there are humans as well. But to answer your question, I think its mostly in part due to Mobians having a more vigorous body than humans; theirs tend to be more fragile in comparison. But there have been a number of human finalists in the Grand Prixes over the years."

"Hm…"

…

…

"Why have the Grand Prixes?"

"There are multiple reasons: money, fame, powerful new Gear."

"Dominance," Sylvie added timidly.

"… I suppose so, in some way, yes."

…

"Do you have any Extreme Gear?"

"… I… do."

…

Siris glanced over at Sylvie.

"I haven't ridden it in years, and I have no intentions of doing so at the moment."

"… Okay."

Siris slid his goggles back on and went back to work on his device.

"Where did I put that thing?" he muttered to himself.

A couple of minutes passed by and Siris noticed Sylvie had a look in her eyes, as though she was thinking about something.

"Something else on your mind?" he asked.

"…"

"Sylvie, you can tell me anything."

"… I've never gone out like that before."

"Hm?"

Siris turned back to Sylvie.

"Like what?"

"Out to someone else's home. And stay the night."

"Right… cause Charles just forgot to give you a LIFE."

"Did you enjoy your time at Nephy's place?"

Sylvie closed her eyes.

"I was… happy, I think."

Siris reached over and patted her on the head.

"Glad to hear that."

He wasn't sure, but Siris could have sworn he saw a brief smile across Sylvie's lips before she had a sad expression on her face.

"Why did Master take me in?"

Siris stopped patting her head but didn't remove his hand. Sylvie opened her eyes and looked into his eyes as he slid his goggles back down.

"Honestly, Sylvie… I wasn't thinking."

"Eh?"

"I was… angry when I first saw. The dirty dress, the scars on your arms, legs, and face…"

Siris sighed.

"Even the emotionless expression on your face."

Sylvie glanced away.

"After hearing what Fang had said about Charles and referring to you as an object, I was disturbed by how you were treated. At first, I wasn't sure what I gonna do."

Sylvie's ears lowered.

"But then, I saw your eyes, and they were begging for help."

Sylvie looked back at Siris.

"It was at that moment I decided that I would take you in and give you all the love and care that you need."

Sylvie blushed.

"Love?" she thought to herself.

"I… see," she replied, "I'm… grateful that Master took me in. But… the way I have been living here is also scary. Thank you for telling me."

"No worries, Sylvie."

Siris gave her a playful tap on the nose and went back to his device. He quickly glanced at his communicator.

"It's almost noon. What's taking him so long?"

"If my patient doesn't show up soon, I think I'll just go to the store and buy some stuff for dinner."

He turned to Sylvie.

"Anything in particular you want for dinner, Sylvie?"

"… I'll have whatever Master decides to make."

Siris smiled.

"I think I have an idea of what we can have."

(Music fades)

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

Unknown Location

[ Dark Ambient Hour Mix: Abandoned Genetic Research Facility ] (Uploaded by Iron Cthulhu Apocalypse)

"Still no sign of any researchers… damn it… got careless before."

…

"Hmm… strange… fresh oil."

*Tap*

*Tap*

*Tap*

…

"What's that sound?"

…

"Hm. It's gone now."

"*Sigh*"

"This is a waste of time. Time to change strategies. Maybe someone above ground has some answers."

…

"Better get going."

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

Lord's Base

"Keep a close eye on them, Neo. We can never be too careful when it comes to thieves."

"Understood, my lord."

"Keep me posted."

The Lord ended the transmission.

"Send Mephiles up to me, immediately," he ordered the computer.

"Affirmative."

Moments later, Mephiles appeared from the shadows.

"You called for me?"

"How's your training?"

"Useless waste of time. I am more than ready."

"I have no doubt that you are ready."

"Then why am I still here?"

The Lord gave his ally a soft chuckle.

"Patience, Mephiles, patience. You will get your chance soon enough. As long as Shadow cannot find you, he will slowly succumb to obsession."

Mephiles glared at the Lord.

"If you truly think that… then you might be a fool after all," he muttered.

"Perhaps. But as long as you stay out of the picture, then your new abilities remain in the dark to all the heroes."

"… I see."

"Continue your training."

Mephiles nodded and disappeared into the shadows. The Lord's eyes shift to one of the screens in front of him.

"Hmm… Send Mecha Sonic up to me at once."

"Understood, my Lord," the computer replied.

"… How much progress has the research division done on the data recovery?"

" Total progress made: 3%."

" Uggghh… better than nothing."

The sound of doors opening caught the Lord's attention; Mecha Sonic stood under the dim light.

"Ah, Mecha. I'm sure you are well aware of how disappointed I am in you for failing to take control over Chun-nan."

The robot's eyes averted from the Lord's for a brief moment.

"However, while I am still very upset with you, I feel that I must confess to you that I was expecting this result."

Mecha Sonic glanced back at the Lord.

"You see, in order to know your enemies, you must know what they are capable of; whether it's strength, intelligence, speed, firepower, numbers, the list goes on."

…

"But, now that I know why Chun-nan was a failure, I have been able to come up with another plan for our next potential target."

The Lord leaned forward.

"Which is brings me to why I have asked you here."

Mecha Sonic slightly turn its head, indicating uncertainty.

"I believe my plans to be nearly flawless… but recent events have proven otherwise. But, perhaps, with an additional mind, such as yourself…"

Mecha Sonic asked a series of questions in robotic noises.

"If it weren't for their blind lust for power and sheer destruction, I would ask Mephiles or Metal- sorry, Neo Metal Sonic for their input. Mephiles seeks total destruction of the universe; Neo wishes to finally defeat Sonic once and for all; but you? You are an enigma."

Mecha replied back.

"You see, you've been with me the longest. You've seen everything that has transpired over the years. They haven't."

…

"Would you care to help with your next attack?"

Mecha Sonic nodded and approached the Lord's thrown.

(Music fades)

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

Blue Moon Village

[ Gothic Music – Ravenville ] (Uploaded by Derek and Brandon Flechter) (Loop)

Siris was leaving the grocery store with all the ingredients he needed for tonight's dinner. It was a little past noon and the skies were clear.

"Hmm… it's been a while since the skies have been this clear," he said to himself.

Siris covered his mouth with a fist and yawned.

"Man, even being gone for just a couple of days, I still got jetlagged."

"Wait, you actually left town for something?" a voice nearby remarked.

Siris turned around and was greeted by a pleasant sight.

"Well, well, well. Might and Ray," he smirked as his two friends approached him, "What brings you two back to Blue Moon Village?"

Mighty and Ray gave him a friendly smile.

"Did you hear about Chun-nan?" Mighty asked.

Siris shook his head.

"I haven't. Why don't you guys walk with me and tell me what's been going on."

The two nodded and joined Siris' walk back to his place.

"You hear about the World Grand Prix?" Ray asked.

"I did!" Siris exclaimed, "Kinda surprised with the sudden event out of nowhere. But that's for another time; let's talk about Chun-nan. What happened."

Mighty sighed.

"Well…"

10 minutes later….

"And that's what happened," Ray concluded.

…

Siris took a deep breath as the three kept walking down the dirt road.

"So… let me get this straight; Chun-nan was attacked by Mecha Sonic and a bunch of SWAT-bots, Espio almost lost an eye, and now the Chaotix are taking a break from searching for the Emeralds and are heading back to Station Square to look for information, online and from contacts, for said Emeralds."

Mighty and Ray looked at each other for a moment.

"Yup," they said.

"And you guys are here… to continue from where we left off in terms of you guys visiting me."

"Yup."

Siris clicked his tongue.

"Okay. Sure. Let's roll with that, then."

…

"Um… why?" he asked with curiosity.

Mighty and Ray became a little nervous.

"Uh… well-"

"Wait, hold on," Siris interrupted, "Let me open the front door and put the groceries away."

"Huh?"

Mighty and Ray looked over and noticed they were standing in front of Siris' home.

"Want to come inside?" Siris asked, "I still have a couple of minutes before my 1:30 appointment shows up."

Mighty bit his lower lip as Siris walked towards the door.

"Well… the thing is…" he began.

"How did she get those scars?" Ray blurted out.

Siris stopped dead in his tracks.

"What did you just say?" he asked over his shoulder.

Ray took a step back.

"I, uh… nothing, nothing."

Siris turned and stared at his friend. Then he stared at Mighty.

"Let me guess," said Siris, "Knuckles?"

The two hesitantly nodded. Siris sighed.

"Well, that answers my question," he muttered.

Mighty and Ray began to feel a little guilty for not calling Siris before.

"Look, Siris," said the armadillo, "we didn't mean to-:

Siris chuckled.

"Oh, relax, guys. I understand why you are acting like this. I completely forgot that Sylvie's blue dress covered her arms, so no one noticed those scars when you all met her."

The two Mobian's eyes widened.

"Wait, she has more!?" they shouted.

Siris facepalmed.

"Why do I do this to myself?" he muttered before letting out a really heavy sigh, "Look, why don't we talk about this later over dinner?"

Mighty and Ray were dumbfounded and just stared at Siris.

"What?" he asked.

The two just slowly shook their heads.

"Are you guys gonna say something or what?"

…

Mighty shook his head to refocus himself.

"So… you didn't hurt… uh..."

"Sylvie," Siris told him.

"Right, Sylvie. You swear you didn't hurt her?"

"On my parents' graves," Siris replied.

Mighty and Ray looked at one another before looking back at Siris.

"Alright… fine," said Mighty, "We will consider your invitation, Siris. But…"

Mighty sighed.

"You've been acting much more different than we have known you to be," Ray finished, "We're worried about you, that's all."

Siris raised a brow.

"And… maybe a bit suspicious of your… past?" Ray added nervously.

Mighty nodded in agreement.

"… And?" Siris asked.

The two Mobians were a bit surprised.

"Uh… and that's all," said Mighty, "Aren't you…?"

"Mad? No, not really. Like I said, I'll explain… as much as I can over dinner."

Mighty turned to Ray, who just shrugged.

"What time?" Mighty asked as he turned back to Siris.

"Dinner should be ready around 6:30."

"Alright…" said Ray, "We'll be back at the hotel for now."

Siris nodded.

"Okay. See you guys later," he replied before disappearing into his home.

The two friends just stood there, wondering.

"Hey… Mighty?"

"Yeah?"

"I know we talked about this before, but…"

"I hate to say it, but I'm starting to think you may have been right."

*WHAM*

The two jumped as Siris slammed open the door and glared at them.

"You two had better not be judging me!" he warned, "Last thing I want is for you guys to feel guilty after I explain things."

With that, Siris closed the door. Mighty and Ray blinked a couple of times before they turned around and headed back towards the town.

"What was that all about?" Ray asked.

"Beats me," Mighty replied, "I'm actually surprised he didn't leave us without saying a word."

"Yeah… And he seemed… I dunno, calm?"

Mighty shrugged.

"Maybe he's finally getting around to tell us. Who knows?"

Ray scratched his cheek.

"Well, are we going?" he asked.

Mighty didn't respond for a brief moment.

"I think we should," he said, "I mean, it was our original plan days ago, you know."

"True. I suppose we should take Siris' advise and start hating him after he tells us what's been on his mind," Ray joked.

Mighty gave him a look before the two chuckled lightly.

"Wonder what he's making for dinner," Ray pondered, "Because when you think about it, we've never once had any of his cooking before."

Mighty slightly bobbed his head in agreement. As they continued walking, they noticed a familiar hedgehog approaching from the opposite direction.

"Ah, Mighty. Ray. What brings you two back here?" she asked.

"Hey, Nephy," Mighty said to the waitress, "We were just doing a little bit of catching up with Siris."

Ray nodded.

"Oh, is that so~?" Nephy asked, "And you two wouldn't happen to be asking questions about Sylvie, are you?"

Mighty and Ray had that "deer in the headlights" expression painted on their faces.

"I'll take your sudden shock and silence as a 'yes', then."

Mighty rubbed the back of his neck while Ray bit his lower lip.

"Relax, you two," said Nephy, "I'm sure Siris will tell you guys everything eventually."

Ray raised a brow.

"Did he tell you everything?" he asked.

"Pfft, of course not," Nephy remarked, "He's still hurtin', ya know?"

Mighty and Ray were intrigued.

"About what?" they asked.

Nephy's smile dropped.

"Wait, he never told you about what happened about two years ago?"

They shook their heads.

"Oops," Nephy muttered, "Uh, look, don't pry about that, okay? Siris doesn't like to ever talk about it, so… yeah, just be patient with him."

Mighty and Ray gave her a suspicious look.

"Trust me," she said firmly, "You don't want to push him away."

The two sighed and nodded.

"Alright, we won't," said Ray.

"We'll just wait for him to open up," said Mighty.

Nephy smiled.

"Thanks, guys," she said, "I have to get going; I didn't tell Siris earlier, but I made an appointment to see him and I should get going."

"Alright, see ya later, Nephy," said Mighty.

Ray waved goodbye and they went their separate ways.

"Mighty-"

"Not now, Ray," he interrupted, "Like I said, we'll wait for him to open up."

Ray sighed.

"Easier said than done, Mighty."

"… I know."

As Mighty, Ray, and Nephy continued their walks, no one noticed a strange red glow from the nearby shrubbery and a pair of eyes following Nephy.

"An excellent addition to my art collection…" said a dark voice.

(Music fades)

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

Soleanna Forest

[ Deep Woods – Sonic and the Black Knight Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

Evening night blanketed the lands. Two streaks, one red, the other pink, dashed through the dark forest on Extreme Gears.

"Come on, Knuckles!" Amy called out from behind, "I didn't know you sitting on your island for so long would make you so rusty!"

"Hmph," Knuckles muttered, "I wouldn't bet on that!"

Amy looked behind her and saw that Knuckles was catching up to her, and fast.

"Uh oh," she said softly.

She looked ahead and boosted forward.

"Darn," Amy thought to herself, "My air tank is almost out. If I don't think fast, Knuckles will almost be guaranteed to win."

She leaned to the left as she went around a wide the side of a very large tree. If she had the air to spare, she would have air slid around it.

"I hope Knuckles is running low on air as well," Amy said as she continued down the impromptu track she and Knuckles made.

*WHAM*

From the left side of the track, just a few meters away, Knuckles punched through a hollowed old tree and took the lead.

"Think again!" he called out.

"Hey!" Amy shouted, "That's cheating!"

Knuckles laughed.

"It's not cheating if it can be used as a shortcut in any other race!" he retorted.

Amy scoffed as she raced after the echidna. Meanwhile, about a mile away, Sonic, Silver, Rouge, and Blaze were waiting alongside a finish line that was drawn in the dirt. Rouge's ears twitched.

"I hear them coming," she said.

On cue, Knuckles appears from around a bend and dashed for the finish. Seconds later, Amy appeared, but not going as fast. As Knuckles passed over the finish, he leaned over, grabbed his Gear, and hopped off; skidding across the ground a short distance.

"Heh," he smirked as he turned to the others, "How fast was that?"

Sonic looked down at this communicator.

"About 4 minutes, 11 seconds," he replied.

Knuckles nodded and turned back at Amy, who passed over the finish line seconds later.

"Time?" she asked as she hopped off her Gear.

"4 minutes 25 seconds."

"Awww…" Amy pouted.

Sonic chuckled as he ran up to his girlfriend's side.

"Hey, cheer up, Amy," he told her, "You still did well."

Amy smiled but still shook her head.

"I keep using my air tanks too often," she remarked, "I would be a lot easier if we had some way to refill our tanks."

Knuckles walked over to them.

"Yeah, I'm with you," he said, "As much as these practice races we have against each other help, it's a whole different game in the Grand Prix."

Sonic nodded before turning to Silver and Blaze.

"How's the basic training going?" he asked.

Silver held his hands up and shook his head in disbelief.

"She's a natural," he chuckled.

Blaze glanced away.

"Stop it, Silver," she told him, "I'm sure it was just beginner's luck."

"Oh, please," Rouge smirked, "there's no such thing. If you're as good as Silver says you are, then you are definitely ready for the Grand Prix."

Blaze sighed.

"Blaze," said Amy, "there's no need to be so modest. You should be glad of how well you've done so far."

Blaze turned to Amy; they weren't being kind just to make Blaze feel better; their words rang true. Once she and Silver got back to where Sonic and the others had set up camp, she and Silver immediately got started on helping her learn the basics of riding Extreme Gear. After 15 minutes of falling off her board, Blaze finally managed to stay aboard without losing her balance. 10 minutes later, she was going circles around Silver as they rode through the forest at a leisurely pace.

She gave the pink hedgehog a smile.

"Thanks," said Blaze.

Everyone nodded and gave her their own ways of positive gestures.

*SHOOM*

Out of nowhere, a dark blur on an Extreme Gear blew between the group, almost crashing into to them.

"Hey!" Sonic yelled, "What where ya goin'!"

The rider glanced back at Sonic; glaring with red eyes before disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

"Huh!?" Sonic exclaimed with surprise.

Everyone else looked around with concern.

"Everyone okay?" Silver asked.

Everyone acknowledged Silver that they were fine, except for Sonic. Amy turned to him.

"Sonic?"

He turned to face her.

"I'm fine, Amy."

He looked back in the direction the rider disappeared to. Amy was intrigued.

"Sonic? Do you know who that was?"

Sonic walked forward a couple of steps before stopping. He kept staring into the forest.

"Not to sound paranoid… but I'm now starting to think Siris was right."

"Huh?" everyone responded.

The hedgehog turned around and faced his friends.

"This Grand Prix might be more than it all seems."

The gang gave each other a questioning glance.

"Why's that, Sonic?" Rouge asked.

Sonic sighed.

"I think… I think that rider was Metal."

(Music fades)

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

Me: Huzzah! Another chapter completed!

Sonic: Took ya long enough. You could have finished this a week ago!

Me: Yeah… but then things happened.

Silver: Like what!?

Me: Imagination overload.

Sonic and Silver: *WTF looks*

Me: Well, 'nough of that. Hope you guys liked this chapter! See you next time!

*Sincere A/N*

Like I said last chapter, I AM SWAMPED because of college. Now that I actually have started taking the classes… it's actually a LOT worse than I was hoping.

So, here's the situation: I have basically only ONE day available each week to even possibly cram in time to write this fanfic. I don't like that. One day a week, for about two or three hours at most, if I'm lucky? Know what that means? Shit writing.

What I'm gonna do: I'm not abandoning this story, but I'm definitely not gonna be able to write the next chapter as I had originally planned; I'll be able to write it in parts, which is fine, since it will mainly focus on the Grand Prix for about 95% of the chapter. Even still, it will take a lot of time for me to actually write it all out. So, to ensure that I don't lose my motivation to keep writing, I'm gonna do something completely insane and distracting.

I'm going to write ANOTHER fanfic story.

…

…

…

Yeah, I'm a complete dumbass. I, honestly, promised myself that I would NOT do that, EVER; never write two fanfics at once.

But, here's the thing; it's NOT a Sonic fanfic. I won't spoil anything yet, but I will say this: it won't be a super long story, maybe 100k words max, and the chapters will be much shorter compared to this story.

So, the new story: it's only in the early stages of what the main story will entail. I already have an overall idea of how it will play out, but I need time to do some research. You'll figure out what I mean in April. So, first week of April, I will post a Prologue/Sneak Peek of my new fanfic. However, that story will be updated less frequently than SA:D&R. Sonic Adventure will still be my main focus, but I've been reading some other fanfics lately and my brain has been going nuts with ideas. If people don't like the new story, that's fine, I'll save it for AFTER this one. If people do, I'll update it once in a while.

Now, why am I writing another fanfic that's not Sonic related? Because FFN is evil, but in a good way. I had a new FFN craving and I was quite impressed with the stories written that I wanted to write one myself.

If, IF, by some Satanic reason I choose to put this story on Hiatus, it will only be TEMPORARY. If that happens, I will occasionally go back and edit the chapters so far in this story and update the story description with the last revision date.

But, there's some REALLY good news out of this. Since I have less time actually writing the story, I can spend a lot of time between classes structuring out the story in my notes. As of now, I have the next chapter completely set up and ready for writing, I have about 6 scenes for future chapters already written (I'm talking late into the story), and about 5 chapters worth of possible story material I'll be using. So don't you worry, I've got plenty of ideas already on standby.

So, apologies for this update, I'm sure many of you (and by that, I mean the 5 people following *rolls eyes*) are slightly disappointed. I will try my best to write as much as possible. And don't tell me to write shorter chapters, not gonna happen for this story.

*Update 2/17/19* - Rememer when I said I was swamped because of college? I had overestimated how much time I would have for anything. I HAVE NO TIME AT ALL FOR ANYTHING. However, I WILL upload only one chapter for my new fanfic in April, but don't expect anything for this story until then. Unfortunately, it will only be a teaser chapter of what will happen. Look, I'm on the very verge of slitting my wrists over this semester, don't judge me. Be glad I'll do something for spring break. So, for now, this game is on semi-hiatus, but I'm still writing ideas for both this and my new fanfic. Based on how much I managed to write last semester, I would assume that by the end of summer, I'll be either done or 75% done with this story. It's not gonna be abandoned, no way. Sorry for this lack luster "update".

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter; again, many apologies; I just hope you guys can be patient for future chapters and thank you for understanding. I hope that I will find a lot of time to write more!

Please leave a Review, Follow, and Favorite! And... I'll see you guys later!

~ThePhantomHedgehog