Welcome one and all to the reunion arc. Now I'm sure that it's pretty self-explanatory what it is but lemme give a little bit of a rundown as to what is going to happen.
Trials of War has had two main storylines running alongside one another. On one side we have the Modern arc with Modern Sonic, the Resistance and our darling girl Celeste. On the other side, we've got the whole thing with Classic Quartet with Tails, Blaze, Omega and Classic Sonic. Fun times have been had by all as they work on fighting the empire and also figuring a lot out about themselves.
As we approach the reunion, these two main storylines become one and this arc is all about that. After all this time, Sonic is going to meet up with Tails and his younger self. It's not going to be this chapter or even the next one, but everything from this point on is building towards a reunion between the two as well as some other stuff which you'll slowly see over time.
A lot of you have been waiting for years even for this and honestly, I'm so hyped to write this arc. So I say let's cut the chatter and begin.

Trials of War: A Sonic Forces Rewrite
Chapter 26-
A Step Towards the Future

Commander Abraham Tower had dealt with a lot of things in his life. He dealt with the loss of what was more or less his sister, he joined and eventually became the leader of the world's leading military organization, he somewhat successfully warded off an alien invasion and worked on his own obsession with misplaced justice. He had done it all.

But the war against the Eggman Empire was something that brought about unpredictable circumstances almost every day. Right now, he was dealing with some of those circumstances.

He and several other officers of GUN stood in the bunker eyeing footage of what was going on outside with varying degrees of concern and fear. A lone Eggman Empire aircraft was entering the city without any prior indication of the sort. It wasn't a part of the usual aerial patrols that they had recorded nor had they done anything that would cause Eggman or any of his generals to pay them a visit since Sonic and Tails had passed through. So to say that this wasn't alarming for them was an understatement.

"What are you planning, Eggman…?" Tower wondered aloud as he looked on at the screen.

The aircraft landed what was literally right in front of one of the many entrances to the underground lair.

It was strange to say the least. Eggman could only hold so many troops in a single vehicle and he doubted that any of his generals would be travelling by air. He knew that Shadow especially preferred to just warp himself, so it was somewhat unlikely that any of them were coming here to end them.

But a whole hoard of badniks could be on board as well… It was tough to tell.

They all waited with baited breath, watching with anticipation for what may happen next as the aircraft touched down on the ground.

The hatch opened and out appeared Lieutenant Topaz who had a pistol in hand which she carefully placed on the ground to show, before she raised her hands up to show she came in peace.

Commander Tower's eyes widened in shock at this. Before anyone could even react or ask him what they should do, he was already up and on his feet, running out the door to meet with the Lieutenant.

When he threw open the hatch door, Topaz's own eyes widened in shock at the sight of him.

"Command-"

But she didn't even have time to finish as the man had wrapped her in a tight hug. "Thank Chaos, you're alive! I thought after the raid on HQ that you and the others that had been taken were…"

He trailed off, not wanting to think about it.

The woman returned the embrace and smiled. "You thought that your lieutenant would fall to the likes of Eggman?"

"Of course not. You're far too strong for that."

The two broke their embrace and smiled at one another again, just so happy to be reunited.

At that moment refugees of both the Death Egg and Station Square began to pour out of both the ship and the underground facility respectively.

Many of the GUN Soldiers that had stepped out of both places were shocked to see either Commander Tower or Lieutenant Topaz there and immediately stood at attention, giving curt salutes to their superiors.

"Commander Tower, sir!"

"Lieutenant Topaz, sir!"

"At ease, troops." They both said in unison.

Immediately all the GUN soldiers were relaxed and went to greet their fellow brothers in arms after so much time apart.

Topaz and Tower couldn't help but look at these reunions with warm smiles.

"Remarkable, is it not?" A voice came to them.

The two looked to see none other than Professor Pickle as he came sauntering over to them, wide grin on his face at the sight of it all.

"Despite all the hardships of these times of war, it is through our resolve that we are able to reunite with our loved ones. It is that love that brings us strength in order to carry on and fight another day towards our freedom."

Tower and Topaz shared a knowing smile at that before Commander Tower addressed the man.

"Professor Pickle, it truly is an honor to see you. It greatly pleases me to know that you are alive and well in these trying times."

"Why, thank you, Commander. I must say, seeing your lot operate out from the underground of Station Square is quite a surprise. Though, I suppose with underground bases all over the world one must work with what they have."

Commander Tower looked surprised at this. "D-did you tell him about the-?"

"Not at all…"

Both looked down at the Professor who didn't seem all that bothered by their accusatory glares.

"Professor, how did you come into contact with such classified information?" Topaz inquired.

"Oh, that? One day, I had accidentally taken the wrong turn trying to get into the marketplace back home and accidentally ended up in the sewers! Quite an adventure I had that day, think I may have run into a lingering Gaia creature. You can imagine how that went and would it come to my surprise to find a base belonging to GUN down there? Now I thought to myself, what would GUN be doing in Spagonia and it was then that I had come to incur that there was not just a base in Spagonia but one in other hotspots around the globe too. Quite curious, is it not?"

Both were astonished by the Professor's words.

"H-how long have you known?!" Tower stammered.

"Several years, why?"

The two didn't have any words for this as the Professor just carried on as if nothing had happened. "Now then, as we continue to reunite it is quite clear to me that we discuss what we are to do now that we've dropped off all of our occupants."

"All of them?" Commander Tower questioned.

"Ah yes, you were not there for the stunning rescue from Sonic and Tails out on the Death Egg. Quite a show of skill was display from the daring duo, got all of us out of quite the pinch."

"Sonic and Tails?" Commander Tower questioned. "Was Sonic a little…"

"Little when we saw him?" Topaz finished. "Yes, we noticed that too. How did you know though?"

"He passed through Station Square some time ago with Tails and a busted Omega. They took him to the Mystic Jungle for repairs and that was the last we'd heard of them."

"Omega seemed fine on the Death Egg. I suppose that would have been where they decided to go after repairing him."

"And now?"

"Shot down during the escape on the Death Egg, who knows where they ended up?" Topaz shrugged.

"Some sort of temporal anomaly has brought us a Sonic from the past." Commander Tower incurred. "This war gets more and more interesting by the day…"

"Ah but it makes things even more exciting does it not?" Professor Pickle chimed in. "Not only do we have one Sonic to save the day but another to clean things up even faster! I would say that we are in for a jolly good show."

"Perhaps…" Commander Tower frowned. "But it would be better to be on the frontlines and help defend the world."

Topaz nodded at this. "Agreed. I've been imprisoned and you have been stranded here, holding a front in Station Square. It's clear that GUN needs to return to the battlefield."

"Unfortunately, GUN as it stands does not have the materials or manpower to get back into the game. With the destruction of our headquarters, Eggman was able to snuff us out. We can only hope that others were able to get to their posts in other cities around the world, but for all we know, the Station Square division is all that remains of GUN."

"Why should that be an issue?" Professor Pickle asked. "GUN may be down but that does not mean that there is no place for you to stand and fight with?"

The two looked at him confusedly.

"The Resistance has been leading the way for the Eggman Empire Army since the very beginning of this war and with Sonic's return the world has already started to become a better place. As a protector of this planet, I think that the answer is obvious. You must join their ranks and take the fight to Eggman!"

"Affiliation with the resistance may be…" Commander Tower struggled to find the right word.

"Complicated." Topaz finished.

But the Professor just raised an eyebrow at this. "Political ramifications of the Commander of GUN deciding to side with the Sonic Heroes? As it stands, the world has come to a state where we are not members of different parties or nations or races. We are all a people that must stand united against the monsters that wish to take our freedom! The path for all of us is clear, we must find the Resistance at once!"

Topaz and Tower looked at one another before looking down at the shorter man and let out proud smiles.

"You're absolutely right, Professor." Commander Tower announced. "We need to gather up the troops both from here and Station Square and move out."

"Some will have to stay behind and defend this post." Topaz added.

"Not to worry, that will be taken care of." Commander Tower smirked. "For now, we need to set off."

Topaz and Pickle nodded, getting right to work.

~Trials of War~

"Alright, Sonic. It looks like you're back to full health." Vanilla explained as she looked down at the hedgehog who was doing stretches across from her in the medical bay.

"Ah, that's great to hear, doc." Sonic grinned as he gave her a thumbs up. "I knew I could count on you to nurse me back to health."

"Flattering, but we all know that your enhanced healing was able to do most of the work." Vanilla replied. "After giving you a few pain killers and bandages, all I really had to do was sit back and watch for a few days."

Sonic chuckled. "Well, still I do appreciate the company. You're a great host."

Vanilla couldn't help but smile. "The pleasure is all mine. But I hope not to see you back here too often."

Sonic grinned as he walked out the door and gave her a wave. "Wouldn't dream of it!"

Vanilla shook her head at this and returned to her other patients.

Sonic jogged through the resistance base, passing by all sorts of members of the resistance as they went about their days. At the sight of their hero looking alive and well people couldn't help but let out whoops and cheers as he ran past.

Sonic couldn't help but feel a warmth in his chest at this causing him to pick up the pace a little before breaking out into a full on sprint, truly becoming the blue blur that they knew and loved.

It wasn't long before he arrived in the usual debriefing room only to find it completely dark.

Sonic looked around confusedly at this. Knuckles and Amy were nowhere to be found and all seemed to be quiet.

Suddenly, the lights sprung to life around him, causing him to quickly cover his eyes to shield from the sudden brightness.

"Happy birthday, Sonic!" Voices chanted.

Sonic opened his eyes to see that the debriefing room had been completely redecorated. While the touch screen table and map were still in the center of the room and the wall respectively, streamers and balloons could be seen all over the room, the number "18" could be seen all over too. All of his friends, Knuckles, Amy, the Chaotix, Cream, Vanilla, Mighty, Ray, the Betas, Celeste and others were all decked out in party hats and were wearing great big grins as they came to give him their birthday wishes.

Sonic's eyes were completely widened in shock at this as he had completely forgotten which day it was. But true to their words, the holographic screen proudly displayed the date June 23rd making him realize that it was in fact his birthday.

Shock turned to smiles though as he embraced his friends. "Guys, you shouldn't have!"

Amy shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course we had to celebrate your birthday!"

Celeste nodded. "You've done so much for the resistance and for the world, it's really the least we can do for you."

"Plus, we made cake!" Big added. "And any day is a good day for cake, Sonic!"

Sonic couldn't help but shrug. "You got that right, man. Alright, let's have a party!"

Everybody cheered and with that, the festivities had kicked off. Everyone laughed and smiled and wished the hedgehog a great day, there was food, drink, dancing and all sorts of fun for the hedgehog.

It was a good time and truly made Sonic appreciate the people around him and how much he had missed them during his months in prison, whether it be his old friends like Amy and Knuckles or the new ones that he had come to know and love over the course of the war like Celeste, Tangle and the Betas. They were all his family and it really made him appreciate them all.

Unfortunately though, it was the thought of family and the people he loved that made him realize that there was someone missing from this picture and that of course was his little brother, Tails. Ever since the war had started, he was nowhere to be found. All this time he had been back and there was still no sign of the fox.

Tails had been absent from his life for so long that even he couldn't help but wonder if the kid was still around anymore? The kid who had been through so much and had been right by his side since the day they met, no matter scared he might've been. He couldn't imagine him just being gone, but at the same time… Where could he be? It had been months since his release and the world knew he was back, so Tails should've known too, right?

In the years that they'd known each other, this was the first birthday that the two of them weren't together. Even after they had gone their separate ways in life over the years, Sonic and Tails always made sure to spend each other's birthdays together, no matter what was going on. And now… to not see him today…

He couldn't really imagine it. He hoped that his little buddy was okay.

But Sonic continued to smile and laugh with the others, trying to tuck the thoughts of his brother into the back of his head so that he could enjoy himself.

Eventually, the morning festivities did end and that gave way to the afternoon.

"Alright everybody, it's been fun. But I think it's time to get to work." Amy announced to which most of the members of the resistance had nodded and returned to their posts save for the usual group that hung around the mission room.

Knuckles took the group in and smiled. "So… Amy and I have been talking about what sort of mission to do today, and with it being Sonic's birthday and all, we figured that now would be a better time than any."

"A better time than any for what?" Charmy asked.

Amy went to the computer on the desk and the giant screen flared to life revealing none other than Green Hill Zone, or at least, what remained of it. It was nine months ago, he had last ran there and into Sunset Heights for his first encounter with Infinite and not much had changed. The once thriving land with lush greenery and flowing rivers and waterfalls was now nothing but a desolate wasteland with faded checkerboard patterned rock and striped white grass. Massive pyramids could be seen throughout the land as well.

"I think it's time to save Green Hill Zone." Knuckles announced.

Sonic couldn't help but beam at that. "We're gonna put Green Hill back to normal?"

"That's right!" Amy announced. "Green Hill Zone was one of the first areas that Eggman ruined back at the beginning of the war before you had been captured, Sonic."

Vector sighed. "We fought a pretty messy battle with those Death Egg Robots. Still can't believe we got out in one piece."

Silver sighed. "You're telling me. I didn't see you have to hold one of those things back from heading to the city."

"Maybe, but me and the boys were still roughin' it up with all those Eggpongs on the ground. Team Chaotix really let 'em have it!" He patted both Charmy and Espio on the back, with a proud smile stretched across his face. Charmy couldn't help but beam at this while Espio crossed his arms and smirked.

Silver simply saw this and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Guys, focus." Knuckles growled to which both turned their full attention back to the screen after some quick apologies.

Amy cleared her throat and began. "As we all are well aware, Green Hill Zone is on an island off the coast of the United Federation. It's known for its lush green hills, tropical weather and of course being the location of the first recorded sighting of Sonic. Naturally, this was why Eggman chose it to be the first place that he conquered while experimenting with his new power."

Knuckles continued. "Green Hill Zone was turned into a desert wasteland, the rivers and sea that are normally flowing through it have been completely dried up and in its place, Eggman has set up multiple pyramids across the lands that have doubled as both bases of operation for the doctor and weapons factories for him to make his armies."

Amy pressed a few buttons on the computer and now, the largest of the pyramids was onscreen with random notes about it, most notably that there was an entrance from the top.

Knuckles took the group in before his eyes landed on the Blue Blur himself. "Sonic, I need you to infiltrate the central pyramid to take out the weapon's facility with a set of explosives we'll provide you with. Make your way to the very center and then get ready to blow the place sky high."

Sonic smirked. "Blowing up a bunch of Eggman's weapons and getting rid of that eye sore? You really went all out on your birthday gift, didn't you, Knux?"

Knuckles laughed. "You bet, Sonic."

"It's the least we can do and the good thing about this mission is that you won't be going it alone." Amy added. "This part of the mission is in two parts. While you will be going to drop the explosives in the base, Celeste will be the one to head to Eggman's laboratory within the pyramid base to gather information."

"Me?" She looked confusedly.

Sonic grinned and slung a hand around her shoulder. "Sure! You're an ordinary member of the team at this point and we've been working so well together. The two of us will be able to handle this no problem."

Celeste smiled at this and nodded. "Okay!"

Knuckles then produced a flash drive and handed it to the young girl. "You'll just need to plug this into the central computer, it'll start cloning and dumping all the contents of his system into it and then we can finally get some good information."

"I won't let you down, Commander!" She saluted as she took the flash and stood with the birthday boy.

"Okay, if Sonic and Celeste are gonna play Indiana Jones, then what are the rest of us doing?" Corvin asked.

Amy took the moment to change the images on the screen and everyone was surprised to see some sort of underground cavern with dark checkerboard rock. The floor was not made of the same rock but was metal plating instead and the walls were lined with pipes of varying shapes and sizes.

Knuckles put his hands behind his back and addressed the group. "Underneath Green Hill Zone is a network of caverns that the rest of you will be exploring."

"Oh fun, a cavestory." Charmy commented.

Fierro raised an eyebrow. "Okay, but what are we doing down there?"

"Glad you asked, Fierro. Because you, Rouge and Silver will be on point to lead this mission." Knuckles announced before gesturing back to the screen. "I don't know if you can see it on the screen, the rock walls are a lot darker than the ones above ground, meaning that…"

"Oh! I know! I know!" Big shouted causing everyone to look in his direction.

Some of the members of the resistance sighed at this expecting something ridiculous.

"When a lot of the rocks are darker than the others that means that there's water nearby!"

Some of the resistance members were actually surprised at this.

"I- y-yeah. How did you know that, Big?" Knuckles asked.

"When you're out looking for a new fishing spot, you always follow the water. If there's no water nearby then you look for things that are wet or where animals are goin' so that you can find the fish. Froggy and I do that all the time!"

"Huh, well the more you know." Sonic smirked, giving his friend a light pat on the back to which he smiled.

"But yeah, water is definitely down in those caverns and if you see all those pipes, it's definitely leading down to water, somewhere underground."

Amy pulled up some statistics that appeared on screen. "We talked it out with our scientists and they say there's a pretty good chance that along with Green Hills' natural water reserves underground, Eggman is likely to be storing all the water in Green Hill Zone in some sort of machine down there."

"And if we can find the water, we can find a way to bring it up to the surface and put Green Hill Zone back to normal!" Knuckles announced.

Everybody cheered at this, but to the shock of most it was Tangle that actually didn't look too amused.

"Lemme get this straight…" She put her fingers to her temples and tried to recount everything. "You want us to go to a damp, cramped tunnel in the ground, hope that somehow we're able to find wherever Eggman is keeping this water, bust some stuff up and hope to Chaos that we don't get flooded out by the tide all while Sonic and Celeste go inside some sort of creepy pyramid base, likely to be filled to the brim with death traps, steal information from Eggman and blow the place sky high?"

"Uh… when you put it that way, yes." Knuckles shrugged.

Tangle bemused face turned into a smile. "Man, I love you guys! Let's do it to it!"

Knuckles grinned. "Alright, you have your assignments. Next stop, Green Hill Zone!"

The resistance cheered and got to work, headed off to their destination.

And with that, I think we'll call it a night. Man, first time I'm actually hitting a chapter within my month period, who would've thought? Granted it's a little shorter than usual but I'll take this as a win.
When was the last time a chapter of this story was only 4K? Been a while.
But no, originally the chapter was gonna include the mission to Arsenal Pyramid and all but I felt right ending it here both because of how long I'm planning for that to be and all of that so that'll be next chapter.
Not much else to say here but this is the start of what's gonna be one of, if not my favorite arcs in the story.
So with that said, let's get to review replies.

TGN:
Tails' arc in this story is really meant to be a commentary on his entire character, especially with how he's gotten pushed to the sidelines in Sonic's adventures over the years. He has to get weak before he can get strong, y'know?
As I said, this was always why I meant to keep Classic Sonic instead of not use him. Classic Sonic and Tails getting a little more and more frustrated with one another over time and finally coming to this conclusion was super important.
I know I made you suffer with Tails, but there was a method to my madness, as you could see. And he's not done yet! Tails is gonna go through a lot but I'm excited to take him there. It's not over for him.
SpiderDom is a gift and it was great to work with him here.
Thanks for the continued support, man!

Guest 1:
Blaze has been through a lot too and with the little bit of timeskip, she's come very far. I'm happy to see that you enjoyed the quartet and the culmination of this arc.

TheLostEternity:
I just love the Classic Quartet so much and it makes me happy to finally have them together to be writing them as a group. Blaze really rounds it out as group mom with these rowdy boys all together. ^_^
You think you can kill Omega? Hahaha. He will never die. Ever. Infinite got close, but it doesn't matter. Haha.
Tails needed a stern talking to.
Professor Pickle ended up being the surprise character that I just really enjoyed writing. I didn't really initially have any plans for him, but now he's easily become a favorite.
I'm glad you enjoyed his speech and that it inspired you too. That means a lot to me.
You're in for a treat with this arc. Can't wait to show you all what's in store.

Guest 2:
Sometimes you need tough love.
After everything, Tails certainly did.

Numberjacksoctonauts:
Hey, it's good to see you have an account!
And oh yes, it's all coming together now. Happy tears are soon to come with these reunions and I just can't wait.
Thanks for the continued support! I look forward to more of your thoughts.

Guest 3:
Eggpongs are basically the Forces Egg Pongs. Long story short, I'm an idiot who heard them called that once during Forces' development and kept the name. I did want an in universe explanation for it, but just never got around to it.

CVGWJames:
Probably not. It's not on my list of things to do. But I guess, never say never.

TheSensationalSpiderDom321:
Dude, you're amazing. Thanks again for the help.
Hearing I did as well as I did on the Deadly Six coming from you means a lot, as I still think you're one of the best when it comes to their characters.

SilverNova:
Sonic X absolutely did inspire me to include Topaz and I'm super glad to have her in this story.
Tails was not corrupted by the Ruby though. Sometimes life just sucks and grief hits hard.
As for Elise, yeah. She's meant to be divisive and isn't perfect because of that.
Longbois are the name the fandom gave to those giant Infinite snake things that appear in the Capital City level.

tekina fiction, SonicDash, merendinoemiliano, DareDreamer:
Thanks so much!

That's all. See you all hopefully in October for Arsenal Pyramid and some other goodies.