Cyber Riders

by MadeInNowhere

A new Sonic story set in the far future which features our heroes as cops at Green Hill Police Department. In this world, a majority of the population have cybernetic implants to give them unique abilities. So what happens when Sonic and his friends are forced to follow suit if they want to keep up with the rest of the world? Read and review. Please, no flames.

31. Good Help Can Be Hard To Find

Shade took a breath as she reached her kickboxing school, looking to her phone quickly before she left the taxi that dropped her off. "Thanks!" she said, hurriedly throwing some money to him.

"You take care now!" the driver said as he took off.

Shade waved and shook her head at her phone, sending a quick text. "Knuckles, I miss you, and I won't be home until late. My job kept me back for a little bit to cover someone else's shift, and now I'll have to train late at my school to make up for it. Sorry. I love you."

She hit send and looked up at the building of her kickboxing class. It was actually a full MMA-style gym, but she herself enjoyed kickboxing the most. She had dabbled in other arts, and was considering adding a grappling style as well, but she was fine where she was.

The building itself was a marvel of stone and brick, painted over and covered up well enough in various shades of grey. The building's title read Green Hill Titan Gym in large red letters, and there was a graphic of two fists bumping each other in the background of it.

Shade took a breath and walked into the building proper, thankful that she had her uniform with her, and even more thankful that her retail job allowed her to wear casual clothes. She saw her mentor and the other students - a mixture of Mobians and humans - all training with each other in sparring sessions, with one side attacking and the other using protective pads.

Shade's teacher spotted her, and waved her over. "Shade!" he called out. He was a human being who stood a solid 6'4, and his muscled frame was covered by the gi that he wore, which was all black with the exception of a red belt around the waist. He was in his early forties, and his naturally black hair was slightly greying, couple with a short beard suffering a similar fate. Lastly were a pair of dark eyes, which were surprisingly kind despite their colour.

"Sorry I'm late, sensei," Shade said.

"Please, just call me Thompson," he smiled.

"The formality is a force of habit by this point," Shade shrugged.

Thompson chuckled. "So, what happened?"

"I got held back at work to cover another person's shift," Shade answered. "Luckily, my boss was nice enough to pay me a bit extra for the overtime."

"Well, you'll have to put that work ethic to good use," Thompson said. "You know the drill."

Shade sighed. "I'm sorry. But I know that there's no point in making excuses."

Thompson nodded. "How's Knuckles and the others?"

"They're doing well," Shade said. "They had a pretty good showing last night."

"Oh yeah, I heard something about that," the sensei chuckled. "One of the other students here gushed about it."

"It's nice to know that they're reaching people like that," Shade smiled.

"Indeed it is," Thompson agreed. "Anyway, go and get dressed. Lessons will be the usual fare for you, but doubled to make up for lost time."

Shade nodded. She gave another thank you to her sensei, then headed over to the girls' locker room. As she went there, she looked over the building's interior, smiling at what it had, from pads to heavy bags to all sorts of other gym equipment. Besides Thompson, there were various other teachers and coaches around, also red belts. Judo, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, boxing, karate... all kinds of other martial arts were being taught, and taught well.

She reached the locker room and opened up her locker to put her clothes into it, those being a black button up t-shirt over a metal inspired purple tank top, along with dark blue jeans and black sneakers. She put those away into her locker and started to get changed into her gi. Whereas their teacher's gis were often black with a red belt, which went for all martial arts teachers, the students' ones were typically white with black stripe going up the sides and circling the bottoms of the trousers and the sleeves of the shirt, with another stripe of black along the hem of the top.

Shade slipped into the uniform, adding the black shoes and gloves that was typical of a kickboxing uniform, and finally added her green belt around her waist. Instead of going back out there, she remained put, throwing some punches into thin are, getting a quick warm-up in.

Soon, she heard Thompson call her name from outside. "Shade!" he yelled.

"I'm coming!" the orange echidna replied. She left through the door and saw some of the students sparring, but others were waiting their turn.

"All right, Shade," Thompson said. "You're in there with Garrett."

Shade turned to the Mobian in question, seeing a salamander with greyish scales and black eyes, who nodded cordially to Shade. "Good to see that you finally showed up."

"Sorry," Shade said. "I was busy working at my real job which pays me actual money."

"Take it easy on the college kid here," Thompson chuckled.

Shade smiled and shared a fist bump with Garrett. "How's the other half?"

"Eh, he's good," Garrett smiled. "How about your hunk?"

"You already have a hunk of your own," Shade playfully reminded.

"Humour me."

"He's doing fine," Shade smiled. "Still with me, so that's a good sign. And I saw the news this morning."

"I'm starting to think that we all did," Garrett chortled. "He and the others did some awesome stuff last night."

"They always do," Shade chuckled. "So, which ring should we go to?"

"How about the only one that's not occupied?" Garrett asked.

Shade turned to see several combat rings, all of which were taken up... except for one, where both students had shaken hands after a sparring bout. They both left it, spotting Shade and stepping aside to let her use the ring that they had just finished using.

"There's a free one," Shade said.

"How kind of them to keep the door open for us," Garrett chuckled as he and Shade went to said ring. "So, how do you want to do this?"

"You don't mind wearing pads, do you?" Shade said. "I really need to practise on my spinning back kicks to the body."

Garrett nodded. "You are a lot more used to going high with your shots, so I see your point."

They both reached the ring, entering thanks to the former participants holding the ropes open. Shade got set up in one corner, keeping herself warmed up with some air striking as Garrett got the pads ready, strapping a large one around his body, and attaching smaller ones to his legs before adding the hitting pads to his hands.

"No headgear?" Shade asked.

"You won't be going high all that often," Garrett said. "Besides, the pads can take your shots, as powerful as they are. I don't have to worry too much."

"Just remember to hold the pads up," Shade said.

Garrett nodded, stepping back and holding the pads out. Instead of going straight for the move that Shade wanted to practise, they decided to get some basic boxing combos in first, with Shade landing good mixtures of her shots. Garrett swiped the pads back over so that she could evade and strike them with uppercuts.

"There we go," Garrett said. "Just remember to see the bigger stuff up with the smaller shots, okay? Couple of jabs, then a straight, then counter hook."

Shade complied, throwing the two jabs first before throwing a straight right. Garrett swiped the pad back over, and the orange echidna ducked. When the pad came back around, she struck it with a vicious hook.

Garrett then held the remaining boxing pad up and faced the front of it down, and Shade nodded. She started the combo again, but this time, instead of a hook, she threw an uppercut, causing Garrett to applaud her.

"Good work there!" the salamander smiled. "All right... kicking time now. Start with some low stuff to set up the flashy stuff, okay?"

"Okay," Shade nodded, throwing some practise low kicks.

"So, why do you want to learn this kick so badly?" Garrett asked.

Shade shrugged, throwing some more kicks before throwing a side one to the front of Garrett's protected torso. "I need to work on my spinning stuff, I guess. That, and I want to make up for being late today."

"Ah, I get it," Garrett nodded. "But sensei knows why you came late. You don't have to punish yourself too badly with a technique that you're unfamiliar with."

Shade gave a nod. "I know. But I need to work on my spinning stuff, and it's best to start low before I work my way up high."

Garrett chuckled. "For what it's worth, you've got damn good kicks when you're throwing straight forward. If you can keep that force with the flashy shit, you'd be well away."

"It's the balance too," said Thompson, looking over to them. "A spinning attack is no joke. If you're not using the right amount of balance, then it could go badly."

Garrett hung his head. "That was one time..."

"And your leg almost flew out of its socket because you overshot," Thompson pointed out.

Shade stopped her striking and looked at Garrett. "When did this happen?"

"It was before you started training here," Garrett said. "I jumped the gun a bit early in wanting to train my spinning stuff, and I didn't listen."

"Is that why you're the same belt level as me still?" Shade asked.

Garrett nodded. "Part that, and part me taking a break away from it for a couple of weeks to rehabilitate my leg."

"How bad was the damage?" Shade asked.

"It was mostly pulled muscle," Thompson said. "That and he almost broke one of his toes."

"It was the big one, though," Garrett reminded.

"Oh, you brave soul," Shade joked.

"See?" the salamander said to Thompson. "She gets it!"

"You've been here for a month and a half longer than Shade," Thompson said. "Don't push it." He turned to Shade. "Same goes for you. Just be careful with the spinning stuff, okay?"

Shade nodded. "I'll try."

Thompson nodded. "As you were."

Shade shrugged, turning back to Garrett. "Same as last time?"

"Yep," Garrett replied. "Low kicks, and set up to the body. And try to mask a punch with a low kick too. That can throw someone off if they're not ready for it."

"But you'll be expecting it now," Shade chuckled. "What'd be the point?"

Garrett smirked. "Just try it, okay? Besides, that's another point worth working on."

Shade nodded, not arguing as she knew that it was another thing to work on. She did practise sometimes with Knuckles before, but because of him hanging at his new headquarters, she didn't have as much time.

She sighed and shrugged it off before going back to work. She swung a few kicks on the outside of Garrett's legs, before throwing a right inside kick, pulling away, and landing a lunging right straight to the body pad.

"Went low, huh?" Garrett smiled. "Good going. You don't see that often."

"You said that I had to mask the punch," Shade chuckle. "You didn't say where I had to punch you."

"My teaching methods sure are getting sloppy, if that's the case," Garrett smiled, putting the pads back up. "Again."

Shade quickly repeated the process, landing small inside leg kicks before feigning an outside one on her left side, only to side step and land a side kick to the body. She followed that up with a right hook over the top, with Garrett just barely bringing the pads up in time to block it.

"Nice!" Garrett praised. "Very good going there!"

"Sorry if I went too quick," said Shade.

"It's not a problem," Garrett said. "That was a good combo. You mixed it up well, faking the leg kick, going for the body kick, and that flow right into the hook was just beautiful."

"I learned it from my worse half," Shade chuckled. "He's better at punching. I'm better at kicking."

"I dunno," Garrett shrugged. "You've got some mean shots with your hands. When you can put it all together, you're like a whirlwind."

Shade chuckled. "Think that should be my nickname if I try for a tournament?"

"Shade the Whirlwind Echidna?" Garrett smiled. "Actually, it's got a nice ring to it, I think."

Shade smiled. "Thanks. Now, let's get back to work."

Garrett nodded. "Try firing from a distance. Use push kicks and outside leg shots, throw some straights and jabs if need be, then time the spinning shots, okay?"

The orange echidna nodded in reply, staying back. She followed her friend's orders, throwing some straight push body kicks. She then took another step back after getting too close, deciding on throwing the outside leg kicks instead. She feinted one of her left kicks and flickered it into a straight shot to the stomach, and Garrett nodded in acknowledgement, sharing a high-five with Shade.

"That's what I wanted to see more of," Garrett smiled. "Try going up high a bit, okay? Throw some straights, fake one, go for a hook, and try to follow through with a spinning shot. Do you think that you can do that?"

Shade nodded. "Yeah. I think that I can do that."

The salamander nodded, backing away again. He held the pads up for Shade to throw her combos, which she did. She started with jabs, firing and doubling up before adding a straight, keeping that combo going for a little while.

"Good," Garrett said. "That's what an opponent could be expecting. Keep this combo up, and then feint and throw that hook, okay?"

Shade gave a nod of her own, keeping the same combo going before faking a jab and firing over the top with a left hook. Garrett clapped the pads briefly as a sign of praise before putting them back up, asking for more variations of the combos. And Shade did not disappoint, landing hooks, crosses, uppercuts, and even a few overhand shots as well.

"See that?" Garrett said, panting after blocking so many shots in a row. "You need to do that, but with your kicks, okay?"

"Got it," Shade nodded. "And like you said earlier: throw some jabs and straights, fake, hook, spinning shot."

Garrett smiled. "You're getting the hang of it."

Shade chuckled and backed away again, setting herself up. She threw some more jab-jab-straight combos, then following through with a faked jab and coming through it with a hook. Garrett gave a nod, indicating that Shade was on the right track with it. So, she took a breath and kept at the combo, never faltering with it. Jab, jab, straight, fake a jab, left hook, rinse and repeat.

"Remember to keep those hooks on the outside, okay?" Garrett reminded. "If you want to turn your hips to throw that spinning kick, you need to give yourself space. Move in and out like a sniper."

Shade chuckles. "One of Knuckles' buddies actually specialises as their sniper."

"Really?" Garrett smiled. "Neat." His face quickly turned back to serious mode. "All right, let's get back to it."

Shade nodded, repeating the same combo as last time, but making sure that she was just outside of the reach of Garrett. He threw some counters of his own, but they were moving slow on purpose like earlier so that Shade could catch on to it.

Shade kept that in mind after landing her combos, even switching up which hook she would use for the setup to the spinning kick. Since she was better on her right side, it made more sense in her mind to throw the left hook first and then a right spinning kick.

"You okay there?" asked Garrett.

"Huh?" Shade replied, noticing that she'd slowed. "Oh, I'm fine. Just trying to think about which side I want to throw this shot from."

"Right side makes more sense," Garrett said. "You're naturally an orthodox style fighter, and even though the left hook won't wind up as much from it, the spinning back kick from your right side will flow better and do more damage, especially since you keep it locked and loaded."

"He's right," Thompson said. "Your stance is very important in how you fight. As an orthodox, you favour the right side of your body, and because your right fist and right leg are pushed back, they do more damage when thrown. Likewise if you were a southpaw fighter, but that would be the left side instead."

Shade nodded. "Is it possible to pull it off from both sides?"

"How do you mean?" Thompson asked back.

"Like, fire a right hook, and then a right spinning back kick?"

Thompson stroked his beard. "Maybe so. It could force your opponent to do a double-take, since they will be hit from the left with a right hook but then get a spinning kick to the right. The only problem is that it doesn't flow as well as with a left hook/right spinning kick combo."

"He's right," Garrett said, stepping out of the ring to give the orange echidna some space. "Try it yourself. Do both shots from the right first."

Shade nodded, setting up her combo before throwing a right hook, and then turning into the spinning back kick. She felt more strain from doing it that way, stepping back quickly. "Okay..." she said, "I think that I get your point..."

Thompson nodded. "Good. Now, do the same, but left hook first, then right kick."

Shade nodded. She set up her combo with the jabs and straights again before following through with a left hook. After that, she turned effortlessly into the right spinning back kick, landing back on her foot with little effort, finding it much easier than her previous attempt.

"That's the ticket!" Garrett beamed. "All right, that's what you've got to land on me, okay?"

"Left hook, right spin kick?" Shade said.

"That's the one," Garrett replied, putting his pads back up. "And sorry for putting you through the other things. It's impossible to fully learn any one technique in just a day, let alone one as complicated as that."

"I know," Shade nodded, readying her stance once more. "It was also to find the best angle, right? It'll work from some places, but not all..."

"You sure know a lot about the angles," Garrett complimented.

"I've got good teachers and classmates," Shade chuckled. "I'm also a huge MMA fan."

The salamander let out a laugh of his own, silently gesturing for Shade to resume her striking. Shade nodded, and went over earlier's process; jab/straight combos, some leg kicks, then follow up with a hook.

She did this several times, focusing more on landing her left hook, despite it not having as much force behind it. Still, she hit as hard as she could with it, turning her hips ever so slightly each time in the hopes of following up with the spinning back kick.

'Got to time it right,' Shade said in her mind. 'Just need to keep watch of the distance. Too close, and I'll hit him with the back of my knee at best. Too far, I won't even clip him with my toes.' She bounced back and forth a bit more as she kept striking. 'Movement, footwork, timing...'

Garrett kept blocking, noticing Shade starting to use her movements a lot more than earlier. "You're getting the hang of it," he smiled. "Go for some outside leg kicks too. That can really throw someone off if they're not ready for it."

Shade simply nodded in answer, moving around more and landing leg kicks whilst also sticking to her combo. She even switched up the last strike from time to time, landing with her right hook or an uppercut, knowing that the left hook combo was her endgame.

She soon fell into a rhythm with it as well, and she picked up speed as she went, but didn't blitz on Garrett and gave him time to defend the strikes. She went for her combo several times with the left hook, trying to get a feel for it, smiling as she found a home for it.

'I think that I've got this...' she said in her mind again. 'I'm almost there... one last try should do it...'

So, she listened to her mind's advice. She began the combo all over again; two left jabs, both landing quick and clean; a right straight as she moved to her left, glancing off one of the pads; an inside left leg kick as she kept moving, darting back a bit; and finally, she moved back in with the left hook, and instantly turned her hips and body around to land the right spinning back kick, the heel of her shoe connecting perfectly with the front of Garrett's thankfully protected stomach.

She landed her foot back down and smiled, exhausted. "I did it!"

Garrett laughed and hugged her. "That's the one, Shade! Timing, movement, angles... you were slowly building that all up, and you came through hard with that shot."

"You might want to check for bruises there, Garrett," Thompson chuckled. "She landed that shot clean on you."

Shade and Garrett both paid a respectful bow to their master before the orange echidna spoke first. "Thank you for your advice, sensei."

"Well, you're welcome, but my advice was just advice," Thompson smiled, bowing back. "It was you who landed the blow. It was Garrett who guided you through it. I merely kept watch from where I was."

"It's still appreciated," Shade chuckled. "Don't put yourself down like that."

"I won't," Thompson smiled. "I'm not a ten time kickboxing champion for nothing," he chuckled. "Anyway, speaking of appreciation, you two have earned yourselves a little break."

"Well, it is almost lunch," Garrett said as he removed his hand pads. "You want to join us?"

Thompson shook his head. "I would, but no. I'll leave you two to it. I can eat later."

"Well, thanks," Shade said as she and Garrett stepped out of the ring.

The two kept their gis and shoes on, but took off their gloves as they headed for the nearby cafeteria that was part of the gym. It consisted mostly of healthy foods, but there was some sweeter stuff on the line as well.

"I'm so lucky that we don't have to pay for our own food," Garrett smiled. "Thompson's one rich old man."

"Thinking about a sugar daddy, are we?" Shade teased as they reached the cafeteria.

"Eh, I don't do humans," the salamander chuckled. "That beard of his is rather nice, though."

Shade shook her head. "Let's get some food, you. Day's not over yet."

Garrett nodded as they looked over the food on the counter, turning back to Shade. "Hey."

"Yeah?" Shade asked.

"You did a good job out there," Garrett smiled. "You're starting to find your balance more, and your combo fluidity is without question. If you keep up your pace, you'll be a blue belt in no time."

Shade smiled. "I'm just surprised I got to where I was so quickly," she said, looking at the salamander's own belt, which was purple.

"You're putting the work in," Garrett shrugged. "Nothing to be surprised about."

"Still, I've got good teachers," Shade smiled. "And good friends."

Garrett put an arm around Shade's shoulders. "And we're going to do our damnedest to help you rise through the ranks."

"I know," Shade smiled and nodded. "Still, the day ain't over, and I've got some serious overtime to clock in."

"Then we'd best stop wasting time and get our grub," Garrett chuckled.

Shade laughed in reply and nodded, and the two went about sorting their food out.

Meanwhile, back at the freelancer headquarters...

Sonic was lifting a dark blue jacket over his shoulders. "Everyone ready to go?"

The others nodded as they put on their own jackets and hoodies, with Tails speaking first. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?"

"Look, we have friends on the force," Sonic said. "Asking them to spot us won't be too much trouble."

"And like Sonic said," Knuckles added, "it shouldn't be all of us that go."

"If not all of us are going to check out the situation at the Star Light docks," Shadow pondered aloud, "then why are we all getting dressed to go out?"

"It's just to see who they think would be best to help," Sonic shrugged.

"And who are we going to see, exactly?" Tails asked.

"I'm thinking Bunnie and Antoine," Sonic said. "They run the tech over in that place, anyway. It wouldn't take much for them to get their hands on a van."

"How are we going to get their help without dropping them in the shit?" Knuckles asked. "They can't run an op outside of Green Hill."

"They won't have to," Sonic grinned. "That's where Tails comes in."

"I come in?" the yellow fox asked. "How? What do I do?"

"That is something that'll have to wait," Sonic said, looking at his phone to check the time. "We're burning daylight. Let's get going."

The others simply gave frustrated sounds of acknowledgement or agreement before leaving out the front with Sonic leading them. They went over to Knuckles' car, and the red echidna instantly hopped into the driver's seat, starting it up as Tails joined him in the front of the car.

"It just feels right to be in this seat sometimes," Tails chuckled.

"As team leader, it's my duty to allow my subordinates to take the shotgun seat," Sonic said, putting on a terrible British accent and laughing before shaking his head and returning to his normal voice. "Eh, that ain't it. I just ain't fast enough."

"Well, it is an honour and a privilege to serve under your rule," Tails smiled.

Sonic nodded, turning to Knuckles. "Knuckles! Whip the horses!"

The red echidna shook his head and started the engine. "Um... horses ready? I dunno. I'm done playing this game."

"Me too," Tails said. "Let's just go."

Sonic nodded. "Fair enough."

The car then started, quickly pulling out of their alleyway and into the main street, making way for their former police station. Sonic took note of the weather starting to grow darker, shaking his head as he saw a few droplets connect on the window next to him.

"Looks like we should have brought our umbrellas," he noted. "Starting to shower a bit."

"We'll be okay," said Shadow. "We'll be out of here and into the station quickly enough to not have to worry."

"I know," Sonic agreed. "I just hope that this doesn't last through to the night as well."

"Considering what we're going to be doing tonight, I don't blame you," Tails replied. "Rain is not ideal weather for a stakeout."

"We still haven't decided who's going to be doing that, by the way," Shadow reminded. "But, then again, we'll find out when we get there, right?"

"Right," Sonic nodded. "Just have a little faith in me, okay? I'm someone you can trust."

"We know," Knuckles said. "But if this plan of yours doesn't work and we get fired as freelancers, I'm going to place my own bounty on your head and kill you myself."

"Why would you want your own fifty bucks from him?" Shadow asked, hooking a thumb to Sonic.

"Hey, watch it," the blue hedgehog replied as he and the others laughed.

"I wonder when we'll be able to actually do that, though," Tails said.

"I think we went over it before," Sonic shrugged. "Maybe these backup missions are our bounties. We get paid for doing them, after all."

"True, but... that's as backup," Tails reminded. "I get that we're pretty much under probation after what happened, but how much longer will it take for that ban to be lifted?"

"What are you saying, exactly?" Knuckles asked.

"I'm saying that, and I know that we have gone over this, but I think that we're better off as freelancers," Tails said. "If we get our jobs back... well, I don't know if I want that."

"Well, how about this," said Sonic. "All four of us, right here, right now, we make a pledge. No matter what happens, whether we want to go back to being cops or stay as freelancers with more free choice, we support each other as friends. Fair?"

"Fair," Shadow nodded.

"Yeah, I'm with you," Tails added on with a shrug.

Knuckles smirked. "Oh, you already know that I'm all in."

Sonic chuckled. "Good."

He laid back and relaxed for the rest of the drive, which didn't take too long. Knuckles soon found a parking space to leave his car for the time being, killing the engine. He was the last to exit, the others waiting for him as they headed into the building proper.

"Hey, guys!" Mina said from behind the counter. "What can I do for you?"

"Where's Cosmo at?" Tails asked.

"I thought that you'd ask," Mina giggled. "Bathroom break."

"Ah."

"Want to go say hi to Avery?" asked Mina. "He's in his office, but I can give him a phone call and let him know that you're on your way."

"We're not here to see him," Sonic said. "Are Antoine and Bunnie in?"

Mina nodded. "They're up in their room. Got some paperwork to work on together. You know where their room is, right?"

"Yep," Knuckles said. "Same as all the other rooms up there."

"Want me to tell them that you're coming up?" asked Mina.

"Nah, we'll go and surprise them," Sonic smiled. "Come on. Let's get going."

As they were about to head off, the ground floor toilet door opened, and out came Cosmo, smiling at Tails. Tails smiled back, and the two rushed up and gave each other a hug, smiling happily.

"Damn," Knuckles smiled. "Every time that these two see each other, they act like they've never met before."

"I keep getting this odd sense of deja vu from them," Sonic shrugged. "But it is nice to see them like this."

Cosmo and Tails pulled away from the hug and shared a brief kiss on the lips before the yellow fox spoke first. "So, um... how are you?"

"I'm fine," Cosmo smiled. "Had a good day, and it just got better. You?"

"Oh, I'm here with the guys to go and see Bunnie and Antoine," Tails explained.

"Any clue as to why?"

Tails shook his head. "I honestly have no idea. I know that we're here to see them for something, but I don't know what."

The plant girl then turned to Sonic. "Is Tails integral to whatever it is that you've got going on?"

"He's a part of our team, so... yeah," the blue hedgehog nodded. "Look, with any luck, it won't take long. After we've gotten done what needs doing, I'll bring him back down to you in one piece, okay?"

Cosmo nodded in thanks before sharing a brief Eskimo kiss with Tails, who blushed a bit. The two then separated, with Tails heading back over to Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles, whilst Cosmo went back with Mina, joining her behind the desk.

"I swear, seeing you two together never fails to put a smile on my face," Mina giggled.

Cosmo blushed. "Well... what can I say? I mean, he's cute, fluffy, brave, and have you seen those tails?"

"I have indeed," the yellow mongoose nodded. "I also want to bury my face in those, much like you do."

"They do feel nice," Cosmo smiled. "It's weird to feel that way, being a Mobian without animal traits. I guess that's why I like just touching Tails so much, and not just from a physical sense."

Mina nodded. "I understand what you're getting at. It's kind of a new feeling for you, isn't it? I mean, we've hugged and shared high-fives, but there's just something in the way that you and Tails interact that's completely different."

Cosmo smiled and blushed. "Is it too soon to call it love? Like, just full-blown love?"

"Well, you have only known him for a bit over a week," Mina giggled. "But in all honesty, no. I don't think that it's too soon."

"I just hope that he feels the same way..."

"Well, he'd better," Mina said, letting out a small huff of air. "Because there's no way that I'm letting my best friend get her hopes up for nothing."

"You just don't want me eating all of your ice-cream again," Cosmo said.

"Can you blame me?"

"It was one time, and it was an office party," Cosmo shrugged.

"There was about thirty people that could make it, and you had all the ice-cream!" Mina claimed.

"Um... it's sweet like me?"

Mina shook her head, unable to help her laugh. "Yeah, I guess that you have a point." She then hugged her friend from the side, smiling. "Seriously, you deserve to be happy, okay?"

"Thank you," Cosmo smiled. "As do you with Ash."

Mina giggled, nodding. "You got that right."

Meanwhile, Sonic and the group had just reached the third floor, going to the right corridor that had Bunnie and Antoine's room, and heading down it until they'd reached it. Knuckles knocked on the door himself.

"It's open!" said Bunnie from the other side.

Knuckles smiled and knocked again.

Antoine spoke this time. "We said that it's open!" he said.

But the red echidna kept knocking, and Antoine, inside the room, stood up to go and answer it. He was about to shout before he saw who it was, and instead laughed and greeted Knuckles with a hug, smiling as he got a hug back.

"Oh, there y'all are!" Bunnie said, rushing to join in the hug.

They all chuckled at the hug before it broke, with Sonic speaking. "We need to talk to you guys."

"What's up?" Antoine asked.

"We're going to be straight with you," Sonic said. "You may want to sit down for this, though."

"Is Amy pregnant already?" Bunnie asked with a chuckle.

The blue hedgehog shook his head. "I'm fast, but not that fast. And besides, we ain't been seeing each other long, so... it'd be weird."

"Well, what seems to be the issue?" Antoine asked, getting things back on track.

"We got a tip that something might be going down at the Star Light docks," Shadow said.

"What kind of something?" Antoine asked.

"We're thinking maybe weapons," said Knuckles. "Considering that we busted a dude at Green Hill's own docks for having drugs shipped in, this wouldn't surprise me."

"Do you think that there might be more places that they're shipping to?" asked Bunnie.

"Oh, I don't doubt that for a second," Sonic said. "But Star Light and Green Hill are the only ones that we know of so far. Who knows where else their reach goes?"

"Or how far they're reaching from," Antoine surmised. "Do you guys have a clue of where it could be coming from?"

"All signs point to Westopolis," Sonic said. "But we can't go there and handle it ourselves. Hell, we're lucky that we can do this since it won't be a major operation."

"Westopolis meaning Nack, right?" Bunnie asked.

Tails nodded. "It might not just be him, though. We've all looked him up and we know that he has a tendency for planning ahead. But he's got some help over there."

"We just don't know who," Shadow added. "And I'm guessing that drugs and guns aren't being the only thing that Nack is being helped with."

Antoine sighed. "You guys do know that this won't directly lead to Nack, right?"

"We're well aware of that," Sonic smiled. "But we don't care. Regardless of where this puts us, this is a big deal. We just need to keep our heads low and stay quiet about it."

"I get what you mean," Bunnie nodded, "but it might be damn near impossible to get one of our own vans across to Star Light without getting caught."

"Bunnie's got a point," Tails nodded. "Even if it's a minor op, if the vehicle gets caught out, we could get in trouble."

"Not to mention that we shouldn't be doing this in the first place," Shadow said. "We don't get to run our own stuff."

"Which is why it regrets me to even ask this," Sonic sighed. "But we need you two to lie for us."

"I'm sure that Avery would give you guys a full pass on this," Antoine said. "It is only a minor thing."

"It doesn't work that way for freelancers," Tails said. "We can't run anything, and we're just backup. But you guys can run smaller stuff, and you'll be fine."

"And why would we need backup for smaller stuff?" asked Antoine. "Avery could get suspicious."

"Look, it's not a problem," Sonic said. "I get that you're worried, but Avery won't go off on you guys for this. We just need a secure route with the vehicle, and a safe place to do what we're doing."

"And we need to get a pass from Avery on it," Bunnie said. "I'll make sure to include you guys with it."

"Actually, not all of us," Sonic said. "Just Tails and Shadow."

"Why us two specifically?" Tails asked.

"Shadow's got awesome eyesight and accuracy, and you've got brains, technological know-how, and good recall," Sonic pointed out.

"So, he gets three things and I only get two?" Shadow smiled.

"You've got the chest fur too," Knuckles said. "But I'm not too sure as to how that helps in missions..."

"It might distract a bad guy who likes furry things, and then bam!" Tails smiles. "Before that bad guy knows it, he's either dead on the floor or just in a lot of pain and on the floor."

"The point is," Sonic said, bringing things back on track, "we need your help. It's just to look into it, and we won't get involved. And, to make sure of this, Tails and Shadow will go with you to Avery's office."

"It is only fair," said the black and red hedgehog with a nod of agreement. "If myself and Tails are going, it'd be best for Avery to warn Dingo ahead of time."

"Well then," said Bunnie, "I guess that we might as well get started."

"We can't thank you guys enough," Sonic said.

"We know," Antoine chuckled. "Just remember that you gave us your word, okay? No getting directly involved. We watch from afar, we observe, then we report back to Avery, who will tell Dingo."

"And hopefully, that will lead Dingo into telling the good men at Star Light, which will lead to them stopping whatever's going down at the docks there," Sonic smiled. "We owe you guys. Seriously, thank you."

Bunnie smiled and hugged Sonic, and he chuckled and hugged back. They broke from it, and Bunnie spoke. "You gave me a promise hug. That means that y'all have to stick to your word now."

"I was going to anyway, but now I have more reason," the blue hedgehog said. "I wouldn't dare break the pact formed from a Bunnie promise hug."

The southern belle giggled, and they all left the room. They took the elevator up to the fourth floor, where Avery's office was. They knocked on the door, and the commander spoke from the other side.

"It's open," he said.

Bunnie and Antoine stepped in, and the French coyote spoke first. "Sir, we have something to ask you."

"What would that be?" Avery asked, looking up from his laptop.

He got his answer as the freelancers walked in, and Antoine spoke again. "It kind of involves these guys."

Avery chuckled. "This had better be good."

"We got a tip of something important going down in Star Light," Sonic said.

"I know," Avery replied. "I'm watching some of that footage on this here laptop, actually. Good interrogation there."

"So, you know why we're here?" asked Knuckles.

"Not exactly, but I trust that it's for something important." The bear chuckled. "It figures. I got the chance to say goodbye to you as police officers, and now that you're freelance agents, I can't get rid of you."

"We really are a huge pain in the ass sometimes," Sonic shrugged. "But, hey, if it's good enough to beat the bad guys, then who are we to complain?"

"Or to beat good info out of the bad guys," Avery said. "Why exactly are you here, if I may ask?"

"That dude we interrogated gave us a tip of where he got his weapons from," Shadow said. "Apparently, it all came from Star Light, which is where the bad guys were from too."

Avery nodded. "That's interesting..."

"What is?" asked Bunnie.

"Oh, well, criminals don't really have to worry about jurisdictions," Avery shrugged. "Even if they came from Star Light, they can still commit crimes anywhere and be caught for it."

"That does make things pretty fair," Antoine said. "At the same time, it's still kind of an issue for cops who want to chase those criminals into other cities but can't stop them."

"Which is part of why we're here," Sonic said. "We want to confirm if what that Cutler guy said was accurate."

"As much as I want to help you," Avery said, "I can't. It's not my call to send you out to other places."

"It's not us that you have to send out," Sonic smirked.

The commander cocked an eyebrow, but smiled back. "Go on..."

The blue hedgehog nodded. "If what Cutler said is correct, then the Star Light dock deals could be connected to what happened at the Green Hill docks just a few days ago. Only this time, it's guns instead of drugs." Sonic then put his arms around Antoine and Bunnie, side-hugging them both. "And these two fine police officers here are going to scout out Star Light's docks."

Avery chuckled. "You want a free pass, right?"

"We know that you're good friends with Dingo," said Tails. "We really hate to play that card against you, but you know that you're the only one who actually can make this call. And it's not just for us."

Avery nodded. "I can sweeten it as well and send all four of you with them."

"They don't need all of us," said Sonic. "We want Tails and Shadow to go."

"What about you and Knuckles?" asked Avery.

"We hadn't thought that far, actually," Knuckles admitted.

Sonic nodded. "We don't really need to be there. If it's just a stakeout mission, then fewer people are needed. If we can keep our distance, then it won't get messy."

"Still..." Avery said. "I think that you two should go. But in a separate police vehicle."

Sonic sighed and shrugged. "I guess that just because I say it won't get messy doesn't guarantee it."

"On the bright side, if Dingo knows that we're there already, none of us can get in trouble for being in Star Light's jurisdiction," Tail pointed out.

"You really are just an adorable ball of positiveness, aren't you?" Bunnie giggled, playfully pinching the two-tailed fox's cheek.

Sonic looked at Avery. "Well? Do we have the all clear?"

Avery smiled. "You will once I let Dingo know."

Sonic let go of Bunnie and Antoine put his hands together, curling his fingers. "Thank you, man."

"Hey, anything that helps Dingo and helps us at the same time is a win-win," Avery said. He picked up his phone and typed in a number. "Hello, Jeanine? Yes, could you patch me through to Dingo, please? Thank you."

"Avery!" came the Aussie's voice on the other end. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hey, Dingy," Avery chuckled. "Listen, I need a favour."

"Well, I'll help out however you can as long as you never call me Dingy again," Dingo chuckled.

Avery shook his head and smiled. "I need a pass for a couple of my officers, and for Green Hill's freelancers."

"Why? What's up?" Dingo asked.

"We got a tip that someone's trying to smuggle guns at the Star Light docks," Avery answered.

"Didn't something similar happen not long ago at your own docks?" Dingo asked. "I vaguely remember you mentioning it."

"It did indeed," Avery confirmed with a nod. "This can't be a coincidence, especially if the discoveries aren't too far apart."

"Well, do you want me to set some men up to help?" Dingo asked.

"No, that won't be necessary," said Avery. "My own are going to be leading a stakeout mission."

"Oh, yeah," Dingo said. "I forgot that minor ops were allowed in other jurisdictions."

"As did I. You're not alone," Avery chuckled. "And besides, my freelancers will already be backup, so I need passes for all of them."

"Are they all going to be staking the docks out?" the Aussie asked. "It seems a bit much, don't you think?"

"Not all of them," Avery smiled. "Just two of them will be joining who I'm sending. The others will hang back just in case."

"And who are you sending, exactly?" Dingo asked.

"Bunnie and Antoine," Avery said. "They actually handled the camera van last time, but broke off and came back to Green Hill because they didn't want to get in trouble."

"Good thinking," Dingo said. "All right, I'll set you guys up. I'll give you a good location to check the docks from afar."

"Thank you," Avery said. "It's very much appreciated."

"It's no problem at all, mate. I'll see you when I see you," Dingo said.

"Later," Avery replied, hanging up. He looked to the others in his room. "Well, Dingo gave us the go-ahead to do this."

"Thank you," Sonic said.

"It's no problem," Avery spoke. "Now, get on out of here," he joked. As they all turned to leave, Avery called out. "Except for Sonic."

The blue hedgehog shrugged and waved goodbye to the others before turning back to Avery. "What's up?" he asked.

"Sonic... what are you planning?" the commander asked, his voice even and serious.

"I'm just planning to confirm that that bastard's words are true and that somebody is selling down at Star Light."

Avery shook his head. "You do realise that lying to me is ill advised, right? I could just as easily cancel that call to Dingo right now."

Sonic sighed. "What are you getting at?"

"You think that the selling at the docks is connected to Nack, don't you?" Avery said.

Sonic sighed again and nodded. "It... it just reeks of too much coincidence. First, he comes over to Green Hill, and we shut down his deals. He goes on the run, winds up in Star Light, we chase him, but he gets away. He runs off to who knows where, and the only likely place is the one place where nobody wants to step foot." Sonic took a breath. "We know where he is, and if we're right about tonight, then we know what he's doing. Even if it's in two different cities, that doesn't make it any less likely."

Avery nodded. "I understand what you're getting at."

"But?" Sonic pressed.

The bear sighed, standing from his seat. "But you're getting in way over your head. What if you follow this lead and you find him? Then what? What if you have another accident, and this time you won't recover from it because you'll be in a place where nobody will give a shit about what you do?"

"If we had a good lead, then we wouldn't be here asking for your help," Sonic said. "We would have caught that ass-hole right then and there if we had any good leads. We've asked every son of a bitch that we've gone up against, and they're either dead, missing, unresponsive, or telling the truth that they're not connected to Nack at all."

"Even if what Cutler told you was right, and even if it is connected to the Green Hill docks incident, you can't do anything about it," Avery said. "If you even think of it, then you'll be out of a job like this forever."

"Well, it's a shame," Sonic said. "Because I'm better at my job than you are at your job."

"Don't I know it," Avery chuckled. "But you need to be careful, okay? Like it or not, there isn't a damn thing that you can do to stop Nack. And believe me, you have no idea how much I want you to stop that slimy bastard. But you need to be on your toes."

Sonic nodded. "I'll try to be. I just don't want to get caught staying in one place for too long, you know?"

"I know," Avery said. "Now, get out of here before we hug," he joked.

Sonic laughed a bit and gave a fake salute before turning and heading out the door, seeing Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow waiting patiently. Sonic looked around, seeing no sign of Bunnie or Antoine, about to ask why when Knuckles answered his question for him.

"They headed back to their room," the red echidna said. "They're going to get themselves ready for tonight."

"We'd best do the same," Sonic replied. "Let's get back to base."

"What did Avery want to talk about?" Tails asked as they began heading to the elevators.

"He caught on to our little side thing," the blue hedgehog answered honestly. "He knows that we're trying to get to Nack."

"And... what?" Knuckles asked. "Is he cutting us off?"

"No," Sonic shook his head. "No, he wants us to be careful. I know that he doesn't want us doing this, and we could be in some serious shit if we do carry on with it, but... I dunno."

"Maybe he would have done something if he wanted to stop us?" Tails asked as the elevator arrived.

Sonic nodded as they got into the elevator. "That's what I'm thinking. He doesn't want us to chase after Nack, and I can see why." He pressed the button for the ground floor. "And even if we get proof tonight about what's going down at Star Light, we still can't do sweet fuck all about it."

"Then, what do we do?" Shadow asked.

Sonic shrugged. "Just go about it as normal. For now, we just need to head back home and wait until tonight."

"And what if Cutler's tip is right?" asked Tails.

"If it's right, then it's right," Sonic said. "And that's up to the Star Light police to stop. Not us."

"It should be," Knuckles shrugged. "I'm just saying."

Sonic chuckled and nodded in agreement as the elevator reopened its doors, showing them the ground floor. As they passed the girls behind the counter, Tails waved at Cosmo, who blew him a kiss, which he caught with a blush as they all left the doors of the station. They hopped into Knuckles' car, the red echidna starting the vehicle up quickly and pulling out of the parking lot, making his way for the freelancer headquarters.

---

So, there it is! I did say that this was kind of filler as I wanted to add something new with Shade's training, but I feel like I added a little bit of story too. Either way, I hope that you all enjoyed it. The next chapter will be the last one before Nack springs his huge plan. I wonder how that's going to turn out for our heroes? Regardless, I'll see you all in the next one. Take care, and stay tuned.