Disclaimer: Don't you think if I owned the SU series it'd be a lot more intense and bloody? And that Steve Urkel wouldn't have been the voice of Sonic, Sonia, and Manic? Since it isn't, then clearly it doesn't belong to me. All that belongs to me are my own warped ideas, universes, fics, and the various odd crap I come up with. No sue I.

Author's Note: Yay! Fast update! It's a miracle! I'm glad that everybody's liking this one so far, and I've got to say- I'm impressed. Seven reviews on the first chapter when it's been up only for about a week or two? That took me a bit to pick my jaw up from the floor. Clearly I'm doing something right! You'll have to excuse the short chapter, but with any luck the next one will make up for it. In any case prepare for some drama, and as ever and always; read, enjoy, and review.

Bartleby was brooding in his study; frowning as he thought over the incident of several months previous. Kleptomaniac, for it had been Kleptomaniac who had killed his good friend Alexandre, was still at large. That in and of itself was highly troubling; but the death of Gehmeh and the arrival of her corpse on his doorstep with a note attached was even more disturbing. That note amounted to nothing less than:

Ivo Robotnik and Bartleby Condammer, you should both know that I do not appreciate having an assassin sent after me. In your case Ivo, if you wanted to employ me as you have so clearly expressed numerous times then that was not the way to do it. If anything my 'no thanks' is even more emphatic than the last I wrote to you. As for Bartleby, you should know better than to stick your nose into other people's business. I strongly suggest that you don't repeat such foolish actions else I might have to consider you a 'threat' to be eliminated. Neither of you should tempt me to end your lives- you wouldn't enjoy the outcome.

-Kleptomaniac

Clearly Kleptomaniac was more skilled than even Bartleby had ever expected, though admittedly he hadn't expected Kleptomaniac to actually be the person he had hired Gehmeh to go after. Though he had plenty of reasons of his own to be displeased with those events Robotnik was even more so. The only thing that kept Bartleby Condammer safe from the overlord's wrath was the fact that the poodle/mink crossbreed hadn't been the one to choose the assassin. Had he had the misfortune of being the one to choose Gehmeh to employ, the chances were very high that Bartleby would have been looking at placing his head on a chopping block for immediate execution.

That dark cloud of knowledge hung over his thoughts like a feeling of impending doom; ironic considering the meaning of his last name. Added on top of that was the fact of his beloved Sonia's absence. Bartleby didn't like that she ran about fighting Robotnik at any convenient moment, popping up for a brief while only to vanish again as soon as whatever latest deed was done. He feared for her life, most certainly didn't approve of the company she now kept regardless of the fact it was that of her brothers', and he honestly wished nothing more than for her swift return to his side. Could he but guarantee that Robotnik would do nothing to her if she only took up her rightful status as a noble again, then Bartleby had no trouble admitting to himself that he would very likely demand it of her.

In Bartleby's mind it was exceedingly unfortunate that Sonia, beautifully wild and mysterious Sonia, had brothers that had shared the womb with her at the same time who had become uncouth ruffians unfit to be amongst nobility. Sonic perhaps stood some chance of being browbeaten into appropriate behavior suitable for the prince he was; but nothing could be done to salvage any sense of royalty in Manic. A removed part of his thoughts wondered if it wouldn't have been better to send Gehmeh after Sonic and Manic directly rather than on the off chance that they would get involved in her hunt for Kleptomaniac.

Regardless, the point was moot now. Gehmeh was long since deceased, and now he had the threat of death hanging over his head to prevent the action from being repeated. Of course, were he to hire an assassin to go after the two royal brothers it wouldn't be the same as sending one after Kleptomaniac, but still… The possible repercussions, from either Kleptomaniac or Robotnik for another botched job were, at the very least, highly dissuading. Both Manic and Sonic had an unusual amount of luck aimed at their survival; every instance that he knew of where Robotnik had attempted to kill the two of them had miserably failed. The only good point for their survival was that they had kept Sonia alive.

Bartleby scowled at the paperwork upon his desk. Would he that Sonia didn't have to rely on such uncouth barbarians and was at his side for her own protection! Before meeting her brothers Sonia had been perfect; beautiful, regal, easy of temperament, and noble to the very core of her bones. True, many thought her eye color left something to be desired, but he had only ever found those red eyes fascinating. When all was said and done, Bartleby Condammer feared that Sonia would no longer be the girl he'd known, much less the woman he'd proposed to. His greatest fear, for her, was that she would have been tainted by her brothers' unrestrained barbarism. It didn't help that the other nobles were alternately swinging between, "She's tainted goods, end the engagement while you can," and, "You're her fiancé. You should save her before it's too late."

He quite possibly would have continued glaring a hole in his unfinished paperwork, had not Marietta chosen that moment to intrude upon her lord's thoughts. "Lord Bartleby…," the part-fox maid quietly greeted.

Looking up from his desk he met her inquisitive brown eyes. "Yes Marietta?"

Giving a slight respectful nod in lieu of a more formal mode of body language, she continued. "I thought you would like to know; all searches for Alexandre's son, Sabbathine Esprit, have still come up with nothing. It would appear that whoever took him has it in mind to keep him hidden. Also, there is word that Princess Sonia has once again vanished from sight. None that I have spoken to have any idea where she and her brothers may have gone."

Bartleby gave a pained sigh as he slumped into a chair, drawing a frown from Marietta at his slightly foppish behavior. "Why do I even try anymore Marietta? Why, when I know that chances are that Sonia is lost to me and there is no hope of salvaging the boy that is all that remains of Alexandre's memory?"

Marietta strode over to the other mixed-breed with a silence and grace born of years of doing more than just housework. Taking up a position behind him she placed her chocolaty-brown hands on his shoulders and immediately went to work massaging out the knots of stress. "You continue to try because you're a good man, my lord. You care and worry for your fiancée because you love her so. You continue to search for Sabbathine because he is all that is left of your close friend Alexandre. There is no shame in trying to rescue those that are dear to you."

"Yes, but suppose I have not tried hard enough?"

Her smile was sympathetic, though his back was to her so he could not see, and her fox-tipped hands continued dancing along his shoulders and neck. "You have done more than most would Lord Bartleby. Indeed, most of the nobility would say that you have over-extended yourself in your attempts to keep up with Princess Sonia and your searches for Sabbathine. Employing Gehmeh was a stumble, I will admit, but you will soon right yourself again. You always do."

A weary sigh pulled its way free of the poodle as he forced himself to relax into Marietta's capable hands. "You're a Goddess-sent gift Marietta. You always have been, and many thanks for it. You're right of course. Just because I experience a few set-backs doesn't mean I should give up on either of them; but sometimes it is difficult not to."

She gave a slight chuckle at the compliment, her already fluffy tail fluffing up a bit more in awkward pride. "I do my best for my lord," the part-fox finally replied, "even if it is only in reminding you of yourself." Not for the first time, her gaze softened for him. Sonia might be his fiancée; but it was Marietta who cared for him so much that she only wanted his happiness, and was willing to give him up for it. Had Tahl been around to see how smitten with the noble she'd become, then the street thief would have been shaking her head at her long time friend. Who would have ever thought a former mercenary-turned-maid from Mercia like her could fall for a mixed-breed noble like Bartleby Condammer?

Robotnik was not pleased. Many would say he was downright enraged by results of Gehmeh's employment. She'd been a capable assassin, reputedly one of the best, and Kleptomaniac had cut her down as though she'd been little more than a laughable diversion. Kleptomaniac, the wild unknown of the world, had slipped through his fingers with little more than a whisper. He'd been so damned close to having control over the monster of the streets, and then the chance was lost. Other wild elements interfered. Kleptomaniac vanished like smoke in the wind, and soon after him the royal triplets had done likewise. Three months had gone by without the slightest hint of their presence. In the case of the triplets it made the overlord certain that they were plotting somewhere; taking a break to think things through before renewing their attack with potentially far more devastating results.

That wouldn't do. Lord Ivo Robotnik had been called many things in the course of his rule, 'paranoid' chief among them, but his obsession and caution had yet to cause him to draw completely inaccurate conclusions. His theories might be off the mark at times, but there was always at least one element that he guessed correctly. Thus, when his mind told him that the royal triplets were in hiding until they could return with an even greater attack, he listened. When his mind suggested that Kleptomaniac might have decided to help them, he chose not to ignore that either. As such he was in a frantic rush to bulk up his already rather impressive security. On top of that he chose to contact and employ anyone that would be a help in bringing down either the triplets, Kleptomaniac, or both. Robotnik would leave nothing to chance.

Spies, mercenaries, assassins, thieves, bounty hunters, thugs; any and all of them would do in his effort to eradicate his enemies. Top on his list to contact were The Mercian Rose, Jewel-Thief Rouge (as well as whomever she might drag into it with her), Fang the Sniper, and the Dragon Demons. All could be deadly if need be, and all were damned hard to get a hold of. The dragons would be the most difficult to persuade, and well he knew it, but if he could get them on his side then the triplets and Kleptomaniac wouldn't stand a chance.

Dragons were rather large and temperamental creatures by nature; they were also one of the few races of Mobius that Robotnik didn't even want to think about having to fight. The group that called themselves the Dragon Demons were even more so; they were a family of war-machines that took to being civil with very few in the world. So far as they cared the affairs of others weren't their concern unless those others made it their concern or were willing to pay for their services. Paying them sufficiently could also be a problem for anybody without the proper funds; the price tag they attached to their work ran a close second to what Rouge demanded for her spy-work. With the dragons, Rouge, Fang, and The Mercian Rose, the price for their work would be well over fifty times what he had offered to Gehmeh. In Robotnik's mind the price was worth it. No threat could be allowed to continue, no enemy allowed to live: he would have them all annihilated before they could become even more of a threat.

Manic was exploring. Knuckles had no problem with the thief doing that, within reason, and of course had let the empath know due to thinking 'loudly' that some places were strictly off limits. Manic chose to heed those silent warnings rather than risk offending his friend; especially since it had already been somewhat difficult to get the echidna to fully relax around him as he used to. Speaking of Knuckles, 'Operation: Princess and Guardian Set-Up' had been a rousing success so far and had been helped along immensely courtesy of an unwittingly obliging armadillo. In fact Mighty's involvement had somewhat changed the nature of 'Phase Two'.

Rather than harassing their sister into another near bout of fratricide, and thus forcing Knuckles to find something with which to keep them occupied, both Sonic and Manic had chosen to take a break. Whereas Manic felt the somewhat restless need to explore, thus the reasoning behind his current tunnel wandering, Sonic had begged off on the basis of 'echidna induced exhaustion'. In all honesty it had more to do with being woken up at the crack of dawn by a certain bee than through any fault of the guardian.

Nonetheless, Sonic had quite firmly decided that Knuckles had to be encouraging Charmy to exact some bizarre sense of vengeance for no clearly defined motive. Manic had chosen not to disabuse his brother of the notion. So long as Sonic kept the blame of it off the thief-prince who was the actual cause, he was quite happy to keep his mouth shut. After all, why let Sonic off the hook so easily for that damned caterwauling which had left him with rather persistent nightmares? Ergo, there was no need to tell Sonic that he'd basically told Charmy that Sonic liked being woken up early.

During the four days the triplets had been on the Floating Island they had each found they got along uncommonly well with at least one of the Chaotix. For Sonia it had been Mighty. For Sonic it had been Ray. In Manic's case, he couldn't seem to go anywhere without Charmy being there the moment he turned around. Of course the fact that Charmy was absolutely fascinated with the green hedgehog and had a habit of asking near-ceaseless questions was a great deal more preferable than Espio's tendency to skulk around and watch him suspiciously. Speaking of which, Manic could feel the invisible chameleon watching him as he turned down a tunnel that was dimly lit by glowing blue moss.

The thief-prince gave a sigh. Ever since Knuckles had made it clear to the Chaotix that he was a thief, Espio had taken it upon himself to stalk Manic to make sure that he behaved himself. Manic had to give him credit, he could have easily followed anybody that wasn't an empath and hadn't grown up in the conditions he had without giving them the slightest hint of his presence. However, since Manic had grown up on the streets and was also an empath he was beginning to find Espio's continuous stalking annoying. 'More damned annoying than that time that Qet and Tahl refused to talk to me for three days except for writing spraint on signs.'

Coming to a sudden stop, Manic heard the slightest scuff of a foot (on the ceiling?) as the chameleon pulled up short. Espio had just narrowly avoided crashing into the back of the other's head; and well Manic knew it as he saw the view from Espio's eyes. "I'm not gonna steal anything you know," Manic stated, unable to keep the smirk from tugging at his lips as a wave of surprise rippled through the reptile's mind. "If anything, I'm more interested in keeping my head attached to my shoulders if you catch my drift. 'Sides, between you, Knux, and Sonia, I'd get totally skewered."

Espio remained silent, internally debating as to whether Manic was bluffing or actually knew he was there. There was only one person that he knew for a fact could find him when he didn't want to be found. If it had been Knuckles that he was following around he would have dropped his camouflage right then. The possibility of Manic having the abilities needed to pick him out unnerved him. Suppose then that Manic was just bluffing; what had led him to suspect that he was being followed? A frown flickered across Espio's invisible features.

Manic continued on as nonchalant as he had been before. "Whatever I may sound like and play myself as, I'm a hell of a lot smarter than I let on- just in case you were curious. I'm what's known as 'an honorable thief' on the mainland. Translation: I don't steal from my friends or people that can't afford it. So you don't have to worry about me doing anything up here. The biggest thing I'm interested in is getting my sis to dump her fiancé."

'Definitely not bluffing.' Espio dropped to the floor behind Manic and let his coloration return to its more normal hues, even if they were a touch frosty. "How did you know I was here?" he asked; his tone cold.

"Did Knux forget to mention I'm an empath?"

"You're a what?!"

Manic turned to meet eyes that were currently as golden as his own. When he next spoke, it was without the accent. "Maybe you should ask Knux. I know you trust him more than you're ever going to trust me- and yes, he knows everything… pertinent about me." With that statement he turned and walked off, leaving a stunned chameleon in his wake.

The first words out of Espio's mouth the moment he found the current Guardian were, "Knuckles, we need to talk." He didn't care that Knuckles was coming up from the Guardians' Lair where the other deceased or not-so-deceased former Guardians dwelled. It wasn't Espio's habit to bother his friend after he'd been communing with his ancestors, in fact he was typically downright respectful and avoided going anywhere near the area unless he'd been invited; but this time he truly didn't care.

Knuckles took in the sight of the chameleon as irate black and red shadows chased each other across Espio's skin. His worry was as evident in the reoccurring patterns as the expression on his face. "What's the problem Espio?"

"Manic."

The echidna gave a sigh. He had suspected that if any would have a problem with the thief prince, other Guardians aside, that it would be Espio. "What about him?"

Espio's next words were an enraged snarl; a flare of defensive temper for the place he called home. "He's an empath."

"And?"

"You said nothing of the sort. It's bad enough that you allow a thief on the island, but one that just happens to be an empath?! It's not my place to criticize, but don't you think that's a little irresponsible?"

Purple eyes narrowed at the indirect challenge even as Knuckles registered the other's concern for what it was. Regardless of that understanding, the echidna's voice took on a sharp edge. "No, it isn't your place. I've been having the same argument with my father, and frankly I don't care to have it out with you. However I will tell you what I told him; Manic is an empath… and a damned powerful one. He picks up on emotions and mental images. The very fact that his mind is centered on emotions means he's actually one of the least likely to do anything detrimental to this island."

"Knuckles… he's a thief, you said it yourself."

"…To make a point. I wouldn't have allowed him up here if I didn't feel I could trust him to some degree."

Purple skin darkened as did the chameleon's tone, "There's more to it than that. I know you know what I'm talking about. I would hope, being among your most trusted friends, that you would be able to explain why in the hell he's hiding behind a fake accent!"

Knuckles twitched, 'Yiffing hell Manic, did you have to let him know that?' The echidna met Espio's angry gaze evenly. "He has his reasons Espio… it's complicated."

"How?"

"It's complicated like your past is complicated Espio. It's better off if you don't know." Knuckles shouldered his way past the chameleon in the tunnel to head back to more public territory, but stopped when Espio's hand caught his shoulder.

"Knuckles… demsön, shouldn't your family be allowed to know what you know? Wasn't that what you once told us back when you thought you were the last of-" Knuckles froze when he heard the echidna word for 'brother' from his friend, but forced himself to let out the breath that had caught in his throat.

"…I thought we agreed not to remind me of that time."

"Well you thought you were the last echidna, and for a damned good reason," Espio snapped aggressively as the red monotreme finally turned to face him. "You said you would keep nothing from your demsönlia without good reason! At least give me reason enough to understand!"

Violet eyes met hazel grimly. "The best explanation is… Mighty would call him a 'soul reaver'… Mercian meaning of course, you know the one."

Espio frowned, "'One who martyrs their soul for the sake of others'? But what could Manic be robbing from himself that would earn him that title?"

"The chance to be honest with those he cares for." With that said Knuckles walked off, leaving Espio in his wake to muddle through his thoughts on his own.

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