The Royal family sat outside in a long hallway, decorated simply yet expensively with the dark cobalt carpeting and oak wood chairs. Sonia was ringing her hands together in worry, as her brother kept a close eye on the three trained men in suits that were in turn watching the family.

The day had started normally, with Kharis leaving that morning to return to work at the school finally after her mandatory leave had officially ended. Half an hour later...a whole team of similar dressed men had burst into the small apartment unannounced and dragged all three hedgehogs into a black van.

After what felt like an eternity of being held captive, occasionally at gunpoint when Manic made attempts to escape, they found themselves ushered into a large building and was ordered to wait in a large spacious room until their boss was ready to see them. When asked about the situation the only answer they got out of their captors in black was that the man they were being forced into meeting was infact...

...the...President...!?

Queen Aleena was worried, though it seemed the men were not planning to actually hurt her or her children it seemed. She was the first to stand when the door opened and they were all led inside by a calm yet elderly mans voice beckoning them from within.

The president, a gray haired elder who was decently plump for his age smiled kindly at the trio as they entered, ordering for privacy once they were sitting. "I'm sorry for the way our agents treated you, but it was imperative to get in touch with a new set of unknown Mobians sited inside Station Square."

"Well, you could have...oh I don't know, came and asked us instead of breaking down the door, ransacking our current home and taking us against our will!" Manic said angrily, though winced when his mother shot him a fierce look and the presidents frown deepened.

"Though the words could have been worded better, my son does have a point, Mr. President. Your men were not diplomatic nor kind and destroyed a great deal, though the fault is ours as well in that front as we fought back against them. We can only thank the heavens that there were no other residents living in the apartments next to us that could have been harmed in the ordeal. As well as your men should be thankful that we held back, not wanting to harm anyone else in this world in acts of confusion.""

The queen spoke smoothly, though the chill in her words was tangible enough that the president shivered in her presence. He was a powerful man, being the President of the United Nations, but in her presence he felt once more like the awkward teen on the first day of school. "Y-yes well...There...will be a suitable compensation for the damages done, I assure you." He said, straightening his tie.

-•-•-

The president was sure nothing else would startle him as he questioned the trio in front of him, but there was a cold sweat breaking out once the Queen informed him of her and her children's positions back on their home planet. Then the little fact that Station Squares growing hero was her son...!

He immediately began apologizing again for their recent ordeal, and Sonia was beside her self in a giggle fit as the man was just so openly honest about his intentions as neither she nor Manic could sense anything two-faced about him.

He wasn't doing it to try and secure his position for the next elections, but was honestly upset that he had wronged them and for how they had been treated so far.

Sonia and Manic were amazed by the skill in diplomatic talks their mother held as well, as by the end of the day, the President had secured the Queen- and thusly themselves and Sonic- as allies of the U. return the Royal family and Kharis had been given an all expenses paid brand new home to stay until the Mobians could go home! Best part was, the home itself was a sprawling mansion that was also going to be fully staffed!

They were given pictures of the home to look over, in case any changes needed to be made to accommodate the Royal family while it was being fixed up. The only reason it was able to be offered though it seemed is because the home was on the very outskirts of the city, a few miles into a sprawling forestry to the north.

It had been abandoned almost a century ago, with vines covering the white stone walls, sprawling gardens left unattended, the roof high reaching but in need of repair. At the steps, about 50 in number, and framing the entrance way were four Greek styled pillars.

The two on the inside closest to the frosted glass rose doors were white marble in the Ionic style, while the two on the outside beside those had been designed in the Corinthian style. It had large iron gates at the entrance onto the the property, rusted and broken down and covered in roses and prickly vines covered in thorns...

"Well...it has potential!" Sonia chirped happily from the few photos they had from the outside. Her comment made her brother cringe, remembering the ghastly castle they visited years back where she said the same thing.

That was going to shock their human friend quite a bit, as Queen Aleena refused any compensation the President offered if Kharis wasn't included. Even though it was just for a short time that they had been together, the trio agreed that they wouldn't leave the young woman alone as the memories haunted their minds. Plus, she needed support and a family, and the Mobians were more than eager to be that for her.

As they were escorted to a temporary hotel that the group would stay in as the house was fixed, Queen Aleena was thoroughly examining papers that the Vice President had given her at the end of their visit. It was a peace treaty as well as an alliance offer with all the details in full.

Queen Aleena may have had the proper trust set for the President himself, but there was something off with the Vice President and she didn't want her children in any danger by the man.

She couldn't let him taint Kharis' heart either.

-•-•-•-•-•-•-

Kharis felt bad for her little white lie as she drove on down the gravel road. She wasn't scheduled back to work till tomorrow, but told Queen Aleena and her children it was today.

She truly felt remorseful for the action, but it had to be done. She had to get rid of the Chaos Emerald in her possession. Plus, it went with a plan she had been secretly working on as well for the last few days.

She had to get the Royal family back together, if it was the last thing she ever did.

The old white Chevy cavalier car stuttered and whined as she slowed to a stop, the large walls of the Diamond Baseball field standing a few dozen feet away. It was set to be demolished soon, and the grounds Caretaker was a dear friend she had made back when she was waiting tables as a teenager, trying to pay her way through college.

Walking on the grand field always brought with it a sense of excitement, with the years of energy from the hundreds of games played there seeped deeply into the stands and the green turf of the playing field.

Kharis was never much of a sports fan, though she enjoyed dodgeball, tennis, and badminton growing up. Still though, she did have a healthy respect towards the game of baseball as well.

It was here, if the caretaker allowed, that she wanted to reunite the Mobian royal family. By planting the Chaos Emerald here, she knew Sonic and his group would locate it and come there...and then...she could reunite the family at last.

"There you are, Kharis! I haven't seen you in months!" The kind man said, greeting her as he came out onto the grounds, interrupting her inner thoughts.

"Hello Mr. Robinson! It's great to see you again!" She replied, giving the elder a hug. They were good friends and he often acted like a grandpa towards her, although their ages weren't quiet right for that.

"So what brings you all the way out here, my dear? Something troubling you?" He asked, a knowing gaze shimmering in his wise eyes.

Briefly, Kharis brought him up to date with the current events happening around her, going so far as to show him the Chaos Emerald and the Heart. They even thought up a cover story about him just finding the emerald on the grounds instead of being asked to hold it.

They spent hours just talking and enjoying each other's company, as he didn't get very many visitors with his children out of state. It was later in the afternoon when he had a peculiar request for Kharis after listening to hers about reuniting the family.

"Would you mind singing for me, Kharis?" He asked, leaning on a cold metal seat up in one of the stands they had retired to after walking around for a bit.

She tried to convince him otherwise, her singing was horrible! He wouldn't budge though, and she grumbled as she stood up, being bribed by thoughts of reuniting the family and an Orange Xtreme slush he would buy for her.

Clearing her throat as she adjusted herself, she forced herself to calm down.

She focused, clearing her mind as she listened to the world around her, the bussing of insects, twittering birds and the rush of the cool north winds. She took a deep breathe as she closed her eyes, clutched the Heart to her chest and raised her voice in song.

"High up in the mountains, sang the lonely souls

From the peaks down to the oceans,

Where can we call home?

The boy sang a low melody

The girl sang a saddened song

The birds chirped the beat and the mountain rhythms on.

The forest held the memories, of all that had passed

Inside the diamonds sleeping

Awaken it at last!

Cling on to

that last light of hope.

Hold on to your heart, don't ever let it go!

For as we sing up in the mountains

We are not alone.

From the peaks to the oceans

We have found our home..."