Champs and Chumps

Trystan was still glaring down at the open page of his notebook back in the workshop. He had been sitting in there the whole day, doing jack shit, and it was closing in on four in the evening. He'd gone out and sparred with Bunnie, who told the few other militia members that had trained him once to just let her handle it. Despite taking a lot out of him, he found training with her very enjoyable, as he considered her a very engaging teacher. Upon realizing the play on words in his thought, he chuckled to himself and quickly went back to boring holes in his book, silently willing words to appear there. He had to find something to write about today, besides the obvious training.

The only other thing that came to him was from when he was wandering around getting familiar with Knothole's layout, and he heard a civvie mutter "Hope he gets lost in Robotropolis." To make a long story short, there were some increasingly harsher words exchanged and Sally actually had to come in and break things up.

He really didn't want to be overly negative in this book, but still jotted down, Some mobians will just be jerks, I guess.

And then as if fate itself sensed his growing boredom, Rotor threw the workshop door wide open, which caused Trystan to jump a little. "Hey, Trystan, how do you feel about going on your first mission?"

"'Bout goddamned time," he responded, standing up from the raggedy mattress on the floor.

"Good. We're all in the meeting rooms over the training center."

Rotor left the door open and disappeared. Trystan, on the other hand, retrieved his duffel bag that he had been carrying when he left New Pacific, containing only his clothes now, since he had access to a reliable source of food and water. He reached a separate compartment from the main one and opened it up, taking out his knife, revolver, and car keys.

"...and from there, we circle around this block to the next set of Auto Dusters and take them out. Anyone need a recap?"

"So, get in, get out, trash everything in sight," Sonic summarized.

"And don't get caught," Sally added.

Sonic chuckled, scratching the back of his head in a cocky manner. "What I am wondering," Antoine inquired, "eez 'ow we will be destroying zee Adieu Dusters so quietly."

Sonic was trying (and failing) not to snicker at Antoine. "That's 'Auto' Dusters, Ant."

"Zat is what I said…'Adieu' Dusters." Sonic kept chuckling and shook his head.

Sally strode around the table in the middle of the room. "Putting the main production plant out of commission will help speed that process along, Antoine."

Amy tapped Bunnie on the shoulder and whispered, "Hey, Bunnie, how's the Overlander doing?"

"Trystan? He's doin' right fine, why d'y'all ask?"

"I don't know if this is a good idea."

Bunnie gave her a subtle look of disbelief. "Ah think his trainin'll pull 'im through. Why? Don't tell me yer worried 'bout him, sugah."

"No, I'm worried about what he's capable of doing now that you're his teacher…"

"Aw, c'mon now. Ah think he's a good kid. Trystan ain't gonna do nothing drastic, sugah," Bunnie affirmed.

"What if he-"

"Dies? I don't think Trystan will be in much trouble," Sally interrupted. "If he really has survived seven years in Switch Nightmare City, I think he'll adapt." She paused and looked at Rotor with a slightly confused expression. "Speaking of which, shouldn't he be here by now?"

"He was lagging behind a little bit. I saw him grab something from a bag just before I left him, but he should be here any second."

Then Trystan himself opened the doors of the office, clad in his classic hoodie and sweats, but now he was packing a belt with his three gadgets attached: his revolver, his knife, and his car keys. He looked fairly confident as he strode in as well.

"Alright boys...what're we fuckin' up today?" he expressed by smacking his fists together.

"...Well, he looks ready, that's for sure," Sally muttered.

"A knife and a gun I can understand, but what's the little metal stick for?" Sonic asked.

Trystan smirked and touched the side of his keys, which chirped in response. "Those are my car keys, needles. Anyhoo, sorry I'm late and all, now what's the skinny?"

Sally gave him the basic rundown: enter a factory via the Robotropolis sewer system. While one team destroys the assembly line that refines the ores to build the hulls of the Auto Dusters, a separate team gets into another warehouse to destroy every prototype inside. Trystan noted it sounded "hella fun," and pretty soon, the group consisting of Trystan, Amy, Sonic, Tails, Sally, Antoine, and Bunnie had all left Knothole and were crawling through an open sewage pipe next to a small stream spewing out oily sludge, something Antoine made a verbal note of in the form of a disgusted comment.

They continued on for a few miles, and Tails peeking up through a sewage grate after they began hearing the sounds of machinery above their heads confirmed they were close. The only problem with traveling by underground was that it was dark.

"I can't see shit." Trystan had barely finished his thought when he had to cover his eyes as Tails activated and held up a flashlight, illuminating the pipes around them. The T-section they were in was caked in poisonous-looking waste. After he took a good long look at it all, he thought, At least it isn't shit-sewage, I guess.

Sally brought out Nicole and said, "Nicole, display the map of Robotropolis' downtown district, please."

"Of course," she replied, and quickly beamed out a holomap. Sally issued the command to highlight the fastest route to their target factory, and when a trail of red appeared on the lime-green map, she said "Alright, we're splitting into teams to get this done. Sonic, Bunnie, Tails, and Amy, go to the left and work on destroying Robotnik's prototypes. Antoine, Trystan, and myself will go straight ahead and work on shutting down his production process."

Amy made a small cheer and flung her arms around Sonic, who gently pushed her off. "Alright then, guys. See ya in two shakes!" He wasted no time in picking Amy back up and racing away, with Tails hot on their heels.

Trystan watched them go and as Bunnie passed him, she gestured for everyone to follow her. "Let's get walkin' y'all."

"Walk? Why should we walk..." Trystan said as he clicked the activation button on his keys. The hatch opened and his hoverbike materialized right in the middle of the sewage pipe, casting a cyan glow from the maglev. This caused everyone to jump, Antoine's reaction being the most extreme as he yelled "Mon Dieu!" and cowered behind Sally.

"...When I can just do this?"

"W-w-w-where did you get zat from?"

Trystan laughed and boarded his vehicle. "Nanites, my friend. Don't worry, it still functions just like any motorbike would. Hop on, people, and let's get this done!" Although initially hesitant, the other three Freedom Fighters got on as well (with poor Antoine trying not to fall off the back), and they proceeded forward. Trystan had to keep the bike in its standard hovering mode in order to ensure there was enough room for all four of them. And the dead silence of the area wasn't making things any less awkward.

"I...never knew you had this," Sally said after awhile.

"Everybody in New Pacific had one. Well, they weren't all motorbikes, but you get my drift."

"And y'all said these were nanites, too? Like the ones we got back home?" Bunnie questioned.

Trystan nodded. He heard Sally say "Might have to get Rotor and Tails to look at this tech…" and told her that there was no way either of them would touch his stuff without him being present to watch.

Sonic, Amy, and Tails had made it to Robotnik's warehouse in record time; Sonic really didn't need a map to know when he was under it. He had just developed a knack for either finding things, or stumbling into them as he pushed forward, which was usually the most likely option. They had lifted the sewer grate up and were in the back of the factory. Tails quickly scanned the wall. "Darn it. No vents. I wish we could just blow a hole in the wall without practically screaming 'Hey, Robotnik, we're over here.'"

"Then why worry and just get it over with?" Sonic immediately wound himself up into a spin dash and charged forward, causing the wall in front of them to explode open. After the noise died down and the smoke cleared, the warehouse was opened up and it showed two opposite rows of Auto Dusters (not to mention numerous SWATbots roaming the place, and who were now closing in on the intruders). Sonic whistled. "Wow. They look so clean and shiny." He grinned maliciously. "Would be a shame if someone trashed'em."

After he raced forward, Amy and Tails followed him, with a passing, "He's so brave," from Amy.

"I dunno, Amy. You know Robotnik likes to lay traps."

"Even if there is one in here Tails, he can get out of it...even if we weren't with him. He is Sonic, after all!" She quickly pulled out her hammer and sideswiped a SWATbot coming in from the left, sending the robot back into the wall.

Sonic wasted no time in obliterating every SWATbot that was running at him. He spin dashed into an entire group of SWATbots, sending them reeling and breaking them all open, slowing down as he approached the opposite end of the storage space and he began revving himself up again. Sonic built his speed up to maximum and went straight for the nearest Auto-Duster…

Which he bounced off of, leaving only a dent in the hull. When he landed and heard no explosion, he glanced up to see how much damage he did and grimaced. "Crap. Couldn't make this easy, could ya, lardball? Amy!"

Amy, who had been pulverizing a few other SWAT units with her hammer, immediately stopped and looked over at him. Sonic stood where he was with his arms crossed, and he pointed to the dent he just made with his thumb. Then he crouched down, assuming a position like an Olympic runner.

Amy paused for a second before she grinned and nodded, and pulled out her hammer. Sonic charged up another spin dash again and rushed forward, meeting Amy's hammer as she swung it as hard as possible and sent him careening backward into the hull of the machine. That managed to do a number on it, and Sonic kept using his momentum to bounce back so Amy could send him into the Duster again. It only took five shots to total the thing, and pretty soon, the entire warehouse was in shambles.

Sally slowly lifted up a sewer grate and made a quick look around before throwing the cover off and jumping out, followed by Trystan, Bunnie and Antoine.

"Gimme your hand, Ant."

After Trystan lifted Antoine out, he brushed the dust off his coat, crossed his arms and said, "Do not even start with me, Overlander. Sonic eez bad enough."

Trystan just smirked and kept walking. "So, where is this place, Sally?"

"A couple blocks ahead. Everything looks clear for now," she explained as she scanned the area for any SWATbots or Robians. "Follow me, everyone."

Unknown to them, high up on the metallic spires of the once pristine buildings surrounding them, there were figures clad in red and gold steel and kevlar, their helmets adorned with a line of red fibers running back to front. One of them had been staring down from his perch, surveying the ground with a pair of binoculars. He managed, despite the thick smog in the air, to find the group of Freedom Fighters below them. He paused for only a second.

"Verifex Thoms, sir!"

Another soldier who had been on the other side of the building stood up and made his way over to the first soldier. "Martialis…?"

"Down there, look sir. You won't believe it." The commanding officer, now surrounded by the other six people in the squadron, peered through the binoculars, and could clearly see the group of mobians for below them. He pressed a button on his helmet, and the earpiece inside crackled to life.

"What is it, soldier?" came an unnaturally calm voice from the other end.

"One of my men spotted a group of mobians on the streets below us."

"Damn it, I told all of you this in mission briefing, do not engage them or anything else. We are not picking fights, we are doing reconnaissance."

"Understood, sir, but you're not gonna believe this. There's another Overlander with them." The Verifex thought he heard a very faint but sharp intake of breath from the man on the other side, but he went silent for a minute.

"...Give me video confirmation."

"Ave." The commander pressed another button on his helmet and his visor lit up blue. The outline of a broad man cloaked in shadow and sitting in some kind of grand hall appeared on it, and the commander brought up the binoculars to his eyes.

The grim-looking man in the video feed could see them all. A lean chipmunk, a half-mechanical rabbit, a well-dressed coyote, but most importantly, a young, slim Overlander with black hair and a blue hoodie.

No response came from the other man for awhile, which prompted the Verifex to ask, "...Um...sir?"

"I've just sent a message to team Zeta Iota. They will be delivering a care package to your twenty in precisely zero-thirty minutes," he said. "...I don't think I need to say that it's not for you, unfortunately."

"We understand, sir. We'll be looking out for it."

"Good. Is that all, lancers?"

"Ave."

"Good. Over and out."

The main door of the observation deck opened up to let Dr. Robotnik barely squeeze through, as the doors were only almost completely open. Snively had been checking cameras on his dashboard, but he quickly turned around to salute the doctor. "Good evening, Your Greatness…"

"Snively, I was right in the middle of torturing some members of a Freedom Fighter group that had been brought in from West Robotropolis. This had better be good." Robotnik sat down in his mechanized throne, awaiting Snively's next words, dearly hoping that a Freedom Fighter from the Great Forest had committed suicide or gone insane for some reason. It would be a joy to hear their agonized screams.

"Bad news out of the way first, sir…" He heard Robotnik growl like a caged animal and tried not to gulp too loudly. Snively flicked a switch and brought up a video feed of Sonic, Amy, and Tails destroying the last Auto Duster in Robotnik's warehouse. "...Sonic got to the first warehouse of Auto Dusters before we could move them." Robotnik sighed and massaged his forehead with his fingers. "We did save three, sir."

"Snively…"

"Yes, sir?"

Robotnik's voice began to increase steadily. "I believe I recalled ordering you to get those Auto Dusters moved immediately after the Freedom Fighters stole my data on them!" He had crossed the floor and was now holding Snively by the collar.

"I did, sir!" he squeaked, "The SWATbots of section kappa-twelve said they'd get right to it after they were finished building the copper statue of you defeating the Freedom Fighters!"

"You should know better than to rely on the SWATbots, Snively!" Robotnik dropped him unceremoniously. "The only thing they seem to be good for these days is cannon fodder!"

Snively coughed and picked himself back up shakily. He said nothing else until he flicked the switch again and the camera view changed to the catwalks above one of Robotnik's industrial refineries. "Apparently, Sonic and his two furry little friends aren't the only ones here, Your Rotundness." There were three figures Robotnik recognized scurrying around. One was Princess Sally, Bunnie, who had just barely managed to escape his clutches a couple years prior, and Sally's incompetent bodyguard. Robotnik had decided to roboticize him last because he would provide at least several good laughs before Robotnik ran him through the machine.

But there was someone he didn't recognize. "What's this...? Another Overlander?"

"Yes, sir. I can only assume he came from the city to the west that you conquered as well." Snively kept staring at the screen, because on the inside, he was surprisingly intrigued by how an Overlander managed to gain the trust of their sworn enemies. Robotnik, however, watched the Overlander and kept darting his eyes between him and the other Freedom Fighters with him. His expression slowly shifted from intrigue to morbid glee. Snively noticed this change and stammered, "S...sir...?"

"Yes, Snively…" Robotnik clasped his hands and began tapping his fingers against each other. "I do believe this changes...everything."

The ore made several stops along the assembly line: first, a laser cut up the solid rock that housed whatever minerals were inside, then it went through some sort of machine that could extract the major pockets of ore deposits, and finally the whole thing was sent through back-to-back chambers that seemed to refine and temper the metal.

"Monsieur Overlander! Geet to my location, on zee double!"

Trystan rolled his eyes and quickly fell in step behind Antoine, who was obviously enjoying having someone low on the totem pole he could order around. Sally had split them up even further, and although Trystan didn't agree with it, he said nothing. He silently kicked himself for forgetting that she told him he had every right to speak up and suggest an alternative, but that ship had sailed already. He'd been paired with Antoine, which wasn't terrible, as his hilarious accent made up for his bloated ego.

"Oh, shit!"

Trystan's sudden exclamation over the whirring of machinery made Antoine scream and dive behind a couple metal crates, shaking uncontrollably. Trystan couldn't help but laugh, and that made him pretty steamed.

"W-w-w-what eez in zee wrong with your head?"

"Nothin', Frenchy, why d'ya ask? Don't tell me you were scared, now?"

Antoine stuttered, half in disbelief, half still in fear. "M-m-moi? I think not! I was, erm...tuning my vocal range. Eet eez, 'ow do you say…'warming up?'"

Trystan chuckled. "Whatever you say, Antoine."

They kept walking, trying to find the secondary control room for the operations of the refinement plant, as Sally had informed them earlier that both control rooms had to be destroyed. She had also told them where to go, but the catwalks interwoven between the stations of the assembly line were maze-like.

"I swear to God we've been here before."

"Non, Overlander, we 'ave never circled back around upon ourselves even once."

Trystan huffed. "You said that five minutes ago, after we turned three corners consecutively. I'm taking point." He shoved Antoine aside and jumped up to grab a rung on a walkway above him, pulling out his gun and knife when he pulled himself up. He pointed at Antoine, deadpanned "Stay here," and dashed off.

Antoine wiped his forehead. "Fantastique! At zee very least, I do not have him peeking over my shoulder." He sat down against a wall, unaware that there was a security camera trained directly on him.

The camera switched over to Trystan, who had just entered the secondary control room wand was puzzling over the dashboard. Dr. Robotnik was rubbing his hands together enough to burn off the palm of the glove on his right hand. "Let's see what your priorities are, my little friend."

Trystan was studying the mishmash of buttons on the control panel that he managed to find a couple minutes earlier, after walking in a straight line from when he left Antoine. Every button and switch had no indication of what function they performed, and there were coolant cells everywhere; to make it worse, Sally wasn't inside the primary control room just across from him to relay directions. He had no choice but to wait, so he slumped to the floor, leaning against the control module itself.

He had been lost in thought, mainly those of home and how to complete the current mission to get himself a better reputation with the Freedom Fighters when he heard someone scream. The high pitch told him it was Antoine, and he immediately shot up to his feet and was going to bolt in the direction he came when he remembered he still had to deal with the control panel somehow.

He swung his gaze between it and the archway back to the factory. "...Goddamnit..."

He was stuck in this back-and-forth between the mission and the thought of an innocent in danger (even if it was Antoine). If he stayed, he'd have to find a faster way to sabotage the controls, but if he left, it would be harder to take the factory down, if not impossible once the alarms inevitably kicked in. Trystan didn't have to linger very long to make his choice, though, and in his hurried mindset, it was the only course of action.

Trystan pulled out his knife and revolver and he pumped the gun's power up a notch by using the switch on its grip. At the cost of two bullets in its eighteen-round magazine, he put a couple holes in the control module and blew out every coolant cell he saw. Most of the machinery in the room exploded, fizzled, and otherwise shorted out. He dashed out of the room without checking anything else and muttered, "Fuck my life."

Sally and Bunnie were still making their way to the primary control room (and only had a couple more steps to go) when they both heard Antoine's scream.

"Oh mah stars, that sounded like Antoine!"

Upon hearing and registering what was happening, Sally picked up her pace. "Bunnie, you go after him, I'll wait for Trystan to-"

She stopped short after she entered the main control room and could clearly see the secondary module in flames and malfunctioning. Sally muttered "Oh, my God," under her breath and turned right around and followed Bunnie. "Change of plans, Bunnie. I'll follow you!"

Trystan eventually caught up to where he heard Antoine's screams coming from. As luck would have it, he could see him down a couple floors and a dozen or so feet away, being carted off by one of those nasty looking metal motherfuckers. SWATbots, he thought he heard them being called. It was holding him by the collar.

"Do not be reprogramming me, s-s-s-s-s'il vous plaît! I w-w-w-would look hideux i-in m-m-metal!"

Trystan pulled out his revolver and judged he had about four charges, which meant he had two shots to nail this guy. One shot…

It fell short by a mile and hit the floor.

"Shit." He aimed again and fired. The SWATbot had heard him by now over the whirring machinery and it would have been hilarious to see it crumple to the ground soon after, if the bullet hadn't blasted a now-leaking steam valve. The SWATbot started running and went through an automatic door. Trystan vaulted over the handrailing and got his way down to the ground floor quickly, racing after the both of them. He quickly flicked his wrist and the chamber of his gun detached from the barrel, letting off steam and pouring out some viscous, white-blue liquid. He flicked it again and the chamber snapped back into place.

He got through the door and to his surprise, found an empty tertiary control room with only one large monitor on the far wall, and Antoine in the middle, sobbing, but otherwise he looked no worse for wear. Trystan put his gun down and walked up to him.

"Jesus, Frenchy, you didn't even put up a fight!" Trystan's voice seemed to get him to calm down, even if only slightly. "You could have at least struggled a little. Ah, well, worst's behind us now. You okay?"

Antoine stood up straight and puffed out his chest. He sniffled a little before speaking. "I have nevair been more fine in my entire life, merci," he enunciated.

Trystan sighed with a reluctant smile, but started to look around when he realized there was something missing. "Hey, where'd the walking heap of spare parts go?"

To answer this question, multiple panels on the walls swung around, revealing ten SWATbots at the ready. Poor Antoine screamed, "Are you being serious with moi? I am nearing my wit's den!"

Trystan brought his gun back up. "Antoine, go and find the girls. And that's 'wit's end,' by the way." He ran right back out the door he was brought in before Trystan could check to see if he was actually gone. When he turned around, however, the SWATbots remained motionless for a moment before bringing their arms up to cross over their chests. Trystan had no idea what this meant, but eventually decided on it being a good exercise for hitting targets.

"Hail-"

They never got to finish whatever statement was being read out. Either that, or it was drowned out over the sound of gunfire and pretty soon, all ten SWATbots had bullet holes through various parts of their bodies.

"That was odd," Trystan whispered after the noise died down. He put his gun away and was about to walk out when he saw light appear on the back wall, coming from the giant monitor. He turned slowly to see the face of a bald man with an orange moustache and black eyes, grinning from ear to ear. "Who…"

"Greetings, my young kinsman," came the stranger's malice-tinted voice. "I am Doctor Julian Robotnik."

Antoine had been going full speed through the factory, although he hadn't been looking where he was going, considering he was still plenty scared out of his wits. When he looked in front of him after making sure he wasn't being chased by the SWATbot that had no doubt obliterated Trystan by now, he had no time to stop as he saw Bunnie round a corner in front of him and they both collided.

There were a couple grunts of pain, and Sally found them both soon after. "Antoine! What happened?"

Antoine, thinking quickly, pushed himself to his feet and assisted Bunnie as well before dusting his coat off and pulling the best story he could think of out his ass. "Ah, mon princess! I have come to warn you of zee SWATbots zat appeared only moments before I found you!" he stated with a theatrical hand wave.

"The SWATbots found us...?" She tensed up and sighed. "Alright, I think our mission's been compromised. Hopefully, Sonic's had better luck...wait, where's Trystan?"

"Ah, oui! Well, I followed a SWATbot into a nearby room after zee Overlander volunteered to scout ahead for us both, and, erm, found a room...with more of zem! So, I called zee Overlander in to help myself investigate, but zen, zey all activated! I offered to stay and fend zem off, but zee Overlander forced me out before zee doors locked behind him-"

"Well, shoot, we gotta save him!" Bunnie interrupted. She charged off in the direction Antoine came and Sally kept on her tail. Antoine himself, on the other hand, repeated, "No, no, no, eet eez too dangerous!" as he followed them, trying to get them both to run away from whatever slaughter-fest was happening in the other room.

"So you're the 'Robotnik' asswipe everyone's been tellin' me about...I can see why they're scared of you, that outfit is garbage." Trystan took a couple steps forward, trying to repress his anxieties.

Robotnik ignored his previous remark. "I am...quite surprised to see one of my own species after all these years. My assistant, Snively, tells me you might have come from a city to the west...is this true?"

"Why do you need to know?"

Robotnik chuckled after a brief pause. "I like to know my enemies in and out. Or would-be enemies, in this case."

Trystan cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'would-be enemies?' Cut the crap with me. What are you playing at?"

"I like to think of myself as a sensible soul," Robotnik articulated has he tapped his fingertips together. "I'll be willing to make a little deal, a trade of sorts. You seem to be good friends with those...Freedom Fighters." He clenched his teeth as he said the name. "If you'll be kind enough to tell me where Knothole Village is-"

"Nope, sorry. Not interested in committin' treason today." Trystan swung his arm down dramatically and turned to walk away. Robotnik tensed, but didn't give up that easily, though. He had to make Trystan trust him, even if for only a couple minutes.

"...Very well. Perhaps if you're willing to give up and leave all this behind," he emphasized, "I'll grant you one personal wish. Whatever you want."

Trystan came to a slow stop. "...Anything at all?" he inquired.

"Anything at all." Robotnik's unnaturally calm smile told Trystan this was a bad idea, and he was aware that this was a huge breach of trust. But still, he thought, Robotnik's caused a lot of shit. He's gotta know something.

He stared at Robotnik was a gaze almost as cold as the doctor's. "Tell me where my family is...and you won't hear from me again." Almost immediately, he could feel regret seeping into his shoes.

"Family…? Hmm…" Robotnik tapped a touch screen on his control panel, from wherever he was at the time, and it created a kind of holographic screen, which he began to scroll through. Trystan couldn't see anything, which meant all the information was held on the front. He was still tense. "...Perhaps a name or two could jog my memory. I can't seem to find anyone like you from Robotropolis or...wherever it was you came from, New Peace, whatever it was…"

"Fuck you, doc. Mom told me to never give names to strangers." There. Status redeemed.

"Pity. Then I guess you'll never get closure."

Fuck.

Robotnik was waiting. He must have been able to read him like a book. He needed answers; that's what he left New Pacific for. He swallowed hard.

"...Armin, Decker, and Z." Can't take every value of mine-

"No last name, Overlander…?"

He swallowed even harder and stalled again. "...Cronus." God...damnit.

Robotnik went back to the computers, typed something into what he guessed was a search function. They waited.

To Trystan's amazement, one block of information came up, and a sly grin grew on Robotnik's face.

"Well, Overlander, the only name I could pull up was-"

He was interrupted by a clinking sound and sliding metal, and Trystan whipped around to see Sally, Antoine, and Bunnie standing, horrified, in the doorway. None of them even got to call his name, asking what he was doing with Robotnik on the screen, before he pulled out his gun and spun around to blast the monitor apart.

As soon as Robotnik lost a visual on the Freedom Fighters, he brought up a separate panel on the main screen of his control room. A map of Robotropolis flashed to life, and there was a glowing dot somewhere in the southwest district. He tapped it and pressed another button on the control panel. "Attention all SWATbots! Get to District A-19 and surround the main factory there! There are Freedom Fighters inside, so do what you want with them...except Princess Sally! Bring her to me alive!"

Trystan's adrenaline was pumping at full power. He felt a lot of emotions running through his body, but the top three were embarrassment, fear, and regret. Normally, he'd laugh it off, but this time he was ready to take what would be given to him with a mask of stone, because he knew his teammates were assuming the worst. Boy, was he right.

"Trystan, what the hell were you doing?"

"It…" He nearly choked on his own Adam's apple. "It was a temporary moment of weakness, Sally."

Her eyes went wild. "What did you tell him?"

Antoine looked back from taking a peek outside the door. "Mon princess…"

"Trystan!"

"Sally-girl, y'all need t'ask him later!" Bunnie pointed to the outside. "'Twan jus' noticed we're surrounded by SWATbots!"

Everyone went silent, and the only sounds they could hear came from some commotion outside. Sally quickly ran out the door, motioning for everyone to follow her, and they did so (Trystan remained in the back to keep the heat off of him). They continued to weave through the walkways and make their way upward.

They were stopped momentarily by a couple SWATbots coming in through the skylights, but Bunnie and Sally managed to kick them off the catwalk they were on and they broke on the hard concrete floor below. Soon, though, there were SWATbots pouring into the ground floor entrances. Trystan took out his gun and began slinging bullets at the gathered mass of robots, and he managed to down a few, but on the whole they were gaining. He really didn't want to talk, but nobody else was telling him anything, so…

"Can I get a plan of action? Are we going back to the primary control room to do this place in quickly or-"

"We're compromised, Cronus!"

Jesus, she is mad. In all fairness, he could understand that sentiment. I'd be mad too, but at least I didn't give any locations. Sally then told everyone to get to the roof, which they accomplished by breaking a window and jumping out to one of the lower ceilings of the building, which was about three stories above the ground. They all took a leap of faith, although Trystan had to carry Antoine on his back as they fell. A parade of SWATbots then rounded the corner at full speed, but luckily, the group had started moving early enough to lose them on a couple more corners and make it back to the sewer entrance they originally used.

After they had sealed the grate back on top of it, Sally had a few choice words for Trystan. "What the hell were you doing back there, Trystan?" she barked and crossed her arms.

"Antoine got his ass kidnapped and dragged into another room, so I went after him!" he replied incredulously. Antoine shrunk away from them both slightly, but Sally wasn't paying any attention to him.

"You know what I mean! For your sake, I hope you didn't tell him anything important…especially the location of Knothole."

Trystan brought his head down and flipped his hood off, taking a deep breath, trying to keep a straight face. "I talked him out of divulging locations…" Her expression shifted to relief. "Instead, Robotnik promised me anything I wanted in exchange for skipping town."

"Whad'ja tell 'im, Trys?" Bunnie asked. She was expecting the worst.

"I asked him for information on where my family is." He inhaled deeply again and grimaced. "And goddamnit, I was so close to getting at least something," he muttered.

Sally sighed as well. "Well, I'm glad you went after Antoine, but there's no way we can destroy the refinement plant now. Without sabotaging both the primary and secondary control modules, Robotnik can just replace the parts that are broken, and the only way this mission could still be a success is if the factory spontaneously exploded."

Trystan pulled up his car keys and booted up the hoverbike without another word, and they retraced their path back down the sewer pipe and met up with Sonic and the others, who had been waiting for awhile. Although the other three had initially looked pleased, those expressions quickly disappeared when they saw how glum everyone else look, Sonic being the most worried (although he never showed it). When he asked Sally, she walked him slightly further ahead of everyone else and told him she'd explain once they got back to Knothole.

It was almost eight at night when everyone got back into the safe confines of Knothole Village. There were lights strung up around the walkways between the trees and on the small huts, and they were already powered on, thanks to the Power Ring generator developed by Sonic's uncle Charles (better known as Chuck) as a clean alternative energy source, and hidden underneath the great tree in the center of the village, taller and older than any other in the forest.

The group of Freedom Fighters that had been sent out were greeted by Rotor as they strode back into the village proper (tiredly so for Bunnie, Sally, Antoine, and Trystan). "So...how'd everything go, you guys?"

"We turned the Dusters into dust, but I get the feeling Sal's team didn't do so hot," Sonic explained.

Rotor turned to her. "Uh, oh. What happened?"

Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine glanced at Trystan, who did likewise to all of them, and then quickly turned his head away in shame. "We were compromised, everyone. Had some trouble with-"

"Zee Overlander not only drew Robotneek's ire, but we found him contorting with him as well," Antoine stated.

Sonic looked over at Trystan with his arms still folded. "D'ya mean 'consorting?' What the hell were you talkin' to lard-ball for?"

"I didn't want to have anything to do with him, Sonic. I only ended up like that because Antoine here got his pretty-boy behind poached by a SWATbot." He leaned up against the trunk of a small tree.

"After vous instructed moi to stay in one place!"

Trystan froze and dropped his smile. "Oh, of course he brings that up now," he muttered bitterly. There was another awkward silence, made apparent by some crickets calling in the distance, and everyone was staring at Trystan. "...I'll go pack my stuff…"

"Hold it." Trystan stopped and looked back over his shoulder. "I can't be too hard on you since nobody really explained how Robotnik ticks, as far as I know," Sally explained, even though there was still frustration in her voice. "And according to you, you only divulged personal information, which, while not a good idea, it's not threatening our home."

"Hey, I know this isn't the most opportune time," Rotor interrupted, "but speaking of homes, I suppose I should tell you we finished Trystan's cabin."

"No kiddin'" Sonic chuckled. "Talk about killing the mood, Rotor." It helped a little, as everyone got a small giggle out of it.

"Actually, since you mentioned it...I was gonna think of a fitting punishment later, but you're sleeping in the workshop for one more night, Trystan."

He grinned and saluted weakly. "Yes ma'am."