It was New Year's Eve and I must admit, I couldn't help bobbing my head or tapping my feet at times. Just as they had been discussing from my surveillance, Prower and his friends put together a concert for the occasion. His cousin, Dr. Cross, hadn't been able to stay and attend due to his responsibilities back on West Side Island. However, those other two with the hedgehog stuck around; I'm still a little amused at their retelling of trouncing the old owl.

That aside, the fox and his protege, adoptive siblings, and that meddlesome bee made for an impressive musical troupe. They mostly covered the works of other bands and musicians, from what I understood, but they had some originals of their own. Right now, it was a tune they'd come up with called "Danger on the Dance Floor" or something to that effect. It certainly got the crowd in the mood, enough that it was all the easier to blend in with them. Before we all knew it, though, the song was over, and Prower tapped into his microphone to get the crowd's attention.

"Hey everyone, we're only a few minutes away from midnight and the new year!" he announced, getting some excited cheers, "I'm pretty hyped myself. But, you know, it's been one heck of a year, especially toward the end."

I grimaced a bit, because I knew I was responsible for some of that hell he went through. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to become best buds with Prower, but I'm still allowed to feel guilty about my bad choices that affected him. There's also the matter of the Commander wanting me to go after the cyan Chaos Emerald in his possession, which I'm reluctant to do. All the more reason that I have to relay the recent information I've learned since my most recent outing; it would harm G.U.N. more than help if Prower wasn't on the same page.

"I'm glad, though, because my friends, family, and all of you are still here," the two-tailed teen continued, getting an affectionate reaction from the audience. It made me feel like I was going to get diabetes from it all. "So, let's bring in the new year together and get a head start on making it even better than the last!"

Well, that much I could get behind, I guess. To help maintain my facade, and partly because I really did feel like it, I joined in the countdown when it came. After that, Prower and his friends played a couple more songs before calling it a night, thanking everyone for coming and wishing them a Happy New Year. To be honest, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a smidge envious of the adoration he received. It was genuine love and respect without any fear or unease attached, something I'd rarely experienced and doubt my father ever knew.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and refocus on what I felt needed to be done. Shuffling my way over to the local inn I was staying at, I kept an eye on the fox while he bid a good night to the other band members and went his own way. Once they were out of sight, I rushed into my room and changed into my flight suit, then headed towards what would be the southeastern shore of Puru Puru Lake. I took to the air and went to the western side, where I managed to catch sight of Prower walking into the cabin he had at the edge of Poroi Forest. I zipped over the treeline north of his humble home and landed in the clearing, but no sooner did I do so when I picked up a tinny growl coming from close to the fox's abode.

Although it wasn't identical to how I'd last seen it, there stood Prower's loyal companion, Remi, staring me down with electric blue eyes. I would have been more surprised to see it if I hadn't listened in during their celebration on Christmas Day and had that spoiled. All the same, the robot started barking at me, which soon prompted the front door of the cabin to loudly swing open.

"Who's there!?" I heard my rival demand.

I had been intending to announce my presence anyway, although this wasn't quite what I'd had in mind. To show I didn't mean any harm, I raised my hands into the air as a light from Prower's most reliable invention shined over me.

"Speedy!" he exclaimed in a predictable, but justifiably furious way as he stomped over to me. Although now wasn't the time, a minor remnant of my old animosity surfaced upon seeing the anger in those cyan-blue eyes. "Here to try and take my Chaos Emerald like the last time we met?"

I didn't blame him for assuming that, but that wasn't the case now, and I needn't give the most polite response. "Use that genius brain of yours, Prower. If I wanted to actually attempt to secure it, my partner would have come with me and we would've chosen a less conspicuous night."

Prower didn't seem like he believed me, but neither did he make any movements to apprehend me. He just kept his gaze locked on mine for what felt like half the night before he waved a hand to call off Remi. The companion bot joined his side, but still glanced at me cautiously as it went over to its master.

"Then why are you here?" he asked in a calmer and more even, but still somewhat strained tone.

As much as I wanted to divulge everything right there and then, it was late, and there wasn't enough time to tell him every last detail anyway. With that in mind, I crossed my arms and jerked my head in the direction of Mt. Pori Pori.

"I came to talk, but now isn't a good time," I answered, puffing through my nostrils, "get some rest first, then settle whatever affairs you have and meet me where we finished our first battle at, say." I paused to think of a time. "1300 hours. I only ask that you come alone." I gave him a wry smirk. "But, if coming armed will help assuage your skepticism, I won't stop you."

Prower narrowed his eyes, and I could just barely make out the sound of him biting back a snarl. I wasn't offended; he had every right to hate me after everything I'd done to him and those he cared about, whether directly or vicariously.

"Fine, I'm willing to listen," the teen told me after some consideration, "but I still don't trust you."

I shrugged indifferently, expecting such a remark. "Whatever. Don't show me up or keep me waiting tomorrow, Prower."

With that, I made my leave, still feeling his steely gaze on my back as I flew off; it provoked a shudder from me that I hadn't felt since the last time we clashed. I returned to the modest room I'd been staying in for the past several days and changed back into my civilian disguise. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep after that, simply by laying atop the covers as stiff as a board. That was how I had been used to it since I was very young, and even with a relatively more "relaxed" life ahead of me, I doubt that's one thing about myself that would ever change.

The next day, or rather later that day, I checked out of the inn and lounged around in the village until the time came for my meeting with Prower. I once again donned my flight suit when I reached the top of Mt. Pori Pori, then patiently stayed put for that fox. Fortunately, he didn't keep me waiting for long, and just as we'd arranged, he showed up by himself; not even his artificial ally was accompanying him. If there was another thing I could respect about Prower, it was that he was an Animal of his word; not like my father or the doctor, who spoke out of both sides of their beaks.

"Alright, 'Ace,'" he addressed me as he touched down, apparently having not forgotten when Rouge mentioned my moniker during our previous confrontation, "it's the first day of the new year and there are a lot of things I'd rather be doing right now than dealing with you. So, let's just get this over with, okay?"

He really could be blunt when he wanted to be. Still, I did my best to ignore his unwelcoming attitude and meet that piercing glare of his.

"Believe me, I would have preferred to meet when I was ready to fight you again," I replied through a clenched beak, "but a lot has happened in the last couple of months, especially over the previous few weeks." I glanced down at the insignia on my uniform and sighed irritably. "The Commander doesn't want any of it getting out, but I'm not sure how much longer it can stay under wraps."

My high-flying rival tilted his head curiously. "And this matter concerns me?"

"Oh, there's plenty to concern you, Prower." I took a seat on the flattest bit of stone I could find and got comfortable. I then pulled out a data pad that carried most of the information I needed for this meeting. "It's a long story, but it's important that I start from the beginning so that you can understand why I felt compelled to tell you."

When Rouge and I had returned from our assignment on Angel Island, Commander Bullock hadn't been pleased. The aging human hadn't flown into a rage or berated us, but he'd made it very clear that he was disappointed. In a way, it reminded me a little bit of my father, only without the sadism and smug sense of superiority. I knew that unlike the Kukku troops around the Emperor, the other soldiers and agents of G.U.N. respected their leader without fearing him.

Well, they weren't entirely fearless of him, I should say; he wasn't very fond of those that didn't produce results. Case in point, Bullock had me reassigned to duty on Prison Island for failing and abandoning the mission to retrieve the cyan Chaos Emerald. I wasn't an inmate there, but given that I could rarely go anywhere without some form of accompaniment for about 50 days, I might as well have been. There wasn't a lot to do aside from watching over the prisoners we did have and making rounds about the island, so it was quite dull.

Rouge had gotten a lighter punishment, though it was hard to keep her pinned down with how sneaky and slippery she could be. Why the commander keeps tolerating her occasional disregard for protocol is beyond me. Speaking of that bat, after my punishment was lightened to where I could roam the complex on my own, she decided that was the time to pay me a visit. I had been out in the Zone designated as the White Forest, peacefully observing the sunset through the trees, when she approached me by dropping out of the canopy. She enjoyed trying to surprise me, but brutal military training had conditioned me so that she rarely caught me off my guard.

"What do you want?" I griped, knowing that she always had a reason for coming to see me personally.

"Oh, don't be like that, Ace," she responded in her sensual and smooth voice that no doubt had tempted a number of people, "I just wanted to come and see how you were doing in a pretty, yet suffocating place such as this."

I gave her a look that clearly communicated that I wasn't in the mood for games. "Spare me the niceties and tell me why you're really here, Rouge."

She pouted for a moment and let out a "hmph" at my reply. I simply stood there, stern as I usually am, until she made a "tsk" and folded her arms.

"You really need to loosen up more, Ace," she grumbled, "it's not good for your health to be so serious all the time." Her expression quickly changed to a sly one as she decided to get to the point. "Anyway, the boss has assigned us a new mission, and don't worry, it's got nothing to do with retrieving that beautiful gem from your foxy BFF."

That got under my feathers. "Prower is not my friend, much less my best! He is a genetic mutant and a bleeding heart that happens to be my rival!"

"Don't forget he also gave you a second chance at living your own life," Rouge coyly reminded me.

(Technically, that was your third chance that got you where you are now.)

(I know that!)

I snorted in annoyance. "I haven't. Just give me the details about our assignment."

"Okay, Mr. Grumpy," she teased me one last time. She'd apparently gotten enough amusement from me for her liking, for the time being. "We're supposed to investigate some strange activity that the Wildlife Sanctuary on Flicky Island reported recently."

Now she had my attention. To most people, Flicky Island is just some isolated bit of earth in the Pacific that's known for hosting species of the avian Critters not seen anywhere else in the world. Aside from a small community set up to help preserve these Flickies, the island remained untouched by the hands of civilization. Tourism was prohibited, and only those with proper qualifications, or exceptions such as G.U.N. agents could legally set foot there.

(You said "to most people" earlier. Well, what's Flicky Island to the Kukkus?)

(I'll get to that in time, Prower, if you let me continue.)

"So it's our job to discover the source," I concluded. The bat answered me with an "mhm" to confirm, but I had to press. "Was there anything else?"

Rouge flashed me a sultry smirk. I should have known that wasn't all there was to it.

"Well," she crooned as if to tickle my ear holes. That woman could be so damn vexing. "I got a hold of some juicy information from the archives after I convinced records to let me take a peak above my clearance level."

I was tempted to make a snarky comment about how exactly she got them to allow that, yet refrained. Not to be polite, but because I was genuinely curious about what she had learned from snooping around.

"Information that might be of interest to me?" I inquired.

"Of course," she answered as she stuck up her nose, "why else would I come all this way to tell you?" She chuckled when I rolled my eyes and motioned for her to continue. "Well, it turns out that there's a very important prisoner being held in the lowest levels of this facility. I wasn't able to get much, though; just an ID and a vague idea of what they'd done to get locked up here."

While I'll concede that I was intrigued at this news, there was a significant problem. "What good does that do us exactly? I don't have access to those sectors, and I'm pretty sure that you don't either."

Rouge flashed a sheepish smile at me, which caused me to heave a sigh of exasperation. Either she found a way around the issue or ran into trouble while trying to figure that part out. My third guess, which was that it was both of those, turned out to be the right one.

"So, while I was leafing through what I'd found out about our mystery criminal," she explained, "the boss caught me with the documents and saw that they're 'beyond my station' to be looking at. He was ready to give me another one of his little lectures, but he stopped once he saw the ID of the person on file."

That certainly struck me as bizarre. I had to wonder then what sort of ne'er-do-well would be so well-hidden within the archives that seeing their record would cause such a reaction in the Commander. Rouge could see the curiosity etched in my face, so she carried on.

"He told me that interrogating this prisoner might actually be worth our time." She shamelessly produced a couple of silvery key cards from her top and handed one to me. "These'll grant us access to where he's being held. The boss said it's got the guy's information on them, so we won't have to tell the guard who we're visiting."

I gave her a disgusted look before swiftly snatching it out of her hand. That I was bothered by her behavior made her giggle, which served to further ruffle my plumage. Since I'd already let her get to me enough that day, I allowed myself a brief respite to calm down, then resumed the conversation.

"And that was that?" I had to wonder.

"He didn't say anything after approving these," she answered in regards to the cards, "but I've gotta say, he had a pretty scary look in those eyes of his when I walked out." A mischievous smirk crossed those glossy lips. "If I didn't know better, I'd say there's something personal between Commander Bullock and whoever this guy is."

That in and of itself was a tempting lead to follow. However, I was eager to get started with the mission, and the sooner we got this step out of the way, the better. We went through the narrow corridors of the Prison Hall, where a good many cells were currently occupied. Though some of them recognized me and tried to get my attention one way or another, I paid them no mind. And while it was more difficult to ignore the ogling that went Rouge's way, I wasn't concerned. It was obvious she enjoyed toying with them, but she'd likely make them regret it if they actually tried reaching through the bars.

After a few minutes, we came to an elevator that brought us down to what would be the fifth lowest level in that area of the compound. The other four were only reachable via a separate lift that was likewise exclusively accessed on that floor, but that wasn't all, of course. There was surveillance high up on the walls, all arranged so that they were spaced apart diagonally, leaving one camera for every three meters, each equipped with a tiny energy turret. Hunter and Hawk units were stationed at many different points on our way to the next lift, with a few Hornets present as well. Not that shocking, given it was their duty to keep the convicts inside, and the more dangerous ones supposedly warranted that degree of security. And there were plenty more of those robots, plus others, that could be called in as reinforcements if need be.

We arrived at the checkpoint just before our destination, which was currently being manned by, well, a man. Brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin, athletic and with a voice to match; I suppose he'd be considered attractive by human standards, but I'm no expert on the sparsely haired apes. He was a fellow I'd interacted with in passing here and there during my involuntary stay on the island. Keeping watch from the checkpoint here was his primary job, and since it rarely got any traffic from anything other than G.U.N.'s robots, it could get boring. Thus, he was a little stunned to see the two of us when we walked up to the reinforced window separating us from him.

"Oh, hey there, Ace," he greeted me, sounding like I'd caught him starting to nod off.

"Evening, Jack," I hailed in return, tapping the card Rouge gave me against the tempered bulletproof glass, "Rouge and I have some business down in the lower levels, with permission from the Commander."

It was a bit amusing to see Jack's tired expression shift to one of incredulity. Soon after, it morphed into a stern and serious look.

"You better not be pulling my leg, Ace," he said cautiously as he tapped at his console's keyboard, "or else we'll all be in some serious shit."

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't have a good reason," I told him flatly, glancing back at the bat woman, "besides, it'll mostly be her fault if there's anything wrong with these."

Rouge scoffed and turned away from me, and I couldn't help smirking at that. A couple of panels on either side of the lift slide opened and revealed readers for our cards. My partner and I timed it so that we swiped them simultaneously, and to my and Jack's relief, a confirmation beep greeted us. The doors to the elevator opened, and we didn't hesitate to board it, giving Jack a small salute as they closed after us. It was a significantly slower descent, and I imagined the trip back up would be as well, likely to buy time in case one of the criminals down there managed to get loose and make it to the lift.

It was another few minutes until the car stopped, and we were let out onto the second lowest level, which was deeper than I expected to go. There were only two narrow corridors with more of those sentry cameras, although there wasn't anything else present, not even higher-tier G.U.N. units. Everything was lit in a rather dim neon blue, save for a display monitor with a plain black background and similarly colored text, with two arrows pointing opposite directions.

"Here we are," Rouge hummed as she walked up and tapped the leftward arrow, "'SP08041938' is our guy."

I nodded quietly and strode by her side as we proceeded, our footfalls echoing loudly in the passage. It bent and twisted more times than I cared to keep track of on the way, which was thankfully navigable if one paid attention to the placement of the cameras. I've never cared much for tight spaces due to my fighting style, as you know well, and this felt pretty claustrophobic. A prisoner that wasn't aware of what we realized above risked getting lost in this maze-like level. And even if they figured it out, they faced improbable odds trying to get past the other defenses. I had heard each of the lower floors had their own gimmicks as far as keeping the inmates contained, and I speculated what they held.

Eventually, we came to a sight that neither of us were expecting to find in a bunker this deep underground. The hall ended with a door that resembled one of those heavy hatches you'd see in a submarine, with a thick glass wall around it that gave a glimpse into what awaited us. There was a modest semi-spherical chamber perched atop a rocky pillar in the center of a colossal area that, aside from the aforementioned feature, was filled with water. There appeared to be no way for us to access that chamber, but just as there had been with the lift, a couple of card readers were set up near the door. Rouge and I swiped them through, getting a chime of confirmation, along with the groan of machinery moving.

Between the hatch and the room on the underwater plateau, a tube-like bridge on several supports rose up until it was level with both. A heavy thunk echoed through the current as the tunnel locked in place, and the hiss of depressurization followed after. It took a few minutes, but the valve on the door twisted anticlockwise numerous times until it came to a sudden stop, when the whole thing slowly swung open. Rouge and I wasted no time entering and walking through the new passage, and once we could go no further due to a solid tempered glass door with relatively broad speaking holes, we got a good look at both the cell and its occupant.

There was little more than a twin-sized bed atop the smooth and polished rock the chamber had been built on, along with a sink, a toilet, and a small desk with a cheap chair. The waterproof lights in the surrounding submerged region made sure that the holding area was constantly lit, allowing us to see the papers scattered all over the floor. Many of them had drawings of diagrams that I wasn't able to decipher; my eyes could perceive their contents well enough, but I hadn't a clue what they were meant to be about. I was distracted from giving them further consideration upon seeing yet another sheet flutter down to the ground out of the hand of our prisoner.

He was a tall and dark auburn fox with fur that had grown wiry with age and probably stress as well, with black gloves, socks, and ear tips, as well as a little on his tail. He wore a long brown duster that was pretty ragged, a pair of dark jeans that were equally tattered, and beat-up leather gloves and boots that matched his top. Despite his apparent age, he still looked to be rather fit. But, it was when he noticed that he had visitors that he turned around and gave us a better view of his face. His cheek fur was white while the fluff around his muzzle was dull gray, as were the trio of bangs that dangled from his forehead to just a couple centimeters in front of his nose. What really got me were his eyes which, although they had a certain weariness in them, were the same shade of cyan-blue as my rival's.

(What!?)

(I knew that would get your attention. Believe me, I was quite taken aback myself. Listen closely to this...)

"Well now, what've we got here?" the old fox drawled in a smooth baritone that reminded me of a western spaghetti protagonist. He stood up from his chair and rubbed the scruff of his chin as he walked over to the barrier between us and him, gazing between us. I made sure my data pad was recording all the audio in case we needed to reference it later. "Y'all ain't the usual riffraff that comes on down to my cozy little slice of hell. Did Rick send the two of ya?"

I figured he was referring to the Commander, but it still made me do a double-take. "Rick?"

"Yeah, Richard Bullock, the head honcho of G.U.N.," he confirmed with a chuckle, "I do wish he'd come see me sometime, but I guess he's still mad about what I did."

Rouge let out a giggle, tickled by the idea. I was about to correct course and move straight to questioning about what we needed for this mission, but of course, that bat just had to indulge him.

"What's your story, silver fox?" she asked demurely, "what made the boss put a handsome guy like you in a place like this?"

The vulpine snorted at that. "Psh, no need for that sweet talk, little lady, I was gonna tell ya anyway. But to make a long story short, 'cause I know y'all ain't here to hear me yack on and on, I was the reason for his first big fuck-up since he took command."

I was intrigued, knowing that the Commander wasn't without a few blemishes on his record; practically everyone in the organization had some. I wasn't aware of anything that would seriously tarnish it, though, so I aggressively pressed on that point.

"You didn't actually answer the question," I challenged him.

The fox blinked and then laughed once again. "Ya got me there, tweety bird." He snickered upon hearing me growl and clench my beak at the nickname. "Alright, kids, I'll try and keep it short. So, where he done fucked up was when he sent one of his convoys through my neck of the woods. It was the shortest route back to HQ for him, so he was just bein' efficient, ya know? Nothin' wrong with that on its own. Now, what he didn't know was that I'd been plannin' this whole heist for a while, so it wasn't like I was runnin' in blind. By the end of it, I was walkin' away with a pretty lil emerald that almost matched my eyes, and Rick was mad as all hell, swearin' up and down that he'd get me one day." He smirked and opened his arms to gesture around him. "Well, he got me alright.

"But that wasn't the real reason he was mad, no sir," the old canid went on, "the real reason was that that lil rock acted like some kinda lock, and when I took it away, the lock opened after a spell. Rick told me that whatever it was containin'–I don't know what, he wouldn't tell me–got loose and escaped from their custody. He offered me the chance to help 'em go after it and retrieve the emerald in exchange for clearin' me of all charges."

Rouge chuckled and leaned back against the glass with her ears perked and looking over one shoulder. "Since you're here, that can only mean you refused."

"Damn right I did! I wasn't about to go take back what I'd given to my son and my daughter-in-law to give to my second baby grandson!"

(No way...)

"Quite the story," I commented with a little impatience creeping into my tone, "but we've wasted enough time. I am Agent Ace, she is Agent Rouge, and yes, we came here with permission from Commander Bullock. He seemed to believe that you might have some information that could prove useful to us, SP08041938."

The fox bristled at that, clearly not a fan of being addressed in such a dehumanizing way. He quickly shrugged it off and regained his rather eccentric composure.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if ya called me by my actual name instead of that stupid serial," he said amicably. He backed up a few steps, stood up straight, folded one arm behind his back while the other crossed his chest, and finally bowed. "All the same, it's nice to meet ya, Ace and Rouge. My name's Sylvanus Prower, but I much prefer 'Silas,' if ya don't mind."