AN: Note that I will be trying to write the characters faithful to the original source. While there may be a few changes here and there, I don't want to flanderize or exaggerate a specific personality from any of the known Sonic characters. This is namely for Topaz and Stone, though I promise you that they will be closely faithful as the original.

Special thanks to Kurama The Platinum Zoroark, Tiago-Oncilla and ashiapro81 for following this story, and for Tashasaurous for leaving a review!

Chapter 3

I should have prepared myself for this. Being a mercenary, one must not express too much excitement or they might get caught off that they would be sidetracked. Despite several shiny things around, one must be focused until they were safe. Even though I wasn't really safe from the threat of being tossed in the jail cell and surrounded by three agents who wouldn't hesitate to tase me (Molly already did that when I said something wrong), it nearly felt like I was blinded when I looked out of the window.

It didn't have the castle look that I imagine, but it beat being in the desert. The city was an improvement over…you know, everything! Those sky-high buildings, so many monitors placed around to show those entertaining images and healthy trees growing. It nearly looked like the ideal place for what could be the best paradise in the world.

However, it nearly looked like the kind of snobby and rich people would live in.

I noticed how different the crowd appeared to be. A mix of humans and animals, though some of those animals appeared to be more…not so scruffy? A bit soft, though they didn't look too bad. A thing I noted was how comfortable they seemed to be wearing. Nobody was pushing each other besides a couple of a few drunkards punching each other on the street. It had a bit of an order instead of letting things go into chaos.

Utopia I would say. I sighed, taking in the entire view. I never seen so much color like that before.

I was a bit disappointed when I learnt that the G.U.N HQ was in another place outside of the city. The city was connected to a desert, but I found that it didn't look as bad as the desert I grew up in. Alongside the long road to the high mountains, I noticed that there were more G.U.N vehicles driving back and forth, and neat pavements for those wanting to just walk.

There was this sense that maybe this place had a more orderly tradition, but I decided to leave that up to what I was going to experience next.

It didn't take long until we got near what must be the G.U.N HQ. It was fairly obvious that they were hiding in the mountains, but it was a long way from the city, so it would be justified that this was the best place for a military place. When entering through the gates, seeing all the trucks, soldiers and garages set up nearly reminded me of Eggman's lair. However, it didn't seem too evil-looking.

Well, except for the fact that most of the coloring was black.

"Welcome to G.U.N," said Antoine, putting his hand behind his back. "Sworn to protect those in need."

"Well…I didn't really expect this," I said as Matthew steered the truck towards a large mountain. "Guess that there is a lot I don't…really know from empires."

Antoine shrugged. "True, though, keep in mind that be on your best behavior. They don't really like troublemakers."

I laughed a little. "Well, I don't make trouble. Trouble just often finds me."

"Great line that will surely make you get out of jail."

"Thank you," I said, grinning. "It's a straightforward line."

To my surprise, the mountain seemed to be opening up. No, wait. More like a door was made there and it opened to let us in. I let myself be mesmerized by the interior of this new HQ. Nearly similar to Eggman's lair, but it had a more heroic look. Sort of since they still reused the black colors. Though, there were stripes of white and red here to make it not so dark.

There were a lot of soldiers and agents with some of them getting busy with their work or just taking a break. Several trucks were there with many other agents unloading crates from them. I noticed a group of people at one corner, smoking and laughing away. It didn't feel too serious, but everybody seemed to have manners compared to a mercenary town.

Parking the truck near the wall, Molly grabbed me by the handcuffs and pulled me out of the truck. There were a couple of soldiers watching with some already helping out to take the crates from the truck. I didn't realize how tall they were since they were human. It came to my attention that they seemed to have the same sternness as any other mercenary. They meant business.

I decided to try to be a bit serious, puffing my chest up. I kept myself from trying to be intimidating. I didn't want to come across as a hardened criminal.

"So this is a member from the Jackal Squad?" asked one of the soldiers.

"I thought that he might be a bit taller," commented another.

"You're sure that he really surrendered that easily?" asked a third soldier.

"That is what we're about to find about, chico," said Molly.

"I'm guessing that you were already informed about me?" I asked.

"A couple of the high-ranked and council squads know," said a fourth soldier. "The Commander is waiting for your arrival and already looked through information about you. So don't try to lie."

"Wait, he looked into everything?" asked Antoine.

"He's a criminal like you were before," said Molly bluntly. "He would have a right to do so for reasons."

"Really smart of you."

One of the soldiers slowly came closer to me. I stood my ground, not flinching. Though, he didn't seem to try to be intimidating. Instead, he tried to reach out to my tail.

"Aww, another fluffy boy right here, huh?" he said.

"Man, what did I told you about being respectful?" deadpanned one of the soldiers.

I chuckled, deciding to play along. "Well, I guess I brought the charm around being a doggy."

"Nah, just a tiny jackal we have here," said the soldier, rubbing my head.

"Can you please stop acting condescending like that?" groaned another soldier.

"Mmmph, he just drank, so he isn't in a bad behaviour…" said another.

"OK then, fellows," said Matthew. "I think we shouldn't keep the Commander waiting for that long." He patted on my shoulder, giving me a smile. "Good luck."

"See you on the other side," said Antoine, his tail wagging in anxiousness.

I had to remember that I might not get the offer to join G.U.N and might have to be in prison. However, after getting to be in this new land, I felt a bit confident that nothing bad was going to happen to me. In fact, I was curious to see how things were handled here, compared to my birth land.

"Don't worry, you two," I reassured them. "I'll be fine. Just snap my fingers and say 'what's up'?"

Molly cringed. "You mercenaries pick up the wrong trends in the desert."

The long walk to the Commander's office was mostly silent. Molly kept her hand on my wrists so that I wouldn't run off. The soldiers that arrived surrounded us as if they were bodyguards. A few couple of agents and researchers past by. Some of them were surprised to see me. I tried waving back, though too bad Molly refused to let go off my hands.

As I looked around, I noticed that these areas of the HQ didn't look as dark, edgy or bad as Eggman's place. They had changed to a lighter shade of blue. Seeing this made me feel much calmer than before. It didn't give me any red flags or warning signs. It didn't look too threatening. Though, seeing the same walls as we passed by made me feel a little bored.

And it seemed that the soldiers surrounding me weren't that threatening as well.

"Hey, I know that this might not be the right time," whispered one of them. "But…how many people did you kill?"

My ears lowered as I winced. "5…"

She looked bewildered. "5?"

One of them seemed to mouth this in sarcastic wonder.

"I-It's nothing," I said. "I already said it to Molly, Matthew and Antoine."

"Oh," said the soldier, rubbing the back of her head. "I just thought that you might be ruthless. You know, the more ruthless our new fighters are, the better G.U.N is!"

I narrowed my eyes. "Seriously?"

"I thought that it might help since we need some of the deadliest out there. Also, I got a bit curious since criminals become famous when-"

"Get your taco in a twist now," grumbled Molly.

The soldier blinked. "Why making the racist comment that would have referred to you?"

Molly rolled her eyes. "Whatever to make you quiet."

OK, that cat didn't really like chatter that much. The soldier chuckled sheepishly before clearing her throat and keeping her head high. I could only stare at her in concern, wondering what she really meant of criminals being famous for doing crimes. How could people be loved for having a really high body count?

Well, that being said, I admired El Macho for his glorious kills and doing it with style, so…

I gritted my teeth, thinking for a second if Zero would soak up the glory of how many bodies he left around.

Molly took a double take before leaning towards me. "Thank God that you're not a walking killing spree."

"Uh…I'll…do my best?" I said nervously.

"Take it as a compliment, dolt."

We finally arrived. It wasn't like my expectation since a wooden door wouldn't be the entrance to a high-ranked, war veteran director of the military since I thought they might use expensive doors. The inside was what made up for it since it was gigantic, decorated and gave off a tone that it was for the higher-class fighters in the world.

There were other people as well, sitting from their individual tables as they watched. They seemed to be some of the leaders or high-ranking agents of G.U.N. I expected that they would be serious as well, but half of them were more chill judging by how they were chatting to each other.

In the centre and back was a light skinned man with white hair and mismatched eyes. One green and one brown. Unlike the other agents wearing dark colors, he was wearing a grey uniform with badges, the G.U.N symbol on his left sleeve, white gloves and black combat boots.

I nearly fell forwards when Molly stopped walking. To my surprise, she let me go. I quickly took a step back behind her.

"Commander Abraham Towers," said Molly, putting her hands together in front. "This here is Obsidian, as you may have already known, a former membef of the Jackal Squad. Obsidian, I like you to meet Towers, our highest-ranking and respected commander."

The entire room went quiet as the Commander rested his chin over his hands.

Towers raised an eyebrow. "Another former member of the Jackal Squad? Though, it appears to me that out of all of those who retired, you're the one who stayed in the squad the longest."

"Not for very long," I said.

"Let's get straight to the point. Obsidian, your activity has been known in the States for a huge list of criminal records. Charged with theft, property damage, war crimes and murder of 5 people. What brings you here to us?"

I didn't notice how awkward it suddenly got. I could already feel eyes on me. This wasn't going as nicely as it was. However, good thing I was able to mask my anxiousness.

"Sir," I explained. "There have been some complicated things going on."

"But not too complicated to understand," remarked one of the high-ranked agents.

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "But to start with…the Jackal Squad is no more."

Towers nodded. "I see then. We actually knew that quite a while ago."

"Wait, you did?"

"Team Dark was sent on a mission to investigate an Eggman base. Your squad was there on defense and Shadow wiped nearly all of them out."

My eyes widened. "Hold on. Back on that…you're saying that…Shadow is one of the agents here?"

"He doesn't know?" said another high-ranked agent.

Towers had an unreadable look in his eyes. "We'll come back to that if it makes you uncomfortable. However, Team Dark is mostly an independent team now, so they rarely come here and you may not bump into them any time soon."

I gritted my teeth, doing my best not to shiver. It actually frightened me. To think that joining G.U.N was a way to start again only to catch up with the monster who took away my friends. It was Zero's fault, but that didn't make me feel better of the fact that a G.U.N agent slaughtered the entire squad! I suddenly wanted to run away, but where? I couldn't go out without a bunch of people chasing me.

Molly noticed my discomfort, clearing her throat. "Wait, so…Shadow killed your squad?"

"You don't know?!" I said.

"I'm not on the same rank as Team Dark yet."

"Anyway," said Towers. "So it seems that you got something to do here."

"Yeah," I said. "But before I start, I think…it should be fair that I give you information about Eggman."

From there, I explained to him and the other high-ranked agents everything. From how the Jackal Squad joined Eggman, how Shadow defeated me and my squad, the Phantom Ruby and my fallout with Zero. By the time I finished, I nearly felt like breaking down. I wished that I could stop trembling, but I was able to hold back tears when I thought back to how we were beaten down.

"Yeesh," said one of the agents insensitively. "That is a lot of emotional baggage to hold on."

I looked behind to see him being elbowed by the person next to him. It was a dark skinned man with a goatee, brown eyes and slicked back black hair. He was wearing a full black tuexdo suit. That was in contrast to how goofy he appeared to be judging by his look when he was hit.

"You're sure that is the last location of where Eggman was?" asked Towers. "We tried to find him, but he keeps moving spots."

I shrugged. "Yeah, the last time I saw him, he was still in that Mystic Jungle lair. Though, not sure if we will catch him in time since it's like days when I left."

A deep humming from my chest. My ruby. There was a voice telling in my head to not share anymore. As if telling me that I would be safe if I didn't continue. It made me feel unsafe. Look at me. Just one mercenary against several other high-ranking agents who could tackle me. However, I took a deep breath, knowing that it wouldn't be fair to leave everyone out of this.

I decided that I couldn't hide it for long. They would find out anyway. And I wanted it gone soon. In fact, the more the ruby tried to convince me that I wasn't safe, the more it just convinced me that I would need to let others decide what to do with it.

I opened up my jacket to reveal my ruby. It hummed much loudly, glowing.

"I…also actually have a problem as well," I said.

Towers' stoicness slipped away, his eyes widening. "My God! I-Is that…a variant of the Phantom Ruby?"

I nodded, looking down. "Spent months in a tank to get that stupid thing fused to my chest."

Molly glared at me. "And you forgot to tell me about that?"

"Mr. Obsidian," called one of the agents. "Should we be concerned about this?"

"That is a stupid question to ask loudly."

"It's fine," I reassured. "It's fine. Though…I have been trying not to use it that much. I don't even like the sound of it. It feels alluring, but I don't know. It doesn't feel right having it from…someone who sees it as a tool."

Towers nodded, slowly understanding this. "Alright, so before we decide, is there a reasoning why you are here?"

A lump formed in my throat. It felt a bit much harder having to explain again, but I was talking to these leaders who could do anything with me. Not sure if they would play on emotion, but if I needed to convince them that I didn't want to do any more harm, then I had to give reason as well.

"To be honest, I am…sick of being a mercenary," I admitted. "I'm tired. Not sure, but…after losing my squad, I don't think I can go back into that life anymore! Between the competition, the risks, the business and all of those nagging people, I want a new change. I just want to settle down a bit. I want to be someone better than how I used to be on the Jackal Squad…"

I trailed off, again feeling uncomfortable with talking about them. I found myself shivering again. My tail curled around my legs on instinct. My eyes were already stinging, threatening to form tears. I kept myself straight, but I was starting to feel sore from needing to stand up. I didn't want to show any vulnerability. I didn't want to show myself as pathetic.

"I-I heard that a lot of criminals came here to redeem themselves," I continued, nearly going quietly. "And I'm thinking of if I want that chance. Maybe it might also be a good getaway from my original home since I heard that it's…much better being in the city. And much safer. I prefer…being amongst friendlier people than with the worst as my squad is gone."

There were whispers between agents as they decided. They appeared collective, but they were surprised by what I said last. I could hear them whispering on their surprise of how I didn't enjoy being around other criminals and rather wanting to be with a much friendlier group. There were looks of sympathy alongside doubt and thinking on logic.

Molly was mostly stoned-faced, looking away when I glanced at her.

Towers seemed to rely more on logic since he kept a straight face.

Eventually, the Commander closed his eyes and nodded, smiling a little.

"You remind me of the previous jackals who came here for a position," he said. "It's still a wonder of how they want to disconnect themselves from staying in the wild and adapt to living here. Shadow also joined us as a chance for all of us to make up for the damage we did and that changed everything."

I raised an eye. "That's so?"

"Excuse me, Mr. Obsidian," said one of the agents, sitting next to the dark-skinned man. "Apologies if I may appear rude towards you."

It was a light-skinned woman with violet eyes and short sandy brown hair. She was wearing noticeable lipstick and blue earrings. She seemed to have a similar colorful outfit like Molly; a purple uniform and a navy bulletproof vest with a dog tag necklace.

"You're not different from many other redeemed criminals who joined us," she said. "But how do we not know that you won't turn away? We can understand, but we still have to keep our eyes opened, even if you don't say it now."

"I would have already raided this place like 50 minutes ago," I said. "And I would have stolen your wallet. But that would have been with my squad since I'm not a solo act."

"Wait a minute," said the dark-skinned man, patting his pants pockets. "Is that why my wallet is missing today?!"

"No," deadpanned Towers. "I saw it fell into the toilet."

"What?!"

"Is it that important?" groaned Molly.

"But it has all the cards in it," pointed out the light-skinned woman. "And money when you think about it."

"Earlier this morning," commented one of the high-ranked agents. "I saw Stone opening his wallet and all that it contained was a picture of Eggman's mustache and a gift card to buy coffee. Is that all valuable, Topaz?"

Both Stone, the dark-skinned man, and Topax, the light-skinned woman, stared at each other before looking back. They seemed to be trying not to curse out loud due to 5 seconds of not responding. Eventually, Stone just muttered a 'no'. Meanwhile, an embarassed Topaz quickly sipped her drink.

"I swear there was more in that wallet," lied Topaz, trying to stay cool.

"OK, so this is kind of a good example about needing to be honest," I said, trying to help get things back on track. "I like to be an open book. Like I said, if I ever went that big, I would have done it with my squad. But they're gone and I want to pay my debt. I can't be lazy as well; I can't really let my skills be wasted, so why not use it for good here?"

Towers raised an eyebrow, intrigued by this. Noting the slight glow in his mismatched eyes, he was interested but there was also understanding. Something Eggman didn't have when he hired my squad.

"All in for allowing him to work with us," he called, raising his hand.

Several other high-ranking agents raised their hands. A few others didn't, but it seemed that it didn't matter as there were more agents in agreement of giving me a chance.

"Alright then," said Towers once it was confirmed. "We're giving you a chance here. So, before you arrived, we measured how long you would need to work for to repay your crimes. You'll be working here compulsory as an agent for 5 years, serving as community service since you won't be going to prison. We'll let you stay at the city as well, but you'll be on watch."

I sighed in relief, grinning happily. "Why thank you. Thank you very much. This means a lot to me."

It was brief, but Molly glanced at me, seemingly smiling.

"Now, there are others things you'll have to know," explained Towers, taking out a box opened to reveal golden rings. "Since your ruby is fused to you, we'll be providing you with these inhibitor rings to check and keep your powers at a minimum. We will arrange some experiments to test on the ruby, but I reassure you that we won't resort to using severe measures. We'll search for a way if we can detach the ruby from your body safely."

That sounded better than what Eggman did with his experiments. Always making sure that the participants were given consent and rights to be safe. And those rings looked nice to wear…probably the first piece of city clothes I get to wear.

"I can dig with that," I said. "As long as I don't go into another water tank."

One of the high-ranking agents inhaled sheepishly. "Yeah, about that…"

"No, that is for testing on aliens," said another agent.

"Wait, what?" I said.

"We have other information we need you to fill in, but we'll do that later before you leave," continued Towers. "There will be a few forms you would need to fill in before you are employed as an agent." He scratched his chin, looking around the room. "However, we still haven't decided who will be watching you since you'll be on probation leave since you don't have that much to afford a stable house. Who likes to offer to accompany Obsidian and give him a shelter?"

Nobody stood up to take the offer.

"Wait, aren't there bunks here?" I asked.

"You could stay in the prison cells," offered Molly.

"Molly," warned Towers.

"What? I'm just kidding."

Like it was a musical, Topaz and Stone stood up, waving their hands.

"Oh, we can!" exclaimed Stone.

"Got space for one more," said Topaz coolly.

Towers grinned, nearly chuckling. "Ah, knew that you two would be prepared."

Molly looked disappointed. "You're serious?"

"Let's just see how this will go, Agent Johnson," said Towers, humoring the offer. "It should be interesting to watch."

Molly turned to me, placing her hands on her hips. "Well, if they use you to increase their paycheck and spotlight in the story, don't come crying to me about being their son."

"Wait, really?" I said.

"She's just pulling your leg," said Topaz. "I think all in the house should play fair. We don't really let freeloaders roam around."

"Speak for yourself," muttered one of the agents, rubbing his face. "Some hobo was sleeping next to me with no underwear on."

"Well, you two have some orders," said Towers. "So that should make things fair for what Obsidian to do in order to stay."

I smirked. "Well, hard work helps you gain, so that's fair to help out in the house."

The rest of the talk was filling in forms and getting me to wear the golden rings he provided. I wasn't really happy wearing more chains around my wrists (and now my ankles), but at least I wasn't provided with handcuffs again. Though, it felt kind of strange wearing those rings. Once I slapped them on, my head didn't feel light anymore, but that might ensure that I wouldn't get more headaches.

The ruby didn't sound happy to have the rings on. I was worried that it might lash out, but strangely, it didn't. I could hear it humming in my ears, sounding…disappointed. I wasn't sure why, but it sounded like so. In fact, for a brief moment, I thought it made my lips pout.

As for what paperwork I had to fill in, I won't tell you all. It was kind of boring. Other than needing to fill in forms of me honoring the work requirements as an agent. Once we got through everything, they allowed Stone and Topaz to take me outside with Molly following behind me.

"So, this is probably our last meeting for today," said Topaz. "Perhaps we have to make sure that you get comfortable first."

"So, who are you two again?" I asked. "I realized we didn't get to introduce ourselves properly yet."

"Call me Jennifer Topaz. Leader of Squadron 03. You would probably know me as the milk chocolate head girl. And besides me is the coffee maker himself."

"Straight to the point, I'm Lee Stone," said Stone, bowing down. "Former member of terrorist group 'Mean Machine' and now full-time black-ops agent and mechanic."

"You do not have to bow like that," said Molly, crossing her arms.

"But I bow once in front of you and you seem pleased about it."

The purple cat blushed and she wrapped her tail around her leg. "Yeah, but…it's a bit embarrassing."

"Are you two a couple?" I asked.

"Ha ha, no," said Topaz. "I lost my house since that included Stone accidentally shooting a missile right at it and he owes me a lot."

Stone rolled his eyes at that comment. "That was because Agent Thorndyke switched it to the other direction and I would have successfully blown up the Black Flowers if I had enough time to finish making those special robot bombs that would easily arrest them."

Molly took one look at me, seeing my golden rings. "Huh, you don't look too bad in those."

"Oh, why thank you," I said, lifting up my wrist to check the inhibitor ring attached.

"I-I mean, just saying it as a fact."

"Well, it might be," I said. "I mean, I earned it like you bought your nice clothes. You don't look bad yourself as well."

Molly blushed a little. Her cheeks glowed pink, however, she tried to lift down her fedora to hide it. "E-Ew! Gross. I hate that you said that."

"But…isn't that a true fact I said?" I asked innocently.

"I-It's a compliment! There's a difference!"

"For a mercenary," said Topaz. "You don't seem to be too bad. You kind of make it as part of the third of the criminals who joined us are quite friendly."

"And probably the third agent who used to be from the Jackal Squad who isn't take things seriously," muttered Molly.

I raised an eye. "Please, I'm a trained fighter."

"You're still a bit annoying," huffed Molly.

"Well, kind of annoying when you don't seem to get along."

"I prefer being out of trouble."

"Oh, but trouble finds you."

"No, trouble is the embodiment of every man out there," deadpanned Molly. "A man's world."

"Am I a joke to you?" remarked Stone.

"But don't worry," I said with a grin. "I'll be responsible! I'll make sure not to land myself into trouble!"

"Sure," said Molly skeptically. "As long as you are responsible in not overdrinking or avoiding a fight, I can go along with that."

I rolled my eyes. "I never drink."

"Never did? Though, wouldn't those living in the desert being allowed to smoke and drink?" questioned Topaz.

"Sometimes, though I just hit 21," I said.

Molly looked dumbfounded. "Uh, anyway with your 'responsibilities' and 'knowledge of laws', then…don't do anything stupid, alright?"

I wiggled my fingers. "Promises promises."

The purple cat narrowed her eyes as if trying to be intimidating. Clearly, she didn't trust me that much, but she was trying too hard to be like a stern agent. She sighed, turning her back and walking away.

"You better be," she said.

"Well, don't mind her," said Topaz. "She's just cranky."

"I've met lions who are more trigger-happy than her," I said.

"Oh, but s-she's kind taken her job a bit seriously or hastily, I don't know. It's like she wants to get things over."

"Like how she tries to keep cleaning the floor in the restroom?" asked Stone.

"Good point. She hates germs lying around here."

The sound of germs seemed to have entered my head. I wasn't really a neat freak, but sometimes, I like things in order. Surely the desert wasn't all clean, but there were a few things I considered what should be kept nicely and in order. Looking around the hallway, there were a few footprints and cobwebs. It looked completely out of place from the shiny HQ of G.U.N. I suddenly felt twitchy yet I just arrived.

The ruby seemed to have activated in response since I felt its warmth glowing in my chest, telling me to take care of it. I was concerned, but I didn't need to when I saw the footprints and cobwebs glitching out before disappearing.

The hallway was shiny again.

Topaz noticed this. "So that's from your ruby?"

"Yeah…" I said, patting it. To my relief, it didn't lash out like last time. "It's…from this one."

"At first, we were alright with having another former criminal joining us, but seeing this now, this really brings our attention."

"Really?"

"You have a magical ruby attached to you," cut in Stone. "That is unheard of! No one in G.U.N has ever have a device or object attached to them that could give them powers. It's not even a super soldier serum!" He suddenly looked…too eager. "I need to know more about it. Let me inspect you a little bit…"

I backed away, a bit creeped out.

Stone laughed creepily, flexing his hands to reveal he had buttons on his glove palm.

"Stone," growled Topaz in a warning tone. "What did I tell you before?"

In a flick of a switch, Stone quickly turned back to being calm. "Sorry! I'll be good. Though, I'm so excited about this one."

I chuckled nervously. "Well…but don't rely on me much. I didn't hear the other half of what Eggman told my squad about the Phantom Ruby."

"Can you use it to fly?" asked Topaz.

"Maybe can you use it to grow your hair longer?" asked Stone.

"Are these too many questions?"

I looked down at my ruby. "Not too many questions so far, though…I only know how to fly so far. And no, I don't think I will be changing reality to grow my hair."

"Is your power limitless or limited?" wondered Stone.

"Unlimited so far."

"How much power do you think it can carry?" asked Topaz.

"Haven't tested it out, though I don't think Eggman would make this the final prototype."

"Is Cubot and Orbot as evil as they appear to be?" asked Stone.

"All they do is comment on Eggman." I smacked my lips. Those two were probably the most favorable part about the Eggman Empire. "And they are nice cookie bakers."

"How is Eggman able to get his hand on metal?" asked Topaz. "He would have caused the economy to crash?"

"How should I know?" I said, shrugging. "Maybe he dug down into the center of the Earth to use lava and water to make metal?"

"And did you ever get the opportunity to touch Eggman's mustache?" said Stone dreamily. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh…"

The ruby glowed again and I was presented with an illusion of a cartoonish thought bubble forming above Stone's head. I felt a strange twisting in my stomach, feeling as if I was connected to his mind. From that thought bubble, I could see the image of Eggman's orphaned mustache and Stone's hand stroking it.

I looked back at Stone and his dreamy expression gave me the idea that he wasn't just patting it.

Topaz didn't seem to know the thought bubble I could see, but she was weirded out by this.

"Stoney?" she said, poking Stone in the shoulder. "Hello?"

Stone quickly snapped out from his daydream. "Oh, yes, yes. Sorry." He checked his watch. "We better leave now before Towers demands another coffee to cheer him up."

The two of them guided me out back to the garages, though they took a turn and seemed to head towards a more civil or simple-looking parking lot. This time, instead of bulky vehicles, there were a lot of small cars in different shapes and sizes. The biggest would be these trucks that were slightly taller with the back part looking like the tail of the vehicle. I was surprised of how much color compared to the regular color palette of this place.

The two agents stopped by at a black car. Compared to the black truck I took to get to the city, this one was much smaller yet more impressive. It was sleek and shiny, appearing more glossy than the other cars. As I buckled up in the back seat, I noticed how small it was with only a few small compartments to place any belongings. Would that be a bit of a disadvantage since you wouldn't be able to move your legs around.

"You got everything?" asked Topaz. "We won't be turning back."

I thought about it. "Mmm, yeah."

"Wait, you're sure?" asked Stone. "Where are your…bags and stuff?"

I turned around to remind them that I still had my backpack. "That should be all."

"Good. Don't want to leave them behind here overnight."

At first, I was confident that I got everything. When I meant everything, I meant just some spare clothes and my weapon. I didn't really bring that much since I didn't have any toys or books to play with. As Stone drove the car out from the HQ, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders, finally able to relax. This seemed to be going well so far since I was getting a fresh start with everything needed.

And then, it hit me.

Did I have everything?

I patted on my jacket before patting on my mohawk and tail.

"Ah shoot!" I shouted, pulling on my ears. "My taser!"

Towers observed the taser Obsidian accidentally left behind in his office. The Commander would say that it looked more like a toy than a weapon used by criminals, but a lot of strange things could happen in this world. He was a bit interested in the design of this taser. A green handle with a lightning bolt object attached to it. Pressing the button, it glowed yellow and electricity sparked out of it.

This weapon looked like it was bought from E.R.A, so Obsidian stole it. However, Towers decided to push that one aside. Obsidian would eventually get his weapon back. Still, it was an annoyance to Towers that the agents couldn't stop leaving things behind, even if they were rookies.

"At this rate," he muttered to himself as he sat down at his desk. "He's gonna be the third jackal who is irresponsible. He would have gotten along with Rouge in no time."

Speaking of the devil, his computer rang and an image of Rouge appeared on screen. Towers straightened himself before clicking on the green button. The screen was suddenly filled with a white glow and blue eyes.

"Agent Rouge," said Towers. "What is your update?"

"There's a problem." explained Rouge, looking more like an annoyed student. "We lost the Ligtning Bolt Club. They seem to have been growing better."

Towers raised an eyebrow. "Now…that's new. Where are they now?"

"We're still investigating, but we might need squadrons closer to Central City to be on guard. They are said to be travelling to there now in a couple of days. Not sure if we will be able to catch up to them before they arrive."

Towers nodded. "Understood then. I'll even prepare a protocol if they do arrive. Remember, these are dangerous people. Send me reports regularly."

"As per norm," said Rouge.

"But I swear if you do it late once again-"

"Well, I'm fashionably late," teased Rouge with a sly smile. "And fashionably fashionable!"

Towers sighed, rubbing his face. But he was using the hand holding onto Obsidian's weapon. Rouge immediately recognized it.

"How did you…get your hands on that?" asked Rouge.

"Another former member from the Jackal Squad joined today," said Towers. "However, he's one of the last two remaining survivors after Shadow terminated them."

Rouge clenched her teeth, cringing. "Is he a problem?"

Towers smirked a little. "The new guy, Obsidian, is alright. He's honest."

"Not jackals are all cons."

"Surprisingly cheerful."

"Good relief. I don't want another edgelord."

"He's also a bit emotional," said Towers, frowning. "When he mentioned the Jackal Squad and Shadow, it took him quite a while to speak up again. He was shivering."

Rouge nodded. "Huh…I'm surprised you took note of that."

"I'm not making the same mistake. We can't fall into assumption again, but we can't lose sight. Obsidian even has something dangerous attached to him. He is a convict, but his body language suggests that he isn't like most of the criminals we came across"

"That might be risky taking in a survivor from the Jackal Squad," pointed out Rouge. "If he meets Shadow here, then he will try to take revenge for his fallen troops. Obsidian is the only one now who have stayed with the squad the longest. Besides, I don't want to make Shadow worry."

Towers sighed. He knew that this might be a big problem since Obsidian might hold a grudge towards Shadow. It would get worse since Obsidian had a ruby attached to him and the kid didn't even know how to use it properly. But if that jackal needed G.U.N to become a better person, then it was up to them of how they want to lead the way.

"Maybe we can have Obsidian meet Shadow to solve any problems between them?" asked Rouge.

Towers swallowed. "Negative, Rouge. I say that we wait until things die down. I'll be in discussion with the council on what we will provide him. Most importantly, I don't think it's safe to have Obsidian around Shadow until his ruby is removed or have control of it. If Shadow ask, tell him to not come near him."

Rouge didn't seem convinced if this was going to work. "Alright then. Though, don't say I didn't warn you when he gets mad at you."

The call was finished and Towers closed his computer. Aimlessly, his eyes slowly directed to the folder he had on his desk. One that contained information about Obsidian so far. However, it wasn't that much and more told about likely theories of where his home was. The majority of the information were his criminal records. There were no other information about his background, medical history or requirements.

Remembering back to the jackal's behaviour, the Commander doubted that this was just another hardened mercenary.

AN: There were a lot of places where G.U.N HQ may be, but I decided to just go with the desert like that military base in Captain Marvel. Got a bit lazy. :p

As you may note, this version of the Commander has his comic's name 'Abraham Towers'. Here, he's mellowed down and I'll aim for making him more likable than the game version. Topaz from Sonic X is in this story as well and she will play an important part of the story. There is also a reference as her squad's number '03' refers to when Sonic X first came out in 2003. Stone from the movie universe is here, though he's a bit of a more heroic and sillier version. That being said, those two will still have shades of the original, especially Stone when it comes to any topic about Eggman. And don't underestimate them just yet...

Oh, like how G.U.N is portrayed in the Sonic movie universe, they come across as less serious and more funnier, though that doesn't remove their competence.

The joke where Stone fantasize about Eggman's mustache is actually inspired by the TV pilot episode of 'Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared'. Watch the web series. I dare you.

Thank you for reading this chapter! If you enjoy this story, be sure to follow or favorite this story, so you can get updates about this story. If there is any feedback or constructive criticism you want to share, let me know in your review. It would be nice to hear open thoughts so that I can know what to improve.

Until next time, keep on rocking!